Founder of "One of the Few" | High Performance Mentor | Crypto Enthusiast | Speaker | Adventurer | Positive Game Changer 🌟I help leaders and companies build for respect and results. 🌟 DM me today! 🏆
There’s chatter going on in veterans groups talking about how veterans treat each other. 💔 It’s hitting home because of Memorial Day. There was a 9yr stretch where I got away from my USMC side. It happened for a few reasons, not intentional. 1️⃣ I was creating a new life in CO after the military & divorce. 2️⃣The only Marine I was around was my BFF 3️⃣ I felt like I was bragging when I spoke about it to others 4️⃣ 1998, we witnessed a guy die horrifically on I25. It f*cked with me mentally because it made me question my strength as a Marine. After, I lost a little bit of my cockiness. It never returned. 2006, I ran the USMC marathon and my heart sang! It woke a sleeping giant. 2008, I did my first veteran charity event and sparked another 🔥 within me. I recognized my gift to other veterans was the fact that I wasn’t in war and I had used my time after the service to focus on personal dev. I no longer carried shame for not being in combat, but could use my clean slate to give them a safe place to share w/out judgement, sage advice, and a friend for life. 2013, I started my biz. Building a personal brand has its mind games. Sharing that USMC side of me publicly was a different level. I didn’t want to be the quarterback talking about the good ole days and I had plenty of combat veteran friends returning from the MidEast. I began to recognize my training had been the driving force behind so many great moments and I had an appreciation for my USMC days in a way I hadn’t before. 2018, I pulled it into my biz. 2020, One Of The Few was born. You have to leverage ALL you are because it’s gotten you to this point. It’s the life experiences that shaped the way you think. And it’s in those lessons, you can find your purpose. You have an opportunity to make an impact. Don’t do it because of what anyone else will think. Do it because of who you are. At your core. Leadership starts with you. How you lead yourself through your actions, your words, and how you let your character shine. When a veteran shows poor character, it stings us all. Rise above the noise and lead by example. Let others do what they do. Whether they’re ready or not, they need a light to show them what’s possible. Maybe they’ll never be ready, but that’s not up to you. There are many people that DO need you and are waiting for you to lead. When you impact ONE, you’ve made the world better. Veterans…you’re one of the greatest underutilized assets out there. You may have an “I’ve done my time” attitude and you really do not owe anymore. If you’ve gone through some 💩 and need some rest, do so. But I encourage you to play bigger for yourself. You’re wired differently and you never know what is going to spark the best parts of you. That spark may be just the thing to heal the darkest parts of you. #iseeyou. And together, we’ll lift other veterans. Show them Semper Fidelis means something! Do it for the ONE. 👊😎 https://lnkd.in/g2hCzTbA
