I’m No Hero – an Interview with Captain Charlie Plumb #286
The Brian Buffini Show
Brian Buffini
4.8 • 2.4K Ratings
🗓️ 13 July 2021
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
“I learned that the prison was not the eight feet between the walls. It was eight inches between my ears.” – Captain Charlie Plumb
It takes extraordinary resilience to survive the impossible. In this episode, Brian interviews former navy fighter pilot and Vietnam Prisoner of War, Captain Charlie Plumb. Captain Plumb explains how on his 75th combat mission over North Vietnam, five days before he was due to return home, he was shot down. Captured, tortured and imprisoned, he spent over 2,000 days as a POW in an 8ft x 8ft cell. Topics discussed include: Why his naval training was vital, how his parents’ philosophies of discipline and forgiveness helped him to survive and which daily routines kept him going.
YOU WILL LEARN:
- What he learned about himself during his time in captivity.
- Why he believes adversity can bring opportunity.
- How strong leadership transformed his prison experience.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
“I’m No Hero,” by Charlie Plumb
Episode 164, The Best Interview of My Life with Neil Armstrong
“The Art of Routine,” by Angel Iscovich
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES FROM THIS EPISODE:
“The good news is, when you have that opportunity to sit still nearly six years, you go back through your mind, and you learn an awful lot about yourself.” – Captain Plumb
“I think the biggest thing I learned about myself was that regardless of what is around me, I still can make choices about my response to the things around me.” – Captain Plumb
“Lots of times the biggest opportunities in life are wrapped up in the package that looks like a big-time problem.” – Captain Plumb
“There's a lot of people in the marketplace today that are struggling there. They have total freedom and yet they're in a prison in their mind.” – Brian Buffini
“Acid does more harm in the vessel it's stored than on the subject it’s poured.” – Proverb
“I think the good life to me means a life of service. And I'm under the belief that if you help enough people get what they want, you can have a very, very successful life.” – Captain Plumb
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | MUSIC |
| 0:14.0 | Welcome to the Brian Bafini Show, where we explore the mindsets, motivation and methodologies of success. |
| 0:20.0 | Here's your coach, Brian Bafini. |
| 0:23.0 | MUSIC |
| 0:40.0 | Top of the morning, Tia, and welcome to the Brian Bafini Show. |
| 0:43.0 | We have an incredibly special guest for you today. |
| 0:46.0 | He's retired Naval Captain Charles J. Plum. |
| 0:49.0 | He's an integrated veteran Captain Plum flew 74 successful missions over Vietnam and five days before he was supposed to return home. |
| 0:56.0 | His plane was shot down and he spent nearly six years in a Vietnamese prison of war camp. |
| 1:03.0 | His story is incredible. It's recounted in the book, I'm no hero. |
| 1:07.0 | He's done keynote speeches all over North America and beyond. |
| 1:11.0 | A truly inspirational brilliant man and a great encouragement to us all. |
| 1:15.0 | On a personal note, my wife Beverly was raised on an Air Force base. |
| 1:19.0 | Her dad brought her and her siblings to watch the prison of wars come home. |
| 1:25.0 | A lot of the times they would land in Scott Air Force Base right there in Illinois. |
| 1:30.0 | My wife will share that this was one of the most transformative times in her whole life. |
| 1:36.0 | It gave her this enormous compassion and empathy for people. |
| 1:40.0 | She was sharing with me this morning. She often does these little surprises because she's lived this kind of extraordinary life in such a quiet way. |
| 1:46.0 | But she actually saw Captain Plum come home from Vietnam with his comrades when they landed at Scott Air Force Base. |
| 1:53.0 | So I am so excited to have Captain Plum on the show today. |
| 1:58.0 | I'm so excited to expose you to a man who says he's not a hero. |
| 2:01.0 | But if Captain Plum is in the hero, I don't know who is. |
... |
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