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Winning with Class

Winning with Class

By: Bill Macbeth
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Exploring how we can all win with class in all we do through inspiring guests from sports, business, non-profit, military, politics and more.2023 Personal Development Personal Success
Episodes
  • Dr. Wayne Chappelle – Healing Our Hurting Minds

    Dr. Wayne Chappelle – Healing Our Hurting Minds
    Jun 26 2026
    Dr. Wayne "Dr. C" Chappelle is a licensed clinical psychologist and board‑certified specialist with more than two decades of experience helping people perform, lead, and thrive under extreme pressure. He currently serves as the Team Psychologist for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder, where he supports elite athletes in strengthening their mental resilience, emotional regulation, and competitive mindset. ​ For over 20 years, Dr. Chappelle has been a trusted psychological consultant to some of the most demanding military and government agencies —including Presidential aircrew, Special Operations forces, and senior military leadership. His work has included assessing and preparing personnel for high‑risk missions, briefing Pentagon officials on the psychological impact of dangerous operations, and shaping programs that strengthen the mental health and resilience of service members fighting terrorism across the globe. ​ In private practice, Dr. C works with executive leaders, high‑pressure professionals, and U.S. Olympic‑level athletes, helping them build the emotional, relational, and behavioral skills required to excel in the most competitive and consequential environments. ​ He is also featured in Heal Your Hurting Mind alongside pastor and best-selling author Craig Groeschel, whose personal candor and biblical insight pair with Dr. C's psychological expertise to offer a powerful, hope‑centered path toward healing and resilience. ​ At the center of his work is a simple mission: to help people adapt, grow, and stay grounded through life's most intense challenges. Known for his clarity, warmth, and practical wisdom, Dr. C blends deep clinical expertise with real‑world experience supporting individuals who carry extraordinary responsibility. ​ When he's not working with high-performing teams or speaking on leadership psychology, Dr. C spends his time with family and close friends—recharging through meaningful conversation, shared meals, and the kind of laughter that keeps life grounded. He believes strong relationships are the foundation of resilience, and he brings that same warmth and presence to the people he cares about most hope‑centered path toward healing and resilience. Takeaways: Profile of a Hero: Dr. Chappelle's study revealed some great traits in terms of what makes a hero. I liked all of his elements, but some of my favorites are: Passion with purpose - having a strong WHY is essential to carry through tough challenges. And most of the time – if not all of the time, those whys that are bigger than ourselves seem to help us endure more than any other. I like how he used the word conviction – such a strong word that describes the commitment to the WHY that will override anything that comes along which is uncomfortable. He mentioned the medic's motto of "so that others may live" which is about as strong a why as there is. Passion is great, but passion with a purpose is what will get us over the tough challenges. Let's all strive to have strong whys and then get truly convicted to them so that we can attack our pursuits with all we have. Tenacity – the notion of getting comfortable being uncomfortable. If you can get here, you can get to the level of unstoppable. Self-sacrifice – I like how Dr. Chappelle pointed out that life is about the impact we have on the world around us. Playing and living like this is an essential part of being elite. Diamond – Dr. Chappelle reminds us that a diamond is only a diamond if/when it endures intense heat and pressure. The result is something hard, tough, and beautiful. If we want to be elite, we need to lean into pressure instead of taking the easy way and avoiding it. I just heard Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow talk about this in a press conference as he challenged his team to take on pressure – mentioning that he LIKES pressure. He hasn't won a Super Bowl yet, but he's 5-2 in the playoffs so far…and this is a big reason why. Do ordinary with excellence every day: This goes to the consistent theme of intentionality with regard to the essentials. Dr. Chappelle tells the players on the Thunder to take care of their main tool – their bodies - with diet, rest, exercise, and recovery. We need to do the same with our bodies and as Dr. Chappelle says, add that same intentionality and pursuit of excellence with the mind and spirit as well. If we do this on a consistent basis…our potential is limitless. Heal Your Hurting Mind: The label: Instead of labeling ourselves with anxiety or other similar labels that have become way too common these days, I like how Dr. Chappelle provided us with the way we should all label ourselves – I'm a human with strengths and vulnerabilities and I'm in control. Spirituality: Last episode, Damon West said that we all need to be intentional about mind, body and spirit. Dr. Chappelle backed that up when he ...
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    1 hr and 20 mins
  • Damon West: From drug kingpin and life sentence to a new life of Massive Positive Impact

    Damon West: From drug kingpin and life sentence to a new life of Massive Positive Impact
    Jun 12 2026
    Sentenced to sixty-five years in a Texas prison, Damon West once had it all. Damon West, M.S. Criminal Justice, is a college professor, internationally known keynote speaker and 3 x Wall Street Journal bestselling author. His bestselling business book, The Coffee Bean: A Simple Lesson to Create Positive Change, was listed by Forbes' in the "Top Twenty Books You Need to Read to Crush 2020." His autobiography, The Change Agent: How a Former College QB Sentenced to Life in Prison Transformed His World, vividly tells how he transformed the pot of boiling water that is a Texas maximum-security prison into a pot of coffee. At 20 years old, he was a Division 1 starting quarterback at the University of North Texas, when he suffered a career ending injury. He turned to hardcore drugs to cope with disappointments of life. After graduation, he worked in the United States Congress, was a national fundraiser on a U.S. Presidential campaign and eventually trained to be a stockbroker for United Bank of Switzerland (UBS). One day at UBS, he was introduced to methamphetamines; he became instantly hooked—and the lives of so many innocent people would forever be changed by the choices he made in order to feed his insatiable meth habit. After a fateful discussion during his incarceration with a seasoned convict, Damon had a spiritual awakening. He learned that, like a coffee bean changing with the application of heat and pressure, he was capable of changing the environment around him. Armed with a program of recovery, a renewed faith, and a miraculous second chance at life, Damon emerged from over seven years of prison a changed man. His story of redemption, grit and determination continues to inspire audiences today. The Coffee Bean message has inspired thousands. Damon's clients include hundreds of companies, such as Walmart, State Farm, Wendy's, Stryker, and sports teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Timberwolves, Clemson, Alabama and Georgia. The U.S. Army has even incorporated the #BeACoffeeBean mindset into their resilience training. Damon's story has been featured both nationally and globally. He is passionate about the Coffee Bean message and loves sharing how it changed his life and how it can change yours, too. His most recent book, national bestselling Six Dimes and a Nickel, Life Lessons to Empower Change, introduces the principles and stories that allowed Damon West to rewrite his narrative and become one of the greatest underdog triumphs of all time. His Wall Street Journal bestselling book, The Locker Room: How Great Teams Heal Hurt, Overcome Adversity and Build Unity, is being optioned for film adaptation. His children's book, The Coffee Bean for Kids, is the genesis for Coffee Bean Clubs being started by students at schools all over America. Today, Damon lives a life of recovery and service, sharing his story all over the world. Of all the hats Damon wears, however, the two most important to him are being a husband to Kendell and a stepfather to Clara. Takeaways: The Darkest of Dark. Hopefully, none of us will ever have to face the type of environment that Damon had to face. In such an environment, survival would be an admirable goal. But remember all that Damon did in prison. He kicked a strong drug habit, he confirmed and brought his faith to a new level, and he sought to transform the environment around him – ALL while having to fight his fights while feeling the fear every single time. This goes to show that even if we've completely lost our way and find ourselves in a dark spot, anchorless – we can ALWAYS fight the good fight, get super intentional and turn things around – for ourselves and for those around us. The Uncommon Anchor. I think Damon did a good job of describing his uncommon anchor in the teaser at the start of this episode. He told us that we had to be intentional on a daily basis about our mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. Damon was also clear that his parents had given him this anchor with a solid upbringing. Damon didn't maintain it and so he lost it – leading to drugs, crime and eventually a life sentence. As we saw, Damon rebuilt his anchor. And so can we. But it's far better to avoid having to rebuild it by being massively intentional about our mental, physical, and spiritual selves on a daily basis. It may feel like we don't need it – like everything is good and going our way. That's exactly when we need to double down on strengthening our inner anchor based on the right things. So, when life punches – and it WILL punch – as it did with Damon's football career unexpectedly coming to an end – your anchor will be strong enough to keep you on a good path, instead of going sideways like Damon did for that rough period of his life. The Coffee Bean. First, what a great life lesson given by Damon's jail friend, Muhammad about being the coffee bean – ...
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    1 hr and 14 mins
  • Amy Morin: Mental Strength Training for Life

    Amy Morin: Mental Strength Training for Life
    May 27 2026
    Amy Morin is a licensed psychotherapist, a mental strength trainer, keynote speaker, award-winning host of the Mentally Stronger with Therapist Amy Morin podcast, and an international bestselling author of six books on mental strength, including the globally acclaimed 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do. These books have sold over one million copies and have been translated into more than fifty languages. Her 7th book, The Mental Strength Playbook, just released in April of 2026. Her expertise has been featured by major outlets such as Good Morning America, Today, Oprah, Tamron Hall, and BBC and her TEDx Talk, The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong, has been viewed over 24 million times. Amy's passion for teaching mental strength stems from a personal place. After enduring almost unimaginable loss of three loved ones in her twenties, she realized the traditional tools of therapy weren't enough to manage her grief. She's practiced therapy for over twenty years, and she's a sought-after speaker whose Ted Talk, "The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong" is one of the most viewed talks of all time, with more than 25 million views. Amy lives on a sailboat in the Florida Keys. Books: 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do. 13 Things Mentally Strong Women Don't Do. 13 Things Mentally Stron Parents Don't Do. 13 Things Strong Kids Do. 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do Workbook. 13 Things Mentally Strong Couples Don't Do. The Mental Strength Playbook. Takeaways: Keep. Moving. Forward.: One of my favorite movie lines is from the last Rocky movie where the aging boxer tells his son about how life isn't about how hard you can hit – it's about how hard you can GET HIT and keep moving forward. Amy's hits were about has hard as life can punch. Losing a loved one is difficult. Losing THREE in a relatively short period of time, at a relatively young age, is almost unimaginable. Not only did she keep moving forward, but Amy also made a CHOICE to be mentally strong about it – and now she's as good a model of that as there is – and millions have benefitted from it. Life hits everybody. As Amy tells us, she seemingly had it all figured out and was set up for a great life path. Great parents. Solid faith. Solid education and training. Her own family off to a great start. Life would be "easy" right? The problem is – we are ALL susceptible to life's hits. Life doesn't discriminate when it takes its swings at people with adversity. What we CAN control is the extent to which the adversity affects us – and how long those effects stay with us. If we are ANCHORED to the right things, we will have the ability to handle the adversity and keep moving forward. When asked what made her sit down and write that list of 13 things mentally strong people DON'T do, Amy pointed to her parents and her faith – two very strong anchoring elements. When life punched – and kept punching Amy, "why me" was an option. This is an always-available option for all of us. However, if we want to keep moving forward – that's not going to help us. As we just discussed, it's a choice – and if we have the right anchor inside us, that choice will be easier to make. Mental strength. Amy explains mental strength as how we think, feel, and behave. She then went on to share that we have control over all of these. As Amy said, we can REFRAME our negative thoughts, we have WAY MORE control over our emotions than we think, and we can ALWAYS take ACTION – even when we don't feel like it. Amy also says this is a life-long thing – it's a PURSUIT. So, we have to be consistent with this choice. Finally, I love how Amy tells us to coach ourselves which is very empowering for ALL of us. One of the main aspects of this self-coaching is being intentional about assessing ourselves – how are we doing? How did I do today? You might even ask – did I win this day with class? Or did this day strengthen or weaken my ANCHOR? So, mental strength is within our control – and every day matters. Know your values and priorities. I liked how Amy challenges herself by asking – if people saw a snapshot of my life, would they know what my priorities are? This is a great takeaway for all of us. If people look at our lives will they know our values and priorities? Our standards? So, the first step is to explore and define your standards and priorities. Then, the second step is to LIVE according to your standards and priorities. As Amy showed us, as long as we're living our lives according to a strong set of standards and priorities – and we become anchored to them - we can live and even thrive no matter what life throws at us. The 13. You need to go get Amy's book so you can really dive into the full list of the 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do and we hit on them briefly in our discussion. Some of my favorites: Mentally strong people don't get stuck in...
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    1 hr and 2 mins
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