Confident Risks

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🧠 “Be confident daily, and use words when you have to”

🎙️ New episodes every Tuesday!

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09/05/2026

[🎬 Episode 58] You Can't Be Good at Everything 🎯

For Scott, the real challenge early in his career was figuring out what his passion actually was.

It didn't happen super early, but at some point it clicked. He started teaching and got decent at a specific subject, tech rescue and truck operations. Then someone asked him to teach a different subject, so he got good at that one too. He joined a FEMA task force for tech rescue. He kept adding to his plate.

And then he hit a realization that changed everything.

He couldn't be good at everything.

So he made a decision. He would follow his passion all the time. Because if he was doing something he was genuinely passionate about, he'd be the best he could possibly be at it.

That's when he got into live fire instruction. And when that happened, he dropped all the others. Not because he couldn't do them, but because he wasn't going to spread himself thin trying to be an expert in every single task.

There's real wisdom in that.

We live in a world that pushes us to do it all, to be well rounded, to say yes to everything. But being decent at ten things isn't the same as being exceptional at one. When you try to master everything, you end up mastering nothing.

The people who become truly great are the ones willing to focus. To find the thing they're passionate about and pour everything into it, even if that means letting other good opportunities go.

Passion plus focus is where your best work lives.

So figure out what you're passionate about. Then go all in, and don't be afraid to drop the rest.

Stay sharp. Stay resilient.

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09/04/2026

[🎬 Episode 54] This Earned Him a Medal of Honor 🎖️

As soon as they pulled in, the call was clear and terrifying: "You're in a hot zone. There's active fire. We have two people shot. Triage them."

Darren and his partner got out and split up. Darren went to a man who had been shot four times, leaning against an SUV, just out of the line of fire. His partner went to a woman who had also been shot.

At first, Darren thought he was walking up just to pronounce the man and move on. But he was still alive. Still gasping. So Darren started treating him with everything he had in that moment.

It all happened so fast. Within a few minutes, the shooter gave up and was taken into custody, which meant more units could move in and start caring for the patients.

At the end of the day, three people had been shot. One patient didn't survive, reaching the hospital before succumbing to his injuries. But because of the actions Darren and his team took under fire, four of them were awarded a Medal of Honor.

This is the reality of what first responders run toward. While everyone else is running away from danger, they're moving into the hot zone, making split second decisions, and fighting to save lives in the most extreme conditions imaginable.

It's a level of courage most of us will never fully understand. And it's exactly why these stories deserve to be told.

We honor Darren and every first responder who has stared down that kind of moment and chosen to act.

Stay sharp. Stay resilient.

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09/03/2026

[🎬 Episode 58] The Skinny Kid Who Outworked Everyone 💪

Scott wasn't the biggest or the fittest firefighter. Not even close. But he found something that mattered more.

Here's what he learned: the people who are willing to do what they're doing, then come back and do the secondary work too, they've got that drive. Those are the ones who end up showing out and doing the best work. That kind of drive separates people.

Work ethic is something we all learn at one point or another. Some people never really develop it. But the ones who do? They can do amazing things.

And Scott is living proof.

As he puts it, a skinny little guy like him could throw a huge ladder better than some of the guys who were three times as fit as he was. Not because he was stronger. Because he had the mental confidence that he wasn't going to give up. He wasn't going to quit.

Instead of forcing himself into a technique built for someone bigger, he'd find a different way. Maybe a technique that didn't work for everyone else, but worked for him. He adapted, he problem solved, and he refused to be outworked.

That's the lesson. Raw talent and physical gifts are great, but they're not everything. Confidence, work ethic, and the refusal to quit can beat pure fitness every single time.

You don't have to be the strongest, the fittest, or the most naturally gifted. You have to be willing to outwork everyone, adapt to what works for you, and never give up.

That mindset can take you further than talent ever will.

Stay sharp. Stay resilient.

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09/02/2026

[🎬 Episode 58] Never Promoted Until I Was Ready 🎯

In a world where everyone rushes to climb the ladder as fast as they can, Scott did the opposite.

He never promoted until he was ready.

He spent 13 years driving a ladder truck, and he wouldn't take the captain's job, because he felt there were still things he wanted to learn, get better at, and pass on. He wasn't chasing the title. He was chasing mastery.

And that same feeling followed him all the way to retirement. He retired as a captain working in training, but in his own honest words, he didn't think he was as good as he knew he could be. Part of it was self indulgent, he wanted to keep getting better on his own terms.

But then something happened.

He got out into the bigger world, traveling the country, and realized there was a whole lot of knowledge in his head worth passing on. He found real passion in the little things he'd picked up over his career, the details some younger firefighters hadn't learned yet, or that certain departments weren't practicing.

His mission became simple: if he could find just one or two things to pass on to each person or each department he worked with, he would.

And once he got out there helping the industry, he realized just how much he had to offer.

There's a powerful lesson in this. Rank isn't the goal. Mastery is. When you slow down and truly master your craft before chasing the next title, you become the kind of person who has something real to give.

Don't rush the climb. Get so good at where you are that when you finally move up, or move on, you're bringing genuine value with you.

Stay sharp. Stay resilient.

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09/01/2026

[🎬 Episode 58] We're Not Sending Them Without Eyes 🔥

Seek Thermal has a mission: help firefighters in their two most needed moments.

The first is when mom is on the doorstep saying "save my baby." A thermal camera gives firefighters eyes. As Scott puts it, we don't send our military into battle without eyes, so why send firefighters into a burning building without them? That camera lets them see through the smoke, find the seat of the fire faster, and locate victims.

The second moment is self rescue. A firefighter gets disoriented, loses the hose line, and needs to find a way out. Disorientation ranks near the top of all mayday reports, and a thermal camera can be the difference between making it out and not.

That's why the motto is "a tic for every seat." When every firefighter has eyes, more lives get saved.

This isn't about gadgets. It's about giving the people who run toward danger every advantage to save others and come home themselves.

Stay sharp. Stay resilient.

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NEW EPISODE LIVE NOWRetired CAL FIRE Captain Scott Herbert | Giving Firefighters Eyes in the Smoke | CR #5922 years in ...
09/01/2026

NEW EPISODE LIVE NOW

Retired CAL FIRE Captain Scott Herbert | Giving Firefighters Eyes in the Smoke | CR #59

22 years in the fire service. Nearly 400 young firefighters trained. And a mission that could save lives on every call.

In this episode:

Why work ethic and confidence beat raw talent every time. How Scott learned to teach by developing 14 to 21 year old fire explorers. And why thermal imaging is changing the fire service, giving firefighters eyes to see through smoke, find victims faster, and make it out alive.

As Scott says, we don't send our military into battle without eyes. So why send firefighters into a burning building without them?

Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

https://youtu.be/tWRIgGRJRbI

Stay sharp. Stay resilient.

08/27/2026

[🎬 Episode 57] Your Schedule Can Burn You Out 🔥

David has a warning for firefighters, and it comes from a place of real care.

He's not saying don't work. But he is saying: do something different.

You can teach. You can do instruction. But that's not quite the same as running calls day after day. Back in his day, guys framed houses, did HVAC, electrical, all kinds of side work. It was still hard work, but it was a stress relief from the calls. A different kind of tired. A mental reset.

That's the key. Don't get caught up in doing the same thing all the time.

And here's what genuinely scares him: the shift toward 24/72 schedules. On paper, it's a great schedule. But David knows human nature. On a 24/48, you can only pick up so many extra hours. But on a 24/72, suddenly you can work 48 straight, or 48 and have 24 off, and stack hours in ways that take a serious toll.

The freedom to work more isn't always a good thing.

Because the toll of this job isn't just physical. It's mental and emotional. And when you pile on hour after hour of high stress calls without stepping away, without doing something different to reset, it catches up with you.

That's why David says there needs to be real education around this. Firefighters need to understand just how big of a toll that kind of schedule can take before they burn themselves out.

The lesson applies to anyone in a demanding career: Working more isn't always winning. Sometimes the smartest, healthiest thing you can do is step away, do something different, and protect yourself for the long haul.

Because a long, healthy career beats a fast, exhausting one every time.

Stay sharp. Stay resilient.

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On this week's Confident Risks, hear from Chief David Rhodes, (Ret.), Education Director for FDIC, and Editor-in-Chief o...
08/25/2026

On this week's Confident Risks, hear from Chief David Rhodes, (Ret.), Education Director for FDIC, and Editor-in-Chief of Fire Engineering. With decades in the fire service, a 30-year career in Atlanta, and a national reputation as a teacher and creator of the Georgia Smoke Diver program, David is one of the industry's most respected voices.

Listen to the full episode on YouTube now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id8Cw__lyxk

08/25/2026

“The hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life was asking for help.”

Darren Richardson spent years responding to fires, rescues, and some of the hardest moments imaginable. Yet admitting that he needed help felt even more difficult.

In our last episode of Confident Risks, Darren shares an honest perspective on trauma, vulnerability, and why asking for support can feel so unnatural in the fire service.

🎙️ Watch the full episode of Confident Risks now.

You can learn more about Darren’s work through Ashes to Ascent Coaching

08/25/2026

[🎬 Episode 57] The Moment He Knew This Was It 🔥

Before David Rhodes became a nationally respected fire service leader, he was a skinny kid who wasn't even supposed to be there.

His parents didn't know he was doing this. He remembers thinking, "I'm gonna get killed when I get home, if I survive."

He had almost no training. The only instruction he'd gotten was, "Here's your air pack. Here's how it works. Here's your gear." That was it. And it was the first day he'd ever had gear on.

Then the fire got real. The instructor put the fire out, turned to David, and said, "Get him out." The firefighter who'd been on the nozzle was burned and screaming.

David instinctively grabbed the man by his SCBA straps. But the guy was too big. David weighed maybe 130 pounds at the time. So he turned, grabbed two other guys to help, and together they dragged him out.

And in that moment, with the adrenaline pumping and a rescue behind him, something clicked.

"To hell with EMT school. This is what I want to do right here."

That was it. That was the moment a career was born.

Sometimes you don't find your calling in a classroom or a plan. You find it in the moment when everything is on the line and you discover what you're made of.

For David, one chaotic, terrifying, unforgettable fire set him on a path that would eventually make him one of the most influential voices in the entire fire service.

You never know which moment is going to change your life. Sometimes you just have to show up, step in, and find out.

Stay sharp. Stay resilient.

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