Be An Asset. Not A Liability. The Vanguard Part 2

You are a platform.

You are a blank slate to which you can add skills.

Just as people customize their iPhones, shoes, and computers, we can also upgrade ourselves as human beings.

Call it biohacking, growth, self-evolution...I ask you - how much time do you spend adding accessories (skills, not bling) onto yourself?

Be An Asset.

Be A More Useful Human Being.

Never settle. Avoid complacency. Never be a liability.

Welcome to The Vanguard Part 2. (You can see Part 1 HERE.)

Avoiding Complacency. The Pursuit of Growth and Progress

There are always skills we can add to our repertoire to become more useful.

We can always drill, practice and improve the skills we have.

The key is to never be complacent - to always strive to be a bigger asset to your friends, your family, your team, and to humanity. Never be a liability.

This was the theme - and the purpose - of Atomic Athlete's Vanguard event. A group of people on a never-ending quest to better themselves as human beings.

Natural Stack co-founder Ben Hebert and I had the opportunity to attend this event a fews weeks ago.

Today, we share some of the lessons learned so you can:

Pursue growth in new ways
Start your own "Vanguard group" in your area committed to growth and evolution
Increase accountability, ownership and responsibility
Add tools to your platform

Before we get to the podcast, a few images and videos from the weekend:

The Instructional Blocks:

Striking/Close quarters defense
Butchery
Shooting: Pistols & Rifles (AR platform)
Jiu Jitsu
Trauma First Aid
Land Navigation
Repelling

Speaking of repelling, here is Chief Optimizer Ryan Munsey crushing his fear of heights and repelling face first

SWAT Medic and Vanguard instructor Justin Hurzeler walking down the face of the tower "Aussie Style".

In the shooting instructional block, we finished with a drill that forced us to sprint, elevate our HR, then control that breathing and HR and fire with accuracy while also practicing the speed reloading

You can see how this drill layers multiple facets of shooting - each unique skill was drilled to competency (not mastery, yet) individually before combining for a drill like this.

The drill: sprint down-back-down, control the breath & HR, fire 6 shots, drop the clip, reload, 3 more shots...I went 9/9!

It was dark, this is a cell phone so YES, it's tough to see. That makes the shooting more impressive! ;)

(Also, please don't judge my running form - I'm quite embarrassed by it, but the gun and magazine holders on my hips disrupted my normal arm action...in the words of Ricky Bobby, I didn't know what to do with my hands!)

Morning views of the sunrise over the lake. Those are zip lines - not power lines.

Listen to the OPP on-the-go:

Tips To Become a More of an Asset & Less of a Liability on the OPP:

What it means to be an asset
How to handle yourself in physically threatening situations
The importance of your foundation
How to read meat labels at the grocery store
The type of person you want to be during a trauma situation
Different approaches to getting over your fears
Why you should never be satisfied with how you perform
The difference between adapting your body and adapting to your body
Justin’s advice on the importance of being in physical shape
How being humble makes for the best experiences
The responsibility of being an expert and teaching others
Why you shouldn’t just rely on your gun in combat
What it takes to be an actual Hollywood hero
How to make yourself useful throughout your life
The importance of being transparent about ingredients and educating consumers
Why failure should be encouraged
Using your knowledge to build your platform
How your community can bring a new level of inspiration
Natural Stack’s future plans for our Optimizers
Ryan’s top 7 takeaways from Vanguard

Links & Resources

Atomic-Athlete Website

The Vanguard Event

Tim Kennedy's Sheep Dog Response

Rob Walling Stair Step Formula

Natural Stacks Performance Optimizers

Natural Protein - 2:1 Ratio of grass-fed whey to collagen protein plus 500mg Colostrum per serving for optimal recovery and health

BioCreatine - Himalayan Sea Salt and Fenugreek Extract provide enhanced absorption so you can replenish, recover and boost power output without the need for high doses of carbohydrates

Natural BCAA's - unlike most BCAA's (which are made from human hair or bird feathers) our botanical sourced BCAA are made with the highest quality ingredients to ensure optimal performance every time.

CILTEP - get "tunnel vision" focus so you can avoid distractions, focus on what matters most and increase your productivity