We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chad Bruckner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Chad, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
Motivate Change was founded by Chad Bruckner, a distinguished Police Officer and Army combat veteran with over two decades of service. Throughout his career, Chad encountered many hardships in his duties, which ignited his commitment to better understanding humanity.
I grew up in a loving household but we experienced sustained financial hardship. That limited my options and my parents were focused on putting food on the table. I enlisted in the Army at 17 and served in Iraq. In 2007, my best friend was killed in Iraq and that loss really affected me. When I became a police officer in 2008, I dedicated my life to serving my community. I loved serving my community but ran into workplace toxicity and left abruptly in 2021.
I experienced suicidal ideation and felt lost with no mission left to serve. I contemplated suicide and fortunately the love of my wife and children is what saved me. I got a lot of personal development assistance and now help other veterans and first responders recover.
In 2021, Chad began podcasting to address critical topics such as leadership, service, corruption, and mental health. By 2023, he established Motivate Change as a small business dedicated to promoting transparency as a means to create change.
Currently, Chad is a sought-after public speaker who travels nationwide to discuss pressing issues affecting our quality of life, health & safety. He utilizes podcasting as a powerful platform to seek truth and purpose. As a passionate motivational speaker, Chad leads with vulnerability & courage, aiming to inspire the necessary changes to heal the divide in American society and beyond. Guided by faith and a strong commitment to family, Chad celebrates freedom and autonomy.
Chad, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m not your average speaker and coach. I push against the grain because I understand that real human development rests on the margins. In my speaking company, I don’t use any props and speak directly from the heart. I’m passionate and use storytelling as a means to make an impact. I once had a gentleman in the front row following a talk walk up the stage and ask to hug me. He was a stranger but I saw the tears in his eyes. We embraced and I rubbed his back. That’s the kind of impact I aim for.
I wrote a book on 2023 dedicated to the policing profession. I went through a toxic workplace and want to help repair the policing profession as I believe we lost our way in our mission over the past several decades. This book has brought on challenges but also opportunities.
As a performance coach, I assist veterans and first responders with overcoming their baggage and chart a course to who they were born to be.
I’m big into personal development and consider myself mentally fit and disciplined. This is as a result of over 20 years serving as a soldier and cop (still going!). All the slips and falls have helped me learn how to recover and now I help others in their recovery.
Have you ever had to pivot?
In 2021 I abruptly retired from the police department after a series of events that had nothing to do with the community I served. There was internal dysfunction and what I believed to be moderate corruption occurring. I tried to fight it and realized I was not healthy enough (mentally and emotionally) to do so, so I put in my two week notice and retired. It was a shock to everyone, even family, because I was decorated and achieved a lot as a detective. I just couldn’t stand to watch the agency decline in front of my eyes, I cared too much about what we do for the community.
I had 3 little kids at home and a family looking to me to provide. I entered the crazy world of entrepreneurship and literally pushed all my chips into the middle or the table. I bet on myself for the first time in my life.
I’ve learned a ton and for the last 4 years I’ve been slowly making my way in the business world. I never intended to become an author or speaker, yet here I find myself. I realized how much I love to write and speak to a crowd.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I’m a big believer in social media. I’ve built a small following on LinkedIn, and have done it organically. I’ve never farmed for engagement or bought followers. I post very authentically and sometimes too vulnerably, but I want to help others. My approach has come with heartache but I choose to live as authentic as possible. My recommendation to others starting out is to be consistent, authentic and give more than you take. It’s critical to engage and return DM’s. People want to be respected and no one has it all figured out. So on social media I work hard to share my lessons learned in order to help others minimize their mistakes. It’s a selfless endeavor for sure.
Contact Info:
- Website: Motivate-change.com
- Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/chadbmotivates
- Twitter: https://x.com/chadbruckner?s=21&t=nn7AX3hbxk0PQQZjsTG7tQ
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@motivate-change?si=YXnrtu12tOa0xskZ
- Other: My other company, Intercounty Investigations and Solutions: IntercountyIS.com
Image Credits
Tim Miller, Art of Dance Nicholas Phelps, Bleedin Iris