Outside The Walls

The Things We Notice — The Person Who Showed Up

Sometimes the people who shape our lives aren't the ones who make the biggest speeches or offer the perfect advice.

They're simply the ones who keep showing up.

In this episode of Outside the Walls, Dave reflects on his relationship with his older brother—from tagging along with the older kids and watching him play baseball, to Friday night football games, fraternity memories, weddings, career changes, and a cup of coffee that came at exactly the right time.

After their father passed away during Dave's junior year of high school, his brother attended every football game of Dave's senior season—home and away—and brought their mom with him.

At the time, it simply felt like his older brother being his older brother.

Years later, Dave sees it differently.

Because one of the things we begin to understand as we get older is that showing up often costs something: time, changed plans, an extra drive, or simply making room in a busy life when someone we love needs us.

And sometimes we don't fully recognize those sacrifices until years later.

In This Episode

• What an old photograph of two brothers in a crib revealed decades later

• The impact of an older brother who made room for his younger sibling

• Why showing up mattered even more after the loss of their father

• A memorable high school football night—and the photographs that remain priceless today

• The significance of being best men in each other's weddings

• The cup of coffee Dave's brother shared with him the morning after a career setback

• Watching that same generosity and guidance extend to the next generation

• Why getting older can help us recognize sacrifices we couldn't see at the time

Something to Consider

Who has been showing up in your life for so long that maybe you've stopped noticing they're doing it?

A parent.
A sibling.
A spouse.
A friend.
A mentor.

Maybe someone has quietly been in the stands for you again and again.

If someone comes to mind, tell them.

You don't need a Hall of Fame induction.
You don't need a special occasion.

Maybe you just need a cup of coffee.

Connect with Outside the Walls

If this episode brings someone to mind, consider sharing it with them—and maybe take a moment to tell them what their presence has meant to you.

Stay curious.
Live intentionally.
Take the next step.

And remember: Life changes outside the walls.

#OutsideTheWalls #TheThingsWeNotice #ShowingUp #Relationships #Family #Brothers #Gratitude #LifeLessons #PersonalGrowth #Legacy

Outside the Walls Podcast
The Things We Notice — Sunday at Grandma’s
October 1, 2026 | Episode 25
Host: Dave Gast

Episode Description

What ordinary moment from your childhood doesn’t seem so ordinary anymore? For me, it starts with the sound of fried chicken sizzling in Grandma’s cast-iron skillet.

In this episode, I begin a new chapter of Outside the Walls: The Things We Notice. After exploring what holds us back, we’re turning toward the people, experiences, and everyday moments that shape our lives.

Through memories of Sunday dinners, family laughter, and my grandmother Maggie, I explore how routines become treasured memories. Join me around the table—and consider what’s worth noticing in your own life today.

Featured Story

Almost every Sunday, my mom, dad, brother, and I went to Grandma’s for dinner. We called her Maggie, and she even signed our birthday cards that way. She managed the William Small Memorial Home in Leavenworth, Kansas, but to me, it was simply where Grandma—and the fried chicken—could be found.

There were mashed potatoes and gravy, great rolls, and enough laughter to stay with me for decades. Maggie had a way of finding humor in ordinary life, including the chicken crumbs she claimed she was saving for later. Back then, it was just Sunday. Looking back, I see how much those afternoons gave us.

Important Points

• Ordinary traditions can become our most meaningful memories, even when nothing about them feels special at the time.
• What we inherit includes humor, habits, and ways of caring that we learn by spending time with the people we love.
• We can notice the people and moments shaping our lives today without turning every gathering into a grand occasion.

Memorable Quotes

• “Most of the ordinary traditions in our lives don’t announce when they’re ending.”
• “Until eventually...without realizing it...a routine becomes a memory.”
• “Sometimes the things that shape our lives don’t look particularly important while they’re happening. Sometimes...they just look like Sunday.”

Dave’s Three-Step Approach

1. Remember an ordinary moment from your life: a Sunday dinner, a porch conversation, or a car ride with someone you loved.
2. Consider what you notice now that you missed then—the care, laughter, or sense of belonging within that familiar routine.
3. Bring that awareness into a moment this week. Pay attention to the people, sounds, and conversations while you’re there.

Something to Consider

What ordinary moment from your own life doesn’t seem so ordinary anymore? What do you notice about it now that you didn’t notice then?

A New Chapter: The Things We Notice

The Ten Walls explored what can quietly hold us back. This next chapter explores what we discover once we’re outside them—the people, experiences, unexpected turns, and ordinary moments that deserve our attention.

Connect with Me

• Website: OutsideTheWallsPodcast.com
• YouTube: Outside the Walls with Dave Gast
• LinkedIn: Dave Gast

If this episode brought someone to mind, consider sharing it with them. Follow Outside the Walls for a new conversation each week.

Stay curious. Live intentionally. Take the next step. And remember... Life changes outside the walls.

Hashtags

#OutsideTheWalls #TheThingsWeNotice #SundayAtGrandmas #FamilyMemories #LifeLessons #IntentionalLiving #StayCurious

What if the problem isn't looking back—but how long we stay there?

In this episode of Outside the Walls, we explore the tenth and final wall in the Ten Walls series: The Wall of Regret.

The rearview mirror serves an important purpose. It shows us where we've been and helps us understand what's behind us. But it was never designed to show us where we're going.

Regret can work the same way.

We revisit decisions we would make differently today. We wonder about opportunities we didn't take, words we wish we'd said—or hadn't said—and roads we chose not to travel.

And hindsight can make those choices seem much more obvious today than they actually were at the time.

In this episode, we explore how to use the past without allowing ourselves to live there:

Look back.
Acknowledge what happened and recognize what you might do differently today.

Learn from it.
Instead of only asking, “Why did I do that?” consider asking, “What did that teach me?”

Look forward.
We can't make yesterday's decisions with today's wisdom—but we can decide what we do with today's wisdom.

Because the problem comes when reflection becomes residence.

As we close the Ten Walls series—Comfort, Fear, Approval, Busyness, Perfection, Waiting, Comparison, Success, Certainty, and Regret—we're left with a different question:

What's waiting for us outside?

And that's where we're going next.

Something to Consider

What's something in your rearview mirror that you've been looking at for too long?

Not something you need to forget or pretend didn't happen.

Something you can learn from—and then allow yourself to look forward.

The rearview mirror has a purpose. It just wasn't designed to show us where we're going.

Connect with Me

Website: OutsideTheWallsPodcast.com
YouTube: Outside the Walls with Dave Gast
LinkedIn: Dave Gast

Hashtags

#OutsideTheWalls #WallOfRegret #Regret #PersonalGrowth #LifeLessons #LookForward #IntentionalLiving #SelfReflection #StayCurious

Wouldn't it be nice if life came with GPS?

Turn-by-turn directions.
An estimated arrival time.
Even a warning about the traffic and detours ahead.

But life doesn't work that way.

We make career moves, pursue ideas, navigate relationships, and face big decisions without knowing exactly how things will turn out.

And sometimes, that's where we get stuck.

Not because we don't know anything.

But because we don't know everything.

In this episode of Outside the Walls, we're exploring The Wall of Certainty—our desire to know the outcome before we're comfortable moving forward.

Using the familiar experience of a GPS recalculating after a missed turn, we'll consider an important distinction:

Certainty says: “I know what's going to happen.”

Confidence says: “Whatever happens, I trust myself to respond.”

Maybe we don't need every turn mapped out before we begin.

Research matters. Preparation matters. Seeking advice matters.

But preparation isn't supposed to eliminate uncertainty.

It's supposed to help us handle it.

We've probably navigated far more uncertainty in our lives than we give ourselves credit for. We've adjusted. We've learned.

We've recalculated.

In This Episode

• Why our desire for certainty can become a wall
• The difference between certainty and confidence
• What a GPS can teach us about adapting when plans change
• Why preparation can't eliminate every question mark
• How our judgment, experience, and ability to adapt build confidence
• Why a different route doesn't mean the journey is ruined

Something to Consider

Is there an area of your life where you're looking for a guarantee that probably doesn't exist?

Instead of asking:

“How can I be certain this will work?”

Consider asking:

“Do I trust myself to respond if it doesn't go exactly as planned?”

Maybe confidence isn't knowing what's going to happen.

Maybe confidence is knowing we'll be able to respond to whatever happens.

We may not know every turn ahead.
But we can always recalculate.

Connect with Me

Website: OutsideTheWallsPodcast.com
YouTube: Outside the Walls with Dave Gast
LinkedIn: Dave Gast

Stay curious.
Live intentionally.
Take the next step.

And remember... Life changes outside the walls.

Success is something we work hard for. We celebrate it. We remember it. And sometimes, without realizing it, we begin protecting it.

In this episode of Outside the Walls, Dave explores one of the more surprising barriers we can build: The Wall of Success.

Using the example of a championship team returning for a new season, Dave considers what happens when the very things that helped us succeed begin making it harder to grow.

Last year's championship doesn't put points on this year's scoreboard.

And the same can be true in life.

Past success can become part of our identity. We become comfortable with what we're known for, hesitant to become beginners again, and reluctant to risk what we've already built.

But success doesn't have to become a prison.

It can become the foundation for whatever comes next.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why yesterday's success doesn't guarantee tomorrow's
• Why becoming a beginner again isn't failure
• Why our experience can give us the confidence to walk into a new room

As Marshall Goldsmith said:

“What got you here won't get you there.”

And maybe there's another part worth considering:

What got you here probably won't even keep you where you are.

The scoreboard remembers what you accomplished.

It doesn't tell you what comes next.

This Week's Consideration

Think about something in your life that you're proud of—a career, a relationship, or a reputation you've built.

Then ask yourself:

Is that success giving me a foundation for what's next—or has it become a wall around what's next?

Celebrate the championship.

Enjoy the moment.

Be proud of the journey.

Then get ready for the next season.

Connect with Me

Website: OutsideTheWallsPodcast.com
YouTube: Outside the Walls with Dave Gast
LinkedIn: Dave Gast

If someone came to mind while you were listening, maybe this is a conversation worth sharing with them.

Stay curious. Live intentionally. Take the next step.

And remember...

Life changes outside the walls.

We spend a lot of time looking around at everyone else—where they are, what they've accomplished, and whether we're keeping up. But sometimes all that looking sideways keeps us from seeing how far we've come.

In this episode of Outside the Walls, we explore The Wall of Comparison—and how a habit that may have started as early as flipping through our high school yearbooks can quietly follow us through life.

Careers. Homes. Vacations. Job titles. Followers.

The things we compare may change, but the temptation doesn't.

We'll look at why comparison can steal more than our joy—it can steal our direction—and why someone else's highlight reel rarely tells the whole story.

We'll also step onto the track and consider what sprinters already know: when we're constantly looking left and right, it's awfully hard to focus on the race we're running.

Because maybe the comparison worth making isn't with our neighbor, our coworker, or someone we follow online.

Maybe it's with the person we were yesterday.

In This Episode

• Why comparison often begins before we realize it
• How someone else's snapshot can distort our perspective
• What running our own race can teach us about growth
• A better way to measure the progress we're making

This Week's Consideration

When you catch yourself comparing your life to someone else's, consider changing the question.

Instead of:

“Why aren't I where they are?”

Try:

“Am I growing from where I was?”

Maybe that's the comparison worth making.

Connect with Me

Website: OutsideTheWallsPodcast.com
YouTube: Outside the Walls with Dave Gast
LinkedIn: Dave Gast

Stay curious. Live intentionally. Take the next step.

Life changes outside the walls.

The Wall of Waiting: Stop Waiting to Feel Ready

What if the thing keeping us stuck isn't failure—but waiting?

We tell ourselves we need a little more time. More experience. More confidence. More certainty. And sometimes that's true.

But sometimes, we can spend so much time preparing for life that we never actually step into it.

In Episode 20 of Outside the Walls, we explore The Wall of Waiting through the image of a baseball player standing in the on-deck circle—taking practice swings, preparing for the moment, but never stepping into the batter's box.

Preparation matters. Planning matters. But neither was meant to become a permanent address.

In this episode, we'll explore three simple observations:

• Waiting often disguises fear. Sometimes we give our hesitation very good-sounding reasons.
• Some lessons only become visible once we're moving. We can't learn everything from the on-deck circle.
• Waiting is still a decision. Choosing not to move is still a choice.

This Week's Consideration

Ask yourself two questions:

Where am I still standing in the on-deck circle?

What's one swing I've been practicing...but never taking?

Maybe it's a phone call. An application. An appointment. A conversation. Or something we've been telling ourselves we'll pursue "someday."

We don't have to finish the journey today.

Maybe we just need to step in.

A Thought to Remember

“Preparation is valuable. But preparation was never meant to become a permanent address.”

Because we can spend our whole lives getting ready for a life we never actually live.

Connect with Me

Website: OutsideTheWallsPodcast.com
YouTube: Outside the Walls with Dave Gast
LinkedIn: Dave Gast

If this episode resonates with you, consider sharing it with someone who may still be taking practice swings of their own.

Stay curious. Live intentionally. Take the next step.

Life changes outside the walls.

Episode Description

What if perfection isn't helping you move forward—but actually keeping you standing still?

In this episode of Outside the Walls, Dave Gast continues the 10 Walls series with The Wall of Perfection—the invisible barrier that convinces us we need just a little more preparation before we're ready to begin.

Perfection sounds responsible. It sounds disciplined. It sounds like excellence.

But sometimes perfection is simply fear wearing nicer clothes.

We talk about the dreams, conversations, career moves, projects, and opportunities that can remain stuck because we're waiting for everything to feel just right. The truth is, you don't become ready and then act. You become ready by doing.

As Dave says, "You cannot steer a parked car."

Once you're moving, you can adjust. You can learn. You can improve. You can grow.

And maybe the most important reminder from this episode:

Your future doesn't need your perfection. It needs your participation.

If there's something you've been putting off because you're waiting until you're completely ready, maybe it's time to take one imperfect step.

Because life changes when we move.

Three Key Takeaways

1. You don't become ready—you become ready by doing.
   Confidence isn't something you have to collect before you take action. Confidence grows because you take the first step, learn from the experience, and keep moving.
2. Perfection can be one of the most respectable excuses in the world.
   "Still working on it" can sound productive while quietly keeping us stuck. Sometimes the best thing we can do is stop polishing and start moving.
3. Your future doesn't need your perfection. It needs your participation.
   You don't have to have everything figured out. You just need to be willing to take the next imperfect step.

A Few Things to Remember

"You cannot steer a parked car."

"Perfection is one of the most respectable excuses in the world."

"It isn't IQ. It's I DO!"

"The distance between your dream and your reality is usually one imperfect step."

This Week's Considerations

Pick one thing you've been putting off.

One application.
One project.
One idea.

And take the first imperfect step.

Don't wait until you feel completely ready.

You probably never will.

Question to Consider

What is one thing you've been waiting to make "perfect" before you finally begin?

Share your answer and join the conversation.

Continue the 10 Walls Series

The Wall of Perfection is the fifth wall in the Outside the Walls 10 Walls series.

We've explored:

• The Wall of Comfort
• The Wall of Fear
• The Wall of Approval
• The Wall of Busyness
• The Wall of Perfection

And there's more to come.

Connect with Me

Visit OutsideTheWallsPodcast.com for more episodes, resources, and ways to connect.

You can also find Outside the Walls with Dave Gast on YouTube and connect with Dave Gast on LinkedIn.

If this episode resonated with you, follow the podcast, leave a review, and share it with someone who might need to hear it.

The walls may be invisible...but they don't have to define your life.

Life changes outside the walls.

Hashtags

#OutsideTheWalls #WallOfPerfection #Perfectionism #PersonalGrowth #Mindset #TakeAction #StopWaiting #SelfImprovement #PersonalDevelopment #LifeChangesOutsideTheWalls