Episodes

I'm going back through old blog posts from https://kevtalkspod.com and realizing how much better I am now at writing posts and recording podcast episodes than I was 1, 2, or 3 years ago. I also thought today how life is full of rewrites. We can rewrite the path we choose professionally We can rewrite our daily physical fitness routine We can rewrite how we take care of our mind We can rewrite how we approach faith and spirituality It's never too late to make a change. Have a plan Stay inf...

This episode is part film review of Stutz and a sharing of tools and techniques Jonah Hill and Phil Stutz provide the viewer in the documentary film of the same name. Watch the movie at https://www.netflix.com/title/81387962 Take a deep dive from the film makers at https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/stutz-the-tools Have a plan | Stay informed | Get involved | https://kevtalkspod.com

Sharing a synopsis of my LinkedIn and website posts that highlight how when jurisdictions make proclamations to do better after something bad happens that it's too late. Two key failures typically occur before a disaster happens at a special event. Poor leadership Lack of good All-Hazard Incident Management application Listen to this episode and go to https://kevtalkspod.com/formal-agreements-are-not-enough/ to read more. Here is the story that got me fired up this Friday from Police1. Have ...

Are you working in the corporate world but wondering what it would be like to teach students at a major university? In this episode I have a great conversation with Leader, Author and my neighbor, Stephen Skripak. Stephen and I discuss his pre-corporate life, his rise to the C-suite in the corporate world, transitioning to academia and his decision to retire while still at the top of his game. Connect with Stephen on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenskripak/

"Noone owes you anything. You owe you." - Eric Thomas on the Order of Man podcast with Ryan Michler. I listened to the Order of Man podcast episode from September 13, 2022 while I was blowing leaves in my yard during the Thanksgiving 2022 holiday week. The message is so very direct and just what I needed. I was reminded, because deep down I knew, that noon owes me anything. Nor do I need to try and be like anyone else. Listen to the full episode at https://www.orderofman.com/ericthomas/ Remem...

Sharing a wonderful poem on thankfulness by Nancy J. Carmody. Read more at https://blog.gratefulness.me/gratitude-poems/

A Friday thought stream about: It's ok not to be original Re-package knowledge to help others "Wash other's feet" by humbling yourself Have a plan | Stay informed | Get involved

In How a Public Safety Leader Beat Addiction with CAPT Henry "Hank" Smith | KEV Talks #8, my good friend Henry “Hank” Smith and I catch up a bit, share his background in the U.S. Military and Public Safety, then get into the well known but often overlooked issued - substance abuse in Public Safety. Key timestamps:0:00 Reunited…and it feels so good 01:48 Hank’s story begins 12:26 First cardiac arrest call 19:50 Hanks struggles with alcohol 28:35 Where there’s smoke 38:37 Putting the article...

Sharing the Oath of Enlistment I and thousands of others have taken and some 2021 data about the current state of Veterans in the United States. Source: Changing Face of Veterans in America at https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/05/the-changing-face-of-americas-veteran-population/ Read and listen to more at https://kevtalkspod.com/

This year I read Johann Hari's book Lost Connections. I provides invaluable insight into environmental and clinical causes of depression. As I've done in the past, I found value for myself but also for the Program and Project Management professions. So, I parallel Hari's disconnections to Programs and Projects and provide my $.02 on how I believe we can stay connected or reconnect with meaningful work.

Sharing 32 positive changes we should celebrate from Hans Rosling's book 'Factfulness: 10 Reasons We're Wrong About the World'

Re-visiting my article from April 2020 and sharing how I believe Public Health, Healthcare and the United States as a whole should move forward in a post-COVID Emergency Preparedness world. Prompted by the controversy from Emily Oster's 'LET’S DECLARE A PANDEMIC AMNESTY' article in the Atlantic from October 2022.

For 'Words Matter (The Power of "I will" and "I will not" statements)' I recorded in my garage gym this morning. On today's episode I'm sharing a mindset that I’ve worked to adopt recently from listening to ‘s ‘Unfu*k Yourself’ - I will…(insert forward looking /positive actions) - I will not…(insert what actions and behaviors you will not accept) It really is up to each of us to determine what kind of life we have while we’re in this world. We can either move towards things, not accept things...

Anxiety sucks. Heart palpitations, weak legs, upset stomach and on and on. But, anxiety also presents an opportunity for us to unfu*k ourselves. To not let anxiety win. To change our mindset. To live. In Face Anxiety: Using the DARE Response to Conquer Your Fears I share 5 tips, tools and techniques that my wife, me and many others have used to face our fears head on. It's not easy by any means, but it can be done. The 5 Tips, tools and techniques: The DARE Response Creating your own scene ...

In From Tactics to Strategy: Stepping Up as a Program Manager I share advice I gave someone in the r/Project Management to a Project Manager moving up to doing Program Manager level work. "Sooo, you're now going to do more strategic work and your focus should be at the 30k ft. level, not the 100ft level. Make sense? My $.02 for free: Do you have PMs for each project? If so, ask them to help shore up the information you need If not, KISS Gather what I call the "Foundational 5" of Leader/Spo...

A bit of a program change this week on Podcast Poetry: Reading Poems I wrote as a Young Hospital Corpsman as I share three poems I wrote in September of 1996. At the time I was a U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman working in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Bethesda Naval Hospital and aboard the USNS Comfort. I found poetry to be a release from the sickness and pain I saw on a weekly basis. The Poems: Give a Hoot Hooyah! Circle of Life Thank you all for listening, subscribing and sharing with a fr...

Being stuck in high gear at work and in our personal time can lead us down the road to burn out. On this Shifting Gears in Life: Sometimes we Need a Lower Gear I provide my two cents on the value of downshifting to a lower gear sometimes.

For episode 3.Gotta Have Faith I dig into the differences between faith, religion and spirituality and we’ll review 4 ways the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) says faith can help our mental health. In this episode: What is religion? What is spirituality? What is faith? How are the three intertwined? Mental Health benefits of faith (of any kind) Prayer as mindfulness or meditation Faith based or other interest groups foster a feeling of togetherness Faith, addiction and other ...

I've been a parent for almost 16 years and spent ~10 of those on the sidelines or on the field as a Coach for Youth Soccer, Flag and Tackle Football and a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) kid's class. These are my tips for Parents and for Coaches to help build up the kids participating. Parents: Let kids be coached Kids carry their own equipment If you want to help, sign up Yelling at kids, coaches and referees doesn't help Coaches: Set the example "What you allow in your presence you promote" ...

Sleep is critical for the mind, body and some say spirit to heal and maintain function. In this episode I'll help the listener understand the principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) and share what worked for me when I had a bout of insomnia. Key Components Discussed: CBT-I vs. Medication How much sleep do we need? Multi-Component elements of CBT-I Cognitive Behavioral Psychoeducational Key CBT-I Elements Stimulus Control Sleep Restriction & Compression Relaxati...

Sharing a quote and my $.02 from a great write up by Dr. Ali Binazir. "So what's the probability of your being born? It's the probability of 2.5 million people getting together -- about the population of San Diego -- each to play a game of dice with trillion-sided dice. They each roll the dice -- and they all come up the exact same number -- say, 550,343,279,001." - Dr. Ali Binazir Read the full article at https://www.huffpost.com/entry/probability-being-born_b_877853 Thank you for listening,...

Sharing a quote and my $.02 from a great write up by Dr. Ali Binazir. "So what's the probability of your being born? It's the probability of 2.5 million people getting together -- about the population of San Diego -- each to play a game of dice with trillion-sided dice. They each roll the dice -- and they all come up the exact same number -- say, 550,343,279,001." - Dr. Ali Binazir Read the full article at https://www.huffpost.com/entry/probability-being-born_b_877853 Thank you for listening,...

Sharing a quote and my $.02 from a great write up by Dr. Ali Binazir. "So what's the probability of your being born? It's the probability of 2.5 million people getting together -- about the population of San Diego -- each to play a game of dice with trillion-sided dice. They each roll the dice -- and they all come up the exact same number -- say, 550,343,279,001." - Dr. Ali Binazir Read the full article at https://www.huffpost.com/entry/probability-being-born_b_877853 Thank you for listening,...

Sharing a quote and my $.02 from a great write up by Dr. Ali Binazir. "So what's the probability of your being born? It's the probability of 2.5 million people getting together -- about the population of San Diego -- each to play a game of dice with trillion-sided dice. They each roll the dice -- and they all come up the exact same number -- say, 550,343,279,001." - Dr. Ali Binazir Read the full article at https://www.huffpost.com/entry/probability-being-born_b_877853 Thank you for listening,...