The Military Taught Me Discipline. Entrepreneurship Is Testing It.

In my last blog, I talked about how joining the United States Air Force at 18 years old introduced me to three core values that would ultimately shape my life: Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do.

At the time, I didn’t fully appreciate how much those three simple principles would influence the man I would become. After 20 years of military service, countless experiences, and more than a few life lessons, those values became more than something I memorized during basic training. They became part of who I am.

Fast-forward to today. I’m a retired Air Force veteran, a full-time federal employee, the owner of a firearms training company, and now the proud owner of Bravehart Brew.

And let me tell you something.

The Air Force taught me discipline. Entrepreneurship is making sure I haven’t forgotten a darn thing.

Integrity First: Even When Nobody’s Watching

In the military, integrity wasn’t optional. Your word meant something. Your actions had consequences. And if you screwed something up, you owned it.

Sounds simple enough, right?

Well, entrepreneurship has a funny way of putting that principle to the test.

When you’re running your own business, there isn’t always someone standing over your shoulder checking your work. There’s no supervisor reviewing every decision, no commander making sure you’re meeting expectations, and certainly no first sergeant waiting to have a little heart-to-heart when things go sideways.

It’s just you.

You decide how you treat customers. You decide whether to stand behind your products. You decide whether to take shortcuts when nobody would know the difference.

With Bravehart Brew, I’m learning that integrity isn’t just about selling a quality bag of coffee or tea. It’s about being honest with customers, following through on commitments, admitting when something doesn’t go according to plan, and making things right.

I’m not going to pretend I’ve mastered every aspect of running a coffee business. Far from it. I’m still figuring things out, and occasionally learning lessons the expensive way.

But one thing I refuse to compromise is my integrity.

Because a customer might forget what they paid for a bag of coffee, but they’ll remember how you treated them.

Service Before Self: The Customer Doesn’t Care That You’re Tired

Now this one is interesting.

For 20 years, Service Before Self meant putting the mission ahead of personal convenience. There were long days, missed holidays, unexpected assignments, and plenty of moments when what I wanted to do took a back seat to what needed to be done.

Apparently, entrepreneurship read that playbook and said, “Hold my coffee.”

Running Bravehart Brew while managing Bravehart Defense Solutions and working a full-time job has taught me that time is probably my most valuable resource.

There are evenings when I’d much rather sit down, enjoy my video games, pour myself a drink, and do absolutely nothing.

Instead, I’m updating my Shopify website, responding to customers, preparing for a pop-up, researching coffee/tea products, or trying to figure out why something that worked perfectly yesterday suddenly decided to stop working today.

And here’s the kicker: nobody made me do any of this.

I volunteered!

But Service Before Self means something a little different to me these days. It means recognizing that customers are trusting me with their money, their time, and their expectations.

When someone purchases Bravehart Brew coffee, they’re not particularly concerned about how busy my schedule is. They simply want a good product and a good experience.

And they should.

Of course, I’m also learning that serving others doesn’t mean running yourself into the ground. The military taught me the importance of accomplishing the mission, but experience has taught me that even the most dedicated person needs to recharge.

Preferably with a strong cup of coffee.

Excellence in All We Do: The Standard Doesn’t Change Because It’s Your Business

Of the three Air Force Core Values, this one might be the most challenging when it comes to entrepreneurship.

Excellence in All We Do.

Not excellence when it’s convenient.

Not excellence when business is booming.

And certainly not excellence only when someone is watching.

Excellence. Period.

When I launched Bravehart Brew, I quickly discovered there’s a significant difference between enjoying coffee & tea and understanding the business.

I mean, I knew how to drink coffee and tea. I’d been doing that successfully for years (especially living in Asia for many years).

But understanding coffee origins, roast profiles, grind sizes, packaging, inventory, marketing, shipping, and customer preferences?

That’s an entirely different conversation.

Suddenly, I found myself researching things I never imagined I’d need to know. And every time I thought I had something figured out, another question popped up.

But that’s where the military mindset comes in.

You train. You study. You adapt. You improve.

In the Air Force, excellence didn’t mean you were perfect. It meant you were committed to becoming better at your job and holding yourself accountable to a higher standard.

I’m applying that same philosophy to Bravehart Brew.

Whether I’m selecting coffee products, preparing samples for a festival, designing packaging, or interacting with customers, I want people to recognize that there’s pride behind this brand.

I’m not interested in simply being another coffee company selling another bag of beans.

I want to build something people trust, enjoy, and genuinely want to support.

And that takes work.

A lot of work.

From Following the Mission to Creating My Own

One of the biggest adjustments I’ve experienced as an entrepreneur is the absence of a clearly defined mission.

In the military, there was always a mission, a chain of command, established procedures, and a framework for accomplishing objectives.

You might not have agreed with every decision, but at least there was a structure.

Entrepreneurship?

Well, sometimes you’re the commander, the logistics officer, the marketing department, the customer service representative, and the guy loading boxes into the car at six in the morning.

And occasionally, all five of those people are arguing with each other.

The difference is that now I’m responsible for creating the mission, developing the strategy, and figuring out how to execute it.

Nobody is handing me a roadmap for building Bravehart Brew.

There are no guaranteed customers, no guaranteed sales, and no guarantee that every idea will work.

That’s both exciting and terrifying.

But I also find it incredibly rewarding.

For 20 years, I dedicated myself to serving something bigger than me. Today, I’m taking the lessons from that experience and applying them to something I’m building for myself.

Something I can grow, take pride in, and hopefully leave behind as part of my legacy.

The Uniform Came Off. The Values Didn’t.

Retiring from the Air Force didn’t mean retiring the principles that guided me throughout my military career.

If anything, entrepreneurship has given those principles a new purpose.

Integrity First reminds me to build a business rooted in honesty and trust.

Service Before Self reminds me that customers and relationships matter more than simply making a sale.

Excellence in All We Do reminds me that success requires continuous learning, improvement, and a commitment to doing things the right way.

Do I get everything right? Absolutely not.

Have I made mistakes? You better believe it.

Are there days when I wonder why I decided to start another business while already juggling everything else?

More than I’d care to admit.

But I’ve also learned that discipline isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about showing up, putting in the work, and continuing forward even when things don’t go according to plan.

The Air Force gave me the foundation.

Entrepreneurship is giving me the opportunity to see what I can build on it.

And if there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout this journey, it’s that the mission may change, but the standard shouldn’t.

Until next time, keep pushing, keep learning, and keep brewing.