4 Things Navy Seals learn that Will Help You in Life

I’d recently had an opportunity to meet a Navy Seal turned motivational speaker, Brent Gleeson, while in San Diego. From listening to his principles on leadership to the time I was able to spend with him and his wife on their boat in the Pacific Ocean, it was an exceptional experience on many levels. 

A true warrior! A samurai! 

Built by fire, proven by battle.  

And he scattered hard truths about for me to glean.

I’ll share some of my takeaways here: 

Get Comfortable being Uncomfortable:

Running into the ocean and then rolling around in dry sand makes men uncomfortable. Getting used to being uncomfortable builds mental toughness. 

We spend our lives trying to stay in a comfortable place. Getting soft. We go to great lengths to get back to being comfortable if we find that we are in an uncomfortable place. We’re desperate for comfort. And yet at the same time we are in awe of those who achieve great things. Ask yourself, “how did they do that”? “How did they get into a position to achieve greatness”? 

You already know the answer – they got comfortable being uncomfortable. They pushed themselves to achieve greatness; to achieve something more. They refused to live a life of quiet desperation by remaining comfortable and at the same time longing for a better tomorrow.

If you desire to achieve something worth achieving than you must get uncomfortable.

Don’t Run to Your Death:

To Navy Seals, this is not a metaphor!

When they find themselves in close-quarters combat scenarios, restraint is often times the best approach.  Moving methodically but with purpose keeps them a live. "Don't run to your death."

In business. In leadership. In life.Knowing what not to do is as important as knowing what you should do. 

Before making any big decision or taking any important life action you should get your mind clear. I can’t stress this enough. Making key decisions when at a low point is a bad idea. I get it, sometimes it can’t be avoided and if that’s the case than get a trusted advisor to offer direction.

Once your mind is clear and you’ve looked at all the information you can see the path forward. All that’s left to do is execute. 

Shoot, move, communicate:

Being able to shoot with precision is table stakes for warriors. If they can shoot accurately and quickly under tremendous pressure than you’re a huge asset to your mission and unit.

The take away for us non-warriors is if you can execute your responsibilities effectively while dealing with the pressures and changing landscape of your work-life and personal-life than you’re also a huge asset to your mission and unit.

Moving simply means moving (executing) comfortably within your environment both alone or within your team. 

As a Seal, if you’re unable to move both individually or within a team environment by land, air or sea; you are a liability. 

In business if you’re unable to move individually, a.k.a. execute yours tasks at a superior level than you are a liability to your organization. If you’re unable to get along with team members or work in a group to accomplish a project, you are a liability. 

Lastly, communication is the life blood of any organization. All good teams have frequent, open, transparent communication. Teach your employees to communicate up. Coach Wooden states, “disagree without being disagreeable.”

I’d challenge you to do that in your organization. When I disagree with someone who has authority over me, I make it a point to tell them AND tell them why I disagree. Now, I’ll still execute on their orders if I’m unable to sway their decision after I’ve challenged their perspective. However, I owe it to them and to the organization to challenge when I truly believe it makes sense to do so.

I am never out of the fight:

This saying is part of the Navy SEAL creed, and its meaning is very simple – never quit.

Regardless of how many times you get knocked down – GET UP. 

Regardless of how many challenges you encounter – MOVE AHEAD.

Regardless of how steep the odds; how unlikely your victory; how hard of a challenge it is – NEVER QUIT.

Determine your destination

Expect harsh winds

Set your sails

Hoorah!