Paying forward lessons learned from a life of service

Pete Newell

February 5, 2021

Andrea Koppel invited me to chat recently on her Time 4 Coffee podcast -- a collection of career conversations with accomplished people in a wide range of professions. Andrea’s goal with the show is to help college and grad students and young professions find the right career path in this rapidly changing global marketplace and so I was honored by her invitation to appear on  the show. In our interview I had the chance to pay forward the career lessons I’ve learned as I made the transition from military career to entrepreneur; and touch on what I’ve learned about leadership and innovation, as well as the work I’m doing now with BMNT and The Common Mission Project to make the world a better place.

It was a fun conversation, worth a listen. Hear our full discussion here or check out the snippets below.


5:27: The worst transition plan ever - how a 30 second phone call set me off on this journey

6:50: How I learned I was an entrepreneur at heart

8:34: Taking a big leap -- moving across the country on a new career path

10:50: Birth of a methodology: Drawing on past experience to help change the future  

15:20: How I found that failing is the best way to learn 

18:01: Inspiring the next generation of technologists

20:40: Best part of my work is the brilliant and inspired people I work with  

27:28: Why young servicemen and -women should cultivate a diverse network of experiences and relationships

29:00: Why military veterans make great entrepreneurs 

30:56: Why I’m passionate about national service


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