WEBVTT 00:00.580 --> 00:02.580 Hey , this is chaplain Tony Reddick 00:02.580 --> 00:04.580 here . Just want to remind you that 00:04.580 --> 00:06.358 this podcast does not imply any 00:06.358 --> 00:08.024 endorsement of any commercial 00:08.024 --> 00:10.358 organization , product or belief system . 00:10.358 --> 00:12.191 Well , hey , welcome back to the 00:12.191 --> 00:14.358 balance podcast and potentially you're 00:14.358 --> 00:16.413 joining in here for the first time . 00:16.413 --> 00:16.160 This is chaplain Tony replica of biddle 00:16.160 --> 00:17.993 air National Guard base with the 00:17.993 --> 00:20.049 balanced podcast for those that have 00:20.049 --> 00:22.160 been tuning in more recently . You'll 00:22.160 --> 00:24.271 understand this little intro before I 00:24.271 --> 00:26.470 introduce my , my fantastic guest here 00:26.470 --> 00:28.581 today , but the bounce podcast is all 00:28.581 --> 00:30.880 about giving you tools to prepare you 00:30.880 --> 00:33.450 to be successful not only in work but 00:33.450 --> 00:36.000 also in life . Um , a life plan , if 00:36.000 --> 00:38.222 you will , covering those four areas of 00:38.222 --> 00:40.700 comprehensive soldier fitness that are 00:40.700 --> 00:42.950 obviously applicable to spouses as well 00:42.960 --> 00:45.293 that are connected to the military or D . 00:45.293 --> 00:47.516 O . D . Civilians , whoever's listening 00:47.516 --> 00:49.571 today . So my body spirit and social 00:49.571 --> 00:51.571 and today , uh , I have a friend of 00:51.571 --> 00:53.404 mine who is a retired lieutenant 00:53.404 --> 00:55.571 colonel from the army , he's gonna get 00:55.571 --> 00:57.682 a chance to share his background with 00:57.682 --> 00:59.904 you before we launch in . But if you're 00:59.904 --> 00:59.310 listening , you want to stay tuned and 00:59.310 --> 01:01.477 listen to this whole podcast today and 01:01.477 --> 01:03.699 here's why , because I think so much of 01:03.699 --> 01:05.730 life is about finding what you were 01:05.730 --> 01:08.690 designed for calling . If you will . 01:08.700 --> 01:10.922 And and let's face it , most of what we 01:10.922 --> 01:13.580 do in life is work . Um , whether you 01:13.580 --> 01:15.720 know , you do it as a , as a younger 01:15.720 --> 01:18.660 person in the military , um , career 01:18.660 --> 01:20.771 transitions are difficult and today , 01:20.771 --> 01:22.938 um , I have a friend of mine in here , 01:22.938 --> 01:24.716 eric Stetson who works for this 01:24.716 --> 01:26.771 tremendous company called four block 01:26.771 --> 01:28.938 and he's gonna kind of break down what 01:28.938 --> 01:30.993 four block is , how it could benefit 01:30.993 --> 01:33.216 you as someone who's attached to or has 01:33.216 --> 01:35.271 served in the military or maybe your 01:35.271 --> 01:37.327 spouse again . Um and so I'm excited 01:37.327 --> 01:39.604 that ERic's here today , I welcome him . 01:39.604 --> 01:41.660 I want him to give a little , just a 01:41.660 --> 01:43.882 little intro of who he is and what he's 01:43.882 --> 01:45.882 currently doing here with with this 01:45.882 --> 01:47.827 company . So eric man , thanks for 01:47.827 --> 01:47.580 coming in here and sitting down with me 01:47.580 --> 01:50.080 today . Oh my gosh , Tony ! This is so 01:50.080 --> 01:52.180 awesome to be on this podcast . And 01:52.190 --> 01:54.860 it's exciting because the last time I 01:54.860 --> 01:56.971 was here , you were wearing captain's 01:56.971 --> 01:59.193 bars , you know , on your chest and now 01:59.193 --> 02:01.416 you're a major so first congratulations 02:01.416 --> 02:04.160 on the promotion glory to God . And you 02:04.160 --> 02:06.160 know , it's exciting to to see what 02:06.160 --> 02:08.327 you're doing and with this podcast and 02:08.327 --> 02:10.549 I love the name balance because this is 02:10.549 --> 02:12.271 what's so important in life is 02:12.271 --> 02:14.049 achieving balance because we're 02:14.049 --> 02:16.104 operating from a balanced position . 02:16.104 --> 02:18.450 We're at our best , all of our natural 02:18.450 --> 02:20.450 strengths , come to play and we can 02:20.450 --> 02:22.370 deliver the best of who we are to 02:22.380 --> 02:24.602 everybody around us . And so I love the 02:24.602 --> 02:26.491 name of the podcast , I love what 02:26.491 --> 02:28.658 you're doing , you know , building the 02:28.658 --> 02:30.824 studio building , building the podcast 02:30.824 --> 02:33.158 for , for airmen and soldiers out there . 02:33.158 --> 02:35.380 Tremendous . So it's a real honor to uh 02:35.380 --> 02:37.602 to be on , share some thoughts and some 02:37.602 --> 02:39.880 time with you today and your listeners . 02:39.880 --> 02:41.991 Fantastic . So eric so you and I , we 02:41.991 --> 02:44.047 got to know each other several years 02:44.047 --> 02:46.380 ago . We were both working in different , 02:46.380 --> 02:46.310 different fields than we are now full 02:46.310 --> 02:48.477 time if you will . I was still , I was 02:48.477 --> 02:50.643 a part time I think soldier , I was in 02:50.643 --> 02:52.866 the army before coming to the Air force 02:52.866 --> 02:55.032 and you would just come off , come off 02:55.032 --> 02:57.032 active duty and you were doing some 02:57.032 --> 02:58.977 consulting work . And um , we , we 02:58.977 --> 03:01.143 became friends after that . I just had 03:01.143 --> 03:03.254 a great connection and look , here we 03:03.254 --> 03:05.532 are . I think that was in 2016 , right ? 03:05.532 --> 03:07.699 That was in 2016 . Absolutely . And it 03:07.699 --> 03:09.810 speaks to the power of relationship . 03:09.810 --> 03:12.370 I'm finding common points and , and you 03:12.370 --> 03:14.690 know , again , all of us out there have 03:14.690 --> 03:17.460 more in common than we have separate , 03:17.470 --> 03:19.400 you know , and especially in the 03:19.400 --> 03:21.456 climate today is a lot of division , 03:21.456 --> 03:23.622 but the reality is we always have more 03:23.622 --> 03:25.789 in common . And so when you , when you 03:25.789 --> 03:27.844 reach out and you talk to people and 03:27.844 --> 03:29.789 you and I met through , you know , 03:29.789 --> 03:31.956 professional consulting , um , kind of 03:31.956 --> 03:34.178 situation and I learned that you were a 03:34.178 --> 03:33.690 guardsman . I said , oh my gosh . And 03:33.690 --> 03:35.968 so , you know , we started talking and , 03:35.968 --> 03:38.079 and obviously you'd probably checking 03:38.079 --> 03:40.134 out of linkedin and like , oh , this 03:40.134 --> 03:42.134 guy was in the service , okay . You 03:42.134 --> 03:44.301 know , it's a brand right there . Um , 03:44.301 --> 03:46.523 and we got to know each other and had a 03:46.523 --> 03:48.579 good relationship and um , I learned 03:48.579 --> 03:50.746 from you , you know in that process is 03:50.746 --> 03:52.857 I was pretty new to consulting in the 03:52.857 --> 03:54.746 world after the military . Um and 03:54.746 --> 03:56.579 you've been working in corporate 03:56.579 --> 03:58.801 America , you know with a company doing 03:58.801 --> 04:00.912 what you're doing . Um and then , and 04:00.912 --> 04:00.830 then I remember one day he said yeah 04:00.840 --> 04:02.951 you know I'm gonna switch over to the 04:02.951 --> 04:05.007 Air Force and I said Tony , what are 04:05.007 --> 04:07.210 you thinking ? Come on brother . But 04:07.220 --> 04:09.220 you know , truth be told . My older 04:09.220 --> 04:11.276 brothers , retired air force officer 04:11.276 --> 04:13.190 and my dad was navy . My younger 04:13.190 --> 04:15.412 brother was Navy . So we didn't hit the 04:15.412 --> 04:17.746 marines of the Coast Guard but we got a , 04:17.746 --> 04:19.968 the service is pretty well covered . Um 04:19.968 --> 04:22.765 Yeah , so power of relationship , the 04:22.765 --> 04:25.685 power of what we have in common is very 04:25.685 --> 04:27.985 important I think is as we go through 04:27.995 --> 04:31.355 life and it is all about relationships 04:31.365 --> 04:33.365 and that's something that that were 04:33.365 --> 04:35.587 very heavily focused on in four block . 04:35.760 --> 04:38.000 Um and and I think it's just important 04:38.000 --> 04:40.111 all the way around . Very good , very 04:40.111 --> 04:42.222 good . So you've been , how long have 04:42.222 --> 04:44.444 you been with four block . So I've been 04:44.444 --> 04:46.722 with four block for five years . I did , 04:46.722 --> 04:46.440 when I got out I did some consulting , 04:46.440 --> 04:48.607 I went through training with a company 04:48.607 --> 04:50.718 called any international , I did some 04:50.718 --> 04:52.940 education , consulting , some corporate 04:52.940 --> 04:54.829 consulting and training and I was 04:54.829 --> 04:56.940 volunteering in the veteran space and 04:56.940 --> 04:58.496 this is important . Again , 04:58.496 --> 05:00.551 relationship staying plugged in with 05:00.551 --> 05:02.718 veteran community because when you get 05:02.718 --> 05:04.940 out of the service , you've already got 05:04.940 --> 05:06.884 this in your hip pocket . You know 05:06.884 --> 05:09.107 whether you're a guardsman or reservist 05:09.107 --> 05:08.990 or active duty , you've got that 05:08.990 --> 05:10.934 veteran core out there in your hip 05:10.934 --> 05:13.020 pocket . If you choose to stay 05:13.020 --> 05:15.360 connected to those people and to find 05:15.360 --> 05:17.471 out who they are and and put yourself 05:17.471 --> 05:19.693 out there , go to events and it's gonna 05:19.693 --> 05:21.749 feel a little uncomfortable at first 05:21.749 --> 05:23.916 and that's okay . The veteran court is 05:23.916 --> 05:26.082 out there ready to catch you back into 05:26.082 --> 05:28.270 the civilian sector and help you make 05:28.270 --> 05:30.280 that adjustment and it's a powerful 05:30.290 --> 05:32.700 network that you have that's gonna help 05:32.700 --> 05:34.756 you and then you can turn around and 05:34.756 --> 05:36.644 help others . And , but it's very 05:36.644 --> 05:38.867 important that service members remember 05:38.867 --> 05:41.033 that right up front , even well before 05:41.033 --> 05:43.144 they get out of that , the service is 05:43.144 --> 05:45.256 that veteran networks out there ready 05:45.256 --> 05:47.533 to help you make that . That's awesome . 05:47.533 --> 05:49.756 Yeah . And I think sometimes when folks 05:49.756 --> 05:49.070 are transitioning , especially we'll 05:49.070 --> 05:51.181 talk for a minute from those that are 05:51.181 --> 05:53.181 active duty or a gr it's a , it's a 05:53.181 --> 05:55.292 daunting task for them to figure I've 05:55.292 --> 05:57.403 been wearing this uniform for 20 plus 05:57.403 --> 05:59.514 years or whatever , eight years maybe 05:59.514 --> 06:01.737 they're getting out at that point . But 06:01.737 --> 06:01.410 how the heck do I get out ? Well , the , 06:01.420 --> 06:03.476 the military services , I think they 06:03.476 --> 06:05.860 have a pretty decent plan to transition 06:05.860 --> 06:08.840 you at some level , right ? However , I 06:08.840 --> 06:11.620 think what four block brings and , and 06:11.620 --> 06:13.842 I didn't go through four block myself , 06:13.842 --> 06:15.898 some of my airmen have and what I've 06:15.898 --> 06:17.787 got to learn through you and just 06:17.787 --> 06:20.009 spending time , uh looking at videos in 06:20.009 --> 06:22.300 your website , I can see the power in 06:22.310 --> 06:24.532 in four blocks . So let's let's kind of 06:24.532 --> 06:26.588 jump into what what the heck is four 06:26.588 --> 06:28.754 blocks ? What's why is it called Floor 06:28.754 --> 06:31.032 block ? And what is it ? Right . Right . 06:31.032 --> 06:32.921 So four block is a not for profit 06:32.921 --> 06:34.477 veteran led veteran founded 06:34.477 --> 06:36.588 organization , what we call a veteran 06:36.588 --> 06:38.643 support organization . And there are 06:38.643 --> 06:40.921 about 47,000 last count , you know , B . 06:40.921 --> 06:43.420 S . O . S . Out there in America that 06:43.420 --> 06:45.642 many . Now that's including all of your 06:45.642 --> 06:47.642 V . F . W . S . American legions et 06:47.642 --> 06:50.480 cetera . Um there are regional B . S . 06:50.480 --> 06:53.090 O . S . National B . S . O . S . Um and 06:53.100 --> 06:55.433 and B . S . So even small V . S . O . S . 06:55.433 --> 06:57.211 And just you know what one city 06:57.211 --> 07:00.130 footprint . Um so uh there is some 07:00.130 --> 07:02.241 research you know to be done to learn 07:02.241 --> 07:05.820 about them . V . S . O . S . Exist in 07:05.820 --> 07:09.450 part to to support that transition 07:09.460 --> 07:11.460 from the military into the civilian 07:11.460 --> 07:13.404 life . And yeah , the services are 07:13.404 --> 07:15.460 getting better and ramping it up and 07:15.460 --> 07:17.770 trying to improve that that process to 07:17.770 --> 07:19.992 help people to get ready to come out of 07:19.992 --> 07:22.048 the service into the civilian life . 07:22.048 --> 07:23.992 There's a long way to go and we're 07:23.992 --> 07:26.270 still not to the point where you know , 07:26.270 --> 07:29.260 when you send airmen overseas , right 07:29.270 --> 07:31.437 or soldiers or marines , you send them 07:31.437 --> 07:33.659 anywhere in the world . There's a catch 07:33.659 --> 07:35.881 team on the far side that's gonna catch 07:35.881 --> 07:37.881 them . Even the special forces guys 07:37.881 --> 07:40.103 that went into Afghanistan early on who 07:40.103 --> 07:41.881 caught them on the ground . CIA 07:41.881 --> 07:43.826 operators now , you know , the CIA 07:43.826 --> 07:46.048 operators went in there first and maybe 07:46.048 --> 07:48.270 they didn't have anyone to catch them . 07:48.270 --> 07:50.326 But whenever we can , when we deploy 07:50.326 --> 07:52.326 men and women around the world , we 07:52.326 --> 07:54.326 have a team there to catch them and 07:54.326 --> 07:56.548 when they come home , we have a team to 07:56.548 --> 07:58.770 catch them back to home base . We don't 07:58.770 --> 08:00.881 do this collectively well as a nation 08:00.881 --> 08:02.992 yet to catch our veterans leaving the 08:02.992 --> 08:05.214 service going into the civilian world . 08:05.214 --> 08:07.492 And there's a divide between D . O . D . 08:07.492 --> 08:09.548 And the V . A . And so V . S . O . S 08:09.548 --> 08:12.110 pick up the slack in between four block 08:12.120 --> 08:14.830 specializes in career development and 08:14.830 --> 08:16.941 you hit you hit a very important word 08:16.941 --> 08:19.620 earlier Purpose , you know , figuring 08:19.620 --> 08:21.820 out your purpose , you're calling so 08:21.820 --> 08:23.820 that you can align your work in the 08:23.820 --> 08:26.330 civilian world um with that purpose and 08:26.330 --> 08:28.400 calling for a greater chance of 08:28.400 --> 08:30.520 satisfaction . And so four block 08:30.530 --> 08:32.419 focuses on career development for 08:32.419 --> 08:34.586 veterans , whether they're a guardsman 08:34.586 --> 08:37.260 or reservist , a colonel coming off a 08:37.260 --> 08:40.240 25 , 30 years in the service . And I'll 08:40.240 --> 08:42.600 tell you what I have those 06 is say to 08:42.600 --> 08:44.890 me Eric , I'm scared , I have no idea . 08:44.890 --> 08:47.001 It'd be easier to go back to combat . 08:47.001 --> 08:49.112 And I say , don't worry it's gonna be 08:49.112 --> 08:52.010 okay . And then we put people through a 08:52.010 --> 08:54.810 process . And so , um , four block came 08:54.810 --> 08:57.150 came about because of a guy named Mike 08:57.150 --> 08:59.317 Abrams a marine reservist , He's still 08:59.317 --> 09:02.480 a reservist today . Um , and he came 09:02.480 --> 09:04.460 back from Afghanistan , he was a 09:04.460 --> 09:06.238 Captain Marine Corps , he had a 09:06.238 --> 09:07.904 Master's degree from Columbia 09:07.904 --> 09:09.904 University and he was struggling to 09:09.904 --> 09:12.071 find meaningful work and employment in 09:12.071 --> 09:14.130 the new york city area . It was only 09:14.130 --> 09:16.920 after he built some relationships back 09:16.920 --> 09:18.642 to that keyword um , with some 09:18.642 --> 09:20.753 civilians who have , but some of them 09:20.753 --> 09:22.920 were veterans , some of them weren't . 09:22.920 --> 09:25.087 Um when he built those relationships , 09:25.087 --> 09:27.253 he got the mentorship and the coaching 09:27.253 --> 09:29.253 that helped him get into that first 09:29.253 --> 09:31.142 position in his new career and he 09:31.142 --> 09:33.476 realized , hey , that's the magic sauce . 09:33.476 --> 09:35.698 And so we started gathering his veteran 09:35.698 --> 09:35.280 buddies and saying , hey , I wanna 09:35.280 --> 09:37.447 introduce you to these folks that I've 09:37.447 --> 09:39.669 met and we're gonna , we're gonna build 09:39.669 --> 09:41.669 a little team and once a week we're 09:41.669 --> 09:41.620 gonna meet with these folks , they've 09:41.620 --> 09:43.842 agreed to meet with us and they do that 09:43.842 --> 09:45.842 for a couple of weeks and then they 09:45.842 --> 09:47.898 bounce to the next company because a 09:47.898 --> 09:49.731 person at one company to make an 09:49.731 --> 09:49.410 introduction to a person , another 09:49.410 --> 09:51.410 company and that person say yes and 09:51.410 --> 09:53.632 those guys send those vets over to talk 09:53.632 --> 09:55.799 to me , I'll talk to them about career 09:55.799 --> 09:57.743 development . Sure . And then Mike 09:57.743 --> 09:57.510 realized , he said , you know , I'm 09:57.510 --> 09:59.566 gonna , I'm gonna build a VSO around 09:59.566 --> 10:01.788 this , this is a , this is a model that 10:01.788 --> 10:04.470 he kind of discovered by accident and 10:04.470 --> 10:06.637 then we've been building on it for now 10:06.637 --> 10:09.750 over 13 years . Um , and , and you know , 10:09.750 --> 10:12.160 to the name for block , he chose the 10:12.160 --> 10:15.060 name for block because when he went 10:15.060 --> 10:17.060 into the service , he remembers the 10:17.060 --> 10:19.700 commandant , Marine corps chuck Krulak 10:19.700 --> 10:21.811 at the time and he briefed the Marine 10:21.811 --> 10:23.756 Corps and he said , folks , you're 10:23.756 --> 10:25.811 going over into a three block war in 10:25.811 --> 10:27.922 one block , you could be doing a high 10:27.922 --> 10:29.978 intensity operation . The next block 10:29.978 --> 10:32.144 could be a medical support operation . 10:32.144 --> 10:34.033 The next block could be um , just 10:34.033 --> 10:36.033 security or something else . You're 10:36.033 --> 10:38.033 gonna have a whole lot of different 10:38.033 --> 10:40.256 things going on at the same time . This 10:40.256 --> 10:42.311 kind of war in this kind of region . 10:42.311 --> 10:44.478 And he was right , that's that's a lot 10:44.478 --> 10:46.367 of what um , the wars in parts of 10:46.367 --> 10:48.589 Afghanistan and Iraq look like . And so 10:48.589 --> 10:50.756 Mike said , okay , the fourth block is 10:50.756 --> 10:52.978 when you come home from the war or from 10:52.978 --> 10:56.470 the service , you got , you got , you 10:56.470 --> 10:58.137 know , you know , it's really 10:58.137 --> 11:00.303 remarkable to , as you mentioned , the 11:00.303 --> 11:02.303 founder of Four Block is actually a 11:02.303 --> 11:04.303 reservist and still serves and so I 11:04.303 --> 11:04.120 think folks that are listening and a 11:04.120 --> 11:06.231 lot of folks that do tune in and hear 11:06.231 --> 11:08.398 and listen to the podcast are going to 11:08.398 --> 11:11.730 be a mixed bag of a Gr Ds GS 11:11.840 --> 11:13.673 reservist and as you know , erIC 11:13.673 --> 11:15.770 serving in the war on terror , which 11:15.770 --> 11:17.960 now that I think monikers are kind of 11:17.960 --> 11:20.182 behind us . We're shifting focus bigger 11:20.182 --> 11:22.127 national strategy . But the war on 11:22.127 --> 11:25.630 terror took the Garden Reserve from the 11:25.640 --> 11:28.770 Reserve to now to actually a Strategic 11:28.770 --> 11:31.200 Reserve to an active reserve , which 11:31.200 --> 11:34.270 means we are fully immersed and working 11:34.280 --> 11:36.169 way more than the weekend warrior 11:36.169 --> 11:38.250 mindset . Right . And so a lot of 11:38.250 --> 11:41.040 reservists are struggling to juggle and 11:41.040 --> 11:43.560 find work when they're being called up , 11:43.560 --> 11:45.782 when they're being deployed , when they 11:45.782 --> 11:47.949 have to get tons of training . Right . 11:47.949 --> 11:50.116 And so what intrigued me so much about 11:50.116 --> 11:52.540 four block is is this concept of if you 11:52.540 --> 11:54.596 served a day in the military , maybe 11:54.596 --> 11:56.540 I'm wrong , maybe getting ahead of 11:56.540 --> 11:58.596 myself here , if you served a day in 11:58.596 --> 12:00.818 the military , you potentially have the 12:00.818 --> 12:00.350 eligibility to be part of the four 12:00.350 --> 12:03.080 block program and start networking and 12:03.080 --> 12:05.302 taking advantage of this . Absolutely . 12:05.302 --> 12:07.524 And so we don't care if you've served , 12:07.524 --> 12:09.636 you know , a year in the military and 12:09.636 --> 12:11.950 you got medically discharged out , if 12:11.950 --> 12:13.783 you have an honorable or general 12:13.783 --> 12:16.240 discharge and you're a post 9 11 12:16.240 --> 12:18.620 veteran , any branch of service , any 12:18.620 --> 12:21.490 rank as long as you are in the process 12:21.500 --> 12:24.030 of pursuing a college degree or have a 12:24.030 --> 12:26.250 college degree or higher , then you're 12:26.250 --> 12:28.361 eligible for the four block program . 12:28.361 --> 12:30.583 And it's interesting in the future that 12:30.583 --> 12:32.472 that requirement , you know , the 12:32.472 --> 12:34.361 college might shift because we're 12:34.361 --> 12:36.417 seeing all these fields pop up a new 12:36.417 --> 12:38.583 specialties where it doesn't require a 12:38.583 --> 12:40.750 college degree that , you know , a lot 12:40.750 --> 12:40.520 of training , a lot of capability , 12:40.520 --> 12:43.070 leadership and so but but those , you 12:43.070 --> 12:44.792 know , that's that's the basic 12:44.792 --> 12:46.848 requirements to get in the program . 12:46.848 --> 12:48.959 And we wanted to serve as many people 12:48.959 --> 12:51.070 as possible that are headed towards , 12:51.070 --> 12:53.880 you know , the professional um work , 12:53.880 --> 12:55.936 whether it's I . T . Or marketing or 12:55.936 --> 12:57.880 commerce or business or finance or 12:57.880 --> 13:00.460 sales or real estate or cyber whatever 13:00.460 --> 13:02.850 it is . Uh And so we want to support 13:02.850 --> 13:04.906 those veterans and and you know , my 13:04.906 --> 13:07.510 experience working as an ops officer 13:07.510 --> 13:10.560 and Deputy brigade commander at Fort 13:10.560 --> 13:14.390 Dix in 2010 , 13:14.390 --> 13:17.040 2011 , I worked with a lot of a gr 13:17.040 --> 13:20.110 folks , a lot of Reserve guard um 13:20.120 --> 13:22.610 Active duty , whole mixed bag . And so 13:22.610 --> 13:24.721 I learned firsthand the struggle they 13:24.721 --> 13:26.888 go through and my on orders . Am I not 13:26.888 --> 13:29.110 on orders ? Coetzee does you know , how 13:29.110 --> 13:31.166 many days can I go ? You know , do I 13:31.166 --> 13:33.221 have a job ? What am I going to do ? 13:33.221 --> 13:35.332 And I'll tell you what active duty is 13:35.332 --> 13:37.499 easy , It's all you do , you don't you 13:37.499 --> 13:39.666 don't think about anything . Uncle Sam 13:39.666 --> 13:41.777 takes care of a whole bunch of things 13:41.777 --> 13:41.030 for you . You just don't active duty 13:41.030 --> 13:43.197 forever . But the garden observed guys 13:43.197 --> 13:45.252 that are playing back and forth like 13:45.252 --> 13:47.586 this and gals that's that's challenging . 13:47.586 --> 13:49.870 It's tough . And so four block provides 13:49.870 --> 13:52.430 an opportunity for those folks to work 13:52.430 --> 13:54.790 on their professional civilian career 13:54.800 --> 13:56.856 to build towards the future for that 13:56.856 --> 13:59.420 stability . Uh And that's why we we've 13:59.430 --> 14:01.652 started serving more and more guardsmen 14:01.652 --> 14:04.020 and reservists in addition to a lot of 14:04.020 --> 14:05.909 student veterans is how we really 14:05.909 --> 14:08.131 started 13 years ago , A lot of student 14:08.131 --> 14:10.076 veterans . That's awesome . That's 14:10.076 --> 14:12.076 great . Yeah . So again , if you're 14:12.076 --> 14:11.790 listening to this , more than likely 14:11.790 --> 14:14.600 you , you fit the criteria right now , 14:14.610 --> 14:16.721 and if you're not pursuing a degree , 14:16.721 --> 14:18.943 that's what the G . I . Bills for . And 14:18.943 --> 14:20.943 again , as you're saying , what I'm 14:20.943 --> 14:23.054 hearing you say is potentially in the 14:23.054 --> 14:26.970 future that won't even be right . And , 14:26.980 --> 14:29.036 and , and hey , that's another , you 14:29.036 --> 14:30.980 know , public service announcement 14:30.980 --> 14:33.258 while you're in the service , you know , 14:33.258 --> 14:35.369 are you ? My philosophy is always put 14:35.369 --> 14:37.591 yourself in a civilian education course 14:37.591 --> 14:39.536 or professional military education 14:39.536 --> 14:41.758 course , almost , you know , 365 days a 14:41.758 --> 14:43.924 year , right ? You're always advancing 14:43.924 --> 14:45.758 yourself for your service in the 14:45.758 --> 14:47.647 service to make yourself a better 14:47.647 --> 14:49.480 warrior , a better airman , more 14:49.480 --> 14:51.591 qualified to increase your options or 14:51.591 --> 14:53.970 you're always tackling college courses 14:53.970 --> 14:56.700 prerequisites to a degree or specific 14:56.700 --> 14:58.867 areas you think you're interested in , 14:58.867 --> 15:00.756 you know , keeping your curiosity 15:00.756 --> 15:02.700 quotient high so that you can keep 15:02.700 --> 15:04.811 learning and prepare yourself for the 15:04.811 --> 15:06.867 future , even if you don't know what 15:06.867 --> 15:09.033 that's going to be . But that opens up 15:09.033 --> 15:11.200 doors because as soon as you , as soon 15:11.200 --> 15:11.110 as you're , you know , pursuing an 15:11.110 --> 15:13.332 associates or bachelors , that opens up 15:13.332 --> 15:15.666 more doors for you on the outside . And , 15:15.666 --> 15:17.840 and again , you know , have uncle SAM 15:17.840 --> 15:20.007 pay for a bunch of that before you get 15:20.007 --> 15:22.330 out . Absolutely . That's right . Yeah . 15:22.340 --> 15:24.450 Absolutely . And so yeah , again if 15:24.450 --> 15:26.394 you're if you're listening this is 15:26.394 --> 15:28.617 gonna be applicable to you now , I will 15:28.617 --> 15:28.140 tell you some of the and you and I have 15:28.140 --> 15:30.473 talked about this a couple of years ago , 15:30.473 --> 15:32.751 I was on the four block site yesterday , 15:32.751 --> 15:34.807 it looks like there's an opening now 15:34.807 --> 15:36.862 for for spouses as well and that's a 15:36.862 --> 15:38.862 huge sector that I think we've been 15:38.862 --> 15:41.029 missing . Um Can you talk a little bit 15:41.029 --> 15:43.307 about how , how our spouse is eligible ? 15:44.070 --> 15:46.014 Absolutely . In the last couple of 15:46.014 --> 15:48.790 years , I think across the board more 15:48.790 --> 15:51.010 and more folks have become aware that 15:51.020 --> 15:53.340 um you know our spouses , it really 15:53.340 --> 15:55.229 takes a toll on our spouses , our 15:55.229 --> 15:57.284 service and we disrupt their careers 15:57.284 --> 15:59.451 and we move them around with all these 15:59.451 --> 16:01.507 pcs and then they had the anxiety of 16:01.507 --> 16:03.618 what we're doing and and then they're 16:03.618 --> 16:05.729 volunteering , you know with the unit 16:05.729 --> 16:08.062 and the frg so we decided two years ago , 16:08.062 --> 16:10.118 about two years ago we've got to get 16:10.118 --> 16:12.451 after something similar for the spouses . 16:12.451 --> 16:14.340 Uh And so we developed a spouse's 16:14.340 --> 16:16.507 program which is similar to the career 16:16.507 --> 16:18.673 readiness program for veterans , but a 16:18.673 --> 16:18.300 little bit different because there 16:18.310 --> 16:20.199 there are some different issues , 16:20.199 --> 16:22.032 there's some different things to 16:22.032 --> 16:24.240 address for spouses , men and women um 16:24.250 --> 16:27.250 of veterans and so dr lisa Stern , 16:27.260 --> 16:30.690 our director for a program , Impact and 16:30.690 --> 16:32.634 evaluation , assessment curriculum 16:32.634 --> 16:34.660 development . She teamed up with a 16:34.670 --> 16:36.781 couple of ladies out of new york city 16:36.781 --> 16:38.670 who had their own business called 16:38.670 --> 16:40.892 prepared to launch University and these 16:40.892 --> 16:43.059 two ladies are absolute specialists in 16:43.059 --> 16:45.059 helping women go back to work after 16:45.059 --> 16:46.948 taking some time off with kids or 16:46.948 --> 16:49.003 transitioning their careers . Um and 16:49.003 --> 16:51.280 they had worked with a few veterans and 16:51.280 --> 16:54.320 they discovered what we do and we had 16:54.320 --> 16:57.180 them on our podcast and we loved what 16:57.190 --> 16:59.134 they did and we decided to kind of 16:59.134 --> 17:01.468 marry up and build a program of spouses . 17:01.468 --> 17:03.690 And so we've done , I want to say we've 17:03.690 --> 17:05.801 done three or four semesters now with 17:05.801 --> 17:07.770 outstanding success that and the 17:07.770 --> 17:09.659 feedback from the folks that have 17:09.659 --> 17:12.040 participated . So if you fall into that 17:12.040 --> 17:14.940 category where you've been um you know , 17:14.940 --> 17:16.884 pulling your your your wife , your 17:16.884 --> 17:19.107 husband around the world um and shaking 17:19.107 --> 17:20.884 up their career , making things 17:20.884 --> 17:22.829 difficult for them to pursue their 17:22.829 --> 17:25.051 passions , you know , and and jump from 17:25.051 --> 17:27.107 job to volunteer to job to volunteer 17:27.107 --> 17:29.162 and and it doesn't seem coherent and 17:29.162 --> 17:31.218 they're struggling a little bit with 17:31.218 --> 17:33.329 where am I gonna go ? What am I gonna 17:33.329 --> 17:35.329 do ? Please please please have them 17:35.329 --> 17:37.440 check out our our program for spouses 17:37.440 --> 17:37.060 on the four block dot org website , 17:37.070 --> 17:39.460 awesome . Very good , very good . Just , 17:39.460 --> 17:41.460 just I mean , just hearing what you 17:41.460 --> 17:43.627 have to say , I've sat down with you a 17:43.627 --> 17:45.793 few times both formally like this in a 17:45.793 --> 17:47.960 setting similar where we did a video a 17:47.960 --> 17:50.182 couple of years ago and just talking to 17:50.182 --> 17:49.940 you like this stuff energizes me 17:49.940 --> 17:52.107 because I see the potential how it can 17:52.107 --> 17:54.400 help every airman that I interact with 17:54.400 --> 17:56.622 daily on this base . I mean literally , 17:56.622 --> 17:58.733 I know lieutenant colonels and chiefs 17:58.733 --> 18:00.956 and again some some junior officers and 18:00.956 --> 18:03.178 junior N . C . O . S . You are about to 18:03.178 --> 18:05.400 retire guardsmen who are like , I don't 18:05.400 --> 18:07.567 have work , I'm struggling . It's like 18:07.567 --> 18:09.622 we got , there's a great program for 18:09.622 --> 18:11.844 you now . The biggest question though , 18:11.844 --> 18:14.011 I know folks might be scratching their 18:14.011 --> 18:13.300 heads right now or they're looking at 18:13.300 --> 18:16.170 four block dot org . How much does this 18:16.170 --> 18:18.730 cost ? What's this gonna cost me ? It's 18:18.730 --> 18:21.420 expensive . It's expensive . You gotta 18:21.420 --> 18:23.142 have time . You've got to have 18:23.142 --> 18:25.142 commitment and energy . You have to 18:25.142 --> 18:26.976 have humility and you have to be 18:26.976 --> 18:30.360 curious . Uh it costs $0 . So this is a 18:30.370 --> 18:33.230 tuition free cost free program for the 18:33.230 --> 18:35.830 folks that come through it . It uh you 18:35.830 --> 18:37.997 know when you're in the career in this 18:37.997 --> 18:40.163 program , it probably takes about four 18:40.163 --> 18:42.274 or five hours of your week for the 11 18:42.274 --> 18:44.497 week program . When you're in it , uh , 18:44.497 --> 18:46.608 we meet our sessions meet once a week 18:46.608 --> 18:48.663 in the evening , uh typically 6 to 8 18:48.663 --> 18:50.950 o'clock at night . Either virtually or 18:50.950 --> 18:53.350 in person or in a hybrid fashion . 18:53.350 --> 18:55.294 We're going into a , into a hybrid 18:55.294 --> 18:57.670 landscape this fall . Um , and you're 18:57.670 --> 18:59.892 gonna have a meeting once a week with a 18:59.892 --> 19:02.059 coach who's volunteering to assist you 19:02.059 --> 19:04.226 in the program and give you feedback . 19:04.226 --> 19:06.392 This coach is probably a veteran who's 19:06.392 --> 19:08.670 working somewhere in corporate America . 19:08.670 --> 19:10.892 It might not be a veteran . It might be 19:10.892 --> 19:13.003 someone who's very closely associated 19:13.003 --> 19:12.970 with the military , who are understands 19:12.970 --> 19:15.190 a lot of what you've been through and 19:15.190 --> 19:17.412 they're gonna coach you while you're in 19:17.412 --> 19:19.523 the program . You're going to have an 19:19.523 --> 19:21.634 instructor , a primary instructor for 19:21.634 --> 19:21.330 instance , right here in philadelphia 19:21.330 --> 19:23.580 are primary instructor . Miss Lana 19:23.580 --> 19:26.730 terry , Lanni A was an e a . Promotable , 19:26.740 --> 19:29.540 the United States Air Force and she 19:29.540 --> 19:31.820 separated actually not not far from 19:31.820 --> 19:34.350 this area out of the Air Force started 19:34.350 --> 19:37.100 working in philadelphia um in a in a 19:37.110 --> 19:39.480 recruiting position and 3.5 years later 19:39.480 --> 19:41.702 she's now the vice president for talent 19:41.702 --> 19:44.320 acquisition at a 45,000 person company 19:44.750 --> 19:47.120 showing what senior N . C . O . S . Can 19:47.130 --> 19:50.660 get . Yeah . Yeah . So so it's a it is 19:50.660 --> 19:52.827 a free program but you do have to have 19:52.827 --> 19:55.370 the time and the energy to go after and 19:55.370 --> 19:57.426 you and you gain so much through the 19:57.426 --> 19:59.980 program Um and learning about yourself 19:59.990 --> 20:03.030 and figuring out what you want to do in 20:03.030 --> 20:05.030 the future . You don't have to know 20:05.030 --> 20:07.086 what you want to do . You talk about 20:07.086 --> 20:09.930 purpose . Um and and calling before . 20:09.940 --> 20:12.020 We also have a great course that 20:12.030 --> 20:14.260 anybody anywhere in the world can take 20:14.270 --> 20:17.650 for free online at any time , 365 days 20:17.650 --> 20:20.020 a year . The name of the course is find 20:20.020 --> 20:22.640 your calling . It's on our website . We 20:22.640 --> 20:24.918 have authors in there like Simon Sinek , 20:24.918 --> 20:27.670 Sebastian , younger Lindsey Pollack and 20:27.680 --> 20:29.660 we get tremendous feedback on this 20:29.660 --> 20:31.880 course from people who are thinking 20:31.880 --> 20:34.260 about what do I do next ? You know , 20:34.270 --> 20:36.492 what is my mission ? Where do I want to 20:36.492 --> 20:38.548 go ? You know , in the military , we 20:38.548 --> 20:40.659 jump in right for various reasons and 20:40.659 --> 20:42.492 then we get busy and we just get 20:42.492 --> 20:44.603 cracking at it and we don't have , we 20:44.603 --> 20:46.937 don't have a lot of time to think about , 20:46.937 --> 20:49.103 you know , who am I right ? We're just 20:49.103 --> 20:48.730 getting the mission done . We're 20:48.730 --> 20:50.952 serving , taking care of other people , 20:50.952 --> 20:52.841 getting our job done , you know , 20:52.841 --> 20:55.063 training , being prepared , deploying , 20:55.063 --> 20:57.174 um , you know , reacting to different 20:57.174 --> 20:59.770 events and so uh , find your calling 20:59.770 --> 21:01.881 really gives you a chance to dig into 21:01.881 --> 21:04.620 yourself and think about your purpose , 21:04.620 --> 21:06.731 your calling . Maybe think about your 21:06.731 --> 21:08.953 natural strengths and to kind of figure 21:08.953 --> 21:11.009 out what do I want life to look like 21:11.009 --> 21:13.064 outside of the military or after the 21:13.064 --> 21:15.410 military . Very good . That's just 21:15.410 --> 21:17.632 tremendous . And I , I was on your site 21:17.632 --> 21:19.854 yesterday and I saw something like this 21:19.854 --> 21:21.970 success rate of folks that graduate 21:21.970 --> 21:24.330 from the program that's super high and 21:24.330 --> 21:26.340 connecting them with one of those 21:26.340 --> 21:28.440 companies that you work with during 21:28.440 --> 21:30.910 that 11 weeks . And I saw a figure , I 21:30.910 --> 21:33.132 could be wrong , but I want to say that 21:33.132 --> 21:35.400 like the average salary of someone who 21:35.400 --> 21:37.511 does plug in and starts to work for a 21:37.511 --> 21:39.511 company going after this program is 21:39.511 --> 21:41.622 like in the 90,000 range or some Like 21:41.622 --> 21:43.900 that . Which I mean that's tremendous . 21:43.910 --> 21:45.910 It really is tremendous . Again not 21:45.910 --> 21:48.021 about the dollars , it's nice to make 21:48.021 --> 21:50.680 the money but I think the proof in the 21:50.680 --> 21:53.230 pudding here is that folks are finding 21:53.230 --> 21:55.452 meaning and purpose as they're spending 21:55.452 --> 21:57.860 time looking at four blocks courses 21:57.870 --> 22:01.010 connecting for a 11 weeks . And also as 22:01.010 --> 22:03.232 I mentioned a few airmen that graduated 22:03.232 --> 22:06.000 a few years ago from this program and 22:06.010 --> 22:08.560 they they still talk about the net work 22:08.570 --> 22:10.570 that they have as an A . Four block 22:10.570 --> 22:13.520 alum and I see them on linkedin and I'm 22:13.520 --> 22:15.631 watching them follow and I see you on 22:15.631 --> 22:17.798 there and it's just it seems like just 22:17.798 --> 22:19.964 a tremendous way again to stay plugged 22:19.964 --> 22:21.964 into that veteran network and build 22:21.964 --> 22:25.350 really good solid relationships . Not 22:25.360 --> 22:27.582 not this kind of relationship sometimes 22:27.582 --> 22:29.582 when you feel like you're forced to 22:29.582 --> 22:32.080 network network could have a definition 22:32.080 --> 22:34.340 to it but not not but just a healthy 22:34.340 --> 22:37.390 way . Absolutely . In fact it's funny 22:37.390 --> 22:39.501 you mention that because I have a due 22:39.501 --> 22:41.723 out , I owe a message back to an airman 22:41.723 --> 22:43.946 who was stationed right here at Horsham 22:43.946 --> 22:45.890 Air base and she reached out to me 22:45.890 --> 22:47.723 yesterday years after she's been 22:47.723 --> 22:49.834 through the program . Hey eric I need 22:49.834 --> 22:51.946 help with a friend and some some some 22:51.946 --> 22:53.946 resume and skills translation , you 22:53.946 --> 22:56.112 know , can we work on on this . And so 22:56.112 --> 22:58.223 I have a message back to her to uh to 22:58.223 --> 23:00.446 help her with her , her her airman wing 23:00.446 --> 23:02.557 buddy , you know to um to work on the 23:02.557 --> 23:04.668 resume . Um and so yeah it's a it's a 23:04.668 --> 23:07.050 great network um in in the four block 23:07.060 --> 23:09.171 world we connect all of our for block 23:09.171 --> 23:11.004 alumni with each other through a 23:11.004 --> 23:13.116 mechanism called four block connect . 23:13.116 --> 23:15.440 And so you've got almost 3500 graduates 23:15.440 --> 23:17.496 of the program across the nation and 23:17.496 --> 23:19.790 Fortune 500 fortune 100 companies , new 23:19.790 --> 23:22.190 startups who are out there working that 23:22.200 --> 23:24.367 instantly have a bond . Oh you did for 23:24.367 --> 23:26.478 a block . I did for a block . Right ? 23:26.478 --> 23:28.644 So not only was military , but now you 23:28.644 --> 23:30.811 know I was in the Air Force , you were 23:30.811 --> 23:33.033 in the Air Force , I did for block four 23:33.033 --> 23:32.470 block , you know , what did you do it , 23:32.470 --> 23:34.637 who did you talk to ? And and and it's 23:34.637 --> 23:37.520 just it's a great community um to learn 23:37.530 --> 23:39.697 to learn from each other . I encourage 23:39.697 --> 23:41.419 people to think about the word 23:41.419 --> 23:44.070 networking as learning , learning and 23:44.070 --> 23:46.860 serving because when you network with 23:46.860 --> 23:48.860 other people , which just basically 23:48.860 --> 23:50.804 means meeting and talking to other 23:50.804 --> 23:52.860 people , you're learning from them . 23:52.860 --> 23:54.971 They're learning from you . So you're 23:54.971 --> 23:57.138 serving and you discover opportunities 23:57.138 --> 23:59.249 and opportunities discover you and so 23:59.249 --> 24:01.471 never ever ever think please never ever 24:01.471 --> 24:03.850 think of networking as a word . And and 24:03.860 --> 24:05.804 a lot of people in the military do 24:05.804 --> 24:07.971 because in the military were talked to 24:07.971 --> 24:10.082 you know , stay in our lane , um stay 24:10.082 --> 24:12.193 within our chain of command , get our 24:12.193 --> 24:14.680 job done . Um , you know , and , and 24:14.760 --> 24:16.927 kind of be careful not to speak out of 24:16.927 --> 24:19.149 turn and , and that sort of thing . And 24:19.149 --> 24:21.482 so some people look at networking as oh , 24:21.482 --> 24:23.649 you know , why are you talking to that 24:23.649 --> 24:25.816 person or why are you doing this ? And 24:25.816 --> 24:27.927 you really , you want a network , You 24:27.927 --> 24:26.860 know , you want to talk and build 24:26.860 --> 24:28.860 relationships with your within your 24:28.860 --> 24:30.916 unit . You , you want to have strong 24:30.916 --> 24:33.270 relationships and this just , you learn 24:33.270 --> 24:35.326 so much from this and you're able to 24:35.326 --> 24:37.326 teach other people , you're able to 24:37.326 --> 24:37.310 connect other people something that's 24:37.310 --> 24:39.477 very , I enjoyed very much . There's a 24:39.477 --> 24:41.754 lot of fun for me is connecting people . 24:41.754 --> 24:43.921 And so I find these common points or I 24:43.921 --> 24:46.032 figure out what someone is interested 24:46.032 --> 24:48.088 in and I can connect them to someone 24:48.088 --> 24:47.860 else where they can learn more about 24:47.860 --> 24:50.027 that . And so that's just a lot of fun 24:50.027 --> 24:52.530 and very satisfying for me . I'll give 24:52.530 --> 24:54.308 you statistics that's even more 24:54.308 --> 24:57.910 meaningful than the salary range for 24:57.920 --> 25:00.090 the folks coming out of the program in 25:00.090 --> 25:02.090 the , in the past three years , the 25:02.090 --> 25:04.034 salaries kind of bubble between an 25:04.034 --> 25:07.800 average $91 , Um , average 25:07.800 --> 25:10.022 salary of individuals coming out of the 25:10.022 --> 25:12.356 program . Here's what's more impressive . 25:12.356 --> 25:14.244 I think we're about 87% retention 25:14.244 --> 25:16.600 beyond first year first job and company . 25:16.750 --> 25:19.250 It's about 26 points above the national 25:19.250 --> 25:22.540 average . So what that means is we're 25:22.540 --> 25:24.700 helping people figure out the right 25:24.700 --> 25:27.100 career path and the right culture and 25:27.100 --> 25:28.880 fit . So when they get to an 25:28.880 --> 25:30.991 organization , they're happy in their 25:30.991 --> 25:33.213 work and they feel like they fit in and 25:33.213 --> 25:35.380 belong and they usually end up staying 25:35.380 --> 25:37.491 much longer . And so that means we're 25:37.491 --> 25:39.436 getting at least that part of it , 25:39.436 --> 25:41.269 right versus you jump out of the 25:41.269 --> 25:43.213 service , you jump after a job and 25:43.213 --> 25:45.269 money , you're miserable there . You 25:45.269 --> 25:47.269 don't like the climate , there's no 25:47.269 --> 25:49.436 advancement or ability to maneuver and 25:49.436 --> 25:51.547 grow . Um , and so we're really proud 25:51.547 --> 25:53.658 of that statist because we're helping 25:53.658 --> 25:55.769 people find the right path and make a 25:55.769 --> 25:57.991 good initial choice . Yeah . And that's 25:57.991 --> 25:59.991 huge . You and I both know that , I 25:59.991 --> 26:01.713 mean folks are gonna jump jobs 26:01.713 --> 26:03.880 statistically that happens . However , 26:03.880 --> 26:06.047 you don't want to chase something that 26:06.047 --> 26:08.158 you think might be behind the curtain 26:08.158 --> 26:10.102 or your hopes behind the curtain . 26:10.102 --> 26:12.102 Whereas if your networks and you're 26:12.102 --> 26:11.870 plugged in and you're spending time 26:11.870 --> 26:13.926 growing , learning and understanding 26:13.926 --> 26:15.926 the bigger picture , you can make a 26:15.926 --> 26:17.981 more calculated decision that aligns 26:17.981 --> 26:19.870 with your values , your purpose , 26:19.870 --> 26:21.981 you're calling if you will and that's 26:21.981 --> 26:24.314 why your retention rate is so high . So , 26:24.314 --> 26:26.481 um , this is just tremendous . Again , 26:26.481 --> 26:28.203 I don't , you know , if you're 26:28.203 --> 26:30.360 listening right now , even if you're 26:30.360 --> 26:32.693 satisfied in your , in your , your work , 26:32.693 --> 26:34.916 maybe some of you are like , yeah , you 26:34.916 --> 26:36.916 know , I like what I do . However , 26:36.916 --> 26:39.027 this is intriguing to me go look , go 26:39.027 --> 26:41.138 look at four block dot org explore it 26:41.138 --> 26:43.360 and maybe there's somebody else in your 26:43.360 --> 26:45.582 life . Another service member of spouse 26:45.582 --> 26:47.693 appear that , that you could actually 26:47.693 --> 26:47.170 share this with as well that they can 26:47.170 --> 26:49.080 benefit from it because it's a 26:49.080 --> 26:50.969 nationwide , this is a nationwide 26:50.969 --> 26:52.747 program . That's right . It's a 26:52.747 --> 26:54.858 nationwide program . It's all part of 26:54.858 --> 26:57.024 the process of transition . As I say , 26:57.024 --> 26:59.710 catching veterans back into Civilian 26:59.710 --> 27:02.150 Society , which is obviously very 27:02.150 --> 27:04.372 clearly tied to mental health as well . 27:04.372 --> 27:06.250 Um happiness . I know there are 27:06.250 --> 27:08.472 guardsmen out there right now listening 27:08.472 --> 27:10.472 to this podcast who have successful 27:10.472 --> 27:12.750 careers in the , in the civilian world . 27:12.750 --> 27:14.972 They might want to think about coaching 27:14.972 --> 27:17.028 in our four block program . Um , and 27:17.028 --> 27:19.194 then , and then anybody will enjoy the 27:19.194 --> 27:21.306 finer calling course . We also have a 27:21.306 --> 27:23.472 podcast about 38,000 subscribers . Now 27:23.472 --> 27:25.528 it's called , it's really original . 27:25.528 --> 27:27.694 It's called the four block podcast . I 27:27.694 --> 27:30.330 was like , come on , he's like kiss , 27:30.330 --> 27:32.850 keep it simple . Stupid . So yeah , so 27:32.850 --> 27:34.961 the four block podcast and we have on 27:34.961 --> 27:37.360 different guests . Industry experts , 27:37.360 --> 27:39.527 leader , you know , leaders , veterans 27:39.527 --> 27:42.590 generals , specialist sergeants , um 27:42.600 --> 27:44.822 different people doing things out there 27:44.822 --> 27:47.044 in the civilian world and talking about 27:47.044 --> 27:49.100 their , their transition process and 27:49.100 --> 27:51.211 lessons learned or about their career 27:51.211 --> 27:53.378 frilled or , or industry . And so it's 27:53.378 --> 27:55.656 very , you know , if you're , you know , 27:55.656 --> 27:57.878 lifting weights , it's probably hard to 27:57.878 --> 27:57.860 focus on the podcast at the same time 27:57.860 --> 27:59.860 unless it's like lightweight , high 27:59.860 --> 28:02.082 revving . But if you're out running and 28:02.082 --> 28:01.990 I'm on the lawn or just driving 28:01.990 --> 28:04.212 somewhere on the training or whatever , 28:04.212 --> 28:06.212 definitely check out the four block 28:06.212 --> 28:08.546 podcast and Spotify and other locations . 28:08.546 --> 28:11.650 You'll my favorite episode uh Marine 28:11.650 --> 28:13.650 Corps East seven platoon sergeant . 28:13.650 --> 28:16.090 This guy was in the fight in Fallujah . 28:16.100 --> 28:19.060 I mean really tough fight , really um 28:19.070 --> 28:21.300 tough , tough urban warfare business . 28:21.310 --> 28:23.890 He's now an executive , corporate 28:23.890 --> 28:26.670 executive that Loreal cosmetics . So I 28:26.670 --> 28:28.781 think the name of the episode is from 28:28.781 --> 28:31.720 camouflage to cosmetics , great guy and 28:31.730 --> 28:34.008 fascinating lessons learned , you know , 28:34.008 --> 28:35.897 from him and his his journey . So 28:35.897 --> 28:38.580 definitely check out the podcast eric 28:38.580 --> 28:40.524 thanks so much for coming in today 28:40.524 --> 28:43.240 before we wrap up um anything , any 28:43.240 --> 28:45.240 final things that you might want to 28:45.240 --> 28:47.351 convey to to those that are listening 28:47.351 --> 28:50.040 about the four block program . Yeah . 28:50.050 --> 28:52.272 And it's not just for block , there are 28:52.272 --> 28:54.494 other good B . S . O . S out there also 28:54.494 --> 28:56.494 that support people that want to go 28:56.494 --> 28:58.550 into entrepreneurship , that want to 28:58.550 --> 29:00.494 support people that are , that are 29:00.494 --> 29:02.550 having um you know , challenges with 29:02.550 --> 29:04.717 depression or PTSD um steven , a cohen 29:04.717 --> 29:06.828 military family clinic based out of u 29:06.828 --> 29:09.930 penn philadelphia , headstrong um you 29:09.930 --> 29:12.350 know , bunker labs for entrepreneurship . 29:12.360 --> 29:15.280 Uh ST jo's University has an innovation 29:15.290 --> 29:18.270 organizational program . Institute 29:18.270 --> 29:21.220 veterans and military families at a 29:21.220 --> 29:23.220 Syracuse University has a number of 29:23.220 --> 29:25.430 programs where veterans can pursue 29:25.430 --> 29:28.100 certifications at no cost for example , 29:28.110 --> 29:31.730 um Project management PMP . Um so 29:31.940 --> 29:34.740 uh it I guess my message would be , 29:34.750 --> 29:36.917 it's never too early to start learning 29:36.917 --> 29:38.972 about the organizations that support 29:38.972 --> 29:41.580 and transition and to think about your 29:41.590 --> 29:43.534 your your your higher calling your 29:43.534 --> 29:45.980 purpose , what you want work to look 29:45.980 --> 29:48.270 like outside of the military and at the 29:48.270 --> 29:50.830 end of the day your transition is your 29:50.830 --> 29:53.180 responsibility . You have to write the 29:53.180 --> 29:55.420 orders , the military will have you do 29:55.420 --> 29:57.253 certain things in the transition 29:57.253 --> 29:59.364 process , but you have to take charge 29:59.364 --> 30:01.630 of your transition , do some homework , 30:01.640 --> 30:03.807 figure some things out , plot out your 30:03.807 --> 30:06.680 timeline advocate for yourself and get 30:06.680 --> 30:08.736 ready to make the transition so that 30:08.736 --> 30:10.902 you can make it smooth on yourself and 30:10.902 --> 30:13.013 your family man . Some great advice . 30:13.013 --> 30:14.680 I'm soaking this all in . I'm 30:14.680 --> 30:16.847 definitely gonna go back and re listen 30:16.847 --> 30:16.660 to this podcast . Eric I I so 30:16.660 --> 30:18.850 appreciate you just sitting down and 30:18.850 --> 30:21.072 giving just nuggets of wisdom . Again , 30:21.072 --> 30:22.906 not just about four blocks , but 30:22.906 --> 30:24.794 there's at the end there you just 30:24.794 --> 30:27.017 rattle off a ton of great resources and 30:27.017 --> 30:29.072 again , I know four blocks all about 30:29.072 --> 30:31.239 connecting people . And so that's what 30:31.239 --> 30:30.970 comes back to connecting veterans , 30:30.970 --> 30:33.120 connecting their spouses to find that 30:33.120 --> 30:35.287 calling and purpose in life . And so , 30:35.287 --> 30:37.342 um again , thank you . Retired . You 30:37.342 --> 30:39.453 didn't mention at the beginning , but 30:39.453 --> 30:41.564 Retired Lieutenant Colonel Army , how 30:41.564 --> 30:43.840 many years did you have ? In 24 years , 30:43.840 --> 30:46.780 three months and 24 years . All right . 30:46.780 --> 30:49.280 And philadelphia is your homes , your 30:49.280 --> 30:51.447 your back here and you're the Regional 30:51.447 --> 30:54.020 Regional Manager , Regional Director 30:54.020 --> 30:56.850 for for four block Yeah , So if you 30:56.850 --> 30:59.072 have any further questions go out there 30:59.072 --> 31:01.390 and look at four block dot org . And um 31:01.400 --> 31:03.622 again , ERic thanks so much for sitting 31:03.622 --> 31:05.789 down with me here today . I know folks 31:05.789 --> 31:07.622 that here this are gonna benefit 31:07.622 --> 31:07.380 tremendously . And and again the 31:07.380 --> 31:09.547 balance podcast for those of you again 31:09.547 --> 31:11.547 who have maybe tuning for the first 31:11.547 --> 31:13.380 time , we are totally focused on 31:13.380 --> 31:15.690 helping you be successful not only in 31:15.690 --> 31:18.530 work but also in life in general . So I 31:18.530 --> 31:20.530 hope you found this to be uh just a 31:20.530 --> 31:22.530 beneficial opportunity to soak some 31:22.530 --> 31:24.641 information in and and just get after 31:24.641 --> 31:27.300 it , be successful and ERic and I are 31:27.300 --> 31:29.467 out from here , take care . Thanks for 31:29.467 --> 31:29.730 your leadership Tony .