Your STANDARDS: Is It Time to ELEVATE Them? (Heroic +1 #1,781)

Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic one. In our last couple ones, we took a very quick look at a couple big ideas from Tim Kennedy's fascinating autobiography, Scars and Stripes, an unapologetically American story of fighting the Taliban, UFC warriors and myself. Today I want to shine a spotlight on one more inspiring idea from his inspiring book. I want to talk about standards. First, a little context. After flailing around for the first several years of his adult life, remember he was kicked out of the fire department and the police department while getting two women pregnant in the span of four days. Tim nearly ended his own life during that phase and he was lucky he didn't. After he describes that experience in the book, Tim tells us about how he enlisted in the army following the terrorist attacks on 9 11. He had the rare opportunity to take part in a new program aimed at athletes who have already graduated from college. It was called the 18x ray program. As he tells us, this was a fast track way of joining the Special Forces. Typically, the recruiter explains, you spend six years or more in the army before you are eligible to apply for Special Forces. This program would allow me to cut the line. Sounds perfect. I asked for a pen. Then I signed the contract. I'm headed to the army now. Tim proceeded to go through that Army Special Forces training and became a Green Beret. He walks us through the details of the training and his experience receiving his Green Beret. He tells us, and I quote him again, I will never be able to truly describe the profound weight of that moment. For me, it isn't just a hat. It's a brotherhood. It's a responsibility. It's a moment that will define me and the expectations of me for the rest of my life. Later, he went through Ranger training and became an Army Ranger as well. Note if you think that U.S. navy SEAL training is the toughest in the world, it's time to learn more about the Green Berets and the Rangers training Tim describes both. They're all insane and so you know. One of the reasons I read and share notes on so many books by military leaders and Special Forces operators is to remind myself and you of just how hard these men and women work to protect our freedoms. The challenges they must endure to earn the right to serve in the most elite forces is inevitably humbling and inspiring for me, which is one of the reasons why my heroic energy identity in our app is Disciplined SOF athlete. SOF is short for Special Operations Forces. I chose that energy identity and recommit to being that best version of myself Every day with guys like this in mind. Now it's time for our discussion on standards. Here are a few ways Tim captures the standards to which his elite forces hold themselves and inspire me to step up my game. He tells us, and I quote, the entire military runs on the premise of task and condition and standard. You were given a task and a condition and you are expected to meet the standard. Special forces operate on the premise of task command. No standard. In other words, the standard is your best effort every time. Think about that for a moment longer. Imagine being judged by whether or not you did your best. That is the standard. Anything short of that, not acceptable. That's closing the gap in living with Arete, forging the heroic strength for two. And that's today's plus one. Spotlight on you. To what standards are you holding yourself? And can you see any opportunities to step up your standards and close the gap between who you're capable of being and who you're actually being? Me too. Let's go, little PS Here. Here are a few other wisdom gems on high standards you might find as inspiring as I did. Tim tells us, and I quote, ranger school is hard but fair. There is one standard, Ranger standard. You either meet the standard or you go home. This is a meritocracy. There's no rank, there are no favors. There are no exceptions to the standard. It's a simplicity I immediately respect. Andy says, as with all things, I didn't do it until I got it right. I did it until I couldn't get it wrong. And he says, I generally live by the rule that you don't rise to the moment, but rather fall to the level of your training.