3 things the Air Force Taught Me after 14 years.
So here’s a story for you…
In 2010 I was in New York.
I worked as a salesman by day and a student at night.
After two years of doing this day in and day out, I grew tired of the routine.
A buddy of mine wanted to join the army and in an effort to convince him otherwise, I joined myself. 😂
Then…
I spent the next 14 years serving our country.
All my artistic background, graphic design experience, my sales background, and my business, became dormant.
One day I realized it was time to leave.
Not because I was done serving my country, but because I was ready to serve the people of my country in a different way.
I started a consulting business to help leaders become unstuck and improve how they communicate and collaborate.
So I’m now 60 days away from saying goodbye to the Air Force, and here are three things I learned while in service to my country.
1. People serve for completely different reasons.
It’s easy to assume all service members join with a love and desire to serve our nation. This isn’t the case. Many service members join to leave a crappy situation. Poor neighborhoods, bad parents, no money, etc.
2. The world is smaller than we think.
My first base was Misawa AB, Japan. I was born in a small town in the Dominican Republic and grew up in America, and the world still looked like a big place. Once you leave your home town you find the world isn’t big, it’s just the right size if you put yourself in positions to meet new people and travel!
The military fulfills a purpose in you, not the other way around.
If you join the military you become a pawn on a chessboard. Sure there’s a bit of patriotism at play, and benefits and the joy of being a hero and admired. But truthfully, we’re all pawns on a chessboard.
If you look at it from the perspective that you are fulfilling a purpose then you might lose that purpose once you leave. Instead, remember that the military has a purpose, and it’s supposed to fulfill it in YOU, not the other way around.
At the end of the day, it’s only another chapter of a larger story within a large book. It shouldn’t define you but it will build you up into something amazing.