Cleared Hot - Powered By BRCC - Full Auto Friday - Round 20

Episode Date: September 25, 2020

Q and A from the audience with a five-minute time cap (sometimes, actually not often.) To submit a question head over to clearedhotpodcast.com and click the contact button. 1. How to find your passion and purpose 2. When is self-defense ok 3. How do I tell my parents I want to be a SEAL 4. Elected officials.... Enjoy

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Full Auto Friday, round number 20. Here we go. Go. Ladies and gentlemen, I have four questions for today, and then we will all begin our lovely weekend. When I was grabbing these questions, I felt like they all had a common theme and narrative, and now I have completely forgotten what I thought that that was, because that's how my life goes, and perhaps I've been hit in the head a few too many times. So let's get into this, and if I can remember it in real time, then I'll bring it up.

And if I can't, too bad. First email comes from Kevin. He says, first off, I'm a fan of the podcast, and I want to thank you for everything that you do. While I acknowledge that you are not an expert, that's an excellent opening, Kevin. I have not an expert in anything other than being a fuck with. I was hoping that you could provide some tips and advice on how you think someone should go about finding his or her passion. I feel like we are told throughout our lives to find our true passion, but I rarely remember a time when someone provided us tips as to how to do this.

Obviously, I'm aware that in order to find one passion, he or she will likely need to be exposed to different things and experiences so that he or she can determine what he or she likes, whether that be different cultures, professions, hobbies, etc. Oh, see, so people are going to hit me up. I said, et cetera. It's et cetera. See, I listen people when you give me feedback. However, I feel like exposure to most of these things is usually attained in the form of

traveling the world or attending school. Do you have any tips for someone who is in their mid-20s and who already has a college degree and has traveled to other countries, but still struggles to find his or her passion, or who is struggling to decide between a few different professions that he or she thinks would end up being their passion. When I was a junior in high school, I did not know what I truly wanted to do with my life, so I chose to pursue a college degree in accounting. I had always been told this was a safe choice if I had any aspirations for a career in business,

and the main reason why I chose this field of study is because I felt it would be. give me a great sense of financial security and enable me to provide for a family of my own one day. Good call for sure. I struggled throughout college because accounting is truly not my passion. I don't know if it's anyone's passion. I actually know a few people who might disagree with you on that one, Kevin. But I managed to get hired by one of the largest and most prestigious accounting companies in the world directly out of college. If I were just to stay at this current job and be a mediocre employee, I could probably write it out for the rest of my career and end up making a salary of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year not long into the future. However,

I have come to the conclusion that despite the amount of money I could make in the future, this job is not what I love to do, and I feel as if I would regret playing it safe later in life. So I'm currently trying to figure out what my passion is, and I'm having difficulty deciding between numerous different professions because they all seem to offer things that I think I would like. Some would require me getting an additional college degree, and others would require, me to attain specific certifications in order to make that job a career. So I want to do my best to research the various jobs and make an informed decision before I go spend thousands of dollars on a new degree for a job that might not truly give me everything I am looking for. Any advice

for anyone who may be struggling to find his or her own passion and purpose in life? Okay, that was a small Steinbeck novel, but we got through this. Kevin, I wish I had great advice for you on this. But here's what I can tell you. I'm currently 42 years old, and I regret to inform you that I am still not sure what my passion in life is. I have found some things that I love to do, but life and the circumstances of life also has a vote. So I'll talk about myself for a second and then give you the advice that I have. I have found that teaching is the single thing that I'm that I like to do the most. I find it to be the most rewarding.

And I discovered that when I was actually in the military as a Bud's instructor. I didn't realize it at the time, but that led me to teaching at CrossFit seminars, which is exactly what I was doing was teaching, and then public speaking. The public speaking aspect, being able to take the experiences

that I have had in life in a unique environment and overlay them into the business world or the professional world, regardless of what sector that I'm speaking to and take the lessons learned and empower people and give them guidance in a literal practical checklist on leadership and help and improve them hopefully from the moment they hear me speak going forward. At least give them a recipe for doing that. I found it to be amazing. And if I was to say there was a purpose in my life, that would probably be as close to what I think I have

found is my purpose. Enter COVID-19. Guess who doesn't get to really speak anymore? ever publicly right now for the last year. That's right, me, which sucks from a financial perspective, but I still feel like it's my purpose. Well, as close to my purpose, or perhaps it's my passion. It's the thing that I'm the most passionate about. Do I think it will go back to that in the future, the way that it was? I do, and I think those opportunities will come back. But just because I'm passionate about it doesn't mean that I can bet the ship on it or bet the house on it. Because I'm sure for somebody out there, they're passionate or they feel it's their purpose to make fucking sandcastles, which if you're one or two people in the world, you're probably able to make

a living doing that. For the rest of the people, they're probably going to struggle. So this brings me back to your question. my advice to you would be to establish a foundation which it seems like you already have you have a job that is meeting your financial needs at this point in your life and what another thing I'll say is this I have made the worst decision I feel like I have made in my life was staying with a company that I was absolutely miserable working for and I only stayed for the money I stayed far too long. And it's a decision that I'm not going to repeat. Having said that, I am not going to

disregard or ignore my financial obligations, which right now it seems like you have handled. So you're already taking the first piece of advice that I would give you or anybody else. Meet your minimum financial requirements and obligations. Because from there, you have the opportunity to spend your free time or idle time exploring, which it sounds like you are already doing? But where to do that? Which direction you should go in? That's a tough one. And I don't know how to point you in that direction because I don't know you personally, but I'll circle back. Like I said earlier, the decision that I made to chase money made me incredibly unhappy. Now that you have your financial needs met, what I would do is find things, and I choose the

things intentionally. You don't have to do just one thing. I personally right now don't just do one thing. And I find that there is value in that for me. For one, I don't get static. It's not the same thing every day. There's new things coming up on my schedule that I have the opportunity to get excited about. So I would say I do three or four things right now. And for me, again, I don't know if I could define any of them as my passion, but all of them are enjoyable for me. They all make me happy when I successfully complete them, and they all have some essence of financial benefit. And perhaps that is the direction that I would point you in. It needs to be something that you derive pleasure or happiness from and the execution of. And to go back to your question, I really do

think that there are some people who get that from accounting. And be diverse. I would rather be a multi-tool than a Phillips head screwdriver. I think that that applies better in life, because I feel like life and the world in general rewards a generalist over a specialist. But I think for keeping your attention and for fulfillment, it might be the same way. And I guess I will close with, don't worry about it, if it takes you a long time to find what it is that you're truly passionate about. And don't beat yourself up. I say that because I spend plenty of time beating myself up, trying to figure out what the hell it is I do for living, having moments of sheer panic when I wake up and wonder, oh my God, what happens if all of this

stuff just turns off right now? What am I going to do? I think everybody goes through that. I go through that often and I try to minimize the amount of time that I'm going to spend in that particular headspace and then get back at keeping my world small, finding the things that I feel enjoyment or receive enjoyment from, diversifying and seeking out things that I find to be difficult and challenging, and then I let the economics work themselves out on the tail end. The biggest piece of advice I can give you is don't put the economics first. I feel, or for me at least in my own life, it has been a recipe for disaster. And then give yourself some space.

It's okay if you don't have an exact answer for what your purpose and passion is. I think most of us are actually in that boat. All right, question number two. Andy, recently, I've been seeing more and more videos of peaceful protests turn violent and individuals' property being destroyed. In some cases, the individuals themselves being attacked. I know that these videos do not show the whole situation, and I get that, but my question is, at what point would self-defense be warranted in these cases?

It seems like some of the higher-profile cases, for example, Kenosha and the bar owner in Omaha were using self-defense to protect themselves, and now are charged with murder. In the case of the bar owner, he killed himself, and I actually just saw that. That sucks. I hope to never be in a situation like this, and I do my very best to avoid any conflict. But if it were to find me, what should I do?

Maybe it is a bad assumption, but when criminal activity is taking place, I'm always assuming the worst, like the person could have a gun. Should I wait for him or her to shoot me before being able to provide or prove self-defense? That doesn't seem feasible. For someone who has been in these types of hostile situations

before where your life could potentially be on the line. I'm curious of your thoughts and how you would deal with a situation like this. Love the podcast and hopefully Kool-Aid makes an appearance soon. Derek, for clarity and for everybody else, Kool-Aid is not my dog. All right? He is the coolest dog ever. Top three for sure. But he's not mine.

Hopefully I'll see him soon and I have no doubt that he will be on probably a fallout of Friday and he and I will do a Q&A session for the listeners. But now back to your question. I'm going to open this one with what Kevin opened his previous email with. The first question, I am not an expert. Okay, so I cannot give you expert advice on this, and I'm certainly not an expert on the law. I do not know how the law is written when it comes to self-defense, and when you go from being a protagonist to an antagonist. Having said that, you do not.

and should not wait for someone to shoot you before acting in self-defense. I mean, look at this. Maybe I'll crack this nut in a broad perspective. You said right in here, you hope to never be in a situation like this, and you do your very best to avoid any conflict. Yes, I'm going to start right there because I agree with you on that, and that is exactly how I choose to live my life. And what I'm not saying is you shouldn't protest.

If you feel passionate about something, if you feel like your presence and voice needs to be heard at one of these events, I'm not telling you not to go. I absolutely support the First Amendment and actually support all of them equally, and I'd be willing to give my life in the defense of those amendments. Having said that, if you look at some of the situations that are going on and you can argue over whether or not they are professional or paid actors that are changing this, flipping it from a First Amendment protected protest to a not protected violent riot slash looting. Be aware of that. That is happening in many of these instances. So if you choose to go there, what I would say is, one, immediately have an exit plan should it flip to that. Because if you surround yourself by people who are doing fuckwit stuff, be prepared to be thought of as a fuckwit and treated like one. Okay? I'm not saying that you are, but if you surround yourself with people

like that or you stay when it flips to a situation like that, you're probably going to be treated as one group, as opposed to individuals or small sections of that group. So if you're going to go, have an exit plan and have an exit strategy, if you're not going to go, avoid those areas. Now, what happens if it finds you? I highly recommend you listen to the podcast that's going to be coming out on Monday with Mike Glover, because we actually wargamed a scenario like this at a gas station. And we talked about what I will call our line in the sand. And that is, and these are my words, I'm not going to speak for Mike, the threshold that I will allow people to come up to, but if they cross, I am going to take actions that are going to defend myself.

And what I'm going to use is the example of what I saw, some people dining at a restaurant, I believe it was in Florida, and a protest, a group of people came up to them, and actually, I stopped watching the video after the first two people sat down at their table and started harassing the person. So one, the first thing you could do is a meeting. leave and that is the first course of action that I would take. And this is me talking about my line in the sand, right? So I would leave if at all possible, avoid if at all possible. I don't give a shit what I look like on social media. People can call me a coward if they want to. I'm not looking to escalate a violent situation. Step number two, if that is not possible, I am going to

project violence. That individual, again, will use the person that came and sat down in the chair. Let's say that person looked over and said, hey, I'm going to beat your ass or, you know what, I'm going to kill your wife. I'm going to go with the exact same thing that Mike said in the podcast. Different scenario, but I'm going to steal his answer because it's good. I'm going to palm that motherfucker's face and shove him out of that chair and project violence. Okay? This is not what I'm recommending that people do.

I'm talking about my line in the sand. And we have a proportional escalation of force. Did I hit this individual? No, I did not. Did I strike them in any way? No, I did not. But I'm posturing and what I'm doing is projecting violence. There's going to be no misunderstanding whatsoever as to my response if the individual chooses to escalate.

When I go out to dinner, where I live, I am armed. Okay. So the whole situation that I have talked about up until this point, I am armed with a lethal weapon, and I'm not going to grab it, and I'm not going to use it until I feel that my life or the life of my loved ones are in danger. If that individual comes back and let's say that he wants to throw down, well, then that's the escalation. that it's going to be off of their actions. That person picks up a skateboard or a weapon, which is considered a deadly implement, and they are intent on using that.

Then they have crossed my threshold, not for self-defense, but for lethal action on my part. If you swing a skateboard at me, I'm going to shoot you in the face, period. If you swing an item at me or have the intent of taking my life, I am going to take actions to defend myself. And I'm not going to wait for you as an individual to attempt. to take my life or to let you get the tactical advantage in the hopes of doing so before I react. Now, that is me and that is my threshold. So, Derek, what you need to do is think about what your threshold is. You've already said you avoid, which is, again, the number one thing that I

think people should do. Avoid at all costs. Avoid even if it starts in front of you. And here's the thing when early reactions are better. I have no doubt to use the same example that I use. used already, the couple sitting and dining. I have no doubt that they probably had some advanced notice, meaning they could either see or hear these people coming. Get up and get out of there before it becomes an issue. De-escalate immediately, and sometimes that's going to look like a tactical retreat on your part. Then that's fine. Live another day as opposed to, you know, hold your ground against a numerically superior environment, a mob mentality. Okay? You have to think about that stuff.

But I can't answer this for you, Derek. I laid out for you how I think about escalation of violence, the line in the sand that I am not willing to cross, the actions that I would take before crossing that. And what I'll close with is once you lay this out and you have a threshold for yourself, like I have a threshold for myself, what I would say, and this is not professional advice. This is what I would tell somebody who either worked with me or trained with me or we are in a tactical environment together. When the threshold is crossed, you need to go. So when your go criteria is met, you need to go as hard and as violently as possible. You need to establish

superiority, period, and then you need to get out of there. Is there a possibility you might end up defending yourself in court? Yes, but I want you alive to defend yourself in court, because just like you brought up when it comes to Kenosha, I'll be very curious to see what actually happens in a court of law. That's why we have. have not just the First Amendment, but the Fourth, the Fifth, the Sixth, trial by a jury, trial by your peers, all of those things, they take time. But you have to live to see that time play itself out. And hopefully, that helped, Derek. Two more. Damn, here's another long one. Damn it. This comes from Matthew. My name is Matthew, and I'm a 20-year-old that has a massive career life question.

Currently, I am a senior at Georgetown University who has been playing, playing, good, not good reading, planning, planning people on attending law school ever since I was in high school. I have dedicated everything from my majors to several jobs, internships, extracurricular activities, volunteer work, and relationships that I have developed with mentors and intelligent, successful adults have all been geared toward law school and a career in the legal field. simply put, I have put myself on a fantastic path to pursue that goal. I am not saying this to brag by any means. I am simply trying to convey that I, along with my parents especially, have invested a lot of time, energy, and life into accomplishing this goal of mine. That being said, I have always had a dream of a career in the military in the back of my mind ever since I was a young boy. Since the beginning of quarantine, I've had a lot of time to reflect and think about what I really have. really want to do with the life and upbringing I've been given. I've exposed myself to countless autobiographies, podcasts, and people that have served in the special operations community to help me better internalize and digest all of this to formulate my own thoughts and perspective. Long story short, the day I was supposed to start studying for the LSAT, which I believe is

the equivalent of the SAT, but for law school, so that I could actually get into law school, I said, fuck it, and decided to start seriously training and preparing my mind, body, and spirit for selection. This past summer, I worked with a former colleague of yours down in Virginia Beach. After training with him and alongside current military members, I cannot think of a more purposeful, selfless, and frankly enjoyable career I could ever do with my life. My parents are supporting my decision, and I've been exposing them incrementally to what a special operations career entails as best I can. but they are still scared to death that I want to do this. I could not imagine what my reaction would be if my son or daughter told me what I revealed to them. I am currently working on a letter that I will finish and give to them outlying why I must do this.

When I say letter, it's more of a dissertation of sorts being that it's currently sitting at 12 pages. Holy shit, dude. And I don't believe I am halfway done yet. I question to you. How do you suggest I tell my parents that their son, whom they love and have sacrificed more for than anyone on earth will, God willing, become a seal and be put in very dangerous situations. Man, hell of a question, Matthew. I suspect that your parents already know that this is what you feel driven and drawn to do,

based on the fact you said you're already exposing them to this. I think first maybe finish the letter. But the more I'm thinking about this, perhaps don't give them the letter. What I would consider is finish the letter, and I say that because 24 pages is a goddamn Steinbeck novel, finish the letter for yourself, so you have an understanding and a written description for you, from you, that you can refer back to as to why you want to make the choices that you seem to be heading in the direction of making, seeking the career path that you want to seek. and then what I would do is sit your parents down and have a conversation with them about it. And if they wanted to read the letter or you offered them the letter at that point in time, I would give it to them. But I would do it more personally than the written word.

I'm not saying that there's not power in the written word. I think there's incredible power in it. But I think your parents may have a better idea of what it is you want to do than you may give them credit for. So, finish the letter for one. It'll give you some insight into you directly from you. Number two, sit down and have a conversation with your parents. And yes, your parents are going to have concerns. I can only imagine the pain and, I don't want to say frustration,

but confusion and worry that I put my parents through, especially in a post-9-11 world. It's real. But what I'll end with in an answer to your question is maybe rein back your expectations. a little bit. You will be put in, the seal training is dangerous. The seal career field path is dangerous, but it's not a gamble. A large portion of what special operations do and SEAL specifically is risk mitigation. You analyze, you assess, and you mitigate risk. Is there danger involved just in the basic training? Yes, there is, and there should be, because it's a very serious job. But you're not going to be going into an environment where you're going to be playing call of duty.

and I hope that you realize that. And if you're talking with active duty people or working with the guy in Virginia Beach, I have no doubt that they're giving you the real spit on what is going on in the community right now or in the world in general as it comes to seals or special operations. So expectation management. What I wouldn't want you to do is to give up everything that you have already expressed and worked towards and have a military career that you are unhappy with because you will live with regret. if you do that. Now, I know nothing about your educational pipeline. The last thing I would say is

if it's possible for you to get to a point where you can have an anchor, and maybe that's taking the LSAT, or maybe it's something educationally, a certificate or a degree, that you could pick up later on. You could go explore the SEAL community and career path. And if you didn't enjoy it, you could pick up where you left off without losing any ground. I would say if that's going to add another six months or maybe even another year, I would say knock that out. to set yourself up for success. Because even if you do 20 years in the SEAL community, you're going to time out at some point.

And having that thing to fall back on at the end of that will really set you a step ahead of a lot of your peers who don't have that. But again, I don't know anything about that legal pipeline, and maybe it's not possible. I'm not trying to talk you out of pursuing your dream. I'm just saying, think about where you are, and it might be good to hammer a pin into the ground you can come back to.

And beyond that, pursue your passion. If it's something that you feel like you need to do or that you have to do or that you were drawn to do, I would say pursue it. Be understanding of your parents. Be empathetic of your parents. Answer the questions that they have. Stay in communication with them. Stay in contact with them.

I suspect they're going to support you regardless of what it is that you decide that you want to do. So be respectful of that. And if you take that path, Matthew. don't quit. Last question. It comes from Jonathan. In all seriousness, why do the American people not require elected officials to work together and if they don't vote them out of office? This should be a requirement.

Jonathan, I completely agree with you. And I'm not an expert on politics or the electoral college or Congress or the Senate or any of that. But from what I can tell based on what I hear and I see, it is no longer about them working together. it seems to me that now everything is just about winning. We're in an environment where cutting your nose off to spite the face seems to be the norm. And I see people moving farther away from center as opposed to closer together where they can actually work together. And it sucks. And it gives me incredible cause for concern.

And I don't know how to fix it. But I do think that term limits would be a great idea. I don't think that being a politician as a profession, a lifelong occupation and profession should be allowed. I don't think you should be allowed to be in politics for longer than you've been out of politics. I think that's insane. And right now, I think, you know, the political, the way the political parties are working together is very reflective of the division in the U.S., whether it be Democrats or Republicans arguing about what's coming up on November 3rd or people who say one organization matters above. of others and that argument. It is embarrassing. I am ashamed of the behavior that I see and the

things that I hear. We look like fucking idiots to the world right now. It's embarrassing. And I know that we can do better. And a lot of that, I think, starts with individual accountability and responsibility, which it's easy to bypass that when you attach yourself to a group identity. And that's completely and utterly wrong, in my opinion. It starts with the individual. Obviously, easier said than done. But yeah, that's my answer. Your question was a serious one.

And my answer is a short one. I don't think they're trying to work together. I think they're just trying to win. And I think until we can figure out a way to make everybody realize that the left versus right, Democrat versus Republican, anything phrased as a, you know, pitting against one another, it's idiotic. because at the end of the day, we're Americans. And if we keep doing this, we're out to win as a, you know, win as in your team or your party or what you believe in, then we're fucked.

Because that's not how, that's not what America is to me. That's not what I want to see America being. And it sucks to watch. And I don't know how to, and I don't know how to fix it. But it is embarrassing. And I'll close with on this full auto Friday. If you're listening to this, do better. And that, I'm talking to myself too, because I can do better with how I think about things.

how I act, what I say. We can do better than we're doing right now. We look like assholes because we're acting like assholes. So perhaps let's just put down a little bit of the bullshit and take a step in the right direction. See you Monday. Marketing is hard. But I'll tell you a little secret. It doesn't have to be.

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