In a Nutshell: Nothing great can be accomplished without sacrifice and hard work, but it’s not just about hard work. It’s about how smart you are at working hard.

Guest: Commander David Sears, who retired from the US Navy after serving for 20 years in the SEALS. He’s a decorated veteran who planned, led, and executed hundreds of special operations missions in more than 40 countries on five continents. His new book is called Smarter Not Harder, 17 Navy SEAL Maxims to Elevate Critical Thinking and Prosper in Business and Life.

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My Key Takeaways:

  1. “Get off the X.” In military terms, X is the area of highest danger. In our lives and businesses, the X is often a limiting mindset that we need to break free from.
  2. “Two is one, one is none.” Whether you’re preparing for a scuba dive or an important sales presentation, your plan and equipment are only as good as your backups.
  3. “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.” Improving your technique and maintaining a consistent pace are keys to meaningful growth.

Also Learn:

  1. How the SEALS use a “Crawl, walk, run” training framework to achieve maximum performance.
  2. What “Hell Week” teaches SEALS about present hardships and future challenges.
  3. The lessons from his military career that David is trying to pass on to his children.

Complementary podcast: I love drawing lessons on business leadership and teamwork from people like David who achieve peak performance in other disciplines. For more outside-the-box insights on these topics, check out my conversation with The Second City’s Kelly Leonard. Listen/read here.

Resources Featured In This Episode

David Sears on LinkedIn