This Isn't What I Signed Up For...

First of all, thank you. For saying 'yes' to yet another newsletter. And another LinkedIn newsletter, at that. Even if you don't subscribe...even if you don't make it through this entire first edition...I'm still grateful you clicked through once.

That said, I hope you find some value in what I've got to share with you. I've wanted to migrate my existing newsletter to LinkedIn for some time in fact, but I only received 'permission' for both live video and newsletters this week...apparently part of a larger platform upgrade that allows anyone with "creator mode" active to do both. So here I am, finally clicking "publish" for a host of reasons. So enough with the prelude, let's get to it.

A Lot Can Happen in a Year

For most of you, 2020 proved how much can happen in so short a period of time. As the "novel coronavirus" tore through country after country, we hadn't a clue what it was, what it did to people, or how it leaked in the first place. We've learned a lot since we all lost our minds last March yet we still find ourselves two years on and still worried about follow-on variants of the virus and waiting anxiously for the FDA's word on vaccinating our youngest kids. No one signed up for this crisis yet we're all faced with it. As a natural-born risk-taker, I decided a global pandemic was the perfect time to change careers and upend my personal and professional life.* Leaving the military in 2021 was the plan, COVID or not. But to leave an institution that excels at assimilation--but not reintegration--and realize you don't know who you are or why you're here (as in, alive on Earth), and to do it while millions of people (and companies) are facing similar questions, is recipe for disaster.

*Sarcasm is a conversational and narrative tool I employ with great enthusiasm. Just so you know.

Leaving the military when I did was the right decision, no matter how tough transition was (and still is). I joined out of a genuine sense of obligation to this country. I was born to two immigrants, one of whom fled Fidel Castro's takeover of Cuba as a young child. My parents believed in the promise of the United States, even considering its flaws and shortcomings, and I knew I'd never have existed were it not for the unique opportunities offered to both of them. I landed in the Air Force after fighting the military's arcane medical system and shrinking personnel budget and nabbed a Minuteman III ICBM operations slot in 2008.

By my tenth year on active duty, as a field grade selectee and subject to loads of unsolicited career advice, I realized I'd fallen victim to the self-protective careerism endemic in the military (at least the Air Force officer corps). Combining that with institutional allergies to problem-solving, effective training, and proper leadership, I felt the military's promise slip away. I'd 'checked boxes' with the best of 'em only to see my dream taken away by the reality of the system. My last day was April 28th, 2021. On May 1st, I was a civilian and expected to "adult" like everyone else. Turns out, on this side where the grass is still often lush and greener, we have the same, serious weed problem. And a few dead spots that threaten to take over the yard.

What This Newsletter Is. And Isn't.

I'm a financial advisor by day, just like my profile suggests. But scroll a bit further and you'll notice additional entries that altogether provide for a rather eclectic professional palette. Until recently, I was quick to apologize to anyone who looked at my CV, LinkedIn profile, or a bio of any length. I was sorry for my own professional background and education not because I wasn't proud of it or was somehow ashamed, but because it didn't fit the standard I'd been taught to meet--specialization, expertise, an ever-narrowing focus. This is what we teach our kids, to specialize deeper and deeper, yet some of the most interesting and successful people on this planet did just the opposite. Some of Earth's most admired eschewed the standard advice, yet we continue giving it...I guess so we can 'prove' how incapable the rest of us are? Well I've had it.

I've had it with "what we've always done" because "what we've always done" is DONE. It's not working and a lot of people know it. You probably do too, you just may not be in a position to say anything. So for now, let me start the conversation and you can join where you feel most comfortable...but let me challenge you too, and you should join in and challenge me back as often as possible. Because that's the only way we get better as individuals, which is the only way we get better collectively.

This newsletter IS a weekly look at the systems, institutions, and organizations we've built and are working to build. You may not see a through-line or theme in my CV but I do. It took a long time for me to find, but once I found it...something clicked. Since my freshman year at Ohio State, I've been a member of several institutions. In every case, the institution enjoyed broad prestige and loomed over it's wide sphere of influence. On the outside, these institutions shined. They published their core values and vision and priorities...convincing a public audience its collective 'head' was screwed on tight. But in truth, there's something broken at the core of each one. And unfortunately, there's something broken at the core of many of our systems, institutions, and organizations. I talk a lot about leadership, on this platform and elsewhere, but these core issues go beyond that. They go beyond human interaction and the interpersonal skills we all must cultivate to succeed in this world. I don't know what to call it; I hope you'll help me along the way so we can work not just identifying the problem but the solution. Together.

Now, for a few obligatory reminders and disclaimers under "what this newsletter is NOT."

This newsletter is NOT the 'single' or 'best' answer to any particular question. While I believe I may be on track to answering parts of different questions, I do not think my role is to find answers. My role is to drive us toward better questions, because I think it's the questions we've yet to ask that hold us back. I think it's the questions we know to ask but won't and the questions we haven't thought of but must.

It pays to remember that, "If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together." I'm not here to solve world hunger but simply to suggest that we can (and should) try.

This newsletter also does NOT constitute any form of investment advice, market analysis or research, or any other representation of guidance on how to manage your personal finances. If you're looking for help in that arena--I'm one DM away or reachable here. If you'd rather not talk with me, then please consult an advisor or other financial professional of your choosing before making any decisions about your investments or financial situation.

How Else Can We Engage?

Good question! Now that the 'legalese' is out of the way (I know, I know...I'm also obliged to tell you I am NOT, in fact, an attorney; I do not make any representation herein or in future publications that I am an attorney, trained as an attorney, or in any way could play one on TV. I am a terrible actor, from what every one of my friends and family members have told me. Charades is always a debacle.)

Okay...okay...right, so. How else can you get into the conversation? Well, first step is to...start a conversation! If you find any value in this newsletter, or in any of my content for that matter, leave a comment and let me (and everyone else in your network) know! I honestly love the feedback and also love to know what everyone's thinking, whether we're on the same wavelength or not.

My podcast, The Last Question, is returning for its second season in January 2022. I'm working on the guest list and changing up the format from what Season 1 was in '21. If you caught any of the past episodes, thank you...and stay tuned! If you never finished listening, you only have a couple months left before your feed starts filling up again!!! But seriously, give it a listen and let me know how it went. As far as the rest of social media, I'm active on Facebook and Instagram, so you can hit me up there. My website presents me in a somewhat consolidated form, and includes links to other writing, the podcast main page, and information on the leadership training and coaching programs I've built and continue to run.

Which brings me to the last big-ticket item for this week...the training platform I'm building over the course of the next 3-4 weeks. I have built and "launched" two different coaching programs since April 2021, both of which lacked something I couldn't put my finger on until a few days ago. A worthy platform experience. I was missing an interface to tie everything together and provide for clients, students, and the otherwise interested, a place to come and engage and participate without feeling like they were walking into a hastily organized flea market on the side of a major highway. Yes, it really felt like that. We sold watermelon by the front entrance under a tattered canopy. If you want to know more, DM me on LinkedIn or email me. But I'll let a bit more out of the bag as I continue work on it.

TTFN

I hope that was as much fun for you as it was for me. :-) If not, try me next week...?

I love to write and dig into new ideas and you should totally come along for the ride. I can't promise I'll ever be 'right,' but I will promise that if we don't try, we'll all be wrong.

-- Arun