Grunt Style Pro: Dan Alarik's Upgrade

How does success happen? How do the stories of people who go from zero to hero happen? This week in a feature for American Dream U, Daniel Alarik CEO of Grunt Style and Alpha Outpost talks about how you have to upgrade yourself while remaining true to who you are in order to be successful.

When talking about upgrading yourself, Dan starts off talking about how he knew nothing about business when he left the Army. He freely admits he has very little in the way of formal education when it comes to business. A high school diploma and a few courses from college under his belt are all that he has. However, he's been able to take the things he's learned from the military and apply them to the business world. When you're able to take the grind hard attitude and ability to adapt that you learned in the military into the civilian world, that's a valuable asset, don't change who you are.

Who you are, doesn't need to adapt to the civilian world. Once you're able to accept the fact that you are who you are and there are good things you can bring to the table then you've opened the door to success. As Dan says early on in the video if he can do it, so can all of you. The simple fact that Dan knew who he was and what he didn't want to lose helped him define his goals and build the company that he has. Grunt Style is what it is today because it doesn't ask people to change to fit its mold, it asks people to come in and put in the grind, put in the hard work.

The KISS principle is extremely applicable. Keep It Simple, Stupid. As the great warrior-philosopher Sun Tzu once wrote, "If you know yourself and you know your enemy, you need not fear the outcome of a thousand battles." Know yourself and upgrade yourself. Don't change who you are at your core.