500: We Choose To Live.

Jocko Podcast

Jocko DEFCOR Network

Management, History, Business

4.8 • 31.3K Ratings

🗓️ 23 July 2025

⏱️ 106 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

>Join Jocko Underground<

(Live in Chicago)

Jocko Podcast 500 marks a major milestone—nearly 10 years of leadership, war stories, personal growth, and hard truths. In this powerful live episode recorded at the Vic Theatre in Chicago, Jocko Deeply personal reflection on the realities of war, the weight of leadership, and the power of choice.

From recounting the harrowing cost of combat to the enduring bonds between team mates, Stories of fallen teammates, personal battles with grief, and the lessons learned through pain. Exploring the path of mental resilience, the difference between despair and strength, and why choosing to live—and to lead—is a conscious decision we must make every day.

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/jocko-podcast/exclusive-content

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is Jocko podcast number 500 with Echo Charles and me, Jocko Willink.
0:04.5	Good evening, Echo.
0:05.2	Good evening.
0:07.9	That's right.
0:09.2	We are at podcast 500.
0:12.0	It has been almost 10 years, almost one decade with you.
0:20.1	And I thought that it would be cool for this episode to share a live event that we did
0:28.0	so for podcast 500 this is a event that we recorded live in Chicago Illinois at the Vic
0:36.4	theater in front of an awesome group of
0:41.8	in front of an awesome group of you all who were there and I hope you enjoy it. I hope you get something
0:49.8	out of it. I know I always get to learn a lot from these podcasts. But before we roll that live event,
0:57.2	I just wanted to take a moment. Let's take a moment to say thank you. This has been a pretty
1:04.7	amazing experience. I've met many amazing people and met some incredible heroes in this podcast studio.
1:17.1	And it's been an honor to have the opportunity to share their stories.
1:22.8	And I've also met many of you over the past decade.
1:29.4	Moms and dads and grandparents and sons and daughters
1:33.8	and veterans and first responders and bankers and bricklayers
1:40.4	and everybody in between.
1:43.5	And all of us together learning sharing and doing our best to find the
1:53.6	path and stay on the path and you've gotten to know me and i've gotten to know you and I think it becomes pretty clear that we are all a lot more alike than we are different
2:10.6	Everyone has struggles everyone has triumphs everyone has challenges and is not easy, but it's what we get.
2:23.4	One.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jocko DEFCOR Network, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Jocko DEFCOR Network and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.