In our last +1, we talked about my recent trip to visit the 5,000 (!) Heroic Warrior Sailors on board the USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER in the Red Sea.
These men and women have been battling the Houthis 24/7 for the last 4+ months. They’ve basically been working 7 days a week for the last 5 months and haven’t seen a port in nearly 6 months.
IMAGINE THAT for a moment.
You’re out at sea.
You’re seeing more kinetic naval combat than ANYTHING since World War II.
And…
You haven’t seen your family in nearly six months.
And…
You haven’t even BEEN OFF THE SHIP in nearly six months because your country and world needed you to defend our freedoms.
Seriously.
Imagine that for a moment.
Here we are in our bubble wrap enjoying our incredibly blessed lives while and, VERY IMPORTANTLY (!), BECAUSE OF THE FACT (!) that men and women like this have dedicated their lives to PROTECTING me and you and our families and the freedoms on which our flourishing depends.
I know I’ve been talking about this a lot lately. And I plan to continue.
I think we need to step back from any geopolitical ambivalence around what’s going on in the world (there’s certainly plenty of opportunities to find fault with many things going on in the world) and remember the HUMAN BEINGS who are sacrificing so much to serve us so profoundly.
Which brings us one step closer to the point of this +1 and the absolute highlight of my trip.
Yes, landing on and taking off of an aircraft carrier was incredibly cool. So was standing a few feet away from an F-18 as it landed on the deck of our carrier and watching night operations as a ton of fighter jets took off on a Friday night.
There were a lot of other highlights, some of which I’ll share soon—each of which humbled and inspired me to play my role as well as I possibly can to fulfill our mission to change the world alongside these heroes.
But…
There was ONE moment that is at least tied for first as THE highlight of my entire trip.
Quick context…
I met a guy named LCDR Jason McClinton.
Jason is the officer with oversight of all training on the carrier. He goes by TRAINO. He looks like he just stepped off an NFL football field.
The man is a giant. Seriously. Check out this picture of the two of us.
He’s also tied for first as THE most radiantly alive person I’ve ever met. His Soul Force breaks the scale at 1,000,001.
No joke. The man is a walking embodiment of joy, fun, love, and MORAL CHARISMA.
I just got tears in my eyes typing that. He’s SUCH a good human being.
I’ll tell you about the quote he has over his desk that inspires him daily in our next +1. It’s from one of his heroes—Benjamin Elijah Mays who was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s spiritual father and the intellectual force behind the civil rights movement.
Now…
I had an escort the ENTIRE time I was on the carrier—from TRAINO to CHAPS (the command chaplain also known as the SOUL BOSS who is ALSO one of the kindest people I’ve ever met) and members of their teams.
These guys took me from one awesome thing to the next when I wasn’t conducting my Heroic workshops for everyone from the command team to the most junior Sailors.
One evening, TRAINO asked me: “Hey! You want to see something really cool?!? We’re going to have a reenlistment service. It’s awesome. I think you’d love to see it!”
To which I said: “I’m ALL IN! Let’s go, Hero!”
We headed down to the 5-star conference center on one of the middle of the SEVENTEEN floors of the carrier.
It holds maybe 50-60 people.
And it’s PACKED!!! The energy is buzzing. Everyone is there to celebrate ONE guy.
TRAINO goes up to the front.
With his booming voice that matches his booming Soul Force he brings everyone to attention.
Then he brings up a young man who decided to reenlist in the U.S. Navy.
This young man is amazing.
He’s beaming with pride and wearing a huge USS ENTERPRISE belt buckle his friends must have given him to celebrate this or some other awesome event.
TRAINO walks us all through a formal ritual in which the Sailor is basically released from his obligations to serve then asked if he would like to recommit.
They ceremonially have him “leave the service.”
Then TRAINO asked the young Sailor if he’d like to return to service.
The Sailor basically says “Hooyah, sir!” THEN they go through a very formal reenlistment process in which the Sailor has to repeat a vow that TRAINO reads.
Note: I have had tears in my eyes the whole time I’ve been typing this and had it nearly the whole time I was watching this.
So…
The young Sailor recommits to serving in the US Navy—aka he recommits to serving ME and YOU and EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD who enjoys a life of freedom.
Now…
You know how LONG this young man just committed to serving in the US Navy—aka he recommits to serving ME and YOU and EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD who enjoys a life of freedom?
He committed to serving for…
FOUR YEARS.
Know this…
He didn’t get a signing bonus. He didn’t even get a raise.
But he just signed up for FOUR MORE (if I cursed you can imagine the bomb that starts with F I’d forcefully insert here!) YEARS of HARD WORK—away from his family for months at a time and potentially on the battle front with his life endangered like it is on the IKE at that time.
FOUR YEARS!!!
And…
You know what would happen if he just decided one day that he no longer wanted to honor his commitment to the United States Navy and ME and YOU and EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD who enjoys having a life of freedom?
He’d basically be thrown in jail.
Now…
This +1 has TWO parts.
First…
If you feel so inspired, I think it would be appropriate to pause for a moment and send that young man some love and gratitude (along with the millions of other anonymous warriors who are or have protected us!).
You should have seen the love he had for his fellow Sailors and that THEY had for HIM as they all came up and gave him some love.
Truly ASTONISHING to see and feel the love.
Second…
Spotlight on YOU.
To what will YOU dedicate the next four years of YOUR LIFE?
Think about what’s worth trading your life for.
Get clear on WHY you are committed, know the price you’ll need to pay.
Then turn up the heat and GO ALL IN.
Remember that anonymous Heroic Warrior Sailor and step the (insert another bomb!) up and give us all you’ve got.
TODAY.
