West Point To Wall Street: Omar Ritter’s Story On Mental Health, PTSD & Leadership (Inspirational)

What happens when a decorated combat veteran survives war, an 18-hour brain surgery, and a successful corporate career—yet still finds himself battling invisible wounds nobody can see?

In this powerful inspirational episode, Reginald D sits down with decorated Army veteran, West Point graduate, finance executive, mental health advocate, and author Omar Ritter for a deeply honest conversation about leadership, PTSD, mental health, resilience, purpose, and personal growth.

Omar shares his incredible journey from growing up as a military child and attending five different high schools to earning acceptance into the prestigious United States Military Academy at West Point and leading soldiers during the initial invasion of Iraq. He opens up about combat leadership, split-second life-and-death decisions, and the realities of serving under extreme pressure.

Omar also shares insights from his powerful book, West Point to Wall Street: My Journey to Mental Wellness and explains why mental health conversations are more important now than ever before.

The conversation takes a powerful turn as Omar discusses surviving an 18-hour brain surgery, learning how to walk again, transitioning into high-level corporate leadership roles at major financial institutions, and silently battling PTSD, anxiety, and mental health challenges for years while appearing successful on the outside.

In this motivational and inspirational conversation, you'll discover:

• Leadership lessons from combat and corporate America
• The truth about PTSD and mental health struggles
• How trauma can hide behind achievement and success
• Why asking for help is a sign of strength
• The importance of resilience and self-awareness
• How to overcome adversity and rebuild your life
• Lessons learned from military service and leadership
• The power of vulnerability and authentic growth
• Why mental wellness matters for everyone
• How purpose can emerge from life's hardest challenges

Press play now to hear this powerful motivational and inspirational conversation and discover how resilience, leadership, mental wellness, and purpose can help you overcome life's greatest challenges.

Omar's Contact Info:

Website: https://www.omarritter.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omar-ritter-cpa-sphr

 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/omar.ritter.9

Transcript

Reginald D: Welcome to real talk with Reginald D. I'm your host, Reginald D.

On today's episode, I have omar ritter.

Omar is a decorated u. S. Army veteran finance executive,

and a mental health advocate whose life story bridges the worlds of military service,

corporate leadership, and personal resilience.

Welcome to the show, Omar.

Omar: Hey, Reginald. Thank you for having me on. I'm excited to be here today to talk with you and your fan base here for sure. Thank you.

Reginald D: Yeah, thank you. Thank you so much.

So, Omar, let me start out like this. Tell us a little bit about where you grew up and what your childhood was like and what shaped the man you are today.

Omar: Yeah, so I grew up. I was a military brat, and so I was actually born in Germany. My father was a career military soldier. So love to spend a lot of time in Germany.

Growing up,

my parents got divorced, ended up in Charleston,

South Carolina.

So I was about 10 years old, and that was with my mom and then my dad until I graduated from high school. Right. And so when I went to high school, I went to five different hospitals, Reginald, if you can believe that.

And you're trying to play sports, and every year it's a different high school. You're trying to make a different team with different group of kids.

And so what that really instilled in me from a young age is to really be able to integrate with a multitude of people, multitude of different communities, et cetera. And I think it really helped me as a leader in the military when I became an officer,

get along with every one of my troops, no matter where they came from. Color, skin, background.

Right. So that's really how that movement around shaped me as I grew up.

Reginald D: Yeah, yeah, we got something coming. But you got me beat. I did three high schools.

Omar: That's still a lot.

Reginald D: We would rather you got me beat, you know? And we have something in common with charleston, south carolina, because I lived there for four years.

Omar: Okay. All right.

Reginald D: So what first inspires you to attend the United states military academy? And what did that experience teach you about discipline and leadership?

Omar: So what inspired me to attend west point is, again, grew up a military brat.

And my father, being a career soldier,

I would go to work with him sometimes, or at least be in the car looking out the window. And I always saw, like, these young guys that were in front of the formation, being in charge, being the bosses.

And I was like, you know, I respect my dad, but I want to be one of those guys that's in charge. And then one day when I was in eighth grade, I asked my dad, I Was like, hey,

I saw your lieutenant. Can I talk to him?

And so he introduced me to his lieutenant,

young Italian guy,

fresh graduate of West Point. And the Guy spent about 20 minutes talking to me about West Point and his experience.

And from that day on, I was like, I gotta go there. I gotta be one of those guys that are in charge of, like, those troops.

And from there, I knew I wanted to be a light cavalry officer leading troops in combat and soldiers on the battlefield. So that really inspired me and drove me and gave me the motivation to study hard throughout my high school career in order to get into West Point.

Because up until that point,

I was like a BC student. But after having that conversation and leaving that thing motivated and this guy who didn't even know me, taking the time out, telling me that I could do it and that he appreciated how smart my father was, it just really lit that fire and me to go chase after that.

Reginald D: Yeah, man. And think about it, man. You was a BC student. Man, I was a cd. Thank God for giving me my purpose.

Omar: That's right. It's all about after school.

Reginald D: Just was my thing, you know, so. So you led soldiers in combat. Can you take us into a moment where leadership was tested under real pressure?

Omar: Oh, yeah.

So I was on the initial invasion of Iraq. So I was there.

I got there January because I was the executive officer, the second person in charge of this, you know, 125 man scout troop at the old age of 26 years old.

Right. Because, you know, the commandment was 29 years old. These are really young guys.

And so I got there early,

got the troop set up, you know, downloading stuff, the ship, getting the equipment ready, counting beans, bullets, etc.

Which is what the number two guy does.

A couple months later,

the rest of the troop showed up to Kuwait and started working on that equipment that I had gotten off the boat for.

So then, you know, you fast forward and George Bush gives the order that we're going to go to war, and then, you know, we're going to launch into that war.

And so when the war first started, us being Scouts, we were some of the first people across the border from Kuwait to Iraq. And so the first three days of the war,

it was really like slow movement for us through the desert.

Not a lot of roads, just, you know, some back winding little trails. And we're at our scout vehicles, just making sure everything's clear from tanks, you know, mines. Now, mind you,

we had just come back from a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo about 18 months before. And so our Mind, at least mine was still on the peacekeeping. Mention of how things went over there, throwing kids candy,

you know, everybody happy for you to be there.

So when we first started down this road in Iraq, the first couple days, people were glad to see us, man. Like we're throwing out candy, kids,

you know, we're waving.

I was like, the stuff you see when you see what happens when the US Free France, right, Everybody's running up, they're happy.

But on like day four or five,

my commander comes to me and he says, okay, xo, we're going to be entering some hostile territory. That's what military intelligence is telling us. We're going to have to go clear these two routes.

And clear means go try to find an enemy on these couple of routes. One was Route Red and Route 1 was Route Black.

It's a nickname for him.

So he says, I'm going to take Route Red because that's where the enemy is expected.

Xl. You take the remnants of the troop and you go down Rock Black. I don't expect there to be much enemy on the way.

Well, you know that military intelligence is sometimes an oxymoron. And so unbeknownst to me,

Route Black, the route that I had was the hot route. And so I had the backup guys, right? You know, we're going down the hot route.

So we entered this town which was very similar to if you took an invading military force into Fort Benning, Georgia or Fort Stewart.

So we get into the town,

it's very clear as we come, and then it's a military base. Luckily, I had told my guys to load up everything, get ready to fight.

We step into this town. Immediately upon stepping in,

my senior scout calls me, lets me know he's taking direct fire from the front. I give the order for all of my troops to return fire.

So we return fireman and we're trapped in this.

What I thought was an ambush and it really was.

They weren't fighting back, man. I see vehicles,

you know, being hit.

We didn't have the up armor vehicles. At least I did it because again, I'm supposed to be going down the easy route. And so as we're fighting, I got a map like you see in police vehicles on my screen.

This is pretty good technology in 2003 and it's showing us as we're moving. And I'm looking at my paper map and I'm like, man, this is too easy. Like these guys are backing off and they clearly have the advantage.

They got the high ground,

they know the town. I Don't know what's ahead of me. Why are they letting us push them back?

And I realized we were headed for a bridge.

And at that time, I had a decision to make. Do I continue to fight these guys back into the town, push them back, or do I do something unorthodox that I've never done in any kind of combat simulation,

turn my guys around and fight back out of the town,

live to fight another day when we have the big forces. So I made the decision that we're going to fight another day.

And so I gave the command for us to turn around, and we fought back out of the tower. You know what I was saying that I had guys that were shot, I had vehicles that were messed up, but everybody made it out alive.

And then as I was coming out, I called the brigade commander.

We launched some Apaches into the town,

but it took the 82nd Airborne Division A week to take that town after we had passed through. So it was that fortified.

And so that was my very first taste of combat.

And I've never experienced anything like it. You know, it felt like this battle was going on for hours when it was literally just going on for minutes.

Reginald D: Yep, exactly. So you went from the military to major institutions like JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. What was that transition really like, mentally and emotionally?

Omar: Well, I will tell you that I never addressed, like, my PTSD issue coming out of military.

And the reason why I came out of the military is because I had a brain tumor.

So in 18 hours of brain surgery, and then once I had that brain surgery, I couldn't be in the army anymore. So I had to very quickly decide what I wanted to do.

And so as I was recuperating from the brain surgery, learning how to walk again,

I took the time, you know, being real type A,

I studied for the gmat, did really well on it. My third time taking it, I'm not going to like it. The first time was great.

Ended up getting into Columbia Business School.

And so that being in business school gave me a chance to learn a lot about business and finance, but also gave me another two years to learn how to walk, run, get my wound, time to heal from the surgery.

And so I had PTSD going on, more PTSD from thinking I was going to die from this brain surgery.

Now I'm at business school,

competing with some of the finest financial minds in the world trying to get a job in finance. Right. So as you can imagine,

somebody fresh out of brain surgery should probably be getting more than three or four hours of Sleep a night.

And so I was ultimately stressed out, but I got through it. Was able to graduate from Columbia. I wish I could tell you I was at the top of my class.

I was not. But I graduated and I got a job at bank of America doing investment banking. Which looking back, that wasn't wise because investor bank was work 90 to 100 hours a week.

But I would tell you it was,

it was, the transition was really stressful.

But at the same time I was working so much at the bank that it really put all of my PTSD and brain tumor fears behind me because I was just so focused on doing the work.

Right. And so as I was focused on doing the work,

I was also self medicating as well. You know, alcohol, pain medication,

you know, partying until 3, 4am in the morning,

then coming back into the office at 9 o'. Clock. Right. And this was like this is going on for multiple years.

And so,

you know, I didn't have time to think about the stress from the job because the job was kind of shielding me from myself. Really.

Reginald D: Yeah. And that's a lot of times people, dude, hide behind their work.

Omar: That's right. I was a master hiding behind my work. Like getting promotions, getting, you know, more calls to go out to different companies,

you know, with a promotion,

25 raise. And so I was just moving around every three years because it was out there and it was a way for me to dodge my demons.

Reginald D: Yeah. Yeah. And that's the thing about it, man. People live life like that. And I always tell people it's going to come upon a time you're going to have to address these things.

Omar: That's right.

Reginald D: You can't run, you can't hide. If you try to do that, it's going to destroy you eventually.

Omar: You're absolutely right. And also there comes a point where you can only move so high in these organizations. Right. Like,

you know, once you make senior executive director, senior vice president, managing director,

that's it. There's no more hire to climb. Right. Unless you think you're going to be sitting in that,

that CEO seat or that cfoc,

you really got nowhere to go.

And so now all that dodging you did, any move that you want to make is going to be lateral.

Reginald D: Yep, you're right about that. I've seen it so many times.

Omar: Yeah.

Reginald D: So Omar, let me ask you this. What are the biggest differences between leading soldiers and leading corporate teams?

Omar: You know, there's not really that big of a difference. And let me tell you why. Because both in corporate America and in the military you have a what the leadership be given team is a task and a purpose.

So what do I need you to do?

Why do I need you to do it? Now, the motivational factors may be different. Whereas in the military,

folks want to get medals, they want to, you know, have more rank, you know, get promoted. But the same as in corporate America, people want to get promoted, but instead of the medals,

they want to get paid, right? So they want to get a bigger bonus, right? But in both corporate America and the military,

what leaders need to do, and this is what I always focused on,

is understanding each and every one of my people, like what drives them. Some people are driven by getting paid and promoted. Other people are driven by just a thank you, a pat on the back, being able to show their work to the executives in order to play like that long game.

So, you know, there really isn't that much difference. And I would say like the very best leaders of both the military and corporate America, they do two things really well.

Number one,

they lead by example,

right? So they never ask you to do something they themselves wouldn't do. They don't ask you to work till one o' clock and then leave at five o' clock every day, right?

Like they don't. That's not something that they do.

Number two is they lead with empathy,

which also makes them a servant leader,

right? And so what I learned in the military as a lieutenant is especially in a combat situation,

the troops always eat first. The troops always get, you know, the armor plate first, the up, armored vehicle first,

because they're going to be the wise.

Even in a down combat unit, they're going to be the ones that harms way first or the lieutenant or the captain, because the lieutenant, the captain,

the planets were going to be in the middle everything or in the back because they got to stay alive, they're communicating to a commander, whereas the troops, they're out there really battling and you're getting the situation reports from them that you're taking up higher.

So when there's downtime and people need to be fed,

those folks need to eat first.

Same thing as in corporate America, right?

When you have your team and your team that's supporting you and making you look good, it's your job to make them look good as well. Somebody stays up and does work.

And even though I may be the one invited to the meeting with the CEO,

I go and ask, you know, the CEO folks, hey, can I bring this person to the meeting? They were very inspirational in putting this thing together. And I would like for them to be able to brief a couple slides just so people know where they are.

Right. People really like I have them rewards in that way in terms of visibility as well. So I would say not much difference or could have leaders.

Yeah.

Reginald D: Because leadership is something, you know, it's broad, actually.

Omar: That's right.

Reginald D: And my team always say, you know,

when you're in leadership, man, you can't cut corners. And my team always says, man, you always five steps ahead of us. You always. I said, well, when you at home in the bed, man, my mind is still working.

How better tomorrow?

Omar: That's right. There's no cutting corners, man. Like when you're a leader, like you're actually taking care of people, you know, it's no different than when you're a parent now. You're not put in the bed reading them bed night stories.

But you still gotta look out,

you know, for the best interest.

Even past the corporate walls. Right. Like, you know,

old teammates call me all the time, they need help with something, they want me to help them introduce to somebody, I'll do it. You know what I'm saying? Because like,

we spent that time together, we have that relationship. So I try to develop relationships.

Reginald D: Yeah, exactly. So you've openly shared, Omar, your battle with ptsd. What did that season of your life look like behind the scenes?

Omar: Helter skelter. If that's one word I can use to describe it.

Helter skelter.

It looked like being one way on the outside,

but then going home to my personal space being another way on the inside and so on the outside.

Very outgoing person. First to raise my hand, first to talk in a meeting,

first to try to get some good points across the goal line for my peers, bosses, team.

And then I go home and I'm like, man,

am I good enough?

Should I actually be here today?

You know, why haven't I achieved these other things that some of my really, really elite friends have achieved? Like, is it worth it for me to be around and keep trying to do this thing?

Would I be better off just taking my own life?

Right.

Let me have this half a bottle of vodka tonight because this is going to make me feel good, you know,

Let me just go out and party three, four days a week. Right? So all these things to avoid the thoughts that were in my head when I was just sitting at home by myself,

you know, and this went on for 15, 20 years.

Reginald D: Yeah, and that's one of those things, man. And I've had questions and maybe you can answer this for me, it probably has changed since the war and things like that, but I saw,

you know, it's been a few years. I was over in an outreach ministry,

you know, at my church my grandfather founded, my cousin the pastor. But I was outreach. I was a street beater. I beat the streets,

right?

Omar: Yes, sir.

Reginald D: We'll go around town and we'll just feed homeless people. We hang out with them, you know, and all that kind of stuff, just hanging out.

And I saw so many.

I never knew this. So many veterans that were homeless,

especially Vietnam.

Yeah, I mean, but, man, but the conversations I had with them and the way they pointed to me changing my life than any other pastor or anybody else could ever do.

But I was like, man, it shouldn't be this way, man.

So you think this is better now than it was when the Vietnam veterans came back home in the support system with the government?

Omar: Yeah, I mean,

I think, you know, Vietnam, there, everybody was against the war.

You gotta understand it was also a draft. So it wasn't an all volunteer force. So, you know, cats were kind of forced to go over there. And then while you're over there, you had a lot of drug issues as well.

And so what I would tell you is my uncle was a Vietnam veteran. So bronze star medal, valor guy.

You know, I got a bronze star medal, I got a valor device. I got a cousin with a bronze star medal. So, like, this isn't, like,

new to us in terms of, like, going to go fight for this particular country,

but my uncle came back a pretty raging alcoholic. And, you know, he had some other issues later, like with drugs, because there just wasn't a support system to find jobs for these veterans or nobody was, you know, propping them up for the things they had done.

And quite frankly, Reginald, Vietnam was violent like it was.

Nobody fights wars like that today outside of Russia and the Ukraine, you know, where you just lining up bodies out the bodies and you don't care.

Right. Like, we don't fight like that anymore. And so that war was so violent, and the things that they all.

You couldn't have helped, but a large majority of those folks have PTSD from the things that they saw. But then back then, people weren't even recognizing ptsd, Right. The government was recognizing it.

And,

you know, certainly if the government's not recognizing it,

nobody's supporting you.

And then, you know, you don't have a support. So you don't want to raise your hand and say you're crazy because society is ostracizing you.

And so you ended up in this situation where you got no support, you got no job,

you're separated from your family, and all you can turn to is the street.

Yeah.

And then later on, you have no choice, man, because now you're.

You're out age for the workforce. And so now what are you going to do?

Reginald D: Yeah, you're right. You're so right about that. Because I know somebody that came back from Vietnam,

that had been in Vietnam,

and I met him later on through the years, and he got hooked on that drug addiction stuff over there.

Omar: Yeah.

Reginald D: And a great guy. I mean, a great guy, but we needed them having a stroke behind that stuff and all that kind of stuff. But he couldn't shake you, man.

Omar: Yeah. I mean, you listen to the story of, like, Frank Lucas and all these guys in New York who were using Vietnam for the drug trade, like putting the drugs in the coffins.

Like, it was. First of all, he wasn't the smartest man in the world. Like, there were a lot. Frank Lucas was getting away with this. Trust me, like the mob, everybody was doing this.

Right. So it was a big problem. Like,

for sure.

Reginald D: Yeah, absolutely. So, Omar, after going through an 18 hour brain surgery, how did that experience change your perspective on life and purpose?

Omar: I used to think that I was invincible.

Right.

And so I used to think I was invincible.

I had this brain surgery when I was 27 years old.

And before I had this surgery, you know, and I talk about it in my book,

I had to sign some waivers, some legal documents,

leaving the things that I had on this earth behind to other people. Right. So many, a lot of people don't write a will at 26, 27 years old. But I certainly wrote a will.

And on top of that, the document said, you know,

there's a chance that you might not live through this surgery. There's a chance when you get out of the surgery, you might not be able to walk, There's a chance you might not be able to talk.

And so when I woke up from the surgery, first of all, I was blessed, thank God, you know, I was extremely blessed to be alive. But I did lose the hearing in my left ear.

I did have to have some follow on surgery so I could talk again, because this isn't really my natural voice. So they had to do some work and they had to put some stuff into my throat so I could be able to talk, pull a vocal cord in.

So I was just blessed about that.

But what it made me realize is the most valuable thing that we have on this earth is time.

Time is undefeated and we have a limited amount of time.

And so I told myself I'm going to make the most of the time that I have on this earth, on this planet.

But at the same time,

you know, I still had demons that I needed to address that I still wasn't ready to address, even at that point in time.

Reginald D: Yeah,

and you hit it right on the head, man. Time is the most essential thing that we have, and we have to do the best we can do with the time.

Because you don't ever want to look over your life and be like, man, I should have did this. Why don't I pursue this? Why pursue this? Right when you land in the bed in your last hour, you know what I'm saying?

So, yep.

So you talk about redefining strength. What does real strength look like to you today?

Omar: So will strength looks like answering your demons? Right.

That's number one.

It looks like not trying to be tough in the face of adversity,

that's actually going to drive you into the abyss.

So when I think about PTSD or other mental health issues,

I really like to liken it and compare it to an airplane.

And, you know, the body is the airplane,

the brain is the cockpit. Right. So everything that's important going on, that brain, like the heart, is the engine. But that cockpit is where you do all the steering end.

Right.

And so if you have that plane and you're not defending your cockpit and you haven't put on bolted on doors,

you know, everybody's trained in security.

What can happen is a terrorist,

ptsd,

mental health issues,

can kick in that door to your cockpit and crash your plane.

And once they get in there,

there's not much you could do about it. Once they're in there, once they get to that point where they're sitting behind that seat steering your plane,

they can crash it wherever they like to crash it.

And so what I like to think about when I'm making this comparison is United Flight 93. It was the one plane from September 11, 2001 that did not make it to the target.

And the thing that separated this plane from the other planes is the passengers knew that there was an issue,

and so they got together and they decided to help the pilots of that plane fight back against those terrorists and those heroes, 40 of them ended up having that plane crash in the middle of Pennsylvania into a field,

probably saving hundreds of lives in our nation's capital while putting their own lives up. So I tell people that because I liken it to has the pilot of this Cockpit.

I can only do so much to save myself.

But what I really needed to take me to that next level to really get the help I needed,

was some passengers that were saying, hey, man, this plan is fly where like, let us help you out and get this thing back on track,

right? And so that is what has saved my life,

is having those other passengers that aren't steering my plane, but helping point me in the right direction to go get that help I need. And that's why I think mental health is such an important conversation with the community.

If you see signs, say something like, help a person out.

I'm not saying you have to physically go to the therapist with them,

but what I am saying is, a lot of times people are like, oh, man, that guy Omar is gone. He was so cool. I was having a conversation with him a month ago.

I wish I would have asked him the question,

okay, well, that doesn't do any good. The guy six feet under now, he had a stringer already.

But what are you going to do the next time around,

right? Have that conversation,

Let them know that it's a conversation that shouldn't be so personal as we try to take care of one another.

Reginald D: That's it. That's it. So for someone listening right now who feels overwhelmed with things, what's the first step they should actually take when they are battling with something?

Omar: The first step that they should take when they're battling with something is, you know, pick up the phone and call someone. And I'm not saying you have to call somebody that you even actually know.

I mean, in my book, on some of the pages in my book, I actually share different free hotlines that folks can call as they're battling through mental health issues like ptsd, anxiety.

Just get on the phone with somebody and have a conversation right now. You can do that for free.

Also, for folks that work at, you know, large organizations,

they have employee wellness programs where you're already paying into the ability to talk to a therapist for free,

privately.

It's already on your dime. Whether you do it or not, you still gotta pay for it.

And so take advantage of those wellness programs at your company, right? So I gave you two free ways to do it for folks.

And then through both instances,

if it's found that you really need help, there's all kinds of programs out there to get you that help.

But here's the deal,

Reginald. It doesn't matter. I could make up 1500 programs, nonprofits, they're all great.

Or if the person who's having the issue Never raises their hand and the program's worthless.

Reginald D: Yep, exactly. Yep. You got to own it and you got to understand it and you got to accept it. This is just who I am. This is what I need.

Omar: That's right.

Reginald D: You put your work in. It's not going to work.

Omar: Nothing's going to happen.

Reginald D: Yeah. So, Omar, let's go back to your book. Can you tell us about your book, West Point to Wall Street?

Omar: Yeah, my book, West Point to Wall street with the subtitle,

My Journey to Mental Wellness. It really goes through my life and some of the things that, you know, caused me to have anxiety and various different mental health issues. Right.

It's not a.

Although I talk about going to Iraq, I also talk about working in corporate America. I also talk about growing up, going to five different high schools,

family dynamics, all these things that people don't really think about that could add, you know,

pressure to them throughout their lives that they not even realize it. So, for example,

one of my earliest stresses was, right, you know, I just really wanted to join the Boy Scouts growing up, and I lived in Charleston.

So you can imagine at that point in time, in the 70s, the early 80s, when I was growing up, the Boy Scouts wasn't very matriculate. Like, there wasn't a lot of diversity in the Boy Scouts, right?

That's right.

Not in the low country. So I remember I joined the Cub Scouts, man,

and the kids in the Cub Scouts, right, The Caucasian kids and the Cub Scouts, they were cool, man. The parents were cool, whatever.

But, man, I parted big time from all my family. Oh, you trying to be the white boy? You want to be this,

that?

Why are you trying to go build cars? What's the matter with you? You gay? Blah. You know? And so I say in the book, like, look, sometimes we do it to ourselves,

sometimes we do it to ourselves. And so we really have to look at what we're doing to children.

You know, little black boys, little black girls,

you know, when they're trying to have these great experiences because somebody gives them the opportunity.

And then as a community, we're trying to shoot them down. Right? And so that causes issues because you're too white to be at the black table, and you're definitely too black to be at the white table.

So it's like, where the heck do I go?

And then all of a sudden, you fast forward 30 years, and because you liked a bunch of different things and you wanted to try a bunch of different things,

you're now successful. And people are like, well, how did you get so successful. And it's like nay. Because early on I wanted to try different things. I wanted to think outside the box for myself, you know, and we got and promote that more in the community.

Reginald D: Oh, yeah, definitely. So, omo. I have what I call quick fire questions.

Omar: Okay, let's do it.

Reginald D: Not a right or wrong answer, man. I'm just going to shoot them at you. So what's one word to describe your journey?

Omar: Winding. A winding road.

Reginald D: Got it. A habit that would help people struggling right now.

Omar: Picking up the phone and talking to somebody for free who does not know you.

Either a non profit or a hotline dedicated to helping people going through some things.

Reginald D: What's one book everyone should read?

Omar: You know, I would say my book. Like, you should check out my book West Point to Wall Street,

My Journey to Mental Wellness. But you know, there's also some other books I recommend I really like if I'm being really honest. Like, the one book I think this community needs to read is Rich Dad, Poor dad by Robert Niyazaki.

Because what that book does is it really teaches us how to save money and leave something for the next generation.

Right. And so it gets us really thinking about putting money away for a rainy day as opposed to getting it and spending it right away. Paying yourself first.

Reginald D: Yeah, that's it. What keeps you grounded then?

Omar: It keeps me grounded right now, man. I have a daughter going on four, I'm an old dad.

And so she really keeps me grounded, man. Because,

you know, me being 49, about to go on 50,

her being 3, about to go on 4,

I need to be around until she's at least 35, 36. And so it keeps me really grounded, thinking about what I'm eating and what I'm thinking about. And quite honestly,

it really helps me make that decision every day that I'm going to take the medication that I need for my ptsd and then I'm going to show up to my counseling sessions every week just to be a better person.

Reginald D: Yeah. And that's called responsible.

Omar: Right?

Reginald D: Responsible. So, you know, you've been in leadership on all different stages. What does real talk mean to you when you're talking to somebody? What is the real talk?

Omar: Yeah, real talk is being honest with somebody. Right. Having that honest conversation. And it's something that I've always had, whether in the military or corporate America that tells somebody, like, if they're not doing a good job,

tell them earlier on, hey, you're not doing a good job. Like, and here's why.

Let's come up with A plan for us to work together to help you improve in this area so that, you know, it doesn't come up later on if the company's doing layoffs, something like that.

Right. So. So trying to have real talk of people, honest conversation, but also tell me what I'm doing wrong, what I can do better as a leader as well. So just being open to both give criticism and to get criticism.

Reginald D: Yeah. And I think that's very, very, very important,

because people come to me or they will be like, oh, man, you go talk to Reginald, man. You're Reginald, man. Oh, you in trouble. You do this.

I just want to have a conversation.

What can I do to help make you better?

What do you need from me? You know?

Omar: Right.

Reginald D: What can I do? If I'm failing you, let me know. I'm failing you, man. I don't have a problem with it. And there's a lot of people on the team that's in leadership and have to mold them to the point because everybody thinks like, hey, man, I'm in leadership.

I ain't taking this. I ain't taking this. I said, no, man. You got to be vulnerable. You're a servant,

right?

Not a boss man. Figure it out and help the person, you know, the person been with you five years. I said, what you gonna do? Let them go now? You know, I mean, just go ahead and do what you got to do to raise them up to where you wanted to be,

cheaper to keep them. That's it. That's it.

That's it. So,

Omar, what would you say to someone who's silently struggling but afraid to ask for help?

Omar: I would say to you the reason that you're likely afraid to ask for help because you think it's showing a sign of weakness.

I would ask them to reframe that and recognize that asking for help is a sign of strength.

It is a.

I feel so much more powerful now that I've asked for help. I don't have to sit around and spend hours of my time thinking about why somebody did something to me and trying to predict why they did it.

I don't care. Like, the thing is, is that now that I've gotten the help that I needed and I'm consistently sticking to it,

I try to impact the things that I can actually change. Fix, et cetera.

I don't waste my time on things that I can't influence. I just. I don't do it. And that's the difference between being mentally healthy and not. Like, you don't waste time and efforts on stuff that 100% should not be concerning you.

And it just makes your life a lot easier. And so it's a sign of strength to go get that help. It's going to put you in a better position.

Reginald D: Yeah.

There you have it, man. I'm gonna leave that right there. You've been amazing.

So lastly, Omar, where can people connect with you, purchase your book and learn more about your mission?

Omar: Yeah, so you can purchase my book, West Point to Wall Street, My Journey to mental wellness on Amazon.com you can also find me Omar Ritter at omarritter. Just my name, O M A R R I T T E R dot com.

That's my website.

And from that website you can book me for speaking events. You can follow my Instagram again, order my book and just see what I'm up to from a finance perspective because I'm also a fractional cfo, helping small and medium sized businesses really get their financial house in order should they want to sell,

but actually to make their business more lean, profitable and committed to growth.

Reginald D: All right, there you have it. Omar Ritter. Thank you so much, Omar, for coming on the show, man. That was amazing, man. I really appreciate it.

Omar: Thank you, Reginald. I appreciate you having me, man. This is great.

Reginald D: Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

Thanks for listening to Real Talk with Reginald D. If you enjoyed listening to Real Talk with Reginald D, please rate and review on Apple Podcast. See you next time.

Omar: Thank you.