Someone always made sure that you showed up.
Sometimes it was a “You’re late for watch.” Other times it was because of the guy next to you in formation. You didn’t want to let them down. Either way, you didn’t really have a choice. Choosing something other than the military meant walking away. You couldn’t walk away, you had a contract.
That’s a system built where quitting wasn’t an option. That’s not motivation. You lived like that for years.
Then you got out.
Civilian Life is the Opposite
Nobody is going to wake you up. No one checks on you if you did your cyber awareness training. You can stop when you want, you can quit when you want. No one’s keeping tabs on you. You’re the only person who will know what you did and what you didn’t do. Nobody warns you about the loss of the system.
Civilian life has no structure like the military. You have to build it yourself. Your mission isn’t handed to you anymore and you have to generate your own drive. There were immediate consequences if something wasn’t done in the military. As a civilian, you won’t understand the consequences until later down the road. You’ll find out in eighteen months when you didn’t file that paperwork and you won’t be certified for that contract window.
You won’t understand how critical that structure is until you have trouble motivating yourself. That’s the real work of being a veteran founder. It’s hard showing up every single day when you have a vision, but aren’t sure of its path.
This Veterans Day, Keep Going.
I ask you to keep going.
I don’t mean tackle everything at once. I mean, take that first step today. Do something that you’ve been putting off. Look at that list you’ve been putting off and accomplish the easiest one. Move that needle just an inch today. That’s all it takes. A little bit today, a little bit tomorrow. Trust me, your efforts will compound.
There are over 1.8 million veteran-owned businesses in the United States right now and every single one of them was started by someone who felt exactly like you: sitting there alone with no one telling them to keep going, deciding to do it anyway. Creating something has never been more accessible. You can start a business on your phone nowadays. The tools are free or extremely cheap, but you still have to bring the drive. I dare you to take the first step, to dream bigger than feels reasonable. Keep building the things you want to build.
You don’t have to do it alone
Building a company is lonely, lonelier than anything else I’ve ever done. In uniform, you weren’t ever really alone. But that’s why I’m rebuilding with Startups By Vets. It’s a community of veteran founders who are going through the same thing you are. People who will tell you things that worked for them and things that didn’t.
If you’re a veteran founder, you can show up for yourself and find people who will show up for you. Give yourself the gift of showing up and pushing yourself to win. Take that step. You'll be glad you did.