The Normal 40 Podcast

Lon Stroschein
  • 4.9 (72)
  • Education
  • Updated Semiweekly

Hosted by Lon Stroschein I walked away from the career I built—at the top—because it was costing me my life. Now, I help high performers make The Trade. This podcast is for the ones who have everything… and still feel like something’s missing. Real stories. Raw truth. No more waiting. Let’s Ramble. normal40.substack.com

  1. #88: The Diagnosis: Fighting Stage 4 Colon Cancer with Chris Bertrand

    Jun 5

    #88: The Diagnosis: Fighting Stage 4 Colon Cancer with Chris Bertrand

    A lot of people come to Normal 40 because they feel a pull. Not because they hate their life or because they've failed. Because something inside them keeps whispering: "There's more." This conversation begins there. For more than 30 years, Chris Bertrand built a successful career in healthcare. He helped people. He built relationships. He did meaningful work. And like many of us, he reached a point where he began asking bigger questions about purpose, impact, and what the next chapter might look like. Then everything changed. A routine doctor's visit became a diagnosis. Stage 4 colon cancer. In an instant, the trade he thought he was preparing for disappeared, replaced by one he never would have chosen. But what Chris has done since is extraordinary. Instead of retreating, he chose to share the journey openly. He chose to use his second resume—the hardship, uncertainty, fear, faith, and resilience that most people keep hidden—as a platform to help others. This is not a conversation about cancer. It's a conversation about life. It's about what becomes important when time feels different. It's about how quickly titles, careers, and plans fall away when reality arrives. It's about finding purpose inside a fight you never asked for. And it's about the quiet courage of deciding that if you're going through something hard, maybe somebody else needs your story too. IN THIS EPISODE --How a Stage 4 colon cancer diagnosis changed everything overnight --The difference between your first resume and your second resume --What Chris learned after losing both of his parents at a young age --Why helping others remained central to his identity after diagnosis --The role faith plays when life becomes uncertain --How perspective changes when every day feels more valuable --Why advocacy and early screening matter more than most people realize KEY TAKEAWAYS → Your second resume often prepares you for your most meaningful work. → Sometimes the chapter you never wanted becomes the one that changes lives. → Purpose doesn't disappear when life gets hard. Often, it becomes clearer. → People need stories more than advice. → The smallest moments become the most meaningful when time feels finite. → Keep freaking going. WHAT'S NEXT? Chris didn't ask for this diagnosis. But he made a decision that many people never do: To use it. To share it. To help someone else feel less alone. If this conversation moves you, don't keep it to yourself. Share it with someone who needs perspective or someone facing a health battle. And if you're carrying a second resume story of your own, maybe it's time to start telling it. Because somebody is waiting for it. You can follow and connect with Chris on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok at Chris Bertrand.  And if you’re ready to stop drifting and start living intentionally, join us inside the Normal 40 community.  You can find everything related to Normal 40 here: https://linktr.ee/lon.stroschein This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit normal40.substack.com

    1h 3m
  2. #87: The Scorecard: What Are You Really Measuring?

    May 15

    #87: The Scorecard: What Are You Really Measuring?

    Most of us inherit a scorecard before we ever think to question it.  Revenue. Title. Pipeline. Promotion. Bonus. Growth. Output. And for a long time, that scorecard works. Until it doesn’t. This episode is another Insider replay, pulled directly from inside the Normal 40 community. It is a member-led conversation about what happens when the old measures of success stop telling the truth. The conversation centers on one simple but confronting idea: If you don’t define your scorecard, it will define you. Not the corporate or the quarterly review kind. Not the one built around pipeline, revenue, optics, or performance theater. The real one. The one that asks: Are you present?Are you useful?Are you proud of the work?Are your kids getting the version of you they need?Is your spouse getting your attention, not just your exhaustion?Are you building the life you said you wanted, or recreating the one you left? At the heart of the episode is a powerful story: a father who died unexpectedly with a handwritten personal scorecard in his pocket. On that page was almost nothing about work. Instead, it was an honest accounting of his relationships, his faith, his family, and the areas of life he still wanted to improve. That image becomes the center of the conversation. Because one day, all of us will be measured. The question is whether we are living by a scorecard we chose, or one we inherited. IN THIS EPISODE --Why the old scorecard eventually stops working --The danger of winning a game you no longer want to play --How corporate metrics can reward performance without measuring meaning --Why making the trade requires a new definition of success --The difference between activity, output, and actual impact --Why time, attention, and energy deserve to be measured --What grief can teach us about what actually matters --How to build a scorecard that reflects the life you want, not just the work you do KEY TAKEAWAYS → If you don’t define success, someone else will. → The scorecard that got you here may not be the one that gets you where you want to go. → Winning the wrong game still costs you your life. → Work matters, but it is not the only place your life is being measured. → The most important metrics are often the hardest to quantify. → A better scorecard does not make you less ambitious. It makes you more honest. WHAT’S NEXT This is the kind of conversation that happens inside The Insider. Real people. Real stories. Real questions. Real work. It’s not just a community. It’s a culture. A place where people show up honestly, challenge one another, do the work, and help one another move toward the next chapter of their lives. 👉 Join The Insider here: https://normal40.circle.so/checkout/join-the-insider  Let’s be up to something.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit normal40.substack.com

    1h 5m
  3. #86: The Return: A father and son conversation about Faith, Growth, Obedience, Becoming and What Happened Next

    Apr 24

    #86: The Return: A father and son conversation about Faith, Growth, Obedience, Becoming and What Happened Next

    Most people never realize when they’re living a “last.” They just move through the day.Answer emails. Take the call. Say “we’ll catch up soon.” And then it’s gone. 18 months ago, Lon sat on a beach in Kona with his son Dawson on the last day of something they’d always known—father and son, in its simplest form. The next morning, Dawson would leave for a journey neither of them fully understood. Dawson was 19.He didn’t know where he was going.He just knew he had to go. That episode captured the moment before everything changed. This one is what happened next. Dawson shares what it actually looks like to follow something you don’t fully understand yet. From cramped living quarters in Hawaii…to underground ministry in Vietnam…to teaching English and faith in a small town in Mexico he found through a single connection… Nothing about this path was planned. But everything about it moved. And what becomes clear in this conversation is simple: When you take a trip with God—or with your gut, your calling, your truth, you don’t get clarity first. You get movement. IN THIS EPISODE --What Dawson actually learned after leaving home at 19 --Why “get comfortable being uncomfortable” stops being a cliché and becomes survival --The moment a single photo changed the trajectory of his life --What it feels like to arrive somewhere you don’t belong and stay anyway --How faith grows when it’s tested, not taught --The difference between doing something for others and realizing it’s changing you Why the hardest part isn’t leaving — it’s what comes after KEY TAKEAWAYS → You don’t need clarity to start. You need trust. → The path rarely looks logical when you’re on it. → Growth doesn’t come from comfort. It comes from commitment. → The experiences you think are for others are often for you. → Every first becomes a last… and every last becomes a new beginning. WHAT’S NEXT If you listened to Episode 85, this is the continuation. If you didn’t — go back. Because this isn’t just a follow-up. It’s proof. Proof of what happens when someone says yes before they’re ready. And if something in you is pulling you toward your own next step… You don’t need the full plan. You just need to move. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit normal40.substack.com

    1h 4m
  4. #85: The Advice: A father and son conversation about Faith, Family, Purpose, Art, Growing Up and our Last Days.

    Apr 5

    #85: The Advice: A father and son conversation about Faith, Family, Purpose, Art, Growing Up and our Last Days.

    What do you say when you know the day matters? Not because something is ending forever.But because you know, deep down, this version of life is. This episode took 18 months to publish. It was recorded on the beach in Kona, Hawaii, on the eve of a first and a last. Dawson was about to begin a new chapter — one that would take him across the world, deeper into his faith, and further from home than ever before. And Lon, as a father, knew this day represented something sacred: the last day his son would be entrusted only to his care, and the first day of a life that would now belong more fully to Dawson himself. What started as a father hoping to share a few lessons with his son became something far better — a raw, emotional, deeply honest conversation about faith, family, courage, curiosity, and the kind of wisdom that only shows up when both people are willing to tell the truth. Dawson talks about finding his faith, what it means to live with conviction without losing curiosity, and what he hopes the next season of his life will teach him. Lon reflects on what it means to watch a son become his own man, what advice matters most when you’re standing at the edge of a new chapter, and why some conversations are too important to leave unspoken. This episode is not just about parenting. It’s about firsts and lasts.It’s about legacy in real time.It’s about saying the thing while you still can. And it may leave you wanting to pick up the phone, grab a notebook, or sit down with someone you love and have the conversation you’ve been putting off. IN THIS EPISODE --Why firsts and lasts carry so much emotional weight --Dawson’s journey into faith and the moment it became personal --The difference between conviction and curiosity --What it means to feel small in the presence of something greater --Why community matters in every new season of life --Lon’s reflections on quitting his job — through the eyes of his son --The advice every father hopes his son will carry --How to recognize your gifts before life teaches you to forget them --What it means to never lose your art --The beauty of documenting a moment before it disappears KEY TAKEAWAYS ->Every last is also a first. ->Faith gets stronger when it becomes personal. ->Conviction without curiosity can close you off from growth. ->The people you love need to hear what you admire in them while you still can. ->Some conversations become more valuable with time, not less. WHAT’S NEXT This episode is an invitation. Not just to listen. To act. Write a few notes. Grab a microphone. Sit down with someone you love. Tell them what you see in them. Tell them what you hope for them. Tell them what matters. You will not regret it. And if you’re looking for a place to start your own next chapter, book a Ramble or step inside the Normal 40 community. Everything starts here:👉 https://linktr.ee/lon.stroschein Because the most meaningful conversations in life rarely happen by accident.Someone decides to have them. Let’s be up to something. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit normal40.substack.com

    50 min
  5. #84: The Avoidance: The Hidden Pattern That Quietly Caps Your Potential

    Mar 13

    #84: The Avoidance: The Hidden Pattern That Quietly Caps Your Potential

    This episode is different from the usual Normal 40 conversations. This is a confession. In this episode, Lon pulls back the curtain on a realization that caught him off guard while writing his second book, The Gap. As he mapped the patterns of thousands of conversations with high performers stuck on the backside of their success curve, he discovered something uncomfortable: The same pattern he was writing about in others… was alive in him. A quiet form of avoidance. Not the avoidance of hard things.The avoidance of the easy things that matter most. The emails you delay.The conversations you postpone.The follow-ups that turn into silence. And when you avoid them long enough, you hit your ceiling. This recording comes directly from The Insider, Normal 40’s private community where members wrestle with the work in real time. It’s messy, honest, and unscripted — the kind of conversation most people only have behind closed doors. Lon shares the pattern he uncovered in himself, the childhood moment that wired it in, and how confronting it forced him to rethink how Normal 40 will grow from here. It’s not comfortable. But it might be exactly the conversation you needed to hear. IN THIS EPISODE --The difference between courage and honesty --How superpowers often carry a matching weakness --Why the work of transformation is deeply personal and often embarrassing --The dangerous moment when success starts to flatline --The hidden cost of protecting your image instead of facing the truth --Why checklists and productivity systems won’t fix the real problem KEY TAKEAWAYS → The things you avoid are rarely the hardest things — they’re the ones that matter most. → Your greatest strength often carries the seed of your greatest limitation. → Awareness without honesty doesn’t create change. → Freedom requires protecting what matters and letting others carry what they do best. → If the realization isn’t uncomfortable, you probably haven’t found the real problem yet. →The hardest work in transformation isn’t external. It’s internal. WHAT’S NEXT If this episode resonated with you, it’s not by accident. The conversations happening inside The Insider are exactly like this — honest, uncomfortable, and focused on moving forward. It’s not just a community. It’s a culture. A place where people show up honestly, challenge one another, do the work, and help one another move toward the next chapter of their lives. 👉 Join The Insider here: https://normal40.circle.so/checkout/join-the-insider  Because the thing you’re avoiding right now? That’s probably the doorway to what’s next. Let’s be up to something. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit normal40.substack.com

    48 min
  6. #83: The Ending: What Death Teaches Us About How to Live with Dr. Josh Russell

    Feb 20

    #83: The Ending: What Death Teaches Us About How to Live with Dr. Josh Russell

    Most of us don’t think about death. Not really. We think about promotions.College tuition.Quarterly numbers.The next vacation.The next deal. But we don’t think about how it ends. In this episode, Lon sits down with Dr. Josh Russell, an ER physician who moved into palliative care, and the conversation goes exactly where most people avoid going. Death. Not in a morbid way.In a clarifying way. Josh has lived on both sides of medicine.In the ER, he fought to save lives.In palliative care, he helps people finish them. And somewhere between those two callings, he realized something we all quietly know: If you don’t prepare for how you want to die, the system will decide for you. This is not a conversation about fear.It’s about agency. It’s about the difference between being kept alive… and living on purpose. It’s about what happens when the default setting of medicine collides with the reality that everything that begins ends. And it’s about why the conversations we avoid — with our spouses, our kids, our doctors — are often the most loving conversations we’ll ever have. IN THIS EPISODE ->Why the “Denial of Death” is the default human setting ->What actually happens if you do nothing to prepare for the end of your life ->The quiet violence of aggressive medical intervention ->Why palliative care is not about giving up — but about choosing well ->The difference between hope and honesty ->What most families wish they had talked about sooner ->Why stopping “the insanity” can be the most compassionate act of all THE REAL QUESTION If something happens tomorrow… Would the people you love know what you want? Or would they be forced to guess? And if you’re honest — are you living today in a way that would let you finish well? Because here’s the uncomfortable truth: We prepare more carefully for retirement than we do for death. And one of those is guaranteed. WHAT JOSH MAKES CLEAR Death is not the enemy. Avoidance is. The goal is not to control the ending.The goal is to face it honestly enough that the time before it matters more. When you stop pretending you’re immortal, something changes. You start caring less about being right.Less about ego.Less about status. You start caring more about people.About presence.About unfinished conversations. About legacy. WHAT’S NEXT? You don’t need a terminal diagnosis to start thinking clearly. Have the conversation. Write the directive. Tell the people you love what matters. And then live like it matters. If this conversation stirred something in you — good. That’s the point. You can find Dr. Josh Russell at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-russell-md/ thefocusedexam.com And if you’re ready to stop drifting and start living intentionally, join us inside the Normal 40 community.  You can find everything related to Normal 40 here: https://linktr.ee/lon.stroschein This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit normal40.substack.com

    49 min
  7. #82: The Impact: What Surviving a Plane Crash Taught Dave Sanderson About Life, Legacy, and Letting Go

    Feb 6

    #82: The Impact: What Surviving a Plane Crash Taught Dave Sanderson About Life, Legacy, and Letting Go

    There are moments that rearrange your priorities without asking permission. They don’t feel profound when they arrive. They feel urgent. Final. Unavoidable. For Dave Sanderson, that moment came on January 15, 2009, when the words “Brace for impact” cut through the cabin of US Airways Flight 1549. What followed was the Miracle on the Hudson. What came after was something far harder to navigate. In this episode, Lon sits down with Dave for a deep, unhurried conversation that goes far beyond the crash itself. This is not a disaster story. It’s a story about identity, responsibility, regret, and the quiet decisions that shape the rest of your life long after the headlines fade. Dave takes us back to second grade, to small-town values, to injuries that ended dreams, to mentors who saw something in him before he saw it in himself. He shares how a life built on achievement, travel, and significance slowly pulled him away from what mattered most—and how a single moment forced him to confront the cost of that drift. The crash didn’t just threaten his life. It stripped away every illusion about what was important. What followed was a choice: Would this be something that happened to him…or something he would use for others? Dave chose service. And nothing has been the same since. KEY TAKEAWAYS -->Every life has a “brace for impact” moment. Most just aren’t as visible. -->Success can quietly pull you away from the people you’re doing it for. -->You don’t get to choose what happens to you, but you always choose the response. -->Your story becomes powerful when you stop protecting it and start sharing it. -->What you’ve learned isn’t meant to die with you; pass it on. WHAT’S NEXT If this episode stayed with you longer than you expected, that’s not an accident. You may not be in a plane that’s going down—but you might be ignoring the voice in your head that’s been warning you something needs to change. You don’t have to wait for catastrophe to choose differently. Learn more about Dave’s work, books, and speaking here:  https://davesandersonspeaks.com And as always, you can find everything related to Normal 40 here: https://linktr.ee/lon.stroschein Your life doesn’t change all at once.It changes the moment you decide what matters. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit normal40.substack.com

    1h 28m
  8. #81: The Avoidance: Why Smart, Capable People Put Off the Easy Things

    Jan 23

    #81: The Avoidance: Why Smart, Capable People Put Off the Easy Things

    Most of us think we’re high performers because we get things done. We solve problems. We chase answers. We check the boxes. But what if the thing holding you back isn’t the hard stuff?What if it’s the easy stuff you keep avoiding? In this episode, Adam and Lon kick off 2026 with a candid, unfiltered conversation about avoidance, self-sabotage, and the surprising anxiety that shows up when you’re avoiding what should be the most energizing part of your life. Lon shares a personal realization he hasn’t talked about publicly before: how avoiding the easy things, not the hard ones, created anxiety and capped his growth, even while everything looked “successful” on the outside. And why finally naming that pattern changed everything. This conversation isn’t about productivity.It’s about self-work.The kind you can’t delegate.The kind that’s embarrassing to admit.The kind that unlocks what’s next. IN THIS EPISODE: --Why avoiding the easy things is often more dangerous than avoiding the hard ones --The two types of avoidance and how to tell which one is costing you --How self-awareness without acceptance becomes self-sabotage --Why elite performers struggle to ask for help even when they need it most --The four-step path: awareness → acknowledgment → acceptance → permission --How avoidance quietly becomes the ceiling on your life and work --How Lon now measures progress not by success, but by anxiety reductionKEY TAKEAWAYS: ->Avoidance is a limiter. Wherever you avoid, that’s your ceiling. ->If something is giving you anxiety, it’s asking to be addressed, not ignored. ->Self-work is internal work. Lists won’t fix what you’re avoiding. ->You don’t get to be two people. The strength and the struggle come together. ->Asking for help isn’t weakness - it’s leadership. WHAT’S NEXT: If this episode stirred something in you, that’s not an accident. You’re probably avoiding something you already know you need to face.A conversation.A decision.A truth about yourself. You don’t have to do it alone. If you want to go deeper: 1. Join the Insider — a community built on “never alone” 2. Book a free Ramble 3. Read The Trade 4. Subscribe to The Inevitable You can find it all here:  https://linktr.ee/lon.stroschein Follow Adam Eaton here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-eaton-21646a4/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit normal40.substack.com

    55 min
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4.9
out of 5
72 Ratings

About

Hosted by Lon Stroschein I walked away from the career I built—at the top—because it was costing me my life. Now, I help high performers make The Trade. This podcast is for the ones who have everything… and still feel like something’s missing. Real stories. Raw truth. No more waiting. Let’s Ramble. normal40.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Lon Stroschein
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    89
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Lon Stroschein
  • Show Website
    The Normal 40 Podcast

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