Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Steven Nisbet. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Steven, so great to have you with us and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with the community. So, let’s jump into something that stops so many people from going after their dreams – haters, nay-sayers, etc. We’d love to hear about how you dealt with that and persisted on your path.
The “Haters” or “Nay-Sayers” are what I call, “White Noise”.
Sure some of them may bring about decent points, but I would call those critics, individuals who will say something negative but if we are humble enough, we can take some key points from what these critics say and apply them.
All the rest, with no actual constructive solutions to your problem and strictly have nothing but negative things to say are white noise and should be treated as such.
You would change the station if you heard static on the radio or got the white fuzzy screen on the TV, it’s distracting. Do the same with these folks, move on. Everyone will have an opinion on what you are setting out to achieve and not everyone will agree with how you’re executing your project, but if you remain constantly focused on the end goal, with an obsession to get there, there are no amount of distractions or nay-sayers to throw you off course.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
As a veteran in the Special Operations Forces, I knew nothing about business. I spent my entire adult life, carrying a gun and a Med Kit to aid the injured. So when I was thrust into starting a non-profit because that is the path that was laid before me, I had to use the one thing I knew I could lean on and that was sheer perseverance.
I may not be the smartest person in the room, or the fastest, or best speaking, or any number of subjects I am not the best, but as long as I don’t quit, I’ll eventually find success.
Shields & Stripes is a nonprofit servicing Veterans and First Responders with Brain Health injuries such as PTSD and/or TBI, and is one of 40,000 other Veteran Service Nonprofits.
The biggest problem is how do we differentiate ourselves from all the other organizations out there. The second is how do we tell everyone the good news that we are here and we are different, also with $0.
The Organization is focused on treating Veterans and First Responders over a 3month program centered around Physical Fitness, Wellness and Mental Health care through several modalities of treatment that was a proven model within the Special Operations.
Taking that model and offering it to everyone, scaling it, is the goal.
That is my job.
I take all the meetings I can, do as many meaningful conferences I can, develop marketing plans and showcase as often as I can the great work that the Shields & Stripes team is doing.
It is new to me and I love learning as much as I can about how to translate my SOF experiences into business leadership and you’d be very surprised at the similarities there even at the tactical level.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Don’t Wait. – I had a plan to open a business in 2025, this would have been 4years after retiring from the military. When those plans for a job when I got out were not exactly met, I was thrust into starting the one thing I thought I was going to wait until 2025 for, because I figured in 4years, I’d have the knowledge and tools to do so. Turns out, learning as you go allows you to acquire the tools you need at the time you need them.
I always tell my team as an analogy; we’re building the boat as it’s set sail, and we are continuing to build and get better engines and move faster and further than the year previous
Don’t Quit.
– Simple as that, Even if it seems impossible, Don’t Quit, Keep moving forward, one step at a time.
Don’t Listen to those who have never tried.
– We were told we shouldn’t start the nonprofit because it was too complex, too hard, impossible idea, dumb idea.. all the things you could think of, but every single one of those people have never walked the same path as me, and could never know the resilience I have within me. Don’t give someone else the power to change you, especially someone you don’t respect.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
The number 1 challenge we face as an organization and will continue to face is the demand.
The amount of people who are asking for help will only continue to grow. We want to help all of them and we unfortunately cannot do it because we do not have the funding to do so.
Our goal is to raise $10M to identify a location to call our own.
We currently partner with other performance gyms which is fantastic and they’re a great partner however we are not their primary client or demographic they serve.
So in order to serve the most amount of people we need a place for performance, a place for operations and not just in Arizona, but in Every state to really effect change and really impact the suicide crisis plaguing our heroes.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shieldsandstripes.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shieldsandstripes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Shields-and-Stripes/100077454291342/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shields-and-stripes/
Image Credits
@Luke Trexler
