Army Major Mike Erwin on Optimism, Relationships, Transitions

Mike Erwin (0:00)

For me, the true definition of optimism and my enthusiasm is drawn from a fundamental belief in the potential of all people and the potential for all situations to improve.

Michael Gervais (0:23)

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Now this conversation is with Army Major Mike Erwin. Some of you might have heard of him, but those who have not, he served in the US Army for 13 years, including three deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. So big time stuff here.

Mike is the board chair for Team Red, White and Blue, and they provide a network that helps veterans to combat the tendency to isolate themselves as they go through difficult transitions from soldier to civilian. He's also the founder and president of The Positivity Project. It's a nonprofit that strengthens leadership and relationships through a deeper understanding of character.

And when Mike was nearing the end of his deployment, he didn't want that to stop him from making a difference. And so then he turned his passion to helping veterans returning from war. Very cool. And he's just on this endless quest, as he puts it, for good for our country and for the world. And this conversation is not about military. That's not what this conversation is about. It's about relationships. And it's about the commitment to help others transition in their life.

Now, we're all in relationships and we're all experiencing transitions in our life at some point or another. So both of those, if people are interested in them, have a handful of skills that can increase the quality of those experiences, meaning there's particular skills that enhance relationships and there's particular skills that speed up or deepen the transitions in our life.