Office Hours with David Meltzer · 2026-06-25 · 37 min
Key moments - from our scoring
Substance score
22 / 100
Five dimensions, 20 points each
Lee Mandel founded XSponse to manufacture AI-based security hardware for schools following the Parkland shooting, partnering with two parents who lost children in that tragedy. His technology automates emergency response during active shooter situations by using AI to coordinate door locks, notifications, and first responder communication - shaving critical seconds off response times through mechanical camera shutters, location mapping, and classroom visibility features. XSponse manufactures entirely in the US (Pennsylvania and New York), serving schools, hospitals, stadiums, and hotels with threat detection systems including gunshot recognition, vape detection, and emerging fentanyl identification technology. Shahzad Carbadwala published 'Row,' a fiction-nonfiction hybrid exploring death row and redemption that mirrors his own journey from facing prison time to founding Project Rise, a global philanthropy organization of 130 members focused on championship mindset building for children and visitation support for incarcerated individuals. James Owens, retired firefighter, wrote 'The Last Patient,' a memoir about trauma, PTSD, and recovery within first responder culture, arguing that untreated post-traumatic stress is terminal and advocating for seeking help despite cultural pressure to remain stoic. Leaders, school administrators, first responders, and those building cultures of accountability will find specific solutions and mindset frameworks here.
XSponse uses AI to automatically coordinate multiple responses simultaneously when a threat is detected: locking exterior and interior doors, notifying parents, alerting first responders, plotting threat locations on live maps, and opening mechanical camera shutters to give first responders real-time classroom visibility. This simultaneous coordination cuts seconds off response time, which Mandel emphasizes is critical to saving lives.
XSponse manufactures all hardware in the United States, specifically in Pennsylvania and New York, handling printed circuit boards, firmware development, and assembly domestically. Beyond schools, the technology is deployed in hotels (including vape detection), hospitals, stadiums, theaters, and other venues where people gather; the company is also being certified to detect fentanyl use.
Project Rise is a global organization with 130 members based in Chicago that focuses on championship mindset building for children ages six through high school, and provides visitation and support services to incarcerated individuals across North American federal institutions who lack family or outside contact. Book proceeds from Carbadwala's three published works fund the charity's operations.
Owens argues that when first responders treat job stress like a common cold and don't seek help, unmanaged PTSD becomes terminal - it degrades sleep, decision-making, parenting, and ultimately takes lives through suicide. His memoir 'The Last Patient' documents his own near-fatal crisis and recovery to provide permission and guidance for first responders to seek help.
As a younger man, Carbadwala received a leniency sentence of probation and community service hours but never fulfilled them. Years later, he felt God calling him to complete those hours belatedly through mature, purposeful work, which evolved into founding Project Rise and his philanthropic mission to help others - inspired by his late father's legacy of generosity.
Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.
The episode is dominated by filler, pleasantries, and inspirational storytelling. The only segment with any operational substance is Lee Mandel's description of his school security hardware, but even that is largely a product pitch rather than transferable insight for B2B operators. The other two guest segments generate almost no actionable business content.
We use AI to open and close that automatically when it detects a threat, so that we can give first responders eyes in the classrooms in real time.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, super, uh, inspirational, for sure.
Every narrative arc is a well-worn template: tragedy-to-purpose (Mandel), troubled-past-to-redemption (Shahzad), stoic-professional-needs-help (Owen). No contrarian or first-principles arguments are made; the only mildly interesting reframe is the 'high interest credit card' metaphor for first responder stress, which is still a commonplace analogy.
there's no road map, man. There's no roadmap. It's just like. It's showing up every day, right? It's showing up.
living life as a first responder is much like living life on a high interest credit card
Lee Mandel has genuine operator credentials - he sold a prior company to private equity and is building a hardware manufacturing business with real product specificity. The other two guests are an author-philanthropist-personal-trainer and a retired firefighter selling books and coaching engagements, neither of whom brings practitioner depth relevant to B2B operators.
I had a prior technology company that I sold to private equity in 2019, where we were a security solutions integrator.
I'm available for keynote speaking. Of course. I'm out here selling my book.
Mandel provides a handful of concrete details - manufacturing in Pennsylvania and New York, printed circuit boards, a 3-to-5 second response time claim, and the named Parkland parents as co-founders. The remaining two segments are almost entirely abstract, with no data, revenue figures, customer counts, or outcome metrics of any kind.
manufacturing is done in Pennsylvania and New York of all places. Um, and that's where we do everything from our printed circuit boards, our firmware development
imagine literally hearing the first responder's voice within three to five seconds of an activation
Hosts are consistently affirming and never push back, probe mechanisms, challenge claims, or ask a question that creates any productive tension. The episode closes with several minutes of the hosts discussing their own potential book project, which is dead air for listeners. Questions are largely framed as invitations to pitch.
Bless you, man. Just bless you.
That is impressive. And unfortunately so needed today.
Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.
Lee Mandel is an entrepreneur and nationally recognized leader in school and building security technology, dedicated to creating safer environments for schools, hospitals, government facilities, and public spaces. As CEO of XSponse, he leads the development of an advanced AI-powered security ecosystem that enhances emergency detection, alerts, and mass notification systems while reducing human error. A passionate advocate for school safety, Lee has worked closely with educators, parents, and community leaders nationwide and has become a trusted media expert, appearing on Fox News, ABC’s Good Morning America, and numerous security-focused outlets. His innovations include helping develop one of the first one-button lockdown systems, and his leadership at IntraLogic led the company to six appearances on the Inc. 5000 list before its successful acquisition.Shazad Carbaidwala is a transformational leader, entrepreneur, coach, author, and former professional bodybuilder whose life’s mission is centered on helping others reach their full potential.
Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.
Speaker A: Hey, hey, hey.
Speaker B: How you doing, my friend?
Speaker A: I'm doing great, man. Life excellent. Really good.
Speaker C: Well, we got a milestone episode here today. This is episode number by the numbers, 900. Whoa. Episode 900. That's kind of like, holy mackerel, how'd we get here from there?
Speaker A: I. There's no road map, man. There's no roadmap. It's just like. It's showing up every day, right? It's showing up.
Speaker C: You keep one foot in front of the other, pretty soon you get somewhere.
Speaker A: Did you see that story? This is all the hype around, uh, uh, the World Cup. But you see that guy? I think he's from Spain. He did 3,000 miles from. From one end of the United States to the other. He just completed it yesterday or today. I thought that that's. That's talking about one step in front of the other.
Speaker C: Yeah, I didn't read the full thing, but I saw the headline on it. Yeah, that's quite an accomplishment. What I did read today was, uh, and this is interesting, uh, the Oregon Trail, you know, the. The big covered wagons and whatnot. Yeah, the movies depict people riding in the wagons. There was no suspension on those things. People walked 2,000 miles from St. Louis or wherever in hell it was that they started, you know, to the West Coast. And by the time they got there, a lot of them were walking barefoot. I mean, it was. It was a track. Yeah. It was a trek.
Speaker A: Yeah. There's no way you drove and what you wrote and what, that would have beat you to death.
Speaker C: Oh, absolutely. Yeah. It's crazy. So I'm gonna stick that off. There we go. Well, enough of our banner.
Speaker A: I know. Walking and barefoot and. And all the things. But we got. We got good guests today.
Speaker C: Yeah, we got a, um, pretty good lineup for the 900th show. This is something else. The solo business edition of Office Hours. Uh, I'm your co host, Blaine Bartlett, and my co host is, uh, Red Power. And, you know, we're off to the races. Uh, Gigi, why don't we bring our first guest up, Lee Mandel. Uh, hey, Lee, how you doing?
Speaker D: Hey, guys. How's everyone doing today?
Speaker C: We could not be better. And Lee and I were having a little conversation in the green room before we started off today. And, uh, yeah, he's been bouncing around the globe, not unlike you, Rhett. He actually just got back, uh, you know, with a team meeting in the Philippines, um, but he's down in Florida right now. He's based out of New York and all of that by way of saying the, the organization that, um, you're running, Lee, is. Is really kind of an intriguing organization in the sense of what, you know, contemporary, uh, challenges and I'll just use the word. Yeah, general. Yeah, generalize it. Challenges. And it has to do with security, particularly building security. Yeah. How do we, how do we fortify? And I say, yeah, fortify. How do we actually guard against unwarranted and unwanted intrusions from a physical perspective, you know, and in part, but also just, you know, other ways that things get intruded upon. Um, your company as, uh, X sponse. Yeah, literally xsponse, uh dot com. And you are, and your organization is nationally recognized as an expert, uh, in school and building security technology. Um, can you give us a little walkthrough about, number one, I'm always intrigued by this, how you got into this, first of all, you know, kind of what was the spark that kind of got your imagination going? And then what are you finding is the current need outside of the generalized recognized need for building security?
Speaker D: That's a great question, Blaine. So Xbox was formed based off the concept of keeping kids safe in schools. Uh, we saw a big challenge. Two of the partners in the company are actually parents who've lost their children in the parkland shooting. Uh, Andrew Pollack and Ryan Petty. Um, I had a prior technology company that I sold to private equity in 2019, where we were a security solutions integrator. So we were the guys running the wires and hooking up all the sensors and security. Um, when I sold that company, I knew my mission wasn't over. And me, Andy and Ryan got together and we decided to create a manufacturing company to actually manufacture AI based hardware that goes into schools and keeps schools safe. Um, so that's just exactly what we did. We created Xbox, um, as a elaborate ecosystem that automates the response time during an active shooter. So we basically take seconds out of the response time. And we've patented a lot of technology that's first of its kind. We were able to literally put first responders into every single classroom in a school. Just imagine a first responder being able to know where to go, how to get into a building, how to respond during an active shooter. And really, seconds matter. Seconds saving lives. And that's all what Expanse is about.
Speaker A: Well, uh, you're on a, on a, uh, noble mission, uh, Lee, for sure. Uh, what is, uh, you know, what is the challenge in growing a technology company like this? I mean, uh, I mean, it sounds like you're. Are you, are you manufacturing overseas or do you have clients or is there a need really all over the world for this kind of. I, uh, mean, I was fascinated by sort of the scope of this and I mean it's a sad commentary that we have to talk about this, but I mean, uh, what is the interest globally and what are some of the challenges in it?
Speaker D: Well, real simple. I mean this is needed everywhere. I mean we've seen over the past 12 months these type of incidents not just happen in the United States, but happen all over the globe. Um, before all the tariffs were implemented in the United States, we actually really prided ourselves in manufacturing everything in the United States. So before we had an inside track that that was happening, uh, we actually got ahead of it and we do all our manufacturing right here in the United States, which is super, super important. We have partners that we work with all over the globe on software, on technology, but manufacturing is done in Pennsylvania and New York of all places. Um, and that's where we do everything from our printed circuit boards, our firmware development, our, ah, manufacturing, our creation, everything's done right here in the United States. And it's here to protect not just Americans, but people abroad as well.
Speaker C: The AI part of this, because, you know, you build out uh, obviously hardware and you've got a software interface that makes things work. Where does AI come into play with this? And I'm curious here because you've got a one button approach. I mean somebody pushes a button and there's a response. How does, how does it all get communicated and sequenced in a way that actually allows for you to cut seconds off?
Speaker D: That's a great question. So AI is such a big buzzword now. When you look at all the mergers and acquisitions taking place, everyone wants to claim that they're an AI based ecosystem, an AI based platform, but we truly use AI. So just to give you an example, during an active shooter situation in a school, there's so many different things that have to happen, from notifying the parents and the community members, to locking the doors, to making announcements, um, letting first responders into the building, knowing where people go. We use AI to intelligently do that automatically. So for example, someone sees an active shooter, they can either hit a button that's on a wall, we have devices that go in the classroom called our shields. And then we also have wearable devices that they can put on themselves to actually hit that button. And when that happens, all the sequenced events happen immediately. Um, so we'll immediately notify the parents, we'll lock exterior doors, lock interior doors, we'll literally plot live on a map exactly where are that need help? And we'll give first responders live access to communicate over the public address system and see inside the classroom. Seeing inside the classroom has always been such a challenge due to privacy concerns, uh, union issues in different states. So we've created a mechanical shutter that literally opens and closes, similar like you have on your laptop, where if you want privacy, you can close that shutter, open it. We use AI to open and close that automatically when it detects a threat, so that we can give first responders eyes in the classrooms in real time. And when you look at Sandy Hook and Parkland and all the other tragedies, when these shooters have ended, the carnage has always been when they know the first responders are on their way or in the building. So imagine literally hearing the first responder's voice within three to five seconds of an activation. We can literally save lives by shaving seconds.
Speaker C: Wow, that is impressive. And unfortunately so needed today.
Speaker A: Uh, I'm curious real quickly. Sorry, Lane. Is it, does it, does it tell first responders where that active shooter is?
Speaker D: Exactly. So based off the response of how many people are seeing a shooter or hearing gunshot noise, we actually hit that button and we'll track where all those responses are coming in on the map. Um, we actually can use the existing cameras that the school has to be able to isolate and feed that data right to first responders and they can even tag the potential bad person or the threat and then track that throughout the campus as well. So it's truly remarkable technology that doesn't require the school to remove existing technology. And we're talking a lot about schools, but we have technology that goes in hotels. We have vape detection technology that takes vaping in hotel rooms. Uh, believe it or not, we can detect, we're actually getting certified to be able to detect the use of fentanyl. Um, you know, so we have other life saving technology. We're in hospitals, we're in stadiums, theaters, ah, any place where people gather. That's where our technology is useful.
Speaker B: That is amazing.
Speaker C: Yeah, thank you, thank you. I mean, literally, thank you.
Speaker A: Thank you.
Speaker C: Yeah. For putting. And I'm sorry, that, yeah, the catalyst was something so tragic as Parkland that uh, uh, and you know, something has come out of that that is actually, yeah, quite beneficial.
Speaker A: So turning tragedy into something good. And that's.
Speaker C: So you and your, your two partners, you know, just hats off, uh, folks, you can find out more about, uh, what lease companies up to an ex, ex ponce. That's Just gonna expense response with an
Speaker D: X, I always say.
Speaker C: And, uh, Lee, we got a number of other shows that we'd love to have you back on as well, just to kind of spread the word on this. Thank you.
Speaker D: Love to come back and spend time with you guys. Thanks for having me on today. Really appreciate it.
Speaker C: You bet. Thank you.
Speaker A: Thank you.
Speaker D: I know.
Speaker A: Blaine, I'm glad you were having to say Xbox, because that is hard to say.
Speaker C: It is. It's kind of. The two consonants kind of butted up to each other there. Xbox put an e in there. So shifting gears just a little bit here. Um, yeah, and I love this. The title of this book. And our next next guest. Um, Row. We live by the choices. Choices we make. I made mine. And that kind of invites an inquiry. So, uh, we're going to bring into, uh, the studio here, uh, Shahzad. Shahzad. Let's see how I do with this. Okay. Uh, Carbadwalla Carbonwala.
Speaker E: Very, very close. Uh, it's Car Bidwa.
Speaker C: Okay. Got the impostus in the wrong place here.
Speaker E: Oh, you're good. People have butchered my name in my whole life, so you've. You're very close. Much better than a lot of others.
Speaker A: Okay, Shazad, I'm sure you've been called worse, right? I mean, yeah.
Speaker E: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
Speaker C: Tell us about the book. I mean, the book is over. Yeah. Came out in 2023. Uh, so it's been out for a little bit of time here. But I love the title Row. We live by the choices we make. I made mine. And just the idea of. Of, I'm assuming a row boat, literally, or, um, what are we doing here?
Speaker E: It's actually, um, a story about a gentleman who's in San Quentin prison on death row.
Speaker C: Death row. Okay.
Speaker E: And, uh, I was gonna call it death row, but then I decided just to call it Roach, shorten it a little bit. Um, and it's a fictional story about a gentleman who's in death row at San Quinn, and he's two weeks away from his execution. So every day in San Quentin on death row, he's writing a specific piece about his life presently in prison. But then it takes a little bit of a, uh, a segue into my autobiography as well. So it kind of talks a little bit about my life in the past, um, which it was a little bit trivial. And that goes into what I'm doing now as far as, like, the humanitarian work, philanthropy, authorship, and, um, law enforcement and things like that.
Speaker A: It begs the question. And I. The. You Know why? Why this book? And I think you have to fill us in a little bit on the backstory because, uh, you teased us a little bit with that.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker E: Um, you know, trivial background. We've all make mistakes, right. We're all human beings. Um, I was looking at a, uh, potential prison sentence for quite a long time when I was younger for something that I actually did do. Um, the judge took leniency on me and gave me, uh, a sentence of, uh, probation and fulfilling a subset amount of hours for community service. I was a knucklehead back then. I got someone to sign off on that. Never fulfill my requirements. But, you know, what happened was as I grew older, God bestowed on me that look. You had a subset of hours that you needed to complete. You never did them.
Speaker D: Um, you took the easy road out.
Speaker E: Now it's time. You've grown older, you've been more mature, you've gotten more mature. Now it's time for you to complete those hours. So now I run a philanthropy organization. Um, we've grown from a single body to about 130 people. And we do pretty cool stuff all over the world. And it all ties back into Ro, um, and some of the things that I kind of experienced in my past that have led me to where I am now.
Speaker C: Well, yeah, let's talk a little bit about your philanthropic endeavors, uh, here. Uh, you know, Rhett and myself and David also were heavily involved in, you know, different, uh, philanthropic organizations, um, you know, in board positions and a number of other things. Um, what. Yeah, first of all, what issues are nutritional and, uh, what's the intent? What, what, what, what's the difference that you're making? Where's the impact point?
Speaker E: Yeah, so I'm, I'm working with quite a few kids and it's, uh. I built a personal training business about 20 years ago. Stopped for a couple of years, but then I started up again. And working with kids and it's really not just personal training, but it's championship mindset building. So working with kids young as six years old, all the way up to high school, helping them just kind of mindset shift, keeping them accountable to specific activities that they're doing, making sure they're being kind, generous, listening to their parents. You know, a lot of things that when we're being brought up, sometimes with the, uh, chaos of life, some of those things get neglected. So I'm trying to build that bridge with parents and younger, younger kids. So it's been, it's, it's been an amazing experience.
Speaker C: Yeah, I Love that. Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker D: Yeah.
Speaker E: And some of the other work I do with, I do work with the incarcerated. I sit on the board for prisoner visitation and support. And part of our mission is to kind of reach out to different federal institutions and see where there's inmates that unfortunately don't get any visitations from family friends, don't get any visitations from anyone in the, in the free world. So, um, do some of the work and speak to different inmates all across North America. So that's been a fruitful, uh, experience.
Speaker C: That's it.
Speaker A: Well, that's. Again, uh, sorry about all the noise there. Um, no, but that's, that's amazing work and, and I mean, it sounds like very rewarding to you.
Speaker D: What's your.
Speaker A: To people listening. What do you want them to take away from this conversation?
Speaker D: Yeah.
Speaker E: You know, first of all, thank you guys for what you guys do because it builds awareness for people like myself, helps me grow my personal brand. Um, you know, the mission that I serve is based off my dad's legacy, and he passed away in 2009. And what I found out when he passed away, guys, is a lot of people, former colleagues, partners, people he worked with, um, people he supported, all came back and said, you know, the amazing things that your father did, um, for me, my family, my business, and it got me to kind of self reflect on my, my life and think about how I want a legacy like my, similar to my father's. So my own mission now, uh, in everything that I do, is to help people in any way that I can. It's part of what I do in law enforcement. It's part of my authorship, you know, written three books. And the proceeds from the books all go to my charity that I, that I run, um, called Project Rise. So it's, ah, it's tapped into a lot of, a lot of the goals that I've been wanting to do. But it took a little bit of time, guys. It took, it took a lot of things that happened in my past to help me grow, um, into what I become. In row, kind of capitalized on all of that, kind of showcases a piece of what could potentially happen and with God's support, what is happening now, which has been a lot of meaningful work,
Speaker C: uh, uh, meaningful, I think, is the, the summation of that, uh, sounds a lot like you're nurturing the soul of everybody that you're coming into contact with in a way that allows for who they are actually to matter. And there, there's a lot to be acknowledged in that sort of A, uh, process so people can find out. Now you've got, you know what the project is called? What?
Speaker E: Yeah, it's called, ah, Project Rise. And we're a global organization. We have different chapters all over the world. Um, the one that I specifically run is based out of Chicago.
Speaker C: Okay. So projectrise.org projectrise.org Correct.
Speaker D: Okay.
Speaker C: And if people wanted to get in touch with you specifically, can they go to shazadnutrition.com and, you know, that would be probably the easiest link to you
Speaker D: to find out more that LinkedIn.
Speaker E: Um, you know, I know, guys, I don't do a lot of social media, so something like this is so instrumental to my personal brand because it builds awareness. But LinkedIn is probably the best method that you could reach out to me or ShahzadsNutrition.com Absolutely perfect.
Speaker C: Shazad, thank you for being such a really, uh, uh, inspirational guest. I, uh, love hearing what you're up to, and I like the way that you used a fictional account to actually land something so seminal, something so, so meaningful. So just an acknowledgment to you for that.
Speaker E: Thank you. And I appreciate you guys having me m. On the show. It's. It's been a wonderful experience. I appreciate it.
Speaker C: You bet.
Speaker A: Thanks.
Speaker C: Wow.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker C: That is good stuff. I love this.
Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, super, uh, inspirational, for sure.
Speaker C: 900th episode of, um, the solo business edition for office hours. Uh, our next guest, uh, has also got a book out that, uh, is. Is interesting here, and this is a newer book. It actually came out this April. It's called the Last Patient, and it's, uh, a memoir, um, Inside the Firefighting Service. Uh, yeah, the author is James, uh, Owen Jim Owens. And, um, there he is. Author of. Yeah.
Speaker B: Hey, good afternoon.
Speaker C: Good to see you here. An interesting story to be told here, and you've told it in the book, but let's see if we can get a little bit of it, uh, landed here on the show.
Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. Well, first of all, let me just thank you and your audience so much for having me on today. This is such a legacy project for me, and it's really honorable to be able to get this thing to light. So what happened is I wrote a memoir where I didn't end up the hero. It's a permission slip for first responders to seek help. And also, the flip side of that coin is those that love us and are trying to understand us. There are some clues in that memoir as well.
Speaker C: What was the catalyst for writing the book?
Speaker B: James certainly well, uh, the catalyst for writing my book, the Last Patient, is a culmination of, uh, uh, its entire life experience, of course, because it is a memoir. But I ran into trouble like a lot of people do, and most, most specifically first responders, where I, I was needing help and I wasn't able to reach out for help. But by the time I got help, I was. My gosh, I was nearly death's door. And that's the unfortunate circumstances of a lot of first responders and individuals in high pressure situations like the military or even, even business, if you will. But I saw that, uh, a book needed to be written to discuss the insides of the first responder culture so we could get additional help for people to not suffer as bad as they have. I mean, we've seen all the suicide rates and uh, they're just abysmal for our type of, uh, my industry.
Speaker A: Well, James, it's good to see you again. I'm glad we got.
Speaker C: We.
Speaker A: I think we got to chitchat a few months ago in, In Las Vegas and uh, a little bit about this. And um, what, what is the, the thing you want us to know about first responders? Because I think most of us think, uh, you know, you're, you're a stoic bunch and, and nothing affects you. And, and what, what's something that you, you. And I love the way you say there's some hints in here on how to, um. I have some first responder friends. And sometimes you don't know what to say after something, right? You don't know what to say to them after they've been through a tough situation. And, uh, what, what do you say? And what is. What is helpful? What's not helpful? I mean.
Speaker B: Oh, well, in, in, uh, you know, my book, the, the Last Patient, my, My goal was to show the human side underneath the badge. And it's exactly what you talk about. We see individuals just moving through our screen and we don't really think about what do they did before they got to work or what they did after after work. And it's a very, very difficult job and there's a tough crowd of people that are able to do that. I was so fortunate enough to get. To get to do that. But humans make mistakes by nature and the way that the fire departments and even businesses are run, when you run a business full tilt, things can get missed. And we're just, you know, the show's. The show has to move on. When someone calls 911, we're going to respond. But what happens to us when the fire follows us home because we spend all this time working on going towards the threat. But what happens when that fire, uh, follows us home? It follows us into our sleep, it follows into our decision making. It follows us into our parenting decisions the next day. So I saw that first responders were treating stress, and I certainly did myself like it was the common cold. But in fact, post traumatic stress and job stress, if not treated, that's a terminal disease. Okay. That's something that's going to take you out. So I reached deep into myself to put forward all the mistakes and all the stop starts that it takes to actually get help and to get sober, if you will. That's another portion. So when I saw, when, uh, I got out there and started to seek for modalities that actually worked for me, they weren't the modalities that were the front door modalities that you would think, you know, take this pill and talk to this man. That's just not enough for a lot of us. So I wanted to go further, I wanted to pull the covers on what we think and what actually goes on, uh, behind those first responders that the eyes that you see on those screens to give you an idea of like, how difficult that job really is and how tough the individual, the people that do it. And there's so much expected of first responders that, uh, the off ramp for help is, is, is really, uh, uh, it's not there, not even celebrated. And that's what I really want to bring forward. And this book wants to bring forward is a celebration of reaching out for help.
Speaker C: And I'm assuming that this is where camp Pivot kind of came into play, uh, as a forum to be able to actually work with first responders to address some of the challenges, both from a leadership perspective, but mental health challenges as well. Yeah. Can you talk a little bit about what you do at camp? Uh, Pivot. And I love the acronym, not necessarily the acronym, but the, uh, philosophy. I'm familiar with FUBAR in a military context, but the situation screwed Still Survivable is a much cleaner and much more elegant way of saying that. So can you talk a little bit about that?
Speaker B: Yeah, let me take a bite at that. So, uh, the book and my philosophy obviously comes from a lifetime of experience and in my book, really, you know, if you're, if you're going to grab my book, Looking for a firefighter book, you're going to, you're going to miss it because it's actually a human book. It's for Everybody, uh, we, uh, what? I show a very difficult childhood that I had and some decisions that my parents made. Unbelievably, I end up on a 32 foot sailboat in Mexico with my parents. And that's the catalyst for becoming a first responder. And as I had this really crazy lifestyle lived out of Catalina, and then I got involved with, uh, the 911, I saw that a lot of people go for a first responder type job. Those health type jobs have trauma themselves. They're bringing along with them and trying to figure it out through their careers as well. And through going to all these modalities, seeing all the mopey faces and first responders unwilling to put their hand up, I was like, oh, my gosh. Well, what really would work for us? So that's what my book does, is, is I. It really maps out how I went to go out and seek. Seek all kinds of different alternatives and nobody would know about those. And I'm sure I could sell my book. But in fact, what, what? Camp Pivot is a mission driven initiative that is becoming a nonprofit. It wants to be the, let's say, the Angie's List, uh, to give you a metaphor for first responders and those that love us for modalities that actually work. Okay. So I've done a ton of them, and I kissed more toads, uh, than I'd like to admit. Like, for instance, let me just give you a little side note here. Uh, some things that really surprised me about getting, uh, better. Okay. Roma therapy is warrior therapy, and I'm going to stand on it. You got a girly candle. And I want to take my shoes off. Okay, I'm gonna start relaxing. Who would have known that? Now, on the flip side of that, have you ever heard of these float tanks? They put like 500, uh, pounds of, uh, what is it, salt or whatever you go in there. Sensory deprivation. Oh, my God. It was the worst thing ever. I, uh, they put me in there. I'm floating in there. It's hot. I can't breathe. So there was a lot of things that I did that I. I just. That they didn't work for me. But I thought that if there was a warehouse somewhere where I could go see, uh, somebody else's rating won't work for them because we tend to pack, uh, up and go in groups. Now, Camp Pivot will initially be a digital warehouse, but as we get momentum, we get time, talent, and some treasure into there, we hope to go all the way to a brick and mortar where we can Provide a retreat, uh, type experience to go on top of, uh, the treatments that first responders or even military would be there to seek.
Speaker C: I love that. Brett, any final thoughts here before we close, uh, off the session?
Speaker A: Bless you, man. Just bless you.
Speaker B: Well, thank you so much. You know, uh, living life as a first responder is much like living life on a high interest credit card. And eventually that payment is totally due. And when that payment's totally due and we've all run into it, situation screwed. Still survivable.
Speaker D: And your.
Speaker B: Your people can meet me@CaptainJames Owen.com. i'm available for. Available for keynote speaking. Of course. I'm out here selling my book. I'd like to get this message out. And I'm also available for individual coaching and organizational coaching as well.
Speaker C: Great. And we, we will sell the book. Yeah, I really appreciate that. Let's, let's, let's get it out there and distributed.
Speaker B: If you know, first responder, if you know a man that's really having a tough time, hey, I don't have the solution for him, but I got a book with some clues into it. Let's go ahead and see if it'll work.
Speaker C: Perfect, folks. James Owen, Captain James Owen, author, uh, of the Last Patient. Pick up a copy at your local brick and mortar store or on Amazon. I, uh, think you'll be well rewarded. And if you got somebody in your life that is a first responder or is any, you know, it doesn't have to be fire, police, whatever. I mean, I do a lot of work in hospital systems. Surgeons, nurses, trauma centers. I mean, it kind of runs the gamut.
Speaker B: Certainly first responders are. Hey, we. We include our tow truck drivers in there, too. We're all a team. We all get affected. And again, uh, I'm not. The first responders aren't the only ones to go through a tough time. There are other people that are going through a tough time. Maybe they need some clues and maybe they need some coaching, you know, uh, for a period of time. And I'm available for all that. I want to move this forward so our society has some happy first responders in retirement.
Speaker C: That's a great. I like that aspiration. It's almost an oxymoron right now. Yeah. James, thank you very much. Appreciate it.
Speaker B: Thank you, gentlemen. Thanks to the audience. I really appreciate your time today. Thank you.
Speaker A: Thanks.
Speaker C: Wow, we did it here. Number 900.
Speaker A: We did it.
Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. Um, and we did it without our fearless leader. That'll. That'll show him.
Speaker A: Well, I'm gonna Flip it on you, man. What was your takeaway for the day? Because I didn't want to answer first.
Speaker C: Yeah, I'm gonna go with what, you know, what James just closed with, you know, happy first responders. You know, the idea, whether it's, it's building security or whether it's um, you know, actually in m. Treating ptsd, uh, you know, the, the net here has to be. How do we actually find ways. And this is something that Lee talked about in his uh, segment. Um, you know, finding ways for people to actually identify who they are and, and sort through all the stuff that's happened to them and say, okay, I'm still standing. Yeah, maybe all screwed up, but it is survivable. Yeah. And that's the big deal. It is survival. Life is light. Yeah, life. Yeah, I got a one way ticket when I came in, but it is survivable.
Speaker A: Look, I love the through line today, which I think is, is this, you know, where I mean, Lee helping prevent tragedy or, you know, and, and uh, and uh, Shajad, you know, working with marginal communities like prisoners and people that we often don't see as people. Right. And uh, then, you know, James, who is trying to help first responders. I think there's a through line of just this humanness and some of these things that we deal with. And um, I'd like that they're trying to help people that often don't seek help, I mean, or often don't think of, ah, we think of as needing help or are wanting to give help to really. Right. I mean, we um, we don't want to, we don't often talk about helping prisoners. We don't often talk about the help that first responders need to cope with the things that they live with. Um, and it's a real shame that we've got to talk about school security and tragedy like that. So I just think that I'm glad that there are people in the world that are taking on those problems and facing those problems because they're making the world a better place. And I think, um, that's to me inspiring.
Speaker C: That is, uh, I echo that. And folks, part, um, of making the world a better place and life experience a better place is to pay attention to the noise inside your head. Brett's got a great book out called Hedimentals, and it can, uh, give you some very interesting insight into how you're actually talking yourself into some stuff that you probably don't want to work with. How leaders can crack negative self talk.
Speaker A: So, you know, hey, I got something for you.
Speaker C: Yeah.
Speaker A: So I want to talk to you because I, I've got this idea, and you might, you'd be the perfect person to talk about it with. Um, and maybe we need. We need to do an offline show on it, but did, uh, you know Mark Goulston.
Speaker C: Oh, new Mark. Very well. Yeah.
Speaker A: So, you know, Mark and I were talking before he died. We. About a year before he died, he and I started talking about, um, this concept of being, uh, lost, uh, in transaction.
Speaker C: Yep.
Speaker A: And, uh, have I mentioned this to you before? I might have mentioned this to you before.
Speaker C: No, but I've talked to Mark about that as well. I talked to him, actually, about a week before he died.
Speaker A: Uh, he and I were talking about a book. Working on a book together, about it. And, uh, I need a co author, so I can. Because I promised him I would finish it because he knew, you know, he knew a couple months before that this was the it and that he wasn't going to be able to finish this project. Well, I should. We, we should talk since you knew Mark. Uh, I've got a draft.
Speaker C: Okay.
Speaker A: And we should, uh, we should talk because I think, you know, he and I were talking about people who would be, uh, who, who should help me finish this project. And so we should talk about that.
Speaker C: We will take that one offline, folks. You heard about it first here.
Speaker A: That's right. I'm putting a marker down. I'm putting. Yeah, uh,
Speaker C: I'd love to circle back with you on that route. I, I. Because Mark and I had some pretty interesting conversations about that topic. And, uh, uh, he was a special guy. He really was.
Speaker A: Uh, yes, he was, for sure.
Speaker C: Brilliant. And a heart of gold. My God, he had a huge heart. I loved him.
Speaker A: Uh, yeah, too, too big. Too big of a heart, probably.
Speaker C: Yeah.
Speaker A: If there's such a thing.
Speaker C: That's kind of where we got in trouble, I think. Anyway, my friend.
Speaker A: All right, brother.
Speaker C: Thank you for co hosting with me today. I appreciate it, and I'm pleasure to co host with you as well. So let's talk about the book. I'm all in. Sounds, uh, like a fascinating, fascinating project. And I think it'd be a great way to memorize, memorialize, uh, uh, Mark, so.
Speaker A: Indeed. All right, my man.
Speaker C: You take care, folks.
Speaker A: You too.
Speaker C: Office hours. David Meltzer's show. Office hours with David Meltzer. This is a solo business edition. I'm Blaine Bartlett, my co host today, Rhett Power. Um, tomorrow, Friday, David's morning, um, shows, um, the training, so be sure you tune in. Gigi will put the information up for you here so that you can find out exactly where you need to go if you don't know. So, Gigi, why don't you go ahead and do that? And, uh, this is office hours. Number 900 or so we're going to claim 900, though, okay? So tomorrow morning, 6:00am Pacific, 9:00am um, Eastern. Free training. And take us out of here, Gigi.
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