TGM Classic | Jack Carr | Navy Seals: From Soldier to NY Times Best Selling Author

The Greatness Machine

Darius Mirshahzadeh

Education, Entrepreneurship, Business

5.0 • 135 Ratings

🗓️ 2 March 2026

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Enduring intense physical and mental challenges, thriving under pressure, and leading in some of the most high-stakes situations imaginable—this is the life of a Navy SEAL. But how does someone take those life experiences and transform them into riveting stories on the page? Jack Carr, a former Navy SEAL turned New York Times bestselling author, shares how he transitioned from the battlefield to the writing desk. With years of combat experience, he draws from his military roots to deliver gripping stories through his books “True Believer,” “The Terminal List,” “Red Sky Mourning” and more. In this episode of The Greatness Machine, Darius is joined by Jack Carr to talk about his journey from Navy SEAL to following his dream of becoming a writer. They discuss the mental and physical challenges of SEAL training, the role of teamwork, and the power of continuous growth as a leader. Jack also reveals his literary influences and how he manifests success through hard work and perseverance. This conversation will uncover the mindset, discipline, and strategies that helped Jack overcome extreme adversity and ultimately succeed in two incredibly demanding arenas. Topics include: Jack reflects on his military roots and sources of inspiration Motivations that fueled Jack through the toughest moments of SEAL training Insights into SEAL missions involving direct combat operations Balancing mental and physical toughness during SEAL training How facing hardship and adversity builds resilience for real-life challenges The role of teamwork and mental strength in achieving success The importance of continuous improvement as both a leader and operator Jack’s transition to writing, influenced by books like The Most Dangerous Game Jack talks about his first nonfiction work Targeted: Beirut The impact of hard work in manifesting success And other topics… Connect with Jack: Website: https://www.officialjackcarr.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackcarrusa/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/jackcarrusa Books: https://www.officialjackcarr.com/books/ Connect with Darius: Website: https://therealdarius.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dariusmirshahzadeh/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imthedarius/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Thegreatnessmachine Book: The Core Value Equation https://www.amazon.com/Core-Value-Equation-Framework-Limitless/dp/1544506708 Write a review for The Greatness Machine using this link: https://ratethispodcast.com/spreadinggreatness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by Vanta.
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0:22.3	like Snowflake, top companies choose Vanta. Do security and compliance right. Get started today at vanta.com.
0:29.8	Love gang, welcome to The Greatness Machine. I'm your host Darius from Shazday. I'm so pumped to have you here with me.
0:34.4	Now listen, the greatness machine were about two things. Number one,
0:38.2	people were living their passions. And number two, those who are creating greatness in the
0:42.0	world and doing both of these things despite the odds against them. Each episode, we're going
0:46.0	to feature interviews with game changers, business leaders, telling us their origin stories,
0:50.1	what made them tick, what got them to where they are now. Why? So it can help you step into your greatness within your life, your business, and your career. Occasionally, you might hear a few solo episodes for myself, as I say, as I leverage my 20 years of entrepreneurship as a CEO and founder to help you grow and level up in your journey to scale your life and your business. So come be a fly on the wall, enjoy the conversation, and I'm stoked to have you here with me. Guys, welcome today's episode of The Greatness Machine. I'm a host Darius Marciazi, and boy, do we have a special guest. Jack Carr is in the house. What's up, Jack? How's it going? Thanks for having me. Oh, man, I'm so fired up to have you here on the show. Jack, do you mind if I do a little bit of housekeeping and then we're going to rock and roll and get into the show? Please do. So, guys, Jack Carr here is a freaking royal badass. I was so pumped to get him on. Our team went out there. You know, we're always looking for like the best of the best. And I stumbled upon
1:44.6	Jack's work. He's got a really dynamic background. I'm going to save it for the bio. But the team went out. We're so gracious to come on, spend some time with us here on the show. But before we get into what I'm going to do is I want to, we love origin stories before we go into the origin story. What I'd love to do is give you guys a little bit of back on Jack.
2:00.4	So Jack is a former Navy SEAL.
2:02.5	He's a number one New York Times bestselling author. Before we go into the origin story, what I'd love to do is give you guys a little bit of background on Jack. So Jack is a former Navy SEAL.
2:02.5	He's a number one New York Times bestselling author of the Terminalist book series.
2:06.8	And that book series has actually been converted into a Blockbuster TV series right now that's on Amazon Prime starring Chris Pratt.
2:13.5	And he's also the host of the Terminalist podcast series.
	...

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