Keeping it Real

I had the chance to spend an afternoon talking to a veteran who has been a little sour in the whole process of going for claims and being recognized for situations that took place while he was in. And when I mean sour, I mean very sour. He was very negative. 

I couldn't see past that things have to happen in a certain way. So we talked, and had an open, honest and vulnerable conversation. 

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Transcript

[00:00:00] VACI: If you are a veteran and have filed a VA disability claim, have been denied, have received a low rating, or you're unsure of how to get started, reach out to us. Go to docontheroad.com linked in our show notes and take advantage of a free VA claims discovery call. Learn what you've been missing so you can finally get the disability rating and compensation you deserve.

[00:00:31] Dr. John: Hello, my brothers and sisters of the uniform. Yes, it's time again for Doc on the Road. I actually got to spend an afternoon talking to a veteran today that has It's been a little sour in the whole process of going for claims and being recognized for situations that took place while he was in.

And when I mean sour, I mean very sour. He was very negative. And I couldn't see past that things have to happen in a certain way. So I [00:01:00] wanted to go ahead and talk about that for just a little bit because I do, as I'm overseeing the coaches and I'm actually listening to' conversations.

And different things to, help the coaches grow. I keep hearing different situations that really made me think about the process that's out there and the process that we provide at VA Claims Insider and the differences. I talked to him and he was talking about VSOs and he was talking about all kinds of different things. And then he started talking about I shouldn't have to pay to get this done.

This should be just given to me. And that kind of hit me in a way to where I decided, okay, I'm gonna have to be honest and open and vulnerable as I talk to this particular veteran and let them know, Hey, this is the way it goes. This is the way it's supposed to be. To happen so you can be recognized.

So you can actually do this in the proper manner, and it has to be a positive manner. It can't be a very negative manner, and you can't go in there thinking that, Hey, everybody should just [00:02:00] give me whatever happened right off the bat and without any medical evidence, without any kind of write up from you or anything that it should just happen.

And the thing is if that's the case, then by thinking in that manner, what's gonna happen is the VA doesn't understand you particularly because there's so many things that they're going through, so many different situations that they have to address and look at to help veterans through this process.

So it's not like they're just sitting around waiting just for you to get there. Okay. Sometimes we have to, take a step back and realize that there's a ton of brothers and sisters of the uniform. They're actually going through this process and a ton of situations that need to be addressed in the proper manner. And it can't be just a bunch of yelling and a bunch of, throwing your hands up and saying that, this has to happen because I say so. There's ways to do this in a proper manner, [00:03:00] and it is gonna be a lot better for you when you do reach the goal that you wanna reach in this process, because you don't have to do this whole negative thing.

The negative thing doesn't do anything, doesn't help you. Going back to where this gentleman was talking about, where you went to a VSO and the VSO decided that he was gonna put down every single thing that the guy talked about, and there's no medical evidence whatsoever. The guy never went to the VA, so there's no medical records there whatsoever.

He just went ahead through this at the VA. So of course everything got denied. And the veteran said it's like they think I'm lying. It's not like that at all. But you do have to prove your case. You do have to give them evidence that's gonna help them come to the same conclusions that everybody else does.

Say the doctors or say yourself. As I talked to him and started telling him, Hey, look, this is like putting a big, huge puzzle together. Each piece has gotta fit in a certain way. Each piece has gotta fit in a way to [00:04:00] where, not only the image of whatever the puzzle is, starts to become clearer, but you gain confidence because you get closer and closer finishing the process or finishing the puzzle.

As I kept talking, I started seeing a lot of negativity just melt away. A lot of negativity where he was like, okay, I think I understand. I need to go about this in a smart way. And this is just like anything else, especially if you were in the military where you were going for an objective. You were actually going to have a battle plan to get you there.

The battle plan has to be really well thought out. You have to have a lot of different angles covered to make sure that this can be successful. Even some of the best battle plans fall apart because you're not looking at all angles of the whole situation. So you really need to really dive into this and you really need to have other eyes that are actually helping you look through this.

Back to the story, I started helping the veteran [00:05:00] out and I started doing a couple different things where I was like going, okay, tell me how this is affecting you. And then walking him into the situation of saying, do you think that this could be related to why you're so angry all the time? Why this is going on? And as that process started happening with him and me talking to him, I started seeing more and more melt away, more negativity melt away. And a lot of honesty started coming out too, where he said no, I never really told anybody about this.

I never really told anybody how my back has affected me in pretty much all the areas of my life. And as we got to that point, I said see now this is what I'm talking about. If you can actually do this and talk about this in the proper manner, you're gonna be able to explain and expound and do everything that it takes to actually get a practitioner to listen to you.

And then it gets backed up with medical evidence, x-rays talking to the doctor them prescribing you pain [00:06:00] medication because of those conditions. That is what really gets the ball rolling and gets the ball rolling in the proper manner. So I told him a little bit about myhealthevet.

He went ahead and signed on to myhealthevet. As we were talking, I said, now you can actually send messages to a provider there at the VA and actually start talking the process through I said, now basically you just say, Hey look, I want to talk to you about this condition and this condition is creating these type of situations for me.

That gives them a lot of information alone that knowing that they have to bring you in, and then they have to look at the, not only the condition, but they have to look at how it's affecting you, and you've already explained that. Then when you get there, you actually explain it a little bit more and you actually point the condition and you actually say, this is what's going on and I can't do this, and this is what I had to give up and this is how truly affecting me and creating other negativity and negative [00:07:00] thoughts and stuff like that. 

As we kept going through this discussion, again, I started seeing that negativity melt away. I started seeing more of a positive outlook and more of an outlook to they can understand. Okay I went about this the wrong way and I should drop the attitude of, this is supposed to be just given to me.

No, you have to show, and you have to prove everything. It's just like anything else in life. You have to really follow a plan and you really have to get as much advice as you can from others that have done this process. Or got into the situation that you want to get to say it's a 100%, say it's 50%, say it's 70%, whatever it is.

You need to talk to people that are either achieved that or know how to get there and are on their own way of doing that. That's why it's so important to actually have another set of eyes looking at things another set of eyes that can [00:08:00] actually look at it and say, you need this, you need that.

Now, here at VA Claims Insider, we have a ton of resources that can help out. And when I showed him YouTube, I said, look, you can look at this video right here. And we watched a little bit of the video. And thank god, the coaches on the video, we're able to explain things to where he started seeing there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

There's a better situation for him if he follows a plan of action and follows the situation to where he can actually, express how he is truly affected by this. I told him, a number of different things and showed him a number of different resources, but I said, look, you really do need to have somebody experienced that knows what they're doing.

And not to put down VSOs, VSOs are important in a number of different ways. The thing I also explained to him is sometimes you have to look at this just like everything else. You get [00:09:00] advice on your car, you get advice on your house, you get advice on roofing. How did it work with the plumbing?

Are you going to take advice from somebody that just says, oh yeah, well you know, I have a friend that saw something that if you do this, it will actually help out with that. Or do you actually get an expert? They can come in and say, look, this is where your problem lies.

This is how we can fix it. And usually those guys that do that have a couple of options. Well, It's the same thing with coaches here at VA Claims Insider. Usually we have a number of options that we can follow to fit almost anybody's thought pattern or fit anybody's situation to where we can get them where they need to be.

But that takes a discussion with an actual coach that knows what they're doing. And yes, sometimes it will cost. But the thing is sometimes you have to put out some money for this.

And sometimes by putting out money for this, will get you where you need [00:10:00] to be. Okay? Now we gotta really take a look at what you're doing and why you're doing it . If you're doing it just to get free healthcare, okay, that happens at a certain level, so why not go ahead and make sure that you're talking to experts, you're getting all the information you need to get.

To build up a case, right? So even if that costs you a little bit of money, it's going to pay dividends because soon as you get to that level is there for life. If you keep following through with treatments and stuff like that. For example, I'm at a hundred percent P&T. That means permanent and total disabilities, they're not going to get any better.

Matter of fact, more than likely they're gonna get worse. But with treatment, I can actually come up with coping skills on how to go through that. But because of that, and because I went through a program and talked to coaches and learned and educated myself on the whole process, I got to that level.[00:11:00] 

Now because of that level, that opens up a lot of opportunities for me. Yes, I get free healthcare. Yes, I get situations to where I get other benefits. There's a number of things that you can get when you're at a hundred percent to where, a lot of property tax disappears. You have to check your state to find out exactly how that works there. But the important part is it gives me a number of different situations I really wanted. And there's also the situation where you can be actually compensated for this. Now, as you're being compensated for this, you really have to take a look at that is for the rest of your life.

That is going to keep coming in month after month. And you're going to end up with not only a financial situation that helps you, but it's gonna help you actually seek out and find the therapies and the medical advice and stuff like that you [00:12:00] need so you can actually get through this. And actually maybe lower some of the stress levels, lower some of the hatred that you have in your heart, and create situations that will not only benefit you, but can benefit your family.

Say you have young ones that want to go to college. Because of that, that can happen. I actually have a relative to where he got a hundred percent and now the kids are actually gonna get help as they go through college. It also gave the whole family free healthcare. It also gave them options to get through life.

So when you look at that and somebody says, okay, you need to talk to a doctor. You need to get this medical evidence together and you need to this is gonna cost you a little bit. Now, VA Claims Insider where the coaches are, that's not gonna cost you anything to get this advice. It's not gonna cost you anything to get moving except for maybe if you're told that, Hey you don't have a whole lot of medical [00:13:00] evidence here.

We need to build this up. And a recommendation is made. That recommendation goes to different situations. Could be a private doctor that you end up going back to, or it could be a doctor. On a list that actually helps out veterans with this. There's a number of different cool situations that can actually help you.

Now when I came through, like I said I came through this program, got with a coach. Matter of fact, I got with a couple of coaches and actually worked myself through this. And I did have limited medical evidence sitting there to help my cases out. So I ended up going and talking to a doctor.

Matter of fact, I talked to three different doctors and got the evidence that I needed. Now, once I got that, yes, that cost me a little bit of money, but the thought pattern on that is, is yes, it cost me a little bit of money, but at least I got it done right. And then when I went through all the different situations and I kept [00:14:00] going up in ratings, and then when I got to the a hundred percent, I'm telling you, I didn't think about it anymore.

I didn't think about the money that I spent. I thought about the money that was gonna come into me, that I was gonna be able to have income that's coming into me because I needed that to actually go back out and actually seek out therapies that actually helped me and in situations one, but it also gave me a thing that I think all veterans are always looking for a sense of freedom, a sense of recognition, a sense of I can actually move on.

And this is not only gonna help me, but this is gonna get me through situations that create more positive in my life. And because of that, it opened up more opportunities. It opened up to where I can travel a little bit. I could actually, do this podcast from anywhere. All I have to have is my computer, my microphone, and an idea.

What to talk about. So it really does open up a number of things, but because of [00:15:00] that, a hundred percent, knowing that I have a financial backing there, that it makes it a little bit easier. Knowing that I've got that coming in every month knowing that because of that and because of what I went through, I earned what is coming to me.

So even when I get a little bit older other things can actually happen because of this. There's a number of things with say, social security. I remember a long time ago talking to my dad about social security when he turned that age and he started getting his social security checks and the freedom that he felt from that because that would help him financially, would help him not only.

Making sure that the bills are paid, but he had some extra that he could go do things that we all earned such as vacations to famous places. You get to go to Mount Rushmore, you can actually go to Yellowstone National Park. You can do almost anything [00:16:00] if you set your mind to it. But it has to be done in steps and puzzle pieces need to get put together.

And hopefully this discussion isn't confusing anybody cuz I keep going around and round them with this. But it's basically you got to get with somebody. You can't just do this on your own. Doing it on your own creates a lot of time spent, a lot of mistakes are made and a lot of different situations to where you don't come up with an answer.

Now, when you work with a coach in this type of organization or this type of situation, there's always gonna be an answer. There's always gonna be a way to keep the battle going and getting you to where you need to be. So when you think about cost or you think about stuff like that, Think about the price tag that you're putting onto it.

Are you really getting caught up with the price tag? Because if you're getting caught up with the price tag, other things are gonna bother you. Other things are gonna happen during this, and it's not gonna be a [00:17:00] situation where you keep moving forward. Sooner or later you just throw your hands up. So you really need to look at this in a positive manner and know that there is light at the end of the tunnel, but you have to get with somebody.

You actually have to get, say with a coach that knows what they're doing and get you through this system or this situation. Now, when you do this, that's with almost anything. Think about I know I'd think about it when I went through college, I had a lot of advisors saying, John, do this route.

Because they knew where I wanted to be at the end of it. And this is the same type thing. When I had advisors for, say, my financial, I had, somebody say, do this, do that, do this, do that, stay away from this. It got me to where I can actually use the income that I have, which is a number of different incomes coming in, but I can do that and [00:18:00] open up a lot more things for me.

Like travel like going to places, like doing things that I always wanted to do. And this helps out. By thinking about that hopefully you're starting to think about this whole process a little bit different. Get with your coach. Okay? And if you don't have a coach, get one. VA Claims Insider has a number of coaches that have a number of different expertise also have gone through the program.

Now, even if they haven't gone through the program, they've gotten themselves to where they're at or they've helped somebody else out do this. Okay? So there's a number of different ways to look at this, but the best way to look at it is. Okay, it's time for me to go ahead and start making moves so I can get this stuff addressed and I can actually get to the situations that can compensate me and also provide treatment for me to get through all of this.

Things happened to us [00:19:00] while we're in the military and the thing to remember is you really need to keep moving in a situation and put that puzzle piece or put that puzzle together for you. So by getting a coach that will actually help you do that. Not to mention all the coaches here at VA Claims Insider talk to each other, and we also talk to a number of us that are managers.

So we have a plethora of information on how to do things, to be honest with you I noticed when I was talking to that gentleman earlier today that he was talking about my situation's unique. I said the same thing, but it's not unique. It's the same thing that everybody else is going through.

One, you have to be able to prove that you're having situations with conditions and they need to be addressed. It's the same exact thing, whether it's back pain, migraines, tinnitus Plantar fasciitis, whatever it is. [00:20:00] And there needs to be a well thought out battle plan to get you to where you need to be.

 So make sure you're getting with a coach. And if you haven't signed up with VA Claims Insider, I strongly urge you to because when I did it it helped me out a lot because I started getting educated not only in the process, but educated on the conditions that I have and how I can actually better my life by following doctor's orders or following you things that I learned on my own. 

So there's a number of different things that really make this positive. So you need to get to that positive thought pattern. You can't be negative, it doesn't work. And you need help. So everybody's situation, even if you think it's unique, it's still the same thing.

You need help. You need to help others help you get to the situation. And then when you get there, that's when fun starts because then you're able to actually talk to other veterans with similar type of [00:21:00] situations and say, I did this, I got through this. You're gonna get through it. We just gotta get you with the right people to get you a plan of action and a plan that keeps evolving as you go along.

Love you guys. Hope you guys are having a great week. I know that I've got a lot of stuff planned that's coming up. We have a lot of interviews that are coming up on different specialties and stuff like that. So we're still excited and this whole season seems to be giving us a lot more educational part of it or a lot more situations that we can talk about that veterans really go through.

 Love you brothers and sisters in uniform. Like I said, in short, get a plan, get with somebody that actually is gonna help you with this and don't get caught up in the little things. Don't get caught up in, okay I thought I had enough evidence. I need to get more. Don't get caught up in that. Just follow the plan, get the situation taken care of and make it easier [00:22:00] on yourself. 

All right, love you brothers and sisters. Until next time, this is doc out.

[00:22:05] VACI: The VA claims process is a pain. Many veterans struggle for years trying to increase their ratings or even getting rated at all. Most are not getting the compensation they deserve. Here at VA Claims Insider, we've supported and educated more than 25,000 veterans to win their claims and increase their rating.

Now it's your turn. Schedule your free VA claim discovery call today by going to docontheroad.com linked in our show notes. You'll learn what gaps you need to fill in, how to increase your rating.