https://www.listennotes.com/e/9ad1f8ff7b23456cba35a7417c45f611
19 Feb 2025 · 65 min
Brian Bush, a former Marine, founded the Reboot Project to help military veterans with mental health and personal growth. He talks about his transition from the military to entrepreneurship and the challenges veterans face moving into civilian life.
In a world full of turmoil, despair and darkness, you need to carry the light. Season three of the Get Attitude Podcast is where we will ignite your mind, your heart and your attitude. And welcome to the GAP, the Get Attitude Podcast, the gap, bridging the gap from who you are to who you want to become. Hello everybody, hello gappers. This is Glenn Bill, founder of the University of Attitude, keynote speaker and author of the international best-selling book, the ABCs of Attitude, and I have been so fortunate to help tens of thousands of people get attitude. Attitude, the secret formula to success in your business and in your life, and this podcast will help you get yours. So let's get some. Welcome everybody, please remember to subscribe, rate review, and if you love what you're getting ready to hear, or after you hear it, share this podcast out on all your social media things. We are very, very fortunate to have somebody here who has reinvented himself from Marine to entrepreneur to the founder of what I believe is going to become one of the biggest movements and nonprofits for our military veterans in America. And the cool thing is we see stuff here first. And we've had a lot of people that came here and started here. And then you know what? Two years later, they're doing unbelievable things. And if you want to learn about who you are and how to become who you want to be, our guest, Mr. Brian Bush, the founder of the RebootProject.org, and his organization is here to help us learn how to bridge that gap. Brian, welcome to the Get Attitude Podcast.
Thank you. Thanks for having me.
It's my pleasure and we're so happy to have you here. We just got to meet just last week and I was so excited about what you're doing. I can't wait to help you spread the word about the Reboot Project. But as you know and as we discussed, we are here to help our listeners. We're here to help those people that are walking on the beach and driving in the car and walking in their neighborhoods, understand how to bridge the gap between who they are and who they want to become and where they are and where they want to go. But we always like to start at with trying to understand and get your perspective on your definition of attitude and what do you believe attitude really is?
That's like the most loaded question that I should have been prepared to answer. Attitude, I think it's attitude, my definition is how I approach my daily challenges.
Nice, nice. And so when you wake up in the morning, you got daily challenges, How do you approach your daily challenges? What goes through your head? What questions do you ask yourself? Do you have a routine in the morning that helps you approach your day? So give us that look inside.
Completely. So I think alternatively to most people, the first thing I think of is love actually. I wake up in the morning and I'm fortunate enough to have a wonderful wife who I do love dearly. And that's my focus. First thing in the morning is how do I honor her, our relationship? That's a sound cheesy, but that's. That's the attitude that I wake up with is, hey, did I wake up? Yes. Check the next. Did she wake up? If not, I'm gonna wake her up and, you know, have that morning with her coffee, spend that time, cultivate that family before we do go out there. And I think, you know, around 9 a.m. every morning, 9 30, I start to flip that switch and it goes into action mode. And, you know, I've got a big project ahead of me and it's to take something that I came up with on a couch in our house and turn it into a national phenomenon of helping individuals thrive.
That's cool. And so one thing I love to, I love that. First of all, never heard that answer before. Second of all, all of you gappers that are in relationships, and in marriages, don't you wish you would have answered that freaking question that way? So it begs the question, tell us a little bit. There's got to be a cool story. There's got to be a lesson learned. Tell us the story on how you and your incredible wife met. But second of all, what I'd love to know is what does she do for your attitude? Maybe what is her attitude or what has she taught you about attitude? as your wife, man.
So met in California, new Marine at the time, and quickly knew that I wanted to marry her. Went to Vegas, eloped six days after we got married. I deployed for two and a half years and came back, and we still had, uh, we had a beautiful place in California on the coast. Uh, she decided that she'd stay married to me, uh, through all my wonderful stuff that I came back with. And we ended up moving to Cal, uh, to from to Indiana. And, you know, she, we've been married 23 years.
Wow.
She, on the way over here, she called me and I took a break from listening to my hype music, which is always the Grateful Dead. And so I was jamming out to some Saint Stephen, and she called and we have a rule to always answer no matter what. So I take it in the middle of my deep jam. And she goes, hey, I just wanted to let you know that I support you and I'm so excited that you're becoming who you're supposed to be in this next chapter. and so that's the type of support that I have. That's her attitude.
That's great.
She reads books on other individuals, strong figures in relationships and really studies. And I mean, she gives me all the latitude to be who I need to be and 100% why I'm successful today.
Is she from the Midwest or is she a Californian?
She's a Californian.
She's a Californian and you drug her out here.
Drug her out here and she won't leave, man. I've been trying to leave, but school systems are good and taxes are cheap and 100 other things that go along. you know, our family, I've got my family out here and you know, my die hard friends and you know, it's, we always go back to California in the summer. I have that California vibe. I absolutely love the West Coast. But you know, there's something cool, calm and collective about Indiana. Good people, smile a lot.
That's good. How many times were you deployed?
Well, I was deployed once.
Right.
And was deployed.
How many tours? Is that two different things?
Yeah, so, so, Four tours would be like combat veterans.
Okay.
So that's one of the interesting things about my story is I'm probably one of 17 guys out of the hundreds of people that I was in with that didn't deploy to the combat action area. I actually got sent over to the armory.
Wow.
So I was in charge of the base camp. And so, you know, that's a real good point that you brought up there, man. There's a lot of, not every military member or marine, or even special forces person has a war story. I have none. But I also think that that makes me really qualified to take the other stuff that I learned and did and come back to that group and say, Hey guys, let's take a look at this and move forward and help reframe their attitude.
And by what she said, you were gone, was it two and a half years is what she said?
Yeah, I was gone. We got shipped to Okinawa, which was just a standard deployment. And that is, that's when the first invasion of Fallujah happened. And we got stuck there because there was fears that other things were going to take place. And so Okinawa is a base that we have. And so we were there for that. And then we came back and then I had only like a couple months left on my enlistment. And so I didn't get sent. with the rest of the group that went. And that that next time around was a bloody time. A lot of guys, a lot of my friends did not come back, and a lot of those calls did come through. And we went to a lot of those funerals. So I still had that. And honestly, a part of my attitude was, like, who I am today, I had to deal with. Like, I wasn't there with those guys. And I think about it a lot, and it hurts.
And.
But I also know that if you know me, I'm. I'm not the warrior guy. I'm not. I am not a war guy, so I'm not built for war. I think I'm actually built for what I'm doing right now, which is helping people. recover back from that and then also be an advocate that not all of us have a war story. Yeah. I mean, there's some great stories out there that are super cool. And I'm glad I wasn't there because I wasn't the guy that was going to be able to. I don't know what I would have.
Done in this situation. So during those two and a half years, what was the hardest day you had? That's a great question. When I found, when we found out.
We weren't coming home, so they have a thing called stop, loss, stop move. And so it was supposed to be six months. And then again, they're like, okay, I think they called it shock and awe. and that's what took place. And we got the word, and then we were there for an undetermined amount of time after that. So didn't join the Marine Corps to be in the war. And there, because it was a peacetime thing, I don't really know why I joined, actually. It wasn't, I don't have the story of it was September 11th and I'm gonna go save and do this. I didn't feel that. It was more like I joined, and then the day that I graduated the school that I went to, that was on September 11th. So when I showed up to get the graduation medal, for the school that I went to, they said, Hey, get information. And they told us what had happened in New York City. And then everything that's my that's my 911 story. I was like, oh, my gosh, I just graduated from my school. And of course, everyone that's in charge goes, you, know where you're going, boys. And I was like, man, I didn't know I was going here. This is not what I signed up for. And and yeah, man, yeah. So it all everything got very serious.
That may have been your toughest day.
You know, I think it may have been, man.
Yeah.
I think my toughest day altogether was, you know, I had a. One of my best friends in the core was killed in Fallujah, and then we lost a lot after that, too. That was my toughest day, being in Camp Pendleton, getting that call in the admin office, and then the text messages going around. And, I mean, it was just. It's devastating. And I I. That does not go away, so.
Does. So let's just talk about what that's like. You said the text messages fly around.
Yeah.
So did you hear that? Like a daily thing? Is there an official text string that says these five soldiers died?
No. And you just got to know, too, the text messages was just a thing at that time.
Yeah.
And so, like, we had that and we also had snake on our Nokia phones. And so it wasn't like it's the technology. You got to go back to what it was like in 2003. Right? Right. 2004 ish. and, and so it was just the word was getting out for those that were still Stateside. And those are the people that were here, that we were taking casualties out there. And these are people that were in Okinawa with us for that time that we, we, you know, the, the first wave are normally Special Forces people going in, handling business, and they have come in and set up shop and they're rolling through. And so that was definitely the worst. When, when, when the casualties are names that, you know, Right. For a guy that was never there on war, that's when war got serious for me. It wasn't just, hey, you're gonna get these ribbons, man. And that's when training actually mattered because it was like, with everything that they taught you, you're actually supposed to know how to do that. And so it's not dry fire. It's, and I think that's it. A lot of people get in these situations where they're like, they don't realize how real it is until it's whizzing past your head. And I, I listened, you know, to get to, you know, to get really to understand the gappers and what this is all like, you know, I listened to Sean.
Yeah.
And Sean's story about the bullets whizzing by, you know, and that feeling and stuff like that, that's that, that those are not good situations to be in.
Sure. And so when you said that you ran a base camp, I'm guessing the, the warriors were at the base camp then. Is that right or not right?
When you say the warriors, go ahead.
So, like, the people that went into combat. So, like, where, where you had base camp, were you with the guys and they, and you said, see you, fellas.
No, it wasn't that way. I wasn't in country, so I wasn't in the Middle East. We were. We were at Camp Pendleton, and then they basically said, hey, you either have to extend to go, right? Or you have to not. I had a baby on the way. We had three months left. We were talking about transitioning back to Indiana and all these things.
Yeah.
I had to make a decision. Am I gonna go? And I made the decision not to go for all those reasons. Like, I wanted. I didn't. There was so much uncertainty with that. But I'll be honest, the uncertainty, it never crossed my mind that I could die. It just crossed my mind that I really love this woman. I've already been gone forever and I want to have a relationship with her. Is she going to be back? I was already thinking post Marine Corps, which again, I'm thrilled to be a Marine and I will always carry that with me. But honestly, it's such a small part of my identity because I've spent more time not being a Marine than a Marine. But I also understand the thinking and I've dealt with some of that same stuff.
Talk to me. So let's just base camp. Okay. What was your, M O and what was the attitude of being in base camp? Cause we've had the warriors on, but yeah, right. This is still a vital part of their success.
Yeah.
So when, so let's talk about base camp for a second.
Just so my, I'm thinking marine vernacular. When you say base camp, can you explain?
Well, I don't know. You, I had just written down that you said I, I went to base camp.
So, okay. So what was your M O? What were you doing? Yeah. So, so my job was an amphibious assault vehicle. So I drove Amtracs. and so these are like tanks that float. So we jump off the back of a ship and it and it's have you seen Saving Private Ryan? Okay, so do you know that it's called like ship to shore movement? So if you think about it from the perspective of that opening scene when they're rolling up to Normandy and all those troops in the back, I was in a modern day version that said that's an AAVP 7A1. And so my job is the new guy was to drive and then the officer was normally sitting back there, sometimes hitting me in the back of the head with a hammer to get my attention on something. And then we'd have a crew chief who was in charge of the turret, and that's the gun. It had a 40 millimeter grenade launcher. That's to the, that's the red cap over to the side. And then that machine gun in front of you is a 50 cal. And then those are smoke grenade launchers, and those things basically provide cover. They don't have these anymore. They just discontinued them. They actually retired them. And so that's how you feel old when you're like, damn, they retired the vehicle, right? But. But yeah, so this is what we did and our job was to take care of it. We were on the base in Camp Pendleton and that's the standard base and then everyone else would you would deploy off of there to wherever you were going in the world.
And for those of you who are listening to this pod and want to see what an AA 587 or whatever, AAVP 781. There it is. Guys, you can go to Spotify. You can see our beautiful faces on Spotify's platform for podcast videos. So make sure you do that if you want to see what we're doing and follow along with us. our lovely producer, Jason, who is always on the spot with stuff that we look at and talk about. So, so that's pretty. So you were working on and maintaining these big machines for amphi.
We took the Infantry. So, like, the, the, the Infantry would be like the, the, the ground pounders are the ones that had rifles, helmets in a backpack. And their job was to get out of our vehicle and run an assault to the area, and so we took them. the troops normally come either from airplane or they come from the Navy ship. So we would move from Navy ship to shore. Wow. Really slow. These things are really fun to drive and, and, you know, to take care of them. They're just rust machines. And so you're always with a brush. And, I mean, you know, it's awesome looking at it. It just brings back so many different memories. But the other side of these things, too, are that these are what we're rolling through the Afghani towns. Like, these were these in, you know, this is it. They were taking troops to different areas and. unfortunately, these things can be blown up fairly easy with rocket-propelled grenades, so they're not really bulletproof.
All right, well, I'm glad that you didn't have to check that out.
Me too.
Let's talk about Okinawa. What's the attitude of Okinawa? What did Okinawa teach you anything? I guess you get time off or leave or whatever. Give our gappers, you know, I've never had anybody that lived in Okinawa now on here.
What did you learn from their culture or whatever? Well, I mean, so I think the first thing is when you say, hey, we're going to Japan, and you're just the guy from Indiana. I mean, it's it's obviously really exciting. The dopamine is rushing. We touch down, we go to these base. It's tropical weather. And so a lot of people think of Japan, I don't know that I thought of tropical weather. Yeah, but it's tropical. Humidity is like 80%. And I remember long days working beautiful areas. We go to the beach and play horseshoes or pool. And, you know, there's lots of different things off of work. But during work, we had the opportunity to just sweat profusely and down at the ramp where we kept all of our vehicles. And I remember times of, you know, you'd sweat through your clothes completely out there. The humidity was just so great. And as far as the culture, you know, I. I got a really cool tattoo once from somebody on a back alley street that didn't even speak English. And I just showed him a picture, and I laid there in pain for, like, five hours while they tattooed my chest. And that's awesome. And they had gargoyles up in this window, and I remember she just did the It was only a circle. I had a St. Christopher Medallion tattooed on my chest.
And.
I wanted to quit so bad, but I didn't really know how to communicate, so I just suffered it out. But very nice people, very beautiful place. It's in that circle. People in Okinawa live the longest. They're very healthy, they're very active, they're very polite. And so again, from a guy from Indiana being there, I would say that we caused a lot of ruckus out there. And for those of you listening that have been out there, you know what I mean. we're young. And it's for, for people in Indiana, it's like they've got broad ripples out there for the young kids. And we spent, they've got a ton. Yeah. Because we're out there drinking and spending money and, yeah, they had this stuff called Habu Saki, and Habu was snake. And so it would be like a moonshine with a poisonous snake inside with its fangs, and they would age it in there and they'd sell it to us Marines and we'd drink it, man, and. that's it. Habusaki.
Oh, my God. I love it. That is crazy.
It's good. Good story. It tastes terrible.
I can imagine. And, and we're going to talk about in the reboot project as we walk through this, you know, your focus on health and, yeah, and what, what's going on.
Yeah.
Did that, did the fact that Okinawa had the longest living people, did that strike you at all, or did you.
Not know that when I was 21? Yeah. All I knew was that you could party and, you know, we were Honestly, that was before any of us knew where we were going, so we knew that things were serious. So we were living every day like it was our last day, man. Right. And, and so I didn't, I didn't think about, they call that the ring or whatever. I didn't think about that until we actually, until I was older, maybe like, you know, five years ago, I think I saw something on Netflix and I was like, wow, I've been there.
Right.
It's honestly, I think it's the most beautiful place I've ever been in my life. Okinawa.
Wow.
And I would totally suggest, like if there's a place on somebody's list.
Go.
The people are amazing. The food's amazing. It's beautiful.
Very cool.
Yeah.
What, when you think about your time in the military, who do you think, I mean, obviously being a Marine, and I love Marines and know a lot of them, we've interviewed a lot of them. So passionate, so many lessons that 99.9999% of people in America don't know. But I always like to know, like, when you were, when you're in that time, who is the one person that affected your attitude the most? Maybe the most positively, the most negatively. And what did you learn about attitude becoming a marine?
Man. Well, I mean, I mean, I've got to give it up to my drill instructor. That really broke me. Troy Small, he, he.
That.
That guy made me a marine. I did not want to be a marine. Once I found out how they were making Marines, I was like, nobody would sign up for this, man. It was intense, and everything you did was wrong. even when you weren't doing anything, they would be like, you did something wrong and literally you didn't move. And so I'd say that I. I gotta give him the credit for my first, like, as my. My first interaction with what it was to, like, build myself. And you have to lose your soul. And who. And I. I felt like I lost my. I had to lose who I was. Brian from the Block had to become Brian the Marine, and that's a three-month intense process that you don't get it. your high school or in the neighborhood, no one's holding you accountable like that. And so their initiation program is extreme. But I think it's necessary because if you don't move, shoot, and communicate the right way, there's casualty. And that's why they do it that way, because you're actually going to be put in that situation. And I don't think I grasped that even through boot camp and everything else. I just thought I had to get through these different stages and I never really realized that I was learning all these skills to perform and the performance would be in a desert in war. That was never in my mind. So hindsight going back, it's like, I wish I probably would have been more ready for something like that mentally. Had I taken the opportunity to take it seriously, like I'm studying for a test, and the test is to save your life. And I'm telling you, I am a Marine, but there are some really amazing Marines out there. My friends are amazing Marines. They, when you say who influenced me or what was the impact, My friends did. They kept me out of trouble. They knew that I was just cool to hang out with and a real good friend, and I was there for a good time. And I think my ability to win friends and influence people made the sergeants like me. It also helped that I was 21 so I could buy booze, and that was a big deal. So I could hang out with the guys in charge where the other guys that were in charge of me day to day, they couldn't go to the club with the sergeants because they weren't old enough. I was already a 21 year old. I had my birthday on Camp Pendleton and bought my first six-pack of beer.
There.
And so it kind of all codified that way, right? And so there was a lot of people that took care of me.
Yeah.
Just like outside of the Marine Corps. I mean, there's a lot, like, how am I sitting here today talking to you is because there's a lot of people that gave me a shot and saw something in me, and I had no idea what the hell I was doing. I was just bumping around, dude.
Did it shock you at all? When you were over there and deployed, like looking at an 18 year old kid, you know, going, man, that dude looks young. Even though you were 21.
Shocks me now.
Yeah. Yeah.
Then I know, because I felt like I was 21 and I felt like I kind of look like they did. I think the only difference was, is that they were giving me cash to buy beer.
Right.
We were all the same. We're all doing the same shit, drinking the same stuff, partying, listening to the same music, going to the same club. I, I could tell you, I could name off 20 people that have dragon tattoos on their bodies or snakes because we were in the, you know, in Japan, and that's what you do, man. It's like, that's that type of vibe.
So let's, and we'll wrap up the, the Marine phase of this. Like, what? Did you graduate from college?
I didn't go to college then. I went straight from high school to nothing for two years and then joined the Marine Corps.
And then, so what was the day? where you sat down and were you hungover or were you not or were you drunk?
What you said.
Right.
Or did you say, what was the day that you said, I'm freaking, I'm gonna freaking join the Marines? And, like, what was, what was the attitude? Do you remember it or did it just. Oh, yeah.
I mean, I remember it vividly. And I, I remember I had a, I had a talk with myself the night before, like a self-talk like, my life was going down the shitter fast. I was making bad decisions. I wasn't doing the things that, you know, you would want your own kids to do. Like, I was not. There was no success on me whatsoever. Maybe the fact that I'm just like, on, like, on. I'm a reflective person. And so I had that ability to realize that just things weren't going well for me.
And.
It was at that time I I was like, well, you know, if things.
If.
If things don't get better soon, I'm gonna have to make a change. And I just didn't know what that meant. the very next day, I think my house got robbed and it was like, ah, there's the sign, dude. And so I walked down to the Depot, the Recruit Depot in Castleton here in Indianapolis. What?
Yeah.
And walked in there and. And I didn't know exactly what. I don't know that I even knew I was going to be a Marine. I just knew that these people could probably take you out of town and give you some type of something fast.
Right?
Wow.
So I walked in that place and. in the back, man. I just kept walking in the Army and the Air Force and all these people are like, hey, hey, can I help you? And I don't even know that. I acknowledge them. Just walk back to the very back and talk to this guy. And I was like, I want to be a Marine. What does that mean? And he goes, when do you want to leave? I was like, tomorrow. And he was like, all right. And I think they had a fast one. And then they piss test me, and I I think I was high. I think I just smoked a blunt before I walked in there anyway. And they're like, dude, we've never seen a line so red. They're like, you need to come back in 30 days. And so I stayed clean, man.
Oh, good.
And I went and I did it. And you talk about zero to hero. Talk about attitude. Nobody would even talk to me and my family. And it wasn't 'cause they hated me, it's just they couldn't depend on me. I was not doing good stuff, right? And so instantly, once I signed that paper, it was like there's a party and I had a cooler, a rolling rock, and people were stopping by and everybody was so proud. and that's what gave me the attitude to suck it up and not quit. Awesome, man.
That's awesome. What a great story. And, and chances are, and you know it well, Brian, there's, there's people right now probably listening to this going, I need to make a change. I don't know if it's hit rock bottom. I don't know if it's an instinct. It sounds like you just had an instinct that said, man, I need to get this done. And so that's, you know, why I wanted Brian on this podcast, guys, because Brian's an everyday Joe. He's an everyday guy. and his instincts. He listened to his instincts. He said, look where I am. Where do I want to be? Look who I am and who do I want to become? His answer was to walk into a recruiting facility and become a Marine. Maybe yours is something different. Any thoughts on that? I don't know what else to say.
I think we said it all. It's. It's. It starts with awareness. Yeah. It's awareness that there's other opportunities out there, and then I think you match that up with your desire. and I mean, at least what I know, it's a, who am I today? Who do I want to be? And I don't know that there's an answer that I ever have that says who I want to be forever, because I like the process of change, and I feel like that's growth. But in the absence of that, pick a road and walk down it, man. There's lessons.
I like it.
What?
You know, there's somebody out here listening that may or may not be getting it, but I hope they are. Let's just imagine you're talking to your, some new guy here who's broken, who doesn't know what to do.
What?
What's your best advice? for somebody that feels lost, that feels like they just don't know where to go.
I would say they're, you know, barring any type of chemical or mental thing that's like medically related, right? And caveat that because this advice wouldn't be prevalent then, or relevant, is you've got the answer. I believe, every time I went back and I was like, man, I tried so damn hard and I was like, I already had the answer. I just didn't take the action. I had to get rid of the fear. So you gotta really dissect that fear.
Man, that's good. Gappers, you got the answer. We all got the answer within us, don't we? That's right. So talk to me about the day you knew you were going home. How cool was that? How was it communicated? And how long did, was that 24 hours or how long did you, they said, hey, you're going home on this date. Like, did they give you a day's notice, a week's notice? And how long?
Yeah, we had a freaking week last. I think we had, like, a week, and we were excited. And I remember we we all flicked off the, we were on the bus and we flicked it off and we talked, if we get a flat tire, what are we going to do? So there was a lot of planning. We were really happy. We jumped on a, you know, a military plane. We all flew back. We saw our significant others. And I think that was the first time that I got the, hey, we're going back. And then the second one is just when, when I was getting out, when it's time to get out of the Marine Corps. And it was like, that was, you talk about attitude. That was a, a completely different attitude because I, I needed to, I had these new standards. I am not the same guy. And Brian of I'm a Brian of the Marine. And I'm telling you, like my, my behaviors was right hand, right knee, left hand, left knee. I sat up straight. Yes, sir. Yes, ma'am. And I thought the world was my oyster, man.
Right.
Thought it was my oyster. And I was pumped to come back to Indiana where you could get an apartment for 500 a month because in California it was like 2, 100 a month.
Right? Yeah.
And so, as we've heard with several of our guests, You're back. You're not a Marine anymore.
Yeah, still a Marine. Always a Marine. There you go.
I'll put that up. Not an active Marine. Not an active Marine.
But always probably an active Marine.
I'm a former Marine. There you go. Marine's mindset too. Amen. See, I love this.
I love talking to Marines, Coach. Isn't that great, Jason? Don't you love these guys?
I love it.
My brother was a Marine from '84 to '88, Scout Sniper Instructor. So, Urah.
Urah.
Urah.
And who did he train the guy that we were talking about off camera?
But he knows.
To him. He was trained under Hathcock, Carlos Hathcock.
Yeah.
And go ahead and give us the attitude lesson of Carlos Hathcock, please.
Oh, man. Maybe shoot first, ask questions later. He's the number one, like, confirmed killed Scout sniper, at least that I know of. So if there's historians out there, I'm not good with facts at all.
It's all good.
But I did remember him when it was brought up, and I was like.
Oh, yeah, Carlos Hathcock.
Yeah, I know who that guy is.
That's a bad. Is he still alive?
I have no.
Yeah. Yeah.
What about the one the movie was made after?
Which one, man?
Yeah, that was. It was called sniper. And that was.
Oh, yeah.
What was that actor's name? Barringer. Tom Barringer.
Yeah.
That was 80s, I think, probably.
Yeah.
And then there was the other movie.
Where the guy got killed by American sniper.
American sniper.
Yeah. Yeah.
That guy was supposedly the number.
That was somebody else.
Okay.
That was Chris something, I think.
Yeah, Chris. Yeah, I got it. Okay, well, so anyway, what's the attitude there? You're back. I'm trying not to whip it on, man.
I'm a civilian, so I'm a civilian. I'm back in. I'm back in Indiana, and I quickly realized that the best thing I had was I was drug free, and I didn't really have any skills that differentiated.
Right.
And so I did what most Marines do. I'm gonna. I had a job as a police officer, security officer. And at that point in time, for those that live in Indianapolis, our police department merged with the sheriff's department. So they stopped all of the recruiting. There was no camps. And I just remember my dad going, you gotta get a job, man. And I was like, I do. Where am I gonna get a job? So I applied at a community hospital and became a security guard. overnight. I was terrible at it. I had a bad attitude, man.
You did.
Yeah.
That's why it was bad.
How did you know you had a bad attitude?
Because they fired me. They told me quickly.
How long were you working there?
I think maybe six or seven months. It was quick.
I. We. I.
Honestly, man, I had a chip on my shoulder. I had a lot of mental stuff I was processing through, and I'm a Marine, man. And I came back and no offense to these guys, and it wasn't just I was probably the typical arrogant. just EAS jarhead. And.
Right.
I don't know if any of these guys ever even shot their gun. Not that I did, but that's the gang I was rolling with. Right. And so it was like the, you know, it just. It wasn't the culture that I needed to be in. So what?
When you say you came back with some stuff, which is common, right? I mean, that. That's to be expected. What was the attitude for you? Were you like, hey, something's not right.
I didn't know. I, I wasn't aware at that time. Really? It, it took, I mean, years, 10 years, 10 years, 11 years, 12 years.
To Pro, to process it and to, yeah.
I mean, like, I would tell you, like, even I, I'm still learning things about myself and what I was going through as I'm getting older and reading new things and hearing new stuff and, and, you know, guys don't talk about this stuff, man.
Right.
And I always, yeah, I Just personally, like it was, there's, there's just things that, you know, they stay in you and you just don't talk about and it hasn't, it, there's a shift. Like, like I, I exist all day. I want my guys to talk about it because there's, this is, this, there's a problem out there.
Mm-.
These guys are broke. I know why they're broke. I wasn't in a lot of those broke situations. Not financially broke, mentally broke, right? and isolated. And that's where it's like, I think I got something that can help them in my own way. And because I can do anything I want to do, that's what the I want to do. Right.
So.
Sorry.
No, it's all good. So we're, we will, we will, we're going to get to that because that's what this reboots about.
Yeah.
And, man, you can just feel it. I'm sure you guys, if you're listening, you can feel the passion coming. But what I want to get to is this entrepreneurial thing, and I know that you can't, you know, we can't really talk much about it because you have any.
Yeah, I mean, I'll tell it, I'll tell it in its own way, so.
So what's your entrepreneurial journey, right? Like what's the attitude? How did you build it?
I mean from like nine years old, like I had influence with a grandfather that had a lot of businesses, real estate to flea markets. And so I would work with him on the weekends and I had a booth and I would sell baseball cards to adults. And, you know, I was in the game before the game was the game, man. And that just transpired into, you know, just an entrepreneurial mindset. Always buy low, sell high. That's the easiest way to get some Freedom, right? And that was the attitude. How do I get freedom? And that's, that's, that was always the value that in life that I wanted and tried to achieve that more than anything, which is awkward because I went to the Marine Corps where there's no freedom. And I think that's why I hated it so much. It's like, no creativity. Here's all your tools and you're expected to do it this way. And I was like, I'm just a robot. I'm just whatever the hell number I am. And, and so for me as a character, it doesn't fit that story. But like, outside of that, I'd always been an entrepreneur. I got let go at the hospital. I went to work in a retail job. I got let go from there. So it's twice I'd struck out and I'm spiraling, man. I'm at BW3s playing cards and no offense, but I'm not a card player, but that's where I was and eating bad food and drinking all the time. And I just didn't know my self-esteem was in the gutter. And, you know, I wasn't, I didn't know what to do. And luckily one of the guys I was playing cards with was like, Hey, man, there may be an opportunity. for you. And he was working at the local Goodwill here in Indianapolis. So he referred me, man, to their head of HR, a guy that was working in HR. He was a Navy guy. So he got me and I got a job and it paid like 14 cents more. But, hey, I knew I couldn't fail. Like, I had to, like, do everything that there. I was so embarrassed to come home to my wife and be like, I lost my job. I lost my job. I'm a smart guy. How the hell am I losing my job? And that comes back to that reflection later in life. Now I know how I lost those jobs and what happened. But what I saw at Goodwill was actual culture that there was like investment. So investment back in their people. I just had to show up and do the work, but the work was really easy compared to the stuff that I was used to going through. And I quickly got some leadership and there's one particular guy who saw something in me and he basically gave me opportunities he didn't give other people. And I started leading man and I worked my way up their corporate ladder into their HR ranks and really started a career. I went to Ivy Tech and got an associate's degree. I went to Indiana Wesleyan and got a business degree, a bachelor's. Nice. And then I ended up pretty University to get an MBA. Wow. But I didn't go. I was the only education I quit. After six months, I did it well, but I wasn't looking to learn about business at that way. Entrepreneurial classes is what I probably should have taken. I didn't care about macroeconomics or accounting. And they do it at a really high level, man. So I was like, I don't want to be here. But I left and went to Case Western Reserve, and that changed my life. Took about attitude, positive organizational development. So positive psychology in a workspace, how do you get people to do things that to me add productivity? And so, but that whole class was on self-reflection and so the entrepreneurship came in there where I have already been first in line at Ticketmaster to buy tickets to sell them for a couple hundred dollars more. I was determined. I was like, man, I want to be rich. And I knew Goodwill wasn't going to do that. Goodwill was giving me rich in all of the good behavioral stuff, man, and.
They but I need community especially, right?
Huge, man. So it really turned me into a social entrepreneur, I'd say, and to learn me how to do things in different ways. But through that, one of the jobs that I was given was I was asked to, like, help keep their Staffing Company alive. So they had this version of a Staffing Company where they would charge employers for resources, and they took a markup just like any old other great Staffing Company. So I found I met a guy at a park while I was pushing my kid. He said, Hey man, what do you do? And I was like trying to get sales. I was like, Run a staffing company. And he's like, oh, come and do this. I did all this work with him. I went down, I saw saws, nails, lumber, man. They're all lumber, heavy manufacturing, but dangerous stuff. I went back to Goodwill and they were like, too dangerous. And I was like, I'm broke, man. I was like, so that was my moral dilemma. What am I gonna do?
To.
Of course, I went home and started my own business. Right. Called that guy and said, hey, do you care? I don't think I had work comp. I didn't have. Dude, we had just saved up enough money to buy a house. We were going to close in two weeks. I had to convince my wife to.
Roll that money into payroll for this.
Thing that just popped up in our life. Oh, my God. She said, yeah. And that kind of, like, wrote history, man. So, you know, for over 12, 14 years, I was always in the employment space. Even while I was working at Goodwill, I had this organization that was pumping and moving. and it, and it did really well and it scratched all that itch and it taught me a lot about how to do business. But I was living these two lives where I was like an HR guy for this great nonprofit. But I also wanted, I was an operations guy over on this other side and I put people in the right place. So it's not like I was running it day to day. I put people in these places, but it got really big, man. And, I mean, Goodwill was growing while I was growing. And I was like, how can this be real? And people would always be like, why do you still work there? And I was like, I don't know. I was always afraid to that place because it was like a church, man. They're doing, they're really doing so much good and their heads were in the right places. And it was like, but eventually the crossroads hit and it was like, all right, it's time for me to leave. So in 2022, I took off. But that's, you know, I think that's the gist of my entrepreneurial journey, is that it's not just one thing. It's who I am. I'm a builder. And I like to build those pods. And you find out what your building does by how many people you help or how much money you make.
Right.
And so I was helping a ton of people. but not making a lot of money over at the Goodwill. But on the other side, I was, you know, I got to, I got to build something. It was really cool.
So I can't help but think that Goodwill was maybe putting, was the fuel that was driving the car while you.
Were growing, man, 100. You know, and there were so many people there, and they're still there today, and they, they care. And I had a great Network, and they did good. And, you know, leaving was a very difficult situation for me. It was hard. And even when I I had to. I had to remind myself I didn't get fired. It hurt that bad. And, like, honestly, that. That's what led me into the reboot project, because I was. I had to refine myself because I was so lost that I was like, I just got rid of something I really love. Why did I do that?
Right?
But at the same time, it's like, I needed to do that. I needed to transition into this new version. But I was. I don't need money. I was just scared. I was scared to leave the neighborhood, man. The neighborhood. that did so much for me. And so to some degree, this creation that I've done right now is like, I've taken the best of all that and put it into something.
And I get accused of this and people have told me, Glenn, no, be specific to be terrific, stay in your lane. And here you are, basically you're working two jobs for 14 years. And so what's your message to those people who are like us? that have something, they know something's inside of them. They know there's more to me than this one job. I can do more, but people keep telling them to be specific, to be terrific and stay in your lane.
I don't believe that.
I don't either. So what's your words of encouragement to those entrepreneurs out there that are sitting there shaking their legs like we do and they're going, there's more to this than me.
Yeah. First thing is don't quit your day job. That's a I mean, if Goodwill wouldn't have given me the stability that my wife needed to not think I was crazy to follow this path, before it got real successful and scaled up and, you know, I started to learn how to do business at a different scale, it was everything for us.
Yeah.
And although all that was going on, my heart was a hundred. Still to the day, my logo color for the Reboot Project's green, I still bleed that blue. I bleed that brand, man. They do some amazing stuff at a scale.
Yeah.
And now I look at it and I never thought when I left I'd be able to move that into anything. But for those that are working a job, if you're truly gonna do something, you're gonna do it on your free time. And there's free time, man. There's free time to go to the gym. There's free time to watch a movie with your wife. There's free time. You just gotta make that free time happen, man. And so my advice is don't quit your job. And also, don't be stupid and think that passions and profits always intersect. because they don't, man.
That's good.
Then you're gonna have to work a job. I did. I was taking donations at a Goodwill.
Right.
That's not my passion.
Right.
And it didn't equal a profit either, but it laid. It gave me bandwidth and growth, opportunity. And then on your free time, instead of playing video games or doing those other things, I was working on my craft on the side.
Yeah, that's so good, man. That. That was Mark the. Bodetize, that's, we need to get those quotes in there. Those were killer. So the entrepreneurial journey was obviously successful and now you're in a position to be able to do what you really want to do. Still in the entrepreneurship. Yeah, good. Don't stop that.
Don't quit your job. Building this nonprofit is just as hard or even harder than getting into business. You talk about having thick skin to go back to startup phase. They're two separate books. They're two separate businesses. They're not, one's broke.
Right.
And my wife is like, quit feeding the broke machine. You need to find some people to help out.
I feel you. University of attitude. You ever heard of it?
Yeah, man, I'm living it. Are you kidding me?
I know.
I'm funding it.
Yeah.
And so let's go there. It's time because this is great for the veterans, but as I've looked into this, just as a person, just as an entrepreneur, hell, just as anybody. What you are getting ready to put into people is pretty awesome. So number one, I gotta know, when was the day you came up with the reboot project? Did it like pop into your head or were you looking at a sign.
And you go, God, I got it.
I wanna know. I love asking.
So real quick, right? So it's not just veterans, it's also first responders. So we use an acronym, Heroes. And so if there's firefighters or police officers or medics or people that are there on the front lines. 100 qualify for the program. In fact, I want to talk to you because it's hard to find those people because I've got the military. I'm looking right now for First Responders, man. But how it came about, man. So I left Goodwill and did all the things that I thought I'd want to do. Ski, surf, bike, hike, like all the stuff that, like, if I was an Instagram guy, there'd be really cool pictures, and they'd be like, this guy's living the It was empty, completely empty. And that's when I realized, I was like, man, I gotta find this purpose, man. And so I was working with a company trying to craft, like, what's my vision and social brand and all this stuff. And people don't know me because I've been way off the grid, or I've just been this guy related to Goodwill. And I was like, I need to revamp this and do all this weird stuff. So after the second pitch of a brianbush.com and me going, that's not my style, man, I finally decided what my style was is I hired a bodybuilding coach. coach. And I hired a nutritionist and started working on my overall just like body and, and physicality. And I started walking like 25, 000 steps a day. And I was eating, you know, 100, you know, I was eating six times a day. And I was eating my macronutrients, which are like 200 grams of carbs, 200 grams of protein, 70 grams of fat, and really starting to like, how is my body reacting to this? And then what happened is it actually, it gave me this new confidence to finally start to explore what's next, man. And when I, I don't want to underestimate leaving that job was like a divorce. Like, when people talk about getting divorced, I imagine that's what they talk about. My identity was wrapped up into the mission, man. And so when the reboot project, I'd call it the Brian Bush project, but there's just not marketing. I don't honestly, I have no idea. I look at the logo. I'm so proud of it. I went to a marketing team and I said, I've got this.
Idea.
It's called the Reboot Project. And I want you to make a logo that people would get tattooed on their body. And I told them, once we get a million dollars in funding, I'm the first tattoo.
But then everybody else needs to get one.
Right.
I expect you to get one.
And so have you gotten your million yet? No, I'm so far away from that.
So it's coming.
But that's the tattoo. That's it, man. That's it. Some, some variation of that. But, yeah, so, but, but reboot. Right. And it's, it's. it's synonymous with. With just unplugging and starting over, man. And it's what it felt like emotionally for me. And it just caught my attention. It's like, guy, you is everything, man.
Yeah.
And then all of a sudden, I make a move that I think I really needed to make anyway, and I felt like I had nothing, and I couldn't. Who am I going to talk to? If I had the business success, and then I quit my job, and they'll come on, man. Like, I don't have friends that are coddling that. They're like, what's wrong with you know? I'm working a factory job in smelter 70 hours a week and you're at another dead show, dude.
Right.
Like, tell me about how your life sucked, but dude, I was miserable and depressed. And so that's, the reboot project is me, but that's, I built this for me just to help me, man. I'm saving myself with this program. So was there a day where you.
Like hit a reboot button and then you went, ding, like how'd you get the name? That's what I'm getting at.
Yeah, I don't have, I wish I had a really cool story. There's no lore behind it. the reboot project is.
Were you at a dead concert?
And you're like, yeah, I know I'm deep in the jams in the concerts. But no, the reboot project, I think, like, anecdotally, it was just my way to it. I knew this was the reboot. It was the change. It was it was it was it was me. And I honestly, man, I gosh, I wish I had a cool story. I'd even lie.
Well, you never let facts get in the way of a good story. you've trademarked conquer your mountain. Talk about conquer your mountain and what that could mean to the people listening today. What is it?
Yeah, man. So, so conquer your mountains, actually, we finally registered trademark. We gotta update our, our website. But conquer your mountain, to me, is the program. And it is, it's 12 months long. It's macronutrients, it's physical fitness, and it's, uh, trans, uh, it's transformation of your life through building an intentional life plan, all of which is evidence. We've got a beautiful application. The application, we don't taunt it because it's the least important part of it. It's the relationships between your coaches. It's the intentional change theory. This is all evidence-based stuff. One of the perks of working at Goodwill is I saw what a good product is. I saw what it's like to actually build something at a scale. So I'm not just this guy who comes up with this idea. Like I put these things together for a reason. And then I went and found the cheapest best marketer I could find and said, build a brand around this thing. and I'm very proud of what he put together. I think it really differentiates the level that we're trying to come out and swing on. But that's conquer your mountain. The idea was, is like, how do we how do we offer this at first? And it's kind of morphed, right? Pivots like it. The conquer your mountain was for business people. And and then this was the charitable arm. But I fell in love with the charitable arm. And, you know, again, I have people all the time saying, Hey, man, we could do this for this group. And I'm like, dude, that, yes, we can and yes, we will. But I got to get this thing up and running because this is what I'm focused on 100% of the time.
So there's people that are at the beginning of their quest. And you're right here with Brian. Brian's starting this. And that's why I think it's so fun that we're doing this because five years from now, who knows what this is going to be.
Yeah, true.
And I hope that those of you out there that want to start your own 501c3 or that are starting your 501c3 see some synergy here and can learn. And so do you have a clear five-year, like, do you know here's how many people we want to help in five years? And this is... Yeah, man.
Well, what happened was it started out that this is just going to be what I did. And I was going to coach it, all of it, and dude, three people. That's three people a year. And this will be cool. And I'll take a little group of people out and we'll climb up a mountain. And, yeah, I'm a builder. Just like you build a lot of things. The only thing I notice is energy. And the energy around this is insane. And I think this is the first time my authentic self has shown up with no fear. Just the fact that I'm even on a microphone talking to somebody, this isn't what I like to do, man. I can talk about it and be passionate about it, but to an audience that I don't know, it scares the shit out of me. It does. And so it takes people like Josh and other people around me that are really, they'll spread the word and I can just be like, oh, shucks. Yeah, because that's how I feel. deal. But I've got five people in the program right now where they've lost over 140 pounds. I've got a guy that's just enrolled in college. Another one's getting the certification. All of them have different life goals, and it's a real thing. Like, I. Like, yesterday, I had a guy call me and say, hey, man, let's just tell my wife if this stopped today, I've already learned so much and had so much new opportunity. I'm a completely different guy seven months into this than I would have ever been on my Thank you. Yeah. I'll show up for that every day, man.
Right.
So there's, you know, there's tons of coaching programs. There's tons of life altering programs.
You're another one, right?
100%. And, but the cool thing about yours is first responders and veterans get to go through this program for free. Yeah.
It costs about $10,000 actually, and it's actually money that I put over to the side. So it's like, honestly, it's like, it's not my money anymore. And my accountant always reminds me, like, hey, you already took your tax deduction on this, but I built up enough pot over on the side. to this is what I'm doing. I'm not, I'm not giving to these different charities. I'm creating my own infrastructure so I know exactly how it's working and the level of transparency. And, and, you know, for so many other reasons, we're not a coaching program. As an HR guy, the last thing I want to even be associated with is being an HR guy. And it's not because the HR people are bad. It's just the stigma is different. And so it's always like, I'm an operator working in HR.
Yeah.
And I am a guy that's built some businesses and has done some things. So I understand it to a different level. I'm a visionary, but I'm also a proponent of helping people get to where they want to go. And I would do it for free, and I am doing it for free. This isn't about, they did collect no paycheck. This is a break-even deal.
So if a real estate agent wanted to jump in on this program, they have to pay for it. Yeah.
Well, essentially, I don't have a model yet of anything for a real estate agent to be in on the program. We've talked about it in a bunch of different ways. But I think when the right person comes around that will help front this and take it out to that sector, then I'm all for it. But the last thing I want to be doing is talking all day about this other sector when this is where my heart is, this is where my tribe is, this is healing me, man.
Yeah. So gappers, I think, you know, the ask today, look at be part of something bigger than you with attitude booster number 10, right?
Right.
If you know a first responder, if you know a vet who could, who could benefit from this, what do they need to do right now?
Yeah.
Reach out, man. I'm easy to be found. Go to find me on LinkedIn. Brian Bush hit this. I I answer. I'm one of those people. I'm action oriented. You don't. It's not hard to find me.
Okay.
You can find me.
Brian Bush. B-R-Y-A-N Bush on LinkedIn. Or you can just simply go. to the rebootproject.org and you can sign up and get involved there.
100%.
What else? Anything else you want to tell us about reboot that would maybe Inspire somebody to say, yeah, you know, I got a first responder that needs some help. I, you know, my guess is I have a dear friend who passed away 42 left behind a young man. You would probably help his wife if reach out to you.
100. Right.
So left behind kids in a lot.
Of different ways, man. And it doesn't mean that they have to go through this program. And there's so many different modalities out there. And as I was telling you earlier, there's like 45, 000 non-profits that are veteran focused. Wow. Right. A lot of them are around getting jobs. And you would think logically, why aren't you the guy doing the job? And I don't have any energy to go out and find people work. That's not never been my passion. There's a really great agency here in Indiana, actually called vet.
Yeah.
And they place people for free because they're subsidized by the state. It's amazing for the first responders out here. I think it just becomes our differentiation. Who are we? We're no. There's absolutely zero, zero fluff that you're gonna get from any other situation you've been in. If you think you've seen them all, give us a call. I promise we're different. We're evidence based. The guy that built the intentional change theory, I studied underneath him. for a very short time, but long enough to remember that that's the only thing I really remember from, from, from that school.
Right.
And this guy had, he's just wrote to Opus Magnus, I think, is, was like his 50 or 60 year study on intentional change Theory. And it's, it's scientifically validated. So the first thing I needed to do when I built something was make sure that this isn't Brian Bush's coaching model.
Right.
Because I can't even tell you four other coaching models, and I've got a master's degree. this, but I still don't know them because I don't care. Right. I know that I think this is the best. Who are you today? Who do you want to be? Gap analysis, go back, set a plan, get inside of a community and experiment.
Yeah.
Right.
And. But it all starts with a desire. And so that's how somebody would even get in. You have to have a desire to win. And we don't just let anybody in. I like that. Yeah.
So that's good. So, guys, look at I've brought. I bring our guests on because I'm here to help you bridge the gap from who you are to who you want to become. and man, Brian, you knocked it out of the park for us today.
Appreciate that.
We always like to, we always like to do knowledge through the decades. I know you've listened to a few of these. Maybe you've got some canned answers, but just answer from your heart because it's always fun to walk through the, are you over 40 yet?
Yes.
You're over 40. All right. So we get four good answers from you. So when we think about either your children or being born, what is the attitude lesson of being born or Rebirth.
Yeah.
Or reboot.
Good one. Attitude lesson of being born. So question for you, right, is when I've heard other people answer these, 'cause I did listen through some of your catalog here, is, is this me talking to myself or is this me talking to other people giving some type of.
A, yeah, whatever, you know, whatever. If you, you know, what was the attitude lesson when your kids were born? What's the attitude lesson of new beginning?
That's what we're looking for.
Or what's the attitude lesson of rebooting, really? And you've kind of hit on it, But that's what we're looking for. What have you learned about starting over or what have you learned from your, when you saw that baby come out and you're like, holy crap, I'm a dad.
Well, I think those are two different things completely. I think when the baby came out, I went, oh my gosh, we got a lot of stuff to start doing. But then it was actually kind of slow because I didn't have a lot to do right away in the relationship that I'm in with my wife. But when it comes to just myself at that age, that answer already existed in myself. I really believe 100% authentic. Sorry about that. That every single one of us already has the answer of what we need to be doing. 10 years, we're just flexing into these weird things. And that's why we try so many variations. That's why I feel like I know about change. Because I've lied to myself for so many years on who I was. I got good at lying to myself, and then I found myself and boom. Boom. It was like, I'm in the flow.
I like it. I'm gonna have to steal that. You were born with the answer. That sounds like the title of a good new book for me. You were born.
That's just so deep.
That's it. Because so many of you guys that are out there listening go, I don't have the answer. I don't have the answer. I gotta come to the gap. Well, hopefully the gap will help bring the answer out of you. But I just hope if you're listening today that know that the answer lies inside of you and to engage with the Get Attitude podcast community and to listen to guys like Brian we're, you know, my mission and my hope is that we are helping you dig down inside to find that answer. So now this is going to be awesome, I'm sure. 10 years old. I bet you were something at 10 years old. Tell me your attitude lesson at 10. You would have been in, it would have been third or fourth grade. Did you have an attitude lesson that hit you over the head when you were 10?
All in, all into everything. 100% all in nonstop. You talk about self-efficacy I don't think I had, I don't think that's something that grew with me. I think I was a 10-year-old with a ton of it.
I like it.
I I I always had a big sense of self and never, you know, my skills never lived up to what I thought I could do.
And did you have a teacher or was there an a instance or did you overcome something when you were 10? Did you get in trouble? Was there a story when you were?
Trouble didn't start until I was in high school, so. But, yeah, I had a teacher. I had two of them. My mom and dad kick ass.
There you go.
I've never had anybody believe in me. before I got married. That's awesome.
That's so cool. That's good. All right, so you're 20 years old, you're out of high school, you're in the military. Do you remember turning 20? I mean, you talked about 21, but what was your attitude lesson when you were 20? Do you remember that?
Oh, man, it was no good. A bad attitude. 20 years old. Yeah, I was a punk, man. I was a punk from probably 15 to 20. Major punk. And until the 21st of February when I actually, that was my first day in the Marine Corps. in 2001. That's when the punks started to wear off.
They undress punks in the military.
Oh yeah.
We do not care who you are.
Right.
We're all the same, man.
Yeah, there you go. That's a great attitude lesson. We are the same on a lot. 30 years old. What was going on? You're probably working at Goodwill. Did you have an attitude lesson hit you over the head at 30? Do you remember your birthday at 30 or what was going on?
I do. I remember at 30 and I remember I think I had a year where I made $100,000 on a side business, and I blew it all. And I remember going, damn it. Why did I do that?
Good attitude lesson.
It was a good attitude lesson. And I remember I told myself, if I ever make this money again, I'm gonna save it. And that kind of set the tone for. For into the 30s, man.
Yeah, that's awesome. Okay, then 40 hits. Do you remember your 40th birthday?
I didn't talk for, like, a month and a half before 40 and a month and a half after that one hurt my. you did not realize I am that. That being old is something that's gonna happen. Not that 40s old, everyone. Right. Because it's not when you're 40. But, yeah, I mean, 40 was. I'm 44 right now, and I. I often forget how old I am. So when I think about age like that, it scares me. I'm always a guy that I move fast because I. When I was 10, I thought I was out of time. I've always been five years ahead.
Right.
And I've always been trying to, hell, I just retired from the workforce at 44. Like, that's what people do when they're 60-something, right? And so it's all that angst and anxiety that exists with that.
That's awesome. That's good. So, Brian, man, you've dished it out for us. You've given us some great nuggets. You've given us things to think about. You've given us answers of how to move on. If gappers, you know, of a hero hero, right? If you know of a police officer, a firefighter, or a veteran who needs a change, who needs a reboot, please, please go to therebootproject.org or look up Brian Bush on LinkedIn and say, I have a candidate that would belong. Real quick, aren't you taking 12 people up a mountain here soon or something?
Yeah, so we go, I got an ice climb and I'm going out to your area. And so my life has really turned into adventure. which is great. But yeah, so what makes us different too is that if you're a participant in this program and you graduate and show that you actually did what you were supposed to do for yourself, the goals that you set, part of our program is conquer your mountain. We take you to Colorado, no expense. We lodge, we do really cool stuff. You get to meet an amazing group of people. And yeah, we climb a 14,000 foot mountain. And so that's actually my drill instructor. I serve with Josh over to the side. If you guys are watching on video. And then my, my buddy Steve in the middle, I met him at a dead show in Mexico.
Wow. And it took him up a mountain.
The drill instructor looks scary as hell.
Yeah, he, yeah, he's a kind man.
I love that guy.
I love it.
Yeah.
Is this you?
That's me, man. Oh, my God. Darn.
Yeah.
Looking a little different. All right, well, Brian, we always end our show with you speaking one-on-one with our audience and what we call a message of hope. So I'm going to turn the microphone over to you. And what would you like to tell the gappers? And what's your message of hope for them?
Yeah. Quadruple down on yourself. No one's going to do it for you. You can Outsource. And people say all the time, you need to trust and put the faith in other people to get there. And I believe that once you get to a scale, but when you have that idea, you got to work your idea. And I'm putting in 14, 15 hours by myself. every day because I see the vision and I know what it takes and I have the standards and don't ever quit on yourself. And it sounds anecdotal as hell, but I'm living it every day asking myself, is this gonna work? Is it big enough? Is it good enough? And the answer is yes every time. But I still have the, even as a guy that's had success in business, I have the same emotional stuff that you do trying to start something brand new with maybe no win under your belt. Every new build builds a new opportunity to lose or win, which is irrelevant. It's how do you turn that into your next move? The confidence for your next move.
I love it. Such great advice. I'm 10 years into the University of Attitude. I don't even know. I need to probably look. I need to get an answer.
You need a plaque or something.
I need to give myself a cake. But Brian Bush, the reboot project, thank you so much for coming on the Gap. And we appreciate you. We can't wait to see you in five years. Somebody in this get us a candidate that he can take up and do a 14 team.
We take business sponsorships up to the top with flags too, so we've got some of that.
Let's get some sponsors. If you're out here and it's Moody and you like what Brian's doing, please give us a call. This is Glenn Bill and we will see you on the next Get Attitude podcast.
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