Episode 20 with James Geering (Host of Behind the Shield Podcast and Firefighter)

Tell me a little about yourself and how long you served on the
front line   Well, long story short, I wanted to be a fireman
ever since I was a little boy but the British Medical Service told
me that I was colour blind so I could never be a firefighter, a
fighter pilot or any of the cool jobs and it took me another twenty
years to have the epiphany that this must be wrong and I can see
colours so I challenged the whole philosophy but it happened to
coincide when I moved to America.  So I had always wanted to
be on the medical side too. I had been a lifeguard in England and
worked in summer camps lifeguarding, and teaching water sports here
in the U.S., but when I finally moved over here I got married to a
girl from the States and I realized that if I just went to the Fire
Academy I am sure there was a way I could get around the whole
passing that little colour blind test thing. So long story short, I
went through school in Orlando, came out and told them that
and they asked me to name some colours around the doctor’s office
and I was good to go.  So that barrier that I had for twenty
years ended with being complete BS. So as far as the fire service
that was about 15 years ago now. I started in Florida, and my now
ex-wife she wanted to be in the movie and singing industry so we
moved to Miami and then she went on to Hollywood so I worked for
Anaheim Fire which I loved, and California. Then we got pregnant
and had a little boy so we wanted to move back to family so then I
worked for Orange County, which is the county that Orlando is in,
for about five years. I got divorced and became a single dad and
discovered how some employers may not create the best employee
environment for certain people and I was forced to seek a position
elsewhere to support myself and for my son and not be forced to
stay 48 hours for every single shift. That is where we are now.
 I work for the Department that protects Disney, it is called
Reedy Creek. I have been there for about five years until today.
  What was the hardest time in your life and what tools did
you use to get through it?   I have been very lucky, and I am
blessed, I really am, but the hardest time in my life definitely
has been the divorce.  Not because I was grieving the marriage
but when you have a child then you realize the effect that the
divorce is going to have on them.  That was tough, and being a
single dad. I actually went through medical school during my
divorce as well so it was working 24 hours and doing school the
next day and then doing a 12 hour clinical the following day and
did that solidly for a year while still making sure I was there for
my son.  The tools are just drive. First you put in
perspective, like I said, divorce is rough and then when you are an
exhausted fireman you are mentally already drained and then you go
through that it definitely tests your mental strength as it were,
but the other thing is putting into perspective my little boy was
healthy, we didn’t grow up in Rwanda or didn’t see our family
killed or get disease so when I took a step back and saw how
fortunate I was so then it was just drive.  You know, how much
did I want to be a fireman, how much do I want to make sure that I
offset any of the bad side of my son’s life by making it as good
when he is with me and then knowing that once I got through medical
school and once we got through the pain of the divorce that there
would be happiness on the other side. So that was pretty much the
tools that I used.   What are your greatest successes?  
Hopefully being a good dad, a good husband and serving my
community.  I think that’s it. I can’t put any financial you
know, the car or the house of any of that stuff.  I think if
you wake up in the morning and try and make everyone’s life around
you better then you succeed for that day.   Now that you have
experienced life a little what would you tell your 20-year-old
self?   That’s funny, that is one I always I liked from the
Tim Ferriss show too.  I was