i remember running off the back of the helicopter, and you know, that was the first time that i heard the crack and thump of a round flying over your head. There's two sides to us: the emotional side or the worry of not coming back for your family and everybody else that's always there for everybody. And once all 16 of your newfound brothers smash that thing into your chest afterwards, yeah, you're happy, you're proud. [Music] It's Jordan Mulligan from the Mulligan Brewers, and today's video is from some of the best elite soldiers and their mindset. We have Jay Morton, Aldo Kane, Clint Emerson, Billy Billingham, some of the best guys leading in their field, talking about their mindset. Today's video is sponsored by the everydaystoic.com, where you can get the best stoicism apparel online. The link is in the description, go show them support. Thank you to the Everyday Stoic for supporting us on this video and also

audible.com where you can get aldo kane's book with the link in the description for free. So thank you to audible.com and as always moderners.com before that guys these are the best elite soldiers from all around the world sharing their experiences of the elite soldier mindset basically pretty much. Let's jump into the video you know the principle is that they leverage the physical beatings to ultimately break you down mentally. That's the whole point of the whole process in the military whether it's a boot camp or when you get to you know buds which is considered one of the toughest selections in the world. They break you down physically which then inevitably breaks you down mentally and emotionally. And I feel like every guy's probably got a different answer but for me the mental aspect of it was where I was strong because I was physically 150 pounds skinny runt. So all I had was this you know and so for me getting through whatever the test was of the day started here and ended here where a lot

of guys you had Naval Academy athletes. You have even professional athletes that stop what they do, what they're doing to try and become a SEAL and you're surrounded by some of the greatest athletes in the world that show up to BUD/S to see if they've got what it takes. But for me, I was just a skinny little punk from Texas but I knew that I at least had this part somewhat squared away, and it ended up being my biggest strength. So for me, it was all started here, ended here, and physically, you know, I was mediocre. I was middle of the running pack. I was at the back of the pack on the swims. I was okay at the obstacle course and, uh, you know, and anything that took that mental aspect was probably the only place I excelled, which there wasn't much, you know, there's no written exams where I could go look at how smart I am, you know, there was a couple of tests here and there, but for the most part it was all physical. So all I had was the mental side. Wow. So and what was it like when

you finally achieved it when you you know got through buds. Well, one of the unique things about buds is you are constantly kept humble, right? And so for me, graduating buds, there was no like ha ha look at me, right? Look at what I did. It didn't exist because you knew like wait, this is just the beginning. Like I got a long road ahead of me, you know? You've got to get through. For me, I was a medic, so I had now I had to go get through the Army Special Operations Medical School, and I was like holy [ __ ] that's like one of the hardest schools in the military. Mentally, I knew that I had to go through Advanced SEAL Training, which back then was called STT (SEAL Tactical Training), and that's where you actually learn how to be a SEAL because you don't learn that in BUDS, right? And then I knew I've got to then check into my SEAL team, and then I'm going to be put into a platoon, and it's the platoon that decides when I get my Trident.

so i still had a multi-year path to go before i was actually going to put on the symbol that represents navy seal. So when i graduated buds, i knew this is just the beginning. I have a whole lot of [ __ ] i got to do. And so, you know, there was no real big celebration. Of course, you have a moment when you're like, okay, thank god that's over. But now I gotta go start the next dress test, right? And then the next one, and then the next one. So because of that process, most seals, I think, are pretty humble in the fact that we have what's called, or what I call, the new guy mentality. You're always a new guy, no matter where you show up, right? There's always somebody more seasoned, someone smarter, faster, stronger. And so the golden rule as a new guy is always volunteer for everything, always come in early, always stay late, and keep your mouth shut. And so I just maintain the new guy mentality, just like everyone else. And as long as you do that, then you're

never really going to be in a position where you're pounding your chest and saying, Look at what I've accomplished, boy, I feel great about myself right now. If you don't get yelled at or if you don't have one of your peers call you out and say that you messed up, then that was probably a good day because you're not gonna get a pat on the back or get a hey, good job from your buddies. If you get silence from your buddies after you've done something, then that means you've done it right. That's all you get. So yeah, like I was 19 years old turning up at basic training, and you know, you know I still had that element of that fat shy kid that was like chasing me around. So like when I turned up, I remember turning up at the train station and um, you meet like you end up, you all meet in the same location and um, like the screws or the corporals come and take you take you up to the camp. And I remember looking around at the other

lads and just thinking like there's some some big big lads or that like but everyone looks stronger and fitter than you or like more confident or you know you just have this perception of them and they're probably you know looking back now they're doing exactly the same they're looking at you going like [__] like these guys are stronger fitter than me i think it's just something that humans have got ingrained into them um and then yeah you jump in the in the mini buses and drive and get thrown like a set of like ronals and a maroon jumper and that's you you like get your head shaved and you're initiated into the into the transformation camp from civilian to soldier um and it is literally that right you turn up as a civilian you know wide-eyed eager and you leave as there's a soldier um and it takes six months and uh yeah like do you know what i was i kind of shocked myself getting through that because i was never i was never the

fittest. Like, I was never the strongest, I was never at the front. And we used to do these exercises where, you know, you'd be, it'd be a warm-up before we went on a tab, and the PTIs would, you know, point to a tree and just say, Right, everyone to that tree and back, last 10, go again. And I'd always be in that last 10. Um, and then it'd be, Right, go again, last five, go again. And I'd always be in that last five. But um, I kind of like, I had a bit of a theory around that. And um, I guess I was never the fittest, never the strongest, but I've always completed stuff and always hung on. So I've always been used to being, you know, in that fatigue state. Like, that's quite normal for me, which, as we all know, that builds resilience and that builds a stronger mind and body, whereas the front runners, they were just used to, you know, running at their normal pace and just being okay with that. Um, so, you know, when you deploy to places

like the jungle or some of these harsher environments, like where everyone is on that level of fatigue. Like for me, it was just normal, and you'd see some of the fittest people just fall over and you know, collapse with heat stroke, or you know, just not be able to carry on just because of the conditions. Do you know what like my head goes empty when you're in that dark place? Um, I've just always been someone who can put one foot in front of the other. I think if you break down any mental or physical challenge, it's just a case of progression, and as long as you can keep that momentum and keep that progression going forward, you'll get to where you need to go. Like going back to again, like I'm in my comfort zone when I'm fatigued, so you know that I just know that I can just keep. You break it down, right, and it's just one step, and then the next step's just one step, and just you know, forget about where it

is that you. You need to go and just concentrate on that next step. And like the rest, it's just time. And time moves, right? Time ticks down, and then eventually you just find yourself in that position. You know, I was a young kid. I think I was. I don't want to call it fearless. I've actually called it stupid. I was PR. Nothing bothered me, you know. Getting into a fight involved me getting nothing. I wasn't scared of anything or anybody. I'd fight people twice my age, three times my age, no problem. But then I realized, now I'm stepping into a real man's world. This is a no-nonsense world, and it... that happened immediately. And I remember standing on the square with 70 other recruits, and I was one of the youngest and definitely the skinniest or one of the skinniest. There's two of us that are quite skinny. And I remember looking down the line, and it was floating big chests, hairy chests, tattoos, mustache, you know. I was

like wow, and I was a skinny little kid thinking, I'm out my death, oh, there's no way I'm gonna be able to compete with these people. And that was in my mindset, and I was already starting to, you know, mentally lose it and thinking, I'm going to do it. Then I just thought, I'm here, I'm not going back to that lifestyle. I've got to make this work. And as the weeks went by, the numbers got fewer, and I was still there. And every day I looked down the line, and more people went, these big guys were going, it gave me strength, and it gave me belief. I thought, I can't [__] do this, I'm gonna do this. And I'll start to not get cocky, I got confident and believed in myself. And every day was difficult, every day was different and hard, but I just thought, I can do this. And it went on and went on and went on, and the numbers got fewer and fewer and fewer, and I was still there, and it was.

hard, you know, and every day I felt like from my end. But the thing that stopped me doing it was going back to the lifestyle and the way I was. I couldn't do it. There was only one way I was going to go back to that is if they said to me, You have failed, you're out. Until they tell me that, I'm going to keep going. And it was hard work. At the end of it, I became. There was seven of us originals left, and I was the champion recruit. I was actually the best recruit for that. They were all great guys, don't get me wrong, but I just shone a little bit more than. And I think, to be fair, I had an advantage having been the cadets. I knew some of the basic skills, so that helped me along the way. But on the physical side of it, it was hard. It's really hard. I was up against big, hard people. What is that to describe the training? What's it like, the test at the start? How's

that going for you it was difficult you know running with boots running with weights being in the gym 40 50 minutes of non-stop pushing myself i'd box up boxed a lot so i was used to you know cardio work but this was relentless it was non-stop there was no brakes no brakes you've been screamed that shouted out and you've been pushed really through your limits and obviously the reasons for it are needed it has to be done and that's what they did and yeah i struggled with it it was really tough and then the sort of endurance stuff was something i wasn't you really used to you know where did civilianization do you run around the mountains with a house on your back you don't and it was building me up for the right reasons to um you know get ready for potentially going joining the battalion and going to war should it happen and that was all about so that was difficult getting used to that but you know i embraced it i kind of enjoyed it every time i did i felt

like i'd achieved something, and you know i've been so used in my school career eating one word fail every exam fail fail when i did pee company as a young 17-year-old kid. It was the first time i'd really had the word billingham pass, and it was like, Wow, I've just won the lottery. And I'm looking around the room of 40 of us that have attempted these tests, and I was one of 11 that got passed, and I thought, Wow, this is amazing. And I really started believing in myself. Then I thought, Right, I can do this. And it just, he just so though going through it was hard, and every day, every run, although I was fit, I was saying to myself, I was kind of little angel was saying, Throw the towel in and give up. The devil's go run through the trees, just keep going, you know? And the devil drove me forward on this one, got me through to where I needed to be. Was there a moment when you finally put the trident on where you was like, I did?

a sense of pride or achievement at all with that. Yeah, not because you go, I earned this, it's because, Oh, thank god they accepted me. Because back then, your platoon, right, you get put into a platoon, they're all wearing tridents but you're not, and you're hanging out for about a year with these guys, and these guys are always watching you, judging you, ensuring that your character and your personality matches what the community is looking for. And so when the day comes that they say, Hey, stand up against that wall, so you put your back up against the wall, they all get in single file line right in front of you, and the first guy has this trident in his hand. It's got three big nasty nail-like prongs on the back of it, and he sets it right on your chest, and then he rears back and he tacks it straight in, and those three nails go into your chest, and then the next guy in line knocks it in, and then the next guy decides, Well, I'm going to use a palm.

because that hurts more. He smacks it in, and the next guy, then the next guy, and once all 16 of your newfound brothers smash that thing into your chest. Afterwards, yeah, you're happy, you're proud. Not because of the trident, but because, hey, these guys said I can, you know, join their team. I'm part of them now, and I think that's the part that's missing now. Your peers these days don't get to decide whether or not you get a trident or not, and I think it's unfortunate because having your brothers decide when you get it is far better than a system of qualifications now decide when you get it. So, it was an awesome moment, and it lasts a split second because after that, they're like, All right, new guy, go get your [ __ ] squared away. We're leaving in five minutes. And that's it. That's the celebration, and then you move on. So, what was the process of training like? I mean, for yourself, was it a bit of a shock or that it wouldn't

meet expectations because i wanted to join the marines from like 13 or 14. By the time it came to joining up, like I knew inside out what training was, what was happening in what week, and the only bit that I didn't know was whether my body would be physically strong enough to complete it, you know. My head was my head game was good, you know. I knew that's what I wanted to do. Um, and it's the longest infantry training in the world. It's 30 odd weeks, um, so it's quite a long time, and it's very intense, you know. There's very hardly any days off through the whole process, and every week is like a killing phase, you know, getting rid of dead wood in the troop, um. So out of maybe 50 people that join, 50 men that join, um, then at the end of it, there might be seven or eight that finish it, um, and so joining at 16, your my bones weren't fully developed, and my body wasn't fully developed, and essentially still a boy.

um, but yeah, I found it was tough, but I knew that it was going to be tough, and I knew that that wouldn't last forever, you know? There wouldn't be people staying in the marines for 10, 15, 20 years if it was as hard as it was every single day in training. You just couldn't last that long. So, I kind of, it was the first part of my life where I started to realize that you can literally become what you think about. You can, you can, you can have what you want as long as you know what it is that you want. And I think a lot of my friends at school, they just didn't know what they wanted to do, you know? They, you know, they're going to prolong it a bit more to do A-levels or Highers, and then they go to university, still don't really know what they want to do, choose a course that they're not that interested in, come out 23, still not know what they're going to do.

dodge around a few jobs, you know, by the time I was 26, I'd done 10 years as an elite soldier. Um, you know, I, and, and that, you know, I just shortcutted that whole 10 years of messing around by knowing exactly what it was that I wanted to do and then breaking that down. And, and that's really, you know, my life up till now has been based on those fundamental points of, you know, you can have anything and be anything and do anything that you want. You just have to know what that thing is. I mean, that is so important as well. And I think it, for some reason, it's not instilled in people. Like, I think we, we can work hard, but work hard towards nothing. And like having a goal, we can get that. It might not even be the right place you want to arrive at, but you will find you get progress. And sometimes looking back, the dots connect as well. Um, you say it is a 16-year-old going, you know, into this training with men, fully grown men.

um, how much of it was physical, and how much of it was mental? Um, yeah, I suppose that, you know, the Royal Marines training is hard physically. You get smashed every day, you know, relentlessly, for the entire time that you're there. Um, but as a young man, you're fairly robust, you're fairly resilient to that sort of training. Um, if your mindset is good, you know, of 50 people that start, let's say 10 finish. Not all of those 40 that don't make it have physical injuries. You know, the majority of those probably just don't have the minerals to finish the course. And that's because, you know, there's a big lesson there in anything that you do. If the why isn't big enough, then you'll never have the drive, the determination to get out of bed early and finish that thing. And so, let's say, I just say, I'm going to join the Marines, there's nothing else going on, like my apprenticeship's finished, and you get down there.

and you're in week 10, and you're getting smashed, and you know, cold, wet, hungry, tired, um, then it's very easy to just stick your hand up and say, I'm sucking it off. Whereas if that's all you've wanted to do, and that is your end state, is to get there, then like for me in those hard times, I was in my absolute element. I was living my dream. I like it's hard to explain it, but I had this like the fire inside my stomach that I was doing the thing that I wanted to do, and it was such an amazing feeling, and I feel lucky that I found that early on because it shaped the rest of my life. So what was that first experience like at war? Like, what was your first experience, um, Northern Ireland, you know, and it was at the time back then in the 80s, Northern Ireland was, it was bad, you know, there was stuff going on on the mainland, there's stuff going on in Northern Ireland.

people getting killed getting blown up and and the enemy if you like if that's what we want to call them were not face-to-face. Enemy there were cowards with people you don't know who you're up against so you know the odds were all stacked against you. And it was i was used to think to myself i know we're getting trained i know we're going to get trained highly and it's going to be to the best we can be but you've really got to be lucky every day. They only have to be lucky once and i knew that so i was always on my toes. So it was nerve-racking and i was a young kid going out to northern ireland and people were getting killed and we hadn't you know unfortunately we had people killed in our tour friends of ours. So it was always in the back of your mind every day could be a last not just over dramatize it it was always then it had to be. I think it was a good thing because it kept you alert.

didn't get you complacent. You know you've got to be on your toes every minute you step out of that door. Even when you're indoors, you know those chances of getting mortared or whatever. So, without painting a dull crazy picture, it was you had to stay switched on. It was an intense time, you know, tour for anyone who's getting into the military. What is that first adaptation to war like? Is this the same thing everyone goes, I guess so. There's two sides to us, the emotional side or the worry of not coming back for your family and everybody else that's always there for everybody. But secondly, it's challenging, it's exciting, it's like an adrenaline. This is a chance to prove myself, this is where I've trained to supposedly produce the goods, and now I'm going to go out and produce the goods, and whether that's stopping terrorism or stopping whatever or doing good things, that's what you're there to do, and no one knows that. I don't know how I was.

going to be react to being shot at being close to being bombed or whatever until you're out there and do it, and everybody every single military person, male and female, will tell you the same. They want to go and experience it. No one, anybody who says, I like war and war is great [ __ ] idiots. No one likes war, no one likes conflict, you know, but that's our mainstay, that's our biggest test, you know. A formula one driver is trained to go as fast as can and win a race, dangerous, and got to do it. A soldier is there, the worst-case scenario is to be put in a conflict-type situation, in being able to keep your head, make a clear, clarified decision, and do the right thing. And that's what I wanted to know, can I do that? Am I capable of doing it? Am I actually capable of not just doing it, but adding something to it and making a big difference? And I will say, I was, I was fortunate too. I, I enjoyed it, not the conflict, I enjoyed the decision.

making, I'm very much a crisis manager. I'm pretty quick on my feet thinking up, get a decision, and go. I hate planning. I hate sitting back and forth. The more you think about summer, the more you tie yourself in knots. The more problems you throw into it, the longer you go to planet. What if the enemy's got this? What if that? What if that? What if the meteorite falls out the sky and lands, and you know you can go on forever. I like quick reaction, and my first time of conflict allowed me to realize actually I can think on my feet. And when the situation changes and ain't as clear as we thought it was going to be, I can make a decision. And every single person wants to know that, how will I react and so. So what was that test for you guys like the ultimate test? So do you get well? I mean we spoke about this previously, like you get drawn into taking that test again and again and again. Yeah, because every time, no, no timing any war conflict battle.

whatever you want to call it, is the same. There's always surreal moments, there's always something different. It never, ever, I'll be honest with you, and I've done a lot of operational stuff, mainly with the regiment, but also with the partial agent. It's never, ever gone to plan, never, ever. You know, it goes to plan in terms of we've got the right result, but what was each stage would plan for out the window, normally from the moment you step off the helicopter, step out your vehicle, parachute into the place, everything changes. Communications will always go down, it just happens. So now you've got to think on your feet. It's visual all the time, visual and verbal, keeping control of things. Oh my god, there's more anything than we expected. Oh my god, there's a minefield. Oh my god, there's civilians tired in the middle of this. How do we think on your feet? And every situation is different, you know, and I remember some of the bizarrest of situations in conflict, you know, in the Bosnia conflict halfway through a

horrendous sort of ground battle that was going on is some guy washing his car like a sunday afternoon. You're like, where did that just come from? How, what the is that about? War is strange. It's, it's nasty, and it's strange. You know, you've got to, you've got to now be able to think fast on your feet and can't just become all of aggressive and go for this. It's about, it's about changing and run. It's, we live in a world of ramping up and ramping down sort of scenarios because, you know, someone's out there trying to kill you. You've got to step up to stop that, but in the middle of that, all of a sudden, there's a family bank. You've got to back off a bit and find another solution. You know, you're thinking all the time. It's a lot going on, and it's challenging. And yeah, I thought I enjoyed the challenges. I enjoyed it, you know. I didn't enjoy what the situation was, people getting killed and [ __ ] but I

enjoyed having to think and come up with a solution that's for the better. So we on that 2006 tour of Afghanistan. So the first time that I came under contact, we deployed out. So it's supposed to be a peacekeeping operation, and we didn't know it would go as noisy as what it did, but we deployed to a place called Nazar. And there was, we had a patrol platoon that were already stationed there doing some wrecky stuff. And we literally landed on these, landed in these CH-47 helicopters. And I remember running off the back of the helicopter, and you know, that was the first time that I had the crack and thump of a round flying over your head. And we'd just run into this massive scrap that the patrols lads were in. So there's kind of RPGs flying over our head, machine gun fire. And you know what, I think soldiers are very good at hiding fear with humor.

um, and we just looked at each other and just burst out in laughter, and, uh, yeah, I remember just running to this wall and just getting down behind this wall, and we all just looked at each other and just went, Well, this is it, isn't it? Like, this, it started, um, and that was a long day, like, you know, I think we're in contact for say six to eight hours, and personally, I'd, you know, I think once you get over the, like, once you get over the first reaction of the first round that's been fired and the first round that you've heard, the rest of it just all sounds, it sounds the same, like you're in that moment then, um, and the rest is just about thinking logically about how you combat that situation and how you get out of that situation, um, yeah, like those kind of contacts, you've got a lot of time to, to stop and think because generally, you know, you could be shooting at each other from 100 meters away, you know, nine times out of ten, or yeah, nine times out of ten, those rounds

aren't very accurate. So you can generally get behind some sort of cover and take time to plan and think about your next move. Um, you know, as your career progresses and you end up, you know, fighting closer to people, so in buildings or in closed spaces, the time it takes to make the action or make the decision gets reduced. So that's more about your instincts and more about just training that you've done previously. You know, I think deep down, I still got that, you know, shy, chunky boy just follows me around everywhere. Um, I think probably a lot of people that, you know, are that look successful from other people's viewpoints probably have some sort of shy, chunky young boy that follows them around. And there you go, some of my favorite guys from all around the world talking about the mindset of an elite soldier. So thank you so much to all those guys. Today's video was sponsored by the everydaystoic.com where you can now buy the Stoic t-shirt and all their Stoicism apparel range is now linked down below.

supporting that makes this possible pretty much. They wouldn't sponsor as otherwise so thank you so much. Uh mulliganrus.com. Any support on multnomah.com is always helpful so buying our t-shirts and all that kind of stuff helps as well. And also audible.com where you can get a free copy of aldo kane's book if you link if you click the link in the description you can get a free copy from audible.com which makes this possible. Um for me, the military guys have always been a huge source of inspiration and um I mean inspire me to have consistency, uh dedication, having structure like this is why I listen to these guys. These are things that I have weaknesses in in my life and I watched these guys and I managed to speak to these guys and these are the things that stick out to me and go well jordan you could be better than that you can be better than what you are because look at what these guys had to do look at how structured these their life depended on.

structure their life depended on consistency so thank you to those guys. Their stuff is linked down below. What was your favorite bit of that video guys? Comment down below. Go follow me on Instagram at jordan mulliganbrother. Have a blessed and productive day, and remember, go inspire some change, whether it's for your actions, words, whatever you do, go inspire some change. Have a blessed, productive day, and I'll see in the next one. Peace.

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