Latest / The Vincere Project / Episode 15. Progress Comes with Cost

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Episode 15. Progress Comes with Cost · The Vincere Project

• Vince: Alright, the Vincier Project is back. I have my number one guest, the first guest ever with the Vince Air Project. all important things to Vince. the CEO of HR Training Events, my wife. There's a picture of her over my shoulder up on the above the bookshelf. That's her. Our niece drew that, I don't know, what, four or five years ago. It's a pretty good picture. I like that picture. it's over Bookshelf that's really important and an office section that's important to me. And then we got the fish over there. That's Aunt Kate's old painting. One fish is looking the one way, one fish is looking the other way. But today the most important part is I got Mary Ruiz, I guessed. Two hundred and fifty years. What do you think? Mary Ruiz: think we made it a long way and it's a good thing that we're still going forward. 'Cause I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Vince: Yeah. I love traveling the world, right? But I have no desire to live any any other place on earth, right? Like there's something about the running water, air condition, having railroads, airports that function, roads that get fixed eventually, and some rule of law that allows rudeness to be an acceptable practice or or behavior in the United States of America. And that's what I enjoy about it. So we're gonna talk about a lot of different things today, Mama. What do you what do you Well let's start with this. Let me ask you a question. Like what were you hoping to talk about today, first and foremost? Mary Ruiz: I mean I always love hearing your rendition on how we met, but I think we were gonna touch touch on a little bit of our military service and how we got from where we were back then to what we are today at H hour. Vince: Cool. I I think that's yeah, my take on how we met is a podcast in and of itself. Maybe we'll do that one Valentine's Day twenty twenty seven if the podcast is still going at that point. But I think what's important today is to kind of highlight some of our efforts and energies and successes and failures in in definitely in the last ten years. Plus, you know, for me getting out of service twelve years ago and then you just about ten years, right? Like it's it's literally been a decade and and I it's been a lot of fun for me to watch and witness. and and and get to be your partner in that process. So I guess the the short version, 250 years of America, 1776, 250 years of America, just doing whatever it takes. And I mean, I think we believe in all those ideas and those principles, whether it is the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, all the people that cultivated and curated those things, and like I think I would share with you, we need to all be inspired by George Washington at all times to avoid taxes at every corner. not evade taxes, that's what sends you to jail. and if the government shows up at your door, sometimes you gotta grab the pitchforks and shovels, right? Not encouraging or inciting violence or resistance. It's just reminding people that like we do get a say or vote in in all things. And it comes down to being a strong community member, a member of a team and society, a culture of respect that's optimistic and hopeful. And I think you and I landed in South Jersey and I think that's what we found in our little our little bubble. And and for the most part, have been well received and have had the opportunity to build a business within a community that serves a very niche portion of the population, but I think it extends well beyond our immediate sphere of influence. And I think that's what we found in building a business and developing a business. So with all of that said, longevity is the theme and the story of it. But let's go back to man, it's crazy to say this. 18 years ago, 2007, 2008, the surge is happening in Iraq, and there's a young Mary Ruiz running around. In Iraq. What were you doing in that period of time in your first deployment in the United States Army? In the GWAT. Mary Ruiz: At the during my first deployment, I was a supply specialist, which pretty much meant I did everything, just like any other military position. I went over thinking I was going to do one thing, and then there I was in United States Postal Service class, driving from fob to fob, not in the back of an MRAP, but in the TC seat in sometimes a head or fueler or a water truck, Just to deliver a piece of mail and go to another base. after I was a mail carrier, essentially, to deliver my Daily Mail, which was a really important job. I mean, people really look forward to letters and care packages from their loved ones. I just missed the memo on the hey, you're gonna you're gonna stay out all night on the road. And it was pretty and it was a very interesting job, to say the least. I was also an armorer for Vince: Yeah, yeah. Mary Ruiz: probably like six to eight months handing out cruise serve weapons before missions. So I'm sure you saw many of our gun trucks while you were out on your route gold or at your Ur. so we were cruising around Soder City. So I'd issue out weapons before our mission, they'd get mounted onto the gun trucks, and then somewhere between two, three, four, five, six, seven a.m. maybe they'd roll back in, I'd get a little knock on my door and not really door, but big Tent warehouse building thing. And then I'd have to go pick them back up, which is something I didn't feel like doing, but that was just part of it. So after my postal service job and my weapons cleaning position, I got really into supply and I ended up redeploying back home as a sergeant, which was cool, because I did learn a lot. I got to travel to all the other bases that were close to Taji, which is where I was stationed, so all around the general Baghdad area. So I got to travel Blackhawks, L T Vs, Schnooks, C one hundred thirties, I mean travel was something that I loved to do and I really got to accentuate it overseas, we'll put it that way. Vince: Ha ha ha. I think that's kinda a part of it, right? Is y you detail, just as a matter of fact, whatever the job was, and it and I think it speaks to the greater or part of the military or the army experiences. As significant as we might have thought any individual person was or we were in the storyline, I I think everybody plays a significant role supporting the bigger mission, right? And to your point about the mail showing up, man, now we're back to blue. This this light is just not favoring us right now. But like ultimately overseas, you're right. The male shows up and I and then I think the funny joke is is that yeah, like a female male clerk shows up and you smell her perfume across the base, right? And that's just the reality of really intense environments where it's stressful, but there are men and women serving that are out there doing a wide sham shampoo then, I'm sorry. Well the re the money Mary Ruiz: No perfume, but alright. Why that doesn't even make sense. So whatever bubbles you're thinking it looked like, like we didn't look like this. We looked like we had been up for twenty four hours 'cause we did. And I always wore a beanie cap because it was not favorable to be a female at that time overseas in Iraq. And what's interesting is like I have a I have a few pictures overseas, but not many. Vince: Yeah. Mary Ruiz: but when I do my students or friends are like, Hey, why do you have a hat on? And I was like, Because I liked my head and I wanted to keep it that way. So it wasn't something that you try to put out there. However, I was kind of a celebrity when I showed up. I have a good personality, o obviously. I did have shampoo. All right, we'll put it that way. Vince: It it was the shampoo. Mama, I'm assuring you it was a hundred percent the shampoo or perfume. Like that is how it works, right? Then so like I think I think that's part of it, right? That it Mary Ruiz: You're acting like you smelled me from the flight line, yeah. Vince: That that is how it works. That is a hundred percent how it works. Because in Patrol Base Texas, at JSS Soder City, or living in a whatever outpost somebody's living at, when it's a bunch of dudes out there doing whatever they're doing in the big sea versus the little sea, right? And I think that's what the Global War and Terror show does, is that there are times when people could get designated to a battle space or an area of responsibility and they could be the most bad dudes ever from whatever unit, and if nothing ever happens in that particular area, that's just kind of what the roll of the dice was and what they pulled, right? There's other people that are out and about traveling the roads, flying to and from all over the place. and at different times in the global war and terror, specifically Iraq, that was incredibly, incredibly hazardous, had hazardous work. I mean, it it it is a those are big countries that are spread out and much like any conflict before, the conflict doesn't stay fixed in one particular location or place. It evolves from place to place and it's ever evolving. cause one place you had mentioned you spent time at or you would run to at times was old Maude. And there was a period of time when I would go down there once a week to catch a shower and then go back up to Souter City. And I think that part of it is like that transient living that you're mentioned about living in a tent and a conics and a bombed out building, on a floor, on a bunk, wherever you're living for that matter. I think in the military, at least in a time of war, you learn to make home wherever you are. I think that's something that you and I have. You know, I think we've we've learned that and repeated that a a handful of times. I think that that's probably the biggest lesson in all that. Mary Ruiz: Yeah, I could say that that little Vincent's baby bag has like enough supplies to get us going for at least three days if we ever hit contact and we need to, you know, relocate. We always have enough stuff with us so that, you know, if it's time to go you grab the bag and go. No different than a rucksack. Vince: Yeah. That's kind of interesting you mentioned that. I find that post service, and we'll get to to your post service experience, but I wanted to start at at 0708 with your first deployment, right? Because I think that was a tipping point. And you shared your professional development because of the chaos and the speed and the tempo of it, right? Post service, right? Oftentimes people ask us a lot about like prepping and doing this and having that and resources. And I always say more firepower is better and more fuel, but I'm also not an obsessive person like that. And I think in in the beginning of our relationship, you had more of that mindset of like we need to have everything at all times, from the beans to the bullets to the money, to the fuel, to the generators. And I'm more of the mindset that like, yeah, I think you need enough to sir withstand an initial whatever. But if there's no rules anymore for me, I'm going right to we are commandeering. It's operation commandeer through and through. And I think that's something you and I bring to our relationship in business because you look at it through the lens of logistics at all time. I look at it through the lens of operations, i.e., double running payroll today. So now we have a shitload of cash coming out of the business account. So everybody gets that early summer start b bonus. Hey, there's no bonus coming later this summer, but that's the one right there. because Vince is a dummy. but but ultimately, I mean the logistics versus operation in the mindset or perspective. What's one thing post-service, all your experiences work in supply and logistics? And when I say logistics, let me plug this. About an NCO in supply, they're managing at times anywhere from a million dollars of equipment, which could be a small amount of things, to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of equipment that they can be signed for, depending on the unit, the equipment, and the mission. what's one thing you learned in that experience that you carried over to post-service? Mary Ruiz: So the importance of property is something that I always take into consideration, right? So like one MRAP, which is a mine resistant vehicle, on a property book, which is basically your printed out list of equipment that you're you're responsible for. It's not my equipment, it's the commander's equipment. However, my job is to be responsible for his crap. So imagine that, like you're responsible for all the vehicles on the street, but you don't get to drive any of them. Either way. So one of those mine resistant vehicles was about like 1.25 million dollars. And we had over 25 of them on our books. So you multiply that by the amount of weapons, the amount of sensitive items such as M4s, nine mils, night vision goggles. Everything is under your control. And it's not like you have to pay the full amount back if something's lost or broken. But they take what's called one month's base pay. So I kind of adopted that mindset of hey, if I don't take care of my stuff in my house or in the business or just my technology. I'm gonna have to buy that again. So it's important, you know, that maintenance is done to the laptops, to the vehicles, to the backyard, right? Like we try to keep everything in tip top shape so that you're not having spending that doesn't make sense. So the military did instill that importance into me. Keep track of everything and pretend it's yours. And now it is mine. So now Vince: Yeah. Mary Ruiz: It's carried over effortlessly. The grass is too long, you cut it. The vehicle's dirty, you go wash it. And you don't have to drive through a motor pole to go do that, which is really cool. So Vince: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I I think that's something that was instilled in us and it's kinda kills the noise in many cases, right? Like growing into post service, becoming a better civilian, a a servant within the framework of our family and our business, I think is where we've accelerated because we take those lessons of managing these huge sums of cash or amounts of people and responsibilities and accountability, whatever the thing was, right? And I think That that's important to know. We immediately bring those responsibilities over to the civilian world. I ha I had I shared this with you all years ago. We went on our journey of starting to build a business and I had somebody make a s a smart ass remark and they like, Yeah, like like, you know, Vince, you can't hear this, you don't have enough money. And in my mind it was kind of funny, but it was at the same time it was kinda like, dude, I helped manage a hundred million dollars in a matter of two months when you were home and I I I I'm overseas doing whatever the work is, like risking my life playing Grand Theft Auto Three, like Guy, we can't even have a conversation about how to be a man. Like we can't even talk about how to be a dude or or anything in that sense. So I think that's the part for me. I needed those experiences with civilian people, much like you shared, is like our civilian friends and the good ones have softened our soul to understand and realize it's not a comparison thing. A lot of times people want to compare, want up look in other people's cups to measure what they have or don't have. And you and I look through the lens and filter of war fighters. Like, why would you ever want anyone or anything else to know what you have in your arsenal? Mary Ruiz: Mm-hmm. Vince: or at your disposable to pull the trigger on. I think that's something you and I talked about quite a bit. Is like, yeah, it's okay that they see the Bradley or the MRAP or the 50 Cal, but they have no idea that with a radio call or the push of a button, like you you you can rain down fire from all sorts of angles on on their world. So I think we use that mindset and we apply it to business and it's a less aggressive way. It's a level level two way. Level two in the sense of we're hyper aware and we don't keep score or tally, but we don't forget anything. Right. And at the end of the day, because the operation of the mission is built with such a long runway to serve H hour and nothing else. So it has nothing to do with H hour. It literally has nothing to do with with anything in terms of how we we decide. I think that's the linear focus in how we manage mission. What would you say in that process, right? Post service, accountability, responsibility, keeping control and operationalizing all of your stuff, using your equipment, keeping everything going and the resources. how did that tie over into your school experience? 'Cause you did go to school for a while to finish your bachelor's and master's degree. Mary Ruiz: Yeah, so at at some point, you know, the word sergeant, you're you're a teacher, essentially. And so I would always recommend to everybody that's been in the military that doesn't know what to do, just give it try. I mean, you've done it already for at least a minimum of four years or whatever your contract is. and I found it to be like a flawless transition as far as you know, being able to disseminate information to those who can then reteach it to somebody else. So if somebody else is able to teach. what you've taught them, then you're a successful teacher. so yes, in New Jersey there's a lot of school that you have to go through. However, you have to make that decision for yourself. Do you want to put the work in and then you know get the little piece of paper with your name on it? Or do you just want to, you know, you can teach many things outside of a school setting, I'm assuming. However, I feel like it was worth it as a starting point for me. to become a teacher. And what was interesting is in the military there's just one way of teaching it. That's it. You just you know, you have your your training manual, you read through it, you know, you give a demonstration, you have your soldiers teach you back and and then that's it. But in the civilian world, there's different l learning modalities, which I found to be really interesting. some people are auditory learners, others are kinesthetic learners and they like to be hands-on. Vince: Yeah. Mary Ruiz: And some people can just watch something happen and then learn that way. And so I really would have enjoyed that in the military. And I found that because there's so many different ways you can go about teaching, plus using technology, it's really unlocked a world of like wonder and excitement. at least, you know, being from a rigid background to a more fluent background where there's many options and choices. So having that discipline and that internal structure from the military. has really helped carry forward my teaching career. about five or six years in, I was nominated as the teacher of the year where I work in Stafford, New Jersey, which was really exciting. And it kind of made me put, you know, my foot on the pedal to go ahead and get that master's degree. and then, you know, you hit that point of, all right, well like, what's next? Right? And I know you hit that as well after you got your master's degree. We kind of have to make that decision. Do we want to you know, take orders and follow through from what someone else says, or do we want to lead from the front? So I feel like that's that was kind of the seed that was planted with each hour to get us started. but there's a few other things that go behind that as well. Vince: I I I think you're being modest, but I I do agree with you. I I would say that being a non-commissioned officer, it's it's to teach, coach, and mentor, right? Be know and do. everything that it that is the ro the the profession, right? And I think that carries over to education. I have found for me early in my career it carried over to counseling. You know, which was an interesting tran transformation in that process, right? It's like you go back to being a private essentially and a novice, right? Yet you still have this advanced level of of insight and perspective to Mary Ruiz: Mm-hmm. Vince: facilitating things and leadership. And I remember you and I, you were doing student teaching while I was simultaneously doing internship or one of my internships. And something something we kind of and I'm paraphrasing some of the conversation, but it was something about like, hey, sometimes people look at you, right? Cause maybe they know you're a veteran and you're coming into the room. Now you're in your thirties, but it's like they assume you've rolled off the couch or that you just did nothing in the military the whole time. Or they don't understand what the military is or how it functions. So they assume that like you had no other other options or choices with your life. And I think that's kind of a fallacy. I I think like, yeah, there were some absolute morons that I served within the military. On the on the polarizing end of that, there were definitely people that were like mensa level IQs. Like Mary Ruiz: Yeah. Vince: ended up going to Harvard and now work in all sorts of industries, whether it's in medicine or finance or or education or have run businesses or and are massively successful on a wide range of levels. I say that because I zoom back into I think some guys and gals when they get in the military and I notice this teaching at the college is there's a little bit of imposter syndrome that creeps in. Like I used to be this when I was in the army or the marine corps or the navy or the air force or the space force or the Coast Guard or whatever. And I and I how how did you find you dealt with that? And is that something you dealt with at any time? Mary Ruiz: I feel like anytime you go to engage with a veteran, you're either gonna know that they're telling the truth or they're not. So if they start talking immediately about, you know, whatever battle they were in, or if they knew like a like a name drop veteran that, you know, maybe was KIA or is significantly known for something, I would just walk away. It wasn't part of my conversation. I found that the most successful veterans are the ones that don't have the high school football story. They're the ones that I see, you know, I still follow on Facebook from my deployments or the different units I was part of. they're starting their own businesses, they have their own homesteads, they are educators. Surprisingly enough, probably close to twenty-five percent, maybe a few more, are educators in some way, shape, or form. and they're very serious people. They don't post nonsense online. you know, every time something happens, it's not, you know, you know, poor me and this needs to happen. Now I understand that some, you know, some veterans become advocates, which is something totally different. That's that's their job now. However, like you won't see veterans who, you know, have that real combat action or have those real experiences talk about it openly. I mean, we're on a podcast right now, right? But it's not something where I would just go up to someone and say, like, man, you know, route gold. We were driving in, dropping off supplies, they were shooting at us on hooking the barriers. Like, well, yeah, that's great. But how about like, what branch were you in? How long did you serve? maybe we have a connection on, you know, where we were deployed to. But honestly, I don't care what kind of weapon you had. I had that happen to me enough in bars. Growing up in Colorado and have the infantry guy sit down next to me and be like, Yeah, I got this M4. I'm like, Do shoot it. I mean, that's really cool. What do you do with it? Yeah, are you just go over and you just kill people? Like, wow, that's so amazing. Like so yeah, I I feel like if we have something to talk about, it's you know, how have you utilized your benefits in a positive manner? you know. Vince: Yeah. Mary Ruiz: Are you into real estate? Are there different things that maybe I'm missing, right? Because there's benefits all over the place, especially educational benefits for veterans that we don't know about unless somebody else tells you. Same thing with VA benefits, right? Like we recently found out from a friend that we could dig a little bit deeper with a few benefits. So those are the conversations I want to have with veterans. I don't necessarily care to engage with the impostors. You know, like, hey, let's raise money and then supply all these veterans booze because that's gonna help mental health. But again, that's for another podcast. This one's positive. Vince: Yeah. I and I think that's kind of it, right? Is everybody has an agenda or motive for what the reasons are and their purposes, right? And I'd agree with you, right? Like you know, I you're you're being funny about it, but I I would say that the the greater majority of men and women that do die by s suicide, that are either in service or post service, alcohol and drugs is directly connected to a a a lot of that. And it's it's kind of in the fine print and it's a dark, dark part or spot that nobody wants to point to. But I've yet to see it in my own personal experience where Alcohol has favored somebody in in their mental health. It just doesn't, because the extremes and the hits of highs and lows are kind of exacerbated upon whatever may pre-existing condition or what that person's going through in terms of their neurobiology. So I'm sensitive to that stuff, especially if I know at times that there's some people that have problems or it's created some some difficult things to manage in their life. I'm sensitive to it. So I think that's just my stuff. and you hear me share that enough because I'm in the office, I'm in the chair listening to people what they struggle with. And a lot of times it's Mary Ruiz: Mm-hmm. Vince: Those familial or social connections where the the booze was part of the lubricant, like, every Christmas we'd have the eggnog. Hey, every fourth of July we we we get a bottle and then the flowers, hey, we celebrate it and remember this way. It's not a condemnation or attack on somebody that has a good regulator that can manage booze or whatever. But in in our community and our brothers and sisters, man, is I don't know too many good stories that have ended that way. You know, that's just that's just the unfortunate part. Mary Ruiz: No, and I think I think physical fitness and mental fitness is a a much better way to have and share camaraderie. But again, that's kind of where like the training and events side gets some of its I guess steam or forward momentum, just ways that, you know, ways outside of alcohol that could benefit a person. Vince: Yeah, I I would agree with that. And I and I think that's a hyper specific part of of it, right? But I I mean it can be extended beyond alcohol. There there's a lot of things that that can hurt a lot of people. And I I would say in the veteran community, alcohol is it's been a lubricant f since the beginning of time. It will probably continue to be. It it is a a good part of the story in some ways. but I think over time it's just demonstrated over or a a career or a lifespan, it's probably not favorable to The guys and gals that struggle with it for whatever the reasons, too, right? For whatever the reasons. So I I think that's that's that's part of it. but the imposter syndrome thing is I I would agree with you. I think sometimes believing who you are and what you are, if you're going into your next career and if you don't have the mindset that you are the best, you just need to act like it and behave like it. I would tell anybody this: is that I am I am the best counselor, I'm the best counselor that you know, I'm the best counselor that Brooke knows. I'm the best counselor that your mother, sisters, friends, neighbors know, right? And and that's not saying that there's not other people doing stuff well beyond the scope of ends. It's beyond my imagination. But if my wiring is any other way and my software plays a different loop, or I don't believe that I'm the best at what I do, then it's just not gonna work for me. I'm not gonna function well and and I don't outperform my previous position. So I try to instill that, inspire that in other people, to your point, in their post service. What I find you you know, this would be interesting to you, and I never even mention this to you, but it's a good time. A lot of times with the students that I have in the undergraduate and the graduate program, they'll explicitly state things like, I'm thinking about doing this career and they'll look for validation from me. Or they'll say, hey, I I I think I I'd like to make this amount of money or these are the things I would like to do. and you know what I often offer right back to them is like, well, why would you place a limiter on any of that? Like why are you sharing it with me? Like you're looking for validation from me that I can't give Mary Ruiz: Well Yeah. Vince: But you're also talking to the professor that thinks he's gonna counsel in space. Mary Ruiz: Thanks. Hmm. Vince: Yeah, like I I know, like if I can get in a spaceship tomorrow, I'm I'm gonna I'm already talking to you about I'm gonna go to outer space, I'm gonna do counseling in space. Like it's just just how it is, right? And so the day-to-day stuff of like double running payroll, this is literally what just happened like two hours ago, or things like that, right? Like like I think those are just those are minor and I share that with my students explicitly because like you have to set your own goals on a scale that are beyond the comfortability of your dining room table or with your friends and family. Because none of your friends and family are gonna think you can do it. Mary Ruiz: Unless you've done something similar that they would be like, okay. Well, we've seen them do this and it's closely related. But if it's something sure. Vince: But that's a predictive outcome. Yeah, that's a predictive outcome. But po post service, there's no guarantees. There's generals and colonels that struggle just the same as privates. And in some cases, the specialists and and young sergeants had a competitive advantage because they don't know any better and on scope and scale. They were in the military for four years and now they're just starting their career. Like massive competitive advantage among their classmates or here. Mary Ruiz: yeah. Hi. yeah, I think it's much easier to get out of the military enlisted than it is as an officer because you don't you've never had that paycheck. You've always had to work hard for a position, whether it's to make promotion points or you know, it's always that one or two points difference between this level and that level. And, you know, when you're on paper sometimes, it's not necessarily accurate. Because who's to say you don't fudge something? Vince: Yeah. Mary Ruiz: So although you're the best, you're not really the best. Vince: Yeah, yeah, yeah. 'Cause well that's the thing, it's Well, guys I guys and gals' identities are caught up in like, I was a a command sergeant major, right? I oversaw a brigade or division, right? That's thousands of troops. Talking about power, right? Hey, I was I was I was a colonel of a brigade or a general officer, I was a division commander, right? That that's power. You know what I mean? That's not about money. That's prestige and that's power and influence, right? That's what that's about, right? And and and I and I think the interesting thing is post-service, you you meet somebody and if they identify with their rank or their unit or what they did in the military, Mary Ruiz: Mm-hmm. Vince: It to your point, it's almost like an automatic tune out of like, yeah, that's that's awesome. No doubt. I'm so proud you. Thank you for doing that. Like like awesome. And it was like when we you and I were at a veterans event and somebody lectured me about what my job was in the military overseas. Mary Ruiz: yeah. That's great. That's great. Were they outside the wire? Vince: Yeah, and that's what I said at the end of it. They they just went on and on and on, like just totally sh trashing what what our job my job was and what I did in the military overseas. And they had no idea. And then I was like, at the end of it, I was like, All right, that's great. Just walked away. Right. And I and I think that's the thing, is my I'm not here to change anybody's mind or defend anything or justify anything. but I will say this for for me, I I I think I've had you as a sounding board, which has been helpful at times too, right? And I think Mary Ruiz: Cool. Do you Vince: I think that's a superpower, right? I don't have to go far to say, like, hey, I'm looking at this through this lens and this is how I feel about it. And what are your thoughts? Right. And I think COVID was good practice of that for us. to figure out ways ahead. But I think we're all over the place right now. I think I don't want to press this thing beyond like forty-five minutes because we're already fifteen minutes over what I like to be. let's talk about hey, twenty so postgraduate school, we're both finishing graduate school, we're picking up our life, we're piecing it together. Mary Ruiz: I see that. Vince: You decide to go forward and fortify a battle position. I support you in it. COVID hits, we figure it all out, we get through it. But pre-COVID 2019, I say, Hey, I'm in the Bush Center. I come home and I'm like, you know, Mike Hansen and Todd Connor were encouraging me to start H Hour. And I'm like, all right. You know, and at that point I had some good mentors and done some work and gone to different retreats and events and had some amazing other veterans. Give me the encouragement. I came home to you and I said, Hey, I think we're going to start this business. We're going to start with this little idea, Vince the counselor, right? But I think we can expand it and over deliver in many different ways. And the exciting part is like we're well on our way to becoming a Bitcoin treasury company andor potentially a real estate company simultaneously here in the next decade, which is crazy. but let's go back to 2019. I come to you, I say, Hey, this is what we're doing. What were your thoughts? You've shared them with me, but think it's kind of interesting because people can hear about the business. Mary Ruiz: I think at at the end of the day I knew that since you're in the business of people in the military and you were always good about talking to people, solidifying deals, and then also reading the room. I knew eventually like Vince's counseling would be a thing and it would be something that, you know, you could use as a career. I didn't necessarily know how many different streams that we would have coming out of H hour. So it's not just counseling, right? There's the professional development, there's the coaching, there's our beach events, there's professional development for nonprofits. So to start all of that up at once seemed like like a like a pretty overwhelming task. But then you also think about like a battalion or brigade rolling into a new area and setting up camp in less than twenty four hours. So I figured, well, if they could do it in less than 24 hours, it was there was no chat GPT when we started, but you know, we started with that one EIN form. Then it was, all right, I guess we need an accountant. Then it was, you know, so like step by step, we would just build on what we needed to. And it was fun to be side by side with the process so that I could learn a little bit about the business. And, you know, eventually Vince's counseling allowed us to do so many other things. Vince: Yeah. Mary Ruiz: as a backbone. And it's just using the skills that you learned in the military. And, you know, you can't learn that in college. Nobody's going to tell you how to make a million dollar deal with somebody in a school when you're, you know, boots on ground in the Middle East or Africa. You know, those are the experiences that we have as veterans that can't replicate that. You know, and so if you can make it through that, a little piece of paper from New Jersey and a little like scare from the IRS isn't really going to deter us. Vince: Yeah. No, you're right. You're right. And I think it's about how you toggle and deal with fear and greed. The good thing or bad thing for you being married to me, not only as a business partner, and also growing this thing together and partnering with remarkable people along the way, you know, we do have amazing people around us. And I think that part of it is because I'm not wired to fear or greed. It's not the Vince Gets Rich show. It's not it's not one size fits all. It's we're gonna have fun, help people, and make money doing it. And if we can't do two of those three things, I immediately say no to it. Mary Ruiz: Right. Mm-hmm. Vince: All the time. I immediately say no to it. In every meeting with every person, I'm like, I don't I don't that doesn't even matter because I'm already thinking one hundred years out. Like if America went two hundred and fifty years, right, GW and c gang weren't like, I can't wait to Elon as a trillionaire. That wasn't the plan or mission. They couldn't anticipate any of that, right? We're in a very different world than they faced. But if you for me, I draw like 'cause I read about the history and how they did it and what their c considerations were. For me on my end, I'm a I think about it in terms of like it's a counterinsurgency, right? H hour represents a lot of different things to a lot of different people. And like it is opening and setting up a whole series of different forward operating bases, some combat outposts, and figuring out which ones work and which ones don't work. And then at some point you are gonna double down. And I think you use our experience in the GWAT where maybe there was some failed policy or not well thought out plans where you know in Baghdad or in Bagram you're gonna hold a piece of ground there forever. Like and that's how I look at it is like right now we're in that window where in twenty twenty eight we open up to outside investment, right? And at that point we're looking to plant the flag in whichever place and location is most profitable entity because our investors are gonna demand that and require that. Whoever the HR people and the equity people and the bankers and everybody, they're gonna want all to know all that stuff. But if Elon can and become a trillionaire and put people in outer space and build electric cars. We can go forward and serve as many people possible through our corporate identity at training and events, which I think you're leading us forward. The reality is too, Mary, what you and I have learned, I find, is that it's easier for Mary to reach out to another boss lady than it is for Vince to reach out to a boss lady in the corporate space. That's just what I've Mary Ruiz: Yes, at times. starting with how we can improve their work environment versus maybe what's wrong with them. There's a stronghold. But yeah, like some people can be intimidated. Vince: Yeah. Mary Ruiz: By a Dr. Vince type figure. So I feel like c collaborating and you know, growth and self-improvement are kind of what I preach. And if it's something that helped me along the way and my journey, I like to just share that with as many people as I can and kind of paint a picture of what it's like. I mean, I'm always climbing mountains, proverbial mountains, actual mountains, mountains of things that Vince: Yeah, and I'm an attempt person, right? 'Cause I'm competitive. Mary Ruiz: You know, they just appear and it's like, Well, what are you gonna do? Sit down, wait for it to rain on you, or are you gonna keep going up the mountain? So I mean it it's you know, everything is a learning experience and the more we learn, the more we can give back. Vince: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I agree. I agree. I agree. Get so many stuff so much stuff coming. I I wanna keep going. I I I don't know. A few more minutes, okay? Mary Ruiz: Two? Yeah, a few is two. Vince: Few more minutes, okay. Okay. All right. So I think I want to get into like the H Hour Institute. I want to get into the H minus program, but I I think we're gonna hold off on that. I think it gives us more to talk about in the future. And we bounce around and hit a bunch of different things. I think it was more introductory so people could get a feel for you, how we decide things, how we look at things. But I I look at it as it's a good collaborative space. I mean, I like to make bets on my best friends to do good things, and to win. I like to reward those relationships in different whatever capacity. because I think that's the fun story. I think when we we can build those relationships and and deliver that product and content to other people, it matters a lot. For me, you taking over HR training and events like has been a game changer. and managing the expectations of of some of our our clients and those relationships and the expectations, some of the planning process has been super helpful and freeing me up to to stay focused on on building out the counseling side of it this this next few years. Make sure we land in a good space, you know, support all the people that support us. What do you what do you attribute one thing to in terms of per service or at with HR training events? What's the one thing you've observed that you think is like the greatest competitive advantage people can give themselves, whether it's in a personal or professional capacity? Mary Ruiz: Personal discipline, you know, you get up at five, you still go through the same process of giving yourself a little physical fitness or whatever you can handle at that point. You know, eating a good breakfast, having a good a nice cup of coffee, and then getting right at it, you know, following up with those leads, reaching out to those team members. And essentially the team members at this point are more like friends because You know, we operate in a space where it shouldn't feel like work. It should feel like you're having fun with a little paycheck. But at the end of the day, I want to work with people that love what they're doing. And it's an advantage that we didn't have in the military. I couldn't just like finger point and be like, I want you as my photographer. I want you as my assistant at the veterans retreat. So we have such a cool squad of, you know, I don't even want to call them employees, but that, you know, assists in our beach events, in our veterans' retreats, in our corporate trainings. And I'm looking forward to you know, a few more events this summer and then kicking off the fall with something strong. Vince: Yeah, I think you said it well. I think i employees not never s nothing we we ever use or grandy make as a grand statement of like employee management or something like that. I think it's it's a little bit misleading. I think I think it's misleading. I think it's appropriate in some context, but it's misleading in in terms of like what it is. And I think there's a relationships that are sacred for us and we're always looking for part partnerships, right? Whether it's the partner for one day or for one hour. For one month, for one project, for one year, for one career, whatever it is, we look at it as a partnership. Cause I think we we took what the sages said before us, right? And collectively we made a decision in 2019. I do remember this conversation. I only want to work with people I like. And you were like, Yeah, I think if we're gonna build this thing and do it and have any longevity or stay in power, it's gonna require working with people you like. And then part of that we've adopted over the last few years is building a really long runway in that relationship. in whatever that looks like or feels like. And I and I don't think it's I think what happens is there's a is a responsibility in that storyline. I never wanna let down somebody on our team that I gave my word to. I don't wanna mislead anybody. I don't wanna fall short. I don't wanna give seventy percent effort when it requires a hundred percent effort, you know. And and I think that's that's when working with people you like is probably the most important part of it. Man, I have so many more questions for you. How do you think we did today? Mary Ruiz: I mean always good. At least good. Not bad. Always room for improvement. but it was on my checklist of things to do today, so I figure before I, you know, call QuickBooks and fix this issue that occurred at whatever time this morning with payroll. but yeah, I mean it every day's enjoyable. There's no it doesn't feel like work. Vince: Yeah. Yeah. We don't even know if anybody's still listening anymore. Yeah. Yeah. Guess not. Mary Ruiz: I'm probably my mom and definitely Jamie's mom. Well, we made it this far. Well yeah, if I'm on it. Vince: Yeah, they'll definitely listen to this. So I should probably shouldn't probably shouldn't probably talk about how like you're you're Mary, the wife of the Vince, the escort of the King Vince. Mary Ruiz: Well, you're Mary's husband. Where I come from, you're Mary's husband, so I I don't know. Vince: Vince Vince's number one Vince's number one set Nilf and Nilf. Yeah. Mary Ruiz: Something like that, yeah. I mean, you look at all my vacation photos that I used to take, so yeah. Vince: Well, I'm the eye candy. I gotta work on my abs. Yeah, you know what he actually you what though is w we we could highlight this though. Hey, how how important is that physical fitness thing for longevity in terms of professional work? Post service. Because a lot of times guys get in the military and they just let it go. Mary Ruiz: It's a very No, I think it's something that it's been instilled and you know it c you could say you gotta make your bed first. I'd say that absolutely, but I I wanna make sure that some kind of physical fitness, even you know, it's gonna be a hundred degrees today. Let's say you walk down the street and back before it reaches a ridiculous temperature. You know, stretch, mobilize, right? 'Cause you might go to throw that football and your shoulder might just pop or that ligament that you've been holding on to, you know, finally says goodbye. So it's just be proactive, not reactive. like would I love to be, you know, signing up for a hundred miler once a year and doing some great things? Absolutely, but it's just not the phase of right now. However, being in that good physical shape and eating healthy is definitely optimize, you know, energy levels, mood. Like if I eat like crap and I don't work out, it's just a bad day for whoever comes in contact with me. And that's not good if You know, I'm reaching out to a new client or about to kick off an event, like how am I supposed to have others follow me if I'm not doing what I preach? It doesn't make sense. If I show up to one of my women's workouts and, you know, I have like ketchup on my fingers because I was eating fast food, chances are they're gonna kinda look at me and be like, wow, like hmm, probably not gonna follow her advice, or definitely, you know, unfollow on Instagram. However, you know, that that image means a lot, even if it's just to yourself. Vince: Yeah. Mary Ruiz: And sometimes we can get absorbed with other images, but I feel like your own image should be first, number one. Vince: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I think I think you've been super helpful for me at times if that yeah, Mary Ruiz: It's a full picture. It's the it's the physical fitness it's not always the abs. Sometimes it's the like, all right, I ate a great breakfast and a great dinner and I had some some light cardio and I I lifted some free weights. You know, just because at one point we were, you know, ready to do I don't know, run a marathon and then compete in a CrossFit competition doesn't mean that we're not in shape. It just means that like it's hard to look back at photos from ten years ago. And say like, pff, you know, it's right around the corner, it's right there. It's like, well, yeah. however, I was also substitute teaching and you were delivering auto parts when we were in that kind of shape because we had that kind of free time. So it's all about that time management and you know, like what's most important? Vince: Yeah. Yeah, I think I think that was all of it because in that schedule that's the post service thing is you have the time to do it in that window and it's like you have to keep it going. You have to keep it going. Yeah. And and I think No, yeah. Mary Ruiz: Absolutely. You got four classes a day. You got plenty of room for push ups in between. Vince: Yeah, I think even when I was playing poker for a living for that two years, right? Like I would I would go work out, like get up at like three in the afternoon, go work out at like four or five, maybe eat something, maybe not, and then go play poker all night. You know, and I think that's the point is that like the but the physical fitness is what gave me the longevity to be able to sit there and grind out six, eight, ten, twelve, sixteen, twenty four hours straight up poker at a table. Physical fitness. I'm just making a statement that like that's what I was doing for money, like how I was making a living. And like I I think in that two years, I learned more about how to run a business in that two years than than I could have ever learned in a graduate program or in school. Because you you you just become intimately familiar, the return on invested capital, but this decisions are nonstop. And I mean Mary Ruiz: Yeah, life experience. Vince: When you're sitting at a table, you might get like twenty to thirty hands to play, right? And then the internet came out and released poker into New Jersey. again, legally. You don't have to play illegally through a a VPN in Panama somewhere or some whatever. And you know, I think those decision making the decision making that comes, you're playing now anywhere from six to sixteen to twenty screens, whatever it is, it's thousands of little decisions that are almost become an autopilot based on the mathematical probabilities of what can happen as the cards unfold and things develop. So I think physical fitness is what allows for that quick decision making. The same thing with odd delivering auto parts while going to school, that balance of like, man, I gotta spend half of the day here and then I'll spend half the day at a college campus, then half the day at an internship and then it's like, what the hell am gonna do? Then I'm delivering drywall, swinging a sledgehammer, towing stuff Helping people carry things, doing whatever I have to do to make a living. I think those were also the best times too. Because there is the time to get a two hour workout in all the time. And I think it I think as things evolved in the last decade or so, it became where you have to you have to schedule it. Cause if you don't schedule it, life is moving way too fast to make it happen. Yeah, physical fitness. Say super important. Mary Ruiz: Yeah. Agreed. Important. Vince: Yeah, all the important stuff. I'm helping. I'm helping. Man, what do think what do you think the message is for of hope for two hundred and fifty years of America? What can we share with people to finish up the podcast? What would you say? Mary Ruiz: Keep creating it's never it's never going out of style to create, no longer than the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. Like people laugh all the time when these new inventions are up and coming. It's like, yeah, well, somebody thought that the entire nation was gonna listen to those two documents. And guess what? I mean, I'm not gonna say it's a thousand percent. However, it just means that I mean, if you have a framework for something and you're building a foundation. Build that foundation. You never know when the entire country's going to be following it. Stay innovative. Vince: Yeah. Yeah. Progress, innovation, be aggressive, take all the loans, put it to good use, partner with a bunch of people, risk all the betrayals and rejections. Failure's definitely gonna happen. It needs to happen. It's good for the soul. It's good for the soul. I think that's the part of it when I've shared with you when I met you, is like I am naive and ignorant more so than courageous. Mary Ruiz: Yeah. Vince: But I think the you know it was cool in recent history in the last 96 hours. You got to meet my first NCO in the army, and we're both old men now. And I think that was kind of cool for me is that you were like, like he's very different now, is what he said, but he still has that smirk, the same smirk he had before a gunfight or a conversation or something funny, or when we're going to do something, or it's the same, same confident smirk that I have on my face, and yeah, I want to keep that that way. I'm gonna do that. But the innovation and progression is what creates that. And you know, people are quick to argue and get upset about other things when they they'll allow themselves to s to get go below the standard of whatever that is for themselves. And I'm assuring, you know, anybody listening at this point, but I wanna remind you, Mamas that like you know, it it there has to be a degree of creativity and innovation, move forward as a human, as a species, as a people's community. I would say this though is what what I'd say is for me, I'm probably too far on this. I take it super, super personal. I think it helps once it's taken personal for people to change. I don't think you need to take it to the extreme like I do. But then again, I I I've never seen a foxhole I wouldn't jump into. Cause I I've I I've yet to meet too many people braver than me, right? So like I think that's how I look at the world. I don't know. Whatever. There's you. You're a little bit braver. So jump the foxhole with you. Mary Ruiz: I don't know anybody more disciplined than me, so I've had it. It'll be a very organized foxhole with lots of supplies. Vince: Yeah. No, you're good. It rubs off me. Rubs off of me. Well, here's to two hundred for fifty more years of this good idea that's America. We get to benefit from all the good stuff. That's why we're able to do this podcast. Hopefully it comes out okay. We're all over the place. We touched a bunch of stuff. I think we stepped on each other 'cause we had like a break in contact at one point. The screen was blurry on my end, then your end. My light went off a while ago. Now I'm that fuchia blue color something. I don't I don't know what to do with any of that anymore, Jamie. Need to come fix all of it. but I'm proud of this year project to conquer, be victorious always, overcome all the things. Mary, you are a big part of that. HR Train Events is set up for another expansion coming here soon. That is pretty crazy to think about. absolutely remarkable. Multiple at the same time, which is even crazier. HR counseling is gonna continue going forward, doing great things. and now we gotta figure out who the next guest is. Have any thoughts, recommendations, ideas? Is it military? Is it civilian? What are you thinking? I don't need a person, just what do you category? the people that I know, there's whole series of interesting characters. Do I go former criminal, somebody? Do I talk to somebody, something, whatever? Do we go lawyers, accountants, hedge fund people, educators, regular folks? Mary Ruiz: I don't want to talk to any any Vince: What do you think? Mary Ruiz: I think you go civilian for the next one. Vince: Civilian for the next one. All right. We'll see what happens. But for the meantime, they're gonna get more events and that's gonna be what's gonna happen for a few weeks and we'll find that special civilian that'll break through on the civilian side and we'll keep building the thing. Thanks, mama. Mary Ruiz: Yeah. All right.