Jocko Willinks is a bit of a legend.

Why?

Not just for his service as a U.S. Navy Seal, but also his ability to share profound principles that lead to victory on the battlefield and apply them with the same results to the realm of business and personal growth. 

After reading the “Dichotomy of Leadership” I embarked on a bit of a “Jocko binge,” watching his Tedx Talk and interviews with, Joe Rogen, and Tim Ferris.

From each piece of content, I gathered deeper insights on the foundational principles that make this man of steel.  

“Discipline does equal freedom.”

– Jocko Willink

It’s a common view that discipline, rules, commandments, etc are things that limit your freedom. Maybe this is because we all experienced a point in time where we wanted to revolt against some form of authority, or because we often falsely equate discipline with restrictions and limitations. 

Viewing discipline as a limiting force not only makes life significantly less enjoyable but is simply untrue, Jocko stands as a powerful example of why that is the case.

Discipline, in combat, is displayed by ensuring the men in his platoon carried the correct gear and understood the appropriate strategies. This gave them the freedom to a) act in a responsible way when the time cam b) save their colleagues c) protect civilians. If you take a moment to consider what would have happened without discipline, it becomes very apparent that these men would be very restricted by their a) lack of appropriate gear b) lack of knowledge c) lack of efficiency. 

In the personal realm, being more discipline over what you eat, for example, allows you the freedom to perform at a higher physical state. Discipline over the cleanliness of your room allows organized, and therefore freedom from clutter and frustration.

Jocko displays daily discipline by getting up every morning at 4:30am. This dedication to discipline and to do the right thing, which can often be a hard thing, particularly resonates with me. Because on a much smaller scale, I face the same daily battle as he does, but with daily writing.

This particular tweet from Nov 23rd encompasses the above principle well. 

“Aftermath. No way did I feel like doing this today, but knew I should. GLAD I DID. This is the same for many good things in life. However: there are some bad things that you REALLY FEEL LIKE DOING, but know you shouldn’t. YOU WILL NOT BE GLAD YOU DID THEM. Play the long game.”

– Jocko Willinks

The next principle I particularly liked was the importance of having something you’re striving for. 

Whether that be a goal, pursuing your life mission or a big dream, it’s valuable, and I would argue vital, to be constantly pushing yourself. (reminds me of the “Day One” mentality crusaded by Jeff Bezos. As he famously stated: “Day two is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death.”)

Lastly, I now really want to get into jiu-jitsu. Rolling around with people on a mat isn’t something that’s naturally appealing to me, but the culture surrounding jiu-jitsu resonates with me and makes me want to “GET SOME” as Jocko would say.  

It is a powerful and wonderful thing to be inspired. I hope you take these principles and look for challenges to be fought and victories to be won. Go make it happen.