Physically recognized for his leading role in the 2012 blockbuster movie, Act of Valor, Rorke Denver hangs with us this week to talk about anything and everything from parenting, to being a movie star, why we should embrace fear and failure, and how to build an ethos to help us through hard times. Commander Rorke T. Denver has run every phase of training for the U.S. Navy SEALs and led special-forces missions in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and other international hotspots. He starred in the hit film Act of Valor, which is based on true SEAL adventures. His New York Times bestseller, Damn Few: Making the Modern SEAL Warrior, takes you inside his personal story and the fascinating, demanding SEAL training program. In his second book Worth Dying For: A Navy SEALs Call to a Nation, Rorke tackles the questions that have emerged about America’s past decade at war–from what makes a hero to why we fight and what it does to us. Rorke was most recently seen on FOX’s American Grit. The series followed 16 of the country’s toughest men and women as they faced a variety of military-grade and survival-themed challenges set in the wilderness. Today he works with business leaders, corporations and individuals on their mental toughness through keynote speaking, coaching and consulting. 

Watch our YouTube of this podcast

Show Notes:  

Movie Trailer: Act of Valor  

Rorke Denver’s Ethos   

Damn Few: Making the Modern SEAL Warrior - by Rorke Denver 

Worth Dying For: A Navy SEALs Call to a Nation - by Rorke Denver 

Reach out to Rorke here 

Ever Onward - Rorke’s Commander’s Coffee  

Book Speaking Engagements w/ Rorke

Other Books mentioned:

First, Fast, Fearless: How to Lead Like a Navy SEAL - by Brian "Iron Ed" Hiner

Cara Brookins built a house! Not a big deal, you say, many people have built a house. Cara did it with her own hands, as a single mother of four kids and no prior construction experience. She did it all with the help of youtube videos and a lot of trial and error. You're going to fall in love with her story of resilience and down to earth message. As she likes to say, "what's the worst that can happen?"

Show notes:

If you’re thinking I built a house because I’m some kind of natural born doer, some non-procrastinator, some anomaly who has never played a time-waster on my cell phone, think again. I have put off calls, ignored emails, and skipped laundry for a weekend Netflix binge just as often as the next person. And it wasn’t until I was in a horrible place as a single mother of four that I even recognized how badly I needed to do something big. Something that would forever change the trajectory of my life. BUT something was holding me back.

I felt stuck—even though I knew I was capable of doing so much more. I was ready to do something bold.

I was ready to stop being the type of person who says, “I’ll do this someday,” and become the person who says, “I’ll do this now.” I was determined to set my default mode to: Take Action. But first I had to get myself unstuck.

Then I had the idea that changed everything. It was big—REALLY BIG.

https://carabrookins.com/

"Rise: How a House Built a Family" by Cara Brookins

The Cara Brookins Show (podcast)

In this far ranging discussion with mountaineer and generational consultant Brooke Chesnut, we hear his harrowing stories on Denali and Everest. He explains why learning to be patient and listening more were transformational for him on a personal level. We also discuss hard decisions at high altitude and the lessons he learned. 

Show notes:

http://brookechesnut.com/

Brooke Chesnut has dedicated 38 years of corporate experience building two 7 figure sales teams in two different industries in Colorado. He hired, trained, mentored and inspired 4 different generations of workers to create incredibly successful enterprises.

During this time he also discovered his passion for climbing and set out to climb the highest peaks around the world, completing 5 of the World’s Seven Summits. Drawing from these experiences, Brooke coaches Entrepreneurs, CEOs, Senior Level Leaders, HR & Sales Professionals to improve their leadership skills, overcome adversity, optimize their generational talent and grow their organizations in a competitive environment.

The only way to get people to be 'all in' at work and at home, is for you to be 'all in' all the time yourself. The only way to achieve this is by making sure you lead yourself BEFORE leading and taking care of others. We talk to Alden Mills, former Navy Seal, about how to forge your commitment by taking action and managing your physical, mental and emotional well-being to find your greatest success. And then how to take that strength and get others to rally behind you and give you everything they've got.

Alden became a nationally-ranked rower, a 3-time Navy SEAL platoon commander, then founder/CEO of one of the nation’s fastest-growing companies and author. 

Show Notes:

https://alden-mills.com/about/

"Be Unstoppable: The 8 Essential Actions to Succeed at Anything" by Alden Mills - https://www.amazon.com/Be-Unstoppable-Alden-M-Mills-audiobook/dp/B073ZJ51DK/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=alden+mills&qid=1617765518&sr=8-2

"Unstoppable Teams: The Four Essential Actions of High-Performance Leadership" - https://www.amazon.com/Unstoppable-Teams-Essential-High-Performance-Leadership/dp/0062876155/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=alden+mills&qid=1617767335&sr=8-1

Soft people need to experience pain. “Pain is part of the deal. Pain is growth.” says Jess. But pain brings fear and resistance, so then what do we do...how do we break past all of that and come out better on the other side? Jess Kidd joins us today to share the pain she experienced as a teenager, the pain she takes on herself as an adult, and how all of this allows her to help others today.  An incredible journey that may ‘hurt’ a little to listen to!

Show notes:

In this week's visit to the forge, we talk with resilience coach and cancer survivor, Chris Bordoni. We discuss facing our mortality. What is resilience? How to build everyday resilience with simple daily steps. What is a 'failure resume,' and why is it something all of us should create. How does post traumatic growth transform us to be stronger and better? 

Show notes: 

Chris Bordoni is a resilience coach, cancer survivor, and management consultant. He has been through his share of adversity in his life and has been a good student in the school of mental strength. In his podcast, "100 Inspiring Voices" he interviews others who have also lived through hardship. Why do some people, teams, and communities grow stronger when faced with adversity? What can we learn from them, and how might those insights allow us to live better lives? In this podcast, Chris is interviewing 100 individuals with amazing, inspiring, and uplifting stories.

https://chrisbordoni.com/

100 Inspiring Voices Podcast

Books mentioned:

Red Platoon: A Real Story of American Valor

Man's Search for Meaning

In this Fireside Reflections solocast, we turn the microphone this time to your blacksmith Tara O'Brien. She shares her stories on doing hard things,  beating back imposter syndrome, and how she learned (and now teaches) to use the power of our own narratives to succeed in everything we do. Our mind can tell us powerful (very believable) stories, but taking control of those stories is something we all have the power to do. Tune in to find out how it's as easy as learning how to do a few pushups!

Show Notes:

-Tara O'Brien. https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraobrien1/

-Leadership Frontiers Podcast - Brought to you by the University of Colorado Boulder's Center for Leadership

-Mental Health vs. Mental Illness:  https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/reaching-across-the-divide/201804/the-difference-between-mental-health-and-mental-illness

-The War of Art by Steven Pressfield: https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Winning-Creative-Battle/dp/1590710037/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1616381316&sr=8-1

-Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brene Brown: https://www.amazon.com/Daring-Greatly-Courage-Vulnerable-Transforms/dp/1592407331/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1616382573&sr=8-1

Brene Brown on The Power of Vulnerability Ted Talk:  https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_the_power_of_vulnerability/transcript?language=en

Work with us!  Find us at www.forgingmettlepodcast.com/partner

One of the more amazing women we've had the pleasure to chat with about leadership, character, and how women can navigate leadership in a male dominated organization/industry...and be successful. After 40 years in leadership positions within U.S. Coast Guard, recent author of Breaking Ice & Breaking Glass, our new friend Sandy Stosz shares what she's learned throughout the decades on being an incredible and successful leader...even as an introvert surrounded by military men.

Show Notes:

Let's take a journey into how the brain works when facing adversity. We're going to talk brain science in this fast moving episode that is sure to educate and entertain. What happens in the brain when we do hard things and suffer? More importantly, can this be trained and developed? Tune in to find out.

Show notes

About Simon Marshall: 

I grew up in Zambia, Africa, and in different parts of the UK. My travelling childhood was spent obsessively playing soccer, rugby, and tennis, before I found competitive cycling. I started training and racing at age 12 and never really stopped.  As my dreams of becoming a professional cyclist faded, I decided to study sports science instead.  This led to rather lengthy collection of degrees that simply proved with science why “Simon” and “professional athlete” were destined never to be used in the same sentence.

I have a bachelor’s degree in Sports Science, a master’s degree in Kinesiology, and a PhD in Sport and Exercise psychology.  For reasons I’m still baffled by, I’m an internationally renowned expert in exercise and health with a focus on changing people’s behavior. I’ve published over 80 scientific articles (yawn) and book chapters (more yawn) about the science of health behavior change (cool).

The Brave Athlete: Calm the Fuck Down and Rise to the Occasion

Braveheart Coaching

Xterra Podcast

We talk about the grit and perseverance it takes to be an effective leader of people when faced with the worst conditions and the most unfortunate circumstances. To do this, we travel back in time to learn more about and discuss the journey and survival of Sir Earnest Shackleton and his crew aboard The Endurance.

Here to dive into the details of this world-renowned survival story of over 2 dozen men...led by one man who had to overcome 18 months of hell in the most extreme conditions.  Margot Morrell brings this story to light for us.  She has studied, traveled all over the world and written about Shackleton since 1984.  

Show notes: Margo Morrell's Book: Shackleton's Way by Margo Morrell & Stephanie Capparelle