SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T RAIN. 10 things I've learned transitioning from the military and the C-suite to Farming

For those of you who don't already know I'm a veteran, and as any veteran knows, transitioning into civilian life is something we all dread to a certain extent. I moved on from the military after spending a decade as a Navy SEAL and the thing I thought was the most interesting about my transition was that it wasn't difficult at all. I recall my Command Master Chief asking me if I was "worried about getting out..." because "I sure as shit am." I told him I was even though I really wasn't. I did the work on the front end and I had already started my new job 2 months before my End Of Service, or EOS.

This leads me to my first tip.

Make your own opportunities: I transitioned with ease because I enrolled in school, an entrepreneurship program and I contacted successful businessmen I knew 10 months before my EOS. Apply this to any goal you have. Don't table your goals because you're "too busy" successful people make time for opportunity. Wake up earlier, scroll on your phone less.

I called businessmen I knew and started pitching ideas. This not only opened some doors but it helped me understand how little I knew about starting a business and how little I knew about the civilian world. Most importantly it landed me my first job outside of the military and I was incredibly excited. I landed a position as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of a multi-gym franchise and it was truly exhilarating. Civilian Leadership taught me a lot about expectation management and reminded me of how I acted prior to my military experience.

Be Empathetic: If you're transitioning from the military, college, or to a new role you need to be empathetic. No matter what position you're beginning to fill, your day-to-day is going to be different and the people around you will be too. Take the time to forge relationships and understand the team around you no matter if you're an executive or the new janitor, if you don't listen and watch you won't be around for long.

After 6 months of working to understand payroll for 70 people, commercial real estate acquisitions, the Microsoft/Google suites, and the hiring process I came to learn the same lessons I learned in the military and a lesson re-learned is a lesson learned all the same.

Your people are your greatest assets. Understanding you role is important but learning about your team is far more important. If you have synergy within your team then your company will operate effectively and your team will be more invested in the future of the company and it's development.

After a two-year stint learning about the civilian world through the eyes of a COO, even after winning an award at our first convention and learning to truly care for my team, I still couldn't shake the feeling of being unhappy doing what I was doing. I love the outdoors, hunting, surfing, snowboarding, fly fishing, mountain biking, climbing, skydiving, base jumping spearfishing... you name it, and the job I had wasn't letting me do those things... So I left.

Do what you love and Love what you do: If your career doesn't make you happy but you think the grind will be worth it. STOP. Take a week to think and soul search. Do activities that help you clear your head, whatever they may be, so long as they're legal... and reclaim the self you admire. Money will come if you're doing what you love and you're loving what you do.

Leaving corporate America led me to make a wild transition. My best friend from BUD/S left the military at the same time I did and went on to become the fourth-generation farmer he was born to be. After a few difficult seasons farming and unexpected loss, he needed a hand and I knew that hand should be me. So I packed my Fiancé our two beagles and all of our shit into a 22' Bullet Crossfire travel trailer and set off for a 4-month trip to tie up loose ends and satisfy obligations. This took us from Chattanooga Tennessee in February to Colorado, Arizona then to Virginia Beach On to South Carolina then Tampa, Key West, Knoxville, Nashville, and finally to South West Colorado again to unpack and get ready to farm. Traveling in the overstuffed miniature, taught me that we really don't need much.

Travel Light: This isn't just advice for what you own but how you hold onto things emotionally. Travel light with your emotions and let change happen. Things can get rough sometimes and life can certainly become overwhelming, but don't let those changes overcome you. Be flexible.

After we got unpacked and parked on stable ground we began rapidly extricating our travel trailer of things that had been burdening us for four months. Meanwhile, we were buying everything we had been missing in town. Three days later I started my apprenticeship as a farmer. Starting with weed control. Farming is 80% weed control 10% planting and 10% harvesting. While it sounds simple in my 10'x10' garden in Virginia, the task can be overwhelming when you're responsible for over five thousand acres. This is where I discovered that 16-hour days seven days a week can be achieved in the civilian sector too, and reminded me of an old SEAL adage, "Why run when you can walk, why walk when you can sit, why sit when you could lay".

Easy isn't lazy: Working on the farm can be exhausting. EVERYTHING is sharp and hard as hell, nothing is soft except the ground when you need to walk a mile through it. When you find you have time to rest, DO IT. When it's time to work, do it without reservation. If you can find a way to make your task easier, TRY.

John and I wake up every morning at 0445 in order to get into the gym by five and finish the plan of the day, breakfast, and exercise by 06. Why do we get up early to work out when we are dog-tired? The same reason I brush my teeth in the morning. My body, your body is a machine, it needs attention and fuel, if you don't maintain it, it will fail you.

Exercise and eat right: No matter what you do for a living your success will improve with your physical well-being. This is a fact of life your physical and mental health are deeply intertwined. I didn't learn this while farming but I was rudely reminded when I hadn't been exercising enough and had the bulging disc in my neck flare up, resulting in my loss of proper function in my neck and right arm. Even when you're tired you can wake up and get more done, which will in turn make you tired at night and help you sleep. There is never an excuse to fail your body for your work.

Farming generally takes place over the summer season and is more like a deployment than a regular job. I mistakenly approached farming like a normal job without regard for pay. Farmers get paid when they sell crops and only then. I was used to making COO pay twice a month, I told myself I had the backing and was prepared, but I was not financially intelligent enough to withstand 4-5 months of no pay. This was the first time as an adult I experienced having a negative account balance. Add up my poorly planned finances, 12-16 hr work days/7 days a week plus a misguided attempt to finish my degree over the summer and you've got a recipe for disaster. I lost my emotional balance and yelled at the person I care for most, twice, which is not something I'm proud of.

Plan your finances: Not having a budget ready to go when getting out of the military was an absolutely atrocious idea. If you don't currently have a budget, make one. It could save you from bankruptcy or worse, making an ass of yourself to the most important people around you. I finally made a budget and got my shit together and it took me a few hours with Excel. There are plenty of online resources to get you across the finish line easily so just do it and don't procrastinate.

While I ride in the tractor I listen to audiobooks all day. I've gotten through 9 books this summer and I've enjoyed having time to listen. I listened to audible books when I first started driving the tractor and my lack of focus led to hours of extra work and issues on the tractor because I couldn't hear what the tractor was trying to tell me. The tractor is the backbone of the farm and is without question the most important and most expensive item in a farmer's arsenal.

Listen to the tractor: I spent too much time trying to learn the tractor and trying to listen to my books. I split my attention and broke parts on our cultivator and wasted time and diesel. Don't let distractions dictate your work ethic the time and effort they will cost you may seem trivial but in the end, if you had chosen to focus with 100% of your ability you may face a promotion instead of a reprimand. Corporate jobs can become about how long you're working and not what you accomplish, that even becomes a factor in the SEAL teams, don't let that mentality seep into your business. protect yourself from distractions and "listen to the tractor".

We are rapidly approaching the end of the season and we still have hundreds of hours to log on the tractor before we finish. Our dates are constantly rolling back because of breakdowns and delivery times. Our beans haven't gotten a good rain yet (we harvest in 2 weeks, it's now or never) and our wheat came in without ever seeing a downpour.

Sometimes it doesn't rain: In the military and in corporate life if things go awry there is always someone or something to blame. If the thing to blame isn't easy, oftentimes I witnessed a witch hunt to find out who or what is to blame. My experience has led me to find that failure is always a team effort, but not here. I have only now learned that winning isn't always someone's or something's fault. Sometimes it just doesn't rain. We grow crops in high and dry countries, the rain makes the crop delicious and far more lucrative to sow, however, when it doesn't rain your crop can dry out or even burn. This doesn't mean you're allowed to give up. It means you need to find out what real tenacity is and learn to roll with the punches. Giving up and squabbling over the past makes a poor teammate and leader. Perseverance in the face of insurmountable odds creates bravery. You won't always win this year, but if you do everything with a sense of purpose, with an open mind for criticism, and meet adversity with tenacity you will be successful in whatever you do.

Farming has been trying, but we have not once stopped to feel bad for ourselves. We plan for the future, and we laugh off the pain of failure.