Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman

About Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman

Jason Freeman is a professional speaker, author, and podcaster who makes his living using the very same voice and speech impediment that he spent nearly thirty years of his life trying to hide, proving that sometimes our most awkward obstacles can be our most awesome gifts. Awkwardly Awesome Podcast is a show founded on the belief that EVERYONE has an important and engaging story to tell. Sometimes profound, sometimes funny, educational and always motivational. May you, dear listener, use this podcast to relate and better understand, to be inspired and increase productivity in the areas of your life that you wish to improve. New episodes EVERY Wednesday. _______________________________________________ **Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest (https://www.youtube.com/@imperfectbest) **Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com (https://jasonwfreeman.com)

Publisher

Jason Freeman

Category

education · health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

12 Feb 2025

Latest episode

4 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

88 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   4 Nov 2026

   Another Door Opens: Billy Sutton’s Story of Resilience and Service | Ep. 298

   “If you haven’t had challenges, it’s easy to assume you can do everything yourself.  Before my injury, I certainly did.  My injury has helped me appreciate how much people have helped me throughout my life.” ~ Billie Sutton A fifth generation South Dakotan and a cowboy in the truest sense of the term, Billie Sutton exudes everything about the Western way of life. Growing up on his family’s ranch, Billie’s parents instilled in him the importance of committing to something and working hard at it.  So, when he fell in love with Rodeo and discovered the adrenaline rush that came from riding a bucking horse, there was no way he wouldn’t see it through.  He became the University of Wyoming's all-time leader in rodeo points, at the time, and went on to compete in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Circuit for four years. Then came the accident.  At the Badlands Circuit Finals in Minot, North Dakota at the age of 23 years old, Billie’s horse reared over backwards and smashed him against the chute, crushing Billie against the back of the chute gate.  The spinal injury he incurred left him permanently paralyzed from the waist down. As Billie recounts of his injury, “I really had two choices. I could roll over and quit.  Or, I could fight.  And my parents taught me to be a fighter.” Billie founded The Billie Sutton Leadership Institute while working as an investment services officer and human resources manager.  The Institute has mentored over 100 leaders ranging in age from their twenties to their sixties and helps them further their ideas for making their South Dakota communities better places to live and work. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather, who died before he was born, Billie became a state Senator and discovered the positive impact he could have on people's lives.  “A lot of people remember Grandpa, both for his kindness and for doing the right things.”  Billie served four terms as a South Dakota State Senator and later ran for Governor of South Dakota as a Democrat.  Although he lost the race, he came as close to winning the race as anyone in the party had in the last 40 years. These days, you’ll find Billie and his wife raising their three sons in the small town of Burke, South Dakota, population 575.  They had a daughter in 2020, who tragically passed away when she was one week old.  To honor her memory, and the memories of other local children who passed away at a very young age, Billie and his family helped create a community splash pad to the town of Burke, named Lenny's Lily Pad. Despite his paralysis from the waist down, Billie continues to ride horses on his family ranch. Billie also recently took up golf.  He loves it so much that he has a new goal: competing in the US Adaptive Open. I had the chance to ask him what Helen Kellar’s phrase, “When one door of happiness closes, another opens” means to him.  He thought a second and said, “You are going to have failure, things that don’t work out as you hope, but as you keep moving forward other opportunities will present themselves.  Sometimes it’s a blessing in disguise that something didn’t work out.” _______________________________________________ **Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest **Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

2. 

   28 Oct 2026

   Destiny’s Jockey: Joe J. Steiner's Journey of Dreams, Addiction, and Redemption | Ep. 297

   “Jockeying is how I became who I am.  Everything I have gone through brought me to a very humble place.  I’m thankful for everything, from the FORTY broken bones, to the two divorces, the years I battled alcohol addiction, to the decade-plus I struggled with bulimia.  Jockeying demands absolutely everything of you, and that really messes up your head.  You have to become an actor, projecting confidence at all times, no matter what.” ~ Joe Steiner At the young age of five, Joe Steiner saw his future.  He looked out at a horse track, saw his uncle confidently racing on a horse and said, “I want to do that!”  Joe’s grandfather had been a jockey too, so you could almost say the sport was a right of passage in his family.  Little did young Joe know then, the complexities that would come with choosing such a mighty dream. A quick trip to the Equibase website, the official database and data collection agency for North American Thoroughbred horse racing, reveals a profile on Joseph J. Steiner.  Under his name is a line that reads simply, “10,846 starts, 1,061 firsts, 1,112 seconds, 1,176 thirds, winnings of $17,288,500.”  Truly incredible stats. So how did he get here? As a kid, pursuing his dream, he was repeatedly told he was too big to be a competitive jockey and to make matters more complicated, he was very allergic to both horses and hay.  But he persisted.  Joe reflects, “I think I was destined to become a jockey.” At the ripe age of 17, with the help of his grandfather, the legendary jockey turned trainer, Jonny Longden took Joe under his wing.  Within a year, Joe was the second leading jockey in the nation.  Along the journey that followed, Joe employed an Anthony Robbins technique to become fearless, contracted with the Saudi Royal Family, and was a stunt double in the Oscar-nominated film, Seabiscuit. Then came the day Joe broke his neck while horse training.  By miracle, the surgeon was able to repair his neck, but informed Joe that his racing days were over.  If he were to ever fall off a horse and hit his neck, he would die instantly. Depression and alcohol abuse filled much of the next six years of his life.  Fortunately, helping a friend train inspired him to start taking his life back.  Joe signed up for yoga and began to feel like himself again.  After that, even though well aware of the risks, Joe started racing horses again AND winning races.  Talk about fearlessness! Around this time, Joe met and married the love of his life.  The year his son was born was one of the best years of his career. Such goes the epic tale of Joe Steiner. Now officially retired from racing, he’s determined to help as many people as he can to find their purpose and make good use of the brilliance within them.  Joe reflects on the road he has been on, “With life, it doesn’t always happen as you want it to.  It's definitely a tough road along the way, but if you stick with it, better times come.” _______________________________________________ **Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest **Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

3. 

   22 Oct 2026

   Fan Favorite: The VERY FIRST Episode Ever w/ Chris Taylor

   For this Fan Favorite episode, we're taking you ALL THE WAY BACK to the very beginning!  That's right ladies and gentlemen, we're talking the VERY FIRST episode of the Awkwardly Awesome Podcast. When Chris Taylor and I began Awkwardly Awesome Podcast we knew so little about the world we were stepping into compared to how we navigate it now, but I love sharing this episode because it's unlikely any of this would have happened if not for Chris' encouragement. It definitely took some patience on his part, he'd mentioned the podcast idea to me many times over previous years we'd worked together but I always had an excuse to put it on the back-burner.  Truthfully, I couldn't see the immediate benefit of it, much less its longterm potential. But then COVID changed the face of my business.  My speaking career which had really begun to take off, suddenly hit the skids and we had to go back to the drawing board and figure out new ways to reach the audience I so missed and longed to be in front of again.  Chris seized the opportunity to pitch the podcast, once again, and this time, even though I was still hesitant, I agreed to take a chance and do it.  Boy, am I so beyond grateful that I did.  I had no idea then that week after week, guest after guest, I'd become more and more passionate about it.  Not to mention inspired by it. As we approach Episode 300, what a great opportunity to look back and see how far we've traveled.  This episode also serves as a reminder that when we start something we don't have to be perfect at it, and we certainly don't have to have all of our ducks in a row.  There is such power in just making the start, then learning, adjusting, adapting, and growing with each step as we evolve right along side of it. May this episode inspire you to start the thing you've been hesitant about or that you've been wanting to do but haven't made time for.  The time has come.  Just start. Do it. Start. _______________________________________________ **Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest **Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

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