How Core Values and Service Shape Authentic Leadership
What does it mean to live a life of purpose, resilience, and service especially when life doesn’t make it easy? In this episode of the March or Die Show, Coach Chip Baker sat down with Jeremy Stalnecker and Sean Kennard to share timeless wisdom forged through personal adversity, decades in education, and a relentless commitment to living with integrity.
A fourth-generation educator and former football coach, Chip’s foundation was laid by a single mother who worked multiple jobs and still found ways to serve others even when their own home had little. That example shaped him early.
“Even when we didn’t have, she was striving to help and give to others,” Chip said. “I was shown by example that that’s the way to live.”
Through his journey, from playing college football to launching a podcast and authoring over 25 books, Chip has remained grounded in what he calls his core principles: work hard, treat people right, stay around good people, grow every day, and live with integrity and faith. For Chip, these aren’t just words. They’re non-negotiables.
“Before you get to that place in your life where you want to quit, you have to have core principles to stand on,” he says. “When the storm hits, your foundation decides whether you fall or stand.”
That’s a lesson Mighty Oaks drives home every day in our Legacy and Resilience Programs: Resilient people pre-decide. You don’t wait for the storm to figure out how to stand, you choose now who you’re going to be when that storm comes because it will.
Chip’s SHG Principle, Show up, Have a great attitude, Give your all, is a simple but profound framework for living intentionally. It aligns with everything we teach at Mighty Oaks about being purpose-driven men and women who impact the world around them. When you live like this every day, as Chip says, “you don’t just leave a legacy, you live one.”
From visiting his brother in prison, to becoming a coach known for his unwavering positivity, Chip embodies what it means to march forward when others would give up. His life reminds us that we are not victims of our circumstances, we are stewards of our choices.
At Mighty Oaks, we believe that faith, discipline, and service aren’t just paths to healing, they’re paths to strength. Chip’s story reinforces a core truth: when you choose to root yourself in godly values, you become a blessing to others. And that’s a legacy worth fighting for.
Learn more about how Mighty Oaks equips warriors to live with purpose: https://www.mightyoaksprograms.org
Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/uWZEzl8NLu0
