Shawn Welsh, RBLP-T, ABCP’s Post

1. I guess this is an "I wish I had believed" because I had been told that it takes most veterans 18 months to transition to life outside of the military. I took it as a challenge, as I think most of us probably do, to "beat the timeline" and get it done in six months. What I found out is that it wasn't necessarily about getting a job, or even a paycheck, its about learning how to exist in non-military corporate america WITH that check and WITH that job and how that lifestyle is COMPLETELY different than the way you lived with your military lifestyle. Of course we can all do it, but I wish I had known that the 18 months wasn't about me and my skills but more about me and my life. 2. DAV (Disabled American Veterans) was the most help to me, although I was not and am not nearly as disabled as many of our true heroes they still took the time to set me up right with the VA so that medical care and health care wasn't another addition to the list of things I had to figure out.

Shawn, easy questions. 1. I wish I had gotten civilian insurance earlier. I failed to understand how insurance worked and figured the right answer was the VGLI from the VA. While I have no issue with it, it goes up every 5 years and after 60 it is really so expensive most people start wondering if it's too expensive. At 65 you KNOW it's too expensive. I should have gotten a good civilian term life insurance policy from a trusted company like Matt Quick did. I'm ok with VGLI because I've taken care of other financial sources which will make up for insurance if my wife needs them beyond when we can afford VGLI but that's not the case for everyone. People, GET INSURANCE BEFORE YOU DO YOUR FINAL ARMY PHYSICAL! Preferably a couple of years before. 2. That's easy. You need to take the Changing Focus: Moving from We to Me course by the Leader Transition Institute. Annie S. Brock and her team will walk alongside you as you transition, helping you figure out who you are, and what you want to do that'll make you happy beyond when you shed your uniform.

1. Networking will be more important than any other tool you'll come across during your military transition. Get out of your own way, don't overthink it, stuff the imposter syndrome in the closet before you go. 2. Tough one, I was very fortunate to come across a great number of programs and people along the way. I actually came across RecruitMilitary fairly late in my transition as a tool for job seeking, hiring events, and Skillbridge options.

Shawn Welsh, RBLP-T, ABCP I wish I would have reached out to Wounded Warrior Project sooner, and learned more about their Warriors to Work, Talk program, health and wellness and Soldier Ride before I left active Duty. You are WORTHY!⚡️ I would say, don’t devalue your injuries or service time or location. You don’t have to compare yourself to your buddy and think, “I’m not as bad as them, or they need it more.”🙄No, got get seen and cared for, because you never know what shows up 5-10 years from now. Do it for your future self, and for those people who love you and want to see you live your best life💜

1. Focus on being an oconus contractor to give myself a financial headstart. I could have made $250k doing the same thing I was doing in Iraq on AD for $30-$40k. But advice more relevant would be to understand that being 99% committed is really hard, but being 100% committed is easy. What you do in the civilian world likely won't be permanent, but that doesn't mean to do things half-assed if you know it won't be a long term thing. You gotta be fully in on being all in. At the very least it's practicing building the habit of 100% commitment once you find the thing that will end up being permanent. 2. For me its the Travis Manion Foundation. They weren't as big in 2009 as they are now but they've been a huge part of my life for the past few years.

Shawn Welsh, RBLP-T, ABCP, advice - determine what you really want to do next. Your focus. Being a jack of all trades, afraid to miss any opportunity, on the perifery or outside your interest area, does not yield happiness. It yields dissatisfaction, resignation and starting over (and over). Organization - Skillbridge. More a program, but invaluable to try things before locking in. Gives you insight into civilian organizations overall and specifically.

Shawn Welsh, RBLP-T, ABCP 1. I wish I had known about Mind-Body connections and learned Mindfullness sooner! I would have gotten healthier a bit quicker. 2. I wish I had known when I was young to get with a financial planner and line up where I was to where I want to be when I was older instead of always trying to keep up in case something happened. (ie. medical disability)

Isabelle Fortin shared on her show today about her transition out of the military and what a difficult journey it was. I bet she has some awesome thoughts on this.

Shawn Welsh, RBLP-T, ABCP Great initiative! For those transitioning out of the military, advice and resources from those who've been there can make a world of difference. Networking early and tapping into organizations like the Travis Manion Foundation can truly smooth the path forward.