Matt Hesse is the founder and CEO of Performix, a high-performance supplement company.
Recently, Matt also founded the Fit Ops Foundation. This is a charity that is dedicated to helping veterans become elite personal trainers.
Through a three-week boot camp, Fit Ops candidates go through the necessary course work and training they need to secure a personal training certification, free of cost. In addition to that, Fit Ops candidates get priceless mental training in the company of their fellow veterans.
Once Fit Ops candidates are through the bootcamp, Fit Ops continues to provide aftercare to ensure that graduates get jobs and stay on the path to success.
Recently, WWE star John Cena donated $1 million to Fit Ops, and he's matching any donations that come in prior to the holidays.
To donate to Fit Ops or apply for your spot, head over to http://www.fitops.org.
Justin Stenstrom is the founder and host of Elite Man Magazine and the Elite Man Podcast.
He started Elite Man originally as a blog to help give young men more confidence as they navigated through life.
Since then Justin Stenstrom has grown Elite Man into a successful media and nutrition company. He's interviewed some of the most accomplished men in the world and has developed a world wide following.
We brought Justin on to discuss his business, life, and his advice for veterans as they strive for success in their own lives.
You'll learn:
Be sure to check out Justin's show the Elite Man Podcast at http://elitemanmagazine.com/.
In this "Ask Me Anything" edition of the Warrior Soul Podcast, Chris examines three question ranging from the practical to the very serious:
Get your questions answered by posting them in the Warrior Soul Agoge: Empowerment and Resilience Facebook Group here: http://www.facebook.com/groups/warriorsoulagoge
Grant Cardone is an internationally renowned author, speaker, sales expert, and real estate expert.
The Grant Cardone empire spreads across five publicly held companies, hundreds of employees, and reaches millions of people via social media content marketing every single day.
But things weren't always so good for Grant Cardone. Until the age of 25, Grant had a drug habit. That habit got him disowned by his mother and it landed him in rehab.
When he got out of rehab, Grant Cardone became a man on a mission. He got a job as a car salesman, which he hated, but he dedicated himself to learning everything he could about sales. He got so good that companies hired him to train their sales teams.
In the process, Grant Cardone also began investing in real estate, securing apartment complexes and rental properties into his portfolio. Today he owns over a billion dollars in real estate and is working to grow that number each year.
Over the past few years, Mr. Cardone has dedicated himself to creating the Cardone Academy, where he teaches sales and investment strategies to students and fans from across the world.
Grant has deep admiration and respect for the Veteran Community, and he's worked with American Dream U to create a sales training program free to all Veterans.
He has made that training program available to our listeners at http://www.cardoneuniversity.com/vets. You can access it for free by clicking on that link
In this episode, you'll learn:
In this episode, Chris takes questions from the Warrior Soul Private Facebook Group on dealing with younger subordinates at work, exercises you can do to burn fat and raise testosterone, and on counting your calories.
You can join the private Facebook Group at http://www.facebook.com/warriorsoulagoge.
This episode is sponsored by FBOMB Nutrition, makers of delicious high fat, low carbohydrate snacks. Their macadamia nut butters are ridiculously delicious and they've got no sugar. Get 20% off of your first order of FBOMBS when you use the code WARRIORSOUL at checkout at http://www.dropanfbomb.com
Life is difficult and fortune does not favor everyone. Some people just have bad luck.
There are those of us who seem like we just can't catch a break. Like the world is doing everything it can to hold us back.
That leads to pure unadulterated rage. You alienate yourself from others. You push everyone and everything you ever loved out of your life, and you drive yourself to be alone.
If you've ever felt like you wanted to watch the world burn...
If you've felt like punching anything and everything that comes in your sight...
If you've felt like you were alienated from every other human being that you've ever come in contact with...
If you've, at times, scared yourself...
Then this is the podcast for you.
Bad luck happens, but you make it worse when you feed into it, and you need to stop.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and I'm going to do my best to help you get there and get to the point where you can live an amazing life, but you need to be willing to do the work.
That starts with pushing that play button and giving this an honest listen.
Donny O'Malley is known for his "no fucks given" comedic style. The characters he portrays are raunchy and at times disgusting. For many veterans, they are also familiar, echoing either someone they knew while serving or someone they once were while serving.
Veterans Entertainment Television, or VET TV, is not for the faint of heart. It's not meant to be. Many of the jokes will either fly over civilians' heads, or completely offend them. Either way, Donny is good with that.
I watched his recent movie, A Grunt's Life, while I was sick with the flu to research for this interview. As a Marine, I thought it was hilarious, but I also watched it with my girlfriend.
When the inevitable post-movie discussion happened, she asked "would you have tried to fuck a corpse?" Highly medicated at the time I blurted out, "no. Maybe a skull if I could have, but it would have just been to get some laughs."
Awkward pause.
Beyond the character, the real Donny O'Malley is also funny, but he's also a workhorse.
He has to be. Starting a new Television and Media Company takes an ungodly amount of work. VET TV is here today because it's founders kept absolutely unsustainable work schedules for months.
That work paid off.
Today, VET TV is running at full steam with Donny at the helm of a world class organization with multiple divisions and a highly talented team.
In this conversation, Donny and I discuss how he got there. You'll hear about the long hard road that he's travelled to success, and you'll hear about where he's taking VET TV in the future.
This podcast is brought to you by FBOMB Nutrition, makers of delicious high fat, low carbohydrate snacks. Try their amazing macadamia nut butters, meat snacks, and cheese crisps by getting 20% off of your first order when you use the code WARRIORSOUL at checkout at www.dropanFBOMB.com.
This podcast is also brought to you by Save the Brave. Save the Brave helps veterans by providing comradery events like fishing and golf that bring Veterans together in healthy ways. They also work to support gold star families from around the country. Make your donation to Save the Brave at www.savethebrave.org.
You've heard it over and over again from yourself, your friends, and your family.
"I can't catch a break."
"Why does this crap always happen to me?"
"Life sucks..."
Lots of people live their lives believing that the world is aligned against them.
Here's something everyone needs to learn: the world isn't against you because it doesn't care about you.
It doesn't care if you're wildly successful, and it doesn't care if you hate life.
The world is simply the world. It's been testing living beings since the dawn of time, and you're no different.
In this episode, Chris discusses why this is actually a good thing. It means you actually have more control over your life than you think you do.
Goals are important. They indicate an end state that you want to get to, and they help to tell you if you're heading in the right direction. Having goals in your life could also motivate you to work harder.
For most people on the path toward personal development, goals are central to their focus.
They shouldn't be. We rely on goals far too much for motivation even though there's a vast amount of evidence to show that they fall short in keeping people on the path to betterment.
Each year, millions of people set goals on January 1 and they forget about them by March.
That's because goals are not some magic motivational pill. They are simply results that you want to get to, and results do not happen without difficult work.
What's more important than setting goals is finding meaning in what you're doing. Meaning is what will help you to do the difficult work each day that will slowly but steadily get you to the end state that you desire.
Books mentioned: Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.
If you enjoyed this episode, you'll love:
On June 6, 1984, President Ronald Reagan gave an address at Pointe Du Hoc in Normandy, France.
Reagan came to honor the thousands of men whom, 40 years earlier, fought to save the world from Nazi domination during the invasion of Normandy.
Today, the Reagan Legacy Foundation is doing everything it can to keep the memory of those brave soldiers alive.
Through its work with the Walkway to Victory at Pointe Du Hoc, the Reagan Legacy Foundation is building an everlasting memorial to their bravery.
As we did last year, we brought Michael on to talk about this important project and why it's so vital that we keep this history alive.
The Warrior Soul Podcast is brought to you by FBomb nutrition, makers of delicious high fat-low carbohydrate snacks, like their amazing macadamia nut butter. Get 20% off of your first order of FBombs by using the code WARRIORSOUL at checkout at http://www.dropanfbomb.com.
The Warrior Soul Podcast is also brought to you by Save the Brave. Save the Brave brings Veterans and Gold Star Families together through outreach and comradery events. Their outstanding work helps Veterans to find their confidence and gain happiness through fishing, golf, and other activities. If you're interested in helping Save the Brave, head over to http://www.SavetheBrave.org and make your donation today.
This past week, we had Bas Rutten on as a guest, and it brought a question to mind: what are you willing to fight for?
Most people would answer with something like their country, or their family, and that's all admirable.
But in this episode, I pose it in a different way: what would you be willing to go on the offensive for?
Think about it. Most of the time, we live our lives passively. Even fighting for your country or fighting for your family requires that you fight in response to something.
But in life, if you live passively, things don't tend to go so well. You end up constantly on your heels, waiting for something to fall into your lap.
In this episode, Chris discusses why you need to go on the offensive when it comes to your hopes and your dreams.
The Warrior Soul Podcast is brought to you by FBomb nutrition, makers of delicious high fat-low carbohydrate snacks, like their amazing macadamia nut butter. Get 20% off of your first order of FBombs by using the code WARRIORSOUL at checkout at http://www.dropanfbomb.com.
The Warrior Soul Podcast is also brought to you by Save the Brave. Save the Brave brings Veterans and Gold Star Families together through outreach and comradery events. Their outstanding work helps Veterans to find their confidence and gain happiness through fishing, golf, and other activities. If you're interested in helping Save the Brave, head over to http://www.SavetheBrave.org and make your donation today.
Bas Rutten is a retired Mixed-Martial-Artist. He's a former UFC Heavyweight Champion, a 3-time King of Pancrase World Champion, and he finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak.
Aside from being the ultimate badass, Bas is also an outstanding individual who contributes to anti-bullying campaigns throughout the world.
In this conversation, Bas discusses his fight career, his battles with drugs, and his love of faith and family. Bas also talks about the importance of his Catholic religion, and how his use of psychedelic plant medicines brought him closer to his faith.
The Warrior Soul Podcast is brought to you by FBomb nutrition, makers of delicious high fat-low carbohydrate snacks, like their amazing macadamia nut butter. Get 20% off of your first order of FBombs by using the code WARRIORSOUL at checkout at http://www.dropanfbomb.com.
The Warrior Soul Podcast is also brought to you by Save the Brave. Save the Brave brings Veterans and Gold Star Families together through outreach and comradery events. Their outstanding work helps Veterans to find their confidence and gain happiness through fishing, golf, and other activities. If you're interested in helping Save the Brave, head over to http://www.SavetheBrave.org and make your donation today.
October was an awesome month for the Warrior Soul Podcast.
Our inspiring guests for October included Robert Greene, Bing West, Nick Koumalatsos, Dr. Kirk Parsley, Rob Jones, and Vincent "Rocco" Vargas. Civilians and veterans who've gone on to build businesses, write best-selling books, and inspire thousands.
It is such an honor for me to be able to do this work for the Veteran Community and I am so grateful for this opportunity.
But things weren't always this way. Six years ago, I was literally living out of my car. I was broke, sick, and had few options to move forward.
It wasn't until I stopped feeling bad about myself and started working on the things that would move me forward that my life changed.
For far too long, the US Military Veteran Community has been treated like a group of victims by the popular media and by ourselves.
We aren't victims. We are the sleeping giant in this country, and we are capable of shaping it's future.
My mission is to empower Veterans to live their absolute best lives with the content we provide. If you're getting a lot out of this show, please share these episodes out and consider writing us a review on iTunes.
Let me say this up front: I want to prevent Veteran suicides as much as anyone. It's a huge reason why this show exists.
But I won't do 22 pushups. I won't wear tee shirts or clothing with the number 22 on it, and I don't want anything to do with events that incorporate the number 22.
That's because I believe that it contributes to the problem.
I posted about this last week on Instagram and most people understood where I was coming from.
But I also got people accusing me of not talking about suicide because it makes me "uncomfortable." I also had people telling me that "no one will commit suicide because of a number."
That's not how it works.
Social proof is well studied. It states that when a group of people shares similarities with each other, those people are likely to mimic each other.
This concept has been used to great effect by marketers, psychologists, and the United States Military.
Social proof has also been shown to be linked to the increased likelihood of suicide.
Most famously, this link was discussed in Robert Cialdini's book Influence.
Cialdini's book is considered the seminal book on human persuasion. There is also other research to suggest a link between publicizing suicides and suicide rates.
Look, contrary to popular opinion, science never proves anything. Especially in social science, where variables are often questionable, statistical analyses can only tell us so much.
This has never been directly studied in terms of the Veteran Community, but the potential link has been shown over and over again in the civilian population.
So here's my point: if there's even a possibility that plastering the numer "22" everywhere could increase the likelihood that one of our brothers or sisters in arms would commit suicide, why would we continue to do it?
Does that mean we should turn our back on the issue? Absolutely not.
We still need to fight suicide, but we should do it by inspiring and teaching Veterans to truly live.
The more we hear about Veterans who are building businesses, becoming leaders in their communities, and running for office, the more we will turn social proof in our favor.
The more Veterans charities that switch their focus from creating "awareness" to building comradery, civic responsibility, leadership, and skillsets in our community, the more we will benefit.
No one kills themselves just because they heard someone else do it. There are many factors that go into that decision. But having it plastered everywhere makes it more of a possibility.
You are free to have your own opinions. What I've done here is present evidence for you to evaluate. I am not the lord and keeper of the Veteran Community.
But I do love this community with all of my heart, and for that reason, I will not be propagating the number 22 for any reason.
Vincent "Rocco" Vargas is a US Army Ranger Veteran, Entrepreneur, Actor, and Podcaster. He is currently playing Gilberto "Gilly" Lopez on the FX Series Mayans MC.
Vincent "Rocco" Vargas has a lot to say about the state of affairs in the US Military Veteran Community, and we should be listening.
He's been through the struggles that many Veterans have faced: the sleepless nights, the nightmares, the addictions, and divorce. He's spoken to thousands of Veterans about these struggles.
In the past, he dealt with these issues like many of us have: with humor. As an influencer, Vinny played the character "Rocco" on Matt Best's YouTube Channel. He was known as the "funny" guy.
But as Vinny says during this interview "dick and fart" jokes weren't cutting it anymore. Over the past two years, he's worked to cultivate a more serious image. Not for fame or fortune, but because he believes that it's what the Veteran Community needs.
He still loves humor. It takes the edge off of things. He still considers Matt Best and the rest of the guys great friends and he has the deepest of respect for what they've done together.
But now he's also working for a larger vision: to teach the Veteran Community that they are not victims and that they are capable of fostering strength, resilience, and prosperity in their civilian lives.
We discuss:
The Warrior Soul Podcast is sponsored by FBOMB Nutrition.
They make delicious and portable low carb fat-fueled snacks like Macadamia Nut Butter, Cheese Snacks, and Meat Sticks.
Get 20% off of your first order of FBOMBS by using the code WARRIORSOUL at checkout at http://www.dropanfbomb.com
Rob Jones is a US Marine Corps Veteran. He's ridden across country in the dead of winter on a bicycle. He's also run 31 marathons in 31 days.
Rob is a double above the knee amputee who lost both of his legs while serving in Afghanistan. In addition to the accomplishments listed above, Rob also earned the bronze medal in rowing for the US Paralympic Team.
Now Rob is running for a congressional seat to represent Virginia's 10th district in the US House of Representatives. We brought Rob on for the second time to speak about his life, his campaign, and where he sees this country going.
The Warrior Soul Podcast is sponsored by FBOMB Nutrition, makers of delicious high-fat low carb snacks. Get 20% off of your first order when you use the code WARRIORSOUL at checkout.
You can live in this world, you can just exist in it.
When you're just existing with no real purpose in mind, that's when you're aimless.
Contrary to popular belief, being aimless isn't something that just happens. You actually choose to be aimless.
That choice comes when you decide to take the easy road. In this episode, Chris discusses aimlessness and how you can avoid it by living a life of purpose and meaning.
This episode is brought to you by FBOMB Nutrition: Get 20% off of your first order of Fbombs by using the code WARRIORSOUL at checkout at www.dropanfbomb.com.
Dr. Kirk Parsley is a US Navy Seal and Medical Doctor.
Doc Parsley has been there and done that. Serving as an enlisted Navy Seal, he burned the candle at both ends for a long time. Like many who've served in the military, he was used to surviving on much less than the 7.5-9 hours of sleep that's recommended for health and vitality.
After his time in the Seal Teams, Doc Parsley chose yet another profession where sleep depravation was common: medicine. It was par for the course, and like most of us, Doc Parsley drove himself to tough it out.
Then Doc Parsley came back to the Seal Teams to serve as the Medical Officer for Naval Special Warfare Group One. That's when it hit him. The warriors he was caring for were often falling apart with hormone deficiencies, chronic injuries, and constant fatigue.
Being Seals, they "embraced the suck" and wore their sleep depravation like a red badge of courage, but it was heavily affecting their performance, health, and longevity in the teams.
Doc Parsley knew that the answer to most of their issues was adequate restorative sleep. Since then, he's become one of the world's foremost experts on sleep and performance. After leaving the Navy, he set up his own practice where he coaches high performers from around the world. He also invented a Sleep Remedy that provides the body with the raw materials it needs to induce restorative sleep.
In this interview, Doc Parsley delivers his advice to our community of military Veterans. We discuss why sleep is essential to performance and why you're fooling yourself if you think you're fine with less than 7.5 hours. In truth, you're creating lasting damage to your brain and your body.
To learn more about Doc Parsley, visit his web site at http://www.docparsley.com.
G. Michael Hopf is an apocalyptic author and Marine Corps Veteran. Much of his life before he began writing was an adventure. In addition to his time as a US Marine, G. Michael Hopf was a commercial diver and an executive protection agent who once guarded members of the Saudi Royal Family.
He credits his travels and the host of characters he met along his way with helping his own character development in his writing.
Today, his books have a massive following amongst apocalyptic fiction readers. He's authored close to 30 books including his best-selling New World Series.
In this episode we discuss his amazing story and how he went from the Marine Corp to becoming a best-selling novelist.
You'll learn:
To follow G. Michael Hopf and keep up with his work head over to his web site at: https://www.gmichaelhopf.com
Your past doesn't make you special, whether you're a veteran or not. Serving in the military should be but one of the great things you do in your life, and if you haven't served, the great things in your past should be stepping stones to greener pastures.
Similarly, the bad things you've experienced in your life don't make you special either. This is life. At some point everyone experiences tragedy, hardship, and eventually, death.
What does make you special? How you choose to respond to the things that have happened to you. When you allow your experiences to make you stronger rather than break you.
This episode will help you start.
Nick Koumalatsos is a modern renaissance man.
He currently runs seven businesses. These include:
And he's seeing absolutely ridiculous growth, especially with Johnny Slicks, the hair grooming company he owns along side fellow Marine Corps Veteran Johnny Slicks.
In addition to that, Nick has authored several books about prep for Marine Corps Bootcamp, Recon selection, and MARSOC. His latest book, Excommunicated Warrior, is a guidebook for anyone going through transition in their lives.
On top of all this, he's a dedicated family man, devoted to his wife Alison, his daughters, and he's trying to have another baby.
In looking at Nick now, you might be fooled into thinking that everything came easy to him. That's definitely not the case.
After a wayward period in his youth, Nick had to fight to get into the Marine Corps. He also had to fight to regain control of his life after his discharge.
Like many Veterans, Nick went through problems with alcohol, depression, traumatic brain injury, and self-destructive and suicidal tendencies.
His book, Excommunicated Warrior, details how he slowly regained control of his life.
Nick came onto the show to discuss his life as a business and family man. This was an absolutely awesome conversation and you'll be sure to get a lot of motivation and hope if you're going through your own transition.
You'll learn:
To learn more about Nick's businesses click any of the links above.
To keep up with everything Nick is doing, check out his website at https://www.nickkoumalatsos.com
It doesn't matter who you are: at some point in your life, you're going to have to embrace the suck.
What's the suck? It's the hard times, when the world seems like it's working against you. Those times when you try something big and life get's really difficult. Those times when you face tragedy, hardship, and bad luck.
It's the suck, and you have to embrace it. Embrace the suck.
Why? Because it's those times that will make you or break you. When you embrace the suck, you're not just allowing bad times to happen to you, you're allowing them to make you stronger, smarter, and more resilient.
The more you can embrace the suck, the more success you'll have in life.
In this episode, I go into what I'm reading at the moment:
In this book, Robert Greene explores the path to power that the great masters of the world took. It's the perfect book for those who are trying to find their way in life toward a significant goal.
Lessons:
To get your copy of Mastery: https://amzn.to/2oBfTmv
The Warrior Soul Podcast is sponsored by FBOMB Nutrition. Get 20% off of your first order of FBOMBs by heading over to http://www.dropanfbomb.com.
Bing West is an author, former Reagan Administration Undersecretary of Defense, and US Marine Corps Veteran of the Vietnam War. Recently, Mr. West coauthored Call Sign Chaos along with General Jim Mattis.
General Jim Mattis's recently released memoir, Call Sign Chaos, didn't cause the stir that the media hoped it would.
Rather than a tell-all about the Trump Administration, General Mattis and his co-author Bing West, decided to make the book the culmination of General Mattis's long career of service, and rightfully so.
This book is probably the most important memoir of a military leader of the past half-century, and it is a gold mine of information for those who want to learn how to lead effectively.
This week, I had the honor of having Bing West on the show to discuss the book, it's place in history, and what readers should take from it.
We discuss:
To get your copy of Call Sign Chaos by Jim Mattis and Bing West, click the image.
To learn more about Bing West and his other books, head to https://westauthors.com/
Staying on the path to your goals isn't easy. The world presents countless shiny objects that can take you far away from where you ever wanted to end up.
Moving forward takes drive, focus, and a clear vision of where you want to go.
This episode will give steps for determining what your ultimate destination is, and how you can pursue that desired state without distraction.