Gina L. Osborn on Rebrands, Resilience, and Results

Wendy & Rich 0:00
Hey everyone is Rich Bennett. Can you believe it? The show is turning 10 this year. I am so grateful for each and every one of you who've tuned in, shared an episode, or even joined the conversation over the years. You're the reason that this podcast has grown into what it is today. Together, we've shared laughs, tears, tears, and moments that truly matter. So I want to thank you for being part of this journey. Let's make the next 10 years even better. Coming to you from the Freedom Federal Credit Union Studios, Harford County Living presents Conversations with Rich Bennett. 

No no no! It's like, who is? 

Rich Bennett 1:00
So what do cold war espionage, cyber terrorism crackdowns, and leading a national transit system security all have in common? Gina L Osborne, that's what. She's not just a retired FBI assistant special agent in charge. She's a bonafide maverick. From tracking spies and army intelligence to dismantling organized crime rings in Little Si-Con, Gina's career reads like a thriller novel. But it's not just the high stakes missions that set her apart. It's how she's turned those experiences into powerful lessons in leadership, resilience, and breaking barriers. Today Gina travels the world as a motivational speaker, sharing stories that electrify audiences and empower under-represented professionals to make bold moves of their own. She's the host of the Maverick-Moves podcast, a TEDx speaker, and an advocate for fearless decision making and high pressure environment. We're diving into Gina's incredible journey from the battlefield of espionage to the boardroom and unpacking what it really takes to lead through chaos, rise in a man's world, and redefine the rules of success. So if you're ready to be inspired by grit, courage, and some serious maverick energy, grab your coffee, whatever it is you're drinking, sit down, grab your pen of paper or hit record, take notes because you're gonna learn a lot. Can I say from the Maverick herself or is that is that trademarked? 

Gina L. Osborn 2:38
It's in the process of being trademarked. 

Rich Bennett 2:41
Well I did because Maverick I think of top gun. 

Gina L. Osborn 2:44
Yes, but we're making Maverick moves over here. 

Rich Bennett 2:47
Oh I love. How you doing Gina? 

Gina L. Osborn 2:51
I'm doing great what a beautiful lovely intro. Thank you so 

Rich Bennett 2:54
Oh 

Gina L. Osborn 2:54
much. 

Rich Bennett 2:55
well thank you. All right so if we spoke a little bit before and I always love to ask this question and now I'm not going to ask why the army, but what was it? What was it that made you decide you wanted to go into the army and was it right out of high school or what? 

Gina L. Osborn 3:15
So it was in the middle of the cult. Well actually it was at the end of the Cold War. It was in the 1980s. I'm gonna age myself just a little bit here and it was the decade of the spy and so everything about the Cold War, the CIA, the former Soviet Union, I mean it just absolutely fascinated me and my dream was become an international woman of intrigue and I figured what better way after reading so many different spy novels in my lifetime than going to work for the CIA and so I was in my second year of 

college. I was at cocktail waitress at a comedy club. Don't do the math because there may have been shenanigans going on there. And I had run out of money. I was in my second year of college and so as I'm studying for a test in the library at the junior college, a young man came up to me and started telling me about the Army's counterintelligence program and for those of you who remember private Benjamin, he 

Rich Bennett 4:18
Oh 

Gina L. Osborn 4:18
was 

Rich Bennett 4:18
yes. 

Gina L. Osborn 4:18
telling me about the condos. He was telling me about all I could wear civilian clothes. I'd be driving around in luxury 

Rich Bennett 4:26
cars. Oh so he was a recruiter. 

Gina L. Osborn 4:27
I don't know, you know it's funny. I don't know who he was but the next day, I went down to the recruiter. 

Rich Bennett 4:33
He was selling it though. 

Gina L. Osborn 4:34
He sold it to me and I signed up and eight about eight months later. I was eating dirt and basic training for Jackson, South Carolina. You know what that's like. 

Rich Bennett 4:46
Oh, oh Fort Jackson. Oh wow. 

Gina L. Osborn 4:49
In the winter and this California girl. It was chilly. 

Rich Bennett 4:53
Wow. So what were you going to college for? 

Gina L. Osborn 4:56
I was going to college so I can in order to become a CIA 

Rich Bennett 5:00
Okay so you 

Gina L. Osborn 5:00
corporate. 

Rich Bennett 5:00
were going for that. 

Gina L. Osborn 5:01
Yeah, you had to have a four-year degree. 

Rich Bennett 5:03
Okay, all right, so. You know, I love to compare nuits when it comes to basic training. 

Gina L. Osborn 5:09
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 5:09
Besides the cold weather, 

Gina L. Osborn 5:11
Uh-huh. 

Rich Bennett 5:11
what was the hardest thing about basic? 

Gina L. Osborn 5:14
Oh my gosh. Let's see. Uh, the, 

Rich Bennett 5:16
and besides also being away from family. 

Gina L. Osborn 5:18
Well, 

Rich Bennett 5:19
it's hard on everybody. 

Gina L. Osborn 5:20
Yeah, you know, the funny thing is is, uh, so was 1987, when you had the male platoons and the female platoons. And so one day someone came up with a brilliant idea, hey, let's see if the men and the women can train together. So you were, er, I'm telling you. So you would think that they would take maybe half of the women's platoon and put them within the men's platoon, but instead they picked five big women, and was one of the big women that they picked, and they stuck us into an all-male platoon for a week. 

Rich Bennett 5:56
Oh, wow. 

Gina L. Osborn 5:57
Oh, yeah. And we knew we weren't going to do better than them. We knew we could not fall out. So we had to stay up, and I knew that I had made it when at the, on the very last day, I'm filthy. I've got my camel on my face. I have my birth control glasses on, because of course, you know, those uh, uh, with a strap on the back that held them to my face. Okay. 

Rich Bennett 6:21
I'd never heard a call about it. 

Gina L. Osborn 6:23
What? Oh, my God. See, the Marines, they don't know how to name thing. 

Rich Bennett 6:26
So, 

Gina L. Osborn 6:26
uh, so the female drill sergeant from the male platoon came up to me and said, "Private, are you a male or a female?" And that's what I knew that we had made it. So, 

Rich Bennett 6:37
wow. 

Gina L. Osborn 6:38
Coming as Barbara's on school of modeling graduate circa 1979. I should have been offended, but I was not. We made it through the week. 

Rich Bennett 6:47
That's a school I haven't heard the name of in a long time. So 

Gina L. Osborn 6:54
I'm just... 

Rich Bennett 6:55
were you staying in the same barracks? 

Gina L. Osborn 6:57
Oh, no, 

Rich Bennett 6:58
I meant 

Gina L. Osborn 6:58
no. 

Rich Bennett 6:58
okay. 

Gina L. Osborn 6:59
It would just line us you know, every morning, and then we would go out all day long and hang out with the minselatoon. So, yeah, it was very interesting. And I don't think they really started to have men and women train until of the 90s. So, that was really, really early in the thought process. But yeah, 

Rich Bennett 7:15
Wow. 

Gina L. Osborn 7:15
it was, it was at the other women and I, I mean, we had to keep up. It was fun. 

Rich Bennett 7:20
Wow. 

Gina L. Osborn 7:21
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 7:21
All right. So, go actually, while you're in basic, because you wanted to go into Army Intelligence, right? 

Gina L. Osborn 7:29
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 7:30
Were you able to go right into... Was that your MOS as soon as you graduated basic? 

Gina L. Osborn 7:34
Yep. And as I recall, but I'm not 100% sure. I think they were guaranteeing me an overseas assignment, but, but I'm not sure. I'm not 100% sure on that one, but I was very, very fortunate because after I went to AIT, Advanced Individual Training 

Rich Bennett 7:51
Really? 

Gina L. Osborn 7:51
at Fort Port Chuca, Arizona, it was hot, you know, so for this California girl. And then I wound up my first, oh, I have to tell you a good story. So, I got there. I wanted to be the first one there because I wanted in my mind, I wanted to pick my assignment, right? So, I show up. I only took like two days of leave. I show up to the 527 in my battalion headquarters. And there was another person from my class who had their ahead of me. This was in Kaiser Slider in Germany. 

Rich Bennett 8:24
Wow. 

Gina L. Osborn 8:24
And so, I'm like, okay, well, I don't want to be at headquarters. I want to be in a detachment where I'm going to be wearing civilian clothes, right? And so, the guy who got there ahead of me said, no, no, no, they're going to keep the first 10 people here at headquarters, where we're going to have to wear BDUs and live in the barracks. I'm like, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, that doesn't... 

Rich Bennett 8:42
Breeding. 

Gina L. Osborn 8:45
So, the next day I'm talking to e7staps or Sergeant First Class. I know who I thought I was. I do not know because I learned better after that. But, you know, I'm explaining to him that I cannot stay at headquarters. So, he goes, well, I could send you to a detachment in Belgium, but you have to speak French. And so, I said, oh, I speak French, you know, I took some French in high school and but I... 

Rich Bennett 9:07
Okay. 

Gina L. Osborn 9:08
May have explained that I spoke French a little bit better than I did. So, when I got there in Belgium, already orders were cut. So, you know, it's... There's the deal. My captain spoke French, so he was not exactly happy with me for not being able to be fluent in French that I may have. But anyway, I got to spend two and a half years in Belgium and then three and a half years in Germany. 

Rich Bennett 9:29
I take it, they made you take French lessons then? 

Gina L. Osborn 9:31
Oh, yes, for sure. 

Rich Bennett 9:35
All right, so if you don't mind me asking because, how long did were you in the army? 

Gina L. Osborn 9:39
Six years, just under six years. 

Rich Bennett 9:41
How many different countries did you go to if you're allowed to tell us? 

Gina L. Osborn 9:43
Oh God, so I was stationed in two countries, but when I was in Frankfurt, I was assigned in Frankfurt, Germany for my last three and a half years, and I was very, very fortunate to be assigned to a special, specialty team that, estigated the highest profile espionage cases in the European theatre. So, uhm, we, I was travelling probably nine or ten months out of the year in Mercedes, BMWs and Audi's. I'm, I'm not making that up because we were undercover, and yeah, I mean, it was like the best, best, best time ever, and, you know, all of these people who were trying to sell, sell out whether they're, um, you know, army contractors or army service people, uh, yeah, we were on those cases, so it was really a fascinating time. 

Rich Bennett 10:27
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced? 

Gina L. Osborn 10:30
Um, you know, I would say just being an American, undercover in a foreign country, and uhm, so we had, we were programmed for disguised kits, and so, uh, so we were had wigs, and I had a pregnancy pillow, and um, yeah, just being in 

Rich Bennett 10:50
Wow! 

Gina L. Osborn 10:51
those scenarios. So there was one time I was in an apartment with an individual, and I didn't learn until after that the team had lost me going in. Oh, yeah, yeah, no, it was not good. So, uh, so yeah, so that was a little scary, and I think I've been in a couple of, uh, massive car accidents, uh, you know, going from pointed 

Rich Bennett 11:12
Wow. 

Gina L. Osborn 11:13
But, but yeah, overall fabulous experience. 

Rich Bennett 11:16
When's the movie coming out? 

Gina L. Osborn 11:18
Yeah. Well, I'm working on a TV show right now, so we'll see if that goes anywhere. 

Rich Bennett 11:23
N- have you written a book as well, or 

Gina L. Osborn 11:26
Um, 

Rich Bennett 11:26
is that into works? 

Gina L. Osborn 11:27
I'm working on one, um, but yeah, I'm working on one, we'll just say that, but I want to, you know, take my memory and then also talk about making Maverick moves because I want it to be an inspiration to people to, uh, 

Rich Bennett 11:39
yeah, 

Gina L. Osborn 11:39
to know, and when I talk about Maverick moves, it's where, you know, you come up to that door, and you're afraid to go through or you're intimidated or you're frustrated, yet you go through anyway. And so those are the people that I like to inspire, um, to, so that they can have their breakthrough success. 

Rich Bennett 11:56
Okay, which we are going to get into that too, but one of the things when you got out of the army, and it was from there, it was it you wanted to go right into the FBI. 

Gina L. Osborn 12:06
So I wanted to work for the CIA. 

Rich Bennett 12:08
Oh, CIA, I'm sorry. 

Gina L. Osborn 12:09
Yeah. So I interviewed for the CIA, both my husband and I at the time, my husband at the time, and I, 

Rich Bennett 12:14
you know what? You scared me there for a minute, because at first I thought you said both your husbands. 

Gina L. Osborn 12:19
Oh, my husband. 

Rich Bennett 12:20
I'm like, wait a minute. 

Gina L. Osborn 12:22
No, 

Rich Bennett 12:22
What country did you leave? 

Gina L. Osborn 12:24
There's only one for me. Thank you. Uh, yeah. We, so we both went and interviewed at the same time, and surprisingly neither one of us made it in. So that was 

Rich Bennett 12:36
really. 

Gina L. Osborn 12:37
Yeah. Cause I had spent, I mean, six years trying to get my four year degree sitting on surveillance with a little German blue suitcase, getting my term papers out, you know, back then, and uh, and it didn't happen. And then I wound up getting into the FBI and it wound up being the best thing that could ever happen. 

Rich Bennett 12:55
What, what was it like transitioning from the military into the FBI? 

Gina L. Osborn 12:59
Um, you know, it's interesting, because going through the FBI Academy, it's definitely you and I, you know, you would see it definitely as a gentle person's course, because really the FBI agents are mostly accountant and attorneys, you know, PVDs and, you know, if you've grunts like, like me going through. Um, but yeah, it wasn't, it wasn't anything like army training at all, but, you know, you had to be thinking a lot more. And so that was challenging because you were taking tests and shooting and doing all sorts of things. 

Rich Bennett 13:32
A lot, a lot of mental training. 

Gina L. Osborn 13:34
For sure. For sure. 

Rich Bennett 13:35
And that was in Quantico, right? 

Gina L. Osborn 13:36
In Quantico, Virginia. 

Rich Bennett 13:38
Okay. And then from there, you transitioned later into leadership. How was that? 

Gina L. Osborn 13:43
I did. It was good. It was right after 9/11. So the first five years of my career, I was working Asian organized crime and little sidon. And for those who cannot see me, I am a six foot blonde. And so working in the little sidon district of Orange County, California, where the, it's the largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam. So, um, so that interesting. All of the gangsters at New Me, for sure. 

Rich Bennett 14:11
I was going to say in being a, being a six foot, a lot of them disguises weren't have worked. 

Gina L. Osborn 14:14
Yeah. No, no, no, in Germany, I was great. Perfect. The most by Don, not so much. And then 9/11 happened and then pretty much the FBI completely shifted. Uh, tourism was a number one priority. So I became the counter-terrorism program coordinator 

Rich Bennett 14:41
Mm-hmm. 

Gina L. Osborn 14:42
And Asia, Australia, or India, my squad would respond to those incidents, so it was really an interesting time in history. 

Rich Bennett 14:50
And you actually led what the largest cybercrime and terrorism division in 

Gina L. Osborn 14:54
I 

Rich Bennett 14:54
the-- 

Gina L. Osborn 14:55
did, I did. And which is fascinating for someone who could barely turn on a computer. I don't know why I'm talking about my ex-husband so much, but 

Rich Bennett 15:03
(laughs)

Gina L. Osborn 15:03
he was a self-proclaimed cyber geek and I knew the language a little bit. And in order for us to promote to the executive levels, we have to go to the mothership FBI headquarters for 18 months. So I was on the inspection staff and they were looking for someone to inspect a cyber program in Chicago and none of the other team leaders raised their hand. And I'm like, why not? I think I speak the language a little bit. And so that's kind of how I became the subject matter expert for the cyber program for the FBI by inspecting all of these different cyber programs. 

Rich Bennett 15:41
Wow. 

Gina L. Osborn 15:42
Yeah, it's them. 

Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 15:43
And after 9/11, I mean, the cybercrime and counterterrorism just skyrocketed. 

Gina L. Osborn 15:50
For sure. And when you look at all that, so I wound up, yeah, I was the longest sitting assistant special agent in charge in the FBI field office in Los Angeles. I was an ASAC for 11 years, and usually, I think the average time is about 14 months, but I just fell in love with the cyber geniuses. They were so creative and so innovative and just they were like chess players, you know? So it was really fun to work with them. And we responded, one of the big cases that we responded to was the hack by North Korea against Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014. 

Rich Bennett 16:26
Oh, wow. 

Gina L. Osborn 16:27
Yeah. So watching how a nation state can deploy psychological warfare on a huge company on US soil, it was just unprecedented. So yeah, so that was really fun to be there for that one. 

Rich Bennett 16:45
How did you actually keep your team focused and resilient, especially under high stakes pressure like that, because a lot of people when you think of cybercrime, compared to being in the military boots on the ground and all that, a lot of people don't think the counter-terrorism in cybercrime is very high pressure, but it is. So how'd you keep your team focused, 

Gina L. Osborn 17:07
know? 

You know, so when I got that position, I was a lead from the front leader, because 

Rich Bennett 17:13
you 

Gina L. Osborn 17:13
that's what I learned from all my male mentors in the military and in the FBI leading up to that point, but when I got there, I realized that I was from the front all day long, but I didn't have the currency that I needed, which was that technology background to get these people to follow me. So that's when I realized it's like, you know what, I can't, that style is not going to work with these people. So it was really the first time that I led authentically, because I had to sit down with myself and say, okay, what do I have to contribute? All right, I'm a problem solver, I'm a good communicator, I know where all the money trees are in Washington D. C., so if I, you know, to buy equipment for my people that they really, really needed. And, you know, I think by becoming a servant leader with that type of, you know, I call them my race horses. It was my job to keep them on the track, but because they were so innovative and creative, that's how they thrived being able to lead themselves and have their own ideas and me just supporting them along the way. So it really taught me about servant leadership, and that's what motivated them every day was, you know, knowing that they had ownership and everything that they were doing. 

Rich Bennett 18:31
You probably created several good leaders as well. I 

Gina L. Osborn 18:34
Oh, 

Rich Bennett 18:34
have. 

Gina L. Osborn 18:35
that was the best part because as a brand new lady leader, you know, you tend to micromanage and you tend to not let anybody make mistakes because you don't want to look that. Well, I had done that job for so long. That was one of the things that my young cyber supervisors and I probably had at least five or six generations because they would stay with me for a couple of years and then they would move on. 

Rich Bennett 18:56
Right. 

Gina L. Osborn 18:56
And by the end, you know, number one, they knew that they were going to get thumbed early on because, you know, we had to establish our relationship and they had to know how important it was to lead people and the amount of responsibility that came with us. So that would happen. And then if they wanted to do something really bad, and I knew that that may not be the best of all things, I would give them some advice but as long as it didn't cost our, you know, taxpayers money or nobody got in. I would let them go down that rabbit hole and so letting them make those mistakes. That's how they learned and that's how they became some really really good leaders. So I'm excited whenever I get a phone call and they tell me that they made it to their next promotion. That's like the best. That's my legacy in the FBI where those young people that came up behind me. 

Rich Bennett 19:39
Sounds like they would make some great guest for your podcast. 

Gina L. Osborn 19:43
Oh, yes, we have to get them get them on better. They're a little busy right now. 

Rich Bennett 19:48
So what actually what's one of the toughest leadership leadership decisions you've ever had to make and actually how did you approach it as well? 

Gina L. Osborn 19:56
You know, the interesting thing. So I left the FBI. I wound up as the Chief Safety and Security Officer for LA Metro, the second largest transportation company and the agency and the nation. And I noticed that they had $200 million worth of contracts with contract law enforcement, LAPD, Long Beach PD and the LA Sheriff's Department, and they were not performing and they were missing in action. And so really taking that on and I knew from my probably week one that LA Metro needed their own police department and that's something that I worked on for two years. But when I went to the inspector general to give a report about what I was seeing, I was fired like a week later. 

Rich Bennett 20:47
What? 

Gina L. Osborn 20:47
Oh, oh yeah, yeah, yeah. So yeah, so never been fired before in my entire life. So I, 

Rich Bennett 20:54
wow, 

Gina L. Osborn 20:54
You know, I always talk about when I go out and I do my speaking, I talk about, you know, you have to choose wisely that Hill you're willing to die on. 

Rich Bennett 21:02
uh-huh, 

Gina L. Osborn 21:02
But then sometimes that Hill chooses you and so that's where this whole Maverick movement came from was that, you know what? That wasn't something that I volunteered to do and following that it got leaked to the LA Times. Next thing you know, I'm on television for the next probably six weeks talking about all of the shootings and stabbings that were happening at LA Metro. So although it was difficult and definitely ego-ruising, it really taught me probably the most lesson. It was the biggest growing spurt that I've ever had 

Rich Bennett 21:36
right. 

Gina L. Osborn 21:36
my entire life. 

Rich Bennett 21:37
And that was the birth of the Maverick. 

Gina L. Osborn 21:39
Exactly. 

Rich Bennett 21:40
The maverick. I love that. The Maverick. So what does the Maverick, or what does being a Maverick mean to you, especially in traditionally male dominated fields like law enforcement and intelligence? 

Gina L. Osborn 21:53
Yeah. It means that you, okay, so I talk about like when you're in the FBI, 

Rich Bennett 21:58
in 

Gina L. Osborn 21:58
when 

Rich Bennett 21:58
-- 

Gina L. Osborn 21:58
I was you know, you would go out and do a search warrant. And so all of your training, all of your experience, all of the work you did, the homework that you did on this suspect, you're going to do a search warrant or an arrest warrant on a suspect. Everybody meets, you brief, you're ready to go. You're ready to roll. And then, you know, there's about five or six of you lining up on the door, and you don't know what's behind that door. Is your subject a sleep upstairs in bed or is he or she laying in wait, you know, with a gun pointed at the door? You don't know. So I talk about that door a lot. So being a Maverick is believing in yourself enough that you have the training, that you have what it takes, that you know that if something goes wrong, you're going to be able to -- you have the skills to pivot, and you go through that door anyway. And so that's the only way that you're going to get to break through success unless you're a very, very, very lucky person. But that to me is what that means. 

Rich Bennett 22:57
Wow. All right. So can you share a moment when going against the green, in other words making that Maverick move? 

Gina L. Osborn 23:03
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 23:04
Truly paid off for you or your team? 

Gina L. Osborn 23:07
Well, I would say, okay, well, going to the inspector general and then going on the news, probably I was doing probably at least three interviews a week for a good 

Rich Bennett 23:19
-- That 

Gina L. Osborn 23:19
six 

Rich Bennett 23:19
was it. 

Gina L. Osborn 23:20
because there was a huge crime search that happened the minute I got fired. So did that have anything to do with me? No, but it really gave me the opportunity. My goal was to keep those frontline employees safe and those riders safe. And everybody deserves to have that experience, especially when you're a transit dependent person. And so I'm like, okay, so I'm getting all of this publicity. So why don't we talk about why it is that Metro needs their own police department and why Metro needs to really focus on security. So after I got fired, I think I did more for the system security and law enforcement group at LA Metro than I did while I was there because they got about 100 million dollars approved by the board after I got fired in order to be able to get the technology and the fair enforcement, all things that I had been talking about the entire time I was there. And the board approved unanimously for Metro to get their own police department about four months after I got fired. So, you know, going out and telling the stories like the fact that, you know, the LA Sheriff's Department were at a golf tournament when they were supposed to be at a station or LAPD were on a platform and there was a dead body on the platform for five hours and nobody approached that individual who had been to 

Rich Bennett 24:41
see what 

Gina L. Osborn 24:43
I was like, yeah, yeah, those were the types of things. And so, so yeah, so that makes me feel good. And that, you know, and I, you know, don't really have contact with the team. But I knew that I would be able to, you know, help make a difference. And so that made me feel good about that was my purpose. That was the reason behind, you know, everything that happened, I believed. 

Rich Bennett 25:04
Oh my God, yeah, I definitely see your life story being a TV 

Gina L. Osborn 25:08
show. 

Rich Bennett 25:10
Yeah. Holy cow. 

Gina L. Osborn 25:12
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 25:12
yeah. It's funny how things fall into place too. I think maybe all that stuff didn't happen because you got fired and people knew, oh, now's our chance because she isn't there. 

Gina L. Osborn 25:23
Oh yeah, for sure. And, and I always believe in, and this is because I've been involved in so much chaos crisis and change in my career and leading through that, I believe, and I learned from LA Metro because it, I had seen more violence during my two years at LA Metro than I had during my entire 28 year law enforcement career. 

Rich Bennett 25:43
Wow. 

Gina L. Osborn 25:44
And, and I learned there, and I, that every crisis, with every crisis comes an opportunity. And so right after I got fired, I'm like, what is the purpose behind this? And so I sat super, super quiet for two days and then the next thing you know, I get a text where someone told me that Rachel Eurenga from the LA Times was looking for me. And that changed everything because I was able to use my voice for the, for the greater good. 

Rich Bennett 26:12
Yeah. And what year was it? 

Gina L. Osborn 26:15
Uh, last year. 

Rich Bennett 26:16
oh, that was just last year. 

Gina L. Osborn 26:18
Uh, 

Rich Bennett 26:18
Oh my God. Okay. I think I remember seeing stuff like that on the Holy. 

Gina L. Osborn 26:25
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 26:28
Yeah. Damn. 

Wow. Okay. Uh, 

Gina L. Osborn 26:34
have you ever been like, at a loss for words before my goodness? I need to keep talking. 

Rich Bennett 26:39
Yes. Well, I, I, I just, sometimes, yeah, I mean, sometimes my guests just blow me away, and I'm 

Gina L. Osborn 26:46
uh, 

Rich Bennett 26:46
just like or, or sometimes they've even had me crying. 

Gina L. Osborn 26:49
Uh, 

Rich Bennett 26:50
yeah, just hearing the stories. But when you, because I keep thinking of the Cold War, yeah, when you went into the military, and you 28 years, it just doesn't add, for those of you that are listening and, and can't see Gina, she still looks, she looks like she's in her 30s. 

Gina L. Osborn 27:09
Oh, 

Rich Bennett 27:09
maybe early 40s. 

Gina L. Osborn 27:11
I'm gonna 

Rich Bennett 27:11
So, 

Gina L. Osborn 27:11
come back every 

Rich Bennett 27:12
It just doesn't, it doesn't add up. You know, that's but last year, 

Gina L. Osborn 27:17
week. 

Rich Bennett 27:18
oh my God. 

Gina L. Osborn 27:19
No, 

Rich Bennett 27:19
And there was 

Gina L. Osborn 27:19
it doesn't. 

Rich Bennett 27:19
all, there was all. Well, there's been all kinds of crap going on for the past 10 years or so. It seems like. 

Gina L. Osborn 27:26
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 27:26
Yeah. It's nuts 

Gina L. Osborn 27:28
for that. But yeah. No, it adds up. 

Rich Bennett 27:30
Wow. Okay. For, I want to, I want to, um, 

focus on, especially with women, you know, you rose through the ranks of the male dominated space. 

Gina L. Osborn 27:44
Uh-huh. 

Rich Bennett 27:45
So what advice would you give to women who are trying to break barriers in their own industries? 

Gina L. Osborn 27:50
I would say, be very, very mindful of the stories you yourself in your head, because I was just, um, speaking with a young lady and she was telling me that, that they, and I always, my ears always perk up when anybody ever starts talking about they, right? 

Rich Bennett 28:10
Mm-hmm. 

Gina L. Osborn 28:11
I'm, I'm dying to know who they are. 

Rich Bennett 28:14
Uh-huh. 

Gina L. Osborn 28:14
And she was telling me about how, you know, every time, you know, I can't go into work and I can't, you know, be myself and be assertive and do this and do that because they think that I'm too aggressive or they think this. But when you dissect the, okay, well, who exactly is they? And is that actually happening? Or are you, is that the story that you've been telling yourself in your head? And in one I like to tell is my mom is amazing, my, you know, my parents got divorced when I was, I think, six or seven years old and she was alone with two kids, no alimony, and she wound up going into real estate. And I watched her in the first year selling houses for $35, 000 a piece. She made the million dollar club in her first year. 

Rich Bennett 29:00
Wow. 

Gina L. Osborn 29:00
So yeah, so in that scenario, we never heard about a glass ceiling. We never heard about not being able to do things because we were women. I was watching her and she could do anything. So when I got to basic trading and I got pulled out of bed one night, in the middle of the night, to go paint the first sergeant's office. I don't know if they made you do that type of stuff in the Marines. But there was another private there, and she was talking about this glass ceiling, and it's like it did not compute with me because that was not not, that didn't apply to me. In my head, that did not apply to me. So I think it's really important if there is this, you know, common known scenario where women can't do this or I can't do that, I would just say, just say it, it doesn't apply to me and move on because all of the energy that you're going to take to fight that or be disappointed in that or try and change that. That's just energy that you're taking away from having your breakthrough success. 

Rich Bennett 30:05
You're listening to the conversations with Rich Bennett. We'll be right back. 

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Gina L. Osborn 31:19
Yes. And yeah, so and I have my podcast and yeah, going out and trying to sell a TV show and book and all sorts of types of things. 

Rich Bennett 31:29
the... 

Gina L. Osborn 31:29
So that's 

Rich Bennett 31:30
So are you coaching as well? 

Gina L. Osborn 31:32
good. So I do, I do from 

Rich Bennett 31:34
Okay. 

Gina L. Osborn 31:34
time to time. I really love to mentor people and yeah, I think everybody needs a good mentor and for people who are of our vintage young man, I'm going to say, I think it's important for them to know that you need to go to these people who you would think oh, they'll never mentor me. I mean, people come to me all the time on LinkedIn and said hey, you know, would you mind? And it's like absolutely because number 

Rich Bennett 31:57
Feels 

Gina L. Osborn 31:58
one we love. I know. If we love to hear our self-talk, we love to tell stories and we love to help people get to where they want to be. So. 

Rich Bennett 32:06
And to see them succeed, 

Gina L. Osborn 32:08
It 

Rich Bennett 32:09
reward, 

Gina L. Osborn 32:10
really is. 

Rich Bennett 32:10
Yuki. 

Gina L. Osborn 32:11
It really is. 

Rich Bennett 32:12
You did a 10x talk. 

Gina L. Osborn 32:14
You're 

Rich Bennett 32:16
laughing about it. What was that experience like? 

Gina L. Osborn 32:21
Uh, for someone who always avoided public speaking, uh, I didn't start public speaking until after. I left the FBI because I had one experience in the army where I flopped so bad it kept me from doing any sort of public speaking until after I left the FBI. 

First time that they had ever done a TEDx, uh, conference and people there were so absolutely lovely and I met a young lady there who came up to me and the only reason why she came there was to see me speak. And, you know, we just-- we had a little conversation about what was holding her back and she kind of epitomizes my listener, you know, somebody who has a stream who wants to make that Maverick move. And yet, you know, whether it's confidence or whatever it is, you know, that's what's holding them back. And so whenever I-- my sister who is a podcast producer always tells me that you have to know exactly who your listener is and, you know, so meeting her there, she really, you know, like I said, she is my listener and that's what really motivates me to get out there and, you know, and help people like her, her, people like her. But it was a great experience. I enjoyed it. However, it was a lot of work and, and yeah, I didn't get nervous though. However, yeah, it probably could have gone better, but we're going to say it was a good experience. 

Rich Bennett 33:58
Well, D, from when I've been told talk, and of course there's a difference between the TEDx talks and the TED talks. The TED talks is the next one for you. But because I've been wanting to do it and, but my understanding is it's a lot different than public speaking because when you're taught public speaking, you're moving. I think of like Grand Cardone or Gary V either always moving across that stage, 

Gina L. Osborn 34:25
everyone. 

Rich Bennett 34:25
talking to 

Gina L. Osborn 34:26
Yeah, yeah. 

Rich Bennett 34:27
Both TEDx, you literally have to stay on the X 

Gina L. Osborn 34:30
right. Yeah, you have to, you have to stay in the circle and it's memorized. Uh 

Rich Bennett 34:36
oh. 

Gina L. Osborn 34:36
Yeah. So that's what kind of threw me for a loop because I have this type of personality where I need to know it and know 

Rich Bennett 34:45
Right. 

Gina L. Osborn 34:45
my sister. I went into a rehearsal about two weeks before and I did not have it memorized. I mean, but I had worked on memorizing it and I'm not a big practice person. So this really was not the best thing for me in my mind to go into because all of the things that I don't like you have to do in order to be really really successful in this, in this space, but then I learned that if you have a PowerPoint, then you can have your notes on the screen. I mean, I didn't do that because this lady who was coaching me said, yeah, you don't want to do that because you're really going to lose that connection with the audience, but I can 

Rich Bennett 35:23
Right. Right. 

Gina L. Osborn 35:24
tell you what really was a game changer for me as a public speaker was when I got up there. I wasn't nervous at all, which was a good thing. I just had to remember what I was supposed to say. But when I looked out the lights were so bright, 

Rich Bennett 35:39
I can't see anybody, 

Gina L. Osborn 35:41
anybody, but I felt them. So if you really want to improve as a speaker and really improve on understanding what your brand is and understanding what your message is, that is like the best thing that you can possibly do. 

Rich Bennett 35:54
And don't picture the audience in their underwear. That does not work. 

Gina L. Osborn 35:58
There was no audience. It was just you know, but I did get some laughs where I was supposed to so that helped me and I had like a walking pneumonia at the time. So I'm going to give you all these pizzas as to why it wasn't exactly the best, but I did it. And every time I look on my LinkedIn, and it says Ted at speaker, I'm like, wow, I can't believe I did it. 

Rich Bennett 36:17
Wait a minute. There was no audience. 

Gina L. Osborn 36:18
No, no, the audience was there. You just. 

Rich Bennett 36:20
Oh, you could see him. 

Gina L. Osborn 36:21
Yeah. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 36:23
was going to say, wait a minute now. So with, because I've been thinking about doing one. 

Gina L. Osborn 36:27
You should. 

Rich Bennett 36:28
I'm debating, are you allowed to add a little bit on, 

Gina L. Osborn 36:31
I 

Rich Bennett 36:32
or would they even know? 

Gina L. Osborn 36:33
Yeah, you probably, you probably can, but yes. And you know what? You and I are going to talk offline and I am going to work with you on that because yeah, there's a there's a lot to it. You can and you would probably, I think if I ever do another one, I am going to. Yeah, I'm going to definitely not go through the memorization rock because it was a good like 15 minutes worth of memorized content, and that's a 

Rich Bennett 37:00
Look. 

Gina L. Osborn 37:00
lot. 

Rich Bennett 37:01
At my age, I can't every remember birthdays. 

Gina L. Osborn 37:04
That's it. That's another. 

I...I...I...you 

Rich Bennett 37:09
won't be in a memorized 15 minutes of a speech. 

Gina L. Osborn 37:12
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 37:13
I don't understand. No way. 

Gina L. Osborn 37:14
That was a lot, 

Rich Bennett 37:16
yeah. And I can do, 

Gina L. Osborn 37:17
yeah, 

Rich Bennett 37:18
but you still, you would still need that outline of those notes. 

Gina L. Osborn 37:21
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Well, you get, and then you can do that, you can do the PowerPoint and then you have the Confidence Monitor there. But yeah, but you definitely don't want to get hooked on that Confidence Monitor because again, you'll that whole interaction. 

Rich Bennett 37:36
But I think we, even with the PowerPoint and I learned this from, you know, being a radio, well, I'm not really being a radio because I was a music DJ, but by doing this to podcast, you have to paint that picture for 

Gina L. Osborn 37:50
everyone. 

Rich Bennett 37:51
Yeah, because I remember when in the I, when I was in the IT field we would do PowerPoints a lot. And I just, it was basically you're, everything was all the PowerPoint, so you were just reined the PowerPoint that the people could already read. 

Gina L. Osborn 38:05
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 38:05
Yeah. I mean, I just, now, I don't, I don't, I don't know. All right, I'm going to do it. 

Gina L. Osborn 38:10
it. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 38:11
Good to do 

Gina L. Osborn 38:12
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 38:13
It's another challenge for me. So 

Gina L. Osborn 38:14
I think that 

Rich Bennett 38:16
challenges. 

Gina L. Osborn 38:16
and you 

Rich Bennett 38:16
Are 

Gina L. Osborn 38:17
don't 

Rich Bennett 38:17
you, 

Gina L. Osborn 38:17
know where it is? You come and do it in California. Do it in Orange County, California. And I'll be your, I'll be in the front row. 

Rich Bennett 38:24
Look, I haven't been out in California since Holy crap. Since I was in the Marine Corps. 

Gina L. Osborn 38:30
Oh my, see, it's time to come home. 

Rich Bennett 38:32
I was the last time I was out there. I don't, I don't look, I just flew for the first time a couple of years 

Gina L. Osborn 38:38
ago. Are you serious? 

Rich Bennett 38:40
I, the last time I flew was 1995. I had a bad experience. And 

Gina L. Osborn 38:46
oh my gosh, 

Rich Bennett 38:47
my, my wife's cousin was getting married and they live in New Orleans. So it's, and I look at her as a niece, says, like, I got to go down there for this. 

Gina L. Osborn 38:56
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 38:57
And so I've flew down to flight down. Was not bad. 

Gina L. Osborn 39:01
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 39:02
I mean, I faced two of my fears. 

Gina L. Osborn 39:03
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 39:04
I mean, and we flew down on Super Bowl Sunday, which was, so we were there for fat Tuesday, as well. So it was door, Monday, and my, my second fear is bridges, because I had a, all of this was after the, the core. I had a nightmare. My father and I were off the side of a bridge. 

Gina L. Osborn 39:24
Oh my gosh. 

Rich Bennett 39:26
Well, we get down to New Orleans on Super Bowl Sunday and, you know, they told me, yeah, well, we're going to, her one cousins house to watch the Super Bowl, which was if you know anything about New Orleans, it's on the other side of that lake. And you have to drive across the 24 mile long bridge. I didn't drive, but still, it's like, I don't want to do it, but I had to do it. And then coming back, and of course, there were storms and everything. I think we even had to tornado. 

Gina L. Osborn 39:57
Oh my 

Rich Bennett 39:58
Yeah. 

Gina L. Osborn 39:58
gosh. 

Rich Bennett 39:59
So I, yeah, I faced that, but yeah, flying, I have no problem with anymore now. 

Gina L. Osborn 40:04
Oh my 

Rich Bennett 40:04
So 

Gina L. Osborn 40:04
gosh. 

Rich Bennett 40:05
if I have to come to the California, oh, my God. 

Orange 

Gina L. Osborn 40:11
County. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 40:12
That's L. A. in all right. 

Gina L. Osborn 40:13
I think UC Irvine has two, a two a year. So, 

Rich Bennett 40:18
Okay. 

Gina L. Osborn 40:18
Yeah. So you have to apply. That's, that's the thing. There's an whole application problem. 

Rich Bennett 40:22
Oh, I know. 

Gina L. Osborn 40:23
Yeah. And then you have to be invited to speak. And usually you get, I think like maybe four to six months to prepare. I got about six weeks. I don't know what happened, but it was very fast. And so, yeah. So, so I got about six weeks. So that's 

Rich Bennett 40:38
because I, I've been kicking the idea around of actually doing one, but hosting it here around that. 

Gina L. Osborn 40:44
Oh, that's a good. 

Rich Bennett 40:45
Because I've met a lot of great people on the podcast that are from here that would make awesome speakers. 

Gina L. Osborn 40:51
That's a great idea. 

Rich Bennett 40:53
So I'm, I might to do Orange County 

Gina L. Osborn 40:56
in here. Yeah. There you go. And maybe if I decide I'm ever going to do another one, I'll come and come and see you. 

Rich Bennett 41:02
Well, if, well, see if you do that, then I have to, you know, turn you on to some really good seafood and show you what steamed crabs are really like. 

Gina L. Osborn 41:13
I'm up for it, 

Rich Bennett 41:14
because you're not getting better steam crabs in the Maryland. 

Gina L. Osborn 41:17
I'll take it. I will. 

Rich Bennett 41:18
I'm just saying, just saying, you know, just like Maine, you're, you know, Maine's the best place for lobster. Maryland's the best place. I want to say for steam crabs and probably oysters. 

Gina L. Osborn 41:28
All right. All right. 

Rich Bennett 41:29
I mean, it's just the way it is. All right. I want to talk about your podcast. 

Gina L. Osborn 41:33
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 41:33
Making Maverick moves. 

Gina L. Osborn 41:34
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 41:35
What actually inspired you to launch it? 

Gina L. Osborn 41:38
Well, I, you know, again, this whole Maverick mindset, this whole mission that I, I went on. And I thought about, so at the time, I wanted my first guest to be the LA City Fire Chief. 

Speaking to the LA City Fire Chief, two months before the fires, so I spoke with her in November. 

Rich Bennett 42:15
Wow. 

Gina L. Osborn 42:16
And when I asked her, you know, "Okay, Chief Crowley, tell us about a Maverick move that you've made." And she said, "Oh, while I'm making one right now because I don't have the resources to do my job." So, fast-forward two months to January, horrible fires, specific palaces, eaten fires, and all of a sudden, you know, they're questioning and she had gone to the mayor and the City Council in December, so a month before the fires telling her that this budget cut that they just did in the summer, was not working for her, that she had all of this equipment that needed to be fixed, et cetera. And then, so that was in January, two days before I promoted or, you know, premiered the podcast she was fired two days before. So that, yeah, so that, that is the type of Maverick moves because really, when I saw her on the news talking about how she didn't have the resources to do her job, she already told me that two months before. And, you know, and she was, that was the hill that she was willing to die for, die on because her people, you know, they were, they weren't enough people, they had 

Rich Bennett 43:26
Right. 

Gina L. Osborn 43:26
fire stations and they did 20 years ago. And, you know, that is really what a Maverick is all about, they're willing to sacrifice themselves for the bigger picture and that's exactly what she did. So, so that kind of started the whole thing and we've been, I think we've done the gosh compared to you, you know, we started doing videos. So, we're up to 20 episodes or 21 episodes and so, yes. So, we're going strong and we're super excited about this movement and yeah, so that's what we do. 

Rich Bennett 43:56
39 episodes. 

Gina L. Osborn 43:58
I do. Oh, yeah. 

Rich Bennett 44:02
Yeah, I'm not looking at the video, I'm looking at good pods. 

Gina L. Osborn 44:05
Okay. Yeah. So, I did. So, it used to be called lead like a lady. And nobody really 

Rich Bennett 44:10
knows what 

Gina L. Osborn 44:11
that was all about because I was thinking Margaret that you know, she was a badass. She was the iron lady. So, when I named that podcast a few years ago but people didn't get it. And so we rebranded it in February. So, yes. So, in total 39. 

Rich Bennett 44:28
Alright, so I want to ask you about that because a lot of people in podcasting are afraid to rebrand. I mean, I rebranded mine best move I ever made. Were you nervous about rebranding? 

Gina L. Osborn 44:41
I was in fact my, I have a public speaking bureau and they told me that this is not a good name for a podcast 

Rich Bennett 44:49
and what? 

Gina L. Osborn 44:50
Yeah, yeah. They were no, no, no, not making maverick moves lead like a, 

Rich Bennett 44:54
oh. Oh, 

Gina L. Osborn 44:55
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 44:55
okay. 

Gina L. Osborn 44:57
So, and it meant so much to me and, and I was like, nope, but then I started working with this fabulous marketing lady. Her name is Kelly for all of Sunday sign up marketing. And you know, as I was going through all of this thing of being fired and all of this, you know, she said, okay, well, we can call lead like a lady. But why don't we call it lead like a lady leading ladies making Maverick moves. And then I'm like, why don't we just call it making Maverick moves. And then 

Rich Bennett 45:24
that's a long title. 

Gina L. Osborn 45:25
Right. And so that's, let's just, so that's, but you know, the interesting part about it is I don't think I really lost an audience. But what's interesting when that podcast was called lead like a lady, more men listen to that podcast than women. 

Rich Bennett 45:40
Yeah. 

Gina L. Osborn 45:41
So now that it's me, it's called making Maverick moves. I have like 52% are women and 48% are men. So so, 

Rich Bennett 45:48
Pretty 

Gina L. Osborn 45:48
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 45:48
split 

Gina L. Osborn 45:49
women want to make those Maverick moves, for sure. 

Rich Bennett 45:51
Yeah, that's awesome. Where do you find Moosey or dissed? 

Gina L. Osborn 45:55
You know, they're all in Orange County because it's an. 

Rich Bennett 45:58
Oh. 

Gina L. Osborn 45:58
Yeah, we go to an in person studio and they I've had all, but in fact, I had this fabulous guest is coming out next week's, Wendy Vesilva. She is a leadership expert out of New York. She actually came out to Orange County to film a couple of weeks ago. So, so yeah, I would say all except for one so far has been Shot in the in Orange County, but yeah, 

Rich Bennett 46:21
okay. 

Gina L. Osborn 46:22
that's where really it's a community podcast, but we've got so many amazing Maverick's here in Orange County. 

Rich Bennett 46:28
That's awesome. I was the same way that's how I started. 

Gina L. Osborn 46:31
It 

Rich Bennett 46:31
was strictly local talking to local businesses and everything. 

Gina L. Osborn 46:34
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 46:35
And then a friend of mine, who's in television. uh, um, suggests that she goes rich, you need to, well first, she, cause I finally got her on and she comes in and she goes, do you have an agent? I'm like, what? I thought she meant for for my DJ and not for the podcast. She goes, yeah, you need to change your name and go, go globally. I'm like, okay, because at the time it was the same name as my good news website. So it was Harvard County living. Well, technically it was Harvard County living with Rich Bennett was the podcast, which in a way, the name sounds like it should be a real estate 

Gina L. Osborn 47:11
Mm 

Rich Bennett 47:11
show. 

Gina L. Osborn 47:12
hmm. I thought it was when I saw that in the, in the URL. I thought that was, I, I thought it was like a country. 

Rich Bennett 47:17
Yeah. Well, that's the only thing that's the only thing I haven't changed is the hosting URL. 

Gina L. Osborn 47:26
Mm hmm. 

Rich Bennett 47:27
Because I, I don't know how I can go about doing that and not, because people still go back to that first episode ten years 

Gina L. Osborn 47:35
ago, 

Rich Bennett 47:36
to it. 

Gina L. Osborn 47:36
um, 

Rich Bennett 47:36
I don't know why, 

Gina L. Osborn 47:37
um, 

Rich Bennett 47:38
but I don't even know. 

Gina L. Osborn 47:40
be, but yeah. 

Rich Bennett 47:40
I'd I mean, people do. And, but when I rebranded it and I told her, I said, well, I got to check if my sponsors first if they're okay with it, I'll do it. And then I figured I asked my listeners for name suggestions, which 

Gina L. Osborn 47:52
big 

Rich Bennett 47:53
mistake. But oh, yeah, some of the names and I'll tell you what we're done. It was kind of scary. But she's the, she's the one that suggested conversations with Rich Bennett, which most of the listeners likes. 

Gina L. Osborn 48:04
I 

Rich Bennett 48:05
did that. And like I said, it just blew up over a hundred and ten different countries. 

Gina L. Osborn 48:10
Like 

Rich Bennett 48:11
I told you earlier, I was recording earlier with the lady in the, in the Netherlands. You know, years ago, you would have never, you wouldn't even talk to somebody in another country on a phone. 

Gina L. Osborn 48:20
Exactly. 

Rich Bennett 48:20
Because we cost your normally, and now you can, you can do this. So where would you like to see your podcast? Let's see in the next. Well, because it is a podcast, let's see the next year. 

Gina L. Osborn 48:34
For the next year. Okay. So I would like to continue getting better and better. Again, we've only been doing the video since February. And so we're really kind of getting it to the point where I really, really want it in the format. And and the message out. So, so really, really getting it to the point where it is solid, super inspirational. I I, so I, this is good news. I just signed with the talent agency, the girl's talent agency a couple of weeks ago. So I'm excited. So I would really love to see the podcast turn into a television show that we can take out there with the Maverick Moves trademark. Yeah, and go out and speak to people who have really, you know, and get into it and talk to other people about what they did and how their decisions impacted them. So I would love to do that working on a scripted television show. So that's something exciting. And really just creating events, leadership events, because I think you get a lot, I mean, being a woman, there are a lot of women's conferences and things like that. But they really don't go after the hardcore leadership, you know, it's more like, OK, a work life balance or whatever. And, you know, it's the same thing that we hear at every conference for the last 20 years. But I would really, really, I love talking to women and really hitting that leadership. So doing events, you know, taking the podcast on the road and doing some events as well. 

Rich Bennett 50:03
I have several women that would make awesome guests for you. 

Gina L. Osborn 50:07
Love it. I will take them 

Rich Bennett 50:08
and they're everywhere. Ma'am, fact, the one I had on recently, and I told her, and she's from here, and I told her, I said, uh, when you bind to RV, she said, RV for what? I said, well, tell your husband, I think you're going to be touring the country, speaking and everything. I said, because you're that damn 

Gina L. Osborn 50:26
is. 

Rich Bennett 50:26
good. And she 

Gina L. Osborn 50:27
I love it. OK. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 50:29
Is that good? Yes, Megan, I'm talking about you. 

Gina L. Osborn 50:33
Megan, 

Rich Bennett 50:33
So, 

Gina L. Osborn 50:33
finally, we'll find some really good crabs that are going to rival the crabs and Maryland. 

Rich Bennett 50:40
I doubt that I are right now. Now, OK, now the battle's on. OK. 

Gina L. Osborn 50:44
Oh, 

Rich Bennett 50:45
Right. 

Gina L. Osborn 50:46
We haven't gotten into the Marine's Army things. Oh, yeah, we have some. 

Rich Bennett 50:49
Oh, no, I figured I'd play it safe. know, it's. Look, see, now if it was another guy, I had no problem going back at fourth battle in that. But, you know, see, it's just like with like, with you doing video, which is awesome. So I, you have a face for video. 

Gina L. Osborn 51:06
Ah, 

Rich Bennett 51:07
I only have a face for audio. 

Gina L. Osborn 51:08
That's not true. 

Rich Bennett 51:10
no, 

Gina L. Osborn 51:10
No, 

no, no, no, Let's reach this. Who says do they say you only have a phase for video or? 

Rich Bennett 51:22
Does who? 

Gina L. Osborn 51:23
Do they say we got my fingers going up in the quotes? 

Rich Bennett 51:26
Oh, yeah, they are the ones that told me. 

Gina L. Osborn 51:29
No, no, no, this is a story you're telling. I, okay, I would like to go on, what do you do? What's that, that 

Rich Bennett 51:36
--

Gina L. Osborn 51:36
website 

Rich Bennett 51:36
Alright. 

Gina L. Osborn 51:36
Do a vote and see whether or not the rich than it should be on 

Rich Bennett 51:40
De, look, the only reason I say that is because when I started the podcast originally, it was supposed to be a YouTube 

Gina L. Osborn 51:49
it, 

Rich Bennett 51:49
show, 

Gina L. Osborn 51:49
yeah? 

Rich Bennett 51:49
and a local radio station was gonna air the audio part on Saturday mornings. So, the one guy was videotaping it, well, halfway through the first recording, which was, in October, I had three or four breast cancer survivors on. 

Gina L. Osborn 52:05
Hmm, 

Rich Bennett 52:06
halfway through the recording, the guys like, 'Hey, Rich, we got a problem'. I said, 'What's the matter?' He said, 'The camera's not working'. I said, 'Did 

Gina L. Osborn 52:13
(laughs) 

Rich Bennett 52:13
you test it?' He said, 'It's brand new, out of the box, I tested it, it was work and fine'. That told me right then and there. And then I just recently, I was on a friend of mine, I was on his podcast, and he records video, and I told him that story. And, he contacted me, he said, 'Rich'. He said, 'You ain't gonna believe this'. I said, 'What's the matter', Tim? He said, 'Well, we're able to do the audio', he said, but the video was corrupt. 

Gina L. Osborn 52:42
(laughs) Okay, so those were all the two ways, and it could've 

Rich Bennett 52:47
different. Yeah, after 10 years, only two times. So, you know, I did buy a video camera, and the new studio will have video, so, you know, we'll see where it goes. 

Gina L. Osborn 52:58
been very 

Rich Bennett 52:58
All right, so, a couple other questions 

Gina L. Osborn 53:02
for you. 

Okay. 

Rich Bennett 53:03
Looking back. 

Gina L. Osborn 53:04
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 53:05
What do you consider your proudest accomplishment? Not just professionally, but 

Gina L. Osborn 53:10
personally. 

Oh. 

Can it be professionally and personally? 

Rich Bennett 53:14
Absolutely. 

Gina L. Osborn 53:15
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 53:15
It's your show, not mine. It's just my name on it. (laughs)

Gina L. Osborn 53:18
So, professionally, I would say, I would say the legacy that I leave is to mentor young people, and get them to, you know, that leadership spot, so I would say, that's probably the thing that I am impressed with myself the most, is the amount of time that I spent, and I'm impressed with them, because they actually listen to it. And that's what I love. And as far as personally goes, just the fact that my mother, who is 86-years-old, the doctor told her last year that she had to use a cane, because she had osteoporosis, blah, blah, blah. And I told her, okay, she goes, I'm not, am I allowed to swear on this? Okay, 

Rich Bennett 54:00
do 

Gina L. Osborn 54:01
I don't 

Rich Bennett 54:01
it. 

Gina L. Osborn 54:01
want to 

Rich Bennett 54:01
Of course, yeah. 

Gina L. Osborn 54:02
just say, she said, I'm not going to use an F-ing cane, okay. I said, okay, well then you're going to have to go to Silver Sneakers. And she's like, I'm not going to Silver Sneakers. And I said, okay, then you're going to have to go to a personal trainer and start working out. So, she's been working out for the last year and about four months. She is 86-years-old, the osteoporosis between the prolias shots and the weight lifting gone. She might have a little bit in her hip, and that's it. She has got more energy than I have ever seen her in the last probably 20 years. And so, I am very proud of the fact that I come from strong genes. And so, when we think about longevity, we really need to think about, you know, how do we want to be when we're 86-years-old 

Rich Bennett 54:47
I'll 

Gina L. Osborn 54:48
and do we want to be moving around or do we want to be on the cane? So, we need to start right now to be, you know, think about the longevity aspect of our lives so that we can live quality lives when we, you know, get up to the 90s and the 100s, because I think in this generation we'll probably see that more and more. 

Rich Bennett 55:04
I'm going to give you some motivation for her. I had a young lady on 102-years- When her 100-years-old still has a personal 

Gina L. Osborn 55:17
trainer. Wow, see? That is what's so important. 

Rich Bennett 55:21
You would not have thought that she was over a hundred years old, talkative, or we did a video too. 

Gina L. Osborn 55:29
Mm-hmm, 

Rich Bennett 55:30
Out of thought 

Gina L. Osborn 55:31
mm-hmm, 

Rich Bennett 55:31
it would 

Gina L. Osborn 55:31
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 55:31
not have 

Gina L. Osborn 55:32
that. 

Rich Bennett 55:32
thought 

Gina L. Osborn 55:32
Yeah, and that it is inspiring. She goes to the gym and she walks in and eating carrot cake, right, when she goes to the gym, right? And I fend out about that. And then she does. There's a 60-year-old gentleman that she finds very, very attractive. 

Rich Bennett 55:48
Oh, God. 

Gina L. Osborn 55:49
Out with me, and now she's going at a different time, right, because he works. 

Oh, well. 

Rich Bennett 55:56
Oh, 

Gina L. Osborn 55:56
my mother. 

Rich Bennett 55:57
Hey, age is nothing but a 

Gina L. Osborn 55:58
number. That's a fact. 

Rich Bennett 56:00
That's all it is. Frank Sinatra always said the best, young at heart. 

Gina L. Osborn 56:03
Yes, first, sure. 

Rich Bennett 56:05
Okay. All right, so before I get to my last question, which I have no idea what it's going to be, 

Gina L. Osborn 56:09
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 56:10
is there anything you would like to add, like website and everything, and anything else. 

Gina L. Osborn 56:14
Yes, please find us making Maverick moves. We're on your favorite podcasts provider and we're also on YouTube and TikTok and My website is Gina L Osborne dot com and please link up with me on LinkedIn. I love to put out leadership articles and we'll put our shorts out there and so Yeah, so I'm always trying to to help people get to where they want to be so so join us 

Rich Bennett 56:38
All right, so my last question I've been doing something different and the weird thing is most of my guests the number they pick Somehow another the question aligns with what we've been talking about 

Gina L. Osborn 56:50
Okay, 

Rich Bennett 56:50
so I have a hundred different questions here. I'm not gonna ask you all of them. I'm gonna ask you one Okay So pick a number between one and 100 and tell me why you picked that number while I look for the question 

Gina L. Osborn 57:02
Number seven 

Rich Bennett 57:04
Lucky number 

Gina L. Osborn 57:05
seven. Oh. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 57:05
Yeah, to give me a hard one to find is seven 

Gina L. Osborn 57:08
What it's only seven down from the top 

Rich Bennett 57:10
It is you're lately. I've been starting from the bottom and scrolling up. Yeah, but oh, okay, this is actually a good question 

Gina L. Osborn 57:19
Okay, 

Rich Bennett 57:20
what's a small act of kindness you witnessed or experienced that profoundly impacted you? 

Gina L. Osborn 57:31
Oh my gosh 

Oh, man 

Small act of kindness, you know, I think Wow I look back on my career and there is a Westminster detective by the name of Tommy Rackliff and When I was a fresh out of the academy I got a case where ty girls were being brought into the United States and forced into prostitution And if you listen to my TED talk, you're gonna hear all about Tommy Rackliff I had no idea that the chief of police for the Westminster police department hated the FBI and said no FBI is allowed in my city let alone his department So in this case file where these ty girls were brought the United States and forced into prostitution I found an article where Tommy Rackliff had rescued two ty girls and little Cygons and the city of Westminster So apparently they didn't have phones back So I just got in my car and I drove to the Westminster police department knowing none of this showed my badgine credential saying I'm here to talk to Tommy Rackliff and it's like everyone's a little nervous You know, he gives me some information and shoes me out the door and I'm like man, this is guys the greatest I go over there the second time. I wound up in the chief's office because you know the chief did not want FBI agents anywhere. 

Rich Bennett 58:50
Right 

Gina L. Osborn 58:51
But I had learned that he had vouched for me and as a result of him vouching for me the chief Allowed me to work this one case with him which turned into five years on in the basement of the Westminster police department. We created a task force together and He's been like my best friend for you know the last 20 God I didn't want to know many many many many years So I that ran him at and he was a he was an old guy back then You know 

Rich Bennett 59:20
right 

Gina L. Osborn 59:21
probably Than me, but I was you know brand new and green and he thought he knew everything and I thought I knew everything and It was a perfect match, right, but but yeah, the fact that he just did that one thing really changed my entire career Because it allowed me to do something so significant for that five-year period. So yeah, 

Rich Bennett 59:39
wow 

Gina L. Osborn 59:39
that's 

Rich Bennett 59:40
I love that well Gina. I want to thank you so It's been a true honor, and thank you for your service not just in the army but law enforcement as well because I think that is something that People in law enforcement don't hear enough. 

Gina L. Osborn 59:54
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 59:54
yeah, we hear is being military. We hear it all the time But these people here the first responders and everything need to hear it all the time because they're going through the stuff every 

Gina L. Osborn 1:00:06
Lately, and if you see them out on the street, please thank them for 

Rich Bennett 1:00:11
service. 

Gina L. Osborn 1:00:11
their 

Rich Bennett 1:00:12
Oh, I do I always 

Gina L. Osborn 1:00:14
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 1:00:15
yeah, yeah. No, I love doing that It's if I see them I just walk up and you shake their hand and thank them But some of them look kind of shocked and you could tell the ones that were also in the military 

You know and the other thing I do it, and it's just to me when we were in the military you only salute officers To me if you served I'm always giving you a salute. I add to me. That's just a sign of 

Gina L. Osborn 1:00:41
it 

Rich Bennett 1:00:41
respect. 

Gina L. Osborn 1:00:42
Love 

Rich Bennett 1:00:43
Do 

Gina L. Osborn 1:00:43
it. Thank you for your service to rich, and thank you for having me on the show. Oh 

Rich Bennett 1:00:47
I have a funny feeling you're gonna be on some more. 

Gina L. Osborn 1:00:50
Hey, I'm there 

Rich Bennett 1:00:52
Sounds good to me. Take care Gina. 

Gina L. Osborn 1:00:54
Thanks. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:56
Thank you Thank you for listening to the conversations with Rich Bennett I hope you enjoyed today's episode and learn something from it as I did if you'd like to hear more conversations like this Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode And if you have a moment, I'd love it if you could leave a review. It helps us reach more listeners and share more incredible stories. Don't forget to connect with us on social media or visit our website at ConversationsWithRitchBendit.com for updates, giveaways and more. Until next time, take care, be kind, and keep the conversation going. You know, it takes a lot to put a podcast together. And my sponsors help add a lot, but I also have some supporters that actually help me when it comes to the editing software, the hosting, and so forth. There's a lot that goes into putting this together. So I want to thank them. And if you can, please, please visit their websites, visit their businesses, support them however you can. So please visit the following, Sincerely, Sincerely, sincerely soy your photography. Live in the moment, they'll capture it. Visit them at sincerely soyer.com. Full Full circle boards, nobody does charcuterie like full circle boards. Visit them at fullcircleboards.com.