Every single day we wake up, we are met with new challenges. Things we may never have seen before. New life ambushes, or just scenarios that don’t fit into our plans. More traffic than we expected. Someone runs a stop sign, and now we have to deal with at best a fender-bender. Or worse. Like today, we wake up and find out there’s even more devastation from COVID-19 in this country.
These things that happen to us, just the small events that make our days a little more difficult, or the big ones that completely throw us off our predetermined paths, these show us why it is so important to have a positive attitude.
On this week’s episode of The Overcome+Conquer Show, we sat down with Navy SEAL, Rob O’Neill. A combat veteran, author of the book The Operator, and former member of the SEAL that was responsible for taking down Osama bin Laden, Rob tells the story of how the whole mission went down. And more.
He begins the story with how they found out they were being deployed. Sitting with his young daughter at a school function, he gets the call. Thing is, even on their way out of the country, they still have no real idea what it is they’re doing. But that’s the life Rob chose, and it does add to the rush of being a SEAL.
Even not knowing where it is you’re going until you get there, Rob tells us how vital it is to stay in the moment, and keep that positivity flowing. One false move, one second of lost focus, and the whole thing could turn into a one-way trip.
Although the mission to get Bin Laden was the pinnacle of his career, Rob had been on hundreds of missions similar to the Bin Laden raid. So he knows exactly what it takes to be the best of the best. He tells of how he got there, what the training was like, and even how he trained BEFORE the training, rather, how badly he was at it.
But the whole thing about it, being able to deal with those types of ambushes, whether serious military missions, or having to go to the grocery in the middle of a pandemic, both have successful endings, if you can keep your head on your shoulders.
Rob went through it all, as a member of the Navy. Although, we learned that that wasn’t even his original goal. He wanted to be a Marine, but the universe intervened, and sent him on a different path. One that led him to be the man toe-to-toe with evil itself, and putting it down with three rounds to the face. And he’s come back from all of that, still with some demons that haunt him today, with a purpose. A passion to help those like him. Rob recognizes in our podcast others paved the way for him and that he stands on the shoulders of giants, and he’s ready to help in any way possible.
That’s what led to Rob starting the Your Grateful Nation nonprofit organization. A way for those coming back from combat to get ready, and prepare for their life after battle. As a former special-ops guy, a public speaker, and co-founder of Your Grateful Nation, Rob helps in ways not many are able to. He returned to civilian life with no real business training, but with a positive perspective and a purpose, Rob is once again on the frontlines, but this time, his weapon of choice is his experience.
His main mission is to show others how to accept things, and move forward, or as we say it, get off the X. Learning from both what he went through, and the experiences of others, Rob is specially armed with a platform and a vision, for a smooth transition into the world he put his life on the line to protect. Like so many others, Rob joined the Navy at a young age, so for him, and so many others, it isn’t “coming back”, or a “re-acclimation”, it’s truly learning a whole new way of life. But he has shown to be ready for the challenge, just as he was in May of 2011, when they took down the terrorist responsible for September 11th, 2001.
We are all susceptible to negativity. Somehow, it has engulfed us. Especially now, with all of the negative news from this virus. But the way we fight through these hard times, and come out on the other side better people, is by making sure we do all we can to keep a positive mindset.
Rob tells us in his own words what it was like, what happened, and what it’s like now in this incredible episode. And he did that for all of us, so that we too can get through our personal life ambushes in a more productive way. So get out there and find a purpose, something that sparks a passion in you. Hang on to it. Feed it. And let it feed others in a way that makes them want to do the same. This is the message Rob is teaching. You can do the same.
