Eagle Nation Podcast

Jenifer Smith's military career has been a winding path and has taken many shapes. From an injury at Marine Corps bootcamp, to college at Norwich University, to the National Guard, Active Duty, Reserves, and Contractor - she has experienced the military from almost every angle. 

In this week's podcast, we have a great conversation around the challenges and opportunities in taking a non-traditional route. During the second half of the podcast, we get into some really good stuff like:

• Finding a community you relate to
• The perils of over-committing
• How to identify and manage your true priorities
• The importance of investing in relationships

Dr. Jason Dempsey is a lot of things:

• A Senior Fellow at CNAS
• An author and prolific writer
• An entrepreneur
• A former White House Fellow
• Former special assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• A retired Infantry Officer in the Army

But, luckily, he’s an expert in military demographics and politics, as well.  In this episode, we have a thrilling, and somewhat controversial conversation about politics, and the upcoming election.  We cover topics like:

• His book, Our Army, and how he was the first person to comprehensively study political views in the Army.  
• Why it’s dangerous for military leaders to get involved in politics
• How he believes the best way for civilians to support members of the military is by holding military senior leaders accountable.
• His role in the podcast Serial
• His military startup, Millie.

Jason is brilliant, an original thinker, and brave enough to say things that most people won’t - don’t miss this episode.

Todd Connor is a Navy veteran and the CEO of Bunker Labs, an incredible nonprofit organization that helps veterans to achieve their dreams through entrepreneurship.  Over the past couple of years, Bunker Labs has grown from their original location in Chicago, to having chapters in over 10 cities across the country.  They provide support through mentorship, training, education, peer support, and even funding.

Through an innovative online platform at www.BunkerInABox.org, veteran entrepreneurs can embark on a 14 mission journey that takes them through the necessarily steps to start their business.

Recently, Team RWB has partnered with Bunker Labs in the development of our very own e-learning platform, EagleLeader.org (coming soon).

Todd and I have a great conversation about transitioning from the military and how starting a business may be a great option.  We cover topics like:

• When is it the right time to leave your day job, if at all?
• How to create minimally viable product to test your business idea
• Why starting a business-to-business company is a smart move
• Thinking beyond “tech”
• …and a whole lot more

Todd is an extremely engaging and inspiring guy, and we hope you enjoy our conversation.

The first six months of the Eagle Nation Podcast have flown by.  We are 30 episodes into this journey and it has been a blast so far.  We have had some amazing guests and have covered a lot of really interesting topics.  This week, we thought it would be cool to pause and take a look back at what we've learned so far.

In this episode, JJ and I talk about:

• The best advice we've been given on the podcast
• Questions we wish we'd asked
• How we've grown through this process
• Not letting perfect be the enemy of good
• The vision for Team RWB's future

A bunch of listeners have asked us for a consolidated list of some of our favorite books and podcasts that we've mentioned on the show.  Here to go!

Our favorite podcasts:

• TED Radio Hour
• Freakonomics Radio
• Tim Ferriss Show
• Barbell Business

Our favorite books:

• Contagious
• Tribe
• Zero to One
• Start With Why
• Daring Greatly
• Fooled by Randomness
• Originals
• Good to Great

Doug McCormick is a lot of things - an Army Veteran (Infantry), a small business owner, a skilled investment banker, a Veteran advocate, and financial author, just to name a few.  In this podcast, we talk about economic empowerment for the military community, and why the traditional model of investing and asset allocation is imperfect.

We cover a ton of great content, including:

• His book, Family, Inc.
• Economic empowerment for Veterans and Military Spouses
• The striking lack of financial literacy in America, and why it's a problem

In this podcast, we talk to the COO of one of the world’s premier shopping center companies, the Westfield Corporation - Bill Hecht.  We discuss what it takes to bring the community together in a physical space, being part of rebuilding their World Trade Center location after 9/11, why supporting veterans is important to Westfield (and him personally), and the Old Glory Relay.   

We cover a ton of content in this podcast, to include:

• Westfield’s support of The Old Glory Relay
• Being part of rebuilding at the World Trade Center post 9/11
• The importance of community in America

The Eagle Nation Podcast is the official podcast of Team Red, White, and Blue and this week, we have a very special guest.  Host, Blayne Smith, is joined by Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Honorable Robert McDonald…or as he prefers, Bob.

Bob was nice enough to invite us into his office during a recent trip to D.C., and we had a great conversation.  During this episode, we address a number of topics that are on the front of Veterans’ minds.  Of course, we touch on leadership.  Bob tells us how he has managed to recruit some amazing people into VA and how building a values-based culture is the only way to ensure excellent service.

We also talk about the role of Veteran in managing his/her transition from military life and the need for Veterans to assume a mantle of leadership in our communities and country.

Finally, we dive into healthcare.  Bob provides his thoughts on recent calls for privatization of the VA and discusses the importance of having a healthcare system that addresses the whole person and focuses on preventative care.

Team RWB and VA have a strong and growing relationship in our collective effort to serve Veterans and build strong communities.  You won’t want to miss this episode!

In this podcast, we talk to best selling author and professor at the Wharton School, Dr. Jonah Berger.  He’s a thought leader on the academic side of what causes certain content to go viral, how influence plays a part in all of our lives, and we discuss how this relates to life and Team RWB.   

We cover a ton of content in this podcast, to include:

• How his book, Contagious, has influenced Team RWB
• How to get people involved
• The Invisible Influence that shapes all our lives

Eric Garcia has been lost.  After an impressive military career that included assignments with the 75th Ranger Regiment and the 3rd US Infantry Regiment (Old Guard), his life took a turn for the worst.  In 2010, Eric found himself homeless, addicted, and on the way to rehab.  Just 7 months later, he started a small nonprofit to support Veterans through fitness and fellowship.  He soon found Team RWB and in the time since has been one of our very best volunteer leaders.

Today, Eric serves other Veterans as a case manager at the Salvation Army in Tampa, Florida.  He is working on a Mission Continues fellowship and will complete his degree in psychology next spring.  Eric spends his time in trenches, meeting Veterans where they are at, everyday.  His perspective is absolutely priceless.

This episode is a very raw and honest conversation that speaks to all of us.  Please take it to heart and share with your friends.

In this episode, we talk to one of the best paratriathletes in world, Patricia Walsh. She is currently representing the USA at the Paralympics in Rio, and is an all-around amazing person.

We talk about a lot of great stuff including:

• Para-triathlon
• Her TED Talk
• Getting a STEM degree as a blind person
• Her competitive fire and how it drives her accomplish whatever she sets her mind to