“They have no issue negotiating a Syrian and a Kurd ceasefire in the mountains, unarmed with warlords. But if you tell them - what's next for you? They don't know how to do that. Because they've been very frontside focused on the mission in front of them for the last 5, 10, 15, 20+ years. So from that moment it all began for The Honor Foundation."
– Joe Musselman
Joe Musselman is the Founder & CEO of The Honor Foundation. He started out at DePaul University. Joe enlisted in the Navy with intentions of becoming a Navy SEAL, but as he says, “God had other plans.” He sustained an injury that ultimately lead him to found The Honor Foundation. He is also the Founder of The NEXT Series and The SOF Garage.
The top reason to listen to this episode is:
- Founding - how he did a simple step to help one veteran, and how that led incrementally to founding an incredible organization. Joe's story is one of obsession - of taking massive action to make a difference in the world.
- How to find your dream job - Joe talks about a very prescriptive process that has helped countless members of speical forces though the transition process
- Learning - this is a theme of Joe's story - reading everything he can each year, studying happines (in the workplace and in life), studying unhappiness, artificul intelligence, and writing a white paper at the end of the year about he's learned.
Our Sponsor:
- Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books
Selected Links
- Books
- Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World
- the most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who are most risk averse. It emphasizes the importance of planning in startups
- Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
- inspirational about starting an organization
- The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
- outlines what you need to do as a startup CEO
- Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor: The New Way to Fast-Track Your Career
- outlines a mentorship role in a very different way
- Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win
- 2 Navy SEALs
- Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies
- learning about AI and how it will affect society
- Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
- about fostering creativity
- Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
- What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful
- Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
- Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World
- Podcasts
- the most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who are most risk averse. It emphasizes the importance of planning in startups
- inspirational about starting an organization
- outlines what you need to do as a startup CEO
- outlines a mentorship role in a very different way
- 2 Navy SEALs
- learning about AI and how it will affect society
- about fostering creativity
Show Notes
- 3:21 - Joe's background
- 3:55 - Joe's unexpected departure from the Navy and how he started The Honor Foundation
- 15:43 - One of Joe's biggest mistakes in starting The Honor Foundation
- 18:20 - What it looks like to be involved with The Honor Foundation as a participant
- 21:30 - Joe's advice for other veterans thinking of starting their own organization
- 24:45 - Common mistakes that Joe has seen veterans make in their career transition
- 29:55 - What Joe's day-to-day life looks like
- 34:30 - How Joe has used interactions with world-class thinkers, leaders and doers to catapult his own learning and The Honor Foundation's growth
- 36:48 - Joe's involvement with the NEXT Series and the SOF Garage
- 41:05 - Books, podcasts, and resources Joe would recommend to listeners
- 46:34 - Things that Joe had to unlearn (and has seen other veterans have to unlearn) from their military experience
- 50:40 - Final words of wisdom