There are many, many resources, military and civilian, for veterans entering the workforce for the first time after leaving the military. Whether it's learning to write a resume or gaining the skills needed for a particular job, chances are good vets can find the help they need.
When it comes to how to handle oneself after getting that big job and maintain the course necessary for success there, that's something altogether different. Job success comes with experience, and learning certain things requires spending time in a job -- and sometimes failing at it.
That's where it helps to have a mentor, someone you can rely on for good advice as you join those who are and always have been civilians. The place to go for this kind of advice if you don't have it in your everyday life is Quora, the social networking site for exchanging life experiences.
On Quora, users ask questions about how other "Quorans" see the world -- about how their lives and experiences color the answers to certain questions. When other users answer, there isn't always a cited source. Often, there is a personal anecdote about how they came to their answer.
For veterans looking for advice on living in the world outside the military, there are some really great answers.
1. "Empty Your Cup"
Quora user and motivational speaker Chris Lynam tells of the time his boss confronted him with a full cup of coffee. Lynam was experiencing early success at his company, and his boss wanted to send a message. Early success won't help you achieve your potential.
To illustrate this point, Lynam's boss poured a cup of coffee onto the office carpet.
He was trying to tell the young man that coming to the table thinking you already know everything is self-destructive. There won't be anything for an elder to teach you. Just like a full cup of coffee, adding more coffee will just make it spill over the top. You won't strive for more.
This was a challenge to Lynam's ego to stay humble and master his craft.
2. "Truth Before Harmony"
This comes from Ray Lancaster, a communications trainer from Switzerland and author of "Your Influencing Instincts: 100 Questions to Test Them, 100 Answers to Improve Them." He believes most of the world runs on the opposite instinct, pushing tragedy and confrontation to the side in order to "get along" better.
Pushing problems back never pushes them completely away, he said. And they will always inevitably come back, often much bigger than they would have been if we had just addressed them in the first place.
3. "The Morning Is Wiser Than the Night"
Italian businesswoman and entrepreneur Denny Redpath shares the biggest lesson she learned from her years of starting and running her own business. Redpath said problems can seem bigger than they are, often insurmountable, at the end of the day. But waiting until morning can calm many of those fears.
"Things look different in the daytime," she said. "Do not be afraid to think about new ideas and ways to achieve your objectives. Sleep on it."
And don't spend all night awake in bed worrying about it, either.
4. "Everything Is Much Easier Than It Seems at the Beginning"
Nikita Lobyntsev is a recent college graduate and interface designer from Kyiv. As a young man who is self-employed after leaving school, he found that getting started in his work -- especially in Ukraine -- was a complex undertaking. Now, he thrives in his chosen profession.
Every time he gets a new project or starts a new goal that seems like it might be more trouble than it's worth, he reminds himself of exactly how he came to be where he is. He knows he has the grit and experience to see anything through; he's been doing it every day.
5. "Effective Doesn't Always Mean Efficient"
As the senior adviser for the nonprofit Small Business Majority and founder and former CEO of Silver Lining Seafoods, Terry Gardiner credits his early success to the book "The Effective Executive" by Peter Drucker. In the book, Drucker stresses the importance of effective leadership, rather than focusing on efficiency.
These habits include managing your time and focusing on using the strengths of you and your team. It also demands that you set your priorities and stick to them. Once you make fundamental decisions, you begin your journey in the right direction. This will ensure you focus your efforts in the most important areas and achieve good results.
6. "Luck Is Where Preparation Meets Opportunity"
As a former Marine Corps officer and special agent for the Department of Homeland Security, Dan Robb experienced a time in his life exactly where many of us do: on the precipice between military and civilian life, ready to embark on an entirely new career. He said a fellow Marine Corps officer gave him advice, although paraphrased, from Seneca, a Roman senator and philosopher.
Simply put, you will take advantage of any opportunity as long as you have the knowledge to recognize it as such and the audacity to take advantage of it. Everything else is the work you put into the effort.
-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com.
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