Jason Gardner - A Life of Purpose & Service

Mar 10, 2021

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Jason Gardner is a father, homesteader, leadership instructor, and regenerative agriculture devotee who lives with his family on a remote property in the mountains of northeastern Washington State. Jason is also a retired Navy SEAL Master Chief who spent nearly thirty years in the SEAL teams and is a recipient of the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, a Purple Heart, and numerous other awards. As you’ll hear in our conversation, Jason applies the lessons learned from his years of service toward building a meaningful life for his family in the wilds of Washington-- a life lived with purpose and intention, built on a deep respect for the land.

If Jason sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the husband to Iris Gardner, who was a guest on the podcast just a few weeks ago. Given all of the wisdom that Iris shared regarding parenting and intentional living, and how fondly she spoke of Jason as a father and husband, I thought it would be fun to have Jason join me for a conversation. It was fascinating to hear Jason discuss many of the same topics that Iris and I covered, as he provided a complementary perspective on subjects including parenting, marriage, and thriving as a family in such a remote, wild region of the West.

This was a fantastic conversation, and I can’t thank Jason enough for taking the time to share his wisdom with me. We talked a lot about his military service-- from his decision as a high-schooler to join the SEALs to his long and diverse career as a SEAL leader. We also discuss his life-long love of wild, mountainous places, and why he and Iris have chosen to raise their family in northeastern Washington. We talked about how to find purpose in work, no matter what your chosen career. We discuss the idea of having a warrior’s mentality and how he applies that idea to parenting and his current career as a leadership consultant. Jason explains the dichotomy of being an elite special forces operator and gentle father and husband. And we also talk about regenerative agriculture, the many life lessons he’s learned from training horses, influential music, his favorite books, the best advice he’s ever received, and much more.

There are so many insights and resources packed into this episode, so don’t forget to reference the episode notes for a full list of topics and links to everything we discussed. And if you’d like more insights into Jason and Iris’s life in Washington, you can check out their Youtube channel, which I’ve linked to in the notes. Thanks again to Jason, and I hope you enjoy.

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Jason Gardner on Instagram
Jason's Motivational Battle Speech
"To My Daughter"
Echelon Front
Iris Gardner Episode
Iris's YouTube Channel
Full episode notes with links: https://mountainandprairie.com/jason-gardner/

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TOPICS DISCUSSED:

3:50 – Where Jason grew up
5:50 – How Jason developed a love of wild places
6:10 – When Jason first started considering military service and the SEALS
10:05 – How music helped frame Jason’s mindset
12:50 – Jason explores the dichotomy of his military and personal life
17:50 – What makes Jason so good at his job
19:20 – How Jason knew it was time to retire
23:20 – Jason explores the intentionality that enabled he and Iris to live the life they do
24:35 – How Jason’s approach to parenting has changed since retiring from the SEALS
28:20 – How did Jason come up with the points of To My Daughter
32:20 – What being a warrior means to Jason
34:35 – Jason explores how marriage works between two strong-willed individuals
37:50 – Jason discusses his recent work with horses and its impact on himself
43:50 – Jason’s advice on finding purpose, told through the lens of sniper training and “the stalk”
52:05 – Jason discusses his current role as a leadership coach
56:35 – Jason discusses books that have been important to him
58:05 – Jason discusses regenerative agriculture
1:01:05 – What Jason does for fun
1:02:50 – The best piece of advice Jason ever received
1:06:20 – Jason’s parting words of wisdom

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ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: