Our Flawless Fellow Maureen Mahoney had the opportunity to meet and attend a talk by Mike Erwin, United States military veteran and founder of both Team Red White and Blue and the Positivity Project. Continue reading to hear about all the wisdom and inspiration she gained from this experience!
Today, we celebrate Veterans Day. We honor the bravery, courage, strength, selflessness, and leadership of those men and women who have sacrificed so much to serve our country in our armed forces. As part of an early kickoff to Veterans Week 2019, the University of Michigan hosted alumni, veteran, and leadership expert Mike Erwin for a talk entitled “In a Distracted World, Solitude is Practice for Tomorrow’s Leaders.”
Mike Erwin embodies the honorable characteristics of an American hero and leader. Throughout his talk, he gave a deeper look inside his life and how he got to where he is today. Erwin graduated from West Point in 2002 with a degree in Economics. From there, he was commissioned as an Intelligence Officer and deployed three separate times between 2004 and 2009. After returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan, Erwin enrolled in the University of Michigan to get a Master’s degree in Positive Psychology. While in school, he was still in the Army Reserves, and his identity as part of the United States Armed Forces held strong. He felt the need to do something more to help his fellow veterans returning to civilian life.
During his talk, he recalled the one desire that most veterans had in common: someone to talk to and someone to listen to them. And with that, his first nonprofit, Team Red, White, and Blue was formed in March 2010. Their mission was simple: connecting veterans to their community through social and physical activity. He explained that when returning to America, veterans lose a sense of themselves, going from such regimented, foreign duties to everyday life in America. Physical activity was one thing that could stay constant, and so Team RWB “created an organization that gave these men and women a challenge and a sense of identity.” Erwin began running 5 miles a day, no phone, no music, just him and his thoughts, and he used that time of solitude to really reflect on what Team RWB could and should be. The organization hosts fitness activities, social gatherings, and community service events for veterans to come together and build strong connections. Since its inception just 9 years ago, Team RWB now has 200 locations and over 192,000 registered members.
Mike Erwin’s incredible service to this country did not stop with Team RWB. He described himself as extremely energetic, extroverted, and always needing to be doing something. And he found his next calling in the Positivity Project. With his fellow West Point classmate and Armed Services member Jeff Bryan, they founded the Positivity Project. Erwin pointed to research that “relationships are the number one driver of life satisfaction” and emphasized the importance of building positive relationships with those around you. While they hadn’t originally intended for schools, teachers around the country recognized the need for this type of education in schools. The Positivity Project now has a curriculum that teachers can tailor specifically to their students to teach them the 24 character strengths and concepts such as leadership, forgiveness, humility, gratitude, and kindness. It has now been spread to over 500 schools in 23 states. The Positivity Project is just one example of the push towards an emphasis on social emotional learning in schools.
After giving background on his nonprofits, Erwin also spoke to the crowd about the main themes of his book, Lead Yourself First, which include using solitude and reflection to become a better leader. He touched on the loneliness crisis, noting that the loneliest generation is currently aged 18-22, and he partially credits that to the information age we live in, always surrounded by technology. One important point he made was that there are upsides to this overflow of technology; leadership opportunities are all around us. To take full advantage of this, Erwin advised “instead of constant acceleration, leadership demands periods of restraint, solitude, and reflection” because our “greatest source of inspiration resides deep within us.” Finding time for self reflection and mindfulness certainly takes time, and Erwin acknowledges that it definitely requires patience and practice.
To assist on the mindfulness journey, Erwin provided the audience with some guiding tips:
1. Audit your time on your phone (use your phone’s screen-time app)
2. Use your phone’s Off button!
3. Give meditation a shot for a week
4. Use an old school alarm clock
5. Delete every non-essential app; turn off notifications
6. Drive or walk in silence
I urge you to take this Veterans Day to thank the Service members in your life. We would not have the freedoms we do without their sacrifices. Additionally, take some time to find solitude for yourself and be able to reflect.
By Maureen Mahoney, Flawless Fellow
