5 things I learned from my time in the military that apply to business, relationships, and life in general.

– Always look after your mates: If you use your strengths to cover the skill gaps of others, it creates an opportunity to learn from each other. It builds bonds, loyalty, and strengthens efficiency, but most importantly, it empowers all to achieve greater goals.

– Always have your weapon pointed outwards: The competition is ready to do battle. Internal conflict distracts you from your objective. If you look inwards for disparity, you will find it, pressuring trust and reducing your team’s effectiveness. This one is important.

– Train hard, fight easy: Maintaining a growth mindset better positions you and your team to respond to external challenges. If you slack off in your own time, that challenge will be infinitely more difficult, limiting opportunities. Discipline to pursue your objective is paramount to success.

– Systems are designed to facilitate improvement: They are infinite. Goals finite. The system may not be perfect – work with it to improve. Systems can be technical or social. The world is built on systems – embrace them.

– Sleep when you can: Take any and every opportunity to rest when you can – sleep is recovery, and a recharged mind allows you to be more effective in managing complex tasks.