“Your will doesn’t break — it never shows up in the first place.”
– Jocko Willink

Jocko Willink (@jockowillink) takes over the show for a special episode. As I learned during our first interview, he is one of the scariest human beings imaginable.

In this episode, Jocko shares lessons from his new book Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual. Trust me, it’s fantastic. In this talk he discusses:

• The success mindset
• How to stop laziness and procrastination
• Behaviors that lead to failure
• His exact workouts
• How he adapts his training when he’s on the road
• And much, much more

Jocko is a legend in the Special Operations world. His eyes look through you more than at you.

Jocko enlisted in the Navy after high school and spent 20 years in the SEAL Teams, first as an enlisted SEAL operator and then as a SEAL officer. During his second tour in Iraq, he led SEAL Task Unit Bruiser in the Battle of Ramadi–some of the toughest and sustained combat in the SEAL Teams since Vietnam.

Under his leadership, Task Unit Bruiser became the most highly decorated Special Operations Unit of the entire war in Iraq and helped bring stability to Ramadi. Jocko was awarded the Bronze Star and a Silver Star.

Jocko is also the co-author of  Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win — which I loved. I hope you enjoy this episode!

Want to hear another podcast episode with Jocko? — Listen to our first interview together. Jocko might be the scariest Navy SEAL alive, and this episode shares how he earned that reputation. Learn what he taught me (stream below or right-click here to download):

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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

• Connect with Jocko and his organizations on Twitter:

@Xtremeownership| @jockowillink| @echelonfront

• Connect with Jocko and his organizations on Facebook:

Extreme Ownership| Jocko Willink| Echelon Front

• Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual by Jocko Willink
• TFS #107: The Scariest Navy SEAL Imaginable…And What He Taught Me
• TFS #187: Jocko Willink on Discipline, Leadership, and Overcoming Doubt
• Extreme Ownership: How US Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
• Learn more about Victory MMA and Fitness, Jocko Willink’s gym in San Diego
• Seeking solutions in business or leadership? Check out Echelon Front
• The Second Battle of Ramadi
• The Joe Rogan Experience #729: Jocko Willink
• Jocko Podcast
• Way of the Warrior Kid: From Wimpy to Warrior the Navy SEAL Way: A Novel by Jocko Willink and Jon Bozak
• 8 Metabolic Conditioning Workouts for MMA Fighters by Funk Roberts, Onnit Academy
• Preaching the Pull-Up: Dead-Hang vs. Kipping by Bob Doucette, proactiveoutside
• The Hang Clean, CrossFit
• The Ring Dip, CrossFit
• The Ring Push-Up, CrossFit
• The Perfect Push Up, Calisthenicmovement
• The Snatch, CrossFit
• Planks for Beginners: How to do a Plank, Bowflex
• The Burpee, CrossFit
• Coaching the Clean and Jerk with Natalie Burgener, CrossFit
• The Overhead Squat, CrossFit
• The Front Squat, CrossFit
• The Back Squat, CrossFit
• Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Show Notes

• Jocko introduces himself. [3:14]
• How Jocko got started podcasting. [07:52]
• You might be surprised to learn that Jocko is now a children’s book author — but his new book for grown-ups has just been published. [09:30]
• Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual is divided into two sections: Thoughts and Actions. [11:50]
• One example from the Thoughts section: How to stop laziness and procrastination. [12:13]
• How to build discipline one morning at a time. [16:16]
• What happens when we stray from the path of discipline. [17:31]
• How to start getting up early in the morning. [18:52]
• What do Jocko’s workouts look like? [20:42]
• Pull. Push. Lift. Squat. Gut. [25:12]
• How long do Jocko’s workouts last? [28:39]
• Why Jocko changed his mind about doing curls. [34:39]
• What an advanced push day workout looks like. [37:04]
• What an advanced lift day workout looks like. [39:54]
• What an advanced squat day workout looks like. [41:51]
• Training on the road. [44:43]
• What’s Jocko’s criteria for finding a good, local jiu-jitsu school/instructor? [55:51]
• Traditional vs. non-traditional jiu-jutsu schools. [58:04]
• The benefits of other martial arts and combat skills discussed in the book. [1:02:00]
• Parting thoughts on discipline. [1:04:04]

People Mentioned

Posted on: October 20, 2017.

Please check out Tribe of Mentors, my newest book, which shares short, tactical life advice from 100+ world-class performers. Many of the world's most famous entrepreneurs, athletes, investors, poker players, and artists are part of the book. The tips and strategies in Tribe of Mentors have already changed my life, and I hope the same for you. Click here for a sample chapter and full details. Roughly 90% of the guests have never appeared on my podcast.

Who was interviewed? Here's a very partial list: tech icons (founders of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Craigslist, Pinterest, Spotify, Salesforce, Dropbox, and more), Jimmy Fallon, Arianna Huffington, Brandon Stanton (Humans of New York), Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Ben Stiller, Maurice Ashley (first African-American Grandmaster of chess), Brené Brown (researcher and bestselling author), Rick Rubin (legendary music producer), Temple Grandin (animal behavior expert and autism activist), Franklin Leonard (The Black List), Dara Torres (12-time Olympic medalist in swimming), David Lynch (director), Kelly Slater (surfing legend), Bozoma Saint John (Beats/Apple/Uber), Lewis Cantley (famed cancer researcher), Maria Sharapova, Chris Anderson (curator of TED), Terry Crews, Greg Norman (golf icon), Vitalik Buterin (creator of Ethereum), and nearly 100 more. Check it all out by clicking here.