Navy SEALs are some of the world's most elite warriors.
Key to their success is their mental toughness.
Here're 7 lessons that I learned training with ex-SEALs that'll help you forge an unbeatable mind:
8 years ago, 20 of us lined up to take on the challenge.
Only 13 made it to the end.
We ran, swam and worked out for 52+ hours straight during the SealFit Kokoro camp.
We got yelled at and didn’t get enough food.
And we loved it.
What is Kokoro?
• Run by former Navy Seals
• 52hour crucible with no sleep
• Hours of ‘surf torture’ in the Pacific
• 1000s of pushups, burpees and squats
• Countless bruises, cuts and pulled muscles
• And a night ruck which had us all hallucinating
Here are the lessons:
🔹Clarify your Purpose:
When you’re faced with obstacles, you’ll need to know your Why.
Getting in and out of the freezing Pacific made several participants quit.
But when you know your purpose, you’ll overcome whatever life throws at you.
🔹Learn to set micro-goals:
Big tasks are scary and you’ll procrastinate.
Knowing we had to do 1 burpee followed by 1 broad jump for an entire mile was daunting.
But when you focus on just the next action and get that done. And again. You’ll master the big tasks with ease.
🔹Focus on your teammates:
There are times when you feel sorry for yourself.
When my feet were covered in blisters, I asked my teammates how I could help them.
Life gets easier when we’re looking out for one another. Focus on helping your team and they’ll do the same for you.
🔹Invite adversity into your life:
Seek out challenges, then when life gets tough, you’re prepared.
No one made me sign up for Kokoro, but I knew the event and the training for it would transform my outlook on life.
Learning to embrace tough moments in training will help you crush adversity in life.
We don’t know when we will be tested, but you can prepare yourself.
🔹Find something bigger than yourself:
When you’re young, you think the world evolves around you. It doesn’t.
Knowing my children were watching fuelled me to set an example for them.
Connect your goals and mission in life to something bigger than yourself to build a legacy.
🔹Being physically strong makes you mentally tougher:
Mental and physical toughness are linked.
Training outside in the freezing Scottish rain in February made me stronger and tougher.
Find an event you need to train for and commit to it no matter the conditions.
🔹Shatter the limits society or your own mind sets for you:
We often believe our own BS about deserving a break.
My arms were shot after 600 pushups. But then we ended up doing 1000 in less than 45minutes.
Don’t listen to mediocrity.
Become obsessed.
Surprise yourself and keep pushing.
You’ll love what you’ll uncover.
That's a wrap!
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10 things I know after 6 kids I wish I’d known before we had our first:
1/ Your kids are motivators, not excuses
It’s your duty as a parent to become your best self. Don’t settle for the excuses of less time, energy and motivation. Instead become physically strong, mentally tough, emotionally balanced and intuitionally aware.
2/ What mothers give
As fathers, we can never fully understand the physical, mental and emotional sacrifices of a mother. They give so much more than us. It’s our job as fathers to support the mother of our children with everything we got.
I've listened to 1,000+ hours of his podcasts, read his books and spoken with him.
Here are 12 principles you can apply to become unbeatable:
Who is Jocko Willink?
• Married with 4 kids
• Leadership consultant
• Navy Seal (20-year career)
• Co-owner of Jiu Jitsu academy & gym
• Podcast host and NYT bestselling author
• Co-owner of Origin USA (clothing & supplements)
Now to the principles:
▪️Simple
Jocko was asked how he keeps on track of all his projects. His answer: Excel spreadsheets.
Don’t fall for complicated workflows and fancy software. Simple is best.
Several times a week I get asked: “How do you guys do it?”
• 6 kids (1-13yrs)
• Happy marriage
• Both work out daily
• PhD & now CEO of a company
The answer is, there’s no secret. But here's my attempt to give a fuller picture in the hope that it helps other parents.
But first up, the reason I’ve struggled to write about this is that any attempt to ‘reveal’ how we do it, will be incomplete and how things work for us, will not work for you in the same way.
I’m not trying to be prescriptive, as I don’t know your situation. But if any of my/our experience can be of help, this piece has served a purpose.
So life with 6 kids (and no paid help) is most of the time some sort of chaos.