Courage to Say Yes: Austin Peterson’s Journey of Transformation

Austin Peterson, originally from Albia, Iowa, has led a dynamic and transformative life journey. Growing up in a cattle-broker family, Austin pursued acting in Los Angeles after earning his bachelor’s degree at the University of South Dakota. His path later shifted to bartending in the Midwest before embarking on a long and successful career with Aflac, where he now serves as the Market Director for Iowa. A dedicated husband and father, Austin is admired for his commitment to service, self-improvement, and authenticity. Overcoming personal struggles with addiction and loss, he has embraced a life of gratitude, leadership, and helping others find their strength.

In this heartfelt podcast episode, Austin discusses courage—its role in personal growth and the transformative power of saying “yes” to help. Reflecting on pivotal moments, including the loss of his father and his battle with addiction, he shares how he rebuilt his life through faith, vulnerability, and intentional self-care. Austin’s story inspires with its raw honesty and offers a powerful reminder of the strength found in serving others, cultivating gratitude, and facing life’s challenges with resilience.

Thank you for listening! We hope you feel inspired and encouraged by our conversation today. If you did, be sure to share this episode with others.

Let’s stay in touch:

• Follow us on Instagram @crossroadsapologetics
• Email us at info@crossroadsapologetics.org
• Visit our website www.crossroadsapologetics.org

See you in the next episode! Be blessed!

Full Transcript

Intro:
Welcome to Courageous by Crossroads Apologetics, a Look into what motivates us to step out in courage and the everyday bravery of men and women like you. In each episode, we hear a personal story of bravery centered around this. What’s the most courageous thing you’ve ever done? And now your host, founder of Crossroads Apologetics, Jeff Johnson. 

Jeff Johnson:
Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Courageous Crossroads podcast and welcome to 2025, where we’re embarking on another year of heartfelt stories and strong testimonies of what courage means and has done for so many of you out there. We’re looking forward to hearing from you and from a lot of your colleagues about what courage means. And to that point, make sure that you reach out to us and let us know if there’s some story out there that we need to hear here on the Courageous Crossroads podcast. This is a podcast for all of us to learn from each other. The Proverbs 27:17 says, Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. And that’s what we want to do. We want to learn from each other on this topic of courage. 

Jeff Johnson:
And also, if you’d be so kind, to give us some reviews and some feedback on our various podcast platforms, that just helps us find even more footing out there for people that need to hear from all of us on the topic of courage. And also, if I might, please find your way to Crossroads apologetics.org Crossroads apologetics.org that’s our mothership that puts on the Courageous Crossroads podcast. And in the upper right hand corner you’ll see a donate button. And if you’re so inclined, please go ahead and push that button and contribute a little bit to the cause and we’ll see if we can put on a conference. Wouldn’t that be wonderful to be able to do something like that in 2025 and just push this platform a little bit further forward. 

Jeff Johnson:
So we appreciate each and every one of you that are dedicated listeners and people that are new to the podcast as well. Now, without further ado, we want to get on with our next guest. Austin Peterson is a good friend of mine and he’s got amazing story about learning how a single courageous response of yes to somebody who asked him a question changed his life forever. And we’re also going to discover tools that helped him struggle, deal with struggles, and turn those struggles into strengths. And we start off like we do on a lot of the podcast, just asking him for a little bit of his background. And I can’t wait for you to hear from Austin. You’re going to gain much from his beautiful testimony. So, without further ado, here’s our first of 2025, Austin Peterson. 

Austin Peterson:
Well, born and raised. Not born and raised, but originally from Iowa, small town, Albia. 

Jeff Johnson:
Okay. 

Austin Peterson:
Is my. Is my hometown. My family was in the cattle business, so my dad was a third generation in the cattle business. Had three boys, and not of it. Not one of us got into the cattle business. But, yeah, originally from Albia, and when I was in grade school, we moved up to South Dakota following my dad’s work, and he was a cattle broker and lived in South Dakota until I graduated high school, and then went on to University of South Dakota and got my bachelor degree from USD Go Yoats. The coyotes. And from there, I did what? 

Jeff Johnson:
That’s what you call them, The Yots. 

Austin Peterson:
The. Yeah. 

Jeff Johnson:
Okay. 

Austin Peterson:
Short chaos. 

Jeff Johnson:
That’s cool. 

Austin Peterson:
Okay. Yeah. When did you. 

Jeff Johnson:
When did you move to Sagan? When you moved to South Dakota? 

Austin Peterson:
In 89. And so then I lived in South Dakota from 89 to 02. And in 2002, you know, I put my college degree to use, and I moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. 

Jeff Johnson:
I did not know that about you, Austin. I’m impressed. Now, that takes some guts. Where did that come from? 

Austin Peterson:
I did. You know, I. I did some acting in high school and. And then in college, I was part of a social organization, the Strollers, and we put on a. An annual show. It was kind of like a Saturday Night Live, like, kind of adult humor in front of the entire campus and the administration. And somebody said, hey, you’re pretty good at this stuff. I said, oh, really? And they’re like, yeah. Have you ever thought about being an actor? I’m like, well, I. I am now. And I. So a buddy of mine, we. We just decided to move to Southern California and. And in. In O2. And we lived. Lived in Newport beach for a couple months and then moved up to Hermosa Beach. 

Jeff Johnson:
And did, you know, people there? Did you have a plan? 

Austin Peterson:
No, there was. There was no plan. It was pack up my Subaru Outback with a Grateful Dead sticker on the back window, and. 

Jeff Johnson:
Yeah. 

Austin Peterson:
And. And. And head west. And it ended up being more of just a life experience. A lot of party and, you know, and somebody who grows up in the Midwest. There’s a lot to experience in Los Angeles, Jeff. And I didn’t want to let anything pass me by, so I said yes to a lot of things, a lot of bad things, a lot of. Lot of partying. But I had a lot of random jobs, worked At a bar. As a bar back. Worked at a Trader Joe’s grocery store. Did extra work. I never had an agent. I had my headshots taken, and I did some extra work and some local stuff, but I think the only movie that I was. I was an extra in the movie Seabiscuit. The Horse. 

Jeff Johnson:
Okay, that’s not a little movie, Austin. 

Austin Peterson:
Yeah, yeah. But I own two copies, and I still can’t find myself. So I think it was. I think. I think it’s on the cutting room floor, me sitting in the. In the bleachers, but. And that. So that acting career worked out so well. My parents came out to visit, and they’re like, you know, I was. I’d lost some weight, and I’d been partying pretty hard, and they’re like, I think you need to get back to the Midwest. 

Jeff Johnson:
Were they fans of you going out there and trying it? 

Austin Peterson:
I mean, they supported me. They said, go give it a shot. And. And that worked out so well that I ended up bartending in Missouri. Lake of the Ozarks, which is. My family had a place down at Lake of the Ozarks. So I grew up in the summertimes. We used to go down the Lake of the Ozarks a lot. And I did have some relationships back there. And I had an old buddy that was running a bar, a pretty big nightclub at the Ozarks. And he called me and he said, hey, why don’t you come pour drinks for me? This, you know, for the season. And. And I’ve. You know, that. And that was. That was a great experience. I loved being a bartender, an educated bartender, of course. 

Jeff Johnson:
And then now when you came back from. Of course, educated from. So you come from the Yotes. You go out to California to pursue the acting thing, and then your parents come out and fetch you and say, why don’t you try something different? Were you. Were you agreeable to that, or did you have a team, your legs and go, nah, man, I. I’m not. 

Austin Peterson:
No, I. I was ready, and I was broke. And, you know, it was. It was an opportunity to move back to a place that. That I. I had great memories of. I love Lake of the Ozarks. And so went back. 

Jeff Johnson:
Did your buddy move back, too, or did he stay out there now? 

Austin Peterson:
He ended up moving back to. Back to the Midwest. You know, he. He was, you know, he was just along for the ride. He had no, you know, ambitions or any goals of doing really anything in California other. Other than being my. My wingman. So. 

Jeff Johnson:
Nice. 

Austin Peterson:
Yeah. But no. So the Ozarks, that happened. But as you know, it’s very seasonal. So when the season comes to an end and Labor Day is done, everybody starts to scatter. And some people go to Key west or the Caribbean and bartend for the winter. Some people. I was actually going to move to Colorado and work the ski resorts as a bartender in the winter, but had a, met a girl and she had a year left at ku and so I moved to Kansas City and was in Kansas City, landed another bartending job at a country club down by the Country Club Plaza, Mission Hills Country Club, which is a so very high end country club. George Brett was a member there, the CEO of Sprint Hallmark. I mean it was, you know, pretty impressive clientele or membership. 

Austin Peterson:
But I was approached, I had met somebody and they were in the insurance business and you know, they said, hey, I think you’d be pretty good at this insurance thing. You should go get some information. And so it would have been the spring of 2004. I signed my contract with Aflac. And so I’m coming up on my 21 year, Ann with Aflac. So I’ve been with them for a long time. But, but yeah, so I think, you know, so professionally I think that was one thing I, I, I, I got into sales. My dad was in sales and we, that I think one of the things that’s part of my story. But we, he worked a lot when I was growing up, but when I got into sales I felt like we really established a connection. We had, we had a lot in common. 

Austin Peterson:
And, and so I grew really close to my father through my 20s. 

Jeff Johnson:
So when I was, you weren’t as close when you were younger? 

Austin Peterson:
Not as, not as much, no. He was gone a lot. He was working a lot. He provided, he made a great life for us and had a great life growing up, but never really had that relationship. And so when I got into my 20s, I established a really good relationship with dad and I would even know they would be down at Lake of the Ozarks in the summertime and I’d drive down from Kansas City on the weekends, play golf with them, we’d talk about sales and we just really established this connection and that lasted definitely a defining moment. When I was 29, my dad passed away of a heart attack. He was, he was 54 years old and that was that I took that really hard because, you know, we had really built that connection and he was, you know, one of my heroes. 

Austin Peterson:
And we partied together. We. We golfed together and, you know, and after he passed away, unfortunately, I think that’s really where things started to go south for me. You know, I got pretty angry there for a few years. You know, I grew up in a. In a. In a Christian family and, you know, was going to church every weekend and everything, and that. That all came to a screeching halt when he passed away. And I was dealing with, you know, grief, and I was pretty angry. And I really started. You know, I’d always been kind of a partier growing up in my house, as soon as you could reach the ice maker on the refrigerator, you were a certified bartender. And so, you know, part of my story growing up was always, you know, socializing. 

Austin Peterson:
I mean, we had cocktail glasses that said Peterson Entertainment on them, etched on them. Wow. And so it wasn’t just accepted. It was encouraged. 

Jeff Johnson:
And your whole family was like, they were just, you know, come over and be joyful and be social and do all that. Yeah. You know, the first time you. I don’t know how long. How many years you and I have known each other, but that’s something that’s really powerful about your personality, Austin. You’re very. You’re easy to approach. You’re easy to get to know. And I think that you have this wonderful quality about you that’s very inviting. And so it doesn’t make. It doesn’t surprise me one little bit that you’re involved with sales and you’re successful as you are, you know. 

Austin Peterson:
Yeah, no, thank you, but. Yeah. So I think, you know, then I lived in. Moved around a little bit with the company, with my career, moved around, lived in a couple different time zones. And after dad passed away, I did move back to the Midwest, and there was an opportunity, a job opportunity here in Iowa. So I moved back to. Moved back to Iowa in 2013 and moved to West Des Moines. My. At the time, Courtney and I were. We moved here in March of 2013. We got engaged in April of 2013. We got married in December of 2013, and we had been together for several years prior. That’s, you know, dating. But people were like, you better. You better pull the trigger on this deal. Or, you know, so I was dragging my feet a little bit. 

Austin Peterson:
But we got back to Iowa, and this is home. After living in every time zone, I’m now back home and have been for 11 years. We absolutely love it here. And I have the privilege of. First of this year, I took over as the market director for AFLAC for the state of Iowa. So I kind of the head coach for all of AFLAC for the state of Iowa now. So it’s been a great journey, but yeah, definitely some ups and downs. I know we’re going to talk about some of that, but yeah. Kids? Yeah, yeah, two. We have our son, Knox. Knox is in third grade, so he’s, he’ll be nine here in just a couple weeks. And he’s got a great mullet. Baseball player, hockey player, football player, all things sports. And his favorite is whatever he’s into at the moment. 

Austin Peterson:
But he’s, he’s big shining personality. He shines bright. And then our daughter, Alec, A, L, Y, C. She’s, she’s four, so she’s in four year old preschool over at the church. So great kids. They, they’re both just so unique. And, and then my wife Courtney is, is just incredible. So yeah, she stays home with them. That was always her dream was to be a mom. And that’s what she gets to do right now. 

Jeff Johnson:
Why’d you marry Courtney? What do you love most about her? 

Austin Peterson:
Oh my gosh, maybe her patience. No, I honestly, I think, you know, it’s really one of the things that really in the last seven years or so I’ve been on this mission to try to be, you know, more of an other centered person. And one of the things I’ve always admired about her is just how selfless she’s selfless. She, she’s just always her faith, putting others first. Just an incredible human being. And I, and her parents are the same way. I see where she gets it, but yeah, just a very loving person, very caring person. It’s got a big heart and obviously gives a lot of grace to people. And she married me, so I mean that’s pretty impressive. 

Jeff Johnson:
You married up then. Good for you. 

Austin Peterson:
I, I did. I out kicked my coverage. Yeah. 

Jeff Johnson:
That’s wonderful. Well, we’re gonna, I, I can’t wait to ask you the question. What’s the most courageous thing you’ve ever done? Before I do that, let me delve into that topic a little bit and why don’t you define courage? How would you define courage? 

Austin Peterson:
I, I knew you were going to ask me this and you know, I think it’s, it’s is confronting things, doing things that, that you’re afraid of. It’s, it’s facing things. It’s, it’s persevering through things even when there’s uncertainty, even when you don’t know what’s on the other side and, but still taking that step forward and, you know, I think about my talking to my kids. You can do hard things and, you know, as, as. As human beings, we run into a lot of hard things and being able to take that step out and not knowing what’s on the other side. Even though there is some fear, even though maybe there is some anxiety, like still being able to. 

Austin Peterson:
To move forward and just I think, trusting, you know, trusting that it’s going to be okay, you know, so that’s kind of when I think of fear. It’s. I can do hard things and I can. I can take that next step even if I don’t know. You know, it’s. I don’t know what the whole staircase looks like, but I know I can take the first step and then we’re gonna. I’m gonna trust that I’m not doing it alone. Yeah. 

Jeff Johnson:
Where does, where does courage come from? Is it cultivated? Is it something that you’re just born with? 

Austin Peterson:
Yeah, I think we all have it in us. I really do. It’s. But I don’t think it’s something that. I don’t think it’s something that we. We tap into enough. And, you know, I’ve seen that even more as of late. You know, in the last handful of years, I feel. I feel like we. We live in a world that says it’s okay. You know, you shouldn’t have to feel discomfort. You know, everybody wants to grab that. That warm blankie and, you know, what’s the easy button? Is there an easier way? Is there a more convenient way? Or is there. Is there a quicker way? Do I really have to go through this? I think it’s something that, you know, that I believe that the most growth I’ve ever experienced has been through the toughest things that I’ve gone through. 

Austin Peterson:
I think I’ve become a better version of myself by doing hard things, by stepping out and taking chances. 

Jeff Johnson:
Man. Isn’t that the truth? I totally agree with you, Austin. I learned so much from the difficult stuff that I go through. Do you feel like you have a chance to tap into courage often, or is it a rare thing or. 

Austin Peterson:
Yes, I. I would say daily. I think I. I do. I, you know, I work with people and I serve people in my profession. And, And I’m not. Not a big fan of this work, life balance thing. I don’t really don’t. I don’t believe. I don’t think it is, I think there’s just life and, you know, I think there’s opportunities every day. And I think I could define courageous steps every single day. But when you’re dealing with people, you’re dealing with feelings, you’re dealing with big emotions, you’re, you know, everybody’s dealing with something. And you know, I, I have a choice to make every day and that’s, you know, to serve others or to serve myself. And you know, sometimes the easy button is that internal compass defaults to me. And I’m just going to do what’s comfortable for me. 

Austin Peterson:
I’m just gonna, I’m just going to do, you know, what I feel is the best for me. And those are the days that typically don’t work out very well. And those usually the days I don’t learn a whole lot, but the days that I make it a point to really reach out and serve others and try to help others, those are the days that I feel more fulfilled. So I think it does take a little bit of courage every day to go against the grain. What might be more comfortable saying yes. Right. You hear me talk about saying yes a lot, and I’m saying it takes a lot of courage to do that. 

Austin Peterson:
But you know, I’ve shared with you many times, you know, if I want to be the best dad I can be, that means I’m probably going to be uncomfortable a lot. That means I’m gonna say yes to spending time with the kids when I’m tired. Do you want to play catch? Not really, but I’ll say yes because it’s the right thing to do. Yeah, you know, different things like that. 

Jeff Johnson:
So I like how you put that. Being other centered. I think that’s a really good way to put that because I feel like I. I mean, I think we all feel just to your point, I think we all feel selfish from time to time. But that’s the joy comes from thinking about others and putting others ahead of yourself. And I need to learn to do that more and more. 

Austin Peterson:
Well, I can’t take credit for that term. I learned that I’d consider him a mentor of mine. About 10 years ago, I met a guy out of Atlanta. He runs a sales training and leadership organization. And that’s kind of their core message is how to become a other centered leader. And there’s a part of that, it’s really kind of become my playbook. And they talk about becoming other centered. You have to decide because that internal compass does naturally default to self and it’s not your fault, Jeff. It’s a survival mechanism. Right? I mean it defaults to self. Right. I have to decide to be, you know, to serve others. I have to decide to put others first and then I have to choose, you know, what that looks like. 

Austin Peterson:
But then there’s a really important part in that and call it serve more times three or serve more cubed. Right. And, and what that means is you got to care more, learn more, do more. And I love that. So when I think about serving others every day I have the opportunity to, number one, I’m going to care about you as a person and, and care about you and what you’re interested in. And then the learn more is when I learn more about you as a person. Learn more about what, what you want out of this, what happily ever after looks like for you. Learn more about what are your unique preferences and desires and goals and different things like that. Once I learn more, then I’ll present, they’ll present opportunities where I can do more and that’s where the action comes in. 

Austin Peterson:
So it’s, I think it’s more, it’s about a deeper connection. Being other centered is, it is about serving more, but it starts with caring about people, learning more about them and then you’ll find opportunities to do more for them. And so that’s something I try to do every day and it’s not easy. So it does take some nudging. 

Jeff Johnson:
So you’d say then by association, then you’d say being other centered is a choice. So by association, courage would be a choice. You’re deciding to not curl back up underneath the comfortable blankets and sure stick your chin out there and take a chance to be of service to somebody else. I think that’s great. Okay, Austin Peterson is our guest today. Austin, let me ask you the question. What’s the most courageous thing you’ve ever done? 

Austin Peterson:
The, the most courageous thing I’ve ever done, Jeff, is there was a time in my life where somebody asked me if I wanted help and I said yes because for many years I was really struggling and I had some bad habits and some hurts as of, you know, with my father passing and some hang ups, you know, and I had too much pride. I, I knew there was something wrong. I knew that I needed help, but I had too much pride and I, I wasn’t going to raise my hand and say I need help and I’ll give you. To give you an example, I had a doctor that told me when I was about 35 years old, 36 years old, he said, if you don’t make some changes. 

Austin Peterson:
And I went in for an exam, and I was over £300, my blood work was through the. I mean, it was just a train wreck. It was terrible. I had some issues with my liver based on some of my bad habits, and I had to stock my. In my. You know, the doctor said, austin, he goes. And he rolled over on his little stool, and he said, if. If you don’t do something different, he said, you’re not going to see 40. 

Jeff Johnson:
Wow. 

Austin Peterson:
And I’d like to think that I left that office and I said, okay, I’m going to do something different. But I was so far in and dependent on these. On. On. I’ll just say drugs and alcohol. And I didn’t think, like, there’s no way. And I got to the point where at night I would. I would be so depressed. I’d look at my wife, and then at the time our son was born, and every time I’d look at them, I would just get more depressed because I knew that I wasn’t okay. But I still wasn’t willing to raise my hand and say, I need something and I need help. But I. I had an individual in my life. It was. It was a leader of mine at the company. 

Austin Peterson:
Still a leader of mine at the company sat me down and he looked me in the eye and he said, austin, do you want help? And in that moment, it’s like I wasn’t brave enough, strong enough, too much pride, whatever, to raise my hand and say I needed help. But God put him in my life. And when he phrased. When he turned it around and he asked me that question, do you want help? And I looked up, full of shame, full of tears, embarrassed. And I said, yes. And he said, okay, then we’re going to do whatever we got to do to get you help. And that was. And it was like this weight was lifted. It’s like now it’s exposed. It’s out there, and I don’t. 

Austin Peterson:
I don’t have to hide, you know, anymore, because I felt like I was hiding, and I didn’t want people to. I didn’t want to let people behind the curtain, and I didn’t want people to know that I had problems, and I didn’t want people to know how bad it really was. And I mean, to the. I mean, to the degree that I was lying to people, that I cared about the most. Like, no, it’s this. It’s something else. It’s. And that was, and I can only say I believe that was a God thing because I was saying prayers at night. Just take me. It’d be easier because I’m not gonna come forward. And so the answer came in the form of a friend of mine, Joe, asking that question, do you want help? And I was able to say yes. 

Austin Peterson:
And that was, and that made all the difference because after the, after I was able to say yes to that question, it started a chain of events where I was at that crossroads, that fork in the road, and I was going down a certain path. And, and it was that, that moment that I started down this trail that I’m on now. 

Jeff Johnson:
Wow. How long ago was that? 

Austin Peterson:
That was seven years ago. 

Jeff Johnson:
Wow. 

Austin Peterson:
Just over seven years ago. November. November 7th of 2017 was that conversation. 

Jeff Johnson:
Wow. And did you think nobody knew that you were dealing with addictions and dealing with drugs and alcohol abuse? 

Austin Peterson:
And I think it was a major blind spot. It was, it’s like that game headbands that I play with my kids sometimes, where everybody else in the living room can see what’s on your forehead. They can see your name tag, but I can’t. Yeah, I think I, I do. I think it was pretty obvious. There were a lot of people that were, hey, what’s going on? There’s something not right. I thought I was doing a pretty good job of hiding it, but towards the end, it was, it was pretty obvious. 

Jeff Johnson:
Wow. And somebody saying to you, do you need help? Did you want help? Did you catch yourself in that moment when they asked you, when Joe asked you that question with a decision, look, I can tell him no or I can tell him yes, or. Did you, Were you abandoned to the yes already when he asked you? 

Austin Peterson:
I was, I was 1000% in on the yes. I, I, I, I, I was, I thought it was going to be, you know, some, a serious health event that was going to happen. I thought something was, you know, there had to be something big that happened, like where I would, you know, I would be found out. And I was just anticipating something, but this happened to. It happened in a different way. I mean, and he was concerned. And I just, he said, I want him in my office. I want to talk to him. And I mean, he was my boss, so I had to go into the office. Right. And, and it ended up being. It ended up. I mean, that. And that’s really. Really and truly what. What, you know, with. With the company that I’m still with. I mean, it. 

Austin Peterson:
Our senior vice president videoed in and he said, you know, we. We hold you in a high regard. You’re part of our family, and we’re going to do whatever we got to do to get you help. And you’ve got a. You’ve got a spot here when you’re ready to come back. 

Jeff Johnson:
Wow. 

Austin Peterson:
And that was. You know, I think maybe that’s why I work so hard now is, you know, because I really. I really believe in the people that. Or, you know, they were my leaders in the. Professionally, but they were also. They cared about my family. And I’ll go to work a lot of hours for somebody like that and really. 

Jeff Johnson:
And really to show it, you know, to sit down and ask that question and then follow through with it. That’s really impressive. Austin. I. What happened afterwards, after you answered that question? 

Austin Peterson:
Yeah. Went and we got on the phone and started calling around, and we found out that if I could be in Minnesota in a couple days, they had us. I could get up there. And I went away for about a month and got the help that I needed, gave me the tools, came back to Des Moines and. And, you know, got into. Got into a recovery program and started this new way of life. I needed a. I needed a completely. A complete factory reset. Spiritually, I was bankrupt. Mentally, I was. You know, not. I was in a dark place. I. I mean, I was functioning. I was, but I wasn’t. Wasn’t a lot of positivity in my life. I needed a spiritual reset, I needed a mental reset, and I needed a physical reset. And I started. 

Austin Peterson:
I started just going to a lot of. A lot of meetings, a lot of recovery meetings, met some good people, got met some people that. That, you know, had been down the path, further down the path and showed me the way and spent a lot of time going to church, figuring things out. Got more plugged into to the church that. That we attend now. And I. I also, I. I came across an author, John Gordon, who I. Who I’m a big fan of, and I started really studying a lot of his stuff and. And I was on a seminar one time, and I saw he talked about gratitude walks, and physically, I needed to. I needed to take care of, better care of myself, and I started these. I learned this from John Gordon. 

Austin Peterson:
I started doing these gratitude walks every day because I was in pretty rough shape and. And so I just start walking. And when I was out walking, I would. I would count my blessings and I would, you know, think about all the things and pray about all the things that I had in my life and that I was grateful for. And I started this, and this turned into, you know, 20 minutes, turned into 30 minutes, turned into 45 minutes, turned into an hour. And now I. I do, you know, anywhere between. Try to do about 25, probably about 25 miles a week, and really. 

Jeff Johnson:
Of gratitude walks. 

Austin Peterson:
Well, yeah, the first part’s gratitude. And then I usually turn on a podcast or something positive to feed my brain, but it’s become part of kind of my. My daily. My daily routine now is the exercise is something I try to do, move, you know, every day. I’m still a big guy, but I’m about £40 less than I was when I was really struggling. And. But yeah, that. The. The gratitude walks that I listen to a lot of podcasts I read. I mean, I’m always feeding my brain with something positive. That’s what happened next. I started morning routines. That was part of it. Prayer. Prayer time in the morning, devotional time in the morning, making that decision to get out of self. 

Austin Peterson:
Start with the spiritual cup and then try to move the body, get the physical cup in the right place, and then feed the brain with pot, you know, a podcast or something like that. So, I mean, that’s become. You know, those are kind of the tools in my tool belt now. And when I don’t do them, I notice. You know, I notice I start get a little irritable and start like, what’s. What’s off? And. And now that I know that those tools work, I can. I can. I can lean on them. 

Jeff Johnson:
I’ve only known you as a sober person. We didn’t know each other before, and that’s how we know each other is. Is going walking through this recovery route together, which is, you know, thank you for helping me stay sober, Austin. I mean, yeah, it’s. It’s blessed me mightily, your testimony, but you’re so. You’re so positive. I mean, that just comes off of you. It’s on the countenance, you know, in your face all the time when you walk into a room. Is that. Is that new? Would I have seen something different eight years ago or. You know, you mentioned your family were very social people. Is that just kind of your default setting? And that was the way you were always. Because you’re talking about being melancholy and. And being a little bit depressed and that sort of thing, but I’ve never seen that. 

Jeff Johnson:
I can’t imagine what that would look like on you. 

Austin Peterson:
Yeah, I haven’t had a whole lot of that. It’s amazing. You take away some bad habits and, you know, and I, I think what you see is the authentic version of that. I think that’s, that’s what you see. I think it’s actually real now. I think there were a lot of years where it wasn’t. In fact, I’ve had some people, even early in recovery of favorite aunt, she had said, you’re just, you’re a little more quiet, you know, you’re a little more, you’re not like what I. And I said, no, this is the real me. And I remember at somebody at one point we’re somewhere and made a comment that I don’t, you know, I don’t party anymore. And they said, well, that’s no fun. And my wife spoke up quickly and said, oh, he’s a lot more fun now. Right, because it’s real. 

Austin Peterson:
And, and I, and I think for a long time, Jeff, I wasn’t comfortable with who I was. I didn’t like who I was. And, and you know, filling that, that hole with something else to try to put on this, like, everything’s fine. I definitely used that to self medicate for a long time. And, and don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of fun times with it too there. It was fun until it wasn’t fun. It worked, until it didn’t work anymore. You know, I have a lot of great memories going to concerts and social events and stuff, but once, you know, once you cross the threshold and kind of lose your edge on it, so to speak, it’s not fun anymore. 

Jeff Johnson:
Yeah. You said you were really close with your dad in your 20s and you got closer over time. And then he passed away unexpectedly. What do you think your dad say about his son now? 

Austin Peterson:
Well, I’d like to think he’d, you know, he’d be proud. You know, I, I, I also, you know, I saw some tendencies, I saw some things in him that he did things the way, you know, his dad did things and the way his dad did things. And, you know, I’ve kind of broken that chain, but just on the negative, Some of the negative stuff like. 

Jeff Johnson:
You’Re talking about from like a partying standpoint. 

Austin Peterson:
Excuse me? 

Jeff Johnson:
You’re talking about from a part, you’re talking about from a partying standpoint. Yeah, generationally. Yeah. 

Austin Peterson:
Yeah. But, you know, I think the way he treated people, the work ethic, I think there’s a lot of the good qualities that I possess today that come from him. And, you know, but I think that’s kind of the mission that I’m on now. It’s, it’s. You don’t have to do that. You know, there’s a long time where that was. That was kind of. I thought, oh, that’s just the way he was. That’s the way my grandpa was. So that’s the way it’s going to be. That’s who I am. You work hard, you make money, you know, and there’s, I mean, there’s never been a male. PETERSON Lived past 64 years old, really. And I, So I have the opportunity to break that chain. That doesn’t have to be my story. That doesn’t have to be my son’s story. 

Austin Peterson:
And, you know, I, I think he would be proud. And, you know, and I’ve had, you know, I’ve had some aunts that said finally somebody was, you know, brave enough to, to do something different and it’s okay. 

Jeff Johnson:
Is your mother living? 

Austin Peterson:
She is, yes. She’s down in Albia. 

Jeff Johnson:
What’s her impression of this change? 

Austin Peterson:
She actually, she never really got into. She, she drank some. She never drank. When were growing up, she did. I think, you know, she went through some years. After dad passed, she actually quit drinking. She loved her wine. But when I stopped, she stopped. I also have a brother. I have, I also have a brother who. My younger brother is sober as well. And I think she had made the comment, she goes, well, I’ve had. I’ve got three boys and two of them are sober now. So I know I’ve got, you know, similar personalities. So, you know, what if they don’t need it, I don’t need it. 

Jeff Johnson:
Good for her. 

Austin Peterson:
Yeah, she’s an. She. She. Talk about other center, Jeff. She is, she is the, just the epitome of a servant. You know, she raised three boys and kind of my dad, he was kind of a big kid, but she raised us. And now, you know, she kind of stays to herself and volunteers at the church, cooks for the church, does a lot of service work. Her yard is immaculate all the time. Like, she just, she kind of keeps to herself. But, you know, I would be exhausted too, probably after raising three, the three of us boys and putting up with us for all these years, you know, she. She just, she says, I don’t do anything I don’t want to do. And I’m like, you have earned that. But she’s definitely. We see her a lot. 

Austin Peterson:
She makes a lot of surprise visits, and she has my garage code, so you never know when she’s coming. You always got to be ready, Austin. 

Jeff Johnson:
You’re. You’re. You’re a bright light, brother. I’m telling you. What’s the best part about being sober? What do you like the most about it? 

Austin Peterson:
Oh, my gosh. You know, I say this a lot, but I think it gives me. It gives me the. Oh, I can say yes to so many things now. I can be present. I, I, I, I, I get to. I get to do this. I think that. I think life’s a gift. And I said no to a lot of stuff for a lot of years because it didn’t involve me doing what I wanted to do, living the way I wanted to live. You know, whether it was drink the way I wanted to drink, I said no to a lot. And that meant that, you know, even. Even my wife and I were limited to some of the, probably the experiences, the memories that we could have made because, you know, I said no to those things. I. 

Austin Peterson:
For a long time, I, I felt, you know, looked like I was the life of the party, but I wasn’t really living. And I think now I said, I think the biggest blessing is being able to say yes to life and just being. To make these memories and have these experiences with my kids, and there’s so many, and it just keeps getting better. And I think that’s what’s so one of the biggest blessings about it. I mean, life still happens. You still, you know, things are still tough. I missed probably the toughest year professionally I’ve ever had, and. But I. But I still feel okay, and I still feel 100 times better than I used to. And just saying yes to life, saying yes to living, and being able to be present. 

Austin Peterson:
And as you say from time to time, being where my feet are and being in the moment and just the gratitude that comes with it, I think that you get a whole new perspective on the beauty that’s out there, and you start to have a greater appreciation for even the little things. I look forward to a good cup of coffee in the morning. I, I look forward to a sunset now. I, I don’t know where it came from, but even being in church, the music, I get emotional. I’m moved in a way I can Feelings. And, you know, I think all of that is a blessing. 

Jeff Johnson:
And that’s so well put. That really is. So you talk about courage being something that you do. That’s, that’s got some toughness to it. You know, you got to push through. You got to do the difficult thing, and how so many people nowadays just want to climb under the covers and they don’t want to. They wanted life to be super easy, and so they don’t get to experience the victory on the other side. And then you talk about Joe asking the question, you want help? And your most courageous thing is saying yes to that. Let me ask you a unfair question. Okay. I probably should not ask you this. I should probably ask Joe this, but I don’t have him on the podcast, so I’ll ask you. Did, did your employer get the return on the investment from investing in you? 

Jeff Johnson:
You know, from sitting there in front of you and saying, do you want help? And you say yes. 

Austin Peterson:
I don’t really want to disclose this, but I would say I have been a thousand times more productive in the last seven years than I was the previous 13 years. 

Jeff Johnson:
So if you were good before, you’re really good now. Yeah, yeah. 

Austin Peterson:
But, you know, you know where the bigger ROI comes is. And I’m not that public about my story, but people know, and the people that are close to me and we are a family, and you work with these folks for long enough and everybody gets to know, you know, and I, and being at the com, you know, being around this long and having the opportunity. I’ve been in roles where I’ve traveled all over, so I’ve met people all over the company. And it’s, you know, the, I think the bigger gift that keeps given is now when somebody’s struggling, a lot of the folks that I’m able to help now are work relationships, people that I’ve met over the years. And if somebody happens to be struggling now, it’s like I get, they get tipped off. 

Austin Peterson:
It’s like the, you know, the piece of paper under the, hey, you should call this guy. 

Jeff Johnson:
Yeah, yeah. 

Austin Peterson:
And, you know, being able to pay it back in a different way. And, you know, people have reached out over the years and said, hey, I don’t know, I’m kind of struggling. I was told I should call you. And, you know, I think from a productivity perspective, yes, I, I, I, I, I definitely, I’m a better version of myself professionally, I think, because of the lessons that I’ve learned on this journey, Jeff, I, I’d like to think, and you’d have to ask my wife about this, but I’d like to think that I’m a much better husband, I’m a better father, and I’m certainly a better leader and a better professional because of what I went through and the things that I continue to learn through this journey. I, that’s why I said I don’t think it is this work life thing. 

Austin Peterson:
I think it’ and, and I just try to, you know, really embrace the moments that I’m presented with. And then that may be personal, that may be professional, but, you know, I try to keep that compass pointed on that. Care more, learn more, do more. And if I do that each day, one day at a time, you know, you can end up helping a lot of people and you can end up. And, and that’s, I take that to work with me. You know, I, I, I’m big on, you know, even meeting if you were a client. I go in with two things in mind. Learn and help. I’m here to learn about you, and I’m here to learn about what you’re going through, what are your circumstances. 

Austin Peterson:
And after I learn, then there’s a good chance I can identify ways that I might be able to help you. And so I, I try to carry that other centered motive with me every day. And I think if, you know, if you’re a, and you are, you’re a business leader and you’re a leader of a company, if you’ve got employees, that’s their motive when they go to market or they go to work. And, and that motive is coming from a place of I want to learn and I want to help. You know, I’d like to think that’s, that’s a good representation for any company. 

Jeff Johnson:
Yeah, yeah. No, it’s good there, you know, there’s, you’re making me think about all these little sayings and these little tapestries that hang up on the wall, like let go and let God and give it away to keep it and that sort of thing. You know, those things are just all well and good, you know, they’re nice sayings, but, man, when you’re equipped with the truth about yourself and you’ve gone through the fire and you embrace that kind of stuff, it really does become such a powerful thing where you can give something back to somebody else. Austin and that’s exactly what you’re talking about doing to people in your business and other people that you come into contact with. You’ve got something so powerful to give away now. Hey, look, my life was saved and here’s how it happened. 

Jeff Johnson:
And being able to share that with them, that’s a lot of courage. Tell me about this and I won’t keep you too much longer. But tell me about this. I think about my kids now. My kids are grown. My youngest is 20 and my oldest is 26. We just became first time grandparents in early November. So that’s, the holidays are all together different now. I’m telling you, it’s so fantastic. But I want my kids to have courage. I want to be able to, I mean, I guess I just love to be able to give that to them. And I don’t know exactly how to do that. I don’t want them to go through the difficult times that I’ve gone through. I don’t think any parent wants their children to go through that. 

Jeff Johnson:
But you can’t get to the point where you’re utilizing courage and finding out that you’ve got this incredible resource unless you do go through some of those rough times. So how do we do that? How do you do that, Austin? How do you equip your kids with courage? And do you want them to go through tough times or do you not want them to go through tough times? 

Austin Peterson:
Yeah, I mean, hopefully not to the extent that we did, Jeff, but I think, you know, it starts, you know, I’m starting to see more and more of it. My son, you know, he’s in sports and we, you know, we have a lot of those bedtime conversations and, or when he, maybe if a teacher comes down on him a little bit, I, I’m actually, when I, the coach is coming down on him, teachers, I, I’m, I’m probably old school, but I’m a big fan of that. 

Austin Peterson:
I, I, I, I, I, I want, you know, I believe in discipline and I, I believe like, but I also believe in him and I believe in, I tell him that every night, you know, and if he’s had a tough day, we talk about it and I ask him how he handled it and I let him know that I love him. I’m proud of him. He’s a good boy. Yeah, and I think it’s, but I also, somebody told me, a mentor of mine told me a long time ago, it’s a great Quote, it’s people. You’re, you’re speaking so loudly, I can’t hear what you’re saying or your actions speak so loudly. I can’t hear what you’re saying. Your actions speak so loudly. So I, I, I really do believe it’s. How do I, how do what behavior am I modeling? 

Austin Peterson:
My son sees me doing hard things. He knows, he knows when I’ve had tough days. We talk about it and he asked me what’s going on at work. And, and he’s curious. He’s very curious. And, and we talk about those things and we talk about what it’s like to overcome challenges and you know, I think we’re creating that bond. But he also sees me get up, put my boots on every day. I don’t wear boots, but he put my shoes on and go to work. And you know, if I’ve got a big meeting coming up or something I’m nervous about, I share that stuff with them. I’m not scared to be a little vulnerable and tell them I’m like, you know, I can do this. And so when he has things like, you can do this too. 

Austin Peterson:
And, but he sees me model that behavior. He sees Courtney step out and do things that are hard. And I think that’s the best way. How do you teach him? You show them. You teach him. You got to show them. And then I got to watch him and I got to make sure that he’s doing those things. There’s going to come a time where I won’t be there. But if I can plant those seeds now and be consistent with it, and no matter what, he’s always got to know that I’m for him and I believe in him. And Alec, when she gets old enough, we start having these heart to hearts, you know, I think that’s the big thing. 

Austin Peterson:
They know we love them no matter what, and we’re for them and they can do hard things and they see us doing those things and we model the behavior that we want to see in them. So I think it starts, It’s a lot with behavior. It’s, it’s a lot. My, my actions speak a lot louder. So yeah, that’s how we do it. I think that’s my opinion. 

Jeff Johnson:
I think that’s fantastic, Austin. That’s great advice. Final thoughts on courage before we sign off here. Austin, it’s been such a pleasure talking to you about this topic. Somebody, I’m imagining somebody else maybe climbing around in the bottom of that bottle trying to solve the world’s problems, maybe, like you and I did, and they’re struggling and they don’t know what to do. What do they do? 

Austin Peterson:
Yeah, have the courage to ask for help instead of waiting. Because you might not have the time to wait. You might not. We’re not guaranteed anything. And I think knowing that there’s a lot of folks that have trudged this road ahead of them, and if I could go back in time and do anything different, I would have. I would have tried to find the courage to raise my hand and say, hey, this isn’t working out. I need. I need some help. But also, I think for. Maybe it’s not the people necessarily that are going through that challenge, but I think for everybody to just be aware that everybody’s dealing with something, and the more that we get out there and care about people, family, friends, colleagues, the more we care about them, the more we learn about them and build those, strengthen those. Those. 

Austin Peterson:
Those meaningful relationships, people do open up. And, you know, I think one of the things I try to do, Jeff, is, you know, try to create that environment where people are comfortable, that if. If. If it’s not me, but it’s somebody else that’s going through something like that, they feel comfortable and safe enough to raise their hand and ask instead of me. And, you know, until. Waiting. I say change before. Until you’re for. Until you’re forced to. Right. Change before you. You’re forced to make change if you can. But no, I think just be aware of the people. Stay close to the people in your life. Stay. Stay connected to people and care more, learn more, do more. And if. If you are struggling, you don’t have to. 

Austin Peterson:
Gosh, there’s a much better way to live where you’re not wound up so tight, where you can’t. You don’t know what it’s like to take a deep breath. I remember what it was like where I couldn’t just. I couldn’t even take a deep breath. I was wound so tight, and my anxiety was so bad that I didn’t even know what it was like to breathe. And. And I can breathe today. And, you know, and. And. And I have. I mean, I have two little kids, so it’s not like I just. My life is full of peace and serenity. But you know what? I’ve got a lot more peace in my heart and. And a lot more joy than I ever have in my life. And I think it’s. You know, I think it’s because I was brave enough and had enough courage. 

Austin Peterson:
To say yes when somebody asked that question to me. And that made all the difference in the world. 

Jeff Johnson:
Yeah. The courage to say yes. That’s great. Austin. I knew a little bit of your story, but I didn’t know all of this bunch of your story. And now that I do, I can understand with a little bit more clarity why you’ve been such a blessing in my life. And you certainly have. So thanks for joining us today, and thanks for sharing with me. 

Austin Peterson:
Thanks, Jeff. Appreciate the opportunity. 

Outro:
Thank you for joining us today on Courageous. If you’d like to hear more about the work and ministry being done at Crossroads Apologetics, please visit our home on the web at crossroadsapologetics.com Would you or someone you know like to be featured on Courageous? Send us an email at info@crossroadsapologetics.com or info@crossroadsapologetics.org telling us about the most courageous thing you’ve ever done.