Surging Forward Podcast - A Podcast Devoted To The Working Class

Sometimes in life things happen that we have no control over. We have to take a break to meet the issue head on. Many times this means making the hard choices so that we can have a victory and come out stronger. If we just put our heads in the sand and ignore the facts than you may risk losing everything you have worked for.  In this weeks podcast I address some hard issues that many don't want to talk about. Join me as I discuss Facing the Facts and Still Keep Surging Forward. Enjoy and have a great week If you enjoy this podcast, please feel free to leave a comment below, share with a friend and also visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SurgingForward/ We also have a You Tube page where you can watch the actual podcast; visit us at https://www.youtube.com/user/surgingforward Looking to network and get personal training visit us and like us on facebook click here Connect with me on Linkedin Follow us on twitter click here Follow us on Instagram. Contractor and Tradesman Courses to help you G

Seize the Opportunity The opportunities are there you just need to seize them.  You can be successful in the trades based on the right choices you make.  You have to make choices of what you want to do to become successful.  Becoming successful is not always about money.  It is about being able to provide a great living for your family.  Success is about making a difference.  It is about being a leader.  Leadership is not about power.  Often people in leadership think they deserve respect, but respect is earned.  Respect does not come automatically with a title.  As a leader you are there to make others look good.  You are there to bring others up.  Leadership is about servant-hood. Seize the Opportunity ideas for those of you that want to go to the next level: The Surging Forward website offers training to keep your license current and prep classes so that you can take your Master’s test. The free Surging Forward App on Google Play offers over 60 hours of training and can readily be shared with friends. M

Priorities To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;  Ecclesiastes  3 In order for us to be successful we need to set-up priorities in our life.  During my time as an Instructor I have seen many students that go on to be very successful in the trades and others that seem to self-destruct.  Why is this? It seems that we live in a time when people have their priorities mixed up.  They do not realize the consequences of their decisions.   There is a song written by Pete Seeger in the late 1950s.  The song was sung by the Byrds and is titled Turn Turn Turn.  This song was taken from the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. Here are a few of the lines from the song: To everything (turn, turn, turn) There is a season (turn, turn, turn) And a time to every purpose, under heaven A time to be born, a t

If you are thinking of or in business for your self than this is a must listen podcast as I share a great interview with Kent Crook from KC Rhino. Kent is an expert marketer and can show you how you can take your business to the next level. Even if you don't have a desire to start your own business now once you listen to this you will want to have the freedom to be able to make it on your own. I look forward to your comments Find out more about Kent at his Website www.KCrhino.com Stay Safe and Keep Surging Forward Enjoy and have a great week If you enjoy this podcast, please feel free to leave a comment below, share with a friend and also visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SurgingForward/ We also have a You Tube page where you can watch the actual podcast; visit us at https://www.youtube.com/user/surgingforward Looking to network and get personal training visit us and like us on facebook click here Connect with me on Linkedin Follow us on twitter click here Follow us on Instagram. Contracto

Welcome to this weeks episode of the Surging Forward podcast. This weeks episode is a rebroadcast of episode number 36 where I talk to Mike Gesick from my Three sons HVAC. his website is http://www.mts757.com/ he talks about how to start you own business I think you will enjoy this weeks episode as a prelude to next weeks that you don't want to miss as I will be talking with a very successful businessman that can help you to go to that next level. Make sure you subscribe today so you don't miss. Enjoy and have a great week If you enjoy this podcast, please feel free to leave a comment below, share with a friend and also visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SurgingForward/ We also have a You Tube page where you can watch the actual podcast; visit us at https://www.youtube.com/user/surgingforward Looking to network and get personal training visit us and like us on facebook click here Connect with me on Linkedin Follow us on twitter click here Follow us on Instagram. Contractor and Tradesman Cou

What is Your Why? (What does this even mean?) Being successful in the trades require skills.  It requires that you learn the physics involved in how things work and what is going on. But before even attempting to learn these skills you need to understand “your why”.   Most people never really stop to think about their “why”.   This is the reason that many people are not Surging Forward in their life.  They just go about living day to day going where the wind blows.  These people have no goals.  They never sat down and took the time to ask: Why am I here? What do I like to do? Why do I want to do other things? What is important to me? What am I good at doing? Knowing “your why” will help keep you on the right track throughout your life.  Understanding “your why” will help you define your goals and help you understand your purpose in life. You determine what your why is by thinking about the questions above. Here are examples of some “Your Whys”, but these are just to get you thinking: Wanting to fix and repa

Pursuing Your Dream or Just Following the Crowd Many people are pursuing someone else’s dream.  They have not even thought about their own dream and don’t have anyone to talk to or guide them.  These people just jump into going to college because that is what everyone is doing and may even be expected of them.  They go to college without even having any idea of what they want to study and are told just to start taking courses and they can decide along the way.  But many are finding this even more confusing and overwhelming with all the career choices.  Many times these people then get out of college and cannot find a good paying job in their field of study.  But they have racked up all this debt because of their student loans that are now coming due. Not All Trades Schools Are the Same There are also some people that attend trade schools that charge very steep tuition, but only give students the book work and not the hands on skills needed for the trades.  Working in the trades takes skill that need to be d

What does it mean to fail?  Many people deem failing at a task or not achieving a dream in twenty-four hours as a sign of being a failure.  They think that they are washed up and can never recover.  Often they are looking around at others and comparing their lives to them.  They think that those people must have the golden touch because everything they do is perfect.  Often people do not share their struggles and put on a facade that everything is great, but deep down they are struggling.  We can’t look to others for our success. The real question is: What do you consider as success?  Success is not always about money.  Do you want to be famous and have your name in lights?  Do you want to raise a family? Families are valuable.  Do you want to run your own business?  You will find tools on the Surging Forward website to assist you with this.  Success is different for all of us and you need to understand what success means to you. You also need to understand that just because you are good in one thing does n

Welcome to the Surging Forward Podcast The 3 steps for success Episode 82 I have been in construction many years and have attend many a safety talk. Today I want to address there very important points about how understanding how to stay safe and alert on the job can also help you find that opportunity that can bring success to your career. Point #1 Being alert: being alert on a jobsite is critical as there are many moving parts to a large and even a small construction site. One must always be alert on the site as things can change sometimes without warning and you will have to react quickly in order to be able to avoid possibly serious injury. This same point also applies in life as one must always be alert and be aware of the surroundings in ones own life. Being in tune to the things that others may say in regards to opportunities that may be waiting for you to take or even maybe seeing the writing on the wall and realizing that it may be time for you to move on were again if not heeded may have serious co

This week's episode is an encouraging word for those that want to succeed in the trades or their careers.  Last week was labeled as "Honoring Women in Construction Week ".  I did an interview with Ashley Rayburn, a young woman in her 4th year of the Electrical Apprenticeship program.  It was an honor for me  that she was able to take a few minutes to share her ideas of how to succeed in the trades.  I hope that this interview will show how you can work to achieve your goals.  Education is something that we should never stop doing.  Just because you go to college and get a diploma does not mean that you have arrived; and just because you have not gone to college does not mean you cannot be successful.  Receiving a good education is not about just going to college, as you will hear during this interview with Ashley.  Most of all you will be surprised at the actual cost of her education. So enjoy this week's episode: Number 81 "Learning to Succeed". If you want to get a Tradesman license in your state, renew y

Join us this week as we discuss being proud of the skills you have because they allow you to do things that others can’t. The Trades are Very Important Throughout history a person would seek out a master in a trade like blacksmithing, stone masonry etc.  and ask to be an apprentice.  As an apprentice the person would learn the skill so that they could provide for their family.  Today we have schools for learning our trades, but the concept is the same. It is the tradesman that keep our cities intact. Tradesman are very important to enjoying the lifestyle that we have.  If it weren’t for tradesman we would be without the electricity to power our computers.  When you flush a toilet where does all of that water go?  Can you imagine life without plumbers?  How about the AC or heat in our homes?  Or the very building of our homes themselves.  It is important to remember that there is someone behind the scenes making all the stuff that we take for granted work.  These are the skilled tradesman.  A skilled tradesm

Join us this week as we talk about focusing on your goals and not on the struggles that may be holding you back. One of my goals when I started Surging Forward was to make a difference and to help others especially young tradesman coming up in the trades.  One of the struggles of tradesman is that they are not getting the training at the workman level.  Most of all the training comes at the management level.  I also wanted to be a positive influence in this negative world.  But no matter how positive you try to stay; life is not always positive.  A saying that I say often is that “God is in control”.  Some of you may not believe as I do, but for me I believe in God and this saying is a reminder that I am not in control. Let me tell you a little bit about what I have been going through the past couple of weeks.  I am very dependent upon my computer for the running of Surging Forward.  I have a very good computer and everything was working just fine until Windows tried to do an update.  The update failed and

A friend emailed me this week with some of the struggles that he has been going through.  As I was helping him; I found that I was also helping myself.  Join us today as we talk about overcoming life’s hurdles. The answer may not be as hard as you think. A Friend's Struggles One of the members of Surging Forward, I will call him “Freddy”, emailed me saying that  every time he tries to get ahead something always happens. He is having issues with his truck and then his job sends him to a job site further from his home. He said that it is a constant struggle and that he is almost at the point of burnout. My Struggles The email came at a time when I also was going through a lot of issues myself.  I was working too many hours, and having computer issues with endless hours of troubleshooting as to why a Windows update had caused my computer to be in an endless loop.  Though I did not really know how I could help Freddy as I was feeling the same but for very different reasons; I set up a phone call.  Freddy shared

We are continuing to look at the word “SURGING”. S – Surging – Surging or moving forward.  You do not want to be sitting still. U – Understanding – Understanding the game R – Respect, Reliability and Responsibility – Can you have one without the other? G – Guarantee – Guarantee to do a great job  I – Integrity – Your reputation N – Never Quit or Give Up – If you give up; the game is over.  Keep pressing forward. G – Genuine – Do you lie to everyone around you, of who you really are? Respect, Reliability and Responsibility- three very different words and yet they all go together.  You can’t have one of these without the others, yet they all stand alone. Let’s take a look at these three words as we discuss the Three Rs to Success. Respect – You may know some people that demand respect and you may ask if this is the proper way to get respect.  In truth, we have no right to demand respect from others.  If someone is in a powerful position then maybe the position itself demands respect, but not necessarily the per

Join us today as we discuss 5 leadership myths that just might be holding you back from Surging Forward. Myth Number One – Leaders Are Born, Not Made.   You make think that in order to be a leader you have to have a lot of money, or have attended all the right schools, but all of this is a myth.  Look at Abraham Lincoln.  His father worked odd jobs and then leased some farm land.  Most of Abraham Lincoln’s education was largely self-taught, but yet he became the Sixteenth President of the United States. How about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?  He grew up in a sad time of segregation, but he did not let that stop him.  He went on to become the most visible spokesman and leader of the Civil Rights Movement. The truth is very few leaders are born leaders.  Most people learn leadership by trying and failing, but then not giving up.  They re-evaluate why they failed and make up their minds to do things differently next time. Myth Number Two – Leadership is a Rare Skill. Nothing can be farther from the truth.  If y

We all know that there are 24 hours in a day.  We sleep for 6-8 of these hours so that only leaves 16-18 hours to get something accomplished.  With these remaining hours we need to find a balance.  How we divide up our time with these remaining hours plays a huge role in our success.   We can not spend all of our time sitting on the couch playing video games or watching football or Game of Thrones though it is important to have some down time to just relax. We can not just spend 16 hours working then our families suffer because we are never at home.  We need to find a balance; we need to establish priorities. It is very easy to justify why we are spending so much time in one area: I am working long hours for my family; mean while you have missed your son’s Little League Game or I deserve to sit on the couch and do nothing because I work hard all day; mean while your marriage is going down the drain because your significant other feels neglected. It is all about priorities and balance. Ask yourself what are

How you handle your relationships can either take you to the next level or bring you down. Lately it seems that relationships are keeping people down.  They either have had a bad relationship or they think have a good relationship, yet they have no one to talk to.  They feel alone and that nobody cares.  Just because you have likes on your Facebook Page does not mean that you have true relationships.  People walk around acting as if life is good and that they do not have a care in the world, but all of us go through struggles and have difficult times.  All of us struggle with self–esteem issues wondering does this person like me, is my nose too big, or are my eyes weird or whatever.  These are real issues that all of us struggle with.  Some people may claim that they want to help you out, but when someone comes forward especially over the internet people come out of no where bashing and joking and giving the person a hard time.  Mob mentality and cyber bullying begins.  Whatever happened to the old saying “

Dealing with authority or inspectors is not something that we always like to do.  When we are dealing with someone in authority we can feel intimidated or feel like they are out to get us. When dealing with those in authority we need to show them respect.  You do not have to like or even respect that person, but you still need to know how to deal with that inspector or boss.  You may disagree with something that they are requiring you to fix, but you still have to abide by their authority in most cases. How do we deal with those in authority that we do not like?           Sometimes those in authority cost you time, money, or they may have embarrassed you by calling you out in public about something you did, or you just do not like them.  How do you deal with this type of person?             The first thing we all need to remember is that everyone has a boss.  We all have someone we need to report to; to be accountable to.  Some may say that they work on their own so they do not have a boss; but this is not

Many people spend time making goals while many people just spend time doing nothing. They feel taking a chance is to Risky. What if doing nothing at all was actually what had the most risk? Making a choice to be better off is not really taking a risk, it is being ready for the unknown things in life that will happen. It is all about choice. Join me today as I talk about making a choice to take a risk.   If you enjoy this podcast please feel free to leave a comment below, share with a friend and also visit or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SurgingForward/ We also have a You tube page where you can watch the actual podcast visit us at https://www.youtube.com/user/surgingforward Looking to network and get personal training visit us and like on face book click here Follow us on twitter click here Follow us on Instagram. Contractor and Tradesman courses to Help you Get and retain your Tradesman license; visit our website at www.surgingforward.com [maxbutton id="2"    [maxbutton id="1"

What is you outlook on your job, life, or those around you? Join me as I continue to discuss some of the biggest Hurdles that you feel keep you from succeeding in the Trades or on your job. How to you see things around you and how do you feel about yourself. What is the biggest thing that is needed to succeed? Each day, each week, each month and even each year provides you with an opportunity to make a choice. Decide today what you will do to Keep Surging Forward. As usual I look forward to your comments. I would also be very honored if you would share this with someone that would like to move forward in their career. If you enjoy this podcast please feel free to leave a comment below, share with a friend and also visit or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SurgingForward/ We also have a You tube page where you can watch the actual podcast visit us at https://www.youtube.com/user/surgingforward Looking to network and get personal training visit us and like on face book click here Follow us on twitter