What would you do if your thoughts keep you awake and restless at night? In the case of today’s episode guest, he wrote down his words… and the result? A brand new book that was just launched during the beginning of September that answers a far more profound and ennobling question: what does it truly mean to be a warrior, both in and out of the uniform?
Jayson Downing is a former Marine Corps Captain and combat veteran. This Veteran Marine Corps Captain’s military accomplishments include a wide range of experiences, including managing an Intelligence Unit in Afghanistan and assembling, training, and leading a Scout Sniper Platoon overseas. He has completed some of the most challenging military training schools in the world, including the legendary Marine Corps Infantry Officer Course.
Since leaving the military, Jayson has acquired two Graduate degrees with honors. He has worked as both a college professor and business consultant, and has been dedicating his life to assisting his fellow veterans and training the next generations of warriors. He has been married for 2 years and both are expectant parents.
Growing up as the oldest of three brothers with a strong loving mother, he learned a sense of responsibility and leadership, and a camaraderie mindset with love. It was in college when Jayson became interested in the Marines. He picked-up on the pamphlets from a couple of Marine Corps recruiters, though he had really not thought about it as a big deal, he ended up diving in and learning more about the program. He eventually signed-up and went to an Officer Candidate School (OCS), a 10-week program over the summer between his sophomore and junior years, where you are basically assessed whether or not you have what it takes to be a Marine Corp Officer. The topics of conversations that were mostly going on during those times were about the Iraq War and Afghanistan winding up as well.
Jayson had this passion and desire to do his part on contributing on how to make a situation better and see what actually he could do to help. He found in training a group of people that really lived the values he had been believing. He saw in the people in that environment that their virtues are stamped in their hearts and that they live them out everyday. Though the training was tough, he walked away at the end of the day thinking that he was a better person after training than he was going into the training. He overcame things that he didn’t think he would. Attracted by the determination, dedication and lifestyle he saw, after college, he decided to dedicate five years of service.
Jayson shared the reason and inspiration behind his book, Reawakening the Warrior Spirit: Exploring What it Means to be a Warrior in the Modern West that engages and explores some of the most challenging topics of the day from the unique perspective of the military warrior mindset. Additionally, Jayson’s book is basically full of the lessons he has learned in the Marines which he is trying to communicate.
The book’s process initially came out during COVID when things were a lot for us and also for Jayson. He couldn’t sleep and so to get them out of his head, he started to write down his thoughts. His wife picked-up some of his words and encouraged him to put them into a book. He started reading and writing about the things that did not make sense to him and confused him– things that were just upside-down and opposite of the values he believed growing up and what he learnt in the Marines. Jayson hopes that the people who will read the book can truly learn from it and get encouraged to do a lot more than they are currently doing and examine their lives, self and modern society.
Here are some important points that were discussed:
- You could make a heaven out of hell or a hell out of heaven depending on your mindset, and whether or not there’s love there.
- People are far stronger and more capable of overcoming challenges in our lives than we normally think that we are.
- It’s not just about you, it’s also about the team.
- We can go out and confront the “dragons” that face us, honorably and with courage.
- Find the mission and purpose of your life.
- It’s how you can lead the way and look over your shoulder and say, “Follow me” then others would no matter which direction you want to go. Constantly ask you how you can make yourself to become the type of person that people would want to follow.
01:22 – 03:20
Jayson shares about him growing up and how his upbringing impacted who he is today.
03:21 – 07:06
Jayson shares growing up in an RV and being homeschooled.
07:07 – 10:01
Jayson and his college life.
10:02 – 13:00
Jayson talks about how and why he ended up in the Marines.
13:01 – 18:08
Things Jayson overcame during his 10-week training.
18:09 – 22:20
Jayson’s deployments and the lessons he learned during those times.
22:21 – 32:38
Why Jayson wrote his book, who this book is for and what’s the mission behind the book.
32:39 – 37:10
The Modern Day Ronin.
37:11 – 39:22
Jayson’s take on the Servant-Leader Mentality.
39:23 – 40:47
The impact that Jayson wants to the readers of his book.
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