Day 142: 2020 Pandemic. What is the Mindset Needed To Survive and Succeed

We are tougher than we think. Humans, like many animals, can adapt to harsh environments and situations.

Special Operations training such as Ranger School and the Special Forces Qualification Course are designed to not only train personnel, but to test them. When I was cadre at the Q-Course at the JFK Special Warfare Center I used to say the question is: do you want to wear a green beret or be a Green Beret?

I get asked: How do you get through the training? Whether it’s those schools or others I’ve gone through like Beast Barracks and Plebe Year at West Point? International Mountain Climbing School? Royal Danish Navy Combat Swim School? Interestingly, of all the schools, the one with the lowest graduation rate was the easiest physically: Jumpmaster School. We graduated 14 out of 87 highly qualified Green Berets in my class. Why? Because you had to score 100% to graduate. 99% doesn’t cut it when gravity is fatal.

I’ve also managed to have a thriving writing career for three decades, so I’ve applied what I’ve learned to areas outside of the military. I’ve watched 99% of my writer peers disappear over the years. They quit. They cite many reasons, but cutting to the core: they quit.