EARLY Access: Shawn Ryan Show #257 Jocko Willink (Patreon)

Jocko Willink is a retired U.S. Navy SEAL officer, #1 New York Times bestselling author, and leadership expert with a 20-year military career, retiring as a lieutenant commander in 2010. Enlisting in 1990 at age 19 after growing up in Connecticut, Willink completed BUD/S training (class 177), served with SEAL Teams One and Two, and later commissioned as an officer, with deployments across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, including leading the seizure of the Russian tanker Volga-Neft-147 in the Gulf of Oman for UN sanctions violations. He commanded SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser during the Battle of Ramadi in Operation Iraqi Freedom, earning the Silver Star, the U.S. military’s third-highest valor award, as part of the war’s most decorated Special Operations Unit.

Since retiring, he is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and proponent of disciplined 4:30 a.m. wake-ups, he co-founded Echelon Front, a leadership consulting firm applying SEAL principles to Fortune 500 companies, and launched the Jocko Podcast in 2015, amassing over 1 billion downloads by exploring leadership, war, and discipline. 

Willink co-owns Origin USA, producing American-made apparel and fitness gear, launched Jocko Fuel for energy and hydration products, and owns Victory MMA and Fitness gym in San Diego. His books, including Extreme Ownership, Discipline Equals Freedom, and the Way of the Warrior Kid series, offer military-inspired wisdom for personal and professional growth. A partner in the San Diego Futbol Club. Jocko is the host of the Presidential special, Above, Below and Beyond, celebrating 250 years of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, which is streaming now on Fox.