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C4 Leaders – the ONLY nonprofit to utilize the pizza making process to create space for our companions to be seen, heard, and loved. We work with businesses, sports teams, hospitals, churches…anyone looking to RISE TOGETHER. We also write children’s books and use the most amazing handmade, hand-tossed, sourdough pizza to bring out the best in each other. Please check out c4leaders.org to support our important work.

Season 6 Episode #10 Patton Dodd is coming from San Antonio, Texas (inform, inspire, & transform)

You can find Patton via his website pattondodd.com

About our guest: Patton brings 20 years of experience in media, publishing, and communications to this current role as executive director of communications for the H.E. Butt Foundation. Patton has served as editor of multiple national publications and has been widely published in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Newsweek, TheAtlantic.com, CNN.com, and Christianity Today among others. Previously an instructor at the United States Air Force Academy, Patton has taught courses in composition, literature, and film studies. He holds a doctorate in religion and literature from Boston University.

His most recent book is Patton’s memoir, The Father You Get: And the Ones You Make, Believe In, and Become, is all about fatherhood's challenges and beauty. He opens up about the wounds left by his own father's absence, the mentors who helped fill those gaps, and his own journey as a dad trying to create a path forward. It's a story of healing, faith, and crafting a legacy, a theme that dovetails with the conversations you bring to life.

Patton, thanks for having the courage to share your story, for being vulnerable and honest with life’s challenges, for continuing to believe in a higher power, and for sharing your faith, belief, and life with our listeners on Life’s Essential Ingredients…welcome to the show!

TOTD – “Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy – the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” Brene Brown

Build a habit - to create intention - to live your purpose!

In this episode:

What’s life like in San Antonio…river walk, the spurs…Wemby….

What was life like growing up?

Know Your Neighbor – South Side of San Antonio have a 20 year lower life expectancy than their neighbors on the north side of town…

Everyone Needs a Home…Share a Meal Together..

The Father You Get: And the Ones You Make, Believe In, and Become – congrats on the book, came out in September of 2025…”Dodd does not shy away from showing the profound wounds that come when our fathers are absent, harmful, or simply incapable. At the same time, his storytelling is infused with insight, honesty, and care, offering a mirror for our own stories. Reading it brought unexpected clarity and resonance in my own life.”

Dealing with a father who was an alcoholic…

Father Hunger… in the book…

Laity Lodge…

The Power of Story Making…

Has big sister…KC who took great care of you growing up…

22, 19, 15…three children…best part of fatherhood

The Echoes Podcast is part of the HE Butt Foundation?

Legacy

Send us Fan Mail

C4 Leaders – the ONLY nonprofit to utilize the pizza making process to create space for our companions to be seen, heard, and loved. We work with businesses, sports teams, hospitals, churches…anyone looking to RISE TOGETHER. We also write children’s books and use the most amazing handmade, hand-tossed, sourdough pizza to bring out the best in each other. Please check out c4leaders.org to support our important work.

Season 6 Episode #9 Sam Mitchell is coming from Owensburg, Indiana (inform, inspire, & transform)

You can find Sam via his website autismrocksandrolls.com

About our guest: Sam Mitchell is an autistic advocate, podcaster, and founder of "Autism Rocks and Rolls," a nonprofit organization aimed at removing the stigma surrounding autism and showing that individuals on the spectrum are not "broken". Based in Indiana, Sam shares his personal experiences with bullying, socialization challenges, and the importance of structure to advocate for acceptance and understanding.

• Autism Rocks and Rolls: Founded in 2018 (when Sam was 16), this organization includes a podcast where he discusses daily struggles and triumphs, aiming to change the narrative around autism.
• Advocacy Philosophy: Sam emphasizes that while autism brings daily challenges, it does not need to be cured. He advocates for managing behaviors while accepting the individual's unique brain function, often comparing the autistic mind to a "pinball game".
• Speaking & Outreach: He is a public speaker, offering insights into his life, including his experience with social challenges and his need for routine and structure, as seen in his Ted Talk.

Sam, thanks for sharing you many gifts and talents with the world and thanks for being our guest on Life’s Essential Ingredients…welcome to the show!

TOTD – “Often those who you’d expect the most from give the least and those you expect the least from give the most.” Vanessa O’Brian

Build a habit - to create intention - to live your purpose!

In this episode:

Hoosier fan?

What was life like growing up?

Took a class in hs and decided that he wanted to be a podcaster…

Best part of podcasting?

Are there a few shows that stand out from your show…

Being an inspirational speaker

Traveling internationally to do what you do

How important is structure in your life?

Being other abled

Challenges you have overcome and advice you would give to someone going through a difficult time

Team at Autism Rocks and Rolls…

Running your own business

What would you like business owners to know about inclusion …

Season 3 on your podcast…you have been on 2500 podcasts as a guest…

Board of 6 people, October of 2021, Podcast was the start of the nonprofit…

Resources for families with autism…

Big picture of your nonprofit…focusing on CAN vs. CAN’T

85% of people with autism are unemployed

Legacy

Favorite podcast guest…

Gala… coming up…to raise money…April 18th

Send us Fan Mail

C4 Leaders – the ONLY nonprofit to utilize the pizza making process to create space for our companions to be seen, heard, and loved. We work with businesses, sports teams, hospitals, churches…anyone looking to RISE TOGETHER. We also write children’s books and use the most amazing handmade, hand-tossed, sourdough pizza to bring out the best in each other. Please check out c4leaders.org to support our important work.

Season 6 Episode #8 Nate Turner is coming from Zionsville, Indiana (inform, inspire, & transform)

You can find Nate via his website nathanielaturner.com

What if the most important engineering project of your life isn’t your career—but the human being you’re raising? Today’s guest is Nate Turner, a Humanity Propulsion Engineer and the creator of the Life Template Method. Nate teaches parents how to stop raising children by accident and start intentionally engineering a child’s life trajectory. His work centers on three pillars: Intellectual Ambition, Global and Cultural Competency and Humanitarian Drive.

Nate first tested this approach in his own home. Using these principles, he and his wife raised a multilingual son who trained at Brazil’s top professional soccer academy, earned admission to 27 leading universities, received fully funded fellowships to elite graduate engineering programs for his PhD, and full scholarships to elite graduate business schools for his MBA.

Today, through the League of Extraordinary Parents, Nate helps families raise children who are prepared to compete globally, live purposefully, and leave the planet better than they found it.

Nate, thanks for sharing your many gifts and talents, thanks for having the courage to put your heart on paper (author of 5 books), thanks for dedicating your life to raising a son to contribute to the world, and thanks for helping parents do the same. Nate, Welcome to the show!

TOTD – “All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

Build a habit - to create intention - to live your purpose!

In this episode:

What was life like growing up?

How the Lion King changed your life…

Letters behind your name are what you did in the past….love that…

ACEs and your childhood…being here in spite of that…plan to change your lives…

What were you made for…

Ted Talk – We Owe Generation Z an Apology Today… viewed by 1.7 million people

IDEA Impatient, Distracted, Entitled, Apathetic…

Preparation Not Luck

No Time For Imposter Syndrome…

Books you recommend?

Humanity Propulsion Engineer

5 day Challenge from site…

10 Things Parents Should Do To Prevent Summer Learning Loss

5 websites parents should bookmark

Journalling Forward…how he starts his day…writing down what actions you are going to take…to CHASING WORDS…

Raising Children to Benefit the Planet

Mufasa said…”You have forgotten who you are”…

The child who the village is responsible for and a child who knows they are responsible for the village…

Son (Naeem) is a futball player…who moved to Brazil when he was 16…do for yourself what you have done for everyone else

Legacy