Kevin Polky - The Journey

A Man Who is Giving Back Because He was Given To Josh is dynamic and energetic man. A poet, musician, real estate broker and entrepreneur is just a few of the hats Josh wears. He is a father of a beautiful 4 year old boy who is teaching him to be the man he wants to be. This is a rich conversation about politics, 2020, leadership and how to make difference in your community and in other. A blessed conversation. Hope you take a listen!

He is a Survivor so He Can Live Life! This is a great story of a man who has faced a lot adversity. He had his first heart transplant at 9 years old, second transplant 20 years later, he has survived a stroke and this year beat cancer. More importantly, he is a husband to Heather and a father of two beautiful sons. A wonderful story of perseverance, embracing life and listening to your body and advocating for your own health.

There is No Plan to Retire This is an absolute awesome conversation with Mr. Keith Irons. A wealth of knowledge and experience Keith has acquired over the past 90 years. He stated there is no need to retire. I enjoy what I do! Right before my eyes, Keith looked 20-30 years younger as he illuminated with joy when talking about his love for helping people. Such a rich conversation.

Gifted to Play Music, He Traveled a Spiritual Path to Find His Way I would encourage you to listen to this conversation as Matt shares about his journey of following his heart and his desire to know a different Jesus then he was taught. Listen to Matt share his journey of finding his own path in which he is living now.

Watching the Leaves Trying something different on this episode. I have been asked regarding my experiences with meditation and mindfulness. I share some my perspective on practicing mindfulness and introduce a very simple but foundational guided imagery. Please do not listen to this episode and attempt exercise while driving car or operating machinery. Enjoy!

Grieving the Losses of COVID-19 We have all been impacted in numerous ways in past 7 months. Delinda shares her observations and thoughts about the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. She gives suggestions on how to honor yourself and allow yourself the opportunity to heal.

Through Her Loss, She Found Her Purpose and Profession Cody and her husband, Ethan were so excited to start their new family. And then everything came to a crashing haul. Not only once but twice did she lose babies to a rare prenatal disorder. Listen to this heart touching story of a mom speak of her loss, grief, healing and now her purpose of helping others through her profession as a counselor.

Fighting for Her Son’s Story to Be Heard Phyllis has an amazing story of how she has been an advocate for her son, Liam. And, now since Liam’s death she continues his legacy by fighting to break the stigma surrounding mental illness, suicide and the LGBTQ community. Listen to this wonderful conversation of this mom who is shattering the silence around these issues.

Her Son’s Story but now Her Story Xavier has experienced some of the worst things that came happen to a person: sexual and physical abuse, her husband dying tragical leaving her as young single mom and 17 years later finding her son when he died from suicide. But through all the pain she has found purpose. She shares intimately about her struggles and healing with trauma and anxiety. She talks about her purpose regarding breaking the stigma around suicide and mental illness.

Finding Her Way Out of the Darkness Laura has an amazing story! She was born in Mexico. Came to the US when she was in grade school not speaking or understanding any English. She taught herself English with help of her school within a year. She endured and left a domestic violent marriage. Raising her three children as a single mom, she received the horrible phone call. Her son died from suicide. In the midst of her grieving, she has found her purpose of helping other youth who are in the darkness. She started a non-profit, Marshmallow’s Hope and she wrote a book about her story, “Lost to Darkness; Enlightened by Grace”.

Bringing Light to Suicide in Central South Dakota Julie lives in a small community in Central South Dakota. At one time, Pierre, South Dakota was known for the highest amount of suicides per capita in the US. Also, shares her personal story of her own anxiety and depression and her brother’s attempt to take his life and the impact it had on her. She works tirelessly on bringing a message of hope to the schools focusing on suicide prevention and annual is in charge of suicide awareness walk.

A Social Worker Committed to the Students This is an awesome conversation! Nicole shares about her amazing mission trip to Africa. Her passion to make a difference in our schools. And, her personal mission to make sure all children are seen and heard. Thank you, Nicole for being a Light in the Darkness for these students.

A Mom Committed to Keeping Her Daughter’s Legacy Alive Twelve years ago, Diane got the phone call that all parents’ fear. Amanda, her teenage daughter, had been in an accident. She was hit by a drunk driver and died instantly. Please take a moment and listen to this powerful conversation about how Diane’s entire life had been building up to this time period and how she is keeping her beautiful daughter’s legacy alive.

A Renaissance Man who is Giving Back Will grew up being exposed to many different activities from sports to the arts. All these experiences have planted seeds which have impacted him today. For almost 30 years, Will has been active in fire services. He has experienced how the industry has changed for the better. Listen to this amazing conversation about Will’s different experiences with the fire department, founding the 9/11 Memorial Wall in Winnebago Co. to his latest venture Planet 3.

Discussion about the Impact of Social Media on Young Adults Recently, Zoe did a segment for Channel 23 on the impact of social media. During this conversation, we talked about the impact of Instagram and Facebook and the pressure for the “likes”. She talks about physiological and psychological effects regarding the lure of these platforms. And, more importantly she shared how it can be a useful tool to shine a Light on topics that are usually in the shadows of life. Very powerful conversation.

It was typical Sunday breakfast with my parents. Unfortunately, at this time with all the unrest in the community and the world the discussion lead to the spread of the virus, increase violence in cities and political unrest. But, on this day there was some Light that was shown in the darkness. An individual from another table bought our breakfast and thanked me for the work we do in the community. This random act of kindness was profound for me. Maybe, this is the way for us to heal as a community. Showing random acts of kindness to each other.

The Gentle Giant Finds His Voice Kyle has always been a big guy. In middle school, he started playing football. He was big and enjoyed the game but did not the basic mechanics of the sport. Unfortunately, this led to him being a target for bullies. The combination of being bullied, not living up to expectations, not knowing how to ask for help and parents separating, Kyle became depressed and suffered with suicidal thoughts. Thankfully, Kyle opened up to a school counselor when they asked questions about his underperformance in school. During his hospitalization he learned how many people cared for him and most importantly he learned to ask for help. Listen to Kyle’s story of going from a 0.9 GPA his 2nd semester his freshman year to 2nd semester of senior year getting a 4.0, accepted to a university to play football and study psychology.

Another unique opportunity in which I was interviewed by Pastor Rodney Combs from River Valley Community Church. I had a blast during this conversation we talked about a variety of subjects from COVID-19, mental health and spiritual development.

Musician. Teacher. Son. Family. Recovery. Mike shares his story of navigating through this difficult time of COVID-19. He lost all resources of employment. Unable to attend AA. Unable to visit his family in Florida. He did not know how it was going to work out but he knew he was going to be ok. Listen to Mike share how he leaned into his spiritual bank account. Gratitude for what he has versus focusing on what he doesn’t allowed him to be humble and pay it forward. Great story!

Film-Maker who is Making a Difference This is definitely one of my all-time favorite conversations on The Journey. I encourage you to listen to this raw and informative conversation about Greg’s film projects from hip-hop music videos, the Space Needle in Seattle to the film project with high school students about the issues they struggle with. We went everywhere during this conversation from film to racial tension to empathy to mental illness and all the stereotypes. Loved this conversation. Thanks Greg.