"If it doesn't suck, then I must not be working hard enough..." - A Veteran Career Transition Story

Kevin is a hard-charger. Literally, if you saw him and heard the first 5 minutes of his story, that would be the description which came to your mind.

He's a US Army Ranger who served our country with distinction. We originally met on Veterati, which is the premier Veteran & MilSpouse mentoring platform. He was approaching his exit from the Army and had been planning his path into Medical Device Sales. Naturally, as a Seller myself, we hit it off right away and have had numerous mentoring sessions on Veterati since then.

Along the way he was able to land a great job with an exciting company in the Medical Device industry. About two months ago he moved to Boston, MA to join this company and he's been thriving in this new environment. He completed his initial Sales training from the company and has been doing the job in the field for a little while now. He's getting his sales legs under him. More than that, he's getting his civilian career legs under him.

As Veterans today we're fortunate to have an American citizenry which is very grateful for our service. Generations of Veterans before us were not so fortunate. Though they are eternally grateful, our civilian counterparts sometimes don't fully understand what a struggle it can be for some of our Brothers & Sisters to transition from the military into their civilian career. The process can sometimes take a year or more for them to finally land that next step gig. For those Service Members who don't begin planning their transition well ahead of time, they often find themselves facing some challenging realities about the job market and their prospects for gainful employment.

Thankfully for Kevin, he was prepared and had at least the beginnings of a plan for his transition out of the military. He knew where he wanted to end up and he set out intentionally on a path to get there. We recently talked again on Veterati and I was so thrilled to hear his positive update. He's really enjoying his new role and is very happy in Boston. He's also getting married very soon! So much happiness and goodness. As a mentor this is what it's all about, seeing the light bulb come on for folks as they figure out their plan, and then watching that plan come together and provide them the success and fulfillment we know they deserve.

Now that Kevin has landed the gig our focus during mentoring sessions has shifted from finding the job to thriving in his first Sales role. These are very fun conversations for mentors because this is usually where we see numerous “light bulbs” coming on in quick succession as they figure out some of the basic things about Sales which most of us already do naturally, but often overlook. It’s all about small wins at the beginning. He’s having early success and is enjoying what he’s doing. That's key, you should find a role doing something you love or find something you can love and enjoy about your role.

One of his questions this time was, “What do you do with your time when you’ve hit your prospecting targets, completed your research, and your boss is still happy with your production?” I took his question to mean,

“I’ve done everything they’ve tasked me with (and usually more), and I find I still have time on my hands.” 

So, we dug into this a little bit more. He explained to me his perspective on “work” and it immediately resonated with me, and ultimately inspired me to write this article. He said,

“After working so hard in the military and knowing what it means to push myself to my limits, when I’m happy in my new civilian life I sometimes find myself thinking, ‘If this doesn’t suck, then I must not be working hard enough!”

I was like,

“Wow!! Do I ever know THAT feeling?!?”

You see, before I ever worked for anyone else, I worked for my father in commercial construction here in Austin. He was a great man and he instilled a very strong work ethic in each of his 4 kids. We all learned the value of a dollar by the time we were 8 or 9 and were able to push a broom on the job site. Then, I joined the Marine Corps and they took that work ethic to the next level. So, by the time I hit my first civilian job I was ready to GRIND every day. Until recently (within the past few years) I still believed that was the only way to be successful. To GRIND it out EVERY SINGLE DAY and

“LEAVE IT ALL ON THE FIELD!”

Does this sound similiar to what you were taught in the military or on the athletic field? Don’t get me wrong, we all must GRIND for the things we want in life, that’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that in my view of things now, there is a time to GRIND and burn the midnight oil EVERY NIGHT and there is a time to shut it down at 5 and spend some extra time with your family. Speaking from first-hand experience, if you’re constantly GRINDING and not recharging, then you will burn out and hurt yourself and those you love the most.

Think about what Einstein would do when he was trying to solve a complex problem like…I don’t know…the Theory of Relativity! He’d go sit by the train tracks and count box cars or he’d go sit next to a busy road and count blue cars. By engaging in a “mindless” activity he allowed his brain to subconsciously continue to work on the problem. He took the time to step away from his work and allow his mind to rest. When he came back to that work later, he would usually have a fresh perspective on or new idea for the problem at hand.

So that’s what we discussed before I answered his question. Let’s address the mindset so that we can maximize the positive impact. I cautioned him to watch out for that. If we’re putting in what we define as our 100% and we’re crushing expectations and goals, then we don’t have to necessarily stay at that level all the time. Find time to add personal development or brand development into the mix. Find a balance in your life so that you’re not consumed by work, allowing you to continue to enjoy the work.

To answer your question, NO!  It doesn’t have to suck for you to know that you’re working hard. There will be times that it will suck, but it doesn’t have to be that way for you to be successful. It’s more about driving and enabling positive outcomes, not just the GRIND.

Thanks for the inspiration, Kevin and congratulations on your success, amigo. Talk to you next time on Veterati, Brother!

Thank you all for reading my ramblings!

Please like, share and comment below. I'd love to hear if you agree or disagree, or hear some of your funny stories about times you've felt this way. Hope you each have a great weekend.

Stay Frosty,

Todd

#Veterans #Mentor #Mentorship #CareerGuidance #CareerDevelopment #LinkedInTopVoices #MarineCorps #ArmyRanger #Army #Mentee