#105: Objective Secure: Green Beret Nick Lavery On Finding Success One Small Milestone At A Time (Sandlot Jax & GORUCK Games 2023 Series)

The Jedburgh Podcast

“Objective Secure” doesn’t mean the mission is complete; it means one milestone has been unlocked and it’s time to prepare for the next one. Whether you’re a Green Beret or just trying to navigate life, your mission is going to be achieved by securing one objective after another along your path to achieve your goals.

To close out day one of 2023 Sandlot Jax & GORUCK Games, Fran Racioppi is joined by Green Beret Nick Lavery; the first above the knee amputee to return to combat on a Special Forces Team and the author of Objective Secure. In this sunset discussion Nick shares his perspective on persistence in the face of failure and success, and why periods of pain and discomfort are opportunities to excel.

Nick comes to grips with the decisions he made balancing rapport with complacency that resulted in the insider attack in which he lost his leg when an Afghan partner opened fire on his team. He shares his recovery story and how the small goals he set for himself along created the path to his return to full combat duty; something no other Green Beret had been able to achieve. And he shares why we need our own personal versions of “the dungeon;” the place we go to focus and put in the hard work to achieve our goals.

Get your copy of Objective Secure and learn more about Nick Lavery on the web and on social media.

Read the full episode transcription here and learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. Watch the full video version on YouTube.

Highlights:

• 0:00 Welcome to the Jedburgh Podcast; we met in a bar!
• 5:12 Why moments of discomfort are opportunities to excel
• 12:00 Nick gets shots by an Afghan Army Soldier
• 20:20 Nick saves his own life
• 23:00 The Objective Secure mindset
• 28:04 The road back to combat runs through the dungeon
• 38:44 Persistence in the face of both failure and success
• 41:52 Return to Afghanistan and the acceptance of average
• 47:26 Why we need failure and other people
• 56:50 Nick’s three daily foundations to success

Quotes:

• “I just saw these moments of pain and discomfort and suffering as moments to excel.” (6:29)
• “Skill is only earned through thousands of hours of hammering down on a particular craft.” (8:23)
• “When you see the wrong thing happen hundreds of times and there’s no negative effect, you can become complacent.” (15:07)
• “There’s still work to do. There’s always something you can do.” (21:37)
• “It’s focusing on that 25 meter target knowing it’s in line with the 300 meter target.” (25:11)
• “Persistence also applies with continuing to move forward in the face of milestones; in the face of success” (40:01)
• “The wisdom is located in getting it wrong.” (47:46)
• “Success is nothing more than the sum of small efforts performed daily.” (54:58)

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike’s, Compass Workforce Solutions and GORUCK.