Mills - Be unstoppable: the 8 essential actions to succeed at anything

BE
UNSTOPPABLE

The 8 Essential
Actions to
Succeed at Anything

by

Alden Mills

Tilbury House Publishers
Thomaston, Maine

M y inspiration and purpose for writing this book comes from my boys all four of them. As their mother and I proudly watch them grow, and test our patience by purposely not listening to our spoken words, Im hopeful the written word might have a more lasting impact. Like most parents, we want our children to succeed. We want to give them the tools for success, including a good education and a full array of life skills from swimming to not hitting their brothers to flossing their teeth. As we navigate parenthood without a map or playbook, life doesnt wait for us to adapt; it just happens.

A lot has happened since I made the decision to leave the SEAL teams and start my own business. For starters, several of my SEAL teammates are no longer with us. Back then we prepared justin-case letters to be sent to our loved ones if we didnt return from a mission. In mine, I would thank my parents for the gifts they had given me, which enabled me to do what I loved doing most at that moment: leading SEALs. I would tell them not to be upsetthat if the letter had been sent, it meant that I had died doing what I loved, and how many people are privileged to say that? I always wrote a letter to my younger brother, Andrew, usually starting it with a laundry list of apologies. Sorry for throwing a rock at your head in third grade, sorry for pretending to drown you at the lake, sorry for breaking your favorite Matchbox cars, and (the one I will always regret most) sorry for missing your wedding. But I always tried to end on a positive note, telling him how proud of him I was for his overcoming dyslexia, and that he could do anything he put his mind to. I would tell him to keep trying and never to give up, and to know that even though I was no longer physically there for him, I would always be with him in spirit, cheering him on.

Thankfully, none of those letters ever needed to be sent from my platoons, but that hasnt been the case for many SEAL teammates. And many of those letters werent addressed to mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, girlfriends, or wives; they were addressed to sons and daughters. Though I no longer serve in harms way, I think daily about my fallen teammates and wonder what they wrote to their children and what wisdom they would have shared if given the chance. It was this thinking that inspired this book. Its my just-in-case letter to my boys.

I was doing what I loved back in those SEAL days, and I had the confidence of knowing I could do anything I put my mind to. I want this book to capture those themes in a way my boys and everyone else who reads it will remember. A collection of vignettes could illustrate how anyone can accomplish great things, but would it leave a lasting impression? Ive tried to create a framework, a code my sons can follow throughout their lives, a touchstone to encourage them when the going gets tough. I want this book to capture the essence of my spirit as a tangible reference for them, a pick-me-up when they feel like giving up on a dream, a voice of encouragement when no one else believes in them, or perhaps simply the voice of a proud father saying, Go for it you can do it!

Ive spent the better part of the last four years thinking about what this book should be. In the end I settled on three ideas to make it memorable and, hopefully, to inspire others to go after their dreams. The first idea was to decipher and distill the essence of how I was able to beat asthma, become a rowing champion, lead Navy SEALs, and create the fastest-growing consumer products company in the United States (in 2009). What I realized by analyzing these pivotal successes in my life was that in each of them I unknowingly put eight actions into motion. Over time (and lots of it), I refined those actions into a simple, easy-to-remember code called U.P.E.R.S.I.S.T., as explained in the eight chapters of this book.

The second challenge was determining how to teach the code in a memorable way without losing the reader (my boys and you) in the process. I decided that a parable would offer the most memorable and engaging way to introduce the code, and what better way to build a connection with the reader and the code than to use the metaphor of a captain and his ship?

The final component of this book was developed to provide readers with the ability to implement each of the eight actions immediately. Theres no time like the present to start making your dreams happen, and this book should encourage you to take action ASAP! This is the reasoning behind the How to Get Started section at the end of each chapter. I include short insights into my SEAL and entrepreneurial experiences in each of these eight sections to help demonstrate how these actions can work for anyone going after their dreams.

Speaking of dreams, if you remember nothing else from this book, remember this: YOUR LIFE IS UP TO YOU. YOU DECIDE WHAT KIND OF LIFE YOU LIVE!

Those words, I now realize, have guided me throughout my life. I decided not to listen to the doctor who said that, due to my asthma, I should learn to play chess instead of playing outside. I decided to work harder so I could pull harder than other rowers and earn the opportunity to win a gold medal at the New England Championships and the Olympic Festival. I decided not to quit when more than 80 percent of my classmates rang out of SEAL training. I decided to invent the Perfect Pushup when my investors told me to get a job. In each of my most important successes in life, the key was not giving up on a dream. And the key to not giving up on a dream is understanding why you want to make that dream come true. The better you understand your why, the better able you will be to persist when others give up on you. When you come to understand your why, you will figure out your way. And once you do this, you will come to appreciate that we have only two limitations in life: our imagination and determination.

Dreaming isnt difficult (especially when youre young). Its the follow-up thats hard, and thats where I know this book will come in handy. The sad truth is that few dreams ever become reality. Why is that? Simply put, the answer is in your head. Your mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy, and its the deciding factor on what kind of life you live. Your mind isnt pre-programmed to tell you what to do with the dreams it conjures up. Your mind is only as good as the inputs it receives. If the chief input is a constant stream of you cant, then your dream is dead on arrival. But if the inputs streaming in begin with you can, your dreams have a chance of becoming real. And the most important inputs, the ones that matter most, are the ones your mind gives itself.

Unfortunately, essential though it is, the power of positive input isnt all you need to succeed. Your master and commander, your mind, needs more input to be convinced to work at making a dream real. Thats why I wrote this book. It will give your mind a code to follow so that no matter what obstacle attempts to derail you, your mind will be working for you, not against you. And when your mind is on your side, no obstacle is too big, no dream too daunting, and nothing can stop you from living an amazing life!

Once youve mastered the code in this book, your biggest challenge will be dreaming bigger dreams! Thats right: Once youve tasted success and gained the confidence of making a dream come true, a funny thing happens: You get addicted to making dreams come true. And as each dream gets a little bigger and a little scarier, you get stronger, smarter, and better at making them come true. And isnt that what life is all about? Live your dreams!