S3E36: Once, We Were Warriors: A Journey Of Authenticity & Creativity w/ James Malone

Adventure comes to us in many different forms. For some of us, the mountains, the sea, or the sky reveals itself to us as our path. For others, our call to adventure is a literal call to arms.

A signal reveals itself to us and whispers “this is your journey, this is your gauntlet”. The price of admission is mighty, and the potential cost is your life.

The adventure of a military career is rewarding in a way that civilians will only guess at. Camaraderie, danger, fulfilment, humour, and misery beyond anything the civilian world can offer.

For James Malone, his deployment to Afghanistan in 2018 came with all of the above. He returned with the onset of PTSD which morphed to alcoholism to cover the pain.

For years, he turned away from the decision to confront his problems, but then he found a more authentic way of living, stopped drinking, and bought a camera with the money he saved.

When we’ve created a persona which serves a purpose but betrays our authentic self, the juxtaposition creates pain.

James’ journey is one of rediscovering authenticity, and through that, discovering true satisfaction for the first time in his life. In this podcast you too will discover what discovering authenticity looks like.

James’ current venture is creating a feature length documentary Once We Were Warriors - an exploration of what it means to be a veteran, and why the labels of “bad, sad, or mad” are lazy stereotypes.

Once We Were Warriors shows the journey of a handful of veterans exploring the slopes of Chamonix and using the mountains as a tool for growth.

You can support this incredible project by visiting: www.oncewewerewarriorsfilm.com