Army of Normal Folks

Latest Episodes:

What If You’ve Been Keeping Score of the Wrong Game? Sep 25, 2026

Show notes

Bob Buford had already won - he built his family's media business into a major cable company and sold it for an estimated $300 million. Then his 24-year-old son passed away. Buford spent the second half of his life helping others and writing the bestselling book "Halftime".

In this Shop Talk, we dig into his idea that your money, career, skills, and even your failures aren't just measures of what you've accomplished - they're assets you can deploy for someone else. Purpose doesn't have a retirement age. Your second half can be your best one.

ARMY ACTIONS

Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!

Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org

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.

If You're Not Where You Want to Be In Life… This Is Probably Why | Mike Rowe Sep 24, 2026

Show notes

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

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

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.

The 4 Things Every Family Should Do Before Disaster Hits Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

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

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.

HIGHLIGHTS: The 4 Things Every Family Should Do Before Disaster Hits Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

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.

ARMY ACTIONS

Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!

Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org

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.

Before You Ask “What’s Wrong With Them?”, Listen To This Sep 18, 2026

Show notes

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

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.

Why America Is in Better Shape Than You've Been Told | Unify USA Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

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

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

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.

HIGHLIGHTS: Why America Is in Better Shape Than You've Been Told | Unify USA Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

ARMY ACTIONS

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

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.

He Built a Confessional—But He Did the Confessing Sep 11, 2026

Show notes

At one of the most secular campuses in America, a group of Christians set up a confessionial booth during a wild campus party. But they weren't there to hear confessions. They were there to give them.

Tony Kriz sat in that booth and apologized to skeptical strangers for the ways Christians had failed to love people. Students who came in ready to argue left having opened up about their own struggles.

This episode is a masterclass in what humility can do that arguments never will.

ARMY ACTIONS

Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!

Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org

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.

What a Former Heroin Addict Will Teach You About Relationships | Ariel Moore Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

Ariel Moore lost nearly everything - her home, her freedom, and even her child. But that's not where her story ends. In this episode, Ariel sits down with Bill to talk about how she rebuilt her life from the ground up, what it looks like to be restored rather than just recovered, and why she believes God didn't save her just for herself. If you’re at a low point in your life and looking for a little hope, this episode is for you.

Buy Ariel's book at the link below!

Divine Authenticity: Moore, Ariel: 9798997522278: Amazon.com: Books

ARMY ACTIONS

Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!

Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org

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.

HIGHLIGHTS: What a Former Heroin Addict Will Teach You About Relationships | Ariel Moore Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

Buy Ariel's book at the link below!

Divine Authenticity: Moore, Ariel: 9798997522278: Amazon.com: Books

ARMY ACTIONS

Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!

Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org

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.

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