Front-Line Leadership

CHAPTER 1Discover and Ignite Your Purpose

Everyone's lives changed on the Tuesday morning of September 11, 2001. Whether you were getting ready for school, at the office, or not even born yet, the world was never going to be the same after that day. The innocence of years past was shattered as we watched the tragedy unfold live on television. This became a defining moment for many of us—a moment that helped me discover and ignite my purpose.

On September 11, 2001, I was in the third week of my first semester at a small community college in rural Minnesota. I didn't have the type of family that encouraged me to go to college. They didn't take me on college visits, help me fill out applications, or submit financial aid forms. I had to do it all myself. I had barely graduated high school, and with no real direction in life, I started skipping classes that very first week. As far as college was concerned, I wasn't on the fast track to success.

As I watched the events of 9/11 unfold on the television before me, I felt those same feelings that most of us felt—helplessness, sorrow, and anger. I knew I had to do something. I couldn't just sit idly by as our country was getting ready to go to war with those responsible.

I visited the Army recruiter's office the day after the attack, but they were closed. I came back the next day and told them that I wanted to enlist in the active Army. At that time I was a member of the Minnesota National Guard, but I knew the National Guard would not ...