Army of Normal Folks

In this episode, Bill sits down with Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe for a Supporting Greatness conversation about the three normal men who made him: a grandfather who only went to the seventh grade, a scoutmaster who ran Boy Scout Troop 16 like an organized gang and made a stammering kid sing to 200 people, and a music teacher who told him to stutter on his own time.

Mike traces Dirty Jobs to a call from his mother at 42 and the sewer footage that got him fired from CBS. That opens a bigger conversation about who supports greatness: why enduring discomfort is never enough, why a comfort zone becomes a human stop sign, and why one of the smartest men Mike ever met never finished school. Plus faking his way into the Baltimore Opera, three firings from QVC, and work ethic scholarships for people who skip the four-year degree.
ARMY ACTIONS
Sign up for the newsletter: https://normalfolks.org/#newsletter-cta
Join or start a service club: https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/
Take the 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service": https://normalfolks.org/10-level-challenge/
Learn about Mike Rowe's work ethic scholarships at mikeroweWORKS: https://mikeroweworks.org/
Have an idea for a Shop Talk or a guest for the show? Write Bill anytime at bill@normalfolks.us
Follow us on all socials:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armyofnormalfolks/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@armyofnormalfolks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmyofNormalFolks
X: https://x.com/armynormalfolks
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/an-army-of-normal-folks/
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0:00 Mike Rowe on Supporting Greatness
2:20 Mike Rowe on His Grandfather and Dirty Jobs
12:57 How Mike Rowe Got Fired From CBS
18:32 Why Mike Rowe Had a Stutter as a Kid
21:23 What Boy Scouts Was Like in 1975
22:41 Why Enduring Discomfort Isn't Enough
30:54 Why Your Comfort Zone Is a Human Stop Sign
32:48 Mike Rowe on Music Teacher Fred King
39:17 The Audition That Ended His Stutter
45:30 How Mike Rowe Faked His Way Into the Opera
54:29 Why Dirty Jobs Never Did a Second Take
59:23 Mike Rowe on Work Ethic Scholarships

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's not a matter of if a disaster hits your community. It's when. And when it does, the first person on the scene isn't first responders or government officials. It's your neighbor.
Jeff Byard has spent 24 years in disaster response - from the Marine Corps to Alabama Emergency Management to FEMA. Then he left to go work with Team Rubicon - a volunteer lead disaster relief organization. In this episode, Jeff sits down with Bill to talk about what he learned from a career of showing up for people on their worst day - and what every one of us can do right now to be ready when our neighbors need us most.
You'll walk away knowing how to prepare your family before disaster strikes, why your next-door neighbor is the most important first responder in any emergency, and how ordinary people are doing some of the most important disaster relief work in the country through Team Rubicon.
ARMY ACTIONS
Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!
Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org
Follow us on social media @ArmyofNormalFolks
Join or start an ANF local service club at https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/
Take The 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service" at 10LevelChallenge.org
Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's not a matter of if a disaster hits your community. It's when. And when it does, the first person on the scene isn't first responders or government officials. It's your neighbor.
Jeff Byard has spent 24 years in disaster response - from the Marine Corps to Alabama Emergency Management to FEMA. Then he left to go work with Team Rubicon - a volunteer lead disaster relief organization. In this episode, Jeff sits down with Bill to talk about what he learned from a career of showing up for people on their worst day - and what every one of us can do right now to be ready when our neighbors need us most.
You'll walk away knowing how to prepare your family before disaster strikes, why your next-door neighbor is the most important first responder in any emergency, and how ordinary people are doing some of the most important disaster relief work in the country through Team Rubicon.
ARMY ACTIONS
Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!
Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org
Follow us on social media @ArmyofNormalFolks
Join or start an ANF local service club at https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/
Take The 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service" at 10LevelChallenge.org

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this Shop Talk, Bill and Alex break down ACE scores - Adverse Childhood Experiences - and what the research says about how childhood trauma shows up decades later in our health, our relationships, and our choices. Bill shares his own score, and makes the case for why understanding this data might be the most important thing you can do before you walk into a tough neighborhood and wonder why people are the way they are.
ARMY ACTIONS
Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!
Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org
Follow us on social media @ArmyofNormalFolks
Join or start an ANF local service club at https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/
Take The 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service" at 10LevelChallenge.org
Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Bill sits down with Teagan and Koston McCoy of Unify USA: how Teagan, 21 and fed up with the division on his phone, pulled an American flag off his truck, ran 22 miles on a whim, and turned eight million views into flag runs across seven states. He gets spit on, has cigarette butts thrown at him, and tells them he loves them anyway. That opens a bigger conversation about what actually divides Americans: the wedge inside their own family, a jar of ants blaming each other instead of the man who shook it, and 600 flags through Central Park without a single protester. Plus a leprechaun calls in to sing Bill happy birthday.
ARMY ACTIONS
Sign up for the newsletter and join the Army: https://normalfolks.org/#newsletter-cta
Join or start an ANF local service club at https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/
Take The 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service" at https://normalfolks.org/10-level-challenge/
Follow Unify USA at https://unifyusaofficial.com
Have an idea for a Shop Talk or a guest for the show? Write Bill anytime at bill@normalfolks.us

Follow us on all socials:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armyofnormalfolks/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@armyofnormalfolks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmyofNormalFolks
X: https://x.com/armynormalfolks
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/an-army-of-normal-folks/

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.