Navy SEAL Veteran Brent Gleeson: What Happens If You Never Give Up

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What happens when a Navy SEAL–turned–entrepreneur has his entire identity, leadership style, and life priorities shaken to the core?

In this powerful conversation, Mark Divine sits with bestselling author and high-performance leadership coach Brent Gleeson to explore the pivotal moments that reshaped how he leads, lives, parents, and builds elite teams.

Gleeson opens up about navigating loss, eliminating destructive habits, rebuilding trust inside organizations, and creating a life anchored in discipline, accountability, and intentionality.

From identity work… to radical clarity… to transforming daily rituals… this is a masterclass on what it means to go all in on becoming the leader your mission requires.

If you’re a founder, executive, entrepreneur, or someone committed to personal mastery—this episode will change the way you see leadership, growth, and your own potential.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

-Why personal transformation must come before professional excellence

-How trust, accountability, and clarity shape world-class teams

-The rituals and routines that sharpen focus and identity

-How to remove habits, relationships, and beliefs that hold you back

-Why “all in” is a leadership strategy—not a slogan

Guest Bio:

Brent Gleeson is a Navy SEAL combat veteran, award-winning entrepreneur, author, and acclaimed speaker on topics ranging from leadership and building high performance teams to culture, resilience, and organizational transformation. Upon leaving SEAL Team 5, Brent turned his discipline and battlefield lessons to the world of business and has become an accomplished entrepreneur, best-selling author and acclaimed speaker on topics ranging from leadership and building high performance teams to culture and organizational transformation. He is the author of two previous books: TAKINGPOINT: A Navy SEAL’s 10 Fail Safe Principles for Leading Through Change (Atria, February 2018) and EMBRACE THE SUCK: The Navy SEAL Way to an Extraordinary Life (Hachette Go, December 2020).

Inspirational Quote:

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” —Lao Tzu

BUBS Naturals:

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Guest Links:

Website: https://www.exlr8.ai/, https://brentgleesonspeaker.com/

LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brentgleeson-takingpoint

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

Mark Links:

Website: https://markdivine.com

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/

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Share your thoughts and takeaways in the comments!

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction and Impact of COVID on Leadership

00:25 Foundational Commitments: Courage, Trust, and Respect

01:00 Welcome to the Mark Divine Show

01:23 Brent Gleeson's Background and Achievements

02:02 Personal and Professional Growth During COVID

03:28 Challenges and Adaptations in Business

04:54 Mental Health and Personal Practices

13:18 Building High Trust Organizations

18:14 Transparency and Accountability in Teams

20:11 Remote Work and Maintaining Culture

21:27 All In: The New Book

28:07 Intentional Identity Transformation

28:28 Daily Routines and Activities

29:27 Applying the Model for Transformation

32:18 The Role of Visualization in Achieving Goals

32:33 Navigating Ideals and Achievements

33:39 The Importance of Daily Rituals

37:37 Team Practices and Visualization

39:07 Leadership and Motivational Factors

42:54 Continuous Improvement and Debriefing

45:41 Personal Growth and Professional Excellence

49:16 Reflections on Positivity and Optimism

52:43 Near-Death Experience and Gratitude

53:36 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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