The Long Game with Mitch Long

What a Green Beret turned Blackhawk pilot turned financial planner learned about risk, family, and starting over.

In 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.

They 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.

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT

Nick O’Kelly’s path from college to Special Forces
Serving as a Green Beret in Okinawa
Becoming a Blackhawk pilot and flying in special operations
Why he left the military and started over
The challenge of moving from service into sales
How Cadence Wealth Partners approaches financial planning
Why Nick starts with the end state in mind
Helping clients stay steady when markets get shaky
Family, coaching, and being intentional with time
Why trust and referrals matter in a growing practice

CHAPTERS

00:00 – Mitch and Nick connect over their military family background
00:11 – Nick on high school, college, and joining the military
01:00 – Special Forces training and becoming a Green Beret
01:30 – Serving in Okinawa and starting a family
01:50 – Aviation, flight school, and becoming a Blackhawk pilot
02:10 – Flying with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment
02:26 – Mitch on growing up in a military family
02:47 – Why Nick left the military
03:24 – Building a plan before leaving service
03:40 – Becoming a finance nerd and earning the CFP designation
04:06 – The hardest part of starting in the business
04:30 – The mindset shift from quiet professional to finding clients
05:15 – Mitch on sales, listening, and helping people solve problems
06:18 – Nick explains Cadence Wealth Partners and how they plan backward
07:00 – How they review plans and keep clients focused long term
07:37 – Market swings, fear, and staying the course
09:06 – Nick on family, kids, and youth sports
10:27 – Coaching baseball and protecting time with family
11:35 – The joke behind “undefeated dad”
12:13 – Military culture, parenting, and adjusting expectations at home
13:24 – Nick on building value and growing through referrals
14:18 – Mitch on relationships that have lasted decades
14:58 – Why trust matters more than transactions
15:00 – Nick on growth, hiring, and expanding the practice

Connect with Mitch Long: LinkedIn | KazInsurance | Read: Pagers & Payphones
Connect with Nick O'Kelly: LinkedIn | X | Cadence Wealth Partners

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About This Podcast and Series
The Long Game is a series under Entrepreneur Perspectives. Produced by QuietLoud Studios — a modern media network and a KazSource brand.

Credits:
Music by Jess & Ricky — SoundCloud

What is The Long Game with Mitch Long?

Mitch Long started in insurance with a pager and a roll of quarters. Thirty years later he's still showing up — and now he's having the conversations that don't usually make it onto a LinkedIn post.

The Long Game is where Mitch sits down with business owners, founders, and people who've been around long enough to know what actually works. They talk about how they got started, what they got wrong, what they'd do differently, and why the basics still win.

And sometimes Mitch and his son Adam sound off on First and Long — their ongoing football conversation about the NFL, their beloved Steelers, and why six Super Bowls still doesn't make the heartbreak any easier. First and long usually means your team just screwed up. Sounds about right. First and Long is a SportsEpreneur series.

Produced by QuietLoud Studios, a KazSource brand.