Today we sat down with Antonia Stephenson II, an 8-year US Navy Veteran, to ask how life has been since leaving the military and submerging himself into the business world full time. He gives a lot of credit to the military for instilling in him the foundational things you need to be successful in any industry but he says it has a been, “a little weird”, since leaving behind his navy career. One could only imagine the transition that could come from being in an industry for 8 years and switching over to something completely different. When expressing this to him during the interview, he responds and says, “I spent most of my early adult life in the military, I enlisted at 19, so those military customs are deeply wired in me, sometimes I would have anxiety waking up in the mornings because I was so use to having to be somewhere or doing something”. He says that things are getting better but it did take some time to adjust.
Since getting out of the United States Navy, Stephenson says he has been spending a lot of time with his mother, Patricia Stephenson, who just finished beating Breast Cancer. During his early years in the military, Stephenson lost his dad after having a failed kidney surgery. So, one of the things he felt like he owed his family was to make up for all the things he had missed during his 8-year enlistment. Outside spending time with his family, he is taking this time to finish his Finance degree from DeVry University and growing his Real Estate Investment Firm. He admits that he took advantage of him always being out to sea onboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), by reading books on business, real estate, and personal development.
Stephenson excitedly talks about how good it feels to finally be putting everything he has learned over the years into action on a full-time basis. He has big plans for the future, he plans on volunteering more with the youth, and starting a privately-owned Hedge Fund company. I asked what is he looking to achieve in his first year of being completely removed from the United States Navy, and he says, “educating my community on all things related to financial literacy and mentoring the youth is my main goal, I’ll figure out everything else after that “.
To keep up with Mr. Stephenson and the amazing things he plans on doing, be sure to connect with him on Instagram @TonyStephensonii
