John Dailey epitomizes the power of the mind, body, and spirit. At 56 years old, he continues to pursue feats that demonstrate how vast the human capacity can be.
Following his remarkable military career as a Marine, John began serving as the Director of Training and Education for the Marine Raiders - the special operations unit of the Marine Corps. He continues operating in this role today while simultaneously writing books, operating two Substack accounts (Walking Point and R.T.F.U.), managing a performance and leadership consulting company, and volunteering as the Senior Editor of the Lethal Minds Journal.
Coming up on 40 years of service to our military both in uniform and as a civilian, John sets the standard of human excellence in service of others.
In this powerful conversation, we discussed:
Ultramarathon running, trail running, rucking
Doing hard things on purpose with other hard people
Experience as a teacher
Exploring edges
Ancestral wisdom for modern hardship
Human capacity
Framing
Power of a good attitude
Becoming task focused
“It doesn’t keep getting harder”
Orienting to the next landmark
Reflecting on past trials
Becoming comfortable with what originally made you uncomfortable
Mentorship and his 5 Cs:
Clarity
Commitment
Courage
Consistency
Curiosity
Creating an internal culture of excellence through unifying stories/self-talk with standards and systems
Identity
Dual meaning behind Ruck The Fuck Up
Mental toughness
I can’t recommend checking out his work enough. It continues to impact my life in multiple domains. Subscribe John Dailey’s on Substack here:
There is still time to sign up for the Ruck 2025 Challenge. Not only does it provide detailed programming on how to progressively build the capacity to ruck 20 miles with 25lbs of weight on your back, it supports an incredible cause to raise money for a rare illness impacting children. Improve your life while supporting others. You can join and me and John in this effort by signing up here:
In 2024, John released his memoir “Tough Rugged Bastards” that tells his story and pivotal role in the creation of the of the Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC). In his 2004 deployment, John was a leader within Detachment One (Det-1), a pilot program which provided the concept that Marines were essential to the success of special operations.
He has been on several phenomenal podcasts discussing this time in his life. Two of my favorites are:
We also discussed the incredible cool shirts, hats, and patches he has created with his son for his brand, Ruck The Fuck Up. Check it out here:
Some of my favorite posts from John:
