Jocko Willink: On Going to War with Your Weaknesses

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

And how to empower everyone around you to lead.
How to maneuver to get in people’s heads to make them see things they wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
How to keep communications simple – and how good questions can simplify a complicated plan.
How to focus on prioritizing tasks and executing them.

For The Curious,

For a long time now, people have reached out on Twitter asking when Jocko Willink and I would get together to do a podcast.

Jocko first came to my attention on Tim Ferriss’s podcast. Their encounter was epic, and I’ve followed Jocko ever since on the Jocko Podcast.

It took a while for us to get together, but, man, was it worth the wait.

Jocko was able to pass on many of the leadership principles that he used as a Navy Seal commander.

Above all, Jocko taught me to attack my vulnerabilities.

As you’ll hear in the podcast, Jocko challenged me to use basic military approaches to solve problems and rid myself of weaknesses in my business and personal life. Even if you’re a pacifist gardener, you can make great use of the advice Jocko passes on in this episode. Guaranteed your flowers will stand taller.

I realized during this talk that if I’d attacked my vulnerabilities right out of college -- weaknesses that hinder me to this day! -- my life would’ve been dramatically different. But I’m happy to be making the changes now. As the saying goes: “When’s the best time to plant a tree? Twenty years ago. When’s the second-best time? Now.”

I’ll be using many of the takeaways from this episode.

How to maneuver to get in people’s heads to make them see things they wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

How to keep communications simple – and how good questions can simplify a complicated plan.

How to focus on prioritizing tasks and executing them.

And how to empower everyone around you to lead.

I hope you get as much out of this conversation as I did. If so, your vulnerabilities will be in big trouble . . .

Cheers,

Cal