1005. The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday.

The sound of the bell echoed across the asphalt grinder. One, two, three rings as the deep brass tone bounced off the buildings and into the collective consciousness of the SEAL trainees doing morning calisthenics. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Petty Officer Halliday took off his helmet and placed it at the base of the bell. The SEAL instructor dressed in a blue and gold T-shirt with khaki swim trunks and green jungle boots said something unintelligible. All I caught was Halliday yelling at the top of his voice, Hooyah, Instructor Fakety." Fakety said something else, and Halliday ran back toward the barracks. we would never see Halliday again. With three rings of the bell, he had just quit SEAL training. Two weeks earlier, he had completed Hell Week, arguably the toughest week in any military training. Hell Week was six days of no sleep, constant harassment by the instructors, and always being kept cold, wet, and miserable. Like all of us, Halliday experienced the euphoria of having completed the grueling trial. He knew that in the history of SEAL training, most students dropped out during that week. But he had made it, and in his mind, the rest of training was going to be much easier. He could see graduation on the horizon. He could envision the SEAL trident being placed on his chest. He had dreams of joining an elite team of professionals and having the adventure of a lifetime. He could taste victory. I know this because in the euphoria, he had confided in me his vision of the future. But Halliday failed to remember the words that were etched on a large wooden sign that hung behind the instructor's PT stand. The only easy day was yesterday The words were a cautionary tale to every SEAL trainee. If you think the hard part is over, you're mistaken. Tomorrow will be just as difficult as today, maybe even more so." But the words carry great weight outside training as well. To me, the words were a clarion call, a reminder that every day required my full effort. They reminded me that no day was gonna be an easy day, and that as a leader, I must be prepared to give it my all every single day the day you no longer believe you have something to prove, the day you no longer believe that you must give it your all, the day you think you're entitled to special treatment, the day you think that all of your hard days are behind you is the day that you are no longer the right leader for the job Leadership requires energy. It requires stamina. It requires resilience. It requires everything you have and then some. The men and women that work for you will feed off your energy. If you look unprepared to deal with the challenges of the day, they will see this. If you look beaten down because the day was harder than yesterday, they will feel this. If you're not prepared to give it your all, they will know this. And if you think this is just about leaders in combat, you're mistaken. This is about every great leader who is given a difficult task and asked to inspire, motivate, and manage the people under their charge. But it doesn't mean that every day has to exhaust you. Being a great leader doesn't mean that you have superhuman strength. It only means that you have to recognize that it will require effort every day. And some days, you just won't bring it. That's okay. That's normal. But then bring it the next day. You will only fail as a leader when you think that today is gonna be easier than yesterday. Bro, is that a powerful chapter. Chapter five from Wisdom of the Bullfrog by Admiral William H. McRaven. And you may have heard, I think, his speech on YouTube about making your bed. It's another book that he actually wrote And that passage, man, just like set the tone for me today. And if that doesn't set the tone for you, I, I don't know what will Because whether you're in a leadership position or not, you're still a leader at home, and at the bare minimum, you're a leader of yourself. And the first thing after reading this passage, the first two words I wrote down was never arrive. I think that's the death nail. I don't ever wanna feel like I've arrived, and I never wanna even utter those words. Because the moment that you feel like that you've arrived, the moment that you feel like that you've made it, you leave the door cracked for complacency to creep in. All of us have these future goals in mind, but the goals that you set, is it a level? So that way once you surpass that, you level up? Or are you setting goals so you can one day just like level off And you gotta be honest with yourself. You gotta look at that and be like,"Oh." That should scare the hell out of you I think a lot of us, I was just talking about this yesterday, I think a lot of us live with a small house, big house, small house mentality. And think about it, like when you're first, you know, when you're young, you buy the small house. You work your ass off. But then as you get some more success about you, then you get into the big house. But then as you get older, you're like,"I don't need this much house." So then you start downsizing into the small house. And I think metaphorically, that's exactly what we do in our lives. When we're younger, we start off with a small house mentality, grind, work hard, get the bigger house. But then we start leveling off Why not just keep the big house mentality at all times, because the opportunity is actually there. The only day that was easy was yesterday. Think about that. The only day that was easy was yesterday. Why? Because it's over. All you can do now with that is reflect on it. Renew the usable parts But don't roll over any regrets Today stands on its own the only thing that was certain was yesterday. See, right now you're playing for an uncertain future. So the fact that today you want it to be easy, I get it. That's human nature. We all do. But you're setting yourself up big time because you have no idea what's coming for you. You don't know if something catastrophic's gonna happen. You don't know if mentally you're gonna have to withstand something that tries to break you You don't know if suddenly you have to draw on every ounce of physical strength that you have built. That's why I love this quote,"The only easy day was yesterday." The hard part, it's uncertainty and preparing yourself mentally, spiritually, physically, financially, so that you can help mitigate any uncertainty when it shows up Can you avoid uncertainty? No. Some things are outside of your control. Some things just happen. You see it all the time. Car wrecks, deaths, hospitalization, heart attacks, layoffs. Bro, the list goes on and on You can't afford to arrive. You can't afford complacency, and that's why every day matters. Because one day life's gonna ask you questions, and the answer will only come from how well you prepared I think this is why you gotta have a day one mentality and a day zero work ethic. The day one mentality is where you're open-minded, you're curious, you're creative, you're confrontational. You take it on it's not gonna be easy. As a matter of fact, you don't even want it to be easy. Whatever needs to get done, you get it done. It may not be at a hundred percent effort, but damn it, you bring it your all See, with that day one mentality, you're not protecting your ego. You're not just trying to protect how you look. You take new things on You ask questions, you get creative instead of complaining and bitching about what you don't have. You just get shit done, man. Every day is day one, but then you have a day zero work ethic. That day zero work ethic, I love that. You zero it out. The only easy day was yesterday. Good or bad, it's over. So with that day zero you don't rest on yesterday's wins Yet you won't carry on yesterday's failures either. Today stands on its own What if you walked in every day with a day zero work ethic? Good or bad, yesterday's over. Bro that puts a different scope On how you look at your day. See everybody else... It changes the frame completely. See what's everybody else doing? Everybody else is wishing things were easier. Everybody else is trying to figure out how they can just lay up today. But you, day one mentality, day zero work ethic So today Confront, but don't be combative. Be curious, not complacent. Instead of making judgments, turn it into the form of a question. Be creative, not complaining. Everybody else is standing around complaining. Use what you got. Be creative. Draw on that. People are attracted to that And let every day stand on its own. That's all you gotta worry about. Isn't that freeing to know? I don't have to worry about yesterday. It's over. That was the easy part. Tomorrow? Have no clue. Today. That's it and when you look at it through that lens, you realize,"I'm not gonna get everything I wanted i'm not gonna win every time. I will fall. I will fail And I damn sure know it won't be easy because the only easy day was yesterday. All right, let's get out here. Keep it simple. Keep it moving. Never settle. Stay tough. Peace