You have to be disciplined.

And getting out of bed early is the foundation of that discipline.

You shouldn’t be afraid of the enemy.

But you have to respect them.
That’s the thing that gets me out of bed early in the morning.
I’m not afraid of them, but I respect them.
And I’m going to be ready to do battle with them when the time comes.

The cool thing about mental toughness is that it’s just a simple choice you have to make.
Are you going to go through this thing that’s hard, this thing that’s tough, this thing that sucks?
Are you going to suffer through it?
Or are you going to quit?

When a human being decides that they are going to achieve their goals and they are going to go through whatever obstacles,
then that’s where mental toughness comes from.
It is a decision that human beings make to make it happen.

Question: Is there an exercise or an approach to just be on The Path to increase your mental toughness?

A Yeah, keep going.

Q What are some key mental and physical steps or patterns to stay on game?

A Waking up early, working out every day, taking ownership, being able to detach and assess, and being humble.
Q

I served with guys that sacrificed their lives so that we could be here, so that I could be here. ...

And I will not squander that gift.

And I will make every day count as I remember those guys

that gave that gift to me.

Simple, but not easy.

You know what the right thing to do is.

You know what it is.
You know it’s be disciplined.
You know it’s work hard.
You know it’s put your ego in check.
You know these things.
You just gotta do ‘em.
YOU JUST GOTTA DO ‘EM.

Having the ability to be outside yourself and look at yourself and say, “You’re being weak right now,” or, “Here’s an
opportunity,” that’s real triumph on a small scale.
Q

Go forth and conquer regardless of what people are trying to do to hold you back.
No one’s gonna hold you back.
Who’s gonna hold you back?
How’s that gonna happen?
You don’t LET them hold you back.

Don’t make a New Year’s resolution to be a better person [next year].

Make a resolution to be a better person now.
Make it a resolution of discipline to get better, smarter, faster, stronger, healthier, ... to live more, to GO and DO.

The enduring satisfaction that comes from making a situationally correct decision and then having that decision fully
supported during execution far outweighs the temporary insecurity that may come from soliciting the advice of subordinates.

The term “situation” encompasses many variables:

mission, enemy, terrain, weather, troops and fire support, time, space, logistics.
Each category has many facets. ... One must continually study the possibilities.

Hit quickly, hit hard, and keep right on hitting.

Give the enemy no rest, no opportunity to consolidate his forces and hit back at you.
This is the shortest rode to victory.
Q

When things are going bad, don’t get all bummed out, don’t get startled, don’t get frustrated.
No, you just look at the issue and you say, “GOOD!”

If you can say the word, “Good,” well then guess what? It means you’re still alive.
It means you’re still breathing.
And if you’re still breathing, well then hell, you’ve still got some fight left in you.

Get up.
Dust off.
Reload. Recalibrate.
Re-engage.
And go out on the attack.

Take personal initiative in your life.

Be in control.
Be first. ... LEAD your life.
You are the LEADER of your life.
Don’t be reactive.
Be aggressive.
Q

If you carry yourself respectfully, and you respect other people, not only will people not disrespect you, but they won’t act
disrespectful in your presence.

You are responsible for the path you take.

Don’t waste time with things that don’t matter.
Get in the game.
Get in the gym.
Get to work.
Get to LIVING!

Make the most out of the opportunities that you have through discipline, through hard work, through focus and drive.

This is YOUR life, LEAD IT! Lead your life.

Lead it how you want to lead it.
Every second of every day, take leadership of your life.

The best way to win is when the other person doesn’t know you won, and if possible, might not even know there was a fight.
Q

Don’t burn bridges.

PERIOD! Nothing is ever gained by this.
The future is never known.
Always do what you can to keep lines of communication open, bridges intact, and reinforced if possible.

Winning in daily battles gives you the opportunity to deflect credit, show your humbleness in victory, and show your ability to
lead, which all help you in the long term fight to achieve your goals.

Winning and losing is not as important as how you react to winning and losing.

Focus on making yourself who you want to be:

faster, smarter, stronger, more humble, less ego.
Discipline your body so you can free your mind.
Get up early and go get after it.
And be that person that you want to be.

It’s very important to think about what your principles are as a person, what you are trying to achieve, and have those
principles like a guiding strategy underneath everything that you’re doing.
Q

You have to decide that you are in control and that you are going to do what YOU want to do.
Weakness doesn’t get a vote.
Laziness doesn’t get a vote.
Sadness, no, no vote.
Frustration, no vote.
Negativity, you don’t get a vote.

Get stronger, faster, smarter, quicker, friendlier, more helpful, more driven.
Don’t let your mind control you.
Control your mind.
And once you control your mind, then you can set it free.

Discipline comes from within.

It’s an internal force.
Sure, you can have discipline imposed on you by a drill instructor or that self help guru on TV.
But that type of discipline isn’t as strong.
It won’t survive.
What you need is self-discipline.

Self-discipline, as the very term implies, comes from the self.

It comes from YOU.
It comes when you decide to be disciplined.
When you decide to be better.
When you decide to DO more and to BE more.

Q
Q

Self-discipline comes when you decide that you’re going to make a mark on the world.
And if you think that you’re not disciplined, it’s because you haven’t DECIDED YET to be disciplined.
It’s because you haven’t CREATED that discipline YET.

Make the commitment.

BECOME the discipline.
Discipline: the root quality that will improve EVERY aspect of your life.
And it will make you better, and stronger, and smarter, and faster, and healthier.
And most importantly it will make you free.

To fear disgrace but not death, to fear not duty but dereliction from duty, this is courage.

The truly courageous do not live in anxiety from morning to night.

They are calm because they know who they are.

I am weak.
But I don’t accept that.
I don’t accept that I am what I am and that THAT is what I’m DOOMED to be.
I’m fighting.
I’m struggling.
And I’m scrapping.
And I’m kicking and clawing at those weaknesses to change them, to stop them.
Q

Some days I win.

Some days I don’t.

But each and every day I get back up and I move forward with my fists clenched toward the battle.

And I fight with everything I’ve got …

as I strive to be just a little bit better today than I was yesterday.

May God have mercy on my enemies.

They will need it.

To be a good soldier, a man must have discipline, self-respect, pride in his unit and his country, a high sense of duty and
obligation to his comrades and to his superiors, and self-confidence born of demonstrated ability.

There has been a great deal of talk about discipline.

But few people know what it is or why it is necessary.
No sane man is unafraid in battle.
But discipline produces a form of vicarious courage which makes for victory.

Self-respect grows directly from discipline.

Q

If we take the generally accepted definition of bravery as a quality which knows not fear, I have never seen a brave man.
All men are frightened.
The courageous man is the man who forces himself, in spite of his fear, to carry on.

Every breath that we take is a gift.

It's a sacred gift from those [fallen warriors].

Every day we have,

every sunrise,

every thought,

and every smile,

and every laugh,

it's a gift.

And I will treasure that gift,

that gift of life.

And I will not let it go to waste,

not one second of it.

And I'll cherish every moment of it.

And I will live it.

I will LIVE IT

in their memory

and in their honor.

When it comes to stress, don’t fight it.

Turn it on itself and use it.
Use it to make yourself sharper and more alert.
Use it to make yourself think more and learn more.
And use that stress as a catalyst to make yourself better.

It’s not what you preach.

It’s what you tolerate.

There’s only two measures that matter, and that’s effective and ineffective.

As a leader, you have got to maintain the standards.

There are standards that just cannot be compromised.
You’ve got to push hard.
You’ve got to drive that performance.
You’ve got to set the tone.
If you don’t do it, no one’s going to.

You’ve gotta think about raising the bar on yourself.

You’ve gotta think about what you’re gonna tolerate from yourself, and how you can raise that bar and raise that standard and
get better with everything you do. And thereby, lead by example.
Q

There is no such word as “can’t.”

Life is worth living.

And no matter what it throws at you, it is important to keep your eyes on the prize, that happiness will come.

Remember, while it always seems darkest before the dawn, perseverance pays off, and the good times will return.

It takes both emotion and logic for you to reach your maximum potential, to really give everything you have and go beyond
your limits.
Both emotion and logic are gonna reach their limitations.
And when one fails you need to rely on the other one.

When it doesn't make logical sense to go on, that's when you gotta use your emotion, that's when you've gotta use that anger,
that frustration, that fear, to push yourself harder, to push yourself to say, "I don't stop."

When your feelings are screaming that you've had enough, and when you think you're gonna break emotionally, you've gotta
override that emotion with the concrete logic and willpower that says, "You know what? I. DON’T. STOP."

Training and discipline are paramount.

You can accomplish nothing without them. ...
Discipline must be demanded.
Once it begins to slip, the results are disastrous.
Q

Don’t be finished.
Be starting.
Be alert.
Be ready.
Be attacking.
Be relentless.
Let the enemy finish.
But you, don’t finish, don’t stop, don’t rest. ...
Make yourself better, faster, smarter, stronger.
And with those goals nothing is ever finished.

At that moment, that moment of truth there’s only one answer: forward.
Forward into the battle, into the fray, toward the smoke and the fire and the bullets and the bombs, and towards death, to
face it all head-on.

Attack with everything you have, with every ounce of commitment, with every bit of clarity and focus that you as a human
being can possibly muster.
Attack with your weapons and your mind and your body and attack with your very soul.

Look for the emotional quicksand.

And don’t step in it.

Discipline means taking the hard road, the uphill road, to do what’s right for yourself and for other people.
Q

So often the easy path calls to us to be weak for that moment, to break down for that moment, to give in to the desire and the
short term gratification.
But the discipline will not allow that.

Discipline can seem like it’s your worst enemy.

But the reality is: discipline is your best friend.
It will take care of you like nothing else can.
And it will put you on the path to strength and health and intelligence and happiness and freedom.

Q When you make yourself better, you make the world better.

Q: Where do I start, and when’s the best time to start?

A: HERE and NOW!

The idea isn’t gonna execute itself.

The book isn’t gonna write itself.
The weights out in the gym, they’re not gonna move themselves.
YOU have to do it.
And you have to do it now.

There is evil in this world.

There is darkness.
And it exists.
And it’s real.
And it comes from us. ...
Q

But there is a dichotomy to that.

And that is the fact that, while we are the evil in this world, we are also the good.
We are the light.

We all have the capacity to bring light into the world, to counter the darkness.
All of us do in some way.
Maybe not directly, maybe not face-to-face with evil, but we can help.
All of us can help.

We need to focus on what we can do to help people.

Who can we help? Who can we help improve their station in life?
What threatened person can we defend?
What oppressed person can we free?
Who can we take from the darkness and bring into the light?

Question everything.
Don’t just accept anything as truth.
Question it all. … And most importantly, question yourself.
Ask yourself, "Who am I?
What have I learned?
What have I created? …
Who have I helped?
What am I doing to improve myself today?"
Q

Ask yourself, “Is this what I want to be?

This? Is this all I’ve got?
Is this everything I can give?
Is this going to be my life?
And do I accept that?”
You’ve got to ask yourself those hard questions.
And you’ve got to answer them truthfully.

You’ve got to realize that all of us ALL of us can do better.

We can BE better.
You’ve just got to take that first step.

In an attempt escape the tension that combat had caused I developed a heavier than usual exercise regimen. …
Physical activity kept me mentally alert, built my endurance, and kept me supple.

Self-discipline keeps a soldier doing his job.

Without it he loses his pride and he loses respect in the eyes of his fellow soldiers.
It is pride that keeps a soldier going and keeps him in the fight.

I may not have been the best commander.

But I always strove to be.

I am not sure there is such a thing as a natural born leader. …

But any success I might have had was the product of good upbringing, intense study and preparation, and physical
conditioning that set me apart from my peers.
Q

What is the recipe for success?

In truth, there are no simple solutions. …
Each situation is different, and each requires a leader to be flexible in adapting his or her particular leadership style to the
specific circumstances.

First and foremost, a leader should strive to be an individual of flawless character, technical competence, and moral courage.

Don’t waste time attempting to define leadership.

No need to go to a dictionary. The infantry school at Fort Benning, Georgia has defined leadership in just two words
via its motto: FOLLOW ME.

Before the battle is joined, plans are everything.

Once the battle is joined however, plans go out the window.

In battle I periodically detached myself mentally from the noises and the chaos.
I found it useful to separate myself momentarily and to carefully think through what actions I needed to take to accomplish
the mission.

Hang tough.
Never ever give up regardless of the adversity.
If you are a leader, you have got to keep going.
I would also urge leaders to remain humble.
If you don't worry about who gets the credit, you get a lot more done.

Leaders should assume the blame when an operation fails.

When it succeeds, credit the men and women in your team.
They do the lion’s share of the work.

Humility must always be the portion of any man who receives acclaim earned in the blood of his followers and the sacrifices of

If you're having one of those dark days, it's OK.

It's OK.

It's OK to feel that darkness.

And it's OK to remember it, and miss it, and hate it, and love it.

And it's OK to wish it never happened, and at the same time,to wish it never stopped.

Embrace that darkness.

Own it.

Don’t look away from it.

Don’t bury it in booze or in pills. …

Embrace your life

with physical activity,

and nature,

and Jiu-Jitsu,

and sun,
and laughter,

and guitar,

and good memories,

and creativity,

and discipline.

Discipline yourself

so you can free yourself

and move forward

into the future

where there’s no more darkness

and no more war but peace.

He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster.
And if thou gaze long into the abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.

In many cases the failure to compromise is a failure to succeed. …

But with myself I have to hold the line.
Within myself I CANNOT compromise.
I’m GOING to work hard.
I’m GOING to train hard.
I’m GOING to try and improve myself.
Q

I’m not gonna give up or give out or give in. …

I’m gonna maintain my personal self-discipline and do my utmost to live a life that is worthy of the sacrifices that were made
for me.
And on those points there will be no compromise.
Not now.
Not ever.

Remember, the best defense is to attack first, strike the first blow, and follow through.

Always remember that the world is filled with good people.

And remember those people and in moments of darkness and temptation let them inspire you to follow in their footsteps.
Because there’s no doubt that the example has been set.

If I think the enemy is gonna to attack me, I’m gonna attack him first.
If I think the enemy is gonna seize a piece of terrain, I’m gonna be there waiting for him.
If the enemy is gonna try and flank me, too late, I’m already gonna be flanking him.

I don't view aggression as an outward attitude.

I view aggression as an internal character trait: a fire in your mind that says, "I am going to win, and I'm gonna fight, and I'm
gonna battle, and I'm gonna use every tool I have to crush my enemy."
Q

Sometimes you’re gonna get beat.

Sometimes you’re gonna win.
But you won’t make any progress unless you take the opportunity to step out on the mat, step into the arena, step into the
cage, step onto the stage, step up onto the leadership pedestal.

It’s not about nature or nurture.

It’s about choice.
The people that are successful DECIDE they are going to be successful.
They make that choice… They aren't inhibited by nature or nurture.
They overcome both.

It’s not about what you’ve been through and where you were.
It’s about where you’re going.
And it’s about the choices that you make.
It’s about choosing.
Choose to make yourself smarter and stronger and healthier…
Choose to make yourself.

Train hard so you bleed less

Q
Get humble or you’re gonna get humbled.

Do that thing that you don’t know if you can do.

Stop being afraid of hard work.

I prefer dangerous freedom to peaceful slavery.

The grind is how you sharpen the axe.

To me it’s not about winning, it’s the battle itself. It’s the struggle, the daily test, that’s what life’s about…
Getting that rock to the top of the mountain, that’s not what my goal is.
My goal actually is pushing the rock.

I want to struggle.
I want to grind and claw and scratch.
And I want to dig in and I want to push.
And I don’t want it to end.
If I ever got the rock to the top of the mountain and it stayed there, I’d push it back down myself.
Q

I don’t want to rest.

And I don’t want to coast.
And I don’t want to reach a point in my life where I say, “That’s it. I’ve done enough.
I’m not gonna give anymore.
I’m not gonna push anymore.” No.
NO.

That relentless cycle of day-to-day challenges, they aren’t maddening to me, they don’t frustrate me, they inspire me inspire
me to drive and push more and push harder.
That’s what that rock does to me.
So I say dig in, and get to pushing.

To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence. Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s
resistance without fighting. Sun Tzu, The Art of War

The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy’s not coming but on our own readiness to receive him, not
on the chance of his not attacking but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable. Sun Tzu

It’s not what happens TO YOU in your life. It’s what YOU do. It’s what you prepare for. It’s your own readiness that’s gonna
effect the outcome, … not what the world does to you, but what you do to the world.
Q

Getting better is a campaign.

It's an incessant fight against weakness and temptation and laziness.
It's a campaign of discipline and hard work and dedication.
It's waking up early and going to bed late and grinding out every second in between every single day.

You want to get better?

You want to self-improve?
Stop looking for a shortcut and go find your alarm clock.
And find your discipline.
And find your guts and your passion and your drive. And find your will.
And then, you will find your freedom.

If you live your life with regrets, then you never move forward.

We are capable of more.

We can do more.

We can be more.

We can stand.

Remind yourself that this fight that you’re in, this is what will make you stronger, and faster, and smarter, and better.
And then, with that motivation, go forward into the fray, into the storm, into the heat of the battle where victory is forged.
Q

Regardless of your age you should make it a rule to learn something new each day and do something each day to improve
yourself physically.

You’ve only got one shot at today.

What are you going to do with it?

Let’s cry no more.

Let’s mourn no more.
Let’s remember, but let’s not dwell.
Instead, let’s laugh and let’s love and let’s embrace and cherish everything that life is and every opportunity it gives us.

Of all the many traits needed to survive and win on the battlefield, discipline is number one.
Without absolute discipline you lose.

The more we sweat on the training field, the less we bleed on the battlefield.
Q

My glory

It doesn’t happen in front of a crowd,

It doesn’t happen in a stadium,

It doesn’t happen on a stage.

There’s no medals handed out.

My glory happens in the darkness of the early morning in solitude.

We’re the product of our mistakes.

And oftentimes the lesson is sitting there right in front of our face.
It’s there to be learned but we miss it, or we don’t pay attention to it, or we think we know better until it punches us in the
face.

The most important thing to learn is that we have so much to learn.

You get one shot, one shot at this gig right here life.
One life, that’s all you’ve got.
And regret, in and of itself, it’s worthless.
It does nothing for you. In fact, the only valuable thing in regret is the lesson you learned.
Q

Let the fear of regret fuel you to take action today NOW

To take action now to become a better person,

Not filled with regret,

But filled with knowledge,

Filled with knowledge,

And strength,

And power,

And filled with life.

No matter what your station in life, or your position, or your rank, you are a leader when you step up and lead.
You can make a difference, and have an impact, and affect the outcomes of so many things in the world by stepping up and
leading.

I don’t think age assaults you.

I think it sneaks up on you.
And the way it sneaks up on you is a missed rep there, and a slower lap over here, and a missed workout over there.
Age is just chipping away at you.

Embed that long-term goal in your mind.

Burn it into your soul.
Think about it, and write about it, and talk about it, and hang it up on your wall.
But most important, do something about it.
Every day do something that moves you toward that goal.

I want you to be afraid of failing. … But more important, I want you to be terrified of sitting on your ass and doing nothing.
I want you to be afraid of waking up in 6 days, or 6 weeks, or 6 years, or 60 years and being no closer to your goal.

Get up and go.

Take the risk.

Take the gamble.

Take the first step.

Take action.

And don’t let another day slip by.

Q Often, the longest way around is the shortest way there

Observe.

Orient.

Decide.

Act.
Q Between the acting of a dreadful thing and the first motion, all the interim is like a phantasma or a hideous dream.

Q There will be no progress in the comfort zone.

Q If you’re right, then you’ll win the argument.

And if you’re wrong, then you change your mind.

Q The Warpath, that’s the path I’m on… because to me, Warpath means moving toward a battle…
That is what I am doing preparing, and sharpening my sword, and honing my skills, and maintaining the unmitigated daily
discipline in all things.

Q The Warpath is a war against weakness, and so it leads to strength.

It’s a war against ignorance, and so it leads to knowledge.
It’s a war against confusion, and so it delivers understanding.
And it leads to control and ownership of your life.

Q That to me is the Warpath the path of fire and adversity, the path of blood and of sweat and of suffering.
The Warpath is the preeminent path of discipline, which is why it leads to freedom.
And beyond that, in the end, it leads to peace.

Q When you’re out there in the world and you’re feeling that dread, and you’re feeling that hesitation, just step. Go!

Q In solemn solute to those thousands of our comrades great, brave men that they were for whom there will be no
homecoming, ever.
Q You don’t need a hard shell if you have a hard core.

The instinct that says, “You’ve had enough.

You’ve given it your best shot.
You can stand down.
You can back off.
You can take a knee.
You can rest now.”

DO NOT LISTEN TO THAT INSTINCT!

That instinct is a liar and wants to bring you down.

They’ll tell you, “You did the best you could.

The deck was stacked against you.
It’s not your fault. It’s ok to stop.
It’s ok to settle. It’s ok to give up.”
That is the instinct you need to fight, you need to push back, to smash into the ground.

Do NOT take the easy way out. Do not give up based on instinct.
If you are forced to stand down, to retreat so you can rebuild and re-attack, so be it.
But make that decision based on logic, not on the instinct of surrender and defeat.

You need to train your instinct to say, “Get up! Go! Fight on!” And if that becomes your fundamental reaction to adversity, if
that becomes your gut instinct, then you will overcome just about anything that stands in your path.
Q

Never give up. …

You are not done until you are six feet under. Andrew Paul, Assistant Platoon Commander, Delta Platoon, Task Unit Bruiser

Life is easier when you find a way to help somebody else.

When you find a way to help somebody else, miraculously, your problems begin to go away.
So, focus on somebody else’s problems and how you can help them.

Lead. LEAD! Step up to the challenge.

Be the one that other people look to.
Absorb that impact.
Absorb that negativity. Draw fire.

When bad things are happening,

I am going to try and be the one good thing,
the thing standing tall that can be relied upon, because I know that attitude will spread.
It will bolster those around me.
And we will fight.
And in fighting, we will win.

Cherish the struggle, the contest, the suffering, the risk.

Don’t shy away from it. But instead, cherish it.
Q

It’s not that you wake up one day and decide, “That’s it. I give up.
I’m gonna be weak now…”
We don't do that in one day.
It’s not one decision.
It’s a slow, incremental process that just chips away at our will and chips away at our discipline.

You have to be vigilant.

You have to be on guard.
You have to hold the line, even on the seemingly insignificant little things, things that shouldn’t matter.
But those things do matter.

Live in such a way that you don’t remember the old days with sorrow that they are gone, but with pride and with gratitude
that those old days led you to where you are today.

A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.

Life is hard.
That’s what life is.
And these challenges that you face, they’re gonna do their best to take you down.
Do not let them.
Stand up. Dig in.
Line up those problems and confront them.
Face them. Fight them.
Do not let them bring you down.

Let those challenges raise you up.

Let them elevate you… Let the adversity you face today turn you into a better person tomorrow.
So in the future you look back at these struggles and you say to them, “Thank you. You made me better.”

Everyone thinks of changing the world.

But no one thinks of changing himself.

The thing that’s inherent in Extreme Ownership is a true understanding of the mission and belief in the mission, and the
knowledge that you’re doing the right things for the right reasons.

As an overall rule, I do not like procrastination.

You need to get things done.
But, if you are going to rest, that is one thing that you should procrastinate on.
That’s the one thing I want you to put off until tomorrow.

When it comes to life, don’t just go through the motions. Live.

LIVE! Fight the good fight.
Live an outstanding life.
Don’t just go through life.
Don’t just get through it.
Instead, get after it.
Q

We do not rise to the level of our hopes, we fall to the level of our training.

You are not flawed.

You are human.
You have gifts to share with the world.
And when the darkness comes, when you are fighting the demons, remember… you are not alone.
The gems I’ve found were forged in the struggle.
Never ever give up.

I wake up excited.
And I go to bed exhausted.

Don’t believe everything you think.

Detach. Assess and test the assumptions.
And get better at getting better.

Forge your path.

Figure out where you want to go, how you’re gonna get stronger, how you’re gonna get faster, how you’re gonna get smarter,
how you’re gonna get better. … Those answers work best when they come from yourself.
Q

Remember that this isn’t easy for anyone.

Remember that anything worth anything is worth fighting for.
Remember that the battle doesn’t fight itself.
You are the one that has to fight it.

Remember that there’s a price for victory.

And that price is hard work, and early mornings, and late nights.
And that price is unmitigated daily discipline in all things.

Make sure the path that you are on is the right one.
Make sure it’s the hard one.
Make sure your path isn’t one of passivity.
And make sure it’s not a path of regret.
Make sure it is a path of discipline, and it is a path of progress.

We are all capable of more.

I am capable of more.
You are capable of more.
You can overcome the obstacles and the challenges and the enemy.
And you can overcome you own weaknesses.
And you can overcome your own desire to quit.

Precision in personal habits, precision in drill, and precision in daily living are the high road to that kind of discipline which best
ensures cool and collected thought and unity of action. S.L.A. Marshall, “The Armed Forces Officer”
Q

The preeminent quality which all great commanders have in common is the power to concentrate on means to a given end to
the exclusion of exaggerated fears of the obstacles which lie athwart the course. S.L.A. Marshall, “The Armed Forces Officer”

Within our system that discipline is nearest perfect which assures to the individual the greatest freedom of thought and action
while at all times promoting his feeling of responsibility toward the group. S.L.A. Marshall, “The Armed Forces Officer”

The good things, the good positions, the good details, the good promotions, the rewards, they’re not gonna come and knock
on your door.
You’ve gotta go out, and you’ve gotta take ‘em.
You’ve gotta make them happen.

Back off?
Negative, not happening.
In fact, I’m stepping it up.
I’m training harder, eating cleaner.
I’m training more.
I’m learning and reading and studying more now than I ever have in my whole life.
Do I get dinged up?
Of course I do… No factor.

I hear the clock ticking.

And the end is nigh. And time waits for no man… Life goes by.
And it goes by quick. Don’t waste those years, live them…
The earlier you get in the game and get on track, the better life you’re gonna have.
Q

HERE’S THE DEAL:

No complacency, no backing off, no slack whatsoever.
Fight!
Fight that ticking clock with everything you’ve got.
So, like the end of a hard day, you can put your head down with ease satisfied that you’ve given your best.

It is essential to be cautious and take your time making plans, and once you have come to a decision, to carry it out right away
without any hesitation. Timidity after all is not caution, but the invention of wickedness.

Soldiers who are kept working improve in courage.

While too much leisure makes them weak and lazy.

Take your time in planning.

But when you’ve made a decision be fast at putting it into action. In war, opportunity is fleeting and cannot be put off at all.
Maurice, “Strategikon”

The General who is overly harsh and the one who is too indulgent are both unfit for command.
Fear leads to great hatred.
And giving in too much results in being despised.
It is best to take the middle course.

Q
It is better to:
Have an army of deer commanded by a lion,
Than an
Army of lions commanded by a deer

You’ve got to dictate your own future.

Don’t let fate dictate your future.
You’ve got to make that decision to be better.

In football and in a rifle company there is no substitute for discipline, hard work, and commitment.
If any of these elements are lacking, the team is going to lose, the company will get shot to pieces in combat, and men will die.

Live a life of substance,

not just existence.

Don’t allow your circumstances to direct your life and tell you who you’re going to be.
Nothing should hold you back.

When we go forward in our lives, let us do so with the intention of honoring those brave souls, those Soldiers, Sailers, Airmen,
and Marines who stood and held the line and gave their last full mean sure for us.

Q
Delving into history, into other people's stories, places all our problems into perspective.
Time and again we have to remind ourselves how extraordinarily lucky we are.

Q Poetry

"…a rainbow vanishing quickly."

I guess that is what we all are.

But before we vanish, I say: shine.

Shine.

All that darkness in the world,

Be the light.

Be the color.

Be the good

And the strong

And the brightness

That drives away the dark.

We have but one chance here.

One chance,

One opportunity

To stretch across the sky and shine.

Value that.

Value life.

And know that the light will spread,

And good will prevail.

Learn about yourself.

Test yourself. Find out who you are.
Find out where fear and hesitation might cause you to back down or to fall short.
Learn and understand yourself so you can overcome and conquer your limitations

It's an amazing thing about human beings, what we have inside that we can dig down and grab a hold of when we have to,
that we don't think we ever could have done it, but it's there. author of My Captivity in Vietnam"

Hope is such a powerful thing.

It's there for all of us.
We just need to grab a hold of it, and hold it tightly.
author of My Captivity in Vietnam

Sitting there wounded, in stocks, in a bamboo cage … with death all around me I began to wonder: how long can I endure this?
Then my voice said out loud, "As long as it takes." My Captivity in Vietnam"

Spirit is the most important factor in survival.

A sense of humor, even under the worst conditions, helps maintain spirit.
And in spirit lives hope. My Captivity in Vietnam"

I truly believe that every day God has given me on this Earth since I came home from captivity is a beautiful day… Every day is a
gift. My Captivity in Vietnam"
Q

Rules for Survival:

1 Eat

2 Personal hygiene

3 Exercise

4 Do not give up

5 Establish communications

6 Follow the Code of Conduct

7 Keep the Faith

8 Maintain a sense of humor

I’m sorry that you have never smelled the breath of a man who wants to kill you… I don’t wish those experiences on you, but I
wish you had them.

Ideas are not protected by words.

Paper may outline the foundation and principles of this nation, but it is blood that protects it.

Q
We send our best, and lose them, in the fight against the worst this world has to offer.
If you want to respect and honor their sacrifice, it needs to be more than words.
You have to live it.

Take a minute and look around.

Soak it in, all of it. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
You have the choice, every day, as to which category you want to be in, and which direction you want to move.

We owe too much to those that have fallen for our freedom.
But, you know what we can do, and what we must do?
Try to live every day with that thought in mind of the service and of the sacrifice of those that gave their last full measure for
us.

If someone says to you, "Take it easy," tell 'em no.

Tell 'em you aren't gonna take it easy.
Tell 'em you're gonna go hard, as hard as you can.
Tell 'em you're gonna push and grind and fight and work as hard as you can until you have nothing left.

Lead from the front.

Leaders must be forward to gain a clear picture and make decisions.

The man who lies low and awaits developments usually comes off second best.
Erwin Rommel, “Infantry Attacks”
Q

Taking ownership of your life, it isn’t easy.

And living the life of discipline isn’t easy.
In fact, it’s hard.
That’s why it works.

Viking Laws

Be brave and aggressive.

Be direct.

Grab all opportunities.

Use varying methods of attack.

Be versatile and agile.

Attack one target at a time.

Don't plan everything in detail.

Be prepared.

Keep in shape.

Find good battle comrades.

When a warrior falls, the whole world should come to a standstill.

The whole world should stand, and bow their heads, and grieve the loss of that hero.
Charles MacDonald, "Company Commander"

Q
Sometimes when something is given to us, just given to us, we forget what the cost was.
We forget the price that was paid.
And there was a price paid for our freedom, a massive price.
There are those that paid everything they had for our freedom.

Most of the time, you have a lot more control over your own destiny than you think you do.

If you're doing the right things for the right reasons, you'll be able to convince your team of the strategy or of the plan.
And if you can't, it's a hint that maybe you need to adapt your strategy or maybe you need to adapt your plan.

In the end, evil cannot win if we decide that we will not let it.
Because if we confront the darkness, if we stand up with courage and we look upward toward the sky, the light will wash out
the darkness and bring us warmth and hope and happiness.

Hope came creeping back blushing, ashamed of her disloyal flight, but commending herself to us once more with the promise
never again to desert the ramparts.

Remember that people, all people, have good and bad qualities.
And people make mistakes and they do dumb things.
And yet those very people are capable of so much.

Q
There’s probably nothing more we can do to live a worthwhile life than to help other people.
And in helping other people you will be rewarded and you will be helping yourself.

Don’t stop moving forward. And don’t stop attacking.

And don’t succumb to the suffering and the pain and the fear.
Don’t succumb, but instead, move forward and attack.

Fear lives in the moment, that powerful moment, between when you decide you’re going to do something and when you do it.
Once you go, once you start, you won’t be afraid anymore.
You overcome fear by going. Jocko Willink, "Way of the Warrior Kid"

Remember what you as a human being are capable of.

Remember what your will is capable of.
And then, keep moving forward.
Keep attacking.
And keep getting after it.

Learn everything you can every second you can.

Study the tactics.
Study the people.
Study the culture.
And know them.
More importantly, know yourself and be vigilant not to let up on yourself preparing for the unexpected.

Q
If not me,
then who?

Be strong.
Be accountable.
Never complain.

Worn down isn’t beaten… And the things that don’t go my way, they just turn into targets that I’m going to attack harder.
And when I do come up short, it’s OK because I just learned one more thing that’s gonna get me over the top.

Life isn’t easy.

And it’s not supposed to be.
Sure, there’s victories and there’s triumphs.
But there’s also losses and setbacks.
But those losses and setbacks only win if you let them.
So don’t let them… No matter what happens, keep going.

You can plummet to the bottom of the worst depths of hell and still come back and try to become a better person.

There’s no losing in Jiu-Jitsu.

You win or you learn
Q

No one has lived a perfect life.

We’ve all made mistakes.
We’ve all done things that can’t be undone.
And we’ve gone places that we should not have gone.
But we all have the opportunity to redeem ourselves.

Leadership’s defining quality is honesty.

To honesty add fairness and consistency… By leading from the front I believe I achieved a high degree of success.

Leadership starts with honesty, dedication, and having a man who is dependable and fair.
If you never deviate from the standards that you established, men have faith in you and you’ll be out front to set the example.

If you aren’t in good physical shape, forget it.

You are not going to be a good leader.

Self-discipline keeps you doing your job.

Without it you lose your pride and forget the importance of self-respect in the eyes of your fellow men.
Pride keeps you going on.

Q
Character implies daily choices of right over wrong… It is easier to do the right thing when everyone is looking. It is more
difficult to do what you should do when you are alone.

Good morale within an outfit is usually reflected by good conduct away from it.

Moral courage is a far rarer commodity that physical courage… I have known many officers who were physically brave, but
who did not have the intestinal fortitude to organize the chaos around them. Maj. Dick Winters

It is the responsibility of a commander to identify the limits of courage, break the paralysis of fear, and motivate his soldiers to
continue with the mission. Courage conquers fear.

I suspect every soldier at one time or another experiences a degree of fear.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the willingness to rise above fear and do the things you know need to be
accomplished. "Conversations with Major Dick Winters"

By taking full accountability for my life I have been able to meet the standards I set for myself.
Every commander must take full accountability for his actions.
Stand up and be counted.

Discipline is manifested in how a well soldier keeps his uniform, how frequently he cleans his weapon, and the pride he has in
his unit.
Q

In this world, in this life, you don’t have to have discipline at all.
And you’ll still survive.
And you might even do ok.
But just imagine, just imagine if you applied discipline to your life, where you’ll end up and how much better off you’ll be.

The average American has hundreds of thousands of inputs every day…

When you’re in a little prison cell, especially if you’re in solitary confinement, you might hear a bird.
And that’s delightful. That’s a big deal. Vietnam POW

The reason we came out as healthy as we did… because discipline brought about freedom. Vietnam POW

It’s not the hand you’re dealt,

it’s the way you play the hand you’re dealt.
Capt. Charlie Plumb
Q

If you can believe that.

yes, I have control of my life,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul, and you can really believe that,
then the rest is just a matter of the discipline it takes to work through it.
Capt. Charlie Plumb

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing, the last of the human freedoms:
Is to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.

There is only one thing that I dread:

Not to be worthy of my sufferings

The way they bore their suffering was a genuine inner achievement.
It is this spiritual freedom, which cannot be taken away, that makes life meaningful and purposeful.

They way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails gives him ample opportunity, even under the most
difficult circumstances, to add a deeper meaning to his life. Viktor Frankl, “Man’s Search for Meaning”

Q
When you get faced with this ultimate, brutal challenge,
when life is just about to crush you,
that’s when you have the biggest opportunity to prove who you are.

He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.

We watched and witnessed some of our comrades behave like swine while others behaved like saints.
Man has both potentialities within himself.
Which one is actualized depends on decisions, but not on conditions.

We had to learn ourselves, and furthermore, we had to teach the despairing men that it did not really matter what we
expected from life but rather what life expected from us.

Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and fulfill the tasks that it constantly
sets for each individual. Viktor Frankl, “Man’s Search for Meaning”

A human being is not one thing among others.

Things determine each other.
But man is ultimately self-determining.
What he becomes, within the limits of endowment and environment, he has made out of himself.

With every decision that we make we actualize ourselves.

We BECOME what we CHOOSE.

Leadership must be confident.

But unless it is matched in equal measure by humility, it jars, at which point the led simply fall away.

Morale is a state of mind.

It is that intangible force which will move a whole group of men to give their last ounce to achieve something, without
counting the cost to themselves.

If you wait for things to happen to you, they will happen alright…
They will happen to you.
But they won’t be what you like.
And they certainly won’t bring you success.

Initiative means seeing at once and very quickly what needs to be done, making up your mind to do it, and then seeing it
through to the bitter end.

Eventually the war left me with a deep appreciation for the simple things in life.
Putting on a clean pair of dry socks is one of the greatest luxuries I know.

Above all my boys, have courage.

Have courage to do the things that you think are right.
Never be afraid to fight for what you think is right.
Q

Life is hard.
It does not pamper anybody.
And for every time it strokes you, it gives you ten blows.
Become accustomed to that soon.
But don’t let it defeat you.
Decide to fight.
Letter from a mother to her daughter before her execution

Go through the world with open eyes.

And listen not only to your own pains and interests, but also to the pains, interests, and longings of others.

If you will do your work skillfully, honestly, happily, and with your whole being, then you will be successful in it.

All of your excuses are lies.

Leadership is happening at all times.

The minute you are interacting with another person, leadership is taking place.
You’re either being led, which is fine, or you’re leading, which is fine, as long as you’re going in the right direction.

If you start seeing yourself being led in the wrong direction and you go with it, you’re at fault.
You can’t blame that person.
You went along with it.
You’re culpable for your actions.

Q
Enjoy what you're doing. Master your craft. Don’t let your craft become your master.

Don’t save that last bullet for yourself…

You lock and load that last bullet and you shoot it at your enemy.
And when you’re out of bullets, get out your knife and attack with that.
And if you loose your knife, grab your enemy by the throat and you keep fighting.

If you feel like your life is in a place where you can’t get any lower, and you don’t think you can find any way out, GOOD.
Because that means the ultimate challenge is ahead of you.
It means you can only go up.

Don’t ever quit. Fight on.

Fight through the storm.
Fight through the pain and come out the other side stronger and tougher and better.
A fighter.
A survivor.
A winner.
Victorious.

We all have a little bit more to give, mentally and physically.

You can go further. You can push harder… You can be better.
Q

We most often get better not from the easy things and not from the good times, but from the hard times and the challenges
and the suffering in life that pushes you to your breaking point and demands that you give absolutely everything that you
have.

We all have a little bit more to give, mentally and physically.

You can go further.
You can push harder… You can be better.

We most often get better not from the easy things and not from the good times, but from the hard times and the challenges
and the suffering in life that pushes you to your breaking point and demands that you give absolutely everything that you
have.

Take care of your people and your people will take care of you.

There’s only one person that’s going to stop you, and that’s yourself.
There’s always a way to get across that obstacle, under it, around it, on top of it, one way or the other.
So don’t let something stop you from moving forward and making a better life for yourself and your family.

Q
No matter how dire the circumstances, no matter how many enemy forces are advancing, no matter how many rounds they’re
firing at you, no matter how many grenades they throw at you, no matter how big the problems that you face in life, never quit
on yourself and never quit on each other.

There are other people out there like you.

Keep going.
Never live life on the sidelines.
And most importantly, never give up and never quit.

To live in freedom, to go forward with your family, to make something of your life, to never ever give up, to never quit:
that’s success.

Success and failure are generally slow processes…

That’s why you have to watch every single second.
Because those seconds, they turn into minutes, and minutes turn into hours, and hours turn into days, and days turn into
years.

That second, that second that just went by, that counted.
And so did that second.
And that one.
And in those precious seconds,
you are either building or you are decaying,
you are either gaining ground or you are losing ground.

Seconds turn into minutes.

Minutes turn into days.
And days turn into years.
So, make those seconds count all of them.

Success and failure are generally slow processes…

That’s why you have to watch every single second.
Because those seconds, they turn into minutes, and minutes turn into hours, and hours turn into days, and days turn into
years.

That second, that second that just went by, that counted.
And so did that second.
And that one.
And in those precious seconds you are either building or you are decaying, you are either gaining ground or you are losing
ground.

Seconds turn into minutes.

Minutes turn into days.
And days turn into years.
So make those seconds count all of them.

It is easy to be motivated to succeed at the beginning of an endeavor and when you are close to the end.
The most difficult part, and the part when people quit, is when they are in the thick of it and it is unclear whether they have
the strength and stamina to make it the rest of the way.

The hardest part of working toward a goal is when we are either making slow progress or negative progress and having the
patience and confidence to know that the improvements we make over the long periods, as opposed to the short periods, are
what matter.
Q

Who you are depends entirely on your influences and the level of effort that is put into forging yourself into what you desire to
be.

If you’re going through hard times or you’re facing a rough patch or a challenge or an obstacle in your life, adapt to it,
grow from it, overcome it, transcend it, and use the weight of that challenge to make you stronger.

I knew at that moment what we were going to do.

It became clear.
And I knew the challenge in front of me.
And I knew it was insane.
And I knew it couldn’t be done.
And I was like, “It’s happening.”

When you think you’re broken, do something and do something aggressive.

If you want to build character, you do the right thing.

You do the right thing for yourself.
You do the right thing for your family.
You do the right thing for the people that you know.
You do the right thing for your community.
You do the right thing for your country.
That’s what you do.

The difference between success and failure in life is not the things around you.
It’s the choices you make about the things around you.

You can blame everybody else for your problems.

But I’m doing so you give away control of your life.

Extreme Ownership is not, by any stretch, an escape hatch.

In fact, when you take ownership you shut the hatch and you lock it.
You're not getting out.
The only way out is to find solutions for the problems and move forward.

Make something out of the freedom that you have.

Don't waste it… And the way that you get the most out of your freedom is discipline…
Push yourself hard.
Get things done.
Create and build and make yourself the best YOU that you can.

Be strong.
Train your physical strength.
And exercise your mental strength by doing the right things, the hard things, the things you know you're supposed to do.
Do them.
Q

Keep training.
Keep fighting.
Keep working and striving and grinding to do more than anyone thought you could, more than even you thought you could.

Be strong.
Train your physical strength.
And exercise your mental strength by doing the right things, the hard things, the things you know you're supposed to do.
Do them.

Keep training.
Keep fighting.
Keep working and striving and grinding to do more than anyone thought you could, more than even you thought you could.

Every man is responsible for everything that happens to him and everything that happens to everyone else

A harmless man is not a good man.

A good man is a very, very dangerous man who has that under voluntary control.

Competence beats obedience.

So, you unite people under a goal, and then you let them act autonomously.
Q

You have to take yourself seriously.

You have to know that you’re capable of terrible things.
And you have a responsibility to understand that and discipline it and then to work for the alleviation of suffering and the
constraint of malevolence.

Love is the decision that Being is worthwhile and that you should struggle to support and improve it.

Truth in the service of the betterment of Being.

It’s something like that.
And that’s enough to give your life meaning.

If you’re in a low place, it’s a low door that’s gonna open.

An inch up is up, and it’s the right trajectory.

You think freedom gives your life more meaning.

That’s true if you’re under a tyranny.
But if you’re not, then it’s responsibility that gives your life meaning. rson
Q

Your life has to have meaning.

It has negative meaning whether you want it or not.
You choose whether or not it has positive

You’re full of potential.

There’s worlds out there to conquer.
There’s things to do.
There’s people to help.
There’s things to put right.
Get it together and don’t let your fears stop you.

It matters if you leave things undone.

You leave the world in an uncompleted state.
And it hurts.
It hurts you. It hurts your family.
It hurts your society. And it hurts the world.
So if you’re laying there being useless and not getting at it then you’re contributing to the catastrophe.

Being in the military does not make you a disciplined person.

Being from a disciplined family does not make you a disciplined person.
Being in a disciplined group does not make you a disciplined person.
What makes you a disciplined person is choosing to be disciplined.

Q
Just start.
Start small.
Start with changing just tomorrow morning.
Get that squared away.
And then move on to the next day, and the next.
And move your life to a better place one little step, one little victory at a time.

If there’s something in your life that you want to change, then change it.
You have control.
And if you don’t think you have control, then take control.
Get a grip on your life.

I want to be a better man.

I realize how important it is, what a privilege it is to be born human.
I'm almost dead, but I understand what it means to be alive "

It is the law of nature, you can't do things over again.

That's life.
Everything in it is for keeps.
Everything.

I want to dedicate myself to training and discipline.

I want to spend every moment of every day working to improve myself.
I now know how far I have to go.
Q

You cannot have pleasure without pain

and you cannot have pain without pleasure.
Your struggles now will be rewarded in the future.
So you must endure “The Hundred Rules of War”

Not engaging in any form of study will cause your mind to wander.
This will result in your spirit becoming unfocused.

You know what to do.

You know to be balanced.
And you know to workout.
And you know not to be gluttonous with food.
And you know you shouldn’t sleep late.
And you know that your struggles now will be rewarded in the future.
So you must endure.

The things that are bad that happen in life can either teach you or break you.
And you’ve got to decide what you want them to do.

Adversity, everybody spends their life trying to avoid it.

Me too.
But the best things that ever happened to me came during the times when the shit hit the fan and I had nothing and nobody to
help me.
Q Who are you really?
What do you really want?
Get out there and fail and find out.

It’s ok to take a day off from working out, but on that day you’re not allowed to eat.

Know that the only reason you’re here on this planet is to follow your star and do what the muse tells you.
It’s amazing how a good day’s work will get you right back to feeling like yourself.

When you’re feeling like crap, get after it… It makes you feel better.
And it gets you right back on The Path.

Hard choices:
Easy life. Easy choices:
Hard life.
Nothing truly meaningful or lasting has ever been created in a short period of time.

Hard choices make us wiser, smarter, stronger, and wealthier.

And easy choices reverse our progress.

Q
In every difficult moment ask yourself what is a hard choice and what is an easy choice and you will know instantly what is
right.

You can either suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.

No one owes you anything.

The things that are bad that happen in life can either teach you or break you.
And you’ve got to decide what you want them to do.

Adversity, everybody spends their life trying to avoid it.

Me too.
But the best things that ever happened to me came during the times when the shit hit the fan and I had nothing and nobody to
help me.

Who are you really?

What do you really want?
Get out there and fail and find out

It’s ok to take a day off from working out, but on that day you’re not allowed to eat.
Q

Know that the only reason you’re here on this planet is to follow your star and do what the muse tells you.
It’s amazing how a good day’s work will get you right back to feeling like yourself.

When you’re feeling like crap, get after it…

It makes you feel better.
And it gets you right back on The Path.

Hard choices:
Easy life.
Easy choices:
Hard life.
Nothing truly meaningful or lasting has ever been created in a short period of time.

Hard choices make us wiser, smarter, stronger, and wealthier.

And easy choices reverse our progress.

In every difficult moment ask yourself what is a hard choice and what is an easy choice and you will know instantly what is
right

Q
You can either suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.

No one owes you anything. Amelia Boone

Rise and overcome.

Just remember that you might not be wearing a cape, you might not have any magic powers, but you have the ultimate power
and that is HUMAN WILL.

When you see what men can do when pushed beyond the limit of human capacity, when you see that, when you hear about it,
when you read about it, well then remember to push yourself.
Push yourself every day, every moment.
Get out there and get after it.

People go through their lives without knowing what it is they want to do, what they want to accomplish.
So, know what your mission is.
As the commander of your life, know what your intent is.
And then fight with everything you’ve gotto win.

Make sure you have a plan.

Make sure you have a goal.
Make sure you have intent.
Make sure you have a mission.
And then get out there, and get after it.
Q

Remember that even now the clock is bringing us closer, closer to that moment.
So, train hard, and work hard, and do everything you can to be prepared.
So, when that time does come, you can step up and get after it.

You have the opportunity to prevent catastrophe in your own life.

But in order to do that you have to stand up.
You have to do the right thing.
You have to be uncomfortable.
You have to impose the discipline on your own life.

You have to do the hard thing, the thing you know is right.
And you know what is right and you know what you are supposed to do.
So, do it.
Avoid going down a path that leads to your own personal hell.
And get on the path that leads to freedom.

Away from weakness and toward strength.

Away from laziness and toward action.

Away from comfort and towards the discipline.

Away from catastrophe and toward victory.

Q

Keep putting one foot in front of the other as you move down this path.
Keep making the right decisions even on the little things.
Keep attacking, pushing, and pursuing without ceasing.

As you struggle to stay on The Path first of all remember that you don’t have to fight alone.
Reach out and call for fire support when you need it.
We win wars because we stick together.
And when we stick together we can overcome any enemy.

The struggles that you face, when they do try to flank you, do what a soldier does.
Turn into the ambush.
Turn toward the enemy fire and attack.

There is hope.
And there is a path to light.
And we can get on that path if we choose to do so.

We are here.
And the best thing we can do is stand against the darkness and try to spread light in the world.

Q
You don’t get less afraid, you get braver.

Always place your becoming above your current being.

There is hope.
And there is a path to light.
And we can get on that path if we choose to do so.

We are here.
And the best thing we can do is stand against the darkness and try to spread light in the world.

You don’t get less afraid, you get braver.

Always place your becoming above your current being.

Motivational speakers tell you how good you are.

We’re here to tell you how much you suck and you've got to get better.

Wake up every day with a mission.

Wake up every day with a goal to be a little bit better today than you were yesterday.
Q

One day you're gonna be tested.

And you better be ready.

You need to expect to get your ass handed to you every day, and train like it.

Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere.

And sometimes, in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself.

You wake up every day and decide how you look at the situation.
You decide what you do with it.
You decide whether you use it as your excuse to hold you back, or you use it as your fuel to go out and be the best that you
can be.

The phrase, “I can’t,” denotes a lack of investment as opposed to a lack of potential or ability. ...

Given the right purpose and enough time, you can.

The way to get the most out of yourself is to figure out a way to make it about something that you care about more than
yourself.

Q
The weight of the world can be heavy.
But instead of letting the weight wear you down, instead of letting it break you, you can use the weight to make yourself
stronger, to make yourself tougher, to make yourself better.

When you step off The Path, it’s a slippery slope.

Stop waiting to get lucky.

Stop waiting for a big break.
Instead, be thankful, truly thankful for what you do have.
And go out there and fight and battle and brawl to make your own luck.

Training of the will must be an element of moral education.

A weak willpower can result in the inability to do what you know is right, or the inability to prevent doing what you know is
wrong.

You must endeavor to cultivate good habits.

Love what is good, and reject what is evil on a daily basis.

The way that you live, every little thing that you do, the actions that you take on a daily basis that’s who you are. ...

Live your life with intent.

Every little decision that you make matters.

Q

No matter what the situation, there is only one path that people must follow.
In every case the only course is to consider what is the right thing to do and proceed in that direction.

If you win do not boast of your victory.

If you lose do not be discouraged.
When it is safe do not be careless.
When it is dangerous do not fear.
Simply continue down the path ahead. Jigoro Kano

Let us all be prepared to stand up and fight if we need to, to be prepared to face evil by staying on The Path, by knowing what
your principles are and sticking to them. Be vigilant.

Pay attention to the little things, the little decisions that pull you off The Path and on to that slippery slope.
Instead stay on The Path, the path of discipline, the path that leads to security, and strength, and of course to freedom.

Don’t look at yourself as being weak [if you need to ask for help].
Look at yourself as trying to optimize your strength. Echo Charles

Don’t accept the faults.

Don’t give yourself the benefit of the doubt.
You’ve got to be your own harshest critic.
Hold the line and don’t let go.
Q

We must not be too proud or too stupid to profit from our mistakes

You can’t have triumph without trials, tribulation, and tragedy.

I have my leadership mantra, and I’m a simple guy, so I boil things down simply to three words:
Example, Caring, and Balance.

I don’t see this as a possibility to fail.

I see this as an opportunity to succeed.

Every day is a great day.

I have my faith, my family, and live in the finest country in the world.

An excuse is when you blame something that you could have controlled. ...

But I think what you will find, when you approach the world with an attitude of Extreme Ownership, is that you have a lot
more control over things than you think you do.
Q

It’s discipline that comes from comes from people being trained right, and taught right, and treated right.
If you don’t treat people right, they deserve to treat you wrong.
I’m a great believer in treating people the right way. Col. Thomas Fife

As the long, lonely hours ticked away, thoughts ran the gauntlet of my mind.
Early in the wait I resolved to go down fighting.
I considered surrender out of the question and never an option. T. Fred Harvey

Life can be hard.

And life can be challenging.
And life can contain a fair amount of suffering.
But you know what?
It’s the one life you’ve got.
So, go and live a life that in the end allows you to look back and say,
“Hell yes, I’d do it all again.”

There are things that are more important than being strong and smart and athletic. ...

Things like loyalty, honor, and will.

Things like courage.
The courage to stand and the will to keep going.
And to do the right things for the right reasons.

If you know you won’t give up.

And you know you won’t give in.
And if you test yourself and you fail, but you know you’re gonna get back up again.
If you know that, then you know that your character is strong.
And that’s what matters.

The greatest secret of war, and the masterpiece of a skillful general is to starve his enemy.
Hunger exhausts men more surely than courage, and you will succeed with less risk than by fighting.

There is an ancient rule of war that cannot be repeated often enough:

hold your forces together, make no detachments, … and seize every advantage to make sure of your success.

It is not characteristic of human nature to produce beings exempt of human weakness and defects.
The finest medallions have a reverse side.

Skepticism is the mother of security.

Even though only fools trust their enemies, prudent persons never do.
The General is the principal sentinel of his army.

It should be said to the shame of young men that debauchery and laziness often make them prefer ease to glory.

Victory in war does not depend entirely upon numbers or mere courage. Only skill and discipline will ensure it.

Q
In war, discipline is superior to strength.
But if that discipline is neglected, there is no longer any difference between the soldier and the peasant.

The old maxim is certain, that the very essence of an art consists in constant practice.

He, therefore, who desires peace should prepare for war.

The ancients, taught by experience, preferred discipline to numbers.

All arts and trades whatever are brought to perfection by continual practice.
How much more should this maxim, true in inconsiderable matters, be observed in affairs of importance?

And how much superior to all others is the art of war, by which our liberties are preserved, our dignities perpetuated, and the
provinces and the whole empire itself exists?

Few men are born brave.

Many become so through care and force of discipline.
Q

An army is strengthened by labor and weakened by idleness.

It might not happen immediately.

But eventually, the people that make excuses will be overrun by the people that take ownership.
That's the way it works.

Extreme Ownership isn't about the other guy taking ownership or not taking ownership.

It's about everything you can personally do to take ownership.

That's it.
It stops right there.

If you're on a bad team and you're leading the team, it's your fault.
And there's no exceptions to that. Zero.

We have to remember that there are dichotomies in leadership.

And taking what is normally a good attitude to an absolute extreme without any balance at all, that will turn into a problem.

The world is not like the movies. …

Movies are supposed to provoke emotion.
They’re supposed to make you feel something.
But I have a better idea.
Go out into the world and ACTUALLY feel it.
Go feel joy and love and triumph and rapture and ecstasy and glory.

Real comes with some down sides.

Real comes with some darkness.

But that’s OK.

It’s OK because when you know the darkness the light becomes even brighter.

So go out there and move toward the light.

Move toward the light.

And live.

LIVE.

Surrender is complete defeat.

Compromise is half defeat. But escape is not defeat.
And as long as you are not defeated you still have a chance. … It’s OK to retreat.
But never, NEVER surrender.

The responsibility lies within all of us every day to do our best to move the world away from the darkness and the demons that
linger inside men’s minds and move the world toward the light.

Q
When you know the way, then you see the way in all things.

I know life isn't perfect.

And I know life can be hard.
But it is still life.
And it's your life.
And there are those that have given their lives so that we can have ours.
So for them, for those heroes, live a good life.
Live the best life you can.

The clock is running.

You’re on the clock right now.
You don’t know when that clock’s gonna end.
But I’m gonna tell you right now, you’re on it.
And every second that you’re not grinding on that clock, you lose it.

The next time you get into a situation, write down the excuses and the reasons that you come up with, look at them, and then
figure out how those things were actually your fault and/or how you could have prevented them.

In the end, the person that puts everyone else first is going to win.

If you know the cost of freedom, then you see it and you appreciate it in everything, in everything that we have been given,
especially our most precious gift, and that is freedom.
Q

We may not always be as bold, and we may not always be as heroic, and we may not always be as brave as we want. But,
while we may fall short on those traits, let us never fall short in compassion, in sympathy, and in understanding.

Get out there and fight. …

Fight against your weakness.

Fight against sloth.

Fight against laziness and stagnation.

And fight to stay on The Path and live in accordance with the Way.

The dream that keeps coming back most often is one in which I must walk for miles and miles to return.
I know how difficult and time consuming it will be… But in my dream, I start walking.

I start walking.

Remember that even in the most wretched times, no matter how bad things get, remember not to stop, remember not to
pause, remember not to hesitate, remember to put one foot in front of the other, take that first step, and start walking.

Q
What do I do when I’m broken?
When I’m broken, I relish it.
That’s what I’m gonna do.
I’m gonna use it.
‘Cause if I’m broken, then I just found my limitations.
And until I know what my limitations are, how can I push them?
How can I get better?

Once I see where I was broken, then I can attack that weakness.
I can fill in that gap.
I can reinforce that breach.
If you break, it means it’s time to fortify your will to make it stronger.

Every time you break and in every way that you break … there’s opportunity.
There’s opportunity to get stronger, and get smarter, and get faster, and get tougher, and get more stable, and get more
resilient, and get better.

As you rise above what you were, and as you take the form of who you are supposed to be, you will see that in the very act of
standing up, in the act of fighting on, you will become, and you will remain, unbroken.

There’s only one person that can’t improve their leadership.

And that’s the person who lacks humility.

You’ve gotta believe you can.

And the way you believe you can is by having a mindset that you can’t be stopped.
Q

It’s good to be able to just say, “I don’t care who’s idea this is.
Which one of these two divergent ideas is gonna be the better one for what we’re trying to do? Which one is gonna deliver
more satisfaction to the people we’re trying to serve?”

Belief by itself won’t get you there.

But without belief, you’re not going anywhere.

Dreaming is one thing. Everybody has dreams. Believing, you take it a step further.
And then filling the void with action makes things happen.

Life is gonna be hard. It’s gonna be frustrating.

It’s gonna be disappointing.
It’s gonna be overwhelming.
But, like those settlers in New England, you keep at it.
And you keep working.
And you keep driving, and pushing, and grinding…

Fear is ever-present.
But it is the uncontrolled fear that is the enemy of successful operation.
And the control of fear depends upon the extent to which all dangers and distractions may be correctly anticipated, and
therefore, understood.

By rough approximation, 60% of the art of command is the ability to anticipate, 40% is the ability to improvise, to reject the
preconceived idea that has been tested and proved wrong, … and to rule by action, instead of acting by rules.

Don't try to win a war or capture a hill all by yourself.

Your action alone means nothing, or at best, very little.
It is when you talk to others and they join with you that your action becomes important.

Fear is contageous, but courage not less so.

To the man who is in terror and verging on panic, no influence can be more steadying than that he sees some other man near
him who is retaining self-control and doing his duty.

The near presence of death and the prospect of meeting it at the next moment move men in many curious and contrary ways.
The life of hardship and of danger gives new strength to the truly strong, and greater weakness to the truly weak.

Q
Courage is the real driving force in human affairs.
Every worthwhile action comes of some man daring what others fear to attempt.

We don’t need to spurn a lonely blade of grass or damn the ocean’s roar.
We don’t need to do that.
We can make someone’s life a little bit better.
We can make ourselves a little bit better.
And in doing so we can make the world a little bit better.

Show someone else The Path.

Help them off that slippery slope.
Help them, because in another time in another place it could be you that needs help.

It’s my theory that the better trained you are, the more natural courage you have, because you have a belief in yourself.

There is no magic formula or sweatless solution by which one can achieve this goal. ( There is no hack. )

Q
When you stop lying to yourself you can become who you know you should be.
When you tell yourself the truth about where you are you can make sure you are in the right place, and if you’re not, you can
get yourself on the path to get there.

You’ve gotta let your kids brush up against the guardrails of failure without smashing them.
The bumps and bruises are what is going to make them formidable in life.
If they never got a bump or a bruise, life’s gonna hit ‘em hard.

There’s holistic talent and there's holistic success, and there’s a space in between.
And that’s what actually matters…
The thing that’s in between talent and success can be summed up in one word: discipline.
Do you have the discipline?

Make your luck. You gotta make your luck… If you keep putting forth the maximal effort, that luck’s gonna come.
You’re gonna make your luck happen.

Every step forward on The Path is a step forward in capability and knowledge.
As opposed to the slippery slope which is a step backwards in capability and knowledge.
Capability is preparation, execution, results. Echo Charles

Q
Some things are completely out of your control.
And that’s fine. And when that happens you ask yourself,
“What CAN I control?
What can I control that will make this situation a little bit better?”
And then, you go.

When you face those hardships and challenges that are coming your way, and they ARE coming your way, don’t get pushed
back on your heels.
Don’t ask yourself, “Why me?” Ask yourself, “What am I going to do about it?”

The fact that I had little time to dwell saved me.

Plus, I knew that if I showed weakness my men might finally give in and feel sorry for themselves, and I couldn’t have that.
We needed to stick together.

We were facing death.

But bravery is a funny thing.
It comes in all shapes and sizes and appears in men you would least expect it from.
Most of us didn’t know one another.
But we fought hard together like we were blood brothers.

Q
For a split second all of the pain and suffering could have ended.
“No!” my mind screamed.
I could not give up.
I’d come this far, and in that second I set my mind to doing something no one had done.

I remembered three years ago looking down at the sea and praying that I would have the strength to lead my men in combat.
Now I had been born again.
A chance to live for tomorrow, to make the most of every day, and never look back.

When it hurts, just grit your teeth and take it.

Don’t you ever back down.
Never start a fight.
But if somebody else does, never run away.
If you run from a bully, you will never stop running.

Q
Know your people. What is leadership?
Leadership is knowledge. Know your job.
Know their job. And know the next job.
Because you never know when something’s gonna happen and you’re gonna have that next job.

Moral courage is: sometimes you’ve got to take the hits.

You’ve got to lay out what you believe is right, and you’ve got to stay with it.

When we talk about courage, there’s physical courage,… there’s moral courage, which is standing up for what you believe in,…
and then there’s what I call daily courage, which is taking the hand God dealt you and making something with it.

Time, like an ever-rolling stream,

Bears all its sons away;

They fly forgotten, as a dream

Dies at the opening day.

Isaac Watts "Our God, Our Help"

Time is fleeting.

Time is short.

And we only get so much.

So don't wait around.

Don't put it off.

Instead, get up,

and yes,

get after it.

No matter what you’re going to do, put everything that you’ve got into it.
Do it to the best of your ability.
Whether you’re assaulting a building on the battlefield or shaping a board in the shed, … pour your soul in.

If you have something to change, if you want to change something, change it. CHANGE IT NOW!

Some things are out of my control.

But I do have control over the way I choose to react to things, the way I choose to move forward with my life .

Every day I wake up I have something I can go create or do or build or make something meaningful.
And to not take advantage of that is to squander an opportunity that any one of those guys would have loved to have had.
Q

That is the attitude you take.

You don’t focus on what is wrong, you focus on what is right.
You don’t focus on what you can’t do, you focus on what you can do.
You’re thankful that you have these opportunities that so many didn’t get.

When you, quote-unquote, "take ownership," but you actually don't believe you're at fault, then you're not really taking
ownership.

When you're the type of person that takes ownership of things, you actually can't get blamed for things.
You can't blame me for things because I'm already volunteering and saying that this is my responsibility and I'm gonna fix it.

Just because things were negative experiences in the past and they didn't feel good to go through doesn't mean that they
were all bad, because you still took something away from it and you learned from it.

The seed is nothing but a tree at a different time.

When you get tested by the world, that's when you get the opportunity to show the world what you're made of.
That's when you get to say, "Bring it on!"
You already know the right thing to do. You already know what you're supposed to do. You already know how to get on the
Warpath and stay on the Warpath. It's by getting out there every single day, and getting after it.

Is this going to work?

No. But if you do it a hundred times it might work once.
And that’s all you need. Jordan Peterson

You play by the rules. But there’s a meta-rule which is: now and then you break the rules.
And you do that carefully because the rules are what keep peace & order.
So you break them only in the service of a higher peace & order.

You need that touch of rebelliousness.

But its got to be a flavoring and not the whole diet.

Do your best to watch out for those little seeds of evil that are planted around you and planted in you.
And keep those seeds of evil in check by going out into the world and doing good.

The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.

Q
You’ve got to pay attention to what hope is doing to you.
Hope isn’t always good. It’s not bad. It’s not good.
You’ve got to monitor your hope.

You have to work to save yourself every day.

You have to pull yourself back into sanity and back onto The Path and not allow yourself to become a prisoner of your own
personal gulag.

Resist. Resist the weakness. Resist the lies.

Resist the things in your life that will turn you into a prisoner and into a slave.

The little things do matter.

But you’ve got to remember that they only matter a little.
And if you waste your time on things that only matter a little you won’t be able to lead your team when it really counts.

Just because you take ownership of things doesn't mean you're supposed to do everything.
What you need are subordinate leaders that you trust.
And you've got to let them run with the broad guidance of the mission and your commander's intent.

Q
We are responsible for what we do. We are responsible for our lives.
And if someone’s had horrible things happen to them, it’s still important that you don’t propagate those horrible things.
Instead, be the hero.
Be the savior.

You’ve got to be strong enough to stand up to people that think might makes right.
You’ve got to be strong enough to face the malevolent force of evil.
And you have to recognize that that force is everywhere.

Remember that discipline is stronger than fury.

You need a little bit of fury.
You need a little bit of discipline.
You need to combine those things.
Impose discipline upon yourself and reject and refuse delicate living.

Everything is the same,

But nothing is the same.

Everything has changed,

But nothing has changed.

Does anything ever change?

A Letter to Seth Stone

Q

It ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in
its success than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.

Injuries ought to be done all at one time so that, being tasted less, they offend less.
Benefits ought to be given little by little so that the flavors of them may last longer.

A prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and discipline.
For this is the sole art that belongs to him who rules.

The more you look out for your own good, the worse off you’re going to be.
And the more you look out for the good of others, the better off you’ll end up in the long run.

The more capabilities you have, the more flexibility you have.
So learn different skillsets.
Don’t neglect things.

Expect the unexpected. Expect chaos.

And plan for all possibilities.

Q
People will follow you if you give them a reason to, if you give them something to respect.

Eighty percent of leadership is leading yourself. … It's how you discipline yourself.
It's how you structure yourself.
It's how you push yourself.
It's how you set the example.

Rank does not automatically make you a leader.

Your character makes you a leader.
Your actions make you a leader. Rank is almost irrelevant.

You can’t go back and change the past.

What’s happened has happened.
The only thing you can do is shape the future.

You have to push yourself into zones of discomfort so that you can handle the hard situations when they come.
Because if you’ve never been put into these areas of discomfort, you’re going to be crushed when they come.

Q
Having a positive attitude on how you handle the situations you’re in is a choice.
And the more you accept positivity and drive it forward, the more you actually start to believe it, and it will create momentum.

You can choose to be a victim and to feel sorry for yourself.

Or you can choose to be a victor and drive forward.
Say it, live it, and start driving forward and that belief will catch fire within you and everyone around you.

A real bullet forms much better habits than a lecture about a bullet.

A soldier’s desire to do a good job, his sense of workmanship, is helped whenever he can be allowed to understand the nature
of the whole undertaking to which he is contributing.

Morale needs good health, physical and mental.

Unless the body is well and vigorous it is pretty hard to endure hardship and keep up enthusiasm.
Fatigue and illness sap mental vigor and moral strength.

There is a back and forth relation between work and morale. Not only does morale make soldiers work and fight, working and
fighting keep up their morale.

To be afraid does not mean that a man must act afraid.

Fear is contagious when it is expressed in action.
Q

Giving up may mean defeat. But it does not always mean surrender.
In most situations what is given up is some particular way of reaching the goal rather than a complete abandonment of the
objective.

Competing doesn’t always mean smashing the other person... Sometimes competing means actually letting the other person
win.
Competing sometimes means compromising in order to win the long game.

Victory can only come if the whole group puts all its efforts into a unified cooperative battle against a common enemy.

Soldiers who have been through the worst of warfare are inclined to say that only a fool wants to live forever… But, if you
must die, make your death count for something.

Mental first-aid is just as important as physical first aid for preventing casualties…
If a man can be given a rest when he needs it urgently, he can usually be counted upon to come back to the combat presently
with fresh zest and vigor. “Psychology for The Fighting Man”

When a man fails he can freely admit it is his own fault if the failure is trivial… If the failure is a great personal tragedy, all but
the man of an extraordinary strength of character will try to put the blame on someone or something else.
Q

It is often said that a good leader knows how to handle his men.
Actually however, it is not possible for any leader to handle his men.
It is himself that he handles.

What the soldiers said makes it very clear that the quality of leadership in an army is the most important single determiner of
morale and performance.

The truth is the best propaganda.

Q
Handle yourself. Keep yourself in check.
Keep yourself on The Path.
Lead yourself, so that you become a person that others will follow.

Surround yourself with people that make you better.

No one is a one man army.

Stay on The Path and keep moving forward and keep kicking ass and stay clean and keep doing what you know you’re capable
of doing and what you’re destined to do.

You don’t want to force anything down someone’s throat.

You just make available to them
The Path.
And when they see it, they get on it.

Q
Punishment is actually the last straw in how you deal with people that you’re in charge of.
When I had to administer punishment on my troops, I always felt that I had done something wrong.

Sympathy and empathy are not weaknesses.

In fact, it actually takes strength to be able to deal with these types of situations and these types of emotions.
The weak move would be to cut those emotions off completely.

You have some good ideas do you?

But you can’t execute.
You want to know what those ideas are worth when you don’t execute on them?
They’re worth nothing.
Ideas by themselves have zero value unless they can be brought to life.

Don’t let that idea die inside your head.

No more waiting. No more putting it off, or waiting for the right time, or the right people, or the right alignment of things in
the world.
No more of that.
No more excuses.
Just execution.

Attitude is everything. If you walk into any situation with a positive attitude, that’s the first step to success.

Q
I might walk around with two prosthetic legs and look darkness in the face every day, but I’ll tell you one thing, my toes are
pointed forward and my vision on life is 20/20.

To walk this earth blind is not the same as having no vision.

To walk by faith unchanged by the hand dealt is to live life as a visionary and to love life as humans were meant.
Seek.
Never settle.
Inspire.
Never complain.
Rise.
Never stay down.

True discipline demands habitual but reasoned obedience to command, an obedience that preserves initiative and functions
unfalteringly, even in the absence of the commander.
Q

Principles of Military Leadership (1-5)

1. Know your job

2. Know yourself and seek improvement

3. Know your men and look out for their welfare

4. Keep your men informed

5. Set the example

6. Ensure that the task is understood, supervised, and accomplished

7. Train your men as a team

8. Make sound and timely decisions

9. Seek responsibility and foster responsibility in your subordinates

The commander of a unit is responsible for all his unit does or fails to do.

Remember that you might have to fight uphill.

You might have to fight against a hardened enemy…
Remember to stand by your brothers.
Remember to pick up that weapon.
Remember to put one foot in front of the other.
And remember to keep getting after it.

Q
Are we doing everything that we could be doing?
Everything that we should be doing?
Are we cutting corners?
Are we slacking off? … How much are we leaving on the table every day?

You need to look at yourself every day and say, “Did I truly live the way I should be living today?”

Check yourself. Evaluate yourself honestly.

Are you doing what you can do to be better?
Are you working as hard as you can?
Are you working to be a better father or mother or daughter or son?
Are you maximizing opportunities?

Are you, every day, doing everything you can to live the most eminently worthy life you can live?

If a commander has the complete confidence and trust of his men, there is nothing he cannot do.
If a commander loses the confidence of his men, he cannot succeed.

It is well for a commander to remember that no battle was ever lost until the commander thought it so. ,

Q
If your team is not doing what it is you want them to do, the first person you should check is yourself.

Leadership which is evil, while it may temporarily succeed, always carries within it the seeds of its own destruction.

Morale is also that which develops man’s latent heroism so that he will overcome his desire to take the easy way out and
surrender to fear.

Morale is, in the first place, based on leadership.

Good morale is impossible without good leaders.

All men are afraid at one time or another and to a greater or lesser extent.
In moments of fear they band together and look for guidance.
They seek for a person to give decisions. They look for a leader.

If you find yourself being indecisive, instead of asking yourself is this the right decision or the wrong decision, ask yourself
what am I afraid of?

Demanding instant obedience to everything that you say works great 94% of the time.
Six percent of the time it’s an utter disaster and everyone dies.
Q

Discipline strengthens the mind so it becomes impervious to the corroding influence of fear… It instills the habit of self-control.

Hardship and privation are the school of the good soldier.

Idleness and luxury are his enemies.

Life goes by quickly, like a summer day.

It never seems that way when you’re young.
But when you get a little older, you’ll see.
Life goes by fast.
So don’t waste any time.
You don’t get a second chance.

There are no excuses.

Other than death, all failure is psychological.

Q
If you get beat, unless you’re dead, you are not defeated and you have not failed.
What you’ve done is you’ve learned.
You’ve gained experience.
And you’re still alive.
And you have memories to make.

Luxury weak valor

In death, do not leave behind a name soiled by misdeeds.

Be determined to become an example to the people by being careful in word and deed.

You don’t impose discipline on yourself for the sake of discipline…

The foundation of the discipline needs to be the desire for freedom.

Get on that damn path.

Stay disciplined.
And then keep the eye on the target and keep adjusting your aim as you go.
Q

You should be thinking strategy all the time.

You should be thinking long game all the time.
All the time thinking about how does this decision effect where I’m going to be in the long term.

Most things don’t get finished because most things don’t get started.

Stand tall with your shoulders back.

This world is yours for the taking.

Remember that we all make mistakes.

But the mistakes that you can’t recover from are the ones that you don’t own, that you don’t admit.

Every breath of air is sweet. And our gift is to be alive

A recon man who thinks he knows it all is a recon man headed for trouble. “On the Ground”

I get there and it's like, "Hey new guy, clean that toilet and paint that wall, change those lightbulbs."
And I was like, "Roger that. Let's do it. I'm gonna be the best lightbulb changer that you've got here."
Q

Take a breath.

Look around.

Make a call.

There’s always somebody out there with their sights on you. …

Maybe it’s an enemy insurgent. …
Or maybe that someone is you.
Maybe you are your own worst enemy, sliding into complacency, allowing yourself to wonder down the easy path.
Say no to that.

Remember why you’re here.

Remember what you want to do.
Remember your cause.
Be a true believer.
And then live that belief by getting up every day and getting after it.

When you’re in a leadership position, try this: be quiet and listen to what people are saying.
Listen to what they are complaining about.
Listen to what suggestions they have.
Listen to what advice they give.
Listen to their recommendations.
Listen.

Just about every characteristic that a person can have, that a leader can have, can go too far and become a negative
characteristic.

Taking ownership of a mistake does not relieve you of the responsibility of that mistake.
In fact, the opposite is true.
You are raising your hand and saying, “…if there is punishment to be meted out, it needs to land on me.”

The best Extreme Ownership scenario is when you take ownership prior to the mistake happening … and you work hard to
prevent that mistake from happening.
That’s Preemptive Ownership.

What you do today is directly correlated with where you’ll end up in the future.

That horrible story in your past ends the way that you want it to end.
You control the narrative… So make that story epic.
Make that story, and make the direction that your life goes, make it heroic.
Q

You get one shot…so make it count. Because this is it.

This is the finals.
There are no redos.
You can’t hit the Rewind button.
And even worse, you can’t even hit the Pause button.
There’s no way you can stop the clock from ticking.

The countdown is on and the days are finite.

You only get so many, and then it’s over.
So until then, make them count.
Make all of them count.

It doesn’t matter at all if you get knocked down or you get tripped up or you think that something isn’t fair.
It doesn’t matter. You still don’t get to stop.
So get back up, bite down on your mouthpiece, and go get after it.

“Where do you need help?” It’s a simple question, but it’s a powerful one.
There’s people around you that need help.
Ask them what it is they need.

Q
When we examine closely the differences between victor and vanquished we draw one conclusion: success went to the armies
who's leaders, senior and junior, could best focus their efforts, their skills, and their resources toward a decisive end.

In tactics, the most important thing is not whether you go left or right, but WHY you go left or right.

Successful leaders study, train, and exercise their minds to improve tactical proficiency.
We study examples of successes and failures not to emulate someone else’s scheme, but to increase our own understanding
and competence.

The best intelligence you’re going to get is at the point of friction.

To be decisive, a battle or an engagement must lead to a result beyond itself… Within a battle, an action that is decisive must
lead directly to winning in the campaign or war as a whole.

For the battle to be decisive it must lead directly to a larger success in the war as a whole.

The consequences of a tactical engagement should lead to achieving operational and strategic goals.
Q

When opportunity arrives we must exploit it fully and aggressively, committing every ounce of power we can muster, and
pushing ourselves to the limits of exhaustion.

Life is war. It’s a war against time.

It’s a war against weakness.
It’s a war against ego.

To get harmony in music each instrument must support the others.

To get harmony in battle each weapon must support the other.
Team play wins.

I’m praying for a snowstorm.

I want the worst possible environment.
Because I know that other guy, that other company, they’re going to wither in that and we’re going to go on the attack.

Look at what is hard for your competitor, what’s hard for you and your competitor, and then get good at it.
Suck it up and get good at it.

Q
The enemy must not know where I intend to give battle.
For if he does not know where I intend to give battle he must prepare in a great many places.
When he prepares in a great many places those I have to fight in any one place will be few. Sun Tzu

If you don't trust me and I don't trust you we don't have a team.
As soon as that pressure comes along we're going to fracture and we're gonna fall apart.
When we have a strong bond, you know what that pressure does to us?
It makes it even stronger.

A skilled commander seeks victory from the situation, and does not demand it of his subordinates. Sun Tzu

I may lose in battle, but I shall never lose a minute.

When the great day of battle comes remember your training and remember above all else that speed and violence of attack
are the sure road to success.

Time that cannot be spent in action must be spent thinking about how to act effectively.
Q

A good tactician has a constant sense of urgency.

We feel guilty if we are idle. We never waste time and we are never content with the pace at which things are happening.

A unit's energy is not easily replenished and should be treated as a precious resource to be expended only toward decisive
goals.

When you are not detached, the only thing that is in focus is the one thing you're looking at and everything else is blurry.
It literally is you don't see those other things and all the other things happening around you that you actually need to be
reacting to.

As leaders, we have a responsibility to make things happen fast.

Our sense of the importance of time, of urgency, must direct our actions.
We must work to create and build that sense within ourselves.

High physical condition is vital to victory.

Q
Victory smiles upon those who anticipate the changes in the character of war, not upon those who wait to adapt themselves
after they occur.

Adaptability is the law which governs survival in wars as in life.

War being but a concentrated form of the human struggle against the environment.

If you don't have humility you won't adapt because you're going to think that the way you are doing it is fine.

Flexible plans layout what needs to be accomplished but leave the manner of accomplishment to subordinates.

Everything that we have to do in tactics, gaining advantage and above all achieving a decisive result, needs a team effort.

Cooperation means we take the initiative to help those around us accomplish our shared mission.

How do we prepare people to cooperate when the going gets tough?

The answer is discipline.
Q

There is only one kind of discipline: perfect discipline.

In the face of adversity and difficulty, discipline enables individuals to pursue what is best for those around them, their unit,
and the Marine Corps.

Individuals and units might have the desire, but without discipline they will be unable to accomplish the most difficult tasks in
comba to perating faster than the enemy, gaining advantage, generating decisive force, and achieving decisive results.

Discipline is founded not only on obedience, but also on a sense of duty.

Self-discipline is an internal force that morally obligates all Marines to do what they know is right.

Self-discipline will not allow us to shirk responsibility or blame others… It is also absolute.
There is no time off… This discipline is a mindset, a way of thinking and behaving.
It runs through everything that we do.

Q
This discipline is a mindset, a way of thinking and behaving.
It runs through everything that we do.

What Marine discipline is and where it applies: all the time, everywhere, without exception, and you are wholly responsible for
the success of everybody else around you based on your individual actions, and that applies everywhere in your life

Words are easy.

Anyone can give an occasional pep talk on the merits of self-discipline.
Marines judge actions, not words, and respond positively to leadership by example.

Discipline is absolute.
There is no quasi-discipline.
There is no time off.
Discipline is a way of thinking, and more important, discipline is a way of behaving.
It is about actions, not words.

We may find any number of ways to exploit tactical opportunity.

But they all have the same object: to increase leverage until we have the final opportunity to decide the issue once and for all
in our favor.

A goal in Marine Corps tactics is not merely to gain advantage but to boldly and ruthlessly exploit that advantage to achieve
final victory.
Q

Moral courage is the ability to make and carry out a decision regardless of personal cost.
It is different from and rarer than physical courage.

The greatest failing of a leader is a failure to lead.

Inaction and omission based on a failure of moral courage are much worse than any judgment error reflecting a sincere effort
to act.

Living and caring for themselves in a Spartan environment, confronting the natural elements, and experiencing the discomfort
of being hungry, thirsty, and tired are as essential in preparing for combat duty as any skills training.

Your best tool to figure out how to not make a mistake in combat is to figure out the mistakes you made in training. “

A leader's self-confidence is the wellspring from which flows the willingness to assume responsibility and exercise initiative.
Q

Everything we do in peacetime should prepare us for combat.

Our preparation for combat depends upon training and education that develop the action and thought essential to battle.

The Marine Corps wins by constantly taking initiative and chasing the enemy down to the last man…
Do that to your own personal weaknesses.
And do not delay in the attack.

our biggest critic is the guy in the mirror.

That’s the one you’ve got to answer to, not anyone else.

You’ve got to be the first mover of the day.

You set the tone. You set the tone early.

Typically, if it’s uncomfortable and no one wants to do it, there’s a reason why we do it.

Tactics are a baseline.

You’ve got to understand the principles and be able to adapt and maneuver.

Q
Life is a privilege.
Every single waking breath that you have is a privilege.

Victory cures all pain.

The charge of leadership is lifelong.

What else can you give to the world?

Who’s life can you make better?
How much more can you give?
Let’s find out.

As a leader, you have to put others before yourself.

And that starts at the beginning. And it starts with everything that you do.

We see, every single day, a corner that could be cut… and every day, we hold the line.

Q
My passion is being in the game, not winning the game, not looking to an end goal.
It’s just, if we achieve this, what can we do next?

It’s just a matter of putting hands in dirt.

That’s what people are scared of.
They don’t know how good calluses feel.
If they did, it would be a different world.

Let’s get back in the game.

Let’s get back on the field.
Let’s make it happen again… Let’s get to work.

It’s not going to be enough until six Marines carry me in a coffin and put me in the ground in Arlington.

In Afghanistan, and Iraq too, every single day there are countless times where somebody has to step forward and do the
dangerous thing, do the difficult thing, for the good of everybody else.
And life is no different.

The race is won not on the day, but in the months and years that you spent training beforehand.

Q
A true leader acts selflessly in the performance of their duties.
They make the decisions and implement the actions that they truthfully think are in the best interest of the people they
represent.

If you believe that it’s the right thing to do, no matter how many people are telling you it’s the wrong thing, you have to have
the courage to stand out from the group.

Read, study, think, write, and teach.

Greater love hath no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

What have you done for your country lately?

Armies, as well as lesser units demand of leaders good judgment, clear thinking, far seeing, independence, decisive resolution,
perseverance, energy, not emotionally moved by the varying fortunes of war, with a high sense of responsibility.

Mutual trust is the surest basis of discipline in necessity and danger.

Q

Willing and joyful acceptance of responsibility is the distinguishing characteristic of leadership.

Being accustomed to physical accomplishments, lack of consideration of self, willpower, self-confidence, and courage qualify a
man to master the most difficult situations.

Man is not responsible for himself alone, but also for his comrades.

Discipline is fundamental in an army.

Its strict maintenance a benefit to all.

Great successes presume boldness and daring preceded by good judgment.

When you’re hunkering down the enemy is maneuvering on you.

None of us are promised tomorrow.

Make as big of an impact as you can every single day.
Q

At the end of the day we are only here on this Earth for a certain amount of time.
And I think the biggest legacy we can leave is how we impact the lives of other people

One of the most important things, if not the most important thing that you can do as a leader is care about your people.

It all starts when you start.

When you actually start.
When you take decisive action.

Every individual must be trained to exploit the situation with energy and boldness and must be imbued with the idea that
success will depend upon his initiative and action.

Cohesion within a unit is promoted by good leadership, discipline, pride in the accomplishments and reputation of the unit,
and mutual confidence and comradeship among its members.

A leader must have superior knowledge, willpower, self-confidence, initiative, and disregard of self.

Q
A bold and determined leader will carry his troops with him no matter how difficult the enterprise.

To gain confidence the leader must find a way to the hearts of his men.
This he will do by acquiring an understanding of their thoughts and feelings and by showing a constant concern for their
comfort and welfare.

Discipline is the main cohesive force that binds the members of a unit.

The morale of a unit is that of its leader.

A commander must bear in mind that physical unfitness will undermine his efficiency.
He owes it to the men under his command to conserve his own fitness.

Superior leadership often enables a numerically inferior force to be stronger at the point of decisive action.

The decision as to a specific course of action is the responsibility of the commander alone.
While he may accept advice and suggestions from any of his subordinates, he alone is responsible for what the unit does or
fails to do.
Q

A willingness to accept responsibility is the foremost trait of leadership.

You learn the hardest lessons from the most difficult situations.

I think all too often people look at me and think, "Oh, God. She's missing her left leg.
That has to be terrible." But the reality is, if I didn't keep my head and my heart in the right place, then nothing else was going
to get better.

One day [my dad] was asked, "Are you proud of your daughter?"
And he said, "Well yeah, I'm proud of her.
But the moment she stops paying it forward she deserves to have it all taken away."

I can't control the helicopter crash.

I can't control what this crazy vicious world threw at me. I
can't control that.
But what I can control is how I'm going to respond.

If something goes wrong, it's my fault.

That's the way I look at everything.
If something isn't going the way it should be, it's my fault.
Q

The right actions follow the right perspectives.

Moving forward I just decided that I was going to own my differences, that I was going to be proud of the scars that I wore
because they told my stories.

I wanted to show people that it was beautiful to be strong, it was beautiful to have drive, and to have will, and to not fail, and
to give it your all.

Appreciate all of your days, even when you're riding in the rain.

I learned very early on that the best thing I could do for the first three or four months was just shut up and listen and watch
what was going on and follow the lead of the people that really knew what was going on.

If you’re not tuned in 24/7 while you’re there you’re in trouble.

That’s the only way to survive.
You have to be conscious of every fly that lands on your food.
Q

I’ve just always felt like if I’m gonna do something, I’m gonna do it to the best of my ability.

I don't pray that I wake up tomorrow morning and I've got two legs and an arm.
I pray that I have the same opportunity tomorrow that I had today, or maybe something more I can do tomorrow.

My injury is from the neck down. But my ability to continue on is from the neck up.

I'm just here to tell you, you don't need to give up. Don't ever give up.
If there's a challenge out there, just accept the challenge and move forward. James Sursely

Are we doing everything right now that we are capable of doing?

Are we reaching our potential? How much more could we do? … There's only one way to find out.

hasta 200