Lydia, brilliant as always. Photo Magic: Anna May Photography. Makeup Artistry: Mariana McGrath

“My Transition” #5: Lydia Davey — Combat Correspondant to Entrepreneur & Marketing Manager

Lydia is an all-around badass. A content marketing queen, disaster response extraordinaire, entrepreneur and leader within the veteran community. Here’s her story of transition.

I didn’t really take ownership of my career or learning until I was 29. Since then I’ve made incredible progress in terms of personal and professional growth. I sometimes wonder how different my life would look now if I had grabbed my future by the throat earlier.

San Francisco, CA — From U.S. Marine Corps Combat Correspondent to content marketing manager at Apple, Lydia has built quite a reputation for herself. She’s traveled the world, started her own business, attend Stanford Ignite, conducted disaster relief with Team Rubicon, and is a self-proclaimed connoisseur of whisky and fine cigars.

DJS: Why did you join the military?

LD:

I joined the Marine Corps because I had a hunch I could do something great in life, but also knew I didn’t have the discipline to succeed. I needed discipline kicked into me, and the Marine Corps seemed like a good place for that to happen. I also grew up listening to my grandfathers’ war stories and wanting that kind of challenge. Since the time I was nine years old I knew military service would be part of my life.

DJS: What were the most important skills or lessons that you learned?

LD:

I learned three important things in the Marine Corps.

First, we’re capable of so much more than we think we are. I had a moment during the Crucible when I was dragging along a recruit and four weapons and my body was just moving so slowly. I really believed I was giving it everything I had, but I was exhausted. Suddenly, a drill instructor screamed in my ear and out of no where came this burst of energy and I finished that exercise with speed and strength. Ha. It was a revelation to me. I had come to what I thought was the end of my strength, and discovered this reserve. I saw then how important mental training and fitness were, and carried that lesson with me through the rest of my time in service and through today.

Second, I learned integrity in three acts. Act I: I performed integrity out of fear: I didn’t want the wrath of any senior Marines. Act II: I performed it out of habit. I figured that I might as well do the right thing because it’s comfortable and everyone else is doing it. Act III: I realized that living life with integrity was actually really satisfying and worthy. It’s a better way to exist.

The third lesson I learned in the Marine Corps was how important good planning and a flexible framework are. You should prepare thoughtfully for what’s ahead, then remain adaptive as the situation unfolds. You can’t predict everything, but BAMCIS sets you up for success pretty well.

You should prepare thoughtfully for what’s ahead, then remain adaptive as the situation unfolds.

DJS: Did you know what you were going to do when you got out?

LD:

I believed I would go to college and get a job somewhere. It was all very vague in my mind, but I assumed I would be successful. However, I ended up spending the next few years just underperforming in life. I worked as a barista while in college and craved the opportunity to get connected to a mission bigger than myself again. In 2012 I was introduced to Team Rubicon, and my first disaster response mission with them reignited my sense of agency and purpose in life. I also met an incredible cohort of peers whose focus and drive inspired me to start living to my potential again.

DJS: Tell me about your initial job search and entrepreneurship?

LD:

I was attending college in Indiana, and during my senior year began examining the opportunities in Indianapolis. I quickly realized that my non-traditional background meant that I would likely have to take a low-paying entry-level job. However, after nearly a decade of military service and with some leadership experience under my belt, that idea didn’t sit well with me. I was most excited by the idea of putting the full range of skills I’d developed as a Marine to good use as a entrepreneur.

So in 2012 I launched a PR business, drawing on my experience as a combat correspondent. The next year, after I graduated, I sold my car, cashed in my 401K, and moved to San Francisco to see if I could succeed in one of the most competitive and expensive cities in the world. I felt I could be successful in the Midwest, but I wasn’t sure if I could succeed in California. I wanted that kind of challenge. Putting it all on the line meant that I had to perform to survive, and nothing incentivizes hustle, growth, and your ability to adapt like your survival instinct.

I was most excited by the idea of putting the full range of skills I’d developed as a Marine to good use as a entrepreneur.

DJS: Any entrepreneur resources you’d recommend?​

LD:

How to Build a Lean Startup (language of business)

How Much is Enough: Money and the Good Life (this book gave me a good mental model for how to build a good life as I pursued financial stability)

4 Hour Work Week (lifestyle design)

The Millionaire Next Door (how to think about, spend, and save money, and plan for financial success)

Lean In (validated my instinct that my skills and capabilities were perceived differently in business because of my gender, and gave me actionable advice to overcome unfavorable perceptions)

DJS: Did you use any veteran networking to land your current position?

LD:

In a manner of speaking, yes. I was hired into my new role as a content marketing manager by the wife of a Marine veteran I know. He’s been a great mentor to me during the past few years years, so I am triply incentivized to perform well. I want to do my best work for the company, my boss, and my mentor.

DJS: What was your initial training and experience like?

LD:

I walked into my new job and asked for 30 days to immerse myself in learning our platform and building cross-functional relationships, 30 days to craft a solid strategy for the coming year and tactics to support it, and 30 days to execute the plan before my first campaign. This time was granted, and has been an absolute gift that positioned our team for success.

DJS: What skills from the military translated into your job and made you successful in your current role?

LD:

• Make friends with the admin folks
• Courage comes after the deed is done
• A flexible framework will serve you better than a brittle plan
• When asked about the most important leadership trait, Mattis said it was the ability to inspire affection. Affection drives people to go the extra mile, to stay an hour later, to do that little favor that makes the whole team more successful. So I do my best to cultivate this quality in all of my relationships — at work and home.
• Self discipline is the best discipline
• “Fight with a happy heart and a strong spirit.” — Mattis. I keep this quote posted where I can see it every day at work. It reminds me to enjoy the fray.

When asked about the most important leadership trait, Mattis said it was the ability to inspire affection

DJS: Are there other veterans in your workplace? If so, how is that dynamic?

LD:

I’ve always loved working with other veterans, but haven’t encountered any in my current work place.

DJS: If you knew one thing before the transition process that would have made your experience easier, what would that be?

LD:

I didn’t really take ownership of my career or learning until I was 29. Since then I’ve made incredible progress in terms of personal and professional growth. I sometimes wonder how different my life would look now if I had grabbed my future by the throat earlier.

DJS: What one piece of advice do you have for anyone reading this?

LD:

I’ll echo Mattis: “Be mentally sharp, physically strong, and spiritually undiminished.” Take ownership of growing your emotional intelligence, of cultivating your strengths and working well around your weaknesses. Build a strong network by giving assistance and sharing opportunities freely, and by surrounding yourself with good people who outgun you intellectually, spiritually, and physically. When I think about my friends, I’m filled with a sense of admiration that has only grown over the years. I’m blessed to have friends who model the values I aspire to and encourage me to keep taking big risks in life.

Take ownership of growing your emotional intelligence, of cultivating your strengths and working well around your weaknesses.

Service Details and Bio:

Lydia Davey is the global content marketing manager at FileMaker, Inc., an Apple subsidiary. Lydia has more than a decade of experience in strategic communications, and her entrepreneurial mindset, curiosity, and insights have been employed by Fortune 500 companies, international non-profits, and tech startups alike.

Previously, Lydia was the CEO of Moriah Creatives PR, a San Francisco-based public relations firm that used storytelling to help small businesses drive sales and grow strong brands. Prior to that, she served as a U.S. Marine Corps Combat Correspondent and Press Chief, working extensively throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe during an 8-year span. She deployed to Afghanistan in 2006–2007, and left the Marine Corps as a sergeant in 2010.

Lydia holds a B.A. in Communications and Media Studies from Indiana University, is a graduate of the Stanford Ignite program, and is a Defense Council Member at the Truman National Security Project.

Top Resources:

1. Task & Purpose — for well-written critiques and insights into veteran culture and affairs.

2. American Corporate Partner’s Veteran Mentorship Program — for veterans looking for mentorship, advice and professional networking as they begin their career transition.

3. Veteran entrepreneurship programs by Syracuse University — These include entrepreneurship bootcamps, professional development programs, family resources, career help and much more!

Promotion: I was promoted to sergeant at our nation’s embassy in Monrovia, Liberia, by the U.S. ambassador there. I grew up in a small town in central Indiana — never could have foreseen that one of my proudest moments would take place on a tiny plot of American soil in West Africa.

Team Rubicon: Getting involved with service through Team Rubicon was a trajectory-changer for me. The disaster response work made me less cynical about the world’s dark parts, and exposed me to tribe that continues to teach and inspire me almost daily.

Scuba: While I was stationed with U.S. Marine Corps Forces Africa, I took a vacation to Australia. Spent three days at sea and earned my SCUBA certification. One of the craziest moments was a night dive where we swam with the sharks. They weren’t huge, but the ocean was dark and I ran through 30 minutes of air in about 15 minutes of nervous breathing. The Marine Corps enabled so many great experiences like that. Thanks to my time in, I traveled to 26 countries, lived in Morocco for nearly a month, learned how to snowboard in the Austrian and German Alps, and met so many fantastic people.

Teaching: I’m an introvert, so being around people takes a lot of effort for me, but I know that building your tribe is important. Each year I rent a house in Northern California and invite a group of exceptional women from all walks of life. I believe everyone has something to teach, so each of us — whether we’re engineers, makeup artists, UX designers, government employees, or storytellers — teaches the group at least one session. I call the event Boss Babes, and it’s been really fun to see this community support each other in our various ventures over the year. Our Boss Babe weekends are a great opportunity to grow personally and professionally, and connect at a deeper level.

Reporting: Here I’m interviewing a Georgian solider via translator before his battalion deployed to Afghanistan. This trip was wild. I accompanied Brig. Gen. Paul Brier to the Republic of Georgia for the ceremony marking the battalion’s departure. Hours before the ceremony, and just after midnight, we landed at the airport in Tbilisi, Georgia. It was dark, and raining hard. We were quickly loaded into bulletproof SUVs and a mini-convoy took us to our hotels. Supposedly, our rooms were bugged. A few hours later, at the ceremony, I watched these heavyset Georgian Orthodox priests in dark robes command the troops to kneel to receive a blessing. The priests walked along the line, anointing the soldiers with oil as part of a pre-battle ritual. The whole time, drums were beat at a steady pace. It was about as surreal as the time we watched a witch doctor in Mozambique carry out multiple animal sacrifices under a sacred tree as part of their military rituals. I require Scotch to tell more than two stories, so I’ll stop here.

Are you interested in sharing your story of transition? Or are you a military transition specialist who would like to share some tips? Send me an email at MilitaryTransitionStories@gmail.com

The goal of this series is to bridge the military-civilian divide in three ways: 1) Highlight the incredible skills and value that military veterans of all generations and backgrounds bring into the workplace. 2) Help transitioning veterans understand their true value and therefore aim as high as possible in their employment and educational goals. 3) Discuss the common struggles, pitfalls and indicators of success in veteran transition, in order to provide better transition assistance from both military and civilian sides.