Was it easy? No. You come into this profession because you want it to be really hard.

There was no plan B, but what helps me do hard things and scary things is flipping fear on its script, putting it on its head.

Spartans, listen up.

We need to sleep better. How do you sleep better? Never thought about it before.

And so I met Jack. I met Ascentia. I attention to the mattress to sleep on because it's loaded with chemicals.

Recovery, cooling, and pressure relief.

All in one mattress, up to 60% more deep and REM sleep.

Less inflammation, faster bounce back.

No toxins.

No EMFs. No BS. My buddy Jack, over to Sancho, he's kind enough to give us a code for the Spartan community. That's DECA, that's tough money, all of us. Use Spartan 25, get a discount, prioritize your sleep, so you can sleep faster, you can do more burpees, you can train more, you can get healthier. When you sleep well, you live well. Joe DeSanter Center here, CEO, founder of Spartan, hosts a Hardway podcast. I've got Nick Laveryon from Boston. You're going to hear it in his voice. This guy is literally a machine. Welcome aboard. Joe, it's a privilege, man. I love to feed the things you guys are doing over there. I mean, all the competition, the health, the wellness, getting out there outside the comfort zone. You guys are right in my wheelhouse, brother. So I assure you the privilege is mine. You're in, well, you're not in Boston. Now you're from Boston, but right now you're sitting at Fort Campbell? I'm stationed at Fort Campbell. Yeah, so I serve in Fifth Special Forces Group. I'm an active duty Green Beret. I've been doing that now almost 20 years, which is crazy to say that out loud, how fast it goes by. So, yeah, me and my family, we live in Tennessee. That's awesome. Any time you're planning on retiring or you, like once a Green Beret, Green Bray forever? Well, I think the answer to this is probably both. I'm not sure if you ever stopped.

But, retiring or like once a green beret, a green beret forever? Well, I think the answer to this probably both. I'm not sure if you ever stop being a green beret even after you hang up the

uniform. But I actually did just stop my retirement process about two months ago as I come up

to the 20 year mark. And I'll tell you, Joe, you know, and I speak on behalf of a lot of veterans, it's a hard transition. When you went and had you picked Green Beret, how'd that happen? It's a good question. It's actually kind of a funny, quick story. I knew I wanted to go into special operations, and my first thought was to become a Navy SEAL, which isn't, you know, uncommon. And, you know,

the Navy and they're phenomenal with how they market the SEALs. And you think of like the baddest dudes on the planet. Like they come to mind very quickly. I was like, I want to go do that. They had three separate branches of recruiters all in that building. So the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Army. And I literally went in that sequence.

And I was like, hey, I want to be a seal.

And he's like, cool, we got to get you in to the Navy first. And then you can request to go to Buds and do that whole thing. And I was like, oh, cool, thanks. And then I walked out, almost had this exact same conversation with the Marine Corps guy. and then I got to the Army guy and he had a different answer.

He's like, well, we have a pathway called the 18 X-ray. same conversation with the Marine Corps guy. And then I got to the Army guy and he had a different answer.

He's like, well, we have a pathway called the 18 X-ray contract option, which is short for

special forces recruit that gives guys off the street the chance to bypass any kind of service

in the conventional army and go straight into the special forces pipeline to become a green beret.

And I was like, oh, well, that sounds kind of cool. You know, I didn't make a decision. I went back and I started doing some homework because I really didn't know, like, what green berets do. I started kind of unpacking, like, what that even means. And so I was drawn towards the mission, but then I was also enticed by the speed in which I could get to kind of the tip of the spear and like get into the game as a special operator.

And so that's how I made the decision.

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