The Courage To Live
The Courage to Live podcast is hosted by retired Police Captain Josh Bitsko and his wife Jenna, and it explores resilience, leadership, and the real stories behind critical incidents and everyday challenges. Each episode blends lessons from Josh’s career in law enforcement including his response to the 1 October mass shooting in Las Vegas with honest conversations about trauma, growth, and the courage it takes to face both professional and personal battles. The show covers everything from leadership and decision making under stress to mental health, family, and the daily choices that help us live with purpose.
Episodes
In this short episode, Josh reflects on the difference between working hard and working hard with purpose. Drawing from his career in law enforcement and his current work teaching resilience and critical incident mindset across the country, he explains why the grind feels unbearable when the work lacks meaning and sustainable when it is tied to a clear why.
In this season finale, Josh and Jenna talk about a better approach to mental health during the holidays, especially for first responders and anyone carrying stress, grief, or isolation. They explain why “reach out if you need help” often falls flat, how to notice real shifts in people, and how to “reach in” with a simple text or conversation that can actually make a difference.
In this episode, Josh reflects on a simple phrase that shifted his perspective during seasons of stress, loss, and responsibility: good things keep happening to me. Drawing from personal experiences in policing, loss, divorce, and building a business, he talks about how easy it is to fixate on hardship and how intentional reframing can change how you move through the day. Josh shares why purpose matters, how helping others became ...
In this episode, Josh breaks down what real self care looks like for first responders and anyone carrying a heavy load. It is not the internet version of self care but the practical habits that refill your energy and keep you grounded under stress. He talks about boundaries, doing what genuinely fills your soul, cleaning up your environment when life feels chaotic, building simple morning routines that set the tone for the day, an...
In this episode of The Courage to Live, Jenna and I talk about what it really feels like to step into leadership on day one. I share the story of my first night as a brand-new sergeant, the pressure I put on myself to have all the answers, and the moment I had to say, “I don’t know, let me look it up,” instead of faking it. We also get into the unique challenge of being promoted over your peers, how that changes relationships, and ...
Real growth doesn’t come from working harder alone. It comes from being honest with yourself. In this episode, Josh talks about true self-reflection, why staying busy can be a form of avoidance, and how asking hard questions builds better leaders, stronger relationships, and better emotional control under pressure.
Most decisions don’t come with perfect clarity. In this episode, Josh talks about why strong leaders act without waiting for every detail, how overthinking leads to hesitation, and why forward movement builds confidence, momentum, and better information. If you struggle with making decisions in uncertainty, this one will help you trust your gut and step into action.
In this episode, Josh shares a lesson that changed the way he handled conflict, stress, and tough interactions on and off the job. Early in his career, he took every insult and every angry moment as a personal attack. Over time he learned that most people aren’t reacting to you as a person, they’re reacting to the situation, their own stress, or their own history. Josh breaks down how separating your identity from the moment helps ...
In this episode, Josh and Jenna break down what actually happens before, during, and after a critical incident. They talk through how high stress affects your body, your thinking, and your decision making, and they share real stories from policing, leadership, analysis work, and everyday life. They walk through preparation, crisis rehearsal, cognitive overload, emotional regulation, and what it takes to recover after the event. Th...
In this episode, I share one of my favorite stories from my time in K9 with my partner Loki, a driven but complicated Belgian Malinois who taught me more than any training manual ever could. A stolen car, a suspect hiding in a floral shop warehouse, and the shell of a vintage Volkswagen all come together in a way only K9 handlers will fully appreciate. It’s a story about teamwork, instinct, and the unforgettable moments that make K...
In this episode, I break down a simple habit that has changed how I work and how I manage stress. Time partitioning is the practice of planning your day in focused blocks so you stop bouncing from task to task and actually finish what you start. I talk about how I used this skill as a captain, how losing that structure made it harder to run a business, and how mapping out my day now helps me stay organized, focused, and confident ...
In today’s episode, I talk about why I never wanted to be the smartest person in the room and how that mindset shaped my leadership. Surrounding myself with people who challenged me, questioned me, and brought skills I didn’t have made every project stronger, from rewriting a thousand page policy manual to managing high pressure operations. Smart teams outperform smart individuals, but you only get there if you set your ego aside,...
In this episode of The Courage to Live Podcast, Josh breaks down two skills that matter in every stage of leadership: learning and unlearning. He shares how continuous learning kept him adaptable throughout his career, especially during years on night shift as a K9 sergeant, where leadership podcasts and real-time challenges helped him apply new ideas immediately.
Josh also talks about the other side of growth, which is unlearning t...
In this episode, Josh breaks down what it really means to trust your gut and why those first instincts are often more accurate than people think. He explains how pattern recognition, experience, and subconscious cues shape your internal signals long before your mind has time to overthink. Josh talks about the difference between intuition and anxiety, how ego can cloud judgment, and why quiet moments are essential for hearing what y...
In this Thanksgiving episode, Josh and Jenna sit down to talk about gratitude in a way that goes deeper than the usual holiday routine. They share what it’s like to slow down, unplug, and appreciate the small moments in a busy season of life filled with work, travel, kids’ sports, and constant motion.
Josh opens up about how easy it is to live in the future and miss what’s right in front of you, and Jenna talks about how gratitude a...
In this episode, Josh breaks down one of the most damaging forces in personal and professional growth: ego. He talks about how ego blocks self awareness, turns feedback into a threat, and pushes you to compete with people you should be learning from. Josh shares moments from his early career when ego made him defensive and closed off, and how shifting toward confidence, humility, and curiosity changed the way he led.
You will hear w...
In this short episode, Josh talks about what it really means to appreciate the grind, especially on the days when the work feels heavy. He explains how consistent effort, small wins, and a clear sense of purpose shape long term growth more than any big breakthrough moment. Josh shares how he reframes burnout by remembering the early days of the business when work was scarce, and how that perspective keeps him grounded and grateful...
In this episode, Josh breaks down one of the most overlooked skills in both leadership and everyday life. Charisma is often seen as something people are born with, but it is learned the same way any other professional skill is learned. Through presence, genuine curiosity, body language, and confident communication, you can change the way people experience you.
Josh talks through how public speaking shaped his ability to connect with...
In this episode of The Courage to Live Podcast, Josh Bitsko explains why learning to feel genuine joy for other people is one of the most important skills you can build for your relationships and your own mental health. Josh breaks down why happiness for others does not always come naturally and how comparison, insecurity, and stress can get in the way.
He talks about how celebrating someone else’s success is like building a muscle....
In this episode of The Courage to Live Podcast, Josh Bitsko shares a practical way to calm professional anxiety and nervousness by turning energy into action. Drawing from years of experience in high pressure roles, Josh explains why worry grows when your mind has nothing to focus on and how preparation gives you confidence before big projects, hard conversations, or major tests.
He talks about the times he felt overwhelmed by expec...
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