Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith

Jesus Calling

Breaking Free from The Wreckage of Our Past: Tom Hardin & Dawn Cazedessus

July 16, 2026 ● 28 min

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Today, we’re joined by two people who found their way through the wreckage of their pasts to build something new. First, we hear from Tom Hardin. A former Wall Street insider trader, Tom saw his entire world unravel the morning the FBI knocked on his door. He joins us to share how he moved from a double life of secrets to finding a faith that finally holds up on Monday mornings.

Then, we’re joined by Dawn Cazedessus [CAZZ de sue], author of Trailer Park CEO. Raised in an environment of generational poverty and abuse, Dawn navigated the difficult path from survival to becoming a regional leader for Keller Williams International. She’ll walk us through how she broke that cycle and why she’s learned to embrace failure as a way to fail forward.

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:

Jesus Calling Podcast

Jesus Calling

Jesus Always

Jesus Listens

Past interview: Tim Green

Upcoming interview: Dr. Jim Burns

Tom Hardin

Wired on Wall Street: The Rise and Fall of Tipper X, One of the FBI’s Most Prolific Informants - Book by Tom Hardin

Dawn Cazedessus

Trailer Park CEO: 12 Leadership Cornerstones to Become a Godly Woman of Influence - Book by Dawn Cazedessus

Interview Quotes:

“Ambition without any anchoring was sort of like velocity without direction. I had all the drive in the world; I just hadn’t built the moral infrastructure to sustain it.” - Tom Hardin

“The most dangerous lie isn’t the one you tell others; it’s absolutely the one you tell yourself so fluently you forget it’s a lie at all.” - Tom Hardin

“God didn’t meet me at the top of my career; He met me at the bottom of my character.” - Tom Hardin

“Guilt says, I did something bad, shame says, I am something terrible. Guilt can drive you towards repentance, but shame drives you into hiding—not only from yourself, but from others and from God.” - Tom Hardin

“This idea of “Who am I hurting” is the most seductive question a person can ask because the answer is always larger than you’re willing to imagine while you’re asking it.” - Tom Hardin

“Faithfulness isn’t a feeling. It’s a decision you make every morning before the feelings arrive.” - Tom Hardin

“As I drove off [from the trailer park], in my mind, I was leaving that past behind and going into the future, but what I realized later on in my life is that I physically left that day, but it took years to mentally leave.” - Dawn Cazedessus

“The people who have given me their time have been even more valuable because they took time to pour into me, to speak into me.” - Dawn Cazedessus

“You’ve got to be able to approach life with a glass that is overflowing, so that you can navigate the difficulty of the things.” - Dawn Cazedessus

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Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel!

Audio Episodes: https://bit.ly/3zvjbK7

Bonus Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3vfLlGw

Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer: https://bit.ly/3Sd0a6C

Peace for Everyday Life: https://bit.ly/3zzwFoj

Peace in Uncertain Times: https://bit.ly/3cHfB6u

What’s Good? https://bit.ly/3vc2cKj

Enneagram: https://bit.ly/3hzRCCY

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