Every summer in the 70s, for a full week, I went off to Scout camp.

Camp Bashore in Jonestown, Pennsylvania.

So much fun…paddling a canoe on the lake, breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the mess hall; arts & crafts, relay races, and my Order of The Arrow ceremony.

In the winter it was The Klondike Derby, or winter camping.

There, inside the circle of trust, as the roaring campfire would pop and snarl, we shared our stories.

From Bigfoot and UFOs to dirty jokes and the politics of the day.

Ghost stories and war stories from our Scout Masters who served in Vietnam and Korea.

Nothing was taboo.

And those conversations flowed.

They were fun, and meaningful.

We learned from each other.

I realized in those early days that our stories matter, and our ability to tell them matters even more.

Because within that sharing, we feel a satisfaction that somehow our experiences were being passed along to another human being.

“I’m successful. Let me tell you how successful I am.”

It became boring.

I yearned for a deeper conversation, like those campfire stories.

And for years people told me that I should start a podcast.

I resisted for a long time, but back in the recesses of my mind, I kept asking myself “how would my podcast be different?”

Tony Rubleski asked me to be on a recorded interview for his private mastermind group.

Ben Gay III and Jim Palmer were on the call as well.

Ben was a successful sales guru who wrote the book The Closers.

He also knew Napoleon Hill personally, along with many other legends in the self-help industry.

Jim Palmer was no different. He had created a DFY newsletter agency and would eventually launch the Dream Business Academy.

These men were heavy hitters.

For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why I was chosen to share my story alongside these icons in the speaking industry who have written some of the most influential books for entrepreneurs in today’s business environment.

Ben started the call with the story of his son’s death, and his decision to get back up and go to work the next day.

The pain was so intense for him.

Then Jim opened up about losing his job and being diagnosed with skin cancer all within the same week.

I shared my battle as a child with inner ear infections.

THIS was the conversation I was looking for!!!

It brought tears of joy, and life lessons for the audience.

And it was Tony’s highest-rated show.

I launched Awakened Nation in 2019 with one idea in mind: ignite game-changing conversations.

I wanted to interview people who had a life-changing event that forced them to wake up and change direction.

Nothing would be taboo.

I stopped asking the same questions every other talk show host was asking and started having real conversations about how my guests overcame alcoholism, suffered failed business ventures, and lost loved ones.

I had a fire in my belly.

…and the list goes on and on.