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Lead The People is your guide to unlocking your true potential as an authentic leader. Hosted by Dr. Matt Poepsel—The Godfather of Talent Optimization—this podcast dives deep into the art and science of what it takes to lead at the next level. With insightful conversations and practical strategies, each episode equips executives, strategic HR pros, and aspiring leaders with the tools it takes to boost performance, inspire teams, and drive meaningful impact. Whether exploring the latest workplace trends or tackling real-world leadership challenges, Lead The People offers an enlightened approach to leadership. Embark on a rewarding journey to become the leader your people deserve—the leader you were meant to be.
Waldo Waldman (00:00):
A lot of people say passion is everything. You got to have the passion, but sometimes you're going to lose the passion. You're going to be tired, your test results are positive, you're going to be stressed out, overworked. There's a lot of uncertainty. But when you have a sense of responsibility, understanding that others are depending on you, then passion gets subjugated to responsibility. And that's what great leaders do.
Matt Poepsel (00:30):
Hey, before we get started, there's something new that I'm trying out. I want to tell you all about it. As you listen to my conversation with Waldo today, if you've got any questions or any reactions, I'd love to hear from you. I'd love to have you go over to LinkedIn. Let me know over there or wherever it is that you listen to your podcast. Just leave a comment and let's keep the conversation going. As I mentioned, I think you're really going to enjoy this conversation with Waldo. We talked about quite a few things. He gives us his take on purpose and how purpose can be a fuel that can really drive the mission and help you get through those hard times. He also talked a lot about responsibility and how that's another critical success factor in helping us understand that sense of service, that obligation that sort of gives us the oomph we need to get through those hard times.
(01:12):
We talked quite a bit about something that I first discovered from Waldo back when I met him 10 years ago, which was all about how to be a good wingman and what it means that his first book Never Fly Solo. We really dig into that a little bit too. And then finally, when we think about how do you have awareness about when it's time to open up the view a little bit more instead of just keeping focus too tightly on what's in front of us, sometimes we need to broaden our perspective if we're going to really power through. So I loved my conversation with Waldo. I think you're going to as well, so I'll let you get to it.
(01:46):
Advice tells you to push past your fear. My guest today spent 65 combat missions doing something a lot harder than that. He flew an F-16 into enemy fire while quietly fighting claustrophobia and panic attacks the entire time. Lieutenant Colonel Waldo Waldman is a decorated fighter pilot, a hall of fame keynote speaker, and an executive coach. And he's got a new book out called Commit, Commit. In his book, he never once promises you'll stop being afraid. The whole point is to make sure the fear doesn't end up flying the jet. Waldo, welcome to Lead the People.
Waldo Waldman (02:13):
Great to be with you, Matt.
Matt Poepsel (02:14):
This is a real treat for me, Waldo. We first met 10 years ago. I know you looked it up because you were at an event put on by The Predictive Index when I got to see you the first time. And now fast-forward all these years later and here you're on my show. It's incredible.
Waldo Waldman (02:27):
Yeah. Well, relationships count as you all know, and I'm glad that we were able to stay in touch. And you just never know for people listening to this, you have an impact on somebody. You may not think you'll see them again, but sooner or later you'll bump into them and you may be on a podcast or coaching their son or daughter's soccer team. Who the heck knows? But time flies and I'm really glad that we're able to connect today, Matt. And I'm proud of all the things that you're still doing with Predictive Index and the leadership impact you're making within your business as well.
Matt Poepsel (02:55):
100%. I love it. I love it. It was a great time then and you had this really interactive presentation with us and really landed some points. And now you've got the new book and that's what I can't wait to talk to you about. Commit, commit. I know that's a radio call. I never flew jets of course, but I know that's a radio call as well as your new book title. And so when you take us in the cockpit there and you've got the flight lead and they give that call, commit, commit, what does that mean? In what context does that happen and what led you to choose that as the title for your book?
Waldo Waldman (03:21):
So if we were flying a two ship formation in Kosovo or Afghanistan and we getting ready to cross the border and engage the target, air to air adversaries coming at us, they cross into enemy territory. We're about to execute the plan. I'll say commit. Many times it's commit, commit. We don't want that wingman to miss that on the radio. And that means essentially arm your weapons, push up the throttle, cinch down your lap belt. We are going at it. It's time to go from training to execution. The plan is in place. And so this book is about what it takes for a leader, an entrepreneur, somebody searching for a job, losing weight, decide to get married, kick their sales goals from last year out of the water, deal with a phobia or an anxiety, what it takes to go from philosophy and planning to execution.
(04:15):
Everything up to that point, what it takes for me to fully commit the things that get in the way in your head, in your heart and in your hands, your training. So that's what it's for. And I'm super excited because in this world of uncertainty that we're dealing with right now, the economy, the chaos in politics around AI, people need more clarity. They need more certainty and confidence in themselves to execute and deal with all the missiles of change.
Matt Poepsel (04:47):
Yeah. A lot of times all that uncertainty can make us a little bit tentative. And I think in your experience in the cockpit and since, it seems like tentative approaches kind of produce suboptimal results for sure.
Waldo Waldman (04:57):
You need clarity. That's why I call it a mission mindset chapter two. Let's open this bad boy up. It's weird having it in my hands, but chapter two says -
Matt Poepsel (05:05):
I know Exactly. I love it.
Waldo Waldman (5:07):
Mission mindset, a vector to greatness. So it's like, hey, you can't be flying by the seat of your pants. You need a target. You need clarity. You need a vector, a direction. And sometimes it's about purpose, starting a business, building freedom so your children can have what you haven't had. It's about feeling more confident in yourself after losing 20 pounds or getting your MBA or something, whatever that is. You need clarity on that mission, otherwise you're just flying by the seat of your pants and you're what we call in the fighter world tumbleweed. Now, I lived in Oklahoma and Texas for a while and anybody who's been there knows that when you're flying along or driving along the highway and there's planes and you'll see that tumbleweed zipping along a victim of the wind, no control, just going where the wind pushes them.
(05:56):
And you don't want to be that way in life, in business. When it comes to accomplishing an audacious goal, you need clarity and confidence. So the mission mindset, the why before you fly, the purpose, that impetus to change.
Matt Poepsel (06:08):
That was one of the biggest lessons I had to learn when I transitioned out of military service into the civilian world was everybody had a sense of mission when we were in the service. And as a civilian leader, I should say, it didn't really dawn on me that I had to create that sense of mission orientation for my team. I was so used to just being part of the wiring of everybody was there. We were all there for our respective jobs and here it was like something that I took for granted at first and I never made that mistake again.
Waldo Waldman (06:34):
Yeah. And those things are a byproduct of experience. And like you said, sometimes you have to create a vector and mission and purpose for yourself, but also a great leader. "Hey, this is where we're going. This is why we need to get there. Here's how you can support me. Here's how you fit into the big picture and why your role is so important. "When you fluff their feathers and give them that confidence and clarity, now that ambiguity, the fog and friction of war that we both dealt with, they're able to deal with it a little bit more and they get more confidence. They're able to see through the smokescreen and that's what great leaders do. And I think it's an important concept, Matt, because this isn't just about a book about the individual dealing with those changes and getting clarity, but as a leader giving it for your team.
(07:18):
But the bottom line is this, if you don't have it as a leader, your team's likely not going to have it either. So it starts with the flight lead, the guy or gal up front.
Matt Poepsel (07:28):
Yeah, 100%. And I know there's a related term you use, which is around responsibility. And I think that in your extreme environments and certainly in the working world today where the stakes are really high, the uncertainty's also really high and sometimes burnout and friction can be high too. What is it about responsibility that gives energy to the mission and helps teams power through some of those challenging times?
Waldo Waldman (07:50):
A lot of people say passion is everything. You got to have the passion. And look, we got to be passionate about what we did. We're entrepreneurs, we work with companies, you're doing this podcast, you have people that are excited to listen to this, but sometimes you're going to lose the passion. Sometimes you're going to be tired, your test results are positive, you're going to be stressed out, overworked. There's a lot of uncertainty. You're going to be working a 12-hour day, you're going to be deployed, you're going to be dodging missiles. It's like the passion is going to be lost. But when you have the sense of responsibility, understanding that others are depending on you, then passion gets subjugated to responsibility. And that's what great leaders do, people who are in touch with who they are. That's why you're doing this podcast, why you're working with the military folks at NSA.
(08:38):
There's other folks who may be in the dungeon of doubt who need you to push up the throttle and take action even though you, as the flight lead, as the leader, may want to pull it back. And so for people listening to this who have children, for example, I like using this analogy. If you have children and you remember changing their diapers when you're kids, nobody's passionate about changing diapers, right? You're not going to say, "Well, look, little kid, I know you're eight months old, but I'm just losing the passion today. I just don't feel like doing it, so I'm going to have a martini or take a nap." You just deal with it. No, you execute. And here's why. At the end of the day, service is love in action. And I'm not talking about romantic love. I'm talking about the love that says, "I'm going to take some risks.
(09:24):
I'm going to be inconvenienced. I'm going to charge the hill, face my fears because others are depending on me." And I talk about this in flying for your wingman. It's not just flying with a team because hey, it's easy to have courage when you have folks working with you and for you in your formation. We all know we're not flying solo, which is we shouldn't fly solo, but it's the focus of my first book, Never Fly Solo. But when you fly for your wingman, for those that need you, who respect you, who need your guidance and clarity, you distract yourself from yourself when fear comes and get focused on your team. And that's where responsibility comes. And that's the difference between an average leader and a great leader. They're willing to subjugate passion to responsibility.
Matt Poepsel (10:08):
I hadn't really thought about it that way, but it's like the two twin engines almost of responsibility where some people I've heard they like responsibility because it's their value system. It's something that they hold themselves upright and they take personal pride in being responsible. Others might take more of the social aspect of that term and saying, "I'm responsible to others. Other people are counting on me. I like serving and helping others." So it's like that's a powerful one, two punch under responsibility. And it's not a word that you hear that all that often in leadership circles or accountability circles inside companies. It's almost taken for granted sometimes. It sounds like that's a real mistake.
Waldo Waldman (10:42):
It is. And call me old school, right? I'm a grit and grindy, pay me after I do the work type of guy. And I'm a father. I've got clients as well, but it's this personal pride that we have. If you also boil it down to B2C, the person, the grinder who's trying to find responsibility, maybe the single guy or gal, or they don't have many things that they're fighting for or loving for, by the way. It's not just what you fight for, it's what you love for. Responsibility, response-able. You got to look at the guy or gal zipping up the flight suit every morning and say, "Do I trust that person?" I'm depending on that person staring back at me to put in the work, to start the diet, to make that extra call, to grind out and get prepared today so that I can really execute with passion for those that need me, but also for the guy or gal staring back at me.
(11:32):
We got to build that self-respect, the self-awareness. Some of us beat each other up and dislike ourselves because we know deep down we're letting passion overrule our hard work. That's why in the military, as we well know, Matt, we have the saying, "The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in battle." And so winners work, but we are response-able. We execute and do the tedious work even though, hey, we may not feel like it. And when you do that, here's the beautiful thing about it. It builds up that confidence in your character. It fills you up and is more fuel to take on bigger responsibilities and greater challenges that have higher risks, but higher rewards.
Matt Poepsel (12:16):
I think that really talks about the trajectory that a lot of my listeners have experienced, which is you go from individual contributor, then you get promoted, now you're managing a small team. You keep getting promoted, oftentimes you manage bigger teams. And you mentioned your first book, Never Fly Solo, and it really reminds us that leadership, business, even beyond business, these are team sports in effect. You can't do it by yourself. And you have this term that you used in the cockpit as well, check six. So this is the notion that you've got this vulnerability behind you, directly behind you, you can't see it and you need somebody else to help watch it for you. And so how does that show up? Or you think about today's world of work. So many times we're asked to look after ourselves, but it seems to be a fallacy if you use check six as a guiding point.
Waldo Waldman (13:01):
I'm going to see if I could put this image in here. Let me know because that's showing up there so you see check six right there.
Matt Poepsel (13:08):
If you're watching video, you’ll see it.
Waldo Waldman (13:10):
So you can see a pilot looking over his shoulder and there's another image here. So when you're strapped into a fighter jet, for those that aren't watching, it's impossible to see your most vulnerable position, which is behind you. 12 o'clock right out front's easy to see. Three, nine o'clock, not bad. But the threat, the enemy, the target of opportunity may be where you can't see it. However, when you have a teammate, a partner who's looking over their shoulder in the jet next to you and you're looking over theirs, now you're creating mutual support. You're calling out each other's blind spots. You're building perspective that you may not be able to see on your own.
(13:54):
And so a great leader, a great entrepreneur is able to leverage the acumen and insights and perspectives of others, subjugating their ego because we don't want to get defensive and we're listening to feedback often that we may need to hear but may not want to hear. And so as you're becoming committed and focused many times, hey, that unsuspected hero or the coach who you invest in or the podcast for that matter, or somebody who sees something that you may not see is going to give you feedback and your job is to say, thank you for having my back and being gracious. And not saying that their feedback's always going to be right, but be receptive to it. And then also a great leader is willing to check the wingman six and see the things that they can't see. And then with talk and love and service and a mission mindset gives them feedback so that they can hit their targets.
(14:47):
So it's mutually symbiotic. It's mutual support. You check my six, I check yours, and we're better together.
Matt Poepsel (14:55):
Most of my listeners and myself are not going to end up in a cockpit anytime soon, but it really resonates with me in the sense I was thinking about, and let's imagine you're having an executive team meeting and let's say you run sales, for example, and you hear a product and engineering talking about something they're talking about. And part of that is understanding that you have perspective that they don't based on what customers really are looking for, whatever it might be. So choosing to speak up in that moment, that's important functionally because you can see things that other people who don't have your experience or your perspective have. But additionally, you're saying even calling out feedback that maybe is not all that comfortable to hear, but I need it. So you might pull somebody aside and say, Hey, did you notice when you were going through those numbers that the CEO started checking their phone, something wasn't landing?
(15:36):
I'd be happy to spend some time with you over lunch. We could talk about how to punch up your presentation style. Something like that. Being willing to do that, that's being a good wingman, it sounds like.
Waldo Waldman (15:44):
You got it. And the relationship has to be set beforehand. So if you're a stranger, I don't have a relationship with you and/or you don't deliver it with tact and love in mind and service, then it's going to be difficult for that to land on me. But in fighter squads, man, the gloves are off and the debriefings, man. We were brutal with each other because we were mission focused, not relationship focused. It's not always about the relationship. It's not everything. It's important, but the mission, hitting the target, getting everyone home safely, accomplishing it with pride, that's what's important. And in business, hey, we're not running nonprofits, most of us aren't. We got to go out and grind and execute and do what's right. And so you've got to be willing to have those uncomfortable conversations and go through the discomfort of growth and feedback. And part of commitment means, hey, I may not see the big picture here.
(16:35):
What am I missing? Do you love me enough to piss me off even to tell me what I need to hear and not what I want to hear? And it's also, and this is important, Matt, because we're peers and wingmen with each other and we're growing our relationship. It's about doing what my dad always said with growing up. Be careful who you spend time with on the weekends. Some people's perspectives are not necessarily the good ones, right? If you're hanging out with wingnuts and not wing men, if the men and women who you're hanging out with are not emulating excellence in their personal lives and their health and fitness and how they're running their business, then please don't give me the feedback. You don't want to be listening to those. And so you want to make your mentors, your friends and your friends your mentors, people that you're spending time with, especially if you're trying to refine your character and courage and business.
(17:22):
Hey, make sure they're emulating it through their example and their courage and their commitment and what it takes to be a great leader. You'll be more receptive to their feedback as opposed to some of the wingnuts that are out there in today's society. And Lord knows there's plenty of them out there, right?
Matt Poepsel (17:36):
Completely. And I want to stay on this point for a second because I think it's advice that we have to keep coming back to over and over again. What are those things that keep us flying solo in the sense that I know that in times of uncertainty when things change, it can lead us to kind of go inward a little bit and to be a little bit more me focused when we got to stay we focused. You talk about three different lies that leaders tell themselves that keep them in that kind of solo flying solo mode. These are things like I don't want to be a burden like, oh, my team's already, I'm going to just do it by myself because I don't want to trouble other people. Or people think I'm weak if I ask for help or I'm the leader, so I'm supposed to have the answers.
(18:11):
And you put a lot of pressure on yourself to say, I got to figure this stuff out on my own. What's the real damage of some of those mindsets, Waldo, when it comes to being in a leadership position, but having some of that in your noggin?
Waldo Waldman (18:22):
Well, number one, as a leader, you better be working harder than almost anyone on your team, putting in the time, up-to-date, relevant, leveraging tools, technologies, your character, your health and fitness, it's hard. You got to do the work. Arnold Schwarzenegger once said, no one ever got big watching me lift the weights. So we got to lift the weights. We got to do the hard work. You got to put yourself in the cockpit and ultimately fly the jet. But there's a limit to your perspective. There's a limit to your bandwidth. There's a limit to your knowledge. And so transparency and sometimes a little bit of vulnerability is important as a leader because I need help is a perfectly good answer or comment to say, to call out mayday to people in your formation who you've built relationships with, who have your back, who trust you and who are willing to tell you what you need to hear and not what you want to hear.
(19:11):
So that takes some courage. And guess what? If you are willing to say, I need help, and expose your weaknesses and vulnerabilities and perhaps even insecurities, then your teammates will as well. And you want them calling out mayday, mayday rather than trying to solve problems that they don't have the mindset, the heart set, or the skills to deal with. So your job as a leader is to have others bring you their problems, to be transparent, and also for you to recognize that because a great leader can't do it all, but when he inspires their team and gets them to collaborate together and give them advice or her advice, that's a beautiful thing. But I also want to say is sometimes I don't know is also a great answer or I'll find out or even better, I messed up. I'm sorry, I was wrong today. I do it with my team probably weekly.
(20:01):
I saw something that they didn't. I criticized them. Oh crap, I missed something. Hey folks, I apologize. Thanks for having the courage to tell me the truth and for listening to my feedback because we're going to make those mistakes and you want that culture in your organization that starts with you to be able to admit their mistakes, et cetera. Now, if there's lack of character, dishonesty, brutal feedback, negativity, dishonoring and disrespecting people, hey, that's a culture issue that should be removed from your squadron as much as you can, but it's definitely mutually symbiotic and you don't want to mess up thinking that you're going to do it on your own. Those relationships count and should be nurtured.
Matt Poepsel (20:41):
And I think a lot of leaders hesitate to make themselves vulnerable in front of their teammates, but you're saying being willing to admit when we made a mistake and thank people for their feedback. And I see this happening a lot right now because so much is changing. Our jobs are changing. I know leaders at every level are being challenged to do more, be more productive. Many times we're being handed more direct reports. We're flattening organizations, et cetera. It's leaving some people a little bit questioning who they are and what they're all about. And I know in your book you had a conversation about a fighter pilot, a helicopter pilot, I should say, named
Waldo Waldman (21:11):
John
Matt Poepsel (21:12):
Who was going through something a little bit relatable. Can you tell us a little bit about what was going on there and what you learned from your experience working with John?
Waldo Waldman (21:18):
Classified name. His name wasn't John and some folks I've actually used their names, but this guy, amazing young man, a Guard Pilot at a base in the United States, I'll leave it at that. And basically he was really, really experienced, but he started having panic attacks in the cockpit after on a search and rescue mission in a civilian job. They picked up a young lady who was the same age as his daughter in a car accident. He freaked out, started thinking about his daughter. And long story short, he couldn't fly anymore. Every time he strapped in, he was having this massive panic attacks, fear. And this is what I experienced hundreds of times in the cockpit. I was still able to execute because of all the things in this book and commit, commit, and there's a lot to it. And so he started doubting himself.
(22:01):
He became very depressed. All he wanted to do was fly, and now he couldn't. His purpose was no longer clear to him. And when you lose that purpose and passion, that's when depression sets in, why suicide is so high in particular among veterans. And so my advice to him after multiple conversations was, "It's okay to quit in this job. You've done enough. Maybe it's time for you to focus on doing something else where you're still able to contribute your skill and your acumen and your passion in another way." And he wound up being a simulator instructor, the teaching search and rescue and all this stuff in the simulator, and he absolutely loved it. He found new meaning to his mission. He found that why before you fly. And many people lose that passion and perspective. They become depressed. They don't necessarily know what it is they're fighting for or what they're loving for.
(23:00):
It's happened to me. It's the reason why I wrote this book. In particular, I dedicated it to my 15-year-old who I put the book on his bed yesterday. He never mentioned anything this morning about it. I'm like, "What the hell? These kids are like, we'll talk later." But I expected him to say, "Oh, dad, I saw the book. That's so awesome. You dedicated it to me, but he probably didn't even open the damn book. I digress." People are losing that passion. And when you lose the passion, you have these panic attacks and you're losing that why before you fly, you need clarity. That's why, hey, calling up a coach, getting therapy, finding more meaning in your life and being willing to get out of one cockpit and go into another. It's okay. Can't fly every mission. We're human beings. Now, I never quit on almost all the missions that I flew except one, which was a sortie ferrying black back planes from Spain to the US.
(23:51):
It wasn't a combat mission. There was no purpose for me to fly other than taking these jets back. And long story short, it's in my book, Never Fly Solo. It's actually not in commit commit. I think both of the books are important to getting clarity. And I didn't sleep the night before. I'm like, I'm freaking claustrophobic. I'm going to be flying from Spain to the US. And what's between Spain and the US, Matt? I know you're a Marine, but you're still smart. Yeah, a lot of water. A lot of water, right, bro? And I didn't do it. I couldn't sleep. I was miserable. Woke up that next morning, tired, frustrated, massive headache, and I wound up not flying that plane home. I beat myself up. See, you didn't do it. You could have done it because it was all about me. There was no reason for me to fly that jet.
(24:36):
It was not about combat flying for my team. It wasn't about getting home. If my son was perhaps sick in the hospital or somebody needed me and I had to get home quick, boom, I'm going to do it. I'm going to fly. People that are afraid of heights, if your son or daughter or loved one's in the water 30 feet below, you're going to jump off a diving board to save that person even though you're afraid of heights. I talk about that in the book as well, if you remember, Matt. And so he got clarity, a renewed sense of purpose and a new life. And I've got so many text messages from him, just a great human being. I've coached a lot of other people who are doing this. And I said that's why I wanted to put this book together for people who are struggling with panic attacks, maybe losing some purpose, maybe excited about starting something new, a new career, leaving college.
(25:26):
What are they going to do with their career? Deciding to get married or have kids, become an executive in their organization or maybe starting their own. And so amazing young man, and I'm just so proud of him for stepping out of his comfort zone and rekindling his passion for life and his family was very grateful for it as well.
Matt Poepsel (25:45):
Everything is so connected like that, right? Our family knows when we're not at our best. And I think a lot of people listening right now are either excited about changes that they're trying to push themselves into. Some may have had changes handed to them and say, "I didn't ask for this, and I'm feeling the fear because of it." Totally happens. But this advice that you have for us, which is being able to willing to analyze that, to accept that, to take a look at that and understand that what you're feeling is natural, but sometimes you got to have the discretion of when do I push through? When do I start to say, "Well, maybe this isn't. Maybe there is another path. It doesn't seem like I'm being railroaded down." Only one option that can be a little too limited.
Waldo Waldman (26:19):
And he may not have thought about the option until he asked for help.
Matt Poepsel (26:23):
Right. There you go.
Waldo Waldman (26:24):
This is ultimately the key. He had a limited perspective. His radar is sweeping here and a teammate, a partner, somebody who sees his blind spots can, and this is why I'm so passionate, and you get this Matt because you're a relationship guy. Fill as many wingmen or wing ma’ams in your formation as possible. You've only one mayday call away from a solution. And so on this journey of commitment, the more you have it, the more you have those folks, the better, and the more clarity and purpose and training and preparation and faith you have, those are small but significant stepping stones that'll keep you getting in the carpet, taxiing, getting ready to be number one for takeoff, pushing up the throttle and ultimately releasing the brakes and taking off. What you do after that's up to you. The hardest part is taking off, right? And as an entrepreneur, you know that's a challenge, right, bro?
Matt Poepsel (27:17):
Oh, in any growth business, it's just so hard to get that flywheel going, get that momentum going. And then once you do, once you get that sort of velocity behind you, now you got a lot of different options. And it's dynamic up there, as you know better than I do, how fast things happen and how you're looking all and scanning all over the place, and you've got a lot of things to think about and to see about. My heart goes out to people today who don't have that sort of classic training, but are finding themselves in these very dynamic environments. A lot of military terms make their way in the civilian world eventually, and whether it's VUCA this or all these kinds of things. The fact that you're writing is so relatable and you take your experiences that were started in the military, but they're directly translatable to what we're experiencing in the modern working world, that's one of my favorite things about you, much less being able to see on the stage, which was a treat in and of itself.
(28:03):
But I have something that's a little bit less of a treat. We're going to play a trivia game right now, and this is something I like to do with my guests. And I saw that you grew up on Long Island and that your father was a Navy veteran and worked at JFK Airport. I learned that about you, that's kind of how you got your first exposure to aviation. So I thought we would get a question about airports.
Waldo Waldman (28:21):
Yeah.
Matt Poepsel (28:21):
Multiple choice question here it is. Which US city is home to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport frequently ranked as the busiest airport in the world? Is it A, New York City, B, Chicago, or C, Atlanta?
Waldo Waldman (28:31):
Atlanta, my hometown. So I've been at Artsfield way more than any other airport.
Matt Poepsel (28:37):
Is that right?
Waldo Waldman (28:37):
You didn't know that, I assume, right?
Matt Poepsel (28:39):
No, I had
Waldo Waldman (28:40):
No idea. I live in Atlanta. So easy one for me.
Matt Poepsel (28:43):
There it is. Since almost 1998, major hub for Delta and its strategic position in the US. We crushed it. Look at that. Well, Waldo, I've got a much better question for you, which is where can my listeners go to learn more about you and about your new book, Commit, Commit?
Waldo Waldman (28:55):
So if you Google Waldo Waldman, Google the Wingman, et cetera, you can find me there. Yourwingman.com, www.YourWingman.com is my website. I'm on LinkedIn at Waldo Waldman Instagram. I got a bunch of videos and vignettes on YouTube, et cetera. So that's the best place to find me. Google is your best friend or ask ChatGPT. How do I find the wingman? The fighter pilot speaker. And also my book launches November 17th, but you can pre-order commit, commit on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It's all out there. I'm sure maybe you'll put a link in the notes as well, Matt, which would be great, but I'm giving a portion of the profits to veterans of our country. I just spoke to the American Legion a few days ago, 5,000 amazing patriots of this country. It was really, really special. And so I'm passionate about that as well. So yeah, check me out on Amazon.
(29:45):
And if you have a son or a daughter or a loved one going through some change or challenge and they need to be lifted up, get them that book, Commit Commit. My biggest compliment is when somebody doesn't buy it for themselves, but buys it for somebody that they love. So I'm hoping it'll change and improve. Improve some lives because improving is so much better than change because some things shouldn't change. Some people and some situations should be exactly as they are. We just need to improve.
Matt Poepsel (30:12):
I like that. I like being a good wingman by getting somebody who needs the book, get them into the book. I
Waldo Waldman (30:16):
Dig it.
Matt Poepsel (30:16):
Waldo, thanks so much for spending time with me today. Like I said, it's been a real honor considering we go back 10 years now and I've got you on the show. It's been fabulous. Thanks so much.
Waldo Waldman (30:24):
Thanks for your generosity, Matt. I'm looking forward to continuing our relationship.