Stay Hungry and Prosper Part II: “Intestinal fortitude received Sir!”
By Topango Stargazer 1 minute read
The lessons I learned becoming a U.S. Marine keep me committed. The lessons I learned while serving as a U.S. Marine keep me disciplined. The lesson I learned living day to day as a military veteran keep me persevering.
By now you’ve all probably seen, heard, or maybe even spoken the slogan “Stay Hungry and Prosper”. Maybe you read my other blog post on this slogan. Coined by yours truly, people have asked me what this slogan means to me or what inspired me when creating it.
The slogan is something I’ve had the unfortunate and fortunate experience of living. When I speak of hunger, I’m not talking about heat pitching cliché sales executives. This isn’t the kind of hunger I’m referring too particularly when serving in the United States Marine Corps. At least not in its’ entirety.
When the Marine recruiters saw me for the first time, they asked me if I needed assistance in a way that suggested they were willing to redirect me to my intended destination…which was obviously not their office! Upon my telling them that I was interested in becoming a Marine, they laughed so loudly that the Army recruitment personnel came to see what all the excitement was. In humiliation I tried to leave hurriedly. I got halfway down the hall when someone whistled and shouted for me to hang on. As this Marine walked toward me with a pamphlet in hand, he gestured for me to look at the information. It showed height and weight requirements for entry and he kindly told me to return when I was within range of meeting the criteria.
What you don’t know is that this began yet another season in my life in staying hungry for the prosperity of service to my country. What I haven’t mentioned yet is, at that time, I weighed 362 LBS at a height of 5’8”. Years of overeating and poor dietary habits due to my existence within an abusive environment, unhealed trauma, and the stress of unwarranted responsibility of working to provide at too young of an age, had caught up with me.
Months dragged on as I dieted and began a physical training regimen. I remember, the days when I thought it was pointless to pursue this desire to be a United States Marine. I wasn’t that tall. I certainly didn’t look like Dwayne Johnson or John Cena. Furthermore, I didn’t play high school sports. With commitment taking the wheel when my mind played its’ tricks; I eventually began to see progress with my weight loss and improvement in my run time.
It was nearly 2.5 years later I graduated from basic training Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina.
The pangs of hunger taught me as a recruit and young Marine; the ability to engage the practice of discipline, commitment, and perseverance in the face of adversity. Staying hungry to result in prosperity does not always mean financial wealth or worse, greed in any form.
May we all consider remembering the pangs of hunger in prosperity as we employ the practice of discipline, commitment, and perseverance in facing life’s challenges.
Love,
Topango
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