In my life I respect a number of institutions and people. The military being one of them [There are a few others as well.] The military teaches certain values that young men and women can take with them the rest of their lives [Listen to the 'old timers' talk long enough and you will understand.]. It is a pathway to personal development and it connects people together. What you get out of it is up to you, but they will introduce you to the concepts of honor, sacrifice and duty. Not many places in the world teach those values any more [Sounds like ancient worn out words but it is institutions like this that keep them dusted and presented as lessons for others.]
If your young, not sure what to do with your life, consider joining and finding a place that will help mold you into the person you will be proud to be. With some effort someday actually may become [They may give you the framework but it is you that still must do the work. If you never call or email you will never know where that pathway may lead. Think about what you want to accomplish in life and make steps and a plan to get there. You probably end up somewhere else but that is your fate and its the journey that make the person]. It all starts with a sense of direction and guidance. If you didn't have that in your life, then you need to go find it. Just be open to what you discovery and make sure your teachers are worthy to teach.
I like this quote from the ancient philosopher Aristotle that I think helps me formulate deeper respect for those who have sacrificed for our nation and how that develops leaders. "He who is to be a good ruler must have first been ruled."
In some perspectives, if you are going to lead others you must have first have been humble enough to have followed. If you are going to calculate the value of life you must have almost lost your own. If you are going to be a teacher you must have been at one point a good student. So and so forth... I guess the alternative to that is an abstract question of how one can most effectively lead or inspire others if they have not lived with, do not understand, nor share their hopes, dreams and aspirations? [Its not impossible, its just difficult to understand the nuances of perspective.]
In a democracy every man and women is equal but different on earned merit. In my limited perspective, society strives for such values sort in a fumble forward way in general, but the military tries to live it with specific directive purpose [It is strategic and effective]. That is what makes them one of a few proper pathways for those with the heart and the humbleness to serve. True leadership comes from within and money can't buy it. There are no medals or certificates that can capture this concept fully. True leaders, they seek external praise less versus the internal feeling of responsibility and fulfillment [You may not know that until you are older and have seen amazing things to gain that insight. You will also see different people succeed and fail in life and find out what sets them apart. The juicy stuff isn't all in the textbooks. Textbooks give you the important framework of knowledge and skills on approaching issues, yet life cauterizes that formal and informal education into a pointy spear of insight. When Athenian wisdom and Spartan performance are married into the same soul you have arrived at actualized leadership].
Anyways....good speech and good video.
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