Preface: A Field Manual for Adult Life
What Is This Field Manual?
RuReady is a field manual for the parts of adult life no one teaches: practical guidance across Personal, Professional, and Leadership growth, built from real experience rather than theory.
Too often, by the time we realize we need to act, it’s already too late. I still remember that when I was seventeen, my dad took me to the post office to pick up paper tax forms. We brought them home, sat at the kitchen table, and that’s where I learned to file my taxes.
It wasn’t just about taxes. It was about learning how to navigate adulthood.
That moment, along with many others like it, shaped how I think about readiness.
Because most of what truly prepares us for life doesn’t come from a textbook. It comes from shared experience.
Through this website, we explore the expectations placed on us that aren’t necessarily taught in school, and we do so through shared experience. I like to think of the RuReady website as a contemporary book or field manual for adult life. My intent is to reflect on and share life experiences and, when possible, provide tools and current resources.
This book, or field manual, opens with a shared foundation: Chapter 1 explains why we do what we do. In Chapter 2, we explore the RuReady Framework and the universal elements of life that appear across every domain of our lives. We then transition to three separate but synchronized paths: the Personal Domain in Chapter 3, the Professional Domain in Chapter 4, and the Leadership Domain in Chapter 5, all of which can be read in any order. The RuReady Framework is further divided into three levels: Basic or Foundational, Advanced, and Mastery-Level.
In the Personal Domain, Taking Ownership of Your Life and developing skills in this area create life stability and personal capability. Without these foundational skills, everything else in life feels harder than it should. Here, we explore topics such as employment, financial literacy, buying or renting a home, and how to think about transportation.
In the Professional Domain, Creating Value in the World, the goal is to explore how to grow as a professional. Most people develop these skills by accident or later in their careers. Developing professional skills increases a person’s value to customers and strengthens their standing within an organization. It can also increase opportunities for a pay raise or promotion. The topics we explore in the Professional Domain include what to consider when writing a resume, career architecture, professional presence, and how to create a career map.
In the Leadership Domain, Leading Others and Organizations, we explore how to grow as a leader. Leadership is a skill that must be practiced and doesn’t apply only at work; it shows up at the dinner table, in crisis, and in community with one another. Whether you’re leading your family or a large organization, many of the skills are transferable. The topics we explore in the Leadership Domain include strategic thinking, setting an example, exercising judgment with limited information, delegation, and organizational design.
Life doesn’t come with an instruction manual, and it moves way too fast. This collection of work, which I’m now calling a contemporary book or Field Manual for Life, is intended to help us ask the questions we didn’t know we needed to ask. By the time we realize we need to learn something, life has often already demanded it. If I hit my mark, people will feel less surprised and more ready for whatever life throws their way.
If you’ve enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out the rest of this series: Preface: A Field Manual for Adult Life, Chapter 1: Why Do We Do What We Do?, Chapter 2: An Exploration of the RuReady Framework, Chapter 3: Life Skills for the Personal Domain, Chapter 4: Career Skills for the Professional Domain, and Chapter 5: Leadership Skills for Every Level.
Stay Ready, My Friends.
Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is informational only and does not constitute professional advice or recommendation. This reflects my own experience, research, and opinions, and may not apply to your situation. There are a lot of things in life that, with a can-do attitude and a little elbow grease, we can Do It Yourself (DIY); however, there are some things that are better left to the professionals. When in doubt, please consult a professional; that’s part of being ready, too.