First Responders

What do you think is the mindset needed to constantly learn and grow throughout your career?

The key to constant growth: a humble, adaptable mindset.

What do you think the mindset needed to constantly learn and grow throughout your career? I think it's two things. It's one is a growth mindset of constantly looking at things and understanding that you're going to be good at things and you're going to constantly have to adapt because the dynamic situation of our job is so ever-changing, obviously, because not all two incidents or accidents or situations are the same. And so being able to go into it with a humbleness as well is so critical, not thinking that you know everything because as soon as you think you know everything, something's going to come at you and you're not going to be ready for it or you're not going to be flexible enough to be able to adapt to it. So making sure that you're humble in your career, but at the same time with a growth mindset, always looking for that little thing of whether you're going into a fire and nozzle positioning, how to advance a hose line better, how to ventilate a roof better. There's always going to be certain things that you can take little pieces of and make better. It's no different than any kind of personal development. That's how we get better is taking little pieces of what we learn and applying it to what we're good at and continually striving to be better at it. Be humble to your mistakes, but at the same time be proud of where you are and where you can get to.

The mindset needed to constantly learn and grow throughout your career is one of humbleness, growth, and continual improvement. Be humble about mistakes and proud of where you are and where you can get to, and always look for ways to get better.

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The mindset needed to constantly learn and grow throughout your career involves two key elements. Firstly, it requires a growth mindset, where you understand that you will continually need to adapt and improve because the nature of your job is ever-changing. Recognize that not all situations are the same, and approach them with humility, knowing that there is always more to learn.

Secondly, it's important to approach your career with a sense of humility. Avoid thinking that you know everything because that mindset can hinder your ability to be flexible and adapt when faced with new challenges. Stay open to learning and be ready to embrace new knowledge and skills.

Continual growth in your career involves seeking out opportunities for improvement, whether it's learning better techniques for specific tasks or developing new skills. Just like personal development, the key is to take small pieces of what you learn and apply them to enhance your existing strengths. Embrace your mistakes with humility, but also take pride in your progress and the potential for further growth.

How do you prioritize and celebrate your own personal victories, and what advice do you have for others who may struggle with recognizing and celebrating their own successes?

The Power of Celebrating Victories and Embracing the Journey

You know, this is one of those things that when you celebrate successes, and it's not an easy thing to do, and sometimes you can outwardly look like you're celebrating or outward look like you're really excited about the success, but inwardly you're going, well, that challenge is over, so now what am I going to do? What am I going to do with myself? And did I set that goal too low? Is there more possibility out there? So I think there's a lot of room for us to understand that when we look at finish lines, and I always tell people, when you look at finish lines, they aren't the end. They're just the beginning of something new. And a lot of people say that that's, well, you're not enjoying the success. It's like, yes, I am enjoying the success of a continued journey. And that's the way I look at things is that success and victories and being able to make sure that you understand that the journey of life is what you're on. And every single day that you get to wake up, every single day that you get to enjoy what you love to do, that is a celebration. And so make sure that you are constantly, constantly being appreciative of the journey. And don't look at all the finish lines, look at what's next, maybe. Be satisfied, but be hungry.

Celebrating success is not always easy and sometimes we can look like we are celebrating, but inwardly we may be feeling anxious about what comes next. Success isn't about reaching the finish line - it's about enjoying the journey and being appreciative of what you have been able to achieve. Be satisfied with your accomplishments, but also stay hungry for more.

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Prioritizing and celebrating personal victories can be challenging. Sometimes, even when we outwardly celebrate, we may internally question if we set our goals too low or if there's more potential to explore. It's important to recognize that finish lines are not the end but the beginning of something new.

I believe that success and victories are part of a continued journey. Rather than solely focusing on reaching a specific goal, it's crucial to appreciate the entire journey of life. Waking up each day and being able to pursue what we love is a reason to celebrate. It's about finding satisfaction in our accomplishments while maintaining a hunger for what lies ahead.

My advice to others who struggle with recognizing and celebrating their own successes is to shift their perspective. Embrace the idea that each day is an opportunity for growth and enjoyment. Instead of fixating on finish lines, focus on what's next and continue to appreciate the journey. Be grateful for the present moment and maintain a sense of ambition and curiosity.

Do you ever get scared at a scene or are you so well trained that you don’t?

Fearful or Fearless? The Importance of Healthy Fear in High-Stakes Scenes

This is a good question. Do you ever get scared at a scene? I think it's not being scared, it's having a healthy fear for what we go into. When you go into a fire, you have to have a fear of what it's going to do or what you don't know what it's going to do. The biggest thing is having a healthy respect of fear for what you're going into is so important because that puts you on a different playing field of, I don't know exactly what I'm going to do, but I'm going to be able to be dynamic with the situation and be able to trust in the training and the skills that I've learned to be able to adapt to the situation. A lot of times what happens when people get into trouble or get into issues where they can't get out of, they go in with a mindset that they already know what's going to happen. They already know that this is going to be what it's going to be. When it doesn't show up that way or it changes, they're not able to adapt. It's not being scared, it's having a healthy level of fear when you go into it so that you're able to look at the situation differently and adapt when needed.

Having a healthy level of fear when you go into an unfamiliar or risky situation is important, so that you can stay dynamic and adapt to the situation.

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This is a great question. Do I ever get scared at a scene? I wouldn't say it's about being scared, but rather having a healthy respect and fear for the situation. When facing a fire, for example, it's important to acknowledge the potential dangers and uncertainties. Having a healthy level of fear allows me to approach the situation with a different mindset. I understand that I may not know exactly what will happen, but I trust in my training and skills to adapt to the circumstances. 

One common issue is when people enter a situation with a preconceived notion of what will occur. When things don't go as expected or change unexpectedly, they struggle to adapt. It's not about being scared, but rather having a healthy level of fear that enables me to approach each situation with a different perspective and be flexible when necessary.

What are three things you do to be productive?

Unleashing Productivity: Tactical goals, efficiency, and imperfection.

Now, this is gonna make guys at the firehouse laugh, but I do a to-do list and a calendar. And I always, I keep it up to date and I'll change it. I think my biggest things to be productive is to set myself miniature goals, tactical and strategic goals. So tactical goals are things that you wanna do every single day. Tactical goals are things that can be done within an hour. It can be done within 24 hours. But your strategic goals are gonna be that higher level goal that is maybe a long-term goal for myself. Like when I went for the Guinness World Record, it was to get 23, but my tactical goal was to do one race each time I needed to. Take one step forward. Now with myself getting, I'm actually going in to get a knee replacement, is taking one step forward to productively move there. I need to have those little tactical goals that I need to be able to apply to my strategic goal. And the last thing is not try to be perfect. That is one of the biggest things that debilitates people is when they're trying to be productive and they're trying to get something accomplished, they try to be perfect and nobody's gonna be perfect. Just be yourself, be efficient, put in the effort to be able to get the rewards.

I think the best way to be productive is to set both tactical and strategic goals. Tactical goals are the smaller goals that can be accomplished in a short period of time, while strategic goals are the longer-term goals. Lastly, don’t try to be perfect and just put in the effort to get the rewards.

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To be productive, I have three key strategies. First, I create and maintain a to-do list and calendar. Keeping them up to date and making necessary adjustments helps me stay organized. 

Second, I set both tactical and strategic goals. Tactical goals are daily or short-term tasks that can be accomplished within a few hours or 24 hours. Strategic goals, on the other hand, are higher-level objectives that align with long-term aspirations. By breaking down my strategic goals into smaller tactical goals, I can make progress step by step.

Lastly, I avoid striving for perfection. Trying to be perfect can hinder productivity. Instead, I focus on being myself, efficient, and putting in the necessary effort to achieve my goals.

By implementing these strategies, I am able to maintain productivity and work towards accomplishing my objectives.

What are the top three qualities that make up a good leader?

Key Qualities of a Good Leader: Humility, Hunger, Resilience

So what are the top three qualities that make up a good leader? It's tough to whittle down into three but I would say that one of the the first ones is being humble. Being humble as a leader is so important because there are going to be people on your team that are better than you at certain things and you're gonna be able you're gonna have to be humble to allowing them to be a leader within your weaknesses to be able to accentuate the team's success. Second thing for a leader is I think that you have to be hungry as a leader. Whether you're a leader in thought, whether you're a leader at the firehouse, or whether you're a leader within your family, you have to be hungry to get more. You have to be hungry to constantly get that growth out of yourself and out of others. I think the last one that makes a good leader, and these are probably really off the charts for some people, but is being resilient. Being resilient makes great leaders because you don't give up when things are going wrong. You don't give up when things or people in your team are not the right ones. You're resilient to the situation because you think of something bigger than yourself. I think that's so important as a leader to be part of something bigger than yourself. Being resilient in those times of strife are going to get you to be that great leader you want to be.

A good leader should be humble, hungry, and resilient.

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What are the top three qualities that make up a good leader? It's challenging to narrow it down to just three, but I would say the first one is humility. Being humble as a leader is crucial because there will be individuals on your team who excel in areas where you may be weaker. Being humble allows you to empower them and leverage their strengths for the team's success. Another important quality for a leader is hunger. Whether leading in thought, at a firehouse, or within your family, having a hunger for growth is essential. You should constantly strive for personal and collective development. The final quality that makes a good leader, although it might not be conventional for some, is resilience. Great leaders don't give up when things go wrong or when they face challenges within their team. They remain resilient because they focus on something bigger than themselves. Being part of something greater and being resilient during difficult times are key traits of an exceptional leader.

What are some of your favorite mental tips for when the challenge and darkness creeps in?

Incorporate passion and humility for mental resilience.

Alright, so what are some of my favorite mental tips for when challenge and darkness creeps in? That's a tough one and this is very personal to each person and making sure that you take some from maybe what I say or from whatever anybody else says that answers this question and apply it to your life because Man, it's changed for me over the over the years so some of my favorite mental tips that I try to say as a mantra is you know, your strength is in your passion and my passion and purpose is is to be present and to be the best person I can to my family and to my co-workers and to the people that we're serving and is it always possible? No, it's not but it's it's one of those things that I always talk about and making sure that you can have not only just positive self-talk but also making sure that you can have humble self-talk so when you make a mistake being able to own up to it, and I think that's not easy for any of us and for me it's not easy and constantly working on it and constantly being humble to the process is another great mental tip that I can talk and tell you about is being humble to that process of being a better person is going to make you a better person.

My favorite mental tips are to remember that my strength lies in my passion and purpose and to have positive self-talk and humble self-talk. When I make mistakes, I should own up to them and be humbled by the process of becoming a better person.

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When facing challenges and darkness, it's important to remember that everyone's experience is personal and unique. Here are some of my favorite mental tips, but it's crucial to adapt them to your own life.

One mantra I find helpful is reminding myself that my strength lies in my passion. My purpose is to be present and strive to be the best version of myself for my family, coworkers, and those I serve. While it may not always be possible, it's a mindset I aim to maintain.

Positive self-talk is essential, but I also emphasize the importance of humble self-talk. Owning up to mistakes and being accountable is not easy, but it's a crucial part of personal growth. I constantly work on being humble and open to the process of becoming a better person.

Remember, these tips may resonate with you, but it's essential to find what works best for you and apply it to your own journey of overcoming challenges and darkness.

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Robert Verhelst answers your First Responders questions. See all the advice Robert Verhelst has and get answers to your own First Responders questions.

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Fireman Rob is known as a dynamic storyteller with an inspirational voice, on the courage to lead your life with a resilient mindset. He helps people become greater assets to themselves and others, with the ability to lead with courage, passion and mental strength. 

Fireman Rob delivers powerful impact to audiences through his stories and catalysts that have been Forged In The Fires of his life. From numerous years in the fire service to surviving on Discovery Channel’s show “Ultimate Ninja Challenge” to performing search & recovery after the September 11th attacks. His message resonates with everyone and has proven results. 

From surviving post-traumatic stress disorder to breaking a Guinness World Record to being a dad, he lives his message and delivers the fire to the audience.

ACCOLADES •  2012 Ironman Performance of the Year •  2012 HITS Triathlon Athlete of the Year •  2014 In Business Magazine “25 Most Influential People in Greater Madison” •  2015 Jefferson Award 