Standard Directive 017: It's Not About You

>Join Jocko Underground< https://www.jockounderground.com/subscribe Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/jocko-podcast/exclusive-content

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

• 0:00Jocko Willink?

  So, I was at an event. And a guy comes up to me. And he asks what I would say to a person who needed to get motivated to eat healthy and work out. And I asked him, "Who is this person? Might it be you?" And he said, "Yes, it was him." And I asked him, "What do you do?" And he said he was a doctor. And I said, "What kind of doctor?" And he said he was a cardiologist. And I looked at him silently for probably 10 seconds.

• 0:39Jocko Willink?

  And then I said, "You're a doctor. You're a cardiologist. You see people all day that are dead or dying because they didn't take care of their health. Health! And you need me to motivate you? That's what you need?" And he stared at me with a blank face. And I could see that that wasn't enough, clearly. It wasn't enough that he sees people that are dead and dying every single day because they don't take care of their health. But that wasn't strong enough. So I asked him another question.

• 1:23Jocko Willink?

  I said, "Are you married?" And he said, "Yes." And I asked him if he had any kids. And he said, "Yes, I have a three-year-old daughter." And I said, "Do you care about your wife and daughter?" And he said, "Of course." And then I said, "No, you don't. No, you don't. If you cared about your wife and daughter, you would take care of yourself." His head shifted a little, and I could see that this hit him, so I hit him again.

• 2:00Jocko Willink?

  Don't you want to see her grow up? Don't you want to see her? Go to middle school and high school and graduate from school and go to college and graduate college and get married and have her own kids? Don't you want to see her do those things?

• 2:16Jocko Willink?

  Don't you want to be able to support her in her life? Don't you want to be able to teach her? Lessons? And help her avoid all the things that you messed up?

• 2:29Jocko Willink?

  Don't you want to be there for your daughter?

• 2:35Jocko Willink?

  And with a guilty look? He said, "Of course I do."

• 2:41Jocko Willink?

  And I said, "Well, then get your priorities straightened out."

• 2:47Jocko Willink?

  Don't let your laziness and your sweet tooth override your long-term goals and your long-term commitments, the love you have for your wife and your own daughter.

• 3:03Jocko Willink?

  What you do isn't just about you, it's about the people you care about.

• 3:12Jocko Willink?

  And it's the same for all of us. It isn't just about you.

• 3:17Jocko Willink?

  You can let yourself down, whatever. Don't let your friends and your family down.

• 3:26Jocko Willink?

  Stay on the path for them.