Sometimes, you just need a jump start.

This is a professional network, and I've made the mistake of sharing too much with people not really looking out for me before, but I also feel it's so crucial to teach lessons and to tell stories. I would hate so much more to go through pain in life if there was no opportunity to be hope to someone else going through the same struggles, or to help them avoid the heartache to begin with. Life has been... hard, as of late. I know I'm not the only one in that boat, but I would like to share what helps me get out of that funk.

For me, tonight was one of those nights and gratitude and relationship were the ingredients. I applied for a scholarship at I/ITSEC for my doctoral studies. Sometimes, I'm maybe not the last, but I'm definitely not the first to believe in myself. To my surprise, I won that scholarship, and I am here tonight. What it awakened in me was gratitude. I got to see that other people believed in me and to hear it.

When it really became special was when I entered the awards reception. At that moment, I got to hear numerous Colonels, Brigadier Generals, and key leaders from every service branch. The one point they all brought home was that each scholarship winner was a recognized leader in defense. We scholarship recipients play a crucial role in bringing our expertise and coming alongside our nation's greatest to help them complete their missions and come back safe.

Was it an ego boost? Absolutely. I don't know... blame it on me being the youngest child, but tonight I just needed that affirmation. The key though, is that it drove me to be thankful and to look outward. It awakened a new fervor that I don't know what it will bring, but I know I'm excited. That affirmation drove me to realize all the wonderful people who've helped me get here... Some I've known for many years, and even strangers who I met tonight.

The key lesson is this. If you're in a rut, think of what you can be thankful for, think of who and how they played a role, and start to think if there are ways you can be that difference in the next person's life.

So tonight... I'm thankful to God. I'm thankful for the scholarship committee and for NTSA and NDIA. I'm thankful for Leonard P. Gollobin and his family, who so graciously bequeath this generous award to worthy recipients even years after his passing. I'm thankful to my praxis advisor who wrote a stellar recommendation letter. I'm thankful to my wife and kids who are my enduring "why" behind what I do. I'm thankful for every wonderful professional I've encountered in my career, and I'm thankful for the ones who might've been pains in my butt, but gave me an opportunity to persevere and become stronger.

If it's hooking up the cables for that spark, or if it's rolling the car down the hill and popping the clutch like I did with my first super beetle... All you need is that jump start.

#IITSEC