Syracuse University’s D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) held our sixth annual Veteran EDGE conference in Dallas, Texas late March (20-22). There were a record 470 attendees present for three days packed with programming, networking, and opportunities curated to help participants grow and scale their businesses.
One of the creative keynotes was Amy Jo Martin’s on her Renegade Thinking philosophy. At Veteran EDGE, she shared the origins behind the brand of “positive disruption” she created in reaction to her time with the NBA helping Shaquille O’Neal learn how to tweet. That formative experience led to a successful career that’s given her the opportunity to work with world-renowned brands such as Hilton Worldwide, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Nike, Dell and more.
She provided EDGE participants with her thoughts on time management, and her “Five Renegade Rules” to immediately turn their ideas into action. And to find ways to increase their bandwidth and balance their personal life with their business goals.
Who is Amy Jo Martin?
Amy Jo Martin is the author of New York Times best-seller “Renegades Write the Rules”, host of the Why Not Now? Podcast. She has built two 7-figure companies over the past decade, and the current founder and CEO of Renegade Global, a human innovation company that unlocks positive disruption for both individuals and corporations.
Amy Jo hails from Green River, Wyoming, and after earning her marketing degree from Arizona State University, landed a job with the Phoenix Suns NBA basketball team’s digital marketing agency. It was during her four years with the Suns that she met All-Star Shaquille O’Neal, who was with the team from 2007-2008.
Working With Shaq
Back then, Twitter only had around 8 million active users (a far cry from its all-time high of 550 million in 2023). Nonetheless, Twitter was gaining popularity, well on its way toward carving out its place among social media platforms, and Shaquille O’Neal wanted to start tweeting to his fans.
The problem was, no one really knew how. And it’s not just that technically they didn’t know how it worked, the organization didn’t have a set of standards or rules governing usage. No one knew what was effective. Most had no clue about the opportunities and reach social media could provide. But Amy Jo Martin was the go-to social media person in that Phoenix front office, and she got tapped to give Shaq some one-on-one training.
Together, they experimented with a variety of twitter-driven publicity stunts and helped Shaq build his brand and find his voice on social media. In the process, they garnered a lot of media attention that not only built Shaq’s brand, but created a playbook that other celebrities with sizable followings could replicate.
The Renegade Rules
First, ask yourself what’s the worst that can happen? If the answer is nothing catastrophic, give it a shot. Do it today. Don’t let a litany of excuses hold you back from even starting.
Second, don’t give yourself an out. Remove ways for you to back out of doing something you want to do. Leave yourself with no choice but to do it. You might do this by announcing your intention and create public deadlines or release dates to create some pressure to finish, or removing other choices or half measure options that you can use as escape routes. If the only way out is through, you’ll get it done.
Third, leverage adversity until it’s an asset. By this, she means that while you’re in a position facing great adversity, it gives you this great ability to focus on what really matters, and prioritize what has to happen today instead of trying to game out too far into the future or dwell on mistakes or missteps of the past. When Amy Jo’s son was born prematurely, she was able to double her company’s revenue while her own output reduced 70%, and she attributes it to her clarity about what had to get done and what could be ignored, delegated, or pushed back.
Fourth, be aware of your mental, physical, and emotional state. She makes it clear how important it is to be aware of your self-talk and body reactions to your various ideas and work and all of it. Work on living in the present moment, and realize that if you don’t get the right amount of sleep, it’s going to degrade your other abilities, chief among them being able to learn new things.
Fifth, have an operating system and belief systems that are in sync. That means you need to be firm about structuring your day in a way that is aligned with that belief system or mission and actually moves you toward accomplishing it. If the way your day is structured, all your time and energy is spent just maintaining your current position, you’ll never get to where you want to be.
Don't Miss Out On Veteran Edge 2025
If you missed out on Amy Jo Martin at Veteran EDGE this year, you have an opportunity right now to make sure you don’t miss out on next year’s speakers. Fill out our interest form today to receive all the latest updates about next year’s conference. You’ll get early access to information on registration openings, keynote speakers, and engaging workshops. Stay in the loop and be the first to know when Veteran EDGE 2025 registration opens later this year!
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