We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Terron Sims, II a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Terron, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
I have been blessed throughout my life. Many times, since I first applied to West Point in 1994, what I wanted professionally, I did not attain, yet the actual outcome was much better than if I had attained what I wanted. It took several supposed setbacks and failures for me to understand that I was better off not “getting what I wanted”.
The perfect example of my optimism – the situation that turned my outcome on life – occurred during my deployment in Baghdad. In October 2003, several of my friends and fellow captains were permitted to return home. I submitted my paperwork just as they had done, but the officer in charge of processing our paperwork sent mine via standard mail, whereas, for his friends, he processed theirs via email.. Because of this, my paperwork arrived late; thus, I was not permitted to return home. At first, I was upset, but the day my friends left, I was overseeing the grand opening of our district’s government center.
My being forced to remain in Baghdad provided me the greatest professional experience of my life, so much so that everything I have done professionally is because of my 15 month deployment in Iraq. If I had left Baghdad when I [thought I] was supposed to, I would not have had my the life-changing experience, and I would not be considered a subject matter expert in my field.
Since Baghdad, when things do not go my way, when I face professional adversity, I smile and laugh because I know that God has something much better in store for me. When adversity comes, I remain focused, diligent, and take advantage of the opportunities that are presented me – all while remaining positive.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
The running joke amongst my West Point friends is that no one knows what I actually do. Professionally, I do not fit into any particular box, which I love because it enables me to be of service to may, if not all. That being said, the “job” that pays my bills is that of serving as the Executive Director for Military & Veterans Affairs for Merit International. My business line uses our digital technology to solve the issue of professional licensing reciprocity and validation for military spouses and transitioning service members. The issue our team is solving is that of providing the digital means for someone to validate their professional license from one state to another.
What I love about my current role is that it allows me to continue my service to our nation through our support of military spouses and veterans. I have been writing policy and advising in this space since 2008, so it feels good to be able to actually provide a solution to such an important issue that I and so many of my friends and colleagues have been fighting.
My role has me collaborating with the White House, Dept of Defense, Dept of Veterans Affairs, and the Dept of Labor. In addition, because professional licenses are a state matter, my team travels across the country meeting with governors and their senior staff and state legislators, working together to assist military spouses and veterans attain employment in an efficient manner.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Teamwork – It is not about you. It is about those you serve and those who work with, for, and alongside you. You cannot accomplish anything alone. No one does and ever has, contrary to what you may have heard. A a leader, if you take care of the team, the team will take care of you.
Perseverance – Life is hard. Period. That is no excuse to quit or lose faith. The term growing pains is true because no one attains greatness or accomplishes a goal without a little pain. Those who succeed do so because they push through the pain, understanding that the journey makes them stronger and that the pain enables them to better appreciate their accomplishment(s).
Positivity – Again, life is hard, but that should not effect your outlook on life. Positive energy creates positive outcomes. As much as you may feel that things are bad and that things are not going your way, there is someone who would exchange their pain for yours. Laugh at the pain. Doing so makes you stronger and more resilient.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
Since I was in kindergarten, I had to do work in the house. First, it began with dusting all the horizontal surfaces in the living room and cleaning my room. Second grade, my mom added taking out the trash to the list. Third grade, vacuuming all the carpets was added. Fifth grade, dishes. By the sixth grade, was literally doing all of the housework (except the laundry and cleaning my parents’ room). Once I got to high school, my dad gave me control of all of the yard work: cutting the grass, raking leaves, pulling weeds, shoveling snow, etc. And, allow me to stress that I did not complete more work or do so to my parents’ standard, there were real consequences. Fortunately by high school, I was a house cleaning pro. HA!
As much as all of the work sucked from my kid perspective, as an adult, I came to appreciate my parents putting all of that responsibility on me because it gave me a strong work ethic and appreciation for accomplishing tasks. As a leader in the Army, my parents’ rearing enabled me to appreciate the tiring work that my soldiers had to do to make our platoon so successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.TerronSims.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerronSims
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terron-sims-ii-637b358
