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Thank You For Your Service

Guest post by: Michael Hume

Article Overview: Whether you agree or not with the "mission" they've been given in certain parts of the world, our military members deserve our appreciation, and our gratitude. It's not too much to ask. And you should always look for things to appreciate. Being good at appreciation is one of the first steps toward becoming good at inspiration....

Thank You For Your Service

Appreciate The Military Folks You Meet I met a new friend today, by the name of Anthony, who is a neighbor here in the beautiful southern Colorado countryside. I dropped by his house to ask about his fence (Colonel Wife wants one just like it), and he was kind enough to give me the name and number of the guy who installed it (another neighbor). During the course of the conversation, I learned that Anthony and I have something in common: we were both serving in the 82nd Airborne Division in the early '80s.

When I meet a combat veteran like Anthony, I'm sometimes embarrassed to say what I did during my military service: I was just a lowly Army journalist, not a front-line trooper like Anthony. But I'm never embarrassed to talk about the unit with which I served. The 82nd Airborne Division is nicknamed "America's Guard of Honor" for many good reasons, and serving with the 82nd helped give me a combination of confidence and humility that's served me well throughout my career, from business ownership, to private investing, to working for all kinds of companies from manufacturers to dinner theaters.

Anthony told me he "got blown up" in Afghanistan, serving with another unit (he had moved on from the 82nd). That incident ended a long career with the military, and though he said he still suffers a little from his disability (I couldn't tell), he's almost back to 100 per cent. I shook his hand, and I definitely thanked him for his service.

I travel quite a bit, and whenever I'm in an airport I always make a point of having a supply of blank greeting cards inscribed (anonymously) with "Thank you for your service" and which include a $20 bill. I try to hand out one or two in every airport, to uniformed American service members. My favorite airport in which I got to hand out cards was the Frankfurt airport in Germany - and I was saddened to hear that, a few months ago, some terrorists killed a couple of our uniformed military guys in that same airport. Remember this: wherever they are, even in what seems like the relative safety of a public airport in a "safe" country, our military folks are always in danger. Do what you can to give them aid and comfort when you see them. You don't have to give hand-outs, such as $20 bills, but do stick your hand out and say thank you.

The world is a tough and dangerous place, and the gathering global clouds promise to bring more than just economic storms. The middle east and northern Africa are on fire... Europe is struggling... China wants new predominance but still struggles to feed its millions... and America, the nation to which the rest of the world looks for leadership and assistance, is beset by every sort of challenge from economic disaster to the wrath of Mother Nature. Whether it's protecting our national interests from armed bad guys overseas, or helping pull little old ladies out of rising flood waters in Missouri, our military folks are out there trying to make America and the world safer and better, every single day.

Whether you agree or not with the "mission" they've been given in certain parts of the world, our military members deserve our appreciation, and our gratitude. It's not too much to ask. And you should always look for things to appreciate. Being good at appreciation is one of the first steps toward becoming good at inspiration.

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Article Tags: entrepreneurship, health wealth and happiness, inspirational leadership, personal responsibility



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