{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Long Game with Mitch Long","title":"From Green Beret to Blackhawk Pilot to Financial Planner: Nick O'Kelly on Risk, Family, and Starting Over","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":980,"description":"What a Green Beret turned Blackhawk pilot turned financial planner learned about risk, family, and starting over.\nIn this episode of The Long Game, Mitch Long talks with Nick O’Kelly about military life, aviation, family, and the road that led him into financial planning. Nick shares how he went from struggling in college to becoming a Green Beret, then a Blackhawk pilot, before eventually starting over in a new career after leaving the military.\nThey also get into the mindset shift of moving from service into sales, how Nick built his practice, and why his approach to financial planning starts with the end state in mind. It is a grounded conversation about discipline, family, long-term thinking, and helping people make better financial decisions.\nWHAT WE TALK ABOUT\n\nNick O’Kelly’s path from college to Special Forces\nServing as a Green Beret in Okinawa\nBecoming a Blackhawk pilot and flying in special operations\nWhy he left the military and started over\nThe challenge of moving from service into sales\nHow Cadence Wealth Partners approaches financial planning\nWhy Nick starts with the end state in mind\nHelping clients stay steady when markets get shaky\nFamily, coaching, and being intentional with time\nWhy trust and referrals matter in a growing practice\nCHAPTERS\n\n00:00 – Mitch and Nick connect over their military family background\n00:11 – Nick on high school, college, and joining the military\n01:00 – Special Forces training and becoming a Green Beret\n01:30 – Serving in Okinawa and starting a family\n01:50 – Aviation, flight school, and becoming a Blackhawk pilot\n02:10 – Flying with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment\n02:26 – Mitch on growing up in a military family\n02:47 – Why Nick left the military\n03:24 – Building a plan before leaving service\n03:40 – Becoming a finance nerd and earning the CFP designation\n04:06 – The hardest part of starting in the business\n04:30 – The mindset shift from quiet professional to finding clients\n05:15 – Mitch on sales,...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/2d0oCP7sq44v_nCwmVpTe5JTNlpfpMmnZxJE9vTkDzU/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9lYzhi/OWY3YjRiMGExZmQz/YzNiOWE1MTk4YTEz/ZTY0ZC5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}