Veteran Wealth Secrets

What’s the first thing that you think about when you hear the phrase “life insurance?” Especially in regards to the standard American Retirement Life Insurance company.

Most people think of death. Why? 

Because that’s what we think life insurance is about! 

When you get a corporate job, life insurance is commonly offered as a benefit. This is because the life insurance that comes along with a corporate job is only about your death. The lump sum paid out to a beneficiary is a benefit—for them, not for you. But when you insure your own life as an income-producing asset, much as you protect your other assets like your home or your car against loss, life insurance becomes an asset. 

That life insurance is a death-related benefit is just one more of the myths and misconceptions that so many people live by, and that make it so much harder to get their financial lives in order than it ought to be. I am going to talk about life insurance in the context of life. I want to dispel the myth and finally wake people up to the realities of our financial industry so that they can take advantage of this knowledge for themselves.

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In today's episode, Zach Page and Wyatt Page, two young active-duty officers, tell their noble mission in founding The American Legacy Project Inc. in the non-profit space. Let's delve into how sharing military experiences through stories became a powerful tool to inspire the military community.  

Episode Highlights:

• 01:50- Zach and Wyatt both graduated from Westpoint with an economics major
• 03:45- What led Wyatt and Zach to start a non-profit business?
• 15:55- Knowing when to start and having a deeper understanding of  a non-profit business 
• 20:10-  Benevity portal is a free sign for a non-profit that matches them to corporations that encourage employees to volunteer for them
• 23:00- The American Legacy Project serves active duty, reservist or veterans, and civilians
• 24:24- Zach explains the process of capturing stories for the project. 
• 27:40- About 35 legacies have been captured since March 
• 29:45- Why do veterans need to tell their stories? 

3 Key Points:

1. Sharing military experiences through storytelling is a cathartic and powerful way to better understand yourself and find a meaningful connection.
2. Telling veterans' stories is an opportunity to realize the lessons on their service, which inspire those who are coming along. 
3. Knowing these stories gives a deeper meaning to the common phrase " thank you for your service"  and develops empathy between civilians and the military. 

Quotes:

• “Find the thing that seems boring to someone else and make it fun to you. If you can find something, build it and make it fun.”- Zach 
• “Your time in service teaches you so much in life, and a lot of us downplay because we are shy to introspect, but the more you talk to people, the more stories you see that are ready to be told and need to be told.”- Zach
• “The American Legacy Project is a great way to bring the community at large together regardless if they're in the military or not.”- Zach

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Veteran Secret 011 with Brian Wirtz - Play The Long Game

Brian Wirtz, a retired Marine turned entrepreneur, will share his wisdom in playing the long game during the transition. Today, he will share his thoughts on creating your vision, setting up your revolving door, and taking opportunities to further skill sets.  

Episode Highlights:

• 02:43- Brian focuses on building his talent acquisition company that focused on high performing veterans.
• 04:09- Brian is trying to develop a strong pipeline to place the visionary integrators concept. 
• 09:27- Brian defines playing the long game for transitioning veterans 
• 13:25- Unpacking his epiphany with a couple of tiered processes. 
• 14:45- The civilian context and creating your own trajectory. 
• 22:58- LinkedIn approach focused on rotational tours, foundational tours, and transformational roles 
• 24:00- The cutting edge of helping to integrate LinkedIn approach to military transition 
• 25:00- The best pool of integrators are transition military 

3 Key Points:

1. Playing the long game is setting your goal a few years from now, making the plan, and being open to different routes to get there.
2. Recognize the value in things that are outside the traditional things. Build skill sets, both from failure or success, put yourself where opportunities show up. 
3. Get a variety of experience in different types of companies that would make you a more well-rounded leader and entrepreneur. 

Quotes:

• “Everything I've done has been in different industries, but that's part of what makes my path valuable. I've learned my lesson and continue to grow to the next level of leadership and business administration.”- Brian Wirtz
• The long game for transitioning veterans is to take the goal post and move it from getting a job to figuring out where you want your life to go. “- Brian Wirtz
• “You can get something that's income replacement, but it never changes. Put yourself in an intentional trajectory to take on higher levels of responsibility because the civilian sector is unbounded, but you're responsible for creating your opportunities. “- Brian Wirtz
• “The absolute pond of fish for integrators are transitioning militaries we just need the transitional experiences to get them ready and successful.”- Brian Wirtz

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Veterans are suffering the consequences of financial planning theories and military benefits programs leftover from the 70s and 80s. They only show us a limited picture of their military financial benefits. This is hurting both our service-members and the American taxpayers. 

That’s why we launched US VetWealth, to help service-members, veterans, and their families learn how to navigate and leverage their financial benefits so that they get the most out of a lifetime of service.

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In today's episode, we will have the CEO of The Patriot Group Recruiting Agency, David Dickey to share his wisdom in making a plan, adapting, and overcoming toward your mission. 

Episode Highlights:

• 01:00- David's career as a recruiter during the pandemic
• 02:41- What makes the Patriots Group different from its competitors
• 04:35- David's epiphany 
• 06:00- Putting the metal to the pedal when you see success or failure
• 07:31- The two extremes that motivate David
• 10:22- Things to be aware of to become prepared in the modern economy and the new normal 
• 13:13- Things to do to bolster resumes in this new environment 
• 16:13- David's definition of success in the next three years

3 Key Points:

1. Take time to set your goals (long term or short term), come up with a plan, stick to it and keep making applicable adjustments. 
2. When looking at the right company or industry, take a look at where you are, consider the worst-case and best-case scenario, and then decide if this is the industry that you want to work with long term.
3. Bolster your resume by getting all certifications that you need in areas that you want to go. Make your network by joining virtual events or connecting through LinkedIn. Read books, and practice your soft skills. 

Quotes:

• “A lot of people, especially entrepreneurs tend to lay off, so once you succeed or fail, it should motivate you to work even harder and put the pedal to the metal.’- David Dickey
• “The sooner you can identify what you love to do, the better, but continue to self-evaluate to do what it is that you love.” - David Dickey
• “Regardless of where you are going, if they decided to do something else, you shouldn't be afraid to do it. Take into consideration what you have learned from the military and your current civilian experience.”- David Dickey  

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In today's episode, we will have a meaningful conversation with Jason K. Johnson, the founder, and CEO of Project K-9 Hero, about finding your passion at all costs, protecting our working service hero dogs, and much more. 

Episode Highlights:

• 01:40- How does Project K-9 Hero start in 2016
• 04:21- K-9 Flash Becomes a Hero book inspired Jason to start the organization 
• 05:32- The K-9 Hero Act helps federal funding from the government for retired working dogs. 
• 06:25- Several ways to donate to the retired working dogs
• 08:30- How did Jason found his passion for working dogs 
• 12:12- Searching revenue stream  to make the mission work 
• 17:00- Jason's short term horizon three years from today for the project 

3 Key Points:

1. To be successful, take the risk, bet on your skills, and do it. Once you find your passion, tell people about it.
2. Stay on top of your mission, be responsive, get a hold in every direction, focus on the most important things, and get those things accomplished. 
3. Put intention into your passion and purpose.

Quotes:

• “The secret to success is to take the risk. You don't get those jobs when you give up, so take risks, bet on yourself, and say you can do it. “-Jason K. Johnson 
• “The only way to be successful is not to sit in the corner, get out and find new audiences to let them know who we are in Project K-9. ‘- Jason K. Johnson
• “K-9 heroes spent their careers protecting us, and now it is time to spend the rest of ours protecting them.”- Jason K. Johnson 

When I ask an audience or a client what their biggest concern is about their personal situation in the military, they invariably say that they wish they had more money. Regardless of rank, and despite the many benefits that the military offers and the attempts to teach military financial planning, most military personnel are not thriving financially; they’re living month to month.

A choice to serve in the armed forces is a choice to directly correlate money with your time. There are nice pay raises you can go for, and there is always the potential for promotion, but they are all based on a timeline. Essentially, you have to sacrifice more time to earn more money. If you want to look good in the military, you’ve got to be the first up, the first in, and be wearing the shiniest boots. You’ve got to be the best at PT and the best at performing your duties. You have to stand out. In order to stand out, you’ve got to have that something extra, and having that something extra takes you extra time. This sacrifice of time in order to get ahead is above and beyond the sacrifice that you are already making in order to perform your duties and train for the mission. So where does the extra time come from? You’ve got it ― it comes from the time you would otherwise be spending with your family. It also comes from the time you might otherwise be spending organizing and preparing for the inevitable: life after the military.

Veteran Secret 007 with Vincent Wainwright - It's Up To You

In this episode, we will have Vincent Wainwright, a Navy veteran, a serial entrepreneur, and founder of two search firms in Redondo Beach. He will share his secret on how to win each day, whether in the combat information center or at your desk.

Episode Highlights:

• 2:05- The life of Vince Wainwright and his context of the new normal 
• 4:55- Being ready and available to job market amidst the pandemic
• 7:52- Vincent's largest epiphanies and his journey in helping veterans enter the workforce. 
• 10:50- Setting ultimate goals and planning on taking the next step 
• 11:20 The dangers of going out in the massive and digital world.
• 12:13- The use of social media platforms to reach out and promote yourself. 
• 13:38- Building a brand and learning how to do networking 
• 15:00- Putting yourself in the digital world and connecting with like-minded people. 
• 17:24- Vincent's vision to his success three years down the road 

3 Key Points:

1. As a veteran during a pandemic, it is best to be as professional as possible. Be yourself and make yourself available, and then let the job market know you're available. 
2. Go outside of your shell to the massive digital world, reach out, and take advantage of social media platforms as a networking tool to promote yourself.
3. With the pandemic going on, look at that checklist of what you can and can't do, identify the things you like doing, and then find different ways to enhance your main interest/passion.

Quotes:

• “What an exciting time to be a veteran during the pandemic because you already know what it feels like to hear that general quarters alarm. As a veteran, we are well prepared, so what a veteran can do is just be themselves and be available to the job market.”-Vincent Wainwright
• “The danger in going out in this massive and digital world is that people are going inside their shells instead of reaching out. ”-Vincent Wainwright
• “You don't have to jump fully in and appease everybody, do it professionally. Go on LinkedIn, put out a couple of your interests, put yourself out there and then find like-minded people.”-Vincent Wainwright

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Veteran Wealth Secrets 006 with Eric "Doc" Wright, PhD - Learn Civilian Language

In this episode, we will have Eric "Doc" Wright, Ph.D., a founder of Vets2pm, serial entrepreneur, and business linguist. We will learn more about becoming fluent in the civilian language of 'managements' that can profoundly change a veteran's post-service fortunes.

Episode Highlights:

• 2:19- Eric "Doc" Wright as an entrepreneur. 
• 2:40- Doc helps veterans to  get fluent in the language of the civilian workforce (the language of management) .
• 4:32- Things to focus on when a veteran is transitioning. 
• 10:30- The importance of language when transitioning to the civilian workforce. 
• 12:03- What is fluency, and its significance in being qualified for a post.  
• 12:26 The language of management and military leadership.
• 16:00- Communicating the value that you can bring as a veteran to the civilian workforce.
• 17:29- Doc Wright's Life's Work book. 
• 18:50- Going to the top of the short stack through civilian language. 
• 22:30- Doc's transition classroom word of the day and his book launch.

3 Key Points:

1. During the transition, it is essential to focus on risk management, plan the foreseeable future, re-calibrate accordingly, and diversify the income stream. 
2. Learning the civilian language is extremely important in transitioning to be successful in the civilian workforce. 
3. The civilian workforce is looking to hear for a veteran to talk in the civilian language, not the obscure leadership dialect. 

Quotes:

• “Civilians don't understand that in the military, we only talk about leadership as a dialect of management, while management is the language of business.”- Eric "Doc" Wright, PhD
• “Fluency is the ability to translate and communicate clearly, confidently, and concisely in the target language. If you can't understand and can't respond, you're going to get a letter that says you're under-qualified.”- Eric "Doc" Wright, PhD
• “You got to learn the language because if you don't know the language you can’t be effective. Get on, run circles around them, learn the language, be hands-on, and then you'll be the CEO.”- Eric "Doc" Wright, PhD

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FREE eBook Veteran Retirement Rescue - Avoid the Coming Retirement Crisis!

Recently, in a conversation I was having on LinkedIn, it came to my attention that I have some pretty controversial ideas about the new Blended Retirement System (BRS). In short, I think that the BRS model creates a poverty mindset. A poverty mindset is an underlying belief that you will never have enough money. People with a poverty mindset are always worried about money. Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) has its own issues. And just like how TSP is a 401k military retirement planning model that does little to truly give a veteran financial control.

Read the Article about Thrift Savings Plan.

FREE eBook Veteran Retirement Rescue - Avoid the Coming Retirement Crisis!

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