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A kid from Staten Island walks three miles to a Navy recruiter after a jobsite blowup and ends up a warrant officer, a chief engineer, and finally a financial advisor. That’s not luck—it’s discipline, mentorship, and a lot of deckplate reps. Gary sits down with his shipmate Jody Schilling to trace the full arc: boot camp in Orlando, Treasure Island A School, meeting a destroyer in Bahrain, and learning damage control fast under real pressure. Along the way, Jody owns his missteps, turns NJPs into fuel, teaches DC indoc, and earns ESWS by treating standards like a sport.

The conversation digs into the gear and the grit: OBA to SCBA transitions, Halon decisions when the heat won’t quit, and the night a “Bravo fire” turned out to be a frozen fan. You’ll hear why recruiting after 9/11 worked when it focused on follow-up and results, not overtime and waivers. We get gator life with Marines aboard, ballasting math, and a SWO(L) pin earned on watch, not in theory. As a warrant DCA, Jody pushes for recognition systems that surface more talent and moves the crew from compliance to readiness.

Then it widens: a small-ship chief engineer tour under COVID, geobaching, and writing evals that actually move sailors—EL letters, real quals, faster promotions. In Bahrain, he fixes broken ranges for $13 instead of $40K, builds qualification boards, and helps sailors stack degrees while the mission rolls. The thread through it all is simple and powerful: take average and make it good; take good and make it great; take great and make it lead. That same mindset powers his post-Navy pivot to Edward Jones, where helping families plan feels like one more watch worth standing.

If you value honest sea stories, practical leadership, and the mechanics of reinvention, you’ll find a lot to take with you—whether you’re chasing ESWS, running a shop, or planning your next career. Listen, share it with someone who needs a push, and drop a review so more vets and leaders can find the show.

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When emotions run hot, one choice can change everything. Gary Wise lays out a clear, battle-tested way to slow the moment, tell the truth about what you feel, and make a response you won’t regret tomorrow. Drawing on decades of Navy leadership, teaching, fatherhood, and faith, we unpack why emotional intelligence matters more than ever in a world of constant comparison, instant judgment, and phones that never sleep.

We break down a simple playbook you can use under pressure: name the emotion with honesty, create a pause through prayer or reflection, and move through What happened, So what it changes, and Now what you’ll do. Then we add the Navy’s Plan, Brief, Execute, Debrief loop to turn hard moments into learning cycles you can repeat. Along the way, we tackle the difference between grief and pity, how to set a time limit on self-pity, and how to build inner reasons that keep you moving when the cheering stops. Expect practical stories, tough-love encouragement, and tools you can try the same day.

We also get real about boundaries and trust, especially around phones and social media. Clear expectations reduce drama; unclear ones multiply it. Support lands better when we listen first, ask better questions, and offer advice by permission. The goal isn’t to feel less—it’s to feel wisely, act with courage, and protect your future from impulsive choices. If you’ve been looking for a grounded, faith-forward approach to emotional intelligence, perseverance, and better conversations at home, school, and work, this one’s for you.

If this resonates, follow Words from the Wise, share with a friend who needs it, and leave a review to help others find the show. Got a topic you want us to tackle next? Send it our way.

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The best leaders don’t start with perfect test scores or spotless plans—they start with a clear why. Gary sits down with Chelsea James, a first-generation student at Florida State, to unpack how a COVID-era freshman became a campus leader anchored by discipline, mentoring, and relentless self-advocacy. She shares the real tools that moved the needle: a paper planner, firm boundaries, and the willingness to ask for help early and often.

Chelsea takes us inside JROTC’s impact on her leadership voice, from learning to command a field to navigating high school transitions with grit. We follow her into FSU’s CARE Summer Bridge, where community and structure smoothed the leap to college-level workload. From dorm dynamics and scooter thefts to presidents list wins and e-board funding victories, her stories show how persistence beats the initial no—especially when you prepare, document, and communicate.

We dig into academics without the fluff: turning an F from a misgrade into an A trajectory, leveraging AP writing for discussion boards, and choosing mastery over busywork. Chelsea’s roadmap includes teaching, certifications, and a long-term aim of superintendent—plus a parallel interest in educational law to advocate for teachers and students. She’s leveling up perspective through study abroad in London and an internship in South Africa, chasing lived context that textbooks can’t offer.

If you’re a student, parent, or educator seeking practical advice on planning, setting boundaries, and leading yourself, this conversation delivers a usable playbook. Bring your goals, your questions, and your courage to start now—not later. Do it for you.

Enjoyed this story? Follow, subscribe, and share the show with someone who needs the push. And if it resonated, leave a quick review to help others find it.

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The difference between a fragile follower and a future leader often comes down to one habit: perseverance built on safe, real-world reps. We dig into how parents, mentors, and teens can trade helicopter control for a clear framework that creates strength, not dependence. From setting boundaries around effort and rest to knowing when to step in and when to let natural consequences teach, this conversation is a practical guide to raising resilient people who plan ahead, communicate early, and own the outcome.

We start with the pressures today’s teens and adults face—always-on feedback, social scrutiny, and the fear of public failure—and then map out tools that actually help. You’ll hear why perseverance beats simple resilience, how to use a “safe to fail” check before intervening, and what micromanage-then-release looks like when skills are new. We share real stories from the NJROTC classroom and field: tough workouts that build confidence, uniform days that sharpen standards, and debriefs that turn bad grades into better habits. Along the way, we tackle device accountability, the role of faith and purpose, and the courage it takes to ask for help before the deadline hits.

By the end, you’ll have a straightforward loop to use at home, school, or work: plan, communicate, execute, debrief, adjust. Validate emotions but refuse to be led by them. Create space for kids to try, stumble, and try again while signaling exactly when leaders must step in for safety, bullying, or irreversible consequences. If you’re a parent ready to step back or a young person ready to step up, this playbook shows how to build the muscle of perseverance—one honest rep at a time.

If this resonated, subscribe, share it with someone who needs the nudge, and leave a review with the one habit you’ll put into practice this week.

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The story starts in Norwalk and lands on a steam frigate in Pearl Harbor—then it never really slows down. Brian Ortega charts how an Operations Specialist grows into a Command Master Chief by choosing hard jobs, chasing qualifications, and holding the line on standards even when the culture tries to slide. We talk early WestPacs, plane guard and shotgun tasking around carriers, and why the best eval bullets are written underway when your judgment is live and the air picture won’t wait.

From there, the conversation gets into the craft of leadership. Brian almost got out until a chief pulled him into Fleet Training Group to teach radio talker, rules of the road, and watch supervisor. He made chief and senior chief by running watch bills and outcomes on Aegis ships, then took on the CMC mantle—where the real world showed up on day one. We unpack toxic friction with an XO, the CO’s quiet intervention, and the practical moves that reset a mess: show up at chow to hear the pulse, stack the deck by assigning a hammer chief to lead cross‑department fixes, and make standards visible and mutual. When a Commodore weighed disbanding a Chiefs’ Mess at ATG San Diego, Brian rebuilt trust through accountability, clarity, and relentless follow‑through.

Shore leadership brings a different challenge. At Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Brian learned that funding cycles outlast tours, so your job is to start the right projects and hand off clean. He revived the Chiefs’ Club with sweat equity and opened it for RIMPAC, anchoring heritage in action. We also get candid about force protection: MA manning, grinding rotations, and split ownership across shore, harbor, and expeditionary missions. The fix is focus and resourcing, not more slogans. Through it all, Brian’s message stays steady—take the hard jobs on gray hulls, look in the mirror before blaming systems, accept smart failure when lives aren’t at stake, and refuse victimhood. For veterans eyeing civilian roles, he puts it plainly: your resume is your board package and your writing is your selection board.

Hit play to hear a career built on grit, mentorship, and results, with stories that stick and lessons you can use on Monday. If this conversation sharpened your edge, subscribe, share it with a shipmate, and leave a review so more listeners can find us.

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What if the most honest growth you had all year came from the mistake you’d rather hide? Gary pulls back the curtain on a year that mixed big wins with hard lessons: publishing Own Your Journey for students and families, launching Ocala Inspired to spotlight local leaders, and building a cross-platform community that crossed 1.7 million views—all while teaching full-time, parenting two boys, and serving teens at church.

We walk through the backbone of sustainable leadership at home and at work: model healthy stress management so your people don’t just hear it, they see it. Set boundaries you actually enforce. Create space to fail, then plan, brief, execute, and debrief so learning compounds. Ask better questions and listen longer—especially with teenagers who need curiosity more than lectures. Build routines that make discipline automatic. Practice radical ownership when a partnership or expense doesn’t align, even if it stings. And say the quiet part out loud: I love you, I trust you, and I expect your best. When trust breaks, rebuild it with guardrails, grace, and time.

You’ll also hear how simple tools and consistency beat fancy setups: shorts that pull people toward deeper conversations, weekly publishing to use every Buzzsprout minute, and a clear-eyed approach to growth on YouTube, TikTok, and beyond. We talk candidly about phones, intrusive care, and why parents must verify as an act of love. Through it all, faith grounds the work—belief in God, belief in family, and belief that purpose means nothing without action.

If you’re a parent, teacher, coach, or young leader figuring out life after high school, this conversation gives you a seven-part playbook for 2026 you can start today. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs a nudge, and drop a comment with the one focus you’ll own first.

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A small moment can reroute an entire life. Gary shares how a background of constant moves, a Boy Scout love for structure, and a rough detour into street life set the stage for a Navy career he once resisted—and later learned to master. The turning point arrives during a quiet lunch with Oprah playing in the background, where the language of visualization meets an old foundation of faith and a renewed respect for hard work. What follows is a candid blueprint for advancement: study with purpose, lead like an owner, and visualize the exact outcome you want to create.

We walk through the grind that led to making First Class in a razor-thin cycle, the surprise waiver that opened the door to becoming a Chief, and the mentors who nudged key decisions at just the right time. This isn’t motivational fluff; it’s the mechanics of career advancement, goal setting, and leadership done daily. And it’s balanced by an honest reckoning with a bad housing bet during the mid-2000s: buying into a dream neighborhood near a man-made beach, taking on an adjustable-rate mortgage, and riding the crash into a short sale. The lesson lands hard—your signal attracts outcomes, but wisdom decides which ones you accept.

By the end, you’ll have a practical framework: define your goals with sensory detail, align personal and professional aims, share plans with the right people, and show up every day with consistency, gratitude, and honest debriefs. If you’re mapping a promotion, planning a career pivot, or rebuilding after a setback, this story gives you tools you can use the second the episode ends. If the message moves you, subscribe, share with a friend who’s chasing a big goal, and leave a quick review so we can reach more people who need the push.

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A pivot only matters if it serves people. That’s the throughline as we look back on a year of testing formats, learning from missteps, and finding the work that actually changes lives—especially for the students we see every weekday. What started as leadership certification coaching and casual leadership talk became a more honest creative journey: quitting alcohol, committing to consistent content, and building a podcast that trades easy inspiration for real tools.

We open the hood on the production realities—why “book more guests” isn’t a strategy, how calendar friction kills momentum, and what happens when you stop chasing virality and aim for steady, purpose-driven growth. You’ll hear how inviting shipmates for “behind the anchor” stories added texture, where the repetition crept in, and why the 2026 plan shifts from constant guest wrangling to clear, useful solo episodes with the door open to aligned voices. Along the way we share the numbers that matter, from nearly 800,000 views on YouTube to 1.5 million across platforms, and the real metric we care about: whether the right people are learning something they can use on Monday.

The heart of this conversation is service that evolves. We talk about moving from sailor to teacher, leading 180 NJROTC students, and designing content that helps teenagers step into adulthood with practical confidence. We preview personal stories that carry lessons—an adoption and reunion that reshaped family, the tension and pride of a son heading to the Florida State Fire College, and community work in middle school ministry that keeps us grounded. Expect fewer hot takes and more durable guidance on leadership, habits, purpose, and the messy, human work of change.

If you’ve been with us since the early videos or just found the show, we’re grateful you’re here. Help us reach the next milestone: share this episode with a friend who could use straight talk on leadership and life, subscribe for the 2026 series, and leave a quick review with one topic you want us to tackle next. Your ideas shape where we go from here.

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