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Started reading
December 30, 2023
Questions to ask yourself: What problems can I identify in my life currently? In the past? Did they stem from good choices or bad choices? Do I embrace the challenges I face when pursuing aggressive goals and new opportunities, or do I allow those obstacles to turn me around—to push me back in the direction of my safe village? What potential satisfaction could I derive from taking more risk in life? What do I willingly suffer for and why? Do I have the ability to change my perspective on the suffering I didn’t choose? What potentially amazing things could I discover about myself by engaging in
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In the absence of orders, I will take charge. —NAVY SEAL ETHOS
The first and best victory is to conquer self. —PLATO
This teaches prospective SEALs to work diligently in small teams just like on the battlefield and requires teamwork, communication, discipline, and accountability—all paramount skills for team success in any environment. Team discipline and accountability begins and ends with personal discipline and accountability and demands total engagement from each team member.
These crews find strength in one another during the most arduous times. The leaders inspire the team by taking on the hardest tasks and carrying more than their share of the weight. And they win, consistently.
They take the leader from the crew that is consistently winning all or the majority of the races and swap them out with the leader of the crew that is losing the majority of the races, then sit back and see what unfolds. The outcome is relatively consistent across classes and quite fascinating. The crew that was always dragging in the rear, under new inspirational leadership, almost immediately moves to the middle or near the head of the pack. Why? Because the leader knows how to quickly transform the mindsets of the individuals and culture of the team. To reignite their aggression. To give
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If you have ever done a 360-degree review in your company, you get the idea. So, imagine a 360-degree review on steroids where the stakes are extremely high. Students who are consistently ranked at the bottom are brought in for a board review and considered for removal. But the reasoning for a candidate being rated poorly by their classmates may not be what you imagine. It’s not because they aren’t the fastest runner, the best swimmer, or a proficient shooter on the range. It’s behavioral. The student lacks discipline, integrity, and accountability. They don’t put the team’s needs before their
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In their Harvard Business Review article, “The Making of an Expert,” Ericsson, Michael J. Prietula, and Edward T. Cokely provide deep insight
into the subject of deliberate practice. They argue that it’s not so much about the time invested, but rather how we go about pursuing continuous improvement.
Benjamin Bloom, a professor of education at the University of Chicago who published a revolutionary book called Developing Talent in Young People, which examined the critical factors that contribute to talent. Bloom’s studies focused on what sets apart effort from developing true expertise. His work focused on musicians, artists, mathematicians, and athletes. Three key areas he highlights as differentiators are: 1. Intense and focused practice 2. Study with devoted teachers 3. Support from family during key developmental years
The development of genuine expertise requires struggle, sacrifice, and honest, often painful self-assessment. There are no shortcuts. It will take you at least a decade to achieve expertise, and you will need to invest that time wisely, by engaging in “deliberate” practice—practice that focuses on tasks beyond your current level of competence and comfort.
One of our famous training mottos is “slow is smooth and smooth is fast.”
TakingPoint: A Navy SEAL’s 10 Fail-Safe Principles for Leading Through Change, I argue that accountability is the most critical cultural pillar for high performance in any team environment, especially as it relates to navigating the murky waters of volatility and uncertainty
Dave knew that he needed to change the organizational culture at Alaris. People were avoiding risks and shrinking from opportunities out of fear of failure, and there was a total lack of discipline. Like BUD/S boat crews that consistently lose the race. Almost everyone in the organization was more worried about protecting themselves and finding another job than getting the results the company needed. Dave recognized that to change the results, he would need to change the mindset, how people interacted,
Dave led the process for redefining the company’s rituals and beliefs so they better aligned with the actions necessary to achieve desired results. He transformed the Alaris culture and literally changed the landscape of the medical systems industry. In just three years, Alaris increased its share price from $.31 per share to $22.35 per share, growing as much as 15 percent a year in a market where competitors were achieving no more than 3 percent. Soon thereafter, the company was acquired by Cardinal Health, a Fortune 20 company, and later spun out as the nucleus of CareFusion—one of
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Alex is the author (with David Roberts) of the memoir Alone on the Wall and the subject of the 2018 biographical documentary Free Solo. As one of his close climbing friends and colleagues said in an interview in the documentary, “Imagine an event in the Olympics, but if you don’t earn the gold medal, you die.”
He had found a passion, and he was extremely disciplined in his quest to fulfill that passion. His practice was deliberate.
Interestingly, research supports the fact that when our passions can lead to giving to causes greater than ourselves, we are more successful and dramatically more fulfilled.
We only have so many things we can really give a shit about in this short life. If we try to give a shit about everything, chase every shiny object that passes us, or have too many goals, we end up with mediocrity.
We must prioritize in order to execute.
Happiness and fulfillment come from focus, discipline, and self-control. It may be hard to believe when you’re facing an all-you-can-eat buffet, the prospect of making a quick buck, or the lazy lure of sleeping in versus getting on the Peloton, but studies show that people with self-discipline are happier. Why? Because with discipline and self-control we actually accomplish more of the goals we truly care about.
You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. —MARCUS AURELIUS People with a higher degree of self-control spend less time debating whether to indulge in behaviors and activities that don’t align with their values or goals. They are more decisive. They don’t let impulses or feelings dictate their choices. Instead, they make levelheaded choices—even if those decisions involve some calculated risk. They are the architects of their own beliefs and the actions they take to achieve a desired outcome. As a result, they aren’t as easily distracted by
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