Pre Show: What's going on everyone, Welcome to another edition of Confessions of a Native Son, I'm your host Mike Steadman. I'm a Marine Corps Veteran, Entrepreneur, and Aspiring author, who enjoys thought-provoking and engaging dialogue about race, culture, and business.

• In this episode, I open up about my first year in the Marine Corps, and the challenges I faced as a young black officer. I share details about my performance, living and working in what felt like an all-white world, and the humiliation I felt. This was the hardest episode I've recorded yet. Sharing this aspect of my life brought back a lot of negative memories and feelings that I've tried to push past. My hope is that by opening and sharing my experience, I'm able to foster an open dialogue about race and culture in the military. As always, thanks for sharing your time with me and I hope you enjoy the show. 

Introduction:  What's up everybody, Welcome to another edition of Confessions of a Native Son. Thank you for joining us again. 

• Podcasting on a Monday afternoon from my apartment
• Reflection on Last Week's Episode
• Marine Corps Times Article "The Marine Corps: Always faithful — to white men"
• Confession: "I was relieved in Combat. In the summer of 2012, after almost 6 months in combat, I lost command of men. It was one of the lowest points of my life, and to be completely honest, I'm still embarrassed by it. I had an extremely rocky Marine Corps career, which heavily contradicts all the success I've had outside the military. 

Sponsors: 

• Dope Coffee: A lifestyle brand that pairs urban Black Culture with innovative product offerings in the coffee industry. We are not a coffee brand for Black people. We are a coffee brand that seeks to elevate Black culture through a lifestyle of premium coffee and candid conversation.
• IRONBOUND Boxing: a fitness brand that utilizes the wellness benefits of boxing to transform communities, individuals, and corporate teams, helping them realize their fullest potential. Proceeds from our services fund free amateur boxing programs for inner-city youth and young adults. 

Theme: Always Faith

• Topic 1: Why I Joined the Marine Corps
  • The Poster
  • Brandon Barrett
  • The Toughness
• Topic 2: The Reality
  • TBS
  • IOC
  • Afghanistan
• Topic 2: Black Man in A White World
  • Lack of Confidence
  • Second Guessing
  • Floyd Mayweather

Conclusion: Closing remarks. 

CTA: Be sure to subscribe and support the podcast by giving us 5 stars and leaving a review on iTunes. Also, forward this show to anyone in your network who you feel identifies with the subject matter. 

Order some dope coffee at www.realdopecoffee.com, we've got to start supporting our own businesses. We're actually in the midst of a funding raising round.  we've raised $45,000 of our $107K target! We're excited about this investment round and I highly encourage all my friends and family to make an investment in us. You can invest for as little as 250.00.  Also, be sure to donate at www.Ironboundboxing.org,  every donation allows us to support free amateur boxing programs for youth and young adults in low-income communities. Boxing is wellness, and thats why we're providing free workouts for the community. Between our corporate clients and free classes, we're running upwards of 15 classes a week. You can donate to support the cause at IRONBOUNDBoxing.org, also if you are part of a remote team looking for some fun employee engagement, we'd love to host a class for you.  

Message me on Linkedin or shoot me an email at Mike@weareironbound.com, Special shoutout to my Co-Producer Mike Loyd and the team from the Gifted Sounds Network. Rooting for everybody black. 

Until next time, peace, love, and have a great rest of your week.