I remember Navy boot camp like it was yesterday. An event that occurred on my second day still causes me to pause when I reflect on it. You can tell a new soldier to boot camp from one who is about to graduate based upon the clothes and ribbons they wear. It was clearly my second day, evidenced by what I was wearing. I was walking single file with my unit down a hall and a sailor who was about to graduate passed us.

He must have noticed my expression. It without a doubt said, “I am tired, intimidated, scared and hungry.” You can’t talk when walking in formation, therefore he whispered out of the side of his mouth as we passed, “Hang in there... you can do it.”

I turned to look at his face, but all I saw was the back of his head. Every night before I drifted off to sleep I replayed those words. I will never know that sailor’s name. He will never know how it turned my attitude around 180 degrees. He will never know that years later I still remember the electricity of encouragement that shot through my body.

I knew that the only reason he knew what I was feeling is because he had been where I was and felt how I felt. He had made it and wanted me to know that I could as well. I was eternally grateful.

Then it was my turn. On my graduation day, I walked into a storage facility and saw three sailors leaning up against the wall. They were new and scared, intimidated, tired and hungry. I walked over to them and whispered, “Hang in there... you can do it.” Within one second tears filled the eyes of the female sailor and one of the males clenched his fist and gave me a million thanks with his eyes.

As I walked away I had goose bumps. I knew that my words would be motivation for the rest of the day and fuel every night to keep them focused on their goal of graduation when they wanted to quit. I hope they passed on the encouragement to another sailor before they graduated... and I know they did.

If you are in a valley, then remember this. Others have been there (including me). Hang in there. You can do it. Whether your goal is boot camp graduation, building a business or raising a family... since others have done it... you can too. Hang in there.

If you are at a peak, do not underestimate what a few kind words of encouragement might do for those around you.

Learning/Education

“Success is a process that continues, not a status that you reach. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.” —Denis Waitley

“The reading of all good books is indeed like a conversation with the noblest men of past centuries who were the authors of them, nay a carefully studied conversation, in which they reveal to us none but the best of their thoughts.”—Rene Descartes

“I believe people should study a little bit every day. It should become habitual, like brushing your teeth, combing your hair, having a shower or getting dressed. Study the mind, the laws of the universe and paradigms. There’s enough information on those subjects to keep a person studying forever.”
—Bob Proctor

“If money is your hope for independence, you will never have it. The only real security that a man can have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability.” —Henry Ford

“Education is, after all, a serious business. Its lifeblood is standards. If there are no standards, how do we call something higher education?” —William J. Bennett

“Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently maintained.” —James A. Garfield

“In times of change the learners shall inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” —Eric Hoffer

“If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn’t need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around.” —Jim Rohn