Episode 32 of the Change Your POV podcast was titled “Never Underestimate The Influence Of Marine Veteran Adding Value To The World.” It was recorded in late 2016 and posted to the show’s YouTube channel on January 1, 2017. The conversation runs a little over an hour.
What the episode covered
The episode summary introduces Michael as “a man on a mission to add value in everything he does.” The host and Michael talked through his deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, his work as an entrepreneur, and his then-recent turn as a TEDx speaker.
The notes give a short version of his record:
- Eight years in Marine Corps infantry, with three combat deployments
- Two tours to Ramadi, Iraq, and one to Kajaki/Sangin, Afghanistan
- Out of the Corps in 2012 and working as an entrepreneur since
- One of the hosts of Cigars and Sea Stories and the chief contributor to BloodStripes.com
The summary says Michael, like many veterans, had a hard transition out of the Marine Corps before he found his purpose and mission. It points to one moment from Afghanistan as a turning point: sitting with his ankles intertwined with those of a Command Sergeant Major of an Afghan police force. The show calls that his “Change In Perspective,” echoing the show’s own name.
The notes close on a line he took as his own. They attribute it to Einstein:
Don’t be a man of success instead, be a man of value
As quoted in the Change Your POV EP032 notes
Why it mattered then
Most veteran podcasts in 2016 focused either on war stories or on business. This one did both in a single sitting. It treated his combat experience and his civilian work as one story, where hard lessons overseas shaped how he wanted to live at home.
It also caught him at a busy point. He was co-hosting Cigars and Sea Stories, writing for BloodStripes.com, and coming off his TEDxRaleigh talk from March 2016.
Looking back
Change Your POV brought Michael back in November 2017 for a very different topic: whitetail deer hunting. The “be a man of value” idea from this episode stayed with him. It is the same theme behind his TEDx talk and much of his work with veterans since.
This post is part of the From the Archive series, which collects Michael’s past media appearances in one place. See the full media archive.
Work with Michael
Marine veteran, TEDx speaker and author of the 5 Paragraph Business Plan. Bring him to your stage, wear the gear, or catch him live.