00:02
How's it going, everybody? We're here for another recording episode for vector accelerator, and I'm super excited to have someone that I admire, someone that I've got to know over the last few years, Bobby land. And so Bobby land, so grateful that you spent the time here to share some personal experiences of what it's like to be a veteran in transition, and then actually make that transition. So Bobby, if you don't mind, just kind of telling us a little bit about you. I want to hear what was the How did you get in the military? Like, what was the driving reason? Because I think it's different for veterans. It's funny when you hear their stories. So what was the driving reason to join? And then did you know you're going to be in as long as you did? And then what did you actually end up doing? Yeah, thanks for
00:50
having me. I really do appreciate being on here, and it's kind of a funny story, I guess, going in because I had no I had had no thoughts of joining military when I did, and the multi service might get a kick out of it. I actually got a call one day from a Marine recruiter, and I didn't know it at the time, but I happen to answer the phone not to date myself. But the phone was actually on the wall, and I went by, picked it up, and he's like, Yeah. And you know, my dad's name was, like, junior, senior, junior, like, Yep, that's me. He's like, this is, I'm calling for the United States Marine Corps. This is Captain Cook. And I was like, That's fake. It's a prank call. And I quote, Captain Cook, that's great, comical. Like, you know, I was like, Yeah, okay, whatever. I've heard this one, boom,
01:43
like, Yeah, this is Captain Morgan.
01:48
Like, what it was. And fast forward, you know, a bit of time. And then one day, you know, a recruiter happened to be going around, you know, my school, and, you know, it's like, so we started kind of talking, and next thing, you know, he's like, Well, what are you going to do after high school? And I was like, Well, I don't know. I'm going to go to college. He said, Oh, cool. What are you going to do? And I'm like, I don't know. Something in the medical field, you know, like, something that would pay off things like, Okay, how you going to pay for that? And I was like, I don't know, like, haven't thought about that. He's like, Well, let me tell you about the program we got. And have you ever heard of the Montgomery GI Bill? And then, you know, next thing, one thing leads to another. And this is, like, my junior year in high school, and I, I'm signing up. Actually, I didn't have my mom sign for me because I was too young. Yeah, on campus. And she was like, you know, kind of came in. So it's my dad, my my mom, who my parents divorced when I was really, really young. Matter of fact, I don't remember them ever actually being together. I live with my mom half my life. My dad the other half, and she said, cuss. So she had to go sign. She comes in. And I'm just kind of on the on the heels of the Gulf War, you know, the war to end all wars. And you know, she's like, I just don't want her to be in a tank and blah, blah, blah. So I joined, you know, I joined communications, got in and realized, like, this wasn't, you know, wasn't for me, and I wanted something more, and that this is more, that this is after the fact, right? I was in. I was like, well, if I'm going to do this, I kind of like it. I think I might stay in for a bit, and then I, you know, reclassified, went into the infantry, stay in the infantry for a couple years. Then, you know, I was like, alright, well, what else is out there? So then I volunteered and went through selection to be part of the Special Forces regiment, you know, as a Green Beret. And went to selection, obviously, got selected. And then, you know, that was, that was it. And, you know, turn it back. It back. It started as a weapon sergeant and went in as a sergeant, or an e5 and from there, just I continued, and, you know, made it to a Command Sergeant Major, and then I did a 30 year career.
04:14
Wow. So 30 year career, okay, here's, here's that. That latter part of the question that I had for you is, how many times in that 30 years did you think about, is it time to to finish this career and move on, or was it wasn't even a thought until the very end? Like, what was it? What was what were those conversations like for you and and your family, with you and your family?
04:37
I think I had the normal one that everybody goes through around the nine year mark of like, get out, or am I going to stay in? And if I'm going to go 10 years in one day, then I'm going for 20 and if not, then I'm getting out and I'm gonna go on. And I was actually really close to getting out at that point. I. And then I, you know, luck had it for me, and just wind up staying in at that point. And then I had it again at 20. But then at this time, you know, I was part of a unit that was of the Base Realignment, and we were supposed to be moving from North Carolina to Florida, Mm, hmm. And I was in, we were in Afghanistan. I was, I was a team starting at this time. So this is around 2010 and I, I had about, I just started my team time, you know, again, was part of, you know, part of a team in Afghanistan. And then they hit me up, and they were like, Well, hey, you only have, you know, a year and a half, whatever the math was at that point, 18 years. You don't have enough retain ability to PCs, so you're not going to be able to move unless you, you know, extend reenlists, you know, whatever kind of go indefinite. And I was like, well, before that is, I was going to have the perfect career. I was going to do my team Sergeant time for, you know, a couple years. And when that time was over, I was going to hit 20, I was going to get out. And then when they told me that, hey, you'll have to leave the team early, I was like, Well, I'm not doing that, you know. And then I went, well, I'll just stay in a little longer. Let's go a little bit further. And then I jumped the 20 and then again, never really looked back after that point until, until it was kind of like a shock moment. Honestly, I never planned on it. I knew it would happen at some point, but I hadn't planned that far. It was just one day, I got to the point where I was having to interview for for positions, you know, I was at a brigade level whenever I actually retired in, you know, the next thing, the next positions were like, you know, Special Operations Command Central, or, you know, Korea, Europe, things like that. So, you know, for anybody who doesn't know, like the the services will pick, like one person to interview for the job. And you interview with the general who's going to be in charge, and he gets, basically four names, four packets, he, he or she interviews them, and then they pick one of them. And I was, at this point, was going for central I interviewed, and it was with a a Navy admiral. And then so he says something to me. He says, like, Hey, listen. He goes, I've got four packets here. I've got four people. He goes, obviously you're competent. We're not really concerned about that right now. Or else I wouldn't have your packet in front of me. He goes, what our think, what our position is, is to find who's going to make the best team together, to where we can go forward and lead. He goes. I think what I need is somebody who's going to compliment my strengths as weaknesses, where, you know, where I am a little weaker, like, you know, you'll come in and strengthen those up, and vice versa. Will be a good complimentary team will be able to do the best mission we can. And I was like, fair enough. Sounds good. Like, let's go. And then so he starts, he's like, alright, well, I'll start. I'll tell you about me. And this guy starts talking, and he starts pretty much laying me out, like, like, here's who I am. And he starts talking about me. And then, so, you know, I came to a crossroads. And then he's like, Okay, now tell me about you. And I'm like, after how he opened up, I was like, Man, I have a decision here to make, you know, I've got, like, I can give you the right answer. I could tell you the truth, you know. So, you know. And I guess that goes into like, I was just trying to be, like, authentic to who you know, who I was. And I was like, You know what I'm just gonna say who I am, and let it be what it is, and make, you know, let it flow how it's supposed to. So I basically started telling him about me, like, again, like, who you know, who he described. And I tried to church it up, you know, I try to use like, acronyms that I know, like from the Navy, instead of saying MasterCard. And, you know, I would say, you know, I would either say, like, Senior Chief or something like that, to try to church it up a bit and say, like, Hey, I'm joint, you know, like, but at the end of it, we have the phone. I was like, I didn't get that job. Like, I just, I knew it. And sure enough, he calls me back, and he's like, hey, you know things. You know, great interview. I know, like bunch of people who can use you right now, but you know, I'm going to go with this other person, and I. I don't know if I was prepared for that. Like, I had never, not gotten the job before, you know. Like, it was almost like, What do you mean? Like, like, no. Like, well, I don't understand these words that you're talking about. Like, no,
10:15
it's, you're making a mistake, you know.
10:19
And I decided, like, hey, you know, the universe is kind of telling me, you know, it might be time to go. And then I off of that, I made the decision that. And it wasn't just that one thing. There's a couple other things are starting to line up. And I was like, You know what? I think it's time to get out. And I dropped my retirement packet. And then once I dropped my retirement packet and it was officially submitted, there was this, like, weight I felt got lifted. Like, if you're on a long march and you drop your rock and this, you feel kind of weightless, and you're, wow, you know, you have that on yet, like, hindsight, like, I don't think I wanted the job, you know, I think, I think it was like, I was really tired, and I didn't realize it. Wow, it was in there for me to do. Like, there was, like, if you're telling me, like to interview for this job, being on there, putting this I have to say yes, because why else would you be asking me? You know, it wasn't a choice. We need somebody to do this. And I'm always like, I'll do it, you know? And after that, then it was more like, Okay, now what am I going to do? You know? Then it's kind of like, think it was a bit of a a panic, in a way, not knowing what the next thing was going to be. And I think I resigned like life at that point was going to be my right bold excitements over. Now what I'm going to have to do some job that I don't want to do. I'm going to have to work for the government somewhere, someplace that I want to live, do some job that I don't want to do, and just be part of the that system of, you know, the has been back in my day, we used to do this and no authority and everything else is telling my, you know, just be that risk rental person. I didn't want to be that person. And I'm not trying to knock anybody who goes into their service at all. But right, that was my view of of of the way things, you know, were and, and I would have done it, you know, yeah. And because, you know, the alternate of that is not if I need to provide for my family and whatever that is, that's what I'm going to do. So, you know, I didn't necessarily like it, but I'm going to do it
12:41
as, yeah, as you, as you started like telling me about the realization that it might be over, you know, this, this career, and it's just time to move forward. And the sense of, I'm not sure what I what I should do, but I think I, I know what, what's expected of me, almost like this, this, it's the government role, or go into government sort of as the next natural progression of things. You know, it makes sense. So that's what everybody else does. Might as well do that too. I think that's something that's totally I can relate to, because I had an assumption. I thought I had to do the same thing, and it was going to be a government agency of some sort, maybe three letters, I don't know, but it just kind of made sense, and it's okay to disappear in the basement for a while, you know, and just do another job in a desk. You you, you had a unique experience in that you went through this process that, that a lot of veterans will go through in vector accelerator. It's these questions of, of digging into the What If. Like, what if, okay, that's one scenario, like you said, and anybody that goes into a government job if that's what you want to do, great, like, if that's, if that's for you, we need you to go do that. But the questions that are inside vector, and you went through the Honor Foundation, which is where these questions came from, these questions sort of help you think, what if? What? What if I don't go that way? What else is there for me? You went through that process, and so I'm really curious to know, because a lot of veterans don't realize. Questions are in front of you, that they're going to come when you go to the Honor Foundation, just like some people enroll in vector and they're not sure these questions are coming your way, what was it like for you to kind of think, Okay, I'm going to go to this transition process and it's going to help me get a job, and I'll move on to something. But then all of a sudden realize, wait a minute, what am I looking at here with these questions, like, what, what was, what were those feelings like for you? Was it? Was it okay? Was it fine? You know, where were you feeling?
14:49
Well, I remember right before that, you know, I was, I was down, going down the full transition path, you know, with, like, the military services and, you know, starting to. Different classes and whatnot, just standard ones that are out there for you. And I think what it would it, when it really hit me is my wife. So I'm ticking around one day I tell the story at the, you know, at the CCF event this year, I'm in there tinkering around in my garage, and then my wife comes in, and she's like, like, bawling, like, crying. And I'm, I'm like, almost in shock, like, whole like, what happened? Like, this is bad. This is really, really bad. And then she comes up, and then she's like, she's like, I said, What's wrong? She goes, you're going to be one of them. And I'm like, What are you talking about? And she's like, you're going to be one of those. I could see it on you, and I can't, I can't get it out. Like, what? I don't get it like, I'm not following you, right? You literally thought that I was going to be one of those. You got out. And then, you know, in a year or two, like, I'm, you know, committing suicide and, wow, taking myself. Yeah, I didn't feel that way. You know, it didn't even cross my mind. But whatever it was I was putting out there, like, that energy
16:08
that she was picking up on,
16:11
almost, that maybe is that that life is over, that like, Hey, this is what the rest of my life is going to be, that, like, you know, trudging, you know, through that and gonna do it. And you know, yeah, it's all you're all wet and soaked down, but you know, you're just gonna keep pushing. And you know, it's not exciting by any means, you know, like, but let's get it done. And then I, you know, from there, you know, try to, you know, reassure, like, hey, it's gonna be fine. Yeah, you know, whatever. And then I found THF and started that program, and then she had always told me, like, You're gonna be fine. You've you've done this, you were a CSM, you've talked to ambassadors and blah, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, You don't understand. Like, I don't have much education, I don't have any experiences. There's only, like the first, probably, like the second job I've ever had, you know, there's a bag or a grocery store, and then there was this, you know, and I don't really have anything to offer anybody, and, you know, that's, that's where I was at. So when it goes back into like, all you have is, like, the same thing you've been doing. And then when I went through THF, they started asking me those questions. You know, the things that you've never asked, like, well, you know, I started learning about myself, like, who I was, what drives me. You know, things like, you think, you know, but you really don't know. Nobody's ever actually labeled them before. No one's ever actually, like, asked you, like, well, you know, hey, what are the five? What are the five things you want from a job? You know, love who you work with. You know, live where you want to live, make decent money, work. You know, good, decent hours. You know, all those things that I never heard any of that framed before. And then, you know, you start talking. And then it was probably about two weeks into that process, and I started thinking like, you know, like, wow. Like, there's other opportunities out there, outside of, you know, BC, Tampa and Fort Bragg, like, we right, there's a lot of work out there, like, maybe we can live where we want to live. And then optimism started cutting me in. And then, you know, so, you know, I started, like, learning who I was, and framing, you know, that out, and, and, and then, you know, I got, I got an opportunity, you know, through the Honor Foundation, and met, you know, the company I'm currently with, and I started a program. And, yeah, I started doing those things. But something really stuck out is, when I was going through the THF, my coach asked me, you know, he's like, Hey, what about your current job? Do you really enjoy doing? You know, one of the first things we ever talked about, and I had moved from so I was a battalion CSM, we were, I was in northeast Syria in 29 2019 you know, fighting with the Kurds against ISIS. You know, making these, this pushes. And then after I came off of that, I got, you know, promoted. And next thing you know, I'm on the, like, a brigade level. And I'm on, at that time, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and I was the commandant of the non commissioned officer Academy. Completely different environment, more underneath, like, you know, at that time, like, you know, new vocabulary, new mission, everything else. And I was more comfortable on the other side of that, you know, and I was thinking like, well, not much, you know, like I got, there's not, really, not too much I like. And, you know, I was kind of unfair to like, you know, you. Asked me. But I was like, Well, okay, here, here's what I like. Let me tell you, here's, here's something I like. And, you know, that blew it off. And I was like, if you really want to know, he goes, I said, I I like those times where I might be in my office doing something, I hear a little rap on the door, and somebody pokes their head around the corner, and there's, like, one of my, you know, one of the leaders in the unit, and they stick their head in there, like, hey, CSM, you got a second. Let me run something by you. Or, Hey, can I get your opinion on this next thing, yeah, you know, button up, whatever I'm doing. And then, like, yeah, sit down. Like, it's hot. And then next thing, you know, like, we're, we're at the whiteboard because they have a problem, and, like, and then we're writing things out. And it could be career advice, it could be a problem at that point. Could be something with a student. It could be, you know, just some sort of like issue they're trying to work through, or just see the reassurance that they're making a good decision that I got into that like we've drawn things out, arrows, boxes, lines, underlining, you know, hey, you know what else we should go talk to so, so, because they're looking for something like that, so we can join it together and, you know, really building this out. And then, I guess you don't, you take that and then you fast forward, now that I'm in a new role with shows, you know, and just kind of like learning the ropes. And I got an opportunity that got brought to me, and it was like, you know, my boss was like, you know, hey, at this point, it was like, hey, what do you what do you know about homeowners insurance? I was like, I pay homeowners insurance. I have it, yeah,
21:50
there's premiums, a
21:55
deductible, Business Development sort of space, you know, right? And he's like, Well, I got an opportunity for you. And he says, he goes, like, we're going to partner with this other company. And, you know, work for mortgage company. And they said, We're going to start building this product out to offer homeowners insurance, to try to help people. You know, the market's really rough in this neighborhood. So we want to get with somebody so we can, you know, help those in the need, you know. Like, Okay, sounds good. And, you know, he goes, like, and you and you and my partner. He's like, You guys are going to lead the implementation team. I was like, Yeah, it sounds that's great. Like, not a problem, you know. And I'm like, Oh, gosh. Like, you know, I hope, you know, hope I do a good job. And then, and then it was alright. Well, who do we need to talk to you? I was like, here's your point. Go over there. Go talk to these people. And I was like, alright, you know, I want to say, is me and my partner. Hey, how's it going? Bobby Lynn, I'm from over here. Who are you? And then start building this thing out. And it's like, alright, well, what do we need, you know? And we start, you know, putting things down, going over to our side of the company is like, you know, like, start looking for resources. And like, Oh, hey, we need some marketing folks that you come with me, like, we need to somebody from customer service. Like, come over here. We need a training department. And we start, like, building this kind of coalition. I'm like, and I'm starting to get, I'm excited about going to work. And that's kind of almost like embarrassing moment where I was like, why are you excited about this? I mean, it's homeowners insurance, like it's not really
23:43
all of that, like, it's not too sexy, is it? Yeah, my friends
23:47
don't see me kind of
23:51
and, yeah, I just got a question for you, man. Well, it's actually like a phrase that we've said inside the Honor Foundation I've had these conversations with with vector participants, it's we put so much emphasis on what we do, and so, like in the military, I mean, you, you were, quote, a door kicker, right? Like, that's what you did, and you probably really enjoyed not only the training component, but the actual mission and all of that. But then when you think about what goes behind the process of kicking the door, there's a lot of work, the workups, the training, everything, the production of the deployment to allow you to kick that door, right? So there's all this other stuff to do, maybe a tiny fraction of time, right? The actual door kicking is a tiny fraction of time compared to everything that you do to build up to do that. Yeah, and those things, the management, the budgets, the the the logistics, the the personal movement of folks across the globe for that deployment to go do that thing. There's a lot involved, and sometimes. We kind of overlooked that, and we just kind of look at the really cool parts, but not even realizing and all that hard work, there's some things that you're just naturally good at. And it sounds like, you know, you correlated to as a senior person in the military. You probably had tons of people, like you said, knocking on your door. Hey, can I run something by you? Hey, what do you think about this? And you got some juice out of like, solving a problem. And so this problem solving visionary of some sort, like looking futuristic, kind of seeing what they're saying and seeing how it could play out. It sounds like that's what happened in with where you're at when this company is somebody kind of high up in the company, realized some capability that you had, didn't know if you'd find the solutions, but took a chance and said, Hey, Bobby, what do you think? Like, here's an idea. Go figure it out. And it sounds like you kind of started putting pieces together. It's that problem solving, futuristic, visionary whiteboard kind of ideation piece is that kind of sound like, very similar. I mean, does that sound right? That's
26:03
exactly it. So basically, instead of, like, you know, here's a spot on the map. We really don't know anything about it, but we're going to put your team in here, and you're going to go figure it out, and then you're going to, it's exact same thing, except for, you know, where's call it like, you gotta go meet the G chief, and you gotta go get in the G base, like, it's now another company with the point of contact. And then you're going to figure out, like, alright, well, what do we need to do? What do we need to get done? What's our mission? And then you're going to go back and you're going to start, you know, gathering your resources and, you know, planning this thing out, and wearing all those multiple hats like you, you know, you might not be a marketing person, but I know somebody who is like, Hey, come on. You know, I didn't know anything about, you know, cryptology. You know, I wasn't like an expert at that, but I know Joe does, you know, come on. We need you. Like, hey, and then, you know, leaning off folks to like, in their experts in their field, and like, alright, well, how do they play in? How do they affect things? What is like, you know, what's the second, third, or effects of everything we do, right? You know, start thinking ahead. Start, you know, kind of anticipating problems. Where our risks, how are we going to mitigate them? All that exists. And one of the really funny things that I saw was like, when you're starting to look work, talk risk, and you're talking with legal and things like you are, you're still dealing with a lawyer. It doesn't drop in a bomb, having a bomb dropped, and trying to get something through like compliance and legal. It's very, very similar. We gotta protect the, the the old man or, you know, or the the mission, or whatever it may be. Or you gotta the company we, you know, and you're like, just, how do we get to, yes, like, right, this is my plan. Like, well, we can't do that. Cool, alright, what if we do this? Like, how do we get like, okay, yeah, we could do that. All right, let's keep going. Let's push, you know, and all that drive. And it started firing up all of those, all that stuff you had done for years, you know, multiple times. Like, you know, going whether it doesn't matter if you're going on the training mission or if you're going in a combat somewhere, it was the same thing. And, yeah, and, like you said, like, you plan for days, weeks, months, for 20 minutes time on
28:27
target, right? You know, yeah, and then,
28:31
and then you hit the target, and then you're like, Okay, what's next? And you start, what's what comes after the target. And that's that long range, you know? Like, Alright, hey, we launched, we launched the product. Now, what do we do with it? You know? And it is what starts building and and making it grow. Yeah, I found that really exciting.
28:52
Yeah, that's, that's really cool. And I think it's the study of, it's positive psychology, and it's the sense of, when you find the things that you're that you really love to do, it's and it's not, it's not about hobbies. It's like work, right? In types of work, environments of work where you almost get them in the state of flow, and you're and you feel, you feel fulfilled at the end. And it's, it's exercising those talents that you naturally have, I think where a lot of veterans find this, call it a, you know, you're at a peak, but some veterans find themselves in a valley, in their in their organization, they're not exercising those talents. It's it's like, Bobby, if I said, Hey, man, we don't need you to do any of that. We just need you to sit in this cubicle and just move this paper pile from A to B. That's it. Just type that stuff in, go down the rows spreadsheets, and just, that's what we need you to do. You probably lose your mind like you would. You go crazy. If that's you're like, This is it? You know, it's, it's, it's probably making people cringe. But also, there's veterans. Would probably love that. So, you know, but knowing, knowing who you are, Bobby, like, I think, I think you'd lose your mind. And so it's, it's great that you were able to to find an environment where you got to exercise your talents, but also the people around you were willing to take a risk, because they saw something in you and so so I guess it's like a culture question that I feel is coming next, right that I want to throw your way. How did you know you were in the right culture, that something good was going to happen? It might not have happened right away, because I think you were in the company for for a while, you're kind of feeling out the environment, feeling out who's who in the zoo, but then at a certain point, there's a tipping point when you had this epiphany and realization that, no, this is good. What was that like for you to kind of, first of all, be on the side of, is it going to happen? Will I be able to use my talents and strengths, or that I make the right choice? And then, and then, and then, when the light bulb hit, like, Yes, this is it. I get to do this. What was it like for
31:00
you? Know, I started. I started really kind of figuring out, like, what I didn't want to do and what I was not going to, you know, settle for, be comfortable with. Because, like you said, you know, I would, I would run across people who was like, Yeah, I, you know, I put all the figures into the spreadsheet, and then I upload it, and then I upload it over here, and as I'm talking with them, I'm in my head, I'm thinking, like, that's every day, huh? Like, it's horrible, but you bring up the really good point for that person, they liked that. They loved it. They liked their job and what they needed, whereas I tend to gravitate to where my job is, what kind of fulfills me, that person may not be fulfilled by that job. That job might be what they do every day to, you know, their earn their living, you know, provide for their family, this and that, but maybe they teach little league in the evenings, and that's where their passion is, and that's where they drive and they get their fulfillment and things from, like, so, you know, everybody's different. Um, very true, you know. So, like, who knows, or maybe that, like spreadsheets, who knows. But, you know, I think, like being authentic to your I knew that the type of environment I need to be in, like I I knew I couldn't work for somebody. It's like, Hey, you running everything through me. If you have any questions, you come to me, you give you your next step, and then you go and you what you're told, like, I not comfortable in that space, and I figured that out. You know, my in my I'm used to being, you know, more exploratory, like, hey, if there's a problem and I see or if there is a problem, I'm going to go and find out what's going on. I'm going to dig in and I'm going to find out, like, what's going on, and I'm going to bring that back to you for a decision point, and I'm going to provide options. I'm like, Alright, listen, here's the problem, here's the way I see it. We have, you know, Option A, pros and cons, option B, pros and cons, or C, whatever it may be. And then, hey, here's the risk if we do this, here's the risk if we do that, here's the, you know, here's what we get out of this, here's we get out of that. And then, you know, dig more into B. Got it all right, let's go and then go back out and then start finding and then come back for a decision. Like, yes, I like that. Now run with it, go, and then I implement, or do whatever it is. Like, that's, that's the environment I needed, like, I needed some freedom. I guess that just give me my left and rights. I'll stay within those. If I need to go out of those, I'll come to you and say, like, Listen, I'm, this is the parameter. I need to go see what's up over here. I'm, like, yep, sounds good. Go with like, no, no. This is where you need to be. Like, Okay, understood. Got it. And then I'll go back out. That's I need. I need some freedom and creativity. I learned that.
34:07
I think that's, that's, that's an important thing that and so, so there's, there's two, like, I'm going to oversimplify this, but let's just say there's two groups of veterans that are listening to this right now. There's some that are active duty, preparing to get out, preparing to transition. And so they could actually take vector accelerator to kind of work through some of those questions, work with other people to figure out what their natural strengths are and talents are, identify what those are, and then weave that into maybe their how they do interviews, right? So when they, when they talk to a company, and let's just say, Bobby, your active duty, you've done all this deep dive work. You haven't, you haven't done this experience in current you know where you're at in your current company, but like you go through vector, you go through these questions, you figure out, man, I love to strategize. I love to solve problems. I like that. Economy as well to, you know, freedom of movement, but I will be a really good communicator and make sure that I'm checking in with those to my left and right. So I'll move within an organization that makes sense, and not just go off on my own right, but, but I need some, some some movement and ability to discover solutions, to find, find ways to move forward. That is, that is one scenario, but then there's the other scenario. And it sounds like maybe you kind of had an idea of that stuff, but in the organization you found, you found that in the work like you might not have maybe led with that. I think it was maybe the environment where around you created that and allowed you to realize, man, I can exercise myself here in this other part of the company. I just couldn't. So I know I don't want to do that part, that job, that job, it's not for me. This other one is I want to move in that space. And so I think sometimes there might be veterans that have already transitioned. They're currently in a company. And so maybe it's just a matter of going through vector, figure out what your talents are, figured out what you love to do, and look for opportunities to flex on those strengths within your current organization. We don't, we don't necessarily want people to jump ship and go find another company like sometimes it's, it's right around you, it's it's right right in front of you. You just need to know your talent, know your value, and then be able to contribute. I think that's really what I'm hearing was I listen to you that could be really powerful for somebody, hearing your story, seeing how you thrive. I mean, it's, it's, it's insurance, dude, it's homeowners insurance. It's not a sexy thing, granted, we need it. But it's, it's much less about the thing, and it's more about how you're doing it. I think that's safe to say, right? 100% like
36:47
what the industry is and what the product may be, it's kind of relevant, you know, it could be missile technology. It could be like Tupperware, you know, it doesn't matter. It's all of that, like, how we're going to do this, you know, yeah. And I think, like, like, you know, I said it earlier, is being authentic to, you know, I think if I'm very careful for this, and I've told people this, it's always easy to say, when you're on the backside and be like, well, you have a job, you know, like, I don't have a job yet. So take that with a grain of salt, right? But finding out, like, who you are, and then letting the folks know who you are, I think, is just important, because there you go, yeah, if you can, if you're, like, guarded, because all you're concerned about is getting the job, and you're trying to say the right answers. And you know, if I, if I feel like they're I'm getting very canned answers and not finding out who's this person on the other side of this, you know of this interview, I want to know who drives you. And guess what? Like if you say who you are, and this is me, and this is what I need, and they don't bite like what happened to me with that job I told you about, right? Fine, like, that's they're not looking for you. And guess what, you're not looking for them. You know, I guess going back like, I, you know, we, of course, I find out, like, who this guy pick, and I find out like, we were different people. They were looking for someone else. And that is fine. That's not say like, that person's like, better than me. I'm better than them, you know, sound rapes whatever, like, what they needed was not who I was, and you know what I they I probably didn't need to be over there either. It's just, can you imagine?
38:34
Yeah, can you imagine if, if they said, No, let's go ahead and move forward with Bobby. And to your point dating, you know, you're coming in with these strengths and things that you love to do, and you're not able to exercise it, because that's not what they were looking for, right? I mean, it's, it's the first thing I think about, right?
38:53
Yeah, the company. And then, you know, back then, like you're talking about, theater is going to pay for it, but, but now the company's going to pay for, and whoever, like you might have subordinates or or not, like, it's just not going to be a good fit for you. I think that. I think it's super important. And I think, and this is all stuff that's learned, right? I think coming up, you know, going out through the ranks and things like that, if somebody would have asked me, like, Who do you see, or what is your idea of a leader? I would have probably pointed out somebody else, you know, like, who's the Who's the person that like, Oh, if you like, think about what a leader is, you know, you I, he. I was always like, oh, man, it's somebody who you see, and you're like, hey, like that person over there is probably not yourself. We've done a million like psychological evaluations. We do those personality tests and things like that. You know, for me personally, like I always was on the. Fringes of those things, like, hey, like, here's, here's a center. I was always on the outside, and, you know, for a while, even even when I was in, like, I would say earlier on, if I wasn't, like, in the middle of a group with everybody else, I was like, oh, man, what's wrong with me? Yeah, exactly. And you know what, after a while I got comfortable. I was like, you know, I'm not that person. And, you know what? It's fine. I had my own way. I became comfortable with my leadership styles and abilities and, you know, and, and you don't have to be somebody else, like you be comfortable who you are, you know, I learned that a while back. Like it, that's it's it's good. We don't need that way of thinking robots. We need people to think. We need everybody to utilize our talents.
40:47
That's definitely a theme. I mean, you've said it so many times, and I heard it just now with authentic you. What is that? What are you? And we make, sometimes we make compromises, but, but there's a certain point when you need to hold true to yourself, right? And you don't, you don't want to portray to be somebody that you're not being the middle right? To get a job, right? Like, like you are, who you are, and if you fake it and you get the job, might be pretty excruciating, when you get that job and you actually start doing the day to day, because it's not really authentic, yeah, show yourself to be true. And you're doing these job interviews and you're sharing, hey, I love and, you know, autonomy, I or, you know, I'm very I love structure, whatever it is you say in your language, if it's authentic. And and the job lines up, it's probably going to work better, as opposed to saying what you think other people want you to say to get the job just because you want a paycheck. I mean, my goodness, you're, you're giving up so much by it's like not even settling. It's just, it's just, it's, it's not good. And, I mean, that's kind of, it's kind of working now,
42:08
right? Are you going to perform well? Are you just going to be in there? Like, because you're going to be potentially miserable outside of your comfort zone, if you will. Like, you know, very comfortable outside comfort zones. But like, you know what I mean, like, Are you being more stress limits? Are you just gonna be stifled in there? And are you gonna grow like, granted, cool, you got the job, and I hope you like it, because then possibly that's gonna come out in your performance, and you're in it, you know, in, you know, year after year, and then pretty soon you're stagnated because you're not able to use your talents like, but maybe it was the next company, or maybe you just go straight into it, but it's the one that's in there, like, you're going to probably flourish and you're going to grow, and you're sell, and you're going to, you know, kind of pump all those things up, like, if you're going to do something, I think for the most people that are listening to this, like they're the type of people, like, if I'm going to do this, I'm going to I'm going to do this, you know what I mean, and to be able to have that opportunity to build and advance, that's what people are, you know, used to and want so and it's better for everybody. Like you're in a corporate environment now, like, if you're doing well, doing well,
43:19
one of the, one of the big uphill battles we have with helping veterans realize that they need to do this sort of deep work. You don't know what you don't know. I think you know a lot of veterans, they're looking for that checklist and they get, they pass it from one veteran to another, saying, hey, use this checklist to help you go through all your medical records and get get everything ready. Talk to these nonprofits, because they're going to help you get, you know, set up for interviews and what you know, whatever the checklist may be. And then you have this thing that we're talking about, which is doing some deep work to figure out what makes you tick, what makes you feel alive in your work, versus sort of just mediocre, just kind of doing the mundane thing, just to get by. Like, that's not what we're about. That's not what I want any veteran to do, and that's not definitely what you want any veteran to settle for. So how do we how do we spread that message, I guess, like, and how do we help the veterans understand, like, look, this is something important. And don't skip this, this piece. And that's the challenge, Bobby. I think, I think you know, if you think about how many veterans that you went through with Honor Foundation, there were some that were doing this, this, this deep work, or these questions, we hope they were doing it, and they might not have gotten the lesson out of it. They might have just kind of went through the motions of answering the questions and trying to rush through sounds like you didn't rush through. You may be contemplated on these things. You talked about it with your coach. You talked about, you know, you mentioned earlier, you just bounce things off of him to get some feedback. That I think that's, that's one of the pieces that we're trying to figure out here, is how. We help veterans slow down and do the deep work.
45:05
Yeah, it. I don't want to necessarily say, like, Hey, I figured it out and I got it. I kind of fell into it. You know, the work was happening along the way that I didn't even realize I was doing, right? It was just like, you know, even when I joined THF, was like, Hey, there's this THF thing. My buddy told me about it, and I was like, Well, what is it? He's like, I don't know, but I heard it's really good. You gotta go, Yeah, you know, just like any other school that you went to, like, if I was going through, like, jump master school and be a learn how to, you know, do check JPI on a jumper, and they offer a study hall, and you don't go and you fail. So it was like, what, you know, I have to go because, if I fail, because I didn't take advantage of this, like, I can't live with that. So it was like, here's a program. Like, well, I guess I'll better do it, because what if I don't, you know, and then I that's where, you know, I started learning about things. Um, I think that a lot of that was, I kind of realized as I went through some of it was already may have been known, but it just wasn't really shaped and outlined like that. Yeah, and hopefully this is just an opportunity that if someone else is in the same boat, you know, if I'm able to help them come to that realization, you know, sooner than, than, great, I think that's, you know, what we're here for?
46:31
Yeah, absolutely
46:35
mistakes, right? Not, not your own.
46:37
Yeah, no, this conversation is important for that. I think that's why we need to have more of these conversations from folks that have we, you know, we just, we interviewed another gentleman veteran who didn't do this deep work, and they landed in a role, and they found themselves not so happy. They're just kind of just going through the motions. And for a while, they didn't even realize something was wrong. They just knew that. I guess this is it. They just, they just thought that was it. Luckily, then they came across vector, started doing the questions and deep work, and realized I can do better, you know, so, so they made a shift, um, yeah,
47:15
what are your needs? And then they could be, you know, financial, you know, emotional, like, what do you need as a person? And then maybe, maybe it's not the job. Maybe the job is just, like, like, that person I talked about earlier, like, maybe you just need something to do, to get by, to get some money. Because, like, you rebuild, you restore old cars on the side, you know, and that's like, where your passion is. But, you know, you don't necessarily want to turn it into your livelihood, so, but, but that's where you find your you know, your calling or your fill. You just need a job like, that's already too whatever you just want. You're done. You're just like, I just need. I know by my finances, I need to make this much money. You know, the whole joke about being the Walmart greeter, you know, like, Hey, I just need a little bit of money because I'm going to be fishing this afternoon, or I'm going to go hunting this weekend. You know, who knows? You know what? What do you need as a person,
48:21
absolutely? Yeah, you bring up a really good point, because I don't think you know, we expect everybody that does this deep work to find a job that's absolutely 100% fills every bucket for you, right? Sometimes you have to make a sacrifice, but it's much different when you're aware of what you're sort of giving up your point. Let's just say you know what I need to earn money right now. I'm willing to push myself through this job, but I know myself well enough. I need an outlet. I need a way to sort of give back. Maybe it's a thing of service. Maybe it's a thing of team oriented work, where you can serve in a nonprofit and fulfill that on the side, right on the part time, or in organizations in your community, there's ways to fill, fill that bucket. And I think that's that's kind of you bring up a really good point. Bobby, like everybody is so different and unique. And I think where vector comes in is if you do this work, you're now making a better decision for yourself, and it's intentional, versus just kind of stumbling along hoping to kind of get what you think you need. Not realize that you're missing out on opportunities of joy, of purpose, and you're just kind of settling if you're going to make a sacrifice you want to be intentional with it, and that's really the power of the type of work that you've done at the Honor Foundation, and what we hope veterans do with vector accelerators. So it's. Good stuff, man,
50:00
yeah, I trust in that process. Like, hey, I don't really understand it, but you're saying this is what you should be doing, you know, just like anything else you've done, like, you know, I know my hand's supposed to go here and then chase across there, and then, you know, like, going through, I don't know what I'm doing yet, but you're telling me to do this, and that's going to help me. Like, I'm across, you know, do this and excel and help you at the end, and, you know, and at the end, like, you're, you're, you're, you're passing that, yeah, I think that was a little I had to, like, kind of reach on those when they were like, Hey, you're gonna go do these cups of coffee. And I was like, okay, alright, like, you're just going to go, you're going to talk to people. I was like, it's not really just Trump, but like, again, I'm going to, you're saying, do it. I'm going to do it, you know, trust the process go through, and then hindsight, you're like, Man, that's how you really kind of start figuring out what you're doing, you know, I I started the, I think when I really started figuring it all out, like I was like, I want to be a leadership consultant, as someone executive leadership. So because, you know, I was like, I was up there, like, and I'm gonna come out and be like, you know, and as I started that was, it's kind of a joke about myself, you know, like, I'm gonna do this. And, you know, how's that going to sound? And you should hire me to come consult your, your fortune, 500 company, and learn about leadership. And like, okay, cool. He's like, how how much? How much have you done? I was like, Well, I haven't really consulted anybody yet. But you know what, I'm really good, and you should pay me a lot of money. You know, it was like, I just didn't I heard the cups of coffee figuring things out, you know, talking to one person, you talk to the next person, and all those things start coming out. And then my, my path started shifting, you know, that's fine. That's part of that process and journey. Yeah, figuring those things out and getting those out of the way. What if I just went all in on that? Like, yes, I'm going to go in and then, like, knock, knock, knock, like, hey, and then have that conversation we just had. Like, what would that have been like, you know? And not to mention, you're not getting paid, you know, when you're needs to go buy some groceries, you know, get all those things knocked down out of the way. And I'm not saying like I did it right and perfect, because I did not that. I don't think there's a such thing. But by, you know, kind of going through the motions. And, you know, there was other industries that I looked at where I got a lot of no shows, you know. And with that, when I was like, well man, like, I know this probably isn't for me, if I'm getting this many no shows to this area, like, I'm gonna start looking what it was, what else is out there. And you start this discovery process. And then, well, who tell me about two people that you think I should talk to. And then you start doing those branches, and you start learning about all those things. That's where you start coming in and figuring it out that don't be afraid of that, that exploratory type of environment.
53:19
Yeah, there comes to copy piece. It's, it's, it's a big part of vector. If, because you could answer these questions and journal all you want by yourself, it's not going to really help unless you go into that space of what may feel uncomfortable like how you described it. It was for me as well, just having those first cups of coffee, and it's taking a leap of faith, trusting the process, doing it, and then in doing that work, clarity, you start figuring out, maybe I don't want to do consulting. Maybe I want to lean on this side. I want to be inside a company and sort of build within I think what you're, what you're doing, is you're, you're creating opportunity from within the business after given that ability, it's, it's, I mentioned on another podcast, there's, there's, there's entrepreneurialism, and there's entrepreneurialism, and so this is inside a company that exists. And so now you're kind of creating business, business opportunities, which is really neat. And you found that that's, that's something you're actually pretty good at too is what it sounds like. So that's awesome. Bobby, we got, we got, we got a little bit of time. So I want to ask you any like, what's your top piece of advice for anybody that's going to come across this, and what do you want to tell it to the veteran audience?
54:39
I would say, you know, be, be comfortable. Being uncomfortable. Set a time and time again, like, learn who you are really and don't, don't try to be who you think you should be. Like, who are you, you know what, what makes you you? There's, there's a lot of value in that. You. I think that if you the more authentic you are, the more you know what you need, what your strengths are, and you know your like your your valleys, like you know your peaks and valleys, learn that stuff, and then, in this be aware and look for opportunities that fit. You know within that, I think that you're going to be happier. Your company, whoever you are, is going to be happier. Your family is probably going to be happier for you. Like whether you're you know you did four years or 30 years, you know, what is this next piece of your life going to look like, Yeah, and you want to make the most of it. You don't want to be miserable. You don't want to be looking back and like, Hey, man, I should have this. I should have that. You don't be happy like, you deserve to be happy. Like, go find something you really want to do. I think that's going to be, you know, the best thing for you. And then I think, remember, too, like for me specifically, in the more people I talk to, it seems to be more is that that first year it's it's rough, like even things are lined up. It's rough. It's different, you know, like you can be on top of the world one second and in the pits the next, and nothing changed. Just, it just is what it is like. Just, know going forward, if that's happening to you, just, you know, keep going, keep getting through it. Lot of people do it, so don't think like, oh man, what's wrong? Like, nothing. Just, just keep sorry. My mouth. There's the cat. Little bit, but like, just keep moving forward, and hopefully maybe it doesn't it even better. But know that you're not alone. Know that you're not like, man, there's, here's these other people who did everything right and all worked out. It's not for me, it's an illusion. Like, there's, there's problems, there's, there's issues, like there's, there's strength, and you know, you just keep doing what you're doing, keep moving forward, another foot in front of the other, and you're going to be fine. It all will
57:13
settle out. Yeah, so that's, yeah, that's going to say, that's, that's, that's a story that's played out many times. For most veterans, it's a lot you feel that pressure in that first year. It's, it might not be perfect, where you find that perfect role and perfect opportunity, perfect boss, all those things, but to your point, keep moving forward. And I would add this network that you've built of you know, through the 50 cups of coffee, maybe, maybe you've identified a few folks, or the voices are really powerful. And I we call it Board of Directors inside vector accelerator. You call it what you like, but maybe it's just a voice of reason, a voice that you can kind of vent towards when you do find yourself in a lull in that first year. Regardless, keep moving forward, because it's worth it. You don't the alternative is settling. The alternative is just, kind of just doing mediocre work. But the reality is, I don't think many people are chasing mediocracy. They're they're kind of like move they want, they want significant work. They want to feel valued. They want to feel like they belong and that the company or organization. Maybe you don't want to go to work. Maybe you want to go work in non profit, you know, in that kind of work environment, or you want to go to academia, whatever it is, you want to find an organization where you feel valued and welcomed as well. So good advice. Bobby, appreciate, appreciate hanging out with you. Man, we're going to go in and wrap this up, but if definitely shared some deep stuff. So thank you for going deep early on with that personal story of difficulty and challenge and potentially being a statistic. Oh, my goodness to to finding your way to move forward. And it sounds like you're, you're, you're doing some incredible things. And from my vantage point, where I'm at, you are doing incredible things. So super, super grateful to observe all that. Bobby, how can people reach out to you and ask you questions about you know, maybe they want to go a little bit deeper in your in your story, to kind of see, because maybe it pertained to them, like, what happened to you is like, oh, that's what I'm feeling too. I want to ask Bobby, how can people get a hold of
59:29
you? Yeah, you can get me on LinkedIn. I'm Bobby. Land on there. Feel free my pictures on there. Reach out to me there. Let me know that you're from here, so that, you know, there's a way of connecting. And, you know, knowing kind of a bona fides and I'm available. Yeah, I love talking to people, you know, and helping where I can. And, you know, find those very good point is find those people who you can reach out to, like you're not going to relate with everybody. You, there's people out there who you'll gravitate it's like, oh, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Like, and then seek those people out. So if I can be that to someone else, you know, I'm all about it. So yeah, definitely reach out on LinkedIn, let me know, and we'll talk. There
1:00:20
you go. So you got me, you got Bobby, that's two cups of coffee, right there. I mean, easy, right? You just got to do 48 more. So
1:00:26
yeah,
1:00:29
all right, hey, thanks so much, Bobby. Appreciate you, man.
1:00:32
Thanks. Thanks for
1:00:34
having me bye, bye, and recording bye.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
