A Navy SEAL veteran shares his life lessons through his book Unbeatable
I think it was 2004 when I found out on the Internet that a book is coming about the 12 mental secrets or attributes of a Navy SEAL. The book was called Unbeatable and the author a former SEAL commander Jack Schropp. I ordered it as it first came out as a hard copy.
When I first read it, it had some deep stuff in it. Some of it I had difficulty to comprehend as I was still in university. Many ideas from the book I understood only later when I had decided to become an entrepreneur after finishing and getting my degree.
Many of the ideas in Unbeatable were so deep that I had not heard them anywhere else even though I had read a lot of self-help and success books before and after this one. The concepts in it came from a guy that had been tested to the max and who had been in very high stake situations, repeatedly.
One chapter that covers the secret of being Tough contained a concept that has been something which has kept me from quitting on my journey as an entrepreneur, and helped me to find the strength to continue moving on in some hellish situations - dragging my ass to another level and a new playing field of life.
This book hit home the idea of keeping my word no matter what - to practice this in small and large matters. It also trained me to take a hard look at myself and when I have not performed as required.
One of the greatest teachings of this books was the idea of failing - that it is something that you do not need to give a self-defeating meaning to, and distinguising it from the concept of being a failure, and how people make one of themselves.
Jack gives great examples of what ridiculous reasons the BUD/S (SEAL school) students who quit told themselves and to others as the explanation why they gave up on their life-long dream.
This work gave me ideas that catalyzed me to develop associated ideas of my own, which transformed my character a lot - making me into a person who gets a satisfaction from fighting for my strategic goals and who is able to be happy when even meeting only the mini goals. All which is not easy to do or be this kind of a person because on the way you will get your fair share of self-victimizing impulses. It is a real challenge to cut through your own BS, and excuses, lack of performance and alibis.
Many times on my way I realized that I was making up facts that were stopping me, things that had become such a hurdle that they were starting to victimize me, which were not actually totally true because I could find ways to work around them with resourcefulness (which is one of the chapters in his book).
The secret of being interrelated has served me also well, as I was not a person who liked the idea of team work and being very social, but which is a critical attribute to have if you want to be successful in life.
The book gives you so many concepts that really enable you to become a person that is unstoppable. When things get real hard, you will remember the lessons from this book.
Oftentimes I am faced with situations, where I need to put in a massive extra effort to do things right, or to correct them to get them right, and I am only able to do this - to keep my word because I follow the principle of holding my word as if in a situation where my life was at stake or the life of my friend was at stake.
Jack shares some examples from his personal life and his lessons from the time of the Vietnam war. He also adds concepts from the time he trained SEALs and when he was a civilian personal performance seminar coach.
I have learned to look through the BS of my own mind because of the insights of this book, and this has enabled me to see clearly also when other people start BS-ing themselves - when they have the same process of lacking commitment and giving excuses to themselves in their own mind.
From this book you will learn stuff that you will not read from any other self-help or success book. It is very hard core at times, and it challenges you to take your personal performance to a new level, and keep it where rare people will ever reach. If you can find the willingness to apply this new awareness in your life, you can have the reward of realizing that you can feel a certain amount of superiority because you are using this advanced technology of managing your mind.
Here is a video of Jack, where I saw him first time talking in person. My impression of him is that he is a solid guy, who is able to keep his word and behavior in sync. He seems to have a certainty of decision and carrying through what he talks about, and that with combat experience behind it.
Watch this video of a former Navy SEAL commander Jack Schropp life lessons on Youtube
And when people do not experience this freedom and satisfaction then they are prone to fall back inevitably towards the victim mode, and complaining that waits for us, when we have lost our momentum in life.
If every person in a nation on this planet performed at the levels Jack is talking about, we would have effective economies, and free time for sanity and relaxation, and a lot less mayhem in our society. People would be more dependable, there would be less fuss, and BS excuses. Life would flow more smoothly.
There would be greater satisfaction in relationships. People would communicate more directly, instead of hiding behind BS alibis and masks, and childish behaviors, which try to achieve emotional comfort and diverting themselves from solving the issues effectively. Life would have less non-sense in it. Everybody
would be happier, more truthful and poised.
Here is the book on Amazon.com
, I hope you have the self-honesty to read it and take a hard look at yourself, as it is a healthy thing to do.
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