Episode 12
Meet Nick Norris, Navy SEAL
It's Sunday, March 29th, 2020 and we are in the midst of a global crisis, the COVID 19 crisis. Leaders are challenged with an unprecedented situation where there is no corporate playbook to follow and very little evidence of contingency planning.
Where can we look for guidance? for leadership insight in this time of crisis, this time of uncertainty - who is ever really trained for this?
The answer – the military – and we look to an elite group of warriors known as the NAVY SEALS
In this episode, you’ll meet Nick Norris. Nick was clearly born to serve, he not only served his country as a Navy SEAL but continues to serve the Navy SEAL community with his active involvement with the C4 foundation www.c4foundation.org . The C4 Foundation honors the legacy of Charles Humphrey Keating IV, a heroic Navy SEAL who gave his life defending our country and the freedoms we enjoy.
Nick also serves in his current role as CEO and co-founder of Protect Products, a wellness company committed to positively impacting customer health with both personal care products and nutritional supplements. www.protektproducts.com
Nick embodies the qualities of his brand and this is EXACTLY the type of leadership we need right now, leading through this crisis can be the most rewarding and, yes, exhilarating experience of our lifetime if we step up and embrace this leadership opportunity right NOW!
06:42 Nick Norris – Nick’s story
09:43 Contingency planning is everything
12:08 Why are SEALS so effective?
14:47 Micromanagement – The handicap
17:51 Trust and Hell Week
19:56 Love and compassion
23:55 Calm breeds calm
27:30 A time for creativity
30:59 Balancing emotions and vulnerability
36:22 The sand table
46:47 Dealing with toxic employees
51:35 Can you trust too much?
54:09 Extreme sports, pushing the limits, inside your head
1:03:05 Starting your day and Nick’s morning routine
1:07:49 Changing habits
Transcript
[Transcript]
[:[00:00:43] Yes.
[:[00:01:12] And it seems that information and predictions of what and when will happen next are changing by the minute. Leaders are challenged with an unprecedented situation where there is no real corporate playbook to follow and very little evidence of contingency planning. Almost all employees are told to work from home and every single routine we had a few weeks ago is now entirely changed and disrupted.
[:[00:02:07] This man is nothing like what I expected. My first interaction with a Navy seal. I expected an aggressive command and control type who would talk about barking out orders and following them blindly, nothing could be further from the truth. Nick is humble, kind gracious, and more than willing to support the mission of authentic leadership and the quest for gravitas.
[:[00:03:03] The C4 provides support and resources through science-based programs to active duty Navy seals and their families. Nick also serves in his current role as CEO and co-founder of protect products, a wellness company committed to positively impacting customer health with both personal care products and nutritional supplements.
[:[00:04:06] We're in the business of freedom. And as I read that, I thought that's exactly it. This statement not only embodies everything about the product, Nick embodies the qualities of his brand, and this is exactly the type of leadership we need right now, leading through this crisis can be the most rewarding and yes, exhilarating experience of our lifetime.
[:[00:05:11] Cross-functional team leader and ground force commander during combat operation in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Nick was most recently assigned to Naval special warfare basic training command seal qualification training as officer in charge prior to transitioning off active duty. Originally from Chicago, Nick received his bachelor in science from the United States Naval Academy in 2003 and his masters of science in real estate from the university of San Diego in 2013.
[:[00:06:15] Nick: [00:06:15] Thank you for having me, Jim. So
[:[00:06:21] Normally I don't have a bio that says that's that, that lengthy, but it's great to have you on the show. And I could not think of a better guest to have on the show to talk about leading through crisis. But before we get to that, what's your story really? Who are you? Nick Norris.
[:[00:06:48] Uh, I went to a private all boys Catholic school, um, for high school. And, you know, I think prior to that is, is when I was first introduced to the seal [00:07:00] teams, uh, in concept. I, you know, I had a good friend that I grew up with that was really into the military. Um, you know, personally, I think he really had an affinity for the United States Marine Corps and in a conversation early, uh, as kids, he mentioned to me that, uh, you know, there's this unit called the seal teams and they were elite and it was very difficult to be part of.
[:[00:07:49] Uh, I finished there in 2003, and then I spent a little over 10 years with the seal teams to places like Iraq and [00:08:00] Afghanistan, uh, conducting combat operations on behalf of our, our wonderful nation and, uh, you know, find family and decided to transition off the active duty after, you know, running our training command, uh, for about two and a half or three years.
[:[00:08:45] So, uh, I, I glossed over kind of a lot of that. We'll get into it and I'm sure during this conversation, but, uh, that gets you to present day, Nick Norris. Great.
[:[00:09:12] And you know, here we are today where a lot of leaders in the corporate world are faced with, I'll say a similar situation where they just don't know exactly what's going to come at them from one day to the next. And I'm curious, what prepares you for that type of leadership? What kind of training and on in your head, what prepares you to be a great leader in a crisis situation?
[:[00:10:34] So, you know, it's simple as terms, you know, the seal teams, you know, prepare, you know, Navy seals so well, because, you know, we're constantly being stress inoculated during all of our training. You know, we're presented with, uh, training scenarios that are, uh, not only difficult, but very difficult to, uh, to prepare for, you know, the, the goal of our training cadre is [00:11:00] to present uncertainty all the time.
[:[00:11:26] Jan: [00:11:26] The corporate leadership playbook handbook doesn't have a chapter in it for what's happening today. And I believe as you well know, my whole mission is authentic leadership, and this is a time where the real authentic leaders and the people that can connect with their teams. It's a great opportunity for them to step up.
[:[00:12:08] Nick: [00:12:08] Yeah, I mean, I think this is an opportunity to embrace, you know, there's a lot of people that ask the question, what makes Navy seals or seal teams or any special operations units, so effective and.
[:[00:12:59] And I, I'm not [00:13:00] saying your people need to be the ones that, that, that are struggling or the leaders by themselves need to struggle. It should be shared. You know, you need to be willing as a leader to kind of dig in and go through this together. And if you truly embrace that as an opportunity, I think it's going to galvanize the bonds that can lead to these, these kind of mystical cultures that every corporate leader aspires to, to kind of model their company after, you know, if you want to create a seal platoon in your company right now embrace the hardship that we're, that we're dealing with right now, that's a product,
[:[00:13:51] They want to show their people that they're in charge and it, it could be in some situations, a sort of knee jerk reaction to move more closely [00:14:00] into command and control. And as I look at the military, which is. As you and I both know a field that I don't know much about. I always thought that that would be very much command and control type of environment.
[:[00:14:33] So could you explain a little bit about that command and control and why perhaps people shouldn't move necessarily early into this strong command and control and how should they lead through this crisis?
[:[00:15:00] You know, as a leader, you basically are then taking on all roles and saying, you know what I know best, I know everyone's role best. And I'm going to tell you how to do your job. And, you know, I don't think you could point at a single individual that knows how to do every single job in an organization perfectly or better than any individual in that organization.
[:[00:15:47] So, you know, I'm, I would be insane to think that I can, uh, that I know how to play snipers better than my snipers. I know how to communicate via radio and get a [00:16:00] communications up better than my radio, man. I, that I know how to administer medical cure better than, you know, the corpsman, you know, the combat medic that's attached to us.
[:[00:16:38] And, you know, guess what, as a leader, as the ground force commander, or let's say the CEO and the corporate world, you know, I need to be looking up and out. I need to be looking at a problem from the 50,000 foot view, not from the ground level. And if I'm going to do that competently and quickly, which every leader is [00:17:00] expected to do, then I need to rely on my people to execute, you know, on their own and be confident in their ability to lead as individuals.
[:[00:17:23] Jan: [00:17:23] Very well said. And in corporate, in the corporate world today, many leaders would, if you asked them, you know, do you delegate appropriately?
[:[00:17:58] Who's in, has been in life and death [00:18:00] situations, and this may sound comical, but this is where it plays out. Right. All of a sudden people have to work from home. And a lot of leaders and managers and even CEOs out there are terrified because they don't know how to manage that. And the trust isn't there in some cases.
[:[00:18:41] So you have to trust people and you're all, you're delegating the responsibility for certain jobs. How do you get to that point where you can trust everybody on your team as a leader? How do you get there?
[:[00:19:04] You know, we go through. How weak during that initial selection training. And, you know, it's a, it's a very difficult physical, uh, test. And I think that shared struggle and that shared pain forces you to trust people. And, you know, people's true character shines through, you know, when you're, when you're put in a stressful situation and you need to look in, rely upon the person to your left and the person to your right.
[:[00:19:56] You know, you shouldn't treat employees as just cogs [00:20:00] in the wheel. You, you know, if you truly get to know them and they. You know, they believe that you care about them because you should care about them. And they know that you have their back. They're going to reciprocate, you know, nine times out of 10. Um, you know, that's, that's just, that's just human dynamics.
[:[00:20:40] You know, it was truly listening to us and truly wants to, uh, you know, get to know us and it'd be a good kind of partner and kind of good teammate. And, uh, you know, I think that's, you know, that's where very, very solid teams are built in, in kind of caring and loving for each other. And in that, you know, [00:21:00] trust is built and in, if you could put in the situation that we're in right now, You don't have to worry about how much keyboard time somebody is putting in, uh, you know, or you want them to take pictures of themselves at home.
[:[00:21:30] Jan: [00:21:30] and get back to their comfort zone, you know, and to fit the corporate mold that they have determined for themselves.
[:[00:22:05] I became and connected with people at a very deep and meaningful level. Then the tighter the team became and stronger. And it wasn't seen as being a weakness. I think a lot of leaders think that when you try to connect to that human level, that that's a weakness. It's not. So I want to hear it from a Navy seal for every corporate leader out there.
[:[00:22:29] Nick: [00:22:29] No, not at all. I mean, I hate, I, I truly, I mean, I tell friends of mine that I've served with in combat that I love them. You know, and I'm not afraid to say that ever. Uh, and I've said that to some of the most hardened individuals and there's a lot harder people out there that came from my community, uh, than I, and, uh, you know, and I will get that response back, you know, because it's men and those are the bonds that, that you want within a team.
[:[00:23:27] I, I mean, I think you could, you could really, uh, set your company up for success and skyrocket. Once we get past this, this pandemic scare,
[:[00:23:43] Nick: [00:23:43] corporations are going in a war right now, and they're going to do that right now.
[:[00:23:56] Jan: [00:23:56] that's true. One of the hallmarks [00:24:00] of a great authentic leader and indeed is one of the traits behind gravitas is this ability to bring calm into a stressful situation. And that doesn't mean deny what's going on, run away from it, sugarcoat it, but to bring, bring calm.
[:[00:24:33] Nick: [00:24:33] Yeah. Yeah. So calm breeds, calm, right? It's contagious, you know, and you see that on the, kind of the opposite end of the spectrum, you know, panic breeds, panic.
[:[00:25:08] Uh, those pilots were every time we were on the radio with them, it almost kind of put you at ease. You know, when you're on the ground, we'd be in gunfights on the ground. And you're interfacing, you know, with either an FAA team, uh, or even, you know, a helicopter pilot, like an Apache gunship. And, you know, you're pretty stressed, right?
[:[00:25:48] And it's something that, you know, I personally, uh, put into practice, you know, in stressful scenarios, you know, as a seal, uh, and you know, even leaving the seal team size, [00:26:00] I've really tried to, uh, you know, physically, uh, Portray my emotions, uh, in a way that, you know, it, it actually breeds that same calm, uh, reaction from the people that I'm trying to communicate to.
[:[00:26:44] Yeah. Yes.
[:[00:27:04] Everything is communicating out. 55% of communication is body language. And people need to see that 38% is the tone of your voice. So when you're going through a video conferencing, medium, that all needs to be portrayed and thought about ahead of time. And then I think you're right. It is infectious, right?
[:[00:27:46] That the corporate playbook is not there anymore. The rules have very, very different. So you can, you can play around a little bit with the creativity side of it. Um, what are your thoughts on that?
[:[00:28:09] Uh, so I think empowering your people to come up with strategies to lead and inspire their people now is an awesome opportunity. Um, I, I, you know, Jen and I had a conversation offline and I actually, uh, I thought it was pretty awesome how she shared that she used to make her people get up and dance a little bit before they would engage with her at, uh, at core meetings.
[:[00:28:54] I mean, it's, it's constant, uh, joking around and, and kind of lightheartedness because, [00:29:00] you know, if you can't do that, you can't be redlined and stressed and kind of serious all the time. Or, you know, as human beings, we just started falling apart. So, uh, I think that if you can add a little bit of happiness and some humor and, and, uh, and lightheartedness to your day, uh, and push that out to your people, you know, the easiest way to do it is you got your video on, on the next conference call.
[:[00:29:37] Jan: [00:29:37] That's so true. And we had a, actually had a call this morning with a team.
[:[00:29:58] Now is the time it's [00:30:00] okay for the two year old to run into the room and jump on your lap in the middle of a conference call, right. For the dog to bark it's okay. And it will actually make you more human and more relatable as a leader. You know, this is the time to break that corporate mold and just be who you are.
[:[00:30:34] Exactly. And we
[:[00:31:00] [00:30:59] Nick: [00:30:59] Yeah.
[:[00:31:25] And, uh, you know, when it's not appropriate, you know, they are the stone-faced foot stone faced killers that they need to be. And, uh, but you know, the, the, the most powerful, you know, interactions with those people are, are typically when they actually show the emotion, you know, when I've seen, I mean, I've seen, you know, totally stoic seal leaders, you know, add roles, um, shed tears for me when it's appropriate for them to shed tears.
[:[00:32:19] Jan: [00:32:19] And I think that's so powerful coming from you. As a Navy seal with a background that you've, you've had to be able to speak to that because we all, you know, we read the books, we read the posts on LinkedIn about vulnerability, but I think it's, it's hard to understand the balance. Cause you said it right.
[:[00:33:07] Right. That's not right. But to share about, you know, what this is, you know, I'm very concerned about my family too, but my financial situation about what's happen happening. Yeah. That that's a level of vulnerability, but then follow that with however, we're going to pull this together as a team and, and so on and so forth.
[:[00:33:30] Nick: [00:33:30] Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I mean, balances is key, right? I mean, you're in control of your own emotions, emotions. I mean, I, I agree with you wholeheartedly that you need to, you need to be able to show emotion when it's appropriate to show emotion, but, and, and that's really to, you know, just be a human being connect with people, you know, and when, when it's not appropriate, you know, you know, people are looking up to you to be that, that rock of stability in the organization.
[:[00:34:14] I mean, the, the, one of the first lessons I learned as a young officer was. To exude confidence. So it didn't matter if you had got the, the 50% solution as far as a plan, uh, you know, goes, if I was able to brief that plan with the, the highest level of confidence and, you know, confidence comes in the form of the inflection in my voice, my ability to make eye contact with people.
[:[00:35:11] So I think that's, I mean, that's something that I have taken to heart and, you know, I, you know, when, when, when it's time to put orders out and when it's time to get things done, You need to speak confidently. You know, nobody, nobody likes a meek later. Uh, you know, they, we, we, eight people live in the, in the seal community, you know, that were meat, you know, and even people that were.
[:[00:35:58] Um, so it may [00:36:00] not be the CEO in an organization. It might be, you know, the COO or it could be one of your, you know, kind of a senior managers that in a crisis situation, maybe they're the right personality. It'd be stepping up and, and, you know, kind of taking charge and, you know, putting out the, you know, the commander's intent, they know that the CEO needs to be put out to the people.
[:[00:37:13] Talk to us a little bit about that.
[:[00:37:34] Um, I, you know, I always looked up to Jocko, you know, I was fortunate enough to go through training, uh, under his tutelage and, uh, and actually served at seal team three, uh, while Jocko was a troop commander. So he preached contingency planning. Um, and we, we used to use a, uh, a device called the sand table and, you know, you could make it, it's basically a mock up [00:38:00] of kind of the target area.
[:[00:38:35] So in order to paint that picture of kind of, uh, you know, extreme optimism as your briefing, I think it's important that everybody believes that, you know, not just belief, they know that they have put the time and the energy into the planning. They know what to do. If things do go wrong, they already have the playbook.
[:[00:39:23] You know, I think it's, it's the only way that you can paint that picture. I mean, if not, you know, you're really just painting a rosy picture that's built on, uh, you know, toothpicks instead of, uh, you know, good lumber.
[:[00:39:48] So mentally they've already overcome that, um, whatever could go wrong because they've already talked through it. So when it happens, they've already been there once in their, [00:40:00] in their mind. So it's much easier to push through it. I totally agree. And also this idea of a high performance athletes and the visualization process, they go through mental affirmation.
[:[00:40:34] Nick: [00:40:34] Yeah. I mean, if you're, you know, if you're a professional and I don't care, if it's a professional athlete, you're a professional in the business world, you have the skill sets, you know, you are, you know, you're as capable as the next person, but the difference between you and the people that truly Excel in that profession is their ability to control their emotions and control their mind and [00:41:00] visualize, you know, accurately and, and truly commit to that visualization process.
[:[00:41:26] And it's like putting together a little puzzle. You have to figure out body position and movement and. Well, little minuscule variances in body position. The way that you put your foot on a certain ship of rock, the way that you grab a certain hole, uh, the way that you move, uh, the way that you generate your power, all of that stuff matters.
[:[00:42:12] And, uh, you know, typically it works. It's, it's crazy how much more efficient you become. And then if you can take that and kind of, uh, you know, projected on a larger scale and to kind of your everyday life and your professional life, you know, it can be a very powerful thing. Um, You know, I, I shared with you the other day, Jan, that I, you know, I've adopted meditation, uh, this past year, uh, thanks to my friend, Tim Ferris.
[:[00:43:05] Jan: [00:43:05] Yes, the, this whole process and idea of visualization. I actually wrote a blog on it about a month ago because I'm a firm believer that we need to bring more of that into the corporate world. We tend to look at our objectives and, you know, in this crisis situation, we look up at the mountain, right? So we look up at all these things we have to do.
[:[00:43:48] Where I have put myself out there. I did it with a major OEM customer when I worked in the supply base and stood there in front of them in front of many, many people with [00:44:00] my team behind me and made a commitment to launch a project on time to budget. And we would be the example of how to launch that project.
[:[00:44:29] So I'm a huge believer in it. And I really want to bring that into the corporate world. And it's very powerful for us to hear that from you from really two different angles. In your military career and also with your experience, uh, in this high-performance, um, athletic world that you're also in.
[:[00:44:53] I mean, I, you know, it gets me thinking about even being a young kid, you know, when I was in seventh grade, [00:45:00] you know, I, I latched on to the concept, you know, of being a seal and I didn't just think it was like, Oh, that would be an interesting thing to do. I fully believe. And I visualize myself, you know, serving in an elite military unit and you know, that, I mean, I, I, you know, it set me on a course that altered my life, you know, because I, I firmly believe that I would make that happen.
[:[00:45:57] Jan: [00:45:57] And that's exactly the type of commitment [00:46:00] and ability that the leaders have to have today, as we work through this crisis is this, this bone deep commitment to we're going to get through this. And this is what success looks like. And when this is over team, we're going to do this and this and this, it might be we're going to celebrate, you know, um, I don't know we're going to repaint the office and I don't know what it is.
[:[00:46:39] And it is the truly authentic leaders that will step up and deliver that message powerfully. I believe now in this
[:[00:47:00] There'll be a cancer within the organization or within your social circle. And, you know, for some reason they just, they, you know, they live to be the one that's nay-saying and, you know, I'll tell you in my personal life, I mean, I, you know, I got good to kind of tuning that distraction and that noise out and staying focused on, on what I was visualizing for myself.
[:[00:47:45] You know, your, I mean, your ability as an individual and as a leader, to be able to confront those points of resistance, you know, understand their perspective, you know, really try to win them over and, and, you know, you know, [00:48:00] it bring them in your camp. Uh, but if, you know, if you put that energy in and you give them a shot and they still want to go down the track, that's going to be a counter to the way that you need them to be rowing as part of your team.
[:[00:48:21] Jan: [00:48:21] Yes. And we see that quite a bit in the corporate world. Uh, one of the things I really love about Gary Vaynerchuk is that, uh, he talks a lot about how to handle toxic employees and that you cannot tolerate them in your business, even when they are considered to be your highest performing individuals, because they will destroy the team.
[:[00:48:54] Nick: [00:48:54] Yeah. I mean, nobody is more important than the team and the mission, right. So I have personally [00:49:00] had to deal with this and it's never easy. And, you know, specifically, you know, for me, you know, I'm a person that loves to place my trust in people.
[:[00:49:28] And I've watched the, kind of the consequences of that inaction, um, you know, truly dismantle organizations. I mean, I can tell you it's. I've seen it in the military with bad leaders, um, you know, leaders that were identified in training, um, or in workup as a problem. And you know, other leaders above them said, no, you know what?
[:[00:50:15] And it can lead to catastrophe. So, you know, I've through some of those errors, I've, you know, I've learned to, you know, have those tough conversations, uh, you know, immediately, you know, let people know where they're starting to make mistakes and where their attitude is, is setting the entire organization astray.
[:[00:50:50] Jan: [00:50:50] And you have to step up to that decision and people in the organization will respect you as a leader when you step up to that decision, because everybody knows it.
[:[00:51:17] Um, but as you moved out of the military environment into the world of being an entrepreneur, what leadership skills from your military background served you? Well, being an entrepreneur and which ones perhaps did not.
[:[00:51:40] Well, even though I consider them very core to who I am, um, you know, freely giving trust, um, you know, giving trust, uh, to the point where it's almost to the detriment of, um, you know, decisions that I've made. So I've, I've been very free in that capacity because I came from an [00:52:00] organization where, you know, fortunately we vetted most, if not all the people that I was serving with.
[:[00:52:30] Um, so I've had to learn to be a bit more discerning. And, uh, calculated in when I, when I placed total trust and when I placed total confidence and I think in the kind of the, the civilian world, and especially in the entrepreneurial world, you know, you need to allow people to prove themselves to you, um, over a period of time.
[:[00:53:25] And, uh, you know, I was going to say this before, you know, it's the one time it is it's really very appropriate for the leader to step up and, and, uh, You know, take ownership has, you know, to have that conversation with that person, you know, never, uh, push that off on somebody else. And if you do push it off on somebody else, make sure that you make a point of, of sitting with that person, you know, point to point as the ultimate wanting accountable, um, and have a face-to-face conversation because everybody around you will, will see that.
[:[00:54:09] Jan: [00:54:09] Yes. Yes. Well said, let's talk about your athletic accomplishments. What drives you into these extreme sports? Could you tell us a little bit about what you're into and why you're you're so engaged into this extreme level of athletic performance?
[:[00:54:55] You know, I was the kid that played like an, any and a half in baseball. Uh, cause I was [00:55:00] terrible, you know, I couldn't hit the ball. I couldn't catch, you know, it wasn't a basketball player. Um, You know, so I, I, you know, I took to wrestling because, you know, I, I can just work really hard, you know, if I was in really good shape, uh, I can build my mental toughness and, you know, even if I wasn't the most athletically gifted wrestler, you know, I can gut it out and, you know, you can, you can wear people down and, you know, leaving that, you know, leaving wrestling behind, you know, I found climbing as a young man at the Naval Academy.
[:[00:55:48] Um, it was just so difficult to see improvement and the improvement came through kind of very small, incremental, uh, kind of gains. So there was a huge [00:56:00] mental, uh, kind of component to the sport. You know, I, I had to really be in control of my body and be in control of my mind, my breathing. And, uh, you know, I think that, you know, that discipline, uh, kind of mental component of climbing is what attracted me to it.
[:[00:56:39] You know, how much pain can you endure? You know, are you willing to forego more sleep than the other person and continue to slog it out over uneven terrain in the dark, you know, with the mapping compass and, and like, I actually, I appreciated the races that were longer, you know, the longer the race got [00:57:00] the, the more.
[:[00:57:23] And
[:[00:57:29] Nick: [00:57:29] Yeah, we did. We definitely did not win. Um, I was invited to race with, uh, actually one of my teammates and I were invited to race with a husband and wife. And, uh, we were very fortunate to, to give those slots. We traveled to Fort William Scotland and we raised all over the Scottish Highlands in, uh, Uh, I think it was probably spring summer of 2007.
[:[00:58:28] So the only thing you could do is like, suck it up, deal with the fact that you're freezing cold and soaking wet, and I continue to kind of slog forward until you can get to the end. So, um, very awesome experience, but, uh, you know, definitely humbled every time I did those things with, uh, you know, at how fast some of those leading teams and those athletes were able to accomplish kind of the course in, uh, because we, we definitely, uh, remained on the course a lot longer.
[:[00:59:21] And then I actually started working out in a gym and there was a treadmill component to that. And a colleague of mine encouraged me to run a 5k. I'd never run a race in my life. And this was just a few years ago. And then I did it. I was terrified and she put a metal on me and she said, see, you ran a race.
[:[01:00:04] So how do you, how do you get hold of that narrative? That's running in your head and push through that limiting belief so that you can get to this extreme level of performance, get us inside. Yeah,
[:[01:00:27] So, you know, it's easy to get overwhelmed with the concept of something difficult, but it's very, very, you know, palatable to be able to say, I, you know what, I can do this little bit. And that little bit is going to get me a little closer to realizing my goal. Um, You know, I, I w I'll take it back to climbing, you know, um, mean shorter individual.
[:[01:01:16] You know, I can, you know, I can always get my fingers stronger and, and I can, I can do hang board workouts and I can stay disciplined and I can make sure that I knock them out every single day, get at the course of a year, you know, my fingers got stronger and I was actually able to hold on and kind of manage my weight better and actually accomplish things that I thought were impossible a year prior.
[:[01:02:08] And, you know, for my personal life, I mean, I've, you know, I told you I adopted meditation a year ago. I think meditation has been a phenomenal way for me to kind of break through some barriers, you know, personal and emotional barriers that, you know, I thought, you know, for the longest time, you know, I would struggle with, for the rest of my life, you know, I'm a happier person.
[:[01:02:56] But, um, you know, it's, it's, I'm already seeing kind of, it's [01:03:00] bearing, you know, for now. And it's, uh, it's really helping me become a better version of myself.
[:[01:03:20] So when you get up in the morning, you make a personal commitment to yourself that I'm going to get up at four 30 or 5:00 AM or whatever time it is and you get up. And that's how you start your day. So you're programming your mind for success and achievement rather than giving yourself an excuse. And then when you make that commitment and then you, you load on top of that, spending some time really thinking about mindset and who you are and where you want to go.
[:[01:04:00] [01:04:00] Nick: [01:04:00] So my morning routine now, is it, it, you know, I wake up. Uh, I make every effort, the first thing I do before I look at my phone or any of that stuff, it's, you know, I sit up upright and I meditate.
[:[01:04:38] And, you know, when I finished my meditation, you know, I, I, you know, especially with this current lockdown, I, you know, I make a point of, you know, kind of going in and, you know, giving me my daughter a kiss on the forehead and, you know, able to just kind of enjoy the fact that, you know, I get to be a parent and I have such beautiful, uh, little ones that are at the house.
[:[01:05:22] You know, I take a, I take a lion's mane supplement. Um, I take, uh, a B12 supplement. You know, it's specific for me, but, you know, B12 and D three, uh, you know, it helps support everything that I'm doing. And I think it helps prime me for better sleep. Um, and I take fish oil, uh, you know, fish oil, and then I also take niacin as well.
[:[01:06:08] I'm, uh, more clear-minded throughout the day, uh, be better hydrated. I regulate my weight better, um, with better hydration. So my body doesn't retain as much fluid. And, uh, you know, at the end of the day, you know, I think, uh, early morning light in combination with the hydration and you know, my, my vitamin D supplementation.
[:[01:06:44] Jan: [01:06:44] Yes. And of course, I'm sure there's some exercise in there somewhere, right?
[:[01:06:51] So exercise is around my, my hobby now it's, it's, I've really built it that way. You know, my exercise for me is, [01:07:00] uh, is all geared towards performance as a folder, you know, and I'm not looking, I'm not going out to win any competitions, uh, or be on the cover of any magazine it's, you know, as a personal, um, endeavor that I'm firmly committed to because it's a disciplined practice where, you know, I really, I feel rewarded when, when I do see these incremental gains.
[:[01:07:44] So very simple but effective, uh, for what my pursuit
[:[01:08:08] Right. Uh, but I think, you know, a lot of people have gone through this emotional rollercoaster and they've, they've lost their routine. And so their routine is it's all changed and they have to, they have to get a new routine back. And one of the things that I started doing last week, I launched an accountability clinic and it's open for anybody.
[:[01:08:46] This is not what this is about. This is. Exactly what you say to incremental improvements. So every day, one personal commitment, whether it's yoga, go for a walk, one business commitment, and then one word to describe your mindset for the day. These calls [01:09:00] are 20 minutes and we go through it and it's amazing to see just in this short period of time, we just finished our first week today.
[:[01:09:31] Now, I don't know if we're going to be out of this in 66 days, but if there's a habit that you want to start, now's a good time to start it. Now is the opportunity because your normal treadmill life has changed, right?
[:[01:09:58] You know, I have the things that [01:10:00] I love more than anything else in the world surrounding me, every waking moment. My, my little boy, my little girl and my wife, and it's a time for me to really focus on connection with them. Um, I've learned to juggle kind of phone calls and emails and, and everything that we typically do.
[:[01:10:42] Um, so yeah, I, I think, I think that this is a great opportunity for people to change habits, um, you know, kind of create new habits and, uh, and maybe eliminate some of the distractions. I mean, we all know that there's so many distractions in this world. I mean, between social media and email and phone [01:11:00] calls and text messages and television, you know, it's, it's, maybe it's an opportunity to kind of cut, uh, some of that out of your life and refocus on what really matters.
[:[01:11:21] Nick: [01:11:21] Couldn't agree, more jams.
[:[01:11:31] Nick: [01:11:31] The pleasure is all my, my dear.
[:[01:12:03] The C4 foundation is actively engaged in building a sanctuary for active duty seal families to strengthen the support structure that will be there for our warriors during the decades of global combat ahead. .
