How to Never Quit — Even When You Want to

fail out of buds ring the bellI ain’t gonna lie. I wanted to quit in BUDS training. I wanted to ring the bell.

There were days and moments when I felt weak.

There are guys out there that say they never wanted to quit.

I admire that. I was not that strong.

I honestly did not come from a culture of being strong and learning how to fight for what you want.

I learned it all on the “fly” during my first weeks in BUDS.

But there is a HUGE difference between wanting to quit and actually walking up to ring the bell.

blacksmith swordWhen I was there on the grinder – I was being forged like a blacksmith as he crafts a Samurai sword.

I was getting hammered. I was being put under intense pressure.

Would I buckle? Would I go and lie down in the sand like a dog that is almost dead?

Or would I stand up to the heat and slowly rise up in my new and stronger self.

A huge thing that helped me was hearing certain Instructors speak.

On the grinder we worked out day and night. A defining point came an hour into a beat down workout while I was doing hundreds of flutter kicks.

A grisled veteran Senior Chief Knadbuster stood next to me at one point and said in a normal voice “It is all mind over matter boy”. “If you don’t mind – it don’t matter”.

I had never heard anything like that in my life. WTF?!?!

It was a defining moment. Those few simple words. Under intense pain.

I stored it away in my little head.

I was determined to use that new knowledge. I put that saying into my young mind.

When I thought about quitting I would say that in my head. I would also think of my family back home. I would think about my friends.

Even though I was weak at that moment wanting to quit – I rallied and came back stronger than before.

What are the take away points from all of this?

#1 – Get around those that are better than you and find out how “iron sharpens iron”.

#2 – Don’t be afraid to fail. Let yourself take some risk.

#3 – Listen to those with good experience like Senior Chief Knadbuster. He has been there in the $%&# and knows what it takes to succeed.

#4 – When you think about quitting – use that good sauce info from the experienced warriors — put it in your head and repeat it over and over.

#5 – Embrace the hammer. Work through the heat. Love the pressure. That is what will make your better and stronger.

There is no easy path. If you are looking for easy you are in the wrong place.

But if you find yourself on the warriors path and use some of the tips above you will find your slowly inching towards success.

Grow 1% daily or die. There is no other way. If you are staying neutral you are just embracing mediocrity.

Mediocrity is for cowards. Being average sucks.

Warriors don’t accept anything less than pushing forward towards victory.

P.S. If you want to forge yourself like a warrior then you got to listen to these good words on the SGPT Audio – Sharpen the Sword. I guarantee that if you listen to these audios and write down 1 take away item — and take massive action — your life will change for the better.

Just like the words I heard from Senior Chief Knadbuster — my life changed after I heard his words and I put them into action.

Push forward Warriors!

Brad McLeod

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