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Your Thoughts Your Reality

Your Thoughts Your Reality

By: Mike Cole
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Welcome to "Your Thoughts, Your Reality with Mike Cole," the podcast that shines a compassionate light on the journey of veterans battling through life's challenges. Michael Cole, a Certified Elite Neuroencoding Specialist, dedicated to guiding military veterans as they navigate the intricate pathways of post-deployment life. Join him as we delve into the profound realm of Neuroencoding science, empowering these brave individuals to conquer universal battles: procrastination, self-doubt, fear, and more. Together, let's uncover the strength within you to re-engage with families and society, forging a new path forward.

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Episodes
  • Can You Lead Without Rank? | Identity — The 1st Silent War | Neco Johnson

    Can You Lead Without Rank? | Identity — The 1st Silent War | Neco Johnson
    Aug 27 2026
    Send us Fan MailWhat happens when the rank comes off?When the title disappears, the structure changes, and the position that helped define you for decades suddenly belongs to someone else?For many veterans and leaders, transition is not simply about finding another job. It can force a much deeper question:Who am I when the authority, recognition, and identity attached to my role are gone?In this episode of Your Thoughts, Your Reality, Michael Cole sits down with Neco Johnson, a retired U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sergeant with 28 years of service. During his career, Neco served as a First Sergeant, Command First Sergeant, and Commandant of the Air Force First Sergeant Academy. Today, he is the founder and CEO of First Class Leadership, a keynote speaker, executive coach, leadership consultant, and author of The Power of Pivots.Together, Mike and Neco explore Identity — The 1st Silent War and what it takes to separate who you are from the rank, title, uniform, or position that once helped define you.Neco’s story begins long before he became a Chief Master Sergeant. At 17, he became a father—something he admits terrified him enough that he initially ran from the responsibility. A direct intervention from his mother forced him to face what he was avoiding, and that moment became one of the first major pivots of his life.The desire to become the father he wanted to be eventually helped lead him into the Air Force and began a 28-year journey of growth, responsibility, and leadership.But one of the most powerful lessons Neco learned was that leadership was never really about the rank.He began his Air Force career as an HVAC technician. Troubleshooting mechanical systems taught him not to react only to the symptom in front of him, but to diagnose the entire system.Later, he realized people require the same kind of curiosity.Poor performance may not simply be poor performance. Behind it could be fear, self-doubt, conflict, problems at home, lack of trust, or someone who simply does not believe in themselves.That realization helped shape Neco’s approach to authentic leadership: understand the person before trying to fix the problem.This conversation connects directly to several of The 10 Silent Wars:Identity — The 1st Silent War: “Who am I when the rank and title no longer define me?” Fear — The 9th Silent War: “Am I being called to pivot—or am I simply afraid of what comes next?” Self-Worth — The 6th Silent War: “Does my value change when the recognition and authority disappear?” Direction — The 8th Silent War: “How do I take everything I learned and find where it belongs next?” Legacy — The 10th Silent War: “Did I build something strong enough to continue without me?” Neco offers a powerful perspective for anyone struggling with transition: if the organization continues to thrive after you leave, that does not diminish what you contributed.It may actually be evidence that you led well.The uniform may come off, but the discipline, character, communication skills, experience, and ability to influence others do not disappear with it.Civilian leadership is simply different.People may no longer follow because rank requires them to.The bigger opportunity is becoming the kind of person they choose to follow.Neco also shares ideas from The Power of Pivots, including why growth often requires moving before you have complete certainty.He challenges the familiar idea of constantly stepping “outside” your comfort zone. Instead, he suggests enlarging your comfort zone. Every time you confront something uncomfortable, develop competence, and move through it successfully, what once frightened you becomes part of what you now know you can handle.He breaks that growth process into four C’s:Commitment — Decide that you are going to do the difficult thing. Competence — Develop the ability through repetition and experience. Confidence — Allow competence to create evidence that you can handle it. Curiosity — Begin asking, “What else am I capable of?” And when emotions threaten to stop forward movement, Neco offers another simple framework: ACT.Acknowledge. Choose. Take Action.Acknowledge the fear, anxiety, frustration, or emotion that is present.Choose to move forward according to the standard you set before the emotion took over.Then take action.Because knowledge alone does not change your life.Applied knowledge does.In this episode, you’ll learn: Why rank and title can quietly become part of your identity How to separate authentic leadership from positional authority Why everything you developed in the military still matters after transition How Neco went from becoming a father at 17 to serving 28 years in the Air Force What HVAC troubleshooting taught him about understanding and developing people Why character should matter more than rank How to know when fear and a genuine life pivot may be colliding Why Neco believes we should enlarge ...
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    33 mins
  • What Makes Tomorrow Matter? | Mission — The 2nd Silent War | Marcus Weiss

    What Makes Tomorrow Matter? | Mission — The 2nd Silent War | Marcus Weiss
    Aug 26 2026
    Send us Fan MailWhen was the last time you genuinely couldn’t wait for tomorrow?For many veterans, leaders, parents, and high performers, there comes a point when life starts feeling more like routine than anticipation. The career changes. The kids grow up. The old mission ends. The days keep moving—but the question quietly becomes:What am I actually looking forward to now?In this episode of Your Thoughts, Your Reality, Michael Cole sits down with his friend Marcus Weiss—actor, director, producer, Joy Empowerment Coach, performer, and Dual Elite Certified Neuroencoding Specialist whose career has included Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil.Marcus also shares a much more personal part of his story. Growing up in Switzerland on welfare and later experiencing depression in college, he found safety, expression, and eventually purpose through performance. Theater became what he describes as a kind of cocoon—a place where he could explore emotion, rewrite the script, connect with others, and rediscover what it felt like to be alive.Together, Mike and Marcus explore Mission — The 2nd Silent War through a question that goes deeper than simply asking, “What should I do next?”What makes you want to experience the next moment?Marcus explains that looking forward to tomorrow is not necessarily determined by what is happening outside of us. The future is uncertain. What shapes our experience of it is often the meaning we attach to what we imagine is coming.“I have to go to work tomorrow” and “I’m going to work tomorrow” describe the same event—but they can create completely different internal experiences.Marcus introduces what he calls a “lily pad” between I have to and I get to. If gratitude or excitement feels too far away, you do not have to force yourself there. Start smaller. Remove the judgment. Acknowledge what you are doing. Then begin intentionally recognizing and celebrating the moments when you show up.The goal is not fake positivity.It is building the ability to create more moments of aliveness, gratitude, meaning, and anticipation—one small, consistent step at a time.This conversation directly connects to several of The 10 Silent Wars:Mission — The 2nd Silent War: “What am I living for now?” Identity — The 1st Silent War: “Who am I beneath the roles and masks I’ve learned to wear?” Self-Worth — The 6th Silent War: “Can I recognize that I am worthy before I accomplish something for someone else?” Direction — The 8th Silent War: “What is pulling me toward tomorrow instead of keeping me anchored to yesterday?” Emotional Armor — The 7th Silent War: “What happens when I allow myself to be vulnerable and let people see who I really am?” One of the most powerful parts of the conversation comes when Mike asks how veterans can accept that their next mission may be quieter and more personal than the mission they once knew.Marcus compares it to putting a toe into still water.The ripple may begin small, but it still travels.A quieter mission is not necessarily a lesser mission.And Marcus makes an important point: the mission has to begin with you. You cannot show up for the people around you if you never learn to show up for yourself.He also challenges the idea that you need one massive life purpose before you can begin moving forward. Start with what already creates a spark. Notice a moment that feels good. Acknowledge that you helped create it. Celebrate it. Repeat it.Over time, those small moments can help reveal something larger:Your why.Not something you are running away from—but something meaningful enough to pull you forward.Because forward includes tomorrow.In this episode, you’ll learn: Why having an okay life is different from having something you genuinely look forward to How the meaning you attach to tomorrow shapes how you experience it today Marcus’s “lily pad” between “I have to” and “I get to” Why forced positivity is not the answer How small, consistent actions help build emotional momentum Why acknowledging and celebrating progress matters How to recognize when something in your life feels out of alignment Why your next mission does not have to be loud or enormous to matter How self-worth and mission are connected Why finding something that pulls you forward can make tomorrow matter again If something in this conversation made you stop, think, or feel something—don’t immediately move on.Ask yourself:What am I looking forward to?And if you don’t have an answer yet, start smaller:What is one thing I could put back into my life that makes me feel more alive?Start by connecting with the Your Thoughts, Your Reality community and exploring more conversations around The 10 Silent Wars:👉 https://yourthoughtsyourreality.com/Watch the full conversations and subscribe to the Your Thoughts, Your Reality YouTube channel:👉 https://www.youtube.com/@YourThoughtsYourRealityTo connect with...
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    35 mins
  • What’s Worth Chasing Now? | Mission — The 2nd Silent War | Tony Medrano

    What’s Worth Chasing Now? | Mission — The 2nd Silent War | Tony Medrano
    Aug 25 2026
    Send us Fan MailWhat are you chasing now?For veterans and high performers, finishing one mission can create an uncomfortable question:What’s next?Another challenge can keep us moving. Another title can keep us busy. Another goal can give us something to pursue.But movement is not always purpose.In this episode of Your Thoughts, Your Reality, Michael Cole sits down with Tony Medrano, a former U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Officer who served aboard a guided missile destroyer, went on to Stanford Business School and Law School, built a career as a technology entrepreneur, completed three full Ironman triathlons, and today serves as CEO and co-founder of Longevity Plan AI.Together, Mike and Tony explore Mission — The 2nd Silent War and what happens when the mission that once gave your life structure, meaning, and direction is gone.Tony shares what it was like leaving a military environment where the objective was clear and entering Silicon Valley, where profit, competition, and individual ambition often replaced the teamwork and shared purpose he had known in the Navy.That transition eventually raised a deeper question:Was he pursuing meaningful work—or had he simply become good at chasing the next difficult thing?Tony talks openly about periods in his entrepreneurial career when the work lacked purpose, companies that failed, losing everything in an early AI venture, a military knee injury that followed him for decades, and being hit by a car just weeks before his first Ironman.Rather than allowing those setbacks to become the end of the story, he repeatedly used them to reconsider what was worth pursuing next.Today, Tony says he is working harder than ever—but is also happier because his work is connected to something he genuinely cares about: helping other people improve their health, recovery, and performance.This conversation connects directly to several of The 10 Silent Wars:Mission — The 2nd Silent War: “What am I working toward now—and is it actually meaningful to me?”Direction — The 8th Silent War: “What comes after the mission I already completed?”Identity — The 1st Silent War: “Who am I when the role that once defined me changes?”Control — The 4th Silent War: “How do I respond when life does not go according to plan?”Legacy — The 10th Silent War: “Am I simply achieving more, or am I building something that helps other people?”Tony and Mike also dive into endurance, recovery, health, artificial intelligence, peptides, GLP-1 medications, and the growing role technology may play in helping people better understand their individual health and performance goals.Tony shares his personal experiences and perspectives while emphasizing something important: health decisions should not be driven by hype. Research, individual circumstances, and qualified medical guidance matter.But underneath all of it is a much bigger conversation about mission.Because you can be disciplined.You can be successful.You can accomplish difficult things.And still wake up wondering whether any of it actually matters to you.In this episode, you’ll learn:Why losing the structure of military service can make civilian purpose difficult to defineHow Tony translated military leadership and teamwork into entrepreneurshipThe difference between staying busy and having a meaningful missionWhy setbacks can become turning points instead of endpointsHow Tony approached completing an Ironman after a serious injuryWhy purpose can fundamentally change the way work feelsTony’s perspective on peptides, GLP-1s, recovery, and longevityWhy research and professional medical guidance matter when exploring health interventionsHow AI may help personalize health, recovery, and performance decisionsThe question every veteran and high performer should ask before chasing the next goalIf something in this conversation resonated with you, don’t immediately move on to the next thing.Ask yourself:What am I chasing now—and is it truly worth chasing?Start by connecting with the Your Thoughts, Your Reality community and explore more conversations around The 10 Silent Wars:👉 https://yourthoughtsyourreality.com/Watch the full conversations and subscribe to the Your Thoughts, Your Reality YouTube channel:👉 https://www.youtube.com/@YourThoughtsYourRealityTo follow Tony Medrano and his work with Longevity Plan AI, search Tony Medrano on LinkedIn or LongevityPlan.AI.And when you’re ready to go deeper and create meaningful change in your mindset, identity, and direction:👉 https://empowerperformancestrategies.com/Because your thoughts shape your reality…And sometimes the next mission isn’t about proving what you can do—it’s deciding what is truly worth doing next.#Mission #TheSecondSilentWar #MilitaryTransition #Veterans #Purpose #TonyMedrano #Ironman #Entrepreneurship #Longevity #HumanPerformance #Leadership #The10SilentWars #YourThoughtsYourRealityExplore more episodes, resources, and updates from Mike Cole ...
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    39 mins
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