Today, Peter Veunnasack joins us for a three-part mini-series, starting with a look at his career in the military and the US Postal Service. More at www.bemovingforward.com.
Moving Forward is also available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
Introducing Peter and his last name
Peter Veunnasack makes a lasting first impression. By day, he works as a USPS mail carrier but during his off-hours, his passion is creating content around his love of 80s pop culture, film, and television. Peter hosts or co-hosts no less than three podcasts and has created a vibrant community for fans devoted to the Karate Kid films and its sequel series, Cobra Kai.
You may have seen Peter posting on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, showcasing his photos from the Cobra Kai sets or speaking with the creators and the talent both in front of and behind the camera.
It turns out, for someone who loves story Peter has an interesting one of his own. And it starts with his last name.
Veunnasack [pronounced: “Vo-no-sack”]
Before we started recording, I got a tutorial on how to pronounce his last name from the man himself, which comes with an interesting backstory. Peter’s last name is part of a proud, long family lineage that traces its roots to Laos. As he shares on this week’s episode, over the years, cousins and relatives have added and subtracted consonants, evolving the name and its pronunciation. It’s a name that has a rich history and no matter the variations in spelling or pronunciation, it’s a strong tie that binds his family together.
Fathers and sons
As briefly covered in this week’s episode and as we’ll talk about in the coming weeks, Peter is a lifelong fan of the Karate Kid films and its highly popular sequel series, Cobra Kai. It’s been said that at its heart, the Karate Kid trilogy is a saga about fathers and sons.
As you learn about Peter’s own life story, it’s easy to understand why this particular theme resonates so strongly with him. Peter’s father and grandfathers had a profound impact on his early life and career decisions.
Career journey
Influenced by his family lineage and history, Peter enlisted in the US Army shortly after high school. During his enlistment, he was stationed throughout the US, carrying on the proud family tradition of his father and both of his grandfather; all who had distinguished military careers in Laos. Peter also served a tour in Afghanistan following September 11th.
Later, Peter went from “serving his country” to “serving his community,” taking a career as a mail carrier with the USPS. He followed the advice of his father-in-law, also a career USPS employee. As he shares on this week’s episode, his training and commitment make up his career compass.
Biggest challenge
Currently, Peter’s biggest challenge is balancing his commitment to his day job and family and as we’ll talk about next week, his passions outside of work. Being a postal worker means Peter is on the front lines of his community; facing the daily risks of the current pandemic. Peter describes his daily workload as “Christmas season” every day. Package delivery in particular has become more cumbersome with people sending and ordering more than usual in these times. Moreover, Peter has to take extra precautions when it comes to spending time with his family because of the risks he faces. This means social distancing and a careful balancing act. Despite this, Peter takes it all in stride as part of his service work ethic.
Moving past that challenge
Peter’s mantra is very much the title of this podcast and a descriptive philosophy of his own life and career. Take small steps each and every day. For more on this, check out this week’s episode.
Join us next week
As we discuss Peter’s content creation journey with podcasts and Cobra Kai Kompanion.
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Peter’s podcasts
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