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Navy SEAL Health Performance Specialist Reveals The One Secret Elite Performers Never Talk About

Dec 9, 2025

Guest

Rob Wilson

In this engaging conversation, Rob Wilson, a human performance educator and author, shares insights from his work with elite athletes and tactical teams. He discusses how most high performers lack self-awareness of their own bodies and identities, impacting their longevity. Rob emphasizes the importance of breathwork and spinal health for resilience and offers strategies for training one's mind and body harmoniously. The duo also examines the dangers of tech dependency and the role of emotional intelligence in enhancing performance and leadership.

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Episode notes

insights

INSIGHT

Use Tech To Calibrate, Not Decide

Health monitoring tech should calibrate perception, not replace it.
Rob Wilson says tech is fragile if it makes decisions for us instead of informing us.

question_answer

ANECDOTE

Identity Trapped By Single Event

Mark Divine recounted Rob O'Neill becoming trapped by a single published identity.
The story illustrates how fame can lock a person into a narrow identity after service.

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ADVICE

Build Pre-Resilience Skills

Front-load resilience training so operators have skills before deployment.
Mark Divine stresses teaching breathwork, mindfulness, and yoga pre-deployment to sustain operators.

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Rob Wilson's background and credentials

01:07 • 34sec

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Identity challenges after elite service

01:41 • 54sec

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Pre-resilience training and SEALFIT work

02:35 • 2min

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Why identity collapse creates problems

04:28 • 2min

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Front-loading transition support for vets

Training pipelines vs human system care

09:16 • 2min

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Embedding education earlier in training

10:50 • 45sec

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Guerrilla adoption of mindfulness practices

11:35 • 1min

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Rob's focus: educating coaches and writers

13:04 • 1min

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From gym owner to educator

14:07 • 2min

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Sense-making in modern human performance

15:53 • 2min

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Scaling individualization through education

17:37 • 2min

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Becoming an observer of your training

19:26 • 1min

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Technology as calibration, not decision-maker

20:37 • 50sec

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Teaching interoception and self-monitoring

21:28 • 21sec

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Breath control as foundational monitoring

21:49 • 2min

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Using HRV and spirometry for calibration

23:34 • 1min

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Breath training yields asymmetric benefits

24:58 • 32sec

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Spinal health as long-term investment

25:30 • 54sec

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Choosing breath protocols by outcome

26:24 • 2min

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Immediate vs long-term breathwork effects

28:17 • 2min

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Training as a long-game with variance

30:30 • 1min

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Small modulations create effective variance

31:34 • 1min

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Contextual variables alter performance

32:41 • 2min

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Injury, burnout and allostatic load

34:39 • 2min

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Critical node concept in stress systems

36:50 • 1min

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Mental health examples and cultural masking

38:19 • 3min

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Compensation strategies and long-term costs

41:36 • 2min

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Normalizing conversations as a tool

43:12 • 1min

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Emotional coaching and empathy's performance value

44:20 • 2min

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Simple practices to restore empathy

46:31 • 2min

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Meditation integrates body, mind, spirit

48:35 • 2min

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Performance goals of breath and meditation

50:52 • 2min

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Ancient practices validated by modern science

52:45 • 1min

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Cultural framing makes practices accessible

53:59 • 1min

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Monetization and legacy of breathwork teaching

55:16 • 26sec

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Writing the book and unexpected insights

55:42 • 5min

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Audience and goal for the book

01:00:17 • 28sec

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Publishing details and Substack

• Mentioned in 279 episodes

The War of Art

Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles

Steven Pressfield

In 'The War of Art', Steven Pressfield identifies the internal force of 'Resistance' that hinders creative endeavors. The book is divided into three sections: 'Resistance: Defining the Enemy', 'Combating Resistance: Turning Pro', and a final section that discusses the role of the muses and the battle between the Self and the Ego. Pressfield provides practical advice on recognizing and overcoming resistance, emphasizing the importance of professionalism, discipline, and continuous work in achieving creative success.

#12331

• Mentioned in 3 episodes

Check Engine Light

Rob Wilson

This book provides a framework for understanding and maintaining your body and mind. It emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and proactive care. The book introduces the concept of a 'performance longevity dashboard' to track key health indicators. It advocates for building robust systems over relying solely on discipline. It also offers practical tools and experiments to help individuals optimize their health and well-being.

Most people think performance is about more reps, more data, more tech, or more intensity. But according to human performance educator Rob Wilson, the truth is far more uncomfortable: most elite performers don’t actually understand their own bodies, identities, or inner signals—and it’s costing them years of longevity, clarity, and resilience.

In this powerful conversation, Mark Divine and Rob Wilson break down the real keys to performance longevity, emotional resilience, identity beyond your job title, and why self-awareness is the most underrated skill in elite sport, tactical teams, and everyday life.

From breathwork, interoception, and spinal health… to transitions out of high-status careers… to the hidden dangers of burnout and tech dependency… this episode explores the deep work behind staying healthy, powerful, and fully human in a high-performance world.

If you’re an athlete, coach, operator, or leader who wants to sustain excellence without breaking your body, mind, or identity—this conversation will shift how you train, lead, and live.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why high performers must become “problem seekers,” not just problem solvers

2. How to become the observer of your own training instead of a consumer of metrics

3. Why tech overload is weakening self-awareness and decision-making

4. How breathwork and spinal health unlock long-term resilience

5. Why identity collapse affects elite operators and athletes after transition

6. How emotional intelligence amplifies performance and protects mental health

7. What it really takes to prevent burnout and injury in high-stress environments

8. Why ancient mind-body practices still outperform the newest fitness tech

Join The Unbeatable Tribe on Skool

A leadership community for high performers who want to grow with purpose, courage, and accountability.

https://www.skool.com/unbeatable-mastery-tribe/about

Subscribe to Mark’s Leadership & Mental Toughness Newsletter

Weekly insights to help you build elite resilience, discipline, and clarity.

https://markdivine.com/newsletter

Rob Links:

Website: https://www.wilsonhealthandperformance.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecheckenginelight/?hl=en

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-wilson-929b6a152

Simplifaster.com: https://simplifaster.com/articles/author/robwilson/

Mark Links:

Website: https://markdivine.com

The Unbeatable Tribe: https://www.skool.com/unbeatable-mastery-tribe/about

Divine Inspiration Newsletter: https://markdivine.com/newsletter

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@markdivineofficial/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markdivineofficial

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markdivine/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markdivineofficial/

Subscribe to https://www.youtube.com/@markdivineofficial for more inspiring conversations on leadership, growth, and impact.

Rate and review the show to help us reach more listeners.

Share your thoughts and takeaways in the comments!

#MarkDivine #RobWilson #HumanPerformance #EliteTraining #PerformanceLongevity #MentalToughness #Breathwork #Interoception #IdentityShift #LeadershipDevelopment #SpecialOperations #PeakPerformance #MindBodyTraining #ResilienceBuilding #UnbeatableMind

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction and Current Focus

00:26 Health Monitoring Technology Debate

01:02 Welcome to the Mark Divine Show

01:31 Rob Wilson's Background and Achievements

02:52 Challenges of Transitioning from Military Life

07:21 The Importance of Pre-Resilience Training

13:04 The Role of Education in Strength and Conditioning

21:48 Breath Control and Interoception

34:02 Understanding Contextual Shifts in Health and Longevity

34:39 Injury and Burnout in High-Performance Environments

35:27 The Complex System of Human Stress Load

36:48 Emotional and Mental Health in Elite Performers

44:20 The Importance of Empathy and Emotional Regulation

48:34 Meditation and Breath Work for Integrated Health

55:18 Writing and Publishing Insights

01:04:21 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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