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Words from the Wise
Join Words from the Wise with Gary Wise, a retired Navy Command Master Chief, for authentic leadership insights forged in real-world experience. Through engaging discussions and actionable strategies, Gary empowers you to master emotional intelligence, build resilient teams, and unlock your full potential. Tune in for practical advice on delegation, conflict management, and inspiring others, drawn from his over 28 years of service and ongoing leader mentorship headquartered now in Ocala, Florida.
Words from the Wise
Relentless Tenacity: Finding Your Purpose After Memorial Day
Freedom isn't free. Standing among fellow Americans at our local Veterans Park on Memorial Day, I was struck by the weight of sacrifice that spans our nation's relatively brief history. From those early patriots who built a new country to the World War II generation like my grandfather who faced global tyranny without modern technology, Americans have consistently stepped forward to defend not just territory, but a way of life.
What does their sacrifice mean for us today? Rather than letting Memorial Day be just another three-day weekend, I explore how we can channel our gratitude into purposeful living through five powerful strategies. These principles aren't just platitudes—they're practical approaches to honoring those who gave everything by maximizing the opportunities their sacrifice provided.
First, establish a clear purpose. After retiring from the Navy, I deliberately sought three areas to invest in: my community, the public school system, and a church family. Second, take full responsibility for your actions. When we recognize that being American is essentially "winning the lottery" compared to conditions elsewhere, we gain perspective that should motivate rather than entitle us. Third, face your fears head-on. Growth never happens in comfort zones, and the discomfort of new challenges builds the resilience needed for greater obstacles. Fourth, build a supportive community. None of us are meant to navigate life alone, and surrounding yourself with people who share your vision provides crucial energy and accountability. Finally, stay committed through inevitable difficulties. Nothing worthwhile happens easily, and persistence through challenges honors those who faced far greater ones.
As educators, community members, parents, or professionals, we all have opportunities to carry forward the torch of those who sacrificed everything. Join me in exploring how we can transform appreciation into action, making their sacrifice meaningful through how we choose to live. What will you do with the freedom others died to protect?
And I know I was born for this. I know I was born for this. Don't care for the critics. My words and life is except for us, that they can't stop. They just don't get it. I think they forget I'm not done till I'm on top. I know I was born for this. I know I was born for this. I believe. I believe we can write a story.
Gary Wise :He's running a little bit late and so, while I have some time, I wanted to go ahead and just kind of cover a little bit more. Just my thoughts on Memorial Day and kind of what how important this day is to all of our country, to everybody who's a veteran, to anyone who's ever had family members who unfortunately lost their lives and sacrifice for our country or the line of duty. Sacrifice, uh, for our country or in the line of duty or in connection to, uh, whatever it was their role to do to serve their country. Uh, you know, we just got to remember the freedom is not free. It's always going to be something that we've got to treasure, that we defend and that we remember. It was, unfortunately, only a generation or two away and, if anything, the most recent years, oh my God, the most recent developments in our political world. Seeing how kind of chaotic it was in DC just even highlights that much more how dangerous it can be for us in this country, and we need to have people that are willing to step up and to sacrifice and to do the right thing in support of our nation. And so the goal for this little conversation right now is to just recommend five ways you can take a holiday like Memorial Day to hopefully re-energize your own life, because what a day like Memorial Day does for me is gives me time to stop and to think and to appreciate the sacrifices that people have made for my family, for my country, for my community, for our future. And then it's through the appreciation for those sacrifices that I get energized and I start thinking about how am I going to leverage their sacrifice to make the world a better place, right?
Gary Wise :And that's what I want to talk about right now, because I do think that it's important that whenever we recognize something significant has happened, that we look at that as being okay. This is a possible transition opportunity for me to move on to the next space of my life, right, or for the next, the next, the next part, the next chapter of my journey, if you will. You know, it's about carrying that fire forward in your lives and making sure that you're you're setting an example for everybody in your, in your world. And remember, it doesn't matter whether you're running a business, it doesn't matter if you're raising children at home, it doesn't matter if you're mentoring cadets or working with kids like I do at Vanguard. You're always in a place to hopefully set a good example and to give people somebody to follow as you move forward. And so these are five tips that I know will work for you. Number one is recognizing that this life, as blessed as it can be, you got to be tenacious. You have got to have the tenacity to never quit, to never give up, and it's got to be relentless. You have got to recognize that.
Gary Wise :Okay, memorial Day, look at these hundreds of thousands of Americans that have sacrificed around the world throughout the beginning of the country until now. What was that sacrifice for? What was that sacrifice for? And I will tell you, it was for today. It was for today. It was to ensure that our country would be free, that we wouldn't be speaking German as a primary language, that we wouldn't be speaking Japanese as a primary language, that we would no longer be under British control. We would have changed the entire course of the world by being independent thinkers who chose to create a new country and to do the best that they could, with, of course, the chaos that they had at their time. Today, at the Memorial Day ceremony, the speaker, the keynote speaker, spoke through every war, from the beginning of the United States of America all the way until today. That was descended from. Somebody who actually served in that conflict came up with a rose on the wreath that they were going to lay in support of some Gold Star families from our Marion County area, and as he went through the different wars, it was just a reminder that there's not that many, right, america is still a relatively young nation. We have not had as many conflicts as some places like the Mediterranean or the African continent or, you know, the Middle East, if you will. Right, even England. Right, we have not had that many wars.
Gary Wise :When I look back on the wars that really shaped our nation, for me it's World War Two. You know, my grandfather was a World War II veteran. He was in the Navy in World War II and that was, you know, arguably the last war before technology really got involved. I mean Korea, yes, in defense of the nation, in defense against tyranny, in support of the allied forces after what happened at Pearl Harbor, to go against the axis of evil and from liberating Guam to D-Day in Europe. These were just Americans that went through so much chaos without knowing if they were going to come home as we ship to ship battles, ships being sunk, thousands of lives being lost, people being out to sea for days waiting for rescue, the Indianapolis, the Bataan Death March so much chaos in the Pacific and that war really shaped our nation. The greatest generation right, the generation of Americans that were back home going to work in the factories, the women stepping up and taking on the roles within the factories to ensure that our country did not stop working.
Gary Wise :And then to look at kind of where the situation that we're in today, it is heartbreaking, like I got. Only I do believe we're back on the right track to restore our ability to make things in America, to ensure that we're going to be independent if we ever get into that kind of a chaos again. But they really had to build it while it was rocking and rolling. I mean, after Pearl Harbor the Pacific Fleet was rocked right and they had to restore those. So much had to happen. And so when I look at World War II in particular, I get so much energy from the Americans that did what they had to do to defend our country and to defend our way of life and, of course, to get retribution for what happened to us at Pearl Harbor.
Gary Wise :All right, so let's get into these five areas that I think that if you could focus on these five areas, you will be able to have some relentless tenacity right. You will have the ability to not quit Number one. The ability to not quit Number one. You've got to have a purpose. You must have a purpose. So if Memorial Day, like me, is an opportunity where you can look at the future and say you know what? I'm proud to be an American, I'm proud to be a part of this country, I'm proud to be a person who lives in Central Florida, ocala, and I want to do my part. What's your purpose Then? How do you want to do it?
Gary Wise :A couple of piece of advice for me is, when I retired from the Navy, I would always tell people that I wanted to go find a community I wanted to invest in, I wanted to find a public school system that I wanted to invest in and I wanted to find a church family that I wanted to invest in. Those were going to be my three strategic areas and my retirement from the military, where I can still contribute to the fight. And when I look at my community here in Marion County, florida, ocala, florida, I've found everything I'm looking for. I've got a community that, while it's growing, there is still a vibrant small town feel you can still today at the Memorial Day ceremony at the Marion County Veterans Park there's tons of people out there, the music was great, the speakers were awesome and just a bunch of people that were proud to be Americans. I see that every day at the school as well.
Gary Wise :You know the public school system gets such a bad, freaking rap. Man, I listen to people just talking. You know I probably said stuff like that too when I was not connected to the public school system. But now as an educator, as a teacher that's working in the public school system and the high school level, I recognize how hard it is for those educators, those education professionals, that everybody's a critic, everybody's got an opinion, but very few people want to come serve in that space. Very few people want to catch that paycheck to do the amount of things they have to do and I hope, if we can resolve anything in our country going forward as we recognize that public education officials should be getting some of the highest pay in our country period because they are responsible, spending the majority of their waking hours with our children every day. I told my students, you know, I spent more of my waking hours with them than I even do with my own family, because typically at home you're asleep, right, but from six classes a day after school activities, weekend trips, that's, and that's just me. For an example, think about people that I've only been doing it for three years. Think about people that have been doing it for God, 20 years, right, and so I think that's a travesty. And America, florida, we got to get that right. We got to get these teachers paid so they can have the freedom to a hundred percent, not be worried about their livelihood while they're shaping the future of our children. And of course we're going to, I know, fix all the other public education things that are out there. But without a doubt, you've got to get the pay right.
Gary Wise :All right, next up, own your actions. So the first part was you have to have a purpose. Right Again, my purpose I want to be involved in my community. I want to be involved in my public school system because I know public schools where you're going to get the majority of the people. That's what I care about the majority of the people. And then my church family, because I believe it's the church's job to help the community in a faith space and I believe that if they can work a faith base how everything else will resolve itself. So those are my purpose for being just tenacious at my livelihood right now.
Gary Wise :Next up is you've got to take responsibility for your actions. No one else can take responsibility for you. You've got to take responsibility for yourself, period, point blank. You've got to understand why you are where you are, how you got there, and take responsibility and accountability for whatever you're going to do next. So when you look at everything that happens on Memorial Day and you look at all the people that are out there being grateful for this country they live in and oh, by the way, being born an American citizen is a freaking lottery ticket winner, right, it is a golden lottery ticket winner. I've been to countries in this world that it is freaking horrible. And don't get me wrong, I know there are some bad people in our country and some bad house environments in our country, and I know there are some tough places to be in our country, but I'd still rather be in our country than anywhere else in this world, and I tell this to my students all the time. If you have a cell phone in your back pocket, you have access to all the information in the world. Let's make some things happen and you've got to take responsibility for your actions and whatever you're going to do from this point going forward. It's that simple. It really is. Have a purpose and take responsibility for your actions right Next up.
Gary Wise :Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to tell you it is not going to be comfortable trying to do something new. It's not. I deal with it all the time. I'm always a little bit disconcerted when I've got to do something new that I've never done before, whether I want to take the cadets on a new field trip, whether I want to take my family to a new part of Florida for a vacation, whether I want to try to approach a new business venture, whether I want to try to do a new thing in, whether I want to try to do a new thing in the classroom, whatever. There's always going to be some fear when there comes to change. Face it, face it. You've got to handle that, though you cannot afford to not try because you're afraid or uncomfortable. That's not going to work right, and nor should you want it to work. We should want to live a life that is a little bit exciting. Again, who wants to ride on a roller coaster that just goes straight? No, no People want to go out on those roller coasters that go like this. Right they, up and down, up and down. And so when you start to feel a little bit afraid, good, good, let that energize you to prepare to go forward and then win, conquer that fear. It's by practicing little uncomfortable things that will then build that strength inside of you that, when the big uncomfortable things come, you're prepared. It's just how it is.
Gary Wise :So, number one got to have a purpose right For me community, right my church, family and my public school system right. Number two I got to make sure that I am freaking accountable for my actions all the time. That's it, nobody else but me. I make the choices, I make the decisions and if I jack it up, I'm the one that's got to make the restitution, or the apologies, like they say in Japan. I've got to do the go men aside. Next, I've got to handle my fears. You've got to handle your fears. You cannot afford to be paralyzed and be afraid of your fear. Talk about it. Get people that can support you, and then you got to make a move right. Next up is you must have a team of people.
Gary Wise :I do not believe we're meant to do this world, this life, this journey alone. This is why I wrote the book Own your Journey for these kids, because I don't want these kids to think that they're alone in the world. It's just not how it's going to be Now. Truth be told, when I joined the Navy, went to my first ship, I only showed up with two sea bags, had no friends with me. My family was back in the States. I had to make relationships, I had to establish connections. Those are all true statements, right? Not everyone that you're hanging out with right now is always going to be there for you in the future, but there's always going to be opportunities to establish other relationships. Oh, by the way, again, technology really gives you the opportunity to stay connected and to leverage people and to give them the opportunity to help you. Just don't waste their time, man. Just don't ask them to do everything for you and don't take them for granted. But if you can build a community of people that want to serve with you, that want to work with you, and they can see the vision, you're going to continue to have the inspiration and the energy to continue to drive forward. And so my advice is look for those people and avoid the people that are unfortunately going to suck your energy because they're just probably just going to use you and those people are unhealthy and you got to have boundaries for that. Right.
Gary Wise :The fifth thing Right. So just reminder one purpose you've got to have a purpose. If it's Memorial Day, it's 2025. And you're like you know what? It was a great three day weekend about going to the summer. I'm going to reset some things and I'm going to get moving. Number one what's the purpose? What makes you feel like you want to get moving? Number two take responsibility for how you got where you're at. Make a plan that's actually something you can do and take responsibility for whatever you're going to do next.
Gary Wise :Face those fears head on. Don't let them put you in a box. Matter of fact, put them in the box, light them on fire and let them burn. Rally your community, your people, the people that love you and want to see you win. Tell them what your plans are. Let them hold you a little bit accountable. Don't be afraid of that, and get ready to put the work in and then finally, stay committed. Don't just quit. Don't just quit. Don't just stop. Don't just hit a roadblock and all of a sudden say, well, that's too hard for me and I'm not going to do it. It's just not how things work typically in life. Typically, nothing worthwhile happens quickly.
Gary Wise :You should want the hard work, you should want the grind, you should want to have to go out there and put the work in that. People are going to watch you and think how are they doing that? I'd be so, yep, you would be, and it's nothing against you, it's just you're not me. If you want to be you, maybe I can help you, but I have chosen to do X, y, z things, and that is my intention, and be proud of that. Be proud of what you're doing, be proud of the progress that you're making, and allow for good days and bad days, allow for high points and low points and allow for people to help you along the way. Okay, I think these are all things that can be realistically done and I promise you that if you really wanted to make a change in your life, if you want to leverage the momentum that comes from a Memorial day, which, for me, this is one of those days that I do I get so fired up because I see all the people out there that are supporting one another, that are proud to be Americans. I feel the energy and it just makes me feel like now is a good time to try to move something forward. I hope you can do that with your life. If you have any ideas and ways that I can help you, I would love to Please check out the YouTube channel.
Gary Wise :Please like, subscribe, comment. All the things right. I'm in Ocala, barrient County. I'm a high school teacher at Vanguard High School. Navy Junior ROTC. Wise Leadership Solutions is my brand.
Gary Wise :Ocala Inspired is July 25th, where we're going to have six speakers, including myself, talking with people in our local community about these exact same kind of ideas, but how you can also do this within your workplace, within your family. All good things right. So thank you very much. I'm going to go ahead and jump off of this one and get ready for, hopefully, mr Rory Bacon to log in, and then I'll be back with Rory. Thank you very much for your time.
Gary Wise :Happy Memorial Day to the world. Thank you for hopefully thinking of all those that have served and lost their lives in defense of our great nation, um, and know that the best way to honor them is to get out there and live free, live proud, live strong and make America I'm not going to say you know, just MAGA, but make America freaking awesome, right. Nothing wrong with MAGA, I'm not anti-MAGA. I just don't want to get pulled into the whole rhetoric of the politics, right, cause I think the whole thing is, y'all know, all right. Thank you very much, I appreciate you and I will see you all soon. I was born for this. I know I was born for this. Don't care for the critics. My words and life is except for us, that they can't stop. They just don't get it. I think they forget I'm not done till I'm on top. I know I was born for this. I know I was born for this. I believe. I believe we can write our story.
