The Cannon Dispatch

May 1st deadline. No zero days.

#nanowrimo

Vamosssssss

We did a video this time! Watch on YouTube, if you fancy that sort of thing.

Longtime friend Jeff is back with a candid conversation about making bold life changes, creative reinvention, and finding fulfillment beyond a job. We dive deep into the journey of leaving a secure government job to pursue a creative career. We talk about challenges, mindset shifts, and practical steps involved in pivoting from cybersecurity and federal service to filmmaking, photography, music production, and entrepreneurship.

Key Topics Covered:

• The emotional and logistical journey of moving from Greece back to the U.S. and restarting a creative business from scratch.

• Balancing creative projects, including producing a nano-budget feature-length film and running a rebranded production business.

• The struggle with burnout, loss of passion, and the critical decision to leave a stable government job for personal fulfillment.

• Insights on mental health, self-worth, and the value of prioritizing happiness over external accolades.

• How local music scenes and community can reignite your creative spark.

• Reflections on the rat race, the replaceability of workers, and the importance of doing what truly sustains you.

• Inspirational takeaways on self-discovery, resilience, and making tough but rewarding life choices. Whether you’re considering a career change, seeking creative motivation, or interested in real stories of transformation, this video offers valuable advice and relatable experiences for anyone wanting to make a change.

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Timestamps:

00:00- Intro

01:07- Discussing Jeff's last few years/ shooting and editing a feature length film/ small projects, moving back to the states, re-branding his business 04:50 - Work ethic and tenacity, the mental game, the decision to make a change

06:00 – The reality of government work and burnout

08:00 – The moment of decision and mental health journey

10:06 - Mindset, taking care of one's self, choosing yourself, finding fulfillment

16:56 - Steven Pressfield's concept of Resistance

21:25 - Benefits of a craft

25:46 - Making the decision for your (S)elf

31:16 - Choosing to be your own boss

34:38 - perspectives on Creative careers

36:57 - Work routine / time as currency

41:36 - Recent photography / filmography projects

47:49 - Enjoying the work, networking, and "This is the Dream", running with an idea

53:04 - Knowing your strengths and gaps in knowledge, being a good friend 56:10 - Tyler's Substack and Jeff shoutouts

59:24 - Deciding when to rest, damages of hustle culture, having impact on people,

1:03:06 - Action as the antidote to anxiety, high-agency people, being accountable to yourself

1:07:38 - Learning as a key motivator in life, art, business

1:09:09 - Closing

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share your own experiences in the comments!

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Jeff's Links:

Website: https://www.jdamproductionhouse.com/

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Tyler's Links:

Substack: https://cannondispatch.substack.com

The mind likes to catastrophize, for whatever reason. This is unhelpful in most (modern day) cases.

Most of the time, simple is the most rational approach.

(Note: I recorded this on my phone in my car. I am not sure why this is relevant information, other than to help you understand why the recording sounds that way. I don’t want to wait until I have my fancy microphones or computer to record something. Using what I have when I have it is a much more realistic approach. There will always be more time for fancy recoding equipment.. now’s not that time!).

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Other places to connect with me:

Email: [email protected]

Substack: https://cannondispatch.substack.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cannondispatch

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

For some, creative ideas are more prevalent when they are under some sort of pressure, whether imagined or real. Why? Can anybody share ideas or a book, podcast, or anything on this subject?

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Other places to connect with me:

Email: [email protected]

Substack: https://cannondispatch.substack.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cannondispatch

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Buy me a coffee

Admitting you don’t know is like a pressure release valve for yourself. And it doesn’t matter what the hell other people think.

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Other places to connect with me:

Email: [email protected]

Substack: https://cannondispatch.substack.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cannondispatch

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Buy me a coffee

Being willing to look stupid is a super power. Feeling stupid is a quick way to incite self-learning.

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Other places to connect with me:

Email: [email protected]

Substack: https://cannondispatch.substack.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cannondispatch

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Buy me a coffee

Head’s Up! Episode contains heavy language.

This is a work/career/military episode.

It's a good listen for veterans, those within a couple of years from finishing their time in the military, and those still active duty who are not sure what they want to do on the outside.

I met Darius about six years ago while I was stationed in Spain. Darius was a US Navy Medical Corpsman for 10 years. During his time he deployed downrange with the Marines, and worked in clinics and hospitals in Europe and the US.

This episode we talk mostly about his transition out of the military, from having no plan to landing a six-figure income as a full-time teleworking cloud engineer. We throw a lot of military acronyms out there, talk about military mindset in different environments, taking responsibility for your own career, the importance of networking, being your own advocate in work and life, and Cloud Tech Academy where he did his Salesforce training (links below).

If you listen on Spotify or Apple, it really helps if you rate the episode and leave a comment. Appreciate it!

Enjoy the episode!

-Tyler

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Cloud Tech Academy Links:

Offical Website: https://cloudtechacademy.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CloudTechAcademy

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cloudtechacademy

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Other places to connect with me:

Email: [email protected]

Substack: https://cannondispatch.substack.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cannondispatch

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cannon.dispatch

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thecannondispatch

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

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The best way to support The Cannon Dispatch is to:

* “Like” the posts.

* Leave a comment (even if it’s “hi!”).

* Share with someone who you think might like it.

Thanks for listening and supporting!

I’m back from a bit of a break.

Talking points:

* Brief talk about my transition and retirement from the Navy

* Three areas I am focusing on : Physical/mental health, building a community, and spending time on a passion

* Podcast plans (more music, drums, creativity-based episodes, occasionally sprinkling in other topics of interest)

* Call to action: if anyone knows any veterans, or active duty military who need help during transition from active duty, send them my way

**While Cannon Dispatch isn’t targeted specifically towards veterans, having recently left from Active Duty I know how difficult the transition can be. It’s important that people have someone to talk to about their careers and lives, what they want to do, and to knock around ideas for their aspirations and how to get there. And I believe it’s important they talk to someone who has experience in that event and who is not directly connected to anyone in their workplace or Chain of Command.

If you or anyone you know, veteran, active duty or someone thinking about joining, who would benefit from a conversation about these things and more, reply to this post or contact me via one of the methods below. I would love to connect with you and help in any way I can.

Thanks for listening, let’s do it again soon.

-Tyler

Where to connect with me:

Email: [email protected]

Substack: https://cannondispatch.substack.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cannondispatch

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cannon.dispatch

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thecannondispatch

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

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The best way to support The Cannon Dispatch is to:

* “Like” the posts.

* Leave a comment (even if it’s “hi!”).

* (Most importantly) share with someone who you think might like it.

* Pay for a subscription here on Substack. For now this provides no additional benefits other than knowing you’ve given some money to something you like.

* Buy me a coffee by using this button:

*** This episode contains explicit language ***

This is Episode 3 of the J. Series.

We’re running right towards the topic of Social Media. This is an area of modern life that has greatly changed the trajectory of just about anything you can think of. Like most things, there is a light side and a dark side. How do you use it? Why do you use it? Why do you not use it? Does it make you happy? Does it anger you? Is it real life? What kind of value does it provide?

These are sensible questions, and this is a conversation exploring those questions and more.

And here’s a picture of J. while not on social media:

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If you liked the episode, these simple things help out BIG TIME:

* Give a star rating on Spotify

* Give a star rating AND comment on Apple Podcasts

* Buy me a coffee

* … Most of all, SHARE with someone you think would like it! Below is a button just for that purpose!

As always, thanks for listening.

Rock n’ Roll.

-Tyler

***Disclaimer: Podcast contains explicit language***

This is Episode 2 with J.

J has many creative pursuits, but in my opinion Music is his favorite. He is a FANTASTIC guitarist. Proof of his talent: all of the “J Series” episodes feature music made by him and most of them were written and recorded right on the spot, no prior planning. He also recorded, mixed, and produced all of the J Series Cannon Dispatch podcast episodes.

His musical genre interests range from metalcore to RnB, death metal, hardcore, anything melodic, alternative, and beyond.

This episode we talk about his journey into music, influences, writing, creativity, imposter syndrome, and more.

Here’s my favorite original composition from him called “Isolated”. It slams.

Here’s his Youtube Channel.

And here’s his dog who was a guest producer of this episode:

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If you liked the episode, these simple things help out BIG TIME:

* Give a star rating on Spotify

* Give a star rating AND comment on Apple Podcasts

* Buy me a coffee

* … Most of all, SHARE with someone you think would like it!

As always, thanks for listening!