Alden Mills

A Vietnam veteran SEAL compared SEAL training to the forging of a samurai sword: heat the metal, pound it with a hammer, stick it in cold water, and repeat the process approximately 2,000 times. He said no one can sustain that kind of punishment without first knowing *why* they want to be a SEAL. Knowing why enables the trainee to endure the pounding he endures.

He eventually came to appreciate what a storm represents—an opportunity to learn and excel. What would you do and, more importantly, how would you feel if you treated every adversity as an opportunity to excel?

Prepare for the worst, expect the best, take what comes with a smile.

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 ability to dream and the courage to follow those dreams.

When the world is crumbling around you and you have no idea what to do your best tactic is to stay consistent.

That’s what I mean by an unstoppable team, one that brings diverse gifts to bear on the team’s goals through a shared sense of purpose and a deep commitment to each other. You can assemble as many individual superstars as you’d like, but they won’t become unstoppable unless they believe in each other and in their collective mission.

Though he [Wooden] spoke in detail about building championship teams, there is one topic he never discussed with his teams: winning. He didn’t want his teams focused on winning; he wanted them focused on giving their best efforts for the team, respecting each other, and eliminating ego from play.

Pass the compliments around, but point the criticism at yourself ... by being quick to praise others for successes and to accept responsibility for failures you aren’t just building credibility; you’re also acting with humility and integrity.

Do you know that ninety-four percent of face-to-face communication occurs without even muttering a word? That’s right: studies have proven that most of our communication comes through body language. The other 6% is not only what you say but how you say it–your tone.

We all have doubts about our own capabilities, but when someone we trust encourages us to persist despite our fears and reservations, we can accomplish more than we originally thought was possible.

What does it mean to deeply connect with others? It means you must bring curiosity, authenticity and candor, a willingness to listen, and above all else a consistency to your intent to build connections.

To Be Unstoppable doesn’t mean you have never been stopped. It means you have been stopped and you know how to keep going, and that is what we are doing here together—learning to Be Unstoppable when we make mistakes and encounter obstacles.

You are more powerful than you realize. You can do more than you originally thought possible. All you have to do is take one action at a time toward your goal. It only gets complicated when we start to think too much about what we can or cannot do. This entire book is focused on one thing: inspiring you to take the next action.

Experts fail more than amateurs try. Enough said.

He [Alden’s dad] turned back to me and said, ‘I have one thing I can offer: when you get stuck, give . . . Give all you have.’ ... He turned to me and repeated with tears in his eyes, ‘You got it? When stuck, give—just go give, okay?’ He hugged me and left.

Remember: My singular focus in sharing this knowledge is to help you take the next action toward your success—it is the next action that matters. There is no need to worry about a series of future actions. I want you to focus on just the next helpful action you can take.

There are very, very few things in life we can control, but those few can determine our direction. Your attitude is one of the single most important things you can control, and if you are not careful, you will let others influence and sometimes even control your attitude for you.

Dreaming is a muscle—it requires practice and will atrophy without consistent exercise. The good news is, dreaming is like riding a bike. You did it as a child, and you can do it again as an adult, but you must try.

Until the fear of staying put is greater than the fear of moving in the direction of your goal, you will stay put.