Wisdom, Anxiety, and Growing Your Internal World W/Paul Poteat
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Episode Description
In this episode of the On The Rise Podcast's Faith-Driven Leaders Series, host Nick Stromwall reconnects with one of his most significant mentors — Paul Poteat, Midwest Network Director for Campus Outreach, 27-year campus ministry veteran, and the person Nick has called when navigating his toughest decisions. Paul unpacks a practical triangle framework for making wise decisions, shares how a triplex purchase near the University of Minnesota became an unexpected real estate investing journey, and delivers one of the most grounded and actionable frameworks for understanding and managing leadership anxiety. He also speaks to the danger of an external world that outgrows an internal world — and what leaders need to protect their integrity when the pressure to compromise is real. A rich, deeply human conversation for any leader who wants to grow in wisdom, steward anxiety well, and live with genuine integrity.
Summary
1. Wisdom Is How We Navigate the Gray Paul opens with a definition of wisdom that reframes how most people think about it — wisdom is not about knowing what is clearly right or wrong. It is about navigating the vast space in between, where most of life actually happens. The truly difficult decisions are not the black-and-white ones. They are the gray ones where circumstances, desires, community input, and truth all need to be weighed together.
"Wisdom is navigating not just whether something is right or wrong, but what are all the other factors — their circumstances, their life, their accountability — that all go together to help someone navigate the unknowns of life."
2. The Decision Triangle — Want, Others, and Truth When someone faces a major decision, Paul runs it through a three-point framework. What do you want? What do the people who know you well say? And is it right, feasible, and wise? These three points — personal desire, community affirmation, and grounded truth — together produce far better decisions than any one of them alone.
"My desires check. Other people's affirmation, check. And then — is this something that makes sense for a need in this world and something near to the heart of God? All those were coalescing together."
3. A Triplex Near Campus — Real Estate Born From a Ministry Mission Paul never set out to be a real estate investor. He wanted to create space for students to live in community with each other and with campus ministry staff. The triplex near the University of Minnesota was the solution — and over time, as mortgages were paid down and properties were acquired, what began as a ministry tool became a meaningful long-term investment. The first one never showed returns for years. Then the flywheel started.
"I never thought I wanted to be a real estate investment entrepreneur. I thought I want to create space for students to interact. And then along the way, as I paused and reflected — this is actually a good investment."
4. There Is Something That Only Grows in Perseverance Paul makes a compelling case for staying longer than the culture tells you to. When the excitement fades and the grind sets in, most people in our era move on to the next thing. But Paul has watched 27 years of campus ministry produce things that simply could not have been built any other way. There is a depth of character, wisdom, and impact that only forms when you lean into the season rather than exit it.
"There's something that only grows in the perseverance, in the resilience of staying there, even if it doesn't feel as fulfilling. There's something about the commitment that begins to change you in a deeper way."
5. The Anxiety Framework — Notice, Name, Diffuse One of the most practically useful parts of the episode is Paul's three-step framework for engaging leadership anxiety. Step one is noticing — becoming aware of the physical and emotional signals that something is happening beneath the surface. Step two is naming — identifying the specific underlying need: control, approval, perfectionism, fear of failure. Step three is diffusing — casting it on the Lord, talking to someone, leaning in rather than avoiding.
"About 80% is just noticing. Wow, when I saw that person's name come up on my phone, I felt something in my stomach. That's where it starts."
6. What's Mine, What's Theirs, What's God's Paul offers a three-column framework for sorting through the contents of the anxiety bag most leaders carry. Some things in the bag genuinely belong to the carrier and should be picked back up. Some belong to someone else and should be returned. And some belong only to God — and those need to be released to a God who works for those who wait for Him.
"I draw three columns. Mine. Theirs. God's. And you need to figure out what's your responsibility, what's someone else's, and what are you carrying that only God can carry."
7. When Your External World Outgrows Your Internal World Paul names one of the most important and underexamined dynamics in leadership — the danger that arises when someone's responsibilities, platform, and resources grow faster than their character and maturity. Every major ministry scandal, every young athlete who goes bankrupt, every leader who compromises under pressure — the pattern is the same. External world too big. Internal world not yet ready.
"When your external world is incongruent with your internal world, that leads to opportunities to act without integrity. The clearest way to address that is accountability and authority that speaks into your life."
8. Who Has Authority Over You? Paul closes with the most practical application of the internal-external tension — the question every leader should be able to answer clearly: who has authority over you? Who will push back when you are wrong? Who will press you to grow internally? A leader with complete autonomy and no checks is one situation away from compromising. The antidote is not weakness — it is wisdom.
"Anyone who just has complete autonomy with no checks, no authority — I think when the opportunity arises to compromise ethically, it's going to be a lot easier. Because no one's going to know."
Resources
Website: campusoutreach.org
Email: paul@campusoutreach.org
