This week the world had the opportunity to witness history based on two events that occurred.  The first was the fact that the Berlin Wall has been down for the same amount of time that it was up and the Falcon Heavy launch from Space X.

In my mind, both of these stories illustrate the power of people working together for the common good.  I can remember President Reagan imploring Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the wall, and I can remember the sight of people having the opportunity to celebrate freedom for the first time in decades.

Falcon Heavy is significant in that it is the largest launch since the Saturn IV rocket. The idea of reusing boosters to reduce the cost of space travel amazes and inspires at the same time.

Why did I link these two stories?  Well, to me and my simple brain these ideas are and were revolutionary for their time.  Yet, through the power of people working together, we have been able to achieve remarkable feats.

We achieve and innovate by building bridges, not walls.   We achieve remarkable results when we are inclusive and work towards a common goal.  The leader sets the vision as did President Reagan and Elon Musk but it is the cooperation of the teams that make that vision a reality.

Recently, I had the opportunity to share my experiences transitioning from being a First Sergeant back to my original career field.  As I looked around the room, I noticed how diverse the First Sergeant Council was and I began to reflect on society and my transition to the private sector.

My initial thoughts were that the U.S. Military is truly diverse and a melting pot of society.  I reflected that despite our individual values and backgrounds we can put those differences aside and accomplish the task at hand.

The current state of our society makes me wish that instead of the constant infighting and labeling of those that disagree with our view of the world that we can put that aside and work towards the solutions.

Those of us who have served should celebrate our diversity and our ability to work together to solve complex problems.  As we transition to the private sector, we should take that mindset with us and work towards common goals that will make not only our organizations but our society a better place.

The decision to begin a blog has been one that I have wrestled with for some time.  The reasons I haven’t up until this point were my own fears and insecurities about putting my thoughts out there for the world to see.

My transition from my military career to the private sector has led me to explore my own thoughts and values.  My transition has opened my mind up to put myself out there and reflect on my change in career but the lessons I learned leading and managing organizations and people.

I chose to call this site The Dirt Road Chronicles because I grew up with a salvage yard for a backyard on a dirt road in the Panhandle of Texas.  However, with hard work, mentorship, and good luck I have been able to earn a degree and travel the world.  It is out of respect for the people who helped me get to where I am at that I write the blog.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton