How do you excel in life? How do you navigate complexity?

If you ask U.S. Navy SEAL Commander (ret.) David Sears, he’ll tell you – and show you - how to reframe your thinking. Dave has over 20 years of tactical and strategic experience. He planned, led, and executed hundreds of special ops missions in more than 40 countries on 5 continents, from the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq to the jungles of Colombia and the oceans of the world. Dave Sears has received numerous awards and decorations for his service in the military.

He is also the author of Smarter Not Harder, derived from seventeen tried and true Navy SEAL maxims, outlining the principles of excelling in all facets of life.

Join us in this week’s podcast, as we “get in the weeds” with the inspirational Dave Sears.

• I was always fascinated with Special Forces.

• I knew I didn’t want to be part of the conventional military - marching with thousands, because I have always been an independent thinker.

• Being a SEAL is a physical and mental challenge.

• How do you make it through BUDS? It’s easy – don’t quit.

• The deciding factor is your mental attitude. Are you gonna quit or not?

• Where you want to go? Just take the next step to get there.

• Quitting will result in regret.

• The never quit attitude: Keep moving toward your goal.

• You don’t drive your car looking in the rear view mirror. You glance at it as a reference, but it’s the road ahead that matters.

• You gotta have a future mindset as opposed to a past mindset.

• Where you’re at now is not where you’re gonna be forever.

• One of the brilliances of UDS is not knowing when what that future is. Not knowing when you’ll be out of the water. So you learn to deal with adversity till whenever.

• The way we learn is through storytelling.

• Control what you can control. Influence what you can influence. Then navigate the rest – but keep moving forward.