Final Coconut Horse session for Wisdom of the Bullfrog.
We did the conclusion chapter which might have been my favorite chapter. Thankfully, Strogi reminded me the day before and I had time to get my stuff ready, otherwise it would have been a very short session.
The chapter started out talking about the book Gates of Fire (the book about the story from the movie 300 and King Leonidas). If that story doesn’t get you fired up, you need to go see your doctor and get your testosterone level checked. I’ll be watching that if I can find it as soon as I finish this BB. McRaven talks about how Xerxes asks the last remaining Spartan what made Leonidas such a great leader. The Spartan’s response was basically that he does not command their loyalty, he earns it by the daily grind of being in the trenches with them and not asking them to do anything he is not already doing or willing to do. He basically describes Leonidas’ behavior (and the complete opposite of the Xerxes’ behavior) throughout the entire movie 300.
McRaven then goes on to describe qualities of a great leader: integrity, competence, swagger, strength/stamina, and the willingness to take (measured) risk and dream big. In the end, great leaders must also share hardships with those that they lead. I couldn’t help thinking about several movies while I was reading this chapter: Band of Brothers, Hoosiers, We Were Soldiers and probably a few others that I can’t remember now. It also made me appreciate the recent trip to one of Jocko’s Musters in Texas. THAT was a great trip worth every penny and hope some of you get a chance to go at some point. Among the leadership lessons from the conference, I learned a couple other things:
1-I have missed out on some really good music: Audioslave can get me a bit fired up and I need to check them out.
2-if you want to hear George Strait, hang out in the bathrooms in hotels that play music in Texas. I probably took the longest bathroom breaks of my life on that trip. #goodmemories
Finally, McRaven finishes the book with some humility. He was in the Navy/SEALs for 40 years, led a major educational institution, and has written several books and finishes the book with the fact that he is STILL LEARNING HOW TO LEAD.
If you have not read the book, you might consider ordering it or borrowing it from someone. The chapters are relatively short, the lessons are memorable, and we all really enjoyed it.
Next week we start The Hero Code also by Admiral McRaven. Hope to see some new faces.
Whoopee
PS: almost forgot, 4 plus a nutsniffer rucked and 3 ran this am. Flintstone posted after running a marathon yesterday with his fastest half marathon time ever….