Latest / Daily Influence / 634. Chase the Hard: Navy SEAL Veteran Tommy Richardson on Faith, Resilience, and Divine Savagery

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634. Chase the Hard: Navy SEAL Veteran Tommy Richardson on Faith, Resilience, and Divine Savagery · Daily Influence

• 0:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the daily influence where our mission is to deliver a daily dose of positive influence that can uplift you personally or be shared within your sphere of influence.
• 0:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: While not every episode may directly apply to your unique circumstances, we strive to provide insights and inspiration relevant to most people's daily, weekly, and monthly lives.
• 0:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: Whether you are tuning in during the morning, noon or night, the daily influence is here for you.
• 0:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: Listen, share, and embrace the power of influence in your life.
• 0:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to Daily Influence.
• 0:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm your host Greg Collino.
• 0:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: Today, I'm joined by Tommy Richardson, a retired Navy SEAL and a Marine Corps infantryman with nearly 27 years of combined military service.
• 0:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: He's a founder of Divine Savedry, a coaching and consulting company that helps leaders, athletes, and veterans build unbreakable strength.
• 1:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: resilience and purpose.
• 1:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: Tommy's story is one of transformation from a bully kid who was told he'd never amount to anything to a man who is dedicated his life to helping others rise above their darkness with faith, courage, and power.
• 1:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Tommy, welcome to daily influence.
• 1:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you.
• 1:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: Please appreciate to have me.
• 1:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm so excited that you're here.
• 1:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: Could you share a bit about your background in what led you to where you are today with divine savagery and your mission to help others find strength through adversity?
• 1:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: sure absolutely um you know it's one of those things where uh yeah you go through trials and tribulations of life and you get forged in uh forged in different fires and how you come out uh is really based on you and um where you know where your head and how you're going to go through things so I was yeah I grew up um just a skinny little dorky kid and um you know it was eight
• 2:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, just tossed in dumpsters and putting lockers and locked in there, beat down all that good stuff, right?
• 2:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: Just everywhere, and it was everywhere I went, it wasn't just a school.
• 2:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, you change your routes to school and things like that, to avoid certain people and certain houses.
• 2:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: But, um,
• 2:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, it was the pool.
• 2:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: It was scouts, church choir, everywhere I was getting and I was a lightning rod for it.
• 2:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I look like a white Steve Erkel, you know, it's just super skinny coat bottle glasses, the suspenders, everything just that that was it just a dark, but you know, it's just one of those things where.
• 2:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: Just like with everything in life, a choice is what you have.
• 2:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: So that's what you, that's what you were faced.
• 2:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I came at the, you know, wrong end of a pistol.
• 2:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I was gonna be done with everything, getting pressured from everywhere around me, family, just didn't really have a purpose.
• 2:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: And, um,
• 2:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: It was the first time encountering and I was too arrogant pride for what you're gonna call it.
• 3:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: At the time, my first time I had God talking to me, but as I was, you know, Listerin down the end of that barrel and taking a slack out of the trigger, I heard this audible sound and say, stop, don't do it, I've got something for you.
• 3:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: And it scared me to, you know, my inner core.
• 3:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I took the slack out of my trigger, put the pistol down and,
• 3:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: just embraced what would be an old Marine Corps adage of the beatings will continue until Morale improves.
• 3:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I had family that was in the military, and we had one of them in the premium particular that was kind of the Captain America of the family, and he had respect of everybody, so I was like, all right, well we'll start there.
• 3:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: And he was a Marine Corps, Intel guy.
• 3:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: And he was also a plank owner in the House of Rescue Team with the FBI.
• 3:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, you know, big, big shoes to fill.
• 3:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, I signed up for the Marine Corps.
• 3:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: And it's just, I remember the, the inspection we were doing, personnel inspection and a drone structure, as senior drone structure was round in the corner, asking everybody what he wanted the military occupational specialty to be.
• 4:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I was all set, you know, to say intel and go that route.
• 4:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: But then something hit me, it's like, no, man, you got to do something else.
• 4:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: You got to fored your own path and you're going to go in the infantry.
• 4:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's going to be front lines of something happens.
• 4:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: This is pre 9-11, so nothing was going on at the time.
• 4:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: But, you know, care for what you wish for.
• 4:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, because we got 20, about 20 years of sustained combat coming right at you.
• 4:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, join the core and went through multiple deployments, tours overseas, you know, saw the end of my ground time happening and I was looking more at the end of a power point that I was the end of a rifle and that's not what I wanted.
• 4:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: I had a buddy of mine that was in the teams and he had just gone through selection gone through buds and he was at jump school and he came up to La Juno and was like, hey man, why don't you want you swap over?
• 4:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: I was like, okay, well, how the heck do you do that?
• 5:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: And is that even a thing?
• 5:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: He goes, yeah, well, don't worry, man, we know some people because his brother had been through red red wings and had a little bit of notoriety.
• 5:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: So they set up some interviews for me and they're like, we'll set the dominoes up.
• 5:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: You go and knock them down, just be you and we'll see what happens.
• 5:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: next thing you know I'm at the quarter deck of buds and we're off to the races so um hit buds and then 17 years later I'm I'm you know looking down the barrel of the 27-year career so it was it was a good time in the military saw a lot of interesting things that's really great people and uh served with just the magnificent uh individuals learned to heck of a lot um successes failures had to overcome a whole bunch of obstacles injuries
• 5:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: Um, kind of towards the tail end of my career, figure out, hey, what the heck am I going to do next?
• 5:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: And, uh, you know, what do I do when I grow up?
• 5:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: So that's where I was in a really good way training session and the good Lord put it on me that, hey, look, I put you through all this stuff, not for you, but to share how great I am and what I can do through.
• 5:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: And, um,
• 6:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: And it's it that's exactly what I wanted to do because I was going to be one of those vets that I'm just going to talk with the boys around the fire and meet meet and all that stuff, you know, but that does nobody any good.
• 6:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: It does the boys.
• 6:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it's great.
• 6:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, and that's you know therapy for veterans is that's talking to vets.
• 6:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: Especially now on the on the front sites of being a veteran myself, you know, not just not even a year.
• 6:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's kind of crazy, but um.
• 6:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it's just it's just been interesting, but that that serves to help people, but I think being in a very extreme environment allows you to scale what you've done to pretty much any profession to be like, look, you need a fresh set of perspective.
• 6:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm going to give it to you because of the countries that I've been to.
• 6:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: I've seen humanity that's absolutely worst, but I've seen humanity that's absolutely best also.
• 6:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: So being able to scale that back from the battlefield to the boardroom had a lot of interest.
• 6:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: So it was like, okay, what am I going to do?
• 6:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: And that's where divine savagery came up.
• 6:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: And you know, it's just
• 6:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: said, God put me through things and I shouldn't be alive.
• 7:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: I was going to be dead so many times over.
• 7:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: And it's his love for the poor Crayon Eaton Center that kept me going and kept me driving and moving forward.
• 7:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: And it's just been fantastic being able to share stories.
• 7:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: Um, of adversity with individuals and the feedback coming back and going, oh my gosh, this happened to me or this this and this or how would you, you know, go through this or oh my gosh, you told me this story and that was it and Especially with the brain surgery thing, you know, it's like, oh my gosh, this happened to my dad or even this happened to me or, you know, this that and the other oh my gosh, I got hurt during some kind of training and that, you know, your story really helped other people out and
• 7:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's just been really, really cool to be able to apply that everything that I learned to business and then make a living out of helping people, which, you know, it's just extended service.
• 7:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: I've been in service pretty much my whole life, so why not keep it going and do it in a capacity where
• 8:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: God's in control, but he's able to use me doing stuff that I love doing.
• 8:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: And he's done that through the strength side of it, too, right?
• 8:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: I picked up strong man and power lifting and, you know, got the attention of West Side Barbell and, you know, didn't start competing and, you know, next thing, you know, we're competing at the national level and now we're,
• 8:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: the world level.
• 8:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: So it's just crazy to see, you know, where everything's going to be able to serve and set the example and show people, hey, you know what, even though you mess up, you trip up and even though bad things are happening and bad things are going to continue to happen, there's a way out.
• 8:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: And if I can be the example, so somebody can be better than me, then I'm going to absolutely be that person.
• 8:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: And take the reins wherever I can to try to lift people up, because it's much more difficult.
• 8:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: Because I've always gone the most difficult route, so why not continue, right?
• 8:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: But it's more difficult to lift somebody up than it is to tear somebody down.
• 8:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: And the thing is, is that everybody no matter what good, evil, whatever, they're all going through something.
• 9:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: And if you can help bring them, you know, and show them the love of Jesus and what joy really looks like, even if it's a dumpster fire of a life going on around you, the victory has already been had, you know?
• 9:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: And with my, you know, I guess my look or whatever that people sit tend to assume things, right?
• 9:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I love, I love being able to be, look, that's that's only there.
• 9:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: as that's it's there to do exactly what it does.
• 9:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: And that's the protect and to for off anybody that wants to attack me or my loved ones and that's where I go with hard targeting that everybody should exercise and work out and be fit.
• 9:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, it's a temple the Holy Spirit.
• 9:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: You got to take care of that and you were given it to do just that.
• 9:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: And the more, I don't know, physically active that you look the less likely you are to be a target.
• 9:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: But hey, if you want to mess around and then you want to find out, that's on you, right?
• 9:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: But it's just something I love doing and being able to use it bill resilience.
• 10:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's kind of the big word.
• 10:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's like, oh, what is DS?
• 10:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: What do you guys do?
• 10:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, I can tell you, bill resilience.
• 10:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's what we do.
• 10:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: I want to make more resilient people.
• 10:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: Because you have no idea what you're capable of and what your capacity to hold and to take things is.
• 10:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's incredible.
• 10:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: What this gift that we've been given can do.
• 10:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's an absolute machine.
• 10:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: You just got to know how to use it.
• 10:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: And to be able to show people that on a multitude of levels, whether it be working with people as a team member or individuals that want to learn, can see a handgun training, they want to do executive protection, they want to learn how to exercise, start and offer, hey, I want to be in a lead level anything to even the mindset with pro athletes.
• 10:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: I've talked to absolutely anybody in everybody and whoever I can lift up and make their day a little bit better, man, I'm going to do it.
• 10:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's kind of where I'm at.
• 10:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's a beautiful story, Tami.
• 11:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: So much there.
• 11:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm so grateful for you.
• 11:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: First of all, thank you for your service and protecting our country.
• 11:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: So that we can live here free.
• 11:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: I am super grateful for that.
• 11:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thanks.
• 11:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: Ledger.
• 11:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: You had such a positive influence on so many people.
• 11:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we at the Iron Team series here truly feel that as humans are most important responsibilities are influence, and that's the influence we about ourselves in those around us.
• 11:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: and you are the perfect example of that.
• 11:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you.
• 11:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: Appreciate it.
• 11:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: I do my best.
• 11:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: It seems like it comes quite naturally to you.
• 11:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe not at first early on in the younger years, but definitely later on.
• 11:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: No, it's been tempering.
• 11:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: And it had a lot of anger to deal with.
• 11:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: And it's not like I'm done.
• 11:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: I still struggle.
• 11:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: I still have, I'm still pushing through a whole bunch of different things.
• 11:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: But every day is about a field.
• 11:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: And every day, the enemy's trying to get after you.
• 11:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: And it's just, are you going to fight back or you're going to succumb, right?
• 12:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: So being able to take and lift people up and elevate them, you know, not just that, hey, it's all, you know, cotton candy and rainbows and unicorns, right?
• 12:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: It, it is, it's, it's a, it's a main and nasty place and every day, really is a fight, but the cool part about it is it's to show the difference between joy and happiness and to bring joy to people, that's huge.
• 12:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: And to be able to, um,
• 12:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: I guess it's, you know, where we're talking about pausing their regulations, right?
• 12:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: You talk about the fruits of the spirit, and that's what you, I want to exude the best I possibly can, one of which is kindness and gentleness, right?
• 12:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, love, peace, joy, it's all there, and it's just being able to show folks that there's a way out, you know, you've already made it past 100% of your worst days, and guess what, you're going to make it through your other ones.
• 12:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: If you go through it with the right mindset, but if you're down in the dumps, you know, and crown any cornflakes, that's not no way to go through, right?
• 12:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: You're going to have to go through some stuff.
• 13:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: But if you chase hard, you chase uncomfortable, and you chase difficult, the tougher and stronger you're going to be, and you'll be more ready for the next fight that's coming.
• 13:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: that is so true, you know, in our I&T series, we often talk about the importance of knowing and strengthening our individual eye, sure, to better serve the team.
• 13:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: How is your time through all your experiences, through the military, and your journey through your personal hardships, shape your understanding of self and influence within a team environment and your community.
• 13:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: Sure, you know, it's that you hear the there's no iron team, which that's true, but guess what you're still the member of a team and if you're not operating optimally, then you're now a detriment to the team, so you have to take care of yourself right and that's not being selfish what that's doing is that's being a steward of creation.
• 13:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: you are a member, you are made in God's own image and you have to train yourself to be able to get better and it's the purpose and the intent behind that.
• 14:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: If you're doing it for selfish reasons, then that makes you selfish.
• 14:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: But if you're doing it to be able to help and make other people better,
• 14:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: Then you're doing it for the right reasons.
• 14:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: Why do you go to the gym?
• 14:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: I don't go for self, right?
• 14:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: I don't I'm training for strength because it strengthens my mind.
• 14:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: My body and some of my best prayer sessions happen in the gym because I want to make sure that I can protect Whoever it is and whatever it is that that's that threat may come my way and guess what I can do daily life with very minimal pain
• 14:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: And just so happens that I also enjoy being in a sport of strength because I love competition and that's just a part of me right, but the thing is is that we call it the quarter rule you spend three quarters of the time on your people you spend one quarter time on yourself.
• 14:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: Reason being is it's because if I'm burning it at both hands.
• 14:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: I call it this is a me thing.
• 14:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: I call it the supernova effect You burn and burn and burn.
• 14:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: Star burns.
• 14:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's brightest just before it dies So what you want to do is you want to burn as bright as you can for the longest amount of time with that That now we're talking about training and doing things optimally instead of maximally
• 15:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, if you're going to do it optimally, you have to take care of yourself.
• 15:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: And that comes with the building of wellness.
• 15:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I do everything in venn diagrams because the military do everything in threes, right?
• 15:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: So it's strengthening mind-body spirit.
• 15:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: And if you're strengthening the body, which they're all tied into each other.
• 15:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: But if you're strengthened in the body, then you're talking about sleep, nutrition, and exercise, and all of those have to be in alignment in order to be the optimal you.
• 15:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: So that means, yes, you have to spend time on you to eat right, to sleep right, to exercise properly, to study and hone your mind and then calm your mind, to get ready for action for whatever it is.
• 15:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: Because if you burn and burn and burn, slowly but surely, your 100% will become 80%.
• 15:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right?
• 15:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: Then if you keep going, it's going to lower and lower and lower and lower and then you working as maximally as possible.
• 16:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: You're only 50, 60 percent of what you potentially could be if you just rested and used consistency, the same consistency that you care for others, you should also care for self.
• 16:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: But it's the intent behind it that matters, but you absolutely have to take care of yourself.
• 16:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: So many people struggle with taking care of themselves first.
• 16:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: Do you have any tips or tricks for those that are struggling with that?
• 16:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, to me, just like with everything, it comes with perspective, right?
• 16:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: And if you put it as to the purpose, you find your purpose and whatever your purpose is, if it's service oriented, which we're all called to help others, we're all called to help the poor and do what we need to do, right, as long as your the purpose and intent is to better yourself for other people, then you can't go wrong.
• 16:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: now it's a matter of finding a coach or someone that knows what they're doing that can probably help you out.
• 16:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: Having accountability partner, you know, you're not in the struggle alone, right?
• 16:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, Jesus himself says, come to me and I'll give you a rest.
• 16:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: Go to the Bible.
• 17:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: It will give you, it's literally a love letter to us to tell us how to do life, right?
• 17:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: So if you follow it, you're going to do right.
• 17:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: Now, for the stuff that we've learned today and learned how to, you know, the advancements and, you know, using science for his glory, there's ways that we can better ourselves that we can optimize ourselves.
• 17:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I said find a coach, find a train and partner, find somebody that that can hold you accountable if you can't do it for yourself.
• 17:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: You can come up with different.
• 17:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: mechanisms and different ways right have alarms set on your phone have a whiteboard a series of whiteboards or sticky notes or whatever it is all over the place that will or somehow organize you and keep you disciplined and motivated because those days will come where the enemy wants you to.
• 17:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: stay down and that's usually in the form of, you know, hitting the snooze button, put the clock across the room and make it the most annoying sound possible.
• 17:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: Not something cool, something annoying that forces you to get up and go and then once that happens, hey, you know, I even, I take this from Wim Hof, it works great.
• 18:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: If you dump your face in ice water, right when you get up, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's
• 18:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: unbelievable.
• 18:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: Wakes you up, right?
• 18:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: Get up and take a cold shower first thing in the morning.
• 18:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, it kick starts you into, you know, go do a cold plan, drive out to bat.
• 18:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, I know a lot of people out there say, you know, cold stuff is for the dead.
• 18:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, okay, fine, sure, to a certain extent.
• 18:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: But I mean, if you're, you know, 50, 55 degrees, you're not to go sub zero, but at this, because it's more mental after that than, you know, the physical stuff.
• 18:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: But at the same time, it wakes you up, it gets you, it gets you going in the right direction.
• 18:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: I tell you, you wake up with some
• 18:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: loud annoying sound and then go stick your face in ice water that's going to get you up you ain't going back in the bed you're ready to go you know so um just anything there's of course there's tons of tricks and trades and things that you can do but you have to find out what works for you so that's just reaching into a bank and going all right let's try this but to me if you put something uncomfortable the
• 18:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: in front of you, that's what's going to get you up and get you going and get you moving.
• 19:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then it's like, all right, I've just made it past this.
• 19:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: I could use the cold water.
• 19:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: I've just done this.
• 19:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's one hard thing knocked out.
• 19:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: Now, let's go on and attack the day for whatever else is coming.
• 19:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: And you know what, if for some, it ain't gonna get no worse than that ice water in the face, right?
• 19:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: So it's like I've just done the hardest thing I'm going to do today.
• 19:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: But it's just, it's just chase the hard.
• 19:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's that's all you got to do.
• 19:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: And if you need a coach, you need to find somebody that can help you out whether it's life coach or whatever, or like I said, just stick.
• 19:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, it was in a Bible, plenty of examples of people that will that messed up real big, but also found redemption.
• 19:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: And you can find it too because it's out there.
• 19:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, that's, that's pretty much what I'd say to folks.
• 19:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's great advice.
• 19:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: You faced extraordinary challenges, injuries, surgeries and setbacks.
• 19:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: That could have stopped anyone through what role did mindset and faith play in helping you turn those moments into momentum.
• 19:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: off massive massive and I guess it's okay it started in the beginning right of me getting beat down and just finally going I've had enough and fighting back and standing toe to toe and that's what I tell kids now days when I'm talking to him about bullion and things like that right it's how do you get the mindset you chase the hard that's a hundred percent
• 20:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's all you got to do.
• 20:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: You find out what's difficult.
• 20:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: Find the high road and the hard road and chances are that's going to get you where it is that you need to be because like I said everything's a forging process.
• 20:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: If you do one hard thing every single day how tough are you going to be at the end of that year it all adds up.
• 20:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: right?
• 20:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: You're you're building resilience within yourself.
• 20:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: You're making yourself tougher.
• 20:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, people say, oh, you know, I've had it happen a million times, right?
• 20:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, I post stuff on LinkedIn or, you know, Facebook or whatever.
• 20:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: And they're like, oh, well, you know, you were born hard to say to the other, are you kidding me?
• 20:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: I was born a little week went.
• 20:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: I didn't know it you got to think about it everybody was born the exact same way.
• 20:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: Could you take care of yourselves when you came out of your your parents Absolutely not you needed someone to lift you up.
• 21:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's why I really don't like the whole self made people right you weren't self made because if you were you be dead Right someone raised you someone gave you food someone gave you shelter someone gave you the things that allowed you to carry on and do whatever it is.
• 21:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's just you
• 21:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: be in prideful.
• 21:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's all it is, right?
• 21:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: So that's that's why I really like the team mentality of, you know, we stood on each other's shoulders when things got hard and that's how we got through things and it's really cool to have and find find your tribe, right?
• 21:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: Group of like-minded individuals so that way that's what you can do is stand on each other's shoulders.
• 21:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: If one guy falls or one gal falls then guess what?
• 21:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: You got the rest of them to bring you up and then you're there when they fall.
• 21:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's just how that goes and guess what?
• 21:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's how you build community.
• 21:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: that's so true.
• 21:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, you share so many examples of the positive influences that have been had you had on your life.
• 21:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: Can you tell us about a moment or experience where you felt you made a positive impact on someone's life, whether through coaching, leadership, you know, your work, the military,
• 22:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'll go to the very first thing that made me feel like I was doing what I was supposed to be doing, and I was right place, right time.
• 22:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: We had just gotten off a pretty gnarly patrol in Haiti, and this was 2004 the Operation Secure of Mara was with the Marines, and I had one of my corporals come up to me.
• 22:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I was kind of feeling a little bit disheveled a little bit down.
• 22:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: A lot of firsts happened that deployment.
• 22:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: There were some gnarly stuff that went down.
• 22:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: And they were, you know, seeing and doing things that, you know, you just think about your read about, but it's just like good grief.
• 22:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: You see the things happening in real life and it's something else.
• 22:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: But that corporal I never forget he came up to me and he goes, sir, I just want you to know me and the boys we've been talking about you and I'm like, oh, no, what and he goes, I just want you to know that wherever we go, whatever you say, we're following you and we will all follow you into Helen back.
• 23:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I was like, I did that for Lord me.
• 23:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely for a cry.
• 23:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: I almost started crying right there in the middle of a bag of bell space.
• 23:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: But that meant so much as far as, you know, what it is that, you know, what it is that I was doing.
• 23:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: I was like, I'm in the right job.
• 23:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: Where I'm supposed to be and doing what I'm supposed to be doing.
• 23:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: So the work that we did and
• 23:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, it was coming out of that one particular deployment was was pretty big for a lot of folks.
• 23:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: So it was good.
• 23:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: That was the first big one that I can remember.
• 23:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for sharing that story with us, that's amazing.
• 23:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, our I&T series books, we emphasize responsible influence and being aware of how our actions are words and energy affects others.
• 23:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: How do you define responsible influence in your work with veterans and athletes and leaders today?
• 23:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, it's taking responsibility for your actions, whether you do better, whether you do good, you take responsibility, you own up to it, repent if you need to, or, you know, and then learn and then move on.
• 24:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: And life is a series of mistakes that eventually lead to glory or failure, right?
• 24:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: But hopefully it's getting people to the point to where they can choose better and choose
• 24:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, we're we're centers from birth and we're centers till the day we die But it's all the same grace to Jesus and everything that he did for us and dying on that cross that we can even keep doing it What it is that we do and you know you wonder why the good after die and why this that and why why why this that and the other thing is man It's not up to you
• 24:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: what you can do is control you, and you can control how you respond, how you react, and how you present yourself to others.
• 24:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: So how that happens and how that works.
• 24:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: And like you mentioned it right there, that's biblical.
• 25:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's power in the tongue, right?
• 25:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: And through through the tongue can be delivered life or be delivered death.
• 25:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: So the be responsible for the words that you say and the actions that you do and I'm not taking this from I'm not saying this from a high floor so I'm saying this because that's in the gospel and I've fallen short plenty of times, but I've also risen a bunch of times as well.
• 25:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I'm just telling you this is what's going to you you want to go the easy way listen to people that have been through it right to make life not a little bit easier, but maybe a little bit smarter and you can choose a little bit better and do more.
• 25:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: than anybody else can do, right?
• 25:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: But you had, but it starts with taking responsibility for your own actions and your words.
• 25:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's so true.
• 25:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: And in time, you've shared so much great advice with us and words of wisdom, enclosing what message or words of encouragement would you like to share with our listeners who aspire to make a positive difference in the world even when they're facing their own battles.
• 25:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: know that you're not the only one facing battles, know that there's a way out of it and how you view whatever those challenges are is gonna make the determination whether you get through it or whether you don't.
• 26:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: But I'm gonna tell you the victories in Jesus and that's where you should start and that's hopefully where you end up finishing because that's where you're gonna find out how to fight the biggest battles.
• 26:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: You put on the full armor of God and you guess what, it ain't just armor, he gives you a weapon and that weapon is the word.
• 26:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: Because that's what it was in the beginning and that's what it's going to be in the end.
• 26:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: So you go that route and I guarantee you your life is going to get you're going to find out how to fight life and do life a heck of a lot better.
• 26:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I say in that you're ever they attacks are going to stop absolutely not it probably going to get worse.
• 26:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: But you know what the thing is as things get worse they don't get tougher you just get better.
• 26:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: So go out and get better.
• 26:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for sharing your story and your mission with us today.
• 26:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: Your journey reminds us that influence doesn't come from perfection.
• 26:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: It comes from perseverance, self-awareness and purpose.
• 27:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: If our listeners want to get in touch with you, what would be the best way to do so?
• 27:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: Uh, email honestly, um, old school, right?
• 27:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, uh, just Tommy at DevineSavager.com, you could hit me up.
• 27:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: Tommy Richardson on LinkedIn, Tommy Richardson on Facebook, and, uh, raise your horn on, uh, on Instagram, um, where you can go to website www.devineSavager.com and, uh, hit me up.
• 27:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: We can talk, uh, you need, you need a speaker.
• 27:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: You need somebody to teach teamwork leadership.
• 27:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: You need wellness and strength.
• 27:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: I got you covered.
• 27:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Tommy, you're amazing.
• 27:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'll put all that information in the show notes.
• 27:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for joining us and sharing your stories in your advice today.
• 27:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm so grateful for you.
• 27:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: I pleasure.
• 27:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: Thanks for having me.
• 27:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: into our listeners.
• 27:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for tuning in to Daily Influence.
• 27:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: I hope today's conversation brought you some insight and inspiration.
• 27:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: If it's spoke to you, share with someone who could use a little positivity today.
• 27:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: And remember, every challenge you face can be the very thing that builds your strength to lead an influence responsibly.
• 27:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: Until next time, keep finding, being, and building your influence one positive action at a time.
• 28:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Bye bye.