“Don’t become a man of success, become a man of value.” -Albert Einstein
As Ambitious VETS we thrive off of “FEELING SUCCESSFUL” that’s why we hang on to the TITLE of sergeant, corporal, or whatever rank you achieved while serving as long as we can. The feeling of earning that rank, the respect that came with the extra weight on the collar, & the status and privileges that come with a TITLE while serving has us seeking the “FEELING” of being an authority out of the uniform!
The question is; Why do we feel like we go from SUPERMAN to CLARK KENT?
Here our my three #GOLDENGRENADES for increasing your VALUE out of the uniform while mastering the process of becoming “someone” out of the uniform!
- Knowing your WHY: A lot of us take the leap at 18 or in my case 19 (I tried my luck playing a year of college baseball before joining the United States Marine Corps), with this idea of “becoming someone of VALUE.” When you took the LEAP you had a DEEP integrated WHY or you wouldn’t of lasted through the basic training phase & sacrificed all of what you did. For me it was to FINALLY having my family be proud of me, as up until I joined, I was a defeated, depressed, & angry kid who didn’t know how to get the attention I was eagerly desiring from people around me. Knowing your WHY when getting out of the uniform will trigger what Cognitive Psychologist call intrinsic motivation, which means being driven off an end result based off internal feelings not external reward. I explain further how to discover your WHY in my book 10 Steps to Predicted Success out of the Uniform set to be available May 7th.
- Have a BIG COMMITMENT: I recently interviewed Sebastian Hernandez, transformative coach and international motivational speaker on my Ambitious VET LIVE show and in that interview we uncovered a DEEP TRUTH of being willing to die for something is KEY to staying consistent and strong throughout the process of failure, breakdowns, & adversity. While serving we were willing to die for our country and thats what our daily training was preparing us for is being calm, strategic, & selfless in the heat of combat. Question to ask yourself is; What are you willing to DIE for out of the uniform? As Sylvester Stalone says in the latest Rambo; “You can live for NOTHING, or die for SOMETHING.’
- Gaining SELF-AWARENESS: This includes understanding what drives you on a daily basis and WHY. Gandhi- has a great quote that says, “Loose yourself in the service of others and you will find yourself.” Plato, a Greek Philosopher and student to Socrates was quoted in saying, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” Why do you think it’s important to “FIND YOURSELF?” You see, as warriors who served and sacrificed in the uniform and created some badass soft skills and hard skills that would allow anyone to get out and create some amazing results quickly. But why don’t 80% of ambitious transitioning veterans seek their potential out of the uniform? It’s simply because you don’t seek a DEEPER understanding of yourself. Most veterans are getting out and just trying to get stable as quickly as possible and then lean on the GLORY DAYS of service while they reap the government benefits given to them.
For those of you who do have the hunger for more out of the uniform and have realized that the frequency that we as veterans operate on is 10 times more effective than civilians. Here is a simple answer to building your value: YOUR BEHAVIORS WERE SHAPED AROUND YOUR INDIVIDUAL ORGANIZATIONS CORE VALUES, ETHICS, & REGULATIONS, WHY NOT SEEK TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR INDIVIDUAL VALUES, ETHICS, STRENGTHS, AND PASSIONS ARE?
For ongoing details get involved inside our EXCLUSIVE Ambitious VET Network Facebook Group where we have 450+ Ambitious VETS together getting everything they need to thrive out of the uniform!
By: Chris Hoffmann, Founder of the Ambitious VET Network