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Our country’s problems will never be solved by a bunch of fancy people in nice suits talking big words on CNN and Fox, but by An Army of Normal Folks just deciding “hey, I can help.” Hosted by Coach Bill Courtney from the Oscar-winning Undefeated, this podcast is building the Army and celebrating its extraordinary members. New episodes are released every Tuesday and Friday.

An Army of Normal Folks

In this Shop Talk, Bill and Alex break down the speech Bill gave at the West Tennessee Faith and Community Summit in Memphis, with the governor, the mayor, and a ballroom full of faith leaders in the room. Bill's argument: crime, homelessness, kids who can't read on grade level, and young people aging out of foster care aren't our problems. They're symptoms. The real problem is a morality problem, and it isn't with the poor or the disenfranchised. It's with the rest of us, who see the need, think "somebody ought to do something about that," and keep driving.
 
Bill also explains what he was really trying to say to a room full of people who call themselves Christians: Jesus didn't spend his time in nice ballrooms with wealthy people, and if we're called to be Christlike, the work is elsewhere. Plus: why he walked off stage the second the speech ended (there was a fire at his lumber yard), and what happened in 1907.
 
ARMY ACTIONS
 
Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!
 
Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org
 
Follow us on social media @ArmyofNormalFolks
 
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
 
In San Antonio, Lincoln NE, Sumner County KS, Huntsville AL, or anywhere in Oklahoma? People there want to start a service club and need members. Email alex@normalfolks.org and he'll connect you.
 

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We Have A Morality Problem. And We’re The Problem

Nearly 2/3 of American kids aren't reading proficiently by 4th grade. And if they don't catch up, - they're far more likely to drop out, struggle to find work, and cycle through a lifetime of limited options. Right now in the United States, 43 million adults can't read well enough to hold a basic job.
 
This week, Bill sits down with Tony Kriz, co-founder of the Children's Literacy Project, who believes the solve for this crisis is normal folks like you. He wants you to give just one hour a week to sit with a struggling kid, read with them, and uplift them.
 
In this episode you'll learn exactly why kids fall behind, what it takes to close the gap, and how normal folks like you can walk into a local school and make a real difference starting this week.
 
ARMY ACTIONS
 
Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!
 
Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org
 
Follow us on social media @ArmyofNormalFolks
 
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.

43 Million Americans Can’t Read Well Enough to Work (Here’s the Fix)

HIGHLIGHTS: 43 Million Americans Can’t Read Well Enough to Work (Here’s the Fix)

When Jesse Itzler was broke and sleeping on a friend's couch, he couldn't afford an office. So he made the Beverly Hills Hotel his office - for the price of an $18 salad and four hours of iced tea refills. He sat, watched, listened, and showed up until the right people noticed him. The rest is history.
 
In this Shop Talk, Bill and Alex take that story and flip it toward service. Because most people who want to help their community are waiting for an invitation that's never coming. The tough neighborhoods, the kids who need mentors, the opportunities to make a real difference - they're already out there. You just have to get in the room.
 
This one is worth sending to someone who keeps saying they want to help but doesn't know where to start.
 
ARMY ACTIONS
 
Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!
 
Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org
 
Follow us on social media @ArmyofNormalFolks
 
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 Jesse Itzler's $18 Office Can Teach Us About Service

Paul Chapman spent years doing charitable work until he finally got frustrated by this: the people trying to help were often doing great work — but they were doing it in silos and too many families still weren’t flourishing. 
 
So he built "HopeHub” to connect nonprofits, churches, law enforcement, child welfare, treatment providers, and others around the very same family, so that they could stop making families try to find help in 10 different places and start working together to empower them. What started as an effort to help 100 families has now reached more than 13,000 and in Sebastian County, Arkansas family reunification rates have gone from a statewide average of 43% to 70% for Hope Hub clients! 
 
This innovative leader will teach you how changing the world can start with only 100 families — and why breaking down silos just might be one of the most powerful ways to change lives.
 
ARMY ACTIONS
 
Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!
 
Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org
 
Follow us on social media @ArmyofNormalFolks
 
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: His Tool Helped 13,000 Families Out of Crisis. This is How | Restore Hope

In this Shop Talk, Bill and Alex dive into the odd history of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows - one of the largest organizations most Americans have never heard of. At their peak, they had over a million members and thousands of lodges across the country. They cared for widows and orphans, built hospitals, and more than 800 cemeteries. And then, slowly, they disappeared.
 
If you've ever wondered why community feels harder to find than it used to - or why civic life seems to be quietly fading - this episode might be the most important conversation you hear this week. It's a history lesson that hits surprisingly close to home.
 
ARMY ACTIONS
 
Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!
 
Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org
 
Follow us on social media @ArmyofNormalFolks
 
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.

The Forgotten Club That Once Had 1 Million Members

1 out of every 3 Americans carries medical debt. It's the #1 cause of bankruptcy in the country - and the single greatest predictor of whether you end up in it isn't your income or your insurance. It's whether or not you get sick.
 
Allison Sesso is a normal person leading an abnormal (and awesome) nonprofit doing something about it. Undue Medical Debt has erased nearly $50 billion in medical debt for over 31 million people! 
 
In this episode, she breaks down exactly what to do if you get a bill you can't afford, why you should never put medical debt on a credit card, how debt collectors acquire debt for pennies on the dollar, how they’ve flipped this very same model on its head to abolish debt, and how you can partner with them to erase a crazy amount of medical debt in your community.
 
ARMY ACTIONS
 
Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!
 
Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org
 
Follow us on social media @ArmyofNormalFolks
 
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.

How $1 Can Erase $100 of Medical Debt in Your Community

HIGHLIGHTS: How $1 Can Erase $100 of Medical Debt in Your Community

53% of Americans ages 18-29 say talking to strangers is exhausting. But small interactions with everyday strangers actually make your life more meaningful. In this Shop Talk, Bill and Alex dig into why everyday human connection has declined and how you can integrate it into your life. This one is a reminder that community isn't always built through grand gestures, it starts with just saying hello. You weren't designed for isolation, you were designed to be in community with others. 
 
ARMY ACTIONS
 
Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!
 
Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org
 
Follow us on social media @ArmyofNormalFolks
 
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.

The Lost Art of Talking to Strangers

Economic mobility has dropped 45% in recent decades. The American Dream - doing better than your parents did - is getting harder to reach. But Leigh Mansberg and Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South are doing something about it. In this conversation with Bill, Leigh breaks down how Junior Achievement uses experiential learning to unlock economic mobility for kids K-12 - and why giving a child hope might be the most important thing a community can do. This episode will change how you think about education, opportunity, and what it means to invest in the next generation. This episode is for everyone who wants to see the American Dream continue on through future generations.
 
ARMY ACTIONS
 
Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!
 
Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org
 
Follow us on social media @ArmyofNormalFolks
 
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.

Inside the Town Run Entirely By 10-Year-Olds | Junior Achievement

Military spouse unemployment is 21%, which is 5 times the national average, often because employers don't want to hire people like Michelle Penczak who move every 3-4 years. So Michelle started a virtual assistant company called Squared Away where location wouldn't be an issue. And it's skyrocketed to employing 400 military spouses who serve 1,000 clients! 

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michelle Penczak: Binders Full of Military Spouses (Pt 2)

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