I woke up: 5:49 a.m. The image of Jocko’s watch appeared in my mind: zero four something every day. Today, I failed the Jocko test. OK, I lost this round. Why? I thought through the previous day. I identified time mistakes that led me to fail. Those I will fix today. Tomorrow, I’ll be up with Jocko again.
When I first read Extreme Ownership, I would have been proud of 5:49 a.m. Most of the time then, it was zero six something, sometimes even zero seven something. I was losing the battle. Opportunity after opportunity slipped away. I was down. I was out. On the ropes. Whatever image paints the picture of a beaten man for you, that was me. My world owned me. It was brutal. Constantly bludgeoned and whipped by events and situations, I was bleeding from every emotional orifice in my body, anus to eardrums.
Then providence brought me Extreme Ownership. One powerful statement grabbed my attention: “The leader must own his world, there is no other excuse.” This was the catalyst. The laser power of Extreme Ownership etched that sentence on my psyche. Neighborhood by neighborhood of my world I started applying the principles that U.S. Forces used in the Battle of Ramadi to push back terror: “Seize, Clear, Hold, and Build.”
So now when I see the picture of Jocko’s watch on Twitter, it reminds me that my morning is the most strategic terrain of my day. At this stage of the campaign to take back my life, morning is my focus. I have seized, cleared, and for the most part am holding as I build this crucial Combat Out-Post: COP Dawn. Yes, today, I took a hit. The battle never ceases. But even though under fire, I build. May you do the same. It’s not just SEALs who go to war. War is your day. Own it! Lead yourself and win! May your COP Dawn meet or surpass Jocko standard time.
Love the Timex Ironman!