Walter Adkins Jr. | Appalachian Common Sense Coach

5 self paced coaching paths. Easy to read, easy to follow, all grounded in common sense and patience.

-Crock Pots & Common Sense - A Guide for People Done With Quick Fixes

-Earned, Not Given - A Guide for People Rebuilding Life Through Hard Work and Sweat Equity

-Farm to Fit - A Guide for Healing Your Body Without Punishment

-Forged Under Fire - A Guide for Protecting the Life You've Rebuilt

-Still Standing - A Guide for Healing Without Forgetting

All available on my website. Because nothing has to be that hard.

Which one of these 5 paths do you need most in this season?

#waltsjourney #porchtruth #CommonSense #realtalk #MensHealthMatters

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1 week ago | [YT] | 1

Walter Adkins Jr. | Appalachian Common Sense Coach

COMMON SENSE: THREE DEFINITIONS THAT TELL A STORY

1) Bible Definition

In Scripture, “common sense” shows up as wisdom, prudence, and sound judgment.
It’s the ability to see trouble coming, think before acting, and choose the straight path over the crooked one.
Proverbs calls it “understanding” and “discretion.”
In other words: God‑given good judgment applied to everyday life.

2) Merriam‑Webster Definition

Merriam‑Webster says common sense is:
“Sound and prudent judgment based on simple perception of the situation or facts.”
That’s the polished, academic way of saying:
Use your head. Pay attention. Don’t make life harder than it has to be.

3) Urban Dictionary Definition

Urban Dictionary—where the internet tells the truth whether you like it or not—defines common sense as:
“Something everyone thinks they have, but somehow nobody uses.”
It’s the blunt, boots‑on‑the‑ground version:
Common sense ain’t common anymore.

---

Somewhere along the line, we quit using the good judgment God gave us.
We traded wisdom for noise, prudence for panic, and discernment for whatever’s trending this morning.

Folks aren’t thinking—they’re reacting.
Not learning—they’re repeating.
Not listening—they’re broadcasting.
And the result is a whole lot of people walking around with degrees, devices, and opinions… but no sense.

Common sense used to be the unofficial law of the land.
You didn’t need a committee, a consultant, or a crisis hotline to tell you:

• Don’t spend money you don’t have.
• Don’t poke the bear.
• Don’t believe everything you hear.
• Don’t confuse feelings with facts.
• Don’t build a life on sand and then blame the rain.


But today?
We’ve got folks arguing with reality like it’s optional.
We’ve got people outsourcing their thinking to strangers on the internet.
We’ve got grown adults who can’t tell the difference between what’s true, what’s popular, and what’s profitable.

That’s common‑sense desertion—walking off the job of your own judgment.

And here’s the kicker:
When a community loses common sense, it loses its backbone.
It loses its ability to solve problems without drama.
It loses the porch‑truth wisdom that kept families, hollers, and whole counties steady for generations.

Common sense is not fancy.
It’s not complicated.
It’s not elite.
It’s not partisan.
It’s the everyday wisdom that keeps life from falling apart.

And if we don’t reclaim it—teach it, model it, expect it—we’ll keep drifting into a world where the loudest voice wins instead of the wisest one.

I’m making the case right now:
It’s time to come home to common sense.
It’s time to pick up what we’ve laid down.
It’s time to stop deserting the one thing that never stopped working.

— Walt, The Appalachian Common Sense Coach

More at WalterAdkinsJr.com

#CommonSenseCrisis #WisdomOverNoise #BackToBasicsThinking #PorchTruth #UseYourHead

1 week ago | [YT] | 0

Walter Adkins Jr. | Appalachian Common Sense Coach

Proof of life.

Me, Duck (silver lab female) and Jax (golden male) back out on the road for the first time in 5 years. Last big trip was August 2020 - Arches to Sherman Tree.

This was New River Gorge National Park. Down 100 pounds. First hike back. Smarter. Simpler. First landing - not far, but further than my bathroom.

Photos from the porch at Cantrell's to what I sat down to when I arrived. More coming - Babcock footage, full trip edits, and that August 2020 video I'm cutting now.

Also have a WV travel package to unbox soon. Going to use Travel WV to motivate the next 100 down.

Question - where in WV should Duck, Jax and I go next?

Nothing has to be that hard.
- Walt, Duck & Jax

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1 week ago | [YT] | 3

Walter Adkins Jr. | Appalachian Common Sense Coach

Are your electric bills too high WV?

I’ve been watching what’s happening in West Virginia with these energy projects, and I want to say something that needs said before we get sold out and don’t even realize it.

Clean energy isn’t coming to Appalachia because anybody here asked for it.
It’s coming because Northern Virginia — the data center capital of the world — needs four things:
cheap power, clean power, reliable transmission, and a state with the lowest energy regulations in the country.
HB2014 made sure West Virginia checks every box.

That’s why you’re seeing Microsoft subsidize a hydro plant restoration at Hawks Nest.
That’s why you’re hearing about massive transmission line plans stretching across the state.
That’s why rate hikes hit us like a brick this year.

These things don’t happen randomly.
They happen because the deals are already in motion.

And by the time the public hears about it, the power lines are already surveyed, the contracts already signed, and the bills already raised.

But here’s the part nobody in Charleston wants to talk about:
West Virginians are paying out the nose for electricity — while our power is being shipped out of state.

We have coal‑fired plants, hydro plants, wind farms, and nuclear exploration.
We have energy companies getting tax breaks, subsidies, and incentives.
We have residents paying catastrophic rate hikes to “offset upgrades” and “modernize transmission.”

If that’s true, then where is the people’s cut?

Because when West Virginians paid those rate hikes, they invested — whether they wanted to or not.

So where are the:
energy credits?
rate reductions?
profit‑sharing?
jobs for recovering WV residents?
tax incentives for the people footing the bill?

If we’re becoming the clean‑energy supplier for Northern Virginia, then West Virginians deserve a share of the benefit — not just the burden.

And let’s be honest:
The hum of a high‑voltage transmission line makes the hum of a data center pale in comparison.
Ask anybody who’s lived under one.
We’re not just talking about noise — we’re talking about land use, health concerns, property values, and permanent industrial footprint.

Meanwhile, HB2014 — the same bill that opened the door for data centers — also made it easier to push energy projects through without local control, public debate, or citizen oversight.

So here’s my stance, plain and simple:

If West Virginia is going to power Northern Virginia, then West Virginians deserve:
lower rates, guaranteed credits, local hiring requirements, and a public voice in siting and transmission.
We deserve transparency.
We deserve accountability.
We deserve a cut.

I’m not fighting clean energy.
I’m fighting being left out of the deal.

Use the power we already produce.
Protect the people who already pay for it.
Make sure West Virginia benefits — not just the companies and the politicians.

Common sense is definitely out the window.

#WV #EnergyWV #HB2014 #CleanEnergy #TransmissionLines #AccountabilityWV #waltadkinsjr #crockpotsandcommonsense #WestVirginiaDeservesBetter

1 week ago | [YT] | 0

Walter Adkins Jr. | Appalachian Common Sense Coach

Circa 1997. Christmas Eve on Wengler Ave in Sharon PA. That's me in that Santa suit. My son Jake's second Christmas.
Every man first believes in Santa Claus, then he gets to play Santa Claus, and as time has proven he eventually looks like Santa Claus.
We were at Mom's house. My sister Tabby Cole pictured and I drug out the suit Mom had and I got dressed. We took pictures with my son and each other of course. But then we did something magical - we proceeded to knock on every door on the street and passed out candy canes if I recall correctly.
Stepping inside that suit that night for my son Jake, my sister, my mom and family ignited magic I had never felt before. I didn't know then the years of family struggle, change, and separation that were to come. I spent many Christmases alone after this. Completely alone. Some years I never bothered with a tree, Christmas music, shopping, gifts, or even phone calls.
In restoring my own life, Christmas magic is something I've worked the last couple years to restore. I was told by one doctor in January 2024 I'd be lucky to see Christmas. Not only did I see Christmas but thanks to a friend and client I got to go see my son on Christmas Day for the first time in years. Took me two days to make a 5 hour drive and 3 days to make the return trip. But equipped with gas money and gifts, the words already embedded by those friends "work hard, be kind, take pride" took on a whole different meaning. And Christmas meant just a little bit more.
Mom gave me these photos a couple weeks ago with others I've been sharing. Thanks mom for reminding me what Christmas magic felt like. Thank you friend for providing me a Christmas I wasn't supposed to see. And thank you son for choosing to spend a Chinese meal in a hotel room on Christmas Day. It was the best Christmas ever.
Christmas 25 was non-eventful as I was healing from some wicked surgeries. Reflecting on Christmas 1997, appreciating Christmas 2024, all I can say is this... Christmas 2026 if I get my way will be epic.
Remind me sometime to tell you about Christmas 1992. I became a Charleston Jaycee and my first community project as chairman was to chair the chapter's annual underprivileged children's Christmas Party which I did very successfully. Even though I managed to spell a child's name incorrectly on the front of a gift Bible.
Crock Pots & Common Sense didn't start on a porch. It started in a holler but there as a few barns along the way too.
Because nothing has to be that hard.
July is Who Is Walt Month — time to share the roots, the grit, and the porch stories that made me.
#waltadkinsjr #waltsjourney #whoiswalt #WV #crockpotsandcommonsense #Christmas1997 #SantaClaus #fatherandson #SharonPA #WenglerAve #porchlogic #mountainwisdom #family #restoration

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1 week ago | [YT] | 1

Walter Adkins Jr. | Appalachian Common Sense Coach

Straight talk for people rebuilding their lives. No shortcuts. No excuses. Real responsibility. Real progress. Welcome to the Back Porch.

Did you know I've written these mini book action guides?

These are Back Porch Playbooks Series One. $5 each. 21 pages you can actually finish today.

In this batch:
Money & Self-Respect - Getting Financially Stable
Take Care of Your Body - Health, Discipline, and Strength
Boots On - Earn Your Way Forward
Starting Over - Rebuilding from Rock Bottom
Life Recovery - After Addiction, Trauma, Prison, Divorce, Loss
No Excuses - Cutting the Stories That Keep You Stuck
You're Not Done Yet - Stay in the Fight
Discipline - Pain, Practice, and Paying the Price

I have written 24 total, more being added.

Find them on Gumroad - more info on my website in my bio at the top of my homepage. Search Walt Adkins Jr on Gumroad.

Farm To Fit paperback is still $9.99 for 4 more days at the top of WalterAdkinsJr.com

Which one do you need first?

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1 week ago | [YT] | 1

Walter Adkins Jr. | Appalachian Common Sense Coach

BOOK OVERVIEW — Farm To Fit. (Not Ai slop. The common sense steps I and others have used to recover our health and strength. Without the stress of weight loss meds, or the judgement of your nosey neighbor.

You don't heal overnight. You heal daily.

TIRED OF BEING OUT OF BREATH IN YOUR OWN HOUSE?

Farm to Fit is not a fitness book. It's a recovery book for people rebuilding after exhaustion, burnout, chronic pain, aging, injury, or years of starting over.

No shame. No fads. No gym. No punishment.

Just small, steady steps you can actually repeat -- at 33, 58, or 86 -- in your living room, driveway, or back road.

REAL PEOPLE. REAL STRUGGLES. REAL SOLUTIONS.

If you want to feel like a king again in your own house -- get up without grabbing the armrest, walk to the mailbox without getting winded, stay independent -- this is for you.

THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU IF:
- You're tired of all-or-nothing fitness that wrecks you
- You need chair workouts and gentle movement for stiff joints and tough days
- You want a simple walking plan from 5 minutes to real distance
- You want to improve eating without diet shame or complicated meals
- You need balance, mobility, and strength for everyday life
- You're ready for steady progress that actually lasts

INSIDE YOU'LL LEARN:
- How to start where you are (not where you "should" be)
- The One Mailbox Further Rule for walking momentum
- Chair exercises for seniors and beginners when standing feels like too much
- Tai Chi and slow strength for balance and fall prevention
- Simple meals: protein plus carb plus vegetable -- repeatable, no stress
- How to stay consistent when motivation is gone
- How to rebuild strength and mobility after 50, 60, 70 plus

This isn't about becoming extreme. It's about becoming steady.

Over 100 pounds lost. Mobile again. Built from real life in Southern West Virginia so you don't have to start over alone.

Verified Review: "Easy reading and following the plan! Such a wonderful book with so many ways to lose weight and feel like a king again!"

This will work -- but only if you do.

LIMITED TIME: Paperback $9.99 through July 25 (Normally $17.99)

Medical note: For education and inspiration only. Not medical advice. Consult your physician before starting any new diet or exercise program, especially with health conditions, mobility limitations, or prescription medications.

Because nothing has to be that hard.
-- Walt Adkins Jr., The Appalachian Common Sense Coach
Author of Crock Pots and Common Sense, Still Standing, Forged Under Fire, and Earned Not Given. Common Sense wisdom so simple and profound, yet often overlooked.

#porchlogic #appalachianwisdom #commonsenseadvice #bluecollarwisdom #personalresponsibility #accountability #mentaltoughness #realtalk #hardtruth #crockpotsandcommonsense #farmtofit #nothinghastobethathard #waltadkinsjr #westvirginia #mountainwisdom

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 2

Walter Adkins Jr. | Appalachian Common Sense Coach

Didn't buy it for herself. She bought it for her husband.

Nelda left this on Amazon last week — Verified Purchase — 5 stars:

"Easy reading and following the plan!!! Such a wonderful book with so many ways to lose weight and feel like a king again!!!"

She messaged me that he's actually doing it. Seeing results.

That hit me. Because most men won't buy a health book for themselves.

Farm to Fit was built for the man who wants to feel like a king again in his own house. Get up without help. Walk without getting winded. Have energy left at the end of the day.

No fads. No gym. Just common sense that actually works.

To the wives who buy it for their husbands — thank you. You are often the reason he gets his life back.

If you got a copy, would you do me a favor? Drop a comment and tell me who you got it for — you or someone you love?

amzn.to/4vxwPGo

Because nothing has to be that hard.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 1

Walter Adkins Jr. | Appalachian Common Sense Coach

From data centers to clean water, foster care to coal and nuclear, oil and gas, and the environmental impact that touches every hollow and hill — decisions are being made fast to line pockets and leave legacies. Good or bad, they’ll shape our future.

I posted a site solution about data centers on FB that turned into a statewide town hall — 740,000 views, 10,200 interactions, thousands of comments, shares, and saves ins matter of a couple days. That’s not noise; that’s people talking.

Now it’s time to flood the phones and fill the mailboxes.
Call your reps. Send your postcards. Make your vote count.

The graphics below were created using AI tools to help organize and share public contact info — because technology should serve the people, not replace them.

West Virginia deserves better.
Our voice. Our state. Our future.

— Walt Adkins Jr.
Appalachian Common Sense Coach
#waltadkinsjr #waltsjourney #whoiswalt #WV #crockpotsandcommonsense #VoteWV #WestVirginiaDeservesBetter

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

Walter Adkins Jr. | Appalachian Common Sense Coach

The Books That Built Me — A Porch Truth Guide

I’ve read a lot of books, but a few have stuck with me like old friends. The Bible tops the list — not just for faith, but for direction. It’s the one book that never changes but somehow always speaks to what’s changing in me. Every time I read it, I find something new that steadies my steps and sharpens my purpose.

Next up is Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover. That book taught me discipline — not just with money, but with mindset. It’s porch truth in print: live on less than you make, stay out of debt, and build peace instead of pressure. It’s not flashy advice, but it works. It’s the kind of wisdom that turns chaos into calm.

Then there’s Larry Winget’s It’s Called Work for a Reason and Your Success Is Your Own Damn Fault. Larry doesn’t sugarcoat anything, and I respect that. His words remind me that excuses don’t pay bills and effort still matters. He’s the loud voice of accountability we all need sometimes — the one that says, “Get up, get moving, and quit waiting for perfect.”

Those books — and many more — sit on my Uncommon Mentor Bookshelf on my homepage. Each one has an Amazon affiliate link because I believe in sharing what works. I’ve been warned I’ll lose my associate privileges if I don’t sell something soon, so if you’ve been meaning to grab one, now’s the time. Every purchase helps keep the porch light on for this kind of work.

Here’s the porch truth: books don’t just teach — they transform. They remind us that wisdom isn’t found in noise; it’s found in pages. Read something that challenges you. Read something that steadies you. Then live it. That’s how you build a life worth writing about.

#PorchTruth #WaltAdkinsJr #UncommonMentor #CrockPotsAndCommonSense #AppalachianWisdom #DaveRamsey #LarryWinget #BibleStudy #PersonalGrowth #Discipline #FaithAndWork #BackPorchMedia #AffiliateLinks #ReadAndLive #CommonSenseLiving #LifeLessons

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 1