Mel is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of Take The Limits Off, LLC, a leadership development, executive coaching and business consulting firm based out of Austin, TX. As an international speaker and best-selling author, Mel has shared his leadership and success strategies with audiences from around the world.
BG (R) Carol Eggert is an amazing lady - not only does she lead military and veteran affairs at Comcast NBC Universal, but she’s a retired general officer in the U.S. Army with more than 30 years of service.
In this episode we discuss:
• Women’s history month and celebrating female veterans
• The Women Veteran Athletes Initiative, presented by Comcast NBCUniversal
• The importance of storytelling, and why female veterans need to tell theirs
• Why physical fitness is vital, especially post-service
If you pay close attention to some of the world’s top performers, you may notice a common thread. Many, if not most, of them credit meditation as a key to their success. Erik Younger is an Army Veteran of Desert Storm, a husband of 27 years, and firm believer in the power of meditation. In fact, he believes in it so strongly, that he founded Vetitation, a nonprofit committed to helping Veterans find peace through the power of meditation. In week’s podcast, we dive into Erik’s personal journey and discovery of the practice and discuss ways that anybody can start, and benefit from, meditation. Over the course of the conversation, we talk about the common misperceptions about meditation, where to start, resources that can help, and how his organization can support.
Erik also has a great TEDx Talk where he lays out the challenges of post-traumatic stress, Veteran suicide, and how he was about to battle both with meditation.
We hope this episode will help to demystify a tool that can be of tremendous help to Veterans, and all of us.
Tyler Merritt makes no small plans. The CEO of Nine Line Apparel is on a mission to put relentlessly patriotic shirts on the backs of millions. Fresh off active duty in the Army, he's opened up an amazing new facility in Savannah, Georgia and is preparing for world domination. In his former life, Tyler flew helicopters in the elite Task Force 160th, Special Operations aviation regiment. With combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, he's taking the lessons learned to build a business that does more than make a profit.
Melissa Stockwell is an Army Veteran, severely wounded in Iraq in April of 2004, that has gone on to be a Paralympian, Triathlon coach, and an inspirational speaker. Her energy and her positive attitude are absolutely contagious. During this week’s episode, we talk about the mindset that allowed her to not only heal, but to thrive in life beyond the military.
Our conversation spans:
• Leadership
• Overcoming adversity
• The role of nonprofits
• Raising kids
• Training for competition
• And much more
Melissa is a shining example for us to follow and we hope that hearing her story will inspire you to chase your dreams.
In 2010, Rob Jones walked slowly down a dirt road in Afghanistan. Holding a metal detector, he scanned the path for IEDs and, unfortunately, he found one. The explosion severely wounded him, taking both his legs instantly. Since that time, Rob has been on a new mission: to recover, return stronger, and inspire people to overcome their setbacks. He’s earned a bronze medal in the Paralympics, ridden his bike across the country, and is now running 31 marathons in 31 days…all despite the fact that he is a double, above the knee amputee.
On this week’s podcast, we have a great conversation about:
You can support Rob and learn more about it at www.RobJonesJourney.com. More importantly, you can find opportunities to come out and be a part of the journey yourself!
Star Cathcart is an amazing lady, and a incredible leader. She’s on the tail end of a year long fellowship with Team RWB, and we spend some time talking about her experience, and what she’s learned.
In this episode we discuss:
Billy Hurley is a former naval officer, and currently the only military veteran who is an active golfer on the PGA tour. In addition to being a fantastic ambassador for the military, he’s an accomplished leader and all around great guy.
In this episode we discuss:
David Smith is a Marine combat veteran and respected advocate in the veteran community. After an extremely difficult deployment to Iraq, that included a friendly-fire incident, Dave found himself lacking confidence, purpose, and direction. Eventually, his depression led to him nearly taking his own life. An outpouring of support from friends and family convinced him to start owning his recovery and take back his life. Since that time, he’s graduated from UC Berkeley, shared the stage with President Bush, and built a new life in Norway!
Dave and I have a really in-depth conversation that covers:
Dave is an extremely interesting and thoughtful guy and we know you’ll enjoy this conversation. You may want to grab a note book because this one is full of valuable take-aways!
Mycal Anders is a Marine Corps Veteran, business owner, fitness expert, dad, husband, and a lot more. Known affectionately as ‘Coach Derz’, Mycal has become a voice for good in both the veterans and fitness spaces.
This is one of the most honest and insightful conversations we’ve had on the Eagle Nation Podcast. We cover a ton of really interesting topics – even the prickly ones, like:
If you don’t know Coach Derz, you need to. He’s as smart, dedicated, and authentic as they come. Without a doubt, you will enjoy this very engaging interview.
Matt Kress spent 22 years in the Marine Corps – enlisted and officer, active duty and reserve. After a special operations deployment to Iraq in 2004, he left active duty to be a firefighter in Southern California. During that time, he used the Post 9/11 GI Bill to earn a master's degree from the University of Washington and an MBA from UCLA. He’s now the Senior Manager of Veteran and Military Affairs at Starbucks.
In this episode we discuss:
• Coffee and it’s connection to the military
• The tremendous work that Starbucks is doing to support Veterans and their families.
• What it's like to be in position to really move the needle on veterans issues in our country in a big way.
• The connection between first responders and veterans and how they share some challenges.
Michael Rodriguez is a pretty incredible guy - he’s a retired Green Beret who might be one of the most selfless people on the planet. He’s overcome some major injuries en route to where he is today, and he spends his time giving back to his country and the veteran community.
In this episode we discuss:
This week’s guest needs no introduction. Team RWB’s founder, Mike Erwin, is likely the most inspirational person that you’ll ever meet. This episode is chalked full of motivation, insight, and useful wisdom…along with some cool stories about early days of Team RWB.
We manage to cover a ton in 45 minutes, including:
Mike is an incredible guy and we know you’ll enjoy our conversation. Don’t miss it!
This week’s guest needs no introduction. Team RWB’s founder, Mike Erwin, is likely the most inspirational person that you’ll ever meet. This episode is chalked full of motivation, insight, and useful wisdom…along with some cool stories about early days of Team RWB.
We manage to cover a ton in 45 minutes, including:
Mike is an incredible guy and we know you’ll enjoy our conversation. Don’t miss it!