Building What Matters with Tobias Neal

EP 11 - They Pulled the Rug. I Was Standing on It.

About a year ago, I lost my job. Not because the work wasn’t good. Not because the people we were serving didn’t need us. I lost it because the Trump administration recalled COVID-era SAMHSA funding that our entire peer support department ran on. I was the coordinator. I had built it. And one day, without warning, the floor was just gone. This episode is a reading of a paid subscriber piece I wrote about that experience — and about the pattern I’ve been watching ever since. I name names. I bring the receipts. And I try to say clearly what I think needs to be said about the difference between announcing recovery and actually funding it. We talk about the $11 billion in public health funding rescinded in March 2025. The $2 billion in SAMHSA grants terminated on a Tuesday night with no warning. The $100 million recovery initiative announced at the same time. And what all of it tells us about where the values actually live. This one is personal. And I think it needs to be heard. Read the full essay — paid subscribers can access “They Pulled the Rug. I Was Standing On It.” at buildingwhatmatters.substack.com Subscribe to Building What Matters on Substack — free and paid tiers available Find us on YouTube — every episode is there, and video content is on the way Building What Matters is a podcast for recovery leaders, nonprofit professionals, and people doing the hard work of building something that lasts. Hosted by Tobias Neal, Executive Director of NMSAS Recovery Center in Northern Michigan. Get full access to Building What Matters at tobiasneal83.substack.com/subscribe [https://tobiasneal83.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

EP 10 - Rest is How We Move From Bitter to Better

One thing that has gone hand in hand with Tobias's personal healing has been his ability to rest. Not as a concept. As a practice. As something his body had to learn was actually safe. In this episode of Building What Matters, Tobias traces the real story — from survival mode and nervous system regulation to the ancient Hebrew rhythm of Shalom — and makes the case that rest isn't the opposite of growth. Rest is part of it. And for leaders in recovery, advocacy, and high-responsibility roles, rest isn't optional. It's strategic. If you've been the strong one, the safe space, the silent fighter — this one is for you. Topics covered: learning to rest after survival mode, the sacredness of Sabbath and Shalom, rest as resistance against systems that profit from your exhaustion, rest as boundary and strategy, and a closing word for the people who hold space for everyone else. Find the full written version of this episode at tobiasneal83.substack.com [http://buildingwhatmatters.substack.com]. Leading a Recovery Community Organization? The Building What Matters Leadership Cohort is free, virtual, and built for leaders doing this work. Go to www.tobiasneal.me [https://tobiasneal.me] for more information. Stay in the pocket. Get full access to Building What Matters at tobiasneal83.substack.com/subscribe [https://tobiasneal83.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

EP 9 - You're Not Behind

What do you do when the work you’re building is actually a calling, and the timeline you’ve set is getting in the way of it? In this episode, Tobias gets honest about hitting a pause point—not from burnout, not from fear, but from something rarer: respect. Respect for the growth. Respect for the journey. Respect for what he’d been learning and hadn’t yet lived. If you’re in a season of waiting, wrestling, or reworking, this one is for you. You’re not behind. You’re being real. And real is exactly where you need to be. What You’ll Hear in This Episode ● Why leadership cultures that glorify momentum create real harm downstream ● What a pause point actually looks like — and what it isn’t ● The difference between a project and a calling, and what it costs to confuse the two ● What alignment actually means when it’s not a buzzword ● A question to ask yourself before your next big push ● Permission for anyone in a waiting, wrestling, or reworking season The Building What Matters Leadership Cohort If today’s episode resonated and you lead a Recovery Community Organization — or you’re in the middle of building one — there’s a space being built specifically for you. The Building What Matters Leadership Cohort is a free, virtual monthly gathering for leaders doing this work. Not a course. Not a certification. A room where people who are building something in the recovery space can think out loud together, ask hard questions, and lead from a place that’s actually sustainable. If that’s you, the link is below. Come find us. Read the Full Essay Every episode of Building What Matters has a companion piece on Substack — longer, more personal, the kind of writing you sit with rather than skim. The written version of this episode is there now. Read on Substack: https://tobiasneal83.substack.com If This Landed Don’t mass post it. Think of one person. Someone who’s building something, leading something, or healing something and could use a voice in their ear that tells them the truth. Send it to them directly. That’s how Building What Matters finds the people it’s meant for. And if you’re watching on YouTube — subscribe, leave a comment, hit the like button. It puts this in front of someone else who might need it. That’s how this grows. Get full access to Building What Matters at tobiasneal83.substack.com/subscribe [https://tobiasneal83.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

EP 8 - Stay

This episode was born in a room full of peer support specialists at the MiPeers Conference in Novi, Michigan. What happened there stayed there. But the conversation it sparked—that’s what you’re going to listen to right now. In this episode, Tobias reflects on what it means to lead with presence inside systems that have become efficient at disconnection. Drawing from his work as executive director of a recovery organization in northern Michigan, he explores why so many helpers are burning out, why the people we serve still feel unseen, and what it actually takes to change that. This is not about having the right words. It is about being brave enough to stay. In this episode: * Why systems full of help are still starving for presence * The difference between performing care and practicing it * Three practices of presence: Consideration, Communication, Connection * What Tobias witnessed at MiPeers and why it gave him hope for the future of peer support * The invitation to slow down, resist fixing, and be somebody’s safe place Connect with Tobias: Substack: https://tobiasneal83.substack.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tobias.neal/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BuildingWhatMattersPodcast Join the Building What Matters Leadership Cohort — free and virtual, for leaders of emerging Recovery Community Organizations: https://www.tobiasneal.me Stay in the pocket. Get full access to Building What Matters at tobiasneal83.substack.com/subscribe [https://tobiasneal83.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

EP 7 - Before You Build, You Have to Deconstruct

Before You Build, You Have to Deconstruct Last week I sat in a church I will never belong to again. I was there for the funeral of my first pastor — the man who baptized me, believed in me early, and helped shape the trajectory of my life. Walking back into that building after years of distance, I didn't expect what I found. Not grief. Not tension. Not a crisis of belief. Gratitude. In this episode I talk about what happened when the bitterness I'd been carrying through years of deconstruction just — went quiet. What it means to leave something formative and still honor what was real in it. And why the best builders aren't the ones who burn everything down when they walk away. Sometimes deconstruction isn't demolition. Sometimes it's renovation. In this episode: What it felt like to walk back into a world I'd left behind The invisible door that kept me from returning — and what finally opened it Why the "burn it all down" narrative in deconstruction spaces misses something important The people who shaped you before you knew who you were becoming — and why they still matter What recovery work and leadership have taught me about carrying the right things forward The through line: You don't build from nothing. Nobody does. The question isn't whether your past shaped you — it did. The question is whether you've been honest about what's worth carrying and what needs to be set down. Deconstruction at its healthiest isn't tearing everything down and walking away with nothing. It's sifting. Keeping what was human. Letting go of what no longer fits. Also in this episode: A free virtual leadership cohort is forming for emerging Recovery Community Organization leaders. Details coming soon — keep your eyes on the Substack and socials. Building What Matters is coming to YouTube. Audio is live now. Video episodes are coming. Subscribe so you're there when it launches. Building What Matters with Tobias Neal - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@BuildingWhatMattersPodcast] Connect: Substack: Building What Matters | Tobias Neal | Substack [https://tobiasneal83.substack.com/] Stay in the pocket. Get full access to Building What Matters at tobiasneal83.substack.com/subscribe [https://tobiasneal83.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]