The Rites of Passage (Part I)

I earned the title of Marine by going through 13 weeks of Boot Camp ( pre Marine Combat Training for females) and then I earned the title Lieutenant by going through another 10 weeks at Officer Candidate School (OCS)…so I’m used to going through a variety of “rites of passage” and earning the right to graduate to the next level.

I graduated OCS with a pelvic stress fracture. After six months of recovery and being fed up of waiting, I was ready to start the next phase of my training (The Basic School). However, my doctor gave me a 10% chance of making it through another arduous six months of training. I remember him asking me: “Does this hurt?, Does this hurt?, Does this hurt?” while moving my leg around and me answering “No, No and No”. He finally asked me: “Would you tell me if it hurt?” and I replied “No” and that's when he shook his head and signed off my paper work allowing me to start training. I knew what I was made of...but he didn’t, otherwise; he would have given me better odds!!

But, as luck would have it, three months into training I badly injured my right ankle during a very important field exercise. Normally, getting injured at that point in training meant getting “dropped and recycled”. I knew I couldn’t afford having that happen to me, so although, I was on crutches; I asked to return to the field exercise. I remember a defining moment when the Executive Officer of the Company yelled back at me, soon after I’d left his office from asking, yet again, to be allowed to keep training: “Lt. Bernard, you are very persistent aren’t you?” I replied by yelling back “Yes, Sir” and he said “It just might pay off for you”

The next day, he brought me out to meet back up with the Marines in my platoon and I finished the field exercise by working in the Command Operation Center (COC). After graduating, I found out that the Executive Officer had taken full responsibility for me in order to be able to take me back out to the field exercise, and therefore, rescuing me from getting “dropped and recycled” to another company. He told me he knew I had what it took and I was worth taken a chance on.

You must have heart, guts, determination, will power and mental strength to make it through that type of training, particularly while surmounting injuries, but I also needed someone to see my potential and cut me a break.

What I’m answering for myself now is: What are the rites of passage to getting a shot at getting Why Go Solo off the ground? Or in more general terms: What are the rites of passage to getting a shot at getting a start-up off the ground.

To be continued…

Two Worlds Collide Around Two Keys to Success

Growing up in my former world, as an Enlisted Marine and later as an Officer I was first embedded with a notion that I later taught my Marines. A notion that is now in my world as an entrepreneur just as important to my success, as it was back then. The notion is wrapped up in three words: Adapt And Overcome.

Adapt :The ability to adapt to all environments, situations, personalities, problems or anything else that might be ‘a moving target’…therefore, susceptible to change is a critical skill to develop for success. The ability to adapt creates chameleons who never find themselves out of place or uncomfortable in uncertainty.

Obviously, this is important in military settings, particularly in the Marine Corps. At a moment’s notice, everything can change and uncertainty is a constant. There’s another saying in the Marine Corps that ties into this—most people have heard Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful) but not many people, unless current or former Marines and military, know about Semper Gumbi (Always Flexible)!!

Not all that different in the world of an entrepreneur. There is always uncertainty, a need to take risks, walk into the unknown and be prepared to face all sorts of situations, people and unforeseen circumstances.

Failure to adapt has costs in both worlds.

Overcome: Having the flexibility to adapt to any and all situations and circumstances is not enough for mission accomplishment or in the world of an entrepreneur, real and continuous success. It’s important to not be or remain passive, you must overcome the change and aim to excel in the new environment, under the new circumstances.

Creativity and innovation, in both worlds, are pretty significant in getting this done. When the going gets tough…get creative. Whether surrounded by the enemy or the competition released the same new item a day before you did—get creative and find a way to overcome the situation.

I have an idea…every business plan should end with Adapt and Overcome so when things totally don’t go according to the business plan entrepreneurs will always know what to do!!

Of course, there is also another saying in the Marine Corps if you can’t adapt and overcome…SUCK IT UP!!

I'm applying all of them repeatedly, accordingly and appropriately!!