Very few people possess the desire to carry the type of grueling workload that Jocko Willink has been accustomed to on a daily basis. What many of those same folks do desire, however, is getting the inside scoop on what it takes to maintain Navy SEAL-like energy levels and consistency.
The secret is, says the retired Navy SEAL, who’s now added supplement entrepreneur to his résumé, is that there is no secret. It’s a fit 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,” he says. “Set your alarm clock, and when your alarm clock goes off in the morning, get out of bed and go do what you’re supposed to do.”
Willink’s muscle-maintaining message is just one of a treasure trove of his tough love tropes—lines such as “go get some” and “all your excuses are lies”—that have helped motivate millions each morning before sunrise. Although more often than not it’s not nearly as early as Willink’s Timex-imaged 4 a.m. Instagram wakeup messages he posts daily.
Although he’ll almost certainly downplay the moniker of “motivational speaker”—leadership instructor is a more suiting title—Willink’s words also serve as the not-so-secret formula behind his success. In addition to his work with Jocko Fuel, Willink is a best-selling author, podcast host, businessman, and has a social media following in the millions.
While his missions keep veering in different directions and have him traveling across the United States, the bedrock principles to hit the marks remain the same today as it did 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 advantage and a time that you can focus on things that need to be prioritized,” Willink says. “If you let the day go on, other things jump into the schedule.”
Health has clearly been at the top of Willink’s priority list, and now what’s worked for him for decades he hopes can help a host of Americans’ efforts toward take back their health. As the Jocko Fuel founder, wellness is no longer isolated to just fueling an athlete’s body, Willink wants to help rewire the everyday athlete’s mindset when it comes to priortizing health into their schedules.
Today, his Jocko Fuel 4:34 Tour—a five-city endeavor that began in early October—is geared toward educating others prioritize the fitness goals while also helping them get in a good workout.
While he says the workouts can be modified for every fitness level, the first requirement is getting out of bed and to the 4:34 workout.
“Let’s face it, if you’re not healthy, nothing else really matters,” he says. “So I need to stay healthy now. We don’t become healthy or unhealthy in one day. But if you don’t execute on those things, you’re sliding into an unhealthy situation. But if you prioritize your health on a daily basis, over time, you will become a healthier human being.”
A Disciplined Leader in Combat, Literature, and Supplements
Jocko Willink has been conquering just about every project following his retirement from the United States Navy in 2010. His 2015 biography, Extreme Ownership, became a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. Willink followed that with a children’s novel, Way of the Warrior Kid, which is currently being made into a film starring Chris Pratt. His Jocko Podcast, is closing in on two million followers. There’s also his numerous speaking gigs as leadership instructor, He’s also founder of a leadership consulting firm, Echelon Front.
Willink has also currently going full throttle with Jocko Fuel (currently available at WalMart locations nationwide). It’s an industry which seems custom-made for a lifelong warrior who’s life’s work has always been performance based.
“When we put our heads together and tried to figure out a supplement that was truly good for you, we knew it was going to be a little bit more expensive,” he admits. “We took it one step at a time, and we were able to overcome those challenges and make product that’s just not only very effective, but tastes great. So we pulled it off.”
Willink is now expanding the mission statement to include reintroducing a multitude of Americans to wellness. His Jocko Fuel 434 Tour aims to tackle what continues to troubling 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 scary reality for those putting to the side.
“If you don’t prioritize your health, eventually it’s going to get prioritized above everything else in your life—in a bad way,” he says. “So you’ve got to put the effort in on a daily basis to stay ahead of that. One way to ensure that happens is by getting the workout done early in the morning.”
The workouts—which all begin at 4:34 a.m., kicked off in San Diego earlier this month and will stop in Bentonville, AR (Oct. 26), Tampa; Freehold, NJ: and Virginia Beach—aren’t necessarily designed to get you shredded fast (although they just might), instead, the message behind these scalable early morning sweat sessions is to create a habit forming discipline to make your health the day’s top priority.
“You’re gonna have a better day when you exercise in the morning,” Willink says. “So I hope that the people who show up get a good workout, feel good for the rest of the day, and start forming a [healthy] habit.”
Execution Over Motivation, Says Jocko Willink
Willink, a BJJ blackbelt and owner of San Diego’s Victory MMA, admits to being at an athletic disadvantage when he steps into the lion’s den of his talented inner circle. “I’m certainly not the best athlete in the world,” he says. “These guys are professionals, so I can’t hang with these guys in their arenas.. Whether it’s rolling on the mats with BJJ heavyweights Dean Lister or Craig Jones or traversing the nation’s outdoors during bowhunting sessions with Cameron Hanes, Willink, however, is always prepared 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 advantage to keep up and outpace his teammates required extra time and effort was critical. The mindset’s has carried over since then.
“There, you were working with a bunch of incredible human beings who are very talented, athletically, smart, physically fit, and highly driven,” he says. “For me, one of the ways that I figured out I could keep up was by getting to work early, getting a head start on the day, and that meant getting to work before everybody else and have an advantage by focusing on the things you needed to prioritize.”
The Extreme Ownership author explains that although everyone isn’t preparing to endure a Navy SEAL hell week type physical battle, prioritizing your wellness must require SEAL like discipline. And although the inevitabilities of real life—kids need a ride to practice or late nights at the office— will come at you with little warning. The solution, he says: hitting the battlefield before the enemy.
“One of the things that I talk about is figuring out what your priorities are and how you’re going to plan your day,” he says. “I really encourage people to do is do the strategic things first. Figure out your priorities are and how you’re going to plan your day. I really encourage people to do the strategic things first.”
A perfectly executed schedule is not always going to fall into place for you or for the world’s most popular leadership instructor. But with consistency, such as what he hopes the 434 Tour can help provide, the discipline will follow.
“Absolutely, I struggle. I’m a human being, just like everybody else,” Jocko Willink says. “There are days I don’t necessarily feel like doing it. But I will tell you, I overcome the feelings. I’m not concerned about feelings or whether if I’m motivated or not. I’m going to be disciplined and I’m going to go do what I am supposed to do. Is it a struggle? Absolutely. Do I overcome that? Absolutely.”
