FISDAP Study Guide: Paramedic Exam Prep Answers (Bonus Episode)

What you're getting: This episode is a straight resource drop. We're going audio on the Fisdap Medical Study Guide—all the questions, all the answers, organized by medical topic so you can listen, study, and prepare without staring at a blank outline wondering where to start.

The problem this solves: If you're studying for paramedic certification or teaching paramedic education, you've seen the question outlines. They tell you what to learn but not always how to answer. You're hunting through Bledsoe's Paramedic Care looking for specifics on...

Episode 52: "The Eight Relationships Every Ambitious Leader Needs"

Hook: What if the people around you are the real difference between a career that's fine and a career that's legendary? Not your resume. Not your wins. The people who see your potential before you do.

What You'll Discover

In this episode, Shelly goes deep into Chapter 8 of Creator Capitalist by the Category Pirates to break down relationship capital—the invisible asset that compounds over time and transforms your entire trajectory.

You'll learn the exact eight types of relationships you need to build a...

Episode 51 - Kevin Barnhill: "When You've Gone Over the Edge (And How to Come Back)"

You know exactly what you're doing—cutting people off mid-sentence, getting short, getting harsh—and you can't seem to stop. The people closest to you have noticed the shift. The question isn't whether you've drifted. It's whether you can actually come back.

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

You spend eight years in a high-pressure role thinking you're fine. You tell yourself the hard edge is necessary, that it's part of the job. Then one day your chief pulls you into his offi...

Episode 50: "Why Women Veterans Keep Getting Misread: What 242 Just Told Us"

You show up. You read the room. You fill what needs filling before anyone asks. And somehow you still leave feeling like nobody quite got you. That is not a character flaw. It is an unmapped pattern. And 242 women veterans just gave us the map.

This episode brings you the results from 242 women veterans who completed the Wildflower Assessment for Women Veterans™. The data reveals how this demographic is wired with a precision nobody has mapped before, and it is the halfway-point proof of wh...

Episode 49: "When Opposite People Become Your Greatest Asset"

You know that person at work who makes decisions the opposite way you do? Who needs things from people that you don't want to give? What if the problem isn't them at all—what if you actually need exactly what they bring?

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Two women veterans with completely opposite operating systems spent years on separate paths in the Air National Guard. Debi retired after 20-plus years of deployments and rebuilding her life from scratch when she realized she had no idea who sh...

Episode 48: "Building a Category Instead of Writing a Book: The Strategic Decisions That Shape It"

The Book: The Wilderness and the Wildflower: Naming the Language of Women Veterans

You're building something that matters. But you're torn between sending it and making it excellent. What if the difference between those two isn't what you think it is? This episode isn't about publishing a book—it's a masterclass in building a category. And when your turn comes, you'll know how to think.

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

This is an exposure episode. Shelly brings you behind th...

Episode 47 — Adam Castillo: "Double Middle Fingers and a Homecoming"

Hardcore and At Ease | Mission Ambition, LLC

You gave everything to a country that claimed to want you back. So what do you do when it doesn't make room for you? You build something they can't take back. And then you come home.

Adam Castillo came home from Afghanistan ready to work. Corporate America hung the banners. Hire a hero. And then wouldn't get him through the door for a warehouse supervisor interview. So he gave it double middle fingers, packed up, and moved to...

Episode 46: "Built for a Different Body: How to Claim the Skills Nobody Documented"

Hardcore and At Ease | Powered by Others Over Self®

You did the work. You figured it out. Everyone celebrated the result and nobody asked how you got there. If that sounds familiar, this episode is going to hit somewhere specific.

In this solo episode, Shelly Rood breaks down what happens when you perform a standard inside a system that was never fully designed for your reality, and what it actually means to claim the full value of what that demanded f...

Episode 45 — Angie Lommen: "How to Prove Your Value So Others Carve Out a Place for You"

You have been putting in the work. Doing more than was asked. Saying yes before you had all the answers. And somehow nobody seems to notice until they can't afford to lose you.

In this conversation, a 26-year defense industry leader pulls back the curtain on what it looks like to build a career by proving value so consistently that other people start creating roles around you. This is not about self-promotion. It is about standard-setting so quiet and co...

Episode 44: "The Curse of Knowledge Is Costing You Customers" of Hardcore and At Ease - powered by Others Over Self®

You have poured yourself into your offer. You know every corner of it. So why are the right people not finding their way in? The answer might surprise you — and it has nothing to do with your content.

In this solo episode, host Shelly Rood shares what happened when she brought in a customer experience expert to walk through her business as a complete stranger — no context, no tour, no insider knowledge. That expert is Ali G...

Episode 43 - Melissa Washington: "Stop Waiting to Build What Only You Can See"

You can see exactly what's missing. You know you're the one to fill it. But you're waiting for the plan, the money, the perfect moment. What if the gap itself is the signal to move?

Melissa Washington didn't wait. With no business plan and no financial safety net, she built Women Veterans Alliance from a single Sacramento meetup into a global organization reaching thousands — with a giving foundation, a national broadcast event, and a Thrive Causemetics shade named after her. This conversation is...

Episode 42: "How to Receive the Support You've Been Building for Everyone Else"

You can see exactly what everyone around you needs. Recognizing it in yourself is a different skill entirely — and many high-performing leaders never develop it.

Sarah Merwin is Executive Director of Holbrook Farms, a nonprofit retreat community serving military widows, women who have lost a sibling in service, and mothers who have lost a child in uniform. She walked into the first retreat she planned with the itinerary ready and her perspective clear: this is for them. By the time dinner ended on ni...

Episode 41: "The Caretaking Wilderness: How to Keep Your Edge Without Losing Yourself"

Ever feel like you might be running on empty and nobody would even notice. Are you managing the household, the care, the business, the children — and the system designed to support the people you love doesn't even see you? That is the blind spot. That is where this wilderness lives.

In this episode, Shelly Rood goes into the second wilderness type — the caretaking wilderness. It does not look like crisis from the outside. It looks like competence. It might look like you. Drawing on p...

Hardcore and At Ease

Episode 40 - John Stolz: "Selfridge Air Show Canceled: Whose Car Are You Looking For?"

When the world is at war and the mission calls everyone away, what's left standing is everything you actually built. This week's cancellation of the Selfridge Air National Guard Base air show isn't just a local story. It's a live case study in what community identity costs and what it's worth.

John Stolz has spent years at the intersection of precision manufacturing and military community service, machining components for defense vehicles and aerospace engines while...

Episode 39: "When the Path Disappears: Welcome to the Wilderness"

You're not falling apart. You're in terrain that has no name yet. And that's exactly the problem.

Most frameworks for ambitious people were built on one assumption: that hard things arrive one at a time. For you, they arrive in clusters. A diagnosis, a move, a relationship ending, a role change — not across a decade, but across a Tuesday. Researcher Bruce Feiler found the average person navigates three to five major life disruptions across an entire lifetime. You've counted more than that in the last three ye...

Episode 38 - Erin Dunn: "When the World Won't Calm Down: Leading from Your Center"

You can't eliminate the chaos. But you can stop letting it run you. What if the real leadership skill isn't handling pressure — it's building something inside you that pressure can't reach?

Every ambitious leader knows what it feels like when everything hits at once. The demands stack, the environment is loud, and you're expected to perform anyway. Most leaders white-knuckle it — they power through, suppress the signal, and wonder why they feel scattered three days later. This episode is f...

Episode 37: "When the System Has You: Keeping Your Standards Intact Anyway"

You did everything right. So why is the institution coming after you? What happens to your leadership identity when performing at 100% still isn't enough to change the outcome?

In this solo episode, Shelly Rood tackles one of the most isolating experiences a high-performing leader can face: being falsely accused — not by one angry colleague, but by the system itself. Drawing on two real situations from her military career, Shelly names exactly what this terrain is, why your standard tools won't work here, and what ac...

Episode 36 – Host Shelly Rood interviews Vicky Rowinski & Kelley Lovati: "How to Build Momentum Without Burning Out Your Mission" on Hardcore and At Ease - powered by Others Over Self®

You're putting in the work. But some results are structurally unavailable until you build something bigger than yourself to achieve them. This episode is proof.

Vicky Rowinski and Kelley Lovati have spent over a decade turning Macomb County into a $6 billion defense hub — 75% of all Southeast Michigan defense procurement — by betting on coalition over competition. We cover the tri-county Detroit Regional Defense Coalition, the Michigan Maritime Supply...

Episode 35: "How to Build Systems That Scale Your Expertise Without Waiting for Perfect"

For eight years, you've been sitting on knowledge that could help thousands. But you're waiting for the perfect plan. Meanwhile, the people who need what you're building can't wait. What if the real problem isn't that your plan isn't good enough—it's that perfectionism is killing your impact?

Episode Description

General Patton said it best: "A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week." In this episode, Shelly reveals the behind-the-scenes strategy of launching two ma...

Episode 34: "The Scent of Trauma: Reclaiming Control When Everything Feels Like Too Much"

You're in the grocery store and suddenly you want to abandon your cart and run. The networking event has you wanting to throw punches. Your family gathering sends you spiraling. And you have no idea why—you just know you can't handle one more thing.

What if your body isn't broken? What if it's doing exactly what it was trained to do—except the threat it's protecting you from doesn't actually exist anymore? This episode reveals the gap between trauma and sensory over...

Episode 33 - Vicki Selva: "When Competitors Multiply Impact: Building Regional Excellence Through Strategic Collaboration"

What if your biggest competitors could become your greatest force multipliers? When you're exhausted from operating in isolation, trying to coordinate partners who won't coordinate, or watching potential collaborations die from friction—there's a different way.

In this episode, Vicki Selva shares how three historically competing counties now collaborate on $6 billion in defense work through the Detroit Regional Defense Coalition. You'll discover how to lower collaboration friction, why strategic partnerships align success rather than compromise it, and the leadership power of ad...

EPISODE 32 - "How to Set Boundaries Without Losing Your Mission-First Edge"

If you're the person everyone counts on to hold the line, who's holding the line for you?

This is the conversation we don't have enough in mission-driven leadership: boundaries aren't for weak people who can't handle pressure. Boundaries are for strong people who've been handling everyone else's pressure for so long they've forgotten what it feels like to not be the shock absorber for every crisis, every disappointment, every person who refuses to respect what you've clearly communicated.

You know boundaries matter...

Episode 31: "Building Excellence on a 4-Day Work Week: Focus, Boundaries, and Sustainable Success"

OPENING

What if protecting your Fridays is the secret to serving your clients better? What if saying no to 20 opportunities is exactly how you serve 28 clients exceptionally well?

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

We're checking email at 11 PM, taking weekend calls, and wearing 60-hour weeks like badges of honor. We've convinced ourselves that success requires constant availability—that if we take a break, everything will break. But what if sustainable excellence looks completely different?

My fellow Certified StoryBrand Guide, An...

Episode 30 Show Notes: "Stop Reacting, Start Living: How to Reclaim Your Time From Attention Thieves"

Working incredibly hard but never gaining traction? Your days feel like building blocks scattered on the ground instead of actually building something? You're not broken—you just need a better filter.

Every demand on your attention is stealing time you can never get back. When you don't understand the three types of attention demands, you start losing relationships with healthy people, doubting yourself, and believing your focus on your calling is somehow selfish. In this episode, you'll learn the simple on...

EPISODE TITLE

Episode 29: "What 'Protect Your Joy' Taught Me: 7 Lessons from Living Hardcore and At Ease in 2025"

HOOK OPENING

Are you watching your calling being held back by unhealthy patterns you've been tolerating? In 2025, "Protect Your Joy" became show host Shelly Rood's operating principle—not self-care, but mission stewardship. This episode reveals why protection decisions come with ongoing costs that last for years.

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Ambitious leaders face a brutal truth: Sometimes the biggest threat to mission success isn't external competition—it's the environment leaders tolerate. In January 2025, show host...

Episode 28: "When Do Ambitious Leaders Get to Be Loved?"

Are you loved for who you really are, or just the model of perfection people expect? When do ambitious leaders get to lower their standards and just be accepted? This episode answers that question with raw stories from five women veterans who discovered we don't have to choose between being excellent and being authentically ourselves.

In this special recording from the Others Over Self 2023 Leadership Conference & Women Veterans Engage - Detroit (presented by General Motors), Kelly Tulloch leads a powerful panel featuring Erica Hoover (Michigan Women...

Episode 27 - Ursula Hoppe: "From Head Trash to Inner Peace: The Self-Efficacy Advantage "

Ever notice how the most talented people often wait the longest to start? What if the voice in your head saying "you're not ready yet" is actually the only thing holding you back?

Air Force veteran and award-winning photographer Ursula Hoppe has built a thriving creative business by mastering one counterintuitive skill: saying yes before she has all the answers. From being told to lose 20 pounds before joining the military to launching a photography business at 50, Ursula's journey reveals how self-efficacy—the be...

Episode 26: "The Aiming Problem - Why Leaders Miss What They're Actually Shooting For"

Have you ever looked at someone else's credentials and thought "if I only had what they have"? Meanwhile, you're completely blind to the value you already bring. That kind of thinking throws off your aim and you end up hitting the wrong targets.

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

In this episode, we're tackling the most dangerous blindness ambitious leaders carry: the inability to see what you actually have. Through five personal stories—including a young chaplain sitting on her Master's de...

Episode 25 - Chaplain Brian Webb: "Gratitude and Grit: Leading Through Uncertainty"

What if the weight you're carrying isn't crushing you—it's preparing you? When was the last time you felt genuinely grateful for the impossible burdens leadership demands of you?

This conversation will leave you with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Chaplain Brian Webb has mastered staying present in the most impossible moments—79 casualty notifications, over 40 suicide interventions, and leading Michigan's Walking with Warriors program. He reveals why validation saves lives, the critical difference between being in recovery versus recovered, and how to lead teams thro...

EPISODE 24 SHOW NOTES

"Stop Feeling Alone While Surrounded by People"

You're surrounded by colleagues, friends, and connections - so why do you still feel isolated? Surface relationships look like community until the moment you actually need someone. Then you discover what you've been building all along: activity without depth, presence without connection.

This episode reveals why ambitious leaders end up feeling completely alone despite being constantly surrounded by people - and the principle that makes genuine connection possible. You'll discover the specific environments where depth actually happens (from the dying art of the...

Episode 23: Why Your Hypervigilance Is Destroying You (And How to Fix It)

You're prepared. You've built the right team, put systems in place, thought through every contingency. But you're still lying awake at 3 AM running worst-case scenarios. When the stakes involve people's lives and livelihoods, that vigilance becomes both your greatest strength and the thing slowly destroying you.

Today's guest spent years responding to prison gang riots in law enforcement before building a nonprofit serving veterans and first responders for 13 years. He knows the difference between strategic preparation and destructive anxiety. In this conversation, he...

Episode 22: "The Top 1% Advantage - What 21 Episodes Taught Us About Everyday Excellence"

You've launched initiatives with excitement and big plans. And were you tempted to quit at week 3 because it wasn't working fast enough? Sound familiar?

This episode reveals why 99% of leaders quit before they see results—and what the top 1% do differently. You'll discover the principle that separates sustainable excellence from exhausting intensity, and why consistency in essential things creates compound results that heroic one-time efforts never achieve. This isn't about talent or resources. It's about understanding what Lincoln knew in 1863, what Dick Van Dy...

Episode 21 - Autumn Hartpence: "Stop Forcing the Fit: When High-Quality Work Doesn't Get Results"

You've poured everything into a program that people won't use. You've created support systems that sit empty. You know you did high-quality work—but the outcome you believed would happen just isn't materializing.

Sound familiar?

This episode tackles the hardest leadership question: When do you push through, and when do you completely redesign? Autumn Hartpence, an Air Force Veteran completing her PhD, shares her 40-participant case study that reveals why capable people reject support systems designed for them—and what...

Episode 20: "Trust the Process: When Letting Go Is Your Most Strategic Move"

Can't step away? Not even for a moment? Still convinced that if you take your foot off the gas, everything will crumble? Here's the truth: if you cannot step away and have faith in a positive future, you cannot lead others well.

DESCRIPTION

This episode tackles the final element of the Hardcore and At Ease Framework—Trust the Process. Discover why leaders who can't step away create the very dependency they fear, and how building systems you can tr...

How to Win Government Contracts Through Collaborative Excellence - episode 19, Hardcore and At Ease - powered by Others Over Self®

Looking to break into defense contracting but don't know where to start? What if the secret to winning government contracts isn't just about your capabilities—it's about positioning yourself within an ecosystem where partnerships create opportunities?

Small businesses often struggle to break into government contracting because they're trying to figure everything out alone. You've got the technical capabilities, but navigating certifications, finding the right partners, and understanding how defense ecosystems work feels overwhelming. What if the...

Episode 18: "The Black Line: How to Expect Excellence Without Controlling Everyone"

Working with other strong personalities feels harder than it should. You maintain high standards, you're direct about what needs to happen, and somehow people still resist you. The question you're not asking: Are you maintaining standards, or are you blurring the line between what needs to be accomplished and how people accomplish it?

In this episode, we explore what it means to expect excellence through the black line principle—defining the outcome with absolute clarity while releasing control of the execution. You'll discover what Ab...

Based on the Show Notes Creation Prompt from project knowledge, here are the complete show notes for Episode 17:

Episode 17 - Carrie Mead: "How to Lead 8,000 People Without Becoming the Bottleneck"

Hook Opening

Sound familiar? You're working harder than ever, carrying more responsibility than anyone else on your team, and convinced you're the only one who really cares about getting it right. What if the real problem isn't that you need to work harder—it's that you've become the bottleneck?

Episode Description

Most high-achieving leaders plateau not be...

Episode 16: Furthering the Mission Through Others - Building Collaborative Momentum

Hardcore and At Ease Podcast

Powered by Others Over Self®

Episode Description

You've built the foundation. You've aligned your ambition. You're maximizing every resource. So why does it still feel like you're doing everything yourself?

In this solo episode, host Shelly Rood reveals why individual excellence doesn't automatically become team excellence—and what you need to do differently. This is the fourth ring of the Hardcore and At Ease Framework: Generate Momentum, where we learn to multiply impact through col...

EPISODE 15 SHOW NOTES

Episode Title: How to Build a Defense Career Without Starting from Scratch

Guest: John Gutierrez, Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired), Executive Director, Office of Defense & Aerospace Innovation | Michigan Economic Development Corporation

Co-Host: Nancy Dakin, Colonel, U.S. Air Force (Retired)

Most Americans think contributing to national defense requires connections, security clearances, or starting completely over. Retired Marine Corps Colonel John Gutierrez proves otherwise.

After 28 years leading logistics and acquisition programs—including managing the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle from testing through production—John now serves as Exec...

"The Myth of Work-Life Balance for Mission-Driven Leaders"

Episode 14 Description

If you're frustrated by work-life balance advice that seems written for people who don't actually care about excellence, this episode is for you. On this episode of Hardcore and At Ease - powered by Others Over Self®, Host Shelly Rood sits down with Krystal Bronnekant, Navy veteran and mental health nurse, who reveals why traditional work-life balance fails ambitious leaders and shares the wave-based approach that allows sustainable excellence for decades without sacrificing what matters most.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction and Guest Overview