Summary
In this episode, we interview Denny Girardi, a former Army Infantry Team leader and co-host of the Be The Standard podcast. We discuss Denny's deployments to Afghanistan, the challenges of stop loss and surge deployments, and the differences in op tempo between the National Guard and special operations units. They also talk about working with SEALs and ODA teams, the reputation of Jocko Willink, and their experiences with CrossFit and MMA.
Denny shares his journey from studying political science to pursuing a career in sales, and how he and Mike Burns decided to start their podcast. The conversation covers topics such as podcast production and scheduling, breaking the stigma around mental health, the goals of the podcast, the importance of consistency and building an audience, and the impact of exercise and cutting back on alcohol for mental health.
We also talk about the importance of promoting the podcast on social media and expanding to different platforms and share our future plans for the podcast and the impact we hope to make. And an overarching theme for the entire podcast is the need for accountability and setting standards to create a better version of oneself.
Show Links
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Episodes also available on Spotify, Apple, and Amazon Music.
Denny's Links
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
01:00 Deployments and Missions
04:40 Training Cycles and Team Assignments
06:13 Meeting Jocko Willink
08:06 Jocko's Reputation and Physicality
09:16 CrossFit and MMA
11:43 Interest in Politics and Law School
12:12 Legalese and Concealed Carry Laws
13:02 Difficulties in Obtaining Concealed Carry Permits
14:07 Deployments in Afghanistan
16:08 Working with SEALs and ODA Teams
21:47 Transitioning to Entrepreneurship
25:18 Combining Forces and Building a Network
26:00 Meeting and collaborating through LinkedIn
27:01 The challenges of remote collaboration
29:21 The importance of flexibility in podcast scheduling
30:11 The significance of mental health in the podcast
31:19 The importance of discussing mental health
32:16 Breaking the stigma around mental health
33:28 The goals of the podcast
35:11 The core principles of the podcast: setting standards, creating habits, execution, and accountability
36:37 The importance of having a focused theme for the podcast
38:08 Choosing the name of the podcast
39:06 The importance of sticking to the podcast's core values
40:08 The importance of consistency and building an audience
44:07 The impact of exercise and cutting back on alcohol for mental health
48:51 The love for golf and breaking stereotypes
54:13 The acceptance of tattoos in society
57:04 Tattoos and Personal Style
58:00 Surfing in the SEAL Teams
59:08 Challenges of Surf Passage
1:00:18 Overcoming Swimming Challenges
1:02:06 Respecting the Power of the Ocean
1:03:17 Future Plans for the Podcast
1:04:56 Promoting the Podcast on Social Media
1:07:46 Expanding to Other Social Media Platforms
1:09:09 The Demographics of Different Social Media Platforms
1:12:06 The Time and Effort Required for Podcasting
1:14:36 Creating a Better Version of Yourself
1:16:30 The Importance of Accountability and Standards
1:18:31 Future Guests and Potential Arguments
1:20:35 Closing Thoughts and Gratitude
