Cody & Brandy Yeoman: Fighting Cancer at 41, Faith, and the Power of Choosing Perspective

Simon Smith: Healthcare in England, Building a 30-Year Practice, and the Power of Doing Hard Things

What does it take to build a 30-year practice in a system that once called you a quack? And what happens when you choose the harder path, every single day, for three decades? In this episode of The Resilience Playbook, Cole Rodgers sits down with Simon Smith, a doctor of chiropractic from England who has spent 31 years caring for patients, challenging conventional medicine, and proving that alternative care isn't alternative at all when it works. Simon shares his journey from losing both parents by age 23, stumbling into chiropractic through a note slipped under his door, and building a thriving private practice in a country dominated by the National Health Service. He opens up about what it means to operate outside the government system, why he chose to take full ownership of his health and his business, and how he has spent three decades learning, evolving, and refusing to practice the same way twice. This conversation goes deep into the differences between socialized medicine in England and the industrialized healthcare system in America. Simon walks through how the NHS works, what it costs, why it is both brilliant and broken, and how private care fits into the equation. He talks about taxation, access to specialists, waiting lists, and why some general practitioners still refuse to take him seriously after 31 years of clinical success. But this episode is about more than healthcare. It is about doing hard things. Simon talks about why he road tests every exercise on his own body before giving it to a patient, why he believes you cannot trust a doctor who does not take care of themselves, and why discipline, accountability, and showing up every single day have kept him in peak condition at 58 years old. Cole and Simon also unpack the comfort crisis creeping into both England and America, the entitlement that comes with easy access to calories, and why people would rather take a pill than do the work. They talk about functional medicine, the role of movement as medicine, and why resilience requires more than grit. It requires grace, proximity, and the willingness to keep getting back up. If you have ever questioned the system, wondered what healthcare looks like in another country, or needed a reminder that your health is your responsibility and no one else's, this conversation will meet you where you are. IN THIS EPISODE • Growing up in England and losing both parents by age 23 • How a note under the door led to a 31-year chiropractic career • What the National Health Service is and how it actually works • Private care versus NHS care in England • Taxation, access to specialists, and waiting lists • Why general practitioners still dismiss chiropractors • Building a private practice outside the government system • The comfort crisis in England and America • Why free access to calories is destroying health • Why Simon road tests every exercise on his own body • The power of doing hard things every single day • What it means to take full ownership of your health • Why mortality is the greatest motivation • The bond forged through adversity and why proximity matters ABOUT SIMON SMITH Simon Smith is a doctor of chiropractic with over 31 years of clinical experience in England. He has built a thriving private practice outside the National Health Service, specializing in functional rehabilitation, movement medicine, and helping patients take full ownership of their health. Known for his commitment to lifelong learning and his refusal to practice the same way twice, Simon has spent his career challenging conventional medicine, educating patients, and proving that alternative care works when it is done with integrity and expertise. At 58, he continues to model the principles he teaches, training hard, moving well, and preparing for the next chapter of his life, which includes coaching, mentoring, and traveling the world with his wife. ABOUT THE RESILIENCE PLAYBOOK The Resilience Playbook is a long-form conversation series hosted by Cole Rodgers, featuring leaders, athletes, entrepreneurs, and high performers who have faced adversity and come out with something meaningful to share. These conversations explore resilience, faith, leadership, family, mental health, and the defining moments that shape who we become. New episodes drop regularly. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you do not miss one. CONNECT WITH THE SHOW Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresilienceplaybook/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/TheResiliencePB LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-resilience-playbook/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theresilienceplaybook Website: https://theresilienceplaybook.com/ Listen on audio: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ShZgzjhsPCKzCLzfoWApI Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-resilience-playbook/id1861046313

Sharon Rodgers: A Mother's Love, and Enduring Legacy

What does it mean to live a life rooted in faith, family, and perseverance? In this deeply personal episode of The Resilience Playbook, Cole and Sonni Rodgers sit down with their mother, Sharon, for an intimate conversation about her life, her legacy, and the journey that has shaped generations. Born in 1956 in Morrilton, Arkansas, Sharon was the seventh of seven children in a close-knit Italian farming family. Her childhood was built on hard work, deep Catholic faith, and the values passed down from immigrant grandparents who homesteaded in Center Ridge, AR. She grew up milking cows, working the land, attending mass faithfully, and learning what it meant to be part of something bigger than yourself. This conversation walks through her early years, her decision to pursue nursing despite financial barriers, and the grit it took to put herself through college while working full time. Sharon shares the moments that tested her, the faith that carried her, and the family that held her together through every season. She opens up about meeting her husband, raising three children, navigating loss, and the five pilgrimages to Medjugorje that became spiritual stepping stones for what was to come. She talks about becoming a mother, a grandmother, and a great-grandmother, and what it has meant to carry forward the traditions and love her own parents modeled. And then she speaks to her cancer journey. Not with fear, but with courage, clarity, and an unshakable trust in God's plan. She talks about the hard news, the fight, the sadness, and the peace that comes from her faith. She speaks directly to her husband, her children, her grandchildren, her siblings, and her extended family with words that will echo for generations. This is not a goodbye. This is a celebration of a life well lived, a legacy deeply rooted, and a love that will never fade. IN THIS EPISODE CHAPTERS * 00:00:00 Welcome to Mom's Story * 00:02:00 Italian Roots — Disalvo, Paladino, and Centerridge * 00:11:00 Growing Up the Seventh Child * 00:16:00 Life on the Family Farm * 00:30:00 Faith First — Cleaning Sacred Heart for Tuition * 00:42:00 The People Who Shaped Her * 00:51:00 College, Nursing, and Uncle Ray's Loan * 01:04:00 Meeting her husband — The Halloween Party * 01:13:00 Cole's Brush with Death * 01:20:00 Sonni Arrives — Building the Family * 01:28:00 Devotion to Mary * 01:32:00 The Pilgrimage to Medjugorje * 01:44:00 John 14:27 and a Life of Prayer * 01:54:00 Walking Through the Cancer Fight * 02:14:00 Messages to Her Siblings * 02:23:00 Messages to Her Children and Grandchildren * 02:33:00 A Message to her husband * 02:41:00 Cole and Sonni's Tribute ABOUT SHARON Sharon is a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend whose life has been defined by faith, family, and service. A registered nurse, a devoted Catholic, and a woman of deep conviction, she has spent her life showing up for others with grace, strength, and unconditional love. Her legacy is not measured in mere accolades, but in the hearts she has touched and the family she has built. ABOUT THE RESILIENCE PLAYBOOK The Resilience Playbook is a long-form conversation series hosted by Cole Rodgers, featuring leaders, athletes, entrepreneurs, and high performers who have faced adversity and come out with something meaningful to share. These conversations explore resilience, faith, leadership, family, mental health, and the defining moments that shape who we become. New episodes drop regularly. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss one. CONNECT WITH THE SHOW Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresilienceplaybook/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/TheResiliencePB LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-resilience-playbook/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theresilienceplaybook Website: https://theresilienceplaybook.com/ Listen on audio: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ShZgzjhsPCKzCLzfoWApI Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-resilience-playbook/id1861046313

Cody & Brandy Yeoman: Fighting Cancer at 41, Faith, and the Power of Choosing Perspective

Just days before this conversation, Cody Yeoman received a cancer-free PET scan. In this episode of The Resilience Playbook, Cody and Brandy Yeoman sit down with Cole Rodgers for a powerful conversation about faith, marriage, suffering, and what it looks like to keep choosing perspective when life hits hard. At 41, Cody was in peak physical condition and living full throttle when a two-year trail of symptoms finally got a name: Hodgkin lymphoma, with tumors so large they described them as nearly volleyball-sized. In a Home Depot parking lot, he got the call that changed everything. What followed was chemotherapy, radiation, fear, exhaustion, and a battle that tested his body, mind, and identity in ways he never saw coming. But this episode is not just about cancer. It is about what happens to a marriage when life puts both people under pressure. Brandy shares what it looked like to hold the family together, lead with faith, and keep joy alive for their kids while Cody fought through treatment. Together, they talk about prayer, mentors, community, past brokenness, rebuilding trust, and learning to rest in God’s rhythm instead of living in constant grind mode. CHAPTERS * 00:00:00 Opening Prayer and Introduction to Cody and Brandy Yeoman * 00:10:34 The Two-Year Journey: Symptoms and Misdiagnosis * 00:18:08 The Diagnosis: A Massive Tumor and Finding the Right Doctor * 00:20:10 The Home Depot Phone Call: An Unexpected Response * 00:21:57 Faith as the Foundation: Where Peace Comes From * 00:45:07 The Battle Begins: Chemotherapy and Dark Thoughts * 00:49:21 Brandy's Perspective: Carrying the Weight and Choosing Joy * 00:52:20 Marriage Through Fire: Honoring Past Struggles * 01:08:34 The Power of Prayer and Godly Mentors * 01:19:21 Cancer-Free and Life's Transitions: Slowing Down to Hear God About Cody and Brandy Yeoman Cody and Brandy Yeoman are a husband and wife from Arkansas whose story is marked by grit, faith, honesty, and resilience. Through cancer, hardship, and hard-won growth in marriage, they have learned what it means to keep showing up for God, for each other, and for their family. About The Resilience Playbook The Resilience Playbook is a long-form conversation series hosted by Cole Rodgers, featuring leaders, athletes, entrepreneurs, and high performers who have faced adversity and come out with something meaningful to share. These conversations explore resilience, faith, leadership, family, mental health, and the defining moments that shape who we become. Connect with the show Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresilienceplaybook/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-resilience-playbook/ Website: https://theresilienceplaybook.com/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ShZgzjhsPCKzCLzfoWApI Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-resilience-playbook/id1861046313

Nellie Beall: From Malaysia to Arkansas, Identity, Grief, and the Power of Showing Up

What does it take to leave home at 18, move halfway across the world, and build a life from scratch? In this episode of The Resilience Playbook, Cole Rodgers sits down with Nellie Beall to talk about leaving Malaysia for Arkansas in 2001, arriving just before 9/11, and navigating identity, survival, and belonging in a completely new world. Nellie shares how she chose the University of Arkansas because she wanted to challenge herself, even though almost no one from Malaysia went there. She arrived with a $15,000 check from her parents, stretched every dollar, and learned to survive on her own while adapting to a new culture far from home. After 9/11, she received instructions from the Malaysian embassy to keep a bag packed in case she had to leave quickly, while carrying the emotional weight of protecting her family back home from everything she was experiencing. The conversation also explores Nellie’s journey with code-switching, losing parts of her identity, and eventually reclaiming the richness of both cultures. She opens up about going back to Malaysia in 2023 after 17 years, the loss of her father during that trip, her infertility journey, autoimmune disease, and the years of counseling that helped her rebuild her sense of self. Cole and Nellie also talk about service, leadership, and why showing up matters. In 2014, she co-founded Intersection, a weekly dinner service in Fayetteville for the unhoused and food-insecure community. More than a meal, the work is built around dignity, consistency, and making sure people feel seen. If you have ever wrestled with identity, grief, belonging, or the challenge of showing up for others while carrying your own pain, this conversation will meet you where you are. IN THIS EPISODE • Leaving Malaysia for Arkansas at 18 • Arriving in America just before 9/11 • Survival, resourcefulness, and culture shock • Code-switching and reclaiming identity • Returning home after 17 years • Losing her father during that trip • Infertility, autoimmune disease, and grief • Co-founding Intersection in Fayetteville • Serving the unhoused with dignity and consistency • Why no one should feel unseen ABOUT NELLIE BEALL Nellie Beall is a nonprofit leader and HR professional in Northwest Arkansas. She co-founded Intersection in 2014, a weekly dinner service for the unhoused and food-insecure community in Fayetteville, and has worked in people-centered leadership roles shaped by service, dignity, and presence. ABOUT THE RESILIENCE PLAYBOOK The Resilience Playbook is a long-form conversation series hosted by Cole Rodgers, featuring leaders, athletes, entrepreneurs, and high performers who have faced adversity and come out with something meaningful to share. These conversations explore resilience, faith, leadership, family, mental health, and the defining moments that shape who we become. New episodes drop regularly. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you do not miss one. CONNECT WITH THE SHOW Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresilienceplaybook/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/TheResiliencePB LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-resilience-playbook/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theresilienceplaybook Website: https://theresilienceplaybook.com/ Listen on audio: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ShZgzjhsPCKzCLzfoWApI Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-resilience-playbook/id1861046313

Father Patrick Friend: The Courage to Say Yes When God Calls You to More

What does it take to walk away from everything the world says will make you happy—career, wealth, marriage, family—and step into a life most people can't understand? In this episode of The Resilience Playbook, Cole Rodgers sits down with Father Patrick Friend, a Catholic priest, chaplain, and teacher at Catholic High School for boys in Little Rock, Arkansas. This is a conversation about faith, suffering, calling, and what it actually means to surrender your life to something bigger than yourself. Father Patrick grew up in a faith-filled home where prayer wasn't optional and Mass was non-negotiable. His father showed him what it meant to love sacrificially. His mother showed him what it meant to live faithfully. And his uncle, a priest himself, showed him that joy and holiness could coexist. But even with that foundation, the priesthood wasn't a straight path. It was a calling he put aside in seventh grade when he discovered girls, dated seriously in college, and planned on dental school—until his mother was diagnosed with stage four kidney cancer two weeks after he graduated. What followed was a crash course in faith under fire. Watching his mother face terminal illness with unshakable peace cracked something open in Patrick. He started going back to Mass. He started praying again. And in the chapel at Catholic High, where he had taken a teaching job to be near his family, God started speaking. This conversation goes deep. Patrick talks about the moment he heard God's voice while mowing a stranger's lawn, the fear and freedom that came with saying yes to the priesthood, the six years of seminary formation that followed, and the spiritual warfare that shows up the second you start moving toward something holy. He also unpacks some of the hardest questions we face: Why does the good person suffer? What is evil? How do we carry the weight of life without breaking? And why does resilience require more than just grit—it requires grace. If you've ever wrestled with your faith, questioned your calling, or wondered how to keep going when life doesn't make sense, this episode will meet you where you are. IN THIS EPISODE • Growing up in a home where faith was lived, not just taught • The moment Patrick knew he wanted to be a priest—at eight years old • Discovering women in seventh grade and putting the priesthood aside • His mother's stage four cancer diagnosis and the worst news of his life • Witnessing faith in the face of suffering and what it taught him about God • Teaching at Catholic High and returning to prayer during his mother's illness • The prayer that changed everything: "Lord, I do not want what you want for me—help me to desire your will" • The moment God spoke while mowing a stranger's lawn • Understanding evil, sin, and the devil from a theological perspective • Six years of seminary formation and what it takes to become a priest • Why the good person suffers—and why suffering is part of the story • Carrying the weight without breaking: the truth that no man is an island • The Desert Fathers and the call to get back up until you die • Spiritual warfare and why the enemy attacks the moment you move toward holiness • What it means to live a life of surrender, service, and joy ABOUT FATHER PATRICK FORTIN Father Patrick Friend is a Catholic priest serving as chaplain and teacher at Catholic High School for boys in Little Rock, Arkansas. He teaches freshman English, sophomore biology, and junior religion while caring for the spiritual needs of students, faculty, and families. Ordained alongside his younger brother Joe, who is also a priest, Father Patrick is known for his authenticity, humor, and ability to meet people exactly where they are. He is the son of Jerry and the late Betty Friend, nephew of a priest, and a man who said yes to a calling that cost him everything the world values—and gave him everything that matters. ABOUT THE RESILIENCE PLAYBOOK The Resilience Playbook is a long-form conversation series hosted by Cole Rodgers, featuring leaders, athletes, entrepreneurs, and high performers who have faced adversity and come out with something meaningful to share. These conversations explore resilience, faith, leadership, family, mental health, and the defining moments that shape who we become. New episodes drop regularly. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss one. CONNECT WITH THE SHOW Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresilienceplaybook/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/TheResiliencePB LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-resilience-playbook/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theresilienceplaybook Website: https://theresilienceplaybook.com/ Listen on audio: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ShZgzjhsPCKzCLzfoWApI Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-resilience-playbook/id1861046313