Team Never Quit

Is it possible to grow accustomed to the sight of charred bodies in the battlefield, and worse yet – be responsible for bagging them up and processing their return to loved ones with honor? This week’s Team Never Quit guest, Marine Reservist Chris Bussler, filled that role for the U.S. Marines as part of a Mortuary Affairs Unit in Iraq. Listen to Chris’ account of the reality and consequences of war from a different perspective than most. It’s almost unbelievable that a man could go from being an everyday postal carrier to an active participant in the front lines of battle with a single phone call. 3 tours of duty later, Chris’ book, No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor, came to fruition and provides an autobiographical account of his experiences, and their unforgettable impact on his life. In this episode you will hear: I grew up traveling and never having a place to call home. So I really didn’t want to see the world, but I wanted to serve. I was told the reserve unit near my house accepted grunts, but what they didn’t tell me is that they didn’t do grunt things, so I was assigned to go out on the front lines in a mortuary affairs unit, find the guys that got killed, recover their remains, and bring them back. A 22mm mortar picked me up and threw me off the road and destroyed the radio I was carrying. As a result, I got an ice cream scoop taken – “a shark bite” - out of my calf. I still have a piece of shrapnel near my femoral artery. Family was always big, but now, family is everything. I want to be there as a good father. Even the mightiest of mountains will eventually tumble into the sea. If you let the waves hit you every day, eventually it will knock you down. It takes a village to welcome back the warriors. My book reminds people that the guys that are killed on the battlefield are just the beginning of the sacrifice. The guys that go to war are real people with real aspirations. Soldiers put their families on hold, everything on hold - to do a job that the American people asked them to do. That’s sacrifice. When we heard there were SEALS operating in our area, we thought “Holy cow, we must be high on the totem pole.” I still remember the razor burns to keep a good seal on our gas masks. We were training with World War II manuals and making things up on the fly. Connect with Chris: Facebook: No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/no_tougher_duty/ Grab the Book https://www.amazon.com/No-Tougher-Duty-Greater-Honor/dp/1546604936/ref=asc_df_1546604936_nodl/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312174487654&hvnetw=g&hvrand=18368735048976612618&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9015645&hvtargid=pla-583483912008&psc=1 Follow Us: https://www.instagram.com/marcusluttrell/ https://www.instagram.com/andrewbrockenbush/ https://www.instagram.com/team_neverquit/

What a distinctive guest we have in the studio for this week’s Team Never Quit Podcast. It is our honor and privilege to have 100-year-old Retired U.S. Army Air Corps Major Joe Balogh with us. This American hero has innumerable stories of his World War II service with an uncanny recollection of detail. In addition to being recognized by President Harry Truman for his bravery during his service, Joe also worked for Henry Ford himself in one of his factories. This is a fantastic, entertaining interview you’re certain to love. In this episode you will hear: • I was the only farm boy that went to high school. •I struggled in school because I couldn’t speak English very well as my parents were both Hungarian. • I had to walk 7 miles to high school. • Luck has been with me all my life. • Henry Ford paid my way to the University of Michigan.    • I’ve been shot down twice. • You have 28 seconds to exit a burning airplane if you can’t put the flames out. • You could never get me to jump out of an airplane unless I’m scared. • [Marcus] All my jumps were at night, even during the day because I always had my eyes closed. • In Europe during World War II, 72% of all pilots and crews were killed. • I never thought I’d live this long. • I’ve never had a headache, or a stomach ache, or a broken bone. • My secret to a long life is – I eat bologna sandwiches for lunch every day. • If somebody’s nasty to you, walk off. It’s not worth a fight - walk away. • I don’t like to see guys fight in war & get killed over what’s not worth it. • No matter your field, you’re as great a professional as anyone if you strive for excellence.

Sometimes all you need is “A Small If” – That’s all Elijah Stacy would need to do something that had never been done before –change the shape of his own spine. This week’s Team Never Quit guest brings to the table his incredible story of the phenomenal pursuit of life itself. Elijah suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy – a fatal disease - which took the life of his younger brother. Yet he maintains a positive outlook on his future, despite the odds. Does Elijah Stacy stay at home in his wheelchair feeling sorry for himself? Not hardly. He launched a non-profit organization – Destroy Duchenne at age 15 in an endeavor to find a cure via gene-editing technology. He is a public speaker and has a passion for business.  Listen in as Elijah encourages all of us to be the change that we seek. In this episode you will hear: • When I was 6 years old, I was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. • I have an athlete’s mindset as my dad was a football coach. • My wheelchair symbolizes suffering. Everyone will suffer at some point in their life. • But I sit on top of my wheelchair. I symbolize that you can overcome adversity. • My mind is set on being great. • Be a better version of yourself. • Let me be the difference. • Adversity is an opportunity to improve your character. • One of my priorities is to bring awareness to this disease. • I’m trying to be the Magic Johnson of Duchenne. • If we can learn to edit our DNA, we can cure any disease. • Every day is a never-quit day. • I love when people doubt me. I’m like “Oh, let’s bet on it.” • I hung a picture of my curved spine on my wall, so I could visualize it being straighter. • All I needed was a small ”if”. I just needed to know it’s possible. • Everything I do is in service for other people. Connect with Elijah: https://www.instagram.com/elijahjstacy/ https://www.amazon.com/Small-If-Inspiring-17-Year-Old-Disease/dp/1544525079/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1641964594&sr=8-1 Follow Us: https://www.instagram.com/marcusluttrell/ https://www.instagram.com/andrewbrockenbush/ https://www.instagram.com/team_neverquit/

The CrossFit lifestyle – that’s the ultimate description of this week’s incredible guest - Mat Fraser. Mat is the first athlete in history to have won five consecutive CrossFit Games titles. He is an amazing specimen of an ultra-fit man. What a never-quit story he has to tell – suffering two breaks in his L5 vertebra and still competing in the Junior World Weightlifting Championship in Bucharest, Romania. That injury required him to wear a plastic brace on his torso for four months, but it failed to heal properly. Instead of spinal fusion surgery which would have certainly ended his athletic career, Mat elected instead for experimental surgery to have his back re-broken, inserting a protein sponge to help heal the bone with two plates and six screws attached to his lower spine. The silver lining in this seemingly insurmountable circumstance was finding CrossFit, which helped him achieve different, yet impressive athletic goals. In this episode you will hear: • I’m gonna learn what I don’t know, I’ll fuckin’ hammer it till I’m great at it. • There’s no road trip too long if you have a fun person in the car. • I wasn’t the most naturally gifted athlete. I always had incredible body coordination. I was always the strong one in the group. • Anytime there was something I wasn’t proficient in, I would seek out a professional, seek advice – show me how to do this. • If your outcome is determined by one person that isn’t as dedicated as much as you, it fucks up everyone’s effort. • Absolute max effort today allows me to train tomorrow & the next day. • My mom is 66, and she goes to CrossFit every morning. • [Markus] “Every morning you get down to do 1 pushup – eventually, you’ll do 2.” • Not every time I drank I got in trouble, but every time I got in trouble, I had been drinking. • When I told my coach I hurt my back, he said “there’s a difference between pain and injury.” He assumed I was just young and being a pussy. • Thank God I hurt my back because I would’ve never found CrossFit. • When I was broken & hopeless, I remember thinking, “What good is gonna come of this?” • If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t know it well enough. • I’m a good coach because I didn’t pick up on things naturally. • How you do anything is how you do everything. • The most valuable thing is learning how to learn. 

In this week’s episode, we’ll hear from 2 bad-ass entrepreneurs who are driven, creative, and successful. Anthony Milton (CEO of Tilted Concepts) & Michael-David Reilly (Director of Marketing) are a powerhouse team of business concepts plus superior marketing techniques. Together, they have made their business ventures - Tune-Up (The Manly Salon), Balanced Foods, and Martinis & Manicures “take off like a rocket ship.” Listen in to hear these guys bring their stories and personal thoughts on successful thinking, and a pursuit of excellence. In this episode you will hear: • I don’t have a never-quit story – it’s been my entire life. [13:31] • Every time I’d hit something, it would just go to shit. [13:36] • How fast, how far was up to me. [14:56] • How do you ride 100 miles on your bike? I just decide to. It’s one pedal stroke after another. [17:13] • Everything is a choice. [17:34] • I used to be completely paralyzed by fear. [18:54] • You’re in this position because you either made a series of bad decisions that led you here, or you just didn’t react correctly. Fix your shit. [23:09] • The idea of merging a bar and a barbershop all in one. It took off like a rocket ship. [39:25] • We now have 56 stores in 5 states. [40:48] • Where people get bogged down in their ability to pursue their dreams - is the unknown. [51:45] • Our franchisees have a support system to help them be successful. [70:09] • Most people let their day dictate how they feel and what they do. [86:55] • Our greatest commodity is our focus. [87:06] • Before I go to bed, I write down 5 non-negotiables that I will complete the next day. [88:22] • Pressure is a privilege. [89:39] • If my attention is on gaming 24/7, I’m gonna go nowhere. [89:05] Connect with Anthony & Michael-David:   https://www.instagram.com/tiltedconcepts/ Follow Us: https://www.instagram.com/team_neverquit/ https://www.instagram.com/marcusluttrell/ https://www.instagram.com/mojoluttrell/ https://www.instagram.com/andrewbrockenbush/ Episode Resources: https://navyfederal.org/ https://www.truebill.com/tnq GreenChef.com/tnqp130

Everyone has a story to tell, but in the case of this week’s guest, Phil Klay has the inherent gift of conveying his collection of insights and perspectives in short story form. His writings bring deeper meaning to life as they engage a broad audience. Phil is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and his short story collection Redeployment has won multiple national book awards. Listen in as he joins Marcus & Morgan to tell of his military and personal life experiences. In this episode you will hear: • I’ve always believed in public service. • National service is a standard that everybody should serve in some way. • When I feel like I’ve almost died, it inspires me to convey that intensity in a novel. • Throwing in people together, who are different from each other, but all trying to achieve something in the service of the country, would be almost spiritually healthy. • It’s stupid to climb off trail when there’s no one around. • When you try to figure out how you feel about something, put it in a story. • There are some things that need to be communicated. It’s important to communicate that to people. • The Marine Corps is a very complicated thing. • I started writing about my experiences, outside of the mold of typical conversation. • It’s not that our life experiences themselves are very interesting, it’s that you should reflect on them. It forces you to think more deeply about life. • When you think of your limits, know that there’s a mental component to that. • If you think you can’t, you can always take another step. 

If you’re looking for an inspiring story of purpose and overcoming, you’ve come to the right place. This week’s guest, Paul Harris, aka “The Warrior Walker” is a former Royal Marine currently walking around the entire outer perimeter of the UK, and has already walked over 1,000 miles. He is raising awareness to help those struggling with mental health issues. Paul shares many heart-warming and inspiring experiences as he is overwhelmed daily with coffee, meals and accommodations. Because he has no support staff or sponsors, he relies solely on the generosity of the people he meets to help him pursue his mammoth task! This journey has completely changed Paul’s life. He has gone from an average, uninspiring, mentally challenging life, and feeling like a failure, to finding out what he could create with his own momentum, passion, and power. While this endeavor started off as a walk, it has become so much more than that with the amazing community of radiators he has come across on his journey. “Human kindness is real. They want you to win.”    In this episode you will hear: • I feel like I’ve gone back in time. I’m breaking bread and having dinner with people all along the way. • My parent’s issues in my childhood is why I’m passionate and positive. • When I was ready to quit the Marines, my grandfather asked me if I wanted to be known as Paul Harris, or Marine Harris. That was all I needed  to keep moving forward. • I like to push the boundaries. • We tend to think of the me, me, me, but we should be thinking of others. • Every day is an adventure. • Becoming a Kindergarten teacher was therapy for me. • I’ve had moments in my life when I should’ve done something but I didn’t. I overthought it. • Be careful what you say to yourself, because the warrior within you is lessened by it. • To be in control of what you do is the most freeing thing you can do. • I’m always alone, but I never feel loneliness. • A bad week doesn’t make a bad life. • If you have passion - and you action that passion – you can live the life you want to live. • Don’t ask yourself: What’s the worst that can happen? Instead ask yourself: What’s the best that can happen! • There’s only one time in your life when you’re done, that’s when you’re done. Connect with Paul:   https://www.instagram.com/thewarriorwalker/ https://thewarriorwalker.co.uk/ Follow Us: https://www.instagram.com/team_neverquit/ https://www.instagram.com/marcusluttrell/ https://www.instagram.com/mojoluttrell/ https://www.instagram.com/andrewbrockenbush/ Episode Resources: https://navyfederal.org/ https://mtntough.com (Enter Code TNQ for 20% OFF) https://coinbase.com/tnq https://www.codecademy.com (Use Code TNQ for 15% OFF)

How do you excel in life? How do you navigate complexity? If you ask U.S. Navy SEAL Commander (ret.) David Sears, he’ll tell you – and show you - how to reframe your thinking. Dave has over 20 years of tactical and strategic experience. He planned, led, and executed hundreds of special ops missions in more than 40 countries on 5 continents, from the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq to the jungles of Colombia and the oceans of the world. Dave Sears has received numerous awards and decorations for his service in the military. He is also the author of Smarter Not Harder, derived from seventeen tried and true Navy SEAL maxims, outlining the principles of excelling in all facets of life. Join us in this week’s podcast, as we “get in the weeds” with the inspirational Dave Sears. In this episode you will hear: • I was always fascinated with Special Forces. • I knew I didn’t want to be part of the conventional military - marching with thousands, because I have always been an independent thinker. • Being a SEAL is a physical and mental challenge. • How do you make it through BUDS? It’s easy – don’t quit. • The deciding factor is your mental attitude. Are you gonna quit or not? • Where you want to go? Just take the next step to get there. • Quitting will result in regret. • The never quit attitude: Keep moving toward your goal. • You don’t drive your car looking in the rear view mirror. You glance at it as a reference, but it’s the road ahead that matters. • You gotta have a future mindset as opposed to a past mindset. • Where you’re at now is not where you’re gonna be forever. • One of the brilliances of UDS is not knowing when what that future is. Not knowing when you’ll be out of the water. So you learn to deal with adversity till whenever. • The way we learn is through storytelling. • Control what you can control. Influence what you can influence. Then navigate the rest – but keep moving forward.

Do you believe that anything is possible? This week’s amazing guest, Shay Eskew, has proven that it is. As an 8-year old, Shay was severely burned on over 65% of his body and was told he could never be a competitive athlete. Now, several decades later, he lives life to the fullest and has a relentless “never quit” attitude. Shay is a team builder, coach, mentor, RCM authority, market disruptor, motivational speaker, best-selling author and proven sales leader. He’s a high-energy innovator, entrepreneur, and has successfully built and sold multiple companies.  He has achieved multiple world championships, and after enduring nearly 40 surgeries, Shay is a 4-time IRONMAN, 4-time member of Team USA, 25-time IRONMAN 70.3 athlete, is ranked in the top 1% of IRONMAN worldwide, and has competed in 11 triathlon World Championships in 7 countries on all 6 continents. Equally impressive, Shay is the proud father of 5 children under 13. Shay’s life is overflowing with blessings. In this episode you will hear: • I felt close to God before the race, but He was not there during the swim. • My wife will stand at the exit of the swim and tell me how many women beat me out of the water. • I was accidentally set afire by a neighbor’s kid at age 8, and burned over 65% of my body. • At the University of Tennessee, I never lost a wrestling match. • I was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. • Thank God that doctors told me I’d never play sports. That was the best thing because it pissed me off enough to prove them wrong. • Many times, pain is just a state of mind. • When I started walking in the hallway of my school – there was complete silence. • If people are gonna make fun of me, I’m gonna beat ‘em to the punch. • There’s no reason to blame society. You just gotta make the most of it. You just gotta ask yourself what else can I do that I never thought possible? • The hardest thing is watching your kid suffer knowing you can’t do anything to fix it. • The more chances I’ve taken, the more time I put myself out there, the more opportunities have presented themselves. • Everything I went through prepared me for who I am in life. • On a campus of 30,000 people, nobody looked like me. They remember who you are. • We all struggle, we all face adversity, we’ve all been tempted to quit. We’ve all said God, why me? How am I gonna get through this? • Once you know that somebody else has not only been what you’ve been through, and not only survived but thrived… That’s Impactful. • The things that we cherish are the things we bust our butt to get. • Everybody’s out there racing. It’s not to win, but to finish. To finish is to win.

 “For the greater good.” That’s the mantra of this week’s guest, Chris Cruise. It’s amazing how being delivered a setback can cause someone to step up to the plate and take on what turns out to be a patriotic endeavor. After being told that he wasn’t good enough to pursue a football career, Chris enlisted in the U.S. Army and subsequently deployed to Iraq, and learned that there truly is a brotherhood in the military. Chris sees it as the best thing he ever did as it was the path that led him to meet his wife. While re-acclimating to civilian life after his service, he didn’t know what to do with himself or how to adapt his heightened sense of awareness and constant wariness into his new life as a husband and a father. His wife Amber gave him a new mission that grew into what has become Cruise Custom Flags. He figured out that woodwork was therapeutic for him. He’d found his happy place – a place where his mind could both rest and work at the same time, in balanced concentration and clarity of purpose. Amber wanted him to make something tied to Kentucky for his next project. They both also wanted the project to honor military service, as her father is also a veteran.  There are not many things that scream “Kentucky” more than bourbon, and not many greater symbols of military service than the flag. So, the first custom flag he made from a repurposed bourbon barrel hung in their home. The next two were Christmas gifts for both of their fathers. The flags were so well received, he made more for some friends and family. Word spread, and requests began pouring in. Chris says, what’s more American than a veteran handcrafted flag made out of a bourbon barrel? Bourbon, after all, is “America Spirit by law.” In this episode you will hear: • It really started when my wife wanted something in our home that represented her Kentucky roots and my service. • I had a vision of having a shop full of veterans making American flags from bourbon barrels. • Bourbon barrels once served a good purpose aging bourbon, and veterans served a good purpose and we help them both find a new purpose. • “Never quit” is not what you do, it’s who you are. • Generosity breeds success. • With a never quit attitude, you’re unstoppable. • I wish someone would have told me that I could have done my passion right out of high school without society telling me I had to climb the corporate ladder. • I’ve got a business degree, but I could have done this right out of high school. • I only did one deployment. That was enough for me. • It’s hard to build a resume after you get out of the military. • I get tunnel vision – nothing else matters – once I get focused on something – it’s on. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cruisecustomsflags/ Special thanks to Speakeasy Podcast Network for giving Chris a place to record his interview!