John A. Dailey
John is a former SOF Marine turned high-performance coach & writer. He helps others Plan, Attack, & Win to achieve their biggest goals using the same techniques that brought him success on the battlefield. His weekly newsletter, Walking Point, focuses on getting better at getting better.
7 reasons why high performers are high performers.
If you were forwarded this Walking Point email, you can sign up here and never miss it again. Sign up or share Why do some people consistently perform at a high level? Last week, I was asked to speak to a group of Marines who had just completed a challenging training exercise. After the Q&A, one of the Marines asked a question. “You work with a lot of very high performers. What is the one thing they all have in common?” That is a great question. If we can identify a common thread that high...
How you fill your ruck is important
If you were forwarded this Walking Point email, you can sign up here and never miss it again. Sign up or share How you fill your ruck is important. The Multi-Mission Parachute System can carry a total weight of 425 lbs. of Marine and equipment. The parachute doesn’t care how you make up the total weight of 425 lbs. A 225 lbs. Marine can carry 200 lbs. of equipment. A 125 lb. Marine can carry 300. You just can’t exceed the limit. This is like time. Each day we have a limit of 24 hours. Time is...
Life is War. Don't be a pacifist.
If you were forwarded this Walking Point email, you can sign up here and never miss it again. Sign up or share Life is War You may disagree with that. You may not like to think of your life as a war, but it is. The most commonly used definition of war comes from the military strategist Carl von Clausewitz, who said, “War is a clash of opposing wills.” Tell me of a day when you haven’t experienced the clash of opposing wills. Your boss wants you to do something you think is unnecessary or in a...
The three laws- The only way to get something different is to do something different
If you were forwarded this Walking Point email, you can sign up here and never miss it again. Sign up or share Start a new story In the military, some units are good. Some are great. Others need work. A lot of this has to do with leadership. The standard that leaders set and uphold. We have a saying in the Marine Corps, "Marines do well at things they are inspected at." But along with leadership, a unit's success is largely based on the stories its members tell about themselves. I have had...
Making an ass out of you and me. Assumptions, bias for action, and the two types of decisions.
If you were forwarded this Walking Point email, you can sign up here and never miss it again. Sign up or share Have a bias for action. I have often used a leadership exercise in which military leaders are given a situation and then listen to radio calls from a subordinate unit that is in contact with the enemy, providing further information. When the leader feels they have enough information, they exit the room and write down the orders they will give. Some leaders leave early. Others wait...
If you do what you love you will never work a day in your life
If you were forwarded this Walking Point email, you can sign up here and never miss it again. Sign up or share Ikigai Stacking Skills When I walked into the Marine Recruiter’s office and told him I wanted to join, he pulled out numerous brochures outlining all the hundreds of military occupational specialties (jobs) available. Fortunately, I knew exactly what I wanted to do—infantry. We don’t all have the same opportunity when deciding how to make a living. Often, we choose out of...
Snatching failure form the jaws of victory - Reverse mission creep
If you were forwarded this Walking Point email, you can sign up here and never miss it again. Sign up or share Reverse Mission Creep Quick note: While editing my email lists, I inadvertently added my RTFU subscribers to this list. If you want to unsubscribe, no hard feelings. Hit the link at the bottom of this email. It will not unsubscribe you from RTFU. Mission creep is the gradual shift in objectives in a military mission. If a unit easily achieves its objective, it can be tempting to push...
If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying- seizing the unfair advantage
If you were forwarded this Walking Point email, you can sign up here and never miss it again. Sign up or share If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying- seizing the unfair advantage Quick note: Quick note: While editing my email lists, I inadvertently added my RTFU subscribers to this list. Sorry. If you want to unsubscribe, hit the link at the bottom of this email. It will not unsubscribe you from RTFU. When I was in sniper school, the test of camouflage, concealment, and craftiness was the...
There are only 3 kinds of problems. What kind are you facing?
Simple, Complicated, or Complex As a Force Recon Marine team leader, I worked with the other team leaders to plan a mission. We were arguing over the best way to approach the target. Our Platoon Sergeant poked his head in to ask what we were arguing about. One of the other team leaders said, “We’re having problems because this is a complicated target.” The Platoon Sergeant replied, “It’s not complicated.” We stared at him. “It’s complex.” He went on to explain: Simple is cooking a steak...
Moving isn't doing - How to be as productive as Joe Rogan
The quick and easy way to achieve the same level of success as your favorite successful person P.S. (It's neither quick nor easy) Lately, I’ve been on an optimization kick. I am not optimizing my own schedule, which I am pretty happy with at the moment, but I am diving deep into the optimization monster. My Sunday morning video for Instagram and my Monday morning RTFU newsletter both focused on the topic. Today, I want to look at it from a different angle. Some people talk about morning...
John is a former SOF Marine turned high-performance coach & writer. He helps others Plan, Attack, & Win to achieve their biggest goals using the same techniques that brought him success on the battlefield. His weekly newsletter, Walking Point, focuses on getting better at getting better.