I just received a copy of A Message to Garcia the other day.
It is a small book.
But the message inside it is anything but small.
I had heard about this book for years. I knew the basic story. But after finally sitting down with it, I understand why A Message to Garcia has stuck around for more than 125 years.
It is about initiative.
It is about personal responsibility.
And most importantly, it is about getting the job done.
That sounds simple.
It isn’t.
Why I Picked Up This Book
I actually had a pretty interesting reason for finally getting my hands on this book.
I was interviewing for a new coaching job, and the owner of the gym had worked with Navy SEAL Team Six.
During the conversation, he told me that A Message to Garcia was required reading for all the Green Team members.
That immediately got my attention.
I’ve spent a good part of my life around the SEAL community, so I wanted to understand why this little book was important enough to be required reading for men preparing to become part of an elite special operations team.
After reading it, I understand.
The book isn’t really about war.
It isn’t even really about the military.
It is about the type of person you become when you are given a mission.
And that has everything to do with being part of a SEAL team.
Carry the Message to Garcia
The story takes place during the Spanish-American War.
President William McKinley needed to get an important message to General Calixto García, a leader of the Cuban insurgents.
There was a problem.
Nobody knew exactly where García was.
There was no cell phone.
No GPS.
No email.
No text message.
No easy way to communicate with him.
Hubbard tells the story of Lieutenant Andrew Rowan, the man given the assignment.
Rowan takes the message and goes.
He doesn’t sit around asking for a detailed plan.
He doesn’t complain about how difficult the mission is.
He doesn’t make excuses.
He figures it out.
Hubbard describes Rowan carrying the message through Cuba and eventually delivering it to García.
That story became a symbol of someone who could be given a difficult assignment and trusted to take responsibility for making it happen.
That is the entire idea behind the phrase:
Carry the message to Garcia.
Why Would This Matter on a SEAL Team?
Think about what you would want from the guy standing next to you.
You don’t want someone who needs to be told every single step.
You want someone who understands the mission.
Someone who pays attention.
Someone who can solve problems.
Someone who can adapt when the plan changes.
Someone who doesn’t fall apart when things get difficult.
And someone who can take responsibility for getting the job done.
That’s what A Message to Garcia is really talking about.
In a SEAL environment, the mission may not go exactly according to plan.
The weather changes.
The situation changes.
Communications can change.
Equipment can fail.
The information you started with may no longer be accurate.
You may have to make decisions with incomplete information.
You can’t stop and wait for someone to give you a step-by-step instruction manual.
You have to think.
You have to adapt.
You have to take ownership.
That’s why the concept of carrying the message to Garcia makes so much sense for a SEAL team.
The team needs people who can be trusted with responsibility.
Not people who constantly ask:
“What do you want me to do?”
But people who can say:
“I understand the mission. Here’s the problem. Here’s how I’m going to solve it.”
That’s initiative.
Stop Waiting for Someone to Tell You What to Do
This is the part of the book that hit me the hardest.
There are people who need to be told exactly what to do.
Then there are people who are given a mission and figure out how to get it done.
Those are two completely different mindsets.
If you have to tell someone every step…
If you have to constantly check on them…
If you have to remind them…
If you have to solve every problem for them…
You don’t really have a teammate.
You have another problem to manage.
Hubbard was writing about this problem in 1899.
It still exists today.
We have more technology, more information and more tools than Hubbard could have imagined.
But none of that matters if you don’t have the initiative to actually use them.
The Real Test
One of the things I like about A Message to Garcia is that it doesn’t make the lesson complicated.
You have a mission.
You have a problem.
You don’t know exactly how to accomplish it.
Figure it out.
That doesn’t mean you never ask questions.
It doesn’t mean blindly following orders.
And it doesn’t mean making stupid decisions just to prove that you are tough.
It means taking ownership.
There is a big difference between asking:
“What should I do?”
and asking:
“Here is the problem. Here is what I think we should do. What do you think?”
The second person is already thinking.
That person is already taking responsibility.
That is the person I want on my team.
This Is a SEALgrinderPT Book
There is a reason this book fits so well with the SEALgrinderPT mindset.
Training is easy when everything goes according to plan.
The real test comes when something goes wrong.
Your legs are smoked.
The weather turns bad.
You didn’t sleep.
You don’t know exactly what comes next.
Your original plan falls apart.
Now what?
Quit?
Complain?
Wait for someone to come rescue you?
Or find a way forward?
That is where the real-world test begins.
I’ve learned over the years that you don’t always need another motivational speech.
Sometimes you just need to take the next step.
Then another.
Then another.
Until the job is done.
How Can You Use This in Your Own Life?
This is where I think the book becomes much more than a military story.
You don’t have to be a SEAL to use the lesson.
In fact, you probably have a Garcia sitting in front of you right now.
Maybe it’s your health.
Maybe it’s getting back in shape.
Maybe it’s losing weight.
Maybe it’s preparing for a physical test.
Maybe it’s starting a business.
Maybe it’s finding a new job.
Maybe it’s climbing a mountain.
Maybe it’s fixing a relationship.
Maybe it’s finally tackling the goal you’ve been talking about for the last five years.
The first step is identifying your mission.
Then ask yourself:
What needs to get done?
What is stopping me?
What can I control?
What is the next step?
Then take that step.
You don’t need to have the entire road mapped out.
You need enough information to take the next step and the willingness to adjust when you hit a roadblock.
That’s initiative.
Your Garcia
Here’s a simple exercise I took away from the book.
Pick one thing in your life that you’ve been putting off.
Write it down.
Call it your Garcia.
Then write down the mission.
Not ten missions.
One.
Now ask:
What is the next action I can take?
Not someday.
Not next month.
Today.
Then do it.
Once that’s done, figure out the next step.
This is how big goals get accomplished.
One step at a time.
Don’t Die For The Man
There is another side to this lesson that I think is important.
Taking responsibility doesn’t mean blindly doing whatever someone tells you.
You still need judgment.
You still need to think.
You still need to understand the mission.
But once you understand the mission, there comes a point when you have to stop talking and start moving.
That is where a lot of people get stuck.
They keep researching.
They keep planning.
They keep waiting for the perfect opportunity.
They want perfect conditions.
Perfect equipment.
Perfect information.
Perfect timing.
That day usually never comes.
At some point you have to go.
The Message for Athletes
For athletes, this applies directly.
Your coach can give you the program.
Your coach can give you the workout.
Your coach can give you the nutrition plan.
Your coach can hold you accountable.
But your coach can’t do the work for you.
Nobody can.
At some point, you have to put the boots on and go to work.
That’s your message to Garcia.
You don’t need another person standing behind you yelling at you every five minutes.
You need to develop the ability to look at the mission and say:
“Roger that. I’ll figure it out.”
Then go get it done.
What Does Your Garcia Look Like?
This is the question I would ask you after reading this book:
What is your Garcia?
What is the big gnarly goal you’ve been talking about?
What is the challenge you’ve been waiting to start?
What is the thing you’ve been making excuses about?
Whatever it is…
You probably already know what it is.
The question isn’t whether you know what to do.
The question is:
Are you willing to carry the message?
Final Thoughts
A Message to Garcia is a very short read.
You can knock it out quickly.
But I wouldn’t rush through it.
The book was written in 1899, and some of Hubbard’s language and opinions reflect the era in which he lived. The essay also has a very strong, old-school view of work and responsibility.
Still, the central idea remains powerful.
Take ownership.
Use your initiative.
Don’t make excuses.
Solve problems.
Do the work.
Finish the mission.
You don’t need someone standing over you every minute.
You need to become the person who can be handed a difficult mission and trusted to figure it out.
That’s the person who can carry a message to Garcia.
And that’s the person I want on my team.
So I’ll leave you with one question:
What’s your Garcia?
Find it.
Then go get it.
Find a way to win.
— Coach Brad McLeod
SEALgrinderPT
RELATED ARTICLES:
The Way of the SEAL book review