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Last Updated: September 2, 2024

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161: "You only get one life to live. Whatever brings you life and energy, do it." Dr. Kenneth Gay's complementary careers in the military and education

Have you ever found unexpected inspiration from a movie that led you to make a significant career choice? For Dr. Kenneth Gay, it was the 1989 film "Lean On Me" starring Morgan Freeman.

Jen Amos speaks with the Founder and CEO of Kenneth Gay Education, LLC. Dr. Kenneth Gay to learn about how he works in education while being a newly promoted Colonel in the United States Army Reserves. Ken is also a 2022 Service2CEO Alumni and the Alumni Program Lead at The Rosie Network.

Ken shares how he started his military career to help pay for college. Inspired by Morgan Freeman's role in the film "Lean On Me," he worked his way up from teacher to principal and central office positions. Then, with the help of The Rosie Network, he learned to apply his experience from his education and military career to creating his company, which provides social-emotional learning training to the most challenging schools in the country. In addition to his work with The Rosie Network, Ken is also the Board President of 3KRG Investment Group.

This episode is also available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VSeABM6N1m8

Connect with Dr. Kenneth Gay

• Website: https://kennethgayeducation.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/people/Kenneth-Gay-Education/100076130323590/
• https://www.instagram.com/drkennethgay/
• https://twitter.com/drkennethgay
• https://www.tiktok.com/@drkennethgay
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-kenneth-gay/
• https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq1UNS7L0eg0OgdEFHuLm7w

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Jen Amos 0:00

Hey. Yeah, I'm just in a good mood. It's Friday.

Unknown Speaker 0:05

All right. It's always good.

Jen Amos 0:07

Yes, yes. All right. So hey, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of holding down the fort to buy us about wealth and the rosy network. I am incredibly excited because today, I get to have an amazing conversation with Kenneth gay. So Ken, Kenneth, do you go by Ken or Kenneth or do you like Do you have a preference? I want to start with that.

Speaker 1 0:26

You can't it's fine. I look I hear. I hear so many different names. It's like, it's very rarely I hear my whole name. So look, Ken is just by cancelled. It's just that's great.

Jen Amos 0:37

Okay, great. I feel like I'm gonna call you candidates today. I'll call you. I'll call you can because it runs a Gen. Okay. And then my full name. Yeah, my full name is Jennifer. And like, No one calls me Jennifer. Yeah, exactly. My family. That's how I know it's my family is when they call me. But anyway, let me go ahead and warm us up with an icebreaker question Can and so I'm gonna go through here and you just tell me when to stop. And I'm gonna pull out a question for you. All right. Okay, cool. All right. All right. All right. We actually I don't like that's a weird question. All right. Actually, no, that's so funny. I've been asking the same questions already. Sorry. Let me see. Oh, here we go.

Unknown Speaker 1:16

Well, that's fine. All right. All right.

Jen Amos 1:18

So okay, here's a fun question for you. I feel like I already know the answer to this because of your background, but I'm going to ask it anyway. Are you typically an early on time or late person when it comes to showing up at a specific time,

Speaker 1 1:33

I will definitely say this, I would have to say that I'm an early person. And it's just it has been since a kid because usually I was the first one up at my house to watch cartoons. And throughout my life that kind of carried I noticed with dealing with any type of organization class or anything. If I showed up early, a lot of times I wanted either my teachers or employees or anyone I work with to know that, hey, if he doesn't do anything else, he's going to show up on time. And I've learned over time, just showing up on time that people usually really appreciate that. But especially when I was in high school and college, I noticed that sometimes the teacher would give me a little bit more leniency if they knew I was on time and not come with this rushes in class. So they kind of carried over to

Jen Amos 2:17

they're like, well, at least he's punctual. That's funny. Yeah, that just that just reminds me like, yesterday, my husband, I had lunch with a former pilot. And he was of course waiting for us already. Like he came. Like we showed up maybe five minutes before we were supposed to meet with him. But he was already there. And he was like waiting for like, I think it was already sitting there for like the last five minutes. And he was just talking about his experience in the military as a as a pilot. And he's like, Hey, you gotta be you know, if you're on time, if you're on time you're late, you know. So it's like, you always got to show up, like really early and all that and so, so yeah, it's funny, like, when you emailed me, you're like, Oh, I'm in the room. And like, it wasn't even like the time and I was like, actually, that's perfect. Because, you know, we can start early and early and, you know, or, you know, really get the most of this have more time to have a conversation with each other.

Unknown Speaker 3:02

Definitely, definitely, definitely. I

Jen Amos 3:03

agree. Yeah, for sure. All right, Ken. Well, I, you know, I'm really, like I said, I'm really excited to speak with you because, you know, you have a company, Kenneth gay education, LLC. And although I'm gonna start, I'm gonna start with where you're at right now, we will get to the backstory. But can you give me just a quick snapshot of what life looks like for you today running Kenneth gay education, LLC.

Speaker 1 3:29

So what life looks like with Ron and Kenneth gay education, LLC, I have the pleasure of working with school districts primarily work with principals and teachers on social emotional learning and working with students, as far as providing training for adult educators as well as parents with successful strategies to help students be successful in schools. And that kind of comes to my background with over 20 years of experience in the field of education. And it's so funny that, like, I've always had like, I joke with someone the other day and just thought about it. I think I've always had at least two jobs since graduating high school because even part time I mean, the Army Reserves, I recently got promoted to the rank of colonel. So I'm a brand new colonel in the US Army Reserve. So yeah, so congratulations, can I start my new job next month as a branch chief as far as working on deserve a controller trainer unit. So it's one of those things that that I'm very passionate about, but with Kenneth gay education, LLC, I will say that with my educational background, working, starting my own company and being inspired, I've used the strategies I've learned as an educator as well as a military soldier to help with my business because one thing about the military you have to work with diverse groups of individuals that come from different backgrounds. We had to accept people just how they are or what have you, and with the field of education, it has taught me that if you truly believe in what you're doing, you can make a positive impact. So I found myself wanting to create a business so I can reach individuals more and I can make a larger impact instead of on a small scale. It was a way of me helping being able to just scale so many effective practices I was just normally doing in my regular jobs it school districts previously that I can just, you know, create into a business for myself and create jobs for others.

Jen Amos 5:24

Yeah, absolutely. So So tell me what came first the military or your educational career.

Speaker 1 5:29

Jen Amos 7:40

Yeah, well, I think that's a really amazing and, you know, I know that, even for myself, like growing up, representation in media was always kind of aspiration, oh, we never really see a lot of our faces. And so I mean, in today's generation, there's, you cannot, like, you know, Miss A commercial without, like, at least at least for me, one Asian person, and and now, so it's great to meet you. But, you know, I imagine at that time, considering how you mentioned, like a lot of black men would typically be a pastor or priest, for you to see a different kind of profession and to see, you know, Morgan Freeman doing it. Well, I imagine that was very impactful to the point that, you know, you you were balancing two completely different careers, the military and your educational career. And I have to ask, Ken, is there any similarities between between the military and your education and the educational career?

Speaker 1 8:30

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I'm just I'm just processing you're talking about, like, how your educational career really fed into the military and vice versa. And, you know, your soldiers are like, Why are you so calm, cool, collected, and, like, just easygoing, and happier, like, oh, well, because I've, you know, students are harder to work with, you know, like students and their parents are harder to work with. And I can imagine that because in the military, you know, you have our service members going through rigorous training to, you know, follow orders were with kids and students, you're, they're going through so much like they're going through a you know, physical growth, mental emotional growth. And you know, and of course, if they're if they have issues at home, or if they live in, you know, a rough area, it is harder to stay focused at school. So to me, like, I can understand that being a teacher or being an education, it could be a lot harder than, you know, working with with soldiers.

Do my about to just a very quick story, because it. So one thing I can say it I know, we're supposed to be talking about entrepreneurship, but this kind of like entrepreneurship, kind of just because as entrepreneurs, you have to kind of just think, on the fly sometimes. And sometimes it I can remember one day as a high school professor, I can remember was either my second or third year, for some reason, both of the nurses were out. And I mentioned it before, I do have a doctor. So I work at the school so that I was gonna Hey, Doc, either Dr. Gay, Hey, what's up, Doc? So there was an incident where they're calling me on the radio to hurry up and come to the nurse's office, and I'm like, Okay, what's going on? And they're like, Hey, we think a student is about deliver a kiss. I said, Okay, let's call the handler. So they're like, you're the principal, you're the principal. You're supposed to do something. You're the doctor. So I'm like, Oh, my gosh, mash, and every single move. I'm like, man, go get it. I'm like, Oh, what the hell I'm doing. But I'm like, Well, I have you calm and collected on the military side as commander can never sweat. So I remember just trying to just say all these different little things, and blah, blah, blah. And luckily, the paramedics came before anything could happen. But you have people saying, Oh, that guy delivered the whole kid. I'm like, you know, and liver, kid, but it was so funny. The staff that were in there, they're like, Hey, how did you stay so calm? But you know, like, in the military, doesn't matter. Everyone in the military is a leader. And we were taught that, hey, even when things are you know, panicking as leaders, you still had to kind of grasp the situation, you know, assess real fast and still try to everyone calm or what have you so that in so just kind of like what entrepreneurship is one of those things where sometimes you're going to be pitched curveballs, where things could be going real great. And all this stuff can happen real fast, and you have to kind of pivot and utilize the best of your ability to skills that you do know or just try to use the resources to try to overcome those obstacles and still be successful.

Yeah, I like hearing this because I've been self employed for For 12 years, and the first, you know, I would say the first six years, I, you know, I took a lot of things personally, I don't come from a family of entrepreneurs. So it was very, it was very new territory for me to like venture this while also having a family that says, Hey, when are you going to get a permanent job and love the law, and, you know, it is what it is, that's, that's, that's what my, you know, my family only wanted what was best for me, I completely understand it, you know, and so that just meant that I had to kind of go on this own journey. And it was a very emotional journey for me, for a lot of it's very transformative for me. And fast forward to today, you know, working with my husband, we've been working together for the last six, seven years. And, and he's been, he's been self employed longer than I have, and he just has this, I don't know, maybe it's a West Point thing, but he just, he's just very logical, very logical, very objective. And as the years went on, and working with him, I started to, you know, I started to not let my feelings get in the way or if anything, I've learned to look at things more objectively and, and recognize that like, you know, kind of what you're mentioning here, like, you're, you're just you're paying attention to what, what's in front of you, you're paying attention to what's occurring, or you're paying attention to the new information that comes your way. And you're adjusting appropriately. So rather than kind of, like, letting your emotions get the best of you, it's not it sounds like that, that's not an issue for you, or, or let me hear about like, like, how do you manage your emotions, if you know whether they come after the fact or, you know, you just kind of know how to how to manage that, you know, what I'm trying to ask?

Yeah, so I'm gonna say you, I think that I would have to kind of credit the, my parents, they're still together now. So they still been married for a while. So my parents have always, they've always been entrepreneurial. And I've always seen them never in, I would never think that they've always had nine to five jobs, but they also had their own businesses. And it never really dawned on me, because I never saw them overly stress, overly good things. But I've always seen them giving back. I've always seen them helping others. So one of the things that I always noticed just even from afar, without them even having to tell me was that they always treated everyone with respect in no matter what their background was, no matter what they had come through, or what they were dealing with. So I kind of adopted that over the years. So I've always tried to just treat others the way that I would want to be treated. And I've always tried to do my best to help others. So what I found is, is that I found comfort in that because having unity once you open yourself up, and people see that you're transparent, and that you're really trying to just be a good person. You often hear stories, because I love telling stories and hearing stories. So even if I have not been in situations, certain situations before, when I've had an opportunity to listen, whether it be educators, whether it be military veterans, or even entrepreneurs, that just being open to just have conversations, even if someone is an introvert or an extrovert, but networking, and networking opportunities, what has provided me was a sense of comfort that I feel well enough with the individuals because of my rapport with them. And my character enough, I had a situation that was taking place. And for some reason I have their number, my phone, and I need to get on LinkedIn real fast, because nine times out of 10, I'd have them as a friend and LinkedIn, that I feel comfortable enough that I can reach out and ask a question, or with those six degrees of separation, I can get a response back. So with emotions, one of the things that I could truly say that is helped me is building a rapport, making myself open, but also to when individuals asked me questions, I can't be shut off, I don't I'm not shut off. I make sure I try to respond in a timely manner. Because I'm a firm believer, and when you do things good for others, eventually, when the time is right, when you need things, things are going to help you. So I think that's one of the things with the motions, besides just the trainings that I've had is that I feel comfortable enough because I feel networking opportunities and I build strong, genuine, authentic rapport with others, that no matter what I'm going through, I feel comfortable enough today to pick up the phone and ask more than one person that probably have dealt with the situation that I have.

I think that's incredible. And you know, I think part of like why even for myself I can be more objective and logical today is because what you mentioned like, like I have outlets now I have people that I know I can confide in I don't just hold it in. And it sounds to me that you really handle your issues head on. Like if you're feeling a certain way, you know who if you're stuck on something, you know, who to contact. And I think that you know whether whether you're an entrepreneur or whether you're you know, actively serving the military and you're not an entrepreneur, like we all need help, we all need community we all need to have that I would say social outlet or that social support. And so, you know, part of why I haven't like touched upon the entrepreneurial side yet, which we'll get to here shortly. It just it's just like it's because I really want to highlight your mindset you have an incredible mindset can and we talked a little bit about this in our, in our last conversation where you're like, Okay, I'm not like the most talented person, but like I can outwork any, any talented person. And it shows it shows like your success and your educational career, your success in the military. And then of course, with your company, which we'll get to here in a little bit. You know, it just comes to show that like, one thing we were talking about was like, slow and steady, like when? Right, so So let's talk a little bit about that. That steadiness that you've managed to, you know, that you have in your life that that is why where you are today as as modestly, as we're talking about right now.

So I know the last time we spoke, you said something that stuck out. And when you say something, you know, I'm happy to try to fit because I've had people ask, like, how are you able to do so many things, and I've never really thought about it. But I remember you had made a comment. It's kind of like the tortoise and the hare. And you know, even though the rabbit could take off real fast that turtle, even though the turtle was moving slow, but as long as the turtle is keeping a step and moving forward each day, eventually, that turtle can pass up the rabbit in the long run and still win the race. So I could say that I think what has really helped me out throughout my time is, is being not rushing things, even though I've tried to do things efficiently. And quickly, that I know life, there are certain steps because sometimes you can get things very quickly. And you miss a lot of lessons learned I had a good mentor, I said, Hey, there are 100 steps. And because you move so fast, and you've been so great, and you skipped every other step, there are about 30 lessons that you missed on 30 Steps through, you know, trial and error, you know, how do you handle, you know, setbacks and defeats. And one of the things I've always looked at is eat if it's something that I've tried to achieve, and I'll be the first to tell people that, hey, I didn't get the first principal job I applied for it, or, you know, military command position, I didn't always get promoted, but I never quit. And one thing that I've always noticed that I never would quit, I would always have a positive attitude, I would always treat people correctly. Knowing that if I just kept working hard, eventually when my time would come, that people would pay to look upon me and see my attitude. And then that would make people be more successful to actually want to work with me, and actually want to help because they say, Okay, if this person can do it, like I'm sorry, I'm not the sharpest tool in intuition, I did it myself, just to call myself just a regular of regular Joe just a regular guy that just has a lot of drive and a lot of energy like I am early bursts I get up a little bit early, I know that some things I'm not going to grasp as quickly as others. So that means I need to stay up an extra hour or two, to learn a few things where the even like not doing things dealing with artificial intelligence, you know, with AI, oh, yeah, certain things I'm not familiar with. So you know, I'll stay up an extra hour, you know, or two each day, you know, trying to learn something different, reaching out to individuals who know a little bit more, but the consistency of not giving, not ever given up. I don't look at anything, I've never really looked at anything that I didn't get initially as a failure. I've always looked at it as an opportunity to see, okay, how do I need to get to where I'm trying to go. And one thing I've learned in life is, there were times where I wanted things so badly, and I didn't get it. And then later on in life, I realized, you know what, I really wasn't ready for that opportunity at the time, because had I gotten that opportunity, I probably wouldn't have other opportunities that would have came. So I've learned in life. And that's and that's kind of just over time and experience. So even with your audience members, so some of you that might feel that, hey, I'm working hard towards reaching a goal and things aren't, you know, maybe not always fall in line the way that I want them to trust me, you've heard me mentioned, I've had you know, two careers, entrepreneurship, you know, these things mostly going on at the same time. But I can truly tell you that oftentimes, if you do not get the goal is that you want to initially sometimes because it's just not the right time, and because even though you want something very badly, you can get it and you not be prepared, and you can sustain it and keep it but guys, if you actually have to just go through the struggle through the road less traveled and put in the hard work. You're remembering you won't forget the hard work that it took the long hours the Blood Sweat Tears, as some people would say, and you appreciate a little bit more and you learn how to treat people a little bit more dignity and respect and value what people have to say because oftentimes we get things quickly. We'll think that we're the greatest thing since sliced bread there was so special. This is never just all about us. It's about the people, their supporters are the people we're trying to help out.

Yeah, what are your and your story is finding joy in the journey. Like it's not just about the destination. It's not just about you know, hitting certain milestones or what have you. It's, it's actually enjoying the process enjoying the mundane. You know, like you said, waking up an extra hour earlier just to study something that doesn't come naturally. to you. And I think the reality is, I think the reality is like, you know, if if you do want anything lasting and anything good, it does take time, it may seem like some people may be more talented, and maybe they have the connections, but just like with the hair, you know, when we're talking about the tortoise and the hair story, you know, their egos can get in the way their egos can hold them back and can have them self sabotage, where for you, you're talking about, like, Hey, it's okay to slow down and take your time and study and get better. And, you know, it may not be your time for that opportunity yet, because there's still some work that needs to be done within you to really sustain that and to handle that. And, and that's just all part of the process. And I think I think the mundane is a beautiful thing. You know, and I think we more of us can, can learn to appreciate it and enjoy it. Definitely. Yeah. Well, Ken, you know, with your background, it's, you know, you have your education background and the military background and, and now you're an entrepreneur, you're an entrepreneur. And I know and I know that it was, you weren't necessarily looking for it. But you know, you mentioned your parents were entrepreneurs. And it kind of dawned on you one day that you wanted to be an entrepreneur and I know the Rosen network had part to do with that. So tell us a bit that journey to where you are today.

Yeah, so I can say I started so actually, at the time, right before the pandemic, I was serving in the role as a battalion commander of my Army Reserve unit, which was actually located in Beaumont, Texas, and we we had orders just for normal just regular just rotation to for her and my apologies I cannot think of the name of in Killeen. So the new base in Killeen that was formerly known as Fort Hood. We were stationed there, the ironic thing that happened was was like, I remember when COVID hit because I was at the airport. And we got some kind of special order for the job that I was responsible for. To quarantine everyone suddenly, Oh, what, so I couldn't get anyone on the phone, because it was like it 1130 at night. So luckily, at the time, I was a lieutenant colonel, so I had to call it last, I could find it constantly find somebody that the the soldier in me and then the press would meet would be like, hey, if I don't have my hands, let me ask the superintendent, if you do this, so very important that 1001 with a higher rank than meeting actually make a decision. So don't fall back on me. That's the whole trick, you know, if you actually do don't know, some, you know, it could be a major thing. That's why quarantine and all these people that are just getting back from overseas deployment. So needless to say that, during that time, you know, the pandemic time was a COVID-19 was a very hard time for everyone. Absolutely. Many of my former assistant principals that are now principals and teachers who are counselors, and just different people I've worked with over the years, I've always had a very unique way of attacking and just going at the field of education from a unique background, a lot of times you need a lot of military strategies, and entreprenuer strategies, which I didn't realize were entrepreneur strategies at the time. So I was during the COVID-19 time when people you know, are dealing with virtual learning and asked me questions. At some point, when at the end of my career, I knew I always wanted to give back and be like a consultant, I've started my own company, because I've had some successes over the years and some of the most challenging schools in Texas. And I was like, you know, what, I've worked in major cities and the rural areas, and I have a lot to give. And it's not that often I'll be very honest with the Djinn, that they're less than 2% of educators nationwide, K through 12, that look like me that no matter what, you know, ethnicity, and so it's not that when you have individuals that have gone through the ranks and have been successful, you know, I say, You know what, let me show that, you know, you have individuals that can start their own companies gonna go back and not only just just be there just to be there, but provide quality instruction, because I pretty much know what kids needs. I've worked at the elementary, middle high school, and even at the alternative education, ranks, and I know what it takes to get the teachers where they need to be when you're at an all time high of teacher turnover, or people leaving the field of education. You have leaders that are going into principals roles, I was blessed, you know, I'm, you know, having the opportunity of being a company commander. And you know, how many different lessons I've learned from the military that the average principal doesn't get, you know, they've kind of only see the leader that they've had at their school, that one principals that I've seen in the past, but I've had opportunity to see leaders from different realms. So that led me to start asking questions. I was at Fort Hood, I say, You know what, let me be nosy as I started being nosy even though I was a reservist, I'd say okay, the active duty people that are getting out there trying to find jobs. I remember just once in a class meeting, were raising their hand hey, I want to go work for Google. I want to work for YouTube. I raised my hand I said, Hey, I've been working, you know, working for individual you know, For, you know, within the system for last over 20 years, I say I want to work for myself, I want to be able to write checks for people that are working for me and someone said, hey, you need to look into the Rosie network, Rosie network. So they say, We're veterans and spouses of veterans that are interested in entrepreneurship. So they I immediately got online and started looking send an email, received an email back that evening and actually literally provided the paperwork and started class like two or three days later. And that has been a welcomed change. Because the Rosi network is basically a great organization started rounded, just going to Stephanie Brown that ended up providing a great opportunity for veteran veteran entrepreneurs, no matter if you're at the audiology stage, or if you're kind of experienced business. And what it did was helped me find out exactly what problem I wanted to solve. What, what offers did I have to actually provide to customers, and hey, do people actually even want the services that I want to provide? So only 10 week process, once a week, had a chance to be in a cohort and great thing was Janet was free. community. So I learned a lot on how to start my own LLC, just so many things. So by the time I came off active duty, I had a choice to make. And then at the same time, with one of my parents, being very ill at the time, I knew that I was going to have to make some, you know, tough decisions regardless. And entrepreneurship, in my opinion, even though it might be scary to individuals, to me, I think is the greatest thing that you can do. Because now you have an opportunity to bet on yourself, which are skills in which you value and brain which you love to consumers. And it gives you an opportunity you have to work and some people think it's easy to Hey, as an entrepreneur, just kind of do what you want to do. No, yeah, of course, as an entrepreneur, listeners, I've worked hard as an entrepreneur than I ever did at school or work in a central office in in a large district, or even as a company commander or battalion commander, which meant that you work that much harder, but the payoff in the reward is so much greater just for the simple fact that when you're doing something for your own business, if you notice, I had the cage just getting my kg for my logo for Kenya patients. So especially whenever you have on your own logo, it just means the world because you know, you're representing your product, and your brand and what you stand for.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I mean, the Rosen network is absolutely amazing. My husband actually went through their cohort program, I think, way back in 2016. And so it's just really amazing to see how far they've come and definitely gotta give it to Stephanie Brown and the team for like, for having expanded nationwide and helping our service members and our military spouses have a renewed sense of purpose I feel and a sense of control, whether they're still in active duty or when they transition out. But I just think it's so it's so inspiring to see people in your position who want to do like you've already had in two established careers. Okay, do not one do? Yeah, and several, you know, even in the education career, you worked your way up and so many different positions, and of course, obviously climbing the ranks in the military. And then you're like, you know, I'm going to be an entrepreneur. And I just, you know, I really commend your continual desire for, you know, personal growth, professional growth, you know, having a servant leader heart and just wanting to help more and more people. And, you know, this is just the new version of it, you know, you're helping people at a greater scale with your, with your, with your company, and, and I just really, I really commend that Ken and I commend like, just how I'm trying to find the words like how alive and how present and intentional and purposeful you're living your life right now, and how will you have been for the last, you know, couple of basically your entire adult life? You know,

I appreciate it. Jen, I was going to add to that. So the other piece of that is this that, oftentimes, you never know who's watching you. So even though I had recently just, just like, ooh, about a year and a half, two years ago, went through one of the cohorts that the services CEO program, so I encourage all your listeners, go out there and check out the Rosi Network website and look at the service the CEO program that I want to say a couple of months later I received an email saying hey, can you know where are some great things about you and we were you know, from your you know, from your from your team Lee there was that you participated with and some peers were interested in you coming on board and doing some things with the Rosi network. So So, so let's think so right now. I'm gonna say for like the last nine months, I serve as the alumni lead. So where my job is, which is great is that I have an opportunity to talk to alumni that have recently graduated or even those that graduated a couple years ago from the Rosi network and provide opportunities for them to network. Get access to capital improve I had additional speakers to come in and speak with them to help them continue to grow and scale their businesses. So that's one of the things I could truly say as well as that. You never know when individuals are watching you, even for those vets that are interested in entrepreneurship, and you never know that some of the individuals that you meet in life that you never know who you'll be to foreign partnerships with, and aerator and the way you carry yourself and the way you treat people really go a long way, because people will really remember you. The world is very large, but it can be very small to at times.

Yeah, I'd love for you to talk about the story of a student who reached out to you Oh, yeah, recently who, you know, and this is this is about the theme of, of like watering plants and the long term impact of how you have been serving, you know, not just in educate, you know, not just in education, but the military, and then now in the entrepreneurial space, but like, just to see the fruits of your labor come in the success of people. So tell me about this student, okay, just

Yes. I'm gonna say his name because he's not going to my so his name is Christopher fields. So my first very year as I remember, I went to education the year 2001. And my first year I was bliss, I ended up being assistant principal, after four years teaching a 2005. As an elementary assistant principal, we had a brand new school. And then Hurricane Katrina happened in Louisiana, which is my home state. So we're I was in a brand new school that was built for, like, maybe 800 students, keep in mind, this was just kindergarten through fourth grade. And because of the storm happened, at the end of the school year, we had an overflow of students throughout, you know, everywhere. So our school went from 800 Kids brand new school to about 1100. So we ended up having to have tried to make a long story short, we have so many students, there is only a system for us when they're trying to just go off their little bit of knowledge I had as a soldier just all over the place. But to make a long story short, we had a handful of students that just like with any student in school that need a little bit more attention than others. There are kids that I've had talks and conversations with all the time or what have you. So I want to say about four months ago, I had one of my good friends had call me. Because on my website, so when he said, Hey, someone keeps trying to call you, then so. So I ended up calling the young man. And when he said his name, it didn't ring a bell initially to me. And he made me remember he said, Hey, that you say you probably don't remember me. But when you say, but I'm gonna make you remember. But he was a young man that was problem is mischievous than most of what I was saying always more than what he should have stayed. I remember we had had conversations, and he talked about, remember, you gave me these dog tags? And this then yeah, because I we meet me in the military that had like, all tags and different things made, but all the students didn't know. So we had a handful of students, I know that, that could have been challenging. So there'll be times where I put things in place that I had special things worked out with him that, hey, I know you have a hard time sitting in class all day, but hey, can you go three hours of not getting in trouble, three days out of five. And we're gonna do some science to just try to do things to try to help some of the challenging students that just need a little bit more guidance and a little bit more attention. So I remember him share with me say, you know, some of those talks you share with me, really stuck with me later on in life, he said, there'll be times where I was gonna get in trouble. And I thought about the things you said about believing in me and school believed in me, and not only was I represent myself, my family, but every single teacher that has ever worked with me, you know, you're gonna make mistakes. But hey, don't let it put you down. So he kind of talked through some of those things. And later in life, he ended up going through the Navy, and he ended up working. So he started on your entrepreneurial thing now with speaking but he literally just got a job, who about two months ago, and he's actually going to be working with student behavior. So they'll say, oh, man, so bliss is

worried about full circle here

to throw quiet a little bit. And that's how I say it. But the blessing is, is that you're a success story. You are a student that was literally probably would would have been in any statistics that people would have said, Hey, if you didn't have any drastic innovation taking place in your life, you probably did jail, or what have you. But I'd say you beat the odds, I say so you're not speaking off a theory, the key is that you're going to be working with they're going to have a blessing because you're going to be to speak reality and facts and taste to break through to some of the most challenging students or what have you. So the greatest thing about that was it feel good for him to share and reach out to remember me it should almost like 15 years later or so. But the biggest takeaway was was that it helped me to remind me to share the story because I don't really share a lot of things. I share things on quite a bit. But when it's things when people share things about me, I'm not one of those things. It's hard if appreciate people saying nice things, but it feels kind of weird when people say stuff to you. But in that situation, I say, You know what I'm gonna make sure I still are sharing a little bit more, because it's not about me, especially for whether it be with educators, whether it be with soldiers, or whether it just be the parent that's helping bring kids, you know, even in the military to practice and helping out another parent, that the things you do, you might not see the fruits of your labor, initially, but the young people that you're working with, or even people that you work with employees, they appreciate it, and they see it and you just never know that the things that you're doing now will always make a great impact. So sometimes we don't see the plants grow. But then, you know, the man of face I sometimes I believe that, you know, God just send you things that remind you that, hey, the things that you have done, continue to keep doing those things, because they make a big difference.

Amen. Amen. Wow, what a story and what a life, what a life. You have lived can and continue to live. And I feel like in five to 10 years from now, you'll probably be doing something else to add to your to add to your resume.

I'll say if you don't sit down to the army, like now, but but acid brings me joy. So I tell people, Hey, you only get one life to live. So whatever you feel that you can do they bring you life and energy, do it. There's no, there's nothing that should ever stop you from being able to do anything that you want to do. Because even with Jim with a podcast, that's amazing. Not so many people can say that, hey, that I have a podcast that you have. You've been working for yourself. You know, for over a decade, those things are so important that that the work you put in and you don't have a guaranteed paycheck. But you know, you have a guaranteed paycheck whenever you're putting out great products. And it's making a difference in people's lives. Because you know, that, that when people when you're putting out positive things, and it's making a difference in people's lives, you will never have to worry about paying your bills, because they will be paid for just all the things you're doing. And you're just getting the fruit of your Labor's back.

Yeah, you know, I appreciate you saying that. Because I'm working with my husband, he's always very forward thinking, and he's always raising the bar for us. And sometimes I feel like we're drowning. But then like, when I'm freaking out, he was like, Oh, wait, no, like, we like made five figures last month. I'm like, Well, why don't you give me those financial, you know, like, things like that. And, and so I do appreciate you mentioning that. And, you know, it it is the journey of being employed, being self employed. And, you know, I mean, thank God that the reality is, if I do zoom, if I do take a step back, I've been taken care of for this whole time, I've had a roof over my head, I've eaten well, sometimes a lot, like more than I probably should, especially during the pandemic good times. And, you know, and to just recognize that, you know, some some, you know, there's a there for me, you know, there's a greater God looking out for me and providing for me and trusting that and trusting the journey and the process. And, and, and kind of going back to your saying earlier, like, or what part of what I admire about your journey, Ken is like enjoying the journey, enjoying the the daily practice of personal growth, professional development, and, you know, again, staying up an extra hour to just study if you feel like you don't know something as well. And, and there's a there's a general joy I feel from you. And it's clearly because you, you know, you like to stay busy, you like to serve you like to help and, you know, whatever you end up doing next 510 years from now, I'm sure it's going to be within the theme of serving and helping many people. Definitely, definitely, yeah, well, you know, can as we come to a close, I do want to, you know, speak to our military community. And I'd love to hear I'd love to hear you talk about like, you know, what, what are our advantages as, let's say, veteran spouses and the military community as a whole compared to let's say, our civilian counterparts. And I know one thing you mentioned offline is, is like the resources that are given to us to be successful. So can you tell us about that?

Yeah. So so our, you know, as it's so funny, I was, like, I got my little haircuts. I was looking at the barber shop the other day, and I got to having a conversation. And they were talking about it was so funny that we're talking about entrepreneurship, because the barbershop I went to was actually inside of a mall. I can say, hey, I remember when this guy I said, I remember yas owner started this barbershop up like eight years ago. And he's like, yeah, now he has eight locations. I say, You know what, that's amazing. Because a lot of times, you don't see especially minority owned businesses you know, in a major city like in I live in Houston, Texas, that you that you can scale a business that fast and you know, or what have you. And I was talking about and because I was mentioning things such as like, for instance, with veterans. We have wonderful programs out there such as bunker labs, rosy network, those things are free uniform to visit the one that one Are your budget and these things that are out there for spouses and spouses of veterans and veterans themselves that it provides you a network of individuals that are probably doing something, whether it be a nonprofit organization that you're looking into, if you're someone that have gone through and want to do adjustment training, because you're gonna go buy a drone, and you want to start your own business, if you want access to capital, if you can't get capital from a bank, you can look at things as far as like Lyft fund that provide special funding that especially if you're a veteran, I'm pretty sure most veterans don't care. If you serve one year or 10 years, you probably had a few injuries here or there. So even if you're registering your business as a veteran owned business disabled veteran owned business, here in the state of Texas, if you're a veteran owned business, you don't even have to file and pay the $500 LLC fee, as many as you would like. But you have things such as the Veteran Business Opportunity Centers, which are known as v bar, Victor Bravo, asker, Charlie, and there are regional, so no matter what state or city you're in, and a great thing is, hey, we know, things happen. And even if you've probably gone through some type of separation, or divorce, and even if you're the spouse of a veteran, you still serve no different than your veteran and you have given your time, these resources are often available to you as well. You have things such as the SBA, the Small Business Administration, that actually do have set aside special free classes. For veterans and spouses of veterans, there are things such as boost the business, the revenue for your business. And one of the things too, is that there are many pitch decks, even if you don't know what you want to do, especially as a veteran entrepreneur, and many of your community colleges, no matter if you're in a large city or rural city, they're oftentimes if you just look into the business department, there are oftentimes so many different pitch deck competitions, that you're basically putting together a PowerPoint, or you just speaking anywhere from 30 seconds to three minutes. And often those are times they can be things that could provide seed money for your, for your company or your ideas. But the greatest thing to me that is with on the civilian side, what I've noticed that my friends that are civilian entrepreneurs, they don't they, if they're networking, they're having to go out and try to figure out, you know, people that they've worked with in the past, let's just say you're in the photography, business. And you've, you might have been friends, you may meet at a conference every night, then if you're a contract worker, because you're you know, you lay down foundation and build homes, your network is basically going to be people that's probably in your local city. But the great thing about being veterans is, is that even if you spent your whole life in the guard reserves that you've had to travel somewhere for Drew, you've had to go for annual training, you may have had some deployments overseas, you may have had some deployments here in the States. So that means you've come in contact with many individuals, and you have a broad brain, a broad range of networks. So we already know that less than 1% of individuals have ever served into the military. So naturally, if axial, anyone that I'm a veteran, doesn't matter if someone is a veteran, they're not into the same political views, they're not into the same whatever views at the end of the day, we have something in common, we're veterans matter what serves that I've that I've noticed that that's the one true common ground, they can bring people together, that normally wouldn't be able to speak and have a conversation, that individuals they might be on different sides of the aisle, no matter when it comes to religion, no matter what so many things going on. But at the end of the day, those that have served, we know that you have to come together no matter what the differences are with individuals. So I would say that is the most powerful piece, then in the military is that you have a strong network and you have a strong bond. So you've already been through like your basic training your bootcamp, your crucible, because each spouse of a veteran or even if you're a former spouse, of a veteran, you know what it means to sacrifice, you know what it means to actually have to, you know, have love of country and family and knowing how to actually work with people that may not always see the same view that you have, but you're doing something for the common good. So I think that is the biggest thing that once you say, Hey, I'm a veteran, it immediately opens up so many doors to other veterans that you can portions to,

yeah, it's like you just have this network and family like all over the world, and we just, we just get it, you know, it's like, once you connect, like, again, like whether you're a veteran or a military spouse, or in my, you know, in my case, like, having been raised as a military kid, like, like, we all get it we all served, you know, in our own way. And, and, you know, that's why I'm so grateful to, you know, be here at season seven of holding on the forts because I just can't get enough of these kinds of conversations where we share this commonality of, of the military life so so Yeah, can I I feel like I feel like we covered some It's ground with you, you and we covered three different careers that you're doing all at once. I love it. I love it so much. And, and I really thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. I just want to make sure that as we as we come to a close here, is there anything you want to make sure you share with our community here? I hold down the fort. Any final thoughts?

Yeah, I just want to say, Jim, thank you so much. I just want to give a special thanks to you and hold down the fort. And congratulations being on your seventh season. Very beyond thankful for the opportunity to be here and your wonderful podcast. I truly appreciate your graciousness, and your wonderful questions and your hospitality. Like to give a special shout out to bunker labs, they have provided me an opportunity for entrepreneurship in a super special thank you to the Rosie network, who's my family that I work with now that have provided so many opportunities for me through the services CEO program. And if you want to get some more information, you can find me on LinkedIn at Dr. Kenneth gay. Or you can look on Kenneth gay education.com. And I actually have a couple of books on my series called the shoes. And it's basically me sharing a story that my first year as a teacher, they had some kids T's and a student, and because of the shoes he had on, and I ended up going to the store and buying those same pair of shoes for like $5 that had like Velcro almost like bowling shoes. And I wore them for the remainder of the year. And it taught a lesson because basic thing that I need the students to know that your shoes don't make who you are answering your ticketing, make who you are and your shoes can carry any door possible. But you make your shoes your shoes don't make you so those books are available on Amazon. So you just look up, Dr. Kenneth Gan just put in the search the shoes, it'll pull up about four different books. But other than that, that's just thank you. I'm just thankful to just be a part of the show and anything I can do to help Jen just let me know what you all in your pocket.

Yeah, absolutely. And you know, to our listeners will definitely have all that information in the show notes. And I don't know, I'm just taking this moment to express my gratitude as well. So thank you for taking the time to share your story can and I hope that our listeners get a ton of value from hearing your story. So with that said to our listeners, thank you all so much for joining us, and we'll chat with you in the next episode. Tune in next time. And then give me one second