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Words from the Wise
Join Words from the Wise with Gary Wise, a retired Navy Command Master Chief, for authentic leadership insights forged in real-world experience. Through engaging discussions and actionable strategies, Gary empowers you to master emotional intelligence, build resilient teams, and unlock your full potential. Tune in for practical advice on delegation, conflict management, and inspiring others, drawn from his over 28 years of service and ongoing leader mentorship headquartered now in Ocala, Florida.
Episodes
67 episodes
From Cults To Calling: Athena Dean Holtz On Healing, Publishing, And Spiritual Warfare
A wound left untended doesn’t just hurt—it starts to steer. That idea threads through a gripping conversation with author, speaker, and publisher Athena Dean Holtz, whose journey spans Scientology, pioneering PTSD advocacy, a booming publishing...
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Season 3
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Episode 12
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1:32:33
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From SCBAs To Series 7: Yes, That Escalated Quickly
A kid from Staten Island walks three miles to a Navy recruiter after a jobsite blowup and ends up a warrant officer, a chief engineer, and finally a financial advisor. That’s not luck—it’s discipline, mentorship, and a lot of deckplate reps. Ga...
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Season 3
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Episode 14
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2:09:15
Choose Your Reaction Or It Chooses You
When emotions run hot, one choice can change everything. Gary Wise lays out a clear, battle-tested way to slow the moment, tell the truth about what you feel, and make a response you won’t regret tomorrow. Drawing on decades of Navy leadership,...
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Season 3
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Episode 11
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44:15
Do It For You: Leadership, Boundaries, And Finding Your Why
The best leaders don’t start with perfect test scores or spotless plans—they start with a clear why. Gary sits down with Chelsea James, a first-generation student at Florida State, to unpack how a COVID-era freshman became a campus leader ancho...
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Season 3
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Episode 10
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1:30:34
Grit Starts At Home
The difference between a fragile follower and a future leader often comes down to one habit: perseverance built on safe, real-world reps. We dig into how parents, mentors, and teens can trade helicopter control for a clear framework that create...
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Season 3
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Episode 10
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1:00:20
Building Chiefs, Fixing Messes, Leading With Grit
The story starts in Norwalk and lands on a steam frigate in Pearl Harbor—then it never really slows down. Brian Ortega charts how an Operations Specialist grows into a Command Master Chief by choosing hard jobs, chasing qualifications, and hold...
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Season 3
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Episode 9
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2:00:57
Year-End Wins, Lessons, Next Steps
What if the most honest growth you had all year came from the mistake you’d rather hide? Gary pulls back the curtain on a year that mixed big wins with hard lessons: publishing Own Your Journey for students and families, launching Ocala Inspire...
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Season 3
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Episode 8
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1:07:28
How Visualization, Grit, And Faith Changed My Life
A small moment can reroute an entire life. Gary shares how a background of constant moves, a Boy Scout love for structure, and a rough detour into street life set the stage for a Navy career he once resisted—and later learned to master. The tur...
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Season 3
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Episode 7
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50:10
Year-End Pivot: Building A Purpose-Driven Podcast For Students And Veterans
A pivot only matters if it serves people. That’s the throughline as we look back on a year of testing formats, learning from missteps, and finding the work that actually changes lives—especially for the students we see every weekday. What start...
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24:33
From Tampa To The Chief’s Mess
The heart of this conversation is simple and fierce: people matter more than the machine. We sit down with Dave Robinson, a Navy cook turned Command Master Chief who led on carriers, a cruiser, a minesweeper, and at Great Lakes before launching...
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2:18:46
Mentorship, Loyalty, And The Making Of A Command Master Chief
A career isn’t a straight line—it’s a wake, and sometimes the seas are rougher than the chart suggests. Gary sits down with Master Chief Mike “Kaz” Kaszubowski to trace three decades of Navy life from Chicago sidewalks to Seventh Fleet, from le...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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2:41:47
Memphis Roots, Navy Grit, Hollywood Drive
A creative kid from Memphis taught himself to record raps in a closet, signed an indie deal in high school, and then made a decision everyone told him was unlikely: he joined the Navy to buy time, structure, and a ticket to the wider world. We ...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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2:08:30
Island Strong: A Military Spouse’s Journey
Orders said “Guam,” and Ashley’s world changed overnight. What followed was a whirlwind of a temporary hotel room, a toddler, a pregnancy, and a husband who left again within a week for a year-and-a-half stretch tied to submarine maintenance in...
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1:10:24
When The Goalposts Move: Choosing Family Over The Uniform
Navy Senior Chief (Ret.) Mike Savant spent 23 years turning weather into warfare — from forecasting off Iraqi oil platforms to keeping a three-star calm while the flagship’s comms melted down on the flight deck. He made Chief at 11 years, Senio...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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2:20:54
What Happens When “If The Gear’s Up, The Brow’s Down” Becomes A Life Philosophy
What does it take to go from a San Diego kid sleeping on potential to a Master Chief ET shaping ship readiness across Seventh Fleet? Dom Taylor joins us to unpack a career built on grit, clear standards, and the kind of leadership that keeps ge...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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2:08:51
How A Bay Area Kid Became The Master Chief Everyone Called For
A Bay Area kid keeps a promise to his mother and steps into a Navy that will test everything—grit, heart, and the courage to say “no” when “make it happen” would be easier. From recommissioning the battleship Wisconsin and learning the hard tru...
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Season 2
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Episode 20
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2:19:50
How Service, Faith, And Family Turned A Dropout Into A Master Chief
What does it take to turn a restless teenager into a leader who can steady a room in a crisis and still laugh with his team after? Gary opens up about ten reasons he’s deeply grateful for the Navy, starting with faith and flowing through family...
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Season 2
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Episode 19
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49:05
From Small-Town Alabama To Master Chief
What does it take to turn a “dirty ship” into the crew everyone else calls when things get tough? We sit down with Master Chief Jeffrey “JB” Brooks—raised in Fort Payne, Alabama by his grandparents, recruited by accident, forged on deckplates a...
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Season 2
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Episode 18
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2:18:54
Leading Through Fire: Damage Control, Faith, And Family
A single decision can redraw an entire life. Danielle Wiley walked into a recruiter’s office with a toddler at home and chose purpose over certainty. That step led from DCFN on USS Comstock to Chief Warrant Officer, from ER09 tag-outs and Halon...
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1:45:21
A Sailor loses his way, finds God, and leads with purpose
A senior chief once looked a captain in the eye and saved a young sailor’s career. That moment—anchored in truth and courage—sits at the heart of this conversation with Tony Cook, a Chicago kid turned Navy chief whose life was forged by failure...
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Season 2
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Episode 18
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2:24:43
Anchors, Aircrew, and Extreme Ownership: Mike Marler’s Journey from Wyoming to Guam
A mechanic from Wyoming walks into a recruiter’s office and walks out on a path that leads to P-3 flight engineer, deployments over Bahrain and Diego Garcia, Chief in Hawaii, instructor in Jacksonville, test and research at Pax River, and ultim...
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Season 2
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Episode 17
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2:08:51
From Small-Town Missouri to Warships and Beyond: A Retired Senior Chief on grit, family, and finding purpose after the Navy
Gary Wise and his guest retired US Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Gary Harn sit down and trade a lifetime of lessons—funny, raw, and precise. We start in Honeywell, Missouri, where a town shrinks to a post office and a kid takes his first flig...
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Season 2
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Episode 16
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2:51:11
Leadership Lessons from the USS George Washington (CVN-73)
When Gary Wise and Matt Klipfel served together aboard the USS George Washington forward-deployed in Japan, they faced what both describe as the most challenging tour of their military careers. Now, years later, they reconnect to share sea stor...
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1:12:31
Navigating a Naval Career Through Triumph and Challenge
From working the frigid loading docks to commanding a warship, Captain Steve Wasson's 26-year naval journey showcases the power of persistence and authentic leadership. In this candid conversation, he opens up about his unconventional path thro...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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2:01:35
Bombs to Bees: The Unlikely Path of a Navy EOD Specialist
Leadership isn't a position—it's the ability to transform challenges into opportunities and inspire others through authentic action. Dan Martin embodies this truth, tracing his extraordinary evolution from a self-described teenage troublemaker ...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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2:24:46