Team Never Quit

What a privilege it is to have the top graduate of the Air Force Top Gun School and retired U.S. Air Force F-22 and F-15 fighter pilot and squadron commander, Rob “Cujo” Teschner in the studio with Marcus for this week’s Team Never Quit Podcast. Listen in for an inspiring conversation with Cujo, whose life is an amazing success story, and whose life mission is to teach and inspire others, bridging the gap between the principles of high performance combat veterans and high performance business.

His fight with Colorectal Cancer is what prompted Cujo to retire from the Air Force early. Yet his ambition led to his path of entrepreneurship, leadership and team development. Cujo is the founder and CEO of VMax Group, an international leadership training company and he has authored several books, two of which went to #1 on the Amazon bestseller list.

In this episode you will hear:
• I loved being part of the Air Force family. We lived all over the place. (7:57)
• 1977 when Luke Skywalker wants to join some academy and then join the rebellion. That resonated with me. (9:49)
• As a kid, I felt like the military was my family. It’s what I knew. (10:50)
• I thought it was always cool to hop on an airplane to go someplace new. To meet new people along the way. (13:00)
• My letter – the one that says “thanks for applying” never said “try again”. (18:26)
• The more people told me it wasn’t gonna happen the more committed I was to proving them wrong. (20:47)
• I had never flown an airplane before I went to the Air Force Academy. (23:32)
• Isn’t that stunning how fast we accelerate leadership – how fast we accelerate somebody to realize their potential?  (27:07)
• If there was a time period I could freeze it would be First Lieutenant to Captain, because that’s when I was out there doing the mission. (28:28)
• What we need is a constant stream of warriors who are ready to go forth and do. (35:18)
• The biggest honor of my military career was being called to be an instructor at our Fighter Weapons School, basically it’s the Air Force Top Gun Program. (36:49)
• You can beat people up and tell them how much they suck and they can learn from that, but another alternative might be Hey Cujo, we were 2 decisions from victory today. (43:55)
• I try to apply that to my kids. (44:46)
• One of the huge blessings of my life was being a part of teams that mattered. (48:09)
• Our family team got a whole heck of a lot better as a result of my failure with cancer. That caused us to focus where we needed to. I’m eternally grateful for it. (52:32)
• One of the best 4-star bosses I ever worked for would come in every month and ask us “Hey what are you doing for the home team?” (55:33)

In this week’s Team Never Quit Podcast, we bring you Part 2 of this episode featuring Drago Dzieran. A real American – born in Poland.
Drago Dzieran is a former political prisoner for his activism against Communism. After arriving in the United States unable to speak English, Drago eventually became a US citizen, enlisted in the U.S. Navy and trained to serve as a Navy SEAL for 20 years. In Iraq, he fought in over 100 combat missions as the Naval Special Warfare Lead Breacher. Drago was awarded Bronze Star with “V” for valor, Navy Commendation Medal with “V” for valor, in addition to other various awards and decorations.
Following his honorable retirement after twenty years in the Navy, Dzieran began a successful career as a software engineer. Drago founded the Navy SEALs Fund, a nonprofit with the mission of providing support for all generations of current, retired, and former UDT/SEAL teammates, their immediate dependents as well as Gold Star Families. Listen in as Drago shares his amazing life journey from Poland to living life as a real American in service to others.

 In this episode you will hear:
• Once they take away your freedom of speech, they censor you, they put out fake news… you have no defenses. (4:08)
• The law was created in the socialist state to penalize free thinking. To criminalize opposition. (4:29)
• America was built on the idea of personal freedom. (7:10)
• [In the Ukraine] freedom is being taken away from them slowly. (8:37)
• These people [Ukranians] are fighting for their lives now - freedom. (10:16)
• We have former Generals saying that the Russians – “these poor souls don’t know they’re at war. They think they are on exercises.” You have to be an imbecile to repeat something like this. You have to be an idiot. (11:32)
• [Ukranians] They want to be free, and our media is lying about it. (12:53)
• Ukranians were always very patriotic. (13:10)
• [Navy SEALS Fund] The way we operate is different than most charities. We don’t have paid positions. The fund is run by SEALS only. (35:57)
• We help the Gold Start families: the spouse, the children, parents and siblings. (43:19)
• We need to do something right then. We don’t need to send it through this board of “Lets talk about it when we meet next month. (44:27)
There would be no Drago if not for people like Marcus, Morgan, Rob, Tage, Taco, & Jocco. (48:09)
• For the Navy SEAL fund we don’t have forms and check the box. (61:08)
• [Drago’s Book} The Pledge to America. (64:44)
• I’m a better American today than I was yesterday, and I want to be a better American tomorrow than I am today. (64:50)
• My biggest accomplishment is becoming a U.S. citizen. (65:05)

A real American – born in Poland.
In this week’s Team Never Quit Podcast, Marcus meets with Drago Dzieran, a former political prisoner for his activism against Communism. After arriving in the United States unable to speak English, Drago eventually became a US citizen, enlisted in the U.S. Navy and trained to serve as a Navy SEAL. In Iraq, he fought in over 100 combat missions as the Naval Special Warfare Lead Breacher. Drago was awarded Bronze Star with “V” for valor, Navy Commendation Medal with “V” for valor, in addition to other various awards and decorations.
Following his honorable retirement after twenty years in the Navy, Dzieran began a successful career as a software engineer. Drago founded the Navy SEALs Fund, a nonprofit with the mission of providing support for all generations of current, retired, and former UDT/SEAL teammates, their immediate dependents as well as Gold Star Families. Listen in as Drago shares his amazing life journey from Poland to living life as a real American in service to others.

In this episode you will hear:
• I was born in communist Poland. It was actually a socialist state run by communists. My father was part of the evil system. (7:13)
• When the first Persian Gulf war broke out, I thought it was my moral obligation to support my country (8:35)
• I’m not Polish-American; I am not “Something”-American. There is no hyphen. I’m just American. (8:50)
• I could not build a job for my fellow citizens, but I could defend them. (8:56)
• I spent 20 years as a Navy SEAL. (9:22)
• For my father, it was first to obey the government. (10:28)
• [My grandmother] taught me how to pray, and what to pray for. (11:25)
• [My grandmother told me] “[The communists] kill people and imprison people for their beliefs. (11:52)
• I still remember her [grandmother’s] words: “Poland is not free. It will not be free until we get rid of these people. (12:01)
• [When my father found out] I was not allowed to pray with my grandmother alone. (12:45).
• Pre-war Poland had one of the strongest Navy’s in the Baltic Sea. (16:55)
• Prison time for me was education. A huge education about Polish history. (27:36)
• [My father] believed that we need to convince people to socialism, because it offers such great things, but if we can’t, we have the power to eliminate these people. We call them enemies of the state. (30:47)
• Even today, while Poland is free, some of them are being prosecuted. (38:17)
• I’ll be the best US citizen America can have. (42:11)
• American is built on goodness. (47:32)
• You can live in the United States without being a citizen, but I wanted to be American. (56:02) 

NOTE: Today’s TNQP episode is a rebroadcast of our episode featuring Navy SEAL Mike Day. We bring it you in his honor and memory.

Navy SEALS Mike Day and Marcus Luttrell engage in the graphic details of an unbelievable event that Mike, against all odds, survived. He took 27 rounds of an AK-47 pounding while on a mission in Fallujah, and lived to tell about it. When Mike shares his unparalleled true story, you won’t stop listening till the end. It’s a totally captivating series of events, told by the man who lived it.

In this episode you will hear:
• Fear’s either gonna lock you up, or it’s gonna tighten you up. I’m not saying go 
out and do ridiculous shit every day, but its good to do stuff that scares you, 
because if its good, it’s a tiny bit past what your comfort level is, and that’s how 
you build resilience, you just get out of your comfort level.
• I humbly submit myself as an example. (17:00) 
• The only reason anybody knows me is because I got shot too many times. (17:20)
• I would make sure people were asleep before I went out; it was a lot safer. (21:54)
• The worst part about being over there is not actually doing the op, it’s getting to 
and from. That’s where you get all messed up. (25:50)
• A door in a room means something. (26:50)
• When you blow stuff up, people wake up and they want to start shooting at 
you. (27:09)
• It’s really hard to kill a dog with one shot. (27:40)
• I’ve walked through suburban areas in Iraq, with forty dogs barking at me, and 
nobody wakes up. (27:49)
• It’s amazing that twenty people can see the same thing, and see something 
totally different. (30:41)
• Literally from the time I dropped my right foot in that room, to the time I hit the 
ground, to the first guy that I killed, might have been five seconds – it seemed  
like minutes to me. (31:41)
• A round went through the of the foot of the magazine – blew the hand grips off 
the magazine. I could feel the springs in the palms of my hands, and I cleared the malfunction and I killed those two dudes. (37:25)
• I was a way better social worker than I was a SEAL. (44:25) 

While there have been veterans who have competed in the reality show: Survivor: Season 43, never has there been a non-veteran winner who gave away the entirety of the $1,000,000 prize to veteran organizations. Until now. In this week’s Team Never Quit Podcast, meet Mike Gabler who did just that. What an engaging conversation Mike and Marcus have, as Mike shares some of the behind the scenes stories related to the program. Mike, a Texas native, comes from a family of veterans, but he serves his country in a significantly different way. He is a heart valve specialist, working with top surgeons and cardiologists - a multicultural group of people with a common focus - to take care of the patient.

At age 43, Mike was the oldest contestant of the season, and the second oldest competitor in the history of Survivor. The lack of food and nourishment was really getting to him, yet he excelled in individual competition. He explained that he gained strength by thinking about the military members who are currently fighting, as well as those who’ve passed, and who’ve sacrificed so much for our nation.

“I’m gonna donate the entire prize – the entire million dollars – in my father’s name, Robert Gabler, who’s a Green Beret, to Veterans in need who are struggling from psychiatric problems, PTSD, and to curb the suicide epidemic.” “Lot of heroes served in our military. We do this for fun; they do this for real.”

Thumbnail Image:
- CBS via Getty Images

In this episode you will hear:
• Everybody on Survivor likes Type 2 fun, because that’s what it was. (6:33)
• We all became really close. We’re friends to this day. (6:38)
• I went into the game at 200 pounds, and came out at 176. (8:41)
• One day Ryan came back with a 2 foot clam. There were 2 pieces as big as 12oz filet mignons, and tasted just like scallops. (10:29)
• [At first] it’s a punch in the face, but after about a week you start assimilating. (19:43)
• [Growing up] whatever your dad yells at the TV or cheers for is what you cheer for, so we became Steelers fans. (24:23)
• In Arab culture, when you like something, they’re inclined to give it to you. (26:40)
• It was really an amazing experience as a child to traverse the world. (30:40)
• I stood on the great wall [of China] when I was in middle school. (30:50)
• When you travel around the world, you realize what a small place it is, and how similar people are at their core. (32:01)
• Crocodiles can strike half the length of their body. (41:23)
• The harder you work, the luckier you get. (49:56)
• In 2011, this brand new technology called TAVR (Trans Aortic Valve Replacement) came out. (51:01)
• I would look to the next bend in the road and I’d tell myself to get there. (54:12)
• I was on an endurance challenge where I had to hold on tight. The record for it in 22 seasons was 25 minutes. My spirit exploded, and we broke the all-time record for that at over 45 minutes. (56:15)
• Man can survive (and woman) if you can find meaning in your suffering. (58:41)
• “Doing something bigger than yourself” drove me to persevere. (65:32)
• When you go deep into yourself, big things can happen. (81:33)

What an engaging and compelling guest Marcus brings to the table in this week’s Team Never Quit Podcast. Jordan Harbinger, one of the most successful podcasters in the world, reveals his crafty (and illegal) but brilliant, stealthy methods for tapping into land line telephone conversations, and circumventing credit card machines in his early teenage years. While working out of the country, he details the experience of being kidnapped twice.
His inquisitive mind was fascinated by the internet at an early age, and later became a Wall Street lawyer, followed by launching The Jordan Harbinger Show, where he deconstructs the playbooks of the most successful people on earth and shares their strategies.
These days, Jordan’s biggest motivation is to help people succeed by teaching them to think better.

In this episode you will hear:
• When I was a kid, I wasn’t exactly inspirational to anyone. (4:13)
• I didn’t have any money and listening to phone conversations and wiretapping got really interesting. I did that with cell phones, line pairs, and the green boxes on the side of the road. (7:13)
• Listening to adults talk when they don’t know kids are around is completely different experience. (7:33)
• [As a kid] you learn that adults have feelings, and problems just like you do. (10:25)
• Are all adults just children that are winging it? Kind of – in a lot of ways. (12:25)
• I learned to convince people to do things that I probably shouldn’t have convinced them to do. (15:55)
• One of the things that I did that I got caught for was to go into a cell phone store’s dumpster at night and take the duplicate receipts from a carbon printer and use that information to program phones. (21:04)
• I figured out how the credit card payment system worked at a pizza chain and you could use a number that would work in their machine and the machine didn’t reconcile the transactions until Friday’s. (22:12)
• If there was a girl that I liked I would figure out what she liked by hacking into her computer. (27:46)
• The coolest thing that I ever did was to help the FBI catch sexual predators. (36:09)
• [In Mexico City] “Am I getting kidnapped right now?” “No, that can’t be it.” “Then I thought why can’t that be it?” I couldn’t open the door. (44:55)
• Later when I lived in Panama, the same thing would happen, and dudes would get in the cab and say you’re going to the bank to take out as much money as you can, or we’re gonna stab you, or shoot you. (54:10)
 • Two of the most addicting and destructive things in the world are heroin and a steady paycheck. (57:43)
• Now I’ve got kids and the nightmares are outsourced. (62:27)
• I try to teach people how to think better. (63:17)

A man’s man. A Patriot’s Patriot. A distinguished veteran as a U.S. Navy SEAL. And now a newly elected U.S. congressman. What a resume this week’s Team Never Quit Guest brings to the table as he brings an eye-opening discussion related to the role of a Congressman.
Once a co-host of this very podcast, Morgan’s conversation with his twin brother Marcus Luttrell makes for an episode you don’t want to miss.
Morgan’s life has perennially been one of service to others. A 5th generation Texan raised on a horse ranch. At an early age Morgan learned the importance of hard work, discipline, and personal responsibility. He turned his strong values, deep love for his country, and his passion for helping others into a career of distinguished service. 
Morgan Luttrell brings bold leadership, and a “Put America First” mentality to his role as a U.S. Congressman.

In this episode you will hear:
• There’s an energy that lives [in a mob situation] and if you become a part of it, you may find yourself in a situation like “I didn’t intend to be here.” (3:59)
• The DC Police did an amazing job of showing restraint [at the January 6th situation]. There were situations where they were getting close to death. (4:41)
• The criminal justice system [in DC] is, you could say, “broken.” (5:38)
• DC is a dumpster fire. They wanted everybody that lives in DC to have the right to vote, even if you’re a Chinese citizen working for the Chinese government; if you’re a Russian citizen working for the Russian embassy. (6:27)
• Another role and responsibility of the lower chamber of congress is we control the purse strings. (9:19)
• Passing legislation and controlling government money is what congress men and women do. (11:18)
• We’re not at the cliff edge; we’re over it. We spend more than we take in. (13:14)
• I don’t care about red or blue anymore. We’re here – 31 Trillion dollars in debt. I don’t care which administration did it.  (13:49)
• We, in the past decades, have been increasing our debt limit, all the way up to 31 Trillion. (14:32) 
• It needs to be said that if we don’t increase the debt ceiling and we default – that’s a problem. (21:52)
• There’s a point in time we’ll be paying more on the interest of our debt, than we pay on our defense budget. (23:19)
• When the cameras are on, people will turn the switch on and they become actors. (24:59)
• Abraham Lincoln coined the word “lobbyist” because people would hang out in the lobby of his hotel and when he’d come down, they would just bum rush him and say we this, this, and this, and this is what we’ll do for you. (30:14)
• I would never complain about this job, because I fought so hard to get it. (39:03)
• The border’s a dumpster fire. (42:23)
• It’s very humbling to walk through the hall of the Capitol. There’s so much history. (43:33)
• The best part of my job is I get to meet so many people. (63:51)
• The hardest part about campaigning is that it’s 24/7. (64:37)

A life of service.
That’s the best description for this week’s guest and friend of the Team Never Quit Podcast.
Marcus brings to the table Sidney Blair, who has served on a SWAT Team, Gang Unit, Detective, Air Marshal for Homeland Security, then retired, and has once again returned to police work for the Walker County Texas Sheriff’s Department.
If ever there was a man with a relentless heart of service to people, coupled with character and integrity, it’s Sidney Blair.

In this episode you will hear:
• My first paying job was as the [Piggly Wiggly] Pig in the 4th of July Parade in Huntsville, Texas. (12:53)
• Troopers have great uniforms. They’re like a recruiting poster. (14:38)
• In Texas, a Peace Officer, is a Peace Officer, is a Peace Officer - whether you’re a Game Warden, a State Trooper, or City Cop or County Cop. (21:42)
• Your job is to protect and serve. You go out to the good citizens of your county, or city, or state, or your federal jurisdiction, and you protect from any evils that exist, including themselves. (25:52)
• Al lot of police officers will become calorically challenged. (26:58)
• Fear is forced. Respect is earned. (29:32)
• The government is paying my salary. My job is to get out there and change your tire. (33:27)
• I still have some fight left in me. I still want to serve my community. I still want to help the people that need help. (37:34)
• I spent 19 of my 20 years at the Air Marshals. (44:06)
• I had a retirement party from the Air Marshals that I didn’t know about. (57:18)
• You should serve something larger than yourself if you have the ability to do it. (64:11)
• If you have never stood before a man with a badge in handcuffs, and he held your freedom and life in his hands, and he gave you a break, and you knew what a break you got – you ain’t qualified to be a cop. (66:49)
• You see someone get out of hand - I don’t care if they’re in uniform; you pull them off. You physically remove them from the scene. You save them from themselves. (68:10)
• People feed off of bad news. (76:25)
• The worst thing in the world that we have is the breakdown of the nucleus of the family that people don’t have upbringing where they learn to respect other people. (80:05)
• Soft times build soft people. (81:37)
• When you defund the police, I can tell you the very first place it comes from – training. (88:45)

What an incredible guest we have on this week’s Team Never Quit Podcast.
Marcus engages in a compelling discussion with former Force Recon Marine, Chad Robichaux. With eight deployments to Afghanistan as part of a Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) Task Force, Chad overcame his personal battles with PTSD after nearly becoming a veteran suicide statistic.
Chad is the founder of the Mighty Oaks Foundation, serving the active duty, military veteran and first responder communities around the world with highly successful faith-based combat trauma and resiliency programs. He has spoken to over 450,000 active-duty troops and led life-saving programs for over 4,600 active military and veterans at four Mighty Oaks Ranches around the U.S. He has served as an advisor to former President Trump, Congress, the VA, and the Department of Defense.
Another one of Chad’s personal endeavors, Save Our Allies, is focused on the evacuation and recovery of Americans, our allies and vulnerable people still trapped in Afghanistan. His original mission was to rescue his long-time friend and Afghanistan interpreter, but the mission quickly evolved because of Chad’s compassion for people and his servant heart. Since its inception, Save Our Allies has safely evacuated over 17,000 people that were trapped in Afghanistan and he is now helping in Ukraine.
As if that weren’t enough, Chad is a lifelong martial artist. He holds a 4th degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and is a former Professional Mixed Martial Arts Champion having competed at the highest levels of the sport.

In this episode you will hear:
• My family has 84 years of military service. (11:38)
• I was raised in a very dysfunctional home because my father never recovered from Vietnam. (13:26)
• Our operation was compromised and I ended up being abducted. (28:52)
• On the surface, everything seemed fine. Then I crashed, had an affair, filed for divorce, and attempted to take my life. The some amazing people came around me and helped us to restore my family and my faith. (32:39)
• I tried to build the courage to take my life and I had my Glock 40 caliber pistol, but I was interrupted, and it was enough to pump the brakes. (33:20)
• My wife asked me: “How can you do all you did in the military, but when it comes to your family, you’ll quit?” (34:19)
• You’re gonna deal with anxiety, depression, and anger, but you could respond to it in a better way that could lead you to a better place. 37:36)
• God’s like a centerpiece solution, because a lot of what we deal with are spiritual wounds. (38:31)
• President Bush signed the Opportunity for Faith Mission in 2001, then in 2009, President Obama signed a policy to override that, and take funding away from faith-based programs. (53:14)
• In Afghanistan, people couldn’t go in to help, but in Ukraine you could drive a bus across the border to do mass evacs. (55:37)
• I’ve been getting a lot of heat like: Why are you going over there to help – the governments is corrupt. None of that matters. These people didn’t ask for any of this. They’re being invaded by a super power. (58:15)
• Glenn Beck (Radio Show Host) raised 21 million dollars to support our mission. (77:49)
• The White House said there were 100 Americans left [in Afghanistan] but without debate there were thousands of Americans still there. (80:38)
• You don’t leave Americans behind. The White even promised that they wouldn’t but they did. (81:43)

In this week’s Team Never Quit Podcast, Marcus spends some time speaking with retired U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel Chris Miller, who served as the Acting Secretary of Defense under President Donald Trump. Chris also served as Director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center as well as numerous command and staff positions within the 5th Special Forces group (Airborne). He also participated in combat operations in Afghanistan & Iraq.
In his role as the Secretary of Defense, Chris was overseeing military departments, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the unified commands, as well as planning and coordinating military deployments and operations.
With his vast military knowledge and experience of over 3 decades, Mr. Miller brings to the table an interesting and informative perspective to the role of the U.S military, and it’s function at every level.

In this episode you will hear:
• This is the book launch, officially. (9:01)
• They have all this exclusive intelligence. You know how much got to the ground force? Zero.(15:44)
• There were lessons learned, and we’re all about passing it on. That’s what we’re all about now. (18:07)
• [Speaking to Marcus] This is the path the Lord put you on. You accept that. You are the face of the war. (21:58)
• The [the military] has a structure that will take people in and form them differently and change how they view life in a good way. (25 :00)
• The army makes a good man better and a bad man worse. (27:26)
• It’s all about selfless service and it’s not about you (32:44)
• When my heart and my mind became aligned with being a selfless servant, it was like rocket fuel. (33:28)
• When you realize this is how it is might as well just embrace it. It’s a game changer. (33:42)
• I was the Secretary of Defense under President Trump for the last 73 days. Not a lot went on. (37:19)
• I spent like 35-36 years as a government employee or as a military person. (38:03)
• If you are asked to interview for a job, always interview because you’re gonna learn something and you might get the job. (42:28)
• Al Qaeda had been seriously weakened from all of our attacks. We call it mowing the grass. Just keep killing them off. Eventually there’s not going to be anybody left – and it worked. (44:32)
• I know we can’t defeat terrorism - that’s a verb. We can defeat Al Quada (a noun).  (45:26)
• [Marcus] If we’re fighting terrorists, we’re trained terrorists, trained to cause terror to them, so much so that there won’t be another group coming up after them. (45:57)
• Special Operator: Figure out the network, figure out the incentive system, communicate, execute. (46:50)
• The only person who could keep us attacking was President Trump. (47 :04)
• We killed off the head of ISIS. This guy was the definition of evil. (47:38)
• The President asked me if I wanted to become a political appointee. (48:36)
• The purpose of the military is not only to protect and serve, but to defend the constitution and to ultimately protect the people of the United States. (51:43)
• I only learn when I screw something up. (64:05)
• I was really pissed about the way Afghanistan ended. (65:55)
• We will fire a kid who messes up a piece of paperwork, and our generals aren’t held accountable for losing a war. (66:16)
• Chris’ Book: Soldier Secretary (85:57)