Friends,

Good morning! Welcome to The Gentlemen Elite. The weekly newsletter built to elevate your health, happiness, and habits. We all have times when we lack motivation, feel stuck, or need a kick in the butt.

This week’s newsletter is the antidote to stagnation. It’s intense. It’s meant for you to flag and come back to when you need a boost, and not to be consumed all in one sitting.

Here’s what’s in store:

• Crafting a Warrior’s Mindset

• Warrior 1 - Jocko Willink

• Warrior 2 - David Goggins

• Warrior 3 - Nick Bare

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Crafting a Warrior’s Mindset

To me, a warrior’s mindset means embracing hard things, doing whatever it takes to succeed, and believing in yourself even when the odds are stacked against you. It can also mean simply having a great attitude when things are shit. Of course, all of the above require mental strength.

Just like a strong body is the product of consistent exercise and a healthy diet, a strong mind is forged through embracing hard challenges and a healthy diet of content that enriches and expands your brain.

To that end, the purpose of this post is to help you add some vegetables to your mental diet. Said differently, I’ve curated a list of 3 individuals I turn to when times are tough or I’m struggling to motivate myself.

Their energy is contagious, and their writing and podcasts always leave me feeling charged up. I encourage you to explore their books, follow them on social, and tune into their podcasts. I believe they are a small part of a well-balanced content diet.

Jocko Willink

📝 Bio:

Jocko Willink, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL officer and co-founder of leadership consulting firm Echelon Front, is a best-selling author and host of a popular podcast.

He served 20 years in the SEAL teams, rising from the enlisted ranks to become an officer. A decorated veteran, Jocko now shares his leadership expertise through Echelon Front and his written works.

📕 Books:

• Extreme Ownership - #1 NYT Best Seller & my favorite Jocko book. Jocko uses lessons from his time as a SEAL in Iraq to teach lessons to leaders in business. NOTE: This is strongly recommended 🔥

• Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual - Discipline Equals Freedom covers strategies and tactics for conquering weakness, procrastination, and fear.

• Leadership Strategy and Tactics: Field Manual -Explains how to take leadership theory, quickly translate that theory into practical strategy, and then put leadership into action at a tactical level.

🎙 Podcast:

• JOCKO Podcast - A long-form podcast discussing discipline and leadership in business, relationships, and life.

• The Rundown - A short (2-5 min) bit-sized insight from Jocko’s best-selling book Extreme Ownership.

📱Social:

Jocko Willink’s Instagram

📣 Quotes:

1. “Everything is your fault. The end.”

2. "We are defeated one tiny, seemingly insignificant surrender at a time that chips away at who we should really be. It isn't that you wake up one day and decide that's it: I am going to be weak. No. It is a slow incremental process. It chips away at our will-it chips away at our discipline."

3. “Avoid self-righteousness like the devil.”

4. “There is no growth in the comfort zone.”

5. “Dont believe everything you believe.”

David Goggins

📝 Bio:

David Goggins, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL and renowned endurance athlete, is a best-selling author and sought-after motivational speaker. He served in the SEAL teams and later became a pararescueman in the U.S. Air Force.

David gained fame by tackling some of the world's most grueling ultra-endurance events, breaking numerous records in the process. His incredible mental fortitude and resilience have inspired countless individuals to push beyond their perceived limits. Today, David shares his empowering life lessons through his writing and motivational speaking, encouraging others to unlock their full potential.

📕 Books:

• Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds - One of my favorite books of all time and a MUST READ. I recommend the audible version as its narrated by David and he provides extra context between chapters. In Can't Hurt Me, he shares his astonishing life story and reveals that most of us tap into only 40 percent of our capabilities. Goggins calls this The 40% Rule, and his story illuminates a path that anyone can follow to push past pain, demolish fear, and reach their full potential. NOTE: This is strongly recommended 🔥.

   

• Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within - “In Never Finished, Goggins takes you inside his Mental Lab, where he developed the philosophy, psychology, and strategies that enabled him to learn that what he thought was his limit was only his beginning and that the quest for greatness is unending.”

🎙 Podcast:

• David Goggins on Joe Rogan #1 - The world’s introduction to Goggins. This is the podcast that really put him on the map.

• David Goggins on Joe Rogan #2 - Goggins talks about his second book, Never Finished.

• David Goggins on Modern Wisdom - Goggins talks about seal team selection, how success can make you soft, and how he overcomes pain.

📱Social:

David Goggin’s Instagram

🎥 Video:

The video below captures Goggin’s acceptance speech after winning the 2018 Veterans of Foreign Wars annual Americanism Award.

📣 Quotes:

1. "Don't stop when you're tired. Stop when you're done."

2. "Pain unlocks a secret doorway in the mind, one that leads to both peak performance and beautiful silence."

3. "The ticket to victory often comes down to bringing your very best when you feel your worst."

4. "If you want to master the mind and remove your governor, you’ll have to become addicted to hard work. Because passion and obsession, even talent, are only useful tools if you have the work ethic to back them up."

5. "We all need small sparks, small accomplishments in our lives to fuel the big ones. Think of your small accomplishments as kindling. When you want a bonfire, you don’t start by lighting a big log. You collect some witch’s hair—a small pile of hay or some dry, dead grass. You light that, and then add small sticks and bigger sticks before you feed your tree stump into the blaze. Because it’s the small sparks, which start small fires, that eventually build enough heat to burn the whole forest down."

Nick Bare

📝 Bio:

Nick Bare, founder of Bare Performance Nutrition (I’m a massive fan of these supplements) and former U.S. Army Ranger, is passionate about pushing his limits in fitness.

While on active duty, he continued to develop his high-quality supplement brand, and now, as a multi-dimensional athlete, Nick showcases his journey through various challenges. These include 100+ mile ruck marches, Ironman triathlons, and long-distance endurance events, embodying a lifestyle dedicated to personal growth and excellence.

📕 Books:

25 Hours a Day: Going One More to Get What You Want - “In 25 Hours a Day, Nick shares the lessons he learned while building his business as a member of the U.S. Army. He grew that business to seven figures by flipping the switch and going all in - then breaking that switch so he could never go back. Now, Nick wants to help you transform your life by embracing the suck, living like you’ve got an extra hour, and harnessing the power of “one more.”

🎙 Podcast:

• The Nick Bare Podcast - “An unfiltered look into health, fitness, nutrition, entrepreneurship, and human optimization through the perspectives of the world’s most incredible individuals.”

📱Social:

Nick Bare’s Instagram

🎥 Video:

Nick has been documenting his life for 10+ years on youtube with a weekly vlog that follows his ups and downs as an entrepreneur, father, and endurance athlete.

📣 Quotes:

1. “Be proactive rather than reactive. You will never make it to number one if you are constantly following the footsteps of first, second, and third place.”

2. “I didn’t come to the industry with a Harvard degree. I hadn’t done any crazy internships. No one had hired me in a high-profile company. What I DID have was a strong work ethic. I knew the way to overcome gaps in education or experience was simply to challenge myself and work my ass off harder than anyone else.”

3. “Embrace the Suck.

   It means many things to many people, but to me it spoke to developing an ability to gut out the tough times. To find happiness and even fulfillment during difficult times. It’s an indispensable skill and mindset.”

Quote Of The Week

Upwards with gusto,

Ian