Bootleg Barbecue And Big-Heart Mentorship

A lot of people say they want to support veterans. Jon King is building systems that actually do it, one mentor match and one shared meal at a time. John spent over 20 years in the Air Force and Army, flew medevac missions, and lived the kind of pressure most of us can’t fully picture. After leaving the service and navigating disability, career shifts, and a major layoff, he put his energy into work that feels real, local, and human.

We talk about Bootleg Barbecue and why feeding people is more than a side hustle. John explains how a room full of disagreement can go quiet over good food, and how that one shared “yes” becomes a bridge to everything else. From there, we dig into Veteran Reach Back Group and the Eagle Rising Foundation, including a mentorship model that removes cost barriers for mentors and mentees, and a smart way to partner with small businesses so the program can sustain itself.

Jon also lays out a bigger vision: mentorship at every level, entrepreneurial support for transitioning service members, and even VR-based skill transfer that lets experienced vets coach the next generation from anywhere. If you care about veteran transition, mentorship, PTSD recovery paths, community events, and veteran entrepreneurship, this conversation delivers practical ideas and a lot of hope. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review with the biggest takeaway you’re going to use.

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“Intro music: ‘Human First’ by Mike Baker – YouTube Music: https://youtu.be/wRXqkYVarGA | Podcast: Still Here, Still Trying | Website: www.mikebakerhq.com”

Transcript

Welcome And Why Kindness Matters

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Hey hello and welcome everybody to the kindness matters podcast. I am your host, Mike Rathman. Um I am so excited to have you here today for so many reasons, but I mean honestly, when you think about it, um we all have just so many hours in every day, right? And the fact that that you took a portion of one of those hours out of your day to tune in and listen to this show, um really that uh that's the best that's the best feeling in the whole world. So thank you for that. Thank you for spreading the kindness and for telling your friends and neighbors about it. And uh I I appreciate you, each and every one of you that tuned in. Um I have a fantastic guest for you today. Um this gentleman, John King is his name. I should say his name, probably, right? Um he spent decades in the military, Air Force and Army, I believe. And um when he got out, he couldn't uh he couldn't stop uh creating things. He is the founder of Goose's Bar and Grill, for my listeners in the Omaha area that might know that out in Papillion, um Veteran Reach Back Group, um Eagle Rising Foundation, uh PP design, all of these businesses. But the one I'm most interested in is it and and we'll talk about it, we'll talk about it, but uh Eagle Rising Foundation, um who and their sole their mission is to empower individuals through mentorship, fostering personal and professional growth

Meet John King And Bootleg BBQ

SPEAKER_00 2:10

while strengthening community ties uh through enriching events uh events. And that is it's so crazy. You uh you have trouble uh sitting still, don't you, John? Welcome to the show, by the way.

SPEAKER_02 2:26

Thank you, sir. Honored to be here. And uh yeah, I've I've been accused of that from time to time, but you'd be surprised how much I sit around when I get the chance.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

So I I can't even imagine what sitting around looks like to you. Yeah, I was sitting around rebuilding my barbecue. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:49

Uh that's that's my current day gig is uh getting that done and finalized and approved at the health department so I can start selling my barbecue here locally. What's that what's the name of it again? Is it uh bootleg barbecue? That's it. That's it. Just started about six weeks ago with my Facebook page on that, and I've been going out and doing weekly free giveaways of barbecue, uh, inviting folks to come out. I just got invited and supported two different schools for their teachers. Uh so I got to go out and feed their teachers and principals and a few others, uh, special needs uh teachers as a as a group at one of the schools. So really getting to just do what I love, which is feed people and and bring some joy.

SPEAKER_00 3:38

Absolutely. Well, and you do you do enjoy bringing joy. Um part of the part of when I when I asked for guests for this particular uh um podcast, I I was looking for people who could talk about uh kindness that shows up when you don't really expect it. And I think you have got so many stories about that, right? Oh yeah. What's it like to uh how many years exactly were you in in the service between the Air Force and the Army? Uh 20 years, six months, and six days, not that I counted. You could probably tell me seconds and minutes if I needed it, right? So and and when you got out, you were you're disabled to a certain extent, right?

SPEAKER_02 4:31

Yeah, through the VA I'm 100%. And then I also receive what they call combat related special compensation instead of my retirement. Uh so that that allows my retirement essentially to be tax free, uh, which you know it comes at a price, but it's it's nice that I get it. And and I I help others uh understand what that means and and where they and if they need to apply for it and kind of guide them through that process as well.

unknown 5:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:01

That one I do for free. I joke about some of my poor business models, but most of them are for free.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Yeah, and we're not gonna talk about the bounce house, right? Yeah. No, but I mean i for real, i it's it's hard. After you spend that much time in the service it can be hard to transition, can't it? Coming in especially if you have any kind of disability.

SPEAKER_02 5:35

Yeah, I mean, a a lot of veterans have difficulty in their transition from military to civilian life, whether they're in retirement or even just done their four, four-year stint, even, you know, and and to that case, some of the folks that just made it through tech school, even, you know, whatever the case may be, you know, they all sign that check and and started through basics. So at some level, they've they've had a mental mind shift, you know, and that mental mind shift when you transition back into the civilian world, you know, you have to make that on the flip side. Well, unfortunately,

Two Branches And A Life In Service

SPEAKER_02 6:10

there's thousands of programs that are out there helping veterans and and whatnot, but that's come to the point where it's almost overwhelming for the veteran. They're not sure which way to turn, you know, uh to get the help they need or identify the help that they might need. Uh so you know, just telling my story. I hope that it kind of guides people through a smoother process at the end of the day. They still gotta find their own way, they still gotta do their own process, but hopefully they learn, you know, some of the hiccups that I've had and hurdles that I've faced and and go around them or go through them, you know, know which ones you can break through and which ones you have to jump over.

SPEAKER_00 6:49

Right. For sure. That yeah, that definitely sounds like a adapt and overcome, right? Sure. Is that a Marine slogan?

SPEAKER_02 7:00

I'm not sure. It wouldn't surprise me though.

SPEAKER_00 7:03

That kind of sounds like something Dar have you could say. I'm a former wing nut, so I probably shouldn't say anything. Um what and is that is that where a lot of your I mean, because not everybody is a born entrepreneur, you seem to be. Um did the military help with that or or put that on a back burner for a while? Because I I feel like you've been an entrepreneur probably since you were a kid.

SPEAKER_02 7:40

Yeah, at heart I have been. Um in reality, I'm I'm a weird split of personalities in the sense that when I was 18, I went and visited my older brother in college. Um, and I hadn't graduated yet, but I had a ride to college, like uh scholarship-wise. And so I went up to visit the college and him and ended up partying that weekend, and I realized I probably needed some more structure because if I went there, I would just party my way out. So then I went to look at the Navy based on their careers. I could do the nuclear sub program, get out after four years, come back to Arkansas and be set in a good financial set. Uh, then I learned you had to be under the polar ice caps for like six months out of the year, and I said, that's not for me. Let me let me nix that idea. So in a yeah, so I go over to the Air Force uh recruiter and end up signing up for this big long title, uh Command and Control Communications Navigation Systems Apprentice. Why did I pick that one? Because it sounded like a cool name, and at 18, why not? Uh so end up getting through tech school, getting stationed at off at Air Force Base, and that's where I spent all my time in the Air Force. And this is gonna sound crazy, but I did some bath one day. Uh, this is a model of the E4 that I flew on, but spent 10,000 hours roughly inside that tin can, whether on the ground or in the air. So I was I didn't I was like it wasn't under the four bad to close a tin can. Yeah. But uh yeah, so I like to joke about that. And then the opportunity came. Uh I applied and got picked up by the army to uh become a helicopter pilot. From there, I went on to get stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and um I kind of what's the best way to say it? I wouldn't say argue, uh debated my way to the Medevac and ended up showing up right as they were getting back from their one of their harder harder deployments. And uh here I am, wet behind the ears, ready to fly, and they're like, go to something. So fast forward eight years, three deployments to Afghanistan, right around 300 missions from stub toe up, an aircraft accident, one um I don't know what you call it. We landed with bullet holes, got out of that one, got back in another one, and went on for more missions. Um, but I ended up retiring at 17 and leaving the next generation. And so, but yeah, that's kind of the the vision and the thought was if I'm doing four, I can do 20. And when I do 20, then I got a guaranteed house payment and I can walk away and do whatever I want, right? Uh and at 38, that's great options. Well, fast forward when you're 38, and all of a sudden you got wife, two kids, dog, house, payment, and all the things, and you're like, oh, I I I still like that stability, so let me go get a contractor job and and guarantee the money, and then did eight years of that across government contracting to working for Microsoft. And then last year, me and 8,999 of my closest friends got let go in their third round of layoffs, uh as part of what they they had to downshift on. And uh so at the end of the day, I shifted my focus to the barn grill and and got that ship headed in the right direction. And then here recently finally said, you know, uh piss on it, I'm gonna put all my effort into me and and let's see what I can do for myself and and go from there. And that's where bootleg barbecue was uh born because it's here, I can touch it, I can make it happen, I can make it my own exactly how I want. So uh I've gone through the steps, I've submitted my stuff through the health department, they've approved my plans. So I'm currently building my bootleg barbecue trailer out of scrap pallets that I picked up uh as part of uh just some of what I've done over the last few months, and then just scrap hinges and different stuff, and I'm building it straight out of my head to fit the trailer that I have, and instead of spending money on motor and transmission and all that, I can just throw it on my utility trailer and roll. So park it in parking lot, and feed the masses.

SPEAKER_00 11:56

Is there yeah, and that's I mean, that's so cool. I what a life you've lived. Something that probably I'm sure there's some aspects of it you could pin down to something most of us wouldn't have nightmares about. But I I I can't imagine running Medavac missions out in out of Afghanistan. Um the the things that you've seen.

SPEAKER_02 12:24

Uh here's one for you, just uh because I love showing it off. So I'll show you that. And then these are some of the challenge coins that I received from their special ops team. Uh but what's inside here is a Polish Army Medal that I was awarded for one of my missions from supporting them. Oh wow. Um I like to show those off because I got them sitting here behind me. Um but yeah, that was that was one of my more interesting missions and unexpected missions, if if you can say that. So you were in part of the Polish Armed Forces? Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_00 13:03

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_02 13:04

Yeah, we were in uh what they would call a Ford operating base or a FOB uh that was managed by them, for lack of better words. Sure. And uh supporting us and them in the area.

SPEAKER_00 13:18

So I mean a lot of guys get out of the service with quite a fruit salad on their chest, but not too many of them have medals from other countries on there. That is a fact, sir. So kudos to that. So and and you've you've kind of made it a mission of yours um to to help others always. I mean you're the veteran reach back

Grief That Sparked A New Mission

SPEAKER_00 13:50

group. Talk to me a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_02 13:53

So that balloon came of uh time right about the same time as Eagle Rising Foundation, and they all stem from the kind of the same things. So I'll speak about those in the same aspect in in this case. But um a little over three and a half years ago, I had a lot of tragedy hit our family and and me personally in a short amount of time. We ended up losing my father-in-law early in the year to cancer. Uh, three months later, in a three-day succession, I ended up losing my oldest brother to cancer who is four years older than me. I lost my uncle to suicide who lived and died his way uh based on his health. And then the third day, we as a nation lost nine service members out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, uh from the Medivac that I was with the entire time. Oh my gosh. And while I didn't know them, I knew the aircraft very well, I knew the mission, I knew where they were at, I knew exactly what they were doing, you know, and I was a former safety officer for that company as well. So I had, you know, um ex investigation experience and knowledge uh from doing that over the years, and just more of an outsider professional experience look not beyond just the pilot's view uh of the accident. And, you know, so it really hit home. And then the fourth day that Monday, I had an interview for a manager job at Microsoft uh as looking and trying to progress up in that, and you can you can imagine how well that went, you know, of all this stuff just happening in the first thing Monday morning. Yeah. Yeah, so um gave it a gave it a little bit. Um, and then I reached out to three individuals that I have a lot of respect for professionally, uh personally, and and said, hey, you know, I've got this kind of thing. I don't know what it is or what it's gonna be yet, but I'd love uh for you guys to be part of it. And I'm calling it veteran reach back group. And the initial concept was nothing more than um the logo representing exactly what the intent was, which veterans looking back. If you look at the Eagle, he's turned back looking, and us reaching back to those that are still in service because a lot of your information that you hear and get when you're in service are the ones that are still in service. You know, they haven't done the transition yet. They're but they're putting charge and responsibility of giving you this information, and that's just one example, right? So uh wanting to reach back in some level to provide that mentorship to these veterans that are still in green suits. Um, and again, I didn't know what that looked like. Well, that then give it six months, you know. We all have lives, we all have day jobs, we all have the things, and and nothing was really progressing in a fast manner, but things were constantly going in my head, you know. So over that six months, they all kind of took their own uh parting ways, which I still am great friends with all of them, you know, and I have no ill will and I and I wish them well. Um and I understood their scenarios, right? So Veteran Reach Bick then became just John King, right? And and I could have let it die on the vine there, but I'm me, right? Um I I didn't I don't see the mission going away, and I've always seen it as a long-term play. So, in that aspect of giving back, reaching back, and touching the service members that are still in, you'll hear that theme carried through veteran Reachback as well as Eagle Rising. So now Veteran Reach Back group is turned into a multitude of businesses underneath it from PP Design, Real Apparel Company, all about that bounce, you know, um the the bootleg barbecue, all these things are are tied and laid in that in that community vibe as they all are from me, you know, and it's me, and I'm able to control um things that happen within those. So now Veteran Reach Back Group has become more of just the figurehead and what I've I stand for as a person in and what I plan to do, and there's still a uh plan to do a mentorship program that is the idea is to place mentors at every level in military leadership and beyond, right? I'm talking doctors, lawyers, everything. So that members can go to them at any at any time and and ask those questions that are truly mentorship-driven questions, and there's no anything tied to it of any sort, right? So there's free give and take there. The mentors will be obviously approved through the chain of command, and they will have been in that role before and all the things, right? I'm not trying to throw somebody in there that doesn't have the knowledge and experience that needs to be, there'll be checks and balances in that. The other part of that is taking and an individuals like myself that I'm a bad example, so I'm gonna say that now. Someone that's you know a year to three years removed from military service, and the example I'll give in is a pilot. You take a system like an Oculus now, you put it on my head in Huntsville, and I can then fly a mission that I've flown a thousand times at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, with a brand new pilot, and I can teach them the reservation that they're flying. I can teach them the nuances and and uh air control and all the knowledge that's still in my head that can be taught and applied, whereas my physical body doesn't need to necessarily be there anymore. And now I can transition that knowledge and experience for pennies on the dollar. The units can have racks and bays of these things and just schedule time with the mentors based on the mentors' uh time that they want to put into it, right? So taking and saying, Mike, you're the mentor, you're gonna come fly with me, the new pilot today, John. You go in the calendar, you set in the times that you're available. So now when I go as a pilot to look at the schedule, I see who's available. I jump on when they're available and I take that time. No, no fuss, no muss for nobody. Nobody's demanding that anybody's got to be there. Nobody's demanding, it's it's truly people there because they want to be there in that aspect. So that's still my my future goal with veteran reachback group in the big sense, right? So I went on beyond that, and and after we kind of separated, I went on and got veteran reachback uh certified through the SBA as a surface disabled veteran on small business. I got certified in Sam.gov, got my Dunzen uh number and all that jazz and and did everything that was possible with that organization just in case. Because if I come across somebody that comes along and says, hey, I love this about this, and I want to take and run with it, perfect. Do it. Go have fun. I'm I've built this for people to take and run with. And that's the veteran reach back group falls with the PP design. The same concept is there. I want somebody to take and run with it, the real apparel. That one, that one will always be me. But

Reaching Back With Mentors And VR

SPEAKER_02 21:05

if somebody wants to take and run with it, absolutely. What I mean by it was always it'll always be me is I always want to have access to drop my creative designs. And and beyond that, they can do whatever they want. You know what I mean? Yeah. That one's just that one was just me creating uh to get back my mentality in that.

SPEAKER_00 21:24

Um P design, there's some amazing apparel there.

SPEAKER_02 21:28

Well, thank you, sir. Um so under that, it it that that kind of took up veteran reach back group. And and then, you know, I I now lay in boot uh bootleg barbecue as part of that just because it makes sense. But then we get over to Eagle Rising Foundation, and the same individuals were initially part of that. And so the concept after you know everybody faded away, I came up with the general concept, and it's twofold. One is community events. You know, when you look on there, you'll see the different past events that I've Done from cooking 2,200 pounds of pork butts for the baseball team. I do a 100 trail on my property and have for the seven years where we raised right around $20,000 for the baseball team over the years. I opened it up to the public uh other organizations this year, so I'm hoping to gather three or four uh additional this year to raise money for. It takes up about four acres of my property, and I keep adding to it every year, which is kind of fun. Um then um sponsored the three-quarter size Vietnam Memorial Wall to Talladega International Motorsports Hall of Fame for one of Talladega's races uh a couple of years ago, uh representing 70,000 plus fallen over uh the weekend there. And then um a few other small, small sponsorships, you know, from veterans uh raising their kids to get into the sprint car dirt track, you know, stuff, uh things like that. Uh donated money to other local folks that have needed parts or pieces for something or another, you know, just to help them out in a tight spot kind of deal. Um and then the other side of it is the mentorship side, and that's more focused on uh there's 10 different programs total, and I'll cover two. I'll hit them kind of all, but then I'll really hit the two. But the concept is having a holistic human um that is a good, good at heart, understands what they bring to the the human race, what they bring to this planet, what they why they're here even to a certain level, right? Everybody currently has this wild focus on we have to work, that's why we're here. I don't believe that. I believe there's a balance in there somewhere, right? But that said, that's been such a brainwashed thing that it it'll have to get it's it's a culture change, right? But anyways, uh I don't want to tangent on that. But point being with the mentorship side of the house, uh holistic humans. So when you look down there, uh the two standouts aside from this are the barbecue and the entrepreneur of uh stuff, the rest, you're talking about financial education, uh wordsmithing, music, artistry, uh craftsmanship, welding, electrical, plumbing, uh, doctors, nurses, lawyers, whatever, right? Fill in the blank of whatever knowledge and experience that people gain out there that they want to give back to the community in and around not just them but the world, right? Because it's not limited to just where you're locally at. It's great, and that's where I want the focus to be as much as possible, but I don't want it to limit theirs. So the concept is you as a mentor would come along, and just like I spoke about earlier, you would sign up for whatever uh you wanted a mentor on. In this case, we'll say ribs and specifically Kansas City style ribs, right? So you sign up for Kansas City style ribs and you select the dates and times that work for you for 15-minute meet and greets. From there, you're done. Now I come along, I want to learn about Kansas City ribs. I know a little bit about Texas or whatever, but I go there, I go to that specific category, I see the calendar, I select you because you fit the my my Thursday afternoon time frame that I got. We do a vibe right like we're doing right now, 15 minutes, find out are we a good fit or not? If we're not, it's no harm, no foul. That's what they're meant for. If we are a vibe, then the mentor reaches back out to Eagle Rising, and we as me as Eagle Rising will then provide a package back to that mentor and mentee for that mentorship session. They will book it in the system so that we will be able to track it as well and make sure we follow up appropriately and there's no issues and whatnot. So then you will do the mentorship session with that small package. In this case, think third or rack of ribs, a small packet of spices, the full of the gloves that you need to do that session. You can do it through virtual, you can do it in person, doesn't matter to me, doesn't matter to Eagle Rising in that sense. What I want is you to share the knowledge across, and I want the knowledge to be absorbed. There's no charge for that little package that I mentioned, and I'll cover how that's taken care of in a minute. My thought is you as a mentor have taken knowledge and experience to get that, right? I don't want you to pay to give it out. Right. I want you to give it back because you want to give it back. And now on the flip side, now I'm coming in for a taste of knowledge. I don't want to have to pay for that. I pay for enough stuff in life. Everything, every time I turn around, there's somebody begging for money for something, right? Yep. So for that scenario, for that knowledge transfer, I don't want it to cost you guys a dime. So how I get that paid for is all those little packets that you heard about, there are small businesses out there, veteran and otherwise, that provide that service. So I've started in the background networking and building my small business entrepreneurs that believe in what Eagle Rising Foundation is going to be, so that when I roll forward with these programs, they will provide small packets either at cost or free or whatever. We will then build them a link into our website. So now humans are humans, we're creatures of habit. You now, as a mentor and me as a mentee, start using this rub, an example. We like it, so we want more of it. Well, now we go directly through our account and we got direct access to buy it like we're on Amazon. Oh, by the way, it'll directly go to Amazon. So now you're buying from that small business that is supporting our program, and you're getting the products

Eagle Rising Events That Build Ties

SPEAKER_02 27:40

that you like. So we're building that mental mindset in of we love this product, this is how we get it. And so now it perpetuates more business for that small business while supporting ours. That's one way that I plan on perpetuating the income there. Now, you look like you got a question. Nope. Nope. Or twice. All right. So now the flip side of that is the entrepreneurial track that you'll see. So I told you I was going to talk about the two different ones, and and the reason is because under entrepreneurial tract, say you're a veteran getting ready to transition, whether it's time of service or you're uh retiring, and you've got this entrepreneurial track in your brain like I did. Like it never left, right? I grew up under, and you asked me that question earlier. I grew up under my grandmother's uh knee in her house most often, and under the work ethic of my granddad out doing the garden and anything else he had for us. And then on the flip side, I had my other grandparents that uh my grandmother worked in her own restaurant and ran her own restaurant for 35 plus years, uh, went and survived spinal meningitis where they told her she'd never walk again and was back in there greeting her guests and everything else like that, uh, more often than not when she could without her cane. Um and then my granddad on that same side worked in a thoroughbred farm as well as the restaurant and the back end and everything. And then I watched my two parents work their ass off, you know, from the get-go. So it's always been there, and and I know that I have it. It's just now I'm being able and and putting myself in a place to take and run with it in that sense. So under that sense, right, taking that entrepreneur and the the veteran that's getting ready to transition, they will have to apply, and the application will not be easy, but the ones that complete the application will get into the program. I'm not let setting a number of how many get in or nothing like that. Because if you complete the packet, you will have what it takes in our eyes of the group of mentors and and business owners to be an entrepreneur, right? Yeah. Now, the ones that can't or don't, try again, right? There's no limit. Keep running them through and we'll we'll keep do our thing, right? The ones that get into the program, they'll get paired with the lead mentor and probably four subs in the category of business that they're looking at. The intent will be to ensure that they have all their finances, their insurance if it's needed, anything that they need for that particular business that they can launch at their transition date so that they can roll straight from service to their own business and have the knowledge and experience rolling into it from a year's worth of stabilization to do that. Then they stay in the program for an additional year under those mentors at a slightly lower level because they're running their business and everything, but they've got access to everything they need. Then at that year mark, they get back in one of three ways or a combination of sweat equity, and I'll get to that one in a second, uh, five percent of ownership. So if they ever take any money out, they they sell, we get five percent of whatever they sell for or they take out at the top, right? Um, the other is third-party evaluation at the year mark of what their business is valued at. At that point, they pay us five percent of that value and they walk away and they do their business however they want. And then the third, obviously being the sweat equity I mentioned, we'll value them as the leader of their business at a certain dollar value. They will give back that number of hours in sweat equity to equal the five percent value of the of their business by the third party.

SPEAKER_01 31:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:12

So they can give back in all three or or one of the own. So if they want to give up one percent of ownership, two percent sweat equity, and two percent of, hey, it's valued at this, here's my check. So we only take a one percent draw, I don't care. The point is to not break their their business, it's to ensure that they're successful beyond that first year, and also give us that residual income and that support from those small businesses that we've helped balloon and and and create uh all from their own determination to get into the program. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:45

That's amazing. And and honestly, I mean,

Mentorship Without Fees For Anyone

SPEAKER_00 31:50

it it it's a win-win-win-win-win.

SPEAKER_02 31:53

I mean I found my passion in in um cooking, right? I've always had that. But a lot of veterans and a lot of people that suffer trauma, PTSD, otherwise, whether it's war or or just trauma that they've they've endured, um they tend to turn to drugs, alcohol abuse, you know, um, anger, whatever, right? And and a lot of it's not controllable or or what have you. And I I've been through very many of those uh in my chapters. But that said, I found my favorite thing so far is twofold. One, when I can get a group of people in a room that aren't they could be talking all and green, or they could be arguing, doesn't matter, they're all talking, right? I put my food out in front of them and they start eating, and the room goes silent. And I love that. Not because of why most people think, and and most people think, oh, it's because you served them great food and you're proud of that. It is that, but the major thing that I love about that is I got them all to shut up, and what that means is I got them to all agree on one thing that that food was good, right? From that one agree upon thing, I can now build a bridge anywhere. Because at that point, they can't say I can't agree. Yeah, you can agree on something. Now we just have to feel where the rest of it is, right? Got you excited. All this food talk.

SPEAKER_01 33:20

Um excited.

SPEAKER_00 33:22

Yeah, you can't exactly say we don't have anything in common, we don't agree on anything. You absolutely do.

SPEAKER_02 33:31

Yep. And then the other is to your point, and and why I brought it up is the win-win, win-win. Like I'm a true believer in there is a way to to win-win. Will it be with me and you? Maybe not. We may not be appearing that that means matches up, but that doesn't mean that you and some other individual can't find a win-win in a similar area of expertise of what I am or you are or otherwise, right? And and you probably can't see it. I show it off my one of my tattoos.

SPEAKER_00 34:03

But it says if we all do a little, it lightens a level for all, load for all.

SPEAKER_02 34:08

Yeah. And then my other is a Bible verse. Uh, I'm not a religious guy, but I'm a faithful guy. And my niece had been begging me for years to get a tattoo. And of course, as you can imagine, a teenage girl came up with some pretty creative tattoos that that I turned down over the years, and finally she came and found one, and it's Ecclesiastes 9 and 10. And the gist is that uh pity anyone that that falls down and has no one to help them up. Um, at the end of the day, is a big part of the phrase. And and when you look around in business or otherwise, um you see a lot of that cutthroatness, and and people feel like they're challenged or should be challenged. And you know, uh going into the barn grill business, everybody asks me, do you done this before or anything like that? And I'm like, no. And I probably won't ever do it again. Uh at least not that way. But I learned I'm moving, I'm learning and and whatnot. But um that said, I've gone into it and and I present this analogy where everybody can picture themselves, say there's six of us in a room, there's a table in the middle with chairs around it, food on plates, all looks amazing. There's a clock on the wall. Now, say there's seven of us in there, and all you know is you haven't eaten in, I don't know, three weeks or so, and you're really hungry, right? And when the clock starts, you get to eat. So

An Entrepreneur Track For Veterans

SPEAKER_02 35:40

now that's the only information you know. So now you're watching the clock, the clock starts, you could do what I imagine you would do, which is rush the table. And if you didn't, somebody else did, and then as soon as they do, you are, right? Because you're starving. So now you all button rush the table, and the next thing you know, you look around and you ask folks, did you uh get enough? And some people say, Oh, yeah, some people say no, and some people eat really well, and some people won't, right? And there'll be food all over the floor, all over the table, all over the chairs, everything like that. So now uh I'm gonna step back a few seconds in time, and right before that clock starts, I'm gonna give you a slight bit more information. You like steak, I like potatoes. We'll say Jimmy over there likes uh green beans, Mary Sue likes sweet potatoes, whatever. There's enough for you to get as much as you want. Yes. Now, clock starts, you look around, you're not bum rushing because you know there's plenty, no matter what. So you're not bum rushing. Well, nobody else is bum rushing, so you're not instinctively gonna bum rush. So now you walk up to the table and everybody's done eating, and you ask around, did you get enough? And everybody agrees that they got enough, and and and then you start asking, How much did you get? Oh, well, I got this much. Well, how much did I get? Well, this much, and the variants moves, right? Based on the people. Some eat more than others, but either way, everybody's happy. Now, this is where I ask people to close their eyes for half a second, and imagine you're still standing there and you have your back to the table and you turn around and look at the table. And I ask you to describe when you open your eyes what you see at that table.

SPEAKER_01 37:27

A clean table. Okay. Exactly, right?

SPEAKER_02 37:33

So all the food that wasn't on the floor, wasn't on the table, wasn't on the chairs, right? Right. It's either gone or it's still on the plates, more likely, because it didn't get knocked onto the floor. So now when we look at it, we all got our fill. We have some left over. The beautiful part is I didn't tell you there was any more food in that second scenario, did I? No. I just told you there was enough for you. So all I did was change your mindset by one little phrase, and now not only has everybody gotten as much as they want, we have enough that if somebody else walks up from outside the group and doesn't quite have enough, they can step up and still joy their equal fair share to get them started. Now they're a productive member of the group, and now they're able to build it off that way, as we all do at our own levels. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 38:30

So that's a great analogy, man. Oh wow. I love that. I love that. And and I I absolutely love what you're doing, John. Um everything uh the help that you're giving the the veterans and and everything you're doing. I it's just fantastic. You're doing the

Food That Creates Common Ground

SPEAKER_00 38:55

Lord's work, brother.

SPEAKER_02 38:57

I appreciate it, man. I just um I call it being a good human or trying to, and I'm not perfect by any stretch. I ain't uh you won't ever catch me saying that. So don't ever think I'm I'm I'm I don't want folks thinking I'm arrogant or or boisterous. I probably I am at times, don't get me wrong. Perfect?

SPEAKER_00 39:18

But no, uh no, it's it's just I I I absolutely love somebody who takes their talents and uses them to help other people, and and you're one of those guys. Um we'll talk offline, but I'll have all the links that you want me to link. Uh Eagle Rising, whatever else you want to link, those will be in the show notes. And I really, really, really appreciate your time today, sir. Yeah, man. Thanks again for having me. Thank you so much for tuning in today.