What If Discipline Beats Motivation Every Time

Coaching sounds simple until you try to turn it into a real post-military career. Ronnie Netter comes back on the mic to talk with us about life after service, finding a calling, and what it looks like to take years of Navy mentorship and translate it into civilian coaching, leadership development, and consulting without feeling fake or salesy.

We get straight into the hard parts: coaching is sales, time has a price, and veterans often struggle with charging for something we used to give away for free. We break down why locking in stable income first can protect your family and your peace, then let you build a coaching business on your terms. We also talk about skipping the “smooze” culture, using content marketing on YouTube and podcasts to become easy to find, and playing the long game by building proof that your leadership works outside the military.

From there we go deep on motivation vs discipline, setting standards, and why accountability systems do not matter if the commitment is missing. We also cover coaching civilians with the right awareness of workplace dynamics, HR realities, and legal boundaries, plus practical moves like starting a business, thinking about branding, using Navy COOL wisely, and proving credibility through your work not just certifications.

If you’re a veteran, service member, or leader building a coaching path after military transition, hit play and take notes. Subscribe, share this with someone planning retirement, and leave a review with the biggest lesson you’re taking from the conversation.

https://www.wordsfromthewise.net/

Transcript

Welcome Back And Guest Reunion

Gary Wise 0:27

All right, everybody, how you doing out there? Hope everyone is doing outstanding. Everybody listening to the sound of my voice, watching us on YouTube. A shout out to the listeners in Brazil. Like, it's freaking amazing that we're doing so good down there. I got an email from somebody down there telling me that they're they're loving the show and they're listening to the content. That was amazing. And I'm very happy to hear that the word is getting out there about the show. Today we've got a very exciting guest on board with me today. He was one of my first guests on the podcast when it first dropped. Uh, he goes by the name of Ronnie Netter. I'll just go ahead and bring him on. We'll get this thing going. What's up, Ronnie? How are you doing, man?

Ronnie Netter 1:15

Yeah, man. We need a round of applause, a little sound effect going on, big dog. The man is here. You know? Yeah, man. Hey, it's really good to see you, Gary. Thank you for having me on your platform, brother.

Gary Wise 1:30

Hey, it's good to see you, man. I appreciate you coming back. You know, you were literally one of my first guests. Right? Like, if you go back to the beginning of the podcast, you were one of the very first guests on the podcast. Ronnie, can you hear me?

Ronnie Netter 1:58

Oh, right now my um Yeah, I can hear you a little bit. I think right now, I don't know.

Gary Wise 2:25

Are you in the water on the bird? All right, I think we're rocking right now.

Ronnie Netter 3:02

All right. Yeah, let's do it. Yeah, yeah. No, so what I was saying was I think it should be like a round of applause for your boy. I got my camera going, you know what I'm saying? I got better Wi-Fi a little bit, a little bit, but a little bit. Um, but I mean, I'm very grateful to have be on here with you, and and uh I appreciate the time you're giving me in order to you know increase my knowledge and the wisdom that you've always given me just having your door open. So thank you, bro.

Gary Wise 3:38

Always, man. I remember the last time you came on the show was literally a random text message. I forget which one of us started it, right? And it was like, let's jump on a call, and away we went, man, and we got to it. And and I I love that that episode because again, it was the very beginning, and I'm super excited to kind of see where this conversation takes us today, right? You reached out to me last week because you were interested in some life after the service is kind of what I was gathering, or even just moving forward in life. And so, brother, let's go ahead and I'll pitch the ball to you and let's see where

Finding A Calling After Service

Gary Wise 4:18

we go.

Ronnie Netter 4:18

Okay, so um basically what I was messaging you about, you know, I've been thinking about my calling and um basically trying to see, you know, I'm 42, I know what I'm good at, and I know what uh has made me successful and what has God blessed me with. And it's what I've noticed is over the years, I've been having a lot of people come to me freely and ask me for advice and ask me for, you know, just I mean, it comes with the senior chief rank. You know, people, when you're a senior chief, people are gonna just come to you naturally and be like, hey, what does it mean to be successful to you? What does it mean to that? And then I started thinking, I was like, well, I'm kind of good at this. Like I I do, I have I have good advice. I've been through a lot. Um, I've experienced a lot, and we've all have in the service. So I've been thinking about, and I really love doing it. I really love sitting down with people, coaching them through things, uh, um, walking them through their career. In fact, I work in Great Lake Steel. I'm still the uh quartermaster A School uh lead at that school, and I'm able to help some of these students that didn't have motivators in their life or people that cared about them in their life and help them reach their goals of passing a session-level school. Um, I've had a sailor that I I coached into helping them save $5,000 within the time that friend that it was there. You know, that that was his goal. Senior, I want to save five. Okay, well, let's talk about it. Let's see where your money's allocated to. Let's see where that, let's work this out. And I was able to help him out. You know, just cert certain service members I've been supporting, along with other senior chiefs and other mass chiefs that have been coming to me and being like, hey, brother, I need your advice on something. So um I've been looking to, as I get out, when I get out and transition, I've been looking to, you know, start working in that field. Coaching, mentoring, dealing with those type of things. Something that you're kind of doing and that you're putting out to the rest of the people. But I I want to know I want to know if you have any advice on the process of that, um, certifications, things I can work towards to build my leadership and ensure that I am uh heading in the right direction. So this that was what I was reaching out to you for. I wanted to know if you had any advice or had any uh anything you could help me to set my path correctly. I mean, I I came to the man. You're one of my favorite CMCs. You're one of my favorite people because you're just a genuine dude. And I don't talk to any of the CMCs like that. I talk to you, big dog. So I just want to so I wanted to I want to know uh how you know how I can move and transition into that that type of uh program.

Coaching Is Sales And Time Value

Gary Wise 7:11

Okay. Um I will tell you that ultimately, okay, straight up and down, it's sales, right? That's just what it is. And and truth be told, for me, that was one of my least favorite parts of it, right? Because I understand that we're always selling, I understand that we're always convincing people to want to do business with us. And when we come from the military, especially from the Chiefs mess in the United States Navy, we give so much of ourselves freely, especially when it comes to mentorship and when it comes to to pouring into other people that it is almost conflicting when you think about uh asking for money for your time, right? Because that's the other thing, right? You're essentially offering your time and what's the value to this person, and I will tell you there's a lot of conversation out there in the marketplace, and there is a lot of dispute as to what time is valued at, and all those things, and then I will tell you my my opinions are uh I will tell you they're they're gonna be mine, right? Because you're gonna have other people that are different than me. Uh, a couple of things for me is number one, I didn't like the making it my primary source of uh income, right? Because I got people that depend upon me, and so I've got to guarantee the dollars and the cents match up to pay the bills, right? So I had to uh do something for for a nine to five that was going to make sure my family was taken care of, right? And what's interesting is when I retired from the navy, I did not plan on getting into this space right here. I did not, I really did not. I I still plan on entering in the real estate investor arena, right? I still plan, oh yeah, oh yeah, anchor legacy holdings is what it's gonna be called, bro. Don't steal my name. Oh you oh you own it. Oh yeah, oh yeah, because I'm thinking about my grandkids, right? Like I'm thinking about, I don't want to just use the term generational wealth, but the reality is I've put a lot of investment into my family, my wife, my sons, and I want to do something to ensure it's gonna be bigger than just us, and a piece of that is going to be investing in my local community in the real estate space, right? Uh, but that's also a downrange plan. Uh, but for my transition, my priority was a guaranteed job that could ensure my family was taken care of with the quality of life that I wanted to have, right?

Ronnie Netter 9:55

Which I'm gonna stop you right there if you're okay with that. Uh I'm gonna stop you right. So even with that, I wanna and I wanna be an instructor. Like I wanna work for the government for a little bit. I want to do still instruct and still uh move because I think teaching is where where I belong. But there's when I speak about calling, it's something I I'm really passionate about doing. And I think it would be a good off-time gig because it's that itch that I can, well, I don't want to say itch, it's just the calling that I can actually be led into to support my community, support other folks, and still um get get still create a legacy of you know, leadership and love to the to the community with a little bit of you know side income.

Choosing Virtual Content Over Events

Gary Wise 10:43

You know, I agree. And and so once I locked down the the occupation that was gonna ensure my family was covered, then I started gravitating into I got into this space for working with leadership training andor certification. And what I recognized was that it's a very saturated marketplace with a bunch of people who are kind of selling snake oil, right? Like what that means is there's a variety of ways to do it, and what I needed to do was figure out ways to show my local community, to show the corporate air people in my community what I have to offer and what value I'm bringing to the table. And oh, by the way, because one of the first offers I was given was like quit your day job and come over here full time. Well, I'm not gonna do that, right?

Ronnie Netter 11:34

Because was that in like a same thing that you were trying to do, like what I'm talking about right now?

Gary Wise 11:39

They were trying it really was, it really was. It was come to do corporate leadership development full time, right? But that's not what I want to do full time, right? Like this is I don't want to go work for somebody else full time like that, like a job, right? Okay, I I love what I do with the kids with the high school kids because I got so much freedom there and I I it fills my cup tremendously and it keeps me razor sharp, right? Like it keeps my mind going, keeps my game up because I'm still mentoring and guiding, but these are just young adults, right? These are these are young, these are adolescents, but it keeps me sharp. And as they find success, I'm showing that not only could I find success in the military, but now I'm finding success post-military with these high school kids, right? And that's because I want to be able, I wanted to be able to show that I could continue to be successful when it comes to developing people, not just in the military mindset. Now, these high school kids are also in a paramilitary organization called JROTC, but they're also a public school, right? And so there's a little bit of flavor there. Then when I turned down the whole quit ROTC to go right into the corporate thing, I recognized that I didn't like going to all these networking events and trying to market myself to these corporate people that would want a lot more of my time than I was willing to give because I'm already working 40 hours a week, way more than that, actually. So it needs to be a lot of stuff on my timeline, right? That's how I got into this space of doing things via YouTube and via virtual because that meets my timeline. I can come home and I can meet with people on time that works for me. I can my kids are in the other room right now, just had dinner with the family. I could pop in here with you, turn on the turn on the camera and just get to talking, right? And when we wrap it up, I'm already home. I don't got to commute nowhere, I don't got to drive nowhere. And because I'm playing long game, right? Because I'm playing long game right now. I'm laying the foundation of content that's going to be uh able to stand up for me when people look into me, right? Right, so I got a phone call from a boy this weekend, right? My boy calls me up, and he was a DC man back in the day with me, right? We we were together on our first ship, the Bellawood out of Sasebo.

Ronnie Netter 14:17

Let's go, Sasebo.

Gary Wise 14:19

Sassa Vegas,

Why Networking Can Feel Fake

Gary Wise 14:20

baby. What up, brother Sam? The devil dogs, man. And uh, and so he went blue to green, so he went from DC2 to United States Army, and then he ranked up in the army, eventually went, did a couple tours in Iraq, went Rangers, eventually went special forces, eventually retires from the Army as you know, a special force guy. Does a couple years of contracting for different three-letter organizations or whatever he did, and then he got sick of leaving his family all the time, bought himself a business, and is now an entrepreneur cleaning freaking deep fat fryer stuff overheads like we did in the Navy as DC, right? Because right, because that's part of our job as damage controlmen was to make sure the kitchen didn't have a grease fire, right? So he's cleaning up these overhead things, and he's doing very well, he's killing the game, right? And he just came back from his corporate function and he calls me up and he's like, Gary, bro, tell me you're speaking of corporate functions, and I was like, Yeah, dog, I speak of corporate functions because I have I do it's just like being a CMC when they ask you, can you speak to a movie theater full of sailors? Right, get up there and talk your ish, right? And down here in Ocala, I'm connected with the Chamber of Commerce, I work with local businesses, they want to hear how I'm finding success in my career, and how can they leverage that success for their people again? Oh, okay, just making myself easy to find for people that are looking for me, providing value to them to hopefully build relationships, and then in the future we'll see where it goes, right? So my boy calls me up, and he's been on my podcast too, right? He's been on the show as well, and he's like, Dog, they had this guy there that was like talking to all of these overweight, middle-aged, you know, regular people about elite athletes, and he was just like, I'm sitting in the crowd looking around, like, bruh, this is not applicable to your audience, right? You're talking about elite professional, like college or NBA players, and he's like, honestly, I would have rather had you on the stage talking about the things that you talk about because that's what he said, he gives me credit for part of his training, even back when we were DC threes on the Bellawood, right? And he's like, I went and talked to them about you, and I was like, I got a guy that'd be way better than this guy. And he go, you see what I'm saying? And so he was like, I want to know if I line this gig up for you, would you do it? And I was just like, bruh, I do it off the strength of me being your partner, right? Because ultimately, the more you get out into the world and you make it easier to find you for the people that are looking for you, the better the law of attraction will have the opportunity to place you into the things you're looking for, right?

Ronnie Netter 17:23

And you know me, I ain't I don't I I'm like I'm out there, but I don't go to the the community joints. I didn't do a lot of the, you know, like I that's not me because I don't feel comfortable. I when I'm in it, I'm cool, I can do it, yeah, but smoozing is not my I got it.

Gary Wise 17:42

I'm the same way, bro. I've never been no look. I go into the I've been like I love my favorite line. Uh was that Jay-Z line where he talked about moving in a room full of vultures, right? Because I've always felt that way. I always felt like I was moving in a room full of vultures, and I didn't all and that, of course. Unfortunately, that was my military mind because I can't remember the last time, Ronnie, that I went to a Christmas party where people somebody didn't come talk to me because they had an agenda about something, right? Right, there was never just an authentic conversation, except maybe me and the CO, me and the XO. Very rarely was it just a chill conversation for no reason. Typically, right because people just didn't like me like that, in my opinion, right? I mean people wanted to just they didn't. I just was too I kept it too real, right? I kept it too real, and I'm okay with that. Like one of my visions is as I generate this this team, as I build this thing that I'm gonna build, I want to be able to have a Christmas party in Ocala, Florida, with all the people that are messing with me, and no one's worried about what somebody else is getting, right? Everyone's comfortable with what they're getting in their life, and nobody's hating, nobody's worried about well, how come they got this position or that position or this?

Ronnie Netter 19:05

So you're saying it never felt genuine to you whenever you were in those type of situations.

Gary Wise 19:11

That's why, and it felt like mandatory fun, right? Like you had to go, right? Because truth be told, bro, before I became a CMC, I wasn't going to no command holiday parties, you ain't no, I wasn't going to no Navy balls, bro. I was a snipe, right? I was a DC man, dude. Like I'm on the ship working, bro. Like we like I when I started going to those events, it was either because I was trying to get connected or it was because and trying to learn the game, or I was now in the community that I felt like I had to go because it was part of the J O B.

Ronnie Netter 19:44

Yo, Gary, I just launched this my first Navy ball for 2025 for Great Lakes. I was the coordinator for that, bro. I was in there for 10 minutes just enough to hear the speech, the prayer, the food serve. Bam, I was out of there, and I'm the one that ran it. So, like, I get you. If anybody gets you, I get you, bro.

Gary Wise 20:08

I remember telling my CO when I was on Naval Base Guam, I was like, and no one ever told me when I became a command master chief that I signed up to be a party planner extraordinaire. Like, because here's the thing like I'm a war fighter, right? I like to be on the ship, I like to be on the ship, making sure the 3M is the maintenance is done, making sure the training is done, doing the things that we do. But for morale, some of those things are value added, right? Just because it wasn't my cup of tea, because when I was a young sailor, I didn't feel like I wanted to go drinking around the upper leadership, right? Like when I was a young sailor, if I walked up into the bar out in patio beach or whatever it was, and I saw the chiefs messing that I'm out. I'm the other way. And as I got and so I just never really uh felt comfortable in those environments. Now I understand that communicating with people professionally is part of the gig, right? Like you've got to get your name out there, but for me, I started going to these events and and look, nothing against the events. Now I only go if I'm speaking.

Ronnie Netter 21:27

Okay, I mean that's my that's your thing personally, yeah.

Gary Wise 21:31

Yeah, I'm busy, bro. I'm working, I got a day job, right? Like, I am not somebody that only does my leadership development business. So if you want my time, my time is at a premium because I'm already committed to my community by leading and developing over 150 youth in a public high school setting, so leveraging my experience. So that makes my time even more valuable, right? Right, that makes my time even more. Valuable last year. I put together a leadership development um public speaking event in my community, right? Because I did that when I was on active duty multiple times, and we lost Ronnie. Where is Ronnie? There you go. All right, we look Ronnie's back. So I put together a public leadership speaking event because I recognized a need for it in my community, right? Cool, dope. And I did that when I was in the military quite often, actually. And I learned from my Navy ball experience that I don't need to pay anybody to come speak because I got local people that can say the words, right? Or I can get up there and I can freestyle better than most people I got hired to bring out, right? So then right? Can you hear me through? Can you hear me? Can you hear me real quick? Yes.

Ronnie Netter 22:55

Can you hear me? It's hard to hear you in mind real quick. I apologize.

Gary Wise 23:00

No worries.

Ronnie Netter 23:17

I don't know what the fuck you're doing.

Gary Wise 23:27

Can you hear me now?

Proof Of Concept And Local Demand

Gary Wise 23:40

Okay, so I was telling you uh last year I put together a public leadership development event, right? And okay, because I did this when I was in the military and I wanted to see was there going to be viability, was there going to be an appetite for it, right? Proof of concept. And my very first live event, not for nothing, I sold 10 tickets, right? I sold 10 tickets and I put together a stage of speakers, like five different speakers, right? All that I had connected with throughout my time here in Ocala. Okay. And I did all the marketing, I did all the advertising, all these things, right? So then after I put together that live event, right? Some other people in Ocala who had deep pockets. I'm talking like they got they got they got bank, right? Okay, they put together a major leadership conference in Okala, like they brought high-level speakers to come to Ocala, and one of their main people that was a part of their team was one of my speakers from my event, right? So I don't know if this is true or not, but I kind of feel like my event might have inspired them to do their event. They're just ahead of me in life because they got they got liquid, liquid cash, right? Whereas I'm I'm just beginning, just retired from the military, but they packed their house, they filled their venue, and so for me, it just showed me that the market is there, appetite is out, and people know who I am, right? People know who they got my name recognition, right? Like a dude called me up the other day, and he called me up out of nowhere and said, Hey man, I was at this networking event, and someone said I need to get to know you, right? So he left me that message. So I called him back. I'm on the road driving home with Hayden from school where I've been teaching all day, right? And and the dude calls me up, is like, hey man, I'd love to get together and talk. And I said, Hey, bro, I would love to get with you and meet with you, but I'm not buying anything you're selling, just so you know. Like, that's not what I'm about, right? Of course, I've not heard from him again because he probably was trying to connect with me and get me because you know, I will tell you entrepreneurs are looking to get into business with other people that are gonna buy their thing, right?

Ronnie Netter 26:14

Oh, okay, okay.

Gary Wise 26:15

That's my other problem with these networking events. We're all going to these events to sell each other on working with us, but that requires me to pay you to do something, right? Ultimately, I want to be available to the people that are looking to develop themselves personally, to want to work on their leadership abilities and to analyze their organizational structure and to find out how they can improve their areas, right? And I primarily market less than 30 professionals and more than 30. I had two different strategies, right? Okay. But outside of that, I'm not looking to go buy other people's wares, right? I'm not looking to go, I don't have a bunch of money to go spend to people to, and I get you got to invest in things to make money to get money or whatever. So I'm not gonna worry about those parts of the things, I'm just gonna generate uh content. I'm gonna continue to build my I hate to say the word brand, but it's your brand. But that's what it is, it's a brand. Yeah, yeah. But I'm gonna I'm gonna get my word out, name my name out there, get my recognition out there, and see where it goes. Now, I don't know if you heard at the beginning of the show where I give a shout out to Brazil, right? Okay, brother, I got an email the other day. This dude was like, Hey man, I don't know. You don't know me, but you're blowing up in Brazil.

Ronnie Netter 27:42

I was like, Oh, snap! Are you serious? I'm not even lying, bro. So you busted out, you hit it. Hey, Brazil, I'm Rio de Janeiro.

Gary Wise 27:52

I'm not even lying, bro. Like the dude emailed me, and he was like, Hey, I'm trying to reach Gary Wise Words from the Wise podcast. I would like you to know you're like number 193 in Brazil for self-help and leadership podcast. Wow, and we're really appreciating your stuff down here. And I was like, Thanks, man. Like, that's amazing, right? That's dope, man. And I'm getting downloads every week from God knows around the world, right? And so what I would say is I got a buddy of mine who's one of my mentors who has a podcast called Developing the Leader Within Podcast. He's a retired senior chief. I was on his podcast, right? And he just crossed like 3,000 subscribers on YouTube. He's not making money off his YouTube channel because that's a thing, right? You can make money doing these videos, and what's dope is because of our retirement, because of your ability to have a job that's already gonna fill your cup by being an instructor or whatever it is, you're gonna not probably be hurting so much for the money as other people that you got the time to build your foundation and build your structure and put yourself into a space that people are gonna look for you. And another thing about you, you have an amazing voice, right? You got that very good voice. You got that you got that sexy voice, bro. You got that deep voice, right? You really do, Ron. And for people that listen to these shows, yeah, I think they would love to hear your voice, right? And the other thing for you is just like me, you typically don't have a lack of things to say in your own space, right? You've got a lot of thoughts, you've got a lot of ideas, and you've just got to be courageous enough to put yourself out there. And this is just my advice, because I believe part of what we've got to do after in our life after the military is show people credible success. So they're gonna want to continue to come pick your brain as to how they can find success after a major life transition, like leaving the military.

Ronnie Netter 30:07

So I love that you said that. And I what I've been doing, brother, is I've been talking to certain sailors and individuals that I've impacted. And I've been asking them to like I was gonna create a video collage of them speaking about the impact and the problem solvings that I've done to help them get through a lot of the the tr the things that they've been through, whether it's military, and they're all a white woman, a black man, a Filipino uh woman, you know, just all types of people that I know throughout, I was gonna create a collage of videos to um mark to use that as my brand as well, to see if uh that works. Um I I do have a couple questions if you don't mind me chopping them at up at you real quick. No, go for it. Head fair. All right, so in your experience, right? So you dealt with a bunch of high performing men, the Chiefs master, officers, and stuff like that, right? And you you operated. Um how did you, you know, with high performing men rely on motivation instead of building how does, you know, what I'm asking is how does high performing men rely on uh motivation instead of building systems of discipline? Like what did you do to help them build the uh systems of discipline in their life? Like, how did you how do you motivate them to do that?

Standards And Tough Conversations Create Discipline

Gary Wise 31:30

Well, if you remember, and let's let's just talk about my chief's mess, right? Sweet number one, number number, right? Let's let's just talk about my chief's messes, right? Because uh I would say those were the the areas of direct influence that I had that would then result would then influence an entire crew or command, right?

Ronnie Netter 31:51

You're right, you're correct.

Gary Wise 31:53

Thousands of people, right? Especially when it was combined Navy and Marine Corps team, and I was leveraging the senior enlisted Marines as well as the senior enlisted Navy. So, number one, I I gave them an example, right? I stood on my business, right? If you you know that, right? I stood on my business. Everything I talked about, I was living that. Yep. So that was number one. I stood on my business, like I I didn't misrepresent anything about what I was bringing to the table, right? From the bulwark coveralls to the smoking newports, whatever, right? Like I was that dude. Um, and I right. I mean, and ask anybody about me, they're all gonna say the same thing. Whether you love me or hated me on them deck plates, I was a freaking deck plate stomper, right? That was what I was about. So that was number one. I gave an example of what I expected from my people. So that was number one. I set that, I set that example, I led by that tone. Number two, I had standards that I expected they live up to, right? And I held them to those standards, and it was not always nice, right? Not alright.

Ronnie Netter 33:09

Come on, let me tell you we didn't have some discussions in that in that in that Gary Leo wise office, man. We didn't have some talks, yeah.

Gary Wise 33:20

Facts because you, in my opinion, you don't lead men, or or even I would say goats, right? Navy chiefs. It my mess is gonna be a little bit more rough and tumble. I'm not a politician, I'm not trying to become a politician. I'm coming here to be a freaking functioning chief's mess that makes sure our our ship meets every mission, no redo's, right? No redo's that was our mission, and then we did it our way, right? And so I would have deliberate conversations, bro. I would I would air it out, I'd air it out. Let's go, let's throw down and not have a problem um to have tough conversations. And I think too many people, real, real I would if we're talking about just men in general, in my opinion, strong men, not not sissies, bro, right? Not sissies, but strong men, they they resonate with people that are not afraid of conflict. That's true, right? I feel bad for people that that have a hard time dealing with conflict. And I'm not trying to name call people, but unfortunately, when I see a man that is afraid to have a tough conversation, I don't want to grow up to be like you someday, bro.

Ronnie Netter 34:39

That's an easy day.

Gary Wise 34:41

That's it, right? And that's it, right? And for me, I'm not saying you gotta just run around and like uh just be cussing at everybody or whatever it is. I'm just saying that people that have authentic conversations and aren't afraid to have those tough conversations are the people that I respect because I would much rather know that your knife is open than you talking about me behind my back, lying on my name, right? That's true, because I don't like those people. I I am more than welcome to hear the criticism, to hear the feedback, and that doesn't really have a gender, but I will tell you um there is a renaissance happening, I believe, in the United States of America, where there are men looking for other men to follow, right? And I and I say that from the perspective as a person who mentors both young men and women, right? I say that as a father of two sons, right? I say that as a person who's led adults my entire life. And I know that there is a sense of people out there looking for leadership on how do I lead my family? How do I worship my Lord and Savior? How do I operate in my community and not be looked at as aggressive, but also be assertive. And look, we women have a similar challenge, but a different approach, right? And I love my chick cheeps because there was some amazing female leadership that I've had out there in my career that I've served with and that I worked with, but my mat my strategy for how we communicated was almost always different, right? Um, so I would say number one for the men, for the men, because you you you asked about the guys. Number one, I set the standard and I lived it. Number two, I held them to the standard, the same one that I held myself to, and I I did not hesitate to call out the bullshit, right? Did not hesitate. And then number three, I did my very best to talk to them when they were struggling, right? And to try to understand what's going on.

Ronnie Netter 36:54

So whenever you're you're dealing with the now, I love that because I believe everything you're saying, and I absolutely operate in that manner, right? I I just had a CDB today where I told the sailor, listen, no, you're getting out, but you uh he's he's in the midst of he don't know whether he's getting out. If he gets orders to you know how those sailor, if they get orders to where they want to go, they'll stay in, but if they don't, they'll get out, right? So I said, okay, this is what we're gonna do. We're gonna build a plan for both sides for 15 months. 15 months out, we're gonna build a plan, we're gonna make sure you're ready to go. But you know, he's a good sailor, he's a good leader. And when we were at our worst, he was our LPO and he looked, he took our he put the team on his back and he he shrugged through the mud with all of us. So I said, Yeah, but you're you're one of them sailors that's not gonna do anything until we tell you to do something. You're not the ones that stand out and with your chest out and actually go uh put effort in unless someone says, Hey, can you do it? Which is if you stay in, you can't be that all the time. You gotta look beyond that. You gotta be able to read beyond that. And I just kept it 100. He was like, Man, I really appreciate you, senior. Thank you for just I was like, Yeah, you're a bum. Get out of here. So we all it was all love, but you know, I I do believe in keeping it real, and he took the criticism really well. Now, let's let's switch that into coaching civilians. Is that the same, is it the same type of like if I want to go into coaching a civilian, is that the same type of mindset you gotta have? Because you can't put your foot on their neck, can you? Or you know what I'm saying? Like, I I can't I can't go like in the Chiefs mess, I could be like, all right, so you know you're jacking this up, bro.

Gary Wise 38:39

Like come on, man. Hey, truth be told, I do think that's part of what they like about us is that we're going to be authentically direct. Uh right. Uh okay.

Coaching Civilians Without Legal Traps

Gary Wise 38:51

Now, you know what's funny is something about me is when I transitioned from the Navy, I pretty much quit swearing, right? I pretty much using curse words when I was in the navy, I cursed like I freaking like I was the epitome of that dude, right? So I I just and it wasn't like I purposefully changed my vocabulary, I didn't purposely say I'm no longer gonna curse, I just kind of stopped. I'm not sure why something about me changed, and sometimes when I get uh on phone calls with like brothers from the military, whatever it was, I'll slip back into that old mode. Uh, but what I've learned is, and maybe this is just through maturity or through my education or whatever, is that what the corporate people appreciate is our authenticity. Now, the one thing you got to remember is it's a difference between them looking for coaching or advice about their personal life and them looking for advice when it comes to their work environment and the corporate structure. Because I will tell you the lawyers are in the civilian world just like the Jags are in the Navy, right? And so you gotta have a piece of that awareness, right? Um, but can you explain that a little bit further? Can you explain that a little bit further? You're not a lawyer, so you just got to make sure that any advice you give them, they understand it's not legal advice, right? Uh and that you're looking at this is your opinion as to ways you can manage certain things, and I would tend to focus on helping them work on their holistic self. How can they wake up? Because most people struggle in the number one leadership role, and that is leading themselves, right? Leading themselves, so uh that's usually what I tend to focus on. Or if I'm working with an organization and I analyze their organization, I use my ATG template where I would do my evaluation and I would follow along. Here's what I found, here's my recommendation.

Ronnie Netter 40:55

Oh, we got so many skills from the military, bro. Oh my goodness.

Gary Wise 40:59

Yeah, for sure. But then what I do is I find those soft spots and I say, All right, CEO, CEO, right? Here's what I could do for you. As I went through all of your data, as I looked at all of your surveys, as I checked through all the things that you had to show me for turnover. I've recognized that we need to do some focus groups, we need to talk to a few people, and then what I can do for you is one-on-one help these people more holistically become happy with why they're a part of your organization, as well as backfilling you with the information of what they're looking for, so they want to continuously stay employed with you because that's the problem people are having. And again, you got two different perspectives there. One is you meet in that the per the worker person, the that that team member where they're at, and then you also serve in the larger level corporation that's looking to get past the bumps and the bruises and retain talent, right? Because it is a huge talent fight out here in the workplace, people trying to keep people, and the devil that you know is better than the devil that you don't, right? Right, and so people that just think they're gonna quit the job is not always a good thing, and bosses that are just gonna fire people is not really the thing. So people like you and I can come in and help them, but not do it like a bust of ass EEO equal opportunity motherfucker, right? Because them dudes are shady because they got no dog in the fight. My position is this in the at in this posture, I work for the CEO to help give him a snapshot of his organization and to and hopefully the CEO wants his team to have the best quality of life and or understanding as to what the expectations are.

Ronnie Netter 42:48

And what I'm the equal opportunity officer for a company, basically, this is just what I offer.

Gary Wise 42:54

This is just what I offer, okay. Okay, okay, okay, okay. But because sometimes these big these smaller organizations don't have their own people, right? And again, I'm not coming in, I'm not filling your HR role though, right? You got they all got human resources that does their human resource things, but they don't got the skills that I have, right? They can't get the people to open up like I can. I can get the people to say what's real, I can get the people to let me know why Johnny quit and why Sally Bob is a freaking problem. Oh, yeah, they're gonna tell, you know what I'm saying? They don't tell, and then you take that information and best help them understand what they can do to fix it, right? And then when it comes to the people that I talk to or that want to set up the conversations, you know, honestly, a lot of it's about hearing where they're coming from and not judging them against our own personal standard, right? Because that's not always going to be relevant or fair. But on the reverse, it's letting them know that my personal your personal opinion, boom, boom, boom, right? Boom, boom, boom. And if they like the sound of that, the conversation may continue, right? Um, I don't know if you've ever done therapy before, uh, but I have, right? And I will tell you that I only could do therapy for so long before I got tired of getting kicked in the nuts over and over and over again, right? So you got to not make it be that, right?

Ronnie Netter 44:19

Right.

Gary Wise 44:20

Um, the other thing is is developing them so they can continuously improve and typically leading the next level. So first level is yourself, next level is your family, right? And however you categorize that language, is it your wife, is it your girlfriend, is it your is it your kids, is it your your your brothers and sisters, is it your parents, whatever that is. And then beyond those two categories, now we talk about your life in the workplace. And again, holistically, we're trying to identify why you're not waking up ecstatic every day to be alive, right? Because God gave you another day on this earth, right? Right? Like, period. And I had this conversation today with my students, bro. Like, literally today in class, I was teaching them about John Maxwell's laws of leadership, and then analyzing them and applying to them my perspectives on these different laws of leadership. Last week I was teaching them about the law of traction and the right, like giving them philosophies that are out there in the world that might be applicable to them when they grow, mature, and move out on their own, right? Because all these are are philosophies. They're all kind of taking you to the same space. It's just which one resonates with you that you can put in your toolbox and then start to use to find success, right?

Ronnie Netter 45:45

So you mentioned uh earlier about a person that you worked from the inside, then you work on their family, then you work. If you're noticing someone that lacked consistency, right? Do you start from an accountability system or do you start with identifying a reconstruction? Like, you know what I'm saying? Are you saying that you this is the reason why he's not consistent is because it's a like accountability system for himself? Or do you start working for that, or do you work on like, okay, I need to I he need a reconstruction of his own identity. That's why he's not consistent with who you know what

Accountability Systems Versus Real Commitment

Ronnie Netter 46:20

I'm saying?

Gary Wise 46:20

Yep, I I I do, and I would tell you, uh, I think accountability systems, like apps, right? I think those are just uh replacements for a notebook that are not really what's required, right? My personality.

Ronnie Netter 46:39

So this is my calendar, and on my calendar, I write down all the things I spend throughout the year. I don't need an app for that.

Gary Wise 46:47

This is this is my accountability, and you are unique, right? Because you already have that hardwired in you to do that because of whatever you went through in your life to bring that to you. So to answer your question, ain't no app in the world gonna save them. They need to identify why they need to commit to whatever the thing is, got it right, and when they make that commitment, they have got to own it a thousand percent. And you know, what's what one saying we all use in the Navy, right? Uh because sustained superior performers, right? Sustained superior performer, guys like me. I don't make chief in nine, senior chief in 12, mass chief in 16, and CMC in 18 years because of an app, right, right? Right, like guys like you that make chief, senior chief, you know, quick is not because of a of a particular app or of an accountability device, it was because you consistently put the work in because you had something that was inside you that got you so fired up, you had to continue to do it. And for me, I I try to help people find what inspires them, not what motivates them, because motivation is fickle and it runs out and it will exhaust yourselves, right? But if you can identify what inspires you, what is your muse, like Greek mythology, like your muse, right? My muse, my this is my art, right? People are my art. I don't draw pictures, I don't paint portraits, I don't sing songs, I work with people, right? And I inspire them to want to go find their own inspiration so they can then leverage that inspiration to find success in their life based upon what they're looking for in the in the near-term future. And then once you build momentum, come up with a strategy to put that together for the next, like you said, 15 months. I'm a three-year kind of guy, but put together a strategy for you to take action on and ultimately either you're gonna do it or you're not, right? And if you keep coming back to me, bro, I'm gonna tell you right now, I have straight told people I'm done talking to you, bro, because you're not gonna waste my time. My time is valuable, and just like in the Navy, right? I'm not gonna sit here, keep giving advice to you when you don't do anything I recommend you do. Right, right, right, the money is not worth it to me. I don't do any of it for the money. My money is good.

Ronnie Netter 49:34

Because most most people that deal with coaching, they would want somebody to come back to them, and they would want to continue with the this this customer, if you will, uh to continue with the process. Why wouldn't you want I know you said the money doesn't mean, but don't do you not count it as seed planting?

Gary Wise 49:55

You know what I'm talking about, brother. I I'm not here to be a therapist, right? And ultimately ultimately, ultimately, my opinion is if it takes me three years to finally get you on track, I must not be doing a damn good job, right? I could fix whole commands in a year, yeah.

Ronnie Netter 50:16

That's a fact. No, no, no, no, that's a fact, that's a fact, right?

Gary Wise 50:21

So if I can't get you on track in two or three conversations in a year's time, you're not you and I are not built for each other because I don't just I don't window shop, right? When I talk about things, I'm dead serious, and my expectation is so are you. And if you're not, at some point I'm gonna cut bait. And I've had people be like, Well, you know, what could we talk about a later? Look, bro, I got I don't need friends. I have I'm busy, I got a wife, I got two kids, right? I'm not hiring friends. I I am willing to talk with you because you reached out to me because you think there's some stuff that I can help you with, and I'm more than happy to have these conversations. But just like you got came in here today, I expect you to come prepared, right? Same rules I had in the Navy, right? When I was a mentor, my my mentorship rules are very simple. Come prepared, and you don't get to tell me no, right? Because if you're gonna tell me no, now you think we're friends and we're gonna debate or argue, and I just go time for all that. I don't got time for all that, right? My results and my life. Now, when I'm working with the kids at school, different thing because they're children, right? And they're not paying me $300, $400 an hour to have this conversation, right? Right, that's the other thing, right? When you get to the point where you finally feel comfortable, I will tell you the more you charge, the more valuable the time is gonna be, right? And my dollar number is a low ticket offer, bro. That's low dollars. You got people out there like freaking Myron Golden or whatever his name is, charging people like a million dollars for a year, right? Like, but of course, he's worth it, but he's worth it, right? Like the value he brings to them, 10x is their return. I'm typically a guy, my primary customer is a young, is a middle 30-year-old so far, about a 30-year-old man looking for advice, right? And truthfully, people come to me through word of mouth or somebody recommends they they talk to me, and for the most part, I'll do a 30-minute conversation with them and I'll give them enough in that 30 minutes and I'll never talk to them again. But ultimately, I'm not tripping because I'm just I'm still building this thing, right? And but I have had people that want to continue to have these 30-minute conversations because they're not ready to commit. And oh, by the way, their situation ain't improving. I'm not here to be your fitness coach, I'm not gonna go work out with you in the gym, right? Like, that's not my role, right? I'm not your marriage counselor. That's something you and your person have got to figure out, and I highly recommend people do it, right? But for the things that we talk about, if I give you some action items or I give you some recommendations, if you come back to me and you have not done anything and you got no feedback from the last conversation we had, what we talking about, bro?

Ronnie Netter 53:32

Yeah, what we even talking about, yeah.

Gary Wise 53:34

What are we talking about? What we talk about, what we talking about, and then and there you go. And unfortunately, what I found is a lot of people in that space do that, and that's their problem, right? They've been struggling with taking action, and they have not been exposed to a structure like what we grew up in, where you had to be at work on time, or there was an immediate consequence, you had to listen to what this leader was telling you, or there was an immediate consequence, and so now here they are in their 30s, asking themselves, why am I not the person I thought I was gonna be at this age? And there's a lot of questions and not a lot of answers, and the one answer they don't want to hear is because you failed to take it serious. There you go, right? And now, if you want to, because now they're I'm not meeting the person I want to meet, I don't have the relationship I want to have, I'm not happy with the place we're spending most of my waking hours because your job, most of us spend more time at our job than we spend at our homes, right? Well, when you tell me all these things, then I want you to get extreme, I want you to burn some boats. Let's freaking go after it because I feel like there's a it's there is a limited amount of time to turn this around, right? And not always are they willing to do that because they don't have that daily supervision. But oh, by the way, I'm also not running fat camp, right? I'm not I got kids I gotta take care of every day and that I gotta hold accountable. I've got my own family, and there's the challenge in this space, right? Right. Um just being honest with you.

Ronnie Netter 55:20

But you got people that are doing it full-time, working the system, constantly promoting themselves, constantly being there, and being people's fat coach, marriage counselor, blah, blah, blah. But with you, if you have, so you're saying create standards, create uh creating standards for yourself and boundaries for yourself in the space, especially if you're working a nine to five to ensure that you're protecting your peace. Because at the end of the day, the Navy does something, it has definitely shortened our patience. I can tell you the high key put up in rank.

Gary Wise 55:53

It's not even about that. It's like for me, people that are again, the the people that I really uh look forward to serving in the future are not going to be these passive trying to figure things. I'm look, I want these people that are already uh somewhat successful and are trying to figure out how I can get these 10 people to do better, right? They've already got the position, they've already got the education, they've already got their fitness in check, they've already got their family going on, but I'm struggling and getting the message across to these 10-15 people. Ultimately, that's my target, right? Okay, but who I typically get exposure to are these people that are struggling getting off the couch, right? And not for nothing, I'm gonna tell them exactly what I think they should hear. And but they can also watch all my YouTube videos and hear the same damn thing, right? And what I've learned from those people is they need something significant to happen in their life to really

Picking Your Audience And Serving Parents

Gary Wise 57:00

cause them to make a move.

Ronnie Netter 57:01

You're right, you're absolutely right.

Gary Wise 57:02

Something's gotta happen in their life, they gotta get beat up, like something's gotta happen, something, yeah, yeah, right. But where I really would like to go someday, because the other thing for me is I care a lot about the parents of teenagers, right? I believe one of the hardest things in the world is parenting a teenager, right? Especially in 2026. And I am a dad of an 18-year-old and I have an 11-year-old. I work with 14 to 18-year-olds all day long, and it is hard to get these kids to want to get off the cell phone, to get focused on their schoolwork, to get good grades, to want to actually make a plan for life after high school, to actually want to make a strategic plan for their early adolescent years, to launch out of the house effectively. And so, what I'm able to do for a lot of the parents of my of my students is to help them partner with them by taking care of these kids and and hopefully working together and helping prepare these young ones to launch. I definitely see myself in the future continuing to support parents of children that are becoming teenagers. And how do you handle some of these kids? Because some of these kids are the high-performing kids, they are just like managing you or me, right? They got tons of schoolwork, they got tons of stress and pressure, and they're doing 15 different things. On the reverse, you got the other kids that are freaking maybe problematic, maybe a little more troublesome with the wrong crowd, and then you got the other kids that ain't really doing much of nothing and not off the couch yet. How can we prove and so there that's an and as I tell you, as you're looking for your customer, because that's the other thing, right? In my opinion, you need to have an idea of who you would like to work with, right? And right now, I'll be honest with you, I kind of work with anybody that's time slot fits with my time slot because I'm learning still, right? I'm I'm learning, I'm still doing market analysis, right? I'm still continuing to connect with people, but again, you're calling me now. I'm not going out looking for you, I'm broadcasting via Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube. My information, I got a website to collect people that want to come find me, and I am accessible. But here's what's dope, bro. I could talk to a dude in Kansas and I could talk to a dude in Alaska.

Ronnie Netter 59:41

Right.

Gary Wise 59:42

I might mess around and have somebody from Brazil on here pretty soon.

Ronnie Netter 59:45

You stupid.

Gary Wise 59:50

Right? Like, what? Because you could go worldwide, bro.

Ronnie Netter 59:55

Like technology, you're not because of the internet, because the internet, you're you're pushed out to everyone, like everybody is, yeah.

Branding Education And Starting A Business

Gary Wise 1:00:04

That's why I wrote the book last year, right? I published the book because I wanted to not only give my students access to information that I thought would help them and remind them of the stuff we talked about during the high school time, but I also wanted to provide uh something for like parents or anybody else that was looking for information, and it's just a little thing, nothing crazy, just to give them a taste, and you can pick it up on Amazon, you know what I'm saying? Like there you go, you can pick it up on Amazon. What is it called, big own your journey?

Ronnie Netter 1:00:41

Own your journey, y'all. Yeah, I'm gonna get that. Yeah, area wise, yeah. Yeah, go get that. You hear me?

Gary Wise 1:00:50

Yeah, and it and it's simple, right? And it's just just something to to to put the message out there, right? And and you know the thing, like you said earlier, bro, you were attracted to it. Who knows where the road's gonna take you, right? Right, like I started down this path with that leadership certification business. I had to break with them, dog, because they thought they they they must have thought I worked for them or something, like they just didn't know who they were playing with, right? And and what I learned was the real value to the whole thing was my years of experience, my years of training, my years of what I'm bringing to the conversation with these people, right? Because really don't nobody give a damn about no certification if all you had to do was do an online course and talk to somebody, right? Right, like these credentials are out of the box. Now, I've got my master's degree or whatever, but I mean, ultimately, no one cares if if what I thought was you know what, I'm gonna put out so much real content that it's undeniable the game that I'm telling people, right? I mean, how many times have you had conversations with someone like that? Was a dope conversation, yeah, man. A few times, yeah, absolutely. Hey, one of my favorite conversations with you was that one time you got so mad at me in the Chiefs mess, you was about ready to charge at me about something I forget what it was about, but you were so angry at me, and I was like, Ronnie, get up to my office right now, and you were like, Let's go. And we I get up to my office, and you're like pacing, and I walk in. I was like, bro, you need to calm down, and you're like, What? Yeah, man. And we had a real conversation, like we sat down and we talked it out, but I had to the only way I could get you to leave the Chiefs mess to go up to my office was to give you that energy that that because it was like, All right, we're gonna have a confrontation, and you was ready for it, but then I had to de-escalate it, right? And be like, bro, what's going on? Like, what's going on? Because that that was the other thing, not everybody understood about me, is I could go from being loud to just right, right? Because it wasn't personal, it's not personal, and people I think often mistake uh energetic leaders for people that are always being emotional, right?

Ronnie Netter 1:03:19

I agree with that. I agree with that. I've had to deal with that. In fact, in my years being in, I've actually had to calm down a lot more because I'm already 6'2. I'm black. I'm pretty, you know what I'm saying? Like, I'm covered in tattoos. Over yeah, covered in tattoos, they're looking at me like, is he going to kill me? And all I'm is I'm excited about PT. You know, like this. I gotta make sure that I calm it down and actually talk to them naturally and be more played. Hey, good morning. How are you doing? You doing okay? But at the same time, I'm still starting, hey, you're out of regulations, make sure your hair is, you know, and those are the things that you find out over the years dealing with other people and operating with people to see. I'm not intimidating. You can always come and talk to me. And the thing with the thing with where I respected about you was you could control the room. You you you ain't I don't want the I don't want people out there to think that Gary Leo is the shortest man I've ever met. He's not very tall, right? But but the the but that had nothing. Whenever he stepped in a room, he was six foot, seven foot tall. Because his energy, positive energy, gave character to who he was. And his after he left, whenever you saw him on the deck plates, he was the same dude. Upstairs, downstairs, below decks, on the bridge, everywhere he was, he was that dude. And that's what I that's why I really am here and trying to get this mentorship from him because from you, because this is what I and you answered literally all my questions that I had as you were going through your soliloquy. And you know, you was wrong to you was taught because I was gonna ask you about CERCs, I was gonna ask you about degrees, I was gonna ask you about all things. Because I I do I do think education matters. I think along with your experience, I think having education matters. I think, I think reading, I I finished the book, Man's Search for Meaning. Uh I thought it was a really dope book, the why, figuring out the why and what you're doing, which you were talking about, what's the purpose? Um I have several other books I've been reading. What is the other than life or gym, your career, you're reading and education? Is there any other thing that might be needing in order to push who I am and what I need to do for this? I think planning as well. Is there anything else that you would recommend me doing with myself as I prepare for this hustle? Or I don't want to say hustle, but this career movement.

Gary Wise 1:05:54

It's a hustle. I would say your works, right? Your works. What are you doing with your time that is value added? And how can that best be a reflection of what you bring to the people that are looking to possibly talk with you? Right. Whether it's your role, like I don't overmonopolize my children, right? Even though I talk about being a dad of an 18-year-old and 11-year-old, I do manage social media for like my high school ROTC program. And I will connect those two because I'm very open and honest. And a lot of the people that listen to the program are connected to that ROTC program, right? Okay. And so I'm more than happy to let that be part of my works to show people what I'm really doing day for day, pound for pound. Because just because somebody has a wealth of information in their brain, what are they really doing? Right. I mean, when it comes to getting people to give recommendations for you, right? And what you've done. Like I remember when my the person that did my website built the website, and she was like, We can really use some people to give you some good reviews. I got like 40 reviews by the next day because I just threw the word out there, and a bunch of people were like, Hell yeah, we love Gary, right? And so for me, that became not as important because I feel like people can just generate that, and I like the video idea. I'm not gonna lie to you. I thought that was dope. Um, I don't be talking about I'm joking. No, no, no, no. I think hey, bro, I think it's amazing. The other reason why I started the business was because, truth be told, I was making so much money in my retirement that I needed some write-offs because taxes were killing me, right?

Ronnie Netter 1:07:58

Did y'all hear that out there? My man said I was making so much money, I need write-offs. Hey man, send some money over here, big dog. You know what I'm saying?

Gary Wise 1:08:06

From coming from active duty to this new phase of life, it just changes your financial sector, your your financial game, right? And so by starting the business, I was then able to add like this room in my house is my podcast studio, right? Right. So I'm able to then factor into my bills the the money it costs for me to pay utilities for this bedroom for electric, for gas, for water, for my home office, right? Those things are all contributing to that. Plus, everything I invest into all this, I'm able to then dollars and cents ride it off to lower my taxable income, right? So that was a big part of the whole thing. I would say uh I would definitely start a business, right, in order to have some ways to make sure you can recoup some of your investment into whatever it is you're going to do, right? I would say get a mentor, me, yes, but I would also get a mentor of somebody else in the market that you're looking to be operational in, right? And like for me, I'm I market myself for my local Ocala area because this is my community and I love it, but then I'm also worldwide using technology, right? Absolutely, and I'm open to I'm open to either or right. But most of my public speaking gigs are have either been local or it's gonna be a part of the ask, right? So for my friend who wants me to go speak at his corporate function next year, part of the of the ask will be airfare, lodging, boom, boom, boom, right? And that's part of the ask, but it's also probably no gonna be nowhere near what some of these people get paid to go fly somewhere to speak, right? Um, because then I'm gonna do it off of the strength also of my my relationship with my friends, and because of the experience it brings, or whatever it is. But I would say I would start a business so that you can have an I invested some money in my logo, right? Because I wanted a logo that represented uh, you know, for me, it was the owl, it was the two stars of being a master chief, it was the shield because I like the idea of being like a defender, right? And if you look at the knight's battalion, my logo, I made the logo for my JRTC unit as well, and that has a knight on it, and so the shield on my nightwise leadership solutions logo is a connection to my knight's battalion logo because I'm they equally matter to me, right? And then the words for the wise, I just created something very simple because I wasn't quite sure where this is going to go, right? Um, but I would say definitely branding, get spend some money, get a logo, uh, get something that represents you. Uh when it comes to what I like about education, right, is uh it gives you experience to tell people you can finish the things that you start, right? So when it comes to like my master's or my bachelor's or whatever it is, and there is a level of credibility to the piece of education, especially when you're working with educated people. That said, uh some of the credentials that are out there, I'm just not a fan of them, but I wouldn't it never hurts you to get something, just depends upon I wouldn't keep recertifying them every few years, right? I would get them as your I'd use Navy Cool, um, I'd get the certification because you're not paying for it, even though they're not really gonna bring a lot of value to you once you transition, and then you can determine later if they're really worth you keeping or not. But I I'm gonna tell you what's gonna bring people to you eventually, and this is what I believe is gonna happen for me or is is happening for me, it's just based off my style, based off my energy, based off my years of experience, and oh, by the way, that when they come out of the the conversation, they're just like that dude that was some they gave me some stuff to think about, man. And then they've got it, it's all on them at that point, right? Like it's all on them, they gotta figure it out. Um, yeah, I can hear you, bro. Your little picture cut off again. Yeah, so and that's it, man. And uh I I think I I I like how you caught that earlier about having boundaries for yourself that's gonna protect you and keep you safe and sane.

Retirement Plans And Closing Call

Gary Wise 1:13:05

Like, uh, if you don't mind my asking, what's the plan for the family and you when you retire?

Ronnie Netter 1:13:10

Okay, so um what I'm looking at, there's three places that I plan on being. Here in Great Lakes, because there is a lot of opportunity for me. In fact, I got a job offer already within a year and a half out to teach at the commands from a company that's running out here that's run from excuse me, running from Newport, Rhode Island. So they offer me a nice paying job. Like if I stay in this community, like they they would love for me to be a civilian instructor at schoolhouse. And I was like, okay, sounds really good. That's amazing. Yeah, Virginia is a place that I would uh love to be at. I just love Virginia. I I just love Virginia and Texas. Texas would uh is my third selection that I would love to be at. And that's where I would want to settle with my family. Is your family with you right now or are they back in Japan? No, no, no. I'm geo batched right now, still. Um they they will come at the end of my term here.

Gary Wise 1:14:17

Um bro, I love the idea of you getting to continue teaching quartermaster stuff uh in the classroom because I think what matters more than you getting a good paying job is you doing something that's gonna fill your cup so much that you then have the energy to be happy to be a husband and dad, because you know you know it changes when everyone's on station together, right? That that you're all that free time you got right now will not be the same, and so you're gonna need that energy, and then also to have enough energy to then feed into your business that you're gonna start to build. And I will tell you the other thing for me is I like to record things so I can put things out on a schedule, but not have to always be doing it all live, right?

Ronnie Netter 1:15:09

Got it, that makes sense.

Gary Wise 1:15:10

So, like right now, we're recording, right? And so I'll put this out at some point in the future or I won't, right? Just depends upon how it goes. Yeah, because right, yeah, and it gives me freedom to then not have to do it on the weekends or whatever it is.

Ronnie Netter 1:15:28

So it makes so much sense, yeah. Well, hey, look, man, you I don't know how you be doing this, but you be answering all my questions. Like I'm like looking at my my question she that I wanted to ask you and being like, oh, he already took that out, he already did that, he already answered that. And I really came in to uh not really learn how to be a coach, but see basically if I was heading in the right direction uh based on how you've been operating and what you see. And what I've been hearing mostly is dude, you already got so much leverage as a leader in the military. Use that along with your networks, be a part of the community, and then uh inspire through video and things like that in order to brand yourself better. Walk the walk, talk the talk, be the be the person that you are preaching to these individuals, or you're trying to push them to be better. And that's that's where I'm at. And I that's what I appreciate. Uh I appreciate these conversations. Definitely know I'm I've been dull a little bit. So I do appreciate uh the conversation that we had, man. And um go by the book, everyone. Please go by the book, go support him. He's amazing, man. Everything he says, he talks about, he is that person. I just want to, if I could do anything to push a brand, I will. He is a good dude. He's a good man, a good husband, and I appreciate him so much. Thank you so much, Gary.

Gary Wise 1:17:03

Hey, man, I thank you for all those kind words, bro. And I love you, man. Love you too, brother. I'm looking forward to knowing you for the rest of our lives, right? And I look forward to having a conversation in the future, hearing about how you're doing and getting the update on how retirement planning is going. And just don't be a stranger, man. Stay in touch, bro. And thank you for reaching out.

Ronnie Netter 1:17:25

You know what I'm saying? And every time I see you, you got a your hair growing more, you got your skin looking better.

Gary Wise 1:17:36

That boy looked good, man. Yeah, man. It's it's a it's you know, I didn't want to be a grandpa with a bald head, and that was ultimately why I grew my hair out, man. Because I had not had hair, bro, ever, not since like 1999.

Ronnie Netter 1:17:56

That's a long time for you sailors out there that just was being born.

Gary Wise 1:17:59

Yeah, like I just started cutting my own hair to save money, and I never grew it out, so I was very thankful. I wasn't even sure what color it was gonna be. But ma'am, Ronnie, hey, I appreciate you, bro. Keep your head up if you ever need if you ever need anything, you know. I'm just a message away, man. We'll do this. All right, y'all. If y'all enjoyed this conversation, you know what to do. Like, subscribe, follow, check us out on all the places you can find podcasts. Once what once Ronnie gets full up around, I'll make sure I share his stuff with the world and uh make this world a better place, baby.

Ronnie Netter 1:18:35

Absolutely, man. God bless everybody, man. God bless you, man.

Gary Wise 1:18:38

God bless them all. All right, brother. God bless you too, man. I'll holla at you later, bro.

Ronnie Netter 1:18:42

Bro, take care.