26. Summers At A Service Academy, Regrets, Wisdom, Tips

26. Summers At A Service Academy, Regrets, Wisdom, Tips

This episodes contains advice for all four summers at a service academy, what regrets I had, and what learned from my summer military trainings. Swab summer as a 4/c and strategies I took to survive. Then there's Eagle and Cutter Vigilant as a 3/c, I go to Germany, Denmark, Belgium, and France while my friends go to Japan. 2/c summer, the cadre take charge and run boot camp for the summer. As upper class, we are now transitioning to leading others. Now, 1/c summer is approaching, and I am putting in for MSRT (Coast Guard Navy Seals) and TACLET (Coast Guard DEA) for half the summer. The other half of the summer I am hoping for a smaller platform boat, and we dive into what I think about a big boat versus a little boat (schedule, culture of the unit, mission).

25. 28 Life Questions, Q&A with Jack

In this episode we dive into some interview questions for me to answer honestly and off the cuff. These are questions you can ask anyone and are likely going to dig a level deeper on their personality, goals, and desires. The plan is to use some of these questions in future interviews and podcast episodes for the best story telling to be brought out of guests. Listen to this episode for some gem questions to use in your own life and to learn more about Jack. Here are some of the questions from this episode: 1- What makes you different/ unique? What makes you ‘you’? (events, experiences, characteristics) 2- What is something you’ve been working on daily to make yourself better? Why? 3- How would you describe yourself in one word? 4- What’s an uncommon opinion you hold? Why? 5- What is your daily routine? What makes your schedule busy? Will that matter in five years? 6- What big opportunity are you waiting for? 7- Most valuable book you’ve read? 8- What is bad leadership advice you often hear? 9- What is your biggest leadership/ personal triumph? 10- What is your leadership philosophy? (for living your own life and for leading others) 11- Who is the one person you want to most be like? 12- As a leader, what are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? 13- What are your thoughts on failure? A tool to learn from, a sign of pushing oneself, or a sign of weakness? 14- What is the most worthwhile investment you’ve ever made (investing money, time, energy, etc.) 15- In the last few years what new belief, behavior, or habit has improved your life? 16- If you won $1,000,000, what would you do with it? Would you change anything about your life? 17- What would you do if you had enough money to not work another day in your life? 18- What is your ideal, perfect day? (No limits on time, who you’re with, where you’re with. Only constraint is you have 24 hours). 19- If you could have dinner with any three people dead or alive, who would they be and why? 20- What does it mean to live a good life? 21- If you could ask your God/ creator one thing and they had to tell you the truth, what would you ask? 22- In what moments do you truly feel alive? Happy? Satisfied? 23- Who are the five people you spend the most time with and what do they bring to the table? 24- If you could have a 15 second Superbowl commercial what would it say to the world? Quotes, messages, statements, etc. 25- What do you want your life to be like in five years? Why? 26- What is your biggest dream and goal? What are you doing to get there? 27- What would you pursue if you knew you couldn’t fail? Why? 28- What bad habits do you want to break?

24. Techniques for Superior Sleep, Do Naps and Blue Light Glasses Work?

Are naps helpful, do blue light glasses work? In this episode, we dive into how to achieve better sleep and why. This includes many techniques, including having white noise, a natural sunrise alarm clock, waking up naturally vs. a traditional alarm, and maximizing your sleep environment. It is important to improve our sleep in three steps. The first is our before bed routine. Avoid electronics right before bed, wind down with a book, meditation, or whatever your nightly routine is. What's better before bed- a cold shower, hot shower, or no shower? Then, how can we maximize our sleep quality? Should we strive for a colder or warmer sleep environment? What kind of mattress (hard vs. soft), how many blankets and what kind (weighted blankets), should we wear socks and lots of clothes when sleeping, or should we sleep naked? Finally, how should we be waking up? We are built to wake up naturally with the sun and to go to bed when it gets dark. How can we sleep this way when living in different places and having to stay on society's time with work and school? If you live in Alaska, your sunrise and sunset is not going to coincide with your schedule, especially in the winter. There are so many ways to improve sleep, and it is one of the most important things we can do to stay healthy, energized, focused, and live a fuller life. We also jump into a discussion of the importance of naps, how they affect us physically and mentally, and if blue light glasses are legit or just a fad?

23. Have Better Conversation, Try New Things= Growth

In this episode we talk about all the skills I've gained from podcasting, ranging from better communication and listening skills, confidence in giving speeches, and becoming a better learner. There is not enough time allocated in our days to be alone with our thoughts and to let our ideas fully develop. Quality and quality of ideas and conversation are decreasing as real conversation is being replaced by more artificial snapchatting and texting. Take some time to yourself and process what's actually going on in your life, either with a journal, a deep conversation, or even voice memos. Try something new and see what it offers, you never know!

22. Minimalism = Happiness, Progress, Focus, Passion, and $

In this episode, we dive into what minimalism actually is, including its benefits. Minimalism combats materialism by reducing clutter in our houses, minds, and lives. Minimalists don't strive to live like hobos, they strive to limit the physical items that enter their lives as to reduce distractions and unnecessary spending. In turn, minimalists have less mental and physical weight to carry, allowing them to pursue their passions and dreams. Minimalism encourages financial freedom through living an alternate lifestyle that requires thinking as an individual. Minimalists aren't part of the crowd and must disengage from the social pressures of buying big houses, fancy cars, and expensive clothes. Minimalism boils down into understanding the difference between price and value. Minimalists understand that a fulfilling, happy life is not a result of big spending and owning a lot of things. We are the sum of our experiences, not our belongings.