Ep. 84 – A Warrior’s Grit: Forging (and Reforging) a Navy SEAL Leader – with Jason Redman
Jason Redman is a retired naval officer and U.S. Navy SEAL, and author of The Trident: The Forging and Reforging of a Navy SEAL Leader. He shares the leadership and life lessons he learned in his business, SOF Spoken, and inspires wounded warriors to overcome with his nonprofit, Wounded Wear.
The process of becoming a SEAL has changed over the years, but the ingredients that make up a good candidate remain the same. During that time, the military has spent a lot of time and money trying to figure out the difference between an individual who completes training and an individual who doesn’t.
Despite all that money, the attrition rate has stayed about the same since SEAL training started – about 75%.
So why don’t more people pass SEAL training?
There’s no one answer, but Jason believes it’s a cultural problem – “As a nation, we are not allowing America’s youth to grow up and encounter failure, and navigate their way through adversity on their own … that cultural shift is having a direct impact on the grit of this current generation.”
Jason credits his own success to grit and tenacity. “I’m definitely not the smartest guy, the biggest guy, or the strongest guy … but I will drive forward, and I will never quit. It doesn’t matter what you tell me – I will figure out a way to get there, and I think that is truly the key to success.”
Jason sees people quitting way too easily in today’s society, and that’s a big problem because you don’t grow when you’re in your comfort zone.
The Trident: The Forging and Reforging of a Navy SEAL Leader
In his book, Jason is extremely vulnerable and brutally honest about his journey – from not being accepted into the SEALs or Army on his first attempt to his first mistake as a military leader to getting struck by machine-gun fire at point-blank range – and how overcoming those challenges allowed him to grow into a more effective leader.
SOF Spoken
Jason founded SOF Spoken after retiring so that he could share the lessons and abilities learned by Special Operations Forces with leaders, entrepreneurs, and communicators, and the company is built on the idea that leadership is forged by experience in the most difficult moments.
How can entrepreneurs apply these lessons?
- Tenacity is required – You have to believe in yourself and what you’re doing. Sometimes this means understanding the difference between quitting and falling back.
- Communication is key – If everybody you work with is informed about what’s going on, you foster better relationships and invite potentially critical feedback.
- Develop an overcome mindset – “Leaders figure out what they need to do, and they get it done … they evaluate what needs to get done, and then they put the steps in place and discipline themselves to accomplish it.”
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Resources:
- Learn more about Jason at SOFspoken.com
- Connect with Jason: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn | Instagram
- Pick up a signed copy of Jason’s book: The Trident: The Forging and Reforging of a Navy SEAL Leader
- Do you want to give back and sponsor a Wounded Warrior? Check out the Combat Wounded Coalition
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