Cold weather shouldn’t cost you your VA benefits. But for veterans living with Raynaud’s Syndrome, proving the condition, documenting attacks, and securing the right rating can be harder than it sounds.In this episode of Victory Over VA, we break down what Raynaud’s is, how the VA rates it, and the critical evidence veterans need to win their claim.

What if your burnout isn’t caused by the work… but by the way you’re paid to do it?After 14 years in high-stakes criminal defense, Trevor Riddle walked away. He thought he needed a new practice area. A new city. A fresh start.But the real problem wasn’t the cases. It was the billable hour.So he came back, built a firm on flat fees, and bet everything on alignment over tradition.Would you have the courage to rebuild your career from the ground up?

Why would someone step away from power… only to ask for it back?After serving eight years as County Commissioner, Chad Stewart resigned. Now he’s running again. Was it strategy? Service? Or unfinished business?In this episode, we unpack fund balances, tax debates, growth fears, and the pressure of public life in the internet age.When experience meets controversy… who do you trust to lead?

What if the real battle most people face is invisible? In this episode of Built on Behavior, Brooke Trometer sits down with Spiro Demetriadi, founder of Spiritual Combatives and author of How to Kill PTSD Before It Kills You. Drawing from decades of military training, martial arts, and faith-based study, Spiro explains why spiritual warfare is real, why mindset is survival, and how faith becomes a tactical advantage when life feels overwhelming.From the Battlefield to the Inner BattleSpiro Demetriadi has spent his life immersed in discipline, combat training, and survival. Military service, infantry training, airborne school, and decades working alongside elite law enforcement and military units shaped his professional path.But the most important battles of his life were not physical.They were internal.After years of helping others master tactics and physical defense, Spiro found himself facing personal loss and emotional hardship. That season forced a realization. Physical training alone was not enough. The spiritual dimension had been ignored.That realization became the foundation of Spiritual Combatives.What Spiritual Warfare Really MeansAccording to Spiro, spiritual warfare is conflict waged in the invisible spiritual world that manifests in the visible physical one. The battlefield is the mind.Negative thoughts, fear, hopelessness, self-doubt, and despair are not random. They are attempts to gain ground. While no one can stop thoughts from appearing, everyone has the power to choose which thoughts they allow to stay.You cannot stop birds from flying over your head.But you can stop them from building a nest in your hair.Detection matters. Response matters even more.Why Strength Alone Is Not EnoughSpiro emphasizes that physical strength without spiritual strength eventually collapses under pressure. He points to elite athletes, military operators, and high performers who break down not because their bodies fail, but because their inner foundation does.This belief is central to his book How to Kill PTSD Before It Kills You, written primarily for law enforcement, military, and first responders. The book reframes trauma through a spiritual lens, not as denial, but as preparation.His message is clear.God has your six.You are not alone, even when it feels that way.From Trauma to TrainingAfter a divorce and a season of deep sadness, Spiro immersed himself in scripture and spiritual study. What began as personal survival became a structured system.Over four years, he created the Spiritual Combatives Masterclass, a comprehensive program with more than 160 lessons and over 20 hours of training. The focus is not motivation, but transformation.Just as physical strength requires repetition, spiritual strength is built through daily discipline. Reading scripture. Challenging destructive thoughts. Reframing setbacks. Choosing gratitude even in pain.It is not about avoiding hardship.It is about refusing to be destroyed by it.Why This Message Matters NowLaw enforcement, military members, and first responders see humanity at its worst. Over time, that weight erodes faith, hope, and connection.Spiro addresses the stigma head-on. Vulnerability is often seen as weakness, but he believes it is the opposite. Strength includes asking for help.Heroes need support too.Closing ReflectionThis conversation is about awareness, not argument. About understanding that unseen battles shape visible outcomes. About recognizing that faith, discipline, and mindset are not abstract ideas, they are survival tools.Spiro leaves listeners with a powerful truth.You are already standing on the hilltop.Victory is not something you chase.It is something you defend.Connect with Spiro DemetriadiAll resources, courses, and service offerings:https://spiritualcombatives.com/fifthdimensionshowNew Book – U-Turn Your Life In 3 Days: Get Your Life Headed Back in the Right Directionhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GBZH32HCU-Turn Your Life In 3 Days is a no-nonsense field guide for anyone who feels off-course, burned out, drifting, or spiritually worn down. This is not motivation. It’s a course correction.Drawing from decades of real-world combatives and tactical training and the battle-tested principles of the Spiritual Combatives Masterclass, Spiro delivers a clear, step-by-step plan to stop the downward spiral, expose deception, regain clarity, and realign your life with God’s direction.In a focused three-day framework, readers learn how to assess where they are, reverse course, and set a new heading rooted in truth, discipline, faith, and spiritual strength.Waiting won’t fix it. Make the U-Turn.Email: contact@spiritualcombatives.comLinkedIn: Search “Spiro Demetriadi”

Success Isn’t a Destination. It’s Who You Get to Be Along the Way.Some conversations don’t feel like interviews. They feel like space opening up.That’s what this one felt like.When I sat down with Thomas Edwards Jr., I knew we would talk about identity, success, and leadership. What I didn’t expect was how naturally the conversation kept circling back to a quiet tension so many people are carrying without realizing it: the experience of living as two different people.When Success Looks Right but Feels OffThomas is widely known for his earlier work as The Professional Wingman. From the outside, his life looked like success by every visible measure. Media appearances, including The Steve Harvey Show, national recognition, a fast-growing business, and a public reputation built on confidence and charisma.But what stood out most as he shared his story wasn’t the rise. It was what came after.There was a moment when he realized he had checked all the boxes and still felt unsettled. Not in a dramatic, crisis-driven way. Just a quiet awareness that something didn’t line up. That question many people never stop long enough to ask: Why am I doing all of this?The Cost of Living as Two PeopleAs we talked, it became clear that the issue wasn’t effort or ambition. It was fragmentation.We are taught, often without realizing it, to divide ourselves into roles. There is the business version of us and the personal version. The leader, the parent, the partner. We assume this separation is normal, even necessary.But living that way doesn’t create balance. It creates pressure. It requires constant switching, constant monitoring, constant performance.What Thomas described wasn’t a need to reinvent himself for optics or branding. It was a return to wholeness. Not becoming someone new, but learning how to be the same person everywhere.Why Imposter Syndrome Isn’t Really About ConfidenceThat idea reshaped how we talked about confidence and imposter syndrome.Thomas offered a perspective that reframed the issue entirely. Imposter syndrome isn’t really about confidence. It’s about identity. When you’re unclear about who you are, of course you question whether you belong.Confidence doesn’t arrive before action. It shows up afterward, built through practice, feedback, and repetition. This is why “fake it till you make it” so often makes things worse. Pretending reinforces the split instead of resolving it.Learning Requires Permission to Make MistakesWe also talked about why so many capable people stop taking risks. Fear, when you look closely, isn’t always about failure. It’s often about finality. When every decision feels like it has to be perfect, movement stops.Thomas shared how video games helped him reconnect with growth in a healthier way. Games like Super Mario Bros. are designed around learning. Mistakes are expected. You’re given room to try again. When you gain an extra life, you stop playing defensively. You explore. You take chances. You improve.Somewhere along the way, many adults forget how to give themselves that margin.Rebuilding Trust Happens Through ConsistencyOne of the most grounded parts of the conversation was Thomas’s honesty about his marriage. Addiction and escapism brought him close to losing everything that mattered most.Rebuilding trust didn’t happen through explanations or promises. It happened through consistency. Doing what he said he would do. Showing up again and again. Letting integrity rebuild slowly over time.We also talked about communication, and how many couples live carefully, afraid to say the wrong thing because everything feels fragile. What changed for them was a shared commitment to remember they were on the same team. Not trying to win. Trying to move forward together.Rethinking What Success Actually IsAs the conversation came to a close, we returned to the idea of success itself.What Thomas believes now is something his younger self wouldn’t have accepted. Success isn’t a destination. It isn’t a moment you arrive at and stay. It’s an experience shaped by who you are becoming along the way.Goals still matter. Direction still matters. But when outcomes are pursued without attention to wholeness, the cost eventually shows up.The Thought That LingeredAt the end of the episode, I asked Thomas one final question. If everything else were forgotten, what message would he leave behind?His answer was simple:You are someone else’s inspiration.Whether you see it or not.🔗 Connect with Thomas Edwards Jr.Website: https://thomasedwardsjr.comInstagram: https://instagram.com/thethomasedwardsjrDM “BETTER” to learn more about Better Together, the marriage experience he leads with his wifeJoin the waitlist for The Inner Drive experience (August 2026)