Very few people have the desire to carry the kind of grueling workload that Jocko Willink is used to on a daily basis. What many of these same people desire, however, is to get the inside scoop on what it takes to maintain Navy SEAL-like energy levels and consistency.
The secret is, says the retired Navy SEAL, that it has now been added supplementary entrepreneur on his resume, is that there is no secret. It’s a fitting formula based on building discipline—and for Willink, discipline starts with skipping the snooze button.
“Here’s what you do before you go to bed at night,” she says. “Set your alarm and when your alarm goes off in the morning, get out of bed and do what you’re supposed to do.”
of Willink The muscle-maintenance message is just one of a treasure trove of his tough love tropes — lines like “go get some” and “all your excuses are lies” — that have helped motivate millions every morning before sunrise. Although most of the time, it’s not nearly as early as Willink’s 4 a.m. Timex wake-up messages on Instagram that he posts daily.
While he’s almost certain to downplay the moniker of “motivational speaker”—leadership coach is a more fitting title—Willink’s words also serve as the not-so-secret formula behind his success. Apart from his work with Jocko Fuel, Willink is a best-selling author, podcast host, entrepreneur and has millions of followers on social media.
While his missions continue to veer in different directions and have him traveling across the United States, the basic principles for hitting the mark remain the same today as they were when Willink entered the Naval Academy more than three decades ago: Start your day early and get ahead of the rest.
“It was just a way to have an edge and a time where you can focus on things that need to be prioritized,” says Willink. “If you let the day go on, other things come into play.”
Health was clearly at the top of Willink’s priority list, and now what has worked for him for decades, he hopes can help many Americans’ efforts to regain their health. As the founder of Jocko Fuel, wellness is no longer isolated to simply fueling an athlete’s body, Willink wants to help reconnect the mindset of the everyday athlete when it comes to prioritizing health in their program.
Today, his Jocko Fuel 4:34 Tour—a five-city effort that launched in early October—aims to educate others to prioritize their fitness goals while helping them get a good workout in.
While he says the workouts can be modified for every fitness level, the first step is to get out of bed and do a 4:34 workout.
“Let’s face it, if you’re not healthy, nothing else matters,” she says. “So I have to stay healthy now. We don’t become healthy or unhealthy in a day. But if you don’t do these things, you slip into an unhealthy state. But if you prioritize your health on a daily basis, over time, you will become a healthier person.”
A disciplined leader in battle, literature and supplements
Jocko Willink has mastered nearly every project since retiring from the United States Navy in 2010. His 2015 biography, extreme ownership, became a #1 New York Times bestseller. Willink followed it up with a children’s novel, Way of the Warrior Kid, which is currently being filmed starring Chris Pratt. Of Jocko Podcast, approaching two million followers. There are also his numerous speaking gigs as a leadership trainer. He is also the founder of a leadership consulting firm, Echelon Front.
Willink is also currently running out of gas Jocko Fuel (currently available at WalMart locations nationwide). It’s an industry that seems tailor-made for a lifelong warrior whose life’s work has always been performance-based.
“When we put our heads together and tried to find a supplement that was really good for you, we knew it was going to be a little more expensive,” he admits. “We took it one step at a time and were able to overcome these challenges and make a product that is not only highly effective, but tastes great. So we succeeded.”
Willink is now expanding the mission statement to include reintroducing more Americans to wellness. Of Jocko Fuel The 434 Tour aims to address what continues to plague the health epidemic.
A 2022 CDC report stated that less than 25% of American adults met the basic guidelines for strength and aerobic health—should be a frightening reality for those on the sidelines.
“If you don’t prioritize your health, eventually it will take priority over everything else in your life—in a bad way,” she says. “So you have to make the effort on a daily basis to stay ahead of it. One way to ensure this happens is to do the training early in the morning.’
Practices—which all begin at 4:34 a.m., began in San Diego earlier this month and will stop in Bentonville, AR (Oct. 26), Tampa. Freehold, NJ: and Virginia Beach—they’re not necessarily designed to tire you out quickly (although they might), instead, the message behind these escalating early-morning sweat sessions is to create a habit-forming discipline to your health at the top of the day priority.
“You’ll have a better day when you exercise in the morning,” says Willink. “So I hope that people who show up get a good workout, feel good for the rest of the day and start to form [healthy] custom.”
Performance over motivation, says Jocko Willink
Willink, a BJJ black belt and owner of San Diego’s Victory MMA, admits he is at a sporting disadvantage when he enters the lion’s den of his talented inner circle. “I’m definitely not the best athlete in the world,” he says. “These guys are pros, so I can’t hang out with these guys in their arenas. Whether they’re rolling on the mats with BJJ heavyweights Dean Lister or Craig Jones or criss-crossing the nation outdoors during hunting sessions with Cameron Hanes, Willink, however, is always ready to be at the top of his individual game.
His reliance on discipline, he says, can be traced back to his Navy SEAL days, when finding an edge to keep up with and outperform his teammates required extra time and effort was critical. The mindset has since moved on.
“There, you were working with a bunch of incredible human beings who are very talented, athletic, intelligent, physically fit and very dynamic,” he says. “For me, one of the ways I found that I could keep going was to go to work early, start the day, and that meant going to work before everyone else and having an edge by focusing on the things that have to be given priority”.
THE Extreme ownership The author explains that while not everyone is prepared to endure a Navy SEAL “Hell week” type of physical combat, prioritizing your wellness should require SEAL-like discipline. And though the inevitabilities of real life—the kids needing a ride to practice or a late night at the office—will come at you with little warning. The solution, he says: hitting the battlefield before the enemy.
“One of the things I talk about is figuring out what your priorities are and how you’re going to plan your day,” she says. “I really encourage people to do the strategic things first. Figure out your priorities and how you will plan your day. I really encourage people to do the strategic stuff first.”
A perfectly executed program will not always work for you or the most popular leadership trainer in the world. But with consistency, like what he hopes the 434 Tour can deliver, discipline will follow.
“Absolutely, I am struggling. I’m human, like everyone else,” says Jocko Willink. “There are days when I don’t need to do it. But I’ll tell you, I get over the feelings. I don’t care about feelings or whether I’m motivated or not. I will be disciplined and go and do what I have to do. Is it a race? Absolutely. Am I over it? Absolutely.”
