Last week we remembered the service of our military veterans in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia… and other countries around the world.
First, let me extend my MASSIVE gratitude to anyone reading who served our great nations to protect the liberties we hold dear.
It’s why this week I want to honor them by dedicating an entire week on what we as dealmakers can learn from the military.
There’s a lot of buzz and curiosity around the badassery of those who serve, particularly the lessons, traits and skills we can adopt in our own lives.
Not too long ago, I reviewed the bestseller Can’t Hurt Me. Author David Goggins —the only member of the U.S. Armed Forces to become a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger and Air Force Tactical Controller — dissects how his military training shaped his mindset and enabled him to become a super endurance athlete and entrepreneur.
Also massively popular is Jocko Willink, a retired Navy SEAL, co-author of bestseller Extreme Ownership (which I’ll review Wednesday) and host of the top-ranking Jocko Podcast. My own mentor and father of 75 HARD Andy Frisella got much of his inspiration from Jocko.
Skills, traits and experiences have a ripple effect. Some more than others.
Think about that for a second…
Jocko was a badass Navy SEAL. He inspired Andy, who inspired me to complete 75 HARD. And my journey inspired a group of other dealmakers and friends to do it as well.
The juice we have all created is rippling into our own families, networks and communities.
So what exactly are the military traits that lend themselves perfectly to dealmaking?
First and foremost, ex-military types make amazing dealmakers. I know several who have come into Dealmaker CEO and Dealmaker Academy and totally crushed it.
It’s no wonder. Think about what the military teaches:
ALL of these are excellent traits for dealmakers, too.
The good news is you don’t have to be a retired Navy SEAL or F15 Combat Pilot to learn these skills.
Let me explain…
There was a brief moment in 1986 after watching Top Gun that I wanted to be a fighter Pilot. Me and millions of other 15-year olds. (I actually went for the interview but didn’t get very far.)
Yet I have all of the skills listed above, learned on the job, doing deals or by modelling others that had them.
I’m not telling you this to brag. Rather, I want you to know that YOU can develop ALL of these skills too… and ALL of them will rapidly strengthen you as a person AND a dealmaker.
These skills can be broken up into three buckets:
Mindset, Mental Toughness and Discipline
This is the cornerstone of dealmaking. In fact, it’s the cornerstone of anything significant that you want in life. Period.
It’s the WHAT, the WHY and the HOW.
WHAT do you want? To buy a profitable small business.
WHY do you want it? For freedom, wealth, legacy, family, assurance, etc.
HOW do you do it? By having a plan and executing it fearlessly (more on that in a moment…)
It’s setting your North Star then taking daily, relentless, focused action to get there. Step by step. No compromises, excuses or bullshit.
Rules and Process
Once you are on the journey and powered by your mindset, you need direction. A map. Because though the path may be littered with obstacles, the North Star will help you navigate what lies ahead.
In other words, you need a mentor and a system. A blueprint. A playbook you can follow.
Something exactly like our flagship Dealmaker CEO training. A system that’s been pressure tested thousands of times and has solid, tangible results.
You follow that and allow yourself to be coached, you will get there.
Leadership, Culture, Teamwork and Rapport.
Your job as a dealmaker is to be the coach of the team — your deal team and your business team, once you have closed a deal.
Your deal team is critical. You simply can’t do everything on your own. At the very least you need a CPA to handle the financial due diligence as well as a lawyer to paper the deal and create the legal contracts to sign.
If you are buying in a sector that’s not familiar to you, you will need a partner who has industry savvy and experience. If you are raising capital and need equity to close the deal, you will also need a partner.
If you want to be an owner-investor rather than an owner-manager, you will also need a GM to run the business for you. Otherwise, you’ll need to be there every day.
For me, I’m an owner-investor. I’m not in the businesses driving the bus. I leave that to my GMs and CEOs. My role is to chart the course the bus will take.
In summary, we can learn a lot of what we need to succeed as dealmakers by modelling military lessons, traits and skills.
If you have served, you have a jump start. If not, learn by following other entrepreneurs, reading books and undergoing challenges like 75 HARD.
I’ve done ALL three of these and I’m a totally badass dealmaker.
As I always say, success leaves clues…
And so does badassery.
Until next time, bye for now.
