Discipline of the Super Rich: Why?

     For the last week or so I have gotten up at 0530 with the exception of the few nights where I was unable to sleep until past midnight or daylight savings. (For these instances I give myself until 0630.) It has honestly been a struggle; there was one morning where I wrestled in my mind for about 10 minutes whether or not to get up or go back to sleep. I got up and felt better for it but I could have easily just gone back to sleep for an hour. I wouldn't have been able to work out then shower and I probably would have been rushed to breakfast. This morning time is extremely productive and I feel good knowing that I'm sticking to a schedule but doing this takes discipline. Even without waking up early, I still have to be at work at a certain time because I'm not in a position to retire yet. Even then the thought crossed my mind: If I could retire this young, would I wake up whenever? Would I bother to get another job? After all, if my finances were in order to do so, why work?

     This question led me to think of the billionaires of the world and I narrowed it down to 2 examples. Both of whom are admirable in their own respective fields: Bill Gates and Elon Musk. Bill Gates of course struck it lucky when he went into the software/GUI market in the early days and Elon Musk with his history with PayPal and the future with Telsa, SpaceX and the Boring Company. These two are prime candidates of what discipline looks like and I'll tell you why. At any moment in time, for the last several decades, either of these men could have hung in the towel with their first couple million/billion dollars and said "I've worked hard these last years and I'm ready to retire and just relax. Do what I want to do etc.". The thing is they didn't and they continue work. Bill Gates isn't the head of Microsoft any more but he continues to advise and runs his own philanthropic endeavors to this day, which must be fairly difficult given his massive amount of wealth to distribute. Don't forget that the man is 65 years old and has more than enough reason to sit on his wealth and eat 3-star michelin meals every day. Truly his contributions to the world are almost unrivaled. Elon Musk runs 3 different companies. In an interview with Joe Rogan, Elon says that he works about 16 hours a day and sleeps 6 hours a day. Sometimes he works the same schedule on the weekends. Elon has a family and young kids, he could just quit and spent his life with his family in a nice house on unfathomable acreage in peace. Why does he continue to work so hard?

     Both of these men had something in common. They each had a "Why" behind what they did. In a TedX talk I listened to (I can't remember the name of the speaker.) the speaker went on to say that really successful organizations had a what they did, how they were going to do it and more importantly a why they were going to do it. Elon Musk wants to colonize mars and make the world a more eco-friendly place by selling electric cars at affordable prices. Bill Gates wanted to revolutionize the world with his software. (Side note, imagine for a minute what the world would be like without Bill Gates. Imagine if this pioneer gave up before hitting it big.) I came to recruiting duty with a why and I didn't know it. My why was because I wanted to change young kids lives and give them opportunities they may not have had. The Army is a great organization and has a lot to offer beyond what the recruiters sell. If I could go back the only thing I would do differently is change my job coming into the Army but I wouldn't join any other branch of service nor skip out on military completely.

     I know my why for recruiting and so far remembering that when it gets tough has gotten me through. I don't have a why for being a medic in the Army though. I've spent 7 years in the Army as a medic so far and I realized within the last two years something was wrong. I don't have a why and that is why I seek alternatives to the current job I have. I really would like to reclass to chaplain assistant and am trying rather hard to figure out how. There are a few other paths I could take but I know that I can't stay on the medic path. There is no why behind it so there will be no success and more importantly no satisfaction. I wouldn't mind staying a recruiter because I have a why but I'd prefer to change lives in a more spiritual capacity for a living if at all possible. 

     Anyhow, I wish I had the discipline of these two men. they truly exercise in the most obstinate way possible and I don't think anyone gives them credit for it. I can say that it would be a struggle every day to not throw in the towel and coast given that option. I will continue to ponder these men and others in order to understand what else drives them. The why behind what they do is merely a statement, but what ideas are leading them on day by day as they trudge through unknown territory in full view of the rest of the world. Do they even care we are watching? That's enough questions for now. I have much more to think about silently. 

Early Morning Wake Up on a Saturday

      Why would anyone willingly wake up at 0530 on a Saturday? There are thoughts that waking up earlier than necessary is a good way to instill or build discipline in yourself. Here's the reasoning: when the alarm goes off at 0530 you have the option to stay in your bed until whenever is more comfortable to get up or you could choose to get out of the bed. There are only two options essentially: initial success or total failure. ( Initial Success or Total Failure happens to be the Explosive Ordinance Disposal motto, and for quite obvious reasons.) Granted, this technique of building self discipline is highly supported by military veterans may be easier after being conditioned to this sort of thing for years to decades. I certainly have little issue waking up well before the sun. In fact, while I was stationed at Fort Bragg for nearly 3 years it was necessary for me to leave my house by 0545 at the latest. Meaning that I had to get dressed, prepare for the day and leave my house before then, not just wake up at 0545. 

     I decided that my life has been a little too cushy as of late and I've done too much complaining the last few weeks. I forgot what it was like to be uncomfortable. Basic training and AIT were uncomfortable and my time spent at ALC here in Fort Sam has reminded me of that season of life for me. Even on weekends in AIT, we still had 0630 morning formation and a 2000 hours formation in the evening. We could go back to sleep after the 0630 accountability formation but when you wake up, get dressed, shave and walk down 3-4 flights of stairs and stand around for 10 minutes in the elements your pretty damn awake at that point. Imagine 6 months of never sleeping in; every day you are awake and dressed before the sun comes up. It is this brush with that past that I decided to wake up at 0530 on a Saturday. 

     I woke up before my alarm went off at 0530. I do every morning. I am usually awake by 0400-0500 and can sometimes to manage to fall asleep but most of the time I lay there, half asleep and tormented by the fact that the other half is coherent. But laying there none the less out of principle that my alarm has not gone off. I normally never sleep more than 7 hours total much less consecutively and if I do I feel groggy and mushy. I thought about snoozing my 0530 alarm for just 5 more minutes but then my iPhone alarm went off and I forgot that I had, in an attempt to force my hand, set it on my desk across the room before bed so I actually had to get up. I turned my alarms off and set on the bed for a few minutes to drink some water and think about what I was going to do now that I was awake. I decided that I was going to do a nice morning water row workout while I listened to the Joe Rogan podcast. You may or may not have your opinion on someone as polarizing as Joe Rogan but I like his format and you cannot deny that the man has a way to question and answer with people that gets them to open up and you can feel like you get to know the guest. I don't think that Joe Rogan is smart or extremely intelligent but he is a damn good interviewer and has a grounded sense of humor. I digress... I did 500m of row easy followed by 500m of row at a sprint pace for 2,000m and then just finished at a moderate pace until I hit the 15 minute mark. A benchmark for time has come to be one of my favorite workouts to see how far I can go in a set time versus what time it takes to finish a set distance. 

     I then got some pants on and a jacket, armed my feet with sneakers and earbuds so I could listen to my podcast while I went for a walk. The walk was probably around 2 miles. There is a loop I like to walk from my hotel and back that's relaxing enough. The sun still isn't up and I'm the first one to be walking around a popular quarter mile track but by the time I get halfway around the track I can see AIT students in army APFU walking to get a weekend workout in on the track and adjacent pull-up bars. I still have some satisfaction knowing that I had finished my workout already and was walking for leisure and sanity by this point. I remember when I was in elementary school and I had a room to myself I would purposely set my alarm clock for before the sun would come up so I could play video games by myself or play in general by myself. Even as a kid I had some sort of pride knowing that I had awoken before the sun and well before everyone else in the house. 

     As I walked back, which was almost a straight line back the way I came, the wind cut through my thin jacket and I wondered if should have walked out so far. I made it back to my car in the parking lot and hopped in to escape the battering breeze. I called my wife and kids for a bit to see how their morning was going and I went to the chow hall to eat. Walking up to the chow hall I saw a line of at least 60 AIT students already waiting. I got there just in time because a minute or two after standing in that line an entire company of students marched up to stand behind me. I was the only individual wearing civilian clothes that didn't have a reflective belt on. The belt signifies your training status and is required at all times to be worn around the shoulders or the waist. I could feel the drill sergeants eyeballing me, deciding on whether or not to ask who I was and if I had lost my belt. The funny truth is that I am probably the same rank as most of them so it would be an awkward conversation. 

     I got my to-go tray after waiting for 15 minutes and headed to try and find the peacocks of Fort Sam Houston. Located in what is called the "Quadrangle" the peacocks live a protected life behind 30 foot stone and mortar walls. The quadrangle is square and made up of about 30 foot high by 20 foot wide walls that are made up of off white limestone pieces that are mortared together in what looks like the contemporary style of the Alamo. Sadly each entrance was locked and gated. I could see the peacocks from afar. They stood in the middle of the quad, on a circular patch of grass that encompasses the centered clocktower. I even could hear them make their distinct calls as I walked around the building to try and get a good vantage point to show my boys on facetime. The walls/building of the quadrangle serve as the command building for US Army North which is apparently ran by a CSM and a 3-Star general. After learning this I decided to not tramp around the building much longer. I walked around a Patton tank and a Huey helicopter that were on display so the boys had something to look at on the other side. My oldest boy, Oren, has taken a liking to a toy Apache helicopter and it was exciting for him to see one so close to his dad on the phone. 

     I slowly drove back to my hotel parking lot and parked in my usual spot, which is farther away from the building than any other car. An older man parked even farther away though while I was eating my breakfast in my car. I will have to remedy this situation soon; I will not be out parked. By the time I casually climb 5 stories worth of stairs to my room it's not even 0930. I feel energized, productive and a little excited knowing that the rest of the day is mine for the taking. I feel, of course, guilty knowing my wife is stuck at home by herself with the boys. There is nothing I can do though, but I still feel bad knowing that my day won't include them physically with me. Another struggle of the military life. For the moment, I just have to decide what to do next.