Now that's moto.

Pizza is one of my favorite foods. What goes with pizza? The couch does. This duo can also be transformed into a super trio with the addition of some awesome TV programming. You get me started on one of these elements and there I am vegetating into the living room couch. I can easily fall into this trap now that I’m a civilian. In the Marine Corps these elements were known as “motivation killers”.

How can I define what a motivation killer is? It’s pretty much anything that will cause you to be lazy. It is something that will entrap and keep you from working to the greater good of the team or for the pursuit of personal goals. For me another example is playing video games. When Halo came out I was all over it. Knowing this I had to sell my X-box in order to focus on more important things.

As our team pursues this goal for greater fitness and to express to the world about our armed service members, one thing we must keep is “moto”. It’s a slang term used in the Marines. It’s short for motivated. For example, “You just ran up that hill with all that gear on? Dude, you’re moto!” Or a Marine that exercises during time off, folds his or her clothes into his rucksack neatly ensures he or she has a regulation haircut every week, or always irons his or her uniform. That Marine would be considered “moto”. A Marine with a tattoo that is Marine Corps related would be called a “moto tattoo”. It is what a squared away Marine is.

Why is being moto important to us? Moto gets us out of bed early in the morning. You don’t have to but you do. You’re ready to charge at what the day holds for you. Moto makes us get our children prepared for school every morning. Moto made us clean our weapons every day in the Marines. Moto ensured we had the right gear packed for every mission. Moto made us plan our patrol routes and moto made us plan numerous alternate routes. Moto made us carry our brothers on our back if he was wounded.

Being moto would be nothing though if you did not care. Caring is the root of being motivated. If we cared about our goals, our children, our brothers and sisters fighting next to us, we then have the attitude to go above and beyond. That is the essence of being moto.

As we train for our events, moto makes us plan accordingly. Team Zombie is moto because they care about the cause. They do not stand back and lean against the walls just watching and waiting. Be moto and stay moto, take every ground you can take, and keep every inch of it. That is where you will have an advantage in all you do.

These are the lessons I have learned by being a service member. These lessons will go to waste if they are not shared. So if you’re feeling lazy, stagnant, insignificant or down and out. Get moto, there is more in you than you give yourself credit for.