“Probably every two to three weeks I get a guy coming up to me saying I would’ve killed myself if I hadn’t come to Mates 4 Mates and spoken to you.”
Each of us has something to give this world, and we often plan how we are going to do this. Ironically, while we try to follow this plan we often find that there is another, completely different plan waiting for us to set it in motion. Oftentimes, this alternate path that finds us is a far truer calling than the one that we set out on. If we allow ourselves to change course and give this new plan some momentum, it often unfolds in ways we never could have conceived or anticipated. We grow, we learn, we develop. Only inflexibility, stagnation, and fear of growth can prevent this cycle. This may sound like an easy choice to make, but fear and inflexibility are very real forces. Both of these forces are deeply rooted to our ego, and therefore carry far more weight than they should. As today’s guest, Australian Special Forces Vet Tim Thomas, speaks to during the interview, it is only when he made the decision to “take the ego out” that his true path opened up before him. From that moment Tim’s life in the Special Forces got better, the lives of Tim’s fellow troops got better, and they even became better soldiers for it. Tim maintained this approach after leaving the Special Forces and now lives a life of servanthood developing a safe space for veterans to heal and feel normal again.
“Before I left to go over there I genuinely, hand to my heart, thought I was going to die.”
“I like to call it the ‘ego bridge’. If you want to get anywhere, if you drop your ego it becomes a bridge and you can walk over it.”
Interview Contents
5:00 - Tim’s road to the special forces.
8:00 - Thinking about death.
10:00 - The beginning of a personal shift.
13:45 - Taking the ego out.
18:30 - Learning about fear.
20:30 - The day Tim’s service ended and the experience coming home.
23:00 - Stress and adrenal fatigue.
26:00 - Trying to move forward with a psychologist.
28:30 - The pain rainbow.
30:00 - Mates4Mates
38:00 - Where does the government help and where does it fall short?
43:00 - Operating from a place of abundance.
49:00 - What Tim learned from interacting with other veterans.
54:00 - The best experience Tim has had at Mates4Mates.
56:30 - The greatest lesson Tim has learned through all of this.
Links
Other Countries Veteran Charities: (Apologies. I was unable to find charities in non-English speaking countries' charities from the U.S. search engine)
THIS EPISODE WAS MADE WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Roxanna
Michelle & Jim Wortner
Janelle Swanson
Jimmy Seymour
