Ep. 17 • Jon Wechter - From Army Ranger To Soul Searcher.

Jul 10, 2025

Ask episode

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

Jon Wechter grew up around Philly in a conservative household, which laid a strong foundation for him to explore and question many things as he finds his own path.

As a child, Jon was a little goofy, but even at that young age he knew he wanted to join the military, the Rangers specifically. His dad had been a great role model of service, and as the oldest son, Jon could think of no higher service than joining an elite unit and protecting his nation and family.

Jon was capable as a youth, but his ONLY mission was to join the military, so he didn't take many things seriously in high school, from sports to education, he was always focused on a different goal.

Joining the Army at 18, Jon quickly achieved his goal of completing RASP (Ranger Assessment & Selection Program), and being assigned to the prestigious 2nd Ranger Battalion. From there he learned by drinking from a fire hose of knowledge, being surrounded by peers with dozens of combat deployments under their belts, Jon pushed himself hard to live up to the standards of the unit, and himself.

After a few deployments, he found himself at odds with the constraints of some of the leadership styles at the Battalion, which eventually led him to the decision there was more to life than the military, and he exited service at 22 years old.

From there he embarked on a journey of exploration, both of self, and the world, driving around the country and taking on any adventure, searching for the truth. Different location, different people, different drugs, it was all a tool for Jon to explore his sense of spirituality, and peel away the layers to find what's REAL.

We explore a LOT of different topics in this episode, from the military to life after the mission, the meaning of God & spirituality, even the moral dilemma of abortion.

One through line of the episode is CHANGE, always searching for more understanding, more insight, finding the core of LIFE.

Here are some story highlights from the episode:

• One of the first times Jon met Nick was at a bu**hole waxing event.

• In the military, you can only bottle people up so much before they explode.

• The legend of "Black Mamba".

• Difference between RASP, Ranger School, and Ranger Battalion.

• The impact of good and bad leadership, what that looks like.

• Why you shouldn't try and fastrope with 550 cord.

• Exploring the power of perspective shift.

• Embracing going through hard things as a path to learning.

• The difference between religion and spirituality.

• How psychedelics can make you a better leader.