We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Samantha Wood a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Samantha, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
When I first commissioned into the US Army as a 2nd Lieutenant on active duty in 2008, a welcome reception was held at Fort Sam Houston, TX. Among many speakers was a medical officer, at the rank of Colonel, who spoke to the young officers quite candidly. I had no context for his words at the time, but he said something like this. “In your career as Army officers you will be told what path to take; there is a timeline for various positions and commands, a career path so to speak. You will be told that you must follow this path in order to be successful. But what I have learned is this, you should follow your heart, follow your interests, and do what you are most passionate about. Do not get caught up in following this cookie-cutter plan. If you follow your interests, it will work out.”
Even though I did not fully understand the power in what he was saying at that time, I kept his words in my memory. As the years progressed I quickly learned that there were things you were supposed to do in order to be successful. I watched people follow the path and have varying degrees of success. The momentum to follow the crowd was very strong. But in my time as an active duty officer and reserve officer, I continued to listen to my heart above all. My heart would tell me things like….take care of my health first, keep my humor, maintain my personal hobbies, to not take things so seriously, and to not assume the worst even when things looked bad. My heart said to keep doing what gave me energy. My heart also said, don’t do anything just for the money, including taking a job for the sole purpose of moving up in rank.
I served 7-years active duty as a physical therapist and later transferred to the Army Reserves in order to have more balance in my life. After about 3.5 years in the reserves, I felt a calling to transfer to the National Guard and compete in their sports programs. I was a newly promoted Major at the time, and I knew the script. If I ever wanted to be promoted again, to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, I would probably need to take a command or other specific leadership roles to make myself more competitive. Competitive, I didn’t love the word. Every day I strived to be the best version of myself, continuing to learn, adapt, and grow as a person. I never felt in competition with anyone but myself and I never found a competitive mindset (comparing myself to others) to further my goals. In fact, it usually acted as a distraction.
I was given the idea by the culture/climate at the time that transferring to the National Guard may limit my career progression. But still I remembered the words of that one Colonel 10 years prior. I closed my eyes and heard, “You will be told what path to follow, but don’t let that distract you from doing what YOU were meant to do.” So I took the leap of faith and transferred, knowing that “sports programs” would not necessarily be what the Army would evaluate come promotion time. In that moment, I let everyone else’s idea of success go and I adopted my own. Finally, in my 30’s I was beginning to see that we have to live for ourselves, and by doing so, we contribute to the rest of the world in our own unique way, in the way that only we can. Cookie-cutter doesn’t do the human spirit justice.
Over the next several years I competed as a sponsored athlete for the guard in biathlon, competitive shooting, spartan races, Dekafit, Hyrox, and marathons. My affiliation with the National Guard also led to me to many other new opportunities that would have been difficult in my old unit. I became a Master Fitness Trainer and graduated from the US Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, VT. Learning and growth opportunities abounded and it hasn’t stopped.
Just last week I received word that I did make the promotion list for Lieutenant Colonel (as a medical officer) having never held a command position or done most of the things we are told we have to do. Now this may seem a little rebellious, but the truth is, in my life, I have succeeded most when I have closed my eyes, taken a deep breath, and followed my intuition. Sometimes my intuition made no logical sense but it brought me a deep sense of internal peace. Now hindsight is 20/20, and had I stayed in the reserves all these years, believing that I was playing it safe, I would have had a minimal chance at promotion. In other words, had I pursued promotion, I would certainly have been stressed, overworked, in an energy of competition with others, and by circumstances of the Army, I probably would not have been promoted anyway.
Nothing in life is a guarantee. So I have chosen to pursue what is nearest to my heart and let the chips fall where they may. I hope that others can listen to their intuition above the crowds. It helps to be unattached to the results, it helps to do what you love and let go. of your other expectations. At least for me, the results are better.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a board-certified orthopedic physical therapist, currently working in outpatient physical therapy (civilian) and also serving in the California Army National Guard (as a PT). I commissioned into the US Army in 2008 as a 2nd Lieutenant to attend the US Army Doctoral Program in Physical Therapy. Following my education I served as a brigade physical therapist for the 2BCT/4ID as well as a staff physical therapist at Evans Army Community Hospital before transferring to the US Army Reserves and later the California Guard. I am a competitive athlete in several sports including the marathon, ultra-marathon, obstacle course racing, biathlon, and competitive shooting. I use all of my life experiences to better serve the community as a physical therapist, a military officer, and a mentor.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
I believe this rings true for all people, whether you’re a medical provider like me, an entrepreneur, a leader, a manager, self-employed, or anything in between. Religions, spiritual traditions, and various historical figures throughout time have suggested that as we wish to change the world (create new businesses, motivate employees or subordinates, bring in new customers, etc), we should first look inward.
In recent years I have taken this to heart, to a degree that I never had before. And what I have come to understand, at least for me, is that we have inner blockages that ultimately limit us (self-limiting beliefs). The self-work that I have done to release my self-limiting beliefs has made more difference in my life and my success with patients, co-workers, and as a leader in the military, than any other focus. Gaining knowledge and experience is wonderful. Having a strategy is wonderful, but I find there is still a deeper level for people to go. And the deeper you go, the more influence you have. Because as you root out your own self-limiting beliefs, you pave the path for everyone else around you to do the same. In business, in all relationships, in creative endeavors, this is the essence of creating value for everyone.
And personally, this has led me to a deeper understanding of eastern culture and a “doing without doing” mentality. While I continue to set goals and accomplish them, I find as I acknowledge and rid myself of all my inner resistance, my goals are achieved with less effort. In fact, most of the time, I do almost nothing at all and get exactly what I need. Sounds counterintuitive, and it is if you believe you have to force everything in life. Just remember, this whole world was already here when you showed up. You didn’t make any of it. As far as your mind and your choices, you’re the only one in there. So I say to people, if you’re the only one in there, make it nice on the inside. If you can master yourself, everything else will come easily.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Being completely candid and honest with people. Avoid trying to manipulate people in any way and be willing to let go of their business or that relationship if it does not serve you both in an honest way.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: wood.ultra