Episode 175: Green Beret and Entrepreneur Israel “Izzy” Wright

 When the uniform comes off and the echoes of military life fade, the journey into uncharted civilian terrain begins. This is the crucible our guest, Israel "Izzy" Wright, faced—a transition from Green Beret to a new identity and career. Together, we peel back the layers of Israel's story, from the fervent dream of becoming a Green Beret to becoming a YouTube creator. His narrative offers a raw glimpse into the evolution of a soldier, providing solace and realism for veterans navigating similar crossroads.
 
 The diversity of paths a soldier can take post-service is as vast as the skills they acquire, and this episode casts a light on such profound transformations. Our conversation traverses the landscape from entertainment to gaming, dissecting how the discipline and principles learnt in service can fertilize the soil of creativity and ambition in the civilian world. Israel and I tackle these transitions, examining how structured creativity and military ethos find their place in fields where success isn't inscribed in orders but woven into the fabric of personal achievement and satisfaction.

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 Find out more about becoming and entrepreneur: Syracuse University Entrepreneurship program

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:26

All right, welcome back to another great episode of securepodcast. As always, I'm your host, denny caballero, and today I have the pleasure of bringing you israel right. Israel, how are you man? I'm doing good man, thanks for having me. This is awesome, absolutely, dude. I? Um. This whole platform is served as a. You know, it starts a project to kind of bridge the gap, bring the reality of like what it takes to survive after breaking apart, how resilience is made, because we live this myth that soft professionals don't break down, we don't break apart, we don't struggle, and that's not the truth. And then, along the way developed, uh, this idea that maybe we should help our transitioning service members by highlighting how everybody goes through this process. It's not the same for everybody. We all have different passions, different avenues of approaching this, but we need to highlight the successes, are willing to go out into the unknown and achieve success, no matter how non-standard it is, um, and you're a shining example of that and oh god no pressure

Speaker 1: 1:34

it's cool because, no matter what you go through, it's an example for everybody, whether it's you know what to do or what not to do, that no one's going to do this journey flawlessly and not have those moments of oh fuck, oh shit. And that's the reality of it, and we need to start promoting it and showing it, because we don't do a good enough job of showing what success can look like. I was a victim of it. I wanted to think that it was going to be just this wonderful frameable bridge and there was going to be no hiccups, and that's not the truth. So the more we normalize this process and show people that you can be successful and exceed and excel, just like you did in the Q course, we give hope to everybody that's still in there. So, israel dude, tell us about your journey.

Speaker 2: 2:20

Where do you want to start? I guess maybe we could start when I joined the military.

Speaker 1: 2:25

Absolutely. Take it all the way back to the very beginning.

Speaker 2: 2:28

Yeah, yeah, I guess. Yeah, a beginning is a very delicate time, uh, as the book says. But uh, no man, I I joined me personally in terms of my military experience, I joined in 2005,. February 2005 is when I left for basic training out of LA MEPs in 2005,. February 2005 is when I left for basic training out of LA MEPs and um, and I originally had a plan to go Ranger.

Speaker 2: 2:52

I had a Ranger contract, an option 40 contract, and, and after I got to basic training, I met a few guys that were reclassing to go to the Q course. They're getting ready to go to the SOPSI, you know, q course. And so that was when they were really trying to plus up all the numbers, uh, you know, and sf had really made a name for themselves, I think, in the beginning of afghanistan horse soldiers, the northern alliance, that kind of thing, you know. And so rum, uh, don roamsfeld, or one of those guys, uh, it was like, oh, we need a lot of green berets now, so they're adding a battalion's worth of guys to each, uh, uh, each group, each group, you know. So I was an 18 x-ray, or I, rather, I was an option 40. And then, halfway through basic, these guys who were going into the Q course. They did a really good job of describing what it was all about and selling it. You know, my recruiter didn't come from that background, so they showed me the video that you show everybody. Uh, and, and I wanted to do something that was out there, something that was on the ground, you know, uh, and then something that was fun and adventurous. I didn't want to be at a desk for for a number of years in the military, and so I was like, oh, that's what I want to do.

Speaker 2: 3:55

And so the Green Beret recruiter, the SF recruiter, came by and he, they wouldn't let my, my uh, drill sergeants were not happy about me wanting to change things. I guess they just maybe they were lazy, or maybe they didn't care. They're like don't you, don't want to do that, just stick option for you're fine, you know. So I remember I snuck out one night and I made a call to his. I left a message on his answering machine, said hey, can you get my contract changed? And he was like the magical man that would show up out of nowhere Like I got your, I got your contract, you know. And he came and assigned it, and so we were off and running after that.

Speaker 2: 4:29

So, uh, finished basic AIT, airborne at Fort Benning, and then, uh, middle of the summer, drove with my buddies over to brag and did our SOPSI training, which was the prep course at the time, before selection. And then you get another one before small unit tactics and uh, yeah, started the Q course, went from the, went there all the way through. I think I graduated in February 2007, march March, february, march 2007. And then I went to Fort Lewis, washington, so that was my duty station. I went to first group and, uh, and yeah, it was awesome, it was an amazing time.

Speaker 2: 5:08

I wish that I had been more mature at the time. Uh, I know that I I started. I actually joined a little bit later. I joined after college. Uh, so this was two years after college. I was 24 when I joined. You'd like to think that that would be when you mature. You're a little more mature at the time. But I was not All that to say. It was a great opportunity and it was awesome and I look back on it fondly, all the memories that I had. But I was just kind of like selfish and I didn't like people telling me what to do and I didn't realize what I had in SF, because I never did like a line unit and I was never in the infantry. I didn't have to deal with that authority structure like they do in, you know, in infantry units, and so I mean I had a great time regardless.

Speaker 2: 5:45

I went to Iraq in 2008. I was there for most of 2008,. Came back in January 2009,. Had a little mini deployment, a couple of mini deployments to Cambodia, a couple of weeks in Korea. It was a real lot of fun. And then I out-processed and I officially ETS or I was out of there active duty on December 22nd 2009. So that was I'd like to say.

Speaker 2: 6:07

I did about five years, but it was real quick. In and out SF. Usually that's like a long, you know, people start their career in the military and then they go to SF and they're like that's where you finish it out. You know my buddy Dan, he did 20, you know he just finished 20, 21, 22 years in service man. He had eight deployments. He was like hardcore and so I looked up to people like him. But anyway, all that to say, my time in the Army was very short.

Speaker 2: 6:32

And then I got out in 2009, came to LA and I was going to be an actor. That was going to be my thing. And I lived and I worked and I trained a little bit and I went for it. And I lived and I worked and I trained a little bit and I went for it. Every opportunity I got in the entertainment industry was because of my military experience, because in LA, in the entertainment industry, you got to find a way to set yourself apart and more and more in the industry, it seems like somebody that looks like me has fewer and fewer opportunities.

Speaker 2: 7:02

And so in 2019, I kind of had a change of heart, mostly just because I was getting older and nothing was really happening, and I was like what am I to do? I still want to do entertainment related stuff. I love people, I love interacting with people, I love the human experience of all that, and so I thought, well, maybe I'd just been introduced to streaming from a friend who did it. I was like that's amazing. You just hang out online and play video games and talk to people. I could do that. And so I started doing that early 2020 on a dedicated basis. And then COVID hit and all the lockdowns happened, and so it was actually kind of a fortuitous time, because- Everybody was tuning in yeah, everybody was tuning in.

Speaker 2: 7:43

They all got their government checks, so they got that money to. Everybody was tuning in state and and um, and so I'm very thankful, I'm thankful that anybody watches me stream. It's so weird, you know, sometimes to think about. But, uh, as a friend of mine who's kind of a mentor for me in the streaming space said once, he's like you're you're. She said you're already giving it what they want, like when people make donations. I'm like, oh, my god, what do I do now? She's like you've already given it to them. You're there, you're a're a presence, you know you're, you're, you're, uh, you know, lighthearted, uplifting, welcoming, uh kind kind of thing, and sometimes people just need to hear a friendly voice or whatever. So, uh, so now I, I'm just very thankful and and and I for what I get to do. And so nowadays, where you're we're talking today, I have one YouTube content or one YouTube channel that has.

Speaker 2: 8:47

I want to break into more video gaming space. Like I said, everything that I've had up to this point has been because of my military career and I'm very thankful, endlessly thankful, for that. But in terms of defining myself in the public space and having a career that I can really hold on to and call my own. I'm a nerd, I'm a gamer, I really enjoy all that stuff, and so if I could have a career in that, that's what I want to do.

Speaker 2: 9:11

And so I got one channel now me and my partner working on another channel to get started pretty soon here, and so I always want to have one foot, I feel, in the military community because I think it's good for the culture. 'm a big, I think, about culture right now because culture shifts and culture changes and culture is influenced by a myriad of different things, and so I was like well, that's, I'm in that space, I want to use that space to influence culture, because I think that there's some good foundational principles that can help people, either whether they're a veteran or otherwise. So, anyway, I'm very thankful to be in this community.

Speaker 1: 9:47

Yeah, absolutely. I think that there's a large group of not just soft individuals that come in and do four or five years, the atypical, non-standard, if you will, career. Hey, I'm going to try this, I'm going to go balls out for four years and then I'm done with it, and the community looks down on it in in a way. Uh, they look at it like, oh dude, you just got here, you hear that all the freaking time. You just got here, now you're leaving, and then that kind of gives people the idea of like, oh shit, I should be ashamed, I should keep going. And then they do another year, they do another enlistment, and then they're finding themselves not passionate about service, but sort of like beholden to those figures they look up to.

Speaker 1: 10:32

And you're not doing a service to the community or the individual by holding that grudge, by being that negative entity that's like well, you need to put in your work, you need to do another five years. Who are you to say that, like the individuals that constantly preach that idea, rather than being grateful than that person gave those four years? They were a contributing team member. You put in your work Back in those days in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, all the way to 2010,. For the conventional forces, that was a year-long deployment. For soft guys, what was it like 9, 10?

Speaker 2: 11:05

9, 10,. Yeah, nine months. Yeah, it was about what mine was in Iraq. Yeah, longer, longer than normal.

Speaker 1: 11:11

And if it's not your passion, if it's not your thing, it's okay to say dude, thank you for giving to the community, thank you for earning this. You're forever part of the brotherhood. Go be successful again. But this, you're forever part of the brotherhood. Go be successful again. But that's not always the message we get. When you made that decision, what did you experience in regards to? Was there support? Because, transitioning in that timeframe, I was in Iraq in 2008, 2007. And in those time periods, we had guys that were stop-lossed. They were trying to leave before deployment. They're like, sorry, dude, we had a guy that had got in serious trouble and they're like, oh no, you're not going to jail, we're going to deploy you, you're going to wear an orange jumpsuit and you're going to do details in iraq. Wow, what the fuck?

Speaker 1: 12:00

wow that's crazy, that's a movie, right there, man, these dudes were walking around polishing the, the captured, you know, anti-air guns in iraq and eating mre's, not going to the child, eating mre's for like an entire year deployment. I'm like, uh, I'm not a lawyer, but this seems fucking wrong. And uh, the sergeant major of that unit was Command Sergeant Major Sturdivant. So if anybody wants to look that guy up and see if you can do anything against that asshole, feel free to do so. That's crazy, man. It is crazy, yeah, dude.

Speaker 2: 12:39

So when I made the decision, there were here's what I'll say nobody, of consequence, had a problem with what I was going to do. You know, there were guys that would say, ah, what are you doing? Like you say, what are you getting out for God? Come on, you know, hang out.

Speaker 2: 12:54

But my team sergeant Tom Williams, who's the greatest leader I've ever had the pleasure of serving with, really great, just a great leader of men. He knew how to lead Right, just a great leader of men. He knew how to lead Right, um. And he said you know, man, there's always a reason to stay in. Whether it's a deployment or a bonus or a school you want to go to, you'll always have a reason to stay in. But if you got something you want to go, do, go, do that. Yeah, you know, uh, and I really, I really appreciate, appreciated that.

Speaker 2: 13:19

Uh, cause I kind of wanted, I wanted to get the, I wanted to get the double, I wanted to go to Iraq and Afghanistan. It's just an arbitrary thing, I just want to go to both places. And so I did Iraq, and they were getting ready to go to Afghanistan and they were training up for it, and I was just like, you know, for a lack of a better reason to stay. I was like, well, I'll just go, I'm going to go, I'm going to go be an actor, I'm going to go, I'm going to go be an actor, I'm going to go do that. And so, yeah, there was a couple of guys that were like, ah, give me a hard time about it. But ultimately, the people that mattered were supportive, and so I'm thankful for that, because sometimes you look back, no matter what you do I don't know, maybe not everybody's like this, but sometimes you have you're thinking, man, could I have done that differently? Should I have stayed a little bit longer? Should I have done this, that or the other thing?

Speaker 2: 14:05

and it's just like it doesn't do you any good, no, it passes past you know, and, and, and you, you, you got what you got and be happy with that and uh, and I, I am, I, I I practice that gratitude of I'm glad I served, I'm glad I did this. I take credit for what I can. I don't take credit for anything that I didn't do. And so, yeah, it's the content creation stuff in the last couple of years, specifically having to do with military-centric stuff. I got a podcast, we had a couple of channels ShiftFire, gameology, spec Ops, react, that kind of stuff with my buddy, cameron Fath Uh, I'm so thankful for, because I feel like I get to go back and and appreciate again what I did and what I had and put myself out there in that space and present myself as a, as a military guy and uh, and so I'm thankful there's been, there's been people that have reached out and said, hey, thank you, you've influenced me to either join or not join or or, uh, you know, pick myself up off the floor, I've struggled with this, that or the other thing and, oh, man, that touches me and that's just man, at the very least, I want to be entertaining and, at the very most, if I can help somebody just by my presence online man.

Speaker 2: 15:13

What a gift.

Speaker 1: 15:14

That's great yeah absolutely, and it kind of helps with the identity piece, which is another thing that veterans struggle with for a long time.

Speaker 1: 15:22

It's, you feel, I know, for a lot of people they make it that most important aspect of their life.

Speaker 1: 15:30

But the reality is to be, in order to be healthy, in order to be able to really truly transition, you have to be able to walk that line of understanding that this is something that I used to do.

Speaker 1: 15:39

This is not who I am, and it's great to be able to represent that brand, be able to represent the regiment, but at the same time, doing it in a way that's authentic and true to who you are, and not feel like you're wearing that you know, green beret and uniform again and making it all about you, rather than promoting like, yeah, this is something great that I did and this can be something that you can do too, and make it. You know something to strive for, something to achieve that's attainable, because I know you probably had the same uh ideas. You're hearing other people describe what it is to be special forces, but you don't really know it until somebody's there telling you and sharing with you the intimate details of it yeah, yeah, it's uh, um, in terms of, yeah, identity is huge, uh, I think we're seeing it in the culture now.

Speaker 2: 16:29

People are, are longing for identity and they're longing for value and meaning and, um, and I guess we always, I guess we always will, cause we need to have, we don't. We're born into this world not knowing who we are literally, and we got to find out, because I think we all have that inherent, that, that inherent drive to have meaning in our lives and and and to have a sense of sense of our place in the world. Um, and being an sf being in the military, it's, it could be a powerful thing, a powerful identity, because there's so much structure and so much focus and so much meaning in it. Inherently, that, I think, is, I think it's good, like in terms of the tradition and what the army represents, what the military represents, uh, right, uh, and there's, there's, there's good stuff to take from that, but, um, you know, it's, uh, it, there has to be something transcendent that you, that you can take with you and carry through to the rest of your life, to translate the rest of your life, you know, like the arm, the, the army, values, or, um, you know, I had a great experience when I was going through SOPSI to get ready to go to the uh, to selection, and, uh, the guy, he, he, he told the story.

Speaker 2: 17:45

But it was about a story that he experienced where a green beret had come into the classroom and used his beret to wipe the, the chalkboard down, the whiteboard down, you know, and they're like, oh, scandalous, you know. He's like, hey, guys, it's just a hat, and his point of saying that was that we, you can live out the values of a green beret, the silent professionals, you know. Uh, you live those out, the values of Green Beret, the silent professionals. You live those out every day, with how you live and what you say and what you do and how you do the missions and how you support your fellow service members. It's like the hat represents that. But it's not about the hat. The hat represents something more transcendent and so for guys that are are transitioning out or getting ready to transition or have transitioned out, uh, that would be something that I have thought about.

Speaker 2: 18:30

I think it's helpful to to mention and the good that's a good news right, you can take those with you. You can live out the, the values of a infantry soldier, or even a chem dad or a transportation guy or a mortar man or or a green beret or a ranger. Um, you can live those out and and that's, uh, you know, and you don't have to have the uniform anymore, you don't have to, you know, you don't have to work out all the time, you don't have to. You know, do the kind of like.

Speaker 2: 18:58

There's a very public visual aesthetic, yeah, and, and you know, there's grunt life, there's's Jocko Willink, there's David Goggins and all this kind of stuff, and and there's nothing inherently wrong with any of those things. But, um, I guess I would say, don't let the aesthetic, don't let the surface level stuff take the place of the more underlying underpinning values that those things are supposed to represent. Uh and uh yeah, and because I think that's and I hope that that's encouraging to guys that are out there, I've spoken with a few dudes that struggle with some stuff afterwards, and Nate Boyer and MVP, and there's groups like that that specifically focus on the transition, the afterwards, when you're not an elite athlete or an elite soldier anymore. You can take those with you Absolutely.

Speaker 2: 19:49

You can live those out, and that's good, that's encouraging, and then, by virtue of that, you'll always have some piece of your service with you.

Speaker 1: 19:59

Yeah, personal excellence can be a part of your next brand. It doesn't have to stop when you're wearing the uniform and, beret, take that along with you. That accountability, that waking up every morning ready to hit it and go hard, that can be part of your next mission. When you decided to go into this creative space, what was that journey like at the very beginning? How did you? I know for myself, like, coming into this, there's like a lot of shock. There's a lot of like oh shit, can I really do this? Can I really create this big mission? Can I really go after this? What were some of the things that you were facing when you decided I'm going to, I'm going to sit down, I'm going to take this and really do it.

Speaker 2: 20:53

I mean, when you talk about the creative space, that's a really interesting space to go into because sometimes it can be hard to quantify, to measure whether it's success or progress, because you build furniture for a living. You can see the progress, it's very easy to see and you got a table at the end of it and that's really cool. Or real estate, these kind of things, where there's a structure and there's a progression and at the end of it you know you've accomplished something. The creative process for me has been really difficult because I like seeing those things, I like lists, I like uh, you know the easy, uh, it's right in front of you, you completed it, it's done.

Speaker 2: 21:30

I love doing the dishes you know, because I did that, I did the dishes today you know, um, and so that's been a real challenge for me, uh, creating structure in my life. Uh, to create, uh, you know, to quantify that progress and then to give myself credit for it at the end of it. Listen, nothing changed in my office today. Nothing moved places. But I did work today because I did some research and I wrote down some ideas and I communicated with my business partner, and we didn't make a video or shoot anything, but progress was made today and, and then I, I got to. I've taught for me personally I have to learn how to really push myself to to make more and then to give myself more credit. Uh, really, foundationally, man, I mean, if I'm being honest, I've had to, in more recent years, really question why I've chosen to pursue a creative career, because I come from a broken home. My childhood, my upbringing, was very tumultuous and very chaotic and very full of strife and uncertainty and just brokenness, separation, moving around, all that kind of stuff, and that affects you, and I want anybody who's gone through that kind of same story to acknowledge that and and and give, give yourself a little bit of grace and a little bit of mercy, uh, for who you are today, because it was very affected by all of those things, man, when I was a kid, all I wanted was for somebody to pay attention to me. And here is acting. Here's school plays and here's acting. You know, I even did some auditions when I was a little kid for some child acting stuff and oh, it felt so good because I had people looking at me and validating me and and and complimenting me and and that's carried through my. I was a theater major in college and I've always wanted to be an actor. I got out of the military because I'm like I'm gonna go be an actor, you know, and I of the military because I'm like I'm going to go be an actor, you know, and I've had to in more recent years really question like, did I ever want to be an actor or did I just need somebody to love me, you know? Did I just need somebody to validate me and and and you know, uh, uh, yeah, give me that thing. That I never got because of my. My parents got divorced and I moved around so much and I was the youngest of four kids, and so you know this. And now here I am, I'm in my forties, I'm starting new YouTube channels, I'm in the you know, the middle of a streaming career. It's all creatively based stuff.

Speaker 2: 23:59

But I'm having to really go back and question the initial motivations for why I ever wanted to do it in the first place, and the answer is still yes. I've had to purify my desires for why I want to do this. I can still do it, I can still do entertainment-based content and there's still joy and excitement and there's challenges too. But I hope that my desires have become purified, you know, because it's not just what you do, it's why you do it. Yeah, and that's where I think the fulfillment can come in, because if you're doing something, you know it might outwardly be successful and productive and even helpful to people, but there's a missing element, I think if you're doing it for the wrong reasons, a hundred percent.

Speaker 2: 25:01

And then I started to question my motives when I would get easily defeated at challenges that would come up, Things would go wrong, Things wouldn't go my way and I'd be so discouraged.

Speaker 2: 25:12

And part of that is just kind of emotional maturity, things that I've had to work on within myself that have nothing to do with being creative. But it's also like man. Shouldn't I be more motivated than this? Shouldn't I want this more. It's like, why don't I want this more than I do? And so I've had to go back and just be honest with myself and um and and and just go through that process of questioning. And if you come through that, I I'm. If you go through that process and you find out, hey, this isn't what I want to do, that's fine. No matter how old you are, you know, it's never too late to kind of pivot and switch positions. I don't think. But if you do come through and you can purify those desires I feel like I've started that process then it can be more satisfying and more fulfilling and also, I think, ultimately, ultimately more entertaining and more uplifting and more beneficial to the people you're trying to entertain.

Speaker 1: 26:05

Yeah, and I'm so glad you just shared that, because one of the things that I've discovered in this project speaks to your experience as well as my experience. A vast majority of the soft professionals I've met all come from a very, very, very broken childhood with adversity, and that leads us in my opinion, it's what leads us to want to be the protectors, to be the ones to stand up, and it's not just like one, two, not even 10 more, and in my own course of healing and my own journey, I've found that that is a unifying, connecting thing within a vast majority of our soft professionals, and what you just shared about the adversity you went through as a child being the primary motivator of wanting to have that attention. You have a childhood where you're not acknowledged, you feel left out, you feel abandoned. Well, throughout the rest of your life there's going to be a theme. You're going to constantly search for that validation. But we can do the work. We can do that deep, impactful work to figure out okay, I can satisfy this need, I can understand and give myself what I need and heal through this, and then that will empower our journey as a creator to be more fulfilling, more rewarding, because then, instead of waiting for that validation from an outside source. No, it's coming purely from what we want to share. It's coming and I 100% get it.

Speaker 1: 27:37

There are those days where nobody's fucking down and nobody's fucking listening, but you know what? There's one or two people that get the message, that resonate with what you're saying, and the world is better for what you're putting out there, because it's not just glitzy and glamour, just pointless crap that you're throwing out there. You're putting something of value and of purpose that's meaningful, and then you understand your new mission. Then you understand it's just like being in Iraq and Afghanistan. Well, it's like, oh shit, is this mission worth fighting for? Hell yeah, it's worth fighting, for we're going to make a difference for that village and those people over there. Nobody's going to know about it in fucking history books For today, in this mission, in this fucking day and age, we're going to stay the course, we're going to hold the line and we're going to go back successful.

Speaker 1: 28:25

Nobody will know about it, but it doesn't fucking matter. The mission's what matters and that's what's truly, really important about getting into this space. If you have a mission or something that you're really wanting to share with the world, be willing to go into it. And in that journey, in that creative space, you're going to find out a lot about yourself and be willing to say, oh shit, okay, maybe I need to dig up some resources and maybe I need to go talk to somebody and satisfy this, because that's something that we're all going to go through in life and realize, whether it's working at a company or doing your own business. At some point something's going to pop up and be willing to pull the thread and ask for help. Know, I did and that made a difference. It made a huge difference and it made everything that I do now so much better. Because the one thing about being a mental health advocate if you're not willing to get fucking help, you're not going to be of service to fucking anybody.

Speaker 2: 29:18

Yeah yeah, it's true, man, um the, I think, the power of, of social media these days and the danger is that we have access to so many more stories, so many more different perspectives there of myself. Uh, you know, there's the saying if you know, if you're, if you can, you being authentically you empowers other people to be.

Speaker 2: 29:50

Yes, you know themselves right and so, like you say, being willing to step out there and and be vulnerable, or uh, or you know, give a, give, a truthful expression, even if somebody doesn't agree with you, or uh, you know they don't, they don't get that. Uh, one-to-one translation of that's like me, or I think like that, or just seeing you do it, can kind of maybe shake things up for somebody out there and get them to think about, oh, maybe I can reach out or maybe I can do this endeavor. Or, you know, get help, and that help can come in a lot of different forms. You know, get help and that help can come in a lot of different forms. I'm not a therapist, but I've had people reach out to me and say, hey, thank you for doing what you do and creating the content you create, because it kind of helped me. It was just like something that helped me just a little bit to get through the next day. And then they go get help and they actually, you know, if they need clinical help or social help or even spiritual help, you know they'll get. Sometimes just getting to the next day is really an accomplishment.

Speaker 2: 30:48

You know we talk about success. You know you got to define success? Right, and there's no one definition for success. It depends on what you're doing and and what you want, and there's a lot of different factors that can define that for you. And that's good, that's encouraging, because, um, sometimes you wait, you realize that you've been defining yourself according to somebody else's definition of success, right, you know, you let's that. You took that on. Somebody's influenced you or said something or did something, or, over the course of your life, you came to believe that success has to look like this, and if it doesn't look exactly like that, well then I'm not successful. And we internalize a lot of that kind of stuff too in terms of our identity and our value. So, yeah, it's good, it's good to know that you can. You define success, and it's not necessarily what somebody else's success looks like. Yeah, dude.

Speaker 1: 31:41

And that brings me up to a great question how are you defining success on this journey and being able to scale it right? Because a lot of people really think that it's like, okay, this is my definition of success and it stays like this forever. I have to have this, this is my definition, whereas if you scale it and make it more of a metric that you can reach on a daily base, that's infinitely more rewarding.

Speaker 2: 32:10

Yeah, for me personally, I've tried really hard, and I continue to try really hard, to separate my value, my inherent value in life, from the success, my definitions of success. I'm a Christian and my value comes from there, you know, it comes from knowing, knowing Christ and following him, and so there's that transcendent value that I think we're all kind of looking for, uh and, and so I've, and that hasn't been real to me for most of my life. I could say I grew up in a Christian environment or I grew up going to church or whatever, but I had to make that, I had to believe that for myself, you know, and that's because that's that's what it's really all about, that's so I need. I grow in that, hopefully, every day somewhat.

Speaker 2: 32:54

Um, but right now, I mean I, I, I want to, uh, I. That way, I think my desire has been purified to define success as just being, you know, getting as big as possible. Right, I want to have as many followers and as many subscribers as possible because I like what I do and it's fun what I do and I think other people will be entertained by it and I think it's good for the culture, not in like an arrogant way or that. I'm like a big, it's like a big message kind of thing, like a certain political or social or or even even spiritual message necessarily. But to have lighthearted entertainment, that uh is, I don't think, inherently divisive, is, uh, I think, a good goal these days, because a lot of entertainment in the popular culture space, I think, is divisive. I think it is message driven, social, political message driven, and I want to find as many spaces or as many ways in which we can come together some other stuff.

Speaker 2: 33:57

Or, right now, in this space, it's not about skin color, orientation, identity, expression. It's just about we're all sharing. We all love Helldivers too, we all love this video game, right, we're just hanging out, we're chatting, we're chatting about just regular stuff. It's that kind of water cooler talk and lightheartedness. I know it's not everything and I know it's just entertainment, but I think it is good, I think it is positive for the culture. So I want to be as successful as possible. I want to have as many followers and subscribers as possible, and I can say that because I know that at the end of the day, I'm still going to be who I am. I still have inherent value. I'm a son of God, I'm a husband to a beautiful wife, and there's other pursuits that I have that don't get any media attention but that I believe in and I think are good for the culture as well.

Speaker 2: 34:57

And so, in terms of success in this public space YouTube, podcast, live streaming and stuff I want to be as big as possible. Why not? Because because I need something to shoot for, I need a goal, I need a reason to get up in the morning and makes me feel good to think what if I could be? What if I could be that guy? I could be the markiplier, I could be the jacksepticeye, I could be the ninja, you know, um, and I know that there's challenges that come with that, but hopefully, at the end of the day, no matter how successful or unsuccessful I am in reaching that goal. Uh, I still got. I still know who I am you know, and it's not.

Speaker 2: 35:31

It's not connected to my, to my career success, you know. So I want to be, I want to be big.

Speaker 1: 35:36

Yeah, dude, you just uh, you brought up something that I love talking about, now more than ever. Um, I think more people have gotten very bold and have finally started talking about a lot more faith mind, body and spirit three spheres that we, as soft professionals, as veterans, as first responders, have to really cultivate in order to heal, in order to be our best selves, in order to be prepared to take on all those challenges we take on life. Have you always been a Christian? Have you always followed faith? How does it play in your life now?

Speaker 2: 36:14

I mean my background. I was a kid, I could say. I grew up going to church, grew up reading the Bible. My parents gave me good stuff, despite their flaws and their failings, good stuff Like uh, despite their flaws and their failings, they, they gave me good seeds for my faith. Later on, and and I could say from my perspective, I know that God has always had his hand on me and guided me to where he wanted me to go, even especially in the military.

Speaker 2: 36:37

Um, but I would say that, in terms of my Christianity, I came to faith sometime when I was in the military, because I was removed from everything that I knew, everything familiar, every other outside influence, and I was just alone and I would go to chapel during basic training or I would go to a church when I was out at Fort Bragg. But I just did it because that's what I'd always done, and I started being like I really, you know why am I doing this? And and I really have to do it because I, I believe it, uh, not because I'm kind of borrowing my, my, my family or my parents' faith or or habits, uh, or whatever. And so, um, I was stationed at Fort Lewis and, uh, uh, I went to a church. This is funny because the the pastor actually, actually, you know, in Christianity today there's a lot of controversy. There's pastors who fall, they fail, they get taken down for, you know, for things that they're doing behind the scenes and stuff, and I mean I'm okay with that. But I have to.

Speaker 2: 37:38

You know this guy, mark Driscoll. He went to Mars Hill, seattle, up there, and I really learned a lot from him because he was all about being a Christian man, like what does it mean? What does manhood mean from the biblical perspective? And so I was really challenged by that and how you treat women and how you treat younger people and how you treat everybody. And then, and then a couple of years later he had to step down because of, like some some charges and stuff. So but you know, god makes, god uses, god makes straight lines with crooked sticks. So I did get some influence from that. So it's just been a journey ever since then and it's become more and more important to me in my life.

Speaker 2: 38:16

Now it's cornerstone and it's essential and it touches every aspect of my life, from the kind of content that I want to create, even if it's not explicitly, sort of like religiously message based to my politics, to my social views, to the people I associate with. It has to, because I think any value system has to choose. It has to cross every aspect of your life, otherwise I would question whether or not you actually believe what you believe. And I respect anybody across willing to go to the mat. For what am I really? What hill am I really willing to die on in, in any, in any area? And so, uh, you know, I have to be um, I have to let my faith, my, my, my belief in Jesus Christ, I have to let that influence every aspect of my life. Um, because it demands nothing less. And if you're going to give yourself fully to a belief system, you better be willing to believe it fully. Good morals to be displayed where our youth go to.

Speaker 1: 39:51

What better place to go do that than where they're actually going to, to Twitch, to YouTube, and we're constantly angry and creating outrage but we're not combating it and all it is is having the ability and the strength and the tenacity to go to those places to do the things that they're actually going to be geared to like. If you enjoy playing video games and you're a positive male role model and you want to be able to be a positive uh version or antithesis to what you're seeing, go in those spaces and create. Go, be willing to sit in those places like. I don't know a single veteran or active service member that doesn't enjoy playing video games, especially call of duty, like that was the bread and butter that raises.

Speaker 1: 40:35

I remember playing local freaking land parties uh, before we had this. Uh, you know the the advent of wireless gameplay like dude video games are part of our military culture. If you're a strong individual that has great positivity to give in those spaces, be willing to do it and you're one of those people that are actually doing it. And I want to ask you, like, when you are playing these games, how great does it feel to be a positive voice, to be able to sit there and create a space of like dude, like we're being able to connect and share positivity, rather than being just another negative voice in this echo chamber.

Speaker 2: 41:27

I mean it, it it's a big responsibility, and I say that because obviously it's fun to play video games, but I think you have to uh, you know, here's what I'll say man, uh, men gotta be men, yeah, and I think that there's a very specific place for strong men to be in culture today. And I'm I'm not saying that like I'm there, you know what I mean. I'm saying that as a challenge to myself, because sometimes we want the uh, you know the influence or the rewards, without the responsibility.

Speaker 1: 41:56

Yes.

Speaker 2: 41:58

And, and and I've, I've had to confront that because, you know, uh, because of various factors in my life, I do not like conflict, I do not confrontation, but I've been forced to, it's been forced into my life, uh, in in in a lot of, in some different ways in the past, some past experiences, and so, um, I, uh, it feels great and and I uh want to give myself credit to say that this is. It may be fun and lighthearted, but I think it is important because everything has the potential to influence culture. And, uh, and like you say, um, there's a place for calling things out and bringing things into the light, and maybe making a stink or something every once in a while. But what are you going to do after that? Yeah, right, uh, and and, uh, and everybody's playing the game. Nobody gets to sit out, uh, on the sidelines. If you're sitting out on the sidelines, then, uh, you, you, you take away from whatever side you might be willing to help, and that's not good.

Speaker 2: 43:02

Um, and I'm not saying everybody has. There's a different, just like a team, an o, saying everybody has to. There's a different. Just like a team, an ODA, just like the military. There's a place for everybody. And if, and whether, if you're in a public space, like you or I, if you're making entertainment, like myself, that's one part of it. But if you're somebody that just wants to support, or if you maybe in your own life, you're just somebody that just doesn't want to, you don't want to say anything. That's not true, you know, and you can't say something that you believe is not true. Even that helps, you know, um and and uh. So uh, it's, it's great.

Speaker 2: 43:40

I really am thankful for what I get to do and I'll always be thankful that, like you say, if one person is influenced by me in a good way, a morally good way, if they're uplifted a little bit, then to I, I have to. I want to support my wife, right, and I want to be successful in the monetary sense, and so you have to balance those two. You have to balance. You have to adhere to your values while still pursuing a capitalistic kind of end goal, right, and I think that's totally, it's imminently doable. I'm not saying capitalism is wrong, it's it's. It's a. It's a economic system, not a moral system. So you take your morality and you input it into the capitalistic system and you, and then hopefully you can navigate that and and be successful.

Speaker 2: 44:33

Um, but, uh, I just feel, I just feel convicted more and more these days that, um, I can't, I can't just sit on the sidelines, I can't be silent about certain things and and that's really tough because there's real political and social issues that I feel strongly about that I have to decide when I'm streaming or when I make content. We don't talk politics, but if you have a personal belief system that you want to express in time, you can, because I express my Christianity on my stream and I want to give that that, um, that equal, that equal speech or equal access to anybody, because I'm going to say it, I'm going to talk about Jesus Christ and how awesome he is, and if you think there is no God and that's awesome, or there are no objectively moral things in this world, okay, you can say that too. Man, you know, and we can. Uh, what is it? We can have understanding, if not agreement.

Speaker 1: 45:34

Exactly. That's a that's an amazing thing that you're providing, especially for a younger audience, because what we have right now, the status quo, is outrage. You say something. I don't like, outrage instantly, and we do it on both sides. Both sides.

Speaker 1: 45:54

Rather than sit down and engage in civil discourse, we want to immediately go to these frigging topics that instantly flare up one side or the other. Rather than say you're an American, I value you as a human being, let's engage in discussion. Let's engage. It's okay to try to sway, it's okay to engage passionately, but you don't have to resort to calling each other fascists, hitler, nazis and all sorts of vile words. No, at the end of the day, that's a human being. At the end of the day, that is a living, breathing human being. It's an American citizen, it's somebody that you should be able to find a common ground with. And we're never going to get there unless we start having these discussions and being able to give that example to a younger audience. That's such a noble thing to do, and while still staying true to yourself, not trying to placate and trying to flip the script and be somebody else that you're not, which you see that a lot these days. You see this mask, come on the moment they're in that and they're engaging, and the moment they're out they're like, oh no, that's a role I a role I stream and I'm this person outside of that. I'm this person. I'm like no dude. Have enough balls and have the courage to be who you are. And that doesn't mean you have to be hurtful and mean. That just means that you can go out there and present yourself and be passionate about what you truly believe in.

Speaker 1: 47:22

In this world of being a creator, even In this world of being a creator, people tend to think that it's just wake up, get on a video game and then you're just playing video games, having a fun time, like, yeah, I'm going to record a podcast, it's a great time. There's so much more to it. There's this idea that you have to be your own operations manager, you have to be your own publicity team, you have to be your own marketing team. How do you manage the day-to-day operations and what kind of? Can you give us a glimpse into your world and how you make this happen?

Speaker 1: 47:54

Because that's something that I know I was struggling to figure out and I kind of put it together. I kind of took all the resources that I had from being a warrant officer, from going to a project manager's course, to being a scrum master and realizing. All those little things are valuable and once I started applying them to my own life as a creator, as a podcaster, I realized that, oh shit, I don't need the cavalry, I don't need a PR team, I don't need a social media team. I can do this social media team.

Speaker 2: 48:24

I can do this, man. That's big, it's a big question. First of all, let me say that I'm not special, I'm not smarter than anybody else, I'm a regular guy. I would even say that there's some stuff that I struggle with that hinders my ability to format my time and be effective in my time management and pursue a creative career. All that to say.

Speaker 2: 48:59

The world is, there's so many resources out there and, like you say you talked about it a little bit there are, I think, think, universal principles for success or for, uh, time management, for, uh, conflict resolution, for emotional intelligence, for engaging with other people and working in a creative uh space, uh, and working through those kinds of there. There are ideas that they just keep coming back and they're universal and they're timeless and and they're out there and you can find them and it may take a while, but even the process is helpful, right, it's? It's not so much. You know, at the end of the day, if I've made a video, I'm successful. It's striving and struggling through all that kind of stuff, cutting through the weeds and watching a video or having a conversation, reaching out to somebody for help, um, uh, they're all out there. So that's the big old, long preface to uh uh. I try to look at my week. Maybe on a Sunday Can you hear that. No, okay, good, don't worry, I've got really good processing stuff, and I'll take pretty much everything.

Speaker 1: 50:06

Can you hear that? No, okay, good, don't worry, I've got really good processing stuff and I'll take pretty much everything All right, good. Good, Because my office is my living room and the street's like right out there.

Speaker 2: 50:17

But so where I'm at right now, right, and the process is always evolving. So give yourself the grace to evolve your process and improve it. So look at my week Saturday, usually Sunday, I kind of take some time to kind of look at my week. What have I got coming up, what are my highest priorities? And you know one, two, three in terms of most important to maybe not so important. Usually it's a time-based kind of thing like this, like after we're done here.

Speaker 2: 50:49

I got to work on some podcast episodes and so me and my buddy, cameron and Chris, we text each other, we text each other ideas and we decide and then we divvy up who's going to work on what episodes and then we all kind of fill it in afterwards. Look at podcasts I've got categories, I got Twitch, my live stream, I got the podcast, and now I've got the channels that I work on with my buddy French Mike. He's over in France and so we have to work that out. What do I have to do today? Thankfully, I have a partner. My buddy French Mike is like super hardcore, high functioning kind of guy, so he's got maps and charts and task lists for me to do. So that's super easy for me, cause all I got to do is look there and then I know what I'm going to be doing. So, um, and what projects?

Speaker 1: 51:36

do you guys work together on?

Speaker 2: 51:38

Uh we work on. I've got a uh, a horror gaming channel called the is files. This is meant to kind of build a library of content in the video game space. It's pretty saturated. The channel is not right now so successful, uh, but it's getting the name out there, it's causing, it's creating a different brand and a different feel for what I've been known for in the past, which was my military stuff. And then we're working on a second channel that's going to have more to do with the video game space right now. It's gonna be a little more involved, a little more production oriented uh stuff. So, uh, that's what we're working on right now.

Speaker 2: 52:11

So I've got Twitch, I've got the video game channels, I've got the podcasts and, um, those are kind of the big three right now. And then I've got I've got my hard times. I stream Monday, Wednesday, Friday and I've got times for those. So those are blocked out and I use iCalendar a lot and I got color-coordinated stuff for different areas of my life. I've got personal, religious. I've got content creation. I've got social stuff. Those are blocked off. And then I've got hard times like Mimo the wife. My wife is so amazing. We get up every morning at 5 am we go to the gym, we work out together and, uh, I've got a little side project where I signed up for my very first tactical games event which is kind of crossfitters who shoot or shooters who do crossfit.

Speaker 2: 52:59

So it's a combination, kind of a competitive, and because I need goals, I need specific, time-based, structured goals to keep me focused, because I'm easily distracted. So I've got that kind of stuff, so all the hard times are in there and then I just kind of just fill it in by priority and uh, and I usually the it's usually the beginning of the week and earlier in the earlier in the day is when I'm most productive. I know that about myself. So if you don't know that about yourself, maybe ask yourself that and look at some YouTube videos. All this YouTube is such a great resource because they can at least, if it's not the end of your research, it can be the beginning. It can kind of spark an idea and get something rolling and then you kind of work on it from there and everybody has their own process. So it's earlier in the mornings and then earlier in the week, hopefully, and hopefully by the end of the week I've gotten most of my high-priority stuff done, and then by the end of the week I'm kind of doing a little more, kind of maybe personal projects or social events. We're having some people over for dinner here in a couple nights, me and the wife, because that's a priority for us, me and the wife, uh, cause that's a priority for us. And so, uh, you know things like that to where, hopefully, on a Saturday, I have nothing to do, I mean, the wife sleep in, we have our coffee, we sit down on the porch and we don't really do anything that day, because rest is just as important a part of the work process as the work itself. Uh, and so that's a principle that I try to live by.

Speaker 2: 54:24

So I guess what I'm trying to say is is I, in the creative work from home kind of personally driven business owner maybe, quote unquote business owner sense? I have to create my own structure, my own timelines, I have to learn how to prioritize, I have to be accountable to my business partners and I have to understand how our relationship is, what the dynamics are with that and then, especially with French Mike and this new endeavor, how do we work together creatively? That was a really new and engaging and challenging space for me to be in, because, as much as I've wanted to be in the creative space, or as much as I am in it now, I consider myself to be a very straightforward analytical person Like I like lists and I like easily achievable things and I like steps to everything. Uh, but there is still an artistic bent that I have always had which I think is pretty pure Um and so. So, yeah, I hope that kind of.

Speaker 2: 55:25

I hope that kind of, I hope that kind of gives you some insight into my week. The, the. I think that universal and timeless principles that are all there and then, depending on what you're doing, you apply them in different ways or you don't like, uh, you know, time management is time management and, uh, efficiency is efficiency, and you could slice that a hundred different ways, but you can't get away from it, and so that's kind of what my week looks like, and it's in flux. I'll tell you something about myself. I like novelty and I like doing things differently. I couldn't go to an office every day and do the same thing Now. If I went to an office every day and did different things, that's cool. An office every day and do the same thing? Now, if I went to an office every day and did different things, that's cool. But I like the challenge and the freedom and the responsibility of pursuing a self-propelled creative career, because it's a lot bigger responsibility, but it is very rewarding and very satisfying.

Speaker 1: 56:22

Yeah, it comes with a lot of ambiguity and a lot of flexibility and a lot of having to think outside the box, but I couldn't think of a better demographic of individuals better suited for this type of job than soft professionals or active service members. So it shouldn't be something that scares you. It should be something that excites you. The opportunities are out there. We've seen the success within our own community. We've seen guys that have made it and are thriving in it. So that should tell you that there is an opportunity. You don't have to do the same thing.

Speaker 1: 56:57

Oftentimes people think that idea that, oh, I need to be the next Mr Beast or Mr Ball and he'd be the next group of guys and do exactly. No, that's not going to work. There's already somebody like that. Be you, be your own authentic self and if you have something worth sharing with the world, be crazy enough, be audacious enough, be willing to do it, because that's what people want to see. They don't want to see the same. I mean, there's already David Goggins, there's already a Jocko Willeneck. We don't need any more of that. We need you out there being willing to create something of purpose, of service to individuals.

Speaker 1: 57:34

So, yeah, just be brave enough. If you're listening to this and you find this to be your calling, go into it. My man or lady, be willing to do what you're passionate about and don't for one second let fear be part of the equation or be so paralyzing that you walk away from it and ultimately choose something that's ill-fitting because that's not going to lead you to success. You're going to be very angry and bitter that you didn't take your own dreams and make them a reality. Real quick, tell us about your next projects. How can we get? What are your handles? How can we be part of your Twitch community? Tell us everything, my man.

Speaker 2: 58:19

Yeah, man, yeah, if you just want to see me on the internet, gamology, spec ops, react. Those are the kind of the beginnings of my content. Creation creates what I'm most known for, me and my buddy, cameron fath, former army ranger from second bat, uh, reviewing video games. We also do that now. Uh, more recently in our content with the pop culture field manual youtube. It's connected to our pop culture field manual podcast. You can listen to that wherever you listen to podcasts, on all platforms. We've been doing that for a couple years.

Speaker 2: 58:50

The Is Files is my horror gaming channel and I've got another one that's in the pipe that me and my buddy, french Mike, are working on and you can see me every week, three times a week, on twitchtv. Slash myhappyself Myhappyself is my Twitch stream. It's Mondays and Wednesdays, 1 to 5 pm, pacific Standard Time, and then Friday mornings, 9 am to 1 pm. So and I'm on. I got a Discord server If you want to come and join the Discord community. I'm all over Israel Wright, official Israel Wright.

Speaker 2: 59:19

If you Google Twitter or formerly ex-former, ex formerly on Twitter, and then and then Instagram is where I'm most active, is where you can stay up on the latest and greatest stuff that I am doing. But, yeah, man, I'm all over. I'm all over the internet, man, so you can find me and I'll say this I am not yet big enough or successful enough that I don't answer my DMs and Instagram or X. So if you're, if you're somebody out there a, a young guy or girl or or just somebody, just anybody that wants to reach out, uh, it may take me a while to get back to you, but I will get back to you, uh, because the engagement, the authentic engagement, is something that I take very seriously and that I value. There's always a balancing act between personal life and and social engagement, engagement, but I think I've struck a pretty good balance and so, uh, yeah, reach out to me if you want to reach out, and, uh, just wait patiently for my reply absolutely.

Speaker 1: 1:00:14

And if you weren't able to write all that stuff down, just head on over to the episode description. All the information will be posted below. You just type with your little fingers and, uh, get a hold of Iz Israel. Thank you so much for being here, man. Thank you for being a passionate advocate, for just being yourself and doing what you love. One last thing how badass is Helldivers 2?

Speaker 2: 1:00:37

I'm addicted man. It's amazing. There's nothing that feels better than spreading democracy and freedom with your friends against the fascist, the, the terminids and the automaton. So, remember the Creek. That's right.

Speaker 1: 1:00:55

Take care, brother, and we'll see y'all next time. Thanks, Eddie if you like what we're doing and you enjoying the show, don't forget to share us. Like us, subscribe and head on over to our patreon, where you can be part of our community and get access to all of our episodes as soon as they drop. And remember we get through this together, take care.