Veteran Mettle

I typically wake up each morning to an alarm. As I sit up to address the day, I take a quick mental inventory of the soreness/aches/pains or discomforts I feel. I grab the water bottle off my nightstand, and drink whatever is left, which I filled the night before. As I stretch and crack, I slowly meander to the kitchen. I finish the water, then refill it, and fill up my coffee cup. (We have a programmable coffee maker which I try to make sure is setup the night before) I don't like waiting to drink coffee, to the extent that when I fill my mug, I usually throw some ice in there to allow me to drink the coffee immediately. Drink, not sip. I take my topped off, cooled down coffee, and my water into my "office" which is our spare bedroom and it's primarily used for storage of our once important possessions. Now we have little piles of paperwork, stacks of projects, and random stuff not often used anymore. We also have two desks, a bed, shelves holding t-shirts, and a l...

In this episode, the fellas sit down with Courtney Hampson: a writer, collegiate public speaking teacher and VP of Marketing for one of the most beautiful spots in the world, Palmetto Bluff. Courtney talks about going out on a limb, the “three rules” to public speaking, non-verbal communication, giving up Facebook for 30 days, how to have tough conversations and pitchers of margaritas. Conviction Strong Radio (CSR) is about finding your balance across family, fitness and career. The goal of CSR is to remain open-minded, tell stories and interview subject matter experts. The focus is on giving you ways to improve your position or outlook on Life so that you may evolve into your most awesome and best self. Remember, don’t text and drive! (Listen to this podcast and drive instead!

In this episode Craig and Jake discuss Sebastian Junger’s book Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging . A small book with a big message. The fellas meander through some big topics as they discuss the impact of Junger’s book and what it might mean to you and, maybe, all of us. Conviction Strong Radio (CSR) is about finding your balance across family, fitness and career. The goal of CSR is to remain open-minded, tell stories and interview subject matter experts. The focus is on giving you ways to improve your position or outlook on Life so that you may evolve into your most awesome and best self.

Basic training was full of new and unique games. Looking back, I was in over my head thinking that I'd be able to recognize the games as they were conjured and we were underhandedly immersed in them.  It was finally afternoon. We had walked all morning and half the night before to get to this place in the middle of the Missouri woods. We were told to take a knee, and our drill sergeant ordered us to set up our shelter halves and to dig foxholes. Some e-tools came out, along with some shelter halves, some cord, and some ponchos. Some guys begin to pull "security" for the others who are working. In the middle of us working like ants, tear gas gets tossed into our working area. Shit! What's the first thing to do? Run? Get rid of the gas? Although those both sound simple and logical, the point of the gas was for us to react, with signals to each other, both verbally and with arm gestures. Then as quickly as possible, we secure our own NBC masks and ride out the ...