Dr. Jessica Nieva was born profoundly deaf and grew up isolated — raised to read lips, not sign, in a Filipino family that pushed medicine. She didn’t hear clearly until a cochlear implant at 30, an experience she calls life-changing. In this episode she and the guys talk about the first sounds she ever heard, running 60+ miles a week to cope with loneliness, building Benton Family Dentistry while raising four daughters in five years, dropping insurance to trade burnout for quality, and why she now takes health and happiness over income.

What you’ll take away

• How adversity built the toughness behind her success — and why she has empathy to match.

• The business case for going out-of-network: fewer patients, higher quality, more happiness.

• Why "saying no" and setting boundaries is a superpower for any owner.

• Choosing health, family, and presence over maximizing income.

Stephen Burton is the owner and educator of Foundation Rescue in St. Louis, with 35 years and $100M in foundation repairs behind him. In this episode he pulls back the curtain on an industry with no licensing test and no standards: why homes really fail (gutters and downspouts, not "your walls falling"), how to avoid getting ripped off, the $175 inspection he’ll do before you spend $30,000, the difference between clients and customers, and the faith and integrity that turned him from "part of the problem" into an advocate. Equal parts homeowner survival guide and a lesson in doing business the right way.

What you’ll take away

• The real cause of most foundation problems — and the two things every homeowner should do today.

• How to tell a good foundation contractor from a predatory one (licensing, insurance, the 3-day rescission).

• Why "fixing the crack" without fixing the cause guarantees a new crack.

• Clients vs. customers — and why treating people as clients wins long-term.

• Owning your mistakes: how he went from "the problem" to reforming the industry.

Pull-quotes

• "Your walls do not fall. That’s the scare tactic."

• "Clients buy information. Customers buy products."

• "If you don’t know who the idiot is at the poker table, it’s you."

• "He was a slow learner, but he figured it out." (his tombstone)

In 2018, a truck exploded just feet from firefighter Aaron Burlingame.

He came back. This one’s about leadership, culture, faith, and what the

worst days teach you about what actually matters.

Aaron Burlingame — Battalion Chief with the St. Charles Fire Department — sits down with Zach & Pat on leading vs. bossing, building a culture people choose over higher pay, first-responder mental health, raising sons who own their mistakes, surviving serious burns, and the faith he found on the other side. Real conversation, no clickbait.

▶ CHAPTERS

00:00 Meet Aaron Burlingame — St. Charles Fire

01:00 Why a fire chief fell for jiu-jitsu

06:00 The real lesson: consistency & doing hard things

11:30 Leadership isn’t being in charge — it’s responsibility

15:00 How "Discipline Equals Freedom" changed his leadership

17:00 What the worst days teach you about what matters

18:00 How the fire service finally took mental health seriously

23:00 The culture that put St. Charles on the map

31:30 The cell-phone box: rebuilding conversation

34:45 The Dungeons & Dragons leadership lesson

39:30 A leadership mistake he still learns from

46:00 Watching his son enter the fire service

51:20 The day a truck exploded feet away

57:00 Faith, "box receipts," and finding the good

1:01:00 Muddy River FOOLS & the brotherhood

1:05:00 One thing you can do tomorrow: fill your cup

1:07:00 The Tombstone Game

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▶ ABOUT THE SHOW

The Zach & Pat Show — honest conversations about manhood, fatherhood,

entrepreneurship, and a positive mental attitude. Hosted by Zach Fagas

& Pat Doyle.