Brave & Big

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Latest Episodes:

Vision: You Can’t Build a Life You Can’t See Jul 14, 2026

Plenty of people have sight and no vision. Joey Odom and Chris Hart spend this episode on the difference, and on the fact that vision isn't reserved for the naturally visionary. It's something you can go get.
They start with blind Bartimaeus on the roadside in Mark 10. When he starts calling out for Jesus, the crowd tells him to be quiet, and he gets louder. Chris makes the case that this is where vision actually begins: refusing to let other people's voices (or your own pride, or your fear of looking foolish) talk you out of asking for something big. Bartimaeus threw off the beggar's garment before he was healed, because he knew he wasn't going back.
Then it turns practical. David didn't see himself as a shepherd boy with a slingshot, he saw himself as someone who had already killed a lion and a bear, and Goliath was simply the next thing standing between him and the vision. So you take inventory of what you've already overcome. And once vision shows up, you protect it, because where there's no vision, people cast off restraint. Chris lays out four guardrails every person needs, and the guys close on writing the vision down so plainly that other people can read it and run.
In this episode:
— Vision as imagination plus wisdom, and why both halves matter
— Bartimaeus and the courage to get louder when people tell you to be quiet
— Why pride and the fear of embarrassment quietly kill vision, especially once you've had some success
— How Chris got a chunk of his own vision on day four of a fast, and what happened two weeks later
— Why vision turns opposition into opportunity
— The lions and the bears: taking inventory of what God has already brought you through
— You're a giant killer, and the giants worth naming (generational patterns, addiction, a lid at work, a lie your kid believes)
— Four guardrails to protect the vision: the opposite sex, what you consume, your devices, and money
— Vision, strategy, tactics: where you're going, how you'll get there, and what you do today
This week's small step: For the next seven days, take 30 minutes each morning with the distractions killed. Ask God for vision, personally and professionally, and write down what comes. It may not be the full picture yet, but write down what you get and let it start pulling you.
Be Brave. Live Big.
—
SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If this episode hit, do us a favor: subscribe wherever you listen, and leave us a 5-star review. It's the single biggest thing you can do to help us reach more people with this show.
FOLLOW THE HOSTS
Joey Odom — @joeyodom.life; www.joeyodom.life
Chris Hart — @thechrishart · @thebravecoaches; www.bravecoaches.com
REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
Blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10). David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17). Habakkuk 2:2 (write the vision and make it plain). Proverbs 29:18 (where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint). Helen Keller on sight without vision.
Produced by Sonus Podcasts · sonuspodcasts.com

Effort Is a Talent: David Pollack on Making Every Day Count Jul 07, 2026

When David Pollack broke his neck on an NFL field, the career he'd chased since he was four years old ended in a single moment. What he found in the stillness became the message he carries now: every day counts, and how you respond is the only part you actually control.
Joey Odom and Chris Hart sit down with David, a College Football Hall of Famer, longtime ESPN College GameDay analyst, and author of Every Day Counts, for a conversation about effort, faith, and family. He breaks down his 50/40/10 idea (you can outwork half the field and out-detail most of the rest, so heart becomes the separator), makes the case that effort itself is a talent you can develop, and gets honest about how chasing football as his god set him up to rebuild his life on something sturdier.
Then it turns practical and personal: leading at home by serving instead of being served, the one question that beats "how are you?", and why he refuses to let sports become the thing his whole family revolves around.
In this episode:
— What David found in the stillness after a career-ending neck injury: sport makes a poor god
— Why he refuses to be a "why me" person, and how focusing on your response changes everything
— The 50/40/10 idea: outwork half, out-detail most, and let heart separate the rest
— "Effort is a talent," and how removing the fear of failure unlocks it
— Starting where your feet are: the unglamorous grind behind the GameDay chair
— Leading at home by serving, and the question that beats "how are you?" (try "what are you out of 10?")
— "Decisions over choices": settle who you are in advance so the daily calls get easy
— Why sports shouldn't become the family's god, and keeping time together and church non-negotiable
This week's small step: Before bed, text yourself or a friend three non-negotiables for tomorrow. Not things you hope to do, things you will do. Knock them out early before the day gets loud, and make at least one of them count for someone you love.
Be Brave. Live Big.
—
SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If this episode hit, do us a favor: subscribe wherever you listen, and leave us a 5-star review. It's the single biggest thing you can do to help us reach more people with this show.
FOLLOW THE HOSTS
Joey Odom — @joeyodom.life; www.joeyodom.life
Chris Hart — @thechrishart · @thebravecoaches; www.bravecoaches.com
MORE FROM DAVID POLLACK
Book: Every Day Counts
Podcast: See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTTr9cTfU2qhiIOiWVYQCSoEwIRdmm44z
Speaking and more: davidpollack.com
Instagram: @davidpollack47
X: @davidpollack47
Produced by Sonus Podcasts · sonuspodcasts.com

Stewardship: The Four Word Question That Changes Everything Jun 30, 2026

Years ago Chris Hart asked Joey Odom a four-word question that Joey has asked himself hundreds of times since: what's in your hand? This episode is built around it, and around the principle that quietly changes everything once it lands. Increase always follows stewardship.

The word goes back to the steward of a medieval estate, someone trusted with everything and owner of nothing, measured by a single question: did you advance the interests of the one you serve? Joey and Chris make the case that stewardship is actually a higher calling than ownership, because an owner answers to no one while a steward answers for all of it.

Then the turn. The thing in your hand right now probably looks ordinary. Moses had a staff he'd carried for 40 years tending someone else's sheep, and God used it to set a nation free. The job you don't love, the body you've got, the marriage in a hard season, the 30 minutes before your kid goes to bed. Steward the small, unglamorous thing well, and the increase follows.

In this episode:

— The four-word question that reframes everything: what's in your hand?
— Why stewardship is a higher calling than ownership: trusted with it all, owner of none
— Moses' ordinary staff, and why your avenue is usually the thing already in your hand
— The parable of the talents, and why increase always follows stewardship
— "You're not stuck, you're stewarding": a reframe for the job or season you resent
— Why comparison disqualifies you, like leaving your race to go chase someone else's
— The healthy tension between ambition and stewardship, and how either one alone leads to stagnation
— Stewarding your time, your body, the hard things, and the moments with your kids that don't come back

This week's small step: Pick one personal thing and one professional thing you know you could steward better. Commit to stewarding each one well for the next seven days, and watch for the increase on the other side.

Be Brave. Live Big.

—

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If this episode hit, do us a favor: subscribe wherever you listen, and leave us a 5-star review. It's the single biggest thing you can do to help us reach more people with this show.

FOLLOW THE HOSTS

Joey Odom — @joeyodom.life; www.joeyodom.life

Chris Hart — @thechrishart · @thebravecoaches; www.bravecoaches.com

REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3-4). The parable of the talents (Matthew 25). David's path to kingship and Nehemiah rebuilding the wall. The saying "comparison is the thief of joy."

Produced by Sonus Podcasts · sonuspodcasts.com

Alignment: Find the Wedge That's Keeping You Grounded Jun 23, 2026

A plane built to fly 600 miles an hour gets stopped cold by one small chock behind the tire. Chris Hart watched it happen on a runway and couldn't shake the question: what's the wedge in my own life? Joey Odom and Chris spend this episode on alignment, and why it's almost always the thing already inside us, not the circumstance around us, that keeps us grounded.

They walk through a simple chain: thoughts lead to words, words to actions, actions to habits, and habits to results. So if you don't like the result you're getting, you don't start with the result. You go back and check the alignment of your thoughts. Joey talks about treating your mind like an algorithm that feeds you more of whatever you pause on, and how choosing gratitude actually retrains it.

From there they get practical about the teams in your life: friends, family, and work. Are you operating in your strength? Are you clear on your lane? Are you taking ownership of what you've been handed? They close on aligning your faith, naming the one thing that pulls you out of it (fear), and the quiet enemy that takes down teams, marriages, and companies (pride).

In this episode:

— The wedge: how one small thing grounds a life built to take off
— Why the obstacle is rarely the circumstance and usually yourself
— The chain that runs your life: thoughts, words, actions, habits, results
— Your mind as an algorithm, and how to retrain what it feeds you
— Why alignment makes the assignment possible (1 percent vision, 99 percent alignment)
— Three questions for your work: your strength, your lane, your ownership
— How taking ownership of the small things funnels you into your strengths
— Two questions to align your faith, plus the fear and pride that break alignment

This week's small step: Name your wedge, or a result you're getting that you wish were different. They're usually the same thing. Then take it to one person, say it out loud, and decide together how you'll fight to remove it. Sit with it this week before you act.

Be Brave. Live Big.

—

FOLLOW THE HOSTS

Joey Odom — @joeyodom.life; www.joeyodom.life

Chris Hart — @thechrishart · @thebravecoaches; www.bravecoaches.com

REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
Jim Collins on vision and alignment in visionary companies. James Clear on identity-based habits. Craig Groeschel on going the direction of your most powerful thoughts. The accounts of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) and Gideon (Judges 6-7).

Produced by Sonus Podcasts · sonuspodcasts.com

Grit and Grace: Your Best Effort + Supernatural Power Jun 16, 2026

You don't have grit or lack it. You do grit. Joey Odom and Chris Hart open this episode by flipping the whole question: grit isn't a trait you're born with, it's a muscle you choose to use, and it's available to every single one of us.

They start with the unsexy truth. We romanticize grit as the moment you win a fight, but it actually shows up in the boring, tedious, non-romantic places: the apology you owe, the lawn you mow when you'd rather watch the game, the marriage you stay in when you can't yet see the full picture. Joey reads a 800-page Hamilton biography he hated and walks away with a new picture of his own marriage. Chris gets choked out by a UFC fighter and learns what it means to get comfortable being uncomfortable.

Then the turn that makes the episode. Grit on its own becomes all about self. So they land on grit and grace: give it your absolute best, then admit where your best runs out and let God's power fill the gap. Most of us camp on one side or the other. The breakthrough is the rhythm between them.

In this episode:

— Why "grit is as grit does" reframes the entire question of whether you have it
— Angela Duckworth's formula, and why effort counts twice
— The humility of grit: why starting at the bottom takes more toughness than winning
— What a UFC fighter's "just enough air" teaches about not quitting at 60 percent
— How Joey's dad modeled the humility of grit for his family
— Why your motivation will fade, so you have to keep your "why" close
— Fresh grace every morning: how rest and mercy reset your capacity
— Weakness as a portal to God's power, not a thing to hide

This week's small step: Identify one area where you're giving your best and it still doesn't feel like enough. Your kids, your job, a personal discipline. Name it honestly as a weakness, then ask God for grace on it. You're activating grace in addition to your grit, not instead of it.

Be Brave. Live Big.

—

FOLLOW THE HOSTS

Joey Odom — @joeyodom.life; www.joeyodom.life

Chris Hart — @thechrishart · @thebravecoaches; www.bravecoaches.com

REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
Angela Duckworth, Grit. Carol Dweck's work on fixed vs. growth mindset. Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (The Passion Translation).

Produced by Sonus Podcasts · sonuspodcasts.com

Balance Is a myth: Building Your Daily Spiritual Rhythms Jun 09, 2026

Most of us admire other people's discipline and never build our own. Joey Odom and Chris Hart spend this episode on the fix: a daily spiritual rhythm simple enough that you'll actually keep it.
Joey grew up in church and somehow never read the Bible all the way through until he was about 40, when a friend's offhand comment finally gave him permission to start. Chris built a 5 a.m. rhythm six years ago and learned the hard way that discipline begets discipline. Between them they walk through what a real daily practice looks like, how it has shifted across seasons of life, and why the goal is not a perfect routine but a sustainable one.
Then the heart of it: prayer is not a performance. It is a kid talking to a father who just wants to hear their voice. They get honest about the years they struggled to pray, the simple models that finally unlocked it, and why getting filled up in the morning is the only way you'll have anything to pour out the rest of the day.
In this episode:
— Why you keep admiring discipline instead of building it, and the one thing that changes that — Chris's five-five-five starting point: read for five, write for five, pray for five — How "discipline begets discipline" lets you stack a spiritual rhythm onto a habit you already have — Why Joey reads a paper Bible in big chunks instead of grabbing the catchy verse — A simple way to pray when you don't know how, built around a father who wants to hear your voice — Be selfish in the morning so you can be selfless all day — Why a local church is part of the rhythm, not an optional add-on — The five-year journal that turns ordinary days into a record of what God did
This week's small step: Pick your wake-up time and protect 20 minutes. Run the five-five-five: read for five, write for five, pray for five. Do it for one week. Then find one person to do it with and text each other a check mark when you finish, so you're building it together instead of alone.
Be Brave. Live Big.
REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE The Bible Project. The Bible Recap by Tara-Leigh Cobble. Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God. James Clear, Atomic Habits.
—
SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW If this episode hit, do us a favor: subscribe wherever you listen, and leave us a 5-star review. It's the single biggest thing you can do to help us reach more people with this show.
FOLLOW THE HOSTS
Joey Odom — @joeyodom.life; www.joeyodom.life
Chris Hart — @thechrishart · @thebravecoaches; www.bravecoaches.com
Subscribe, share, and leave us five stars wherever you listen.
Produced by Sonus Podcasts · sonuspodcasts.com

Authority: What You Carry Into Every Room Jun 02, 2026

Most of us are chasing leadership when the thing we're actually missing is authority. Joey Odom and Chris Hart spend this episode on the difference, and why it changes how you walk into every room.

Chris starts simple. Authority is not a title, a volume level, or being the loudest person in the building. It is something you carry, and it traces all the way back to Genesis, where the first assignment God ever handed us was to take ground.

Then the mechanic that holds the whole thing together: the level of your submission determines the level of your authority. The Roman centurion understood it. A person under authority is a person with authority. Submit to God first and it flows into your marriage, your kids, your work, and the stranger you meet who needs someone to speak faith over their life.

In this episode:

— Why leadership and authority are not the same thing, and which one you're actually missing — The line that sets the ceiling: your submission determines your authority — What "subjugate" in Genesis 1:27 has to do with how you walk into a Tuesday — Why speaking faith over someone is authority in action, and what happened to two strangers Joey did it for — How Molly took command of an emergency while a room full of people froze — What authority looks like in a marriage where both people are strong — How to walk in authority when you don't have the title or the corner office — The closing charge: the devil has none, and you've been handed all of it

This week's small step:
Add 20 minutes to your morning. Spend it in the word, then talk to God and ask for chances to walk in authority that day. Write down what you're grateful for and the doors you're believing for. Then get comfortable being uncomfortable, and speak a word of faith over someone who needs it.

Be Brave. Live Big.

—

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW If this episode hit, do us a favor: subscribe wherever you listen, and leave us a 5-star review. It's the single biggest thing you can do to help us reach more people with this show.

FOLLOW THE HOSTS

Joey Odom — @joeyodom.life; www.joeyodom.life

Chris Hart — @thechrishart · @thebravecoaches; www.bravecoaches.com

Subscribe, share, and leave us five stars wherever you listen.

REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
Genesis 1:27 (made in God's image, the call to take dominion). The account of the Roman centurion and his "under authority" line (Matthew 8 / Luke 7). Jordan Peterson's framing of meekness as a sword kept in its sheath.

Produced by Sonus Podcasts · sonuspodcasts.com

Harder to Kill: Fitness, Food, and Staying Ready May 26, 2026

In college, Joey and Chris made a bet about who'd be the fattest at 40. They both showed up to that birthday in better shape than they started. This week, two average athletes (not trainers, not experts, just two guys who've stayed in it) talk about what's actually worked for them across two very different body types — and what hasn't.
This is the fitness conversation most men need but rarely get. Not a program. Not a protocol. Just an honest look at why so many guys quietly resign to being out of shape in their 30s and 40s, and what it takes to break that pattern without becoming a person you don't recognize.
Joey and Chris get into why environment beats willpower every time, why 90% of men over 30 will never sprint again, and the moment a car flipped on the highway and Chris had to pull a door off its frame. They talk about counting calories without shame, the trap of being proud of how much you can eat, and why the goal isn't six-pack abs — it's being the kind of man who's ready when his daughter asks him to train with her.
In this episode:

The college bet that started a 25-year fitness conversation
Why "I'm not that disciplined" is the right starting point
The 5 a.m. rule and how community kills the snooze button
What changed at 40 (and what didn't)
The pull-up story: capacity vs. conditioning
Calories are real, even when you wish they weren't
Protein as a budget, not a goal
Why strong people are harder to kill (and harder to hurt the people they love)
Modeling fitness for your kids without passing down food shame
The small step: pick your frequency, pick what's in and what's out

Mentioned in this episode:

Paul Horn, Radically Simple Strength
Peter Attia, Outlive
The Art of Manliness podcast
Brett Venables and the "hard to kill" philosophy

Be Brave. Live Big.
FOLLOW THE HOSTS
Joey Odom — @joeyodom.life; www.joeyodom.life
Chris Hart — @thechrishart · @thebravecoaches; www.bravecoaches.com
Subscribe, share, and leave us five stars wherever you listen.
Produced by Sonus Podcasts · sonuspodcasts.com

Progress or Excuses: You Can't Do Both May 19, 2026

The first sin in human history was followed immediately by an excuse. Adam pointed at Eve. Eve pointed at the serpent. Nobody pointed at themselves. Joey Odom and Chris Hart open episode three with that observation and spend the next forty minutes unpacking why excuses are the lid on almost every life, and what it actually takes to kill them.

This one gets personal fast. Chris lays out the case that an excuse always starts as a lie, and if you let it linger long enough, it becomes your truth. The "I'm just not good at making money." The "I could never get in that kind of shape." The stories we tell ourselves so often we stop noticing we're telling them. Joey pushes back on the easy version of this conversation, draws the line between commitments you actually made and ones you never made in the first place, and gives a tactical reframe that changes everything: stop tying excuses to outcomes. Instead, tie them to activities.

By the end, they land on a line that's going to follow this show around for a while: you can either make progress or make excuses. You cannot do both.

In this episode:

- Why the first response to the first sin was an excuse, and what that tells you about human nature

- The difference between a real excuse and something you were never committed to in the first place

- How an excuse starts as a lie and slowly becomes your truth

- Why tying your commitments to activities (not outcomes) is the unlock

- The event plus response equals outcome formula, and where most people get it wrong

- The 100 percent rule: why all-in is actually easier than 98 percent

- How defensiveness is a tell that there's truth in what you're hearing

- The six F's gut-check: where are you making excuses in faith, family, fun, fitness, finances, friends

This week's small step: Identify one excuse you're making personally and one you're making professionally. Just one of each. Kill them both for the next seven days. That's it. Make progress or make excuses. You cannot do both.

Be Brave. Live Big.

—

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW

If this episode hit, do us a favor: subscribe wherever you listen, and leave us a 5-star review. It's the single biggest thing you can do to help us reach more listeners with this show.

FOLLOW THE HOSTS

Joey Odom — @joeyodom.life; www.joeyodom.life

Chris Hart — @thechrishart · @thebravecoaches; www.bravecoaches.com

—

Produced by Sonus Podcasts · sonuspodcasts.com

Covenant Friendship: The Friends Who Make You Invincible May 12, 2026

Most people have friends but not true covenant relationship. Joey Odom and Chris Hart spend this week unpacking the difference — and why it matters more than almost anything else in your life.
It starts with two stories. A five-hour drive to a men's conference where one guy looked around the truck and said, "I've never felt invincible until this car ride." And a phone call from a friend's wife — the one she'd been carrying alone for a year and a half because her husband wasn't right and she didn't know who to call.

Joey and Chris use those two moments as bookends for what real friendship actually looks like. Not the surface-level version. The kind where your wife knows exactly which three men to call if you're not your best self. The kind where, when life caves in, somebody's already in the truck.
In this episode:
— The two questions that reveal whether your friendships are real — Why your wife should know exactly who to call when you're not right — The Up, Out, Down framework for the friendships every man needs — The One, Three, Twelve model (and why naming it changes everything) — The PID Loop: how proximity becomes interaction becomes dependence — Story, Silly, Secret: the ten-minute weekly call that built this show — Why a brother is born for adversity — and why asking for help isn't a burden — How to give and receive rebuke without being a baby about it
This week's small step:
Take fifteen minutes. Write down your Up, your Out, and your Down. If a name's missing in any category, that's your assignment for the week. Pursue an up. Initiate with an out. Pour into a down.
Be Brave. Live Big.
—
SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW If this episode hit, do us a favor: subscribe wherever you listen, and leave us a 5-star review. It's the single biggest thing you can do to help us reach more men with this show.
FOLLOW THE HOSTS Joey Odom — @joeyodom.life Chris Hart — @thechrishart · @thebravecoaches
—
Produced by Sonus Podcasts · sonuspodcasts.com

The 20 Mile March: A Life Worth Following May 05, 2026

After 27 years of friendship, Joey Odom and Chris Hart are finally doing the thing they've been talking about since college. Every week, they're sitting down to have the kind of conversations that make both of them better men.

Episode one starts where the show starts: with the friendship itself. Then Chris walks Joey (and you) through the framework that anchors how he coaches some of the most successful leaders in the country. It's called the 20 Mile March.

In the early 1900s, two expedition teams raced to be the first to reach the South Pole. One pushed hard on good weather days and hunkered down on bad ones. The other committed to 20 miles a day, every day, no matter the conditions. Only one team made it home.

The same principle that decided who lived and who died on that ice is the principle that decides whether you'll actually become the husband, father, leader, and man you say you want to be.

In this episode:
— Why you become better around the right people (and how to find them)
— The Roald Amundsen expedition that changed how Chris coaches every client
— Why the "lone wolf" is a myth that gets you killed
— The unsexy truth about everyday courage (hint: it looks like not hitting snooze)
— How to stop being a bystander to your own life
— The one question that turns ordinary days into intentional ones
This week's small step: Pick one category. Faith, family, fitness, finances, friends. Decide what your 20 Mile March looks like in it. Make it small. Make it sustainable. Then wake up tomorrow and execute.
Be Brave. Live Big.
SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW If this episode hit, do us a favor. Subscribe wherever you listen, and leave us a 5-star review. It's the single biggest thing you can do to help us reach more men with this show.

FOLLOW THE HOSTS
Chris Hart: @thechrishart, @thebravecoaches
Joey Odom: instagram.com/joeyodom.life
https://www.joeyodom.life/

REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE The 20 Mile March concept comes from Jim Collins' book Great by Choice (2011), based on his research into what set Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition apart from Robert Scott's.
Produced by Sonus Podcasts · sonuspodcasts.com

Brave & Big - Trailer Apr 29, 2026

Welcome to Brave & Big — a weekly conversation for anyone ready to stop coasting and start taking ground.

Chris Hart, founder and CEO of Brave Coaches, and Joey Odom, public speaker, author, and former tech co-founder, have been best friends for over 25 years. In that friendship, they've had thousands of conversations — and walked away from every one of them better, sharper, and more fired up to live a life worth following.

This trailer is their invitation to pull up a chair.

Each week, Chris and Joey will dig into what it actually looks like to be Brave and live Big: killing excuses, taking ground in your marriage, following Jesus, raising kids who matter, getting fit, building friendships that sharpen you, and chasing the things you were made for. Some episodes will be just the two of them. Others will feature high-performing athletes, business leaders, and performers who've learned how to show up.

And every single episode will close the same way — with one small, practical step you can take immediately.

Because a Brave and Big life isn't built in a leap. It's built in a step.

🎧 Subscribe now. New episodes weekly. Be Brave. Live Big.

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