The 1Glories Vision

Welcome to 1Glories, the creative and publishing hub for Chad Gramling. Through captivating storytelling, history, and art, Chad bridges the past and present to inspire a more thoughtful, creative future.

Tulips - Flowers Listening Up

Insights and Inspirations

Its Time to Turn: Remembering 9/11 in a Divided World

A reflection on the shadow of 9/11, our collective memory shift from unity to division, and we must the season.

Father’s Day Reflection and Legacy Letter to My Beautiful Baby Girls

On this Father’s Day, I’m pouring my heart out to my daughters in a message about the past, unfair forks in the road, and my deepest wishes for their futures.

Elvis, Hulk Hogan, and… Me

I am no superhero or king. But I do confess I miss the days when my wife and little girls thought I might be one, or at least lead me to feel like one. Unfortunately, 2026 has mostly served up to yours truly, a lot of kryptonite, yellow, loud sounds, and...

Hey God! Dave Mustaine Made the Soundtrack to My Midlife Meltdown

The greatest dream of my life has been the family I was blessed to build. But lately, as the sharpness of youth dulls and my children use the very wings I fought to give them, I find myself in a painful new season. In the quiet insecurity of a changing life, an unexpected heavy metal anthem has become my ultimate prayer.

Ending My Purposeful Pause from Blogging and More

Growth often requires a purposeful pause. A few years ago, I stepped away from writing online to focus on some massive shifts in my professional, personal, and civic life—from stepping into an exciting new season leading an incredible Business Intelligence team to finally drafting a historical fiction novel two decades in the making. I’m returning to the keyboard with a more grounded perspective on community, leadership, faith, and resilience.

Fly on, Thunderbird, Fly & the Quiet Riot in My Soul

I've worked on this message for a year, but it's really DECADES in the making. Whether to post it or not has had countless reconsiderations, but WTH, here it goes... BUT, before I dive in, please know this is NOT a cry for help, sympathy, or attention. Quite the...

The Coming New Digital Hell

Many technophobes experience a personal digital hell on a daily basis. But, fast forward 100 years to a fully digitized society. Physical newspapers and magazines have ceased to exist. Books are all nestled within the Applazon Cloud by monopolizing the rights when the...

A Community’s Legacy of Change

I recently sat on the outside patio of the Auburn, Indiana Starbucks, pondering historical legacy in the context of community. Many years ago, as a teenager, this very spot might have been where I experienced the first garlicy joys of Fazoli's breadsticks. Before...

Welcome to My Last “Blog Post”

Have you noticed I don’t post on my blog at 1Glories all that often any longer? Here’s why: it became a distraction. If you’ve ever blogged and tried to do so, you know that chasing visits, clicks, optimizing for search and such is exhausting! The blogger has to have...

When Being Teachable Takes More Humility than Smarts

Early in my career, an email changed my life by helping me realize I was unteachable. Thankfully, I took it to heart and have grown more than I ever would have had it not been sent.

The metaphorical earbuds we knowingly and unknowingly wear signifies many things. This includes desire for control, lack of inclusion and even weakness. Many world events shows how we often plug our ears, cover our eyes and hide from what we don’t want to face. It shows the ripple effect that happens when those earbuds or blinders are removed and we have no choice but to face reality.

Metaphorical Earbuds and Their Impact on Control, Inclusion and Loving thy Neighbor

The metaphorical earbuds we knowingly and unknowingly wear signifies a lot of things. Some of those qualities include the desire for control, a lack of inclusion and even weakness. I’m particularly reminded of this given that, as I write this post, I am watching the...

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Abandoned Faith by Alex McFarland and Jason Jimenez

Are Millennials the Lost Generation? A Review of Abandoned Faith

I have heard about the rise of the Millennials for the vast majority of professional career. And, as one of the youngest GenXers, born just a couple years before the commonly accepted Millennials origin date, I've had a unique perspective. On the one hand, I am the...

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There are a lot of ways we create interpersonal interference - our earbuds. Look at your personal behaviors and habits. Where do you need to take out the earbuds and how can you create welcome mats to build a sweet spot for connecting?

Take Out Your Interpersonal Earbuds to Create Sweet Spots for Connecting

We all have metaphorical earbuds that we are using as interpersonal barriers of relationships. Sometimes, those “earbuds” are intentionally put in place as we are zoning out and keeping ourselves solitary. Other times, they’re in place without our conscious knowledge....

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