In my teens, I had just one burning desire.
One thing I craved more than anything: ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ.
Why?
The military excellence, the adventurous life, and above allโthe Brotherhood for Life.
It wasn’t just appealing to me, it became ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐ฏ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
I read every book about special forces, tactics, and their missions. I worked out relentlessly.
It was my everything.
So, you can imagine how ecstatic I was when I got accepted in 1997.
Yes! Not only would I become a Marine, but after completing a year-long course, Iโd be an ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐.
But then, from day one, everything started to go wrong.
Remember ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฃ๐๐น๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐๐น๐น ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐? That was me. Clueless. Lost.
The dream I had been chasing was turning into a nightmare.
I could barely keep up.
Somehow, I managed to last 17 weeks, but then came the Corporalโs exam.
I failed at map reading. But honestly? It couldโve been anything at that point.
๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ต๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ. ๐ ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ.
And with that, I had absolutely no idea what to do with my life.
I felt completely lost.
But hereโs what I learned from that failure:
(Want to know what more I learned? Check out the bottom of the post)
๐ญ. ๐๐๐ธ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ.
I was clearly falling behind, but instead of reaching out, I let stubbornness, or maybe just cluelessness stop me from asking for help.
Big mistake.
But hereโs the truth I keep learning (also as an entrepreneur): you donโt have to go it alone. People want to help you, and sometimes, theyโre the key to breaking through obstacles you canโt get past on your own.
You just have to swallow your pride, be willing to accept help, and simply ask.
๐ฎ. ๐ก๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ค๐๐ถ๐.
Quitting my dream? Never an option. By pushing through, even when it felt like I was failing, I gained valuable lessons and grew stronger from the experience.
๐ฏ. ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐.
This is where I turn to one of my favorite quotes from Napoleon Hill:
“๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐บ, ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ช๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ง๐ช๐ต.”
Failing to become a Marine Officer felt like the end of my world at the time, but…
A few years later, I became a Special Forces Officerโsomething even greater (and more in line with my true self) than I had imagined.
Itโs hard to see it in the moment, but remember, failure isnโt the end.
๐๐โ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ฝ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ด๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ.
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