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Carlos Contreras on Resilience, Faith, and Building Success After Becoming a Green Beret | Security Halt! Podcast Ep. 451
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Success isn't an accident—it's built through discipline, consistency, and unwavering belief.
In Episode 451 of the Security Halt! Podcast, host Deny Caballero sits down with Green Beret, entrepreneur, and leadership mentor Carlos Contreras to discuss one of the most inspiring journeys you'll hear.
Born in Mexico and raised with humble beginnings, Carlos shares how determination, faith, and relentless hard work led him to become a U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret before transitioning into entrepreneurship and leadership coaching.
Throughout the conversation, Carlos explains why successful people don't rely on motivation—they build systems. He discusses overcoming criticism, embracing adversity, cultivating resilience, and creating a personal creed that keeps him focused regardless of life's challenges.
Whether you're transitioning from the military, building a business, leading a team, or simply looking to become the best version of yourself, this episode is filled with practical wisdom that can help you reach your next level.
Chapters:
00:00 Meet Carlos Contreras: From Mexico to Green Beret
04:00 Humble Beginnings and the American Dream
09:57 Moving to the United States and Overcoming Adversity
19:59 Why Systems Beat Motivation Every Time
29:56 Transitioning From Special Forces to Entrepreneurship
40:06 Faith, Mental Discipline, and High Performance
49:56 Networking, Mentorship, and Building Your Circle
54:54 Creating a Personal Creed for Success
57:36 Final Advice for Leaders, Veterans, and Entrepreneurs
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Hurt People And Carrying Pressure
SPEAKER_01Hurt people, hurt people. Like, no one's out there. I realize the people that are backbiting, the dudes that will try to do negative and are vindictive and filled with that hate. They're broken, man. They're hurting. Greatest and biggest thing, biggest accomplishment I feel in our personal lives is if we can take that pressure, whatever pressure it is that you're going through, whatever's coming down on your shoulders and bearing down on you, and just say, you know what? I can hold it.
SPEAKER_02I talk about the five principles of a man, right? Faith, family, uh, fitness, finance, and fortitude. So a lot of my stressors come from finance. It's one of the things that's leading me towards retirement, but it's usually finance that's stressing me out, right?
SPEAKER_00That security help media is looking for clients that need video editing. Have them reach out to info at securityhaltmedia.com.
SPEAKER_01Thank you for making it time to be here today, brother.
SPEAKER_02No, I appreciate the opportunity. Um, this is my first official podcast. So case of beer, 100%. What? I'm good with it. Yeah, this is that my first of my coming out beer. Yeah, so I'm I'm super stoked.
SPEAKER_01Uh and I take that the other podcaster that's uh that's out there. Fuck you.
SPEAKER_02So I figured what best way to kick it off with, you know, another seventh grouper, um, another like-minded guy. And uh you hit you hit the nail on the head, man. But the thing with helping people, I have this quote that just stuck in my head. You a bee can't convince a fly that honey is better than shit. So a lot of people that we help have to want it, right? You can't, I could, I could, you know, talk about, you know, accountability, commitment, discipline, high standards, all these things to help you succeed. But if you're not wanting it, like you're just gonna, you're gonna be a revolving door for him, right? Um, and you know, the a lot of the things that I've learned, and I'll, you know, we'll talk about my story, is is my brother, right? He he was like that, right? There's a row there was a revolving door with him. I loved him to death. He was my hero growing up. But with him, man, it's like I suffered so much trying to convince him of a of a different path, right? Um and he got, you know, he got substance abuse issues, alcohol, uh, you know, issues with him. And it hurt, right? Because he was my bro. Like, bro, I love you. I looked up to him, you know, three times, star athlete. Um, and he just didn't find his path, right? But again, that now that as a coach and and someone that's trying to, you know, build a company, when I come to a client that's, you know, that's wanting to learn, those, those are the best ones, man. Those are those are those are ego, and those are fire and forget. They're eager for a change, and you set systems and processes for them to succeed, and they just they just gobble it up, man. So uh again, man, I appreciate the opportunity. This is this is gonna be good. This is great. I'm I'm glad to be on, man. You get you're you're doing great things, man. Your message is awesome.
SPEAKER_01Dude, I appreciate it, brother. And I think the uh the best way to start it off is is the the connection we share. Like, I'm proud of being American, and there's something to being said when it's uh it's a choice. It's not birth, man. Like we didn't we we uh start from the bottom, now we hear type shit. Amen. Amen. Yeah. So tell me about that that young man and that young boy and uh those those humble beginnings, brother.
A Family Story Across Borders
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so like we'll take it back three, like before I was even um born, right? So there was an awesome story that my sister told me that I would love to tell you uh that kind of it just it just signifies my existence and how I even came to be, right? Um so circa late 1970s, early 1980s, right, before I was even born, my dad, uh my father, right, he uh he got into, he used to own two pharmacies in Mexico, right? That's Americas, and I forget the name of the other one, right? So at the time, he already had three other kids, right? He had my older sister, my older two sisters and my brother, right? So he got into an altercation with I I still got to find the details, so the details are a little bit mixed. Um so he got into altercation with another individual. I'm not sure if he hurt, he hurt him pretty bad. Possibly he's not with us anymore, kind of deal. Um so he he got he got arrested, right? And when he was arrested, he had hurt through a great vine, hey, when he comes out, um, he's gonna get it, right? He they wanted revenge for their loved one, right? So my dad took it upon himself. He's like, nah, you know what, I'm not gonna stick around. So he broke out of jail and went to Chicago. The only place he knew another family member, Roberto, his brother, right? So he took off to Chicago, left my mom with three young with uh three young children from Mexico. So the plan was never to go to the States, right? So he goes to Chicago. Um, a couple years passed by, and my mom, um, she was she uh her dad passed away when she was a little baby, right? So it was really important for her to have a father figure in the house, right? So after two years, she's like, okay, like either you're gonna come back to Mexico or we need to figure this out. So she took upon herself, because my mom, she was a warrior, man. She passed away in 2006, but she was a warrior, man. She she fought um tooth and nail for family, for all those things, right? So it when I heard this story, like, like, yo, my mom was like, it was awesome. It was awesome to hear the story from my sister, right? So she took her three kids, uh, she took, she took everybody, went out to Chicago to see my pops, right? So this was like early 1980, right? She meets up with my dad. My dad hadn't seen my mom in two years, right? So it's not the best place, right? It's a rundown, like shitty little probably apartment sub basement place with and my sister told me there's cockroaches everywhere. Not a place for children to be, right? Yeah. Anyway, this is where I was conceived, right? Because they reun that you reunite, and you know, Latinos when they get together, I'm sure, you know, they were happy to see each other, right? So they get, you know, that's this is where I was conceived, and this is where, you know, um that all happened. But again, my dad, looking at the situation, he was like, hey, I got three kids already. We're about to have a fourth. This is not, no, we need, we need to figure this out, we need to find a different course of action because I'm not, I'm not ready to receive a fourth child. So again, my mom, my my savior, my angel, she's like, tough choice, like tough bananas, man. This is, I'm Catholic. I there's no choice. Like, there's this baby's in inside and growing because God chose it to be so. So um, she's like, nope, I'm having it. Took the babies, left off to Mexico, and um, and that's where I was born, right? Um, I was born in Mexico, laying Guanajuato, um, in a house, right? Not in a hospital anywhere. I was born in a house. Um, I saw pictures of it. Um, so I was born there. And then my mom, knowing my dad, so under the unfortunate reality of my pops, he wasn't a very faithful man, right? Um, he was always kind of running around on her. So she knew that. So she left myself and my siblings in Mexico for about two, three years to go with my pops, right? Because she, she, you know, she loved him, right? She she she adored him, um, stuck, stuck by with him through uh through thick and thin. So she went up there, and this is where I got really close to my grandmother, right? My grandmother raised me up when I was, you know, a little baby, um, through kindergarten and stuff like that. So she went up there, um, stayed with my pops. I had not met my pop yet, right? So she stays up there for two or three years, and it's two years later, two, three years later, and I still hadn't met my father, right? So she's like, I'm gonna go get this little boy, I'm gonna come back and you're gonna meet him, right? And she did that. So she brought me back to the States, um, about three years old. I stay up with them. I still remember like small memories of like this kind of small double wide trailer um right next to a big like freight train station. Um, I stayed with them for about a year or two and then got to meet my dad, spent some time with him. He was like, okay, this dude's kind of cool. We'll keep him around. And then um she sent me back to Mexico alone because I guess during that time, I guess it like it reinvigorated his wanted to take care of family or whatever. So she sent me back to Mexico alone. I remember showing up to Mexico with like a whole bunch of Chicago cheat canes, cheat cake, cheat cheat canes around my belt loop. And all my little cousins were like trying to snap at me and trying to get me some. Uh, get what get get get them one of them. And um, from then on, they focused. Uh, they got a house in Bensonville, Illinois. And then they came back for us uh circa 1989 in a big old old Oldsmobile Burgundy car, man. Um I still remember the trip back. It was all four of us, my grandma and them two. We traveled all the way back from La Guanajuata, Mexico, which is like center of Mexico, all the way back up to Chicago. So when my yeah, when my sister told me that story, um, I was like, damn, like I could one, I couldn't possibly not be here sitting in front of you having this conversation with you. My mom didn't have the fortitude, the strength, the faith, right, to to make this
Pride, Identity, And Online Hate
SPEAKER_02all happen, right? So um, you know, my mom was a blessing for me. And and a lot of the things, and I just recently posted, like, you know, Mexican-born kid to US special forces, there were some people that had some heartache over it. It's like I'm not trying to delineate or like add any political, right? So my story means a lot to me. Dude, how do how do people like have a heartache over that? Like, what was I don't know, bro. Like the comets. What the com Yeah. Yeah, the comments were like, oh, you you know, you traitor. There's a couple of them like you traitor, and it was a Spanish, traidor, like you you could have fucked from that army.
SPEAKER_01All the time. Cocoa, coconut, fucking you're not fucking, you're not real, Batamini. I'm like, yeah, you know, uh, I I don't. This episode of Security Health is brought to you by Dr. Taylor Bosley and Persistian Wellness Group. Let's be real. By now, a lot of New Year's resolutions have already fizzled out, life gets busy, motivation drops, and health ends up on the back burner. But here's the truth: there's no better time to start than right now. Persistian Wellness Group specializes in hormone optimization and hormone health, delivering personalized care and treatment right to your door. You've been dealing with low energy, brain fog, or sleep, or stalled performance, hormone imbalance, maybe the midst of peace. Dr. Taylor Bosley and his team take a data-driven individualized approach to help you get back to operating at your best. Security Hall Listeners receive 25% off their initial consultation when they use Security Hall 25 at checkout. Click the link in the episode description to find out more and get started today. I I don't I don't uh subscribe to that fucking idea that I have to fit a mold. Like, I don't need your fucking you you were born in a fucking United States. Like you're you have no claim to say that you control origin and culture, Hispanic, Latino. Shut the fuck up. Get over it. There is something to be proud of, dude. Like, yeah, I was born in that country, but you know what? I'm American by choice, by service. Like, this country gave us everything, man. Like it gave us everything. Like, I there there's it's not perfect, it's not fucking perfect, but I would rather live here and work my ass off to get further in life than go back to any other country. With the exception of a few, there's a few out there. South Korea was fucking awesome. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, never been. Yeah, never been. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, there's people out there, man, they just are so like, and I I think what it is is they they have so little joy in their life. Like, so little joy that whenever somebody shows their a little bit of their own journey and are proud to share it with the world, and they stand there saying, like, look where I came from, and they're still at the bottom. It's that crab in the bucket mentality, dude. And uh it's just like whatever, dude. Look, look where they're at. They probably have nothing great in their life, and they just want to be fucking a pain in the ass.
SPEAKER_02It's uh it's unfortunate, and I I I have like a lot of things that I say in my head, especially when like I'm just coming into social media and I'm getting these sort of comments. Um, if I wouldn't seek your advice, then why would I care what you think about me, right? My creator, my family, my close friends and relatives, that's it. If I seek your advice, I truly care about your opinion. Other than that, um, the late great Kobe Bryant said it, right? If you don't have any haters, you're not doing things right. Right. So the fact that I have haters is I'm doing something correctly. So when he has like a negative comment, um, he'll put like uh, you know, I appreciate the engagement, and then he'll leave like a pro tip. I kind of stole that from him. So I leave uh, hey, thanks for the engagement. Uh, and like I'll give him like a health tip or something like that. Uh so I I don't know if it like ignites.
SPEAKER_01I think the like the best thing for me, man, is like I always reach out, like I'll send them a message. Hey, what's wrong with you? What's going on? Like what kind of what kind of resources or support do you need? Because there's no way in hell a healthy person, somebody's in a good place, lashes out. And I see it all the time. And I I was surprised, man. Every time I reach out personally, like, hey man, do you need support? What are you going through? Because nine times out of ten, if you're following my page, you're probably a veteran or first responder. And if you hate the thing, if you lash out when I remember one of the biggest things when I'm always like, share your story. Share your story, be willing to share your story. And people are like, nobody wants to hear your fucking story. Shut the fuck up. And I'll be like, I'll send them a direct message, but hey man, are you okay? Like, how how can I help you or is there a resource I can put you in? And they'll immediately like they immediately go inward and they'll and they'll uh they'll block me because they're like, they don't want to have the confrontation of somebody that returns their the instead of returning you know anger and hate back, it's just like, hey man, I hope you're okay, man. I hope you're okay.
Control What You Can Control
SPEAKER_02Yep. And and and it really solidifies my three circles, right? There's a circle of control, I mean a circle of concern, circle of influence, and a circle of control, right? What can I actually control? If there if there's an individual out there just typing away at their phone and it's like, eh, yeah, this is gonna show them. Like, what do you like? What reality are you living in? Like, we all have a very subjective reality that's in our own innately in our own little bubble, and that's fine. But you also, I think guys like especially Green Berets, we have the ability to have a macro lens, uh, a very objective view of the world because of all the deployments we've been through, because all the things we've done, all the training environments we've been in with, you know, ex-country, whatever the case may be. We're privy to true poverty. We're privy to true government tyranny, we're privy to war. So all these things give us a lot of great subjective reality when a lot of these people, like, they go to work, they're in back, you know, their pattern of life is circular and they do the same thing over and over again. So, what's their connection? What's their connection is their little rage bait and their little message of anger to try to get what? Attention, right? And I love that we do that. I'll probably pick that up. I'll send them a message, man. You good, man? You need to melt what's up, man. Usa, brother. Like, so yeah, I love that, man.
SPEAKER_01I'm gonna take that from you. Please do, man, because the thing that I realized, like, hurt people hurt people. Like, no one's out there. Uh I realized the people that are backbiting, the dudes that will try to do negative and are vindictive and filled with that hate, they're broken, man. They're hurting. Like, if your first reaction is to go towards anger and lash out, there's something going on. And there's a better life out there, man. I one of the biggest things that I realized, man, like, and I know you're probably in that same category, like you're juggling multiple things, you've got so much pressure on your shoulders. Don't let it bleed out on the rest of the world. Don't let it, I mean, like, the greatest thing we can do, the greatest and biggest thing, the biggest accomplishment I I feel in our personal lives is that we can take that pressure, whatever pressure it is that you're going through, whatever's coming down on your your shoulders and bearing down on you, and just say, you know what? I can hold it. I can let it go, and I can walk out that door, walk out of my office, walk out of my my work, and it stays there. I'm not gonna bring it into the house. And that's yeah, I remember I was talking to my wife today because that wasn't always the case, man. And yet, how quickly we can go on social media and be like, I'm having a bad day. I'm gonna lash out on this guy. Fuck him and his positivity. No, man. Let it go. Because it's so it's like everything that person's probably dealing with, like they have no outlet, nobody to talk to, and they're dealing with so much. So, like as you continue to grow in this, and dude, you're gonna get huge. I guarantee freaking to you, within the next the next year, you're gonna be looking at your reach, your engagement through the frigging roof. And that's when like everybody's coming through and and you get a good message or you don't get something good, it's like, dude, let it go. At the end of the day, you've been in worse places, you've done harder things.
SPEAKER_02Yep. And and and did that that resonates so with me so much because um the unfortunate reality of of us, right, in Green Beret, um, during our deployments, I've been through a couple divorces, right? Um and a lot of a lot of the reasons why I didn't know how to handle or process what had happened in Afghanistan or or you know Iraq. And processing that hurt, um, sometimes you you you lash out on who, right? The people that are closest to you, right? And now, older, more mature, more aware, when I get upset, in my mind, I tell myself, is it worth it? Is this argument worth it? Is me raising my voice worth it? Is me getting out of control worth it? Nine out of ten times it's not. It really isn't. It's something petty, something super small, it's something minimal, something that we could just have a conversation with my wife. I'll go out and, you know, awesome lift the factory has funded me with a good gym here and here in my house. Go out, do a couple reps, I'll run a couple miles, and I'll come back. I'll come back inside the house and I'm I'm moved, so I'm good to go. Doesn't happen often because my wife, she is a god center. She is she's wonderful. Um, she is she's a peacemaker. She's my yin to my yang. Um she's she's she's the one that brought me so much closer to my faith. So it doesn't happen often, so it's it's a lot of oh me just getting getting getting my panties in a bunch for no reason. Um uh because of whatever stressors. Like we I talk about the five principles of of uh of a man, right? Faith, family, uh, fitness, finance, and fortitude. So a lot of my stressors come from finance. Umwards retirement, but it's usually finance that's stressing me out, right? Um, but it's got nothing to do with my beautiful wife. Like it's got nothing to do with her. Um so I'm like, what are you really upset about? Is this really worth it? Nah, let's focus down, let's change the baby's diaper, let's go get a run in real quick, and let's just let's get over it. Yeah, man. Spot on.
SPEAKER_01Dude, let's
Five Principles And Coaching Systems
SPEAKER_01dive into that, man. That's a that's a beautiful way. And I gotta tell you, man, like that's uh that's something that a lot of people need in their life, and that's a that is a heck of an angle to go with a personal coaching uh and and building a methodology around those five pillars, man. Like that's a solid approach to it. Because when I talk to people more often than not, those are the five things that that for a lot of people are are they're struggling with, at least one or two, three or four, if not all five. Um so how did you come across this and and what is your your approach to dealing with this? Sure.
SPEAKER_02Um, so a lot of my clients, right, um, and my approach to solutions, right, is understanding the individual first. Is what it what is your what is your output? What is your output that you're looking for, right? Let's identify that first, right? And it's I know you know this, right? There's kind of basic leadership planning processes. What is your outputs? After you identify your outputs, what are absolutely necessary inputs to reach that output, right? And then within those inputs, they pillar out to um, you know, different necessities, different avenues, right? The first two that I absolutely there's two of them, right? There's believe in yourself and work your ass off. If you look at all the greats across any spectrum, right?
SPEAKER_01If it's uh sports This episode is brought to you by Pure Liberty Labs. Quality supplements designed to elevate your health and performance. Check out their full line of quality supplements, whether you're looking for whey protein, pre-workout, creatine, or a super greens drink. Pure Liberty Labs has you covered. Use my code SecurityHall 10 at checkout today.
SPEAKER_02Um, realm or if it's financial realm, business, they believed in themselves and they worked their ass off. Right. If you look at Michael Jordan, if you look at Michael Phelps, if you look at CBUM, if you look at Kobe Bryant, they all had that self-belief and they all intensely worked their ass off. They were absolutely exquisite at the basics, right? So that starts off with believing yourself and understanding there's gonna be a level of constant hardship for you to achieve that, right? And then within those, right, I talk about the four non-negotiables, right? Um I talk about commitment, discipline, uh, consistency, and high high standards, right? And these are the things that I just shove down my clients' throats day in and day out. Whenever they're missing something, these are the two things that I consistently, consistently harp on, right? And then when it comes to the fitness realm, right, I talk about seven factors of performance. I talk about um training, nutrition, hydration, recovery, mobility, purpose, and mindfulness, right? And I spit those out because I memorized them. And everything that you want those outputs to be are based on systems, right? And for me, my military mind has come up with systems, right? What are systems that are gonna set me in place that are non negotiable? They're going to set my inputs positively to reach my outputs. And that's all it is. And when people reach out to me, they're all over the place. Like, hey, I don't know, run, lift, nutrition, like, oh, okay, hold on. What are your outputs? What are your goals? Is it lose weight? Is it SFAS? You know, my clients are anywhere from 50-year-old women to, you know, young military-age male that are looking to go to SFAS or range school. So the variety is huge. I get to know them. You know, I get to know them, understand them, what their outputs are. And then within that, let's put into the system. Boom, boom, boom. Now memorize them, now do them. And that's the hard part, right? When you talk about, yeah, it sounds fantastic. Because the thing that I found, I recently went out to uh uh an SFCP, right? And you could see these uh these candidates out there, right, with their eyes. Like I haven't been out in that environment. I didn't do Swick tour or anything like that. So I hadn't seen like these younger guys, right? You could just kind of tell they're like they're just pushy-tailed, bright-eyed, they're like, oh man, like I don't even know what to do, kind of deal, right? Um, but sometimes I think they romanticize being special operations, like being a Navy SEAL, being Marshall, being a green brain, don't really realize the pain they're gonna have to endure, the hardship, the commitment they're gonna have to endure. And sometimes their mindset is already there. Cool. Like you're a hard-noised dude, you're gonna, you're gonna put the work in, but their physical capacity isn't there, right? Their push-ups are weak, their pull-ups are weak, their run times are weak, and that hurts their feelings and they'll quit. Like, ah, you know, I'll never reach that part. So I built these systems to help them. Hey, man, this is gonna be a grind, bro. Like, uh no one showed up to my front door, your front door, like, hey, here's your here's your here's your green bray, hey, here's your tab, right? You know, go go ODA, whatever, report tomorrow. Like, no, no, no. Like this shit took years, right? And you really think about it, they took years before we even showed up to selection, right? We were prepared, you know. I was 11 probably before I went, and I went to range school before I went, I went to Arsenal before I went. I already had three combat deployments on my number belt before I went to selection. So for me, it wasn't that much of a prep. But for some guys, it's a rude awakening. Like, what are you really signing up for? Are you signing up for a movie or are you signing up for a lifestyle? Like it's yeah,
The Reality Behind Selection Dreams
SPEAKER_02yeah.
SPEAKER_01100%, dude. I I I went right back. I mean, I went right into it right after I got back from a deployment, right into it. And uh, there's dudes that like train for for years, months, and it's like, dude, uh the single greatest thing I had was a motivator not to go back to my company. Because they told you they in and back in the day, and I'm sure still the same way, it's like um you're burning all your bridges here, dog. You if you get sent back, if you don't make it, you're going to fucking Alaska, you're going to Fort Polk, wherever the fuck we can send you. So I was like, So I was like, all right, bet. Watch me.
unknownYep.
SPEAKER_02Yep. Watch the dog. It was the same way when I when I went, funny story, I became a citizen uh March 5th, was it 2005? That same day, I went and got a selection date. That same day. We had a big ceremony at Fort Bragg. They had like a hundred or like, and I they had a lot. I don't remember if it was a hundred or not. There was a lot of people swearing at the same time. And I went and got a selection date. So at the time I was at Core Lurse and they weren't very happy.
SPEAKER_01Because they had a shit, you were core learst to the state. Yeah, core leurs.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, 51st Lurz. Um, and at the time, they weren't very happy. It's like, hey, we have they had they had a deployment coming up. They had a deployment coming up, that a 15-month deployment, like, hey, Carlos, uh, you know. And this was 2005, 2006? Yeah, 2005, 2006 time frame. Yep. Um, and a buddy of mine, I'm I'm not sure if he's still in Brighton Seidel, he had the same thing going on. He's like, hey, man, I'm gonna go on the deployment. I'm like, all right, man, um, cool. Like, you're gonna do you, I'm gonna go to selection. Like, I'm I'm I'm out. When he came back, he's like, man, I wish I would have gone to selection. I mean, I would have wish I went to selection, I wish I went through the pipeline. Because like at the end of the day, what is the army machine, right? You are replaceable, right? You are not irreplaceable, right? That's what you're taught early on. You're learned to do what? Two two levels up, right? You're always trying to replace the guy in front of you. So for you to tell me, like, I'm paramount, little old Carlos is is end state, like, no, bro, like, no, like you're just you're just being selfish because you don't want to go search for another guy where there is another guy to replace me, right? And not like I was getting now. I was I was going to seventh school, I was going right across the street. So for me, in my mind, it didn't make sense. And I I urge a lot of young guys, be very proactive in your in your career because there's gonna be different mindsets, sergeant majors, commanders are gonna tell you what they want because it's advantageous for them. And not to not to downplay certain commanders or sergeant majors, but sometimes that could, that's a very selfish um perspective, right? The best ones, the best leadership, they're gonna back you up. Hey, you want to go to selection? Even even even the guys that group, right? They want to go to a smooth selection or they want to go to a different selection, they want to go to four battalion, whatever. The best commanders, the best leadership are the ones that are very supportive, at least for my eyes. The ones that are gonna, well, what are you doing, bro? You know, no, man. Those are the guys that either didn't make it or have some hardship or are fat or or just have a stick up their ass and just wanna hold people back for no reason. Because the army's built that way. We're meant to replace each other, right?
SPEAKER_01So what I've seen is a it's a lot of when anytime you have any any leadership that has a heartache of you going somewhere for advancement, uh it it's pure jealousy. Pure friggin' jealousy. Um I I've I will never forget one of my first sergeants in 82nd was just the absolute worst human being alive, and you can't tell me otherwise. I've grown a lot. I've I've changed my mindset. I am friends with a lot of people that I thought in a million years I want to be be able to be friends with them and break bread. I understand the errors in my thinking, you know. Once you once you get healthy, once you get on the right side of your journey, you understand people can change, people can grow, and and you owe it to yourself to to re-engage and not be so um judgmental, man. But this individual, like if if he was on fire, I wouldn't piss to put him out. Uh it's off it's on site with that motherfucker, and by now he's like a uh in his 60s, so you know. I'd be beating up for a little guy.
SPEAKER_02I have a few of those guys. I have to I have to get in the gospel to to calm me down for those guys. Yep. Yeah. I agree.
SPEAKER_01Now great. Now I have to go to confession for this. Thank you. See, that's that's another reason. I got you. I got you. Yeah, bro.
SPEAKER_02But it's true. Yep. And then and it's and it's it's always telling, um, especially with within my career. Um I've always been very proactive and I've been super blessed to make the choice that I've made at the specific times that I've made them. And that's what I love to offer with with uh lift to factor, right? Um, because about 50% of my clients are military. Um and a lot of the things that they have the advantage of being on lift the factor is they have the advantage of plugging into 24 years of military experience, right? And not only that, they have the the experience, the situational, the, the, the leadership um um you know challenges they're gonna face, right? So that's that's a lot of added value for those guys. Um and that's why I think even now, right? Um I'm doing my I'm a staff officer, bro. Like, I am not doing anything operational. I'm in front of a dad. You know what I mean? So like dude, for me.
SPEAKER_01I can't believe 24 years in and still going, dude.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you don't look that old. I appreciate you, man. You know what it is? It's the Nivea grandma abuelita cream that she found me doing when I was like three. That stuck with me, man. I've been using that shit since I was like eight years old, man. That shit worked.
SPEAKER_01Mijo crema.
SPEAKER_02Mijo crema. Every time it was hot outside, cold outside, she didn't care. Crema. I'm not all right. Just like the VIX. Yeah, the VIX, man. Just like the VIX, bro. You got cancer, broken vapor ribs.
SPEAKER_01You got broken ribs, VIX. Bro, every I I've yet to meet one one individual, whether it's Dominican, Puerto Rican, you name it everybody's abuela, everybody's mom. Everybody had those go-to, man. And VIX, VIX vapor rub in the chaklas. You gave it's a it's deeply ingrained in our people. Beat the shit out of your kids with a with a sandal, and uh if there's something wrong with them, lather them up in VIX. Yeah. It worked. Yeah, I remember with my little girl, I remember the first time she got sick. I'm like, should I should I grab the VIX? It's genetic. It's genetico shit. Can't help it, man. It's in the DNA. Yeah. For sure. Yeah, dude. Yeah, you're doing something right, man. And uh, I think by leaning into this, man, by leaning into this journey, I think when it comes time for that official transition, like, yeah, it's gonna be a lot easier, man. It's gonna be a lot easier. But still, man, like, we gotta kind of reflect on this. Like, the sun is setting on your career, man. Like, have you started to have like those those moments of like, damn, man, like I'm not a cool guy anymore. Like, all those days are behind me, or like, or is there more joy now as you're getting to like the sun is setting, but you also have a plan of action. You have something you're moving towards.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so I think there comes a time in everybody's career when you just kind of identify, okay, this is this is it, right? This is this time for me to my off-ramp, I get on my off-ramp, right? And I think once that happens, when you when you're more excited about the possibilities and the opportunities on the on the outside instead of like, let's say, for example, I continue my career and I become a battalion warrant officer, right? Like, that doesn't excite me as much as getting on the opportunities that I'm able to create in the civilian sector, right? So at that point, I'm like, okay, I I need I need to start creating an off-ramp.
Retirement Off Ramp And Networking
SPEAKER_02So I'm I'm about two years out, and the thing that I've always been told is it's never too early to prepare for your retirement. So I'm taking that as as as harsh as I could as I could take it. So I'm working with uh Ryan Garay. I know you had him on not too long ago with uh operator executive. So I'm talking with him, he's prepping me, um, he's coaching me to ensure that I find a good off-ramp, a good opportunity. And we talked about earlier about the financial security. So there's a lot of opportunities in B D uh for me to get into.
SPEAKER_01There is, dude. There is so much, and I will tell you right now, and to the audience listening, man, like this is a good pivot to go into transition planning. The uh the single greatest thing you can do for the for preparation and for your journey, your exit out, is start networking. Start networking. Everybody has this idea that LinkedIn is so below them that it's not important. And Ryan, I I I loved having him on. I'm actually trying to, I'm creating something. He doesn't know it yet. I'm gonna have to give him a call and and uh tell him he's been voluntoled for an idea. But when you have guys like like Ryan to come up and start talking, and they do validate that by saying, like, yeah, no, LinkedIn is one of the biggest assets into getting a job because guys, your resume is great and you absolutely need to pour time and effort into it, but it's the network, it's the entire, you're tapping into thousands of special operations guys, conventional guys that have now been working in these companies for decades and they know the talent. They know that they can get a guy from the 82nd, 101st, or 7th group, third group that at a certain level you understand certain types of operations, and they're willing to pull you in. They just want to talk to you, be able to meet you. And where do you do that? LinkedIn, a virtual cup of coffee with another person at that. And there's like dude, there's there's tons of people that get paid to do the networking and allocate you as a resource to another company. A great example of that is BreakLine. If you've never heard of Break Line, go online, check them out, follow it. If you're getting out, that's a great resource because they're gonna take you, they're gonna look at your background, they're gonna look at your resume and ask you what you're interested in. And they have a whole slew of companies that they work with, and they have people on the inside. So the moment a role that is within your line of like of your wish list, the moment something opens up in that, they immediately get you connected with that person that's gonna make the hiring decision. Not somebody below them directly to that person. Um, so please take take advantage of that resource. I'll put a link to it in the episode description. Go check it out. It's not like the Honor Foundation where you're doing you know formal coursework with Breakline, you're doing a couple of um like virtual meetings with the team, letting them know who you are, what you do, what your background is. And then from there, you're just waiting for that that role, that position to come available, and they'll slot you in there. I've known tons of guys that have used that for their jobs, and we're talking about individual, you know, companies like Vandavar Labs, um uh friggin Palantir, which I know very touchy subject there, but uh, you know, Google, Charlie Health. I mean, they the the industries vary within break line, and uh, I don't get paid for them. They're not a sponsor, but maybe I should reach out to them because uh giving them a lot of airtime. But guys like you, uh Carlos, you're you're not gonna have a hard time finding um in employment, making really good money in different industries, especially in the defense, uh, defense tech right now. But I will caution you because like one thing that I've found to be true, they say it all the time, but the first year to six the first six months to a year is the most crucial time. Um a lot of guys jump into something and then it's not what they love, and then they bounce right out of it. I've seen guys like jump into one of those roles, jump into high-stakes sales, and then they get burnt out. Like the number one thing I will tell you, man, is uh scroll some good money away and take a knee. Take a knee and and reflect, think about what you want to do because you're building a business right now and you're building something that could potentially be your forever thing. This could be something that you develop if you look at the Nick Lavery model, if you look at guys like Denny Giomazzo, individuals that are in this business that have been able to, you know, forego. I mean, Denny still has a um you know a nine to five, but I think he's quickly outgrowing that. Um but you don't have to do the conventional thing, you can build something on your own. And again, another resource, Warrior Rising. If you put together a business plan for something you're passionate about, you know, a nonprofit like Warrior Rising will teach you the foundational institutional knowledge that you need to be a business owner, a businessman, an entrepreneur. And then once you're in their ecosystem, you know, you might get invited to one of their business showers, do a pitch competition and win tw and win 20, 30k possibly. Like win real money that can help you fund your business, man. And uh there's all those opportunities are out there. It just depends. But it's like there's so many different options for you to choose from. Go for what you love, go for what you're actually excited to do because I will tell you my day was hectic today, man. Like up super early, and I'll be up probably till I fly out tomorrow. But I am grateful for it. Dude, I I I could move myself to tears telling you like the stories of like, you know, it was just me in a Mac Mini. It was just me and a friggin' uh a cheap microphone, and now I I get to do stuff like this, talk to you, and tell you from my perspective that it's gonna work out. It's going to work out if if this dipshit can figure it out, dude. If I could do it, like, dude, uh uh an individual such as yourself that has way more in intelligence, way more insight, way more grit uh and determination, dude. Like, it's not gonna be long before I'm looking up and saying, like, oh yeah, dude, I I had that guy on my podcast a couple years back. Like, now I'm gonna go see if I can send him an email, if he can bring me on his show.
SPEAKER_02Man, I I appreciate those kind of words, man. I don't I don't take words like that for for for granted at all whatsoever, man. Especially coming from you. You you built an amazing platform. Um I I always tell people, um, you know, you we have all these problems, right? And I I I say this a lot to my clients too, and I to go back to the subjective stuff, right? Um, you have problems until you have a health problem. Once you have a health problem, then you only have one problem, right? So I I have air conditioning, like to 50 years ago, we didn't even have hot water available in all the world. Like maybe a little bit more, maybe like 60, seven years ago. But like, I have an iPhone, like I have a supercomputer in my pocket, I got running hot water, I got food in the fridge, I got, I got my health, I got beautiful kids, I got a beautiful wife. Like, what are really my problems? Like, I don't I don't have one, man. I my problem, my problem is is having too many problems, and those problems I want, right? I I welcome those problems, brother. So, like, I appreciate those kind words, man, and it's and it's not, it is always gonna come with working hard and and looking towards my next uh career. Um, and having guys like Ryan, having guys like you, networking is absolutely paramount. I think you learned that early on as a GB, right? When I first showed up as a young Echo, um, like they don't teach you everything in the Echo course, right? So when we went to, I think we went to like GRTC, and uh, bro, they don't teach you how to like rig up um vehicles, right? I had no idea. What the hell am I doing? So I went over to the sister team to 3-5. I'm like, yo man, um, how do you how do you do this? Come here, man. I got you, man. We'll we'll figure this out together. I got you, man. Don't worry about young man. Am I cool? So like it's all about from an early onset of my GPU career, I learned networking, right? If you want to be a certain echelon of caliber person, you gotta attach yourself to two to those kind of people, right? And studies have shown that, right? Data have shown. If you, if you I think they did like a group study where like they had high performance in one group and they surpassed their quotas, right? But then when you attach one or two negative, low-performing people to that group, it brings down productivity by like, I don't know, like 20, 30%, right? So within that, if you attach yourself to, you know, communities, to individuals, to organizations that are high caliber, high octane communities and people, guess what's gonna happen? You're gonna rise to the occasion if that's what you're willing to do, right? You're willing to do and you're willing to do the work. So no, that's that's great insight. I appreciate you, man. And uh yeah, but now we gotta earn it, right? Like, yeah, the old saying, like, when um, especially young guys that are going to FSAS, I tell them, hey, when you go to SFAs and you get selected, that's just the beginning, right? Once you get to the Q course and you get your green beret and you put it and you don't it and you have that first formation, well, now you gotta pay rent every single day, right? Even now, 24 years in, um, I do you think I want to run five miles a day? No. Do you think, do you think I want to go, you know, toss sandbags across? No, bro. I'm 42, I got bad knees. Like, I gotta make sure that I'm doing what I need to do because I pay rent on my beret every single day. And the moment, the moment you take it for granted, it's the moment that motherfucker snatched from you. Um and then you're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, no, hold up, right? And we talk about slip-ups, right? You get a DUI, you get domestic violent abuse, you get drugs. That's when people are like, oh, no, no, like my bad. Like, no, it's too late, brother. Like, you you made that decision. Um, you gotta do things right the right way. And you go back to to the principles, right? The faith, the family, the finance, um, the fortitude, right? All those things are what need to solidify you as an individual, so you don't make those mistakes. Because Poppy, rent is due every day and you gotta pay that shit up, like, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01Yes, dude. Absolutely, and I think there's something about that, uh, holding that same work ethic when you get out for yourself, especially like going into the world uh uh of being an entrepreneur, being a business owner, man. If you choose that route, you know, they're you're the boss, you're you're you're the officer, you're the NCO, you're you're the Joe, like you're everything. And I've I've seen it, I felt it more every day. Like you're earning that success. Just because you got you you locked in that one client, it's like, all right, get 10 more. Mike Steadman, those words hit hard, homie. I'm taking it every single day. It's like get 10 more clients. Can you get freaking two more today? Can you lock in another contract? Stories shape culture, they build trust. And when they're told the right way, they move people to action. That's what we do at Security Hall Media. We don't just produce content, we create authentic, impactful, and purpose-driven storytelling for podcasters, nonprofits, brands, and leaders who are on a mission. For people who've lived real experiences and want their message to actually matter, from podcast production and video to strategic storytelling and distribution. We help you clarify your voice, elevate your brand, and connect with the audience you're trying to serve. If you have a story worth telling and a purpose behind it, SecurityHall Media is here to help you tell it the right way. Click the link in the episode description to learn more today. And it's understanding that like the real freedom, if you want to operate in the space and really help people and and promote and do positive things, it comes with a lot of freaking work, man. It comes with a lot of freaking work. But I couldn't, I've I couldn't imagine doing this without having those uh influential team uh team members that you know at some points they hem you up. They they scoop you up when you're not doing it right. They G check you.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. And and one of the things that kind of I'll I'll bring this up.
Mentorship, Respect, And Giving Grace
SPEAKER_02One of the things that's really kind of irritating, and I want to put this out to the audience, is that um when you reach out, especially if you reach out to me, I'm gonna answer, right? I was taught early on in 82nd as a private that communication is a form of respect, right? If I leave you on and read, it's because I don't respect you, right? So there was this podcast, I'm not gonna put them on blast, but essentially said something that I was like, well, you know, they had they were asking for advice between option 40 contract and going to 18x. And essentially, uh, this individual said, like, hey, don't bother me, like, my opinion doesn't matter. But my man, like, you're a green. Beret, you're a force multiplier, right? You can't provide advice, a quick two-minute voice note. Hey, da-ta-ta, this is my experience. What I constantly preach is vet the information, right? I'm one source, multi-source. And you, bro, like you think about growing up how we did, right? We didn't have access to all of the world. We didn't have access to all the internet when we're growing up. So before I went to selection, I didn't know one single Green Beret. Right now, these kids have, they're almost pro they're almost paralysis by analysis. There's so much information, they don't even know what's real. So I'm saying, reach out to me. Like I've answered so many questions about, you know, army stuff or whatever. I am always gonna reach out to whatever advice. Even if you don't want to join Lithu Factor, I don't care. Like I'm gonna help you out to get you the information that you need, but I'm always gonna preach dual source and ensure that the decision that you make is good for yourself. Not because I'm gonna say go GB or whatever. Like, I don't know shit about Marstock. I don't know anything about being an AJ SEAL. So I'm gonna give you my opinion and then you base my opinion, you collect your data, and you you formulate your own decision. So um it's just kind of irritating to watch, like, man, like how why would you say that, man? Like, I I I don't get it, man. It just, if you're too busy, then just say it, hey, if you're busy and you begin bar, because he he's a he's a pretty successful guy, right? He's got a lot of things going on. And I could imagine, especially, you know, someone that's successful and has a lot of, you know, a lot of influence, a lot of followers, whatever case may be, I'm sure he's getting bombarded with questions. But just say that, right? Just say, hey, I'm getting bombarded with questions. I got a lot of people asking me questions. I get a hundred questions a day. Right now, I'm getting like one or two a day, and like it's manageable for me, but I could imagine, you know, having a hundred questions a day. I'm gonna be like, hey, man, don't ask me. I'll get probably irritated eventually too.
SPEAKER_01It gets insane. It gets insane. And one thing, like, give be willing to give people grace on the other end. Because man, like I I will like point case, man. Like one of my buddies texted me, sorry, Cole. You you texted me like as soon as I got back from Utah about uh the jumps in Normandy, and I saw it and I went and I got and I remember exactly what happened. I I got the information, and then my wife and I were doing with something, and then never went right back to it. And then today he has a message, hey man, I'm circling back. I was like, oh fuck, dude, like we're we're half retarded and we have a lot going on. Please give us some grace, people. Yeah, yeah. TBI.
SPEAKER_02T TBI is a real thing. Like I can't even remember like what I did yesterday. I'm horrible with names, and I'm horrible when memory's tough. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Dude, the funniest, another, another funny anecdote, my memory's fucked. And but I I feel sometimes I like I forget how bad it is. And I was looking for my sunglasses, and I was like, I was so proud because a recall came back, and I was like, I was like, you know what, Sudy? I think my memory is getting better. And I know, I know I shouldn't give myself this hope of like, wow, my memory is like fucking amazing. Um, it's not, it's dog shit, it's still dog shit. But I I told my wife, I remember where I put my sunglasses, and I'm walking over to my my my bedroom to the pocket in my backpack that I was so sure it was in there, and I reach it. There's fucking nothing in there. I'm like, I'm a fucking idiot. I just remember looking at my wife, I'm like, all right, all right. Yeah, I'm still retarded.
SPEAKER_02I protect myself a lot of the time. Like I know I'm gonna forget, so I'll put it in like places that I know I'm gonna see it, or like I'll set reminders where like I know I'm gonna forget. And uh I I I know I'm an idiot, and I know I'm gonna forget.
SPEAKER_01I'm not an idiot, but like I know I'm gonna forget. Yeah. Do the memory thing. The memory is shit, and like tomorrow, I'm like, I'm flying out sort of, you know, not too early, but earliest in the day. And like my normal battle drill is to the night before I do like the layout, just still do the layout, make sure everything's packed, because like this isn't something where I'm gonna be able to buy a piece of equipment when I get there. Like, I'm going to friggin' Normandy and I'm gonna be there for like almost two damn weeks. Like, whatever I need, it has to be packed. But like just two trips ago, I was working on uh my my friggin' um my final master's project, and uh the thing that I had all my notes on was on my iPad, and I remember telling myself, don't forget your iPad, and I had it right here on my desk, right here on this desk with my laptop, pack the laptop, pack all the cords for the iPad, close it up. I'm on the plane and I'm opening up my bag to pull out the iPad to study a little bit, and I'm like, text my wife, hey, did I leave my iPad on my desk? She's like, Yep, you sure did. I was like, Motherfucker. Oh, that's the worst, dude. Ah that's life. That's life. You know, you you gotta adapt. You're not gonna have everything. Um, so use what you got, use where you were any sort of app or tool to help you remind. My biggest thing is reminders on my phone, man. That's been the biggest thing that's saved me. But yeah, same thing with like being on top of social media and responding back to people. Horrible. I I I try I try to do it, but um I always respond back and say, like, hey man, sorry for for the the delay on the reply on this. I'm just fucking, especially now with like the amount of like workload that I'm like balancing and trying to work, like, man, I gotta give myself a little bit of grace. But when you pretty soon, man, like I'm telling you, uh I I see everything that you're doing and the way you're moving in the space. Honest broker trying to help people from a good place in your heart, your message is gonna travel far, man. It's gonna travel far. It's gonna, you're gonna blow up to the point where it's like, like I said, you're gonna be on par with everybody else. It's big movers in here. And uh it's gonna happen when you're able to dedicate more time. Because right now, you know, like work might be scaled down, but you're still in it, man. You're still putting on the uniform in service to our country. So like uh it and and now I get to now I get to say this, dude. Thank you for your service. Thank you for still being in there, man. Because um, we need guys like you that are still in the fight to help, for at least like now, like on the way out, still mentor and coach whoever you can. Because, dude, the world's still violent. There's still a lot of crazy shit going on.
SPEAKER_02100%. Yeah, and and it it is it is tough to navigate, right? And uh, but it really goes down to prioritizing and and sometimes it's tough, especially being entrepreneur and having this business, um, and really kind of identifying what the priorities are, um, especially with young kids in the house, especially with the wife. And my wife is from Brazil, she doesn't speak the language. Uh, we're working on her driver's license, so she's highly dependent on me, which is wonderful, but it it puts a lot of added stressors uh on me, right? Which is fine. We're working on it. Um, but really identifying sometimes, like especially right now, like I don't really don't want to scale, right? I don't want to get too big because I got to give feedback to the clients. I gotta make sure that I'm continuing to provide feedback. The programming takes a couple hours. Um check-ins take uh like I don't work on week-to-week check-ins. Um 24-7 available coach, right? So whenever, yeah, whenever someone needs something, they send me a message, I hit them back, I'm on it. So like um that takes a lot. Sometimes I'm I'm on the phone just replying to their needs, right? If it's a if it's a training issue, nutrition issue, whatever the case may be. But it goes back to when I was a private man, like I take it as a form of respect, and I want to treat people as I would want to be treated. Like, how would I want my coach to treat me? And if I send them a message and I tell them, like, hey, if I don't respond, it's because I'm changing the diaper or I'm in the office and I can have my phone with me in the office. Like, that's the only two that's the only two reasons why I wouldn't respond, man. So it is tough to navigate, um, but it goes back to my faith, right?
Faith As A Daily Foundation
SPEAKER_02Um, and I have this this little bracelet here on here with Philippians 4, 4.13, right? That constant it's a constant reminder. Whenever I'm having kind of a hard time, right, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Um, and for me, that's that's that's that's that's my foundation, man. Whenever I'm kind of struggling and having a hard time, and man, this is too much. This is this I can't, and Christ is with me. I got it. Let's do it. Let's do it. Let's get after it. Yeah, man.
SPEAKER_01Dude, that's absolutely the truth, man. I couldn't think of a better place, a better, better message to end it on, dude. Like that's that's the truth right there, man. Mind, body, and spirit. Um for everybody, man. That this is a great testimony, because everybody that comes through here, for the most part, everybody has a story that includes faith. We can't do this on our own, man. Like, we can't um and I a big big shout out to the God up stuff up top because uh man, like any time that I sit down, uh reflect on the projection and the movement that I've had in my life in the last few years, it's been because I got closer to God, because I followed my faith. Because every day before we go out, we do our family prayer, we do our blessings, and then I I get to work, man. I get to friggin' work. Um, and it and I'm blessed to do it. And I I cannot wait for you to finally have that retirement ceremony, to step forward into this new chapter in your life, man, because you're the type of leader we need out here, brother. This is uh it's gonna be great to see you when you're finally on the other side. But I but just you know, like I I tell everybody, you there's gonna be a moment where things may get difficult when you finally put down that uniform. And if you need anything, dude, if you need anything, another shameless plug, the Special Forces Foundation's got you, man. We don't know what we don't know, we can't tell the future. And I tell you, that beret and that tab carry a heavy, heavy load. When you finally take it off, it feels like you're removing a piece of yourself. So if you ever need anything on your journey on the way out, please reach out to the foundation. They've got you. Um incredibly blessed to be a part of that organization and be able to help our Green Berets or surviving family members uh and the community of men that we we're blessed to serve, man. It's just awesome. So if you need anything, man, no matter what it is, nothing too big, nothing too small, please reach out. And um, but yeah, dude, thank you so much for being here. If people want to get in touch with you and connect with you and uh get some health tips and advice, where can they go?
SPEAKER_02So they go to lift a factor.com. That's my website. I have my calendar and all information about my company. They go Instagram, uh Carlos.contreros.lf. And those are my two touch points right there. Um obviously I won't give out my personal number, but uh once once once once you reach out to my calendar, all my all my clients have my personal number. Yeah. So it's like once once we build a relationship, I'm more than willing to share that because any touch base is great. Um, but yeah, I appreciate your your time. Um super blessed, super grateful to to share my
Writing A Creed That Drives Action
SPEAKER_02story. And uh would you mind me one last thing I think I would like to add is uh so I I write a creed, right? Um I tell a lot of my the people that I work with to write a creed because it's it's so impactful when it's something that you took pen to paper, right? Um and you look at, you know, you you the David Goggins of the world, the motivational guys, right? They're they're all super motivating. You see all these memes, they're great, but when you take pen to paper and you write a personal creed, it's so impactful, man. So I'd just like to read it real quick. And that way, please it kind of segues a good, a good like example, right? So it goes something like this Um realizing that every day is the gift from God. I will not waste one single minute, hour, or day on things that do not matter, subjects that do not matter, people that do not bring life, my life, any value. My focus is to take advantage of every single opportunity God presents me with. Nothing is promised, everything is earned. Diligence, persistence, relentlessness will be my work ethic motto in striving not for perfection, but to become the best version of myself. Nothing will come in my way. There is no obstacle, problem, or situation that does not have a solution. I will do everything in my power to help my team grow and develop into better individuals, which will influence a culture of winning. My mental sharpness will allow me to be to be fine solutions with the experience and knowledge God has blessed me with. If I do not have the answer, I will find the answer. No excuses, just execute. Execute, execute, execute. I will never quit because if you quit, you're done. You may be still alive walking around this earth, but you're done. I will never quit, I will persevere, and I will thrive in adversity. My team expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than our opponents. I hold myself to that standard. I will be physically harder and mentally stronger than anything that comes against me, my family, my country, my brothers, my sisters, my team. I will be the one that is physically harder and mentally stronger, and I will work to maintain that position. You won't beat me. So that last stanza I took, I took from uh uh man, what's his name? Uh I forget his name. It's such a diabolical uh uh stanza. Um man, I forget his name. Chad, Chad Wright, um the name uh former name seal. So he he put that in his creed, and I took that last stanza because it was just it's so great, man. It's hard, man. I like that. I highly recommend people do it because when I re I read that bad boy like twice a week, sometimes four, depending on the week, if I'm just having a hard time, especially in the mornings, man. Like that you you know, you know how we work at our at 40, like we're kind of wake up in in sections. That thing, every time, every time it gets me going. Dude, I appreciate your brother.
SPEAKER_01Dude, I'm writing mine now. Now I'm gonna write mine out. That fired me up, dude. It's too late in the afternoon. You can't amp me up like this, Carlos.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's why I got a gym right here at the house, man. So I could go, I'll go run a couple miles, do a couple of fights and curls, yeah.
SPEAKER_01I love this, dude. Thank you so much for being here and for sharing that with us, man. Because uh you're right, dude. Like if um if you served, even if you weren't in the military, like if you serve in a capacity of first responders, you know what it means to have a creed, something that you you wake up, you uh you at least it resonated with you when you were in training, when you were working towards that goal. Um, it doesn't end, it doesn't stop. You're earning and working towards something today. Whatever it is, you gotta have a goal, man. That's a beautiful way to encapsulate that and make sure it's part of your everyday life, dude. So thank you for sharing that with
Links, Support, And Closing Thanks
SPEAKER_01us. Uh, to everybody tuning in, thank you guys for supporting the show. Do me one last favor. You know the spiel, man. The episode's almost over. Go to that episode description and click those links. Support my man, connect with him, help him grow, share his content, and uh don't be frivolous, man. Like, share, and subscribe all of his stuff and mine too. Support the man right now. I'd appreciate it. Again, Carlos, thank you for being here. And to everybody out there tuning in, thank you so much. And we'll see y'all next time. Until then, take care.
