In this episode of Trail Talks, Kelly and Ericka dive into their favorite lessons from John Maxwell’s The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth. Rather than covering all 15 laws, they each share the five that have had the biggest impact on their lives, leadership, and personal development journey. Maxwell’s framework emphasizes intentional growth through principles such as Environment, Reflection, Expansion, Contribution, Consistency, Pain, and Trade-Offs.  

You’ll hear:

• Kelly’s Top 5 Laws of Growth and why they resonate with his journey
• Ericka’s Top 5 Laws and the lessons she’s learned from applying them
• How environment shapes success more than willpower
• Why reflection is one of the most overlooked growth tools
• The sacrifices required to reach your potential
• The connection between personal growth and serving others
• A fun 90s-themed “This or That” detour

Whether you’re a leader, coach, parent, or someone simply trying to become a better version of yourself, this episode will challenge you to think differently about growth—and remind you that growth doesn’t happen by accident. It happens on purpose.  

Trail Tip: Growth is not an event. It’s a daily choice

Using Google’s Project Aristotle as the foundation, they walk through the five key factors of high-performing teams: psychological safety, dependability, structure and clarity, meaning, and impact. 🧭

This conversation is for leaders and team members alike, because culture is not just carried by the person in charge. Everyone contributes to whether a team feels safe, clear, meaningful, and productive.

And of course, the episode would not be complete without a detour. This week’s stop? Movie theater etiquette, sneaking 🍫candy, 🍿popcorn butter strategy, assigned seats, and the great subtitle debate. 

A practical leadership conversation with a little theater-lobby chaos on the side.

They talk about the difference between a culture of testing and a culture of fitness, what really gets in the way of our health, why sleep matters more than we want to admit, and how small habits quietly shape the way we show up every day. 🧠🌙

And because it is Trail Talks, there is also a Memorial Day detour involving celebrity BBQ teams, backyard games, and just enough chaos to make you question who should ever be trusted near the grill. 🔥🍔🇺🇸

Listen now to Episode 25. 

In this episode of Trail Talks 🎙️, Kelly officially welcomes Vanessa Valdez as co-host as they unpack why teams, workplaces, and even friendships can get stuck in the same cycles.

Through leadership stories 💡, Ted Lasso references ⚽, practical conversation, and a hilarious detour into airplane etiquette ✈️😂, this episode explores what creates movement inside a team — and what quietly keeps people spinning in circles.

Because sometimes the biggest leadership challenge is not identifying the problem…
It’s helping people move forward. 🌲

What happens when your title becomes your identity? When work replaces purpose? When control feels safer than connection?

Together, they unpack the psychology behind workaholism, toxic leadership, identity loss, burnout, and why some leaders struggle to step away. They also share practical tools to help leaders build healthier identities beyond the role. 🌱

Topics include:
🔹 Leadership addiction explained
🔹 Workaholism vs purpose-driven work
🔹 Toxic leadership patterns
🔹 Identity outside your job title
🔹 Why control becomes addictive
🔹 Tools for healthier leadership

🎧 If you’ve ever tied your worth to productivity, this one is for you. 

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as professional counseling, medical, or legal advice.

Because here’s the truth:
 Leadership isn’t complicated… it’s uncomfortable.
 And too often, we avoid the very things that make leadership effective.

In this episode of Trail Talks, we break down:

•  The 5 basics of leadership: clarity, consistency, communication, ownership, and care 
•  The 3 essentials of followership: ownership without authority, courage, and contribution 
•  A simple self-check to help you evaluate how you’re showing up—no matter your role 

This isn’t theory.
 This is what people actually feel when leadership is done right—and what breaks when it’s not.

If you’ve ever felt frustrated by leadership (yours or someone else’s), this episode is your reset.

Because if it’s not:

•  Clear 
•  Consistent 
•  Communicated 
•  Owned 
•  And grounded in care 

…it’s not leadership.

🎧 Press play and get back to the basics.

This isn’t about obvious conflict or explosive leaders. It’s about the behaviors that happen quietly:

•  Avoiding hard conversations 
•  Withholding feedback 
•  Excluding people from information or opportunities 
•  Creating environments where people feel unseen, unsupported, or unsure where they stand 

And the impact? It’s real. It affects trust, performance, confidence—and ultimately, people.

Together, they unpack:

•  What silent bullying actually looks like in leadership spaces 
•  Why it often goes unaddressed 
•  The subtle behaviors that signal something deeper is off 
•  And what leaders—and teammates—can do to change it 

This conversation is honest, at times uncomfortable, and necessary.

Because leadership isn’t just about what you say.
 It’s also about what you don’t say—and the space that silence creates.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this episode are our own and do not reflect those of the Department of War or the United States Air Force.

Sometimes… it’s what isn’t said.

In this solo episode, I talk about a form of leadership that often goes unnoticed—silence that breaks trust. The moments where leaders stay quiet when something needs to be addressed. When people are treated poorly, when tension is obvious, when something feels off… and nothing is said.

I share why this weighs so heavy on me—because people come to me for support. And when they do, it’s not small stuff. It’s the kind of things that keep you up at night… watching people carry things they shouldn’t have to carry alone.

We’ll get into:

• Why silence can feel like approval
• How avoidance erodes trust over time
• The emotional weight leaders carry (and don’t always talk about)
• The difference between being emotionally comfortable vs. emotionally steady
• And what it actually looks like to show up when it matters

This isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being present. Aware. Willing.

Because leadership isn’t just about what you say…
 It’s about what you’re willing to say when it counts.

Trying harder. Being more consistent. Having more willpower.

But what if that’s not the real problem?

In this episode, we explore a powerful leadership and personal growth truth inspired by John Maxwell’s Law of Environment:

Your environment shapes your behavior more than your willpower does.

We break down the four environments influencing your life every day—physical, social, digital, and emotional—and how each one is quietly shaping your habits, mindset, and identity.

You’ll learn:

• Why nearly half of our daily behavior is driven by habit, not decision
• How social contagion spreads behaviors, attitudes, and culture
• The hidden impact of your digital environment on focus and mental health
• How leaders shape culture by designing environments—not controlling people

We also share real-world examples from psychology, leadership, and military experience to show how environments can either support growth or quietly sabotage it.

And most importantly, we give you simple, practical ways to start changing your environment this week—so growth becomes easier, not harder.

Because sometimes the problem isn’t your discipline…

It’s your environment.

Together we break down three common lies about self-love that quietly shape how we think about our worth, our relationships, and our identity. Then we share three powerful truths grounded in psychology and neuroscience that can help you build a more stable sense of self.

Along the way we explore research from experts like Kristin Neff, Brené Brown, and James Clear and discuss how self-worth, attachment, and the nervous system influence the way we experience love.

You’ll also walk away with practical tools you can start using immediately to build healthier self-talk, emotional regulation, and identity-based habits.

In this episode we discuss:
 ✨ Why self-worth often becomes tied to performance and approval
 🧠 How rejection affects the brain and nervous system
 💛 The difference between self-compassion and self-esteem
 🛠 Practical tools to build a healthier relationship with yourself

Self-love isn’t about perfection.

It’s about learning to treat yourself with the same compassion, clarity, and respect you offer to others.

Kelly Kruger 🎤 and Terra Stinnett 🌟 sit down with Gregg & Shakela Matthews 💑—founders of Always Love and Lead ❤️➡️👣 and Divinely Restored 🙏🏾✨—to talk relationships 💍, emotional intelligence 🧠, communication 🗣️, and rebuilding after divorce 💔➡️💖

From a high school connection 🏫💞 to life pulling them in different directions 🌪️⏳, Gregg and Shakela share how healing, maturity, and faith ultimately brought them back together 24 years later 💍✨

This episode offers hope 🕯️, perspective 👀, and real-life insight for anyone wondering if healthy love is still possible 💛

In this final part of Episode 13, we explore what it really means to lead when the uniform comes off—and when titles no longer define us.

Retired Command Chief Ericka Kelly shares powerful insights on:

• Preparing for life beyond rank and roles
• The emotional reality of transition
• Building a coaching or leadership business with intention
• Why emotional intelligence is the most in-demand leadership skill today

This conversation is for leaders, veterans, entrepreneurs, and anyone navigating change while trying to stay grounded in who they truly are.

🎙️ Awareness is powerful—but support is transformational.

We unpack why emotions aren’t facts—but important data, how subconscious programming shapes our reactions, and why great leadership starts with understanding yourself first. Erica shares lessons on mentorship, resilience, psychological safety, and what happens when leaders truly make space for people to feel seen.

We also take a fun detour to get to know Erica beyond leadership—talking personality styles, parenting, guilty pleasures, favorite books, and the importance of rest and reflection.

✨ Awareness is powerful—but support is transformational.

Erica shares her journey from surviving severe childhood trauma and poverty in Guatemala, immigrating to the United States, and eventually rising to become the 17th Command Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Reserve Command. This episode explores what persistence looks like when it’s not motivational—but necessary.

We talk about:
• Staying down when life hits too hard
• The courage to tell your story
• Leadership shaped by lived experience
• Why healing doesn’t always look like “bouncing back”

This episode is raw, honest, and powerful—and a reminder that awareness is powerful, but support is transformational.

What if the reason you feel stuck isn’t a lack of discipline… but the way you’ve been taught to treat your feelings?

In Episode 12 of Trail Talks, we’re talking about the real F word — feelings. 🧠💛
The emotions we were never taught how to name, process, or trust — and how they quietly influence our goals, decisions, relationships, and leadership.

In this episode, we explore:
✨ Why feelings often feel like facts
✨ How emotional intelligence shapes consistency and discipline
✨ The difference between feeling through emotions vs. around them
✨ Why motivation is unreliable — and standards matter more
✨ Practical tools to name, process, and manage emotions without suppressing them

Feelings are real. They’re valid. But they don’t have to be in charge.

This conversation connects emotional intelligence, cognitive behavioral tools, and real-life examples to help you stop waiting for the “right” feeling — and start showing up with intention, even when it’s uncomfortable.

🎧 Whether you’re navigating goals, leadership, relationships, or personal growth, this episode will help you build awareness, consistency, and trust in yourself.

Awareness is powerful. Support is transformational.

In this episode of Trail Talks, we dive into our relationship with time — why it feels scarce, why we feel behind, and why productivity hacks alone don’t work. We explore the neuroscience behind time perception, how our brain processes urgency and focus, and why managing your mind matters more than managing your calendar.

We talk about:

• Why you can’t “create” more time — and what actually helps instead
• How your brain experiences time pressure and overwhelm
• The difference between being busy and being intentional
• Why clarity beats hustle every time
• Practical mindset shifts to stop feeling rushed and start feeling grounded

This episode isn’t about doing more — it’s about thinking differently so you can lead, live, and show up with purpose.

🎧 If time feels like it’s always slipping through your fingers, this one’s for you.

In this solo episode of Trail Talks, Kelly breaks down The Gritty Eight — the real parts of the goal journey most people aren’t prepared for: the joy, setbacks, the messy middle, triumphs, momentum shifts, how to stay the course, and who you become along the way.

Grounded in neuroscience, emotional intelligence, and grit, this episode helps you understand why the journey feels the way it does — and gives you practical tools to keep going when motivation fades.

Plus, a fun detour into pop culture with Kelly’s Top 8 entertainment moments of the year, because growth doesn’t have to be heavy all the time.

🌿 The goal may get you started — but the journey is what changes you.

We break down the neuroscience behind goal setting 🧠, why the brain needs direction, and what actually happens when we don’t choose a path.

You’ll learn how goals create clarity ✨, momentum 🚀, and purpose — and how reflecting on the past year can help you set more aligned, meaningful goals for the future.

Real talk, real science, and a few detours along the way. 🌿
Let’s move from drifting to deciding.

We dive into:
 🧠 Why our brains create expectations in the first place
 💬 How unspoken “manuals” shape our relationships and stress
 ✨ When expectations cross the line into disrespect — and why the Golden Rule always wins
📘 The difference between healthy standards and secret demands
🌟 Five simple tools to ditch the manual and enjoy the season with more connection

Then for the detour: my cousin Jill joins us with the hilarious story of the year her kids opened every single Christmas present without her 🤣🎁 — and we wrap things up by tier-ranking holiday movies.

Whether you love the holidays, dread them, or sit somewhere in between, this episode brings perspective, laughter, and the freedom to rewrite your own manual.

We break down the neuroscience behind why gifts give us a quick dopamine spike, but presence creates deep, lasting emotional memories through oxytocin — the bonding hormone.

We also talk about why the holidays can feel stressful or heavy for some people, how old memories stored in the hippocampus can resurface this time of year, and why none of that means anything is “wrong” with you. Most importantly, we share how you can rewrite your holiday experience, create new emotional patterns, and build traditions that feel safe, joyful, and meaningful.

And because we always take a detour…
 you better believe we brought the fun:
 🎄 Holiday Hot Takes
 🎁 Christmas “This or That”

This episode is real, uplifting, science-backed, and full of laughter — the perfect reminder that presence truly is the greatest gift.

If today’s conversation helped you, made you laugh, or gave you something to think about, please share it with a friend and leave us a review.
 Learn more about coaching with Kelly at kellymichelecoaching.com.

Kelly and special guests CMSgt Courtney Strickler and SMSgt Jenny Sanchez break down the real science behind gratitude — dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and why your amygdala literally calms down when you feel appreciated. We explore Stoicism, Seneca, Carl Jung, identity, impact, and what it truly means to lead with presence and purpose.

And because it’s Coffee & Camo, we take a detour into full Thanksgiving chaos — favorite foods, wild family stories, military holiday memories, and the gratitude moments that shaped us.

We also give a huge shoutout to friends Jen, Julie, Ashley and Michelle, to the Coven (you know who you are) and Jenny's son Logan. We also gave a shoutout to our producer, Vanessa, who makes this show possible. And we missed you Terra! 

You’ll walk away with:

• A deeper understanding of gratitude as a leadership discipline
• How gratitude activates the brain for creativity, trust, and resilience
• Practical tools you can use tomorrow to elevate your team
• A whole lot of laughter and holiday warmth

Whether you’re leading Airmen, leading a team, or leading yourself — this episode gives you the mindset and tools to make gratitude a daily leadership practice.

Grab your coffee. Grab your camo. And settle in — Part 3 starts now.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of War, or the U.S. Government.

In this second installment of our Coffee & Camouflage series, Kelly and Terra sit back down with Chief Courtney Strickler for a raw, real, and unexpectedly funny conversation about leading through change — the messy kind, the personal kind, and the kind that hits before your coffee even cools.

Together, we explore:
 • Why the brain resists change (hello, amygdala 👋)
 • How leaders can create calm in chaos
 • What healthy change looks like at work and at home
 • Our biggest personal transformations
 • And a hilarious detour into smartphones, AI, and “how did we survive dial-up?”

This episode blends neuroscience, leadership wisdom, and misfit humor for a grounded, relatable take on navigating the C-word.

Whether you’re leading Airmen, leading a team, or just leading yourself through a new season of life, this one will leave you laughing, reflecting, and remembering that change doesn’t have to break you — it can build you.

Grab your mug and hit play. ☕

Grab your mug and pull up a chair — this episode kicks off our Coffee & Camouflage series, where leaders get honest about what it means to serve, lead, and grow through the chaos.

In Part I, Kelly and Terra sit down with Courtney Strickler for a candid conversation about authenticity in leadership, vulnerability behind the rank, and the lessons learned from both life and service. Between the laughter, the stories, and a few spilled coffees, they unpack how staying human is the key to leading with strength.

Whether you’re in uniform, leading a team, or just trying to lead yourself through change, this episode will leave you inspired, grounded, and reminded that leadership isn’t about perfection — it’s about connection.

🎧 Tune in for:
• Real talk on leadership and life in uniform
• Why authenticity still wins — even in tough environments
• Lessons from the “mother of misfits” "catwoman" and the “powerhouse Chief”
• A few laughs, a few truths, and plenty of caffeine

You’ll learn:
 ✨ Why our safety sometimes depends on order — and how that becomes a belief
 ✨ How indulgent emotions keep us stuck in inaction
 ✨ Tools to spot, catch, and change your thought patterns
 ✨ Insights from The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
✨ A self-coaching exercise to reframe fear into freedom

If you’ve ever felt haunted by your past or trapped by old patterns, this one’s for you.

🩶 Trail Talks is where personal growth meets real conversation — with humor, honesty, and a few detours along the way.

In the inaugural episode of Trail Talks, host Kelly Kruger, founder of Kelly Michelle Coaching, is joined by her friend and leadership trainer Terra Stinnett, the founder of Leading People, LLC. The episode delves into their personal journeys of self-improvement, emphasizing pivotal 'mirror moments' that inspired their purpose-driven coaching careers. They discuss key influences like Mel Robbins, Jim Kwik, and Brooke Castillo and share practical tools for self-awareness, such as self-assessments, vision boards, and personality assessments. The episode also includes detours into topics like Taylor Swift’s new album, Diane Keaton’s legacy, and favorite sports teams. The discussion highlights the importance of overcoming fears and embracing discomfort for personal growth.

00:00 Welcome to Trail Talks: Meet Your Hosts

01:22 Dedication to Fellow Misfits

02:02 Kelly's Journey to Coaching

03:12 Influential Figures and Inspirations

06:42 The Turning Point: Overcoming Adversity

12:02 Tara's Story: Finding Purpose During COVID

14:06 Personality Assessments and Self-Discovery

14:46 A Fun Detour: Taylor Swift's New Album

15:41 Introduction to Sport and Taylor Swift's NFL Parallels

16:13 Taylor Swift Songs and NFL Teams

17:18 Kansas City Chiefs and Travis Kelsey Connection

19:11 Diane Keaton Tribute

21:50 Self-Awareness and Personal Growth Tools

25:18 Personality Assessments and Their Impact

28:24 Conclusion and Upcoming Topics