The Cost of Comfort: Why Adversity Is a Gift

This past week, I took one last vacation before summer officially wraps up, and the Cape Cod resort delivered – sun on my face, cool ocean air, a bit of whale watching and a great chance to slow down. One evening at the resort’s fire pit, I struck up a conversation...

Clarity During Chaos: Decision-Making When Pressure Mounts

It was our inaugural Freedom Ops event last October, just south of St. Louis – four Cadre, three Trainers, and 119 men strong. In the early hours of the ruck phase as the group moved along a stretch of abandoned railroad tracks, a call came over the radio: Man down....

Freedom Isn’t Free: Leadership Lessons from July 4th

My favorite Fourth of July memories go back to when I was a kid. Each year, we’d head to my grandparents’ house for a full day of grilling out, laughing with cousins, and lighting fireworks and sparklers once the sun went down. It wasn’t fancy. Just family, friends,...

Why We Need Resilient Leaders — Now More Than Ever

Whenever someone asks me for a book recommendation, I usually point them to The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter. It nails something we’re all sensing, whether we’ve named it or not. What is that “something”? Just look around. Pressure is up. Trust is down. And too...