The Essential Discourse Podcast

Welcome to The Essential Discourse Podcast. In this episode, I close out 2025 with a personal and honest review of the year. I'll walk you through what went well, what went wrong, and what lessons I am taking into 2026.

I share my experience of starting a business and producing content, which I believe connected with listeners. I also discussed where I struggled, including consistency with the podcast, time management, and bein...

In this episode of The Essential Discourse Podcast, host Bruce Smith delves into navigating relationships with "swine-minded" individuals, a concept derived from the biblical sermon of not casting pearls before swine. He passionately articulates that swine-minded people are unappreciative, willfully ignorant, and often unrepentant about taking advantage of others' generosity. Through personal anecdotes and relatable ...

Welcome to the Essential Discourse Podcast! I'm your host, Bruce Smith, and I'm thrilled to kick off our first episode of 2025 with you. 

Have you ever heard, "It's not how you start; it's how you finish?" That may be true. However, I submit that how you start matters in the time it takes one to achieve his or her goals.

Today, we're setting the stage for a year of intentional li...

Ever catch yourself spiraling into a black hole of 'what ifs' and endless doubt? Trust me, you're not alone. Today, we're diving headfirst into the all-too-common struggle of overthinking!

Hey everyone! Welcome back to The Essential Discourse Podcast. I am your host, Bruce Smith!

Overthinking causes many people to fail in various aspects of life. Relationships suffer or, worse, are destroyed be...

Welcome to another powerful episode of The Essential Discourse Podcast. I’m your host, Bruce Smith, and today, we're tackling a topic that's often overlooked but deeply impactful: the grief associated with grieving. In this episode, we're going beyond the conventional understanding of grief to explore the additional layers of frustration, annoyance, and even anger that can complicate the mourning process. This is a t...

Welcome to the Essential Discourse Podcast! In today's episode, we're diving deep into a topic that hits home for many of us: the struggle with frustration and anger. Have you ever found yourself overwhelmed by stress, unable to control the things around you, and feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders? We're going to unpack these powerful emotions and explore how emotional intelligence can be a game-change...

Welcome back to Essential Discourse with Bruce Smith, the podcast that dives deep into the complexities of real life and offers transformative dialogue. I'm your host, Bruce Smith, and today we have a special guest joining us, 16-year-old high school junior, Braeden Smith. In this episode, a prequel to the episode in our series, we tackle the intriguing question: "What is a man?" from his perspective.  We explore the...

In this episode of Essential Discourse Podcast, host Bruce Smith takes a personal and engaging approach to exploring the question of what defines a man from the aspect of the origin of man.  He highlights the dangers of modeling ourselves after celebrities and other popular people's public personas, warning against the destructive behaviors and consequences they can lead to. Bruce emphasizes that each individual has the potent...

Beyond the Provider, Protector, and Producer: A Holistic View of Manhood

On this episode of Essential Discourse Podcast, host Bruce Smith seeks to answer the age-old question: "What is a Man?" Despite receiving fewer responses than he expected, Bruce delves deep into the subject matter through personal study, including reading various books and articles. He acknowledges that people will have different definitions...

As professionals and collective people, we all are taught conflict resolution. You can conduct a Google Search for conflict resolution and find a plethora of articles, self-education courses, etcetera concerning the subject matter by world-renowned experts.

Hardly anyone receives a thorough education in reference to Internal Conflict. Why is that? When you consider that all people will at some point have to contend with a...

It never ceases to amaze me how older people, particularly "church folk" with vast experiential knowledge act as if they've always been as mature as they are currently. As if they've always been PERFECT. 

Obviously, better stated, hopefully, the 24-year-old version of you wouldn't behave, dress, speak, think, etc. like the 14-year-old version of you. However, the 30, 40, and so on versions of ourse...

This one thing is certain, he, her, them, they, you, and I will eventually die. There's no escaping this fact. Have you prepared for this appointment? Have you prepared to ensure that your spouse/partner and immediate family will be financially taken care of?

With the passing of each day, you become more difficult to ensure. Do you know the different types of Life Insurance? If you have Life Insurance, are you under ...

The Mid-Term Election is nearly over.    

Excluding Georgia's Senate runoff, the control of the Legislative Branch of the Federal Government has been decided. Many states' leadership positions, governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, and others have been decided. 

What role did you play? Were you an active participant? Were you one of the millions of citizens who choose to sit this one out? These are a...

One of the biggest hindrances to establishing and maintaining healthy relationships is "Misconceptions".  A misconception is defined as a view or opinion that is incorrect because it is based on faulty thinking or understanding. 

If "Misconceptions" hinder ordinary relationships, what are their effects on marriages, parent-child, and other intimate relationships? 

Many people who enter these re...

So often, we tend to overlook acts of kindness. Acts that meet a specific need in our lives. A kind word, a smile, the sharing of information, and etcetera are a few examples of this.  

The danger in this is,  if we continue to discount the seemingly small things, we may come to have a decreased appreciation for the not-so-small things that our brothers and sister do to meet our needs. We refer to this as "Entitlement...

Disappointment is an unavoidable adversary to every human being. Disappointment, unchecked, clouds one’s judgment, attitude, and perspective of not only his/her life but also limits his/her ability to fellowship with other humans. 

Few people immediately look for the opportunities that disappointment offers. What if I told you that disappointment is an agent of growth and maturity? No, being disappointed isn’t pleasurable or desirab...

The cost of education has increased by as much as 19% over the last ten years. A Bachelor's Degree is as helpful as a High School Diploma. Everyone knows at least three people who attended and graduated college who aren't working in their field of study. It seems the only thing attending college assures you of is debit. 

So, remind me of why I should attend college again....

As a parent, you want the abs...

Words have meanings. Unfortunately, many of us give no thought to the words that fall off our lips. Specifically, the titles we place upon people. Titles given and not earned. 

One such word is #Friend. 

What do you actually know about your "friend"? Do you really know your "friend"? What qualifies this person as a "friend"? Has this "friend" proven that he or she is in the ...

In the day and age we currently live in, some would have you believe TRUTH can be altered. Almost no one has an issue with their personalized versions of the truth. However, nearly everyone takes exception to the complete and in-context truth. 

Many, from the white house to the outhouse, have subscribed to the notion of alternative facts and partial truth. The truth about absolute truth is that it is uncompromising, immuta...