Master Yourself with Sergeant Major Max Garcia

Chris Albert 00:00:00 (link to this point)

This is Chris Albert, and I'm here to remind you of one thing. Someday, you're going to die. Now that's not some morbid statement or scary idea. It's solid fact. Your time here on this earth is limited.

And you need to be reminded of this as much as possible for one simple reason, to live your best life while you can. This is the Warrior Soul Podcast. You know, the human body is is an amazing thing. And when you think about it, we have people of all different shapes and sizes, and many different types of people. Right?

We've got professional strong men out there who can can move hundreds upon hundreds of pounds and and take their their bodies to the epitome of strength. But we've also got ultra marathon runners out there who can run hundreds of miles in a single single session. But there's one thing that allows humans to to do all these different things, and and that is something that's even more powerful than the body. That's the mind. Our guest today is an expert at helping people to master their minds.

His name is sergeant major Max Garcia. Sergeant major Garcia spent twenty four years in the United States Marine Corps, and he's just coming upon his retirement now. He's getting out in January. And he spent much of his career, of course, marines, but but also also inspiring people to use their minds. And now, he's embarking on a new career.

He's going out there and coaching people to become their absolute best. And he's got a lot of tools and tactics that people can use to strengthen their mind and get their bodies to perform. This is a really interesting interview, and comes at a really interesting time. I mean, this is the end of an era in the Marine Corps for for sergeant major Garcia, and I have to be honest, it's the first time I've ever actually locked eyes with a with a sergeant major. So it was an interesting interview for me.

Before we get into that interview, I just wanna say a couple of things. Number one, if you haven't been here before, this is the Warrior Soul podcast. My name is Chris Albert, and the reason why I put this podcast together is because over the past decade and a half, we've been hearing a lot about things like veteran suicide. We've been hearing about the high rates of veteran homelessness, and we've been hearing about really high rates of chronic disease in the veteran community. And there's a lot of people out there trying to raise awareness about these issues, and I think that's awesome.

That's awesome. People need to know about this stuff, but I'm more interested in solutions. And that's what this podcast is about. I'm not trying to prevent veteran suicide. I am trying to keep all veterans in a state where they are truly living.

And in this podcast, you'll find tools, tactics, ideas, and strategies to help you to live your best life. And if you're not a veteran, that's okay. Stick around. Everything we go over here will help you also. I also want to say that the way that we spread the word about this podcast is is through you.

And so I don't ask for anything in return for doing this. All I ask is that you spread the word about the show, that you share episodes out with people who can use them, and that you could pay us the highest compliment by writing us a review up on iTunes. Really helps the show grow. It really helps to let people know about what we're doing here, and it helps us to help more people. Also, I wanna say that this podcast would not be possible without our good friends at F Bomb Nutrition.

They make awesome delicious packets of fats, and I'm a huge fan of their macadamia nut butters. They mix them up with chocolate, with sea salt, with coconut butter, and with pecan butter, and they're so good. They have no sugar in them whatsoever, and they are also great people who make them. The people who run this company are amazing. They're sending packs of this stuff overseas to the troops on the front lines, so that they can supplement their MREs.

And I love them to death. And our listeners can get 20% off of their first order of f bombs when they head over to www.dropanfbomb.com, and they use the code Warrior Soul at checkout. Now with that, we'll keep those announcements short and sweet, and let's get into this interview with sergeant major Max Garcia. Sergeant Major Max Garcia, how are doing today?

Max Garcia 00:05:21 (link to this point)

Hey. Great. How are you? Thanks for having me.

Chris Albert 00:05:24 (link to this point)

I'm doing outstanding. So you are just coming off a retirement. Right?

Max Garcia 00:05:30 (link to this point)

I'm in the process of I just had my retirement ceremony last month. I've got a lot of terminal leave built up, so I'm not actually a veteran until the first of the new year.

Chris Albert 00:05:40 (link to this point)

Oh, wow. Oh, wow. What's that feel like? How long have you been in the Marine Corps for?

Max Garcia 00:05:45 (link to this point)

Just over twenty four years.

Chris Albert 00:05:47 (link to this point)

Wow. Wow. So you went in at '19 is that 1994?

Max Garcia 00:05:52 (link to this point)

That's correct. Yep. Went in at age seventeen nineteen ninety four.

Chris Albert 00:05:56 (link to this point)

Wow. What what kind of changes have you seen in the Marine Corps from the time you went into boot camp all the way up to through now? I mean, that's an amazing time period.

Max Garcia 00:06:06 (link to this point)

I'm glad you asked me that because I hear this a lot, you know, Marines these days, Marines those days, us back in the day. But I can tell you, I have seen a lot of changes, but the heart and soul of a Marine really is still the same. And I can tell you why, because the heart and soul and desire to crush recruits of a drill instructor is still the same.

Chris Albert 00:06:32 (link to this point)

That's awesome.

Max Garcia 00:06:33 (link to this point)

That cycle never changes. If you go to Parris Island or San Diego now, they're using the same drill duties as when I went through boot camp, that my drill instructor used on me, as their drill instructor used on them. The cycle really stays the same. It goes up and down with the rules and regs and things like that. And things change, of course, over time with technology.

But the heart and desire of a drill instructor to mold men and women into the best, most disciplined Marines ready for combat is still the same. And I'll even give it to the younger Marines these days. They work a million times harder than what you and I did.

Chris Albert 00:07:15 (link to this point)

Wow. Yeah, I remember, you know, when I went through, I was back in 1999, and I went through Parris Island. And, you know, I, when I got out, everyone was calling me a crucible Marine, you're a crucible Marine, you know, and then, you know, they had just implemented the crucible a little bit before that. But then I went on YouTube recently, and I was looking at boot camp circa 1988, and then they had a bunch of old school drill instructors come on and say, oh, these guys are soft now, all the stuff like that. And I think it's just banter that goes from generation to generation.

Max Garcia 00:07:51 (link to this point)

That's right. It's almost like the banter that goes from East Coast to West Coast.

Chris Albert 00:07:55 (link to this point)

Yeah.

Max Garcia 00:07:56 (link to this point)

I was a Parris I was the Parris Island in Hat also. I was a drill instructor in third battalion India company.

Chris Albert 00:08:01 (link to this point)

Oh, really? Wow. I was I was in third battalion kilo company. I remember I remember my senior drill instructor, drill instructor staff sergeant McFadden, like like anything. You know, his voice rings in my head constantly.

Big, big giant black man and scary as hell. Scary as hell.

Max Garcia 00:08:24 (link to this point)

Yeah. I probably knew your other drill instructors because I started in 2000. The very beginning.

Chris Albert 00:08:29 (link to this point)

Wow. Right next door right next door in India company. There was a Agatep, drill instructor sergeant Agatep, drill instructor, staff sergeant Dijon, and then drill instructor, staff sergeant Krumholz. Those are my three other ones.

Max Garcia 00:08:42 (link to this point)

Okay. I definitely recognize those names.

Chris Albert 00:08:45 (link to this point)

What was it like being a drill instructor?

Max Garcia 00:08:49 (link to this point)

Oh, well, was quite a few minutes ago, but it was an incredible experience. I'll say it's the best tour and worst tour all in one shot because, you know, there's such parts that are just overwhelmingly rewarding, you know, things like walking a platoon across the parade deck, picking a platoon up, actually incredible, but it's also very, very stressful. However, for for all the Marines out there that are listening, thinking about becoming a drill instructor, if that's what you want to do, do not let anybody discourage you from doing it. Because, you know, I was one of them small guys. I barely made enough made the wait to come in the Marine Corps.

As in I weighed so little, I was so small that I barely made the wait to come in. And, you know, a lot of people are quick to discourage Marine for some reason becoming a drill instructor. Oh, our MOS is critical, they're not gonna let you go. You don't have enough MOS credibility in your rank. Don't believe any of that stuff.

Out of all the things I did in my career, the one thing most glad that I did was becoming a drill instructor because the skills I learned there carried me through for the rest of my career. And those skills are drastically helping me now. It's not just about yelling and screaming and those kinds of things. You learn so many intangibles that stick with you.

Chris Albert 00:10:13 (link to this point)

What types of specific things like speaking, like guiding, like mentoring, those types of things or instructing? What types of things are you talking about there?

Max Garcia 00:10:23 (link to this point)

All the above that you just mentioned, and many, many more things. Just the ability, yes, like you said, to instantly speak on your feet, take charge of a crowd, and have the confidence to do that. It's just astronomical differences from your average person. I mean, I could take a drill instructor, a former drill instructor and say, Hey, you're now in charge of this section of Ford Motor Company, and he knows nothing about cars. But just like your drill instructor grabs the guide and says, guide, make this happen, or grabs a more experienced drill instructor and says, how does this work, figures it out, and then takes charge and runs with it.

The same thing, I can take a prior drill instructor and put them anywhere in the world, and they will not only succeed, but they'll take charge.

Chris Albert 00:11:11 (link to this point)

Yeah. That's such an important skill because I think a lot of people you know, you're going into a job and and, yeah, the the the actual skills, the actual techniques of doing something matters. But but leadership is kind of like something that that transcends everything else. If you're a good leader, you're eventually going to rise to the top no matter what you do. And and to do that, you've got to to know and understand people.

What is the biggest thing that you think that you've learned about people from your experience, both as a drill instructor, and rising to the rank you did in the Marine Corps?

Max Garcia 00:11:52 (link to this point)

Gosh, that's a really tough one, because there are so many of them. So many. You know, the thing that keeps jumping back at me over and over again, just to kind of backtrack, one really valuable, valuable skill that I learned as a drill instructor is people skills. Because a lot of people don't, what they don't see is behind the scenes. For example, I once had a kid, a recruit on the way to graduation, or leaving for graduation.

I'm I'm the senior drill instructor. He comes up to me and says, sir, this recruit lost his cover. You cannot march a platoon of recruits in their Alphas or in their Charlies to the parade deck, one without a cover. You just can't do it. So luckily, had built relationships with younger marines, with Lance Corporals over at Organizational Clothing.

And I said, listen, go to this building, tell them you're there to see this marine, mention my name, and they'll know what happened. No problem, free of charge, here's a cover, go. He even beat us to the parade deck.

Chris Albert 00:12:52 (link to this point)

Oh, wow.

Max Garcia 00:12:53 (link to this point)

So that is one skill that I learned there and carried throughout. Because the thing is that the more senior people become, oftentimes they lose sight of where they come from. And your people, your junior people, your subordinates, whatever it is you wanna call them, they can screw you over a whole lot faster than you can screw them over. The thing is, the difference is you just will never know. I'll give you another example.

I'll never forget, was working as I was a platoon sergeant of an AAV platoon, and we had just come back from a deployment, and hot I was a gunnery sergeant at the time, staff sergeant gunnery sergeant, and the hot topic in the battalion at the time was staff NCOs better be on the ramp with their Marines supervising for safety reasons and things like that. Well, our company had a meeting that morning with all the staff NCOs and officers. So I had my Marines down there, you know, without me or any of either any of my staff sergeants. I get down there and a Marine runs up to me right away and says, Gunny, Master Gunnery Sergeant so and so was looking for you. And he was seemed really upset that there were no staff NCOs on the ramp.

He asked, were there any staff NCOs down here? And you know what? That was a kid that I had full on, had to get on his case and quite frankly, yell at him before for something he deserved, but also explained to him the why, but I had their loyalty. So I was able to go find that master gunnery sergeant right away and say, how you doing, master gunnery sergeant? I heard that you were looking for me while I was in the company staff meeting.

To where if that Marine chose not to tell me anything, then he could have just wandered around all day mad that my platoon, knowing that it was my platoon, didn't have any staff NCOs on the ramp. He could have assumed a number of different things. So people skills, loyalty, treating people like people regardless of if they're senior to you or not. There's a time and place for everything. Sometimes people will need a verbal counseling.

Sometimes people need their voice to be raised at them, but there's a time and place for everything. And that's what I learned probably my most valuable skill as a drill instructor and throughout my entire career, especially all the way to sergeant major. Mean, I'll treat, you know, Lance Corporal with the same amount of respect that I'm gonna treat a gunner or fellow sergeant major or anyone.

Chris Albert 00:15:15 (link to this point)

Absolutely. You know, the the Lance Corporal underground is a very real thing. I know it's some it's the stuff of legend, but it is a very real thing. And Lance Corporals are, you know, for all intents and purposes, I mean, the backbone of of everything. I mean, they're they're the guys, they're everywhere.

So you can't get around that, right?

Max Garcia 00:15:34 (link to this point)

That's absolutely right. And like I said, they can screw you a whole lot faster than you can screw them because they could just do the bare minimum. So, sergeant says do this, okay, that's all I'm gonna do. I see that thing is broken over there, and I can fix it. But sergeant such a dick.

He didn't tell me to fix it. So I'm not going to touch it. Excuse me, French.

Chris Albert 00:15:55 (link to this point)

That's a popular misconception that people have about the military. They think that because because you're in the military, that people are just machines, and they're just going to follow orders. And that's just not the case. Right?

Max Garcia 00:16:07 (link to this point)

That's right. Maybe that's what we wanted. Don't know, during World War I or something when or World War II, when people were drafted, and they had little to no school and little to no time to even learn their job prior to going into combat. Yeah, we needed them. But now, I think we're looking for the direct actually, know we are looking for the exact opposite.

We want thinkers, people who can think on their feet, take initiative, that are just as smart with their mind, as they are with their hands, or physical fitness or anything else.

Chris Albert 00:16:37 (link to this point)

Wow. Now, let me ask you this, because, you know, it's not every you're you're probably the first sergeant major that I've ever actually locked eyeballs with for any kinds of purposes.

Max Garcia 00:16:51 (link to this point)

That means you did well as a re. That's good.

Chris Albert 00:16:53 (link to this point)

Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. So, you know, as as you're rising through the ranks, what was the hardest hardest job you ever had in the marine corps?

Max Garcia 00:17:05 (link to this point)

Oh, god. Goodness. There's been so many of them. But I'll just add one more thing. Anytime I bump into a marine and they're one of my Marines, I bump into them in the PX or something.

And I said, Oh, where do I know you for? And they said, Oh, I'm in Alpha Company. My last battalion, we had five companies, about 1,200 people. So I didn't get to meet everyone that often. And I said, Well, if I don't know your name, that's a good thing for you, isn't it?

So that's good that you never had to lock eyeballs in college. If you did it often, that'd be a problem. But anyways, goodness, the hardest job, I'd say number one was being a drill instructor. That was very, very difficult, very challenging, but any B billet is, and that's why it's so highly recognized. That's why you're given a ribbon for it when you complete it.

That's why when you come off of any of those special duty assignments, every commanding officer wants you in their company, Everyone wants you on their team. Everyone wants you to help organize their ceremonies or whatever else it is. That's why you're highly valued after that. And for me, I'd say the second hardest gig that I had had to be my time as a sergeant major for combat logistics battalion thirty one, thirty first MEU in Okinawa, Japan. That was very stressful.

Chris Albert 00:18:21 (link to this point)

What made it hard?

Max Garcia 00:18:25 (link to this point)

Well, first of all, you're in Okinawa. So you're in Okinawa, Japan, the dynamics over there are quite different. The most challenging part about it is that you're running a battalion, but there were no first sergeants in the battalion. So it's very, very challenging. So at any given time in that battalion, you had marine spread across three to four ships, remain behind element back in Okinawa, and it could be, other places, schools, or this or that.

But the other thing is that that battalion does not stabilize like your typical MEUs and things like that. So we had people actually executing permanent change of station, executing end of service, getting out of the Marine Corps checking in while we were on deployment. And it was just a nightmare, the dynamics of it. And that and being stationed in Okinawa, there's a lot of sensitivity when it comes to liberty incidents. In The States, two marines get in a bar fight, it's called a bar fight.

In Okinawa, it's called an international incident. Yep. If a marine gets a DUI in Okinawa, the MEF CG will need to be notified. The three star general is gonna get possibly woken up in the middle of the night to to know that because it's such a big, you know, political thing.

Chris Albert 00:19:46 (link to this point)

Yeah. I did my time up at Schwab. Not my best time.

Max Garcia 00:19:50 (link to this point)

Yeah. Sorry to hear that.

Chris Albert 00:19:52 (link to this point)

Yeah.

Max Garcia 00:19:53 (link to this point)

It's still the same. It hasn't gotten any better. I'm sorry. I think they have a They don't even know who to shot. They have a PX.

Chris Albert 00:19:59 (link to this point)

You know what I never got? They had this beautiful NCO club over there, like, beautiful. And it was, you know, a a really awesome bar inside there. And there was one woman on the whole base, like, one woman. And it was like I'd never seen a woman before in my life, but we'll talk about that offline.

Max Garcia 00:20:19 (link to this point)

I don't I don't think there's even one there now. Maybe it might be a few, but you're right. It's very, very difficult place for junior Marines. And I don't care what anybody says, because a lot of the senior people forget that they have their vehicles over there, they have their families over there. These are all the senior people.

But the junior Marines don't have their families. Families. Most likely it's their first duty station. They've never left home, let alone the country. They don't have their wheels, but yet there's taxi cabs available everywhere to spend high dollar on taking them places.

They're very restricted. They're very much, you know, it's very strict on the times they have to be in and all kinds of rules and things to follow. It's the challenge for the junior Marines. I tell you that that's part of the reason it was stressful for me too.

Chris Albert 00:21:06 (link to this point)

Yeah. I mean, being there on UDP, you don't have access to family, you don't have access to to a lot of stuff. And, you know, it's it's an interesting experience. It was a real, real interesting experience for me. I can't say that it was all bad.

You know, the Okinawa is a beautiful place, beautiful country. Yep. But but yeah. I it for for a 19 year old marine who is, you know, kind of in the prime of his life and just kinda getting used to the marine corps and then you get plot there. It's difficult experience.

Right. When you talk about that job you had there as as being difficult and having all these things to overcome, what skills did you learn or what skills did you draw up in yourself that allowed you to get the job done and accomplish the mission?

Max Garcia 00:21:58 (link to this point)

Right, okay. Goodness, so a couple of things I didn't mention previous, and I tell people a lot, I say Okinawa is great, especially great for families. However, Okinawa works the snot out of

Chris Albert 00:22:11 (link to this point)

Marines.

Max Garcia 00:22:12 (link to this point)

No joke. The other thing I did mention, since you asked me about it being stressful, was unfortunately, we had four Marines passed away on different occasions over a very short eight month time span. So that obviously brought back a lot of horrible combat memories from my previous combat deployments. And it took me every bit of, I guess you could call it mindfulness, every bit of mental strength to not only get my self through that, and then it was almost like reliving the combat time. It was really, really compounded, but also continued the deployment cycle of deploying it approximately every one to three months for one to three months.

And you know how it is when you're ramping up for deployment, it's really hectic, When you come back and ramping down, but then for us, we're ramping right back up again. Full on pre deployment schedule, pre deployment briefs, everything, just like you do your six month. While getting through all of those things I've previously mentioned, memorial ceremonies, one guy we had to look for, all kinds of different dramas. To answer your question, resiliency, a lot of different things. The Marine Corps talks a lot about suicide prevention and things like that.

But the challenge of suicide prevention is that, and this is anywhere in the world, it's too much focused on suicide. It's focused on what you don't want instead of what you want. So that was a huge thing for me. I was able to focus more on what I wanted, not what I didn't want. And there's a lot goes into that.

Positive self talk, There are just many number of things. Be careful, being careful about what you say to yourself, what you say to other people, because like attracts like. A bad thought thinks, or excuse me, a bad thought creates another bad thought, which could create a bad actions. Good actions, good deeds, good words, good intentions, only equal good results. Bad results, excuse me, bad intentions, bad thoughts, bad deeds can only lead to bad things. So, all I did during that time is just kept putting the good out there. Thinking good thoughts, staying away from words like can't, staying away from you know, just mellowing in the sorrows, that kind of thing.

And I'm not saying it was all peachy. But, you know, when you're in a rut, if you keep focusing on being in the rut, then you stay there. You focus on what you want, not what you don't want. I mean, if you think about it, people who complain about being broke all the time tend to stay

Chris Albert 00:25:02 (link to this point)

broke all the time.

Max Garcia 00:25:03 (link to this point)

Exactly. People tend to People complain about being sick all the time, tend to stay sick, the list goes on. And yet people who talk about creating wealth, who are upbeat, positive, talk about success in their career or in their families or whatever, tend to experience those things as well, as well as hang out with other upbeat, positive people who experience the same. So that's one thing I really, really implemented a lot over there. I learned it previous, but just continue focusing on what I wanted to focus on and not what was happening.

Does that answer your question?

Chris Albert 00:25:41 (link to this point)

Yeah. And were suicides that you were dealing with?

Max Garcia 00:25:46 (link to this point)

We had two suicides, one natural causes, and one Marine who was lost in the water in Guam.

Chris Albert 00:25:56 (link to this point)

Oh, man.

Max Garcia 00:25:56 (link to this point)

Yeah, he got, he got, if you're ever swimming in Guam, be very, very careful, because even though you're in chesty water, there comes a spot where there's a rip current that pulled that that pulled him out. Him and several other marines, they were just all able to swim back except him.

Chris Albert 00:26:12 (link to this point)

Wow. Like, Yeah.

Max Garcia 00:26:13 (link to this point)

It was a very unfortunate situation. He was a he was a PFC at the time too.

Chris Albert 00:26:18 (link to this point)

And I can imagine it's one thing to lose a marine during combat. It's another thing to lose a marine when you're you're you're back in Garrison and and, you know, things aren't supposed to go like that. That's that's gotta take incredible strength to get through.

Max Garcia 00:26:33 (link to this point)

Yes. Not only that is a sergeant major, you're getting everybody else through it too.

Chris Albert 00:26:38 (link to this point)

Right. Right.

Max Garcia 00:26:39 (link to this point)

Because because the last thing you want is the last thing you want is your whole battalion drowning in their sorrows and then drinking at night, or doing stupid stuff, or popping pills, or this or that. This is a lot of problems that happened during combat tours that I learned from. Marines come back, or this happened, will this happen, so and so is gone, I'm so mad, I'm just going to drink myself silly over and over again. And it happens. And so as Sergeant Major, I did, you know, pull them in and just listen, this is what we don't need.

This is what, you know, Stuart would not want this, you know, and just help them focus on what we do want now we don't want. So very hectic.

Chris Albert 00:27:23 (link to this point)

Yeah, and I'm sure you really had to rely on your people skills at that point, you know, in pulling people away from from those types of feelings and and pulling them toward positivity, and the mission at hand and continuing. Right?

Max Garcia 00:27:37 (link to this point)

Yes. And just being very genuine. Being very real with them. Hey, I get it. I understand how you feel.

But listen. And then just direct it from there.

Chris Albert 00:27:49 (link to this point)

Wow. Now, you know, you mentioned and and we've been talking about suicide and the unfortunate suicide of a couple of marines over there in in Okinawa. You know, we've had this issue here with the veteran community over the past decade and a half or so of a very high rate of suicide. And one of the things you mentioned that I wanna bring up here is the fact that, you know, a lot of people when this is going on, we're mentioning suicide constantly.

Whenever we heard veterans mentioned, we heard suicide mentioned. Whenever we heard anything to do with the veteran community, it was suicide, homelessness. We started hearing about depression, chronic disease, all of these different things. And and, you know, my opinion on this is that one of my issues with the whole thing is that awareness is great, but we've got to deliver solutions. And unless you're delivering solutions, what you're doing is you're contributing to to the negativity out there and and, you know, possibly straight steering people the wrong way.

And that's kind of why this podcast exists, because we wanna deliver actual solutions, things that people can can take with them to to, you know, make their lives better. You know, I'm I always say this podcast is not about stopping veteran suicide. It's about getting all veterans to to truly live. And you now that you're ending your Marine Corps career, you're getting into another career for yourself. Can you tell us about that a little bit?

Max Garcia 00:29:21 (link to this point)

Yes. Do you mind if I talk add on to what you're saying about the suicide piece?

Chris Albert 00:29:25 (link to this point)

Absolutely. Please do.

Max Garcia 00:29:26 (link to this point)

So here's the thing I don't want to put out to all your listeners. And I wasn't expected to talk, I was not expecting to talk about this sensitive subject, but everyone should keep this in mind. Like attracts like. Like I just mentioned, people complain about being broke all the time tend to stay broke.

People who say, I can eat all day and not gain a pound, to do the same because they keep saying that over and over again. People complain about not being able to do math never learned to do math because they keep saying that. The war on drugs focuses on drugs, therefore causing more drugs. If you ever look about the law of attraction in the movie, The Secret is a good example. The focus when it comes to suicide awareness is, I think, in the wrong area.

I mean, I'm all for 21 push ups for 21 veterans, I get it, but you're focusing on the wrong thing. You're focusing on the problem. Let's focus on the solution, like you said. I didn't do this for this reason, but in my book, I have a chapter in the book that says, that specifically teaches people how to accomplish their ambitions. I like to use the word ambition, because the word goal is often overutilized and doesn't get the respect that it deserves.

But if you have a worthwhile ambition, something that you really want to achieve, something that you really want to have, do or become, then you will stop at nothing to get it if you really want it. You won't let any temptation of drugs or sex or alcohol or whatever it is get in the way if something depressing happens in your life. Because everyone's tested. Everyone's tested over and over again. Everyone has been through something, everyone is going through something, and everyone will go through something.

But if you have your sights set on something that's so important to you, that means so much that you wouldn't let it go for anything, when those challenging, depressing times come, you'll be able to fight through it because of something that you want to achieve. That is just so important. I cannot emphasize that enough. So anyway, sorry to take you off topic. Was it you want That's to add okay.

Chris Albert 00:31:30 (link to this point)

You know, I think this creates a segue here, because, you know, now in in your post Marine Corps career, you're not done leading, right? You're you're moving on to to begin a life coaching business and to take these lessons that you've learned and the skills that you've learned, and to apply them to help people live better lives. Right?

Max Garcia 00:31:51 (link to this point)

Absolutely. So the best part of my job as a sergeant major is helping a marine or family member or anyone, or company commander or battalion commander or first sergeant or anyone one on one in my office, them to accomplish something in their personal life or promotion or something with their Marines, or helping a Marine through something really, really tough. That is the most rewarding part of my entire career is being selfishly being the guy that does it for them. I love that. And then the other thing that I absolutely love to do is running my lips on Fridays in formation, talking to a thousand Marines, whether it be in formation, or at a ball, or at a corporal's course graduation, could be anything.

Running my lips for the benefit of others is truly rewarding. So I wanted to do something on the outside, where I can capture those two things, but without all the NJPs and all the other negative things that I had to deal with. Since you're talking with so many veterans, I see so many marines getting out of the Marine Corps, taking a job that they can settle for, taking a job that they think they can qualify for, taking a job that someone at TRS thinks they can qualify for, or that some website says they can qualify for, rather than what they really want, rather than something they are really passionate about. I see them all the time, Oh, so you're a comm guy, you're getting out, what are you going to do? Oh, I'm going to take this IT job in my hometown.

I'm like, you sound so excited about that Smith. Go for what you want, not what you think you can settle for. But yes, to answer your question, Chris, my best work has yet to be done and I'm only getting started. I wanna influence many, many, many more people than what I did in the Marine Corps.

Chris Albert 00:33:42 (link to this point)

That's awesome. That's awesome. Now, you know, something you mentioned there, you know, go for what you want, not what what you're gonna settle for. Right? That's that I think that's really, really important.

And, you know, there's this idea out there that you gotta set goals, you gotta set goals, you gotta write those goals down and do everything. But one of the things I've seen with a lot of people is that even if they set down goals, they they they're often going for goals that aren't their own goals. They're goals that they think other people want them to achieve. It's like you're you're going for your dad's goals or your mom's goals or you're going for for, you know, what your friend had as a goal because you think that's that's, you know, a a puzzle piece that you can fit into. Do you see that a lot out there with people?

Max Garcia 00:34:31 (link to this point)

Yes, absolutely. There's this excellent book called The Science of Getting Rich. I listened to an audio version of it by Bob Proctor recently. There's a quote, I forgot who says the quote, but they say something like, If I'm going to be free, I got to be me. Not the me you think I should be, not the me my wife thinks I should be, but the me I think I should be.

And this is repetitive over and over again. I see plenty of service members as well. My problem children that I did have, my problem Marines that I did have in the Marine Corps, a good chunk of them were in the Marine Corps because somebody pushed them in. Their parents made them think they should do it. And there's plenty of people who never come in because their parents shied them away from it.

My wife really, really as a kid wanted to be a police officer, but she never got to live in that dream because her mother pushed her away from it. Now, she's finally getting to live some of that because she's going to go to school full time and do a criminal justice degree in Australia and be able to work in the police force somehow. So I see this over and over again, people taking doing what they think other people think they should be doing.

Chris Albert 00:35:54 (link to this point)

What's a good way to figure out what you want, how to separate what you want from those things that invade our minds, you know, and and it's kind of like I said, you know, I after I got out the Marine Corps, everybody in my family said, Chris, you got to go back to school. We want you to go get your PhD. You know what I did? I went back to school. I went and worked on my PhD, and I was miserable.

Right? And it wasn't until about two or three years into that PhD when I was about to submit my dissertation where I realized that it wasn't for me. Right? And and so I think I existed a long time in my mind. I had it ingrained into my head that I needed to do this because.

Right? What's a good way for people to separate that out?

Max Garcia 00:36:45 (link to this point)

Say that last piece one more time. Separate.

Chris Albert 00:36:48 (link to this point)

Separate your own ambitions from those that have been programmed into your head because you took somebody else's ambitions for your own.

Max Garcia 00:36:56 (link to this point)

Right. Okay. You know, follow your passion, whatever it is you really, really want you to do. Whatever it is that just excites you so much that if money weren't an issue, you would do it for free. Go for something like that.

When you find something like that, okay, that's your thing. And this is I go through this a lot with people in my life coaching business. Because for instance, there was a Marine in my battalion who was about to get out a sergeant, solid guy, prior drill instructor, everything. Just wanted to, know, spend time with family and that kind of thing. Anyways, I'm like, so what are you going to do when you get out?

I'm going to go for nursing. I'm going to go to nursing school and become a nurse. I'm like, okay, that sounds great. You know, what made you decide that? And he said this to me, because it's a field that's growing.

There's always going to be a demand. It's pretty secure, as far as job security, and that kind of thing goes. Those were his reasons. Not because I actually love people, I love helping people, I love blood and cleaning up after old people or helping people survive. None of that was was his answer.

And I says, really? I said, so, well, what if I could wave a magic? Here's one thing I asked in my life coaching business often. If I could wave a magic wand and get anything you wanted, what would it be? And then he said, well, I mean, wave a magic wand as if there was no, you know, no limits, what would you do in life?

And a lot of times they'll tell me something. And I say, why aren't you going for that? And then they'll give me the, I can't because of this. And I'll say, it's not that you can't, it's that you don't know how. You don't know how to work around it.

You don't know the alternative method. And then I'll say, would it help if you had this? Or would it help if I can make a phone call and get you that? There's just countless things over and over. Like you mentioned, drill instructor, a guy's, Oh, I can't go drill instructor because I had a DUI X amount of years ago.

And I say, well, they're hurting for drill instructors. Do you think if I made a phone call, or wrote you a letter, or sent an email, or made glowing comments and got the battalion commander and the division CG to do the same for you, do you think that might be possible? We'll see. And sure enough, that guy orders a drill instructor school. There's so many people who hear one can't, one reason that they might not be able to, they take it for gospel and stop.

That's what I see over and over again. Sorry to ramble on, but you're definitely touching on my passions and what what I do.

Chris Albert 00:39:35 (link to this point)

No, that's what this is about. We're trying to we're trying to delve into everything there. And, know, so much of what you said is so important because, you know, I I've coached business people for a long time. And, you know, I see people when you're setting up a business, it's it's one of the craziest experiences ever aside from from Marine Corps boot camp. You're literally delving into, you know, uncertainty.

And people can do anything for a definite period of time, but when you add a little bit of uncertainty to that, they they they go nuts. And I've seen so many people crumble at the first obstacle that they faced and not want to go on and give themselves every single reason why they can't continue. And it's funny how that rationalization just occurs.

Max Garcia 00:40:23 (link to this point)

Yes, absolutely. I mean, who is it that invented electricity? Is it Thomas Edison? You remind me of that?

Chris Albert 00:40:29 (link to this point)

Thomas Edison. Yeah.

Max Garcia 00:40:30 (link to this point)

Yeah. So it's estimated that he failed about 10,000 times

Chris Albert 00:40:34 (link to this point)

at least.

Max Garcia 00:40:36 (link to this point)

His family, I mean, we're talking about before electricity. So if you talked about, hey, I'm going to make these wires create light for us at nighttime, people look at you like you're absolutely bananas. His family treated him like crap, made him feel like crap. They wanted to put him in a mental institution, or maybe he did go to a mental hospital, something. I just know people looked at him like he was mentally crazy for wanting to do that.

The KFC guy, what's his name? Colonel Sanders. He went into a million places, they've got this awesome chicken recipe. I'm an old guy, blah, blah, blah, this awesome chicken recipe. A bunch of people said no to him before finally he got accepted.

If what you're trying to achieve, I don't even like to use the word try, if what you're working to achieve, if what you're planning to achieve and what you're going to achieve is in the slightest bit worthwhile, it will not be easy, it will not happen in the first time. So many people talk to me about real estate. I'm also a real estate investor. And I teach people also how to invest in real estate with nothing, with no money, no credit. I show them how to get started.

But because they heard from their parents, you got to have money to make money and all these other myths, they've stopped, they've closed their mind until I start opening things up. And then I often say, when things get sticky, renters trash the place, even though there's insurance for that, or this leaks or whatever. And I say, well, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. So I guess my message to everyone is that whatever it is you're wanting to accomplish, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it and it really wouldn't be that worthwhile to you. It wouldn't be that fulfilling to achieve.

Chris Albert 00:42:22 (link to this point)

Absolutely. Absolutely. And, you know, I think that that another big thing here is, you know, just understanding and knowing yourself in the first place. Right? And and what I think a lot of people neglect in their lives is is really understanding what they want.

Right? And and that's because so many people lie to themselves. They lie to themselves because they want to fit into that cookie cutter story that everybody else has got for them.

Max Garcia 00:42:54 (link to this point)

Right, absolutely. So here's the thing is that often when I ask you my life coaching business, I got to ask them in advance, hey, before we have our first session, think about if I could wave magic wand and help you get anything you want, what would it be? Because most people don't know. Everyone can tell you, I'd say most people can tell you, the Garcia's opinion, most people can tell you everything they don't want. But again, you're focused on what you don't want, it comes up or it shows up over and over again, it always stays there. But very few people can tell you down to the smallest detail, I would like to have $10,000 saved up in the bank by December 31. And I'm going to do this by very few people can tell you specifics. And then they wonder why they don't get it. Here's another good example.

You mentioned about specifics. If you don't have a goal, you cannot possibly achieve it. And not only do you have to have one, but you have to write it down as in very specific. I teach this in detail in speeches and with my life coaching clients, because if you don't write it down very specific, it has to be a specific format too, to be more effective. It has to be read certain times today, certain amount of times.

Anyways, I get into that later. But think about this, there are millions and millions of people on New Year's Eve who make a New Year's resolution. But by the time October rolls around, which we're in right now, most people don't even remember what that New Year's resolution was, let alone having had achieved it, because they didn't put the pen to paper. Once you put the pen to paper, it's yours, especially if you put it in the right format, read it a certain amount of times, there's just many different things you can do with this. And if you don't even have a goal, it's like, I'm just going to go wherever life takes me. I'd like to get a better paying job. I'd like to make more money.

I'd like to improve my relationship if it happens. But they're not actually actively seeking that by measurable means. I'll spend this amount of time with my family, x amount of times per week or whatever it is. They're just kind of going wherever life takes them. They're what Napoleon Hill refers to as a drifter.

Chris Albert 00:45:10 (link to this point)

You know, and we also have this concept of college, right? So the narrative is, you go to the Marine Corps, you do your four years, you get out, you get put into the active the inactive reserves, you you get your GI Bill, and and you go to college. Right? And and I know a lot of guys who've done that, who've who've done well for themselves doing that, but there's a lot of guys who, you know, they're they're not happy there. They're not happy there in the first place. And do you think that there's pressure for veterans to try to get that college done?

And why does that pressure exist?

Max Garcia 00:45:50 (link to this point)

Absolutely. So in Garcia's opinion, it's a society thing. I think it almost goes back to the Great Depression era. And Robert Kiyosaki talks a lot about this in his book, Rich Dad Poor Dad. I've met him, he's an incredible guy, former Marine helicopter pilot, crashed in Vietnam, all these other things in the water, incredible guy.

I felt blessed to spend a little bit of time with him. Anyways, the society thing. Go to school, do good in school, so you can get a good job. So you can get a good job, you know, and take care of your family. But none of that in there really talks about earning money or investing that money.

There's so many people at funerals that say, all that I can say is, he worked hard his whole life to take care of us. Well, what about working smart, so that money is never a problem? That's like, again, it's a society thing, we're just so used to it. Go to school so I can get a good job, so I can work my butt off, like twelve hour days, spend a little time with my family, pay my taxes, and at the end of the day, have very little to show for it. Honestly, that's just a society thing.

Go to the original, the very wealthy, the very ultra wealthy people don't subscribe to that. They make their money work for them, because I don't think in any I could be wrong, but I don't think there's too many programs out there in school, or in TRS, or in college that teach younger people the importance of investing in real estate, or not just, hey, get your four zero one ks, but no, here's how you manage it, here's how you want to fund it based on your risk tolerance, things like that. Very little is taught about earning money and having your money work for you, by you working for your money. Have your money work for you around the clock. It's almost like people, especially in The States, we're uncomfortable talking about money.

Chris Albert 00:48:04 (link to this point)

Yeah, because there's a lot of fear centered around it and people are really limited by their fears. You know, they don't they don't want to admit to that. They don't want to admit they're uncomfortable with it in the first place. They don't even want to admit that they're unhappy in their lives because of it because we have this notion that money is not everything. If you're talking about money, it's an evil thing.

And, you know, I think that's getting taught more and more on college campuses these days. And, you know, it's funny because the more you fear it, the less you're gonna have of it.

Max Garcia 00:48:37 (link to this point)

Yeah. So that also I teach this a lot too. That also boils down to previous poor programming. So our grandparents or great grandparents or whoever, for me, even my parents were born into the, because my parents were older, they were born into the era of the Great Depression. And know, a lot of this, here's lot of things you hear of.

Don't be so greedy, be happy with what you have. A lot of people resent wealthy people. And if you resent wealthy people, even a little bit, you will never ever become one of them. Matter of fact, you will be so far from becoming one of them. Here's the other one I hear.

I just want to be comfortable. If your goal is to be comfortable, then you'll probably barely get by. If your goal is to, you know, be wealthy, then you'll be probably mighty comfortable. Shoot for the stars, you at least hit the moon. That's what I say.

Chris Albert 00:49:47 (link to this point)

And for the young Marines who are listening to this right now, and the young soldiers and airmen and sailors who are all listening to this who might still be in the service. You know, where can they start? Where can they start with this kind of stuff?

Max Garcia 00:50:03 (link to this point)

With what things specifically?

Chris Albert 00:50:06 (link to this point)

Well, as far as trying to set their lives up once they get out, you know, where where should they start to to to really search for these ideas? Where should a young person in general start to to try to find these types of ideas and start to train themselves to think think in this way?

Max Garcia 00:50:23 (link to this point)

Right. Well, everybody's situation is different. So it's hard for me to give a general answer on that. If they message me on Instagram or something like that, then I could maybe answer better. Because everyone's situation is different.

Everyone's goal is different. Not everyone wants to create wealth or have this or be financially free. Other people want different things to travel. But I would say a few things I highly recommend for everyone in the service, a few things. Right off the bat, soon as you come in there, the TSP is a great thing.

However, I just also remembered about the blended retirement.

Chris Albert 00:51:04 (link to this point)

The Thrift Savings Plan, mean?

Max Garcia 00:51:06 (link to this point)

Yes, Thrift Savings Plan. I will say this, minimum 10% invested in some long term wealth building plan, something that you don't touch. Not only that, for the really younger guys and gals, the more high risk, the better. Garcia's a Benignoli. Because for example, in savings plan, the default fund is a G fund.

I'm not a financial guru, but I do know that the default fund is a G fund. I call it the granny fund, because it grows so slow. But if all you're doing is just putting your money in there, because someone said it's good idea to invest in TSP, which it is, it's much better than buying rims and tires or rings for your girlfriend or whatever. But if once you invest it in there, know about it, understand it, and you can change up the funds to make more higher risk tolerance according to your level, so that you get bigger returns. You'll take some bigger losses also, but when you're really young, you can take a lot of losses in order to get really big returns when you have your really big wins, if you will.

Again, I recommend consulting a financial guru for the specifics, or you can call me and I'll tell you what worked for me. The other thing I recommend, this is just Garcia's recommendation for all these younger guys, especially the ones that come from these little tiny towns across America, which I love those towns, get yourself a small piece of property. It's much more doable than you think. And I hear people say, oh, how am I going to do that? Property is so expensive.

Well, I bought a plot of land in West Virginia last year for $4,000 I bought a house last year in Norfolk, Virginia, Portsmouth to be exact, for $20,000 And this is very doable. It's much easier to get money for these kinds of things than what they think. So those two things I would recommend, because the long term savings, whether it's beefing up the Blended Retirement or TSP, then they're setting themselves up for when they're in their 60s. Really, if they invest that TSP Blended Retirement, they do that stuff aggressively, there's no reason they cannot be a multimillionaire by the time they're in their 60s, really, millionaire. And then if they invest in property early, the inflation is always going up, well, then they sell their property a few years later, or rent it, or whatever it is.

And then that positive income can pay for their Porsche, or rims and tires, or whatever else it is that they want, rather than going into debt and struggling to pay the debt back. The property can produce money for them to go on their cruise or vacation to Australia, which I've done about 12 times. They can do a lot more. Anyways, I know I'm going into too much specifics. Anybody out there is welcome to.

Do message me in a situation now. I'll do what I can.

Chris Albert 00:54:15 (link to this point)

Awesome. What about older people? Now, I'm 40 years old, right? Well, I'm going to turn 40 in May, right? So, you know, I don't I still feel like I'm young.

Actually I think I'm in better shape than when I left the Marine Corps. But, you know, for for somebody, let's say, my age, who's been roaming around and kinda drifting for a while, what's the first thing they should do to to try to get themselves back on the path?

Max Garcia 00:54:44 (link to this point)

Right. This is a challenging question, because again, everyone's situation is different. But it really revolve around what you want. So the thing is that deciding what you want long term, and absolutely, 40 is extremely young. In fact, for you, Chris, I highly recommend reading Napoleon Hill's, or you can listen to it on YouTube.

In his book Think and Grow Rich, in Think and Grow Rich, there's a chapter called Why Men Seldom Succeed Before Age 40. This is huge. Why Men Seldom Succeed Before Age 40? And he talks about why your 40s and even more so your 50s are your most successful years. So I give it away because it is a great, great piece.

But to go back on your question, first determine what it is you want. I would say, definitely not further than five years, if anything, maybe a year out, and then chunk it down from there. And then what do have to do to whatever that thing is in a year or two years, whatever. Okay, so then work my way back. How can I get there?

Here's some possibility. Here's some possibilities how I can get there. And then set our, this is gonna sound so cliche, but then set reasonable goals that are measurable with time limits to keep you on track. I could dive down this with you much more detail later on how to write them, on how to set the timeframes, on how to make every goal measurable. But that's the most important thing for anybody out there that feels like they're drifting, just kind of going, determine what you want, put a date on it, Write it down.

By the first day of January twenty nineteen, I will weigh one hundred and fifty pounds. Not I will lose 10 pounds by January 1. Because when you're focused on weight, that's exactly what you're going to get more of. Focus on what you want, not what you don't want. There's millions of people going into gyms, because they want to lose weight.

Their mind is on weight. People want to say they want to get out of debt, but their mind is on debt. So they wonder why the debt shows up over and over again. I will weigh one hundred and fifty pounds by December 31, or whatever it is for you. So there's a method to it all.

And does that kind of answer your question?

Chris Albert 00:57:14 (link to this point)

Yeah, no, absolutely. Absolutely. Do you use affirmations at all?

Max Garcia 00:57:19 (link to this point)

Absolutely. Every day.

Chris Albert 00:57:21 (link to this point)

Awesome. What are some of your own affirmations?

Max Garcia 00:57:25 (link to this point)

Oh, goodness. So for me, I use my affirmations for for different things I want to achieve, depending on what I'm doing. Goodness, you know, and I read them every morning. But very powerful, very, very powerful tool. In fact, I just went to Rancho Bernardo High School on Friday night, they were up against a team that had either the same record as them, or they were undefeated or something, either way, was not 100% certain that they were going to beat this team.

They were iffy about it. And if they beat this team, it's such a big thing, it could put them in the playoffs, all these other things. So my friend who we were drill instructors together, he asked me to come down there and give him a pep talk. And the coach said, yeah, okay, that'd be great. Yeah, if you could talk to him.

I said, well, I said this to him. I said, well, if I talk to them, you will win the game. And both of them, my buddy and the coach had a little chuckle. And I said, you don't see me laughing. So I went down there with them.

And I did this method of rapid affirmations that I do with people. And I couldn't stick around for the game. So as soon as I got done, I walked off the field, they walked on the field. No joke. By the time I got to my vehicle, and I wasn't parked that far, it's at least five minutes or less.

By the time I walked to my got to my vehicle, I could hear all the cheering and they already scored.

Chris Albert 00:59:01 (link to this point)

Oh, wow.

Max Garcia 00:59:02 (link to this point)

By the by the first half of the game, you could find this on Twitter too, because they're Rancho Bernardo High School. By the by the time the halftime came, excuse me, by the time the first half was over, they were winning 21 to three.

Chris Albert 00:59:16 (link to this point)

Oh, wow.

Max Garcia 00:59:17 (link to this point)

I'm not saying that that was because of me, but I know that I sure as heck didn't hurt them. And there was some doubt. They were not by no means were they saying, we're going to crush this team today. I did rapid affirmations with them. It's a system I use that does just amazing wonders.

I just can't say that enough. It's a subconscious programming thing. I can go into a deep with my clients or if a team hires me or a company hires me, It takes me too long to explain right now, but affirmations are definitely powerful. I recommend anybody look into it and then apply them, but you also got to apply them right. Because applying it with no feeling is not as effective.

Chris Albert 01:00:05 (link to this point)

Well, it's important to understand that, you know, the person you live with the most is yourself. And if you, you know, they say you're the average of the five people we hang out with, right?

Max Garcia 01:00:16 (link to this point)

Yes. Absolutely.

Chris Albert 01:00:17 (link to this point)

If you're all your thoughts are negative and you're you're not affirming your goals, then then the person you're hanging out with the most, you, is is sabotaging you. You know? It's just like just like in the Marine Corps, if you're you're you're hanging out in the smoke pit all the time and and, you know, the people over there are complaining all the time, you're gonna be a complaining dirty marine. Right? The the same thing with your own mind.

Right.

Max Garcia 01:00:42 (link to this point)

Absolutely. You know, we are all often, you know, our own worst enemy. And the subconscious programming is a huge thing. I mean, I hear, for instance, you know, I can't seem to get my PFT score out. I can't seem to pass the test, or whatever it is.

Well, first of all, stop saying can't. That's huge. Can't is the most horrible, self destructive, poor programming, damaging word in the English dictionary. And yet, Americans, we use it like it's cool. We use it for everything.

We use it often, several times a day. We use other words also like hate. And these words are very powerful because they're programming your own mind and they're programming the minds of people who you influence. Yeah, I can't say enough about that. Absolutely.

Chris Albert 01:01:40 (link to this point)

We got to wrap up here in a second. But I want to ask you, you know, your Life Coach 8, what's the significance of the number eight?

Max Garcia 01:01:50 (link to this point)

So eight, if you go to my website, lifecoach8.net, I have a really detailed explanation of it there. There's a tab that says about eight. Anyways, it's a lifecoach8.net.

But the short version is that it's all about an infinity of abundance. Infinity. There's unlimited. See everyone, not everyone, many people look at the world as if there's limited. For me to have more, somebody has to have less.

This is false. This is very much not it's not true. Infinity of abundance, there's unlimited money, there's unlimited health, there's unlimited wealth. This comes from Chinese numerology. When the Chinese hosted the Olympics, they started it I'm paraphrasing it, I have to look up the details, but they started it on the eighth day, eighth hour, eighth minute, eighth second.

And if you go to China, a lot of people have their license plate with the number 8 in it somehow or several eights, that number is kind of popular for that reason. So that's why the number eight. But look at my website, it'll have the details on there or just Google eight in numerology, but on the website, I kind of consolidated bits from every piece to make it easily explainable.

Chris Albert 01:03:19 (link to this point)

That's awesome. And where can people go to, what's your website URL and what social media platforms do you hang out on?

Max Garcia 01:03:30 (link to this point)

So my website is lifecoach8.net. And it's the same name, lifecoach8 for Instagram, same name for my Twitter, and the same name for Facebook. Of course, everybody out there that's veteran, you're also welcome to follow me on my personal Facebook, which is Max Garcia. Shoot me a message or something that way. Know why you added me to friends.

But otherwise, the Twitter, the Life Coach 8 Facebook page and Instagram Life Coach 8 are all public. And I welcome everybody.

Chris Albert 01:04:10 (link to this point)

Awesome. And for for the young service members out there, the Marines, the soldiers, sailors, the airmen, do you have any last words for them before we go?

Max Garcia 01:04:23 (link to this point)

Okay. Yes. I was gonna say this earlier, but I didn't bring this up. For all you for all the younger service members out here, the first of all, I know you wanna be successful. If you go to my website, there's a tab there that says for marines only.

And I have something on there called Sergeant Major Garcia's Four Rules for Success. If you go to my website, lifecoach8.net, under the tab Marines only, you will see Sergeant Major Garcia's Four Rules for Success. It's a quick read, but if you execute those four rules that I'm telling you about, you will be light years ahead of your peers. I've got the recipe to meritorious promotions, because I've done it and I've seen it. I sit on, I'm involved in over 21 meritorious promotion boards a year, or at least I was up until recently.

So I've got the recipe, if you need help with that. But again, look at that spot on the website, Sergeant Major Garcia's Four Rules for Success, that will set you up. And remember, actions, good intentions, good words, good deeds can only lead to good results. Many service members could easily leave as a sergeant or as a captain, but oftentimes lose it. And most of the time, it revolves around sex or alcohol, and poor decisions with both of those.

And thanks a lot for listening.

Chris Albert 01:05:59 (link to this point)

Absolutely. Well, Sergeant Major Garcia, Max Garcia, Life Coach 8, I want to thank you for coming on here. And, you know, if you guys want to get in touch with him, I highly suggest you go check out his website. There's a lot of resources out there. And, and and he's putting out a lot of really great information.

So again, I want to thank you for coming on to the show. And, I wish the best of luck to you and your civilian life. Now that this long chapter in the Marine Corps has come to an end.

Max Garcia 01:06:35 (link to this point)

Thank you. I appreciate that. And for all the former service members out there, my good friend, Ross Blaine, the one who's the football team, he always tells me every time I say, well, I'm going to become a civilian on January 1. He always says, no, no, a veteran. So remember that for all of you that are former service members, you're a veteran, not a civilian, you're a veteran.

Chris Albert 01:06:56 (link to this point)

Absolutely. And thank you for your service, sir.

Max Garcia 01:06:59 (link to this point)

Thank you. Appreciate it, Chris. Great talking to you.

Chris Albert 01:07:02 (link to this point)

Alright, guys, you just listened to our interview with Sergeant Major Max Garcia. All the show notes are going to be up for this episode at www.warriorsoulagoge.com, and we'll have all the links to get in touch with sergeant major Garcia, everything to his life life Coach 8 coaching, and all of his social media handles. And again, I want to thank you for listening to the Warrior Soul Podcast. It is absolutely a pleasure for me to bring outstanding people like this to you and outstanding interviews like this to you. Please, if you can, all we ask for in return is that you share these episodes out and that you write us a review up on iTunes.

Like I said, it really helps to show out. We'll be back at you next week with some more awesome interviews and other amazing content. Talk to you guys soon.