In this week’s episode, I sit down with an extraordinary guest: the host of the JRC Podcast, a powerhouse community advocate helping to market and promote events and small businesses across Guernsey County, Ohio. A disabled Army veteran, he credits his service with teaching him two defining lessons: discipline and resilience. He has built his entire life around both.

He opens up about his years as an Army HR specialist, the injuries and multiple surgeries that followed his deployments, and the long road to recovery that reshaped who he is. Despite the physical challenges he still lives with, he refuses to let disability define him. As he puts it, “I’m disabled, not dead.” And he lives that truth every day.

We dive into the unique challenge of bringing rural communities into the modern digital world and how he is helping local organizations embrace social media marketing and online engagement. His passion for service shines through everything he does. He volunteers with nonprofits, serves on community boards, supports groups like the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, Feed My People, and the Honor Guard, and uses his platform to elevate the needs of others.

He also shares his journey to becoming a Meta social media content creator, how his own experience of being “legally homeless” fuels his empathy, and how he maintains a positive mindset by reminding himself that someone out there always has it worse. For him, service is the antidote to self-pity.

We talk about leadership, confidence, and the lessons the Army gave him about influence, purpose, direction, and motivation. He believes everyone needs to be led differently. Some people need a push. Others need a gentle word. The same principle applies to how we show up for the people in our lives.

His message is simple yet powerful: “You’re only limited by your thinking.”

Whether you are navigating a medical crisis, battling through a setback, or chasing a dream that feels out of reach, his advice is clear. If you need help, get help. Failure is not final, it’s feedback. Learn from it and get back in the fight!

This is an inspiring conversation about service, grit, community, and what it really means to rise above your circumstances.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit raiseyourownbar.substack.com