There’s perspective. And then there’s the perspective that former United States Army Green Beret Nate Boyer possesses.

To say it’s admirable would be selling it short.

It’s something we all can glean and apply to our own lives.

For one, don’t let bad news get the best of you. Because if you’re like Nate, you’re always moving forward.

Like when a team from the National Football League (NFL) — the Seattle Seahawks to be exact — tells Boyer he’s no longer employed by them, which is what happened Tuesday morning. Like almost immediately after, when he shrugs it off (okay, it bums the combat veteran out for a few seconds) and he begins focusing on the next thing. The next challenge. The next mountain to climb. Because, why?

Because he’s a man of mission and purpose, and there’s so much more he wants to do with his life.

Which is funny, because he’s already done so much. And he’s only 34 years old.

Want to know what else is funny? How about the fact that when the Seahawks’ coaching staff and general manager got together to break the news that they had to cut him from the roster to make room for backup quarterback Jake Waters, Boyer said they were more broken up about the decision than he was.

Soon thereafter he tweeted this:

“Just to have this opportunity to be able to call myself an NFL player,” he told ESPN. “It might not be over, but if it is, I’m good with that.”

After leading the Seahawks onto the field with an American flag for the team’s preseason opener Friday, Boyer got his chance in the second half, performing long-snapping duties and even getting credited with a tackle.

The question of whether or he was anxious before kickoff was answered with a memorable text message exchange between Seahawk wideout Doug Baldwin and ESPN personality Kenny Mayne.

“I asked him if he was nervous and he said he was,” Baldwin texted. “I responded, ‘But you’ve been in war?’ His response was, ‘But I’m good at that.'”

Boyer served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. After his discharge he enrolled at the University of Texas and made their football team as a walk-on.

To watch his entire (and very inspiring) interview with Sage Steele, click here.