You’ve probably heard the phrase “happy wife, happy life” a thousand times. But what if we’ve been missing the point?

In this episode of The Navigating Leaders Podcast, host Gabriel Griess shares a simple moment with his wife, Kristie, and son, Preston, that completely reframed what it means to truly love, serve, and honor the people closest to us.

At a time when the world feels filled with conflict, uncertainty, stress, and even headlines of war, it’s easy to overlook the quiet battles happening inside our homes, relationships, and hearts. In a culture searching for stronger marriages, deeper connection, emotional health, and less overwhelm, we often assume love looks like expensive vacations, jewelry, or grand gestures. While those things can be meaningful, Gabriel shares a different perspective: sometimes love looks much simpler and much more powerful.

Through one ordinary Saturday afternoon spent scanning receipts, Gabriel uncovers an unexpected lesson about marriage, service, emotional support, and what people truly need most when life feels heavy.

Sometimes the greatest gift you can give someone isn’t more; it’s relief.

Whether you’re married, single, dating, or somewhere in between, this episode will challenge you to see the people in your life differently and ask: what burden can I help someone lay down today?

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RESOURCES

🌎 Website: navigatingleaders.com

👀 Vision Engine: navigatingleaders.com/vision-engine

📖 The Results Tree—A Proven Path to the Life You Really Want: TheResultsTree.com

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CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

🎥 YouTube: @navigatingleaders
📸 Instagram: @navigatingleaders

👍 Facebook: @navigatingleaders

🎵 TikTok: @navigatingleaders

🗣️ LinkedIn: @navigatingleaders

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ABOUT GABRIEL

Gabriel Griess is a retired US Air Force officer, the CEO of Excel Medical Staffing and MedForceX, and the founder of Navigating Leaders. A graduate of the elite Air Force Weapons School, he has spent decades leading teams in high-pressure environments and equipping others to reach their full potential. As a combat veteran and an entrepreneur, Gabriel helps individuals cultivate self-awareness, resilience, and the ability to create lasting impact.

An internationally sought-after keynote speaker, he addresses audiences on personal transformation, strategic leadership, and veteran empowerment. The Results Tree is the framework he lives by, and when applied, it will unearth your destiny.

What happens when a young woman takes her faith from the White House to a war zone and turns it into a lifelong mission to protect the most vulnerable?

In this episode of The Navigating Leaders Podcast, host Gabriel Griess sits down with Allison Higgins, J.D. - attorney, anti-human trafficking advocate, and co-founder of CoverGov.

Allison's story is anything but ordinary. From a church plant in a tent outside Georgetown to praying over a sick woman in Indonesia and not learning the outcome for four years, her life is a masterclass in walking by faith.

Gabriel and Allison explore what it looks like to pursue God wholeheartedly while building a meaningful career, how to stay centered when everything feels urgent, and what it truly costs to say yes to the hard assignments.

Allison shares her firsthand experience at the Ukraine-Poland border during the 2022 Russian invasion, where she witnessed trafficking in real time and helped launch a rapid response using facial recognition, law enforcement collaboration, and baby supplies as cover. Back in Texas, she unpacks the staggering reality of statewide trafficking - 79,000 youth and minor sex trafficking victims alone and how a DOJ-backed task force model is finally getting it right.

This conversation will stretch your faith, challenge your priorities, and remind you that a life of purpose is built one courageous yes at a time.

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RESOURCES

🌎 Website: navigatingleaders.com

📖 The Results Tree—A Proven Path to the Life You Really Want: TheResultsTree.com

🛡️ UnboundNow (Anti-Human Trafficking Organization): unboundnow.org

🏛️ CoverGov (Government Intelligence Platform): covergov.com

📚 Right Away and All at Once by Greg Brenneman: amazon.com/Right-Away-All-At-Once/dp/0795347480

CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

🎥 YouTube: @navigatingleaders
📸 Instagram: @navigatingleaders

👍 Facebook: @navigatingleaders

🎵 TikTok: @navigatingleaders

🗣️ LinkedIn: @navigatingleaders

====================

ABOUT GABRIEL

Gabriel Griess is a retired US Air Force officer, the CEO of Excel Medical Staffing and MedForceX, and the founder of Navigating Leaders. A graduate of the elite Air Force Weapons School, he has spent decades leading teams in high-pressure environments and equipping others to reach their full potential. As a combat veteran and an entrepreneur, Gabriel helps individuals cultivate self-awareness, resilience, and the ability to create lasting impact.

An internationally sought-after keynote speaker, he addresses audiences on personal transformation, strategic leadership, and veteran empowerment. The Results Tree is the framework he lives by, and when applied, it will unearth your destiny.

In this behind-the-scenes episode of the Navigating Leaders Podcast, host Gabriel Griess sits down with Marcos Perez, CEO of Harp & Sword Media, to unpack the story behind The Results Tree and tackle a question so many people are asking: Why am I doing everything right and still not getting the results I want?

What began as a more than 20-year idea has become a message that is impacting lives today. Gabriel shares how it all came together, why it matters now more than ever, and what it really takes to bring something meaningful to life.

This conversation dives into purpose, action, and why so many people feel stuck despite doing “all the right things.” Gabriel unpacks how The Results Tree was designed to cut through the noise, bring clarity, and help you uncover your vision, take aligned action, and use your results as real-time feedback to move forward with confidence.

Whether you are building something, feeling stuck, or searching for clarity, this episode will challenge and inspire you. It’s a reminder that your journey matters, your vision is worth pursuing, and it’s never too late to begin again.

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RESOURCES

🌎 Website: navigatingleaders.com

📖 The Results Tree—A Proven Path to the Life You Really Want: TheResultsTree.com
📖 Harp & Sword Media: harpandswordmedia.com

CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

🎥 YouTube: @navigatingleaders
📸 Instagram: @navigatingleaders

👍 Facebook: @navigatingleaders

🎵 TikTok: @navigatingleaders

🗣️ LinkedIn: @navigatingleaders

====================

ABOUT GABRIEL

Gabriel Griess is a retired US Air Force officer, the CEO of Excel Medical Staffing and MedForceX, and the founder of Navigating Leaders. A graduate of the elite Air Force Weapons School, he has spent decades leading teams in high-pressure environments and equipping others to reach their full potential. As a combat veteran and an entrepreneur, Gabriel helps individuals cultivate self-awareness, resilience, and the ability to create lasting impact.

An internationally sought-after keynote speaker, he addresses audiences on personal transformation, strategic leadership, and veteran empowerment. The Results Tree is the framework he lives by, and when applied, it will unearth your destiny.

In this thought-provoking episode of The Navigating Leaders Podcast, host Gabriel Griess challenges you to dig deep and ask yourself: Are you living the life you really want?

Drawing from his new book, The Results Tree, Gabriel explores the powerful concept of results as the clearest indicator of whether your life is aligned with the vision placed on your heart. While goals can fade or shift, results are tangible, they reflect where you’ve invested your time, energy, and focus.

Gabriel explains that results act as a mirror, offering honest feedback across key areas of life like faith, family, health, finances, and relationships. Rather than judging yourself, he encourages using results as information, celebrating what aligns with your vision and adjusting what doesn’t.

When rooted in vision, supported by clear intention, and driven by committed action, results become a powerful tool for growth and realignment.

This episode is an invitation to reflect, extend yourself grace, and continue the journey. Progress doesn’t require perfection, only the courage to evaluate, adjust, and move forward again.

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RESOURCES

🌎 Website: navigatingleaders.com

👀 Vision Engine: navigatingleaders.com/vision-engine

📖 The Results Tree—A Proven Path to the Life You Really Want: TheResultsTree.com

CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

🎥 YouTube: @navigatingleaders
📸 Instagram: @navigatingleaders

👍 Facebook: @navigatingleaders

🎵 TikTok: @navigatingleaders

🗣️ LinkedIn: @navigatingleaders

====================

ABOUT GABRIEL

Gabriel Griess is a retired US Air Force officer, the CEO of Excel Medical Staffing and MedForceX, and the founder of Navigating Leaders. A graduate of the elite Air Force Weapons School, he has spent decades leading teams in high-pressure environments and equipping others to reach their full potential. As a combat veteran and an entrepreneur, Gabriel helps individuals cultivate self-awareness, resilience, and the ability to create lasting impact.

An internationally sought-after keynote speaker, he addresses audiences on personal transformation, strategic leadership, and veteran empowerment. The Results Tree is the framework he lives by, and when applied, it will unearth your destiny.

In this thought-provoking episode of The Navigating Leaders Podcast, host Gabriel Griess challenges a common belief about success: what if quitting isn’t failure, but one of the most important decisions you can make?

Drawing from his new book, The Results Tree, Gabriel explores the powerful concept of committed action and why knowing what to quit is just as important as knowing what to pursue.

He reframes quitting not as failure, but as a strategic decision to stop doing things that don’t align with your vision, purpose, and calling. When your actions are rooted in a compelling vision and fueled by clear intention, quitting distractions becomes essential for living boldly and taking meaningful action.

Using practical examples and relatable analogies, he highlights why perseverance matters, why failure is simply feedback, and why success comes from staying in the arena rather than striving for perfection.

The life you want is built through committed action, taken one step at a time, even when the path isn’t clear.

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QUOTES

• Winston Churchill: “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”
• Ed Mylett: “You don't have to believe in your entire journey. Just believe in the next step.”

Life shifts from drifting through circumstances to moving forward with purpose and intention.

CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

🎥 YouTube: @navigatingleaders
📸 Instagram: @navigatingleaders

👍 Facebook: @navigatingleaders

🎵 TikTok: @navigatingleaders

🗣️ LinkedIn: @navigatingleaders

====================

ABOUT GABRIEL

Gabriel Griess is a retired US Air Force officer, the CEO of Excel Medical Staffing and MedForceX, and the founder of Navigating Leaders. A graduate of the elite Air Force Weapons School, he has spent decades leading teams in high-pressure environments and equipping others to reach their full potential. As a combat veteran and an entrepreneur, Gabriel helps individuals cultivate self-awareness, resilience, and the ability to create lasting impact.

An internationally sought-after keynote speaker, he addresses audiences on personal transformation, strategic leadership, and veteran empowerment. The Results Tree is the framework he lives by, and when applied, it will unearth your destiny.

What if the difference between wishing for change and actually creating it came down to one thing: clear intentions?

In this episode of The Navigating Leaders Podcast, host Gabriel Griess explores the transformative power of having clear intentions.

Drawing from his new book, The Results Tree, Gabriel unpacks why this is more than simply setting goals or making resolutions. Clear intention is not a wish, a hope, or a vague desire. It’s a crystal-clear commitment aligned with the vision written on your heart.

Gabriel explains that when your intentions become clear, they activate both conscious and subconscious alignment. Decisions become easier, distractions lose their pull, and daily choices begin moving you toward the life you’re called to create.

Through practical examples, including the trap of perfectionism and the danger of abandoning progress after small setbacks, Gabriel reminds listeners that clear intentions keep you on course even when you stumble. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about staying committed and getting back on track.

When your intentions are crystal clear, your actions follow. And when your actions align with your vision, transformation begins.

Life shifts from drifting through circumstances to moving forward with purpose and intention.

====================

RESOURCES

🌎 Website: navigatingleaders.com

👀 Vision Engine: navigatingleaders.com/vision-engine

📖 The Results Tree—A Proven Path to the Life You Really Want: TheResultsTree.com

CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

🎥 YouTube: @navigatingleaders
📸 Instagram: @navigatingleaders

👍 Facebook: @navigatingleaders

🎵 TikTok: @navigatingleaders

🗣️ LinkedIn: @navigatingleaders

====================

ABOUT GABRIEL

Gabriel Griess is a retired US Air Force officer, the CEO of Excel Medical Staffing and MedForceX, and the founder of Navigating Leaders. A graduate of the elite Air Force Weapons School, he has spent decades leading teams in high-pressure environments and equipping others to reach their full potential. As a combat veteran and an entrepreneur, Gabriel helps individuals cultivate self-awareness, resilience, and the ability to create lasting impact.

An internationally sought-after keynote speaker, he addresses audiences on personal transformation, strategic leadership, and veteran empowerment. The Results Tree is the framework he lives by, and when applied, it will unearth your destiny.

In this episode of The Navigating Leaders Podcast, host Gabriel Griess explores a powerful question: What happens when you lose sight of the vision you were meant to live?

Drawing from his new book, The Results Tree, Gabriel unpacks why vision is one of the most powerful forces in personal growth and leadership.

Vision is more than a motivational idea. It’s a compass for life. When clearly defined, it becomes a guiding force that shapes decisions, clarifies priorities, and keeps you aligned with the purpose God placed inside you.

Gabriel explains that each person carries a unique vision written on their heart. It reflects their gifts, calling, and the impact they are meant to have in the world. But over time, distractions, fear, and limiting beliefs can cloud that vision, causing people to play smaller than they were designed to live.

In this episode, Gabriel unpacks how rediscovering your vision can quiet doubt, sharpen focus, and bring greater intention to everyday choices.

He also introduces a practical tool called the Vision Engine, available at navigatingleaders.com. This resource helps listeners craft and refine their personal vision through guided questions and AI-powered insights.

When your vision becomes clear, your path becomes clearer too. And when you begin living from that vision, life shifts from drifting through circumstances to moving forward with purpose and intention.

====================

RESOURCES

🌎 Website: navigatingleaders.com

👀 Vision Engine: navigatingleaders.com/vision-engine

📖 The Results Tree—A Proven Path to the Life You Really Want: TheResultsTree.com

CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

🎥 YouTube: @navigatingleaders
📸 Instagram: @navigatingleaders

👍 Facebook: @navigatingleaders

🎵 TikTok: @navigatingleaders

🗣️ LinkedIn: @navigatingleaders

====================

ABOUT GABRIEL

Gabriel Griess is a retired US Air Force officer, the CEO of Excel Medical Staffing and MedForceX, and the founder of Navigating Leaders. A graduate of the elite Air Force Weapons School, he has spent decades leading teams in high-pressure environments and equipping others to reach their full potential. As a combat veteran and an entrepreneur, Gabriel helps individuals cultivate self-awareness, resilience, and the ability to create lasting impact.

An internationally sought-after keynote speaker, he addresses audiences on personal transformation, strategic leadership, and veteran empowerment. The Results Tree is the framework he lives by, and when applied, it will unearth your destiny.

Do you ever feel like life tries to put you in a box? One career, title, or identity?

In this episode of The Navigating Leaders Podcast, host Gabriel Griess sits down with longtime friend, Air Force Colonel, entrepreneur, and public servant Erik “EZ” Brine to explore what it means to live a life that refuses to be defined by a single role.

Erik’s story is a powerful example of how a person can lead in multiple arenas at once. From military service and local government to launching an aviation-inspired whiskey brand and helping veterans find their voice through music with Operation Encore, Erik has embraced a life built around curiosity, service, and purpose.

But the conversation goes deeper than career accomplishments. Erik shares a pivotal moment in his life when he was forced to step away from flying, something that had become central to his identity. That transition forced him to ask a difficult question: If I’m not this role anymore, who am I?

Through that experience, Erik discovered a powerful truth: our jobs are not our identity, they’re simply one part of who we are.

In this episode, Gabriel and Erik explore:

• Why your career should never define your identity
• How embracing multiple passions can create a richer life
• The importance of being a “utility player” in life and leadership
• Why relationships and trust are the foundation of leadership
• How hardship builds resilience and empathy
• The role of mentorship, and why everyone should both seek it and give it
• Why inspiration is the missing ingredient in many leadership models

EZ also shares a leadership framework he’s developed through years of service: leaders must organize, train, equip, and inspire the people they lead.

Leadership isn’t about titles or authority. It’s about building trust, inspiring others, and showing up consistently in the relationships that matter most.

RESOURCES

• Website: navigatingleaders.com
• The Results Tree (Available April 7): shop.harpandswordmedia.com/products/the-results-tree
• Erik “EZ” Brine: linkedin.com/in/erikbrine
  • Operation Encore: operationencore.org
  • Winglore Spirits: winglorespirits.com
  • Brackish Experts: brackishexperts.com

CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

• Instagram @navigatingleaders
• Facebook @navigatingleaders
• YouTube @navigatingleaders
• LinkedIn @navigatingleaders
• TikTok @navigatingleaders