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#227 From Battlefield to Storytelling: Green Beret Scott Mann on Leadership, Vulnerability, and Building Resilient Communities
Join Deny Caballero and Scott Mann as they dive into the transformative power of storytelling within the military community. In this thought-provoking episode, Scott shares his journey from Special Forces to becoming a storyteller, actor, and mentor. He reveals the challenges veterans face in redefining their identity and purpose after service, highlighting the importance of vulnerability, creativity, and connection.
The conversation tackles the mental health struggles and social issues veterans encounter, emphasizing the need for understanding, empathy, and leadership in a rapidly changing world. Discover how veterans can unlock their unique artistry and overcome fear to build a meaningful life in the civilian world.
Scott’s journey will inspire anyone seeking courage to pursue their passions despite societal expectations. Tune in to explore the intersection of storytelling, community, and resilience—and don’t forget to follow, share, and subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts to stay updated on powerful stories like this!
Follow, share, like, and subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts to support veteran mental health awareness!
Chapters
00:00 The Importance of Storytelling in the Military Community
03:09 Navigating Identity and Purpose After Service
06:06 The Role of Vulnerability in Leadership
09:05 Understanding the Churn in Society
11:59 The Power of Connection and Common Humanity
19:12 The Journey of Transformation
24:14 Creativity and the Warrior Spirit
30:04 Overcoming Resistance and Fear
34:01 Community and Mentorship in Transition
36:18 Leading at Home and Future Challenges
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Produced by Security Halt Media
security hot podcast. Let's go with an expert in guerrilla warfare with a man who's the? Best with guns, with knives, with his bare hands, a man who's been trained to ignore, ignore weather to live off the land job was disposed of enemy personnel to kill period with my attrition went on the cruise and I'm like you're gonna go on a cruise and we still have tons of things to do for november. I'm like, all right, go ahead, go enjoy your cruise. I'll stay back and I'll do engagement and getting the next slots of uh guests.
Speaker 2:But yeah, you gotta cut loose every once I tell you what, man, and the other thing I was thinking too, like your format and everything that would have been and maybe for the future. I mean, there were so many iconic individuals there, Some known, some lesser known, but we're losing a lot of them too, aren't we? At a rapid rate?
Speaker 1:We are, and that's the whole thing. And I have I've had to be really gentle, because when you bring about the idea of storytelling, which it's central to your core, central to who you are, these days, there's still a hesitancy in a lot of green berets, where it's like I'm a client, professional and I've had a lot of pushback and all it takes is just give it some time, be gentle, let the message get out there and before you know it, they're like hey, you know what? I want to share my story.
Speaker 2:I think I think you're right. And we, we showed the. We, we showed the the. Well, I did a talk on pineapple express and and, and then we showed the film last out. And when I did the talk on pineapple express, I mean there were a lot of people in there.
Speaker 2:I think probably three quarters of the boat was in that talk. They were in the balcony and because it's something that everybody cares about, right, I mean it's in some way was involved in it in their own way. And but one of the things I said to him was look, I'm, you know, I'm nervous as hell being up here in front of you guys because, like you know, I speak in front of people all the time. But this is the group that really means the world to me and I don't want to get it wrong.
Speaker 2:And I think a lot of people came up to me afterwards and said, you know, that was actually my favorite part of your talk was that you could, we could tell that, like you really were nervous and like you know, and that it meant something. And I said, yeah, man, I mean like that's what I'm really getting after here with the storytelling is that this isn't easy, you know, and this isn't but, but we have our community has a lot to say that is really important for the country, and it's it. There's a difference. I'm hearing a difference between quiet professional and silent professional. Exactly, I think there's something to that.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Scott Mann, welcome back to the show. I am so excited to dig into this book because it's a mission that I find myself telling myself every single day and telling other Green Berets, seals and Rangers that are out now that nobody's coming. It's up to us. And when you announced the book and we had the first feelers, I'm like this this is something that's powerful, and it's not just for us, it's not just for the soft community, it's for everyone. We have this idea that eventually the cavalry will come, eventually somebody will fix these issues.
Speaker 1:And you did it so well that you just didn't give us a framework. You didn't give us like, oh, step one, step two, step three, to save ourselves. You gave us anecdotes, you gave us stories and you dove into it with vulnerability. In moments where you've gone through and done the play, you do rooftop leadership and everybody sees a part of you. But when you read it, you read those moments you're like, oh shit, this is strength. Being vulnerable can be a strength and, uh, I want to kick it off with um diving into the power of storytelling.
Speaker 1:brother, like, how did you cultivate this? It's such a unique thing now to see you do it. And it's like a fish in water, but did you always have? And it's like a fish in water, but did you always have the strength? Was this always a part of Scott man?
Speaker 2:No, I mean not at all. I feel like the and I appreciate that I feel like I'm always out over my way, too far over my skis, and and I and I'm constantly looking down after making the jump and saying, oh shit, there's no snow down there. You know, and uh, that's what it feels like to me all the time. You know, I always feel like I'm way out of my league, way out over my skis. Now I I will say that that has always kind of been, that's always kind of been part of me, that that's always pushed me, because I was a pretty small kid, a bit of a runt, and that idea of just pushing myself and then being around a bunch of guys like you for my whole adult life, that you know like literally thrived in that environment and taught me that it actually that actually is a very useful way to look at the world. That nobody's going to come, it's just what you've got, it's your little team, it's whatever you've got on hand and you can still get these strategic things done. And honestly, you know, one of the things that I find easiest, denny, is to talk about our guys and to talk about our families and tell their stories. Um, I. I was challenged with that when I got out of the military because there was so much pain associated with it that it was hard for me to share those stories. But I would share them. It was easier to do that than to talk about myself and my own stuff.
Speaker 2:But I think, being in recovery from alcoholism and also in just a really challenge with mental health after I got out survivor's guilt and stuff like that it just iteratively happened where the armor kind of fell off and, grace of God, some really special people reintroduced me to storytelling. I'd always been a decent storyteller, but never where it was like a modality for healing and a mechanism to bridge into other arenas. I'd never used it professionally as a craft and with that comes the requirement to be vulnerable, to be relatable, to be authentic, to tap into struggle, all of those things that make storytelling what it is. At a primal level I'd never been exposed to that formally and I'd never challenged myself to do it. So no, I mean it's been. It's an ongoing journey. Uh, it's something that I consider myself not a master storyteller but a student of storytelling, and I always will be. But I do like to think that I get a little better each day at putting more of myself out there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's something that I think all of us need to understand. We are used to doing scary things, yeah, and it's part of being an elite warrior, but then, when we transition, we forget that aspect of who we are. We forget the idea that we've gone into the unknown, we've become comfortable in the uncomfortable and we thrived in it. And then this transition happens, this identity, this purpose, everything gets jumbled around and now we're scared. We're scared of being in the unknown, like why is that such a huge thing for us?
Speaker 2:Well, I think that's a really, really special question and I think it's tied to storytelling in the sense that you know, and I talk about this and nobody's coming to save you, but I found myself, 18 months into my transition, having some very, very strong suicidal ideations, and even you know bordering on, you know, going through with it and standing in a closet with a pistol.
Speaker 2:And for me, I think that the reason for that and the reason for that mental health challenge that I faced was that I had, as you said, I had so enshrouded my identity in what it meant to be a Green Beret, what it meant to be a high performer in special forces. And when that was gone, you know, I walked away from that world and did what I thought the world wanted me to do, which was, you know, go into contracting, be a corporate guy, yeah, you know, get a job, all those things that I guess normal people do, but I put no thought into. Okay, well, what are the things that still light you up, man? I mean, like you, you know where, where's your impact going to be, where's your relevance? Because I believe that green berets, we, literally we, we drink relevance like rippets. Uh, you know, and and if we don't have relevance, there's a real problem. I mean, like there's a serious problem for us, and it took literally stripping away my identity, my passion, my purpose, and almost taking my own life before I realized, oh shit, seventh group, the team room, doesn't get to keep those things. Those are mine. You know my purpose, my passion, my core identity. That's mine. That was mine before I came in and it's mine now. I just loaned it to SF and I loaned it to the Brotherhood, but that's mine. And once I got a feel for that and started to reclaim my own agency and my own autonomy and, as Herb Thompson says, started to own my journey again, that's when things started to change for me.
Speaker 2:But at the core of it, man was storytelling, and I'll just end with this and I'll throw it back over to you. But here's the real no shit of it and this is what I've learned in studying storytelling as a craft and teaching it and doing it Is that we have a primal brain. Our brain is 250,000 years old. It has a mandate to make sense of the world. That's how the brain operates, and it does it in metaphor, it does it in narrative, it tells itself a story about what it's seeing around it, and so we are the protagonist, our own story, every moment of our life. And so the way the brain makes sense of the world is storytelling.
Speaker 2:Storytelling is a sense-making tool for the brain, and so the more that we can integrate narrative competence into our transition into what we're doing next and really align our past, our present and our future with storytelling. It heals us, it heals the brain, it heals the soul and it serves as a bridging mechanism to go into those new worlds and take what you learned in SF, what you stand for, and put it in this strategic delivery vehicle which is narrative. And that's the science of it. And we ignore that at our peril. That's why this whole quiet, professional thing I get it, I love it, but it does not mean omitting storytelling from your journey. That's not what that means. Stories have been told for thousands of years through civil societies around the world. As warriors return home, the country needs what our Green Berets and special operators have.
Speaker 1:Danny. They need those lessons because now the conditions we saw in Afghanistan have followed us home. They take from this. When you hear messages of tell your story, share the experiences, is they think that they're being told to go online, go on YouTube and share their combat trauma, to share the intricacies of being in combat. I always tell people that will never truly help someone understand what you went through Combat and what you and your brothers. You can't give that experience to someone. It gets lots of views. It's very consumable, but the community or the individual that consumes it, it's not walking away and saying, like man, I learned so much from that. They're walking away desensitized. They're walking away and they understanding that the violence, the chaos that's in combat, they don't learn anything about you. They're no closer to understanding why you serve. They're no closer to understanding the importance of being able to look to your left and right and trust your brothers and go into the unknown.
Speaker 1:What I want people to start doing is tell the stories of overcoming the real challenges, the real obstacles, and that's what really inspires others and that's I mean, and we need it all across the board. I am absolutely just thrilled to see the amount of Green Berets are running for office, being able to see our elite service members willing to go into the arena of public service again, that's motivating and those stories are powerful. That's what we need to share and not to go too crazy into politics. But we're a few days away from election and something in your book that I found like really important to talk about was the churn, this entity, this entity, this division that we're all experiencing. We've all been seeing friends become enemies. Allies used to break bread with are no longer in your sphere. Can you break that down for us and talk about, like, how that came in your sphere as something that you wanted to mention and bring about in the book?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think your audience intuitively gets what you're talking about and, um, but, but I, but I, I do think it bears breaking down because I think we have to explain it to those who don't Right, and that's what I really tried to do with the churn. I, because the brain works in metaphor and you know, this is um, for me, storytelling I prefer the term actually narrative competence right, it's the use of purposeful storytelling in real time to meet your goals. And in this case, like I want civilians to understand, as you said, that in this election period we're in a very, very dangerous time. It's just kind of a slippery slope for our civil society and I think everybody feels that in an instinctive level, but they're not really sure what to do with it. For example, you know, you look around the country and you look at the division and you look at the way people are treating each other and Sebastian Younger, in his book Tribe he said he talks about. You know, most combat veterans are willing to die for their country but they don't know how to live for it. And it's hard to know how to live for a country that's tearing itself apart along every imaginable line, from race to politics, to religion and treating their neighbor with contempt normally reserved for one's enemies.
Speaker 2:And when I read that I thought, damn, that is exactly what's happening here. And so what? I took that a step further and it reminded me a lot of Afghanistan, where, you know, you might have first cousins sitting in a shura and they're looking at each other tickling the triggers of their AK-47s with complete contempt for one another. They are mortal enemies even though they're first cousins. They might both be Popol Azzai tribes, but they're mortal enemies and they have a level of contempt for one another. And contempt is a very dangerous emotion, right, because when you get to the point of contempt, like, what you're capable of doing is really pretty terrible, right, and it might not be killing someone or even violence, but it could be unfriending a high school amigo that you've known all these years and that you've shared all these memories with, but because they vote a different party and on Instagram or Facebook you unfriend them. It actually is a verb now normalized it but it's really a terrible thing, because what that is is the fraying of the very social capital that that is so delicate and has been woven by our ancestors and and veterans who fought for it for decades right, and that unraveling of that social fabric where you unfriend someone like it's, I'll hit in the like button, but the opposite, yet it has all of the weight of contempt.
Speaker 2:That is the churn. And so it's not the enemy, is not the Democrat or the Republican across from you. The enemy is not the person that wears a mask or doesn't wear a mask. The enemy is the churn, this unprecedented, novel set of social conditions where there is this disconnection and distrust permeating our civil society and, unfortunately, quite a few what I call divisionist leaders who are fomenting that rather than bridging and trying to bring us together, to bring us together. That's why I'm appealing to Green Berets and other special operators, because I feel like we get that at an innate level, because it's the frigging places we worked for our entire life.
Speaker 2:We know what when you say churn, you're like oh, I know what that is, and I believe that our community is going to play a pivotal role, not just in politics but in communities and in our businesses, because we know how to navigate this. We do, but it is those old school interpersonal skills yes, that guys like you taught me how to do when the tendency is to reach for your pistol is that you, these, that you still reach across with a handshake, you know, and it's hard, that you still reach across with a handshake, you know and it's hard, but it's a craft and that. So I know that took a little bit longer, but I think that that churn is an essential metaphor for us to think about. And the last thing I'll say about it, denny, is I've you know me.
Speaker 2:I've studied civil society for a long time, with VSO and everything else, and I'm here to tell you this churn that is in the United States right now, and the West is no more than five years old. This is pretty new. It is a novel set of circumstances, and I think it's the reason that most people don't know what to do with it, because they've never experienced it to this degree. They've never experienced this level of collective contempt that we see, and our digital devices aren't helping. But I talk about that a lot in the first third of the book and I think that it's important because it is the new IPB that we're dealing with.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. Now more than ever, whenever we encounter individuals and I think you're onto something with the age of electronics and digital media, social media we attribute actions to the person's character, rather than understanding the environment situation in time. Somebody cuts us off and we're immediately that piece of shit, that asshole. We don't know what that person is going through and we have this disconnect from common humanity and I talk about it a lot Common humanity, understanding that you're part of this greater collective. The things you suffer from, things you're going through on a daily basis, those are things that everybody around you is dealing with, and stop attributing just moments of bumping shoulders into an absolute moment of malice. Person's not paying attention, it's okay to let go, and that's something like. We get out, we experience difficulties and now we're just this live wire of anger and resentment and it bleeds off into everybody and I think that's part of it. We're not willing to connect and understand that.
Speaker 1:Hey, I'm part of a larger community. I'm no longer part of just seventh group. I'm no longer part of fifth group. I'm part of Colorado Springs. I'm part of a larger community. I'm no longer part of just seventh group. I'm no longer part of fifth group. I'm part of Colorado Springs. I'm part of downtown Fort Walton. I have to understand that my lived experience is vastly different than Ted's and Jimmy's. I'm just part of the collective now and I can do good Because, like you said, we have things and experiences that can benefit our brothers and sisters within our community. We're still so freaking hardwired to isolate, yeah, and and I think that's something that we see being portrayed and shown in your play um, which is something that I want to ask you about now like coming into that, that sphere, that sphere of having to act, like how did you cultivate that again, that ability to transform yourself and grow into that character? Like that's not an easy feat.
Speaker 2:No, and something that I never thought I would do, honestly, and you know, last Out started as a really as a project to heal myself. I was already doing a little bit of speaking, so I was taking some local acting classes. Um, it was really classes on how to do a one person show, because in that you learn some of the techniques for storytelling from the stage and, and so I was just trying to get over my own anxiety and my own crap and and, uh, one of my coaches talked me into doing a little five person, five minute one person show and it was about a silly band that my son had given me when he was a little guy and we called it the magic silly band and I told the story as the silly band going over to Afghanistan on loan to my new owner, that that had been and what my experience was and it like it. It it was supposed to be just kind of a get up, get down and it really, really connected with the room. I mean, my wife was balling, my boys were balling, and we did a talk back afterwards and everybody kept saying that's a play, like that needs to be a play. And so my, my, my acting coach, or my speaking coach, really was on me hard. He said just write it, don't, you don't have to do anything with it.
Speaker 2:And so at some point in the writing it really started to come alive, because I got to tell the stories of other green berets that didn't make it home and and I was that composite character, so I was like becoming a voice for them. And then I thought, ooh, okay, well, if that's ever going to see the light of day, then I want to be the one to do that. Like that's a big responsibility and I don't want to put that on. You know, just an actor Like I want to learn how to do that. So I this was 2018. I, I'm not kidding you. I went to New York. I found an acting coach on Broadway, off Broadway, and I went to New York quietly for twice a month for a year and didn't tell anybody because I didn't want you guys to find out that I was doing that shit.
Speaker 1:Was it more like the fear of shame or guilt that you're trying something new, because that's something that, as you're sharing, that that is something that I am hearing from so many guys that are trying to do something that's outside the wheelhouse of the warrior. They create something small and they keep it small. But small never serves you. Small has never served any of us. It's never served us.
Speaker 1:We tiptoe into that world. Hell, I did the same thing and I'm hearing the same story. Hearing you say that you took trips to New York yeah, story like hearing you say that you took trips to new york yeah, just like I could just see you in like a french coat, just like you're hanging around the hat all low no dude exactly.
Speaker 2:and and then I'm in these acting class, like I'm in these acting, so I'm in this acting class. I go to audit this class because I've never acted in my life and this is is the ultimate midlife crisis. I'm 50 years old at this point and I'm in this little room off Broadway and I'm not kidding you, denny the oldest person in the room was 24 years old the oldest person and they've spent their entire lives on the stage walking the boards and they're good. And this guy that let me in the room to audit his name is Larry, you know. And this guy that let me in the room to audit his name is Larry Moss. And the only reason I even got in the room is because my acting coach studied under him and he's like, okay, he can come in and watch. And so I'm sitting there watching these young kids go through these scenes and he's bringing out these emotional responses in them. They're losing it on the stage. And I'm like, uh-uh, nope, that is not happening right here, that shit. And I got up to walk out and this guy followed me out and he asked me. He's like, what are you doing here? And I told him and I thought he was going to literally throw me out. He said dude, that's unbelievable. He's you know he goes. Did you know that? You know? Shakespeare, all of his original actors were, were veterans. Shakespeare was a veteran and I was like, no, I had no idea. And he's like, yeah, man, he's like, he's like you're right where you need to be. And he was so welcoming and, um, I went in and ultimately ended up doing a scene, uh, in front of these young kids and they were amazing. They were like, oh my God, like and, and so became some really great friends, to your point, you know, I became part of a broader community that really welcomed me in.
Speaker 2:And what I would say to anybody listening to this? Whether I believe that green berets and special operators are some creative moldings. We are by definition. We are artists. Now we create different things, but in each of us is a level of artistry and creativity that we were able to express in combat. That was just fully expressed, and you call it what you will, but that was creativity, fully expressed in these ambiguous, tough situations. I believe it is still. That is going to find its way out of you one way or the other, and if it is suppressed, it is a very dangerous proposition. It is a very dangerous proposition because it's coming from somewhere else, and so what I would encourage people to do is pick up the book the War of Art by Steven Pressfield. Yes, it was a life changer for me.
Speaker 2:It is all about overcoming that resistance that you just talked about, because that's what we do, is we think? Because I was thinking, oh my god, what if the boys find out that I'm going to fucking like I'm going to new york and I'm working with these young actors? They're gonna think I'm an idiot. You know, and, and there are, and there will be people. They're crabs in the bucket. You know they're going to think I'm an idiot. You know, and, and there are, and there will be people. They're crabs in the bucket. You know they're going to say things about it, they're going to grumble about it, but the reality is they're the minority and they're too dealing, too much dealing with their own crap anyway, to be worried about what we're doing.
Speaker 2:The reality is most people in our community will celebrate and and and and. That's been my experience, I'm sure it's been yours is. I've been lifted up in so many ways by guys who have seen the play, who've seen the play with their spouse, who have seen the play, with their daughter, who have seen the play and you know, you know, with a gold star family member sitting right beside him. You know, and, and so I know in my heart that this is where I'm supposed to be. It doesn't mean that those feelings go away, but I just know that, for all of the guys and girls listening to this, it's it's it's necessary that that reluctance that you feel, whatever it is that's coming out, it is a necessary component. It's just resistance and it's just telling you. It's just telling you that it matters.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and it's never too late, never. He talks about Stephen Pressfield talks about in his book like the first thing that he sold and didn't work and the next thing that he wrote and didn't work, and then years later. I mean you have to continue going if it's your passion, and I talk about this a lot because there are some great transition programs that don't always you know, they don't always cater to that small demographic of people that have a huge dream, a big goal that doesn't fit within the confines of a boardroom or an MBA program. You know you feel something pulling you towards something else and you look at those job listings and they don't align with what your passion is. And again, I hate to call out Cal Newport. Cal Newport will tell you don't do it.
Speaker 1:Go for what's marketable, go for the skill that's hard, that's difficult, that people are going to pay you a lot of money to do, and then maybe, then, after you save a lot of money, you go do that thing and I have to tell you don't and don't do it. It's not going to be easy, it's going to, honestly, it could be very, very freaking hard, be very difficult, but you're better served doing what you're passionate about. You've done, 20 years. You've done. You've done the hardest thing you could ever do go through selection, go becoming a seal, being in green beret, being, you know, paratrooper hell. You gave it everything you had for all those years. Bet on yourself, be willing to go towards what you're, what you're driven for. And when you first started writing I mean you're, you're, this is, uh, what you're. What numbers is up for your books?
Speaker 2:I think it's my seventh. I bet there's such, it's such a weird variety.
Speaker 1:It's been kids books, transition books, kids books, yeah but.
Speaker 2:But again, I go back to old steve pressfield, you know, and he says that our body of work, it finds its way out of us. It comes from a different place, you know. It comes from a different, a higher order, a higher power, I believe.
Speaker 2:I believe they're gifts that come to us and uh, the muse the muse and and uh, and and that was certainly my experience, continues to be my experience I never thought I'd write a play. I certainly never thought I'd perform a play. And when I told my wife, monty, that I wanted to perform the play, if you could have seen the look on her face, I mean, we were barely getting by in transition. I was a struggling, struggling entrepreneur and here we want to put on a play. But struggling entrepreneur and and here I, we want to put on a play, you know and? But she looked at me for a second and then she, you could tell she was doing some internal calculus and and she said why do you want to do this baby? And I said to her uh, I'm gonna die if I don't. And she was like well, looks like we got to play today. And we did, and you and you know what, man, I'm not kidding you it was for Veterans Day, november 11th 2018.
Speaker 2:There was not a theater in Tampa that would rent to us, because they thought it was some kind of pro war thing and we couldn't even get a theater. We ended up having to do it in the Marriott, in a ballroom. We had no lights, no sound, no director. I got my acting cast on Facebook. I went to the SF Brotherhood, Lenny Bruce joined, and then I found a couple of other local veteran actors. We did the whole thing ourselves, man, and we had nothing. And then, when the tour started, we used a U-Haul van. We put 28,000 miles on a U-Haul van, but, I will tell you, at the end of 2023, we had just finished a tour that was produced by Gary Sinise, you know and then now we're getting ready to stand it up again for 2025. I'm not even in it anymore, I'm just producing it. It's a whole new cast of actors that are going to go do it all over the country. We're talking about Canadian veterans coming into the cast. Now, for the first time, we're going to have an Afghan actor a gold star family member.
Speaker 1:You know, I've got a canadian for you. I've got a canadian soft vet for you that you need to meet. Uh guys doing amazing work, hook us up I'll connect you up on that after this yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:but but the point I'm trying to make is it that evolution, you know, everybody sees that and they think, oh well, I could. But I'm telling you, like it was, we started with less than zero and we just did what SF guys do. We just kept iterating and you're right, go, I think you go for that big, hairy, audacious goal. You get big shit done like that. Um. And then the final thing that I'll say and we can work it offline If it I don't know if you're connected to steve pressfield or or if you've interviewed him- uh, but I, I would be happy to try to you know because, um, we stay pretty connected.
Speaker 2:I'd be happy to try to make a connection and get him on your show absolutely I, I would.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that would be a awesome dream come true moment okay, let's see if we can make that happen yeah, and I know you got a, got a tight schedule and the last thing I want to, I want to press you for um. A lot of guys want it to be easy, they want to sure bet. I still do coaching with guys through the transition process and I I see myself in them, I see the fear in their eyes and they want that reassurance. And I tell all of them I'm like no one can take this fear from you Nobody. This is. I know it's a lot to deal with. You're dealing with a lot of things your medical appointments, everything but this is your dragon, this is your myth to slay. I can't kill it for you, just like nobody could kill it for me. What is some advice you could give to our brothers and sisters out there that are struggling with this same dragon that needs to be slayed?
Speaker 2:Oh, my God, what a great question, and I'm so glad that you're out there doing that. I think a couple things, look, that I would say is one you are not alone. Even though you, it's your battle, you're the protagonist in that journey. You're the protagonist in that hero's journey and you're absolutely right. Like that is, that is your journey, but there are a range of sidekicks right that are available to you for that journey. You know a cast of characters, some you served with, but you know what A ton you didn didn't a ton like some of the most impactful mentors in my whole healing journey and in my journey to become a storyteller and and honestly to, to tell the stories of the regiment and the men and women who are part of it and the families, though that mentorship came from civilians, a lot of civilians who stepped into the arena with me, listened to my stories and then walked that path with me, and I had to be willing to let them do that, and so I think that you're not alone, but also know that it's not just SF dudes that are going to walk the path with you.
Speaker 2:I think, really opening the aperture to whatever it is that you want to do and and that thing that scares you. You know that thing that when you're laying in bed at night and you're staring at the ceiling and know that's what you're being driven to do, like you know it in your heart and everybody else is sleeping and it's just stirring in your gut but it terrifies you. That's that thing and you ignore it at your peril. You know, do what Green Berets do well. Do the area study right. Do the site survey. Find the you know the pilot team that's already in. Find the auxiliary that's already there. Find the relationships you know. Exchange the bona fides but build a social portfolio around.
Speaker 2:That's what I did with the play. I simply connected to people who knew how to write a play, who knew how to perform a play, who were the best in the world at it. And you know what Most of those people like hanging out with Green Berets who want to reinvent themselves. They really do. And the good news is every single one of us has the innate skill set to do that reinvention, because we did it our whole adult life. So in that case I mean we have, honestly, a lot of the innate things. It's the fear that you talk about, denny, and for that I tell you. I cannot recommend the War of Art enough. I cannot recommend it highly enough as a field guide and shameless plug. Nobody's coming to save you a Green Beret's Guide to Getting Big Shit Done as two very compatible field guides. And then, of course, that dopamine dispenser that you can push the buttons and call any of us anytime.
Speaker 2:Not everybody's willing to jump on a horn with anybody from our community and have a talk, and it's one area where I love investing my time and I'm happy to do it, and I know you are too and others are. So yeah, I know that was a bit of a ramble, but I hope it helps.
Speaker 1:That was awesome, and if guys or gals are interested in rooftop leadership.
Speaker 2:How can they get ahold of you and where can they get the book? Every aspect of my body of work is on scottmancom. Uh, two Ts, two Ns, scottmancom, my for-profit, my nonprofit we're doing a lot of work. Uh, like the book, nobody's coming to save. You just came out twice a year. I run. I want you to come to one of them. I run a?
Speaker 2:Uh, a retreat called own every room, and it basically functions around teaching, you know, working on the old school interpersonal skills that we used as green berets, but I've turned it into a real craft of narrative competence. So, around the fire, around a fire pit will help you develop your story and those skill sets for what you're going to do now. Um, all of that's there. On how to work, I'm on patreon, would love for guys to go there. And then the, the non-profit side, task force, pineapple. You know, if you want to get involved with that, the play, our storytelling workshops that we do for free, um, that's all there too.
Speaker 2:So, honestly, scottmancom is the best place to go, denny, and there's a ton of work that we can do together. And look, man, I'm always here for anybody in the brotherhood, I don't care what it is. Reach out through Denny, or hit me up and we'll get on a call, because you know we're in some challenging times. Bro, I don't know how this is going to end. Honestly, I I'm optimistic. I don't know how this is going to end. Honestly, I'm optimistic, but I don't know how it's going to end, and I do believe that Green Berets and other special operators and their families represent the last best hope for this country.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Inside and outside of politics, so we need you in the game more than ever, not more than ever we need to make sure everybody's squared away, getting healthy, getting through the transition process, getting to that next chapter, ready to help and build strong, resilient communities, because the best of us have been gone fighting a war for 20 years. It's time for us to you know, switch out the camo and come home.
Speaker 2:Come home and lead at home, lead at home, come home and lead at home. Lead at home, because I honestly I told the guys on the SFA cruise there were a lot of them in the pineapple talk I said I don't think our greatest challenge as a GWAT generation has happened yet and I firmly believe it Our greatest challenge out of the GWAT hasn't happened yet. It's coming. That tap on the shoulder is coming for each and every one of us in ways that we never imagined. And I don't think that's a I don't think I'm overstating and we need to be ready, we need to train and I'm not talking about some survivalist mentality here. I'm talking about the, the need to lead at our most high performing level business, community, family like we've never done before, and there's nobody better to do it than our, than our community.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, Guys gals you heard it here Please go get the book it's going to. If you pause right now, go to episode description it'll be right there and then head on over to our Instagram. As soon as this drops, you're going to see all the links to go there. Scott, thank you so much for being here. Brother, thank you for what you're doing, and I can't wait to be at one of those events because I'm coming down.
Speaker 2:Uh, you say the word when they're open and I'll drag a couple my friends too yeah, because we all need it for sure, brother, and thank you for what you're doing, man. You're building a hell of a platform and a hell of a movement and you're modeling for the rest of us what it looks like. And anytime, dude, that I can come on or help get folks on your platform from the outside world, um, do not hesitate, cause I just so believe in what you're building and I celebrate it. And, um, I'm just grateful to you, bro, and keep going.
Speaker 1:Hell yeah, brother, you just made my day. To all y'all tune in. Thank you for being here, thank you for hanging out with us. We'll see you all next time. Until then, take care.
Speaker 2:Bye everybody.
Speaker 1:If you like what we're doing and you enjoying the show, don't forget to share us. Like us, subscribe.
