kavonjones_ptcseason51_longformvideo_v3
[00:00:00] So 2025 VA updates. And now what's upcoming to me is going to be changes in related to. Auditory system, mental health, sleep, apnea. You want to be very focused on the opportunities that are out there and how you're going to get a service connected. But not only how you're going to get a service connected, how is it going to affect the quality of life?
Veterans, The change is coming. The change is now.
Hello and welcome to the Prepare to Compete podcast where we talk all things VA benefits, real estate, entrepreneurship, and more. Kenup Davis, how you feeling today, my brother? Oh man, I'm feeling blessed, highly favored, and really, really, really excited just to, one, be in the new studio, first and foremost, and enjoying the opportunity to teach and enjoy the [00:01:00] veteran community.
Absolutely, man. Very, very happy to be in a new studio here, right? Very, very happy to be in a new studio. You know, we're building our own table, right? We're building our own table and definitely love that. We're not asking for more. I'm not asking anybody for a seat at that table because we're building our own and we're happy with all the support that we've been receiving from the veteran community.
You know, it means a ton to us and we're going to continue to elevate what we're doing here in terms of providing the information for you all. Yeah, no, most definitely a lot of times, you know, uh, being here to serve, you know, uh, it gets overlooked a lot of times, but you guys out there, you guys do not. So we're really, really, really appreciate all the love, support, uh, likes and subscribes.
So, uh, so please subscribe if you are watching this. Um, but I will tell you this, uh, we really [00:02:00] appreciate everything that, uh, you guys have brought on to us and we're going to continue to deliver high value. Thank you. And high energy content. Absolutely. Right. This chapter is called the refinement of knowledge, right?
You know, we've been given a lot of great information, but we want to just be more refined. So any kind of feedback that you guys have on topics and the formats and different things that work well for you to understand and consume the content, definitely let us know down in the comments, because we want to continue to refine and give you all what you need.
And best serve your needs in doing so. No, true, true indeed, because Constructive criticism is something that I believe is always, uh, not taken well, but I'll tell you one thing. One thing that we will always do is, uh, continue to be better for you. So, uh, please, please, please allow us the opportunity by to serve you better by giving us your feedback.
Absolutely. Yeah. So now as we kind of get into it, right, and obviously we're talking [00:03:00] about entrepreneurship, we're going to be talking about some wonderful updates with VA benefits and proposed changes and different things. And, you know, we want to continue to elevate the community in terms of just letting them know everything that we're doing.
Right? So when we're kind of thinking about it from a business sense, you know, What would you say kind of inspired us to actually come and produce our own studio? Uh, and how that actually elevates, you know, our content, how would you feel, you know, that works in your feedback regarding that? Well, I mean, just, uh, the inspiration of the people.
You know, the inspiration of the people. I'm not gonna, you know, you, you, you, you tend to, uh, slack off when the people aren't giving you what you, what you, what you think they should give you, but no, uh, it doesn't matter who's here. It doesn't matter who is consuming our content. We want to make sure that it's the best served.
Right. So I'm not going to come, you're not going to come to the home, uh, my home and receive a lunchable. No, we're going to make [00:04:00] sure that you receive a full meal, full four course. So, uh, with that being said, we always want to make sure that we're providing the people with what they need. Absolutely. Yeah, for sure.
For sure. We want to be able to do that. And, you know, having our own studio where we could actually come in and focus and really be able to provide that content is very key, right? You know, having a home studio is great. Even. written out of studio can work for a period of time as well, but it's nothing like building your own table and really investing in yourself and seeing how that's actually going to elevate what you're doing in terms of your business.
So again, really excited to be here with that. Uh, obviously there are certain challenges, right? When doing this barrier entries. Now you see us with. Podcasts, uh, mics and different things of that nature. And, you know, again, it's a step by step, but don't let the equipment actually prevent you from getting started.
Right. You know, it could start on an iPhone. You know, I remember when we actually started, you know, [00:05:00] filming at the university, right. And we just had one camera and was really just doing that one angle, but we were providing valuable information to our students. To the people, right. To the veteran community.
And we're continuing to do that, and we just wanna make it look nicer and be more succinct with you. So, you know, that's part of why we're, we're doing what we're doing here. Yeah. No, uh, the university, that's, that's, uh, that's for, that's for the, uh, ones that went through the trenches with us, right. . Those, those are, uh, those are, uh, uh, again, our veterans that.
That are here with us. And, uh, you know, really went through the mud and really, uh, kind of followed us along the journey. So we really appreciate you guys. We love you guys out there. So never, never, never, never forget that we're here to support you. So please reach out. Yeah. Reach out, reach out. Definitely.
If you, you know, have questions and you're looking to elevate, you know, your business and start doing different marketing and media, you know, there's a ton of equipment that you could purchase, right? [00:06:00] Different tools that you can follow. You know, I would advise you to kind of look at the Think Media podcast and they have a lot of different information regarding gear and, and, and certain things of that nature.
Uh, but, Don't overly consume yourself and worry about that. Again, literally, you want to get started, um, just get started. Just press record, right, as they might say as well. And continue to kind of refine yourself. You know, I'm not going to give you examples of what to get. We will have future podcasts where we talk to veteran entrepreneurs on how to actually produce, um, podcasts and get into video editing and things, but I'll Just press record, man.
Get started. Uh, that first video you do, no matter how good you think it is at that time, it's going to suck when once you get 500 videos in like this video right here and this setup, we might think it's the coolest thing in the day, but a year from now when we're way up here, we're going to be like, Oh, why do [00:07:00] we have this?
Or why do we do that? Or, you know, all kinds of things. Well, we got laptops in the shot or, you know, whatever it is. Right. So it's a whole bunch of things. Right. But it's all about that. period of refinement and do not let the resources and tools in front of you prevent you from getting started. And that's going to be the main crux of the argument there.
No true indeed. Um, and, and I can't, I can't highlight more of, uh, just getting started. A lot of that conversation indicated the, the, the. The lack of fear, right? Um, and I'll tell you just even myself, I'm not a huge camera guy or, or someone who, um, likes to speak all the time on certain topics and, and, and things of that nature.
Uh, but I'll tell you this, it's, uh, sometimes you have to be inched by your, uh, by, by, by the people that, Can see the direction and needs to be pushed. So a lot of times you want to get in front of the camera and then try to do [00:08:00] something that is not. ordinary because it can definitely become extraordinary over time.
But you have to put the 10, 000 hours in like we always say, right? So, uh, at the end of the day, you can go ahead and scroll back to one of our, some of our first videos. I tell you, it wasn't my journey. Um, again, it was nothing I considered. Uh, to be, uh, not necessarily of use, but it is, is because you want to be able to have a community of people, a community that supports you, and a community not only that supports you, that we support back, you know?
So at the end of the day, you know, um, I really appreciate Mr. Jones here putting us in front of the camera, right? Uh, because at the end of the day, I definitely probably nine times out of ten would not be doing this, uh, but I'm enjoying every bit of it. I'm enjoying every bit of it. It's a journey. It's a journey.
So, uh, thank you guys. Absolutely. Thank you. So again, we have a wonderful show prepared for you today. And you know, we're going to get right into the segment of [00:09:00] 2025 VA disability updates. So stay tuned as we get right into it.
So 2025 VA updates. Now they've been talking about these proposed changes for quite a while, Kenneth, and there's some things kind of coming down the pipeline. We want you to kind of educate the veterans on whether these changes are going to happen or they still just talking about it and it's going to take several years.
You know, what's your assessment of that? Oh man. Um, well, it's just been, The VA is, uh, a forever changing, evolving agency. That agency, the agency is always going to be forever changing on an ongoing basis, whether if it's small changes, whether if it's huge changes. Uh, the VA currently right now, we can almost say that it is going through a huge overhaul, right?
[00:10:00] Um, and a lot of the rated scheduler, uh, uh, uh, uh, disabilities, right? In 38 CFR. So with that being said, uh, Basically, many changes are coming down the pipeline. They have already changed many of the digestive issues. Okay, and now what's upcoming to be is going to be changes in related to auditory system, mental health, and also sleep apnea.
And I know you veterans love sleep apnea out there, okay? I know, I know, I know you guys love it. But with sleep apnea, We have to be very, very, uh, focused, right? We want to be very focused on the opportunities that are out there and how you're going to get a service connected. But not only how you're going to get a service connected, how is it going to affect the quality of life?
Okay. Um, and we're going to go through each change. But I'll tell you right now, everyone has been worried for years and years [00:11:00] and years. And if you go back to our old videos, we talked about these changes, uh, two years ago, right? But now the changes are here. I want you to understand with the changes being here, they're going to be coming around the pipeline.
April of 25, okay? That's what's proposed. That's what's proposed. Uh, you know, obviously the VA, uh, the federal government, again, uh, the, the, the, the, the agency is always making sure that the changes that are, they're going to be put in place are fair and equitable, right? Um, so with that being said, we always want to make sure that, uh, once we're outlined, we are, you know, focused on the outline change, make sure that, uh, A change can be a change again.
So again, that change can be wiped out, redacted, and never, and never thought about again. So, but right now, we are going to focus on these, uh, proposed changes, uh, with, uh, that's upcoming in 2025. April is the month to be exactly what [00:12:00] we're looking for. Okay. Got it. Got it. So, yeah, so we're going to let the people know, right, as far as what are the major changes happening to VA disability ratings and to 2025 specifically around tinnitus, sleep apnea, and mental health conditions.
You know, let's start with, um, tinnitus, right? Which is a very popular one, uh, in terms of things, uh, you know, veterans oftentimes really experience hearing loss and tinnitus related issues. And, you know, that's one in my field of real estate where they use that a lot of times to get their 10 percent so that they can actually.
You avoid paying that, um, funding fee on their loans, right? So, you know, what are the proposed changes for tinnitus, uh, in particular there? Uh, great question. So first and foremost, I want you guys to [00:13:00] understand as military personnel, nine times out of 10, you guys are going to be exposed to hazardous noises on a regular basis.
Okay. Um, and that includes obviously being, even being within a, HR, right? You can be HR or you can be MWR, right? Uh, Memorial Welfare and Recreation, right? So there's so many different, um, jobs and duties out there that are exposed, uh, however may not be in direct contact, okay? That's first, okay? So again, I want you to know, nine times out of ten, you are going to be exposed to, uh, some type of hazardous noise that could actually affect your hearing.
But, now we're talking about the proposed changes. Uh, tinnitus was one of the, uh, again, whether if it's pronounced tinnitus or tinnitus, whatever you guys wanna call it, uh, but that diagnosis that was something that was actually, uh, something that was a quick gimme, right? A quick, You know, hopefully [00:14:00] because I trust me, the VA has denied many claims of tinnitus.
Okay. But that was supposed to be a stepping stone for the rest of your claim. And you're supposed to be able to get 10 percent based upon that auditory issue. But now tinnitus is becoming a symptom of other major diagnoses of auditory systems. Well, what does that exactly mean? Well, let me, let me explain.
So, if you are presented with a major or a diagnosis of an auditory issue, such as hearing loss, uh, such as otitis media, uh, such as, uh, uh, just a, a ton of, a ton of, uh, uh, hearing issues, right? You can even group that with such things as, as, as vertigo, right, uh, vertigo because it does affect the equilibrium and so on and so forth.
But when we are able to group those things, um, tinnitus could [00:15:00] become. A symptom of now, if you have a major diagnosis of hearing loss, well, tonight, if it is, if tinnitus is not a symptom of that, and you are actually provided a service connected condition, if hearing loss is not a service connected condition or any other auditory issue, well, you are then not going to be provided that grant of that 10 percent or whatever diagnosis rating criteria there is.
So that is proposed to change. How does it affect you? What affects you? Because you're not able to get a 10 percent rating based upon tinnitus. How can you avoid this being affected? Oh, you being affected by this. Well, first and foremost, you can call us so we can be able to assist you [00:16:00] to be able to get a full case file and, and get the education that you need and make sure everything is in proper place to get your, again, hearing loss or tinnitus, uh, claim pushed.
Okay. Because we want to make sure that we're providing you an education to get it done, get it done. So, uh, at the end of the day, uh, submitting your case is as quick as possible. So that's going to be able to give you some opportunity, uh, to hopefully get service connected. Okay. And even, even if it doesn't.
you know, provide you with overall rating decision. Submit your claim as quick as possible. Submit your claim as quick as possible when we're talking about tinnitus. Because that proposed change is coming down the pipeline and it's coming fast and you will be affected if you think you're not. Again, we're dealing with, uh, the VA, a federal government agency, which outlines any jurisdiction over a veteran.
So, trust me when I tell you, get your tinnitus claim submitted [00:17:00] ASAP. Even if it's denied. Even if, even if it is denied, in which I'm going to make sure that I, again, I, I really provide you some real, real value of information towards the end of the video, uh, amongst any type of submitted conditions. Okay.
And, uh, just again, uh, for any question, for anyone that has a question, if you are a grandfather then, uh, with tinnitus and then you already have a rating. Of tonight is that is already again already applied. It does not affect you. Okay, you're under a historic rating Criteria, so whenever you got rated at that time if even if it was 2004 Historically, you're kind of placed under that criteria.
So you're gonna be good to go there Absolutely. Well, that's a great point because you know, I was coming with the questions, right? I'm always going to make them answer those hard questions that I assume, you know, veterans may have there. So I know one of the things that you mentioned here was in terms of [00:18:00] making sure you get the claim in as soon as possible.
Right? So now, obviously, there's an intent to file where you have one year to file your claim. However, with regulations changing, you have to actually submit the claim before the regulation change, not, not actually have your intent to file pending. Correct? That is a good one. Veterans, you guys hear that?
Did you guys understand that question there? If you have an intent to file. That is already submitted prior to the regulation change. What outcome will be applied to your actual tinnitus claim? Well, let me tell you this, your rating or your intent to file that is in place to affect your actual effective date of pay, [00:19:00] not your rating criteria.
So, With that being said, again, subject to change, that is going to be able to provide your rating decision at that historic time when you submit the claim. So that's why I mentioned, make sure you submit your intent, I mean your tinnitus claim as soon as possible. But if you already have a pending intent to file prior to next year, that should be ending, I would submit a full claim.
But if you do not, and you've been kind of slow poking along, well, I'll tell you this, that there may be, unfortunately, you may not be able to get that 10% one. So, um, at the end of the day, uh, the intent to file only, uh, actually affects your effective date of pay. It does [00:20:00] not change your decision and if they're going to go back historically at that time of rating decision because frankly, you're not being evaluated at that time.
So at the end of the day, get your, get your case file in as quick as possible. Great. Great information there. Now with the new regulation change, it's going to make it more difficult to get, um, rated for tinnitus, you know, understandably, but it's not going to make it impossible. Right. So, um, you know, how can veterans who are even our active duty service members, right.
Who are like, well, Hey, I'm dealing with those issues. I'm still active. Obviously I can't file a claim now. Uh, what would I. Need to start working on now to meet the new regulation criteria are, is that kind of a mixed bag right now? Cause we don't necessarily know what that new criteria is going to be.
[00:21:00] Well, I'll tell you this, uh, you can join our community to find that out because that's a, that's a kind of in the crux there. You'll be able to join our community. We'll go ahead and press the link down below to be able to get a lot more information than that. But what I'll tell you is this, is that, uh, Um, you know, obviously there's many auditory diagnoses, uh, having an auditory diagnosis does not exclude one another.
So with that being said, uh, making sure that your claim, um, you know, the auditory diagnosis that's going to be best suitable for yourself, uh, or, uh, or having any issues or symptom of that auditory diagnosis, then that would be your best bet or best way to go. Sounds good, man. Said very, very well. We have the Veterans of Veterans app that's actually available in the Apple store.
You know, we're working to, in getting in the Google Play store for you Android users. We don't, we don't have anything against you. It's just the process is a little different. Apple kind of had their stuff together a little bit sooner, right? So we're [00:22:00] in the Apple store. Apple store right now. Uh, so if you have a iPhone or Apple device, you can actually go ahead and download that.
However, you can actually access that from your computer as well. So you don't have to actually, uh, join the learning center and. Have everything just on your phone. So whether you still have a windows computer, different things of that nature, go ahead. You can still be a part of the learning center. You just can't have it directly on your phone, but I'm sure you, Android users are very clever.
Anyway, you could jailbreak it and put it on there. So I'm not even worried about you. You'll be able to get that going for you, but we'll have a lot of wonderful information and that. Detailed insight, right? Because you know, there's only so much value We're going to be able to provide on YouTube for you The nuts and bolts and the different details that you want to hear and those specific questions Our community members are gaining access to that information.
So you're here you're watching this video become a community [00:23:00] member. We have learning center courses. We have the community, you know, we're building a very robust set of offerings for our veterans. Really excited about that. We would love for you to be a part of that. And for new users right now, it's free of charge.
We're not charging you anything to be a part of that community. You can come in, ask the detailed questions. We try our best to answer the questions here on YouTube. However, just like Mr. Davis said, he's only going to give you so much. He's only going to give you so many of the secrets there. Our community members, those who, um, make that extra step to join that community, they're going to be getting a lot of value there.
There's no reason you shouldn't be a part of that Veterans for Veterans community. No, true indeed. And there's just so much content and so much, uh, deliverance of information that we could provide you. Uh, you know, in the community, you know, uh, there's, there's special resources, there's special deals. Okay.
Uh, including we know, we know you and, uh, veterans [00:24:00] out there that love to invest, they go on deployment and come back and sold about two to three houses where there's, again, a property values on there. There's so many different things that we're going to be able to provide you guys exclusive for the veteran community.
Um, because again, we want to see you guys succeed. So with, if that success is going to be able to simply joining the community, providing your information, why not get, get exactly what you deserve. And again, having a place where veterans are celebrated and not tolerated is where you want to be.
Absolutely. Absolutely. So, and where you want to be right now is going towards the next topic here and we're going to get into the next topic of sleep apnea. So we're going to be talking about that. Stay tuned.
All right. So another popular condition for our veteran community is sleep apnea. Now, you [00:25:00] know, more often than not, you're working with veterans for veterans. We see clients who want to claim sleep apnea. For, you know, whatever reasons, right? It's like, Oh, they heard some scuttlebutt talk, right? Oh, I can get almost a hundred percent just based on that.
They're really dealing with some issues in regards to that. And sometimes they actually confuse it with mental health in terms of the insomnia condition and others. And so they have trouble sleeping and they want to change that. Now there are some regulation changes. Going on with sleep apnea. So what do the veterans need to know going into 2025 regarding those regulation changes for sleep apnea?
Well, sleep apnea first and foremost, um, is a very interesting condition. Um, and it, and you mentioned a good point. It's hard, uh, a lot of times it's very difficult to flush out when we're describing some of the symptoms, uh, when a veteran is describing it. And that's why we have, uh, you know, uh, subject matter [00:26:00] experts to kind of flush that out with you, right?
Um, and, and to create those conversations and understand what's there. Um, but uh, in relation to the changes. Well, the changes are going to be very interesting, right? Um, sleep apnea before, if you were granted sleep apnea and you were, uh, issued and required a CPAP, okay, um, to be able to sleep at night and to be able to create your continuous oxygen flow, uh, to your, uh, lungs and, and so on, well, that then will begin to provide you a 50 percent rating, right?
Um, A lot of times it was off the back, right? A required CPAP. Okay. A required CPAP would then generate that 50%. Well, now the proposed changes that that is only going to provide you a 10 percent rating. Okay. [00:27:00] Now when we're talking about a compensable and non compensable ratings, There are some compensable ratings that is going to be able to provide you, uh, a high value rating or higher level rating or a moderate or a lower rating.
Well, in relation to CPAP, it looks as though that the CPAP, uh, well, the sleep apnea condition is changing very drastically. You're talking about zero. I mean, you're talking about from, uh, uh, uh, uh, 50 to zero. Well, if you have a sleep apnea, if you have sleep apnea without any symptomology, well that's gonna provide you a 0%, automatically, 0% automatically.
Uh, but now if you have a symptomatology that is providing you A-C-P-A-P, well that's gonna provide you 10%. So if you have other conditions, uh uh, uh, well. Not conditions symptoms of respiratory issues while dealing with sleep apnea. Well, guess what? [00:28:00] That is then can be intertwined or core morbid with the sleep apnea.
Now it's only going to provide you that. But though it's only going to provide you that, that, uh, 30%. I mean, 10 percent rating, but you want to worry about the symptoms because the symptoms. Uh, that and all their diagnosis along with those could get you to the 30 percent rating, but all in all, when I tell you it's a lot more difficult to be able to get sleep apnea service connected, uh, and also to the 50 percent rating, it is going to be a lot more difficult this go around based upon the proposed changing that proposed changes that are happening here in May.
Okay. So, uh, with that being said, uh, veterans. The change is coming. The change is now. Let's focus. If you have a chain, if you have a sleep apnea claim, get it submitted, get it submitted. Okay, but be [00:29:00] very careful because if you do have a long lasting, a long standing ITF intent to file, it could get you in a little bit of trouble.
So at that point, you veterans would need to have to make a decision. If you need a little bit of expert help, Again, our subject matter expert, uh, to be able to sort out some of the thoughts. Again, allow us to serve. Allow us to serve. All right. Allow us to serve, man. And we want to continue to give them continuous value.
Right. And, you know, when we're publishing this podcast here, you know, obviously you may be listening on a podcast platform and you're maybe 30 minutes into the video, right? Which is now I'm, we're going to give you some kind of real game here. Or you might be looking at YouTube and this is just a sleep apnea video.
You are. Might only be a couple minutes into the video and I'm giving you some game. And now [00:30:00] it's going to be based on whether you looked at the thumbnail and it was good enough for you to click on, because, you know, I'm hoping they can have allows this little detail. That to be included in here are, but for sure, it's definitely going to be included for our community members.
Right. And some other content we may have cut out as well, because, you know, something that we're going to be doing here is that the full visual version of the whole entire podcast, episode one that we're filming is only going to be available for our community members within that community. Okay. So you're probably seeing some The audio version here, are you actually seeing, uh, just the sleep apnea portion, right?
So if you're a community member, you can get the uncut version is probably going to have this next secret and more included. So you're talking about intent to file dates, and we're talking about. regulation changes, right? So obviously if you've [00:31:00] already are six months into, uh, intent to file and you don't have your stuff together and ready to submit, now you may have, um, a real question on your hands, right?
As far as do you submit for sleep apnea right now or do you just wait till you have that fully developed claim? However, we're For those viewers who may just be submitting their intent to file, they may have an option to go ahead and just submit that initial claim for sleep apnea, get denied and then resubmit it.
And that would grandfather them under that old legislation because they had a Pre existing claim, correct? That is if you have, uh, the Veterans for Veterans Community link where you can be able to get all the answers that you need there and now. It's going to be specialized for you. So, uh, please join at any point in time.
You're going to be able to get [00:32:00] all the content that you deserve. Absolutely. So, Hey, for the community members. So this next one here out of the sleep apnea video, unfortunately. It's going to be cut, right? So, we're answering that question for our community members. So, if you want to hear the response to that, join the community.
Uh, Kenneth, can you give our community members this information? So, if you join the community, you got exclusive access to the exclusive answers. So, let me tell you now. So, if you have submitted that initial claim of sleep apnea, I would recommend, go ahead and push it in. Go ahead and push it. Okay. Allow it to get denied.
That's okay. Uh, we know that you have to still have a lot of fully develop, uh, develop your case file and so on and so forth. But what I would tell you was this, is that if you have gotten denied, uh, with your sleep apnea, if you have, uh, continuously to prosecute your case file, uh, with, again, within a year, uh, Over [00:33:00] the time frame, whether if it's a supplemental, whether if it's a higher level review, whether if it's a Board of Veterans of Appeals, and again, if you have never submitted a Board of Veterans of Appeal, you're probably, um, have, and you probably have not really attempted to be able to get your benefits.
We'll talk about that a little bit later. That's up for you community members. But, uh, with that being said, I want to tell you that now, if you are granted, If you are granted one year, two year, three years, seven years out, you are then going to be granted on the grandfather historical value of the CFR part four during the time of your submission.
So, now you would be able to gather that 50 percent that you're warranted 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 years from the date of the grant all the way back [00:34:00] to the date of your intent to file. So, now you've been granted thousands and thousands of dollars due to the fact you were able to follow the rules, directives, and updated directives that has been given to you by Veterans for Veterans.
Wow, great information. And so I just want to unpack that a bit. Right? So because you talked about the back payment, right? So now, uh, there's two different nuances. I want you to bring up for our community members here in that, um, obviously, you know, you have the intent to file. You continue to do continuous prosecution.
You can get back payment to that initial intent to file now. So. What happens if you did not do continuous prosecution, but you did initially file that claim under the old regulations, would you still qualify under the old regulations and just not get the back pay or how, how would that situation [00:35:00] work?
Uh, great question. So when we're talking about effective dates, I want you guys to always understand, uh, effective dates are one of the most, uh, most negative impinging issues amongst a veteran claim. Um, Of effective dates are not easy. Um, and they're not cookie cutter. So I want you to understand, take this information with a grain of salt.
So when we're talking about effective dates, and if you are submitted and did not continuously to prosecute the claim, and it has been denied outside of a year, because the continuous prosecution means inside of a year. Okay. Now you have subjected yourself at the current. Uh, Code of Federal Regulations criteria at that moment.
So now, you may receive that 10 percent for your CPAP at the proposed [00:36:00] change marked April 2025. So that's why it's important to get your case file submitted. If, again, you're claiming wanting to propose changed issues. So I always recommend, if you are continuously having the issue, if you have sleep apnea and you don't have a CPAP because you just haven't made it to the doctor just yet, um, if you have sleep apnea and you just haven't received an official diagnosis, if you have sleep apnea and you just not have received the treatment that.
You are afforded because you're a veteran and you can go to the VA. Take the time out, take the time out. And like I said before, this is not cookie cutter for all situations. Okay. Because, you know, there's so many different situations that could arise. You can have a stage rating, you know, you can have, you can even continuously, [00:37:00] uh, you can possibly even be denied, even if you qualify, there's so many different, you know, variables that come into play.
Um, but generally speaking, you will, if it's outside of a year, Well, you then are a subject to that current, uh, 30, uh, that current 38 CFR. Wow. Wow. Kind of very, very powerful information there. So basically what you're saying to that question is, is really going to depend, right? You're going to be at their mercy if you do not do continuous prosecution.
That's why continuous prosecution is very important. Yeah. Uh, continuous prosecution is very important. Um, and again, it's all about strategy. There's so many different law changes that transpire and regulation and, and updated directive changes that happen so very often. I can tell you right now, um, that nine times out of 10, uh, you guys didn't know there was a regulation change today.
And at this, at this date of this video, we're talking about, uh, September, uh, what is it? Uh, [00:38:00] 13th. So, guess what? Uh, there's so many different changes that happen on a regular basis, you want to be abreast of that. If you're not abreast at it, guess what? Go get somebody who can, uh, provide you that information.
Because it's not easy. It's not easy. And you want to be able to bring value to your case file and maximize every component of it. Okay? Um, how do you maximize? You maximize by understanding the inner crux of things. That's the how you maximize. Wow. Well, YouTube, we are back. We're back, man. Kenneth just gave some amazing information regarding the sleep apnea and how that works with effective dates and regulation changes within our community.
I love YouTube. I do. I really do spend a lot of time there, posted these videos, love you all here, but I would advise you to. Maybe cut this video off, or if you can keep it going so we can get the watch time, but go ahead and [00:39:00] go in that community. The information to join the community is down in the description below.
You do not want to miss out on that information that he just provided because it can ultimately be one of the impingent factors on you actually getting that rating that you asked for. Deserve no true. Indeed. At the end of the day, if you ever thought if you ever took a second for two seconds to thought that this podcast, um, or this channel have provided you value.
It's a simple sign up. It's free right now. Okay, so take advantage of the free resources that that's provided to you because They will not always be free. All right, so you as a veteran who's watching this Join and join fast Absolutely. Absolutely. So now as we close out our Our YouTube topic regarding, uh, sleep apnea and the proposed changes.
What are some other, um, things that veterans should be, you know, looking out for in terms of, [00:40:00] uh, submitting their change, uh, for submitting their, what are some things that veterans should be looking out for when they're submitting their change for sleep apnea, uh, at the end of this year before that proposed change?
Um, well, the things that you guys should be looking out for is this, is that you want to look out for, um, the symptomatology that you are not getting, okay? Um, what does that exactly mean? Well, what is the criteria of sleep apnea, right? Understanding that, um, How sleep apnea works because if you have already been diagnosed, if you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea nine times out of 10, you are also, uh, if it is, uh, been obstructive or if it is severe enough, at that point, you've been issued a CPAP.
Well, figure out why. You weren't issued any type of other medications, any other type of treatment plans, or anything else. Do not, again, and I repeat, do not, uh, you know, dismiss your CPAP. Your CPAP is very [00:41:00] important. You need to breathe, okay? Oxygen is very important. You need to have that continuous flow.
Um, as human beings, like we know, right? But, however, um, you want to make sure that, uh, you are figuring out What you are not getting what treatment that you have not succeeded to be able to, uh, obtain, and that's going to be able to help you to get a little, again, an increase in your sleep apnea possibly.
But, uh, but again, it's all, it's, it's all. Based upon your needs, okay, based upon your actual diagnosis and medical ailments. But again, uh, you want to figure that out because if you don't, at that point you're subjected to what you are told. And not what is actually transpired. Wow, wow. Powerful stuff there for sure.
Uh, and what we want to, uh, talk about here as well and the questions that they may have [00:42:00] regarding the sleep apnea is now, what about our Veterans who do not have a CPAP machine yet, right? So, you know, there's a lot of times where they may go in, do a sleep study and the results are inconclusive or they may be told that it's not severe enough to warrant a CPAP machine.
However, the wife is complaining about snoring. You, you know, the wife is worried about and you're worried about as well as the veteran not breathing while sleeping, you know, uh, different symptoms that you know you're experiencing. However, your physician is saying, Hey, based on the sleep study, you know, we're not going to fund you receiving a CPAP machine or even recommend it.
What would you say for those veterans dealing with that? Well, I mean, first and foremost, uh, get a second opinion. Okay. You're the second opinion, you know, if you feel as though that again, uh, that your, uh, diagnosis, your [00:43:00] symptoms, your issues that you go through on a day to day basis is at a higher level than someone else's opinion, even though it's a medical opinion, it could be, again, a professional opinion.
You always want to go ahead and, uh, uh, shop around, right? You don't buy the first car that you get in, do you? Well, if not. Or if you do still go shop around, you want to go get a second opinion. Uh, just due to the fact, uh, that, that, that opinion may not be the best for yourself because, um, as we know, when we go to the VA, uh, we get our treatment.
And once we were getting our treatment, a lot of times, unfortunately, some veterans are not. put in position to have their care, um, delicate, delicately, uh, provided to them. Okay. Um, a lot of times it could be just in and out and unfortunate, it's an unfortunate situation and happens again. And when we're talking [00:44:00] about that physician, that physician is probably seeing a hundred veterans that day and it just may not be enough support.
So, with that said, you might want to get a second opinion, um, and if you're not receiving the care you need, you might want to, uh, receive other care, which you can be able to provide. We'll be able to provide you a lot more information in the community in receiving secondary opinions and care. And we're not talking about, uh, you know, uh, any type of, uh, uh, quick, uh, quick care clinics or anything of that nature or any type of medical evidence that you may need for your case file.
We're talking about strict medical treatment. So with that being said, getting your second opinion and getting additional care is going to be able to support your case file. Uh, but you know, um, I'll tell you this. We know sleep apnea has been, uh, very prevalent amongst the, the military community. We know [00:45:00] if you are dealing with things of that nature.
So with that being said, make sure you are taking the time to be able to get your case file developed. All right. Uh, get your case developed. Okay. A lot of people don't understand that this is a binding. case that they will be reviewing for approval or disapproval of benefits. So take your time to do what you need to do correctly.
I would, you rather wait to be granted than be quick to be denied, right? So, uh, make sure you just really take the time to get that in, um, because of the updated changes that are coming around. However, we understand that we are, there's, it seems as though that they're shrinking the number of veterans that are being able to get sleep apnea.
So. Criteria gets more difficult in a lot of components. So I want you guys to know that a lot of changes are coming. The VA is making a huge overhaul and we're here to make sure that you get all the [00:46:00] information that you get, that you need and that you deserve. Absolutely. Absolutely. So, Really happy about that, Kenneth, and I have one other follow up in regards to the sleep apnea in terms of, you know, what veterans are looking for with that and just with that medical opinion, right?
So now you say get a second opinion. Now, does that need to be a VA doctor? Or could that be a private medical, right? So that's one question, uh, that we often receive. And also, what if they had a previous sleep study, uh, before, and, you know, how would that factor in to them being able to utilize that, uh, for a diagnosis as well?
Uh, great, great questions. So, uh, first. I'll answer the first question. So when we're talking about the physician, okay, it can be private. It can be, again, uh, uh, [00:47:00] governmental, such as the VA, uh, such as, again, uh, any type of, uh, uh, medical treatment on base or anything of that nature. So it can be either or, right?
It can be either or. Um, I'm not going to say which is provided more pervasive weight. That is not my determination to make. Uh, that is for your decision maker, okay? Bye bye. Um, but what I will tell you is this, is that, um, adequate treatment, adequate notes, and adequate, uh, diagnosis would always prevail.
Okay? Um, but if you want to know more information, join the community because it's a lot more there as well. But, uh, what I will say is this, is that, uh, you know, uh, that's going to be very, very hugely impactful. Okay? So the secondary question regarding sleep apnea is around. Uh, the sleep study, right? In terms of, you know, with the sleep study, if they had a prior sleep study may have been done by a non VA doctor or a VA physician, you know, years [00:48:00] ago, what's the timeline that would allow them to still utilize that sleep study to, uh, receive a rating decision or even just assignment of a CPAP?
So, when we're talking about sleep studies, you guys, sleep studies, listen vets, sleep studies are very, very, very, very important. That makes the objective determination and if you have sleep apnea or if you do not, okay? Um, so when we're talking about sleep studies, it's very important that you focus on, uh, Getting the diagnosis, but how do you receive a diagnosis for sleep apnea?
Well, a sleep study is provided. It's an at home sleep study or it's in facility sleep studies. So this, uh, the sleep study is going to provide you a diagnosis or not, okay? Um, it does not matter where you get the diagnosis from. But what I will tell you, it matters the time. And whence receiving the diagnosis typically again.
And when I [00:49:00] say this, I mean it in a very general sense. Everything is not cookie cutter. This is why you need a develop mental action plan that is carved out, especially for your military service and also for your VA disability, right? You want to be able to communicate with someone who's going to be able to maximize that.
But, uh, with that being said, I want you to understand that. Um, A sleep study is good for that year, right? A year's time frame. Other sleep studies can be granted within seven years, 10, 10 years, even if you're already service connected, it doesn't matter, right? As long as it was proven during the time of service connection.
However, for medical evidence, I would recommend again, having your medical evidence within that year. Having your [00:50:00] medical evidence within a year's time frame. Um, other evidence matters. It does. It truly does. Um, however, what I would tell you is, is though it matters, you need current, current diagnosis, complaint, or issues.
I will never change that, uh, ever because the VA will not. Everything else around it has changed. But current complaint diagnosis or findings will prevail. Okay. But again, you need that within a year's time frame. Wow, great information there. Thank you as we close out this segment. Remember, if you're watching here on YouTube, you may have missed some information that's only going to be found in one of two places, okay?
It's going to be found within our [00:51:00] community where you actually get to see the visuals of us in the night sky. And different things of that nature. And also on the audio only experience on podcast streaming platforms. And we're offering it there. Why? Because nobody listens to us there right now. Right. So anybody that's doing that, they deserve to get the value as well, but they also.
should still join the community because they're going to be able to get some resources as well. And if you are listening for the audio only experience and you, um, join our community, go ahead and send us a message in the community and let us know that you listened to that and we'll be able to, um, send you a free course, right?
So that's something that's going to be available for audio only listeners that got to this point in the video because, Hey. You know, we, we wanted you to, to uh, do that, uh, we may have to cut this off from YouTube, right? 'cause then now they gonna say they did that and claim they, they [00:52:00] got it on there. But we'll figure that out.
And, you know, we, we, we'll, um, work with the honor system with our vets right now, right? We'll work with the honor system of that
2025 VA regulations. Many changes are happening. And what we wanna unpack today is the world of mental health. And the changes and how our veterans can be impacted regarding their future claims for mental health, which includes PTSD, includes insomnia, includes depression, anxiety, and a ton of different conditions, which I want to talk about.
Ensure that you understand that. So today what Mr. Davis is going to be doing is really unpacking how the regulation changes are going to affect mental health in 2025. Yes. Yes. Uh, again, it's here, [00:53:00] it's here. Veterans. Uh, we've been talking about it for years now and it's here. Guess what? Change is on the horizon.
So, uh, be very, very cognizant of it. Uh, but at the end of the day, stay informed, stay informed. That's what we want. is that you stay informed. What we know is what you know. And what you know is what we know. Please, we want to know too, uh, but we're here for you. So, uh, when we're talking about the mental health change, I do want to go to let, uh, everyone know that, uh, this is a very sensitive subject.
So, um, at the day, I want to make sure that we take, uh, presence in regards to the sensitivity of this matter. This matter is not a joking matter. Um, we are simply providing information and, uh, with that information, you guys could take what you like with it. But, uh, now when we talk about these things, I also want you to know that, uh, that these may, uh, be trigger warnings for some, um, and, and now I want to be very, [00:54:00] very blunt when I state this is that no way, shape or form are we trying to flare up any type of condition that you are currently dealing with.
We empathize with you and we're here with you in support. So if you have any issues of that matter. Don't hesitate to reach out as we'll be able to try to provide you the support you need as soon as possible. Absolutely, definitely. We have the contact information on the screen. Please reach out to us with any questions or assistance that you may need in regards to, you know, proving your claim and different nuances of getting service connected for mental health and also reach out to the different, uh, preventions and different networks where we actually have that information on the screen as well.
Because you want to make sure that you are receiving the adequate support and care that you need and deserve. And you want to do that at the very moment that you anticipate actually having, uh, [00:55:00] dealing with those issues. Yes. Yes. Uh, at any point in time are you dealing with, uh, something of that matter, uh, that could be impinging your mental health.
Um, You know, make sure that you make an appointment, make an appointment with a professional that you can actually speak with to support you. And if it's beyond that, um, please, uh, call the VA crisis line. Um, though we have no affiliation with the VA whatsoever, uh, we are in support of veterans utilizing the VA because it's still a veteran agency that supports you.
Okay. Uh, the VA crisis line is there. So please, uh, make sure that you, uh, give them a call if you're beyond, uh, that point of calling your primary care physician or your, uh, therapist or psychiatrist or whoever. Absolutely. Absolutely. So thank you for that, Kenneth. Uh, that's really important. And, you know, it was really important if our veterans to remain prepared, right?
You know, we are to prepare to compete podcast. We definitely want to, um, have the [00:56:00] preparation, right? And we're entering the fourth quarter of the year and, you know, oftentimes in the fourth quarter, um, 2025 initiatives come out, right? You know, um, my mom just got a 2025 car and it's still 2024. Right. Shout outs to her.
Hey, we see you mom, see you shining. Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, that just lets you know how proactive, you know, automakers are, for example, to use that, you know, analogy there and doing things because they may have started producing that car 2023, 2024. And so when we're thinking about these proposed changes.
We've been hearing about it for a number of years, right? And seems like these proposed changes are going to happen. And Kenneth, you know, what are some of the proposed changes for mental health? And is it going to be a positive direction or a negative direction you anticipate for our veterans? Well, uh, you know, a lot of times when we talk about [00:57:00] regulation change, veterans are shaking in their boots, right?
Because we don't know what's going on. We don't know what's coming down the pipeline. You don't know. Uh, but some veteran, I mean, we're talking about some of the biggest toughest people out here. Uh, but again, if you don't know what the your future entails, it's very difficult to stay focused, right? So, um, now with this change, guess what?
This is why you stay informed. This is positive. This is positive news for veterans dealing with mental ailments. Okay. Um, you know, obviously this proposal is still coming out, um, again, April 2025. Okay. Uh, but with this proposed change, we want you to understand that, uh, a zero non compensable rating is not It's not a thing for mental health anymore.
It's not something that is true. So if someone tells you that, Hey, we want, well, I'm sorry that we're providing you a rating of 0%, well, we know what to do with [00:58:00] that, right? Let's crumple that up and send it back right back to him. Right? So, uh, non compensable rating is being removed. Okay? That non compensable rating used to be, uh, you know, simply for veterans dealing with mental health ailments with a pretty low severity of issues, which again, that provided you a zero percent rating.
Okay? Uh, though you are dealing with a, uh, a severity, uh, mental health severity issues, we understand that flare ups, again, happens often, right, um, as a veteran, you know? Um, so with that being said Now, it is totally removed, 10 percent is the bare minimum. So, uh, let, and that sounds like we're removing that 10 percent from tinnitus and putting it right here for, for, uh, for mental health, right?
Uh, but again, a lot of these proposed changes are made, uh, they're coming down the pipeline. So, uh, I want to make sure that you guys understand that, uh, uh, many of these legislations and changes are not always bad. These updated directives, uh, these updated manuals, [00:59:00] trust me, it's a lot of good information and it's a lot of support here for you.
Uh, but beyond that, so when we're talking about, uh, mental health, I also want you to understand that a hundred percent rating for mental health typically meant, uh, meant that it is, Impinge your duties of work when you could not do any work related duties consistently. So it is very difficult to be able to keep a job.
So now mental health ratings at 100%. It removes the impairment of work related duties. So now you must typically had a issue where work, okay, your occupation was into, it was interfering with the occupation and you could not work on a consistent basis. You then actually providing you impairment where it is a, uh, is the issue for your, [01:00:00] financial abilities, your mental abilities, and also physical abilities.
Well, well, that is no longer the case. So impairment of work is not a thing anymore. So I want you guys to understand that is being removed at 100 percent as well. Okay. Um, so again, that is, again, when we're talking about 100 percent mental health, uh, 100 percent mental health, uh, that, that is something that, you know, that A lot of veterans, um, and many veterans deal with, uh, impact of their mental health.
So, uh, that's a pretty severe, you know, uh, rating to receive. So, again, that's something that we want to be very cognizant of, not the typical, that's not a typical thing, but it is still removing the impingement of, uh, your work related duties. Okay. So, that is a change that's coming. Another change that is coming in is how mental health is [01:01:00] rated.
What are the symptoms? What are you focused on? What, what abilities do I have to, uh, effectively communicate to you to let you know that I'm dealing with mental health issues? Well, um, Um, we have to be able to provide effects of your cognitive ability. Okay. Um, and when we talk about your cognitive ability, I want you to understand that, um, it affects the way you think.
It's affecting your memory. It's affecting who you are as a person. Okay. Um, interpersonal, interpersonal relationships, family, friends, loved ones. Does it affect that? Or if it does, how do you communicate that? Well. Also, doesn't that affect your critical thinking, your abilities to actually solve problems and problem solving?
So a lot of these things will actually, [01:02:00] uh, become a very daunting issue. A regular task would be a very daunting issue for a veteran. And we can go down the pathway of explaining how, um, but we're not going to do that because I understand that a lot of veterans watch. This channel and with a lot of veterans watch this channel.
I'm very sensitive to your needs. All right, so Also when we're talking about our life activities and life abilities how it is affecting your day to day Okay, your routine may not be a normal routine But you think it is a normal routine because you've been dealing with in your entire life Okay, just because you don't speak about it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
Vulnerability is going to be able to open up a space to get the support and help that you need. You can't change something that you don't speak about. So, opening that door to be able to, uh, help with those [01:03:00] obsessive compulsive disorder issues that you may have, those broken relationships that you deal with, the sleep, that you're missing out on every day.
Four hours of sleep every day is not healthy. I'm not, I'm not a mental health professional, but I can understand what a veteran can deal with. So, I'll tell you this, again, self care is very important. Um, but I will tell you that, uh, a lot of the rating decision is going to be dependent upon your abilities of those formats.
Your cognitive, your interpersonal, your task completion, your life activities, and also care of self. Um, but again, that is a regulation change. So there's different components of the regulation change. So there is X-ing out, 0% no more. 0% is 10% and more. Okay? Um, also if you have an impairment of work and have been rated at a hundred [01:04:00] percent, um, that used to be a requirement.
That's no longer a requirement to be able to receive a hundred percent in mental health. You do not need a, a work impairment to be able to get to a hundred percent rated disability for mental health. So what are the symptomology and, and, and domains that you must focus on to be able to make sure you convey the correct information to your physician to be able to get the, the mental health rating that you deserve?
Uh, those domains are gonna be very important. We talked about again, cognition. We talked about interpersonal relationships. We talked about task and task completions. We talk about life activities and skills. Very important, very important. Combining that information may make the difference of 30 percent to 70%.
Open up, provide the information and I'm sure you'll be successful. Absolutely. No, great, great [01:05:00] insight there, right? Great, great insight there. And so, when you're providing the information and you're going for a service connection, uh, for mental health, you know, as you kind of unpack there, there's many, many different, um, criteria, there's many different, uh, symptoms, there's many different diagnosis, right?
So, When you are looking to get connected for mental health, you know, how are you kind of gonna figure out whether, okay, is this predating service, is, did this happen during service? Did did this happen after service? And how does that impact your overall rating decision based on, uh, when it actually occurred and started?
Got it. Um, for a service member. As of, uh, again, uh, most veterans, and again, I say most, I'm not a determiner on what the sample size could be, but what I'm telling you is that veterans are put in [01:06:00] hazardous circumstances or stressful circumstances on a regular basis. So with them being placed in a circumstance, uh, uh, one set of a mental ailment typically is going to be during service.
However, that does not, that does not exclude you from receiving service connection. Well, now we're talking about, uh, when you mentioned the mental health being before or after service. A lot of times as veterans, we think that your, uh, ailment needs to transpire at sometimes during service. There's a lot of conditions that you don't necessarily need, uh, specific, uh, in service, uh, documentation for.
This is one of them. Why? Because, uh, many mental health circumstances, uh, most of the time, Can or cannot be documented, um, such as, uh, again, a stressful circumstance of PTSD, [01:07:00] MST, or personal assault issues. So, therefore, if, again, prior service, you were dealing with an element that could have been, um, Uh, anxiety or, uh, bipolar disorder or some type of DSM, uh, again, uh, uh, mental health diagnosis.
Well, what that's going to do that it's going to be able to provide you with, uh, simply, uh, a onset when it transpired. Well, now let me ask you, will your mental health get better or worse typically in service?
So nine times out of 10. The, the military could have possibly, again, possibly aggravated your condition beyond its normal progression. Now how do you convey that? That is the key. You [01:08:00] want to focus on how to convey how your issues have severely gotten worse. And how you do that is focusing on your onset and focusing on your symptoms throughout.
And now if we're talking about thereafter service, well, thereafter service, again, same focus, right? Onset, when did it develop? Why am I having distressing dreams of service? Why am I? Sleeping as I'm in a coffin rack. Why am I afraid every loud noise or event that transpires, but I'm never telling anyone I'm never exposing that well, it will then transpire because you're dealing with a mental health element.
We don't, I I'm not here to [01:09:00] diagnose you. Mr. Jones is not here to diagnose you or provides you a direction of what you're dealing with. You need to go see treatment. But now. How did it start? So, we focus on the onset that transpired in the service. So, these are the reasons that you could be possibly dealing with these things.
So, uh, Where does it stem from? What symptoms are you dealing with? How do we relate it to our military service and focusing on those three issues? That then will hopefully be able to support you through your mental health journey. Absolutely. No, that's great. That's great. And um, you know, some other information we want to provide, I'm not sure if we want to just keep this in the community as well, uh, maybe so.
Uh, but there's a new PTSD stressor for you. For this out, right. And, uh, being able to provide our listeners [01:10:00] here with, you know, how that is going to help factor into them being able to receive the highest compensable rating. Well, that's, uh, that's really, really, really, uh, exciting. And why I say that, because I'm excited that other veterans are able to get the help that they need and it's outlined for them.
A lot of times many veterans really black out that information. Well, it looks as though that a PTSD stress reform was developed to be able to help and guide you to talk about the things that you may not want to talk about. It also puts you in a position to be a little bit more detailed that you may have, uh, never thought that you would before.
So, uh, the PTSD stressor form has been updated. And, uh, again, it is very extensive and it's not a bad way. It's a good thing. It's a [01:11:00] great thing. So let's, let's really. You know, celebrate the VA for doing that. We always talk, you know, a lot of veterans always talk bad about the VA, about, about this experience, about that experience, about, let's focus on the positive.
That is a positive, uh, uh, uh, factor to be able to receive that, uh, actual PTSD stress reform. So, uh, we'll talk about it. We'll go through it. Uh, but I will tell you this, at this component, again, I mean, at this juncture, again, um, at this juncture. It is something that is, uh, built out to support, and we're going to go through every section and every nook and cranny of it because we're here to serve you guys on a continuous basis, okay?
So I'm really excited about that. What Kenneth is actually referring to here is some great value he actually just provided for our veteran, for veteran community members, and also our, uh, audio podcast listeners, right? Which is actually available on YouTube as well as an audio only podcast. So if you just want to be stubborn [01:12:00] and not join the community for whatever reason, you can just switch over to the audio only experience and still receive that content as well, because we ultimately want to provide the veteran community with all of the information, right?
But we also want to. be able to build and establish our own community and our own table here, right? So we don't own YouTube. We will never own YouTube is wonderful and as robust it is. It's a wonderful resource for us to be able to get the information out to the masses, but it's just a starting point, right?
Um, somebody YouTube and All of this information will be gone forever, right? I mean, you remember MySpace, right? You remember all these other platforms once upon a time. So that's the reasoning behind why we want to have our own community and why we want to encourage you to go there so that We do not lose sight of you, right?
We do not lose sight of you because oftentimes here on YouTube, you know, we [01:13:00] can't just send you a message, right? You can't really just send us a message. It's very difficult for us to maintain and really grow and establish our relationships, which is very necessary because you're going to be a veteran for the rest of your life.
You're going to need these updates for the rest of your life. You're going to want to continue to grow with this information for you and your family, and we want to be able to. Be well connected with you and how we can do that by you joining our community and being able to provide you as a resource there.
And we will have some great details for you here, um, on YouTube as well, but you're going to have a lot of sauce in the community. Definitely join. Join now. That's all. That's all I have to say. Um, again, if this channel has provided you anything, um, again, you want to be able to know the information. And a lot of times what happens is Uh, veterans, uh, get stuck in a, [01:14:00] uh, federal benefit component.
We must also continue to know that they have, uh, there's so many different, uh, factors in regards to benefits. There's statewide benefits, okay? There's county based benefits. There are benefits based upon your circumstance. And guess what? Uh, don't, don't, don't lose what you have really earned, okay? Uh, understand this is an earned benefit.
Less than 2 percent of the U. S. population have joined the military. You are one. So, take advantage of what you deserve. Absolutely. So, you know, within the community, if you're here, thank you, really appreciate you for being part of the community and are the audio experience here. But, you know, Kenneth broke down some great insights in regards to mental health and just, um, Looking at pre existing conditions and how that kind of factors into rating decisions and analyzing it from pre existing all the [01:15:00] way to after service when you started dealing with those issues.
So definitely, uh, please check that content out there. But we'll Well, we want to make sure that we provide to everyone because it's so important. And we actually have a particular video about this is the new PTSD stressor form. Okay. So very important. We want you to know about that. Kenneth, can you break down some of the new components of the stressor form?
You know, one of the things that I was noticing is As you stated before within the community is that it is very robust right in terms of it before you had the 0781 where it was just that couple pages you could put a little bit of information in there you can write your own letter on top of that. But it is robust.
It didn't really probe you with some of the questions to be able to assist with unpacking just how many mental ailments there are and frankly, how you could actually be dealing with more than one, right? Because it didn't really give you that [01:16:00] focus point, you know, and obviously at Veterans for Veterans, you know, we're able to help you, right?
With your claim process and our clients definitely do receive the utmost support. Uh, assistance with that, but veterans working and looking at that form, um, themselves, it just kind of looks like a mostly blank page where you're putting in some dates and filling in a box here and not able to really explain your complete story.
You know, so, so yeah, I want to have you really just break down how the new stressor form is actually going to really support veterans and really assist them with their claim for mental health. Yeah. So, uh, the, uh, mental health PTSD stressor form, um, really, really, really something that needed change that has come.
And when I tell you they were right on time, they were right on time. Okay. Uh, this form, uh, details a lot of, a lot of information out. It provides you information on, [01:17:00] uh, certain circumstances that may not have been reported, that you may not, uh, have access to, to report, right? Or at the time, or you were embarrassed to report because again, your leadership and your command, that's your home.
That's your family. That's your, that's your sanctuary for most. Okay. Because When you're out on a six month deployment or you're overseas in Kuwait and been there for nine months, there's no going home, right? So, um, who do you report these things to? So again, a lot of times, Um, a lot of those incidences, uh, go unreported.
So this is where we're able to kind of outline on where you can find certain, uh, police reports. Okay, certain, uh, again, documented reports, medical evidence, even if it's, uh, private or, uh, on base or, or again, ship medical or, or, or, uh, again, a medical, uh, medical Uh, where you got medevacked out, [01:18:00] but we couldn't find the, the, the actual documents, right?
Again, this is when it really unpacks how you can develop your case file by going through certain questions. Okay? So, it really, uh, puts you in a better position to be able to, uh, provide the right check boxes and not only the right check boxes on how you can really. Uh, understand what you went through at that time, you know, provide you an aspect of what symptoms that you may be going through.
Were you deployed? Were you not deployed? Was it a hazard? Uh, was it a hazardous area, a hostile, uh, military environment? What circumstance were you in? So these are some of the questions that they ask. And again, in the community, we're going to go through that, uh, in a format where it can be accepted and understood, uh, comprehensively through there.
So, uh, we're really excited to be able to provide that. that, uh, that, that training for again, our veteran community. Absolutely. Really, really excited there. [01:19:00] And we're going to continue to push the envelope, whether it's in the community or, or on YouTube, we're always going to provide you with the resources and knowledge.
And, you know, as we kind of close out here, we're talking about the proposed changes. for mental health for 2025. You know, another one of the questions I wanted to, um, ask here is that, so when we're thinking about the rating, uh, criterias here, right? So now they're introducing a possible 10%, right? Uh, we already, you know, see a lot of 30%, 50%, 70 percent and, um, and we, uh, spoke a little bit about the a hundred percent, uh, possibility as well.
So now, obviously. When you're applying for your claim, you could be applying, you know, just for regular claim, uh, looking to get a compensable rating that will hopefully lead you to permanent in total, right? Uh, at a hundred percent, hopefully, but also you can apply for individual unemployability. [01:20:00] So, uh, the question that I have here and what some of our community members may have is that to receive 100 percent for mental health, do you have to be applying for individual unemployability to receive that rating there?
No, not at all. No, not at all. Uh, that is not a requirement. Again, um, you can, uh, be applying for individual unemployability or you can, uh, be, you know, applying for, uh, a depression disorder. You know, it doesn't matter. You know, it does not matter. So again, um, I always want to indicate that again, one mental health is the claim for all Okay, except PTSD.
That's another factor. We'll talk about that on the community. Okay, absolutely. So so you're saying you could just be rated for different mental health ailments and And be 100 percent just for that, and it could be permanent in total and not [01:21:00] with individual unemployability. Yes, of course, of course. So in reference to the proposed change, I want you to understand that, uh, they, again, in the reference to the proposed change, I want you to understand that.
It is, uh, simply, uh, stating, uh, that that is a symptom of, it doesn't necessarily mean that you're applying for unemployability because unemployability is a criteria where you will not, not be able to work, uh, where in some instances where you can work, but again, uh, I don't recommend it, uh, but again, when we're talking about, uh, the Veteran Learning Center, that's when we'll talk a little bit more about IU, okay, but join the community to find out.
But I will tell you this is that IU is not a requirement to be able to receive 100 percent mental health rating decision. Okay. Uh, when we're talking about IU, IU was simply focused on, on, uh, your ability to work, uh, from your service connected disability. Uh, can you. Do you have an ability to work based upon your service [01:22:00] connected disabilities?
Are you constantly getting fired? Are you constantly being reprimanded? Are you constantly late? Are you constantly doing something or, or you don't have the physical ability to move around in the warehouse? Uh, again, you have back problems, okay? You have migraines. You have got, your migraines are so bad that you just cannot work, uh, because you're receiving those migraines on a every other week basis.
You know, so again, it's set aside for things of that nature, uh, not, uh, specifically just for, uh, your impairment of work. Impairment of work was exclusively a, a criteria that need to be, needed to be discussed, uh, prior to the proposed change that's coming down the pipeline in April 2025. So it needed to be factored in, in your decision.
Well, this is no longer is needed for 100 percent rating. Absolutely. Great, great question, uh, [01:23:00] answered there. And, uh, one of the other last questions before we kind of close out this segment here, uh, regarding mental health proposed changes for 2025 is that, you know, oftentimes, you know, when veterans are, uh, Applying for mental health obviously is very sensitive issues going on very traumatic different things and they want to receive the compensation and and first and foremost treatment that they Frankly deserve right and are entitled to there but What kind of gets in a way sometimes especially when they're applying?
filing claims is regarding their rating decision and their civil liberties, right? In terms of, you know, the right to bear arms, uh, maintain certain employment in terms of what government agencies, different levels of access and, uh, things of that nature, uh, you know, so obviously, you know, at. a mental health condition, just period, right?
Being rated for that, uh, they can [01:24:00] see that as a stigma, but definitely when you get 50%, 70 percent and a hundred percent, they start questioning how that's going to factor into their employability with government agencies for clearances. And, you know, our, um, veterans who, you know, work, In law enforcement and different things like that and our veterans did again want to exercise their civil liberties in Bearing arms.
So can you kind of unpack how your mental health rating may? You know impact those areas. Well, so first again in regards to your occupation you know, that's again, subject to the occupation, right? Um, but also again, in, in relation to that, the, uh, the veteran has all rights to withhold any medical information at all times, okay?
That's your, that's, that's your right, [01:25:00] you know? Um, however, you may or may not get the position. Again, it's, it's typically subject to the occupation. Um, again, I can, I, I don't want to, you know, blur the lines and give you my professional opinion. Uh, but you can reach out and we can, uh, discuss it. You know, I would love to be able to speak with you in your current circumstance.
Um, however, again, also when we're talking about that as well, um, if they are not going to, you know, if it is not going to affect your occupation, well, is it going to affect your right to bear arms? Well, currently that is not a factor. That is not a factor. Okay. Uh, you can obviously own a weapon if you are not being deemed incompetent.
Okay. Incompetent and incompetency. If the physician has not deemed you to be incompetent, [01:26:00] you have the right to bear arms. Okay. Um, there's going to be a lot more detail in the community. Um, but. The simplistic answer is that, hey, you have the right to bear arms if you have not been considered or rated as incompetent.
How do you know that you are rated or provided incompetency? Well, uh, the VA is going to then issue a, you a fiduciary to be able to handle your benefits or they're going to either issue you a fiduciary or you are then going to, basically provide a fiduciary. So it's either or. Great, great question, uh, answered there.
And now when we're talking about fiduciaries and when veterans are preparing, you know, sometimes for their, uh, compensation and pension exams, um, you know, you, we want to maintain this sensitivity of that, right? If they, [01:27:00] you know, need one, right? Um, you know, that is another factor, right? So, you know, um, so. I guess there's kind of like a fine line of, you know, the questioning their, their answer, they're asking you during that exam to kind of probe whether you need one and then you, uh, as the veteran, maybe answering a question a certain way to avoid having a fiduciary.
So, um, you know, maybe just kind of unpack that a little bit, uh, in terms of. Okay. Well, you know, how do I maintain being as honest as possible, you know, but still, you know, maintaining the things that are valuable to me and say, Hey, I don't want to do this. And, you know, but I am dealing with certain things that may require that it's like a really fine line there.
Right. Yeah. Yeah. Um, there, and there [01:28:00] is, there is, right. Um, so with it being such a fine line, there's always, it's never black and white. Right. Um, what I will say is this, is that, um, you as the veteran, you know what you go through. So, uh, being able to, uh, convey that, uh, to the physician that you're dealing with is going to be very vital.
Okay. So in relation to the incompetency and all of this, It is going to be strictly upon what your current medical ailment is and how it affects you. Um, and I can't, I can't make that determination for you because I don't know if it's affecting your, your, your, your, your family or interpersonal relationship.
I don't know if it's affecting your, uh, financial ability. Uh, to be able to maintain a position. I don't know if it's affecting, uh, your abilities to be able to, uh, maintain your financial affairs. [01:29:00] I don't know if it's affecting your, uh, medication intake, so on and so forth. I don't know these things. So it's very difficult to say.
So, uh, all I will say is, is make sure that you convey what you are dealing with and making sure that you convey it very, uh, very well.
Summer 2024. We've had a wonderful experience serving the veteran community and what we do on a daily basis. And we do not take that for granted. You guys sharing all of your experiences with us, whether it be through veteran for veteran, our consulting services, supporting us here on YouTube and otherwise.
So we always love to pour into the community and Reach out to the people when we can. And you know, this summer we're able to be a part of Miami fleet week. Uh, we've done a lot of wonderful seminars around the Las Vegas area and even other, you know, cities [01:30:00] and states, California, Texas, Arizona, you know, what else, Arizona.
Florida, of course, very, very, uh, wonderful things. And in Florida, we're able to attend fleet week. And also just recently here in August, we were able to pour back into our community and attend invest fest 2024. And what we want to talk about today is just kind of recapping our summer and just, you know, how we're able to impact veterans this summer, stay tuned while we get right into it.
All right, so Kenneth, now, how were you able to, you know, successfully outreach to veterans this summer and how do you kind of feel about those experiences that you've had? Man, it was a, uh, a really, really, really eventful summer. You know, um, you know, have an opportunity to, uh, really [01:31:00] educate a lot of active duty members on, uh, what we do to about their benefits and, uh, what they deserve, you know, was an amazing, amazing experience, you know, um, also unpacking and unveiling a lot of, uh, uh, uh, Uh, honestly, active duty or DoD changes that we may not have been aware of, being able to get information directly from the Secretary of the Navy, you know.
So that was a great, great, great, great opportunity. I think, um, you know, to be very honest with you, uh, one of the most, uh, uh, uh, you know, impactful, um, events that was really, really, uh, I can say, um, Hard to put into words. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. No, no, that's, that's wonderful there. Right. Cause you already kind of start talking about some of the highlights of a Navy fleet week in Miami and you know, just some of the [01:32:00] takeaways there is we're really able to interact with active duty personnel and veterans at all stages, right?
So Kenneth, now what were some highlights of Navy fleet week in Miami and what were some of your takeaways from that event? Oh man, listen, uh, Flea Week was a really, really, really, really, I guess, one of the most impactful events that we've been to, and why I say that, uh, when we're touching, actually touching the community, it is, it is just an experience that you can't, you can't get back.
You know, um, there were so many different personnel there, Navy, Marines, again, uh, again, we were just able to really get boots on ground, even really, uh, getting, uh, information from the secretary of the Navy, you know, um, dealing with these, uh, upper echelon military personnel, uh, so we can make sure that they're educated about their benefits and also [01:33:00] being able to provide education to sailors that may have not had it before.
You know, and, and, and, frankly, we travel the country on a regular basis, uh, providing this education on a continuous basis. Whether if it's personalized, whether if it's whatever, we are here as that source. And being smack dab in the, um, uh, Navy Fleet Week, uh, has really, really been a very, um, very heartwarming experience because you never really get the opportunity to meet them where they are.
And this is Will in those cases. Absolutely. No, very great experience for me, you know, attending that as well as bringing down some of our veterans to veterans personnel and really being able to interact with the community and really just seeing and loving the initiative that the Navy is doing, uh, we're actually doing this several times.
Cities, you know, in regards to interacting with the, um, civilian population [01:34:00] and, you know, seeing so many sailors in their summer whites or South beach, man, you sailors out there. And let me catch you guys with another Dixie cap on, uh, with, on somebody else. I got her, I got to report you now. I've got to report you.
Okay. I have a civil duty to go ahead and report you. Absolutely, man. But it was wonderful. Right. Just seeing them kind of paint South Beach white, right? You know, it was very great, you know, going to the Marlins game and, and doing a lot of those things. And, um, you know, even us being a part of, have a keynote address at the veterans event that they had during fleet week.
And also just being able to interact with, uh, sailors and veterans from all walks of life. Right. And at different points of their careers, you know, from people that just enlisted to senior, uh, leadership and actually us being able to actually host a workshop during Fleet Week, uh, for veterans in the Dade [01:35:00] County community to come in and learn about how to maximize their, their, Benefits, wonderful workshop there.
And we just kept the work on going. Right. Because, you know, while we were there, we actually filmed, uh, our veteran voices podcast, and we actually had a, a special guest there that you actually be seeing his episode come out shortly, uh, depending on when you watching this, it might be, uh, out already special.
Thank you to Mr. Eugene for your wonderful. Uh, presence of, you know, pouring into our community, uh, with providing that wealth of knowledge, you know, on camera and everything that you've, uh, poured into us off camera as well. Special. Thanks to you, sir. Special. Thanks. Yeah. Yeah. Listen. Master Chief, cut above, one of a kind, and you just don't come by those anymore.
So, uh, thank you guys. Thank you so much. We really appreciate you. Um, [01:36:00] and not only do we appreciate you, we're really excited, uh, to be able to deploy, uh, this special Veterans Voices for the community because they're, they're, they're gems that you, uh, may not even known that you actually provided, not only myself, but, uh, again, the rest of the veteran community.
So we're excited to get that out. Absolutely. Yes. Special thanks to you. And yeah, so much about just, you know, so many years he had in leadership and you know, his perspective and everything that again, help us as, you know, business owners help us as men and, you know, help us really pour into the community.
So definitely a really appreciate that. That and, you know, kind of moving forward with events, you know, uh, it actually encourages us to continue to do events of our own. Right. You know, here in Las Vegas, Veterans Day is something that is very special and near and dear to us. Uh, last year we [01:37:00] had the inaugural event at the Tarkanian basketball, uh, center there, where we offered haircuts for veterans.
Children. Right. And you know, this year, 2024, we like, how can we expand on that? You know, uh, thank you to Ball and Phase Barbershop. Thank you for the Tarkanian Basketball Center for seeing what we're doing and allowing us the opportunity to come back this year, bigger and better in terms of allowing us for that Sunday November 10th to have the whole entire facility for active duty personnel in Las Vegas and for the veteran and their families and the whole entire community to come in and be a resource of information for that community.
We're very excited to offer that. Yeah. Yeah. Um, Veterans Day. Listen, veterans, [01:38:00] after you get your free meal, okay. Uh, we want you guys to come down to the Las Vegas Tarkanian center. Okay. Basketball center. Um, and we want you to do so because we want you to not only, uh, to be able to get your children's haircuts.
Okay. Because we want to be able to provide some type of value to you as always. If you are talking to us, we're here to serve you and provide you value. Uh, but also provides you information there. It's going to be a lot of, uh, again, uh, uh, sponsors that, uh, really, uh, are providing their information towards the veteran community and who is going to be able to provide aspects on how to serve you.
Uh, with that we want you guys to come on down. Uh, last year we were able to cut over, uh, cut over 300, uh, children's heads, which was amazing. Okay. Um, and, uh, by being able to cut those children's hairs, they will be able to get them a, uh, aspect of, uh, Presence. You know, [01:39:00] sometimes a lot of Children aren't seen.
Um, definitely when you have a such a hero of a mom and a dad. So we wanted to be able to provide again a haircut to that child. Um, so they can be able to be seen, um, and take a moment out to be make sure that their self care is right. So, uh, really excited again in November 10th, uh, at the Tarkanian Basketball Center.
Absolutely. And we're gonna be there all day from nine to five. Uh, we will not, you know, close the facility to everyone that served. Right. So, because that's ultimately, uh, what we're here to do, um, amongst doing the haircuts again. We're going to have a lot of different vendors out there as far as resources about maximizing your VA benefits.
Of course, right. You know, VA loans, uh, healthcare, you know, uh, financial services, you know, a lot of different things. We're still working on that robust [01:40:00] list. Uh, we're going to have a lot of resources for the communities. We're going to have games for the kids. We're going to have, um, a basketball activities and we're going to have some guests.
So while we're still finalizing that definitely the link is below so that you can receive the most updated information. However, it's going to be a fun, wonderful time. I definitely encourage you to come and attend because we have some amazing support for that this event this year because we did such an amazing job last year and we're going to continue to serve our community.
Yeah, click the link, click the link, trust me, click the link. You want to be able to get your ticket early because again, there's a special raffle that's going to be happening at that event as well. We're not going to make sure we're going to make sure that you guys are very, uh, again, obviously you guys are deserving, right?
So, uh, with that, we're going to raffle off, uh, again, based upon the [01:41:00] ticket that you have. Uh, but again, we're not going to tell you what the raffle is. You just need to come down and see.
Help veterans. And that's something that we uttered, and that's something that we really believe in, right? We believe in serving our active duty military community and our veteran community and their families. And at InvestFest 2024, we had a wonderful opportunity to do that. And today, what we want to take the time to do is just kind of recap some of the ideas and concepts and business relationships that we were able to have during that event here in August of 2024.
So stay tuned while we get into the details here. All right, so Kenneth now at InvestFest 2024, amazing experience. This is our second year attending. However, our first year attending as a vendor, you know, so how [01:42:00] was your experience different this year as a vendor opposed to just attending an event last year?
Well, I, uh, you know, last year I was just amazed. I was amazed. Uh, what I was amazed about, I was amazed about some of the education, right? Um, I was amazed about the, uh, the guests. You know, um, not only the guests, uh, the turnout, you know, uh, so many people came out and really supported the investors and then I really, really enjoyed it.
Um, and I'll tell you right now, um, you know, that's what, you know, to want to be able to be more involved. So, um, this year we wanted to become a vendor, uh, being a vendor there, uh, again, uh, very similar experience, you know, uh, really, really excited about the turnout, the turnout was pretty well, you know, uh, but also being able to network.
The network was one of the biggest opportunities. I think a lot of people missed [01:43:00] on, um, everyone was there trying to sell. And, uh, well, that's just my opinion. Uh, uh, not necessarily sell, but. At that juncture, at that time, you're there to sell yourself or your business. Um, so again, uh, that was a huge, huge opportunity in the network with someone that's probably on the other side of the globe that you probably wouldn't ever be able to have the opportunity to, so, uh, being able to really, really talk to some of those, uh, entrepreneurs really, uh, gain me some insight in regards to what we're doing here, you know, uh, may kind of put a guiding light on.
You know, once you're serving the community, one of the greatest communities in the world, continue to serve because you then can, uh, hopefully grow to a position where you want to, um, how should I say, serve others as well? Absolutely. Now, great points there. Great points there. Continuing to serve the community.[01:44:00]
We love the community that we serve and, and kind of unpacking invest fest and just kind of letting you know, who are not aware, uh, it is in its, uh, about fourth iteration, right? It was his fourth year here in 2024. So started during the pandemic and it. Have grown to have, you know, 20 to 30, 000 attendees, uh, come through every day in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Uh, they're so amazing event, uh, put on by the host of, uh, earn your leisure, which basically, uh, what they do is they actually provide financial education. information regarding investing for entrepreneurships and different things of that nature for the minority community, right? And you know, we saw a lot of parallels there with which how we, you know, serve the active duty military community and veterans, right?
So as they, you know, strive to [01:45:00] serve a particular demographic of a minority community, we're looking to serve the veteran and active duty community, which is a subset of that community, which, you know, minorities make up about 43 percent of the military population. So it was very important for us to have a voice there where, you know, you're looking at.
20, 000, 30, 000 people, just how many of those people are veterans, right? How many of those people are still active duty? And then even beyond that, how many people have family members or one degree of separation to someone that is serving or served in the past? So it was amazing experience to. really be, um, you know, one of the minority businesses in the room in terms of, uh, ones that actually, uh, specifically serve veterans and to be able to really educate other entrepreneurs who are looking to grow their business on how they could actually [01:46:00] use, uh, the veteran community as a resource, because indirectly, whether you're targeting a veteran in active duty.
military community or not, you're serving that community, you know, um, before filming today, you know, I went and had a little lunch, right? You know, had a little lunch, you know, I went to Chipotle, they got the new brisket out. I'm like, let me go get a little brisket salad, right? And literally in Chipotle, just at 2 p.
m. on a Friday, I saw two veterans and one active duty member. Just, you know. out of seven, eight people that's in line there. So it just shows you how ingrained our active duty and veteran community is, you know, everywhere around us and patronizing businesses. So you must, uh, make an effort to serve those, that community because you are serving that community.
No, true, indeed. And, uh, I think, uh, [01:47:00] also once you, uh, you know, ingrain yourself in serving any I think a lot of the components of the issue is, and again, with entrepreneurs or any type of business factor, I think education, right, um, and educating yourself on your demographic. Uh, that is always a huge component, you know, and I think we also have the opportunity to really, uh, educate a lot of, uh, you know, entrepreneurs there, uh, but just a lot of personnel just in general, um, again, about the veteran community because, again, they're so special.
You know, so being a special community, it was an opportunity to enlighten. And I think, uh, you know, obviously, as we're refining things here, right? Uh, we were able to make sure that, that, that, that again, that they will receive that refined information because, uh, everyone isn't. someone, um, well, they're thought of a veteran, you know, uh, most people thoughts of a veteran could, uh, differ.
So [01:48:00] at that point, let's, uh, really expose America or let's suppose again, uh, everyone at that actual event who was a veteran. Absolutely. So, uh, it was a great opportunity, great opportunity. Absolutely. And yeah, we were able to highlight a lot of the active duty members and veterans who, you know, were willing to do interviews and had the time.
And thank you all for taking the time out. And you will be seeing some of those interviews on our website. On, uh, the prepare to compete podcast here, you know, as we get everything edited up and in different things and really, uh, them telling their stories, right, of their military experience and even those who are still active on, you know, different things that they're doing.
And, and even from the active duty community, what I, what I've noticed is it's like, wow, you know, it's like, You are still active full time serving our country, but then you're here already looking into entrepreneurship or some of them are already well into their [01:49:00] business and doing such amazing things.
And it's just like, how do you find the time, you know, but, but they do and they're doing so well. such wonderful things that we want to support and highlight those individuals as much as we possibly can. And so you will be, uh, seeing some of their different interviews about their personal stories and also, uh, some different things that they're doing in business as well.
So we look forward to kind of highlighting that. Oh, true. Indeed. True. Indeed. And also again, uh, you know, A lot of times, right, uh, veterans are able to be resourceful. Um, so with the risk being resourceful, able to uncover some of the benefits that they're able to get, they're able to get out there and start creating those businesses, developing a marketing plan, developing a business strategy, a developing a deployment of how, What community that you're going to reach and how are you going to do that?
Well, uh, sometimes isolation, right? Um, we've seen, uh, again, I spoke with a [01:50:00] veteran. Um, this gentleman was just, uh, just again, when I tell you a fantastic story, just a fantastic story, um, on how he develops his business while being on deployment. Right. Being an employment in Afghanistan. So at that point, it goes to show you, you know, just with a lot of, again, a lot of know how, um, and a lot of, uh, ingenuity and resilience, he was able to, again, build his business and, uh, really serve his community.
And I was, uh, just so thrilled and excited to be able to speak with them. Um, so at this point, again, uh, anything you can do anything, you know, and I just, it just really shows you, you know, that. The community is very special. Very, very special community. And um, you know, there's one business, uh, that, you know, we're all familiar with.
That's, uh, very, very special there. Of course, at InvestFest, it's veterans for veterans, right? You know, We were there, um, you know, with the booth, uh, [01:51:00] serving as much as we possibly can, but we're also a part of their, uh, business pitch competition, which, you know, let me tell you, just, uh, we take our hats off to what earn your leisure in the whole invest fast.
Uh, staff and organization is doing, uh, with that event because when you look at everything that's transpiring there in terms of the educational workshops, that's a whole thing by itself, right? You look at the vendor marketplace, that's a whole thing by itself. You talking about adding a Shark Tank like product?
Pitch competition. That is a whole undertaking by itself. So I definitely take my hats off to the gentlemen, uh, for having the ingenuity to put all of these things together. Right. And, um, being very advantageous with, okay, I have pitch. 30, 000 people under one roof. How do I actually [01:52:00] maximize that experience?
Being able to, you know, have the entertainment, having all the different educational workshops, vendor marketplace, pitch competition is amazing. No true. Indeed. True. Indeed. And, uh, being able to, uh, be. in that again, it was, uh, what it was, it was a, uh, a pitch competition to be able to, you know, uh, win a hundred thousand dollars towards your business.
You know, um, it could be a, uh, already established business. It could have been a startup business. It could have been a, uh, already, I mean, uh, just in development of business, you know? Um, however, it was a great opportunity to be able to provide that to, again, uh, and that the invest FESA crew there. Uh, but I will tell you, you know, um, on the flip side of things as well, we, uh, always want to be focused in regards to, you know, what you're there for, you know, and we were always, uh, you know, laser focused on, uh, our, our opportunities into network opportunities into, [01:53:00] uh, gaining, uh, access to, you know, 30, 000 people that were there, right?
Uh, to educate. Um, but also, uh, taking the, the, the leap or the step to be able to put your, um, your business out there. And, um, with that, it was a kind of a process I would say. Uh, but you know, when we're, when we are, you know, focused on what the entrepreneurs, uh, entrepreneurs are doing, uh, we always want to kind of focus on the actual mission, right?
You know, and the mission is to really provide a space for entrepreneurs to develop. And I think that's, I think that was a great opportunity in itself. Um, but always there's always nuts and bolts that are missing, uh, on a continuous basis. And I think, uh, for us, uh, as veterans, for veterans, uh, the sector of, uh, the veteran community, I think, uh, having, um, kind of a.
a more streamlined process, uh, would it be able to support us and just in general and also [01:54:00] be able to support our community? Absolutely. No, that's some good points, right? Because, you know, as you kind of tackle kind of highs and lows of the business and kind of what needs to transpire there. Uh, Yeah. You know, we were, you know, very excited to be a part of the pitch competition.
They were, um, certain levels, right? So if you are a attendee of next year or even a business owner, especially, and you're saying, Hey, they're doing a pitch competition again. Should I be a part of it? Should I not? Um, I would say it's going to be very difficult, uh, to remain focused. If you are going to be, uh, In the vendor marketplace with the table, especially if you have a big vendor area, because ultimately you made a significant investment to be there and kind of galvanize and support the individuals and be a resource.
So, you know, whether you have staff or not, which we had a tremendous staff. Uh, there that helped man our booth, you know, want to give [01:55:00] a special thanks to all of our wonderful staff members that were there, uh, they helped out, but it's no substitute for the business owner themselves actually being there because there are a lot of prominent individuals at InvestFest, whether it's the host, earn your leisure, whether it's to many celebrities and, and business presenters.
And, you know, I would hate to miss, you know, Damon, John walk into our table while we're in line, trying to be a part of invest that shark tank. And then we're missing an opportunity to talk to the lead shark, you know, in person. Right. So it was a lot of a juggling activity. There, you know, so, um, hopefully, you know, again, next year, I think they'll probably get some different organization with that.
It was in his first rendition. I think it was, um, a little bit of an error in terms of who actually got to actually pitch, right? Because initially it was about 800 applicants and only a [01:56:00] hundred people were supposed to pitch, right? But all 800 people showed up. I don't know if they all got the email or what.
Um, but then even when you kind of. Really impact that from like a middle standpoint, right? Because, you know, we were talking about that as well. It's like, man, I was chosen, you know, out of the 800 people to be one of the 100. And then now you self doubt starts to even kind of set in, right? It's like, well, wait a minute, was I chosen or did the email go out to me inadvertently?
You know, should I be here? Do I deserve to be here? You know? So I understand from their perspective of saying like, Hey, Everybody here showed up. We want to allow them to pitch, but frankly, you know, it's not a team award. You know what I mean? It, the trophy ain't for everybody, you know? So, um, while I, I think it was, um, a noble thing for them to want to do to actually have [01:57:00] everybody to 600 to 800 people, uh, to pitch to, uh, the, the different judges.
And again, thank you to the judges as well for sitting through that whole entire day. Right. But, um, You should have figured out a way to limit it to that hundred people because that's who deserve to be there. The rest of the people did not necessarily deserve to be there. And you needed to figure out how to weed that out, whether you need to delay it a day to figure out who really needed to be there or not.
Because that extra component, I think in a moment wasn't thought of, right? It wasn't thought of how the. people that should have rightfully been there got drowned out by listening to 500 or 600 other people. No, true indeed. True indeed. You know, um, though where there was some amazing, amazing, amazing people and amazing, uh, businesses there, I think, um, you know, um, honestly, there were a lot that would, didn't, [01:58:00] didn't, shouldn't never been there.
You know, and what I am. And again, and I don't mean that in a real negative way. I mean, in a sense of, uh, you know, it's very difficult to be amongst someone who has a written business plan on paper versus a deployed business for many years on end. You know, uh, they're just, uh, the business is just at two different junctures.
So how do you support, uh, who do you provide a, a, an award to? Okay. Uh, this is not a participation points award. At the end of the day, it's a competitive, um, for, for us at the end of the day, it's a competitive sport, you know, um, who's going to get the trophy. You know, and I can guarantee you, um, you know, our constituents, uh, we're going to fight for our constituents more than a lot of others are going to fight for theirs.
So at the end of the day, um, I think, you know, um, Personally, you know, I think a lot of things could have been streamlined where, uh, again, uh, many [01:59:00] components were not thought about. However, again, when you're an entrepreneur, when you're dealing with entrepreneurs and, and, and, and entrepreneurs are, you know, at the helm of things, I can tell you right now, there's going to be missing items.
There's going to be missing pieces. some at some juncture. Um, but I will tell you, um, they are getting one thing right. And, uh, that's providing a space for the community to be able to grow, flourish and educate one another. So, um, I shout out to you guys. Yeah, shout out. Shout out. Yeah, absolutely. But, uh, yeah, for sure.
But again, the point of here is to kind of look at the highs and lows. We talked about some highs, definitely talked about some lows and give feedback. For individuals, again, who want to attend in the future are, you know, want to actually be a part of the whole community there. So it's not to, you know, kind of poke fun or, you know, to overly be critical, right.
And kind of be, you know, a pocket watcher of sorts of, of, of what they're doing, [02:00:00] but it's more so to, you know, give critical feedback for improvement. Right. Because I know just as well as our business is a phenomenal business that Potentially deserve to be one of the four on stage, uh, presenting in front of that 15, 20, 000 auditorium, there were many others, right?
And although the four finalists were, you know, pretty decent, I alert you to know that it was probably some better businesses in there that just didn't get that look because you only had one minute to pitch, right? And it was, uh, Exercise of fatigue as well, because again, it's the mental health part of what I brought up a little bit earlier.
But then also fatigue of being in line, and not anticipating this, and hunger, and a lot of other factors. And as a business owner, those are things that you have to account for. But on the contrary though, I must say like, you know, this is business. You know what I [02:01:00] mean? Only the strongest survive, you know, only the, uh, again, are you going to wait in line for that sandwich?
Are you going to wait in line to get this hundred thousand dollar, uh, uh, you know, uh, grant? Absolutely. So, I mean, uh, I agree with you, I for sure agree with you, but, you know, there's always the component of, well, are you, you know, How bad do you want it, you know? Right, yeah. Well, I want it bad enough for it to actually be conducted in a way that I signed up for, right?
Because I signed up to present and be 4 out of 100, not 700. You know, so that's the whole thing because now I'm competing against people that I shouldn't be competing with. Right. So, you know, that's part of the nuance there and just us really having a strong passion for our business and knowing like, Hey, we know we deserve to be here and we know we necessarily didn't get a fair shot.
Now I could tell you as [02:02:00] far as the outcome, I really do appreciate the individual that was selected and. Although we didn't win, I think that was probably one of the best outcomes of giving, giving myself silence of knowing it's like, okay, you really pick the deserving business of that. You know, as we know, the veteran community is robust can help a lot of different ways and be impactful a lot of different ways for that community.
And, you know, adding to the financial literacy component, and also decreasing the wage gap of the African American community, which we've supported, uh, we're putting over two billion dollars within the economy for the veterans that we serve, right? So, you know, that shouldn't go unnoted or unwarranted.
However, we know whether we win that hundred thousand dollar grant or not, we're gonna be all right. We're gonna serve no matter what. Exactly. We're gonna, we're gonna, we could be at a bus stop. We're going to serve the veterans. [02:03:00] So, uh, but like you said, uh, the, the person that won, I think was a very deserving of that.
And, uh, it was on a predictable outcome, right? So that's one thing as well. Um, and, and at the end of the day, um, as entrepreneurs, you're going to go through it. You're going to go through it. You're not going to sleep. You're not going to eat. You're going to miss time with family. You're going to miss some of your most precious moments, um, to be able to garner something that you may have really, really, uh, wanted, desired.
And also, uh, again, uh, spent some of your resources. So at the end of the day, how bad do you want it? It's going to be up to you to be able to make your and cultivate your own experience. Okay. Uh, but with that being said, you know, it's only one winner and the winner is going to be the person who actually makes the best of the opportunity that's given.
So, um, And that competition, though, we may have [02:04:00] not been the people that one may have waited for hours, right? Um, again, um, you know, a Rashadi probably owe me, uh, a few, uh, massages, uh, again, you know, go ahead and, uh, go ahead and, uh, give me a, a voucher. All right. Uh, but. At the end of the day, you know, uh, make sure that you take advantage of because you are in people and you are in a room full of people who are, uh, doing things and doing amazing things out here and we were able to speak to a lot of them.
So, um, I was able to, um, Really gain a network, someone where I never would have thought of. So, um, again, we, we have many, many, um, partnerships and networks out here, but, uh, being able to be in a room full of people all over the world, you can't, you can't. You can't cultivate that experience in many places.
So that's what, again, at the end of the day, entrepreneurs continue to stay [02:05:00] focused, uh, no matter what the obstacle is. Um, you know what you came for, so go get it. Absolutely. Yeah. And in not winning, I think we learned, um, uh, valuable lessons, right? You know, you know, one of the things I kind of reflected on even before this filming here and They kind of try to put it in words Of a sense of like we know we do amazing things in a veteran sector, right?
And then we're going into Their world of that world and expecting it's like, okay. Well this translates To this, but it's like, how do you actually communicate that? Right. How do you actually get them to, to notice that, you know, you, you could almost look at it in terms of, um, at that point, it's like the world cup or something, right.
It's like the Olympics, you know, in terms of things, it's like, you may be the champions in your country. That don't mean nothing over here. Right. You got to come and qualify, improve yourself within this [02:06:00] arena here, because. They don't know what you did in your league because they're not following your league.
They have no regard for the accomplishments and different things that you did over there because frankly They didn't recruit you to come over here, right? So Really kind of looking at that and really understanding. It's like, okay. Well, you know, we are You know, doing wonderful things here at a certain point over here.
And when we go to this space here, we're in a crowded room where we're at the bottom again, right? We're at the bottom again, and we have to work our way to the top. And although we may be deserving to be at a, certain point of that room. It's like, how do you quickly separate yourself to, you know, galvanize that opportunity, especially in a pitch competition when you only have one minute, right?
And it's going to take more than one minute for [02:07:00] people just to really unpack what Veterans for Veterans is already, right? So, um, just from that component, so getting to understanding the severity of what we do and the impact and how it can help, Is a whole nother world because frankly, we're earning your leisure for veterans.
It's, I don't see nobody else being like that there, but it's just like, man, how can I communicate that to you? And I think the answer is I can't, you just going to have to find out yourself. You know, you're going to have to actually see that it's going to take us continuing to build this platform, continuing to do the work, and then for them to notice us and like, Hey, you know.
Let's do lunch or let's have a conversation or, you know, Hey, I see what you're doing over here and those different things before it really becomes real, right? And that's one way to go about it. And even just thinking about marketing and business, even from a client facing standpoint, right? Oftentimes, not the first [02:08:00] time you reach out, not the second time.
It usually takes eight attempts, right? This is not our eight attempts. Trying to, um, integrate with that community. So it's going to be a lot more work and a lot more interactions that need to really take place. And you know, that's something from that experience that we understand now we, I get it. Hey, no one owes you nothing.
Keep working. That's all I can say. Entrepreneurs stay focused. Veterans stay focused, prepare to compete. We out peace.
