VETERAN OWNED  +  OPERATED

I left the United States Air Force in 2019. | Transitioning to civilian life was abrupt, and I struggled to find my place in corporate America. I learned several valuable lessons over the past few years that I'd like to share with you.

First: No one cares. You have to make them care. This lesson is true in most aspects of life, with very few exceptions. If you are lucky and have lived a very rich life, you might be fortunate enough to have a handful of people who genuinely care about you, will invest in your dreams, and have your best interests at heart. However, most of us don't listen to those people anyway, so what does it matter?

Second: Everything is hard - but you can choose your hard! Going to school is hard, and earning good grades is hard. Accepting a challenging job is hard, and moving to a new city is hard... However, skipping college and earning minimum wage for 20+ years in your hometown is harder. Doing the right thing is often hard, but laying awake at night with a guilty conscience is harder. Working 60+ hours a week is hard, but being unemployed is harder... Choose your hard.

Third: What you do today will reflect tomorrow. Small consistent steps in the right direction will get you where you want to go.

Fourth: Integrity matters. Consistency matters. Punctuality matters. Honesty matters. Be the kind of person you say that you want to be.

Fifth: You can have anything you want in life, and there are multiple ways to get anything, but everything has a price. You can get what you want, but you will always have to pay. No exceptions. There is no free lunch in this world.

INTEGRITY  |   AUTHENTICITY   |  LEADERSHIP

North Carolina

HQ  | Princeton, NC

AppleJamesAssociates@gmail.com

252.762.3194