Standard Directive 03: Don't Get Caught Off Guard

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Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Jocko Willink?

  It's like this, imagine you were coming to visit me in my house. Okay, you were gonna come over to my house. And I told you, "Hey, when you get to my house, just come on in, front door's open, and just walk down the hallway next to the kitchen, I'll be out back."

• 0:21Jocko Willink?

  And then you came over to my house, and you walked through the front door, because it was open like I told you it was gonna be. And you were walking down the hallway.

• 0:30Jocko Willink?

  And I jumped out of a dark doorway with a butcher knife, covered in fake blood, and I was screaming.

• 0:38Jocko Willink?

  What would happen?

• 0:41Jocko Willink?

  What would happen? Well, you'd be scared, you'd be startled, you might be horrified. Now imagine this, same scenario. And I tell you the same thing, I say, "Hey, come on over to my house, when you get to my house, just come on in, front door's open, just walk down the hallway next to the kitchen, I'll be out back." I tell you the same thing. And then I say, "When you walk down the hallway, I am going to try and scare you. So be ready."

• 1:09Jocko Willink?

  And then, the same thing happens. You come over to my house, you walk through the front door, because it's open, you walk down the hallway. And then I jump out of the dark doorway, covered in fake blood, to scare you.

• 1:25Jocko Willink?

  What would your reaction be?

• 1:28Jocko Willink?

  Well, you'd probably either laugh, or you'd punch me in the face. Why? Because you were ready for it. Because you were mentally prepared for what was going to happen.

• 1:44Jocko Willink?

  Now, think about the way you go through life.

• 1:48Jocko Willink?

  Just think about the way you go through life. You're walking down the street, you're walking into a building, you're going into a store, you're going into a meeting.

• 1:59Jocko Willink?

  You're going into a conversation with someone. Maybe it's your husband, maybe it's your wife, maybe it's your buddy, maybe it's your friend, maybe it's a employee. Maybe it's your boss. Are you thinking about what could happen?

• 2:16Jocko Willink?

  Are you considering the possibilities?

• 2:20Jocko Willink?

  What about your business?

• 2:23Jocko Willink?

  What about your health?

• 2:26Jocko Willink?

  Are you proactively thinking about things?

• 2:32Jocko Willink?

  Because you should be.

• 2:36Jocko Willink?

  So, don't get caught off guard. Think about what is going on. Think about what is happening and think about what is about to happen.

• 2:50Jocko Willink?

  And then, when something comes at you, you can be ready to punch it in the face.