“What the warrior does that the soldier doesn’t do is inner work. We need to work on ourselves and not just the enemy outside. That takes us back to the theme of spiritual discipline and meditation. Being a warrior means keeping the heart centered and clear and knowing what the real issues are. It means opening up the doors of creativity so that we can contribute the best of what we have.”
-Matthew Fox
In the introduction to the Heroic Journey Series I introduced you to the Map of the Terrain for your journey. You learned about the universal path of the hero across time and culture as introduced by the famous American mythologist Joseph Campbell. Now let’s break down and show how this applies to your career change. This is a long article but an important one. Let’s get started.
The first part of your journey is the Departure. This is when you, our hero/heroine, leaves your known world and begins your adventure. This part is about leaving the past behind. It’s a descent into mystery, a whole new unfamiliar world. Here the hero leaves behind many of the things that served him well in the past. He encounters the first thresholds and begins the transformation process.
The Inner Work of Success
What I learned in applying this part of the journey to my personal transition is that it’s about the inner game of success. It means doing the hard, inner work to prepare for your most important life change.
Most people begin the whole process of transitioning to the business world all wrong. They are focused on the external parts of the job search – write a resume, contact the recruiter, write a cover letter and attend the military career fair. These tactics are all important but aren’t very useful as you begin preparation for the journey. Focusing on the external part of the journey misses the most fundamental part of any change – beginning on the inside. I call this mastering the mindset of inner work.
Build the Inner Foundation
As you begin your adventure you need to understand that success starts on the inside and then manifests itself on the outside. Focusing on external tactics at this stage of the journey is like working on the leaves and branches of a growing tree when you really need to focus on nourishing the roots. Here are a number of principles to master to help you build your inner foundation of success; to help you nurture your own roots:
- Answer the call – does this path have a heart? The first part of a hero’s journey is answering the call. This is that inner voice that calls you to take the plunge and leave your existing world of the military. To successfully answer this call you need to get clear why you are leaving and examine if this path is right for you. Is your commitment up? Have you lost interest in the military? Are you excited about the possibilities of the world of business? Are you retiring and need to plan for the rest of your life? Whatever your reason, you need to understand and embrace it. More importantly, you need to figure out if this path is right for you. Does this path speak to your emotions, does it get you excited, does it have a heart?
This isn’t as easy as it sounds because your first reaction will be most likely to refuse the call. But you need to be honest with yourself. If you have a genuine desire to leave the military and suppress that emotion, it will come back and frustrate you.
“Look at every path closely and deliberately, than ask ourselves this crucial question: Does this path a have a heart? If it does, then the path is good. If it doesn’t, it is of no use.”
-Carlos Castaneda
- Change your current mindset for future success. Your current life and career situation is based on past decisions you made. It’s based on past thoughts, feelings, emotions and actions that have all created your current reality. The mindset that led to military success won’t entirely be the one that leads to business success. Your current reality is based on who you were, not who you are. The challenge is to build upon aspects of your past thinking that have worked while pruning away and discarding ideas and habits that are no longer relevant.
- The journey is the destination. It’s not about the new job or position you will land. Understandably, that’s what you are most likely focused on right now. Here is probably the most important wisdom I have gained on my journey. Ready? Learn to focus on the person you will have to become to earn and attract that new position in the business world. As a result, the path itself is most important. You need to master the skills of continual personal growth and self-mastery – not just to gain something else, but for its own sake; for the person you need to become. You need to focus on the process and the outcome will take care of itself.
- Learn to live just beyond the edge – be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Beginning your new journey requires that you leave your comfortable world. It means willingly leaving the secure environment you have created for yourself. You need to continually go beyond your comfort zone. This means not only exercising courage and mastering your fear. It means growing to be comfortable with a continual sensation of discomfort. To succeed you’ll need to learn to live and thrive just beyond the edge – your personal edge. This is where true growth happens!
“In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety.”
-Abraham Maslow
- Take full responsibility. As you are preparing your journey you are most likely encountering F.U.D. – fear, uncertainty and doubt. There will be a lot of factors influencing your success that you can’t control – the weak economy, the area where you live, the current job market, the hiring practices of companies and other factors. It’s easy to blame others if you aren’t achieving your goals. Mastering this journey means taking 100% responsibility of all your outcomes. Fortunately, you come from a profession that has conditioned this mindset – how often in your career have you said no excuse sir/ma’am, even though it wasn’t your fault? You need to maintain and build upon this mindset.
“You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself.”
-Jim Rohn
- Know yourself. I’ve made many trips to Greece to visit family. One of my favorite spots is a location close to my parents birthplace of Thebes – the ancient Oracle of Delphi. Delphi was the home of the most important oracle of ancient Greece. Legend has it that its inscription once read: ‘’know thyself, and you will possess the keys to the universe and the secrets of the gods.’’ That’s pretty good advice for the modern hero as well. You need to get good at self-reflection – learning from your experiences, mastering your emotions and creating your self-image. The best practice to hone your self-reflection skills is to start journaling. Learn to systematically capture and reflect upon your thoughts, feelings and emotions along the journey.
- Understand the power of influence. Success during the journey is a team sport. You may feel like you are going it alone but there are others who can help along the way. As the hero of your journey you will encounter helpers and mentors (like this site you’re reading!). You will read books, experience websites and even form masterminds (a small group of like-minded individuals who meet periodically for mutual brainstorming / accountability sessions; first defined by Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich) with others on the same path. Learn to harness the power of those with a positive influence and to keep at a distance the nay-sayers and doubters.
- Dare to create a great vision. It’s easy to get frustrated during the journey. It’s a difficult path with many barriers to cross and overcome. You may even begin to turn cynical and doubt yourself – wanting to settle for the first J.O.B you can find. I challenge you to think differently. Use the journey to dare to dream and create a grand vision for yourself. Think of your journey as Epic in nature with the unique opportunity to create a wonderful future for yourself, your family, your new organization and ultimately the world.
- Never lose the warrior spirit. You will receive a lot of advice along the path to distance yourself from your military experience. You will be told to grow your hair, drop the sirs and ma’ams, be less rigid and change your vocabulary. All good advice. But there is one aspect of your military experience you will NOT want to shed – the warrior spirit. You have developed an inner strength to adapt to and overcome challenges while displaying tenacity and courage all in the service of a cause greater than yourself. Never give this up. This spirit will differentiate you versus your civilian counterparts. It will be a source of strength to continually call upon during the challenges and pitfalls along the journey.
Outer World Mirrors Your Inner World
As we close off on the first part of the journey remember that your outer world always mirrors your inner world. Begin your journey by doing the hard but rewarding inner work to build a foundation for success and ultimately, transformation.
Begin Your Heroic Journey!
Read on for the next article in the Heroic Journey Series, Part 2 – Initiation.
Related Posts:
- Heroic Journey Series, Conclusion – Relax, You’ve Done This Before
- Heroic Journey Series, Introduction – The Map of the Terrain
- Heroic Journey Series, Part 2 – Initiation: Discover the World of Business and Align to Your Skills, Strengths and Passions
- Heroic Journey Series, Part 3 – Return: Land Your First Business Job By Marketing Brand You