Welcome to The Nutshell for subscribers to The Greater Good. A journal where I share my personal efforts to citizen better.
What I’m Doing
The week kicked off with a return to National Defence Headquarters for the presentation of my General Officer scroll. When an officer receives a commission in the Canadian Armed Forces, they receive a commissioning scroll as a Second Lieutenant. The scroll provides some text on duties and responsibilities. The General Officer scroll is a similar idea, but at an executive level. It was nice to see the Governor General in attendance, but the best part of the event was getting a chance to see old friends.
Speaking of friends, few things make me happier than seeing a friend doing well. A friend and recently retired Army officer dropped by the house for a coffee. He is a model for transition. He planned well in advance, looked for work that aligned to his purpose, put all the pieces in place to retired, and then jumped on the right opportunity. There will always be challenging parts of retirement / transition, but we can all make it a little or a lot easier with planning and support from others. Have a look at my editorial on this issue - A Walk in the Snow.
I like sports, but I have never been an avid follower. This means I have enough sports knowledge to hold a superficial conversation, but little else. So it was cool to interview Canadian-born CFL star Tim Fleiszer and get a look inside the life of someone from that world. Tim has won championships at every level from his hometown of Montreal to four Grey Cups. However, it wasn’t his athletic achievements that were the reason why I wanted him on The Northern Sentinels Podcast. Tim is the CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation Canada - a charity that raises awareness about concussions and CTE. Brain injury in athletes and soldiers is an issue that needs more attention and I hope the podcast can help do this in some small way.
I wrapped up a week with a visit to the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa. I’m working through the process of trying to interview someone employed at the embassy who has been helping Canada deal with a specific national security challenge. I’m hoping to be able to announce this in the coming weeks, but this will depend on the higher headquarters of this particular organization.
What I’m Reading
There was lots of great stuff to read this week across my areas of interest.
I had a wonderful addition to my reading list this week which became my priority. A friend asked me to be a beta reader for the draft of his new book. What a privilege to get a chance to be one of the first to discover someone’s massive creative endeavour. I have always been impressed by anyone who can put the effort into writing a book.
On that topic, if you have any ambition to write a book, or just want a great read, I recommend Stephen King’s On Writing. The author mixes his life story with his writing process. A fascinating look at one of America’s most famous fiction writers.
If you have not read anything by Dr. Jack Granatstein his recent editorial is a good start - Canadians are finally waking up to the funding crisis that’s sent the Canadian Armed Forces into a “death spiral”
What I’m Listening and Watching
If you have not had the chance to listen to my NSP Short with Perrin Beatty where he speaks about Brian Mulroney, it’s worth a listen.
I had the chance to listen to the remarks from the Minister of National Defence, Bill Blair, at the recent Ottawa Conference. I was pleasantly surprised. I had never seen Mr. Blair speak, so I was not sure what to expect and probably was expecting the usual type of talking points. There was certainly some of that, but there was also some candid moments that were refreshing. His remarks are between 21:30 and 1:05:30 of the video.
One of the books I recommend the most is The Coddling of the American Mind by
and . This is a must read, especially for parents of young children. Jonathan was on the Joe Rogan Experience last week to talk about his new book, The Anxious Generation and provided more insights into some of the impacts of social media on our kids.I started to watch the short documentary called Mind Over Miles about endurance runner Sally McRae participation in the Moab 240. I’m fascinated by ultra-endurance athletes and their capacity to suffer. 240 miles is an incredible achievement.
What People are Saying - the good, the bad, and the ugly (Feedback on The Greater Good)
I get lots of feedback on what I put out into the world. Most is positive, some is critical in a good way, and very little is unhelpful. I’ll share the good, the bad, and the ugly here.
“I think social media is increasing the prevalence of fatalism. It is easy to be discouraged by the division we see online, which can leave the impression that problems are unsolvable. It can leave people with a “why bother” mentality. The antidote to this can be small acts of service and the collective power of these acts.
I have a neighbor who rallied some families in our community to support some of the unhoused people in Halifax. It wasn’t enough to make a sustainable difference, but it felt good to do something about a problem we drove by every day. From that one act of service, a number of people embarked on their own separate efforts to contribute to the problem.
For some people, titles and positions can feel like too big of a step, but the power of small acts of service can be enormous acts of leadership.”“Value for money is paramount. Our methodology aligns well with procurement of staplers and office furniture, but falls short when acquiring equipment crucial for the training and protection of our nation's youth, who defend our interests.
Policy is, without a doubt, not gravity.”
Here’s a look into some of the upcoming offerings on The Greater Good.
The next editorial will focus on the role of courage and leadership.
The next podcast is with former JTF2 operator and current entrepreneur Randy Turner. There are three NSP Shorts leading up to the release of the full episode on 27 March.
Reminders to Subscribers
If there are guests you would like to see on the podcast, please drop me a note in the Substack chat function.
I continue to offer free advertising for veteran charities and businesses on The Northern Sentinels Podcast. If you know a business or organization that could benefit, please pass along the offer. They can connect with me through Substack, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
Thanks for supporting The Greater Good. Please take the time to recommend my Substack to someone to help grow the community. Have an amazing weekend.