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

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!

You can be talented, driven, and genuinely exhausted and still not be any closer to winning. That’s the uncomfortable thread we pull in this short, direct talk about entrepreneurship, business leadership, and personal development. If you’ve been doing “all the things” but the results aren’t matching the effort, we get real about why.

We start with a simple leadership move that most people skip: self-evaluation. Before we speak to anyone else, we look in the mirror and ask what’s true, not what sounds good. We also call out highlight culture the posts, the wins, the polished moments and the way it can trick us into confusing visibility with victory. Real progress has receipts, not just stories.

Then we name the real blocker: negotiating with your excuses. Not shouting them down, not dressing them up, but catching the quiet bargaining that keeps commitment just out of reach. We also break down the difference between being tired and being effective, because fatigue can come from motion that never touches the goal. The takeaway is simple and challenging: if you love your story about why it’s hard more than the reality of what it takes, the story will keep you stuck.

If this hit a nerve, subscribe for more, share it with someone who needs a push, and leave a review so more leaders can find the show. What excuse are you done negotiating with today?

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!

A college football program can win big and still feel one play away from chaos. We sat down with Brandon Gilbert, assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Georgia, to talk about what fans rarely hear: the pressure points that sit under every Saturday, the career risk coaches live with, and why “wins and losses” can shape job security even when you’re not calling plays.

Brandon walks us through life as a husband and father while working in the SEC, where there’s basically no offseason, only different phases of the grind. We talk about planting roots in Georgia, leaning on church and family support, and what it looks like to lead a household with three kids in different seasons plus a brand-new dog adding its own kind of energy. If you’re searching for honest conversations about work-life balance, leadership, and family priorities, this one hits home.

We also go behind the curtain on strength and conditioning: culture-setting, training cycles, coaching interns, and how injury trends like soft tissue issues can put a strength staff under the microscope. Then Brandon shares a vulnerable story about losing his father, carrying legacy forward, and turning pain into purpose. We close with the loss he still can’t shake and what “reset” really means in football and in life.

Subscribe for more real conversations, share this with a coach or sports fan who needs it, and leave a review telling us what part of Brandon’s story stuck with you most.

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!

A packed room goes silent when someone chooses honesty over image, and that moment becomes the thread we keep pulling. We sit down with entrepreneur and business leader Philip Brittain to talk about what changes when you stop performing and start telling the truth, especially when your faith, your marriage, and your mission are all colliding at once.

We start with a question most founders wrestle with but rarely say out loud: what does it feel like when your spouse steps into your entrepreneurial world. Philip shares how support can look like presence, notes, and deep one-on-one connection, even when the stage and the microphone feel intimidating. From there we get into vulnerability, storytelling, and why real community is often built in the exact moments you feel exposed. If you care about leadership, personal growth, healing, and purpose-driven work, this part will hit home.

Then we switch gears into everyday life and culture: driving pet peeves, self-awareness, and the frustration of people who slow everything down. That turns into a bigger idea Philip keeps coming back to: urgency. Life is short, and living “on mission” means choosing action over distraction. We close with Seahawks talk, Seattle pride, and a blunt look at sports as entertainment, money, and escapism, plus a few Seattle facts you might not know.

If this conversation challenged you or encouraged you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What part of your life needs more urgency right now?

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!

We’re bringing the show back with the same kind of energy that makes you sit up straighter, because I’m not here to whisper motivational quotes at you. I’m here to tell the truth, starting with what it felt like to end the run that made me feel the most alive, and why coming back means building something consistent again. They Call Me Mista Yu is returning every Thursday with new episodes, guest interviews, and real conversations that don’t dodge the topics people actually care about.

You’ll hear what to expect moving forward: sports, pop culture, and yes politics, plus the kind of discussion that forces you to think instead of just react. But the heart of this drop is a direct challenge for entrepreneurs, business leaders, and anyone chasing a goal who keeps wondering why progress feels slow. I ask the question out loud: why haven’t you won yet? Then I answer it with the kind of accountability that starts in the mirror, not on social media.

The blunt takeaway is simple and uncomfortable: you haven’t won because you’re still negotiating with your excuses. Being tired doesn’t automatically mean you were effective. Loving your story about how hard it is won’t build the results you say you want. This is a quick, high-impact personal development podcast message about discipline, productivity, and doing what winning requires, not what feels impressive.

If you’re ready for a reset, press play, share this with someone who needs it, and subscribe so you don’t miss the Thursday drops. After you listen, leave a review and tell us what excuse you’re done negotiating with.

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!

The fantasy of making it in music often sounds like freedom: do what you want, get what you want, live like the rules don’t apply. We dig into the darker side of that “blank check” moment, when fast success turns into constant access to alcohol and drugs, and the line between celebration and substance abuse disappears. Our conversation stays honest about how quickly things can slide when you’re young, surrounded by heavy partiers, and still finding your limits.

We unpack the personal cost of an alcohol spiral, including the gut-punch reality that addiction doesn’t always look dramatic at first it can look like simply staying out later than everyone else and never feeling satisfied. There’s also the career fallout: a band breaking up, a label pivoting to a solo deal, and the pressure to keep going while things are already unraveling. If you care about addiction recovery stories, mental health in the music industry, and what sobriety really demands, you’ll find a lot to sit with here.

The most grounding part is the turning point: getting married young, looking at the mess head-on, and deciding to quit drinking cold turkey. We talk about why support systems matter, how values shape choices, and what “good years” can look like when you finally remove the thing that keeps taking more than it gives. If this resonates, subscribe for more real conversations, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review with the boundary that helped you most.

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