Episode 450 Shawn Welsh Transition Tips from VET S.O.S. Transcript

This transcript is from episode 450 with guest Shawn Welsh.

[00:00:00]

Scott DeLuzio: Hey everyone, welcome back to Drive On. I’m your host, Scott DeLuzio. And today my guest is Sean Welsh, the founder and co host of the VET SOS podcast. We met recently at the Military Influencer Conference, and I was excited to invite him on the show to discuss all the great things that he’s involved in to help out the VETS.

Veteran community and, uh, you know, all that, all that great stuff that he’s doing. So, uh, before we dive into what it is that, uh, Sean is up to and, and talking about the podcast and everything else, uh, first, Sean, uh, want to welcome you to the show. Uh, glad to have you here.

Shawn Welsh: Thanks so much, Scott. I mean, I’ve been looking forward to this. It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s always interesting as a podcaster to go on a podcast too. So it’s always interesting to see how different things are done and you pick, you know, pick some things from other people and add it to your show.

And, uh, you got a great product here, man. Love being a part of it.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, absolutely. And I, I’ve done the same. I’ve been on the other side of the mic as well. And, uh, you know, been a guest and, uh, I love seeing [00:01:00] how other people do things. Sometimes it’s just. Hey, you don’t have to show up and we’ll free flow. And we’ll, you know, some people are way structured. Some people are, you know, kind of just whatever happens happens.

We’ll just take it, you know? Um, but it’s, there’s always different, different flows, different processes. And before we started recording here, we’re chatting about, we’re nerding out about technology and all this other stuff. So, um, you know, it’s, it’s kind of cool. Um, you know, it’s always nice to have another podcaster on the show too, because you know, at least, uh, they’re familiar with the process and you know, how things go.

So you don’t have to, uh, you know, go through too much of the, uh, the. Onboarding process to make sure everything runs smoothly. So. Um, so let’s talk about your show. Um, so your podcast focuses on information and resources about veteran support, uh, you know, organizations and, and the type of resources that are available.

Um, what, what types of things are out there? What, what, what do you guys typically discuss on the show that might be able to benefit the listeners?

Shawn Welsh: What we started with and we [00:02:00] continue to do this is military transition. That, that is my entire focus, you know, so everything we do, I have to be able to tie back to military transition somehow. And the whole point of that being that we want to educate the veteran community, that the veterans, the service members, and the spouses about all the different benefits or Not only benefits, but benefits organizations, things like that, that are out there for them during not only the military transition, but other transitions they may have through life, you know, because as, as we, we know pretty well, first five years out of the military, a lot of service members go through multiple jobs.

So you’re kind of starting over each time and, you know, so all these skills you can learn. So we’ve been doing this for two and a half years and we’ve been able to talk to you know over a hundred different Organizations and people working specifically with military transition or some aspect of military transition It’s just been absolutely amazing for us.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, absolutely. [00:03:00] And, and. You know, like everybody else who has been in the military at some point, that time comes to an end and, and you got to transition. So it’s one of those things it’s, it’s common amongst all of us as we, we got to reinvent ourselves to some extent. You know, some people will continue doing the job that they did in the military.

They’ll find a civilian equivalent job and they’ll, they’ll continue doing that. So maybe it’s not. As much of a reinvention, but still, you’re not wearing that uniform. You don’t have that, the support of the entire United States military behind you, right? You’re, it’s a different, uh, different thing. Um, even just day to day life, you know, do you go to the gym and work out or do you not, no, one’s going to be breathing down your neck, making sure you do PT every day, you know, so it’s, it’s one of those things where it’s just a lifestyle shift, a culture shift, um, and you kind of have to figure out where do you fit in this world?

Um, And I know you, you’ve transitioned out, um, and, and you’re, you’re now, you know, helping other veterans and, [00:04:00] and supporting them in that, that regard. Um, from your own personal experience, could you walk us through maybe some of the challenges that, uh, maybe you’ve had or seen other people, uh, face while transitioning and, and how they could, you know, help you out?

You know, kind of work to overcome some of those things.

Shawn Welsh: Well, absolutely. I think the The biggest thing is that feeling of being overwhelmed is probably one of the biggest things. Especially if you think of somebody who joined at 17 or 18 and maybe they did 20 years, they know nothing outside of the military essentially as far as work’s concerned. So it can be a daunting transition to go through.

And what I encourage people to do is Think about the transition as this is your chance to do and be whatever you want to be. This truly is an opportunity that you can decide what you want to do or what you want to be and take pathways to help you get there. You know, if you’ve always wanted to be a ballerina [00:05:00] dancer, you can go start doing that if you really want to, you know, so don’t let the pressure of the moment overcome the opportunity that’s in front of you.

The other problem that we see quite a bit is time. People wait till the last minute. And some of that is because of the units they’re in. And they, you know, unfortunately don’t do right by the service member and cut their time short. Other, you know, maybe it’s fear. Maybe it’s laziness. Who knows? But we’re afforded two years to transition.

Um, So you need to make the most of that. And if you do that early, you can spread everything out so that the impact is less on the unit, uh, and you can still get everything accomplished that you want to do it, uh, during your transition. So those are two big ones that I’ve seen in, in, you know, the recommendations I have for them as it pertains to it.

Scott DeLuzio: It’s funny that you, the choice of career that you chose to [00:06:00] talk about, usually people talk about, uh, you know, getting out, it’s, you know, uh, you know, maybe a doctor, maybe you’re going to be a plumber, maybe you’re going to be, you know, an accountant or an electrician or, you know, those typical, more Typical things, but you, you chose ballet dancing.

So I’d, I’d be interested to see if there’s any ballet in your future.

Shawn Welsh: You’ve met me in person. I know you have no doubt that I’m very light on my feet and quite, quite fluid when it comes to dancing. So, um, one thing no one’s ever confused me with is a dancer. I promise you that. Yeah,

Scott DeLuzio: we’ll, uh, you know, agree to. Stay away from the ballet, uh, you know, arena and let other people, uh, handle that because they’re, they’re going to be way more graceful than, than either one of us will be. So, um, no, no worries. Anybody there? No, we’re not going to be taking over the ballet world, uh, anytime soon or ever. Um, and, uh, [00:07:00] so you’re, you’re also a certified, uh, resiliency trainer, is that correct?

Shawn Welsh: through the Army, I was a Master Resiliency Trainer and Facilitator while I was in the Army. Loved the program, did a lot of things for me personally. Uh, and love still having that, that skillset that I can, I can just help people with if they need that kind of assistance.

Scott DeLuzio: Have you, have you found yourself being able to kind of tap into some of those skills after getting out of the military?

Shawn Welsh: Oh, absolutely. I think the thing people confuse with resiliency is it’s not something that it just happens. Like you have to work at it. You have to work at those resiliency skills so that you build that muscle memory so it’s there when you need it. You know, so think of it as you work on it during the good times.

So it’s there for the bad times. And, you know, Just going through those skills and understanding how they work and how positive psychology and the negativity bias play into, you know, our everyday [00:08:00] life, being able to use those skills to combat that and try to move forward is huge. And I think anybody who is going through transition can greatly benefit from having those skills in their back pocket.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, having those skills is, to your point, you do have to build those things. It’s not like you get resiliency, you build resiliency, right? And so it’s, you don’t, um, You don’t go to the gym and get big muscles, you build big muscles by going to the gym, lifting the weights, and putting the work in, and it doesn’t happen overnight either.

It’s not like I went to the gym today, I did some curls, and now my biceps are ripped, and I’m, um, you know, awesome, you know. That’s something that takes time. If that’s where you want to get, you can get there eventually, but you’re not going to get there overnight. And, and so, um, and even if you do quote unquote, get there and you got to that point where now you got these ripped bicep muscles and you’re, you’re super strong. [00:09:00] Well, I’m, I’m done. I I’ve achieved my goal and I’m not going to go to the gym anymore. I’m not going to work out. Well, those things are going to start to kind of fade away a little bit. Right. And I got to imagine resiliency is probably something very similar. Right.

Shawn Welsh: Oh yeah, 100%. It is definitely a, uh, a skill you can lose if you’re not, uh, constantly practicing it. And the beauty of like the Army Resiliency Program was the skills are pretty simple to work through. They don’t take a lot of time and they’re things that you can, you can just do in your everyday life to help practice building that, uh, resiliency within yourself.

Um, so I know like when I was coming through. A lot of people made fun of, you know, Master Resiliency and, you know, that’s why the military is weak and this and that and okay, um, you know, you can go that route if you want, but the science and the studies have proven that wrong. And I even had a soldier come through like that because it used to be mandatory [00:10:00] for in processing.

So a soldier came through and he was all miserable, didn’t want to be there for the in processing. I said, you know, I got it, man, but you have to be here, so you might as well have some fun with it. And we did our two day session, and about a year and a half later, I was facilitating a course, and he is in the course.

And he tells me, he’s like, you know, you taught it differently than anybody I’d ever seen do it before, and you really made it. Impactful for me and meaningful. And so I wanted to do it too. And that meant the world to me because I love being an instructor. I love being out there and helping people and being able to make that change in him was just awesome.

It was awesome to hear and awesome to see.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, and you see people who do these presentations sometimes, teach in a class, and it’s the, you know, death by PowerPoint type thing, and it’s a drag, it’s brutal, and you’re sitting there trying to keep your eyelids open [00:11:00] because it’s, it’s It’s like, I can only take so much of this at any one time. Right.

But if you have someone who actually is passionate about whatever the topic is that you’re teaching and actually cares that the people who are in the class get the knowledge and the information, as opposed to just check the box. Yeah, I taught this. Now we can move on and do something else that is, you know, more valuable in their mind, right?

And this, but with something like this, like this is valuable, uh, stuff to learn. And when you are teaching it, you, you obviously had a passion, you had an impact on this person. And I’m sure other people as well, uh, maybe not everybody has come up to you and expressed that in, in the way that this person did, but, um, But you at least had an impact on this one person, right?

So, um, you, you clearly are teaching it in a different way than, than somebody else might. And that engages and captures people and, and then they can [00:12:00] take it and be, uh, and do something useful with that. The information that was taught to them. Um, and, and that’ll, that’ll carry them a whole lot further than sitting through an hour long PowerPoint deck that is just tedious and boring.

They’re just reading off the slides and next, next, next, and, and just trying to get through it. Right. So, so that’s, that’s a lot better. Right. And, and I’m sure even, you know, through your show, uh, you can probably utilize some of the, uh, tactics and techniques that you learn through the, uh, through that, that training, um, In the conversations that you have, right?

Shawn Welsh: Definitely. And I think a lot of the things that I’ve done in my life play into the podcasting thing. You know, I was a mobile DJ for 10 years before I joined the military, you know, doing weddings and school dances and things like that and absolutely loved it. You know, so you get a little bit of the entertainment factor that comes in there.

And I have a undergraduate degree in public relations. You know, I, I’m not, I’ve never been scared to talk in front of [00:13:00] people. And so getting up in front of people and talking has never bothered me. Yeah. Have I always been funny? No, but you know, I’m not scared to get up in front of people. And the other thing I learned early on was I can’t take myself too seriously, you know, and you know, if you can laugh at yourself, you can relate to so many people.

And I remember it actually spawned from when I was DJing. I was in college, um, and I was given this job to do a little kid, um, beauty show. in the mall. I’m like, okay, cool. I’ll play. They gave me a song, list of songs, 10 songs or whatever. And, and so we’re setting up, we’re going through the list and then the lady goes, okay.

And then, um, you’re going to teach them the Macarena at the end. I’m like, excuse me. Once again, I, as I stated earlier, I’m not a dancer. Especially without copious amounts of adult beverages. And, um, [00:14:00] so we, we, we have this discussion and she’s like, well, yeah, no, you have to do it with them and show them how to do it. They don’t know how to do it. Like in the middle of the mall, you know, the college is like a mile down the road here, you know, and I’m currently in college and whatever else.

And so I was like, well, all right, here we go. And it was at that point that I realized that nothing’s going to happen to me. Yeah, sure. I’ll look like a buffoon or whatever. People are going to laugh, but you know what? I still get paid at the end of the day and I still go home with my pride intact. So, it sort of changed the way I looked at a lot of things and that’s really helped me.

So, you know, it definitely helped getting in front of people. Not scared to do that at all. Never have been. Um, so, you know, if you’re able to not take yourself so seriously, have some fun with it, but also get involved in things you’re passionate about, you know, which for me, the MRT, the Resiliency Program was definitely something I had a lot of [00:15:00] passion for.

And unfortunately, a lot of people get into teaching different courses, especially in the military, who aren’t very good at it, you know, and it’s, Not necessarily any fault of their own. Just some people don’t have the personality to do it. And they wind up with that death by PowerPoint. And, you know, so hopefully, hopefully we can get to a point where a little bit more selective and finding the right people to teach certain things, because there’s a lot of valuable information out there that gets lost because people can’t deliver it in the right way.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, that’s right. Um, and, and just think about the, the delivery going back to your experience in that mall with those kids. you been too self conscious or, you know, not wanted to get in front of people or, uh, worried that your friends might be at the mall because the college is right down the street and, you know, whatever, um, and, and you.

You’re like, nah, I’m not, I’m not going to get up there and teach these kids how to, how to do this, uh, dance. [00:16:00] Well. Then those kids are going to be out on the dance floor, a song that they’re not familiar with, and they’re going to be like, okay, what do I do? You know? And it’s like, I don’t know, maybe, maybe they would’ve just gone out and dance crazy anyways, and like, you know, be a kid anyways, but they were able to learn something from somebody else.

And, and that was, uh, That was a positive thing that they probably took away something from that. And it may have just been a small thing that they, they take away, but maybe it’s like, Oh, well, this person doesn’t mind getting out on the dance floor and, you know, moving around kind of all silly and, you know, being, being crazy.

But, um, you know, I guess that’s okay for me to do too. And, you know, maybe one or two of those kids has taken that away with them, you know, and carry that through their life. And they may not even realize it, but that’s just like an okay thing for them to do now. Right.

Shawn Welsh: That’d be wonderful.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, you know, that would be right.

Um, but to your point, there’s some people who just don’t have that. They don’t have that in their [00:17:00] DNA or whatever. They’re not the type of person who is going to be energetic and get out there and, and, um, know, show people how to do things and, and, and even instruct things in a way that people are going to listen to and receive, uh, you know, bring it back to the military.

Uh, I think we’ve all sat in those death by PowerPoint classes that it’s like, you just want to gouge your eyeballs out because it’s like, this is awful. Um,

Shawn Welsh: It’s always a debate between the eyeballs or the eardrums.

Scott DeLuzio: yeah, it’s, I mean, or both. Yeah. I mean, just flip a coin, maybe, I don’t know. But, um, But, you know, there’s a lot of organizations out there that kind of maybe take this back to the type of type of work that I think you and I are both trying to accomplish here is get, get folks in front of the right organizations.

And I think the same. Uh, concept applies to some of these organizations. I think everybody who is doing it, trying to help out veterans, they’re all, they’re all doing it with coming from a good place in their [00:18:00] heart. I think, um, you know, yeah, sure. There’s going to be a couple of bad apples out there, right.

But, um, I think for the most part, most people are out there and they genuinely want to help. Um, now some of them are going to be able to help really well. And some of them, not so much. And there’s a kind of a fine balancing act where it’s like, okay, I’m in that, that stage where I need to get help with something, whatever that something is, maybe my mental health or whatever.

And. I need to figure out now, I got to figure out who is the person who’s going to be able to help me, uh, or the organization that’s going to be able to help me, uh, a lot of times when you’re in that mode where that it’s, the world is crumbling down all around you, trying to figure that out at that moment, not an easy task, um, you know, but, yeah.

But you’ve talked to plenty of organizations, I’m sure, that, uh, have been able to be useful and beneficial to folks, um, you know, is there any kind of tips or advice or strategies or anything that you might have to offer to folks [00:19:00] that might help them if they’re in that state where it’s like, I just, I don’t know where to turn right now, and they’re not thinking clearly, all that kind of stuff, you know?

Shawn Welsh: Well, we, we try to vet every person and organization that comes on the show. Um, cause, cause we want to make sure that we’re putting forward legitimate organizations. Cause unfortunately there are some that are, less than desirable, um, wants, I guess. I don’t know. I don’t know the right wording here.

But then you also have like the VA sharks and that kind of stuff out there. So trying to tread those waters and make sure that we don’t bring on somebody inadvertently who’s taking advantage of service members. Definitely don’t want that to happen. Um, so that’s one thing we try very hard to do on the show, uh, and make sure that, you know, first we’re, we’re doing that.

The second thing is I, I tell everybody that, you know, asks me the question, similar to that is ask people who have gone through programs and [00:20:00] then get more than one recommendation, you know, because you and I may have done the same program. I may have loved it. You may have hated it. You know, so don’t just take my word for it because it worked for me, you know, talk to a couple people, get their opinions, see what they liked, what they didn’t like, and then feel out if you think it’s best for you.

Um, one of my favorite analogies was given to me by Alfredo Torres when he said that, transitions like a buffet. You go up to the buffet line, you pick and choose the things you want, and then you go back down and sit down. And that’s exactly what it is. There’s over 47, 000 organizations out there right now with veteran in the name somewhere or in their mission statement.

And a lot of them are doing great work. There’s a lot of redundancy, you know, you know, so trying to find that one that is perfect for you. It could be a local level one. It could be a state level one. It could be a national organization. You know, and, and that’s really what we’re trying to do, is [00:21:00] provide that information so that they can make an educated guess for themselves or an educated decision, not a guess, um, but, you know, listen to the stories, listen to what the organization does, and say, you know what, I, I relate to that.

I wanna do that, or I doesn’t sound like me. I’m gonna move on to the next one. And that’s hopefully what we’re, we’re able to achieve as we continue to talk to these organizations.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. And to your point earlier where you said where I forget which way it went, like you may have loved this organization and I may have hated it or vice versa. I forget which way we went with it. But, um, the thing that you loved about that organization, uh, to your point of getting multiple podcasts, References from it.

The thing that you loved, somebody else might be like, Oh, well, that’s not so big of a deal. And the thing that I hated, they might be like, Oh, I definitely would have hated that too. And, and so they, they might steer away from that organization or, you know, the opposite could be true where the thing that you love, they’re like, okay, yeah, that’s, that’s actually really cool.

And the thing that I hated, they’re like, well, that’s not a big deal to me and I don’t, it doesn’t bother me. So, [00:22:00] um, You know, maybe this will be a great organization for me. And so, yeah, getting multiple sources of information, I think, is great. And I’m sure, Oh, go ahead.

Shawn Welsh: Well, there’s another point to consider. Uh, David Trenholm had come on the show and he brought up the point that 75 percent of the organizations do the same thing. You know, there’s a, there’s talk about resumes, interview skills, what have you. It’s that other 25 percent that makes them special. You know, so, so figuring out what that secret sauce is and if that’s what you want.

Um, you know, and granted, everybody approaches resumes different and what have you, but, you know, for the most part, a lot of these major programs have the same types of things that they discuss. Resumes, interview techniques, dress code, and finances, and whatever else. So, you know, it’s just, it’s digging a little bit deeper, doing a little bit of research and getting to what you really want.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. And, uh, it, yeah, again, [00:23:00] everybody’s tastes are going to be a little bit different, um, with, with that type of stuff. So, sure. You might have, uh, most of the services that, Uh, several organizations provide, they might all be the same, but maybe there’s, there’s one with a little, little flair that, that does something a little bit differently and, and you get that, uh, that kind of personalized service or whatever it is that, that they do differently, that makes them a little bit more palatable to you.

Um, You know, maybe, maybe some other organization does something different and, and you, you may not like that as, as well. So, um, you know, so I, I think there’s, there’s a lot of considerations out there with all the different organizations. Um, you know, obviously transition based, you’re, you’re focused a lot on careers.

Uh, resumes, education, you know, those types of things, um, you know, then, then you go into a whole nother world when you’re, you’re talking about, um, you know, other issues that people may have in terms of finances and mental health, physical health issues, you know, after [00:24:00] getting out of the service, there’s a whole world of, uh, organizations out there for those types of things as well.

Um, and it’s, I mean, there’s, There’s a lot. You mentioned there’s like, what, 47, 000, uh, with like veteran in there, either in their name or in their mission statement or something. So like, there’s, there’s a lot of organizations out there and you’re right. How do you vet all of them? Probably the best way is to talk to somebody who actually use them.

Shawn Welsh: I think that that’s a great starting point anyway, you know. I may have the wrong approach. I don’t know, but like I’m real cautious when it starts coming down to anybody dealing with medical or, um, counseling, mental, anything like that. Um, unless I see legitimate schooling or certifications, or at least ones that I consider, um, I tend to stay away from it.

Um, that, that’s just me, man. Part of that is my own ignorance that I may not know what [00:25:00] they do and how they do it. And I’m not saying that it doesn’t work for people. Um, but for me, like when it comes to that side of the house, I like to, to see the, the credentials, the, the, you know, in that way I can say, Hey, yeah, we vetted this guy to the point that he has a doctor, you know, he’s a doctor or he’s been certified in this type of counseling or whatever.

You know, to, to add that layer, um, to, to what we’re doing. So I’m not saying it’s necessarily the right approach, but that’s just sort of the way we’ve attacked it. And, um, so far we’ve been comfortable in the, in the people we’ve had to come on to talk about things like PTSD and things like that have been absolute rock stars, just amazing.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. And to your point, there’s, uh, earlier, your earlier point that there are different approaches and different ways of doing things. And one thing’s going to be right for one person. One thing’s going to be right for another person. And, um, they’re not all going to be the same, but it doesn’t mean that any of them are wrong.

[00:26:00] And so, you know, your approach is what your approach is. And I don’t think it’s wrong. I, I just think it’s your approach, you know, if that’s the way you, you, uh, go after this. And, um, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. Um, you know, I, I, I kind of go a little more on the other side where I, I do, uh, incorporate a lot of those types of, uh, folks on the show.

Um, and for me, my approach is mostly because I want to provide options to people. I don’t know what’s going to be right for, for you or for the next guy or somebody else. I don’t know what’s going to be right, but if you don’t know what’s out there, then it’s going to be harder for you to figure out what to do.

What it is. And if you get to hear from the person, if they sound like a total idiot, like then, you know, okay, well, that’s not going to be the right, right person for me. Um, but if they sound like they really know what they’re doing, they, they’re really squared away and, and everything is that they’re saying is, um, you know, kind of in line with what you’re looking for, then, you know, go give it a try.

You know, worst thing you could do is give it a try and find out [00:27:00] that it’s not helping. And you. You check that off your list and move on to something else. Um, that, and that’s my approach. And other people might, might think that my approach is wrong and that it’s not a great way to, to look at things.

It’s like, okay, well then clearly I’m not for you and, you know, but then there’s people like you and, you know, maybe you’re more, there’s their speed and that’s, that’s what they, they’re looking for. And so, you know, I, I think at the end of the day, uh, people like you, me, uh, there’s a bunch of other folks out there who have, you know, Similar shows where we’re trying to highlight resources that are available to folks, um, At the end of the day, that’s what we’re trying to do is get that information out there to help people.

And whether they get the information from you, they get the information from me, they get the information from somebody else, I really don’t care, to be perfectly honest. I, I would, I’ve said this to other people before, I would prefer it if nobody listened to my show. If, if I didn’t have to have a show, if, if everybody just got the information that they [00:28:00] needed, they got the help, the services and support and everything was great, veteran suicides went down to zero and it, like all that, I would, I would be so much happier if I didn’t even have to do it.

Um, And I, I, I’m sure most people who are in our shoes would, would probably agree with that. Um, not, not to say I don’t enjoy what I do as far as podcasting and getting to talk with folks like you. Um, but the have to versus the want to, uh, do this, you know, and I, at this point I feel like it kind of have to,

Shawn Welsh: Yeah. And, and, you know, there’s, there’s over 47, 000 organizations. There’s over 200, 000 people that transition every year. There’s plenty of people and organizations out there from, because there’s no way one show could cover all 47, 000 organizations, you know, so it’s like, I love the fact that we have so many people in this field and at least from my experience so far, everybody likes to work together, which is awesome, you know, nobody seems to be [00:29:00] trying to step on somebody or put somebody else down.

And that’s beautiful because it is all about trying to help the others.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, exactly. And. My experience has been very similar. Uh, I don’t think there’s not been another veteran podcaster that I’ve had on my show who was like, no, I’m not going to share anything or, you know, I’m not going to try to promote your show or, you know, help you out or anything like that. Like everybody has been pretty, pretty cool with everything.

And, uh, You know, likewise, like if I’m on somebody else’s show, I’m going to promote it. I’m going to try to get my listeners to go and listen to their show too, because, um, you know, maybe they stumble across me, but maybe I’m not quite right for them and go someplace else. I’m okay with that. Like most people who have shows, they don’t, they don’t do stuff like that.

But I think in this kind of community, when we’re trying to help folks out, it’s like, go, Go to where the help is. It’s just like when people start seeing a doctor or a [00:30:00] therapist or some, you know, something like that. And it’s like, I’m not really clicking with this person. Oh, okay. We’ll go find somebody else.

Like, but there’s plenty of them out there. You can find somebody, right?

Shawn Welsh: We’ve forgotten that simple fact that you can change the channel, you can change something, you don’t have to protest, you don’t have to, you know, cancel somebody, you can just move on, it’s allowed,

Scott DeLuzio: It is, it is absolutely. And, and, and the greatest way to, I don’t know, call it protest or cancel or whatever people are calling it these days, it’s just not to. Support the person with financially, if you’re going to a doctor and you don’t like that doctor, we’ll stop going to the doctor. And if enough people don’t like that doctor, well, eventually that doctor’s not going to have any patients.

They’re going to go out of business. So, uh, it’s, or they’re going to get fired from, you know, wherever they’re, they’re working. But, um, how you do it. Um, you don’t, you don’t need signs in the parking lot and, you know, social media posts that are all nasty and everything just [00:31:00] stop going and enough people stop going and they’ll figure it out.

I mean, when the, the bank account starts getting lower and lower, they’ll, they’ll figure it out.

Shawn Welsh: that is an indicator.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, absolutely. Um, so, you know, transitioning, we talked a bunch about that, right. And, um, That’s one thing where, you know, what am I, what am I going to do with my life after getting out of the military and all that stuff? But, but once when you’ve, you’ve gotten out, uh, maybe you went back to school, maybe you’ve gotten a new job, uh, that type of thing, um, kind of settling into life is kind of a different, Issue, um, you know, trying to adjust to civilian life.

Um, I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of people who’ve had some issues with just dealing with civilians. I think that that’s a very common issue that, that folks are having. Um, what’s your experience with that and kind of what any advice maybe that you might have for folks?[00:32:00]

Shawn Welsh: Well, anybody who’s seen me here in the last year or so knows that my waistline is fully accepted. You know, not being in the military anymore, uh, which is something I’m, I’m working on, uh, to get it back down so I can stay healthy and happy. But, um, it is a transition, you know, because that we’ve all met people.

And I used to joke when I was in the service that you had the army people and you had the stripes people, you know, like I was, I’m, I was like Bill Murray and stripes more than I was anything else, you know, but the army needs army people too. Those people that. Our a hundred percent army live and breathe it, you know, cause the army needs that, but then they also need some people to tell the emperor they’re not wearing any clothes.

And, you know, now granted not as popular normally as the army, army people, but you know, still unnecessary evil in my opinion. Um, But that [00:33:00] transition out, we tell people, don’t, don’t lose the skills and the things you learned in the service. The discipline, you know, being on time, the clear and concise communication, things like that are huge.

You know, and you bring a lot to the table when you, you go to a civilian employer, you know, but at the same time, Find ways to find a new tribe. That could be church, social groups, could be veteran groups, could be your local VFW. Whatever the case may be, you’re going to lose that sense of belonging when you leave the service, so you’ve got to find a new one. know, so find something you can get involved with and be a part of. Don’t isolate. And, you know, take, take the time, try different things. Know that joining a company or joining an organization is not a life sentence. You’re not signing a contract for the next 20 years. You could go to an organization and it could run its course for you [00:34:00] and it’s time to move on to the next one.

There’s nothing wrong with that. And, you know, I think as service members. We have that, that, that part of the mentality is hard to get past because, you know, you sign your enlistment, you know, you know, you’re, you’re stuck for four years or six years or whatever the case may be, or you have a commission and, you know, you could always resign your commission after a certain period.

You know, so we have those types of thoughts and mentality that we go through. It’s not the same when it comes to the civilian world, you know, so understand that if you’re not happy or something’s not giving you what you need, like we were just talking about changing the channel, move on to something else.

And find ways that you can be happy, whether that’s hobbies, spending more time with family, because a lot of people like me, after you do 20 years, you want to pay back the family because you know how much you took from them. You know, and I have a lot of buddies in that same boat where, you know, it becomes more about family after the military and there’s nothing [00:35:00] wrong with that either because the family sacrifices a lot, especially, you know, depending on what the job is.

So. Being able to find those balances and find those things that work for you so that you can keep your sanity and you can just grow into your community. Those are huge, you know, so it’s all really keeping the skills you learn, but changing the mindset a little bit.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. And you brought up a good point about the variety of organizations or hobbies or companies that you can go work for, things that you can do, uh, outside of the military. It’s not like you’re, you’re enlisting and I’m, I’m enlisting as a, you know, an infantryman or something like that’s what I’m going to be for the next six years and that’s.

I’m kind of stuck in that position, uh, for, for that period of time. And, you know, maybe you can reclass and, and switch your MOS and go to something else, but, [00:36:00] um, you know, most people, they, they pretty much stick with what they started with and, um, and that that’s that, right. But when you get out, there’s a whole world of possibilities.

You can. You could try one thing, go to one company and work there for a little bit and realize maybe that’s not for you and that’s not the career path that you want and yeah, you can change channel and move to something else. Um, you can have hobbies. You might have some free time depending on what it is that you, you do for a career, right?

And so you might, might be able to, you know, re, you know, rekindle some of that, uh, you know, passion that you might’ve had for a different hobby that maybe you had before joining the military. Um, Maybe, maybe you like to golf a lot and you just didn’t have time to golf while you’re in the military or you’re stationed someplace where there wasn’t easy access to, you know, golf courses or that type of thing.

Um, well pick up the clubs and dust them off and, and go, go do it again, you know, and, and, uh, see if, see if you still [00:37:00] got that swing and see if you lost

Shawn Welsh: add a whole new level of frustration to your life right there.

Scott DeLuzio: I know, right? And, and you’ll throw so much money down the drain or, or maybe in the woods as you’re losing balls and, uh, you know, all that kind of stuff, but you’ll be, uh, you’ll be able to have the benefit you get outside to get out into nature and, um, you know, maybe, maybe you’re golfing with some friends, you get that camaraderie, uh, you know, that type of thing.

Uh, whereas if you, Just so like, ah, no, I’m not going to do that anymore. Like that’s not part of my life anymore. Well, then you miss out on all that stuff. So, so there’s a whole world of opportunities out there that you can, you can go down those, those rabbit holes and, and try to try different things. And again, if you don’t like it, you realize that, you know what?

I used to like this thing, but now, now not so much. Okay, well try something else. It’s not that big of a deal to make that switch, um, you know, going forward. Right.

Shawn Welsh: It can be something little, like we have a pool at the house. I enjoy getting in the pool after a day of work [00:38:00] and just sitting there floating and playing with the dogs and talking with my wife and I mean, it’s just, it’s, it’s very simple, you know, it’s not like I’m out there swimming laps. I’m just floating like, you know, uh, you know, on an inner tube or something and just chilling, you know, but it, it helps me with that sanity piece, you know, and so it, it doesn’t have to be anything complex.

Scott DeLuzio: Right. And, and to your point, that, that was a very small thing. It’s, it’s literally just getting in a pool and, you know, enjoying yourself, just relaxing and being able to let your guard down, just relax and breathe and. Have a little peace and sanity. Um, and so without that, then maybe your mind starts racing and you start having all these other, you know, things going on and, and maybe that’s not where you want to be.

And so, um, you know, you found that little thing and wonderful that that. That’s the thing that works for you. Somebody else, I don’t know, maybe someone’s listening in Alaska [00:39:00] and the pool doesn’t sound like such great idea this time of year. Um, you know,

Shawn Welsh: some of those sick people that like to run. 100%?

Scott DeLuzio: um, yeah, I mean, and, you know, maybe you are one of those people and, and running is your thing and you like to do that. You have to torture yourself and, hey, you know what? That’s fine. Nobody’s judging you. It’s health, supposedly it’s healthy and that’s fine. Um, you know, I think the key point here is, um, you know, with all of this stuff that we’ve talked about, I think the overarching theme here is find the thing that works for you.

And, and the thing that works for you may not be the thing that worked for your buddy because your buddy is, they’re built differently. They, they had a different background, different, uh, you know, upbringing and different, uh, likes and interests and, and things like that. So what worked for that one person may not work for you.

Um, yeah, sure. You know, ask them for advice if they’ve already been through that [00:40:00] and, and see if it might be a right, the right fit for you. It may not be, and be open to, to the fact that, Hey. They went down that path and that may not be the path I really want to go down. Um, even if it worked out great and that person’s completely successful, it may not be.

The same definition of success for you. And so you might have to go down a different path and that’s okay. Right. Um, and, and, and I think that’s, that’s kind of the theme here of this conversation is, is being okay with, uh, trying different things and pivoting. Right.

Shawn Welsh: Well, absolutely, and the thing is Most veterans have a servant’s heart, you know, they want to get involved, they want to give back, they want to do things, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But the one thing that we often fail to do is take care of ourselves. Alright, and one of the best programs I went through and I talk about it all the time is the Leader Transition Institute from We to Me.

It is their flagship [00:41:00] program and that program helps you focus on You and what you need to be doing and things like that. And so don’t be scared to take some time for you when you get out of the military. Now, you know, I’d love the fact that people want to volunteer and give back and do things. And hopefully they continue to want to do that, but you can’t help anybody if you’re not right.

You know, so. Take that time to make sure that, you know, you’re right. And maybe it’s taking a break during stuff, you know, so like, I’m planning on taking a break, you know, from certain things so that I can focus more on myself and my family. And, but it’s because I feel it’s time to do that. So, you know, make sure you take care of yourself in this whole process.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, it goes back to that concept of when you’re on an airplane and they tell you to put your oxygen mask on first before helping other people. It’s not that you gotta pick which kid that you like best before you start helping them, right? It’s not that. It’s that if you’re helping them and they’re struggling and they’re fighting you or [00:42:00] whatever because they’re scared and who wouldn’t be when the oxygen mask starts?

Falling out of the sky. And, you know, that’s a scary thing for anybody. Right. But, um, you know, if you’re helping them and, uh, you end up passing out, well, you’re not going to be very much help to them, uh, going forward, right. Or if you have multiple kids that you got to help out with, um, So you got to take care of yourself so that you can take care of them.

Uh, and that, I think that goes for everything, uh, in life. If you’re, if you get unhealthy, if you’re, uh, you know, sick all the time, or you’re, you know, you hurt yourself, you got an injury and you can’t do the things that you usually do, um, people might be relying on you to do those things. Maybe you have, uh, an elderly family member that you’re helping out or even kids, uh, that you’re, you’re helping out.

And if you can’t do the things that you usually do, well, those people might be counting on you. So. You got to take care of yourself physically, mentally, uh, you know, your overall well being. Um, you got, you got to take care of all that stuff so that you can be there and be present for, for those [00:43:00] folks. And it’s just like when we’re in the military, right?

Um, the, if you’re not taking care of yourself physically, mentally, all that, that kind of stuff, you’re not going to be the best soldier that you could be. You’re not going to be all, all that you can be. Is that their thing? Um, you know, but you’re, you’re really not. And that was your job. People were relying on you to be the best that you can be.

So you had to put in that effort and make yourself, um, the best that you could be so that you can show up for those other folks. Right. So. Um, I know we, we’ve been, uh, kind of going on about, you know, transition, uh, issues and, uh, talking about the podcast and, and everything. Is there anything else that you’d like to share with the audience before we wrap up here?

Shawn Welsh: Well, there’s two things. One, um, Love what you’re doing here. And then hopefully, you know, some of your audience will check us out. Um, because we have the transition show. We also now have an educational [00:44:00] spotlight and a entrepreneurial spotlight, you know, to, to help people learn more about being an entrepreneur and learn about the veteran programs that are on campuses and that are out there to help you with attending school, you know, so just looking at other ways we can help in the transition space.

And, you know, so we’d love for people to check out those different tools and let us know what you think. Um, you know, because. Obviously, we’re doing it for you guys and we want to make sure that the product is what you need and what you want. Um, the one thing that,

We’re taught in the military is when, when you don’t know, you ask, you know, you go higher, you ask your superiors, whatever you get the direction you need. John Maxwell has a quote where he stated, you know, don’t ever ask for directions from someone who’s never been there. Um, and this is one of those cases when it comes to transition.

You [00:45:00] know, 99 percent of people only transition once. There’s only a small handful that get out and they get back in and whatever else. You know, most of us don’t do transition more than once. So as like, when I was a first sergeant, if you would have come to me and asked me about transition, I would have given you, you’re going to go to tap and go to the USO.

I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know. And the fact is your chain of command most likely doesn’t know, you know, but the good thing is outside of the military, we have tons of organizations that want to help. And we have organizations like your podcast and my podcast that are trying to provide that education.

So. As much as I respect the chain of command and it’s there for a reason and it has a mission, this is one of those where it’s probably not as valuable as, you know, us old retired people that are sitting out here, you know, wanting to help. So, you know, just make sure that whatever pathway you’re choosing in life that you are seeking out mentors [00:46:00] that have been to where you’re trying to go, not asking people who’ve never been there.

Thank

Scott DeLuzio: point. Um, because if you haven’t been there, yeah, you could speak in theory and, you know, theoretically, yeah, sure, go to TAPS and TAPS should teach you everything that you need. And, yeah, sure, they give you a lot of information, but sometimes it’s like drinking from a fire hose and you’re not going to get it all.

Um, you know, so, yeah, talk to, talk to those folks who’ve been there. Um, especially, uh, when you’re talking about career transition, because, uh, transitioning to one career field versus another, there may be certain things that you might want to do that you might not need to do for other careers. And so, you know, maybe there’s additional training or certifications or going back to college or things like that for one particular career.

Whereas another one, you might not need that. And, and so there, there’s different things that you might need to do. So ask the people who are already in that field, uh, [00:47:00] maybe, maybe who have transitioned, uh, I think a great resource for that is, uh, LinkedIn, uh, where you can search for folks, um, who are in a certain industry, uh, we’re, Working at maybe certain companies that you might be interested in.

And you can look for folks who have, you know, us army in their, uh, their profile or, you know, Marine Corps or Navy or whatever. Um, you can look for all those, those types of things on, on LinkedIn. Um, and reach out to some of those folks. Maybe, maybe they’ll respond. Maybe they won’t, but, um, you know, reach out and say, Oh, hey, how did you get to where you are?

That’s, that’s where I want to be in five years. Uh, you know, how do you do that? So, uh, I think that’s great. Great advice. Um, you know, follow, follow those folks. Uh, ask for those, those folks to be mentors maybe. Um, or, or even just asking general advice. Um, you know, and, and, but talk to those people who have actually been through it.

So, uh, that’s, that’s good advice there. So, um, Sean, uh, [00:48:00] again, I really want to thank you for taking the time to come on the show, uh, sharing your, your insights, your background, your resources, uh, that, that you had available, uh, with us, because, um, again, this is just another one of those resources that maybe people just don’t know about, um, you know, maybe they don’t know about your podcast and, and if they don’t, uh, I certainly encourage people to go, uh, Stop what they’re doing right now and go, uh, subscribe to the, uh, to the vet SOS a podcast.

Um, because again, it’s just another great resource and maybe, maybe it’s going to have the information that, that you need. So, uh, definitely check it out. I will have the link to the podcast in the show notes. So, uh, anyone who is, uh, Interested in it, want to find out a little bit more about transition type resources and that type of thing.

Um, super awesome show. Uh, definitely go check it out. So again, link will be in the show notes and, and Sean, thank you again for taking the time to come on.

Shawn Welsh: you so much for having me, [00:49:00] man. This has been a blast.

Scott DeLuzio: Awesome. Thanks.