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Introduction 0:02
Welcome to the #PirateBroadcast™, where we interview #interestingpeople doing #interestingthings. Where you can expand your connections, your community, #kindnessiscool and #smilesarefree. Let’s get this party started.

Russ Johns 0:19
It's a beautiful day for the #PirateBroadcast™. And this is Episode 300. I cannot believe it. I cannot believe it. It's been a long, fascinating, exciting journey. And we have Scott "Shalom" Klein on onboard for number 300. And we've actually met and I've been on your show before. So welcome to the party. And thank you so much for being here, Scott.

Scott "Shalom" Klein 0:49
Absolutely. Now you get to see me not just as a host, but you get to see me as a guest. So I'll see if I can deliver on the expectations.

Russ Johns 0:58
Well, it's often interesting when I'm on other people's podcasts or shows because I'm so used to being on the interview side. So it's a little bit of a change. And it's always fascinating to engage in a different way and attempt to bring value to the table. And value is something that you've always been doing. You're military, you're service focused, there's a lot of interest in providing value to your community. So talk a little bit about what you're focusing in on today. And what brought you to where you are today. Kind of your backstory and journey with the military in the service that you do.

Scott "Shalom" Klein 1:42
Sure, I appreciate the chance to be on the show with you, Russ, and episode 300, congratulations to you. It's awesome. And the funny thing is that you mentioned the awkwardness. You weren't awkward, The awkwardness of jumping from the host to the guest side, I actually did exactly the opposite when I started hosting my radio show. So I went from being very frequently a guest to suddenly being a host. So it is a lot of fun. It's cool. And hey, listen, I have a hunch, some great things in store. But in terms of me, I hail from the Windy City of Chicago, and...actually just north for some of your viewers that might be familiar, Skokie, Illinois, and grew up always very passionate about community, but not really knowing how to call it sort of focused my efforts on community, I actually applied to becoming a rabbi, which I thought is the way that you could be behind the pulpit and make an impact in community. Long story short, I went to school in Israel, Detroit, New York, and then discovered that really what I love is management administration, keeping the balls, you know, moving to make things happen. I worked in New York for a couple years, moved back to Chicago 11-12 years ago, joined my dad in business and accounting firm, I ran the firm, but at the same time, in the midst of the last recession. 2009 ish, I realized so many people out of work, businesses, struggling, people unemployed, and I made it my mission to make an impact. I started a couple of nonprofits dedicated to small business jobs and entrepreneurship, which over the course of about six years drew a little over 50,000 people to events, programs, resources all over the place. In 2014, I was appointed Chair of the Economic Development Commission position I still hold. I also am chairing the COVID recovery Task Force. I started hosting a radio show in Chicago. I see from the comments, it looks like you might have some Midwesterners out there, and 560 in the Chicago market, but you can find it online too. It's called get down to business for almost seven years, and they also host a podcast called we all serve, which really ties into that passion that I discovered for community impact. And about two years ago, almost exactly two years, I joined the army at the old age of 29, I joined the army commissioned as an officer and proud to serve. So that's I guess me in a nutshell.

Russ Johns 4:23
Well, fantastic and thank you so much for your service. I really can see why we are drawn to each other and how we enjoy and appreciate this, you know, serving others and organizing people to to come together for a cause. And that's really a theme that I think is critical in 2020 and going forward into 2021. And I know that there are so many people out there that are looking for influence or #inspiration or #motivation or something to encourage them to move forward with a positive outcome. And so some of the things that you're doing on the show, I know are around that topic, you know, business and organization and service, and talk a little bit about the show. Share the show, because if you're not connected to Scott, get connected, the pirate community is in alignment with his beliefs, his philosophy, and his his ideas that he's putting out there in the world. So support this individual and support Scott "Shalom" Klein.

Scott "Shalom" Klein 5:37
I appreciate it. Yeah, the show has been fun. I mean, I have really found my, call it, rhythm with the program. I was on the air last night. And you know, I was thinking about it a lot. I go for long walks, to reflect and we can talk more about that. But that's sort of my proactive time, the time that I have a chance to think last night I was actually thinking a lot about the show and where it started to where it is now. And one thing that has remained consistent is I don't do a lot of talking. It's all about guests. On the average show, last night being a good example, I had four guests on my one hour show. So that didn't leave a lot of time for me to rant and ramble. And I know many talk show hosts, that is sort of their their mantra on there. And their focus is sharing their perspectives. I don't want to share my perspectives, I want to feature entrepreneurs, I want to feature people that are making a difference, in particular, my philosophy. And by the way, I'll say this, I believe it is important for businesses to have a mission and have a philosophy that's not unique to the nonprofit world. And so my philosophy is absolutely that. In business, it is really the linchpin and he the massive opportunity to make an impact in community. I'll give you an example. This morning, I went to visit a new small business where I happened to be in Yuma, Arizona today. And new local business for anybody out in Yuma, Yuma bagel, they opened last week, picked up some bagels for the team out here. And they are all about community. They're all about bringing people together. That is part of who they are, which is so important to feature entrepreneurs that are making a difference in their respective communities. And to answer some of the questions again, am 560 in Chicago is the show. But you can find it online. You can go to my website, ShalomKlein.com and you can download podcasts from the past almost seven years of programs.

Russ Johns 7:45
Yeah, that is fantastic. I love the idea. The businesses that really bring it home to the community are the ones that really shine all the time. And I know a lot of businesses, they're adjusting, a lot of businesses have to adjust. Restaurants, especially, you know, the service industries are really under challenging conditions, I'll just say that and my heart goes out to all the people that are are having a bit of a challenge right now. And it's even more important that we actually come together as a community and support these individuals in anyway that we can, and, you know, take out is, you know, support the takeout industry. I talked to one restaurant owner a little while ago, and he says his business is now shifting to 70% takeout and 30% dine in, and that'll probably be shifted to 100% if things get any more challenging. And I just think about how that impacts everybody that's serving that business and how it can stay intact and how it operates. And that's the whole process of being an entrepreneur. And like you said, serving the business in a way that it can be served is like figuring it out, discovering new ways to serve the public, new ways to serve the community, new ways to interact with the community. So what are some of the things that you see out there in business every day? You're helping organize these platforms and everything else. What do you see that is been really creative in the community, as far as responding to the current conditions?

Scott "Shalom" Klein 9:41
Yeah, I mean, people are really giving people I think, at least I know, in Chicago, people I think are very open minded and understanding that we're living in a whole new world. I hate the term social distancing. Just want to put it out there. It's only physical distancing. Social distancing, I'll tell you the silver lining for me in the spirit of in the middle of COVID, has been connecting with amazing friends like you or us. And, you know, obviously, all of your viewers and listeners, which is exciting, I've actually done more of that in the past couple of months than I have in the past couple of years, because life gets so busy, and you're running around like a lunatic trying to just, you know, catch up with the day. And for me, COVID-19 has given me the opportunity to reconnect with folks that I haven't spoken to in a while, I actually have reconnected with some of my teachers and classmates from literally over a decade ago, which is awesome. I mean, really awesome conversations catching up. And I feel terrible, because I consider myself to be a pretty good communicator. But you know, life gets in the way, but also in terms of getting involved in other things in community. Things that I. at some point, you never want to plateau, you never want to just get involved in the same things and just sort of fall into a rhythm. For me, COVID, I think was that like kick in the behind, like, sort of shake things up a little bit, whether in business, which businesses, I've seen some awesome innovation. I try to feature some of them on my radio show, but also in community, community organizations making an impact. And for me, it's given me an opportunity to get involved in organizations that I've thought about that I get their emails, but haven't had a chance to sit in on something. But suddenly, everybody's doing things through zoom. So I'm like, Oh, my God, this is awesome. I can learn about those organizations. And I have had the drop of an opportunity to reset I mentioned that I serve in the army. So for me getting involved in some of these amazing veterans organizations, I'll give a shout out to the heroes to heroes Foundation, helping to prevent veteran suicide. amazing work, I'm the employer Outreach Director for the Illinois esgr, the employer support of the garden reserve, amazing organization under the Department of Defense, awesome organizations doing incredible, incredible things. And I've been able to, I guess, lead by example, by stepping up and getting involved as well.

Russ Johns 12:15
That is fantastic. And like I said, that is the kind of activity that is always refreshing to hear about. Because one thing that we can do, you know, we don't always have control over everything that happens to us, we have control over what we do with what happens to us. And I think that's so important for people to realize that you do have control over the outcome of what you take responsibility for. And if you take action and risk, you know, respond and help and assist everybody that you can, it really makes a huge difference. And I actually put an outreach out this weekend and challenged the pirates in the community. Everybody that's been on the show, it's like, I want to come back and I want to promote your business, I want to promote what you're doing. So jump on a call with me, we're going to create a five minute follow up or, you know, recall it, I had a good I had a good branding name for it, I'll come back to that later. And let's just jump on a call, create a promo for your business and let people know what you're doing. So we can put it out there again, and share some things to make sure that you're, you know, people aware of what you're doing, how you're doing it, who you help, how you help, and how they reach out to you. And just little things like that. And getting creative with what you're doing with your business is so important these days. And it's just so critical. And it doesn't take a lot of energy. It just takes a little bit of focus to understand what what needs to happen next.

Scott "Shalom" Klein 13:56
I agree I agree completely. And and and again, right now the innovation that we're seeing is incredible. So I'm a big fan, as I mentioned of businesses, serving as the as sort of that corner cafe, in their communities, and they're on the ground floor of hearing what people need. And that's not to say that you shouldn't be for profit, you should aim to make as much money as you possibly can for but hear what's going on. And it's okay to put up a bulletin board and and bring people together try to create jobs that way. I discovered that 1011 years ago that I discovered the best way to help others is by letting people help themselves by bringing people together. Sure in this day and age we cannot you know have a networking gathering in the in the same way that we that we had the hope that that will become a possibility again very very soon, but embrace the technology. look at everything in life with a silver lining. And look at, you know, the pirate broadcast. And this is awesome. Indeed. I mean, I'm not even kidding a pirate broadcast the idea of podcasting, the idea of what you are doing through 300. Now plus episodes is something that would not have been viewed as normal, just a short time ago, and you're putting out information from some awesome people, I mean, with the exception of me, but Episode Number 300, had to do something out of the out of the norm. So if you're a go, but some pretty awesome people, and hopefully everybody's learning a lesson from something and that's my philosophy every day is I could probably count on and I won't lie, there have been maybe I probably kind of my my fingers every year, on one hand, the number of times that I've walked away from a meeting, without having a next step without having something that I've learned from that conversation. But almost across the board, I learned something from everybody, whether it's a job seeker I'm meeting with, or a fortune 500 CEO, you learn something that you can take away and put into practice, in your business in your organization or in community.

Russ Johns 16:15
Well, in the beautiful thing about it is you don't know who will bring the inspiration, or that idea, or turn that question around and say, Okay, how can we do this? You don't know where it's gonna come from. That's why I love the pirate broadcast community is that it's, it's broad, and it's a range of individuals that are bringing different topics to the table. And that way, it's going to spark somebody's conversation later down the road, or even during the conversation and say, Wow, I hadn't thought of it that way. I hadn't imagined an outcome like that. And so I just, I really, I'm humbled. I'm, I'm so excited to continue this for another 300 my son goes, dad, talk to me when you get 1000 down.

Scott "Shalom" Klein 17:06
Really, really good. You got to celebrate the you know, celebrate the the those round numbers 300. That's a big deal. Congratulations to you. I mean, a Belfry have your son reached out to me. And I can tell you every one of these episodes, it's hard work. And I mean, the community that you've built is is totally awesome. And I imagine and you and I have talked about this in a previous conversation that you you learned something from all of these people that you're connecting with every day.

Russ Johns 17:36
Absolutely. Absolutely. I want to go back and shout out to a couple of individuals. Angie, she's your neighbor up there. Happy 300 episode. Candice bill. smiles. Wow. 300 Howard Kaufman Howard Kaufman is a great individual to connect with. He has the mouth care system, oral. He's been a pirate, and he's been an advocate for the community here. Gabriel Good morning. Happy Monday. Joseph is on Good morning. I'm listening to day trading. Great message. And Angie says thank you for your service. Tracy says Happy 300th episode. And then Howard says as you mentioned 560 as the old wind. Fantastic. So Janine honest, what? On what station? Is the show? Is it local Chicago or broadcast elsewhere? So

Scott "Shalom" Klein 18:42
So again, the station is local to Chicago, Midwest really, am 560. But you can also get on the station's website or get on my website, shalom Klein calm or any of my social media platforms to to check out the the show your recipe while while you're continuing to maybe spotlight some of those some of those comments. I am curious what people are doing as they wrap up 2020. You know, I think it's pretty much we're in December. It's time for those new year's resolutions. What what are people doing to call make the world a better place? In in 2021?

Introduction 19:22
Yeah, that's a great question. And we'll throw it out to the community here that anyone that has a some feedback on that we'd love to hear back from you. Keep Joseph says, keep spreading the love. So, insight and inspiration. Mike Baker. Let's see. Oh, and Joseph says people still need those labor jobs, learning experiences to achieve the next level of success. Absolutely. Maybe you could talk about generating those because I mean, being in the military. Now. Is is one thing. And I was reading us a kind of a staggering statistic that 270,000 civilians are, or military personnel are leaving exiting the military every year. So I've had people on the show talking about that, and the transferable skills that are necessary to actually graduate from the military come out of the military, and go back into civilian life and use those skills in an other way in the military has, you know, different ways of, you know, naming conventions and different skill sets that they address. And, and a lot of people have a difficult time going back into civilian life. So that's one thing that I know that you do, and a lot of people in the pirate community assist is the veterans in giving back to the veteran community. And so that's one area that I really think is could use a lot of attention and never gets enough attention. Sure.

Scott "Shalom" Klein 21:02
Yeah. So I'll, I'll say this, that I went into the army, as I mentioned, at a different age, then then then many, I went in at 29. I'm finishing my doctorate. Now, say, I went in with a master's degree. I've met some of the most amazing people through my service. But you're absolutely right, and many folks are exiting. But they're leaving with the most incredible skills. I mean, it doesn't matter the rank even a you know, a private is leaving with the responsibility of managing equipment, to the tune of millions of dollars and having the responsibility for other people's lives. As you go up and rank you're responsible for supervising many people. As a junior officer, I know that, that you go in on day one supervising almost 50 plus people were on the civilian side, can you point to experience that a 20 something year old, would have that, that level of experience. So you come out with amazing experiences. So my challenge to business owners that might be tuning in, is certainly to consider employing veterans, for any of your positions. That's not say you need to hire exclusively veterans. But that's to say that please be open minded that when somebody comes in, they're struggling with a transition, because they will struggle, they will struggle with that translation of terminology of their military job description to the to your civilian job description, or you're considering hiring a National Guardsman or reservist that will have a responsibility. And I can tell you firsthand, those responsibilities are immense of going once a month, or for a couple of weeks, during the summer, even being deployed. Please consider that because they're going to come with amazing experiences, and a certain level of maturity and responsibility that you will not find elsewhere. And it is absolutely worthwhile. To make that consideration. I challenge you to do it. And please share it with the community to hopefully inspire others. Because I The reason I'm out here in Yuma today is exactly that. on that level of hiring and the Yuma Proving Grounds and the Marine Corps Air Station, and all branches are good armies the best and almost the Army Navy game, so go army beat Navy, and I'm gonna get some hate for that. But hey, it's all it's worth it.

Introduction 23:26
Blow up my stream here. Oh, yeah. It's, it's amazing to think that we, and every one of you, every one of us, everyone in the community has an opportunity to make a difference. You have the ability and the opportunity to make it matter to someone somewhere. And so don't be afraid to reach out, make those connections, make those introductions and make a difference. And I just, I just really appreciate you being here for Episode 300. And so what is next on the agenda? What do you see in the next, you know, 18 months, 10 months? You know, six months? What what's your focus and attention going to be spent on?

Scott "Shalom" Klein 24:10
As a very unique question, and I'll explain it's going to be different than than most of most of the conversations you have. So I'm getting ready to ready actually, on that note about military, I'm getting ready for deployment. I can't really talk about it here. But I am getting ready for deployment in the coming weeks. Well take me out of pocket for for about a year. So that is how my next year is being spent. But continuing to to be focused in all of these areas. I'll continue to as much as possible, continue networking, and you know, focusing over the next month or two and finishing my doctorate finishing my dissertation working on that, but certainly my service is first and foremost and and you know When I come back, definitely will continue to spotlight through my other podcasts that a shout out again, the wheel surf podcast where I interview veterans that have left the service and are in amazing positions. Actually, tonight I'm having conversation tonight, November 30. I'm chatting with David newar, who's the senior vice president of Easter Seals, overseeing their Veterans Employment Network. Next week, I'm speaking with retired Brigadier General Gary profit, who over who used to oversee I think he just retired, overseeing the military program for Walmart in Bentonville, Arkansas. So lots of great conversations, hopefully inspiring others.

Introduction 25:41
That's fantastic. Well keep inspiring others, you know, keep doing the great work that you're doing and helping those around you. Jeff young, who is an awesome pirate, said veterans get a free year of LinkedIn premium. So they can go in, you know, for the job market and going out and making connections and things like that. So mica Hibiki says, Good morning, gentlemen. 300 episodes in counting. Congratulations. Thank you, Russ, your leadership is inspirational. Well, thank you, Michael. I appreciate that. Joseph says my father's an ex marine. I don't think you're ever an ex Marine, are you? Yeah,

Scott "Shalom" Klein 26:22
you know what, thank you for saying that. Now, we always say it in the Army soldier for life. I imagine in the Marine Corps, it's the exact same thing, same

Introduction 26:30
thing. And Russ has says Scott, I would say don't give up on what we have left in 2020. And let it propel you into 2021 we have a month left to gain momentum for greatness. And that's a great way of looking at it. I really appreciate you Russ, you know, not only because you have a great name, but we're friends and we're connected here in the pirate community. So let's continue to work together. And then Jeff young also says Good morning, Happy 300th I've been a pirate for a year now. Follow or connect with Russ. He is the bomb. nama stay. Thank you. I love that. Jeff, appreciate you. And Wendy says Good morning pirates. Happy 300 looking forward to the celebration of the 3,000th with our fires.

Scott "Shalom" Klein 27:23
Name your son probably put Wednesday after that.

Introduction 27:25
Yes, look forward to thank you for serving Scott, appreciate you. Scott, I know that you're busy and you got a lot of things going on. And for some reason, we were able to connect and I and I'm all the gratitude in the world for your art connection, engaging in the community and helping others around us. And I really send you, you know, all good vibes, prayers, and, you know, safety on your journey in the next year. And so, are you gonna gonna continue to the podcasting or you're going to attempt to keep that going as well on on your journeys,

Scott "Shalom" Klein 28:08
remains to be seen very least, I'll be running some recorded episodes, whether I'll be able to, to do any live broadcasts remains to be seen. But definitely there will be new content, there will um, and I'm looking forward to obviously connecting with anybody, anybody who has a business that has a story to tell, always get in touch and, you know, talk about, that's what the show is all about. And certainly, to any of those that are tuning in. If you know somebody that has served, there has a story to share. I love to have those conversations. Personally, I will talk any hour of the day, literally I will talk and whatever I can do to help. And whatever I can do to share that story and hopefully inspire others. That's what it's all about.

Introduction 29:01
Oh, that's fantastic. It's really and I've had a lot of veterans on the show and talk to them. So if I if that comes to top of mind, I'll definitely provide introductions and, and assist you in that conversation. Also, how is the best way that people can get ahold of you if they're attempting to get ahold of you? Sir What share you can share your contact information and how you'd like to get contacted and connected.

Scott "Shalom" Klein 29:28
What's your best way to find everything about me? There's no secrets with me, is my website sh almklein.com Shalom coin.com on their website, got my email address skn shalom client calm. And you can find that about the radio show. You can find out about the podcast we all serve, and find ways that you can give back and get involved and all that and I look forward to to certainly continuing those conversations with anybody that's tuning in.

Introduction 30:00
Well, thank you, I love that we're connected. And I love the fact that we can continue to be connected. And as always, everyone, I thank you so much for being here, all of the comments and the connections in the pirate community is such a powerful tool, it's a such a powerful thing that you can actually get connected, stay connected, engage with the community, because the whole premise of this thing, and the whole energy that goes into this and the whole effort that goes into this is because kindness is cool, it's smiles are free. And if you could just add a little bit into the, your environment, you know, get the ripple effect going, share the value of a little bit of kindness, you know, we can make the world a better place. And really the last year, tomorrow is December. So 2020 is going to be you know, wrapping up as we move into 2021. We want to do the best thing that we can help those others around you and make the world a better place. So

Scott "Shalom" Klein 31:06
thank you for bringing me on. Appreciate you.

Introduction 31:10
And as I said, kindnesses, cool. smiles are free, so you enjoy the day. Take care. Thank you for joining the pirate broadcast. If you found this content valuable. Please like, comment and share it across your social media channels. I would love the opportunity to help others grow in their business. The pirate syndicate is a platform where you show up we produce the show. It's that easy. If you want to be seen be heard and be talked about. Join the pirate syndicate today.

Unknown Speaker 31:49
Thanks brother.

Russ Johns 31:50
Thank you.

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