Welcome to the blog. I retired from the Army four years ago. The transition has been an experience unlike anything I really expected. One of the first things I learned was that nothing really prepares you for transition. Certainly the Department of Defense has come a long way in their offering of transition assistance programs, but they really are designed for the immediate needs of resumes, job hunts, and benefits briefings. All of this is good – even very good. However, there is a shortfall.
Over the past four years, I put a lot of work and research into transition after watching many friends and co-workers enter a major career change. Although I started looking at the problem from the perspective of someone leaving the military, I learned very quickly that many of the lessons apply across a much broader spectrum of people. This includes athletes, first-responders, and generally anyone who dedicated their entire being to one career, only to have that career option be taken away, regardless of the reason.
My intent behind this blog is to address a multitude of issues, provide lessons I learned, and generally try to make transition easier for people. I quickly learned that “What I do is not who I am.” That whole subject is another post altogether and it will be coming soon. I want to give hope to those who are having trouble navigating the transition waters. I want to continue a life of service, but in a different way than I did in my first career.
In addition to the blog, I am writing a book, soon to be published. My goal is to have it available in eBook form in time for Christmas! It will cover a lot of information not covered in formal transition programs provided by the military. For those who subscribe to the blog, I will be offering special pricing. Before actually going as far as publishing, I had the book reviewed by a couple of trusted advisers including a retired Command Sergeant Major in the Army, a veterans vocational assistance specialist, and my personal financial planner who also had a distinguished career of almost thirty years. They told me I was right on track and wished this information had been available to them. As I said earlier, the information in my book really addresses the getting ready to transition, not the how to get a job or write a resume. The other significant difference is that the things I cover really need to be considered and planned for well before you are in the last year of your military career. Let me give you something to think about. Are you ready to leave the military tomorrow? Next week? Next month? You very well may be surprised and find out due to a drawdown, injury, family situation, or any of several other reasons that your plans may have to change unexpectedly. Will you be ready? “Do you know what you want to do when you grow up?” This was my personal joke when people asked me about retirement. I did not have an answer. I made some assumptions, and pretty bad ones it turned out. Don’t make that mistake.
I heard a story today about waiting to start something. It was quite a kick in the pants as I have been procrastinating myself on this blog, the book, and the training program I am working on for transition. The long and short of the story is this. If you want a 100 foot tall oak tree in your front yard, the best time to start would have been 50 years or so ago. Obviously you can’t go back in time and get a do-over. The next best time to get the 100 foot oak tree is to start today. That is what I am doing and I hope that you will follow my blog and start your oak tree today as well.
In a little self-deprecating disclosure, the whole blog thing and web design is new to me, so bear with me some. You will likely see a lot of changes to the site over the first few weeks. But please, tell me what you think. Again, my goal is to be of service.
And in closing, on this Veteran’s Day of 2015, let me take a moment to thank all of those who served as well as their families! Truly, you are what makes this country great!
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.