Have a question or thought for Mista Yu? Text or leave a voicemail for the show and he’ll answer it personally on the Inspiration Station or They Call Me Mista Yu. With your Permission, We'll even play your message live on the air!

One minute you’re pushing through life like tomorrow is guaranteed. The next, you’re in an emergency room fighting for air. My good friend, Rory Paquette joins me to tell the full story of carrying pneumonia for months, collapsing at the hospital, and staring down surgery with brutal odds. We get honest about what happens to your priorities when the only goal is making it to the next day, and how a spouse’s steady presence can change everything during recovery.

We also go deeper than the headline moment. Rory shares what it was like growing up with an abusive alcoholic father and how that childhood wiring can follow you into adulthood as grit, overwork, and a constant need to protect the people you love. From a life coaching and personal growth angle, we unpack the difference between being shaped by pain and being trapped by it, plus how faith becomes real when it’s no longer theoretical.

Then we pivot into business and culture. Rory explains how COVID forced tough work choices, how a corporate employer can move on in minutes, and why that experience pushed him harder into entrepreneurship, coaching, and podcasting. We even hit the hot sports topic: the Chicago Bears possibly moving to Hammond, Indiana, and what that could mean for taxes, stadium deals, fans, and a new wave of franchise relocations. Rory closes with the next chapter he’s writing, returning to public speaking and advocating for independent podcasters against industry gatekeeping. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs perspective, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

Our team will choose random (but timely) episodes from our previous three seasons (which are our most popular ever!) to share with our listeners during the slower parts of a long podcast season. We think you will enjoy them! Thanks for listening!

Coffee aficionados and Health Conscious listeners, our show has some new sponsors and they’re offering you the best discounts their stores have. Links are below. Start saving now!

Quantum Squares: Support the show

Are you a guest with a message of hope and faith, overcome tragedy and addiction, creativity, invention, or you just have questions about society and culture? The “They Can Me Mista Yu” brand of podcasts is looking for guests!

Book your interview today: https://www.joinpodmatch.com/theycallmemistayu

Give the shows a listen: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/they-call-me-mista-yu/id1535535535

Faith. Society & Culture. Your Inspirational Stories. Mental Health. Entrepreneurship. We talk about what matters to you!

Join Mista Yu across our shows:

🎙 Inspiration Station

🎙 They Call Me Mista Yu

🎙 One on One With Mista Yu

🎙 The Men’s Roundtable Series / MRTS Interview Spotlight

If you would like to support the show, here’s how you can do that: https://www.patreon.com/cw/theycallmemistayu and https://buymeacoffee.com/theycallmemistayu

Have a question or thought for Mista Yu? Text or leave a voicemail for the show and he’ll answer it personally on the Inspiration Station or They Call Me Mista Yu. With your Permission, We'll even play your message live on the air!

Most men don’t need another motivational quote. They need a place where they can tell the truth without being judged. That’s why this conversation with Stephen T. Miller hit so hard. Stephen is a husband, father, leader, author, and the founder behind the SEEN community and W23, a faith-based apparel brand rooted in purpose, identity, and impact.

We talk about where the “mask” starts: grief, unprocessed anger, and the pressure to act like nothing hurts. Stephen shares how losing his grandmother early and witnessing hard situations at home shaped the way he carried emotions for years. From there, we dig into what growth actually looks like for men navigating leadership, family responsibilities, and faith when they feel like they have to hold it all together.

Stephen breaks down the SEEN framework (Seen, Equipped, Empowered, Needed) and why it’s more than a slogan. It’s a practical pathway for men’s mental health, emotional honesty, and Christian leadership. We also get into his memoir From Silence to Success, how he measures impact beyond vanity metrics, and why W23 is designed to help people wear what they feel and say what they’ve been afraid to say.

If you’ve ever answered “I’m good” when you weren’t, you’ll hear yourself in this one. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s carrying too much, and leave a review so more people can find these conversations. What’s one thing you wish men could talk about without shame?

Our team will choose random (but timely) episodes from our previous three seasons (which are our most popular ever!) to share with our listeners during the slower parts of a long podcast season. We think you will enjoy them! Thanks for listening!

Coffee aficionados and Health Conscious listeners, our show has some new sponsors and they’re offering you the best discounts their stores have. Links are below. Start saving now!

Quantum Squares: Support the show

Are you a guest with a message of hope and faith, overcome tragedy and addiction, creativity, invention, or you just have questions about society and culture? The “They Can Me Mista Yu” brand of podcasts is looking for guests!

Book your interview today: https://www.joinpodmatch.com/theycallmemistayu

Give the shows a listen: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/they-call-me-mista-yu/id1535535535

Faith. Society & Culture. Your Inspirational Stories. Mental Health. Entrepreneurship. We talk about what matters to you!

Join Mista Yu across our shows:

🎙 Inspiration Station

🎙 They Call Me Mista Yu

🎙 One on One With Mista Yu

🎙 The Men’s Roundtable Series / MRTS Interview Spotlight

If you would like to support the show, here’s how you can do that: https://www.patreon.com/cw/theycallmemistayu and https://buymeacoffee.com/theycallmemistayu

Have a question or thought for Mista Yu? Text or leave a voicemail for the show and he’ll answer it personally on the Inspiration Station or They Call Me Mista Yu. With your Permission, We'll even play your message live on the air!

“Explain your business like you’re telling your grandmother.” That line sounds polite, but it carries a punch of ageism and it’s one of the moments that pushed today’s guest, Ande Lyons, from the startup world into a loud, proud pro-aging mission. We start with a quick, fun run through Boston life and sports loyalty, then move into the bigger story: what happens when smart, experienced people get treated as “past their prime” in rooms that claim to value innovation.

Ande breaks down how her viral “Don’t Be Caged By Your Age” post opened the floodgates, with comments that were both inspiring and heartbreaking. We talk about representation, thriving after 65, and why the older generation is not “tech challenged” but often the group that lived through the most dramatic technology shifts of our lifetime. We also get blunt about anti-aging marketing, especially the way it targets women, selling fear and shame instead of health and self-respect.

From there, we zoom out to purpose and connection. We dig into why community and intergenerational friendships matter so much for longevity, why retirement can become a dangerous kind of disconnection, and how staying engaged keeps your mind and identity strong. Finally, Ande shares how she built a real-world podcaster meetup and an online community, plus practical advice for new podcasters and anyone stuck on a plateau who’s tempted to quit.

Subscribe for more conversations like this, share this with a friend who needs the reminder, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway: how do you want to “age out loud”?

Our team will choose random (but timely) episodes from our previous three seasons (which are our most popular ever!) to share with our listeners during the slower parts of a long podcast season. We think you will enjoy them! Thanks for listening!

Coffee aficionados and Health Conscious listeners, our show has some new sponsors and they’re offering you the best discounts their stores have. Links are below. Start saving now!

Quantum Squares: Support the show

Are you a guest with a message of hope and faith, overcome tragedy and addiction, creativity, invention, or you just have questions about society and culture? The “They Can Me Mista Yu” brand of podcasts is looking for guests!

Book your interview today: https://www.joinpodmatch.com/theycallmemistayu

Give the shows a listen: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/they-call-me-mista-yu/id1535535535

Faith. Society & Culture. Your Inspirational Stories. Mental Health. Entrepreneurship. We talk about what matters to you!

Join Mista Yu across our shows:

🎙 Inspiration Station

🎙 They Call Me Mista Yu

🎙 One on One With Mista Yu

🎙 The Men’s Roundtable Series / MRTS Interview Spotlight

If you would like to support the show, here’s how you can do that: https://www.patreon.com/cw/theycallmemistayu and https://buymeacoffee.com/theycallmemistayu