Over the Christmas holiday, I read a book called The Red Circle: My Life in the Navy SEAL Sniper Corps and How I Trained America’s Deadliest Marksmen by Brandon Webb. The story outlined the amazing journey of one former Navy SEAL’s life, from childhood to current day, with a detailed account of what it takes to earn one of the selective slots on the U.S. Military Navy SEAL team.
In January 1962, President John F. Kennedy gave the order to develop teams of unconventional military units capable of conducting guerilla warfare and covert operations in maritime environments. This was the birth of the U.S. Navy SEALs. Today, these elite warriors comprise the best of the best that the U.S. Navy has to offer.
Throughout the book it became apparent to me that Webb is different from 99.9 percent of the human population. The more I read, the more I kept thinking about what drives these guys to put up with the grueling training environments in order to accomplish such amazing feats. I wanted to know what enabled them to keep pounding until the task was complete, no matter the obstacle thrown at them.
I am enamored with this question because I want to know how I can learn from this ethic and apply it to my daily work environment. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that I (or anyone reading this) will ever be capable of working as hard as these American heroes. But if we could apply a percentage of these practices into our daily lives we could become the best that we have to offer.
As I work on bettering myself on a daily basis it is important to remember the Navy SEAL motto, “The only easy day was yesterday.” They also say, “Mess with the best, die with the rest” but if I start saying that people will think I am crazy…
I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys reading about the U.S. Military, especially the elite units. To any veterans reading this post: Thank you for your service and commitment to this country.
