I vividly remember trying to explain to my algebra teacher why I wouldn’t need algebra after high school. At the very ‘mature’ age of fifteen I had life all figured out, so I thought. Listening to my excuse of why I wasn’t focused in class, my teacher laughed. He responded with a question: “How do you know what you’ll need after high school if you’re still in high school”? This question changed my perspective as it revealed a simple concept of reality; We don’t truly know what we’ll need in the future if we have yet to leave our present. I instantly cleaned up my act in algebra class as I didn’t want to get blindsided by the future need for algebraic knowledge. I figured if I learned all I could, I’d be ready to succeed if the need presented itself.
Preparation for destination
The mentality to be prepared for tomorrow was cultivated and groomed during my time in the NAVY. The year was 2002 and I was a 17year old Mess Management Specialist Seaman Recruit reporting to the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76). Prior to this I attended ‘A-School’ to “prepare” for the shipboard life. Prior to that, boot camp prepared me for life as a Sailor. Needless to say, preparation was an essential part of my development as a young adult.
I began to embrace preparation once I understood how it enabled me to have an advantage over those who didn’t prepare. For example: In order to advance to the next rank, we took comprehensive advancement exams. Each rank and rate (job) had an allowable percentage of test takers cleared to advance to the next rank. One could fail the exam, pass but not advance or advance. The allowable percentages were based on several factors and could oftentimes be extremely low. This would cause people to either study hard, or not study at all.
If I heard that people were not studying because the chances for advancement was low, I studied harder. If the advancement chances were high, I studied just as hard. This approach helped me to become a First-Class Petty Officer in 5.5 years. I studied year-round because I wanted to be adequately prepared. I knew others weren’t studying in that fashion so preparation was also motivation.
If you want what others do not have, but need; you must be willing to do what others don’t do and then some.
As a new E6, I was the youngest Leading Petty Officer at my duty station. I wanted to be ranked #1 among my peers so I had work to do. To make a long story short, I earned my first Masters Degree and became Sailor of the Year which placed me at the #1 spot. In the midst of all of these cool results, my wife and I were blessed to have a little boy which prompted our decision to depart from the military. I had an amazing 8-year career but it was time to transition to newer plateaus. I spent my last 5 military months making preparation for my new chapter of life, civilian.
As a civilian I earned a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) because I needed to be more competitive in the job market. I then became a Doctor of Education because I aspired to be a university professor. If there is something I want to achieve, I prepare myself to do just that. I’ve purposed in my heart to never fall asleep on a stepping stone. The process is simple: Prepare, Pursue and Conquer. Preparation may mean changing some habits, studying harder or simply knowing that the need for that achievement may arise in the future. I learned that from the NAVY.
The military produces preparation specialists
Every service member has excellent preparation training. In fact, training in it of itself is preparation. My advice to anyone whether veteran or active service member is this: Embrace the notion of preparation and use it to your advantage. Before going on deployments NAVY ships prepare by onboarding weeks of supplies to meet the needs of the days at sea. When the supplies are near depletion, another onload has already been scheduled to replenish the low levels. Consider this to be an example of how effective preparation works. Do not wait until you are in a desperate need before you address the problem. Forecast, be proactive, project etc. Whatever the case, determine needs before they arise and prepare to meet them by embracing solutions beforehand. When applied to life itself, the benefits of being a prepared person are endless. Your future will thank you!
Dr. Benjamin Andrew 