After retirement rank goes out the window.

A point from my recent experience as a franchise owner:

Recently I was talking with some of the other owners and one of them stated that I should only talk to the top performers - the ones grossing around the $1m mark, the advice being that they got where they are for good reasons and my time would be well spent learning from them. There is certainly some truth to that, but I had another take on it.

I wanted (in addition to learning from the thoroughbreds of the franchise) to talk to the survivors - the ones who clawed their way to success after great difficulties and continued to improve. The have made mistakes, weathered storms and after all that came out wiser for it. Those lessons are arguably more valuable than those gleaned from the ones who haven't had to struggle as hard.

The point is, pay attention to the ones who've gone down the road ahead of you. If they care enough to turn and pass along advice, it's best to give it careful consideration.

Retirement is like a parachute jump: it's 100% guaranteed that you'll hit the ground - you can burn in hard through your own ignorance, or, you can execute a landing as you've been taught and get up ready to move on to your OBJ.

Good article... While I personally had no issues transitioning out (I found a job within three months of really deciding to knuckle down and start applying - just had to really focus on getting my resume right - and that DID take some "education"), I know and have friends who can't find jobs because they think that after leading Soldiers for 20+ years, they know it all and are worth at least whatever they think they're worth...

The big takeaway is this: Don't over-estimate your skills, knowledge, experience, or ability... just because you're the man while you were active duty, is NOT going to mean you are after you retire/get out... The civilian world does NOT need to respect you - no matter WHO you were (in fact, I know a LTG who doesn't have a job because he feels it's demeaning to take any job where he isn't the CEO... so - he hasn't been hired YET, and he's been out for six years).

This is why I take advantage of every course the Military allows me to attend.

Every skill may come in handy for any kind of job and you never know how it may help you later in life. The Military gives us unforeseen opportunities.

I implore this to my Soldiers every chance I get. I just hope that a few listen.

I have transitioned once to the Guard and had a regular job. One employer stated I had low balled myself during the interview and gave me a $2,500 a year raise.

I understood this philosophy the first time I got out and will utilize a similar strategy after I retire from the ARMY.

I hope that some get enlightened from this post.