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Welcome to the Young Nation Spirit of Gratitude Podcast on the OneTech platform.
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Hello, friends.
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My name is Jogesh Patel, and this podcast explores the themes of bowling self-awareness and the power of our inner spirit, including the silent battles we all face.
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Join me every week as I invite high-profile guests as we explore how adversity shapes us, how gratitude lifts us, and how we can all uncover the inner strength that we all have within ourselves.
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Join the conversation.
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I appreciate you listening in.
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Have you ever wondered what gratitude looks like when the stakes are life and death, when stress is constant, sleep is scarce, and clarity has to win over panic?
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My next guest is former U.S.
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Marine Justin Kramer, who served on five deployments as a joint terminal attack controller, operating in the kind of pressure that makes everyday anxiety feel like a different universe, and I can imagine that.
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After 12 years of service, he uses J Bill to earn his bachelor's degree and then kept serving in a new way, helping others tell the truth about what they've lived through.
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Justin hosts the wildly respected podcast Former Action Guys, now in its 230th episode, where he interviews active duty and veteran warriors about survival, teamwork, taking fire, and accomplishing the mission when everything goes sideways.
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In today's conversation, Justin gives us a first hand look at what it what it's really like to serve and how gratitude can become more than a mindset.
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Oftentimes it's a tool for stress, a guardrail for anxiety, and a quiet kind of strength you find literally on the battle battlefield.
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And it's always an honor to have on board a veteran on the podcast.
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And with that, and with gratitude, welcome to the podcast, Justin, and thank you for your service.
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Absolutely.
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Well, very curious to know where were you deployed in the Marine Corps and what was your experience like?
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Uh so, like you said in the intro, I did five deployments.
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I did one to Iraq, two to Afghan, two to Afghanistan, and then two on ship, where we went around.
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You you hear about all these operations that are happening right now that are based off of ships.
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That's what we were doing.
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We were floating around um different parts of the world and either doing training with uh other countries or going and doing operations uh in different countries.
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What's it like?
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Because I'm sure we're dealing with different countries, there's a communication, perhaps not gap, but uh again, the clarity in terms of the mission.
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Um I really enjoyed working with other nations.
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I had uh so I had a lot of opportunity to do that throughout my uh career um from small training exercises at like Camp Lejeune when I was a junior Marine to um going out and working with the Royal Marines, both here at Camp Pendleton in California and over in places like Kuwait and stuff like that.
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And then obviously we'd see them overseas.
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Uh on my third deployment to uh my third deployment, my second one to Afghanistan, I was actually a foreign military advisor.
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So I worked and lived with the Afghan army in Sangin.
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And that was really, you know, that's where you really get to understand a culture, see how they eat, see how they interact with each other, just conversations.
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Um, I mean, the wildest conversations.
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You know, the you see there's a lot of similarities.
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Um, I I always tell people about how I remember I was sitting on like pillows at they had this outdoor garden area that had lattice up and it was growing grapes, uh grape plants on the lattice.
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And uh we would sit out there on pillows and they'd have like you know, their junior guys or tea boys, basically, their chai boys, bring bring around tea and like candy and stuff, and then they had this old TV, and we would sit there and watch Pakistani soap operas with these uh Afghan army guys, like the leadership.
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And it was just and we'd have conversations about you know things that are happening in that show.
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Like, how would that how would that conversation occur in the United States?
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And you know, it was really uh it was an interesting experience.
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A lot of self-awareness, I'm sure.
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Yeah, oh, for sure.
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I mean, yeah, you know, uh you're not trying to offend anyone, and you know your cultures are vastly different, religious uh beliefs are vastly different, and it's um I didn't experience any I felt like we so a situation in the one of the shows, there was a there was a girl that got pregnant by a guy, and this is a Pakistani soap opera.
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The dad beats the girl in the show, and the sergeant major, the Afghan sergeant major, was like, what would happen if that happened in the United States?
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And I was like, it could go anywhere from that to like full support, you know.
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I was like, it really depends on the family, the area.
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I was like, the United States is so low, you know, just trying to explain to him it's not a homogenous society.
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There's a huge difference in cultures and stuff in different parts of the country, and you know, and it was just kind of relating like real life stuff back and forth and kind of see how they see stuff.
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And yeah, I guess we're all bounded by a common thread of called humanity, right?
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Whether it's you're in a different region of the world, you speak a different language, your customs are different, your perhaps your religious beliefs, but at the end of the day, it's all about uh this common thread of of understanding people and communicating with them.
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Yeah, definitely.
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Um and it really makes you, you know, in the spirit of the show, it really makes you grateful um for the things that you have when you're talking to someone.
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And they're just from it's hard to explain to someone that's never been to Afghanistan, but it's literally mud huts, you know, where we were at, where everyone's living in mud huts, uh handmade bricks that they the some of these buildings are probably a hundred years old and they're farming manually with animals.
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Sometimes you'd see someone with like a tractor, but yeah, it's it's all hand farming, it's a very um you know, hand-to-mouth kind of society, very agrarian society.
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And it's like sometimes they'd have electricity in some places if the generators or whatever was working.
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And sometimes there's there's cell phone towers, so sometimes they have internet, you know, they have cell phones and they have internet.
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So it's this weird dynamic where you're in like almost like a caveman kind of culture because it's again living in mud huts and foraging and you know, like doing these things, but at the same time, they can download a video on their smartphone.
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And it's it's just uh sometimes, not always, but sometimes.
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And it's just like a weird, it's like a weird environment.
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And so what was your role as a joint terminal attack controller?
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What responsibilities does that hold?
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So a joint terminal attack controller, I coordinate airstrikes in an area, close air support, uh, we call it CAS.
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Um, so if a if my unit or another unit is under fire, uh, I coordinate the airstrikes to support that unit to help pull them out of whatever the issue is.
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Um, I also would help uh coordinate Medivac flights.
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You know, you basically, when you're a JTAC, you're controlling the airspace, your tactical airspace.
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You have this area that's yours, you're the only controller there.
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Any aircraft that comes in, checks in with you, you tell them where to fly, you tell them the altitude they're gonna fly at, the uh you're gonna tell them what directions they're gonna be flying.
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Right.
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And then you're working aircraft throughout the airspace, like you'll have fixed-wing, you know, fighter jets over here, you'll have helicopters over here at much lower, you'll have UAVs up higher that's scanning the whole area.
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That's a lot of responsibility, Justin.
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I mean, how did you manage your emotions while task at hand?
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It's very much a um high stress job that if you love it, you love it.
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And it's it takes I always tell people it takes the ability to take a lot of information, receive a lot of inputs.
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Uh, where are we at?
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Where's the enemy at?
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What are we being shot at by?
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Is there anybody injured?
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You're taking all this information in.
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What kind of aircraft are checking in?
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What kind of ordinance do they have on them?
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Where, you know, what are there any other restrictions that we have to worry about?
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Um, and you're taking all that information and then you're turning around and coming up with a mission plan, a fire mission, if you have to drop ordinance on something or a Medevac plan to get somebody out if someone's injured.
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And you, you know, you have to make it the quickest, safest way possible for friendly forces on the ground and then protect the locals, locals.
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So, what what's a rule to help folks be calm under pressure?
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I always tell guys to take a breath.
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You know, when we're on the radio, you can look up JTAC videos and listen to JTACs, and you'll hear some of them.
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Will get you'll start to get worked up because it's a lot of a lot of things are happening, and there's a lot of responsibility there.
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You're telling an aircraft where to drop ordinance, and if you mess that up, that means he's dropping ordinance on something he wasn't supposed to.
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And um a lot of it is just taking a breath.
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Take a second, think about what you're doing, and then also understanding that you're the right person for the job.
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Like you're there for a reason.
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You know, it's easy to get, it's easy to get like, what am I doing?
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I got all this, you know, it's chaos.
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You're you're it's organized chaos.
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Did you ever have moments where you lost confidence in your ability to do what was needful?
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I don't think I ever lost confidence.
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I mean, I got I got chewed out one time in training.
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Maybe, maybe self-doubt.
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Maybe okay, maybe confidence isn't the word, but self-doubt.
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I got chewed out one time in training because I mixed up uh a call to an aircraft and I was gonna have them drop, do a gun run, and I mixed up what I was supposed to say because the aircraft mixed up what they were supposed to say.
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We were on the same page, but due to our restrictions, our safeties and stuff, it we said what we needed to say backwards, essentially.
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And I remember going, oh well, in my head, I'm like, well, we we got it cleared hot, you know, and he's about to do a gun run.
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And I remember my air officer jumps on the radio, he's like, aboard, aboard, aboard, what the F are you doing?
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And I'm like, you know, and that wasn't a moment of self-doubt, but that was a moment of like realization.
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I bet you I bet you never made that mistake ever again.
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I thought about that.
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I mean, I'm talking about it now, a decade later.
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Um, I thought about that for months afterwards, daily.
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I would sit there and just be like, I would sit there and be like, idiot.
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I can't believe you, you know, it would just pop in my head.
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I'd just be doing something else, and it'd pop in my head, and I'm like, ugh, I can't believe you said that, you know?
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And it sounds kind of crazy to like dwell on something like that, but in that kind of job, that's how you learn to not do it again.
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You know, I'm never, I never made that mistake again.
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And if someone else made that mistake, it because in that world, we always say the rules are written in blood.
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There's a reason that we're doing things the way that we're doing them.
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Because if you don't do it, you're dropping anywhere from a you know a 250-pound to 2,000-pound bomb, or you're shooting machine guns from an aircraft that's flying 400 miles an hour.
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You know, it's like you can't, there's no room to mess stuff up in that kind of world.
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And yeah, bring it home to civilian life, Justin, because I get again a lot of this podcast, while it does address the theme, primary theme of gratitude, it's all about self-awareness and earner spirit.
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There's a lot of folks, you know, that are anxious, that perhaps don't have the self-belief in themselves, but with the high pressure job that you had, you know, what would you what would you tell them?
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I'll bring it back to the question you asked me before about if I ever had self-doubt.
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My now ex-wife asked me one time, or she said I I was at I was uh talking to her, I don't remember what I was talking to her about, but I was like, you can do this, you know.
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And she was just like, you know, I'm not as confident as you are doing your job.
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And I'm like, what are you talking about?
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Every time I pushed the handset on that radio, I was nervous.
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I'm literally about to drop ordnance on something.
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And if I mess that up, that's a huge deal.
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And that's what I was I was trying to tell her.
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I would you have that mentality where I'm in this spot for a reason.
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I'm the best person here to do this.
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I know what I'm doing.
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I'm, you know, I'm confident in myself to be able to do this.
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And that's kind of like what I try to convey to her is like, yeah, I show confidence for sure, but inside I'm definitely going, oh crap, don't mess this up, you know.
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And that that applies to anything you do in the real world.
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You know what I'm saying?
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Be confident about your capabilities.
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Why are, why am I, you know, uh something I talk about on my own podcast is take control of your destiny.
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Take control of your own destiny.
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Don't wait for something to happen.
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You're gonna see things occur in life where an opportunity presents itself, and it's on you to have that confidence in yourself that you're like, okay, this is the opportunity I've been waiting on, and I'm ready for it.
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Let's do it.
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Even if there's some self-doubt, because you're never gonna be fully ready to do anything.
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I'm sure when you started this podcast, you were like, oh man, you know, I got a million, uh there's a million reasons to not do it.
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You know what I'm saying?
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And you gotta be confident that it's when those opportunities present themselves, that you're in the right person for the right job and it's the right timing and go for it.
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Because if you don't, you're just gonna sit back and wonder what could have been, you know.
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Well, it's actually as and answering your own question, why, right?
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Why do we do what we do, Justin?
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I mean, you with uh your podcast with the military, me with this the spirit of gratitude.
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And for me, I can tell you that my why is helping folks overcome adversity.
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Looking at my daughter's journey having Tourette's yeah, the things that she was able to accomplish.
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Even my personal journey, where you know, for folks that can see me on camera, I'm a little bit bludgeoned, so to speak, on the uh left eye, due to allergies and just the environment here, perhaps a little bit of stress.
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And so that is my why that will always reside in me in my heart.
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I mean, I hope to do this today, tomorrow, the next five years.
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Uh, for me, the why is you know, when I got out of the Marine Corps podcast, I had been listening to podcasts for a few years at that point.
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I had started listening to podcast around 2014.
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And I was like, man, this is really cool.
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I was listening to a lot of military ones, and I was like, it's all special operations guys.
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All they're talking about is Navy SEALs and Green Berets.
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And I'm like, man, there's a lot of I know a lot of guys that did a lot of crazy stuff that aren't special operations, but they've been, you know, they're other JTACs, they're other fire support guys, helicopter pilots.
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And I'm like, all my friends that I know that have done these these amazing things, no one will ever know about it.
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Um, no one's gonna write a book about them.
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No one, you know, the only way anyone would ever know is if they tell if they tell that story.
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And right now, if they tell it to someone, it's told and it's forgotten.
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And my whole pitch, I guess, when I talk to people, I'm like, listen, this is an opportunity to record your story, what happened, what was the military like for you as an individual in this job, you know, the effects on you, your family, whatever.
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Um, and then it's recorded, and just think about the opportunity where maybe, you know, a hundred years from now, your great-great-grandkid finds this audio file and listens to you in your own voice talk about what it was like to be in this battle that they may have heard of or maybe not, but now they can hear you explain you know what it was like.
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And I was like, that's that's priceless, you know, for someone's family to have that.
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Yeah, beyond storytelling, it looks like there's a lot of legacy.
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Yeah, I mean, imagine.
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Imagine if we had even a now, if you found out that someone in your family, if I found out someone in my family fought, you know, in the Civil War or something like that, and I was able to find a letter where they wrote about their experience, imagine that.
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You know, I don't know them, obviously, but that's my lineage, you know, that's my family.
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That's a direct.
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So to be able to like hear that and and now see it, because I do video as well, but I think that's just uh a real eye-opener for a lot of people I speak to when I say, like, hey, you want to come on the show?
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And they may have a little bit of doubt, and I kind of explain it that way, and they're like, you know what, like you're right.
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Someone need my story needs to be recorded, and you know, why not do it like this?
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So, what is the binding theme between all of your 238 plus guests?
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You know, there's I guess the binding theme would be there's so many different opportunities to do really cool things in the military.
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I've had so many people on from different jobs um that have done everything from your basic infantry guy to the highest special operations guy, Delta Force operators, you know, and everything in between.
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And I'm go ahead, I'm sorry, please.
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Oh no, I I just think the yeah, I think that's the theme that most of them I think everybody I've talked to has been really proud of what they've done, what they did in the military.
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Um, some of them have probably, you know, some lasting feelings um because of friends being killed, withdrawal from Afghanistan, that kind of deal.
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Um but I think overall, everyone I speak to, they're happy they did what they did.
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You know, and they may question some of the like, what was it all for, you know, big picture down the road, but they're like in the moment, I was there with my friends and we did the job.
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Yeah.
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And again, we are at least the citizens of Yog Nation, we are truly grateful for their service to our country, um, you know, protecting enemies, domestic and international.
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And uh you know, speaking of Delta Force, uh they were just represented uh last week.
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So could you walk us through perhaps the mental, physical, and emotional preparation on Carrying Auto mission as we just saw last week of on uh Rodora's capture in Venezuela?
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Yeah, I will say first off that I am nowhere at that level.
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Those guys are the not only like the major leagues of the military, but like the all-star team of the major leagues.
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Um Delta Force operators go through so much training, it's it's hard to fathom how much training that they do to even get to that point.
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I mean, they have to be an amazing person already, amazing soldier, marine, whatever, to even get to that point, um, to get asked to come.
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And then they go through, you know, an outrageous selection process to become the best shooters, the best direct action soldiers, you know, in the world.
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And the preparation, what we're seeing now is that this obviously wasn't fly by night.
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They've been preparing to do this for months.
00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:50.000
A lot of times that happens.
00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:55.119
If you have a big operation coming up, you look at it, you go, hey, here's the objective.
00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:58.160
Here's what the commander's intent is, this is what they want done.
00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:00.640
And then you but you know, you start back planning from there.
00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:07.359
Okay, well, if he wants this done, Maduro taken, then we have to land and grab him.
00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:08.240
How are we gonna do that?
00:19:08.319 --> 00:19:09.519
Are we gonna come in on vehicles?
00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:11.039
Are we gonna land on helicopters?
00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:12.160
What's the best way to do it?
00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:16.000
And it's just a you start planning backwards and building a timeline.
00:19:16.079 --> 00:19:36.799
And then once that plan is shaping itself, the assault team is gonna go out and they're gonna start running drills and practices to get ready for that specific mission, especially in this kind of case, just like you we saw with bin Laden, you know, they built them a uh uh a structure that resembled what they were gonna be going into that way they could practice.
00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:39.279
That doesn't normally happen with your normal forces.
00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:44.480
You do get some dry runs and stuff like that, but this is obviously another level and it's international.
00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:46.880
You know, this is a major um thing.
00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:49.440
So they had months to kind of prepare, practice.
00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:52.799
They CIA is on the ground providing intelligence back.
00:19:52.880 --> 00:19:54.000
They're taking that intelligence.
00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:55.440
Okay, what can we do with this?
00:19:55.599 --> 00:19:57.359
You know, how thick are doors?
00:19:57.440 --> 00:19:59.759
How you know Does the mental and emotional nut?
00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:00.640
Come into play.
00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:05.599
I mean, what you just described is mainly operational in terms of what's between the ears.
00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:13.920
Or is that already assumed that these guys know what they need to do and that's not perhaps uh a challenge or something that they have to overcome?
00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:25.759
I would say generally, when you're talking about operational planning, the emotional part of it, the mental kind of that kind of stuff comes up in like little spurts.
00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:28.640
Generally, you're you're planning, you know what you're doing.
00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:33.359
You got the you're so into this is what we have to get done.
00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:37.839
How can we do it the best way, the safest way, the fastest way possible?
00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:44.559
And then you trust the other professionals around you because obviously this wasn't just Delta Force guys kicking the door in.
00:20:44.720 --> 00:20:45.759
There were pilots.
00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:50.559
There's uh now we have the Space Force guys going out and doing cybercom stuff.
00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:56.319
There's a lot that goes into it, and you're trusting that everyone around you is doing their best to do that.
00:20:56.559 --> 00:21:03.200
So yeah, I think when you talk about something where you're like, oh man, this is this could get pretty crazy.
00:21:03.440 --> 00:21:07.440
You definitely consider it, you definitely think about it, but you don't want to dwell on it.
00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:12.640
Um, because then you start like, oh man, you know, I hope it don't trip and you know, like do something stupid.
00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:13.119
I don't know.
00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:14.880
You don't want to let the team down too.
00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:24.880
That is always for me and for a lot of people, that is always the you know, one of the biggest drivers is you're like, I'm not the weak link here.
00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:27.680
You know, I'm never gonna be the weak link on my team.
00:21:27.759 --> 00:21:32.240
I'm here, I'm providing support, I'm providing, you know, I'm an asset to this team.
00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:42.640
And it's interesting when you, you know, I've interviewed multiple Delta Force guys, and I asked them, I'm like, you know, even at the upper level, you guys are the 0.01% of the military.
00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:45.920
Someone has to be the worst guy on that team.
00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:52.000
And that's gotta be a really hard pill to swallow for someone that's been the best at everything they've ever done.
00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:58.799
But then when you're around everybody, everyone around you is the best that they've, you know, it's um, I don't know.
00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:00.559
So that's just an interesting aspect to it.
00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:02.640
Back to what you were saying mentally.
00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:07.119
I've gone into, I remember one time we were in Afghanistan.
00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:08.319
I was on the advisor team.
00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:13.680
We were getting ready to go out to a patrol base that the Afghans had just built, and we were gonna go out and check this out.
00:22:13.759 --> 00:22:16.319
A patrol base is like a small little structure.
00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:24.799
This was like in a field, essentially, and they were watching a river crossing that was like a kilometer and a half away, and they were watching for fighters that would transit the area.
00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:26.319
So this was a new patrol base.
00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:28.000
We're gonna go out and check it out.
00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:31.680
And um, they had another base, a supporting base, a little bit closer.
00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:35.359
So we stopped there first, and we were like, Hey, what's going on, guys?
00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:36.880
Hey, we're getting ready to head out there.
00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:43.920
And then these Humvees pulled up, these Afghan Humvees pulled up, and the Afghan sergeant or first sergeant jumped out of the vehicle and was like, Hey, what's up, first sergeant?
00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:47.039
And he gets out and he's like, oh, like freaking out.
00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:52.720
And then they pull a guy out whose foot is blown off, and they're like, the base is being attacked, and we're like, oh crap.
00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:57.680
Get in the vehicles, call back to headquarters, let them know they're being attacked, we're rolling over there.
00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:00.480
And in that moment, I'm like, oh shit.
00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:04.960
You know, I'm sorry for for cursing on your show, but I'm like, oh, you know, this is it.
00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:08.160
Like they're telling us right now they're shooting RPGs at them.
00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:10.160
We got one guy here who's got his foot blown off.
00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:12.720
You mentioned the acronym PG, is that personal guard?
00:23:12.880 --> 00:23:15.680
Oh, RP, oh, RPGs, that's the rocket propelled grenade.
00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:15.920
Sorry.
00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:17.119
Oh, RPGs, I'm sorry.
00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:18.960
Yeah, the rocket propelled grenade.
00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:27.359
Um and it was just like that was a moment where I took a second and I'm like, oh man, it's about to get real.
00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:36.640
And then I remember being in the back of the truck and I'm rating to try to get some air support, and I look up at my uh gunner, Fosberg, and he gets on the 50 cal and he racks it back.
00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:38.319
He's like, let's walk and do this.
00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:39.680
And I'm like, here we go.
00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:41.519
And that right there was like, here we go.
00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:44.480
You know, like any like anything else doesn't matter.
00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:45.920
We're it you're about to go into it.
00:23:46.079 --> 00:23:48.799
And this isn't Call of Duty, this is actually real life.
00:23:49.359 --> 00:23:51.920
And that for a second, I was like, oh crap.
00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:54.960
You know, you get like, oh man, I hope this isn't it, and then here we go.
00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:58.400
How do you manage the adrenaline in the in a situation like this?
00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:07.920
Um, and that you I mean, again, you're just I think in that kind of situation, a lot of times you fall back on your training.
00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:13.119
You've done, you've done whatever it is you're about to do, probably many, many times.
00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:15.920
If you're well trained and you've kept yourself up to par.
00:24:16.079 --> 00:24:17.759
And my job, there's a lot of that.
00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:22.160
There's a lot of reps of training and doing practice runs with aircraft and things.
00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:33.279
Um, so I think when it really that happens, when it's like this is it, we're about to get into it, you go into just work mode and you're not really thinking about it.
00:24:33.440 --> 00:24:36.559
You are thinking, obviously, but the training takes place.
00:24:36.720 --> 00:24:39.359
You know, you've got to do this, this has to occur, this has to occur.
00:24:39.440 --> 00:24:40.640
I got a radio so-and-so.
00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:44.160
You know, there's just a lot that's going on.
00:24:44.319 --> 00:24:47.920
It almost keeps you too busy to think about everything else.
00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:56.640
And when the adrenaline, I guess, really kicks in, it's I uh just like being on the radio, it's like take a breath.
00:24:56.720 --> 00:25:00.720
Just take a breath, okay, reassess what's going on, take a look around.
00:25:00.880 --> 00:25:04.640
Don't get sucked into a map, don't get sucked into what's happening right here in front of you.
00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:12.559
Take a look around at everything because you you might be missing something because it's very easy to get sucked into whatever it is right in front of you at the moment, you know.
00:25:12.799 --> 00:25:16.079
And I guess that's the that's the primary lesson here, uh, Jess.
00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:27.680
And again, applying what you learn in the military to folks perhaps that have something going on in their work life or a family issue, something perhaps that they're learning in class.
00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:30.880
I mean, we you know, this podcast theme is around bullying as well.
00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:43.680
And so I think what uh you just talked about and described, certainly it I'm I'm sure the little uh insult that you know Johnny got at school pales in comparison to what you've lived through.
00:25:44.319 --> 00:26:02.240
But I guess the themes are still the same where it's like, okay, take a step back and look at the bigger picture and is the hurtful words that uh a person is doing to another person, whether that's in person or cyberbullying, you know, I guess it's only important when you give it meaning.
00:26:02.559 --> 00:26:03.039
Yeah.
00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:09.519
I mean, in the military, there's uh people in the military that think yelling is like leadership.
00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:14.400
You'll have you'll have sergeants or some or someone or a corporal that just likes to yell.
00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:24.559
And um, I always if I heard any of my guys doing that once I became a sergeant and then a staff sergeant, it's like, hey man, as soon as you start screaming, they just turned off.
00:26:24.640 --> 00:26:26.319
They don't care what you're saying right now.
00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:29.279
It's because they've grown to like just ignore it.
00:26:29.359 --> 00:26:31.599
Like, I'm not gonna you can berate me all you want.
00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:32.079
I don't care.
00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:33.759
I'm turned off, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:34.319
You done?
00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:34.799
Okay.
00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:39.039
And that's a good skill to have, to be able to just turn that noise off.
00:26:39.119 --> 00:26:49.839
Um, because there's people out there that think that's how the world works and that's how they get their point across, is by being the loudest and being the brashest, you know, and just screaming or whatever, being insulting.
00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:59.279
And the military, the Marine Corps does a really good job through boot camp, mainly, of you just being able to just shut it off because it's just screaming constantly.
00:26:59.359 --> 00:27:01.920
So you just shut it off and like, whatever, finish your rant.
00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:02.480
I don't care.
00:27:02.640 --> 00:27:02.880
Okay.
00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:11.200
But that's part of the plan, though, is to have this uh berating only to make you better stronger.
00:27:11.440 --> 00:27:12.240
That is for sure.
00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:17.039
And it's it's the breaking you down to build you up, but that's different than what you're talking about.
00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:19.759
People that are just generally, you know, jerks online.
00:27:20.160 --> 00:27:40.960
I don't know if someone being a cyber bullying is uh is necessarily trying to make you better, but you should you are you become better by just ignoring it or by if if maybe there is some truth to it, maybe there is some truth to whatever it is that they're saying, and you know that, and that's what really hurts, then they're not necessarily bullying you at that point.
00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:42.559
Now they're pointing out something.
00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:45.920
It is bullying, but there is a lesson to be learned there.
00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:55.599
One of the biggest things that um I brought away from the Marine Corps, uh, we have this, we have all these um, we have it's called JJ Did Tiebuckle.
00:27:55.680 --> 00:28:00.160
It's like uh a whole list of uh attributes that you're striving for.
00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:03.680
And one of them is know yourself and seek self-improvement.
00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:15.119
Understand what it is that you are doing, and you know, a lot of times when you're doing something wrong and you do or you're cutting a corner or you're doing something that's you know, you know that you're doing it.
00:28:15.279 --> 00:28:19.039
And you have to be able to be honest with yourself and be like, that was on me.
00:28:19.200 --> 00:28:21.039
I cut the corner, you know.
00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:25.759
I and and then am I gonna improve or am I gonna keep being the corner cutting guy?
00:28:25.920 --> 00:28:32.240
You know, it's like um that's for me, I don't cyberbullying and that kind of thing.
00:28:32.319 --> 00:28:44.160
That's yeah, there may be some lessons learned, maybe some nuggets from people criticizing you, but in the big picture, you know, I ignore all of the noise because it's a lot of people that have too much time online.
00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:47.839
Um and half the time it's probably a bot.
00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:48.319
Probably.
00:28:48.400 --> 00:28:52.240
And no, there's that uh degree of accountability that you mentioned.
00:28:52.319 --> 00:29:04.559
I mean, not from a cyberbullying standpoint, but just again, what is your task at hand and making sure that uh you know perhaps you are not the weakest link that you do your job well, you don't want to um let people down.
00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:16.640
Well, I do want to I do want to add on there too, when I say know yourself and seek self-improvement, you know that you're doing something wrong, or you know that you're not where you need to be, or or whatever it is, that's not a bad thing.
00:29:16.880 --> 00:29:20.880
Understanding that's not a bad thing, it's how you react to that.
00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:27.039
Are you going to improve yourself now that you've identified what the problem is, or are you just gonna let it continue being a problem?
00:29:27.279 --> 00:29:30.079
So if it continues to be a problem, then that's an issue, obviously.
00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:34.720
But if you are striving to become better, I realize I've I gained too much weight last year.
00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:38.319
I went on a diet, I went on a hardcore diet and you know, and did that kind of thing.
00:29:38.400 --> 00:29:40.000
Because I'm striving to be better.
00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:42.640
Because I I identified, look, I'm in this point right now.
00:29:42.799 --> 00:29:45.279
This is, I don't like this, I don't like where I'm going.
00:29:45.519 --> 00:29:47.440
Um, I need to make a change.
00:29:47.599 --> 00:29:49.599
And I identified it and made that change.
00:29:49.680 --> 00:29:54.640
And that's easy to say, especially once you've already started doing it, but that's the only real answer.
00:29:54.880 --> 00:29:57.680
As you just as you mentioned, it's all about self-awareness.
00:29:58.400 --> 00:29:59.039
Yeah.
00:29:59.599 --> 00:30:00.799
Justin, this was incredible.
00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:02.079
I will leave you the final word.
00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:11.839
Is there anything that I missed on this podcast or things that you wanted to bring up that I didn't answer that you would like to share with the citizens of Yog Nation?
00:30:12.160 --> 00:30:15.839
And the theme of gratitude, I would just say that be grateful for what you have.
00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:26.319
Um I remember coming home and like um being able to turn the lights on, you know, like having a meal, having a regular meal.
00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:28.880
Wait, turning a light on is gratitude?
00:30:29.119 --> 00:30:30.079
It's those little things.
00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:34.480
That's we don't think about it because we live here where the lights always turn on when you hit the switch.
00:30:35.279 --> 00:30:38.079
The water is always hot when you go in there to take a shower.
00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:45.599
You know, you don't think about living in the United States for the people that are in the US, you you are in the 1% of the world.
00:30:45.759 --> 00:30:51.680
You are living, and don't get me wrong, there's people that are roughing it here in the United States that have it have it bad.
00:30:52.079 --> 00:30:57.440
But I've been to I've been to Djibouti and I've seen an Ethiopian refugee camp.
00:30:57.759 --> 00:31:02.880
And I've never seen anybody living that bad here in the United States with that that had to.
00:31:03.200 --> 00:31:04.400
You know what I'm saying?
00:31:04.720 --> 00:31:10.400
And just being able, just understanding that we we have it so good.
00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:17.920
A lot of the issues that we we we have are self-induced.
00:31:18.400 --> 00:31:24.720
And that's and that's something that people gotta be more cognizant of how good you have it.
00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:37.519
There's people that can't turn the lights on, that don't have a cell phone, that don't, you know, they don't live near anyone or four food a grocery store where I can go over and get whatever I want from around the world.
00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:53.359
You know, like so for me and I guess that's what travel does is I mean, whether travel is through the dime of the US government or your own personal pocketbook, it's about those experiences that that help shape you uh to the person you are today.
00:31:53.599 --> 00:31:59.039
Yeah, and I just it the travel for sure, and just always trying to be self-reliant.
00:31:59.200 --> 00:32:11.279
And don't get me wrong, if people that see this and think that I'm some kind of rich person and it's easy for me to say that, I remember being um 19 and being so broke that I was eating bread every day.
00:32:11.359 --> 00:32:18.720
I'd go to Jimmy John's and buy a day-old loaf of bread for a quarter, and I did that for a couple weeks while I was waiting to get a job to start.
00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:31.039
You know, that's I remember like thinking I was gonna be evicted, my car was gonna get repossessed again, you know, and I just had this like you can't just stop and like accept that.
00:32:31.200 --> 00:32:32.160
You know what I'm saying?
00:32:32.240 --> 00:32:34.799
And and I know how bad it could be.
00:32:34.960 --> 00:32:36.000
How did you get out of that?
00:32:36.160 --> 00:32:37.279
I mean, that that's interesting.
00:32:37.359 --> 00:32:42.880
I mean, you just mentioned buying day old bread to survive.
00:32:43.039 --> 00:32:46.160
What got you through those that period when you were 19?
00:32:46.480 --> 00:32:51.440
Just knowing that I'm moving towards something better, that this isn't this isn't it.
00:32:51.599 --> 00:32:58.720
You know, it's very easy when it's really bad, when things are really not going your way, when that this is it for me.
00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:06.559
And in the military, that's when we hear a lot about suicides and stuff like that, where people think this is uh the best days have passed and this is it for me.
00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:08.160
And I reject that.
00:33:08.319 --> 00:33:15.119
I reject that because you have free will, you have the ability to go and make your life better.
00:33:15.440 --> 00:33:19.839
You have to again know yourself and seek self-improvement.
00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:26.000
If I know that I'm moving forward, um this isn't it for me.
00:33:26.079 --> 00:33:29.440
There's something better for me, and I'm gonna keep pushing towards that goal.
00:33:29.599 --> 00:33:40.880
I may not make it to the end goal, the the biggest, best thing that I'm I'm searching for or wanting or whatever, but if I get really close to it, then things are gonna be pretty good.
00:33:41.119 --> 00:33:46.160
And just understanding that again, I get to sleep in a bed tonight with pillows.
00:33:46.240 --> 00:33:47.200
I have toilet paper.
00:33:47.359 --> 00:33:49.759
How many, you know, how many countries don't even have toilet paper?
00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:50.720
You know what I'm saying?
00:33:50.880 --> 00:33:57.920
Like the little things matter, and if you start looking around at the little things, you know, it's a nice breeze.
00:33:58.160 --> 00:34:03.599
There's a nice breeze with the nice smell from the flowers, the sun is shining, I'm warm from the sun.
00:34:03.920 --> 00:34:14.000
Um those are those are things that people were they're just so uh I don't know, people are so outside of their environment, they're sucked into their phone, they're doing other things.
00:34:14.159 --> 00:34:23.840
Like you gotta you gotta have gratitude for all the things, all the little things, because all the little things that are good make overall like an overall good experience.
00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:34.000
And if you never recognize the little things, then you know I'm I live in San Diego and I'm not one of these people that um get used to sunsets.
00:34:34.320 --> 00:34:35.599
I want to see all of them.
00:34:35.760 --> 00:34:38.320
I want to like be amazed every time the sun sets.
00:34:38.639 --> 00:34:40.719
No, Arizona can uh can top you on that as well.
00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:43.440
The desert, the deserts have amazing sunsets as well.
00:34:43.519 --> 00:34:49.119
I've I've slept through many uh Gila Bend and you know a lot of places out there in the desert in Arizona.
00:34:49.360 --> 00:34:51.039
Yeah, chocolate mountains.
00:34:51.280 --> 00:35:01.920
Well, on that note, speaking of gratitude, it's all about sunsets and pretty and just joy uh pretty colors to help get that inner spirit uh kick you know kicking in.
00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:04.480
So Justin, I thank you for coming on the podcast.
00:35:04.880 --> 00:35:11.360
Good luck with uh everything uh from on the former action guys and uh let's continue to stay in touch.
00:35:11.760 --> 00:35:12.239
Yeah, for sure.
00:35:12.320 --> 00:35:12.559
Thank you.
00:35:12.639 --> 00:35:13.599
I really appreciate having me on.
00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:14.320
Thank you.
00:35:14.480 --> 00:35:14.960
Bye for now.
