June 2, 2025 • 34 mins
Ron Harvey welcomes Eric Donoho, former Army Sergeant and author of "Canyon of Hope," to explore leadership lessons from military service and personal resilience following combat trauma.
• Eric served in the U.S. Army scout sniper platoon, retiring in 2009 after surviving multiple combat injuries
• Eric's book "Canyon of Hope" explores resilience and how to move forward despite life's hardest hits
• Military leadership at its best means caring for people first – demonstrated when Eric's commanders arranged immediate return home after his son's stillbirth
• Mental health challenges require processing emotions rather than bottling them up
• Leaders must show vulnerability to create psychological safety for team members
• Building trust after damage requires genuine apologies, actions that demonstrate change, and patience
• Mentorship from both military and civilian sources proved crucial to Eric's healing journey
• Finding purpose and meaning after trauma comes from seeing "light at the end of the canyon"
• Eric now helps organizations develop resilient leadership practices
• Leaders who put people first create teams that naturally perform better
The first listener to email Ron at rharve@gcsconsulting.com will receive an autographed copy of Eric's book "Canyon of Hope."
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Unpacked Podcast with your host
leadership consultant, ronHarvey of Global Core Strategies
and Consulting.
Ron believes that leadership isthe fundamental driver towards
making a difference.
So now to find out more of whatit means to unpack leadership,
here's your host, ron Harvey.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Good morning.
This is Ron Harvey.
I'm the vice president, chiefoperating officer for Global
Core Strategies and Consulting,which is a professional
leadership firm based out ofColumbia, south Carolina.
My wife and I have been runningthis company now 11 years and
we're really passionate aboutadding value to leaders so they
can take care of the workforceor their team whatever you use
to describe that but the goal ishow they're better connected to
(00:41):
the people that actually getthe things done in their
organizations.
They're better connected to thepeople that actually get the
things done in theirorganizations.
But what we do every singleMonday we release a podcast with
leaders from around the globethat talk about different things
and their experiences and theirwalks and their challenges and
their secrets.
So I'm happy to say that we doUnpacked with Ron Harvey and
nothing is scripted.
All of our guests come on withno question.
I don't know what I'm going toask.
I know we're going to talkleadership.
(01:01):
We'll figure out where we gowith that as we go through it,
but I guess say yes and we havea really good time and we go all
over about leadership and wetry to help you walk away with
something that you can actuallyimplement today.
So I'm super excited that Ihave Eric with us who, by the
way, you'll get to learn moreabout him.
But we got some stuff in thebackground in our pictures.
If you're watching, we bewatching.
(01:28):
We got some stuff in commonthat we did not talk about yet,
but we'll get to it.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
So Eric, let me hand you the microphone man so you
can tell us a little bit aboutwhat you want us to know about
you before we do all the heavylifting.
Sure, I'm a author.
I just published my first book,canyon of Hope, this past
August.
It was time to come out withNational Suicide Awareness Month
which was all of September andI'm a former sergeant, a member
(01:51):
of a scout sniper platoon in theUnited States Army.
I was retired in 2009 forgetting blown up too many times,
and that's kind of what thisbook is about.
It's about how do you continueto move forward, no matter how
many times or how hard life hits, and that really takes into
account the resilient leadershipthat we all could be focusing
(02:15):
in on our companies and thatsort of thing.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Awesome man, thank you for that.
Do you have the book with you?
I mean, is it just?
Yeah, let us see?
Yeah, bring that on up to thefront so they can see this.
And where did they get yourbook from?
Speaker 3 (02:28):
You can get the book anywhere where you buy books
Amazon, barnes, noble it's onKindle, apple, anywhere where
you get books, and I'm currentlyin production for the audio
book now, so hopefully that'llbe out before the end of the
(02:49):
first quarter.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Yes, yes, love it.
I mean, you're a veteran, soyou know I support that.
I'm a veteran as well, andpeople that follow me know that,
and so what I'll do before wedive into the questions.
Yeah, before we dive into thequestions.
You know, as Eric, get in hereas you listen to this and this
podcast will get dropped.
Get in here as you listen tothis and this podcast will get
dropped when you listen to it.
If you're the first person tosend me an email and you can
send it to me atrharveygcsconsulting so you can
(03:12):
find me on LinkedIn, go to mywebsite.
The first person, once youlisten to this podcast, that
sends me an email and I get itand say, hey, I listened to you
and Eric and I want to receivethat gift.
I will give you a copy of hisbook.
So, once this podcast is posted, the first person that sends me
an email to me personally, Iwill give you a book from our
company, because I try to shareand I try to give out what every
(03:35):
guest does.
If they have something, I wantto give it to someone.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
If you let me know who it is, I'll go ahead and
make sure it's autographed andwe'll push it out directly from
me.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
That's what I'll do.
I'll make sure that they getyour autograph, because you know
what they'll tell us.
How do you give me a bookwithout an autograph?
I?
Speaker 3 (03:51):
can't sit here and watch you do this and not get in
on it First person to send youan email.
You let me know.
I'll get a book in the mail tothem with an autograph, a book
card and all that sort of stuff.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
That's what I'm talking about.
We give away stuff here.
We like to have fun.
So, Eric, you served and I wantto dive into the content and
share with everybody, For allyou that are listening and
watching.
We spent about 20 minutes andthen we'll start wrapping up, so
we won't keep you all daybecause I know you got stuff to
do, but I want to spend timetalking around everything.
Leadership and you think aboutit.
You know you served in the armyand you, you know you've been
(04:29):
deployed multiple times.
What was the best lesson thatyou learned that helped you be
effective as a leader in thearmy?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
So I want to clarify I was only deployed once.
I got blown up by threeroadside bombs and then survived
a Katyusha rocket attack on achahal that I was sitting in.
So the traumatic brain injuryand some of those issues when I
came home, that's what ended upgetting me retired.
(05:02):
That's what ended up getting meretired the leadership that I
(05:27):
learned in war.
You know I consider myselfincredibly lucky with my
military career because everysingle aspect that happened for
me was kind of a new beginning.
So I was straight out ofairborne school I got sent to
Fort Richardson, alaska, whichwas standing up the brand new
4th Brigade, 25th InfantryDivision, and then reinstituting
the 3rd Battalion, 509thInfantry Division, airborne,
which is whom I served in, andtheir scout sniper platoon, and
so for me that meant that theyhad to grow a lot of NCOs from
(05:49):
within.
That meant that opportunity waslarge.
It also meant that they stackedthat unit with some of the most
amazing leaders that I've evermet in my life, from General
Garrett, who was on the back ofmy book, who was our brigade
commander at the time, to ourbattalion commander, lieutenant
(06:10):
Colonel Keaveney, to my platoonleader and platoon sergeant
Brent and Ben.
They were all some of the bestleaders that I could have ever
encountered and it was more ofabsorbing and watching during
that time than it was everreally leading.
Because when you have that goodof leadership, they've got
(06:34):
things planned out so far likethree steps ahead, four steps
ahead, that, as a junior leadereven trying to go, they've got
you right.
So it was more absorbing thenotes.
It was after I got out of themilitary and I went from being
that young sergeant in the scoutsniper platoon to being a
(06:58):
stay-at-home dad of a brand newlittle girl.
That's when all thoseleadership lessons actually
started to come into place andsome of them I didn't put into
fruition until many years laterbecause I didn't realize what
was happening with me and thefailures to decompress and let
(07:21):
go of a lot of the things that Icarried home with me.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yes, yeah, thank you for sharing it, thank you for
your service and, as you gothrough the conversation, a lot
to unpack.
So I know our audience is likewaiting to see.
What do I ask you next?
And I know they probably havetons of questions, so I will
dive in a little bit here.
Let's unpack some of it.
What was the characteristicsabout those leaders?
You mentioned several of them.
You got them on the book andyou remember them by name, which
is phenomenal, which means theyhad to have an impact.
(07:46):
What are some of thecharacteristics that make a
great leader?
So, if we're talking to anentrepreneur, we're talking to a
dad, or we're talking to amother, or we're talking to
someone that's running acorporation or business.
What are some of the thingsthat were standout
characteristics that impress youfrom those leaders that you
still remember their names?
Speaker 3 (08:03):
So I'll give you an example rather than
characteristics.
I'll share a story.
So when I deployed to OperationIraqi Freedom in October of
2006, my wife and I were sevenand a half months pregnant,
seven, seven and a half monthspregnant, seven, seven and a
(08:27):
half months pregnant, and when Ileft Fort Richardson it was
about 70 hours later, maybe bythe time that I ended up in I
want to say about 70 hours later, by the time I ended up in Camp
Buring, where you start to getready for your deployment and
going into Iraq.
When we pulled up in the busesfrom that, I had an NCO from our
headquarters unit waiting forme outside the bus and when I
(08:52):
got off the bus, he informed methat I had a Red Cross message.
When I got to the talk,lieutenant Colonel Keaveney,
along with my leaders, were allthere and they informed me that
we had lost our son David andthat it was imperative that I
(09:15):
get back to the airport asquickly as possible because in
order for me to be able to behome in time for the stillbirth.
And so, literally, I wentstraight from that bus to the
talk talk, from the talk to aprivate vehicle, from a private
vehicle back to the airport.
All of this was was waded up.
That's leadership.
I didn't have to ask them anyquestions about what I was going
(09:38):
to do.
They handled every aspect of itand got me back on a plane, and
it was because of them that Igot back into Anchorage two
hours before the last possibleminute that they could, you know
, wait to have my wife start thestillbirth.
From that point they pulled measide.
(10:01):
After we had the stillbirth andwe were getting ready for the
burial at Fort RichardsonNational Cemetery and my leaders
on Rear D, specifically forSergeant Sapa.
He informed me that that sameleadership that got me home had
made it and accommodated for meto be able to stay home for six
(10:21):
months with my wife to grieveour son and to deal with that.
But I'm Irish Catholic.
I deal with everything withanger.
So for me and emotionally, Iwas inept at that time I
actually ran back to war.
I kind of hid behind the factthat I have an important job.
I didn't.
I wasn't important to theplatoon.
Somebody else would havestepped up and done just as good
(10:42):
of a job.
I was just a coward in dealingwith those emotions and I felt
like I would do more damage herethan I wouldn't.
But again, throughout thatentire time, those leaders
checked up in on me and I couldgo on more and more stories, but
that right there, caring moreabout your people and making
(11:05):
sure that they are taken care ofand that they feel that you
care for them and have theirback, is what, all these years
later, would still have me on aphone call and a plane to go do
anything for the ones that arestill alive.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yeah, I love it.
I mean you start talking abouttaking care of people and thank
you for sharing the story.
I mean because you're bringingback, like in those moments.
That's when leadership isreally judged.
You know, if you want to figureout if you're a great leader,
how do you respond when yourback is against the wall?
All things are happening, youdon't have a lot of control of
it, but how do you show up atthose moments to make a
difference for someone?
(11:43):
So when you think about thefact that they were very
responsive, they really tookgreat care of you, can you speak
more?
Because we do struggle withmaking the right choices and
avoiding the grief or avoidingthose things when it comes to
mental health or taking care ofyourself.
You shared a story that you know.
You ran back to avoid dealingwith some things you didn't want
(12:04):
to deal with.
What would you share withpeople that are listening, that
may be actually in that place,whether it's, you know, going to
combat, or whether it's youknow showing up at work, or
whether it's showing up at agame or whatever that thing is
that they may be avoiding toavoid the grief and the pain and
the hurt?
What would you share withpeople that are listening to.
How do they get better at that?
And I'm sure that'll supportyour book as well.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Yeah.
So I mean that's kind of thepremise of the book is that for
a long time that's the way thatI dealt with things.
So I put it in a jar, put thelid on the jar and moved on.
And when you go to war and yousee all those things, more
things get added to the jar.
I lost 17 friends in combat.
(12:45):
I came home I started to losefriends to suicide.
I started to have healthproblems.
I started to have mental healthchallenges myself that I, you
know, didn't want to openly talkabout, and so all of these
things I just kept putting injars and eventually those jars
get full and when they get fullthey burst open.
(13:07):
And when they burst open, it'sin those moments that you know
the destruction of your lifereally happens, moments that you
know the destruction of yourlife really happens.
And so what I would say toanyone is the short-term benefit
of being able to put it in ajar, put a lid on it, is not
better than the long-termbenefit of actually processing
(13:29):
and dealing with it in themoment.
It allows you to not have tocarry that baggage and those
things and those thoughts for solong in your backpack.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Yeah, yeah, thank you for sharing.
So you think of leadership andyou think of people where you
know there are a lot ofchallenges.
You know that people strugglewith.
What do you tell leaders thatdon't know how to take care of
people that may be going throughstuff?
What's the first step to helpsomeone that may not want it or
may be avoiding it?
How do I help someone on myteam that may be struggling?
I see it, but I don't know howto approach them and I don't
(14:01):
want to feel like I'm being nosyor getting into their personal
business.
What's the advice to a leaderthat's in that role?
Speaker 3 (14:06):
This is one of the best questions that I get really
excited when leaders ask me,and that's because asking that
question shows that you care andit means you're willing to do
the hard thing that I'm going totell you, which is you have to
(14:28):
be vulnerable yourself.
Your people have to see you ashuman as well.
It doesn't mean that you bitchexcuse my language down, but
it's that you reach back downand that you lift up and that
you complain up and highlightingto them all of the things that
(14:54):
you haven't figured out in yourown life, but you can highlight
to them where you have hadsimilar struggles and you've
come out to the other side byjust saying, hey, I've been
there.
I know that it may seem like Idon't understand, because I'm
always pushing goals and agendasand this company aspect, but I
(15:14):
get that there is a life outsideof here.
I get that there is.
You know, issues that, no matterhow hard you try to not bring
into work, are going to comeinto work because you're only
human.
And if you can't trust in meand talk to me about what's
going on as your teammate, assomebody that you know cares
(15:36):
about you and wants to see yousucceed in life.
How are you going to talk toanybody?
That part of it takes, you know, effort and that isn't a five
minute conversation that youhave sitting down with somebody.
That is a dedicated hey, I wantto be there for someone and I
(15:57):
want to make sure they feelvalued on our team, because when
they do, they will performbetter.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Yes, yes, how do you thank you?
Thank you so much.
So, when you think about it,eric, you know the army has
values and and you know the corevalues and beliefs and they
live by those.
But how do you help peopleactually live them out?
So, when you think about peoplethat are on here that are
watching it and no corporate hasrules and regulations and
(16:25):
values and all those things howdo you help leaders make sure
that they're actually living outthese core values, versus just
it's writing on the wall?
Speaker 3 (16:36):
Well, I don't think I can.
I can give words to inspiresomebody to try to become the
best version of themselves, but,like I tell my kids every day,
if you're striving to be the 1%in this world the leaders, the
people who are making adifference, the ones who are the
(16:58):
change makers whose legacy isgoing to be left long after
they're gone, you got to bewilling to do the work, even
when you don't want to.
It's Mike Tyson who said,famously discipline is doing
what you hate but, like you,love it.
And so when we're talking about, you know, making sure that
(17:22):
leaders are doing these thingsand living these values out,
that's on them and ultimately,if there is anyone that has
checks and balances over them,then you know.
That's when it comes in fortheir time, for their eval, and
as a boss, you say, hey, look,you know we could be doing a
(17:44):
better job living out thesevalues.
Here's X and Y, and you knowreasons why.
Here's where we're doing reallygood, really good.
But if you're that main personwho created those values and
you're not living up to themyourself, there's not much I can
do to help you except justpoint out the hypocrisy to you.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Yes, yes, thank you for sharing.
You shared, you know when you,when you, when you, you know,
had the, you know you came backhome, you were with your wife
for a while and then you leftand you went back, you know, to
avoid some of the stuff.
How do you help leaders thatmay have done that and now they
need to go back and fix it up athome?
They got to make an apology andI grew up in a time where
leaders didn't apologize eventhough they knew they probably
(18:23):
should have, but their ego ortheir pride, or I'm the leader
I'm not going to.
How do you help leadersapologize and do it
authentically so they can closethe gap or the delta or the
disconnect they may have withtheir team?
Speaker 3 (18:38):
So for me, it's about being humble.
I can't lead people if theycan't trust me, and people can't
follow if they can't trust you.
So all of this really comesdown to you know, when we talk
(18:59):
about, um, having to come homeand make amends for the things
that you've done wrong, when we,when we sit there and do that,
it's just simple Be humble,recognize if you literally made
a mistake, recognize that youhurt someone's feelings and
(19:19):
legitimately repent, not justwith them.
But you know, for me, I'm abeliever in God, so I'm just not
repenting with that person, butI'm also repenting with God,
and from that point on, all Ican do is to continue to move
forward and show them through myactions that those words of
repent were true.
(19:41):
For me, that took a long time.
In 2015, we had moved back toIndiana, I had been bottling
things up, and then you have theblow ups and then the bottling.
Finally my wife had just shehad had enough and she was
sincerely looking at getting adivorce.
(20:01):
The only thing that saved me isthat we had just moved to
Indiana and she had to wait sixmonths before we could file, and
in that timeframe, a personwould normally think oh well,
that's what.
That was what the catalyst was.
And for me, that was what thecatalyst was that pushed me to
my kitchen table and and almostbecoming a statistic of veteran
(20:24):
suicide.
That day it was two days afterthat scenario that I found
myself having that light bulbmoment and realizing that, okay,
so I've done some damage allthe way around.
So I've done some damage allthe way around, you know, but
(20:47):
I'm still here, even though I'vealmost died all these times,
including, you know, trying tokill myself.
So there must be some sort ofpurpose, some sort of reason
that I'm here.
It's starting, you know, I needto dig into that.
And so the first thing I neededto do was to heal myself, and
(21:08):
that became the process.
And in that healing myself, myspouse, you know, could see that
those words, that apology, thatrepenting, was serious, because
I was actually making, you know, changes to my life.
I was getting involved withprograms that helped me get
better.
(21:28):
I was coming out of that shellof a person that I had become,
and so it's not just words, it'salso actions, you know, and
being willing, and I have somany friends who are like.
Well, you know, I told my wife,you know I'm sorry and we're
doing better.
And it's been six months and westill, you know, she still
(21:51):
doesn't trust me.
Yeah, but how long were youguys in the in the thick of it?
How long were you in thetrenches?
And?
And so is six months enoughtime for her to feel like she
can trust you again.
And it isn't for you todetermine when that's going to
be.
It's for that other person, andso you know that's what I would
(22:14):
say yeah, I love that.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
You said that too.
You know when you think aboutit, Eric, everybody that's
listening.
You've got to give the otherperson the space they need,
versus the time you want to sayget over it.
And you know that's the oldsaying in the military.
We say just get over it, Suckit up, Move on, Suck it up, Move
on, Get over it.
I don't think that's a fairstatement as a leader to people.
You need to give people thetime to recover and go along
(22:37):
with them on that journey.
They've been on a journey withyou, so it's important for you
to get on this journey with themand whatever they may need, and
you don't get to tell them whenthey got to say I forgive you,
You're going to have to be ableto take that journey with them.
And oftentimes I think we getin trouble because we're like,
well, I've said it and I fixedit and you should forgive me.
Well, that's the healingprocess, and so I'm glad that
(22:58):
you're saying that.
So, when you think about yourbook, what do you want people to
walk away with that arelistening to this podcast?
That we're going to send a bookto what?
Speaker 3 (23:11):
are the top things out of your book that you want
people to get.
I think that the biggest thingthat I wanted people to take
away is that, no matter how darkyour life seems right now, no
matter how hopeless it mightseem, that there is always light
at the end of the canyon.
And that is really what thisbook and where the title and the
(23:31):
picture from the top of thebook came from.
It's a picture I took while Iwas on one of my veteran
expeditions in the Gila NationalWilderness, and the reason I
took it is because I recognizedthat for me at the time, my
surroundings in the environmentmimicked much like my life in
(23:53):
real life.
I was walking in this canyonalong the river and the shadows
and in the darkness, but at theend of the canyon was this light
, and it was the first time inprobably about 10 years that I
felt like I was really seeingthe light.
And it was the first time inprobably about 10 years that I
had felt like I was reallyseeing the light.
So during that week I becameobsessed with capturing one
(24:13):
image that you know I could hangup in my house.
That would always remind methat, no matter how dark things
get, there is always a brightday that's coming and to hold on
for that day.
And so, while this book talkssomewhat about my experience at
(24:34):
war, it also talks about all thechallenges that you face when
you come home from war.
People often talk like oh, youknow, you went to war and you
come home and you're wounded andall these things, and now life
is going to get better for you,but they don't talk about that.
Life's hits can keep coming,even after you're out of the
(24:54):
service, and if you're alreadyin a shell of a person, how do
you handle those hits as theykeep coming?
Which is goes back to thatresilient leadership that we
were talking about in thebeginning.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Yes, I love it.
I mean in your transparency andthe things, and that's what I
think the show does well, wherepeople say, unpack is we share
real stories.
I mean it's pretty transparent.
You know, and I think you sharegreat information about how do
you navigate.
I mean because you know andeverybody does it different.
So this is this is one person'sway, which I love how he did it
(25:28):
.
He's pretty transparent.
So I want to be able to pausehere because, seeing the light
for anybody that's listening,it's so important for you to
know that, wherever you are,there's an opportunity for you
to get better.
How important was it for you tohave people around you that you
can actually talk to a mentoror a sponsor?
How important was it for you tohave people around you that you
can actually talk to a mentoror, you know, a sponsor?
How important was it for you tohave people around you, you
(25:49):
know, as you was going throughthis journey, to just keep
telling you to keep going or toinspire you or to encourage you.
How important was that for you?
Speaker 3 (25:57):
It was huge.
I wouldn't be where I am todaywithout a series of mentors that
I had in my life, and theystarted with the.
You know the military mentorsthat I had in my life, and and
they started with the.
You know the military mentorsthat I had, the same ones that
helped some of the same onesthat helped me deal with David
all these years later helped medeal with myself, and it also,
(26:21):
you know, I think the civilianside of the house, though, for
me, was the most important,because sometimes, as veterans,
what we can get into is thisfunnel that we're like only
veterans really get us.
We're not going to associatewith other people and, and you
know, if that's the case, you'renot going to really have a
(26:42):
whole lot of people in yourcircle or life, because there,
you know, aren't a whole lot ofveterans out there.
So you got to be open tolooking into the civilian world
and saying, hey, look, I'mtransitioning from the military
into the civilian world.
Just like I had people helpingme navigate the military world
(27:03):
when I moved into that space, Ineed people helping me navigate
this.
And so the civilian mentorsfrom Eric Weimar, who started a
nonprofit called no Barriers USA, who I turned to first, only
well, first blind man to everclimb Mount Everest.
(27:25):
You know so, the uh, you knowso.
The inspiration that you knowhe brings just in, that alone is
huge.
But then, you know, when he'stalking to you it's kind of hard
to say no, I'm not going to dothat, even though it's super
challenging.
Right Um to uh, uh, a friend ofmine.
Her name is Maureen and shetaught me so much about who I am
(27:48):
and what is out there for me,based on the skillset that I
have.
And I didn't even believe it.
And it's because of her that Iam where I am today, and it's
not because of financial gifts.
Most people think, when theyhear things like that, that it's
.
You know, somebody came in andwrote a check or somebody did
(28:09):
this and lifted you up.
No, they were just there tokeep me from quitting and
because that's the reality.
Anything hard in life, you'regoing to hit so many crossroads
where you're going to be likeyou know what been doing this,
this isn't working out, like'stime to quit, and it's the
people who surround you thatmatter, because in that moment
(28:32):
they're either going to tell youyeah, you should, because it's
not working out or they're goingto tell you this is part of the
process and you got to get alittle battered and bruised
before you start to see thesuccesses, because it makes you
appreciate them more when you doget them.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
Yes, yes, I love it.
You're really transparent.
Sometimes we make it look easythat we made it and we don't
tell the stories that you'retelling right now about all that
you went through.
And I apologize to people allthe time.
I say I'm so sorry, I made thatlook easy.
No, I actually got my buttkicked.
Speaker 3 (29:02):
I'm getting my butt kicked right now.
At the launch of this bookeverybody talked about oh, this
book, this book, this book,right, writing, writing, writing
.
That's the hard part.
No, that's not the hard part.
I mean that's hard, don't getme wrong.
You really got to be clear andyou got to.
You know, write so that you addvalue to somebody else's life,
(29:23):
and and it's hard.
But the real hard part comesafter you've made the investment
in the book, both time andmoney wise.
Now you've got to, you know,create a name and a market for a
book, that there are 10,000 aday getting added to Amazon.
So you know so you know it'sit's always anybody who makes it
(29:49):
look easy.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
It's just because they've they've found their
faith in something, and so, asthings get, hard, they turn to
whatever their faith is in andthey find their solace and they
get their bucket refilledthrough that that way.
I love it.
I love it and what a great wayfor for.
(30:10):
So if anybody's looking for youknow I want to be able to to
make sure people know how toreach you, um and and reasons.
So you're doing some great workand you're speaking and you're
traveling.
Now you know what are somethings that you know.
If people decided they want toreach out, what, what are the
things that that you do thatpeople will, you can help people
with.
Where's your sweet spot?
Speaker 3 (30:36):
So one of my main issues is moral injury.
Moral injury are injuries toour spirit.
I do a lot of talking andspeeches and guest panels on
that, but more specifically inthe business world, where I
really shine in working withindividuals with resilient
leadership, bringing companiestogether from an entire unit and
(30:58):
helping them see that they areone team moving in the direction
.
And a lot of that are the sameprinciples that we both learned
in the military and how youapply them in the civilian world
in a way that makes people feelengaged and connected, and so
the way that they can get a holdof me is ericdonohocom, that's
E-R-I-C-D-O-N-O-H-Ocom.
(31:20):
Or you can go tocanyonofhopecom.
That just reroutes you rightback to Eric Donoho.
Or you can go to Canyon of Hopedot com.
That just reroutes you rightback to Eric Donahoe.
They can find me on Instagramat EB Donahoe and that that
particular channel I try to makesure is full of fun and
inspiring content to get youthrough the day.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Yes, thank you.
Thank you so much and Iappreciate it.
Is there anything that that youwant to share that I haven't
asked a question about?
You know that will help someleader that's listening to.
I mean, you've had a phenomenaljourney and you've done well
and survived it with yourchallenges.
What would you share withleaders that are listening, that
may be challenged or that wehaven't talked about yet?
Speaker 3 (31:59):
If you really, really truly want to be great, always
put your people first, that's itCare more about your people
than the product and the numbers, and if you do that, your
people will show up, and theyalways do.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
Yes, yeah, I think you ended that in a great way,
too, eric, because when you toldthe story about landing, and as
soon as you landed, theyflipped your flight backpack
around to get you where youneeded to be, even though they
had a mission that they really,really would prefer for you to
have been a part of, but itwasn't the most important thing.
So getting that airplane turnedaround and getting you back on
it so you can be there with yourwife, that's caring about
people.
So thank you for ending it theway you started it and sharing
(32:40):
it, and you know how to get thebook is on Amazon and different
places For those of you that arelistening and paying attention.
Thank you all for joining us.
Thank you for hanging in withus as we talk about and share
real stories.
For you to on your journey tojust do a little bit more to
take care of people you'reresponsible for.
Leadership is very, veryselfless.
It's all about taking care ofeverybody else, and you can
always find us on LinkedInGlobal Course Strategies and
(33:04):
Consulting.
You can look up my name andyou'll find me on LinkedIn.
It's the primary thing that Iuse for most of my connections
and relationships.
We'd love to have you as avisitor or a guest on the show,
but also love to have you ifyou're interested in wanting to
figure out how we can supportyou and your organization.
Until next time, eric and Iwill sign off and tell you to
have a great day and lookforward to you.
Don't forget the first personthat sends me email.
(33:24):
When this is released, I willmake sure that you get an
autographed, signed book thatEric is going to mail out from
his location.
Thank y'all for joining us.
As usual, we're going to logoff from Unpacked with Ron
Harvey.
Eric and I will say goodbyeuntil next time.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
Take care.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
Well, we hope you enjoyed this edition of Unpacked
Podcast with leadershipconsultant Ron Harvey.
Remember to join us everyMonday as Ron unpacks sound
advice, providing real answersfor real leadership challenges.
Until next time, remember toadd value and make a difference
where you are, for the peopleyou serve, because people always
(34:04):
matter.
Welcome to Unpacked Podcast with your host
leadership consultant, ronHarvey of Global Core Strategies
and Consulting.
Ron believes that leadership isthe fundamental driver towards
making a difference.
So now to find out more of whatit means to unpack leadership,
here's your host, ron Harvey.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Good morning.
This is Ron Harvey.
I'm the vice president, chiefoperating officer for Global
Core Strategies and Consulting,which is a professional
leadership firm based out ofColumbia, south Carolina.
My wife and I have been runningthis company now 11 years and
we're really passionate aboutadding value to leaders so they
can take care of the workforceor their team whatever you use
to describe that but the goal ishow they're better connected to
(00:41):
the people that actually getthe things done in their
organizations.
They're better connected to thepeople that actually get the
things done in theirorganizations.
But what we do every singleMonday we release a podcast with
leaders from around the globethat talk about different things
and their experiences and theirwalks and their challenges and
their secrets.
So I'm happy to say that we doUnpacked with Ron Harvey and
nothing is scripted.
All of our guests come on withno question.
I don't know what I'm going toask.
I know we're going to talkleadership.
(01:01):
We'll figure out where we gowith that as we go through it,
but I guess say yes and we havea really good time and we go all
over about leadership and wetry to help you walk away with
something that you can actuallyimplement today.
So I'm super excited that Ihave Eric with us who, by the
way, you'll get to learn moreabout him.
But we got some stuff in thebackground in our pictures.
If you're watching, we bewatching.
(01:28):
We got some stuff in commonthat we did not talk about yet,
but we'll get to it.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
So Eric, let me hand you the microphone man so you
can tell us a little bit aboutwhat you want us to know about
you before we do all the heavylifting.
Sure, I'm a author.
I just published my first book,canyon of Hope, this past
August.
It was time to come out withNational Suicide Awareness Month
which was all of September andI'm a former sergeant, a member
(01:51):
of a scout sniper platoon in theUnited States Army.
I was retired in 2009 forgetting blown up too many times,
and that's kind of what thisbook is about.
It's about how do you continueto move forward, no matter how
many times or how hard life hits, and that really takes into
account the resilient leadershipthat we all could be focusing
(02:15):
in on our companies and thatsort of thing.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Awesome man, thank you for that.
Do you have the book with you?
I mean, is it just?
Yeah, let us see?
Yeah, bring that on up to thefront so they can see this.
And where did they get yourbook from?
Speaker 3 (02:28):
You can get the book anywhere where you buy books
Amazon, barnes, noble it's onKindle, apple, anywhere where
you get books, and I'm currentlyin production for the audio
book now, so hopefully that'llbe out before the end of the
(02:49):
first quarter.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Yes, yes, love it.
I mean, you're a veteran, soyou know I support that.
I'm a veteran as well, andpeople that follow me know that,
and so what I'll do before wedive into the questions.
Yeah, before we dive into thequestions.
You know, as Eric, get in hereas you listen to this and this
podcast will get dropped.
Get in here as you listen tothis and this podcast will get
dropped when you listen to it.
If you're the first person tosend me an email and you can
send it to me atrharveygcsconsulting so you can
(03:12):
find me on LinkedIn, go to mywebsite.
The first person, once youlisten to this podcast, that
sends me an email and I get itand say, hey, I listened to you
and Eric and I want to receivethat gift.
I will give you a copy of hisbook.
So, once this podcast is posted, the first person that sends me
an email to me personally, Iwill give you a book from our
company, because I try to shareand I try to give out what every
(03:35):
guest does.
If they have something, I wantto give it to someone.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
If you let me know who it is, I'll go ahead and
make sure it's autographed andwe'll push it out directly from
me.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
That's what I'll do.
I'll make sure that they getyour autograph, because you know
what they'll tell us.
How do you give me a bookwithout an autograph?
I?
Speaker 3 (03:51):
can't sit here and watch you do this and not get in
on it First person to send youan email.
You let me know.
I'll get a book in the mail tothem with an autograph, a book
card and all that sort of stuff.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
That's what I'm talking about.
We give away stuff here.
We like to have fun.
So, Eric, you served and I wantto dive into the content and
share with everybody, For allyou that are listening and
watching.
We spent about 20 minutes andthen we'll start wrapping up, so
we won't keep you all daybecause I know you got stuff to
do, but I want to spend timetalking around everything.
Leadership and you think aboutit.
You know you served in the armyand you, you know you've been
(04:29):
deployed multiple times.
What was the best lesson thatyou learned that helped you be
effective as a leader in thearmy?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
So I want to clarify I was only deployed once.
I got blown up by threeroadside bombs and then survived
a Katyusha rocket attack on achahal that I was sitting in.
So the traumatic brain injuryand some of those issues when I
came home, that's what ended upgetting me retired.
(05:02):
That's what ended up getting meretired the leadership that I
(05:27):
learned in war.
You know I consider myselfincredibly lucky with my
military career because everysingle aspect that happened for
me was kind of a new beginning.
So I was straight out ofairborne school I got sent to
Fort Richardson, alaska, whichwas standing up the brand new
4th Brigade, 25th InfantryDivision, and then reinstituting
the 3rd Battalion, 509thInfantry Division, airborne,
which is whom I served in, andtheir scout sniper platoon, and
so for me that meant that theyhad to grow a lot of NCOs from
(05:49):
within.
That meant that opportunity waslarge.
It also meant that they stackedthat unit with some of the most
amazing leaders that I've evermet in my life, from General
Garrett, who was on the back ofmy book, who was our brigade
commander at the time, to ourbattalion commander, lieutenant
(06:10):
Colonel Keaveney, to my platoonleader and platoon sergeant
Brent and Ben.
They were all some of the bestleaders that I could have ever
encountered and it was more ofabsorbing and watching during
that time than it was everreally leading.
Because when you have that goodof leadership, they've got
(06:34):
things planned out so far likethree steps ahead, four steps
ahead, that, as a junior leadereven trying to go, they've got
you right.
So it was more absorbing thenotes.
It was after I got out of themilitary and I went from being
that young sergeant in the scoutsniper platoon to being a
(06:58):
stay-at-home dad of a brand newlittle girl.
That's when all thoseleadership lessons actually
started to come into place andsome of them I didn't put into
fruition until many years laterbecause I didn't realize what
was happening with me and thefailures to decompress and let
(07:21):
go of a lot of the things that Icarried home with me.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yes, yeah, thank you for sharing it, thank you for
your service and, as you gothrough the conversation, a lot
to unpack.
So I know our audience is likewaiting to see.
What do I ask you next?
And I know they probably havetons of questions, so I will
dive in a little bit here.
Let's unpack some of it.
What was the characteristicsabout those leaders?
You mentioned several of them.
You got them on the book andyou remember them by name, which
is phenomenal, which means theyhad to have an impact.
(07:46):
What are some of thecharacteristics that make a
great leader?
So, if we're talking to anentrepreneur, we're talking to a
dad, or we're talking to amother, or we're talking to
someone that's running acorporation or business.
What are some of the thingsthat were standout
characteristics that impress youfrom those leaders that you
still remember their names?
Speaker 3 (08:03):
So I'll give you an example rather than
characteristics.
I'll share a story.
So when I deployed to OperationIraqi Freedom in October of
2006, my wife and I were sevenand a half months pregnant,
seven, seven and a half monthspregnant, seven, seven and a
(08:27):
half months pregnant, and when Ileft Fort Richardson it was
about 70 hours later, maybe bythe time that I ended up in I
want to say about 70 hours later, by the time I ended up in Camp
Buring, where you start to getready for your deployment and
going into Iraq.
When we pulled up in the busesfrom that, I had an NCO from our
headquarters unit waiting forme outside the bus and when I
(08:52):
got off the bus, he informed methat I had a Red Cross message.
When I got to the talk,lieutenant Colonel Keaveney,
along with my leaders, were allthere and they informed me that
we had lost our son David andthat it was imperative that I
(09:15):
get back to the airport asquickly as possible because in
order for me to be able to behome in time for the stillbirth.
And so, literally, I wentstraight from that bus to the
talk talk, from the talk to aprivate vehicle, from a private
vehicle back to the airport.
All of this was was waded up.
That's leadership.
I didn't have to ask them anyquestions about what I was going
(09:38):
to do.
They handled every aspect of itand got me back on a plane, and
it was because of them that Igot back into Anchorage two
hours before the last possibleminute that they could, you know
, wait to have my wife start thestillbirth.
From that point they pulled measide.
(10:01):
After we had the stillbirth andwe were getting ready for the
burial at Fort RichardsonNational Cemetery and my leaders
on Rear D, specifically forSergeant Sapa.
He informed me that that sameleadership that got me home had
made it and accommodated for meto be able to stay home for six
(10:21):
months with my wife to grieveour son and to deal with that.
But I'm Irish Catholic.
I deal with everything withanger.
So for me and emotionally, Iwas inept at that time I
actually ran back to war.
I kind of hid behind the factthat I have an important job.
I didn't.
I wasn't important to theplatoon.
Somebody else would havestepped up and done just as good
(10:42):
of a job.
I was just a coward in dealingwith those emotions and I felt
like I would do more damage herethan I wouldn't.
But again, throughout thatentire time, those leaders
checked up in on me and I couldgo on more and more stories, but
that right there, caring moreabout your people and making
(11:05):
sure that they are taken care ofand that they feel that you
care for them and have theirback, is what, all these years
later, would still have me on aphone call and a plane to go do
anything for the ones that arestill alive.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yeah, I love it.
I mean you start talking abouttaking care of people and thank
you for sharing the story.
I mean because you're bringingback, like in those moments.
That's when leadership isreally judged.
You know, if you want to figureout if you're a great leader,
how do you respond when yourback is against the wall?
All things are happening, youdon't have a lot of control of
it, but how do you show up atthose moments to make a
difference for someone?
(11:43):
So when you think about thefact that they were very
responsive, they really tookgreat care of you, can you speak
more?
Because we do struggle withmaking the right choices and
avoiding the grief or avoidingthose things when it comes to
mental health or taking care ofyourself.
You shared a story that you know.
You ran back to avoid dealingwith some things you didn't want
(12:04):
to deal with.
What would you share withpeople that are listening, that
may be actually in that place,whether it's, you know, going to
combat, or whether it's youknow showing up at work, or
whether it's showing up at agame or whatever that thing is
that they may be avoiding toavoid the grief and the pain and
the hurt?
What would you share withpeople that are listening to.
How do they get better at that?
And I'm sure that'll supportyour book as well.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Yeah.
So I mean that's kind of thepremise of the book is that for
a long time that's the way thatI dealt with things.
So I put it in a jar, put thelid on the jar and moved on.
And when you go to war and yousee all those things, more
things get added to the jar.
I lost 17 friends in combat.
(12:45):
I came home I started to losefriends to suicide.
I started to have healthproblems.
I started to have mental healthchallenges myself that I, you
know, didn't want to openly talkabout, and so all of these
things I just kept putting injars and eventually those jars
get full and when they get fullthey burst open.
(13:07):
And when they burst open, it'sin those moments that you know
the destruction of your lifereally happens, moments that you
know the destruction of yourlife really happens.
And so what I would say toanyone is the short-term benefit
of being able to put it in ajar, put a lid on it, is not
better than the long-termbenefit of actually processing
(13:29):
and dealing with it in themoment.
It allows you to not have tocarry that baggage and those
things and those thoughts for solong in your backpack.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Yeah, yeah, thank you for sharing.
So you think of leadership andyou think of people where you
know there are a lot ofchallenges.
You know that people strugglewith.
What do you tell leaders thatdon't know how to take care of
people that may be going throughstuff?
What's the first step to helpsomeone that may not want it or
may be avoiding it?
How do I help someone on myteam that may be struggling?
I see it, but I don't know howto approach them and I don't
(14:01):
want to feel like I'm being nosyor getting into their personal
business.
What's the advice to a leaderthat's in that role?
Speaker 3 (14:06):
This is one of the best questions that I get really
excited when leaders ask me,and that's because asking that
question shows that you care andit means you're willing to do
the hard thing that I'm going totell you, which is you have to
(14:28):
be vulnerable yourself.
Your people have to see you ashuman as well.
It doesn't mean that you bitchexcuse my language down, but
it's that you reach back downand that you lift up and that
you complain up and highlightingto them all of the things that
(14:54):
you haven't figured out in yourown life, but you can highlight
to them where you have hadsimilar struggles and you've
come out to the other side byjust saying, hey, I've been
there.
I know that it may seem like Idon't understand, because I'm
always pushing goals and agendasand this company aspect, but I
(15:14):
get that there is a life outsideof here.
I get that there is.
You know, issues that, no matterhow hard you try to not bring
into work, are going to comeinto work because you're only
human.
And if you can't trust in meand talk to me about what's
going on as your teammate, assomebody that you know cares
(15:36):
about you and wants to see yousucceed in life.
How are you going to talk toanybody?
That part of it takes, you know, effort and that isn't a five
minute conversation that youhave sitting down with somebody.
That is a dedicated hey, I wantto be there for someone and I
(15:57):
want to make sure they feelvalued on our team, because when
they do, they will performbetter.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Yes, yes, how do you thank you?
Thank you so much.
So, when you think about it,eric, you know the army has
values and and you know the corevalues and beliefs and they
live by those.
But how do you help peopleactually live them out?
So, when you think about peoplethat are on here that are
watching it and no corporate hasrules and regulations and
(16:25):
values and all those things howdo you help leaders make sure
that they're actually living outthese core values, versus just
it's writing on the wall?
Speaker 3 (16:36):
Well, I don't think I can.
I can give words to inspiresomebody to try to become the
best version of themselves, but,like I tell my kids every day,
if you're striving to be the 1%in this world the leaders, the
people who are making adifference, the ones who are the
(16:58):
change makers whose legacy isgoing to be left long after
they're gone, you got to bewilling to do the work, even
when you don't want to.
It's Mike Tyson who said,famously discipline is doing
what you hate but, like you,love it.
And so when we're talking about, you know, making sure that
(17:22):
leaders are doing these thingsand living these values out,
that's on them and ultimately,if there is anyone that has
checks and balances over them,then you know.
That's when it comes in fortheir time, for their eval, and
as a boss, you say, hey, look,you know we could be doing a
(17:44):
better job living out thesevalues.
Here's X and Y, and you knowreasons why.
Here's where we're doing reallygood, really good.
But if you're that main personwho created those values and
you're not living up to themyourself, there's not much I can
do to help you except justpoint out the hypocrisy to you.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Yes, yes, thank you for sharing.
You shared, you know when you,when you, when you, you know,
had the, you know you came backhome, you were with your wife
for a while and then you leftand you went back, you know, to
avoid some of the stuff.
How do you help leaders thatmay have done that and now they
need to go back and fix it up athome?
They got to make an apology andI grew up in a time where
leaders didn't apologize eventhough they knew they probably
(18:23):
should have, but their ego ortheir pride, or I'm the leader
I'm not going to.
How do you help leadersapologize and do it
authentically so they can closethe gap or the delta or the
disconnect they may have withtheir team?
Speaker 3 (18:38):
So for me, it's about being humble.
I can't lead people if theycan't trust me, and people can't
follow if they can't trust you.
So all of this really comesdown to you know, when we talk
(18:59):
about, um, having to come homeand make amends for the things
that you've done wrong, when we,when we sit there and do that,
it's just simple Be humble,recognize if you literally made
a mistake, recognize that youhurt someone's feelings and
(19:19):
legitimately repent, not justwith them.
But you know, for me, I'm abeliever in God, so I'm just not
repenting with that person, butI'm also repenting with God,
and from that point on, all Ican do is to continue to move
forward and show them through myactions that those words of
repent were true.
(19:41):
For me, that took a long time.
In 2015, we had moved back toIndiana, I had been bottling
things up, and then you have theblow ups and then the bottling.
Finally my wife had just shehad had enough and she was
sincerely looking at getting adivorce.
(20:01):
The only thing that saved me isthat we had just moved to
Indiana and she had to wait sixmonths before we could file, and
in that timeframe, a personwould normally think oh well,
that's what.
That was what the catalyst was.
And for me, that was what thecatalyst was that pushed me to
my kitchen table and and almostbecoming a statistic of veteran
(20:24):
suicide.
That day it was two days afterthat scenario that I found
myself having that light bulbmoment and realizing that, okay,
so I've done some damage allthe way around.
So I've done some damage allthe way around, you know, but
(20:47):
I'm still here, even though I'vealmost died all these times,
including, you know, trying tokill myself.
So there must be some sort ofpurpose, some sort of reason
that I'm here.
It's starting, you know, I needto dig into that.
And so the first thing I neededto do was to heal myself, and
(21:08):
that became the process.
And in that healing myself, myspouse, you know, could see that
those words, that apology, thatrepenting, was serious, because
I was actually making, you know, changes to my life.
I was getting involved withprograms that helped me get
better.
(21:28):
I was coming out of that shellof a person that I had become,
and so it's not just words, it'salso actions, you know, and
being willing, and I have somany friends who are like.
Well, you know, I told my wife,you know I'm sorry and we're
doing better.
And it's been six months and westill, you know, she still
(21:51):
doesn't trust me.
Yeah, but how long were youguys in the in the thick of it?
How long were you in thetrenches?
And?
And so is six months enoughtime for her to feel like she
can trust you again.
And it isn't for you todetermine when that's going to
be.
It's for that other person, andso you know that's what I would
(22:14):
say yeah, I love that.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
You said that too.
You know when you think aboutit, Eric, everybody that's
listening.
You've got to give the otherperson the space they need,
versus the time you want to sayget over it.
And you know that's the oldsaying in the military.
We say just get over it, Suckit up, Move on, Suck it up, Move
on, Get over it.
I don't think that's a fairstatement as a leader to people.
You need to give people thetime to recover and go along
(22:37):
with them on that journey.
They've been on a journey withyou, so it's important for you
to get on this journey with themand whatever they may need, and
you don't get to tell them whenthey got to say I forgive you,
You're going to have to be ableto take that journey with them.
And oftentimes I think we getin trouble because we're like,
well, I've said it and I fixedit and you should forgive me.
Well, that's the healingprocess, and so I'm glad that
(22:58):
you're saying that.
So, when you think about yourbook, what do you want people to
walk away with that arelistening to this podcast?
That we're going to send a bookto what?
Speaker 3 (23:11):
are the top things out of your book that you want
people to get.
I think that the biggest thingthat I wanted people to take
away is that, no matter how darkyour life seems right now, no
matter how hopeless it mightseem, that there is always light
at the end of the canyon.
And that is really what thisbook and where the title and the
(23:31):
picture from the top of thebook came from.
It's a picture I took while Iwas on one of my veteran
expeditions in the Gila NationalWilderness, and the reason I
took it is because I recognizedthat for me at the time, my
surroundings in the environmentmimicked much like my life in
(23:53):
real life.
I was walking in this canyonalong the river and the shadows
and in the darkness, but at theend of the canyon was this light
, and it was the first time inprobably about 10 years that I
felt like I was really seeingthe light.
And it was the first time inprobably about 10 years that I
had felt like I was reallyseeing the light.
So during that week I becameobsessed with capturing one
(24:13):
image that you know I could hangup in my house.
That would always remind methat, no matter how dark things
get, there is always a brightday that's coming and to hold on
for that day.
And so, while this book talkssomewhat about my experience at
(24:34):
war, it also talks about all thechallenges that you face when
you come home from war.
People often talk like oh, youknow, you went to war and you
come home and you're wounded andall these things, and now life
is going to get better for you,but they don't talk about that.
Life's hits can keep coming,even after you're out of the
(24:54):
service, and if you're alreadyin a shell of a person, how do
you handle those hits as theykeep coming?
Which is goes back to thatresilient leadership that we
were talking about in thebeginning.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Yes, I love it.
I mean in your transparency andthe things, and that's what I
think the show does well, wherepeople say, unpack is we share
real stories.
I mean it's pretty transparent.
You know, and I think you sharegreat information about how do
you navigate.
I mean because you know andeverybody does it different.
So this is this is one person'sway, which I love how he did it
(25:28):
.
He's pretty transparent.
So I want to be able to pausehere because, seeing the light
for anybody that's listening,it's so important for you to
know that, wherever you are,there's an opportunity for you
to get better.
How important was it for you tohave people around you that you
can actually talk to a mentoror a sponsor?
How important was it for you tohave people around you that you
can actually talk to a mentoror, you know, a sponsor?
How important was it for you tohave people around you, you
(25:49):
know, as you was going throughthis journey, to just keep
telling you to keep going or toinspire you or to encourage you.
How important was that for you?
Speaker 3 (25:57):
It was huge.
I wouldn't be where I am todaywithout a series of mentors that
I had in my life, and theystarted with the.
You know the military mentorsthat I had in my life, and and
they started with the.
You know the military mentorsthat I had, the same ones that
helped some of the same onesthat helped me deal with David
all these years later helped medeal with myself, and it also,
(26:21):
you know, I think the civilianside of the house, though, for
me, was the most important,because sometimes, as veterans,
what we can get into is thisfunnel that we're like only
veterans really get us.
We're not going to associatewith other people and, and you
know, if that's the case, you'renot going to really have a
(26:42):
whole lot of people in yourcircle or life, because there,
you know, aren't a whole lot ofveterans out there.
So you got to be open tolooking into the civilian world
and saying, hey, look, I'mtransitioning from the military
into the civilian world.
Just like I had people helpingme navigate the military world
(27:03):
when I moved into that space, Ineed people helping me navigate
this.
And so the civilian mentorsfrom Eric Weimar, who started a
nonprofit called no Barriers USA, who I turned to first, only
well, first blind man to everclimb Mount Everest.
(27:25):
You know so, the uh, you knowso.
The inspiration that you knowhe brings just in, that alone is
huge.
But then, you know, when he'stalking to you it's kind of hard
to say no, I'm not going to dothat, even though it's super
challenging.
Right Um to uh, uh, a friend ofmine.
Her name is Maureen and shetaught me so much about who I am
(27:48):
and what is out there for me,based on the skillset that I
have.
And I didn't even believe it.
And it's because of her that Iam where I am today, and it's
not because of financial gifts.
Most people think, when theyhear things like that, that it's
.
You know, somebody came in andwrote a check or somebody did
(28:09):
this and lifted you up.
No, they were just there tokeep me from quitting and
because that's the reality.
Anything hard in life, you'regoing to hit so many crossroads
where you're going to be likeyou know what been doing this,
this isn't working out, like'stime to quit, and it's the
people who surround you thatmatter, because in that moment
(28:32):
they're either going to tell youyeah, you should, because it's
not working out or they're goingto tell you this is part of the
process and you got to get alittle battered and bruised
before you start to see thesuccesses, because it makes you
appreciate them more when you doget them.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
Yes, yes, I love it.
You're really transparent.
Sometimes we make it look easythat we made it and we don't
tell the stories that you'retelling right now about all that
you went through.
And I apologize to people allthe time.
I say I'm so sorry, I made thatlook easy.
No, I actually got my buttkicked.
Speaker 3 (29:02):
I'm getting my butt kicked right now.
At the launch of this bookeverybody talked about oh, this
book, this book, this book,right, writing, writing, writing
.
That's the hard part.
No, that's not the hard part.
I mean that's hard, don't getme wrong.
You really got to be clear andyou got to.
You know, write so that you addvalue to somebody else's life,
(29:23):
and and it's hard.
But the real hard part comesafter you've made the investment
in the book, both time andmoney wise.
Now you've got to, you know,create a name and a market for a
book, that there are 10,000 aday getting added to Amazon.
So you know so you know it'sit's always anybody who makes it
(29:49):
look easy.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
It's just because they've they've found their
faith in something, and so, asthings get, hard, they turn to
whatever their faith is in andthey find their solace and they
get their bucket refilledthrough that that way.
I love it.
I love it and what a great wayfor for.
(30:10):
So if anybody's looking for youknow I want to be able to to
make sure people know how toreach you, um and and reasons.
So you're doing some great workand you're speaking and you're
traveling.
Now you know what are somethings that you know.
If people decided they want toreach out, what, what are the
things that that you do thatpeople will, you can help people
with.
Where's your sweet spot?
Speaker 3 (30:36):
So one of my main issues is moral injury.
Moral injury are injuries toour spirit.
I do a lot of talking andspeeches and guest panels on
that, but more specifically inthe business world, where I
really shine in working withindividuals with resilient
leadership, bringing companiestogether from an entire unit and
(30:58):
helping them see that they areone team moving in the direction
.
And a lot of that are the sameprinciples that we both learned
in the military and how youapply them in the civilian world
in a way that makes people feelengaged and connected, and so
the way that they can get a holdof me is ericdonohocom, that's
E-R-I-C-D-O-N-O-H-Ocom.
(31:20):
Or you can go tocanyonofhopecom.
That just reroutes you rightback to Eric Donoho.
Or you can go to Canyon of Hopedot com.
That just reroutes you rightback to Eric Donahoe.
They can find me on Instagramat EB Donahoe and that that
particular channel I try to makesure is full of fun and
inspiring content to get youthrough the day.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Yes, thank you.
Thank you so much and Iappreciate it.
Is there anything that that youwant to share that I haven't
asked a question about?
You know that will help someleader that's listening to.
I mean, you've had a phenomenaljourney and you've done well
and survived it with yourchallenges.
What would you share withleaders that are listening, that
may be challenged or that wehaven't talked about yet?
Speaker 3 (31:59):
If you really, really truly want to be great, always
put your people first, that's itCare more about your people
than the product and the numbers, and if you do that, your
people will show up, and theyalways do.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
Yes, yeah, I think you ended that in a great way,
too, eric, because when you toldthe story about landing, and as
soon as you landed, theyflipped your flight backpack
around to get you where youneeded to be, even though they
had a mission that they really,really would prefer for you to
have been a part of, but itwasn't the most important thing.
So getting that airplane turnedaround and getting you back on
it so you can be there with yourwife, that's caring about
people.
So thank you for ending it theway you started it and sharing
(32:40):
it, and you know how to get thebook is on Amazon and different
places For those of you that arelistening and paying attention.
Thank you all for joining us.
Thank you for hanging in withus as we talk about and share
real stories.
For you to on your journey tojust do a little bit more to
take care of people you'reresponsible for.
Leadership is very, veryselfless.
It's all about taking care ofeverybody else, and you can
always find us on LinkedInGlobal Course Strategies and
(33:04):
Consulting.
You can look up my name andyou'll find me on LinkedIn.
It's the primary thing that Iuse for most of my connections
and relationships.
We'd love to have you as avisitor or a guest on the show,
but also love to have you ifyou're interested in wanting to
figure out how we can supportyou and your organization.
Until next time, eric and Iwill sign off and tell you to
have a great day and lookforward to you.
Don't forget the first personthat sends me email.
(33:24):
When this is released, I willmake sure that you get an
autographed, signed book thatEric is going to mail out from
his location.
Thank y'all for joining us.
As usual, we're going to logoff from Unpacked with Ron
Harvey.
Eric and I will say goodbyeuntil next time.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
Take care.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
Well, we hope you enjoyed this edition of Unpacked
Podcast with leadershipconsultant Ron Harvey.
Remember to join us everyMonday as Ron unpacks sound
advice, providing real answersfor real leadership challenges.
Until next time, remember toadd value and make a difference
where you are, for the peopleyou serve, because people always
(34:04):
matter.
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