Harmonizing Life, Leadership, and Legacy with JoAnne Bass

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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another exciting episode of Make Unplugged. And today we have someone.

The first time that I met her, I was truly captivated by her mind, her vision, all the amazing things that she has done and will continue to do for our military and veterans.

I would love to present to you my good friend who has the most brilliant mind and leadership that I know, Miss Joanne Bass.

You're listening to Mick Unplugged, hosted by the one and only Mick Hunt. This is where purpose meets power and stories spark transformation.

Mick takes you beyond the motivation and into meaning, helping you discover your because and becoming unstoppable. I'm Rudy Rush, and trust me, you're in the right place.
Let's get unplugged.

Joanne, how you doing today? Mick, I'm so glad to be here. Like, one, you know, this is some love because we're recording this, by the way, somewhere downtown D.C.

And I live in Northern Virginia, and it is a whole thing to get here to D.C. But, one, I just, you know, I'm honored and humbled to be here.

I love the work that you're doing, period, but especially the work that you're doing for our veteran community.

And so, it's really my honor to spend some time with you.

And again, the love to come all the way to DC to come and spend some time with your audience and really hopefully share some good insight that we can all glean from. No, absolutely.
Absolutely.

And, you know, it goes without saying I met you.

Wow, it's only been earlier this year, but it seemed like forever

at an event with Robert Irvine, a golf tournament, a golf event to support our military, our veterans, our first responders. Yes.

And the moment that my wife and I met you and your husband, we were like, those are our people. Amen.
Those are our people.

I feel the same way, but I'll tell you, you know, growing up and spending time in the military, 31 years for me and 27 years for my husband, you know, we always talk about this notion of a military family.

And when you're part of it, you just never leave it. And when we met you, we're like, oh, he's part of the family.
So it felt great.

And a shout out to Robert Irvine and the foundation, who really is a connector amongst people and brings people together.

And so, thanks for being at that golf tournament. Absolutely.

I'm not going to admit that we were all in the golf shop together trying to warm up because it was colder than we all thought it was going to be in April. Yes, it gets cold here.
Yeah.

No, but I want to talk about a little bit of your history with obviously the military. My daughter-in-law is a retired Air Forceman woman,

and

I'm just so passionate when i see leaders yeah um because it's not easy yes it especially in the military it's not easy yeah and your background amazes me so talk to us about how you got started um what made you decide to do the air force like go through all of that with us a little bit So

I am the daughter of an Army soldier. And so for my entire life, I have known nothing but national defense, right? Like as a military child.
And then as an 18-year-old, I'll never forget

I wasn't quite mature enough yet to go to college. I didn't know what I wanted to do.
I grew up old school, by the way, where my parents were not paying for my college.

And I'll never forget, my dad always said, four years in the military never hurt anybody. And so I thought, well, I'll do four quick years, get a GI bill and figure out life.

And then at the, and I tell people this all the time, right? So I, so I joined the United States Air Force and not thinking that it was going to turn into a lifelong career and

a real honor. But at the four-year mark, I only re-enlisted Mitt because I had a Honda Civic that I need to pay off.
So

I wasn't completely all, we're going to have to get a picture of that civic and post it, but I wasn't completely all set in.

I'm a normal 18-year-old like most folks who didn't necessarily sign up for patriotic reasons, but I certainly stayed for those reasons.

So signed up to figure out life, get a GI bill at the four-year mark, signed up to, or signed up another four years to pay off my Honda Civic. And then

it was probably about the eight-year mark. When I started serving with people who we read about, right? Some of our nation's heroes who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

And I was part of those organizations and those units of true heroes. And so I started to really understand what it meant to wear our nation's cloth and to be part of something bigger than ourselves.

And the bigger than ourselves piece is where I like to talk about it because only 1% of our nation serves.

Only 1% of the United States population serves our military.

Yet we are a free and prosperous nation because of that 1%.

So, it took me a long time to really grasp and understand that

what we do is for the sake of our children and our children's children.

You know,

and I'm trying not to get emotional because

I know who you are and what you stand for.

And you talk about that 1%,

right?

Why is it

that we only have 1%?

Yeah. And, and, and I'm going to take it a step further because I don't know the number of this, but I don't know how many people that aren't a part of the 1%

support the 1%, if you get what I'm saying, right? Like, like I was not a part of the military, but I can promise you every day of my life goes to support. Yes.
Right. Yes.

Why don't we have enough people that do that part?

You know, I am a persistent optimist. I call myself, by the way.

I think by and large, the majority of people in our nation do support the military. I think what it is, is most people don't know how

to really support the military or have a full understanding. You know, when

as we talk about some of the challenges challenges that our nation is going to face when it comes to, for instance, recruiting in the military, if only 1% serve, what I share with people broadly is

we can't count on just the 1% serving to figure out our recruiting challenges. We need 99% of America who knows that this is their military.
And by the way, I share that often with people.

I don't, this isn't my Air Force or my Army or my Marine Corps or my Space Force, right?

Like this is America's Air Force, America's Army, America's Navy, America's Marine Corps, America's Space Force and Coast Guard, you know, but it's it's America.

So how do we start to educate and form? I think it's platforms like yours that really do that. People, again, by and large, appreciate and

what their service members do for them. They just sometimes don't know the how.

And so now as I've transitioned out of uniform in the last 20 months, that's part of some of my how is I know the power of our military service members and their families, but I think it's important that we really do educate America on the value proposition of a strong military.

And Mick, one of those things I do call our service members America's greatest competitive advantage.

Like if you have, again, if we realize, if employers, if if industry, if corporate America really realizes the value that they get when they hire or bring on or onboard a service member, their family member, man, that is talent.

Yes. Like just anyway, anyway, I think we have, back to, you know, your question, I think we have more of an issue of helping America realize how they might support

their military. Okay.
And that's your passion now, one of your passions. Yeah, for sure.

I usually ask my guests at the very beginning, what's their because?

Yeah. That thing that's deeper than your why, right? Like I say this all the time in every episode.
Your why is probably your children, right? Your parents, your community, your family.

But when I ask you, but why?

Yeah. That sentence usually starts with, well, because.

And I care about your because.

And so if I were to say, Joe, what's your because? Why do you do what you do the way that you do it? What's that burning desire and purpose for you now?

Yeah, why are we getting so deep so early in the morning? That's how we do it. That's how we do it.
This is what I've learned.

So, I would say that my because I said it a few minutes ago, my because is because I want a free and prosperous nation for my two girls and your children and our great-grandchildren. That is why.

But I know that the only way for us to have

you know, the

freedom of democracy, it's going to take all of us.

So the military piece is one component, having a strong military, but we have got to, as a nation, rally around this thing called democracy, value what we all bring to the fight.

Industry has to start building stuff. Schools have to start teaching things.
Parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles have to start teaching character and and citizenship.

So that is, again, I'm still trying to figure myself out, but

because and why I do the things that I do is because I want years from now to be able to, you know, rest well and know that our kiddos have it and their kiddos have it.

And we're going to continue being a great nation.

I love that. So speaking of these kiddos, we're in a different era than when you and I grew up, right? And I say it's not bad.
Yes, we are.

I tell people all the time, it's not bad. When we talk about millennials and Gen Z,

they're the most resourceful generations that we've ever had. But there's more things for them.
There's more information. There's more access.
How do we

recruit them?

into military and or service? What's the missing recipe for my kids and those that are going to follow?

That is the question of the century.

And to be honest, I don't know, that is not a question just for the military. I think all of

workforce in America and quite frankly, workforce across the globe is really thinking deeply about how do we tap into the full potential of this next generation.

When I served as the chief master in the Air Force, one of the things I was very much focused on was a people aspect, the people behind the warfighting mission that we have.

And I knew for certain that the only way we were going to tap into this next generation and the generations that follow after that is we can't have old antiquated people policies

that I came into 30 years ago. You know, our workforce looks different today than it did 30 years ago.
The military looks different today than it did 30 years ago.

30 years ago, the workforce was primarily, you know,

the man coming to work and the woman staying home. And that is what things look like.
And I'll never forget, you know,

the old generation military would say, if the military wanted you to have a family, they'd issue you one. Like, that was a thing.

That is not the case in today's modern military family or today's working family. And so we've got to update our HR people policies and they have to be relevant

at the speed that we need it to to be able to onboard talent that we have.

The other thing that I would say is, and this can be controversial, and I've had a lot of my peers in the military kind of freak out when I say these things, but when I think about the military that we're going to need in the future, it looks more like Ocean's 11

than it does, you know, from 50 or 60 years ago. Like, I care less about the rank that somebody has on their sleeves or

their shoulders.

I actually care about the potential and the talent and

what they bring to the team. And so, that's where I think we're going to have to tweak up some of our stuff to reach that next generation.
The other thing that I would say, it's interesting because

people always say, Oh, this generation.

And I'm like, they said that about me and you. Right.
You know, when we entered the workforce. And

what I would say is this generation has choice. This generation wants to know that they are part of something greater.
This generation is going to ask why.

And we better be able to have some transparency to help, you know, just bring them along so they understand the big, and they're so smart and talented. Like they know.
Right. Yeah.

They're going to be just fine. It's, it's, oh, it's a five generation.
You know, we talk about five generations serving.

It's the other four they have to understand this next generation that's coming up. I totally agree.

And you hit on something that when I'm talking to business leaders, I've been saying for the last 12 months, trust

and transparency is the new currency. Yeah.

And so for every leader, trust, transparency, emotional intelligence, those are the three things that you have to make the forefront of what you do

because

this generation, air quotes. Yeah.
Right. That's what they care about.

Listen, Mick. I grew up in the military where, and I said this myself, you know, you're joining the military, we ain't join you.

Like, I grew up saying those things, but again, it gets back after like this is a new world that we live in, where the challenges that we had in the past are not going to be the same ones we have in the future.

So tapping into that, right, it is, it's trying to figure out that balance

in the military, for instance, right, you're joining a profession of arms.

It is a select few. It's 1%, as I mentioned to you,

but we're still going to have to take a look at our people policies. And if we want to hold hard and fast to, right, like, this is how it is, and you joined us, well, good luck with that.

You know, we've got to figure out where does that make sense. Yeah.
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She said she was a Chief Master Sergeant. She was the 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the United States Air Force, which means you're a bad.

Shut your mouth. I'm talking about Joe, right?

Talk about the moment,

and it probably isn't a moment, but when you realized

being the leader was your destiny. Because I know for me, when I felt it for the first time, and it was almost like I looked out and I could see, oh,

whatever I do impacts all of them. Whatever I say.
impacts all of them. The decisions that I make, boy,

what was that like for you? And it's different because I was just leading a company. Yeah.
You're leading the people that are protecting our nation. Yeah.

I would say that,

you know, what I recognize is it's funny, right? Like hindsight is 2020. What I recognize now is that leadership is absolutely a journey.

And now I can look back at over 30 years and see that every assignment that I had, every

duty title that I had, every work team, you know, every team that I worked with, it was all a setup for the next chapter that was coming. And so I've learned that

and leadership is about, you know, reps and sets, right? Like you don't just go in there, right?

If I evaluated myself based on, you know, me 20 years ago, like I'm a completely different person, the foundation's still the same, but the reps and sets that you build in that experience is huge.

I will never forget it was my birthday, June 15th, 2020, when I was sitting in Biloxi, Mississippi at my previous assignment, Keeser Air Force Base.

And I was, you know, one of the last few that were being considered for Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force. I already had a blessed, wonderful career, by the way.

And at that particular time,

myself and my husband, we were looking at

property for when we retire because, you know, just like any other job, right, there's kind of a hierarchy and

it just gets fewer and fewer. And so we thought, you know, hey, we've had an amazing career.
We're going to continue serving, but it may be out of the military.

But I was being looked at for Chief Master in the Air Force and,

you know, going through the interview process,

which is, you know,

pretty selective. And I got a note from my team when I got into work that day and they said, hey, the future chief of staff, General C.Q.

Brown out of Hawaii, out of the Pacific, is going to call and let you know if you were or weren't. And so I was like, okay, no pressure, right? Like, so I, so I go home for lunch

and it occurred to me like, man, I haven't even prepared what I'm going to say when and if he calls.

And so I started thinking about what am I going to say when he says you weren't it, right?

Like, because I'm, you know, again, in my mind, not thinking that I will be the chief master surgeon in the Air Force. There's so many other strong, qualified, capable leaders.

So I'm prep preparing for my, I'm not going to get it speech. And, and he calls, and, um, you know, again, my birthday.

And he's like, you know, hey, chief, I just wanted to let you know that I selected you to be the chief, next chief master Surgeon in the Air Force. So I was shocked.

I didn't prepare for what I was going to say for that. And the only thing that came to mind was, General Brown, sir, you made the right damn decision.

And I don't remember anything else. I blacked out, you know, called the family, obviously, and was so

excited

and also humbled at the thought of being able to lead our Air Force, 689,000 Total Force airmen that make up America's Air Force.

And I tell people all the time, I'm not just the chief to the enlisted force, but I was chief to our officers, our civilians.

You know, the aspects of warfighting matters to me, but also their care and well-being and that of their families and setting the conditions so those Total Force airmen could continue to ensure the safety and security of our nation.

So

it came down, but when people say, Hey, chief, you know, um, what does it feel like to be the chief master in the air force? I say the same, right?

Like, it's just, you know, you have more responsibility. But, but I've learned the keys to success, and those are to surround yourself by people who are smarter and more talented than you.

And when you know how to bring the secret sauce together, and those are just teams of people that are empowered to get after it, then you just get out the way. Yeah.
Every leader has a role.

And so, again, if we're not threatened by the role that people play and the skills and the talents that they bring, and we just let them,

we provide vision and direction, but we let them handle it.

It was, you know, I tell people all the time, again, it was, it was truly the team that I had surrounding me, but it was the men and women who serve in our Air Force

who continue to make our Air Force strong. I love that.
I appreciate that. I also know you're humble because you don't get chosen

just for the sake of being chosen. So now I'm going to ask you the deeper question because you talked about responsibility, and in the Bible, it tells us to whom much is given, much is required.

So,

what was required of you with this new responsibility? Meaning, what did you have to channel inside knowing that there's a new requirement? Yeah.

I think a lot of preparation, right? And a lot, certainly a sacrifice of time.

And so, you know,

I had years of experience to really start to understand how to manage time, how to provide margin in my life,

how to prioritize the things that are important, and also how to, again, push down and empower other people to do that. But,

you know, one of the things that my family and I talked about, especially as we were entering into the position, I'll never forget, again, we were driving from Mississippi to D.C., two different cars.

And, you know, you have a lot of highway talk as you're trying to stay awake. And I'm talking to my husband as we're driving.

And one of the conversations we had is, how do we, as we enter into this assignment, that's one of the biggest assignments I've ever had, huge responsibility. How do we fortify our family?

Like we talk about, again, how do we take care of the force?

Well, that's great, you know, but winning for us was going to be that we're able to have a successful tour, do our part, take care of the United States Air Force, but the family can't be broken.

And it is a tough job, especially when you think about we're on the road 200 days out the year or more.

And even when we're not on the road, we're coming home and the team's giving me trip books and planning for the next set of engagements.

And all of the engagements we have matters because we've got 689,000 folks that are counting on us, you know, engagements with international partners, engagements with Congress, engagements with our stakeholders.

So

fortifying the family and the loved ones, I think is key. I love that.
And I want to go into something that you just brought up, too, because I think for all business leaders,

we have this challenge. You talked about being on the road for 200 plus days when you had that assignment.
And I know you now, and it's still the same. Like that hasn't stopped for you.

You are still constantly. But some of it's real fun now.
Yes. But you're still on the road.

I'm still on the road. Yeah.
How for the listeners and viewers, how can we start to balance

integrating family time into all the my words, craziness that we have going on? Like, how, because I think you've mastered that, no pun intended, because I look up to you in that.

It's something that I work on every day: how do I balance being a father,

being a husband, being the leader that my community needs me to be?

Oh, by the way, I have a circle of friends that need me too, and I've got to be there for them.

And then, oh, by the way, I have this team of like 45 people that i lead that all the decisions i make like how do you balance that yeah i i will tell you that it took me probably 24 years to really

understand that aspect right for the the the first part of my 24 year career um

i think i was decent at it sometimes not but and also sometimes hypocritical, meaning I would tell my service members and fellow wingmen, hey, take care of you, take care of yourself, take care of, you know, all the things.

And I wasn't doing it. And I'll never forget that assignment at about the 24-year mark.

And because it was a rough assignment. Nobody knew the struggle that I had in the balance.
Cause, because what do we do, Mick? We go on, we put on a mask.

And the only people who typically know is our families. And so, so there, somehow I had a wake-up call.

I've, I've had previous conversations with my kiddos before, but there was one time where my youngest was like, mom, you always put on your computer. Like, like I would come home from work, get home.

set up my computer again and start working thinking I'm present, but I'm not really present.

And so that was my 24-year mark in the military was really an inflection point on I need to get it together and I've got to figure out a way to balance the different pillars in my life,

the physical, the spiritual, the social, and the mental.

Because if I can't balance that and I'm not a full-up round, then I'm not going to be great to anybody. And so

I started to also at the same time study this thing called self-care. Yeah.
They didn't do self-care when I came in, right? Like

we didn't even know that.

I don't even know that that was terminology, but I started to realize that self-care is not selfish, that if I take care of myself, I can be a better mother, wife, leader, airman, community partner, whatever it might be.

And so I just started practicing that. The other thing I learned is, you know, you can never balance stuff, right? Balance just doesn't happen.
So I started to use the word harmonize.

And so I try to harmonize as much as possible my life.

And I started including my family into some of the things that are important to me at work too.

And so it's funny because like, you know, I would have work engagements that I, that I need to go to, I'm required to go to.

And I would tell my husband, right, like, I need you to be there, but not for everything because I can't expect him to take on the same demand. So I'd say, you can't miss the big stuff.

I'll tell you when it's the big stuff.

And then, of course, he would give my kiddos like a $30 or $40 to join me at a dinner event because he wants to watch the football game, right?

Like, so, so, so we learned, and it looks different for every family, but we we learned to harmonize our lives to try to help bounce, but it's a conscious decision every day. I'm not great at it,

and I give myself grace, but harmonizing, bringing the family into the stuff, never missing the big stuff for your family is really important.

So I needed that. Yes.
I needed that. Yes.
So this episode Selfishly is for me because that moment right there harmonized.

That connected for me. I get it now.
It's not balance. Yeah.
It's harmony. And

asking your family for grace and asking your friends for grace. You know, this time for me in,

you know, quasi-retirement, this new chapter, I've told people this is like my payback tour. Like, I feel like, because we all have to create margin depending what's on our plate.

When I was chief master in the Air Force, by and large, I did not have a ton of time for

my friends, friends, like people who I love, because when I wasn't on the road or pouring into my immediate team, I had to pour into the family.

So, so that is where, for the last four years, that focus was. And so, now is a payback tour.
But if your friends genuinely understand,

then you're going to be fine. I love that.
I love that. So, you brought up self-care,

which leads me to

kind of our connection with the foundation, the Robert Irvine Foundation, and

just what it means to me. And I know what it means to you being on the board of advisors there.

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military, our veterans, and their family. I think a lot of times we take for granted the love that they need to feel from us.
Yeah.

And I say feel because words sometimes can just be words, right? Depending on what the moment is, words aren't even heard. Even with good intentions, they're not heard.

How can we start making an impact

so that, again, our veterans, our current military, the family, our first responders can feel the love because it's needed? Yeah,

I think the aspect of opening up your communities and really just spending time with veterans is huge.

So, you know, as I mentioned, we're downtown DC and I was just at an engagement where we were talking about the kickoff today of Buddy Check Week.

And that really is kind of a week for us to spend time. And as veterans, remind each other to check up on our buddy and make sure that they're fine.

Because oftentimes, when our servicemen and women take off this uniform, they're leaving a community to some degree that that's all they've known.

And it can be tough.

Like their entire military life, they've had their teammates, you know, in their squadrons and their battalions, you know, in their organizations and their units, and then they separate and they don't necessarily have those that same level of folks.

The majority of military service members transition well, but there are folks who don't and they feel more isolated.

So back to your question, what can people do? We can help bring people in and open up our hearts and our homes and our minds to this notion of community.

Some of the most challenging times that I've had and my family have been trying to break that barrier of coming from an overseas military tour, coming to a stateside community and trying to get plugged into community where these folks have grown up together and they know each other and they don't know who that military member is that you know that gets up at five o'clock in the morning and and leaves and and so again i think that what all of us can do is really try to get to know veterans get to know their their their families embrace them um and just just just bring them into the community, especially our children.

Amen to that. Yes.
Amen to that. So

talk to us a little bit about some of the things you are doing post-retirement. Now, I know you

sit on some boards. Again, you're the greatest leader that I know.
You're a strategic advisor to several organizations. What is it that you're doing now?

So.

First and foremost, I am able to be wife and mom. There you go.
That is a blessing.

When I got out, by the way, Mick,

I love to write things down. And so I wrote down before getting out of the military, you know, what's important to me.
And I wrote down three things.

I said, whatever I do post-military has to meet all three of these things. And that is, I'm only going to do the things that I love to do.
I'm only going to do things that I'm good at.

And I'm only going to do things that make a difference.

Now, not everybody's in that position, right? Like, but, but, you know, I'm really thankful and blessed that I was able to say those things.

And so in that, I knew that I needed to, you know, in my payback tour, get back to being the wife and the mom that I want to be. And so I'm there primarily.

I'm doing some work with Columbia Southern University as a strategic advisor to them and very excited about the work that they're doing to

help change lives through education. I'm working with some corporate

industry partners and helping them understand the military and veteran community and how they can plug in and make practical differences. And so, I'm really excited about the work that I do there.

And then, I do a lot of nonprofit work because, again,

I'm pretty passionate about, as you can tell, like

the strength of our military and what they bring to broader America. So, also an ambassador for hiring our heroes,

ambassador to face the fight. And

and then i go around speaking when i can to larger audiences to to share the work that we're doing amazing amazing speaking of so

i have an event march 13th no march 12th okay um it's leadership and entrepreneur

i want you on stage i'd love to be on stage all right it's in greenville south carolina so you and the family get to hang out with us we get to have some sweet tea and and is there any other type of tea like why do you have to put put sweet in front of us?

Hey,

I love my time in the Carolinas because I know I'm going to get fed well.

We will take care of you. Yes, but it would be my honor to come spend some time with your folks.
All right, we're going to do that. And it's on film, too.
So now we have to make it happen. Right.

All right. So I'm going to get you out of here.
My rapid five, as I like to call it. Okay.
Five quick fire. Very good.
Ready? Number one, did you get the Honda paid off?

I traded it in. Of course, like everybody everybody does.
We trade it in for something better.

I started bowling after the Honda Civic. No.

Oh, so question two.

What'd you get next?

Not what you have now. What did you get next? I think I got an accord next.
Oh, so you upgraded.

That's a big deal. Kept it in the family.
Well, yes, that's a big deal. There you go.
There you go. Your favorite leadership book is.

There's too many to choose from.

Let me just share what got you here. Won't get you there.
That was one of the first leadership books that I read because there's so many leadership books that tell you how to be a good leader.

But in that particular book, it actually has a here's what not to do.

And I needed that. Like I needed to learn that you don't have to win all the time.
And that's in that. I would also say that,

you know, the title should be helpful to every organization. And I used to share this in the Air Force.
You know, we're the greatest Air Force in the world, but what got us here will not get us there

if we don't make some changes to get us where we need to be. And that applies to every organization.
That's a pro tip of the day. There we go.
Pro tip of the day. All right.

Your favorite, I got to get this right.

Your favorite food

in the United States. So if you're traveling in the United States, Asian food.
Asian food. Asian food.
Here's what else is fun.

For those of y'all who still don't believe that there's algorithms to your devices,

there are. I'll never forget.
We landed in LA. We were en route to somewhere else.
It was COVID timeframe. I was with my team and I'm a big foodie.

So we start to Google and Yelp places. And so I'm looking at places to eat and there's all these awesome Asian places.
And I'm like, look at all this.

You know, man, who knew that all these Asian places, you know, were the top five places to eat here in LA? And

my battle buddy was with me, and he said, Asian, he said, I have all Creo. And I'm like, there's no way I'm looking at the top five.
So, all that to say, algorithms are a thing, but yeah, Asian food.

When I'm in LA, Roscoe's shows like

you see, if we went, we'd have a whole different lineup. There you go.
All right, I will end up with this: who is the best cook in the family, and why is it Ron?

Oh, you said, Why is it Ron? So, so we both, I love the fact that I have a husband who, who also cooks with me.

He does the grilling. I do most of the cooking.

It was funny. We were talking about even as we get ready to embark on Thanksgiving, you know,

he acts like he's, I mean, he, he does, smokes a turkey and

does a ham or whatever. And it's like everything.
And I'm like, bro, I just did like 20 side dishes, right? Like

I did everything else, but he's like, woo, you know, so he, he does. We both help out.

We both have our own specialties. Soak and the turkey and the ham.

That's time, energy, and effort. I'm with Ron on that one.
What are you, what are the sides you make? So, Thanksgiving, what's your top three sides?

So, remember, my first duty station was Fort Bragg, North Carolina, at Pope Air Force Base.

And so, I learned very quickly from the southern women how to cook, by the way, because I didn't know how to cook as a young 18-year-old.

So, they taught me how to make dressing, not stuffing. Thank you.
Dressing. My wife had to to

macaroni and cheese,

sweet potato casserole,

corn, mashed potatoes, green bean, all the things. I can make a mean sweet potato pie.

In fact, even people who say they don't like sweet potato pie because they like pumpkin pie, you haven't tried mine.

So sweet potato pie and red velvet are both my things. Oh, it's Thanksgiving right now.
Yeah, so I can lead a military service,

but, and I can also cook. All right.

Thanksgiving this year is the last Thursday of November.

I will put in an order for a sweet potato pie. Yes.
You just tell me where to send the Venmo to, and I got you.

And I have to put a plug in again. I know this is, you know, kind of going back to our conversation 20 minutes ago.
But if

you are a civilian and you don't, again, you know, you want to make an impact and that's what you started off with.

Hey, invite some folks, invite some military folks to your home during the holidays i always loved that especially when i lived in the dorms and ron lived in the barracks we didn't have a way to connect with our family we you know we didn't want to go to the dining facility sorry air force we didn't want to go the dining facility and eat right we did sometimes but man when communities and and neighbors and people brought us into their home you know i mean you got to take the precautions but but i would say what a great opportunity to get to know a veteran by inviting them into your home.

So I have a challenge for everyone, and I want you to do this to myself, and I'll make sure I have Joe's socials published too. If you can do something impactful

for a veteran,

let us know.

Right? Tag us in social. You know, you all know where I'm at on LinkedIn and Instagram.
I'll make sure you have Joe's as well too. But tag us in social because it's that impact that truly matters.

Everyone thinks that that it's it's financial givings that you have to do. A lot of times it's just the time that you can sincerely take that drives the most impact.

So I challenge you, but I want to see it on social. Tag me.
Yes, better together. There you go.
And for all the viewers and listeners, remember, you're because is your superpower. Go unleash it.

Joe, I appreciate you. Thank you for having me.
And thanks to everybody for listening. Look forward to connecting with y'all.
There you go. And this is for you.
Oh, I love that.

How to be a good leader. About to be one of my next faves.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
I appreciate that. I wrote you a little note in there.
Oh, thank you, Mick. I appreciate it.
You got it.

That's another powerful conversation on Mick Unplugged.

If this episode moved you, and I'm sure it did, follow the show wherever you listen, share it with someone who needs that spark, and leave a review so more people can find their because.

I'm Rudy Rush. And until next time, stay driven, stay focused, and stay unplugged.
unplugged.