I wrote a book several years ago called: "All Ahead Full." It fell off the market after ten years, with Amazon being the last hold out. It was a personal development book that was based off things I learned while serving in the Navy on nuclear submarines. Much of the book is about Senior Chief Edward Bruette, who I reported to, and the lessons I learned from him.
There are many tools in the book about making the most out of your life but one of the greatest lessons I learned was when I met the Senior Chief and he asked me why I joined the Navy. I told him that I came from a small town and wanted to get away from there. This is when I learned my first lesson. He told me that people are generally motivated by two things, either they're running towards something or away from something.
He then went on to explain that the problem with running away from something is that you don't know what you're getting into, that many people have left a bad situation thinking there would be greener pastures only to realize that what they left was better than where they ended up. Some people have certainly left jobs they hated only to find out that the next company was even worse. Bruette said that most successful people aren't motivated because they're running away from something, they're motivated because they're running towards something. They think through what they want and come up with a plan to get there.
It's a simple lesson, but I was young, I didn't have forward looking goals in my life. I knew what I didn't want so I was in a flight mode, but I hadn't thought through what I wanted in life. His words of wisdom affected me greatly and I became goal oriented.
When the book was published, I travelled to Seattle, Washington where he lived, to give him a copy of the book and to thank him for making such a tremendous difference in my life. He was shocked that I had written the book about him and he had no idea that he had that much of an impact on someone's life. It made me feel so good to honor such a tremendous man. By the way, he had a huge boat and we took it out on the Puget Sound. It wasn't a submarine, but we still had an awesome time!
There are many tools in the book about making the most out of your life but one of the greatest lessons I learned was when I met the Senior Chief and he asked me why I joined the Navy. I told him that I came from a small town and wanted to get away from there. This is when I learned my first lesson. He told me that people are generally motivated by two things, either they're running towards something or away from something.
He then went on to explain that the problem with running away from something is that you don't know what you're getting into, that many people have left a bad situation thinking there would be greener pastures only to realize that what they left was better than where they ended up. Some people have certainly left jobs they hated only to find out that the next company was even worse. Bruette said that most successful people aren't motivated because they're running away from something, they're motivated because they're running towards something. They think through what they want and come up with a plan to get there.
It's a simple lesson, but I was young, I didn't have forward looking goals in my life. I knew what I didn't want so I was in a flight mode, but I hadn't thought through what I wanted in life. His words of wisdom affected me greatly and I became goal oriented.
When the book was published, I travelled to Seattle, Washington where he lived, to give him a copy of the book and to thank him for making such a tremendous difference in my life. He was shocked that I had written the book about him and he had no idea that he had that much of an impact on someone's life. It made me feel so good to honor such a tremendous man. By the way, he had a huge boat and we took it out on the Puget Sound. It wasn't a submarine, but we still had an awesome time!
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