When I was commissioned as an officer in the Navy I spent the first four years of my career trying to get accepted to SEAL training.

This is not a sob story and nobody should feel any sympathy or pity, there is a major life lesson here.

The first year I was just trying to figure out the front of the ship from the back.  (bow and forecastle)

The second year I just wasn’t good enough

The third year I got beat out by one of the most exceptional human beings on planet earth. He is a Hero and has buildings named after him now.

The fourth year they took the second best guy…….I was the first.  That was my last shot.

I got a phone call from the SEAL manger and he told me I was the top candidate, but I hadn’t requested to leave my current job, so I was taken out of the selection process.

I made a major error when prepping for this major transition.  I didn’t make a phone call that would have taken five minutes.

I prepped in a bubble and didn’t notify or seek out all the necessary players to ensure that if I was good enough I would get a shot.

That was my fault.  I deserved not getting selected.  I thought I could do it alone.

Since that time I’ve made it a point to figure out “who’s who in the zoo” no matter what I’m doing.   No person is worth not knowing.  

In the book “The Last Safe Investment” the author talks extensively about the value of human relationships and how they are the singular most important factor in achieving our goals or getting what we want.

Utilize the people and tribe around you to help advance your life, profession and relationships.  Contrary to what we see on social media people want to help each other.  

I want to let you in on a little secret, most of the resources you need can be found inside the the walls of our gym!  And you have resources that other people need.  

And why wouldn’t you want to do business with folks who have similar interests and values as you??  CrossFitters all basically believe in the same core principles.  Hard work and community are two of them.

Let me just give you a list of professions we have in our gym (not even close to being all inclusive):

Plumbers, electricians, dry wall experts, hair dressers, barbers, bankers, investment managers, financial advisors, restaurant owners, accountants, hotel owners, teachers, social workers, doctors, nurses, physical therapists, vet assistants, job head hunters, real estate managers, realtors, airline pilots, retail managers, web developers, govt contractors, and engineers.

That is just the list of professions I can write down without even thinking about it.  And this is before we talk about the the additional five people people in each of those people’s inner circle.  (it’s kind of like six degrees of Kevin Bacon hahaha)  But seriously, we are all only about two or three degrees away from someone who can help us solve our problem.   We just never ask……..

Get to know the people in your circle, find out who they are, what they do, what they believe and who their families are.

Invest in relationships that bring value to you and, in turn, provide value back to them.  Worst case scenario we can transition right into the barter system when the zombie apocalypse comes.

Invest in your tribe.  Find out who else is in the zoo.

You might be surprised at what you find.