Inside the Fire Service: Grit, Trauma & The Truth About Resilience With Molly Barker

https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts211/v4/a0/41/9f/a0419f2d-55b6-8383-566a-fe28db50dbb2/mza_5176117554501167605.jpeg/600x600bb.jpg

She Who Dares, Wins.

Michelle Hands

156 episodes

1 day ago

Tired of playing by the rules? The She Who Dares Wins podcast is for the women who reject convention, challenge expectations, and carve their own damn way through life. Hosted by Michelle Hands—former construction engineer turned fearless storyteller—this podcast dives deep into the raw, unfiltered journeys of women who refuse to fit the mold.

If you've ever battled imposter syndrome, hesitated to take a risk, or felt the pressure to conform, this is your space. Expect bold conversations with trailblazers, adventurers, and industry disruptors who share their real stories of breaking barriers, building confidence, and rewriting success on their own terms.

🚀 What You'll Get:

✔️ No-fluff, high-impact conversations with women pushing boundaries

✔️ First-time experience stories & unconventional career pivots

✔️ Tactical steps to crush fear & own your confidence

✔️ Insights into thriving in male-dominated spaces

✔️ The perfect mix of adventure, risk-taking, and personal growth

This isn't your typical self-help show—it’s a call to action for women who want more. More adventure. More freedom. More hell yes moments. Tune in and join a community of unstoppable women who dare to win.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All content for She Who Dares, Wins. is the property of Michelle Hands and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

🚀 What You'll Get:

✔️ No-fluff, high-impact conversations with women pushing boundaries

✔️ First-time experience stories & unconventional career pivots

✔️ Tactical steps to crush fear & own your confidence

✔️ Insights into thriving in male-dominated spaces

✔️ The perfect mix of adventure, risk-taking, and personal growth

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inside the Fire Service: Grit, Trauma & The Truth About Resilience With Molly Barker

She Who Dares, Wins.

1 hour 25 seconds

2 months ago

Inside the Fire Service: Grit, Trauma & The Truth About Resilience With Molly Barker

What does it take to run into chaos when everyone else is running out?

In this episode of She Who Dares Wins, I sit down with Molly, a former gymnastics coach who pivoted her career in a single conversation — and went on to become a firefighter. Six years in, she’s part of a technical rescue team dealing with rope rescues, large animal incidents, overturned vehicles, and more of the calls you’d never believe until you hear them.

We dive into:

What the firefighter application process really looks like (and why most people wash out)
The physical and mental resilience it takes to stay in the job
The truth about minority recruitment vs. finding the right women for the job
Seatbelts, drink/drug driving, and the everyday choices that literally save lives
Why confidence isn’t loud — it’s about taking the next hard step and pushing through doubt

This one is raw, funny, and packed with insights about resilience, grit, and finding your place in a job most people could never imagine doing.

Key Takeaways

You don’t have to plan a lifelong career to find the right path — sometimes one conversation can change everything.
Resilience is both mental and physical — and it’s built through consistent challenge.
The fire service isn’t just about fires: technical rescues cover everything from animals to high-risk trauma.
Confidence grows one step at a time — and self-doubt doesn’t disappear, you just learn to carry it.
The smallest everyday decisions (seatbelts, not drinking/drug driving) are literally life or death.

Timestamps

0:00 – 2:30 Molly’s leap from gymnastics coach to the fire service
3:00 – 5:30 The brutal application process and training
10:00 – 13:00 Women in firefighting: recruitment vs. reality
13:30 – 16:30 Technical rescue explained — rope work, animals, vehicles
17:00 – 20:00 Mental resilience and dealing with trauma
22:30 – 25:30 The weirdest (and funniest) rescue calls
29:30 – 33:30 Everyday dangers: seatbelts, drink driving, nitrous oxide
36:40 – 41:40 The three attributes you need to be a firefighter
52:00 – end Confidence, self-doubt, and compound wins.

👉 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/shewhodareswins/membership (Bonus episodes for less than a coffee a month!)

👉 Substack: https://shewhodareswins.substack.com (Full insights & key takeaways from every episode!)

👉 She Who Dares Wins Newsletter: www.shewhodareswins.com

🚨 10% OFF all SWDW clothing! Use code POD10 at www.shewhodareswins.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.