BeTempered
We believe that everyone has the potential to achieve greatness, and that the key to unlocking this potential is through personal development. Our podcasts are designed to help you cultivate the skills and mindset you need to achieve your goals and live the life you want.
Episodes
107 episodes
BeTempered Episode 106 - PTSD, Forgiveness, and the Crown of Thorns with Tony Talbert
A single decision at 100 miles per hour can ripple through families, friendships, faith, and the rest of your life. In Episode 106 of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Tony Talbert to unpack the night a drunk driver chan...
BeTempered Episode 105 - Living Through War and Holding Onto Faith with Kateryna Tabota
What happens when your normal life disappears overnight? In this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Kateryna Tabota to hear the real human side of the Ukraine war through the eyes of a wife, mother, and woman o...
BeTempered Episode 104 - 2 Years of Conversations That Changed Us
Two years later, we decided to turn the cameras around and let Brian Ballenger ask the questions. This episode pulls back the curtain on the real story behind the BeTempered podcast, how a mindset shift, a weight loss journey, and the idea of t...
BeTempered Episode 103 - From Survival to Calling with Dennis Alejo
A bowl of porridge does not look like a life plan, but for Dennis Alejo it was the first glimpse of something different. Sitting down with hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr, Dennis walks through a childhood in the Philippines shaped by hunger, in...
BeTempered Episode 102 – When Life Cracks and Faith Rebuilds with Joe Swartzel
Some people know what to say when life is smooth. This episode is for when it isn’t. When work feels heavy, marriage feels strained, and you’re quietly asking yourself, “Is this all there is?”Joe Swartzel joins us with a story that doesn...
BeTempered Episode 101 - The Impact of One Voice at the Right Time with Coach Murph
Charles “Murph” Byrne didn’t become a coach because of wins. He became one because he showed up in the hardest moments when people needed someone to steady them, guide them, and refuse to let them quit.In this episode of the BeTempered P...
BeTempered Episode 100 - Real Stories From People Who Stopped Hiding and Started Healing
Episode 100 isn’t polished and that’s the point.This time, it’s not one guest sitting across the table. It’s a room full of people who have lived it. People who have carried addiction, trauma, loss, shame, and still chose to show up anyw...
BeTempered Episode 99 - She Looked Fine But Was Falling Apart with Cindy Lee
Cindy Lee shows up with energy, humor, and a presence that lights up the room. But behind that is a story most people would never guess. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 28, battling relentless fatigue, surviving a head-on crash that left h...
BeTempered Episode 98 - The Downward Spiral No One Talks About with Donald Reed
Rock bottom doesn’t always look like chaos. Sometimes it looks like a normal life slowly coming apart behind the scenes. In this episode, that’s exactly where the story begins before everything spirals.Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down ...
BeTempered Episode 97 - The Reality of Addiction and the Power of Faith with Joni Reed
Some stories do not build slowly. They hit you with the reality of what trauma and addiction actually do, and they force you to sit in it before showing you what redemption can look like.Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Joni Reed ...
BeTempered Episode 96 - A Childhood Stolen, A Life Reclaimed with Tracy Nutt
Tracy Nutt shares the painful and powerful truth about surviving childhood sexual abuse, the manipulation that kept her silent, and the shame that followed her into school, relationships, and her mental health. Joined by hosts Dan Schmidt and B...
BeTempered Episode 95 - The 0.1% Chance That Could Save Her Life with Cheyanne Mitchell
A 0.1 percent chance can sound impossible until you hear Cheyanne’s story. In this episode, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Cheyanne Mitchell and her aunt Maria to talk about a journey marked by resilience, faith, and the relentle...
BeTempered Episode 94 - Redefining Wealth Through Service with Brett Guiley
What if the most important thing you steward isn’t wealth, but identity? Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with financial planner and community builder Brett Guiley to unpack a journey rooted in small town values, deep curiosity, and the coura...
BeTempered Episode 93 - When Detours Become Lifelines with Dennis Liming
What starts as a foggy morning hike with his daughter turns into a life saving chain of events Dennis never could have planned. At 69, the firefighter, EMT, chaplain, and tool and die craftsman found himself facing multiple iliac aneurysms on t...
BeTempered Episode 92 - Addiction Rewired, Faith Restored with Zac Shisler
What happens when the crash you never wanted becomes the wake up call you needed?On this week’s episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Zac Shisler for one of the most raw and redemptive conversations we have...
BeTempered Episode 91 - When You Stop Running and Start Rebuilding with Lisa Chandler
Pain does not ask permission before it reshapes a life. On this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Lisa Chandler to talk about what it looks like to stop running and start rebuilding when survival has been the ...
BeTempered Episode 90 - Faith That Refuses to Compromise with Mandy Turner
What if the thing you are most ashamed of becomes the bridge that helps someone else survive? That question frames this conversation as hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Mandy Turner, a teacher, coach, photographer, and woman of dee...
BeTempered Episode 89 – Sobriety Starts With Surrender After Alcohol Became the Escape with Jerry Wilson
What starts with a fifth a night and a recliner slowly becomes absence. Jerry Wilson was still providing, still present in the house, but slipping further away behind the glass. His story does not begin with a polished plan to change. It begins...
BeTempered Episode 88 - From Foster Care to Police Chief Through Grit, Faith, and Belonging, with Chief Kurt Holden
What if one sentence could change the entire direction of your life?When Chief Kurt Holden’s foster dad introduced him as “my son,” something finally settled. After years of instability and separation, that moment of belonging became the...
BeTempered Episode 87 - What It Really Means to Be 'Tempered' with Mike Derringer
Some stories do not get easier with time. They shape who you become.On this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Superintendent and educator Mike Derringer. What begins as a conversation abou...
BeTempered Episode 86 - Built Through Consistency, Not Applause with Jeff Schmidt
What happens when the plan you built your life around stops working, and you choose not to walk away?This week on BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Jeff Schmidt, Dan’s brother, for a real conv...
BeTempered Episode 85 - Coaching for More Than the Scoreboard with Tyler Luce
What does it look like to coach for something bigger than a scoreboard? In this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Tyler Luce, a sixth grade social studies teacher and head varsity baseball coach at National Tr...
BeTempered Episode 84 - 2025 The Year That Clarified Our Mission
Before Christmas rushes past, we press pause to ask better questions. What truly mattered this year? Where is God leading the mission of BeTempered? And how do we show up for people in ways that outlast trends, algorithms, and noise?Host...
BeTempered Episode 83 - Building a Practice on Gratitude and Trust with Dr. Craig Hewitt
What if the hardest detours in life turn out to be the exact preparation you needed for a purpose you didn’t see coming? Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Dr. Craig Hewitt, a husband, father of five, and Navy trained dentist whose path ru...
BeTempered Episode 82 - Inside the Support Systems That Change a Child’s Trajectory with Allie Shafer
What happens when a child cannot focus in class because the lights were shut off at home, there is no food in the cupboard, or their clothes have not been washed in a week. On this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down...