I was a Junior in High School when I enlisted in the Air Force.
My Recruiter gave me this advice before Boot Camp, and I thought it was great advice at the time:
“Whatever happens, don’t volunteer for anything!”
As a 17-year-old, this sounded like good advice.
I followed this advice, BUT it still backfired on me, which turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened!
It was our first day of Boot Camp; the Drill Instructors had us line up in formation – 80 men standing at attention.
The lead Instructor was screaming profanities at everyone and seemed to be having fun scaring the stuffing out of a bunch of 18-year-olds.
This was when the advice my recruiter gave me came into play.
They asked for a volunteer, but most of the words they used I cannot share in this setting, or my mom will wash my mouth out with soap.
All 3 of the Drill instructors surrounded one of the recruits near me. You could not see him since they were close enough to him that the brims of their hats were touching his head.
Secretly I was happy they were preoccupied with someone else and NOT me.
They kept asking him if he was a man or a woman, but he never answered.
This is when they descended on me, doing the same thing. Screaming in my face, spittle hitting me like rain and their brims banging into my forehead.
“Are you a Man or a Woman?”
I know I was not supposed to say anything, but I have always had a big mouth and no filters.
Before I could think I screamed that I was a Man!
This answer volunteered me to be the Dorm Chief of the 80 men in our Boot Camp Class.
If I had followed my recruiter’s advice (like I wanted to), I would have missed out on a great and wonderful adventure.
The following eight weeks were terrifying, and it was a crash course in leadership and responsibility, but looking back, I wouldn’t change a minute of it!
The BEST advice I can give you is to say YES to every opportunity.
Volunteer for that which scares you.
When you do this, it will lead you to a whole lot of Firsts, Failures, and Frustrations, BUT these things will become Fertilizer for your Future success!
Don’t allow fear to bully you into a life of security and comfort.
Put yourself out there, take risks, and be the person who tries to walk on water!
Find Your passion…Find Your Life!