The Ripple Effect of Leadership with Freddie Kim

In this episode of The Asset Mindset podcast, host Daniel Fielding sits down with Freddie Kim, a veteran and founder of Mill Spec Talent, to explore the intersection of military leadership, personal growth, and life after service. Together, they dive into the power of mentorship, the challenges of negative self-talk, and the role of counseling in building resilience. Freddie shares how purpose-driven leadership—fueled by humility and self-awareness—can create a ripple effect that transforms lives, both in and out of uniform. Whether you're transitioning from service or seeking growth in the civilian world, this episode offers actionable insight and inspiration.

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Produced by Security Halt Media

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:06

Welcome to the Asset Mindset Podcast. Today we have another special guest, Freddie Kim. Freddie, you are quite the individual. You've been in Special Forces. You're doing a lot of great work with your talent and teaching people and ownership. So I'm super glad to have you on the show today. I think people are really going to get a lot of life knowledge and nuggets and your experiences you'll be able to share with them. So why don't you introduce yourself and tell people a little bit about your story and who you are and what you're doing?

From West Point To Special Forces

SPEAKER_01 0:37

Sure. Thank you so much. Really glad to be here. But um so I I'm Freddie. I live in Fayetteville, North Carolina. I have um uh uh a two and a half year old daughter. She's my life. Uh she's my sunshine, and then I my wife and I have been married for about 14. Make sure I do the math right on that. Yes, we we've been married for um about 13 years. So so um yeah, and I have I currently run a business right now called Mill Spec Talent. I own another business uh in Richmond, Virginia. We sell uh some cleaning equipment, and then I'm also part of a nonprofit called the Strong Gray Line. I I run that with a classmate of mine from West Point. And um how I got here, I'm a 2004 West Point grad, and then I uh served in the 82nd Airborne, deployed a bunch of times over there, and uh went to first special forces group uh and deployed a few times over there, and all together did about 14 years in the service, and I got out in 2013, kind of ran through, you know, struggled through my transition, as a lot of us would say, struggle through uh just understanding how we fit, uh where do we serve, you know, what do we do with our lives afterwards, and um found that you know when I was getting my MBA and I was like, man, this whole world of private equity and talent and leadership, there's a big gap. So I decided to start something there and and support that and fill that gap with the talented, amazing leaders I've served with in the service. So Mill Spike Talent Sborn, and uh we are now looking to go into government. So we're looking at becoming government contractors, taking advantage of some of my set-asides that I have um as a service disabled vet and also um uh a 8A as well.

Founding Mil Spec Talent

SPEAKER_00 2:43

So yeah, that's a little bit about me. Oh, that's fantastic. Can you go into a little more detail as far as the MILSPEC talent? Like you said, you you noticed a void or a gap. What what is it that you're doing and I guess what was the inspiration for it? Like what'd you see or your calling?

SPEAKER_01 3:01

Yeah, so when I was worked in the corporate world, I worked in um service construction services and then also uh manufacturing, and I've n I've seen that there's a lot of people that get promoted, right, in the corporate world that are really good at their jobs, but they don't understand leadership. And if any, they they may understand how to manage, right? Manage process, manage things, but not really people. And it's because they're very good at what they're what they were hired to do. But once you get to that point where you're you have to you know rely on your team to be successful, they just don't have that experience. And and for military guys, that's all we have, right? We we learn mit leadership from uh day one and how to how to serve, how to lead, and how to leverage a team, how to how to make us force multipliers, how to you know uh delegate, how to ensure that everyone has a nested mission towards the bigger goals. So that kind of mindset I've noticed uh was missing and and leading with values, which most of us do, um, being a servant leader as well. So I wanted to just bring that more so into the corporate world and really just you know showcase how veterans are super valuable and useful. And you know, ultimately, I believe that having the right person, right leader in your organization will make your employees happy, which will in turn make their families happy, which will in turn make their communities better, and ultimately society better. Like it starts with that that leader, right? And being able to have just a good effect on its people.

Why Corporate Leadership Falls Short

SPEAKER_00 4:53

No, that's fantastic. Yeah, it's the ripple effect. Right. Absolutely. And I mean, anybody out there, listeners, you know, you've had bosses that you didn't like or leaders that you didn't like, or and a s you're younger and on a sports team and you had a good captain, or you didn't have a good captain of the of your football team or basketball team. Like that sets the tone. And I think you're really onto something special with the whole military, because from the very beginning, you're a private on a you know, fire team or your squad, like you're learning team, team, team, and then oh, you're you're a fire team leader, and then you're squad leader, you're a platoon leader, you know, all these different leadership things. That's right from the beginning. So I think you really are onto a very special niche for being able to take that military world and cross it over to the civilian world. So I I like that a lot. Are you finding that corporations, once they've worked with you, that they're like, wow, okay, we want more of this? Absolutely.

Veteran 2.0 And Client Wins

SPEAKER_01 5:57

The type of people we connect them to and and ultimately place they're they're leaders that have obviously the very strong foundation of leadership and they have uh corporate experience. So we call them veteran 2.0. So we don't really target the veteran the transitioning vets because I fundamentally believe it takes a few years for the transitioning vet to kind of figure themselves out. But upon that, you know, the realization of how they can serve again and contribute to society again, and just understanding I'm actually good at sales and I I can I can do this for uh for my uh for my career. We place them into these higher levels of leadership, higher levels of management. And um they're you know, the our candidates are able to kind of talk to the CEO, make present presentations and explain and problem solve, and then turn around and roll their sleeves up and go attack the mission and and you know do solve the problems themselves. So clients are seeing this, companies are seeing this, and the whole veteran 2.0 uh impact is very strong.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

That's great. Great to hear. So what do you think are the biggest leadership skills that are being brought over into the corporate world, like what makes a good leader?

What Makes A Great Leader

SPEAKER_01 7:20

Um so I I believe that leadership is kind of at all levels. You can be just a uh you you can you need to lead yourself first at the bottom level, right? So you can lead a small team, you can lead a company. So anyone we place, we ensure that we we try to make sure that they have that the right mindset for the for the role. But uh one of the fundamentals is humility, like being able to learn and be coachable, right? That's and especially transitioning, uh, especially veterans who've served, even though you are a SEAL or you know, a Delta guy, whatever it is, if you're not saying if you're not admitting that you need you can learn and you can um you know you make mistakes, then that's that's a fundamental kind of flaw. So relooking that. Uh other great leaders have a great sense of self-awareness, right? They understand what they're good at, they understand what they're not good at, they understand what kind of people they need to surround themselves with. Um and leaders, um I see a lot of veteran leaders at the more senior levels, they have great visions that they communicate effectively, and they know how to build and hire and train teams so that they can accomplish that work. So all of these things are what uh for for for the most part. I mean, if you're not humble when you go through basic or, you know, the beast at West Point or any kind of selection or anything, you know, uh that's uh you're you're Superman, I guess. But most of us are humbled by these experiences and we can always relate to that.

SPEAKER_00 9:02

Yeah, no, I think that's what they say, you know, a smart person knows they don't know everything. You know, a good leader knows they don't know everything, they know they're always learning and improving. We talk about it in the military, you know, you ne you never stop improving your fighting position. You always are working on making things better. And I think you're definitely keying into some very good aspects of the military that can be brought over. And I really like how you're tying it into the community, how you know that environment gets taken home to the family, into the neighborhoods. Where did that start from? Or did you just kind of observe it and be like, this is what's happening?

Ripple Effect Of Good Leadership

SPEAKER_01 9:46

Yeah, no, no, I'm not I'm not that smart to figure it out myself. It actually came from um it there's a Harvard Business School, he's a he's a professor, um Clayton Christensen, he's a pretty uh admired uh leadership, you know, he's he's a guru, right? A management guru. And in one of his books, um the title escapes me right now, or an article of his, he he talks about I I think, man, what is the title of it? It's I think the meaning of life or uh it escapes me at this moment, which uh I'm I'm sure it'll come to me. But he talks about like the role of managing and leading people is the most noble like profession, and it's because of this whole ripple effect, right? It's because being that right person, and I'm sure you and I can relate. Just imagine the time when you work for somebody awesome who cared about you, who wanted you to succeed, and also the team to succeed, then that those that good day, that those accomplishments, you go home feeling good about yourself. That means you treat your spouse and your kids and your dog and your neighbors well, right? And you're you're content, you're not like bitter inside. And that in turn affects other people because they received a hello from the neighbor down the street or apple pie or whatever it is, right? And uh and it just in turn continues to ripple outwards. So um, yeah, that's it was it was him, Clayton Christensen. I really it really hit home when I read that uh the the the article that he wrote or or the book, and he was very concise about it. And I was like, you know what, this is exactly what leaders in the military do, and I want to share that with the world, just the impact of veterans.

SPEAKER_00 11:40

Yeah, absolutely. Good leaders will do that. And inversely, if you have a bad leader or a bad work environment, that comes home with you. So that's where I talk about in my book, you know, the number two thing. Surround yourself with positive people in positive environments. If you're in a negative environment, negative boss, try and fix it. But good news, you're not a tree. You're not stuck where you're at, you're not rooted into wherever you're at. You can make changes, you can go somewhere else, you can go to another place, or you can make things happen. Or maybe, I hate to say it, but you go over their head. There is a chain of command. Well there's a hierarchy in business. And if someone's a bad leader, if you have a good leader above them, they're gonna want to know what's happening to their people below. So there is a way to deal with these things.

SPEAKER_01 12:30

You don't see just on that, sorry to interrupt you, but uh, on that, um you as we learn like everything that we see and observe and experience, you know, put in your toolbox, right? I'm sure you heard that, you know, in the military. Make sure you put it in your toolkit because that's something that you don't want to replicate as you eventually get there. So even those experiences really help you um, you know, define yourself and refine yourself. So yeah, they're they're all every everything you can learn from, for sure.

Mentors, Models, And Self-Education

SPEAKER_00 13:02

Absolutely. They're all it's life, it's the journey of life, different seasons, different reasons for things, and we're here to grow. And if you're stuck in a comfort zone and you're not pushing yourself out there into the world or trying to make a difference or learning something, you know, you're not gonna grow. And here with the asset mindset, we're all about growing. We're all about serving others, making the world a better place, freeing your mind to be more positive. And I like that you're doing that in your work, Freddie. So I'm gonna get a little more personal now with you. So in your life experience, was there ever an example or a time when you go back, think in a memory, where you realized your mindset was one of the biggest contributing factors to achieving your goal or overcoming an obstacle or something like that?

SPEAKER_01 13:54

Yes. Yes, absolutely. Many instances where it's all about the mindset. I would say for me, it started in high school, right? Or even in middle school. I had an amazing coach, wrestling coach, and he was uh he was he was like he was a giant, he's a mountain of a man, um, and he was hu he was just like very powerful, and he coached wrestling, but also taught AP physics. He was like one of those guys, right? He was like a really uh just brainiac, but also uh a beast. And he um Bob Darty, coach Darty, was he was just he always taught us about like working hard, and I remember like leaving the wrestling room with you know it's it's just dripping, dripping in sweat, and of like an inch of sweat across the entire mats, and it was just it was gross. Uh but he would always, you know, quote Dan Gable, and uh Dan Gable is just an iconic wrestler. Uh and he he he said, you know, once you once you wrestled, everything in life is easy. He's that kind of kind of guy. So he put us through the ringer and we worked our asses off. Um But the mindset going into the practice room before, it's if you don't have that, you would you would be done, right? You you'd be you'd be defeated in the first ten minutes. So he he always he always said, cowards never start, you know, the week never finish, and winners never quit. And it was those words, it was just uh it was the constant um never stop, never give up, give it everything you got. And Coach Darty he really pounded those words in and just taught us about the hard you know, diligence and never quitting and and relying relying on one another to lift each other up. So I owe a lot to that man.

Comfort Zones And Continuous Growth

SPEAKER_00 15:59

And you're still talking about him now, years later. So that's a very powerful thing and very shaping, and I'm glad that you were blessed to have him in your life. So that brings me to another topic. He mentored you. He mentored all the wrestlers and everything. So how important is it to have good mentors?

Breaking Negative Self-Talk

SPEAKER_01 16:18

Oh man, you know, you said it before, Dan, but it's it you are the five, the average of five people you surround yourself with, right? And you you interact with most. If you don't see, then you won't if you don't, yeah, if you don't experience it yourself, you don't learn about it, you don't have somebody pointing it out to you, you'll you'll never learn. And and having a mentor, it's it's kind of it's easier to do in the military because everyone understands what mentorship is like and they understand what the given the ask is for someone to mentor you, but in the corporate world, it's more difficult. So I I feel like there's a lot that comes from uh peer mentorship, like learning from your friends, learning from uh books, learning from podcasts. I mean, there's a lot of mentoring these types of resources can have on on you, but it's it's just refining and challenging you to to challenge the status quo, right? And and not just be content. And if you have if you're lucky enough to have a mentor that's able to just give to you, because that's what it is, it's giving you the time and attention. If you're able to have that, then man, soak it up. Soak it up. It's it's it's like having um, you know, Master Yoda or someone like giving you all the secrets, right? You're you're able to really uh just become better and think higher and problem solve differently and see things at a different perspective, and then also not not make the same mistakes they made. So mentorship to to seek one would be ideal. If not, learn from the learn from everything else in the world, right? Learn from your friends, learn from other people who are just getting shit done and surround yourself with good people.

SPEAKER_00 18:13

No, absolutely. And I I like how when you were talking about mentorship, that it doesn't necessarily have to be a person. You talked about a book. You can read a book, that person that wrote that, that author, they they can be mentoring you throughout the book. Exactly. They can, you know, mentor you in a podcast, like you said. So finding a mentor for anybody that's out there and you're thinking, like, man, I don't know anybody that can mentor me in what I'm doing, you don't necessarily have to find a physical person. If you can, great. But there's other resources out there. And I love to say nowadays, I'm sorry, people don't have excuses. Whatever it is you want to learn, you can pick up. Where's my phone over here? Like, I can Google search, there's AI now, videos you can watch on instruction. If I wanted to take a, I don't know, an old what, Mustang apart, I can go search up videos, even though I'm not a mechanic, and I could probably figure it out. I might not be as fast as somebody else that has mechanical experience, but I could do it. So if you're out there listening and you're thinking you're stuck or oh, I can't get out of that. You know, and I'm sure Freddie, you've you've seen it too, you know, that I can't mentality. We don't really have that in the military. We have the how do I? Like we have this problem set or this mission, how do I solve it? And that's the mindset that you need out there if you want to make change or accomplish your goal and mission.

SPEAKER_01 19:42

Speaking of how do I, um just going back, that Clayton Christensen book is how do how do you measure your life? So how do I, right? How do you measure your life? Um but on that point, I've seen people that and lots of vet vets too, which is very sad, people who think that they can figure it out by themselves, which some people can, right? A very few few can. But for most of us, even me, if I if I sit down and I'm in my own thoughts and in my own dark room or in my own house and I'm like trying to do it myself, I mean, it becomes like this cycle of despair, right? And you don't have new inputs coming into you to challenge what you're thinking and say, hey, you know what? Here's another way of of um of problem solving or just thinking about your s situation. So the more you're closed off, I feel like you're just more isolated. It's just it's a recipe for you know depression. There's a lot a lot of guys like us that just beat ourselves up quite a bit. And it if you're not interacting outside, engaging, talking to people, uh you have to. That's how you solve a lot of this, and you get um sometimes even divine intervention, right? To uh help you. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:03

Absolutely. You're you're spot on. And I I like the mindset that you're bringing in your sharing, the leadership, and you know, talking about the mentorship is so crucial. And I I do like when you're talking about if you are isolated, you only know what you know. It's like ha if you only had one television station, you know, you're only watching your show in your mind, well, you're not gonna learn what's on the history channel, you're not gonna learn what's on these other channels. So it's very important, like you said, to get out there, interact with other people. So what strengths do you see coming from interacting with other people? Like when you get people that you're working with for your mil spec talent, like what it what are those strengths that you're seeing change or grow?

SPEAKER_01 21:55

Strengths that I see change or grow.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

Um with the corporation or the individual, like when they're getting out there, like kind of getting out of your comfort zone, if that maybe that makes it more clear. Yeah.

Therapy, Triggers, And Journaling

SPEAKER_01 22:08

So I see a lot uh for people who are able to um constantly just evolve and learn and grow. I mean, they they have one what you mentioned, just this uh desire and attitude for continuous improvement, right? Continuous continuously wanting to learn. Uh leaders are learners and they they they always want to just be better. And then I'd say the second thing is they do like hard things. They set hard goals. And they there's a lot of candidates and you know, just a lot of uh great leaders who who don't again stay comforta comfortable at the status quo. They they want to grow, they want to change, they want to push. So I see a those traits being quite a few um you know, in a lot of people. And they they want they encourage the team to want that too. It's not just themselves. They want the team and they model the team for the team to follow them and to go on this this journey with them. So I I see a lot of that. I see a lot of that and uh I see I mean even in the service too, even though you are a uh 18 Bravo or infantryman or whatever, you these gu people who are motivated, they have a a a vision for growth, they have ambition, and people who are constantly um taking classes and they're taking uh you know, they're they're going to courses, they're volunteering for things, these are the types that um do well, right? They they're the ones who excel. So I think those those things are important.

SPEAKER_00 23:59

That is so true. Now I want to dive into a little bit different subject when dealing with self-talk or maybe negative self-talk. So if someone came to you and they were struggling, you know, we've talked about transition or whatnot, or you said, you know, the veteran 2.0, they're not ready. If somebody was struggling with like an inner dialogue that's I don't know, we can use the military as an example, like, you know, I used to be somebody, I was a commander or I was in charge and had all this responsibility. Now I'm out in the civilian world and I'm a nobody. The best part of my life, the most meaningful part of my life is over. So they're stuck in this negative loop. How would you help them break that negative dialogue in their head?

Identity, Purpose, And Suicide Prevention

Advice To A Younger Self

SPEAKER_01 24:43

So that person was me, right? When I got out the military, I was uh uh you know, served as a Green Beret and you know, served in multiple combat zones, and we were we were doing, you know, what I thought was the tip of the spear stuff, uh except, you know, of course, what Delta G Delta and SEAL Team 6, what they do, the tier one stuff, uh, we did not do. But as as Ceph guys, we we were behind enemy lines and we were we were doing um our missions. And when I walked, when I got out, I had this chip on my shoulder. I had I had thought that I was, you know, one of the you know, God's gift to corporate world, which is I was like, hey, I could do anything, I could accomplish anything. And a lot of us have this uh inflated sense of self. And um I was humbled very, very quickly. Um I e well actually the first year or so I I was I was doing well in my corporate world and I was advancing and promoting and and all of that. And then there was a situation that happened a few years later where I was working for a manufacturing company and and it was a union company, and I did not really I I was going to get my MBA at the same time, and I I was I was fired from them. And they were they the my manager pulled me in and was like, hey, you're not doing well. You're not you're you're you're not you're you're you're not you're not showing that you're a good leader. In fact, you're a bad leader. And you know, that really like really um impacted me quite a bit. And that started a series of this negative, you know, negative inner thoughts and negative um just failure, you know, ideas. And uh, you know, I I I equated it back to my time at some of my failures in the military, some of my failures previously below and say before, and saying that I can't, I can't, you know, do better. I'm supposed to be a leader, but I'm f I'm sucking. I'm not uh I'm a I'm an imposter, I I I'm not good enough. And it it really uh was detrimental to a point where I you know PTSD type, like just failure as as a as a overall overall uh was kind of the biggest, I think, hurdle for me. And I did go seek counseling for that. So if you are, I mean, man, if you are in that and you're a veteran, if you're in that state and you feel depressed, you have nowhere to go, and just you are unable to improve, I mean, seek counseling immediately. Like, go. If VA is not gonna accept you, there are plenty of nonprofit organizations that will provide this service for you. There's plenty of organizations like uh my friend who who Jude Black she has an organization, she she's several organizations that she provides free like telehealth uh coaching slash therapy for veterans, right, through her nonprofit as well. There's there's many resources out there. For me, it was my wife who was my rock, like during those times. And you know how they say pressure builds diamonds and you know pressure builds character, but I don't to me it was pressure that revealed character, her character in particular, when I wasn't employed, when I was feeling like a failure, moping around the house, all of this. My wife, I remember she she said, Hey honey, you do what you gotta do. You know, you take some time off. You've been hustling and busting your ass for the past, you know, decade plus, and I want you to figure yourself out and be be good to yourself and go seek counseling and go seek therapy and all of this. And she picked up a full-time job and uh started working, and she had to, I remember you we were in Chicago, she had to drive like two hours round trip for the job she got. And uh she even told me like there was during the commute, she would break down and cry, like, why, what do we do? What are we doing right now? But she never showed that to me, right? She never she always believed in me and said, Hey, I got your back. And um yeah, so like I if if there are people that know you that can uh that can show you like what you're capable of. Sometimes we don't see it, our blind spots as well, and you go seek their perspective. I mean hear them out. I I think to break that cycle you have to first have a champion, um, if not yourself, but some other people that can really show that what you're thinking about, what you're thinking about yourself is not true. Right? It's not, it's it's you are far more deserving of success and achievement. And oh, by the way, people who are less skilled and less blessed than you are are out there crushing it. So Why you know, why are you why are you putting yourself down? Um, but those people, people who know you best, people who can stand by your side um and say, Hey, you know what? This is a a a blip of your life right now. You're gonna go, you're gonna figure it out, and then you're gonna go and uh continue on your track. If if you have an advocate, that's huge, um, and even that one voice can really make a difference.

SPEAKER_00 30:29

No, I believe it. And uh kudos to your wife, man. You you you did well, Freddie. You did well. It's great to have a a really good partner. I got one now, and it's it's game-changing, it really is. Um, I want to go back because I think you hit on something very important for people that are struggling or in that dark place and dealing with the negative um dialogue in their head. You talked how counseling helped you. Can you share one of the things from counseling that really helped awaken you into awareness?

Faith, Patience, And Long-Game Purpose

SPEAKER_01 31:01

Yeah, so I I went to I went to the one that was uh it provided from the by the VA and it's CBT, so cognitive behavioral therapy. And what the I I can't I can't sound super smart on it because I I don't recall it exactly, but essentially it's it's identifying your triggers, like what triggers you um to start this spiral and being really self-aware and journaling and understanding kind of you know your thought process. And um it it's and then it's to re kind of reprogram yourself to think differently, right? It's all about man, the asset mindset, Dan, you know, it's that it's the mindset to just change your mindset upon these triggers, upon realizing it and and being aware of it, you um program yourself differently. So you start small and you journal about it. And it's the awareness piece, right? Understanding um I do a practice in the morning where you just kind of sit down and you just start writing stream of consciousness for you know ten minutes or five minutes, whatever it is, you just write to fill up a page, and it could be thoughts you're struggling about or just just random kind of uh thoughts as well. But typically it goes comes down for me, it comes back to like, what am I struggling with? Why am I struggling like that? And try just trying to underc uh uncover that. Um so the CBT was huge, and having somebody to uh you know, therapy-wise, having somebody to guide you through it, it's a very big, uh, big change. And uh I mean it starts with first self-admittal, right? Admitting that you need help. And uh I think all of us do some to a certain extent. We we require help and getting taken advantage of these the ample resources out there in the world it would make us better. You know the other thing too, is um a big reason I started veteran uh mil spec talent is because of this suicide, veteran suicide epidemic. And I believe that people like us, we are our identities are so hinged on our profession. Because we were war fighters back then, Green Berets, whatever, Rangers, SEALs, you know, whatever we were, we're so it's it's our identity is so hinged on that. When we lose that and you don't have something else that can satisfactor, you know, satisfy that that self-purpose again, my belief is that you just start going downward spiral again and you start beating yourself, you're staying by yourself, you're not asking for help, all of this stuff. So I feel that you know I finding that sense of purpose afterwards is super critical. And it doesn't have to mean you're a CEO or a you know a a C-suite guy or business owner or whatnot. It just it's finding a place where you know you can have impact, right? You know you can contribute and you can um you can realize self-worth again by contributing. So uh that's what we do. That's that was a big impetus as well. Um because I I'm sure you have have you've had many friends, I've had many, many friends die by suicide, uh, which is traumatic, which is which is unacceptable, right? And how do I help them? I I guess, you know, at least uh championing that veterans are desirable, they are you are required, and then you can also have an impact that's as you know satisfying as as uh protecting our nation, it's by just adding value and supporting the guys around you or your team, your small team, or your small group of in um employees, uh, which is which is just as strong.

SPEAKER_00 35:11

No, I've I think you're exactly right. Purpose is so important. When you're in the military, you sign up, especially our military, all volunteer, you are someone that is a servant. You're gonna serve. What capacity you serve, that depends. You know, do you volunteer again for airborne school? Do you volunteer to go to selection or whatnot? But if anybody's in the military, you know, you have a servant heart, whether you realize it or not, because you're going there and you're serving and you have a purpose. Now, when you get out, now you kind of lose that purpose. You know, you you had your commander's intent or whatever mission or you were told, hey, this is our goal, this is our mission, this is what we're doing. You don't have that. When you get out now, you transitioned, you're like, ooh, you have to be your own commander. You need to come up with your own mission statement or find your purpose, like you're saying. And I love that you're helping people find their purpose. I think that's very, very important. Because if you don't have a purpose, then that's where that negative dialogue can really creep in. And I love how you talked about journaling. Journaling is a great thing. Um, being aware, having the situational awareness of triggers is so important. And I'm going to share something with you and the listeners. And if you've listened to the Asset Mindset podcast before, you've probably heard this, but I think it's really a great thing. People notice triggers all the time. Sets them off. Negativity. Start looking for glimmers. The good things, something to be grateful for. Wow, that person brought me a coffee in today. Or, oh, look at that person. Let me go, you know, at the stop sign. They said, Oh, go ahead. There's glimmers, you know, your daughter's smile, a pet comes running in the door and, you know, greets you when you get home. There are good things around you. Just like there's triggers around you, there's a lot of good stuff too. So if you can change your awareness, that can change your mindset. And it's so important. And I want to thank you for sharing, you know, your story, Freddie, as far as you know, what you've had to go through. And I think it's important for people to realize, even successful people like yourself. I mean, you look at your career, what you've done, what you are doing now. We all struggle. It's part of being a human being. So you're not alone. And if you need help, reach out. And I'm sure if you're curious about what Freddie has going on and Millspec talent, please pause, go in the description. You can find links, you can connect with him. You want to connect with me, the asset mindset. That information's in there too. And of course, follow, like, subscribe, and definitely share this episode with someone that you think needs to hear it. So, Freddie, I want to now shift gears. What would you tell the young Freddie that's getting ready to graduate high school now? Like what would you give for advice? Don't be stupid. That's too easy, too easy. You can't just have that. But you're right.

SPEAKER_01 38:07

And uh don't drink too much. Um yeah, there's there's there's a bunch. I I so this is actually something I I've been I've been thinking about. I was so I came from an immigrant family. My dad was hard working, we had no money, you know, he was he was a minister for a long time. He was a Protestant minister for a while, and we just, you know, my brought p family from Korea, and you know, I grew up kind of like that, right? I grew up not having much, but I what what was kind of embedded to me was this sense of responsibility and purpose and just you know owning things, being the firstborn's firstborn. So my dad was the firstborn, I was the firstborn. He was like, hey, you're the family looks to you type kind of mentality. Um so I I had that in the beginning, and you know, we were also very aspirational. I mean, immigrants, right? You're like, hey, you're gonna be a doctor, a lawyer, or you know, just like be a professor somewhere. I'm not knowing that professors don't make much, but um, yeah, it's it was like one of those types, very aspirational and very um just you have to be one of the best of the best. I would tell myself, hey, it's okay, man. Slow down. Slow down, even though you have those aspirational goals, even though you may uh want to change the world, I mean you can enjoy yourself now. Life is so short that if you just are running by everything, then it's it's it's uh it's a shame, right? There's so much beauty and gratitude and and and grace in the world. You need to slow down to enjoy yourself now. It doesn't have to be, you know, always on the glide path for whatever the next thing is. If I look back at myself, then I I say I was wired like that from the very beginning, you know, high school, getting really good grades and doing sports and doing all these things and going to West Point and and I was a boxing champion over at uh at West Point for uh for for that and you know always excelling, advancing, and then then wanting to go join uh become a ranger and go to special forces. I always had this career glide path, and then after I got out, like hey, I'm gonna be the president of a company and see Hey, you can you can stop, right? You can enjoy yourself instead of just going through it all and you can um you can just yeah, you know, in learn from the moment and just give yourself some relaxation and just uh you know give yourself a little bit of grace so that you can then then recharge for the next step. So uh and it doesn't always have to be on that same path, you know? It doesn't always have to be on that path. You can kind of do and do other things and go travel the world a little bit or go and uh you know be a be a beach bum if you want for a little bit, but then just you can you know give yourself uh ample opportunity to enjoy what uh you have, the one life you're given.

SPEAKER_00 41:33

Yeah, no, I think that's great advice. And I I envisioned like, you know, life's like a marathon. You can't sprint the whole way. You know, you're gonna burn out, you're gonna miss things. Get a nice jog, keep moving forward as long as you're moving, as long as but enjoy the journey. You know, if you're running down this mountain, beautiful mountain trail, but you never decide to look left, look right, and see the views, all you're gonna see is the dirt and rocks in front of you, you're looking at your feet where you're going next. So I think that is good advice because I think a lot of people, especially in our society right now, you know, and the Americans trying to get ahead, trying to get ahead, work, work, work, work. And we we lose that enjoy the ride. Or the old saying, you know, stop and smell the flowers every once in a while. That doesn't mean lay in the field of flowers forever and don't do anything. But, you know, you you gotta stop and enjoy it. Because guys like us, we know, and uh a lot of people know, but in the military, uh, there's a higher percentage of people know how precious life is and how quick it can end. You know, when you've seen death or lost people at young ages or, you know, one thing goes wrong and then poof, that person's not here anymore. So I think we appreciate life a little differently. Um, not that others don't, but if you've always just, you know, grew up sheltered in a comfort zone and you're just, you know, working, you're not gonna appreciate, you know, your journey as much. So definitely, I think that's great advice for a younger version. I would probably say something like that to myself too. Although I would probably also say don't drink as much like you did. Those college days, those fraternity parties, and God bless my frat brothers. Yeah, they were awesome memories, but we we definitely had some nights we probably shouldn't have drank so much. Yeah. That's part of the learning process, I guess. Agreed, it is. So this has been great, Freddie. And all you listeners out there, remember, don't forget to pause, like and subscribe, and go underneath and look and see the description, and you can reach out to Freddie and find out more about him, reach out to him and what he's going on. If you're a veteran and you're trying to transition, he might be able to help you. So before we go go, I would like you to share something that you want the audience, like a summary or you know, the frosting on the cake from Freddie Kim, that the asset mindset listeners can walk away with.

SPEAKER_01 44:02

Yeah, I I guess on the same path of everything we've talked about, I believe that every single thing that's happened to you in your life is preparing you for a moment that is has yet to come. So to to actually just uh learn and to enjoy and to uh you know appreciate what you're going through, I think is profound. Um and and not just trying to make sense of it always in the back and trying to connecting the dots always in the back, and but having faith that it is it's for the greater purpose. Um I kind of felt like when uh when I transitioned and I wasn't I you know I was going through Mill spec and starting off as a small business owner entrepreneur in the beginning, things weren't working out, right? And I was very tough on myself and it was I was like, hey, I've always been a high achiever, why can't I do this now? And that was a a recipe for just self um beating speeding oneself up. And it's it's you're never good enough, you're never again the negative talk inside. So if you're comparing yourself to always like what you've done, I'd say I think just having that faith and understanding that good things, you know, it where there's a will, there's a way. And you're able to provide and you're able to make that future for yourself uh and and it will come together. Having that faith, I think, is is a fundamental belief one should have.

SPEAKER_00 45:44

I think that's great. Yeah, it's like planting a seed in the ground. You know, you're not gonna have instant fruit, you're not gonna bear fruit fruit right away. But you have faith that if you plant the seed, you water it, it's in good soil, it gets sunlight. In time, it will grow, it'll get bigger, and it'll flower, and it'll bear fruit. So I think that is great advice for all the listeners out there. Again, thank you listening to the Asset Mindset podcast, liking, subscribing, and sharing this with others that need to hear about it. And definitely, most of all, do not forget own your power.