Don Saladino (5:00)

It just cl.

Jason Redmond (5:01)

I was like, I'm gonna do.

Don Saladino (5:02)

That's what you want. Yeah.

Jason Redmond (5:03)

Yeah. And it was in that moment that it just locked in. And I told my dad, like, I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna be a seal.

Don Saladino (5:13)

Now, the thing about. Because I've. I've had the privilege of working with several seals, right? And the thing that I've noticed about them is that there's just this gear there's just this gear. And I was talking to a SEAL years ago, and I brought up to me all very humble, like you guys, all of you. Every one of them I've worked with, there's not this ounce of cockiness. Everyone just comes in, very humble.

Jason Redmond (5:35)

I don't know. We have some of that. I'm sure you've been fortunate enough to be.

Don Saladino (5:38)

I'm sure. Maybe. Maybe it's just the crew that I've been around. I mean, they've been. They've been great. I'm sure when you guys are around each other, I'm sure you have your fun. But everyone came in very humble and very respectful. But I'll never forget this story where I was speaking to a seal. I'll make his name up. His name was Andrew. And I said, andrew, I heard. I never really like asking questions. 45 minutes in, I watch him training. And I said, is it really true? Do they, like, put you guys out? And he's like, what do you mean? I'm like, do they, like, drown you guys and bring you back to life? I hear all these rumors, and I don't know if that's true or not. And he's like, well, it's not really true. That's not really what happened to me. And I'm like, well, what happened to you? He goes, well, we had a task, and we had this underwater training, and I was underwater for so long that I forgot I was underwater, and I just went out and I'm like, what do you mean? He's like, I was swimming underwater. You know, you're underwater and you're focused on something, and I just passed out. I passed out, and they had to pull me out of the water. They had to resuscitate me. I'm like, no, I don't really know what it means. I love the water. Like, scuba diving. I love all these things, but normally when I'm underwater and I have to breathe, like, it's time to come up for breath. And I just realized that you guys are just built a bit differently. Every one of them I worked with in a way, and this is a positive way, don't take this negatively. A little bit of a chip somewhere in your life, right? And I think you've used that to propel yourself in a good direction, 100%.

Jason Redmond (6:58)

And I think most of us have that. There's no doubt about it. I mean, you know, with an 80% attrition rate to make it through training, the Navy has spent millions, tens of millions of dollars to Try and figure out what makes these guys tick. And also to increase the ratios, they'd like to put more guys through training and create more seals. So they'd like to be more efficient with this big. Navy has always pushed back against buds, but stands for Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL Training because they're like, you know, you know, you guys have a 20% graduation rate. Like this is a huge waste of money. But the formula has worked and the formula has worked all the way back from the beginning of World War II to the day. So tens of millions of dollars the Navy has spent on psychiatrists and all kinds of different testing. And they've never. All the stuff they've done, the attrition rate has always stayed the same. And you know what I've come to think, what I've come to find and I think most other special operations guys would, would agree with this. I think there's two things that make soft special operations force. That makes SEALs. Number one, your ability to endure pain and discomfort more than the average person to be able to turn that off as you're dealing with things and continue to function. And number two, the AB to process a lot of information in a chaotic, dangerous environment and still be able to function. Because that's probably. There are guys that make it through training, but then when we start getting into close quarters combat, a really aggressive, fast paced combat training, there are guys who end up not being able to cut it in. The SEAL teams are in soft because they're not able to do that. Next.

Don Saladino (8:45)

Do they pull themselves out or is it something where. Or they have to get yanked.

Jason Redmond (8:49)

Yeah, it becomes, oftentimes it becomes safety violations and things like that. They just cannot function at that level now.

Don Saladino (8:57)

Now. But I mean the training piece is what people always hear about. That's where all the, the I don't want to say myths but like I don't know what SEAL training was. I never went through it. You just hear things. It's supposed. Yeah, but like the person getting put out underwater.

Jason Redmond (9:12)

Yeah, they drown you. In SEAL training, there's a crazy myth out there like, you know, you have to kill a puppy. And SEAL training, that is. Never heard that.

Don Saladino (9:21)

That's terrible.

Jason Redmond (9:22)

Ridiculous. I'm like, that's a horrible thing.

Don Saladino (9:24)

What a horrible thing. You're a dog guy and I'm a dog guy.

Jason Redmond (9:27)

Like I could never like, but like.

Don Saladino (9:30)

But like training is, I mean that's something that's pretty hush hush, right? I mean they don't really want to discuss what happens in training. But you, but you Guys have to go through training and training's how long.

Jason Redmond (9:38)

Training is itself is, is roughly seven months. So it's a month of pre training and then six months of the actual, you know, three phases of training. And none of anybody can find this stuff. You know, first phase used to be nine weeks. I think it's maybe seven or eight weeks now. But that's where the legendary Hell week occurs.

Don Saladino (10:01)

Right.

Jason Redmond (10:02)

Hell week is an entire week that.

Don Saladino (10:04)

You don't sleep, right?

Jason Redmond (10:05)

That's right. No sleep and, and brutal conditions. You're cold, wet, coated in sand for almost the entire week. And typically the majority of the class quits during Hell Week. You will lose almost 80% of the class. And first phase is designed for that. It's designed to weed out who doesn't have the mental fortitude to do the job and to be there. Second phase is dive training. So now you're getting into some pretty fast paced diving training. That becomes a second weed out point with one of those evolutions being what we call pool comp. Pool competency test, which you, you've been through all your pool training and it's the final exercise where you're basically getting your ass kicked under the water by two instructors. And there are sequences of things you have to do in a very methodical fashion without going to the surface. So this is another example of where guys end up passing out because your task focused on I have to complete this in the sequence. If I go to the surface, I fail. If I mess up a sequence, I fail. So it, you know, it becomes this dichotomy. You know, you've, you've got to stay down and do what you have to do while you're dealing with stress. That they call them surf hits. But yeah, it's the instructor coming down and pounding you into the ground while you're trying to do these different evolutions and maintain calm and focus. So that weeds. I actually you have four chances to pass that. I failed the first three.

Don Saladino (11:41)

Wow.

Jason Redmond (11:41)

And I made it on my, my fourth attempt which spanned the weekend. So. Talk about a stressful weekend. Yeah, like all we all I all weekend was sat in my room and did breath holding drills.

Don Saladino (11:53)

Yeah.

Jason Redmond (11:54)

So to prepare for the test again on Monday. And then third phase, once you make it through all the dive training, third phase is your tactics, weapons, explosives. And most of the time, by the time a student makes it a third phase, it's very unlikely that they don't make it through training. The only way they typically if you lose a student, third phase, it's because they can't. Once again, making fast decisions in chaotic environments. It becomes safety violation type stuff. Like you do something stupid with a weapon or you do something stupid with explosives.

Don Saladino (12:27)

All right, so you see, you get through to kind of fast track it a very long. Would you say seven months?

Jason Redmond (12:34)

Seven months and I. It took me a year.

Don Saladino (12:37)

Yeah.

Jason Redmond (12:38)

Only 25% of guys will make it through a one shot injuries are very common. I got injured. I ended up having to roll.

Don Saladino (12:45)

What was your injury? What was your injury?

Jason Redmond (12:48)

I had severe tendonitis in my feet, so that rolled me and then I broke my arm. That wasn't in training. That was being an idiot down in Tijuana, Mexico.

Don Saladino (13:01)

We won't ask.

Jason Redmond (13:02)

Oh no, hey, the story's out there and I am very fortunate that I came back to base and I was, I was drinking. I mean I was being an idiot down in. Not in Tijuana. I was in Rosarito. I was further south with some buddies and I stepped out of the bar senior of Frogs for many of you who know that. Yeah, yeah. So I stepped out of the bar totally hammered.

Don Saladino (13:27)

Oh my God.

Jason Redmond (13:28)

Watch a crowd. 19 year old kid.

Don Saladino (13:29)

You know, if you're walking out of senor frogs at 19 years old, you're probably not sober.

Jason Redmond (13:34)

Oh my God. I couldn't even spelled my name. Yep, I walked across the street and the beach was over there, like the boardwalk. And there were some young kids doing flips off the boardwalk. And in my drunken state I was like, I can do this. And totally got sideways and planted my arm and broke it. So I had to have a Mexican doctor set my arm, which he did it wrong. By the time I got back to the States, my hand was turning black. So I had to go back to Balboa, the naval hospital and. And the doctor decided to teach me a less and reset my arm. With no pain meds. He had to rebreak it. He put me in this finger trap thing. So they had to rebreak it.

Don Saladino (14:19)

The good news is you probably didn't know it was coming.

Jason Redmond (14:21)

Oh well.

Don Saladino (14:22)

Or.

Jason Redmond (14:23)

And I probably deserved it. It was probably good for me. But thankfully the BUDS instructors did not kick me out. Even though when I came and I said, hey, I broke it. Rock climbing in Mexico, they were like.

Don Saladino (14:34)

Sure, yeah, sure you did.

Jason Redmond (14:36)

And they only gave me. I had. When my cast came off, there were two weeks till the next class classed up and they were like, you're classing up with that class regardless of if you're ready or not.

Don Saladino (14:49)

So that had to be stressful.

Jason Redmond (14:51)

Also yeah, Well, I continued to train and do everything I could. I was doing one arm push ups. I was doing everything. But my, my swims were terrible. Yeah, my. But with my weak arm and I. I barely passed the swims after I came back from the.

Don Saladino (15:05)

So you had a very long year, right? I did. Okay. So then when you graduate, you get your trident.

Jason Redmond (15:11)

That's right.

Don Saladino (15:11)

Okay. Hence the name of your book, the Trident.

Jason Redmond (15:14)

That's right.

Don Saladino (15:14)

So you have. Can you let everyone know that you got several books out?

Jason Redmond (15:17)

Yeah, yeah. I have my first book, the Trident, the Forging and Reforging of ABC A Leader. My second book is that's the story Overcome is the how to. I wrote a planner called the Point Man Planner, about trying to live a mission driven life and how to structure that. And then my wife and I just came out with a new book, Mission Invincible Marriage, about how to build a strong invincible marriage.

Don Saladino (15:43)

Well, I mean, I think you and her are definitely a testament to that. Right. Because I know Erica really well and she's a beautiful person inside and out. I mean, Mel and I talk about you guys and for the few times I have met Erica, it's always this gorgeous smile, incredibly friendly and you know, I think that's. You start talking about team. I'm always getting asked questions about team. How do you set a successful business up or if you're successful in the military. It sounds like when you're at war, having a team around you, but at home, that's like your most important team, right? Your family, 100%.

Jason Redmond (16:18)

And in special operations, it's a hard job. And having a great spouse, especially to raise kids through that job is really powerful. And it became really powerful for me with challenges along the path. I mean, nobody makes it through this life without challenges. You well know the entrepreneurial journey is very hard.

Don Saladino (16:40)

It's tough.

Jason Redmond (16:41)

And having someone to back you up, no different in the military, you know, and then fast forward several years later to be severely wounded and you know, Erica, my best nurse and the champion, leading both our family and our kids and you know, taking care of me when they sent home this full grown man baby.

Don Saladino (16:58)

She had a. She had a. She had to endure a lot. And I think a lot of people don't know what she had to endure as well as you. I mean, would you mind explaining that a little bit?

Jason Redmond (17:06)

Yeah. So September 13, 2007, I was at the very end of our combat deployment in Iraq, a very impactful deployment. And my team and I went after a high level Al Qaeda leader and walked into A really well executed ambush. I was shot eight times by a PKM machine gun, which is large belt fed weapon, you know, multiple rounds, body armor. I took two rounds in the elbow which destroyed my arm. I actually thought my arm was shot off in the gunfight. Rounds off my weapon, side plate helmet, left, night vision tube shot off, off my gun, turned to try and move back to where the guys had fallen, back to a couple of secure positions and I caught a round in the face. It hit me right in front of the ear, traveled through my face and, and just kind of obliterated the right side of my face, you know, vaporizing my orbital floor, breaking all the bones above my, I broke the head of my jaw, shattered my jaw to my chin. I fell in this newfound hole, took off my nose so, you know, barely survived. I owe my life to my, my teammates who did an amazing job that night fighting back. And I owe my life to The Air Force AC130 gunship, which is a pretty incredible air to ground platform with some of the most state of the art targeting and reconnaissance technology on it. We, we called fire as we, as we call it a fire mission directly on our position, which to date has been, has gone down in Air Force special operations history as the closest fire mission ever executed in the entire Iraq war. So we were lucky to survive. I am lucky to survive. From the amount of blood I lost, I needed eight blood transfusions over the 96 hour period. They medevaced me home and I got home facing some pretty major reconstruction challenges. The doctors told me that the structural integrity of my skull was compromised. So they're going to have to figure out how to put bone back into my face. I was, I was wired shut. I had tubes coming out of what was left of my nose. I mean, I was in the ICU when I first got there. I was trached. They were feeding me through a stomach tube. I'd lost so much blood I couldn't even get out of bed. I had to have nurses help me use the bathroom. And, and that's what Erica walked into. You know, four days after I got medevaced off the battlefield, I arrived at Bethesda and, and I'll be honest, I mean, this is such a tribute to her. And I, I love telling this story because it's so powerful. You know, funny, I did all these super dangerous things. I, I had entered, you know, terrorist homes in the dead of the night. I'd been shot at multiple times. At this point I'd, you know, jumped out of airplanes at 25, 000ft with. With oxygen and hundreds of pounds of gear. You know, I dove under ships in the blackness of night and planted fake explosives on the bottom of them, which is an interesting experience. You know, it is the. It is the blackest black you can ever encounter. To be under a ship at night in a. In a harbor at night, it's just this. It's. It's almost surreal. It's otherworldly to feel that level of darkness and in the greatest fear I've ever felt was sitting in that ICU room with the nurse telling me, your wife is outside the door. She's ready to come in. And I was so terrified. Was she going to recoil? Was she going to cry? Was she going to take one look at me and turn around and walk out in horror? And I was, I won't lie, man, I was afraid. And so much so that I. I prolonged it for at least 15 minutes until finally the nurse was like, you know, you gotta let your wife in. And man, my wife walked into that room and never batted an eye. She walked right up to me. I had tubes coming out of everywhere. I had a breathing tube. You know, I'm in the icu, so everything's beeping and chirping and man, she walked right up to me and she kissed me right on the push wires out of the way, kissed me right on the lips and said, he, we're going to be okay. We're going to get through this. And oh my God, man, it was so powerful for me. I mean, we need. Everybody in life needs a champion like that in your corner, man. Like in our hardest moments, I don't care who you are, there are going to be doubts when you're facing something insurmountable. And at that moment, I didn't know what the future looked like, man. I mean, here they flew me home and I was, you know, five days later, I was at the height of my career. I had been approved to screen for our next tier SEAL team. I'd been approved for my leadership position. I had. For my next tier leadership position, I had. I had messed up as a leader several years earlier and I had come back and everybody had given me the thumbs up. Like, hey, this guy is good. He did Jay. Jay's back on course. Like, we trust him to be a leader in the SEAL teams. And yeah, to find myself laying in that bed blown apart. And when she came into that room, man, like, it's one of the most powerful moves moments of our marriage.

Don Saladino (22:43)

I mean, since I've known you. Just hearing that story is probably one of the most powerful thing that I've heard come out of your mouth so far. Because I. I know your wife, and I know what she's about, and I know what you're about. Now, your mission statement. I don't know if I would call that a mission statement, but I actually have it hanging on my fridge in the barn.

Jason Redmond (22:59)

It's a mission statement.

Don Saladino (23:00)

It's a mission statement.

Jason Redmond (23:01)

Reminds me of who I am.

Don Saladino (23:03)

That was to me, that's hanging on my fridge. It's the only magnet I have up on my fridge. It's in the background. And all my Challenger community reads it. I read it to them, and I know you recited it. Would you mind? Would you mind? So when you were in the hospital, you grabbed a pen and paper, and now you can actually. You can go online and you could. You can buy this magnet from your. From your site, which I recommend everyone doing it because it's a reminder. I think it's incredibly special enough to where George Bush hung it in the White House. Correct.

Jason Redmond (23:35)

He. He signed it. It hangs at Walter Reed. But he signed it because. And he invited us to come there because he was so moved when he heard about it.

Don Saladino (23:43)

This is probably the most powerful thing I've ever read. And you wrote this when you were in probably the worst place of your life. Can you repeat right now what that says?

Jason Redmond (23:53)

Yeah. Said attention to all who enter here. If you're coming in this room with sadness or sorrow, don't bother, Father. The wounds I received. I got in a job that I love, doing it for people that I love, defending the freedom of a country that I deeply love. I will make a full recovery. What is full, that is the absolute utmost. Physically, I have the ability to recover. And then I'm gonna push that about 20% further through sheer mental tenacity. This room you're about to enter is room of fun, optimism, and intense, rapid regrowth. If you are not prepared for that, go elsewhere. And we signed the management.

Don Saladino (24:25)

Right. It's my favorite part.

Jason Redmond (24:26)

Yeah.

Don Saladino (24:27)

Because that showed right there. It wasn't just you saying it. It was like your wife. That's what I. That's what I gather from. It's your wife and family saying, get out of this room. Unless you're coming in here with positivity, We've got some work to do. And that's what I. That's the impression I got from Erica when Erica. Hearing Erica look at you that way and giving you a kiss and moving the tubes Aside, she's like, all right, let's go. This is another obstacle, and we're gonna. We're gonna be. We're gonna overcome this.

Jason Redmond (24:51)

That's right. And it. And it. And it became such a power. Even today, I look at that sign, and it guides me. Probably two years after the sign later, I would be invited to the White House to meet President Bush. And after that, we then framed it and dedicated, and it hangs in the wounded ward at Walter Reed. Now, I didn't keep it because I didn't feel like it was mine to keep. And it's been amazing the impact it has had on millions of people to date. But. But before it ever went to the hospital, it was on the wall of our room. And maybe a year and a half into my recovery, I was having a lot of setbacks. A lot of people don't realize that when wounded warriors get wounded, our wounds are really dirty. Battlefield injuries, bullets and bombs leave all kind of dirt and bacteria. And that's why frequently guys will come home. Guys and gals will come home. They'll have a blast injury, and they might not have lost a lim then, but what will happen is the. The infection set in, and they'll end up having to continue to amputate higher and higher. And I had all kinds of infection in my face that was creating major issues. The nose that I have is actually the third nose they built me. The first two totally failed. And. And so here I was, I'm laying in bed. They cut out all the tissue. I just had this hole in my face. I look like. I look like Skeletor, you know, And. And I was on super heavy antibiotics to try and fight this infection. They had removed a bone from my leg to rebuild the bone in my face. So I was non ambulatory. So I was in a wheelchair. They were still having issues. My elbow had become fused. I had something called heterotopic ossification. It's a massive, weird cellular regrowth bone that gets into the tissue. So I literally had, like, this brick of bone in my elbow. My elbow was just kind of fused like this. All these things compiled. And I remember waking up one morning, like, crying my eyes out, like, this sucks. Like, I. I don't want to do this anymore. And my youngest daughter came into the room. She was maybe three. And I remember seeing her and. And, like, trying to pull myself together. And I. I saw that sign on the wall, and. And I was like, bro, like, that's who you are. You got to pull yourself together. Like, you're that guy. You're the overcome guy. Like, you know, and you need to do it for that little girl right there. So it has guided me even to this day. Guides me in hard moments and things. I'm like, that's you, bro. That's you. That's who you are. So I often tell people. It's funny, I. When I wrote my plan, the Point Man Planner, you know, I created this super, I don't know, too in depth formula for, like, writing your mission statement. What I've come to realize, I've come full circle. Like, people just need to write their own sign on the door. Yeah, that's it. And it's super simple. Like, hey, I want to be the best dad. I want to be the best leader. I want to be the best entrepreneur. Whatever it is, write it down because it's in your hardest moments, when you see it, it's easy to get lost. I got lost that day. I woke up lost. But it reminded me of who I was and it reminded me of why I needed to do it.

Don Saladino (28:24)

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Jason Redmond (30:12)

Yeah.

Don Saladino (30:12)

I mean, and what's shocking, and I don't want to fast forward all this, but I want to discuss right now that over the last five years, well, six years since I've gotten to know you, I've seen you do pull ups. I've seen you deadlift £400 off the ground. I've seen you bench press, what, 250. 250. Bench press 250. I'm sorry, with half an arm. I mean, squat to the point where like, you're like, don, I can't back squat. But can we front squat? All right, where can we front squat here? It's like I had the privilege of being able to help you out early on and you've done. Again, when I say help, I mean just be a sounding board.

Jason Redmond (30:54)

Will you help provide me training?

Don Saladino (30:55)

No, I totally appreciate that. But you did all the work, but like help provide a sound, be a sounding board. And I learned so much from you because I think every day, you know, we're looking at videos or whatever it is, we're bouncing stuff back and forth and it's like, like, all right, what can we do here? And it's like trying to emulate the motion with your left arm opposed to the motion with your right arm. What are we doing with pressing? Should we be going to more unilateral work over the bar? Right. We start thinking differently. Which grips can we take more comfortably? I even remember, I think with the grips, are you more comfortable overhand? I forgot, you're more.

Jason Redmond (31:27)

I need to bring it in, out, and I can't pronate.

Don Saladino (31:31)

Yeah, well, supinate. Yeah. So that was. But that's what I, that's what I remember. I remember turning. You go, oh, can you go reverse grip? And you're like, I can't. And most people would immediately say, well, that's an easier way. That's a. Chin up is a little bit easier than. We have to work with what we have. I think just fast forwarding and going through those numbers. For me, what excites me about that is how you persevered through it and how you just. You. You saw the most difficult obstacle I think a human being can face, and you. And you beat it. And you know what? You did it with an incredibly strong woman by your side to the point now where I think your message. I've heard you speak a lot at Dr. G's event, at the Strong New York event with Kenny Santucci. I've heard you speak a lot. You've been on my podcast in the past, and to see how you've taken a direction in your career and you pivoted into a way to inspire people and get them out of their own way is what I think you've become a master at. Can you tell us about when did that entrepreneurial angle come? Because, remember, you grew up trying to be G.I. joe. Yeah, right. And you were. And you were G.I. joe. And then you got hit hard. At one point, you said, all right, Jay Redmond's going to go from, I'll always be the GI Joe, but now it's time to become that entrepreneur.

Jason Redmond (32:53)

Yeah, I mean, it's been part of the journey. I mean, once I got out, I mean, the books came, and no one. No one coached me, like, hey, there's a business side to this. Some of that naturally, some of it became necessity. I'll be honest. I. When the. When the trident came out and I retired from the military, I had these visions of grandeur. Like, oh, yeah, I'm going to be a $50,000 in an event speaker. And, you know, like, every speaking bureau is going to want to hire me. And seals were starting to get in the spot spotlight. So what happened is I was going to bureau's, and they were like, no, we already have a seal. I was like, oh, okay. So I wasn't getting hired. I did not get a paid speaking engagement for almost seven months after the book came out. And I was. I actually almost went and got a job. Like, I need to make some money.

Don Saladino (33:48)

Thank God you do that.

Jason Redmond (33:52)

So Eric and I created our own bureau. We created our own company. And. And thankfully, through a friend, actually, one of the guys in my firefighter gotten out and was working for an electrical company in Chicago, and he convinced the guy to hire me to come speak, and that was my very first speaking engagement for $5,000. And. But I trained and I practiced, and I put something together that I thought was really good, and it was good enough for him to say, wow, you should. Should some, you know, other people should hire you. And he made recommendations, and that slowly started this momentum, which I think is any business, I'm sure it was the same for you the way you approached training. There were people who said, wow, Don's a good dude. He does a good job. And I think word of mouth in any business is the important thing you can get. It's huge. So it led to that. And I'll be honest, we and I ran a nonprofit at the same time. So I learned a lot about business. If man, if you want to learn, if you want to learn about business, go run a non profit. We were doing both at the same time at that point. And in 2018 I started losing too many friends to suicide and decided we were going to phase down the non profit and shifted to full time on building up the speaking bureau and building going to full time speaking and ramping that up. And we were killing it. We were doing really well. 2018 into 2019. Had my record year in 2019 and. But I still didn't have a solid plan, if you will, which I think is really important in business and in your strategy. I was just speaking and it was great. And we were making money and it was fun and we were executing and Covid happened happen and overnight speaking was gone. And I'll be honest, I'm thankful that long the. The Erica, I call her the long haired Admiral. LHA and I do not for the most part live outside of our means and thank God because my military retirement and became our safety net. Because if we had gone and bought some big house with all this money we had made speaking, we wouldn't have been able to afford it. But what it really made me realize as we navigated through and then a secondary thing happened. I got really sick. I got. We didn't know it at the time. At the fall of 22, while we're still navigating the COVID thing, I started having all these really weird symptoms and Gabrielle was my doctor and I was like, I don't know what's wrong with me, but I'm having major issues issues like I'm, I. I'm having balance issues. I'm having a hard time thinking. I started losing all this weight. I was having issues swallowing. I went from 170 to 142. Wow. In about a three month period. I thought I had cancer. And, and even the Navy doctors at that time, £28.

Don Saladino (37:02)

That's a lot.

Jason Redmond (37:02)

Oh. And. And I went from being the strongest I had been where I was deadlifting 405. I was squatting like 3 forties to suddenly I couldn't even go to the gym. I was so messed up, I thought I was having heart attacks. Turns out they were massive panic attacks. And what it turns out we finally figured out Gabrielle was the one to figure it out. After almost a six step. My blood was all messed up. Like, they thought it was cancer, but they couldn't find cancer. Mark.

Don Saladino (37:31)

Right.

Jason Redmond (37:32)

So it turns out that I had gotten a parasite down in South America 20 years earlier that had grown to a point. Point where, like, on a scale. On the parasite scale, like, five being the worst they've ever seen. I was a four.

Don Saladino (37:46)

Good God.

Jason Redmond (37:47)

And it had. It was in my small intestine, and it killed my body's ability to process B12. It's called pernicious anemia. Years ago, it would have killed me, but it impacts your central nervous system. So all these symptoms I was having were central nervous system process problems. So they finally. They killed the parasite. I'm now on B12 for life because it killed my body. It's called intrinsic factor.

Don Saladino (38:13)

Do any of the symptoms ever come back or is it just.

Jason Redmond (38:16)

I. I still get some residual panic attacks. Yeah, I still. I never in my entire life had a panic attack. And I still. Every now and then, if I'm really pushing hard, I will feel it. And I remind myself, hey, man, this. It feels like heart attack.

Don Saladino (38:30)

It's a terrible feeling. I'm just gonna. I don't want to talk about myself because this is about you, but I. I experienced panic attacks for the first time probably in the last year and a half. It was because I got on a medication. It was too high of a dose, and I remember waking up at night just feeling like, never been claustrophobic in my life, but I couldn't breathe. I couldn't lay down on my back. And until you go through it, it is one of the shittiest feelings. It really is. And I think a lot of times when people hear panic attacks, they're like, oh, deep. Breathe deep. I'm like, yeah, okay, go. Breathe deep. It's making it worse.

Jason Redmond (39:07)

And I would, Yeah. I mean, for anybody that's been through it, who hasn't been through it, you can't appreciate. You can't understand it.

Don Saladino (39:13)

Right.

Jason Redmond (39:14)

I thought I was dying on multiple occasions. Like, I had Erica take me to the emergency room multiple times. Going through that. Like, I'm dying. And they, they, you know, they ran tests and they're like, we can't find anything.

Don Saladino (39:25)

What they do at that point, like throw you a Xanax or something like that, or they're just like, just breathe deep. I mean it's, it would pass with.

Jason Redmond (39:32)

Time, but it would frequently would take hours, four or five hours. So miserable. They finally fixed it and, and it took. And, and the neurologist told me like, it's going to take, you know, five, six months for your, your neurological system to settle and your, your central nervous system settle and recover. And it did. All of that kind of taught me some lessons in business. Yeah, like bro, you, you had all your eggs in one basket and, and you've been making good money. But you know, we weren't really, we were just kind of spending it, you know, we weren't really doing. We weren't very smart and strategic with it. So once I recovered in 21, man, we accelerated building the brand, looking at how do we, how do we diversify our income streams. And it was starting on that journey, on this entrepreneurial journey of saying, okay, let's reinvest every dollar we bring in now. And we started looking at how do we reinvest. And then there was kind of a secondary, you know, we talk about these switches in life. Life, you know, the switch to decide I was going to be a seal, the switch in that hospital room to decide I was going to overcome and wrote that sign on the door. My entrepreneurial switch occurred when I was making good money, but I was doing the math on where I wanted to be in my life. I had laid out a 10 year plan at this point and I was saying, okay, here's where I want to be. I wanted to achieve a level of financial freedom. And when I did the math, I realized that, that I'll never accomplish it with the plan that I have because I was the product and I can't duplicate or scale myself.

Don Saladino (41:15)

I get it.

Jason Redmond (41:17)

You know, at the end of the day we, we tried to get other speakers to replace, but people were like, no, we want Jason Redmond products and things like that. They're only so scalable, if you, if you will. So that led me to say, okay, where else can I go with this? And that led us into real estate, both, both short term rentals and commercial. That has led me now into investing in some other businesses. Technology. You know, I'm involved in a whiskey seltzer company now continuing to speak.

Don Saladino (41:48)

Oh, really? Yeah, you tell me about that. Yeah, we'll kind of keep that quiet from Dr. G then.

Jason Redmond (41:53)

I know what.

Don Saladino (41:55)

So what are so. From a. I mean it sounds like, like this book that you and Erica read out just wrote. This is a real. When I say passion Project. I don't mean it's not a business. Of course it's a business. But this seems like something you're suddenly becoming very passionate about. I mean, you've spoken about perseverance for years. I've heard that a lot. But I think the idea is brilliant because right now, this really, to me talks about teamwork. This talks about you had someone that you guys established a partnership with, with. How long you guys been married now?

Jason Redmond (42:26)

24 years.

Don Saladino (42:27)

24 years. So I've been together with my wife for 21. We've been married 18, going on 19. So. But when you're with someone like that, and we talked about it earlier, when you choose the right partner, this to me is something where your partner, your wife, your husband, you elevate each other. I couldn't do what I do without my wife.

Jason Redmond (42:44)

Same.

Don Saladino (42:44)

And it's like everything that I do now in business, I will openly admit that I am not doing without her and I need her. And right now we're here and I'm having fun and we're doing this still work. But she's home in front of the computer and she loves it and she enjoys it, but she's bringing an element to the table that I am not good at. Now, what is Erica? I know her strengths in the sense of, from a wife, from a mother, a human being. But what do you think are her main attributes of what she brings to the table as a business person, to your life?

Jason Redmond (43:14)

You know, I'm the, She's a little bit of balance. She throttles me back. She, she swats down some of my, my good idea fairy ideas that aren't such good ideas. You know, I'm probably more so she.

Don Saladino (43:27)

Keeps the shackles on you a little bit.

Jason Redmond (43:29)

She's like, slow down. It should be. And, and sometimes, I mean, you know, in business we throw things at the wall. And sometimes they're good ideas, sometimes they're not. Yeah, I'm also, I, I'm, I'm, I move fast. I'm more of a visionary, an idea guy. And some of that's good. Some of it. You need a balance, and Erica is my balance. Erica makes sure we, you know, are building the system. She often gets on me because she's like, you know, you're going to pull the trigger on this. And we need people and we need systems to execute this. We don't do this right, it's going to create a mess on the backside.

Don Saladino (44:05)

Our wives sound very similar for some reason, but that's the beauty of it. And I think that's. I was talking earlier about the old school mentality. Right. Like, I was raised in an Italian household. I've got loving parents that I love. I love them to death. And my grandparents, God rest their soul, amazing people. But they were from the mindset of, you work before school, you work after school, you work. My grandma raised the family. My grandfather went off and worked crazy hours and it was a little bit of that. And for me, my career didn't explode. It didn't take off, off. Until I got into business with my wife. Until that whole idea of that for me got completely shot down. Like, oh, no, I've just been shooting myself in the foot for the last several decades because my best business partner is, is the person that I'm in love with and the person that I live with.

Jason Redmond (44:55)

Yeah.

Don Saladino (44:56)

It seems like the exact same thing happened to you.

Jason Redmond (44:58)

Yeah, 100%. And we're just a great team. We communicate well together. No different from you and Melissa. And, and we're aligned. And sometimes, I mean, there are things that I, I've wanted to do that she's like, I don't think that's such a good idea. And sometimes I'll say, well, I'm going to try it anyways. And then I'll come back later and be like, wow, you were right.

Don Saladino (45:19)

Yeah.

Jason Redmond (45:20)

And there are things, you know, their past that I've gone down to expand our business into different areas while she continues to run some core elements of our business, which right now obviously, obviously is speaking. And it's, it's now the commercial building with the event center that we've launched.

Don Saladino (45:37)

Seems like a great balance.

Jason Redmond (45:38)

We are man. And, and I'll be honest, full circle on the coaching side, some of the things that I've started to find. All of us in life want to be everything to everyone. You know, I meet, I meet these high level business guys who want to be special operations guys and, and now, you know, they're special operations guys who want to be high level business business guys. There are guys who want to be you and have the body of you. There is a balance I'm beginning to find. And at the end of this day, at the end of this life, how do you become the best version of yourself physically, personally and professionally? And that's really where I'm trying to get to now. And recognizing you. In order to achieve those things, you've got to put time and effort and there's a little bit of balance. You can't go 100 in all three areas at once.

Don Saladino (46:29)

Because you'll just burn out and you'll dilute it.

Jason Redmond (46:32)

Yes.

Don Saladino (46:32)

You know, that's what I. That's what. Before we take a few questions and I'll show you this format. It's very fun, is I used to be the sayer of throw balls in the air. And at one point I was throwing so many in the air, you can't. You can't catch them all at once. And then things start dropping and they start falling. And then your main. Your main focus, your main bread and butter. It sounds like you and Erica have a perfect balance of she's going to turn around and she's going to lock down certain things. You can go off and help expand you two both as a. As. As a team, bounce ideas off of each other. I like this. I don't like this. You should try this. That's what teamwork is.

Jason Redmond (47:07)

Yeah.

Don Saladino (47:08)

And that's what I think is a really strong marriage. So what we do here, and I'm excited about this, we've been doing this a couple episodes, is we're going to bring on two to three callers.

Jason Redmond (47:15)

I love it.

Don Saladino (47:16)

This is all kind of people know it's you. They're excited to speak to you. They're going to fire a couple questions off. We can obviously edit it. If we get any people on here that's screaming at me or whatever it might be screaming at me, we're going to have some this. Chris, you're on the other end. Yep, I am here. And first up, we have Paul in Frisco, Texas. Awesome. Hey, Paul, I'm Don Saladino. This is Jason Redmond.

C (47:38)

Hey, Don. Nice to meet you. Jason. Nice to meet you. And thanks for your service. I really appreciate it.

Jason Redmond (47:43)

Hey, Paul. Same to you. Were you a. I can't tell. Are those aviation wings or those jump wings in the background?

C (47:49)

I was in the Coast Guard. I was a rescue swimmer. My number is 396, and I think we just graduated the 11. 1105 in, like, the last 36 years.

Jason Redmond (47:59)

That's awesome, man. Well, thanks for your service, too. The rescue swimmers, you guys are a tough lot, man.

C (48:04)

Oh, thank you. Thank you. Nice jacket, by the way.

Jason Redmond (48:08)

I had to figure out how to dress when I got out of the military.

Don Saladino (48:12)

I love it. So, Paul, thanks. Thanks for coming on. I mean, do you have any questions for Jay?

C (48:16)

Yeah, I do. I actually. It's a little personal one in my professional life, so I'll just fire away. But what I've learned is in the military or even in the software security startup World, you're a number, but at least in the military you earned that number. Right? So as a former rescue swimmer, I thrived in the environment of every mission had meaning, had impact, stakes were always high. So I've spent the last 25 years in the corporate world trying to chase that same intensity in the startup world. High risk, high reward environments, usually short runways and consistent pressure. The challenges in these companies is you're often just a number and leadership tends to view people as short term assets rather than long term operators. So long winded, my question is how do you bridge the gap, Jason, between staying mission driven, self promoting and excelling in an environment that doesn't always recognize individual contributorship beyond immediate results?

Jason Redmond (49:15)

Yeah, so I mean, obviously you're operating in a culture for a company that may not see that. So really I think that comes down to when I talk about leadership, I talk about self leadership as the most critical thing we can lead. You know, obviously if we're running a company or a team, that self leadership has to extend out into our ability to lead others. But I, I think your self worth so often in the military, we're so tied to the things we've done in the past and then we get out and we get in the rat race of the civilian world and sometimes we miss the military and that massive level of purpose that we had. So what I've really started to find for myself is how do you know at the end of the day you are the best version of yourself? That really. And that now bridges those three categories I was talking about earlier, you know, physical, personal, professional. So that when I look in the mirror at the end of the day, okay, so what if, you know, some big wig who all he's looking at is numbers, doesn't see the value because I'm just a check in the box. Do I see that value? Do I know? Am I able to look in the mirror and know that I crushed it today, that I delivered on all of these areas and I'm the best version of myself because, you know, this may just be a stepping stone for the next thing for you. You know, obviously in the civilian world, I mean, I'm involved with a technology company now because I love A, what they're doing, but B, the CEO, I wanted to learn from him. I haven't built a company at the level of what he's building, what I've gotten involved in, in. So I'm not the top dog. I'm not, you know, I'm not the, the man in charge. I'm not the guy in the spotlight. But I recognize that, hey, I want to deliver the best I can for this so that I can be the best version of myself. And I think that's where we make a difference. To try and offset that balance. If you have, you know, recognizing this is an additional step in my ladder of life.

Don Saladino (51:08)

So, I mean, I. I can't speak firsthand right now because I was not in the military. And again, thank you for your service. But what I can talk about is managing teams and people and working with personalities, which in my business became. It's always a very challenging thing because I started my career as a personal trainer, right. And then fortunately, I was able to scale to some other things. But when. When you're. Anytime I would see a coach work with someone and they tried to overcoach in the beginning and they didn't come in with that confidence. Confidence. And it didn't stay true to their own personality, I always found that that was a mistake, trying to go in and act like someone else because they were very sick. That person was successful. But you know you better than anyone, right? And I know myself. I was never a yeller. I'm not the type of person that's going to be in there, you know, flexing my muscles and screaming at people. I take a quieter approach. I like to kind of analyze what's going on, and I try and say fewer words and I. But I want those words to be meaningful and I want them to remember that. I think a lot of times, even in business, when you're trying to prove someone to someone and you're trying to come out of the box and hit them with your A plan, it doesn't always work that way. You can't always rush these things in business. And it's like if you're part of an organization and they're taking their time catching on to things that you're trying to implement. Well, a lot of times I believe that you just can't force those things. You got to be patient. But what you do do is continue to come back every day playing the game at a high level of quality, and then rinse and repeat, and rinse and repeat and rinse and repeat. And then out of nowhere, people around you start looking at you like, wow, this person's a winner. Like, look at this level of quality. Look how they show up every day. And that's what I try and tell people. Sometimes you just can't force a situation. It's impossible. But all you can do is stay true to yourself and show up with that rinse and repeat attitude every day where you're trying to perform at a high level of quality. And then I believe I'm a true believer that cream does rise, you know, after. After a while. So that's just. Just my two cents.

C (53:09)

No, I love it. I can talk to you guys all day.

Don Saladino (53:13)

Paul, this is fun, man. Again, thank you for calling in. I really appreciate it. And, you know, hopefully, you never know, maybe we cross paths in the future.

C (53:21)

Awesome. Thanks, guys. Thanks again for your service.

Jason Redmond (53:23)

Yeah, Paul, thanks, man. Yeah, appreciate you.

Don Saladino (53:25)

Thank you. That was great. Thanks, Chris. That was question one.

Jason Redmond (53:28)

Excellent.

Don Saladino (53:29)

Up next is Kendall and Josiah. They're actually newlyweds and they are calling from Abilene, Texas. Hey, guys. Congratulations, by the way.

D (53:39)

Thank you. How are you guys doing?

Don Saladino (53:42)

Well. How long you married now?

D (53:43)

About four months.

Don Saladino (53:45)

Yeah.

D (53:45)

So pretty new still.

Don Saladino (53:47)

Congratulations.

Jason Redmond (53:48)

Still got that new car smell. Yeah.

D (53:51)

Yeah, definitely.

Don Saladino (53:52)

I. I love it. So you obviously, you know Jay Redmond. I'm Don Saladino. It's great to connect with you guys. Guys. And fire your question away.

D (53:59)

Great. So we know that you and your wife are putting out a book soon about marriage. And so as a newlywed couple, we just wanted to ask about kind of navigating young adulthood as a unit because, you know, right now, in this time of our lives, our individual careers and lives are kind of just taking off. And it can be really overwhelming on your own. But then also supporting a partner in that can. Can also bring its own challenges. And so it feels like our. Our goals and plans kind of shift and change every day because, you know, we're so young and all of those options that are available to us almost feels daunting. So our question is, what are some strategies you would suggest implementing as we try to set short and long term goals for ourselves and do it together as a team in a time of our life that's so open for opportunity. Like your 20s.

Jason Redmond (54:51)

Yeah. I love this. And the book actually came out today. That's why I'm here in New York with Don. Yeah. So it is available. Mission Invincible Marriage. And we talk about a lot of this. One of the things is Eric and I were very deliberate in not losing sight of you guys are now a couple. So you should think about the fact it's. It's we never me. So everything, all the decisions should be made together. That being said, you both are still individuals, so you nailed it. You both have your own goals and dreams in the past that you're going on, but it's communicating and making sure That a, what is our long term goal? And I would say maybe that's a five year goal for now. Where do we want to be? You know, what do we want to have kids and when do we want to do that? What do our vacations look like? Do we want to own a home and where do we want that to happen? You know, all the big life decisions, I would write all those things down and start to identify that those shared values and those shared dreams really become the foundation for the future. And then your individual dreams are still part of it. And how do you support each other in that? Obviously I was a seal, so Erica supported my dreams to be a seal. But Erica was always a natural entrepreneur. And so as well as us raising our kids, she also had her own business goals and dreams. And I wanted to support that. So we made sure that that was the case, you know, but we put everything together. There never was your money and my money, it was always our money. It didn't matter. Her business, my military salary, it all went together, all our decisions were done together to try and support each other. I never made a decision in my military career without talking to her first. If it was going to have a, you know, if it could potentially have an impact from orders to deployments to what job I was going to take, take, I would talk to her first. Same thing with her. If she was making business decisions, she would talk to me. And, and that's what I recommend for you guys in the beginning. You're right, it will change a lot. My, I'm, I'm curious, how old are you guys, if you don't mind. Okay. So my daughter is 22 and she just got married. My son in law is 25 and, and in a year they've been married now for a year and a half, I think and already their goals have changed like three times.

C (57:12)

Times.

Jason Redmond (57:13)

And that's okay, that's okay. Just as long as you're communicating. And that will happen when we're young. You're going to have new opportunities going to pop up in a second. Yep. So as long as you're communicating and you never lose sight of those longer term goals, like if having a family is important, where you want to live, vacations, how you do those things, that should be the foundation and the other parts build to lead to that agreed upon hopes, goals and dreams built on your values.

Don Saladino (57:42)

It's beautifully said. And I just want to give you a quick little story. It was around the holidays and my wife and I have a tradition every year that we Started when my kids were probably four and three years old. And we call it Christmas Eve Eve. Christmas Eve Eve. It was, it was the, obviously the night before Christmas. Christmas Eve is Christmas Eve Eve. So that's the 23rd. Every year we would take the kids out and have a mini Christmas where we would go before we would rush off to the relatives and all the craziness. It was like our Christmas to where we would have dinner, buy the kids a few presents. So this year, now my, my children, I'm married to my wife now 18 years, my daughter's 17. Looking at colleges and my son's 16 and he's, and they're just great kids. But there was a little problem on Christmas Eve Eve this year where my daughter lost a bag and it had a bunch of new stuff that my son got and like my daughter was mortified and it just brought the energy down, right? And we just wanted to save Christmas, Evie. So my wife and I sat there and we, we, we pulled out of it. We, we figured something out that was going to change their moods because we, we do this holiday more for us than anything. This is something where like, these are the memories that we're instilling with our children. And I remember my wife looked at me and she says, you know, it's amazing after all this time, you know, we, whenever we have an obstacle thrown at us, we attack it together. And that's why I love Jay and his wife Erica so much, is that, that they've been, they faced a lot of obstacles, but they tackle it as a team. So whatever your business plan is, all the stuff Jay's telling you to do, do it, buy the book, read it, it's the Bible. But also understand that business plans change. And if you guys are having your crazy weeks where you're a bit disconnected, try and set a night for a, for a date night, catch up, make it about each other, put the phones down and understand that you guys are working on a common goal together. You both want to feel happy and you both want to support each other in your own dreams and you want to build this life together. But remember, his business plan changed drastically. My business plan has changed. And I, and I laid out that 20 year plan and do it and do it. But if you looked at it right now, it's the squiggly roadmap. And there are things now that I'm doing that didn't exist. But, but because I had that partner like you have, we've got strong partners. They helped us navigate it and they Helped us get off into that right direction.

Jason Redmond (60:03)

Dom brought up a great point. We actually have a chapter about this in the book. It's called rituals. You know, cultures throughout history have had rituals. Marriages should have rituals. And some of that could be a blend from your families, your background, religion. For Don, Christmas. Christmas Eve is a ritual. And, man, I just listen.

Don Saladino (60:26)

Christmas Eve Eve.

Jason Redmond (60:27)

Yeah, yeah, Christmas Eve Eve. Same for us. And these can be daily rituals. They could be weekly rituals, but those are things that you guys should build. Kind of a funny ritual that Eric and I have had. It wasn't always, but we would take a bath together, and that was like. Like there was no phones. And I cannot tell you how many times we solved the problems of the world sitting in the bathtub with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. Yeah. And. And it just. It's. And I'm not a bath guy. I mean, like, what? You take baths? I'm like a shower dude. But it became something that I just. I really look forward to with my wife, to spend time with her and to talk and to turn the world off, to navigate the problems we had. So figure out what those rituals are for you guys. Build them early. And. And it always comes back to those goals.

Don Saladino (61:15)

And what Jay's not leading on to is he was the one adding bubbles to that bath. So we know that she's really involved.

Jason Redmond (61:20)

And rub and rubber doctors. Yeah.

Don Saladino (61:21)

I love it. Listen, congratulations. I can tell right now by looking at you, you guys aren't going to have a problem. Just. Just best of luck to you, to you guys and, you know, hope we can connect sometime in the future.

D (61:32)

Yeah. Thank you guys so much. That was really helpful.

Don Saladino (61:34)

Thanks, guys.

D (61:35)

Definitely gonna go find our book right now.

Don Saladino (61:37)

Take care, guys.

Jason Redmond (61:38)

Thank you. All right, guys. Bye.

Don Saladino (61:40)

So that was awesome.

Jason Redmond (61:42)

Yeah.

Don Saladino (61:42)

Thank you, Jay. Man, I'll tell you, one of those people, and I always say it, like, maybe whether it's five years, seven years, whatever it is, I know you're one of those guys that we're going to be in each other's life for a long time. Love what you're doing. You're an incredible inspiration. This is amazing. I can't wait. And you promised me, and I said I want to have Eric on, because this is a whole separate topic right here.

Jason Redmond (62:00)

Just a better part of the team.

Don Saladino (62:01)

You said it better.

Jason Redmond (62:02)

Looking smarter.

Don Saladino (62:04)

But listen, I. I can't thank you enough. We've had a good friendship for years, and it means a lot to me. And I just want to thank the post, obviously, for inviting us down here. And next time when we bring Erica in there, I just found out they're going to upgrade our room and give us something a little bit bigger, so we'll be able to listen to her and I'll just shut my mouth. So listen. Thanks again, man.

Jason Redmond (62:22)

Appreciate you. The views, information or opinions expressed in the series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent.