First of all, I would say that veterans have lots of strengths. Many times we see our skills and management skills. There are also our attributes. We are mission-driven and also we have that will to fight at every cost. But we're missing something. When we look at veterans, we see many people who have spent their life in the public sector. It's not a weakness, but I can say one thing for me and for the 20 people seated with me. Where we benefited was with the management of finances. When you are born and raised in a system where finance is in the public sector, you have to raise your awareness, your understanding, so that's why it takes on another dimension.
At the seminars we had mentors who were prolific in business, people with success, and you could see they just caught our attention. We listened to them, and we gained from that. I went back to my drawing board so many times. I said, “This was my belief, but now with what I've just learned, I'm going to modify my approach.” All 20 of us said, “That networking that just happened was great.” That's one of the benefits from that boot camp.
Also, like I said in an earlier statement, they're small words, but when you start wearing the hat, the scope is different, because some people also have to balance life and work. There's a danger to people who are mission-driven. Many times if they're not under control, they don't understand the dangers and they're going to lose balance in their personal life. Those mentors are there to support you and say, “Even if success is there, don't drop your guard. You still have a life, a family and people around you.” These are people who are experienced with life.
That's why I would say that when we look at veterans, people who have many skills and attributes have a higher chance of success, but they need that little push.