Brian Johnson breaks down Tim Kennedy's seven rules for getting better: take accountability, expect failure, prepare now, seek hard experiences, care for yourself, surround yourself with improving people, and set goals. Kennedy's story of redemption mirrors David Goggins and Adam Brown, all pointing to the same core idea: extreme ownership.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic one. In our last plus one we chatted about Tim Kennedy and his fantastic book Scars and Stripes. We talked about the origin story of that title as we made the connection between your biggest challenges and your biggest leadership growth moments. Now, although this is definitely not a self help book, it is definitely a read it and you can't help but get better book. I'm pretty sure that the only time Tim gives explicit how to advice is on the second page of the introduction. The rest is a demonstration of those truths and the story of the life experiences that helped him forge that wisdom. Here's what he tells us two pages into the book. He says, your life only gets better when you do a few things. Number one, take accountability for it. It's your fault. Number two, failure is going to happen when it does. See number one, if you want to fail less, see numbers three through seven. Number three, an ounce of prevention prevents a pound of cure. The best time to start preparing is right now. 4. You cannot mass produce elite people. They need to be forged from hard experiences. If you want to be one of them, you need to seek these challenges consistently. 5. Take care of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. For some people that means therapy. For some people that means yoga in a cup of tea or fishing with the family. For me, that means embracing a constant struggle. Rejecting comfort makes me, well, comfortable. Number six, surround yourself with good people striving to also improve themselves. And number seven, build goals and pursue them to the end of the earth. He continues by saying, no matter where you are in your life, putting yourself on this path will change everything. Then a few paragraphs later, Tim tells us why he wrote the book, which includes the fact that he wants, quote, people who are reading this thing who feel like total losers with no way out to see a path forward and then get the heck after it. I want them to start living. As I read the book and all the incredibly hard times Tim faced early on in and throughout his life, I thought of David Goggins and and Adam Brown. I repeat, Tim was kicked out of the fire department and the police department. Then he got two women pregnant in the span of four days. During that time in his life, he swam out in the ocean and nearly killed himself. Then after 911 he enlisted in the army, pulled it together and created a life of astonishing purpose and meaning. That of course continued to be filled with extraordinary challenges. As you may know, David Goggins failed to excel in the military as a young man and and was a 300 plus pound exterminator. When he was inspired to join the Navy and become a seal, recruiters literally laughed at him. He figured out how to get enlisted and conquered countless obstacles to activate his heroic potential and fulfill his mission to be one of the toughest, most inspiring human beings in the world. Check out our notes on Can Hurt Me and never finished. For more now. Adam Brown was addicted to crack cocaine, arrested for over a dozen felonies and completely lost. He was lucky enough to be supported by his tough love parents and pastor and found his purpose in the US Navy as well. His story of redemption is beyond inspiring. Check out our notes on Fearless the undaunted courage and ultimate sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team 6 operator Adam Brown. For more now. What do all of those guys have in common beyond hitting their idiosyncratic version of absolute rock bottom? They followed rule number one and took accountability for their lives, recognizing their failures were their fault. Stephen Covey would nod and agree. Habit number one of the seven habits of Highly Effective People is exactly that. We must be proactive. We must take responsibility for our lives. Jocko Willink would definitely nod and agree. He wrote an entire book on the subject called Extreme Ownership. And back to you. Are you taking 100% extreme ownership of your life? If so, carry on. If not, get on that. Today's the day. Let's go.
