"Healed men will lead differently, they love differently, they father compassionately, they serve sacrificially, and they live powerfully." —Don Wood

Some moments from childhood stay buried for years, but they keep shaping the way we lead, connect, and protect ourselves. Many of us learned early to hide pain and power through it alone, yet something inside keeps asking for rest and truth. This episode sits in that tension where old wounds and new hope collide.

Don shares a childhood story that marked his identity and leadership for decades, then unpacks how a moment of healing later in life reframed everything he believed about protection, belonging, and God's presence.

Press play for a story that meets the hidden places many men carry and reminds us that redemption reaches deeper than memory.

Topics covered:

• How early trauma shapes leadership and identity
• The hidden beliefs formed in chaotic homes
• The spiritual impact of childhood shame
• EMDR and the process of reprocessing pain
• A transformative encounter with Jesus by a mountain stream
• How healing changes the way men lead, love, and serve

Episode Highlights:

02:47 Childhood Trauma and Its Impact
06:37 The Wounds That Follow Into Adulthood
08:01 Discovering EMDR and Therapeutic Healing
10:33 The Transformative Experience by the Stream
14:03 The Call to Help Other Men

Meet Your Host:

Don Wood is the founder of Men's Leadership, God's Way, where he coaches executives and leaders to achieve clarity, confidence, and peace without sacrificing their health, faith, or family. Drawing from his own journey through adversity—including overcoming addiction, serious health challenges, and personal loss—Don inspires others to lead with conviction and purpose. His faith-based approach emphasizes transformation, resilience, and the power of vulnerability, helping men discover their unique gifts and live out their calling. Don is dedicated to equipping leaders to experience true success by trusting in God's wisdom and strength.

Website

Facebook

LinkedIn

X

YouTube

"Rest is the absence of striving. It's knowing you're loved without earning it, leading without pretending, working without being driven by fear, sleeping without guilt, saying no without apologizing, being instead of proving." —Don Wood

Some seasons stop us in our tracks and force a kind of honesty that achievement can't touch. Life gets loud, but the soul gets louder when the body breaks down and pace finally catches up.

Don shares the long, painful stretch of surgeries, hospital nights, and near-death moments that stripped away his illusion of control. Those experiences shaped his calling to help driven men trade pressure for peace and performance for presence.

Press play to hear a story that meets ambition right where it hurts and rebuilds it with purpose.

In this episode, we cover:

• The cost of living at an unsustainable pace
• What 11 surgeries revealed about identity and strength
• How silence became a turning point
• Why surrender rebuilds what hustle destroys
• The shift from driven to rested leadership
• Daily practices for cultivating spiritual rest
• The role of brotherhood during crisis
• How God restores men who feel empty or overwhelmed

Episode Highlights:

03:06 The Journey to Rest: 11 Surgeries in 18 Months
07:51 The Transformation of Rest: From Driven to Rested
12:01 Saved Through Interruption
16:00 When Rest Happens
21:59 Driven vs Rested

Meet Your Host:

Don Wood is the founder of Men's Leadership, God's Way, where he coaches executives and leaders to achieve clarity, confidence, and peace without sacrificing their health, faith, or family. Drawing from his own journey through adversity—including overcoming addiction, serious health challenges, and personal loss—Don inspires others to lead with conviction and purpose. His faith-based approach emphasizes transformation, resilience, and the power of vulnerability, helping men discover their unique gifts and live out their calling. Don is dedicated to equipping leaders to experience true success by trusting in God's wisdom and strength.

Website

Facebook

LinkedIn

X

YouTube

"Whatever you compromise to keep, you'll eventually lose, but whatever you surrender to God, he'll redeem and multiply in your life." —Don Wood

Small compromises can slip into a life when pressure stacks up and the pace never slows. It feels harmless in the moment, but those tiny decisions start pulling us away from the men we're meant to be. This conversation taps straight into that tension and opens space for the honesty that many leaders rarely speak out loud.

Don shares the quiet drift in his own life, how exhaustion made shortcuts feel reasonable, and how rebuilding integrity became a daily practice shaped by truth, brotherhood, and conviction. His stories reveal how pressure, image, and fear can bend a man before he even realizes he's drifting.

Press play to hear a raw look at compromise, restoration, and the practical steps that help us lead with clarity and peace again.

Topics covered:
• How subtle choices shape character
• Why exhaustion opens the door to shortcuts
• The connection between pressure, fear, and drift
• Personal stories of integrity breakdown and restoration
• Biblical patterns of compromise
• Guardrails that protect spiritual and emotional health
• The role of honest friendships in recovery
• Daily habits that rebuild integrity
• How truth quiets anxiety and restores peace

Episode Highlights:

02:26 The Impact of Compromise on Character
07:24 The Subtle Nature of Compromise
12:18 The Path to Restoration
15:04 Practical Steps to Rebuild Integrity
18:29 The Importance of Alignment
20:24 Take a Stand Against Compromise

Meet Your Host:

Don Wood is the founder of Men's Leadership, God's Way, where he coaches executives and leaders to achieve clarity, confidence, and peace without sacrificing their health, faith, or family. Drawing from his own journey through adversity—including overcoming addiction, serious health challenges, and personal loss—Don inspires others to lead with conviction and purpose. His faith-based approach emphasizes transformation, resilience, and the power of vulnerability, helping men discover their unique gifts and live out their calling. Don is dedicated to equipping leaders to experience true success by trusting in God's wisdom and strength.

Website

Facebook

LinkedIn

X

YouTube