Travis Collier – Book Journeys Author Interview – Jul. 14, 2016

On this episode of Book Journeys, Angela interviews Travis Collier, author of Command Your Transition: Declare Your Intent, Craft Your Mission, Make It on the Outside.

 

Travis Collier has been in service with the Coast Guard for fifteen years, and it was during his eleventh year of service that he became concerned about whether or not to stay in or leave the service, particularly since his chances of promotion at the time were rather low. His subsequent experience, which included talking to others who were likewise in the service who had the same kind of concerns as he did, and the defining moment for him was when he spoke with an Army chaplain who was in much the same situation that he was in and who wanted to leave the service to work at a non-profit organization.  From all of this he gathered the material that eventually became Command Your Transition.

 

Travis wrote his book for people in the military for, as he points out, there are already a lot of resources available for service personnel who want to transition out of the service, but there are no references that deal with how to understand the service personnel’s own thoughts, feelings and mindset that would serve as the overarching basis through which the resources available to them – resources such as resume writing, career fairs and job fairs, as well as choices that service personnel aren’t aware of – can be maximized.

 

Command Your Transition is the second book Travis wrote, and he admits that finding the time to it was a lot more challenging than when he did his first book, which was done in idyllic circumstances during a two-week leave. Writing Command was done while he was on active duty, in a new assignment, while working on a lot of things, and he had to carve out the time to do so. What helped him out greatly was the creation of his ideal reader, which he always kept in mind.

 

Travis notes that a book is more permanent than a blog, and also remarked that he never thought he could write out a book in a year, much less two in a year’s time. He notes that writing the book has enabled him to be more honest with himself as well as enabled him to simplify his life and focus on his interests. To those who would write a book, Travis points out that a book isn’t necessarily the proper venue to fulfil a purpose, but if one is to write out a book, then one should be sure about whom one would like to help and figure out how one could help them, otherwise writing a book will just be for purposes of vanity.

 

Listen to the Travis Collier Interview on Book Journeys Radio

(Transcript) Travis Collier – Book Journeys Author Interview – July 14, 2016

DOWNLOAD the PDF: Book Journeys Author Interview – Travis Collier – July 14 2016

Watch out for Angela’s interview with another exciting author.