Extreme Ownership (Ep. 136)

My daughter thinks the phrase “you can’t swing a dead cat in this town” is absolutely ridiculous, and to be fair, she’s not wrong! That said, you can’t swing a dead cat these days without hitting a couple self-help gurus and podcasters who love them. But the self help book, “Extreme Ownership” by Jocko Willink caught my attention a while ago, and to me it genuinely reads different than what you typically see on the shelves. Willink is a former navy seal who emphasizes humility and detachment from ego as much as being "hard core." It’s also one of several books I’ve been meaning to talk about on this podcast. In this episode, David and Eugene discuss the concept of extreme ownership, what it means, its pros and cons, David fanboys about Jocko for a few minutes, and we discuss why the phrase “try harder” might mean something very different and ultimately more important than simply, for example, waking up two hours earlier or doing fifty extra pushups. As always, thanks for listening!

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“There is no one else to blame.” - Jocko Willink