Marine Corps Officer Springfield

Marine Corps Officer Springfield updated their information in their About section.

"Alright. They're to the front of us, to the left and right, and behind us. We're surrounded.... They can't escape us now." —General Chesty Puller, United States Marine Corps ⁣
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Outnumbered by multiples, General Puller drove his Marines that day to victory. It was for no other reason than they believed they could. To accomplish anything extraordinary, we first need to believe it's possible. ⁣
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That sounds ridiculously obvious. Yet when we think a bit more on it, we come to realize that we can be the first to tell ourselves that next task or goal is not possible. We can talk ourselves out of action with negative compounding thoughts. Concern, worry, doubt, fear. We can be our own worst enemy. ⁣
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Like the Marines that day, sometimes we just need to get out of our own head, and do what we best. Work. Even when, we're out-gunned. Out-"talented.” Out of time, out of resources, out of everything. Even when every damn reason tells us we can't... lets go win. That's what we do. ⁣
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“I don't like that man. I should get to know him better." - Abraham Lincoln⁣
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Perspective is everything. ⁣
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A situation we can all relate to from some point in our lives, is a poor first impression. An introduction to someone who... you'd rather not spend another second on. After the interaction, you want to distance yourself as far away as possible. Yet, life puts us right back next to them, not by choice, but by chance. And we talk. And we strike some common ground. And we understand. We may not be close friends, but the brief amount of time we spent with them afforded us the chance to better understand their perspective. ⁣
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Next time we find ourselves feel the wave of animosity towards someone, remind ourselves... we just need to get to know them a little bit better. ⁣
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In the Marine Corps, where cultural and societal barriers will exist within the ranks and outside of them at home or during partnered/advisor deployments similar to Captain Daniel Rogers (UCLA MBA Candidate pictured above), we need to overcome our biases and emotions and genuinely strive to BE THE LEADER in these situations. ⁣
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“I’ll either find a way, or I’ll make one.” - Hannibal⁣
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• Said by a man who got elephants to climb a mountain. ⁣
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• Angela Duckworth, a leading expert on the study of "grit", defines it as follows: “Passion and sustained persistence applied towards long-term achievement, with no particular concern for rewards or recognition along the way." ⁣
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• If there is a single attribute that is the closest correlate to success, it may very well be grit. ⁣
Grit is very much in line with our definition of "mental toughness". To give our unconditional best, regardless of the circumstances. ⁣
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• It's doing the unsexy hard work... when no one's watching. It's refusing to see a "failure" as "defeat". It's refusing to believe that elephants can't climb mountains... and then proving it. ⁣
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• We look to the past not to seek out what is possible. We look to the past to study ways that have worked before.

"Real fears can be overcome. It's the imaginary ones that are unconquerable." Theodore Vale* * ⁣
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Fear can be absolutely paralyzing. It can feel so real, that we would bet our lives on whatever it is, happening. If there ever was a superpower that we have, it's the tremendous ability to bring whatever we're thinking into reality. And if you're human, you can draw back to a time where we talked ourselves into failure... before we even began. We convinced ourselves it was impossible, but we didn't even try. ⁣
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The unconquerable fear, as Theodore Vale puts it, is the imaginary one. It's human to question, doubt, and fear. But this thousand-year-old survival mechanism, which means well, is leading us down the path of hesitancy. Of inaction. ⁣
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FEAR - False Evidence Appearing Real. The same mind that builds a paralyzing fear can break one down by shifting what we place our thoughts towards. Instead of dwelling on what could go wrong, dwell on why it will go right.⁣
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There are two definitions in the English language for the word “Overcome”.⁣
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The first is that we are helpless. Overwhelmed, overrun, and beaten down, one who is “overcome” has lost the battle.⁣
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The second difference is the polar opposite. It is to triumph. To square off towards some form of adversity or obstacle, and to win.⁣
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These two definitions are on opposite spectrums for a reason. There is no middle ground. Adversity causes some to break. For others, it breaks records.⁣
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We don’t run from the fire. We run to it.⁣
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“Only a man who knows what it’s like to be defeated, can reach down to the bottom of his soul with the extra ounce of power to win, when the match is even.” – Muhammad Ali⁣
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It’s commonplace to look at mistakes, miscues, and losses as negatives. And it’s even more common, to view them as setbacks. Yet here, one of the greatest of time, offers the difference maker in an otherwise even fight between two opponents:⁣
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Failure.⁣
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THROUGH THE EXPERIENCE OF FAILURE, THE FIGHTER BECOMES THE VICTOR. NOT BECAUSE OF THE PAIN OF LOSS, OR THE EMBARRASSMENT OF DEFEAT. BUT THROUGH VIEWING FAILURE AS A CHANCE TO START AGAIN, MORE EQUIPPED. MORE PREPARED. MORE EXPERIENCED.⁣
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“We’re so busy watching out for what’s just ahead of us that we don’t take time to enjoy where we are.” – Bill Watterson⁣
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There’s a common misunderstanding that if we allow ourselves to feel happy about something, we’ll lose our drive to improve. That in order to reach out goals, we need to hard-wire ourselves 24/7 with thoughts of how improve and develop. Ironically enough, full focus on the future is one of the most self-destructive things we can do to ourselves.⁣
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When we celebrate our victories, we feel good. On a biological level, there is a “dopamine” release. By feeling this emotion of accomplishment… we become hungry for more. We crave that next dopamine hit, moving even more aggressively towards that next accomplishment. On the other side, if we constantly deprive ourselves of that dopamine response… we will lose our drive. This is the definition of burnout.⁣
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Take a moment today to think about how far you’ve come since last year. And since you’ve started the Marine Officer Program or whatever endeavor you’ve recent put your mind to. No leaderboard, rankings, or selection results will ever tell us the full story. While we maintain our fiery state of mind to find the next best version of ourselves, let’s celebrate what we’ve accomplished and seek to use that motivation to maintain our momentum. ⁣
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“What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important.” – Dwight Eisenhower⁣
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Dwight Eisenhower lived one of the most productive lives you can imagine. It comes with no surprise that his methods for time management have been studied by many.⁣
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He creates for us a divide between two categories – urgent tasks, and important tasks.⁣
Urgent tasks are things that you feel like you need to react to. Emails, phone calls, texts, “the news.” Meanwhile, important tasks are things that contribute to our long-term goals.⁣
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Said another way, urgent things often distract us from important things. They attempt to pull the veil over our eyes and seem like the things we should be doing right now.⁣
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If we can cut the fluff – the wasted minutes – and apply those towards what actually moves us forward… we’re in for a great ride. The opposite is also true. If we get caught up in only the urgent tasks, we can go through a whole day, busy-as-ever, and feel like we got nothing done by its end.⁣
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Let’s take note of what we do today with a critical eye. Let’s cut the fluff.⁣
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“Don’t wait for your turn. It’s always your turn.” – Seth Godin⁣
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The perfect moment will never come.⁣
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We want to acknowledge a thousand-year-old tendency that we have… that of protection. In an attempt to stay “safe”, the human mind will resist change. And will attempt to convince itself that the time is not right. That the conditions are not “favorable enough”. The laundry list grows.⁣
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It starts with awareness. Being conscious that this “resistance” is self-driven.⁣
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It ends with action, as it is indeed your turn.⁣
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to low budget but creative field operations with the Lucky Lima boys while serving as the Executive Officer back in 2018. At the time, Lucky 6 was a big fan of non-live fire events focused around continuous decision-making, guard mount, shoot/don’t shoot scenarios, counterinsurgency training, and direct action operations. What better way to do this than at a mock village in 29 Palms with some Military Operations in Urban Terrain training. ⁣
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My HQ platoon, to include GySgt Montanez and Sergeant Johnson who are pictured above, spent the week tirelessly running around the town as radical insurgents (sometimes switching roles to be local farmers or village people) while executing a Mission Event Synchronization List, which is essentially a script that allows the Marines to develop a situation in real time. The best part was Sgt J and I trying to speak Spanish as we attempted to stay in character when interacting with the Marines. GySgt Montantez and Cpl Torres were doing a lot of Rosetta Stone training behind the scenes. ⁣
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These are some of the perks of operating with the concept of “intent.” The boss gave us an idea, we had the freedom to run with it and put our heads together to come up with some solid training. Get some. ⁣
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“You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.” – Michael Jordan⁣
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The level of effort we will put in today will be relative to what we believe we can accomplish.⁣
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If we don’t believe we can lose the weight, we won’t consistently go to the gym. If we don’t believe we can get the job, we won’t put in the research and studying to get the job. We just can’t summon the effort for something we don’t believe is possible.⁣
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But this belief matters most not at the start, but in the middle. When hit the missteps… the challenges, hardships and trying moments. Here is where we can settle, changing our expectations for something more “attainable.” Not because it’s what we really wanted, but because we’re letting our circumstances change our belief that was once there.⁣
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“People are not lazy. They simply have goals that do not inspire them.” – Tony Robbins⁣
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Something we can all agree on: anything in life worth achieving, is going to be very, very hard. There’s no two ways about it. So we make goals.⁣
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But goals sometimes default to the “whats” in life. A “what” can be a certain amount of pounds on the barbell or an amount of pull-ups. Those are goals, but they are not “reasons.”
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Reasons are what gets us out of bed in the morning. What we think about in the shower. What we see in the mirror when we look into it. Goals don’t move us forward – reasons do. Goals can be the waypoints or checkpoints along the way, but our reasons are the true North Star.⁣
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What are your goals? Can we refine them? Can we tie them to our reasons?”⁣
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“What looks like talent is often careful preparation. What looks like skill is often persistent revision.” – James Clear⁣
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Nothing happens on the competition floor by accident. We are a result of the work we’ve completed leading up to that point. There is no pixy dust, magical words, or secret tricks.⁣
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When we look at the work behind the closed doors, we start to see what talent really is.⁣
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Hard, committed, unwavering effort.⁣
Never fooled by those that “make it look easy,” as easy doesn’t happen by accident.⁣
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To some, that thought can be dis-encouraging. Not the case for us. For this team, it’s the opposite… it’s invigoration. It’s proof that we too can reach those heights… if we, that is, put in the work.⁣
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So let’s get to it.⁣
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My teammate Captain Lewis Finney, Officer Selection Officer of Kansas City, receiving much deserved recognition and commendation for being the 2020 9th Recruiting District OSO of the year. This job is a grind but some people don’t let the pace get to them. Lewis is one of those guys. It’s sad to see him go but he’s done his time and is moving on to new opportunities in the Marine Corps. Thanks for everything brother. ⁣
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“It’s not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but rather the most adaptive to change.” – Charles Darwin⁣
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There’s a reason why we are still here on Earth. We adapted.⁣
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Yet the very thing that pushed us to where we are today, we find ourselves avoiding. We avoid, as human beings, challenge. We would much rather be comfortable, cozy, and safe. Now we aren’t going to let loose predators to chase us around, but if we truly want to find that next best version of ourselves… we know we need to get uncomfortable.⁣
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WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES STRUGGLING TODAY, TAKE A STEP BACK. REALIZE FOR JUST A MOMENT, IN THE UNCOMFORTABLE MESS THAT WE ARE IN, THAT THIS IS US… GETTING BETTER. IF WE CAN RE-WIRE OURSELVES TO EMBRACE THOSE SWEATY, PAINFUL, OFTEN EMBARRASSING MOMENTS… WE CAN GO WHEREVER WE WANT TO GO.⁣
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“The purpose of pain is to move us in action, not to make us suffer.” – Tony Robbins⁣
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If we can frame pain for what it is, we redefine what this feeling means to us. As Tony Robbins puts it, it’s purpose is to move us forward. It’s leverage. A massive edge when seen through the right lens. Few things in the world can get a human being to move faster than pain.⁣
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We recognize to do anything great, it’s going to be temporarily uncomfortable. It’s going to take the grit and grind that we all know. What this is far from however, is suffering. Suffering is a state of mind that takes hold when we don’t understand why we’re feeling pain.⁣
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Pain is mandatory, suffering is optional.⁣
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Featured is Springfield’s very own Second Lieutenant Amibeth Marks. Recent OCC 236 Graduate. ⁣
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“Problems are simply opportunities in work clothes” ⁣
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In Chinese, “crisis” is written with two symbols. In the English language, these translate to “Danger”, and “Opportunity.” These two words summarize our emotional connection to adversity very well. ⁣
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Problems feel “dangerous”, because we’d rather be comfortable, cozy, and safe. It’s a human condition… we don’t like change. But problems are also full of “opportunity,” as the uncomfortable hot mess of adversity is the greatest catalyst to our growth. ⁣
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Our greatest opportunities in life will also be our most trying. And if we can reframe those “problems” to being the enablers of growth… we can go wherever we want to go. We just need to suit up and get to work. ⁣
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“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” ―Nelson Mandela⁣
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5 Springfield Candidates of the OCC 236 Winter OCS class will graduate at the end of the week after, indisputably, one of the most challenging experiences of their lives. I’m honored to know that they will be wearing the colors and owning the titles in the near future. Above is Candidate Marks doing what she does best, absolutely slaying and taking no s**t from anyone. We have two candidates that have been invited back that will join them in the ranks soon. I admire the dedication and motivation given the adversity faced in the process and I know their Springfield family is looking forward to seeing them soon. Get some.⁣
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We stand on the shoulders of giants who had a vision for this country that is worth fighting for no matter how many times our enemies try to destroy it. Stand for what’s right, just, and logical; everything else will fall correctly into place. ⁣
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“Outlaw 3” down in Arkansas made me proud this week. The team put in work and gritted through a tortuous combat fitness style workout. This is a hungry group of individuals living in the moment and moving from one obstacle to the next because that’s life. Thrive in chaos and disorder. The only certain thing is that most things are uncertain. Get some fellas.⁣
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“The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.”⁣
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Life is full of obstacles. How do you plan on getting over these impediments when you can’t go through, over, or under them? You will be challenged and you will struggle in life. You can’t choose if that will happen or not. However, what you can choose is whether or not you plan to be successful. Life wants to stop you, but it doesn’t have to if you don’t let it. Get after it.⁣
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“The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.”⁣
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Life is full of obstacles. How do you plan on getting over these impediments when you can’t go through, over, or under them? You will be challenged and you will struggle in life. You can’t choose if that will happen or not. However, what you can choose is whether or not you plan to be successful. Life wants to stop you, but it doesn’t have to if you don’t let it. Get after it.⁣
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BE THE ONE!!!⁣
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The Marine Corps Officer Selection Team of Springfield puts the Number One in the 4-1-7 down here in southwest Missouri for Officer recruiting opportunities. We look for the best to compete to be part of the best. Are you ready for the challenge? Be the one to accept the challenge. Get Some!⁣
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“If people knew how hard I worked to achieve my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful after all.” – Michelangelo ⁣
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It’s easy to believe that we can’t control tomorrow. To believe that it is by chance. It’s far harder, to believe that it is within our capabilities. That there is another level of true grit and unrelenting effort we can choose to go. It’s realizing that the great Michaelangelo simply worked his ass off… and that we can too. Greatness is never by chance. It is always by choice. The choice to do the work.⁣
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Top Left: Candidate Charity Klick (Middle Candidate)⁣
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Top Right: Candidate Amibeth Marks (Far Left Candidate)⁣
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Bottom Left: Candidate Amibeth Marks (Middle Candidate)⁣
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Bottom Right: Candidate Austin Acosta (Far right candidate trying not to pass his instructor 👊🏼)⁣
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The exceptional weather in Springfield catalyzed our prospecting blood flow today in the office. It’s always a great time rolling deep around Springfield and explore the city scape. College students were all around and city was bustling with business. Even though no one was interested in our unique opportunities in the best gun club that’s ever existed, at least one individual was able to hear some knowledge about our awesome programs today. 👀 🥚 👑 🌞 ⁣
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“Maturity is the capacity to endure uncertainty.”⁣
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Outlaws Marks, Klicka, and Arciniegas were spotted in the recent OCS picture drop of gear issue and induction into training. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find Johnson, Acosta, or Ruess but I can assure you that those hard chargers were probably just moving so fast that the camera couldn’t capture them in a still frame. ⁣
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The unknown is harder to face than that which we are comfortable with. Uncertainty means there’s a chance we will fail and that instinctually scares most people. Growth is only achieved through challenge, discomfort, and adapting to an environment you’ve never experienced before.⁣ These next few weeks will be cold, chaotic, and callous for them. Think about them when you don’t feel like getting up for training or class and that toxic laziness starts settling in. They don’t have a choice but to keep pushing and embrace the suck.
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The Marine Corps demonstrably and indisputably provides the most top notch and effective training for conventional small unit leaders, far superior to its counterparts. As an Infantry Platoon Commander, coaching, mentoring, and guiding my squad leaders through the Infantry Immersion Trainer in Camp Pendleton, CA was one of the most rewarding experiences. Paid actors, audio sensory stimulus, olfactory sensations, and realistic scenarios all come together to create a fast moving and dynamic training environment to prepare the leader for a civil-military operation. ⁣
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This is Sgt Nathan Whited (Corporal at the time) conducting a Key Leader Engagement (KLE) with an acting police chief of a village. A KLE is a personal interaction between unit leadership and key power figures and influencers within a local civilian community.⁣
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🚨 HALT AND READ THIS POST 🚨 ⁣
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Today, I want to talk about the concept of “Leadership Capital” as our Springfield OCC candidates have finally inducted into OCS and have begun training. They will need to preserve as much of this capital as possible as they face some of the hardest challenges of their lives. ⁣
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Leadership capital is an aggregate of three leadership components: skills, relations and reputation. The measure of a leader’s skills refers to the whole range of abilities a leader needs, from the communicative to the managerial and cognitive. ⁣
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Can you think of a time when you got into an argument and expended leadership capital just to say you won? Did you end up looking down at your feet to see what you’re standing on after the “victory?” Potentially a damaged relationship, all of your expended leadership capital, and even your reputation?⁣
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Long story short, don’t try to achieve your 10 yards of authority out of insecurity. It’s negative and will only hinder your sphere of influence and control. ⁣
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If we apply the concept of decisive terrain to relationships, people in an organization, in this case, would be the “high ground.” So you need to understand how and why to influence the mission and utilize the decisive train to make it happen. Decisive terrain doesn’t always need to be taken by force. The same concept applies to people.⁣
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