James - Be Formidable Coaching (00:00.11)
And with your shield still not going, it's not doing anything anymore,
Scott Schimmel (00:00.127)
you
Scott Schimmel (00:03.711)
You know what? No, I just got a call from Greg Season Friday or Thursday. I didn't call him back yet. When he shut it down, he said it was going to transition to the C4 folks, but I've never heard from it ever since. So I think they just shut it down, which is a bummer.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (00:21.186)
Yeah, was a, it was started off as something that was so, it had so much potential, especially with the way that that was integrated into USC's business school and everything. So, mm-hmm.
Scott Schimmel (00:27.73)
Yeah.
Scott Schimmel (00:32.303)
Yeah, yeah. And spouses being included too, which I always thought THF should have had that or should have that. Just makes makes sense.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (00:41.186)
Yeah, yeah, definitely. It hits another component of it.
Scott Schimmel (00:47.871)
All right, here we go. Hey, welcome to another episode of the Vector Accelerator podcast. It's the podcast with the most syllables on the planet. Check me on that. Scott Schimmel, one of the co-founders, and I'm here with James Seastrom. And we were just joking that I've known James for, I think, two or three or four years, but I don't really know his transition story. So, James, you're effectively entering into what we call fireside chats on the show.
Essentially, we try to bring veterans in to talk about all the mistakes that they've made in their transition. So maybe you can start us off that way. Has there been a big failure like hashtag transition fails? Have you as you look back, like is there something that you just really blew in your then we'll then we'll kind of unpack from that.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (01:29.132)
No, man, my transition was perfect. I made all the right decisions, all the right, no, absolutely not. And it's so interesting because you have all these resources and all of these people that are willing and wanting to help, but you will inevitably still make mistakes. Even the sound advice that you get.
Scott Schimmel (01:33.277)
Really? per- yeah, this is... Yes.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (01:57.398)
Might not be the right advice for you, in my case for me. And so my transition, I got out of the Navy after 20 years in 2022. I was living in Imperial Beach at the time and we had this idea of like, so my wife and I were just, you know what, we're going to start fresh. And we were able to make a good profit on the house. So we sold the house and
I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but I didn't really know for sure. I just knew I wanted to explore a few things. I wanted to explore acting, which I did and was able, yeah. And I, you know, I started, I did that. I had an agent, I had a manager. and then I had two, two movies. I had a couple of different auditions for, young rock, the TV show on Fox. Yeah.
Scott Schimmel (02:34.771)
I forgot that. Yes, this is awesome. Okay, good.
Scott Schimmel (02:42.985)
Did you get anything?
Scott Schimmel (02:54.014)
yeah. Sweet.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (02:55.34)
So it was like doing a Rick Flair, a young Rick Flair. So it was interesting, man. Like like screamed into a pillow. I talk about like trying to get method, right? I was like screaming into pillows to make my voice hoarse. Yeah. But I didn't get that part. Yeah, man. I want to get back into it and I will eventually, but it is time consuming and it is like it is a lot.
Scott Schimmel (02:59.573)
No way.
Scott Schimmel (03:07.647)
You
No way. Wow. You're Daniel Day Lewis, man.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (03:24.278)
You know, remember we were traveling and I would, you know, and have a green screen with me in the car packed in my bag because I would get, hey, self tape, right? We need it tomorrow. It's just like, and so, yeah. So we were living with my wife's dad up in Fallbrook and bless his soul. it was, you know, I'm very thankful that he opened up his home and
Scott Schimmel (03:31.327)
just in case.
Yeah.
Scott Schimmel (03:43.006)
Okay.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (03:51.31)
And we had that opportunity, but it was a very stressful time. And it wasn't conducive to my own mental health, but I was still pushing through.
Scott Schimmel (04:01.235)
Because of why? What do mean?
James - Be Formidable Coaching (04:03.534)
Like because why wasn't it good for my mental health? Because it was a shared space that wasn't mine and as a grown man, I felt weird, right? Of like not having my own home and living with him and you know, there was this like we were just constantly tiptoeing even though he never said we had to or it was just this like I always felt like a guest and I could never get past that and so
Scott Schimmel (04:06.323)
Yeah, yeah.
Scott Schimmel (04:13.725)
Yeah.
Scott Schimmel (04:28.659)
Yeah. Yeah.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (04:32.907)
that just really weighed heavily on me and put me into a bad mindset. So decided I was going to get into the workforce. But it was like, as I transitioned, as I was thinking about this before, when we had a previous conversation, if there was one thing I could tell somebody that's transitioning, it's just explore titles and roles because
as I was on the verge of getting out or as I recently transitioned, I was like, what do you want to do? You know, it's like, I don't know. Like, well, do you want to do operations or HR? And I was like, HR. And he was like, well, what do you want to do in HR? I was like, there's other things. And they're like, yeah, there's leadership, there's employee benefits. And it's just like, I don't know. So those cups of coffee.
Scott Schimmel (05:19.167)
I want to resource humans. That's what I want to do.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (05:26.476)
You really have to have them and ask, like, hey, I see your this. What do you do? What is a program manager versus a project manager at your company? That's the key is at your company.
Scott Schimmel (05:32.915)
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Scott Schimmel (05:39.049)
Yeah, yeah. So ask ask kind of the obvious, not so you know, not so obvious questions. And that's that happens in the corporate world. People have titles, they have roles. They just kind of assume you know what that means. But I mean, half the time, I don't think they know what it means. So asking those obvious questions can help you figure out and narrow down. I don't know about you. But for me, a lot of times when I hear people talk about what they do, it's clarifying in that I never want to do that.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (05:55.416)
What?
Scott Schimmel (06:07.271)
It's like, hear what you do. And I'm like, yeah, okay. That's what that is. Let's like, let's write that down. Make sure I never become a program manager. No offense to program managers out there. I'm sure you're dialed in on that.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (06:11.522)
Yeah.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (06:18.798)
Right. It's like, well, it's like data analyst or computer programming. I, I'm not a guy that sit behind a computer screen and just constantly look at code or like anything like that. There's people that love that stuff and good for them. but, and, and, but that was a key, right. And so I'll get into it, but like what you just said is, you know, I ended up taking a role with net suite as a practice manager. But if you, if you Google practice manager,
Scott Schimmel (06:30.941)
Yeah. Yeah.
Scott Schimmel (06:47.647)
Okay.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (06:47.97)
You're going to come up with all kinds of things, especially a lot of stuff in healthcare. And I didn't deal with anything healthcare. So I was a consulting practice manager. but it was interesting how I found the role. I applied for a role just randomly. was throwing shots, right? What's going to stick. And, I got, I got offered a position at Wells Fargo and I didn't really, the salary was like, eh.
Scott Schimmel (06:57.215)
Mmm.
Scott Schimmel (07:05.788)
Ha
James - Be Formidable Coaching (07:18.617)
No, for moving and this and that, And so I applied for a job to go back to Kansas City because I'm originally from Kansas, know, Topeka area. And I was like, I can go back there. So I applied for the job. The recruiter hits me up and it's like, Hey man, you don't meet the qualifications. What are you doing? And I screen shot, like I was upset at this point because I've gone through different interviews. And so I screenshot the job description. send it back to him. I said nowhere on there.
Scott Schimmel (07:40.126)
You
James - Be Formidable Coaching (07:47.47)
Does it state any of the things that you told me? And he's like, you're right, man. I'll get it fixed. And a couple of months later, he hits me up. He's like, Hey, are you still in the market? And I was like, yeah, I am. And so he's like, I got a position for you. think you'll be good for it. so applied. Yeah. Right. Well, I don't, I don't work there now. So, um, but it was good. Um, but anyway, so I,
Scott Schimmel (07:49.951)
OK.
Scott Schimmel (08:04.392)
You got, you got practice manager vibes for sure.
Scott Schimmel (08:11.763)
Yeah
James - Be Formidable Coaching (08:17.14)
applied, went through the interview process, and then I took the job and moved to Austin. And so packed up the family, moved for the role. And that was, to me, that was a mistake in and of itself. there was a few things that I would have done differently in that span. And the first would have been if I was going to take the job.
I would have moved myself for only just me and taken that time away from the family because very, very quickly into the role, I realized it wasn't fulfilling me in the way that I thought it was going to when it was going through the job description and everything else. It was a lot of good benefits and it did hit a lot of wickets.
Scott Schimmel (09:03.551)
Mm-hmm.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (09:15.766)
I had some awesome people that I worked with in four. And actually, Chris Spencer, who I think has been a vital part or involved with Vector Accelerator. Dude, solid dude. Don't tell him I said that. If he's watching this, just edit it out. But.
Scott Schimmel (09:30.067)
Yo, yeah, yeah. Number one fan, Chris, if you're watching, you're a number one fan. Yeah.
You
James - Be Formidable Coaching (09:41.814)
I had him as my immediate supervisor, which was the blessing. Because I would just be like, dude, I don't know. I don't think this is... And so we just would go back and forth and find the good parts about the job. And then ultimately realizing that with what I had going on with family and with...
Scott Schimmel (09:54.655)
Hm. Hm.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (10:09.486)
that's what I'm looking for, quality of life just within the, you know, back to the mental health space. It was not the role for me. And so I ended up leaving there in October of last year. And so I'll pause there. Any questions?
Scott Schimmel (10:14.75)
Yeah.
Scott Schimmel (10:25.799)
Yes, that's great. Yes. No, I think it's interesting. I like how the job came about. And when you when you think about throwing shots, I think you said just throwing shots. Would you recommend that? I mean, it's it worked for you. So there's I feel like there's someone listening who's like, yeah, dude, I just got to I just got to keep applying everywhere.
anywhere and everywhere and something's gonna work because it worked for James. And that's true. There's enough stories like that. That's true. But what would you recommend? Okay.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (10:57.934)
think it depends on.
And I think it really depends on your situation. You know, in my situation, I didn't have to, you know, because I had a place, right? I was had a place to live. had, you know, my my pension coming in and everything else. So it wasn't that I necessarily had to. And, you know, there's some people that there's a need to, hey, I just got to get income coming in, right?
Scott Schimmel (11:29.565)
Yeah. Yeah.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (11:30.478)
It'd be great if I always go back to and I forget who it was. Oh, no, was another Chris, Chris Lord. He came up with the five things. There's five things you look for in a job and it's love the people you work with, love what you do, make good money, live where you work. And what was the other one?
Scott Schimmel (11:55.618)
Work where you live? No? You got most of them. We'll put it in the show notes. By the way, oh, this is the perfect teaser because it's chapter one in vector accelerator curriculum. So if you want to know the fifth one, you should sign up for the program. Yeah.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (11:56.023)
Missing it.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (11:59.916)
work rate.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (12:05.752)
There you go. So I thought of it, but I'll just leave it. We'll just leave that cliffhanger. But you can only have three of those five, right? And so some people it's like, hey, I need to, it doesn't matter how long I work. doesn't matter where I work. And so you have to really figure out what's important to you and your family.
Scott Schimmel (12:09.757)
Yeah, don't say.
Scott Schimmel (12:29.055)
Yeah, yeah. What along the way since 2022, what has been most helpful for you in getting clarity? You mentioned cups of coffee. You mentioned prioritization exercise. What, if you look at like the couple things that have been most helpful for you, what have they been?
James - Be Formidable Coaching (12:49.082)
man, that's a great question.
I think the most helpful is getting other people's perspective and not tying myself to that, but at least hearing their perspective of me. I'm just like, hey, looking at my experience, what would you gather from it? Working with Chris and hearing his inputs on being able to
Scott Schimmel (12:59.529)
and
Scott Schimmel (13:03.099)
Mm-hmm.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (13:22.086)
see me as a person, as a leader, knowing the struggles of a transitioning veteran and all of those things was super beneficial. And then also just being able to connect with other people that, you know, I think just like reaching out to you and just saying, hey, man, I know it's been a while, but like, how's it going? Right. And not letting those relationships fade.
Scott Schimmel (13:50.772)
Mm-hmm.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (13:51.438)
Um, that's helped me get clarity on and then just try new things, right. And that's how I ended up realizing like coaching is where I want to be.
Scott Schimmel (14:02.503)
Yeah, there we go. All right. So yeah, you're in this cubicle. I've never even seen you in that cubicle. And you just had like a real pasty look. Real sad countenance. And I think it was a sign behind it was like, send help, please. So that wasn't fulfilling for you. And it can be for some right there are some people like my sister works at a think tank. I don't know what she does. But she sits around in cubicles. And they just I think they just like think all day. And she loves it.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (14:30.082)
Going ideas,
Scott Schimmel (14:31.229)
Yeah, she thinks and gets paid for it. So if you're wired that way, cut off, you know, just stop listening at this point, stop watching. So it's coaching. What was the thing? And I wonder if you can tie back to your experience in the Navy. Like, how did you connect those dots?
James - Be Formidable Coaching (14:50.766)
Um, very clearly. Um, so, you know, had a, I was a Gunners mate, you know, working with ordinance explosives, doing instruction, you know, instructing, small arms instructing and stuff. And I enjoyed those things, but what I really loved was helping lead and develop and, you know, taking somebody who like was a, was an E five and they're like, nah, man, I'm good. Like I don't need to, you know, if I promote to E six.
great because then I can retire. But that's it. Like, I don't really care. And starting to develop them to where it's like they do something that they didn't think was possible. And having that, those phone calls, even years later, having those emails of just like, hey, man, just need, thank you. Thank you for being there. Thank you for believing in me. And so I took a...
Scott Schimmel (15:41.235)
Yeah.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (15:48.366)
You know, and the role that I took, was primarily was, it was sold to me as a coaching and developing role. And so that's why I was like all in. And so I went through and was, you know, I went through the honor foundation and was paired with a, executive coach and he was somebody that went through the, the entire coaching process was ICF certified and that international.
coaching federation. It's like the gold seal. And he was just, it was amazing what he was able to bring out of me. Even in those moments where I didn't feel like talking or didn't know going into that meeting. I just, I couldn't think I'm like, was so stressed, you know? And so I had conversations with him. So that wasn't, that's another one of those carrots of like, that's somebody to talk to. And then
Scott Schimmel (16:36.009)
Yeah. Yep.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (16:47.15)
I went to a seminar or kind of like a, not a seminar, guess, complimentary coaching to learn what it is through IPAC. And I was, was like, this is what I'm going to do. And I went, had, so the way it worked was we had three in-person modules throughout the course of like from March to October.
And the rest of the time was just online learning and classes and stuff. And when I was in those classes, I had never felt more attuned. Like you like flow state, you know, I know that gets thrown around a lot, but I like absolutely loved every bit of the conversations. I wasn't afraid to be vulnerable. You know, I felt in going through like.
Scott Schimmel (17:33.087)
Mm-hmm.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (17:45.388)
Vector Accelerator and the Honor Foundation and stuff like that. was very, it was encouraged, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I was still in that military, like not letting myself, not nope. But in that time, I just, I let go. And so I think that was such an opening experience for me. it doesn't matter what it is that you're trying to do, but if you're going to experience something, if you're going to do it, learn to just let go and.
be in that process because that's where you'll find who you are.
Scott Schimmel (18:20.389)
Is that a function of being ready for it or is there like another way to think about it? Because you're not alone in going through transition and not fully being ready for like the soul searching that we would say is required. So I'm asking you a pretty existential question. Like how do you help somebody be open to actual real self-reflection?
James - Be Formidable Coaching (18:47.214)
I think that's through, you know, from my lens, it's through coaching. And, you know, one of the things of coaching is getting people to self-realize or, know, because I remember even just going through the courses, there were some people that were on it and, know, just like, man, how is this dude doing this? and because they were operating on a different plane, you know, I think that,
I think that they were closer towards when they were getting out before I was. So I think I fell under the, I still have time. But I really think it's, how important is this to you? On a scale of one to 10, how important is it to go through this? It's a 10, I need to figure this out, why? Well, I need to figure out what I'm gonna do. Why is that important right now?
Scott Schimmel (19:41.705)
Yeah. There you go. That's so good. Yeah.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (19:45.942)
And it's really getting people to answer those questions into where it's more of like, what do you want to do? And you brought up a good point of like, Hey, I know what I don't want to do. Like coming out, I knew I had a whole laundry list of things that I didn't want to do. So, I mean, I could just scratch those off the list, but then it's that being not being afraid to just have, I remember having it and I know I'm bouncing around, but it was, I think.
Scott Schimmel (19:53.406)
Mm-hmm.
Scott Schimmel (19:57.247)
Mm-hmm.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (20:15.278)
Somebody referred me to a woman who used to be a marine biologist. like, why? I don't want to be in marine biology. I don't want to work at a phone company. And so I was so resistant to have this cup of coffee that when I did it, I didn't even understand. I'm just doing it because I was told to talk to this person. After the conversation, they like, hey, how'd it go? And I was like, it was good. She seemed like a nice person.
Scott Schimmel (20:30.42)
Mm-hmm.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (20:44.408)
Well, what'd you get out of it? I mean, not a whole lot. Like I don't want to go into that field and I don't want to go into that field. And she's like, yeah, but you didn't understand or catch the flow of how she went from Marine biology to computer data scientists or over here. And I'm like, pull the thread. Right. Like, and it's, I took it for face value. And I think that that's, you gotta look deeper.
Scott Schimmel (21:10.729)
Yeah. Well, what you're talking about is a different mindset or posture of those kinds of conversations. I have found myself, I don't know if it's when I'm lazy or just not prepared. When I go and have a cup of coffee with somebody and I just show up, I've done no prep work. I don't think about basic questions that are coaching questions. What do I want to get out this meeting? What do I want to share about myself that could be helpful?
And I just kind of, just, hi, nice to meet you. And then let the conversation be what it is. And I mean, so many times I look back, probably similar to you. like, well, that was a wasted, you know, time versus showing up and having a set of questions I've thought about, or at the very least maintaining like a posture of curiosity as they're sharing. And I think so often we're very, people are very polite in conversation. So I just kind of let you.
you know, wander or share what you're sharing, then I'll share what I'm sharing. When if I was being really curious, I would be like, hey, hold on a second, what do you mean by that? Or when you say project manager, what does that mean in your world? Like that curiosity can take you many layers deeper where you can actually start seeing threads because chances are the person you're talking to isn't also showing up prepared, ready to ask, ready to be curious. So I want to maximize the time that I've got with them.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (22:12.472)
Mm-hmm.
Scott Schimmel (22:30.983)
which is just different than sitting back and hopefully they ask me some questions and they have a job for me. That's just a very different posture.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (22:38.392)
Well, and I think that's where a lot of people, and that's where I, I won't speak for anybody else. For me, I screwed up and I wasn't necessarily looking for a connection because I was just like, man, there's no way I'm to be able to connect to all these people like all the time. But you know, a case in point, we were talking before this and I'll bring it up just because of the power of networking. So South by Southwest is a huge thing that goes on here in Austin.
Scott Schimmel (22:54.291)
Yeah.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (23:09.162)
And I had met with somebody that I was meeting somebody for a cup of coffee and we had never met in person. Everything's been COVID, know, four years, Austin, LA. So like, we're having a cup of coffee. And as we're sitting there, I was just, you know, we're talking, I said, oh yeah, my friend's doing something. And we talked about that, you what he's doing. And she's like, wait a minute, I think I'm supposed to go there.
Scott Schimmel (23:23.906)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (23:36.2)
And so she gets on her phone. She's like, yeah, I got this invite from, you know, Barry and Ben. And I'm like, I don't know those guys, but I know this guy. And come to find out we knew each other from different ways. And it's like, that's the network because he was wanting to try to talk to her about what he has going on. And, you know, it shows like, think to her, wait, James knows this guy.
Scott Schimmel (24:03.197)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (24:06.188)
And then from his perspective of like, James knows her, you know, and I'm not, I'm not a great human, but I'm not a bad human either. Right. So the, so it just helps solidify that relationship, you know, by just a common denominator. And you never know who that, that common denominator is going to be.
Scott Schimmel (24:09.149)
Yes. Yeah.
Scott Schimmel (24:24.637)
Well, becomes fun, at least for me, it's fun to be able to say, do you know that person? I actually know that person. And the idea of introducing people where they might find value in each other at the very least as friends, if not something more, is a thrill. like, it feels like things are coming alive at that point, which is a different perspective than obviously a lot of people hear about 50 cups of coffee and it's overwhelming or it sounds just boring.
or like a lot of caffeine. I like the idea of collecting friends and not just like, hey, I know this guy, I've got a connection, but actual friendship where you think about them and you're thoughtful. And I know for me, I haven't been doing this in the past few weeks, but I'm, I'm, I have a regular practice of just kind of scrolling through contacts and I don't try to contact everybody. It's not, I'm not, I'm not selling time, share anything. I've got nothing on the other side of this.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (25:16.813)
Hmm.
Scott Schimmel (25:23.283)
But when I see somebody and it's just like, I wonder what he's doing. I just sent a series of texts a couple of weeks ago to people I haven't talked to in, I don't know, two, three, four, five years. And I just said something like, hey, don't text me back. I just want to say, hey, I hope you're doing well. Hope your family's awesome. And I'm thinking about you. And that's it. And I think if I did that six or seven folks, I think four or five, all of a sudden it turned into a meaningful reconnection, which was very fun. It felt very meaningful to me.
I wonder for you, James, now that you're getting clarity on coaching, can you give us like, can you forecast what's the ideal state for you if you can see it? And it doesn't have to be necessarily size of the business or anything like that, but like, what is you coming fully alive look like?
James - Be Formidable Coaching (26:14.806)
You know, I love these questions because in the past week they've they've been I've had to confront myself with them. You know, I was going talking with somebody the other day and it was went through my spiel. He's like, tell me about yourself. Who are you? You know, I gave him a rundown. He's like, cool. What do you want to be when you grow up? And I took a breath and he's like, seriously, man, you're a coach. Like, what does that mean? And I was like. All right.
Scott Schimmel (26:29.821)
Scott Schimmel (26:34.601)
Mm-hmm
James - Be Formidable Coaching (26:44.79)
I said, I want to be a keynote speaker that goes around and helps not only speaks to people about resilience and building the life that they want to pursue, but I also want to help people in teams be able to increase their performance to meet the goals and overcome the obstacles that are keeping them from achieving that. And he's like, there you go. That's what I like. And it was the first time I've really said it like to somebody I didn't know.
Scott Schimmel (27:05.385)
Yeah, yeah.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (27:12.894)
And it just, came out with so much passion that like that, right? That's what, and, and I don't know, I don't want to put a cap on the business. Like, you know, but if you were to say, Hey James, a year from now, you know, where do you want your business to be? Like, I want it to be a thriving business. I want it to be to where it is clients coming, you know, and hopefully.
Scott Schimmel (27:32.991)
Mm-hmm.
Scott Schimmel (27:36.703)
Mm-hmm.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (27:43.34)
I coach them to where they don't need me, but they know that I'm there to where if it's ever one of those, hey man, I need you again, right? Cool, we got it. But to where it's raising their awareness and their consciousness about the things that are happening in their life to where they can be self-sustaining.
Scott Schimmel (27:50.196)
Mm Yeah. Yeah.
Scott Schimmel (28:01.629)
Yeah. Well, coaching is powerful. I remember a similar experience for me a long time ago, 10 or 12 years ago, I was invited to a day to get trained and certified as a coach for this guy's coaching practice. And I went because I was thrilled to get like that certificate, you know, and I like developing people. But I remember thinking this doesn't work. Just asking people questions and then.
Halfway through the day, they paired us up with people, strangers, strangers from different industries, never met them before. And I was by far the most junior person there. And all of sudden I'm being coached. I'm coaching these people through a set of questions in a process. And no kidding, there was this problem that I'd had for over a year, a leadership problem, management problem. And I just, and I kind of framed that as this is what I'd like to talk about. And I'd say no more than five minutes of coaching, being coached. I had insight.
of what the actual problem was and a plan. And I went home and did it and it changed to like it had a huge effect. So I remember actually like in real time, I'm thinking this actually works like this. This is this is powerful. This is I don't know what this is, but I want to do it some more. So the fact that you're going to be doing that fires me up. And I know you started a podcast recently. Would you tell us about that?
James - Be Formidable Coaching (29:21.58)
yeah. that that's, so I've had a podcast in my mind for probably two to three years and, I talk about, limiting beliefs or assumptions. Like I just, I didn't have the right equipment. didn't have the right structure. I didn't know how to use this or that. and I would talk to a few people and I'd ask questions.
Scott Schimmel (29:32.521)
Okay.
Scott Schimmel (29:44.613)
Yeah.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (29:51.48)
but I just never felt ready. And so, you know, after moving away from my job in October and doing the coaching business, you know, it was one of those like, Hey, why not? Like, you know, they, just got to start getting in there and doing it. And, you know, so I have two episodes in where I've talked to two different air force veterans and
Scott Schimmel (30:06.943)
Mm-hmm.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (30:21.494)
Once again, both through networking, like I didn't know them personally until we established a relationship, and then it was, hey man, I really want to talk about your life. think, and then I have a third episode we're actually recording tomorrow. And so really looking forward to having another guest on the show. But it's, each one is, you had put up some stuff.
and a group to where we could get feedback. And man, that was so scary, like to drop it in there and say, critique me. Right. but I did it and I survived it. I got some good feedback. I got some bad feedback or not good or bad. mean, there was some positive reflections and then there was some others of like, hey, you should take a look at this and it might make it better.
Scott Schimmel (30:55.967)
You
Yeah. Yeah.
Scott Schimmel (31:06.727)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (31:19.786)
And so I did that, went through, some learning, went back in. I think even going from episode one to episode two was vastly different. And so I'm excited to play with it and, you know, get messages out there.
Scott Schimmel (31:27.881)
Yeah. Yeah.
Scott Schimmel (31:36.307)
Well, you're so I've listened to both watch both. You are very gifted at creating a space where you're talking about real stuff, which is very rare. And to talk about someone's life, especially you don't know them too well and to guide them to a place where they're sharing stuff they might not normally probably share, especially on the Internet. You have certainly a knack for that. And I think as a viewer, I also get to see you coach. And I think
I'm guessing that that's going to be very helpful as you build a coaching practice. Because coaching can be mysterious. It can be abstract. Like, what is it? What do know? What happens? And you'll be able to point to these episodes and say, well, watch these episodes and you'll see you get a glimpse. And if you want that to, that's what this will be like. So I think hopefully it's already meeting a need for you, like fulfilling you. But it's, think I can imagine it being a business asset. And not to mention that, I think it's very honoring.
to have somebody give them a chance to share their perspective in their life. And that's a gift in and of itself. I'm someone, I don't think it's that rare. Maybe it is weird. I love hearing people's stories. So I'll be, I'm already subscribed. I'll be watching and listening and both for you to grow into that, but also because you're bringing fascinating people into this space. So it's called...
James - Be Formidable Coaching (33:00.462)
It's called the Be Formidable podcast. it's always, always. so, yeah, you do. And it's on Apple, Spotify, YouTube. But, and thank you for, I appreciate you saying the words that you said, but really it's the guests. I kind of just ask questions, maybe give.
Scott Schimmel (33:03.005)
And I don't know if you're looking for more guests, are you? Heck yeah. You gotta be ready to be real with James.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (33:28.866)
you know, my two cents here and there, but it's really just them being willing to come out there and talk about something that happened in their life, what got them through it, you maybe what they're struggling with now. You know, and so I just really appreciate the people that do come on and, you know, are able to remove that wall because I think I admire it so much because I was I was unable to do that for so many years.
Scott Schimmel (33:56.009)
Yeah. Well, you're doing me a big favor and also a big favor by being our guest. Thank you for being a part of the show. I've seen you, I think, in three different transition programs. And you're a great example to me of someone that doesn't go through and get it kind of figured out at once. But you're modeling someone who's continuously reorienting to your true self.
as you discover what that is. So thank you for that courage. Thanks for being a role model. Thanks for being a friend. And I wish you all the best in the podcast and being a coach. So hope there's a long line of folks coming to get support from you and receiving benefit from you. So anyways, thanks for being on the show, James. Wish you all the best. We'll share stuff about how to find you in the show notes. And we'll be back soon with another episode of the Vector Accelerator podcast.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (34:40.91)
Thank you.
James - Be Formidable Coaching (34:48.942)
Thanks for having me.
Scott Schimmel (34:51.807)
tweet.
