As I delved into Unbreakable
– A Navy SEAL’s Way of Life, by retired Navy SEAL Thom Shea I could quite
shake the feeling of familiarity that the book brought to mind. There was just
something about Shea offering up not only stories of his life in battle, but
his desire to tell his story to his children why he chose the path he did and
why he fought the battles he did to keep not only his children, but all of us
safe.
And then it struck me, Shea had authored a Navy SEAL’s
version of Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture. While Pausch was dying from terminal cancer and
wanted to leave behind life guidance for his kids, Shea was a warrior on the
frontlines of war, facing not only enemies with total disregard for human life,
but also the very real possibility that he might not return.
Shea not only takes us inside those frontline battles
in a memoir, but he offers personal insights into his thought process and the
things he did to protect the men in his command, but to offer advice to his
children and us all how we could apply his training and actions to our life.
The result is a very personal story and a great insight into the mind and
actions of a warrior and what makes them tick.
The
Making of a Navy SEAL - Brandon Webb (Griffin/St. Martin’s)
Retired Navy SEAL Brandon Webb has literally been the man
who tells the story of the Navy SEALs. While many other former operators have
taken up the pen, Webb has truly told the story of these special men from just
about every possible angle; personal, historical, and clearly insider in action
and in training some of the deadliest snipers in the history of warfare.
Now, he re-visits his personal story that he first told
in The Red Circle, which was part autobiography
and part story of his training of SEAL snipers; in The Making of a Navy SEAL, which he adapted for the young adult
reader.
Webb writes with economy and delivers a sense of
adventure that is sure to appeal to the young reader. His story of overcoming
hardship and setting/achieving goals could easily inspire not only the next
generation of warriors, but translates well to setting a path to a successful
life, without coming off preachy or like a bad self-help book. If you have a
young adult in need of direction in your life, I can’t think of a better
Christmas gift.
Extreme
Ownership – How the U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win – Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
(St. Martin’s Press)
For me, the goal of any leadership book should be to
impart not only practical, but also actionable information that I can put into
play today. The question posed by Extreme
Ownership – How the U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win, by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, a pair of former SEAL commanders is
can the battle hardened leadership skills of been there done that warriors, translate
to the to the work place?
Anyone who has ever tackled a leadership book (and I
have shelves full) will know that it is easy for these books to stray off
course and end up in the weeds of minutiae. Not the case here; Willink and
Babin set the table for a series of leadership principles by relating a real
life (at least their real life) battle field tale, the decision making process
they went through in the moment and how you as a leader can apply that to your
team/business.
The result is a very impactful approach to leadership
and team building. The good news is you don’t have to go through the hell on
earth of the Battle of Ramadi to apply these processes, Willink and Babin have
done that for you; you gain from their experience, no body armor necessary.
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