Work · 18 min
Freedom Is a Myth: Why Six Figures Just Upgraded Your Cage
1,700 people under him and a $226 million budget, and Steve was in chains nobody could see. Start with his story.
The Fire Forged Leader Podcast · New episodes every Monday
Lead at work. Lead at home. Lead yourself first.
Real conversations for men who built success and are still figuring out the rest. Marriage, fatherhood, faith, work and the discipline that holds it together. Hosted by Steve Baumgartner.
249Episodes
4.9Stars on Apple Podcasts
125Countries listening
2,000+Cities
The latest episode
Watch · 71 min
From Teen Dad to Navy Commander: The Ultimate Self-Leadership Blueprint | Shelric Peterson
Poverty, a job at 9, a son at 17. Shelric Peterson built a 30-year Navy career on self-leadership. His five pillars, and the wake-up call from his wife that saved his career.
Who it's for
You built the career. Now build the rest.
Most men are building a life. Few are building one that lasts. This show is for the man who carries the weight at work and refuses to drift at home. Five lanes, one man.
01Episodes →02Episodes →03Episodes →04Episodes →05Episodes →
Work
The career you built, the value you deliver, and the cost nobody puts on the spreadsheet.
Marriage
From roommates back to partners. Conflict, closeness and leading at home.
Fatherhood
Breaking the cycle you inherited and raising sons and daughters who know who they are.
Faith
Order, conviction and what it means to follow Christ as a man in this culture.
The man
Discipline, comfort, drift and the story you tell yourself in the mirror.
New here?
Start with these six.
249 episodes is a lot of ground. These six cover the whole man, one lane at a time, and finish with one of the best conversations on the show.
Marriage · 14 min
Career vs. Marriage: When Success Comes at a Cost
What happens when the skills that make you successful at work start damaging your marriage.
Fatherhood · 14 min
The Father Wound: Breaking Generational Cycles & Raising Emotionally Strong Sons
We tell our sons to be a man. We rarely show them how.
Faith · 30 min
Men Searching for Order: Why Faith Is Pulling Men Back
Men aren't searching for comfort. They're searching for order.
The man · 14 min
Why Strong Men Drift | The Lone Wolf Trap
Disciplined, capable, respected. So why does something still feel off?
Conversation · 74 min
Hard-Target Yourself: How Navy SEAL Tommy Richardson Rebuilt His Faith, Family, and Leadership
Former Navy SEAL Tommy Richardson on the battle that isn't overseas. It's the one inside your own mind.
Recent episodes
Every Monday.
Solo episodes run about 15 to 30 minutes. Conversations with guests run about an hour. All episodes
A Friend's Worst Day: The Strength to Lead Through Tragedy
What happens when life delivers a tragedy you never saw coming, and the people around you look to you to lead?
Stop Living as a Discounted Version of Yourself | Reclaim the Value You've Forgotten
Working harder, delivering results, and still feeling undervalued. How to stop accepting someone else's price tag on your worth.
Marriage, Burnout, Fatherhood & Purpose | Straight From the Anvil Q&A
Providing for everyone and losing connection with your wife, your kids and yourself. Steve answers listener questions.
The Dented Can: Stop Letting Corporate Discount Your Value
Delivering results and still overlooked? The dented can, and the four moves that put your value back on the shelf.
Beyond the Noise: Unmasking Spiritual Warfare, the War on Men & The Forge Knight Protocol
Stop reacting to every headline and start asking what is shaping the man you're becoming.
Unearthing Forgotten History & True Biblical Manhood with Massie Campos
Leading with conviction in a culture that challenges your faith, identity and values.
Straight From the Anvil
Ask Steve. He answers on air.
Send Steve your question. He answers listener questions on air in Straight From the Anvil. No names, no judgment, straight answers.
"I'm providing for everyone. So why am I losing connection with my wife, my kids and myself?"
- How do I reconnect with my wife when we've become roommates?
- I dread Sunday nights. Do I quit, or fight for the career?
- How do I lead a teenager who won't talk to me?
- Where do men find real friends after 40?
At the table
Men who've been through it.
Navy SEALs, fathers, founders, pastors and coaches. A few of the men who have sat across from Steve.
Shelric PetersonThe self-leadership blueprintTommy RichardsonHard-target yourselfLarry HagnerThe pursuit of legendary fatherhoodRyan MichlerMen's workDrew DudleyLeadership is creating momentsScott MannNobody is comingDrago DzieranFrom political prisoner to Navy SEALLucas KrumpMen's fight for freedomNick LaveryGet back in the warMassie CamposForgotten history and biblical manhoodKevin MetcalfProtecting our MVPsSathiya SamThe 3 hidden roots keeping good men trapped
Your host
Steve Baumgartner
Steve spent 32 years in manufacturing, from the plant floor to Director of Asset Reliability over 42 plants. Six figures and 1,700 people under him. In his words, he was still in chains nobody could see.
He rebuilt from the inside out, and now he helps other men do the same. Husband to Sheri, father of a big family, coach, speaker and host of this show for more than four years. He doesn't talk about leadership from a stage he's never stood on. He talks about what it costs and what it's worth.
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Listen your way.
Follow on your app and new episodes arrive every Monday. If the show helps you, a rating on Apple Podcasts helps the next man find it.
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Built something real? Still fighting for home?
Tell us who you are and what you'd bring. Steve reviews every application personally.