Dallas Burnett: Hey, everybody.
We're talking to Andrew Whitman today.
What an amazing guy He is, a former marine police officer, federal agent turned
resilience coach, the creator of the Inner Armor Resilience System, the author
of Inner Armor Perpetual Resilience.
He's protected.
World leaders like Nancy Pelosi and trained elite warriors has some
incredible stories of staying mission ready, under pressure, building mental
toughness, and leading through chaos.
He's a great new friend of mine.
You don't want to miss this incredible conversation.
Welcome to the last 10%.
Your host, Dallas Burnett, dives into incredible conversations that will inspire
you to finish well and finish strong.
Listen as guests share their journeys and valuable advice on living in the last 10%.
you are a leader, a coach, a business owner, or someone looking to level
up, you are in the right place.
Remember, you can give 90% effort and make it a long way, but it's finding
out how to unlock the last 10%.
That makes all the difference in your life, your relationships, and your work.
Now here's Dallas.
Welcome, welcome, welcome.
I'm Burnett, sitting in my 1905 Koch Brothers barber chair in Thrive Studios.
But more importantly, today we have a great guest.
He's a Marine Corps combat veteran.
Former federal agent has a PhD in theological psychology.
Oh my gosh, we're gonna have to talk about that.
Who's protected heads of state like Hillary Clinton, Benjamin Netanyahu.
He's trained Navy Seals and special forces.
Now he equips leaders, teaches teams how to thrive in high stress environments
with his new inner armor system.
He's a world class expert in resilience and high stakes performance.
He's gonna share some tools with us today, so welcome to the show, Andrew.
Andrew Wittman: Thanks Dallas for having me.
I gotta get me one of them chairs.
Man, that thing is awesome.
Dallas Burnett: everyone needs a chair.
Andrew Wittman: Yeah, that Coke chair from 19, I mean, yeah.
Barber chair.
I need that.
I'm like, that's so cool.
What a flex, bro.
Dallas Burnett: Yeah.
You know, we had this special reveal in the episode, I don't know what it
was, episode 50 or something, but I saw this, one back in former life I
was in, in music was writing songs.
I was gonna Nashville all the time.
I got hooked up with Charlie Daniels and, so they had us out to his studio
we walked in and, he wasn't even there.
He was out on the road and his manager takes us into the
studio and it's all empty.
But I'm like, looking around, I'm like, oh my gosh, this is incredible.
It's just like in the backyard and like some barn in the
back of his, you know, farm.
Andrew Wittman: Right.
Dallas Burnett: like we walk in and this had this massive board
and just like what you'd think.
And then I turn around in the back of the room, there's this
big barber chair sitting there, this huge, huge barber chair.
And I was like, Is that where everybody, are they here for so
many days just living in the studio?
They gotta have a barber chair.
They just bring the barber in and cut everybody's hair.
They're like, no, dude, they don't do that.
That's Charlie Daniel's chair.
And I was like,
Andrew Wittman: Aw.
Dallas Burnett: if he's got a chair like that, his studio he
sits in, I gotta give him one of
Andrew Wittman: right.
Dallas Burnett: that's, that's one of the reasons
Andrew Wittman: Dude, that is so awesome.
And of course you just reminded me of that when, Jack, my son was young,
he said, now as Charlie Daniels and Jack Daniels, are they brothers?
I said, no, but I think they're closely related.
Dallas Burnett: Would not surprise me.
That's awesome.
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Good stuff.
Dallas Burnett: man, so just, I'm excited about this conversation
today because you've just had such amazing, just incredible experiences.
You
Andrew Wittman: Yeah,
Dallas Burnett: over the world, train all these things.
Well, I just want to get into that, but I want to jump back a little bit.
Before we get there, tell us a little bit about your story.
what's your history, where'd you come from, and how did you get into becoming
this, big time, resilience, coach, military special aids and all this stuff.
Give us a little
Andrew Wittman: yeah.
So, my mom and daddy were missionaries and, I went to high
school in a town called Wagga Wagga, new South Wales in Australia.
And, there was four Americans in the town.
Two were my parents, one was my younger brother, and the other was me.
And there's, it was, they didn't have anything back then where it was in
the eighties and there was no, not a Pizza Hut, McDonald's, nothing.
Right?
So, um, they, and we were, a strange attitude, but I was
the fat kid in high school.
And of course the Australians, they loved nicknames.
They called me beach ball.
because I was five three and 185 pounds.
and yeah, and I got bullied a lot, right?
Because I wasn't allowed to fight back.
So, and then, you know, I would cry and, all this stuff, missionaries,
kids, anyway, and then I would turn to food for comfort, which would make me
even a bigger target for the bullies.
but I met two guys there and they, got me, they took me under their wing and
introduced me to the military, right?
So when left, the mission field.
I was supposed to go to a, bible college and, my choices were Bob Jones or Liberty
at that time 'cause that's who was given a scholarship to the missionaries.
And I was like, I'm a fat kid and I'm, I live in fear and anxiety, I'm
gonna enlist in the Marine Corps.
So that's what I did.
I was like, that was like, my parents were like, what?
I don't think so.
You know, so, so I went down to the recruiter's office and I sat
there for like four hours 'cause he's out doing stuff and the Navy
recruiter's Hey, you wanna come over here, fat kid, we got great for you.
we got great food in the Navy.
I'm like, no, I wanna be a Marine.
So I signed up, and I made in my contract that I would be in the infantry.
and I asked him, and he's are you sure you need your charts are your test
scores are like air traffic controller.
And I'm like, avionics.
I'm like, dude, Avi, I don't wanna do electronics.
I would've went to Lincoln Technical Institute for that.
You know what I mean?
I want to, I wanna roll in the mud and blow stuff up, dude.
so I went to bootcamp and I lost 50 pounds in bootcamp and,
Dallas Burnett: Wow.
Andrew Wittman: was the beginning of my obsession for
mental toughness or resilience.
I had to get my physical cylinder under control.
And then, so I learned that from the Marine Corps.
I spent six years in the Corps.
I was in desert.
Dallas Burnett: you feel like that
Andrew Wittman: Yeah,
Dallas Burnett: you feel like that was one of the, was one of the motivations
to go into the military to get in shape and to feel like get that
Andrew Wittman: a hundred percent.
Dallas Burnett: you
Andrew Wittman: hundred percent.
Man.
I did not wanna be like, I did not want to live my life in fear and
anxiety and, that life was always pushing me around like these bills.
And I had no, I had no way to fight back or to do, to take control of anything.
So I'm really, I'm like a control freak, right?
I, anything that I can control, I will.
But then I found out the only thing I actually can control
is my response to anything.
It's, I can't control anything external or other people.
I have to control me.
So I, that, that's the journey, right?
but it started there because I wanted to take control of my not
being the fat kid and being scared.
Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: know though, I mean, your, your mom and dad's in Australia.
They're are they like, dude, what are you,
Andrew Wittman: yeah.
No,
Dallas Burnett: did they have to wrestle with that
Andrew Wittman: yeah.
No, they wrestled a lot with it.
'cause my mom and dad are, or were, I say Bob Jones Baptist,
but they're all independent.
Right.
There's not like a, it's not like the Southern Baptist.
Right.
So very fundamentalist.
And, really they were like, I don't wanna say that they were saying I was
going to hell, but that's what they said.
If you join the military, 'cause we don't do that.
they don't even vote.
They don't, do you know what I mean?
we don't do any of those things.
Yeah.
One of those deals.
So
Dallas Burnett: Oh
Andrew Wittman: okay.
We all made, it was great.
It was at the time.
And I made this decision, before I was 18.
I. I tried to, you know, enlist and so the embassy in Canberra drove whatever
the three and a half hours to the Outback in Wagga Waa to try and get
my parents to sign the consent form.
And they're like, they ain't signing that.
no, get outta here.
So that was, so I had to wait till my 18th birthday before I did.
That's so I was going against the grain, but there was
restoration with my mom and dad.
Don't, I, that's one of the things that I prayed for when I was like 18 or 19.
Even when you get 20, you realize your parents were actually smarter
than you gave them credit for.
I'm like, wait, they knew what they were doing, And because, and I'll
tell, and it's honestly because my dad was a strict disciplinarian.
We were fundamentalists.
Bootcamp was like vacation.
Dallas Burnett: Oh,
Andrew Wittman: the drill Strucker yelled at me.
I'm like, ah, that's easy.
I got this.
So I rose to the top very quickly in that Marine Corps discipline society.
So shout out to my,
Dallas Burnett: like
Andrew Wittman: oh man, I'm like, this is easier than home.
I,
Dallas Burnett: That's so funny.
I've never, that's not, my bootcamp was like a
Andrew Wittman: it was, thanks.
Dallas Burnett: That's great.
So you go through, you're in the Marines and you're there for a while and then
you transition how, what does that
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
So I, I get through my, I did six years and I did, like I said, I
did, desert Storm and I was in combat during Papa Panama thing.
We did, I did five deployments in six years in the infantry, right?
I also did counter terrorism in the Philippines, counter
terrorism in Honduras.
And so I, and I got married along the way, right?
And I wanted to be with my bride, and we got tired of being gone
all the time from each other.
oh, I wish, she's I didn't get married for you to deploy every 10 minutes, So
I'm like, we're just separated constantly.
So I was like, all right, this is not my, the life for me.
So I got out and I did go to Bible college, right?
So then I went, and I was like, I just, I'm not ready for the, the ministry thing,
I was a little too not high speed, and I mean, I'm not saying I'm addicted to
adrenaline or whatever, but, so anyway.
Dallas Burnett: after you go from getting bullets shot at you and
Andrew Wittman: You
Dallas Burnett: counter-terrorism, I could
Andrew Wittman: so what I did was I Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Know, right?
So anyway, so I started my law enforcement career there in Spartanburg County.
I became a sheriff's deputy in Spartanburg County.
Dallas Burnett: oh
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
In 1997.
Yeah.
and Chuck Wright was like, he was on a traffic unit at the time, and
we both had the same Sergeant John Lyles, and I was just a rookie and
he was, the, the experienced traffic veteran and everybody wanted to be
Chuck, 'cause he had the unmarked car and, you know, it was so, yeah.
and then I, it was great watching him become, and I think he's retiring
now or something, but he had a really great run and what a great dude.
So that was my, how I started my law enforcement career at Spartanburg
Dallas Burnett: Wow.
That's awesome.
That's
Andrew Wittman: County.
Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: that is really neat.
So then you go from law enforcement into this
Andrew Wittman: Well, I became a federal agent because here's what happened.
Here's what ha what had happened was, my wife became pregnant with
her first, and she says, baby, I wanna be a stay at home mom.
I'm like, I'm all about that.
But you're making 65% of our income.
'cause at the sheriff at the time, I was making $7 and 41 cents an
hour, like literally no overtime.
It was $21,000 a year.
Dallas Burnett: Oh
Andrew Wittman: And I'm like, we cannot make it on that baby.
Right?
So, uh, I just put in all my federal applications to every A, B, CI
took every test, the marshals, the DEA, the Secret Service.
Dallas Burnett: Wow.
Andrew Wittman: so the one who called me was US Capitol Police, which
I had rarely never even heard of, but I found out that they do the
same thing the Secret Service does.
They just do it for the House and the Senate.
And then, so of course, the ones that ask each to the dance, that's who you go with.
So I entered, I moved to DC, became a capital police officer, spent about
three years in uniform, and then got a chance to become an agent.
and I went through, agent training with the diplomatic security Service.
At the time, I was the last class that went through diplomatic security service
with the State Department for Capitol Police before they had their own.
so I was a State Department trained agent.
That was right before nine 11.
It was like April I. of 2001 and then nine 11 happened, and they just immediately
pulled me over to, do protective work.
And that's where we got into that.
Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: Oh my gosh.
So what was it like, you go from a, like a local, sheriff type role in
the deep south to DC protecting heads of state and was that like, was that
a very difficult transition or was it like, oh, this is what I'm made to
Andrew Wittman: it was difficult when I went into uniform up there because
it's a lot of so in South Carolina, we're the right now police, right?
My zone, I had Greer, Lyman, Wellford Duncan Reedville, right?
It was 150 square miles and there's only two deputies on any given
time covering that entire thing.
So my backup's half an hour away.
So when you're showing up to domestic violence or whatever it
is, you show, it's you, right?
you, your guys got, so it's adrenaline high.
I mean it's very dangerous.
It's a, My kids always lay, they say that's when I learned how to
lie, was at the sheriff's office.
It's not lying, it's deescalating.
No, we're not arresting anybody.
I just need you to put these handcuffs on for, Hey, it's just for your safety and
my, I just need you to get in the car.
We're not going anywhere.
I just don't want the neighbors seeing you in the street.
Next thing you know, it's a half an hour later we're, at
the sally port, up at the jail.
Dallas Burnett: I
Andrew Wittman: jail.
Right,
Dallas Burnett: so
Andrew Wittman: right,
Dallas Burnett: so true.
Andrew Wittman: So it's,
Dallas Burnett: I can totally
Andrew Wittman: yeah.
Dallas Burnett: That's,
Andrew Wittman: Right.
So
Dallas Burnett: no, we're not gonna jail.
Andrew Wittman: Deescalation.
so
Dallas Burnett: Right,
Andrew Wittman: yeah.
so we did all that.
And then I get to Capitol Police and I'm in uniform and I'm like,
I'm standing here at this stairwell making sure a terrorist doesn't walk
in for 16 hours a day watching the paint change color from beige to ecro.
You know what I mean?
And I was miserable.
Dallas Burnett: man.
Andrew Wittman: at the sheriff's office I made I think 'cause I would, you
count your arrest, like your stats would be like I made like 356 arrests
in the last six months I was there.
dudes would make go through their whole career, Capitol, police,
and barely make three arrests.
You know what I mean?
'cause it's not, it's a different mission.
So once I got outta uniform and I went to the agent side, then it's crazy
because now, my jurisdiction is all the US states and its territories
and any, and now I'm on a protective detail and the US title code.
Now see, we have the same authority that the Secret Service
does in their protective detail.
It's
code 18 or whatever, right?
But separation of, powers eight, article three.
I have the same power as Article two.
And interesting thing about Capitol Police, they're the only
legislative branch law enforcement.
I mean that, that's like the original deep state, right?
The Congress has their own, they're not subject to anybody but congress.
Dallas Burnett: oh, wow.
Andrew Wittman: Yeah,
Dallas Burnett: had no idea.
I had no
Andrew Wittman: They the Secret Service agents.
'cause they're like, yeah, you're not, we're the Secret Service.
I'm like, yeah, but I get overtime pay, so I'm on plumbers pay by two
30 in the afternoon and you guys are on law enforcement availability
pay, which is 25% of your base.
I'm making, I capped out at whatever the speaker made.
Right.
So it's one of the best kept secrets.
I just let it out.
You know that they pay their agents time and a half, not, they pay 'em hourly
and not on a salary and then we give you 25% to be at our beck and call.
so it, I mean it was great.
Great.
Dallas Burnett: wow.
And so you would just essentially travel with members of Congress,
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: offering that
Andrew Wittman: Right.
Dallas Burnett: and plan that out.
Andrew Wittman: Correct.
Dallas Burnett: your
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
So doing the advance.
when I first started out, I got in, they pulled me off a midnight post.
I like this agent, special agent in charge saw me stand and post
on midnights after nine 11.
It was like a, not even three days after nine 11, we didn't leave the
hill for I don't know, a week, right?
So I'm out on post at midnight, we're sleeping in the locker room
and he, he just slams on the brakes of this thing and he gets out.
He is like, Whit, what are you doing here?
I'm like, I, this is what I, my job.
I'm on my post.
He's Nope.
He called the watch commander had me relieved.
He said, it's already two in the morning, be back here in a suit and
tie at seven in the morning for roll call over at the, I'm like, okay.
And so that morning they,
Dallas Burnett: Oh
Andrew Wittman: yeah.
I'm like, all right, we're in it now.
And that's how it started.
And then they put me with Hillary Clinton.
For the first couple weeks.
So I don't know even remember this, but it was like right after
she, they left the White House.
It's 2001.
Bush is new.
She's a new senator.
But she was the first lady.
So she still has secret service protection for as the first lady,
but now she's a sitting senator.
Right.
So she can't be on the, so we have so have jurisdiction.
So she's got two details She's got the Secret Service and then Capitol Police.
So I was the officer whenever she's on the Hill Capitol police
agent had to be with them.
Dallas Burnett: Oh my goodness.
So you're literally working with her Secret Service?
Andrew Wittman: Correct.
Dallas Burnett: because she's First
Andrew Wittman: Right.
Dallas Burnett: And how does that, do you guys get along Hey man, what's up?
Andrew Wittman: Oh, no, we, they were great.
No, they were great.
I love those guys.
They were so funny, man.
so I'm with, yeah, so I'm with Hillary, and of course, so we're on the hill,
I'm a guy that will not be ignored.
Do you know what I'm saying?
Dallas, like you could tell me, right?
Dallas Burnett: I got
Andrew Wittman: so when I, even when I'm in uniform, like a senator
would, like Senator, Kennedy, Ted Kennedy would come in every morning.
I would be like, Hey, Senator, what's going on, Senator?
every morning he is gonna see me in uniform, right?
And he wouldn't, he would not even acknowledge I existed, dude.
He'd just walk grumbly.
Now I know he is shot in the back, so he is in pain and everything,
but I'm like, you know what?
Do not ignore Andrew.
So every day I would find, you know, I was watch him and every day that I
was, I would go tell him good morning.
I would go find whatever door that he came in, got out of his car.
I'm there like, so every day there I'm, ah,
Dallas Burnett: Wow.
Andrew Wittman: so after about six months of this, he finally just stops
and he turns around and he looks at me.
He's what is your name?
I was like, good morning.
Say up Andrew.
He is Andrew what?
Andrew?
What he is?
He like, okay.
So then after that he would always tell me, hi.
Dallas Burnett: Wow.
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
So
Dallas Burnett: months
Andrew Wittman: yeah, six months, I'm like, I'm not furniture man.
You're not gonna ignore me, right?
I'm here, I'll put my life on the line for you.
So that's what, so I'm up with Hillary.
I'm gonna be, I'm not gonna be ignored, right?
I'm not just furniture.
So I have the conversation with, I am Andrew, blah, blah, blah.
and because I'm at the Capitol and I've been there for three years in
uniform, I know all the tunnels.
Dallas Burnett: Oh wow.
Andrew Wittman: if she doesn't want to get right, she doesn't wanna
get hit by the pre, the press, we gotta, I'm like, oh, no problem.
I get you to your car.
No one ever know you even left the building.
She's what?
Secret Service?
Don't know that they know the White House.
They don't know the capitol.
So I would take her around.
So a, after three weeks, her Secret Service detail will be like, man, I've
been on her detail for three years.
She still calls me Driver, you're here for three weeks and it's
Andrew this and Andrew that.
so it's, yeah, the beginning of my people whispering career, my wife calls it.
Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: awesome.
But you're kind of, you're valuable at that point.
'cause now you know the
Andrew Wittman: That's the thing.
You gotta solve their problems, even the ones they didn't even know they had.
And you solve 'em in a way that always helps.
So this is the beginning of what I've, right.
Managing upper, it is really mental toughness, right?
This is not what I want.
It's what the target is.
what is it that they want, what's the problem I need to solve for them?
Now I'm valuable and not only value, I become most, I'm like indispensable.
if I'm not there, they're not ha, they're uncomfortable.
I'm like, Linus with the blanket, right?
The blanket's gone.
so I did that for her for three weeks and then the anthrax crisis hit, and
we went right, and we got through that.
And then, they put me and I bounced around and did some stuff with Gephart
and a couple of, until they trained me, I had to do some, went to nine
11 to ground zero with Gephart.
And I had to learn the advance in New York.
my dad pastor a church in New York when I was in seventh or in fifth grade, right?
77. So I like knew my, I don't know.
this is God, bring it back to your memory.
But I knew my way around New York, in downtown Manhattan and Midtown Manhattan.
I'm five, I'm seven, I'm fifth grade.
Oh, I know.
But I know better than anybody else all of a sudden.
So now I'm the guy.
And that kind of marked me as, all right, he's ready to travel.
'cause he got our butt out of the fire in New York.
and then they put me with Joe Lieberman.
So now I'm his lead advance.
and I'm a Lieberman's detail.
My job is to go everywhere.
He's gonna go.
I have to get on the ground before him and totally advance everything out.
Now the Secret Service has a team of like 10 dudes in advance offices all over.
I'm one guy, capital police.
I have to advance every hotel, every route, every restaurant,
every venue, the hospital.
I need emergency, dental, all these things that go into it, right?
So it made me, very good at it because you have to, you had to wear all the
hats, like in the Secret Service.
It would be like one guy that just does the hotels.
He could spend like 10 years just doing the hotels.
Dallas Burnett: just doing hotels.
Oh my gosh, that's incredible.
You've gotta do it all.
You've gotta be the
Andrew Wittman: Yeah, so because,
Dallas Burnett: know
Andrew Wittman: so it helps you to be at the lower, I wanna say that's
the minor leagues, but that's how they looked at us at Capitol Police.
Capitol Police is probably getting a pretty good name now though.
After there was the shooting with Steve Scalise, right?
That kind of put 'em on the map.
And there was the January 6th stuff.
They're they have a little more well-known than they were back in the day.
it's a great agency though, because we have, anything that
you wanna do in law enforcement, you could do it at Capitol Police.
I'm not trying to recruit for 'em, but it's, if you wanted to get
into Federal, that would be the place I would start because you
really can write your own ticket.
and there's still tons of opportunity.
you just gotta be willing to move to DC
Dallas Burnett: Oh yeah.
Yeah.
and the connections of the network, the people that you're around every
Andrew Wittman: every day.
Dallas Burnett: I know that there's things that you can't
share, but just being in the room.
Andrew Wittman: I am telling you, I told my mentors, right?
I learned how to do people with, my political mentors are my political,
but you're in the room with the best military minds, the best.
so so Ted Kennedy, here's the spinoff of Ted Kennedy.
So that happened.
Ted Kennedy, when I was a rookie officer, fast forward four years, Elton John's
coming to the hill for his AIDS thing.
hey, Ted Kennedy is sponsoring him.
Ted Kennedy says Andrew will be doing Elton John's protective detail.
Dallas Burnett: what?
Andrew Wittman: so I'm the guy, they call me out and they're like, oh, Senator Ken.
Oh, Senator Kennedy, watch.
Because I see, this is what I'm talking about.
I'm telling hi and I, and every time I'm talking four years later,
I need Andrew to do Elton John.
So I'm with Elton John all day, and I do what I do for everybody else.
I'm like, I'm parking his car where it needs to be parked, everything.
I'm running it like, he's like the speaker of the house, right?
so by the time we're done, he's his aid come out and he's
Sir Elton wants to meet you.
Because I'm not talking to 'em.
I'm doing my job.
I don't have time to talk to you, man.
I'm not taking a picture with you.
Or they, they wanna take a picture with me, right?
So I'm like, so I'm like, okay.
So I go into the green room and he's super awesome, but he tries to
hire me to run his security detail.
Dallas Burnett: What?
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
and I'm like, I can't, I'm doing this, I'm the, I got a thing,
I, I'm a federal agent, man.
I can't do I all, I could see myself was behind stage wearing the pink Feather
bow going, tiny dancer at all unit.
Yeah.
Tiny dancer at all units.
Rocket Man has left the building.
Tiny dancer, all unit, But he's super awesome.
he got tickets to my family and friends to, behind the stage in a meet and
greet when he was actually in the Greenville concert and my friends
at Green, at that Greenville concert went and they behind the stage.
He's super awesome, great super generous guy, but you're
around the best of the best.
And you learn, how do they think, how do they process information?
How do they observe?
What's their viewpoint, what's their mindset?
And that's, I wasn't wasting my time.
Dallas Burnett: that's really great, man.
That's such a cool story about Elton John and, man, that's just to be
in the room and, just be able to experience how these conversations
are going down and see people and just being, that's just fantastic.
let's talk about a little bit, let's talk about some things you learned.
First of all, before we get into the inner armor or resilience and
in that discussion, was somebody that you ran across in, in your work
at in Washington that you really.
You respected how they approached things.
you made comments about different people, but was there anybody that
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: jumped out?
You were like that man or woman?
Man, when I was around them, I just, I paid extra close
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: they were just so awesome.
Andrew Wittman: I'll tell you the, Joe Lieberman, he's the same.
He was the only guy that was the same, whether it was just me and him in the room
or we're in front of a press conference.
He's the same everywhere.
There's no shtick.
I, and he was like family to me.
Actually, my, the first day I was with him, it was, he's an Orthodox Jew, right?
So they walk on, they don't drive the car to synagogue on Sabbath.
They don't turn on the lights.
I'm like, guys, you're like part-time Amish, like no cars during the
weekend, Sabbath on Friday night.
So anyway, it's Y Kippur, it's Dave Atonement, and of
course I'm the new agent.
Remember this is back nine 11 just happened.
He was the vice presidential candidate, if you remember the Al Gore thing
and the bush, the hanging Chad.
So he's like a rock star still.
He's still a rock.
He's got a detail.
And so we need, he's going to, synagogue, which is, he lives in Georgetown,
so it's three miles from his house.
We're gonna, you're gonna have to walk, right?
and the car will trail the, in case there's, An incident, we'll throw him
in the Suburban, but somebody has to walk with him and you're the new guy.
I'm like, okay, I don't care.
I'll walk three miles.
It doesn't matter.
So we're right.
So he's gonna start telling me about Day of Atonement, right?
And I'm like, oh yeah, Senator.
That's what we believe.
What Jesus did.
he was Son of God, son of man, scapegoat and a sacrificial goat.
And hypostatic union was split and a scapegoat went, up to heaven to
put the blood on the, and he's what?
And I'm like, so I go through the whole thing and we get to the synagogue
and he is Hey, rabbi, this is Andrew.
He knows the Torah better than you.
I'm like, don't tell that.
Dallas Burnett: That's hilarious that you're walking with the vice
presidential candidate who's Jewish, telling him about the nuances of,
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: and ju,
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Crazy.
Dallas Burnett: it's
Andrew Wittman: And then, so then I'm asking the question.
This is where he is he's you gotta talk to the rabbi.
'cause I'm like, alright Senator.
So here's my question is so Dave Atone we're, now how are
you atoning for your sins?
'cause there's no blood sacrifice.
You had to put the blood once a year.
Aaron had to take it, high priest had to take it in and put it on the mercy seat.
You're not doing that.
We believe Jesus did that once for all for us.
How are you atoning?
a fast and some prayers.
I don't, does that get it done?
I'm not just, I'm just curious.
He's you gotta talk to the rabbi about that.
So that was the, and then, for the next year I was with him as his lead advance.
We'd always go to the, whatever synagogue we were in, the rabbinical students would
come over and they'd wanna debate, right?
They wanna talk to Andrew.
Now I could preach 'em the gospel, but only out of the Old Testament
you can't use the New Testament.
'cause they don't.
Right?
So I'm hanging out in Isaiah.
I call Isaiah the gospel, the Old Testament, right?
So you gotta, but I learned more.
I'm telling you, I learned more from them, about the covenant and about.
I don't know how we got into this, like the word blessing means it
culturally, it means, it means kneeling down and giving someone a gift.
When you bless somebody kneeling down, like you're giving a five-year-old
a piece of candy, which I was like, that's great, but they're like, but
culturally, Andrew, culturally, in our culture, it means somebody who
has consistently lucky success.
So someone looks at you and they say you're blessed.
It means because we recognize that you have consistently lucky success.
Like, how could that happen?
Joseph had consistently lucky success.
As soon as he got up, Daniel Shad recommended consistently.
I'm like, wow, that just blowing me, And then we got into words like,
what shalom means and all that.
So I learned a ton of the Hebrew stuff from them.
but it was, it's like you said, I'm not wasting my time or the
opportunity that's in front of me.
You know what I mean?
Dallas Burnett: Yeah.
And it's, it is just really cool to hear, you notice the consistency
of a man, of an individual.
Like you said, there's that, that he was somebody that you noticed was
the same on, on camera, off camera, at press conference, off at home.
I think that's just really important.
I think that's really cool that you were able to
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: and just see him in that capacity.
'cause obviously in Washington that's not,
Andrew Wittman: No, he's the only, he's the only one I saw up there.
and I'll be honest with you, I'm not even like that.
like I, when I'm doing a ra, I put my radio voice on when I'm like, yeah,
welcome to the Get Warrior tough show.
He's so I, I'm not even, I'm not like that.
So it is just, it's an amazing thing.
And he was an amazing individual and he told me, he said, Andrew, I think,
we're both looking for the same guy.
You're looking for him to come back the second time.
We're looking for him to come back the first time.
It's the same guy though, and I'm almost there.
He said, I'm Almo, you almost got me to cross the finish line on it.
That was back in 2001, Yeah.
And the last time I even, I did talk to him.
I had an email exchange with him, in 2018 after I saw when,
the embassy went into Jerusalem.
He was there with Bibe.
'cause he's the one that introduced me to Bibe.
Dallas Burnett: Ah,
Andrew Wittman: there's another story, right?
He said, bibe, this is Andrew Israel has no greater friend.
but, and then I saw he was there.
And so I emailed him, I saw you at the end.
He's yeah, it was a great day.
'cause he's, he's a covenant guy.
he's all about the, I learned so much about the covenant
from him and the Orthodox Jews.
It's just amazing.
Dallas Burnett: so that's how you got connected with
Andrew Wittman: Mm-hmm.
Dallas Burnett: who you also did
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
so that's another story, right?
That's another one of those.
I'm guarding the back stairwell, I was on Lieberman's detail and after
nine 11, I was gone all the time.
Even if we're in DC I'm like getting home after midnight,
leaving before four in the morning.
I'm living on, a veteran caffeine and aspirin stacks.
You remember the ECA?
It's outlawed now, but I would take two of them, drink a gallon of, stuff,
and then I'm gonna Starbucks for a quad espresso just to get through the day.
there was days where you worked, just incredible day, right?
anyway, my son Drew, he was four years old at the time.
He came, one day I was there and he is daddy, how come you
don't live with us anymore?
Dallas Burnett: Oh
Andrew Wittman: And I was like, maybe I do.
And then I thought about it from his perspective.
I don't even, when I'm not traveling, I'm still, he's in bed.
the whole, I'm,
Dallas Burnett: it.
Andrew Wittman: yeah, not seeing me at all.
So I went to him, I said, could you guys just gimme, like four to six weeks in
uniform day work, just come off the road.
I know it's putting you in a jam, but it's really, it's a hardship for my family.
Could you?
And they're like, yeah, we'll do it.
So Lieberman was gracious enough to make it happen, right?
So he encouraged my superiors to make it happen.
So anyway, so I'm on day work and of course they're, the superiors
are not happy with me because, Look, it's just a thing, right?
That it's jealousy is really what it is.
So why do you have these people paying, like I'm working the system.
I wasn't working the system.
It was just, it's just favor.
But anyway, certain people, sergeants, whatever, so they're gonna then
yahoo's coming up on the hill and of course Lieberman is the sponsor.
and he's got his shim bet with him and, massage
Dallas Burnett: Yeah.
Andrew Wittman: anyway, so I'm on, they got me on this back stairwell.
It's not even near where he is coming.
I'm just guarding the stairwell, right?
and I'm sta I'm minding my sector man.
I'm not looking around.
I'm like, but I can hear him down the end of the hall.
And, It's the TV lights and it's a circus, right?
So all the cameras, and they're all, and everybody's shouting questions
and they're supposed to go in one direction and I hear them make the turn.
they all turn and they're heading towards me, and I can hear
'em getting closer and closer.
And I'm like, this is not the, that's not the route, And here it is.
We walk up and I feel this hand on my shoulder, and I turn around
and it's Senator Lieberman.
And he is like, Andrew, I want you to meet Bebe.
Bebe.
This is Andrew.
Israel has no greater friend.
and so we're talking and, Bebe's like, why don't you come
with us the rest of the day?
why aren't you with us?
I'm like, I gotta hold down this stairwell store.
So the
Dallas Burnett: got important work
Andrew Wittman: yeah.
So the senator,
Dallas Burnett: Can't you
Andrew Wittman: right?
So like one of the assistant chiefs are there, 'cause all the big wigs are there.
He looks at, and so Senator looks at him and says, can you get someone
to hold this post down for Andrew?
Oh, of course Senator just makes him hate me even more.
But, so the chief has to stand there.
And hold the post until they get someone else to relieve the chief.
And I'm off.
And we go and we have lunch and we spend the day with Bibe.
And I'm, and now, so yeah.
So that was another crazy, see, it's just, that's the thing though, is
like, how do you present yourself?
Are you, are you there?
I was there to learn, right?
I'm not just, I'm gonna do my job, but I'm going to be a sponge and learn from it.
And then people, they look at that, man, I saw a video with,
president Obama, if you're a young person, he said, just do the job.
Great.
Whatever it is, don't look for more, pay, don't like, whatever
your thing is, just do it.
Really, really great.
People are gonna take notice.
And that's the best advice, like I could give anybody that I heard also
from him is I love hearing it from him.
'cause it's true.
Any high performer knows they look for somebody else that just
does get the lunch order, right?
Yes.
You may be getting lunch every day for the rest of your life
because you got the lunch order.
Right.
But get it right.
And then maybe we'll add dinner.
Dallas Burnett: that's the last 10% right
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: captured a really great idea of why we're doing what we
do on the show because it is, there's a value of excellence and that,
you know, you can be pretty good.
You can get to that first 90%.
Takes a lot of work, but you can get
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: to live in that last 10%, man, it is, takes a
lot of effort and intentionality.
So I think that's a great transition.
Let's talk a little bit about how we can better ourselves and be more resilient.
You have a lot of discussions on this and you do a lot of training on this.
So, uh, what is something that you call it almost like a field manual, your
Andrew Wittman: Yeah,
Dallas Burnett: like a field manual, for mental operating system.
Was something like a, a practical drill or some nugget that, that you
would like to, to share with, listeners
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Like here's something that you could use right away.
So I'm, I call it suspending your disbelief.
It's my two minute rule, right?
Ask you, can you suspend your disbelief for just two minutes?
People look at me like, what?
I'm like, look, have you ever seen a movie that you like Dallas?
Dallas Burnett: Sure.
Yeah,
Andrew Wittman: so congratulations.
You suspended your disbelief for an hour and a half at least, because
you know it's not real, right?
Even the ones based on a true story or Hollywood or not, that ain't real.
You know that, right?
Dallas Burnett: right.
Andrew Wittman: in order to have a good time, you suspend your disbelief.
I'm not asking you to do anything you don't do already.
But when you hear,
Dallas Burnett: me, let's give a practical example.
So like the movie, I like
Andrew Wittman: yeah,
Dallas Burnett: but let's land the plane and I'm at work, I'm doing
Andrew Wittman: right?
How does this work, right?
Dallas Burnett: leading a team?
Andrew Wittman: It leads the team.
You're gonna hear the voice of resistance in your head.
That won't work.
That's impossible.
That's crazy talk.
You can't do that when you hear, 'cause you're all hear it.
It might be even when you're leading the team.
and it's as great as a leader.
When my team says we can't do it, or I call 'em the America cans, we're gonna
tell you all the things we can't do, not the Americans, all the things we can't do.
I'm gonna be like, no, I get it.
I'm not arguing.
This is impossible.
I'm asking the impossible.
I'm not arguing that.
But if it were possible, all I'm asking you to do for two
minutes, just play along with me.
Suspend your disbelief.
If it were possible, how do you guys think we would do it?
Dallas Burnett: Wow.
I love that.
It just opens
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: all kind of possibilities.
Andrew Wittman: because the brain, you given
Dallas Burnett: out the
Andrew Wittman: yeah, you given the brain permission to go find the answer.
And it could be crazy.
We're just brain, we're just brainstorming, what do we call it?
Storming, right?
I don't care if it's crazy.
Talk.
Just say what it is.
And I'm telling you without that, when you ask that question, you give the
human brain permission to find the answer and bypasses the voice of resistance.
You'll have 15 solutions, within like three minutes.
if you're having a team, everyone will come up with something and
then you could start putting them together, and winning them down.
Dallas Burnett: I love that idea because it is so true that there's
always something that you get stuck on or you get hung up on.
We have these, worries or anxieties and I think that it's natural, a natural
tendency for people to, the pendulum to swing too far to the, to what you said,
the I cancer, that's this not gonna work.
And I, I do think it's so funny.
You just have to give yourself permission, to suspend that unbelief.
I think, and we talk about that in terms of, as a leader, it's important
that we battle for people's beliefs.
if I'm leading a team, I'm constantly doing things to try to shape
that belief, to try to guide that
Andrew Wittman: Right.
Dallas Burnett: because that belief is gonna drive action.
And so I think that's a fantastic tool.
One of the
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: battle for belief is just suspend the
Andrew Wittman: Yes.
Because that really is a belief that we can't do it.
It's actually a belief.
So what I'm doing is just backdooring it, there's a, if you say we can't do
it, or that's impossible or it's hard.
Okay?
It's hard.
So what I. And
Ed.
Dallas Burnett: that's
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
You know what I mean?
So that's just, that's, so that's the one thing you could do, like immediately,
the two minute rule, it'll, it'll revolutionize how you every problem.
'cause as soon as you hear the voice of resistance, no matter what it is, whether
it's, I can't lose weight or I can't get up early, oh, I gotta get up at 4:00
AM I gotta set 14 alarms, No, I agree.
You do.
But if you didn't, if you could just get on a bed and be
energized, how would you do it?
Dallas Burnett: That's right.
That's right.
How would you do it?
And then it just, for, it forces you to create a new pathway, a new
Andrew Wittman: No pathway.
Correct.
Dallas Burnett: gotta break something out, so we're gonna do
something different, How about that?
So when you're thinking about this resiliency, how much, 'cause you
have a PhD, this kind of a, this blend of like, you know, the,
this, the soul and the mind kind of
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: theological psychology.
I'm, I've never, honestly, I've never heard of that degree,
Andrew Wittman: It's not really the degree is theological studies.
But my master's in divinity was all psychology.
'cause then when you do your md it's all counseling, right?
It's massive psychology.
So I blended and then my PhD was, it's theology, right?
So I'm, but it's this, theology is the study of God.
Psychology is the study of the soul.
It's very interconnected, right?
but how do we bridge the gap?
Well, the thing that's the, what's the thing?
The one piece is missionary is like not your spirit, not your
soul, but your body bios, right?
So in, in the, this is the, I'll just give you a quick theology.
The, in the Greek New Testament, there's three words for life.
In the English bio, it all says life.
One is bios, which is biology.
Natural life, right?
One is que, which is your soul psychology.
That's where we get the word.
And then Zoe, which is the eternal life.
Perpetual life, the life that God has.
It's the one you get born again, then your spirit's alive under God.
Now you're a three part being like God was, God made Adam, and then when
he died, his spirit died, your two.
Right?
So, so here's the three parts.
We are know, it's spirit, soul, and body.
but the thing is the, and Jesus said this.
He said, look, the spirit is willing to be in charge, but the flesh is what?
Weak,
Dallas Burnett: Yeah.
That week.
Andrew Wittman: right?
So the body is the easiest part of us to dominate.
So that's began, that's what I had to do in the Marine Corps.
I had to dominate my body first before I could get my mind and emotions on board.
That's the whole soul is your mind will and emotions.
So if you can't dominate your body, you think you're gonna dominate
your angry outbursts or your, if you can't do the easy one, you're
not gonna do the hard one mind.
So that's where this whole blend came together and.
It's really been my obsession, right?
That's why if you ever see like a speaker or coach, our obsession is the thing
that we have the most problems with.
That's what our content is, right?
So that's all I'm doing is just is for me, right?
I'm doing all this for me to overcome this stuff, and if
it helps somebody else, great.
and that's what I wanna do,
Dallas Burnett: I think that's so true though.
and you do hear that with, I write a book, it's always something
that I'm trying to wrestle through and I'm like, I need to do this.
And it's, yes, I can put a book out, but it's really, I need this for
Andrew Wittman: right?
Dallas Burnett: true.
'cause I feel like when you engage in the struggle around anything, you
find more truth in the struggle and in that perseverance and that endurance
through it's truth that becomes real.
It's that, that you literally, that struggle and that suffering shapes who
you are and it builds that truth into you.
Instead of it being like in your head,
Andrew Wittman: Right,
Dallas Burnett: no, it's deep.
It
Andrew Wittman: right.
Dallas Burnett: in me.
It's who I am
Andrew Wittman: Right.
Dallas Burnett: gone through
Andrew Wittman: Correct.
Dallas Burnett: I think it's so
Andrew Wittman: Right.
Dallas Burnett: And you talk a little bit about motivation and I think this
is a good spot for, 'cause you've talked about how your team needs this,
tactical, emotional armor and instead of motivation, and you've talked about
really training yourself and your body, what's the difference between
kind of relying on this motivation to whatever, get up in the morning and
whatever, or building a system, for resilience that like teams can depend
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
So this, you know, we all are, humans are creatures of habit.
We all know that.
And people will say, I would do one on the podium.
I ask people, I do a two day training.
I'm like, how long does it take to make a habit?
And they're like, 21 days or whatever.
I'm like, Nope.
It takes one time.
As soon as you're comfortable with something, you're going to, I said,
where's everybody gonna sit tomorrow?
When they come in to training tomorrow, you're gonna sit in the
same seat that you work, right?
And they'll let somebody be in your parking spot at work, even
though your name isn't on it.
Why are they parking in my spot?
Or they're the lunch table.
That's my spot.
Right?
So a habit is as soon as we become comfortable with something,
now it's becomes our habit.
and, the way the brain works.
we take in, 11 million bits of information per second, but only 126 bits goes to
our conscious mind for action, right?
So how do we pick the 1 26?
is the filter of our beliefs and our attitudes.
But what I'm interested in is that 99% of the space of the brain, that's
not conscious, we are on autopilot.
Your brain is making, your heart is pumping, you know you're breathing.
It's all outside your consciousness because you've had these habits, that
you said, and you're on autopilot.
So what I wanna do is set these systems in place so that by habit, like I
work out every day because that's what I did in the Marine Corps, right?
and that's what we do.
I don't even know what to do, to not do it.
And on day rest it's like impossible.
I'm like, what am I doing?
I'm like, I have to do something.
because you have a habit and your body's that's not what we do.
I have a puppy, right?
And puppies are like the same thing.
He knows what the routine is.
If I get a treat every time you clean my ears, then I'm, as soon as you come
clean my ears, would you clean my ears?
Because I know I'm gonna get a treat here.
So that's what I'm,
Dallas Burnett: right.
Andrew Wittman: not motivation.
He's operating on the system.
And that's what I wanna do with my teams is get Hey look, you guys get a
treat every time we clean your ears.
Go, can I clean my ears?
'cause I want to get the treat right.
So I'm not motivating you.
Like we gotta get this done.
And I'm not giving the, the Mel Gibson speech and Braveheart
to get you to go into battle.
And I mean, there might be a time and a place for that, but that's
not an everyday thing, right?
I don't wanna rely on that.
Dallas Burnett: I love that a hundred percent because I, it reminds me of, Do
Higgs book on habits, and then there's Atomic Habits, that everybody's, read by.
oh man, I, the author slipped the process essentially is, there's
a, there's some type of a trigger, like you have this conference and
you're going in the conference room, you gotta find a place to sit.
And that's the trigger I've
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: then there's the act of sitting in the seat.
And then the reason is there's a reward.
And the reward is that you don't have to worry about where you're gonna sit.
If
Andrew Wittman: Hmm.
That's so good.
Dallas Burnett: place.
There's comfort,
Andrew Wittman: Right.
Dallas Burnett: And so what you're saying is that like with your dog,
your puppy's ears, if you let me clean your ears, there's the trigger.
Hey, you've got dirty ears.
I'm coming to clean it.
And then the actual cleaning, and then the reward, which is the treat.
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: we're very engaged in that process.
Even though we are not thinking about it, we're moving towards
things that make our life
Andrew Wittman: Yes.
Dallas Burnett: We, at least we perceive, or
Andrew Wittman: Better, right?
More comfortable.
that's the word
Dallas Burnett: Or comfortable.
Yeah, more comfortable.
And so I think what you're, to your point is when we can build systems
with our teams that make rewards, make resilience part of the reward,
I think that's really meaningful and
Andrew Wittman: right?
Dallas Burnett: it's like the working out thing.
Like if I'm.
I wasn't in the military and I didn't get, you know, have a habit of working
out, what are the things, what are the systems that I can put in place to allow
me to work out where there is something at the end where it makes me, it's either,
the endorphin release or if it's man, I get myself my favorite smoothie at
Andrew Wittman: Right?
Dallas Burnett: Or I allow myself to watch an extra half an hour of, Netflix if I
Andrew Wittman: Yep.
Dallas Burnett: my workout, whatever that is.
Right.
Is that kinda what you're
Andrew Wittman: Yeah, so always reward good behavior.
And this is how when I raise my kids, and a lot of times
we don't reward good behavior.
We just yell at the bad behavior, or we punish bad behavior or correct.
I don't care about the bad behavior.
If I reward enough good behavior, like I'm not even gonna acknowledge,
if the team is being, 'cause here's what we know in psychology.
Here's my psychology, right?
if I point something out, don't think of a pink elephant, what did you just do?
Dallas Burnett: You got it.
you're
Andrew Wittman: I'm not gonna be like, Hey man, it's hot in here.
Like I'd be on the stage and it's a million degrees out.
I'm sweating.
I'm not gonna be like, is it hot in here?
Because now I've just drew everybody's attention to it.
I'm not even gonna talk about it.
So it's same thing with the team.
Are you guys are all dismotivated, nobody has good communication.
Why are you just, you're just running us down the wrong path, man.
Dallas Burnett: sure.
Andrew Wittman: the neurons that fire together wire together, you're
wiring us down the wrong path.
So I'm gonna always reward good behavior.
So I want that neuron to fire that group of neurons to fire together again.
So that every time we go down this path, I know it's good until I, and
eventually you don't even need the reward.
Because now I've, that's what we do.
It's my circuit.
That's my business.
Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: it's my identity at that point.
Andrew Wittman: You
Dallas Burnett: it's,
Andrew Wittman: that's the process,
Dallas Burnett: feel strange if I don't do it.
Andrew Wittman: Correct?
Dallas Burnett: also, I love that.
I like not pointing out.
If you're speaking in a room that's really hot, like just, it's
a non-issue that, because you're not drawing attention to it.
I don't know the trick this was, because you're Clemson, you're, you've worked with
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: team during their glory
Andrew Wittman: Yes,
Dallas Burnett: when they were in
Andrew Wittman: I did.
Yes,
Dallas Burnett: which is amazing.
You're like, you're everywhere.
Like you're everywhere, man.
You're all over the world.
Even, even college football,
Andrew Wittman: I have college football.
I loved it, man.
I, that was, it was so much fun.
You know, I had a show on the Roar too, on 1 0 5 5.
I was, yeah.
Dallas Burnett: Look at
Andrew Wittman: I used to be on Out of Bounds, like KK used to
bring me on when it was KK and Dutch, and then I still Dutch.
And then we did the Get Warrior Tough show.
It was Andrew and Dutch.
Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: Oh wow.
That's
Andrew Wittman: Yeah, babe.
Dallas Burnett: heard you on the radio then.
but to your point, like one of the things I heard, one of their, I guess it was
their strength coach, say one time I heard him talking at a luncheon or whatever
event, and he said, we tell our guys that.
If you come here and you're, coming into this training in the summer, we don't
say that it's hot or it's cold, whatever.
We don't say it's hard.
We say
Andrew Wittman: Mm-hmm.
Right?
Dallas Burnett: hot.
we like it when it's absolutely a hundred degrees and you're sweating it.
Andrew Wittman: Yes.
Dallas Burnett: we are thriving
Andrew Wittman: Yes.
Dallas Burnett: going.
Andrew Wittman: it.
Dallas Burnett: And what I've found, I know was just sitting
there and it just, I know everybody else is like enjoying their salad.
I'm sitting there just blown away.
'cause I'm like, this guy's just dropped
Andrew Wittman: Massive.
Dallas Burnett: out a way to tell someone that the reward is
actually the thing that they hate.
Andrew Wittman: Yes.
Dallas Burnett: you hate getting up earlier.
Maybe you hate going out and sweating all day.
And he just took that and flipped it on his head and said, no,
Andrew Wittman: I love that.
Dallas Burnett: is what we love
Andrew Wittman: Right.
Dallas Burnett: it when it's displayed.
Andrew Wittman: A hundred percent, dude.
Dallas Burnett: man, that's a mental circus that I wanna be a part of that.
Andrew Wittman: that's what you have to do, is you just have to force
yourself to change your self-talk.
So that's what I was a fat kid, I went to bootcamp.
I hated running more than anything else in the world except more running.
What do you do in bootcamp?
You run.
So instead of saying, running was my enemy, I had to make running my friend.
And then I was like, I love running.
And then I'm like, I'm an ultra marathoner.
You're like, dude, you're fat.
You can't even run a quarter mile.
I'm an ultra marathoner.
I'm saying where I want to go.
I'm telling you what my target is, not what my target isn't.
Saying your self-talk.
What that guy said, the straight trainer is, he's changing your
target by changing your, because there is a mind to mouth connection
and I can override my mind with my mouth.
wanna do an experiment?
See if I'm right.
That'd be fun.
Dallas Burnett: Let's
Andrew Wittman: Okay.
All right.
Now in your mind, I want you to start counting backwards from
a thousand just in your mind.
9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 8. Oh, you got count going now out loud.
I want you to say your name.
Say your name.
Say it Alice.
Dallas Burnett: Dallas.
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: Dallas Burn.
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Where, what happened to the count?
Dallas Burnett: it's gone
Andrew Wittman: stopped.
I don't know where you were or you weren't, but it stopped.
You stopped that thought process.
So that's what I'm gonna do, is I'm gonna force myself to say things.
It stopped that circuit that is putting me in the wrong direction.
Does that make sense?
Dallas Burnett: No,
Andrew Wittman: why I love it.
Hot out.
Of course, I love the heat, but it, that's freezing.
I love it when it's cold out.
Dallas Burnett: Yeah.
Andrew Wittman: See what I'm saying?
I'm gonna a Right,
Dallas Burnett: You can't think, yeah, you, yeah, you can't think
you don't like it when you're saying
Andrew Wittman: right.
Dallas Burnett: you
Andrew Wittman: Correct.
Dallas Burnett: those two thoughts at the same
Andrew Wittman: Absolutely.
So I'm tricking myself with the right, I'm tricking myself with my mouth, right?
So that's what, that's the science behind why we do these
quote affirmations or whatever.
But I don't want cheese.
I'm want things that actually help me in real time.
I'm like, you're so what is the, from Saturday Live,
you're special, you're sweet.
You're like, you remember the John Levits?
Dallas Burnett: Oh,
Andrew Wittman: I'm still my age.
But anyway, yeah.
it's not just like I love me.
I'm like, Hey man, I love that.
I, so I, my, my daughter Michaela, right?
She was, in first grade or whatever, and of course, in South Carolina,
you know, girls don't do math.
they come sorority girls, man, you don't do math.
Whatcha crazy.
you become a wife at stuff, right?
Dallas Burnett: That's
Andrew Wittman: It's true, right?
So she came home, she's I can't do math, math's hard.
I'm like, Nope.
I love math.
Math's the easiest thing in the world.
I love math.
I love science.
So we changed her.
So she's, she's starting her senior year down here in Florida at Florida
Tech as a biomedical engineer.
But her freshman year, she didn't even know, but the professor, right?
They put her in research.
They got her in an under, graduate research program as a freshman
because she tested on the, chemistry one, oh, whatever, the chemistry,
standardized test for freshmen, right?
She was like the top three in the entire state.
and she didn't even know it, right?
but because she now, she, and she's English is not her bag.
Like she doesn't, she's hilarious, but she speaks math and science.
that's her first language is
Dallas Burnett: math.
That's her
Andrew Wittman: yeah.
Science and math, right?
Because we changed what she thought about it from first grade.
I'm, it's.
It's our fault.
'cause I could have just agreed with her and been like, yeah, baby math's hard.
I don't, 'cause I don't do math.
My, my degree's in theology, I couldn't write, you know, if it's
not a, I dunno, what do I know?
Yeah.
It's hard.
That's why I theology
Dallas Burnett: that's so true.
I think, but think that's such a great, that's such a great visual because think
about this, you're not a math, you're not
Andrew Wittman: No.
Dallas Burnett: a math guy, but you're not allowing her to not have that
as an opportunity in first grade.
You're shaping, and again, it goes back, we were talking about
earlier, battling for belief.
You're taking someone, you're, it's not even your area of expertise.
If you're leading a team and you've got somebody over here and you're
not even in their same level of expertise, but you're leading that team.
It's not saying that you can't step in the gap and battle for that belief
Andrew Wittman: right.
Dallas Burnett: no, this is who we are.
This is what we're doing.
This is what you are about.
This is what you are capable of doing.
And just relentlessly shaping that belief.
because it, just like what happened to your daughter, she's, she grows
up, she speaks math and science.
That's what she does.
Andrew Wittman: dunno if she sell these stuff.
I'm like, whatcha talking about?
I dunno.
Well my kids are laughing because I made them all go, they're all engineers.
One's mechanical.
One's construction one's biomedical.
I can't turn a screwdriver, dude.
They're all laughing 'cause I can't, don't get, listen, I hold the light for
my kids when they're fixing the car.
Dad, get over here and hold the light.
Dallas Burnett: good.
That's so good.
But it just goes to show how coaching and development, how powerful that is.
And it's not even that you had to be this math and science professor to coach your
kids in the direction of that belief,
Andrew Wittman: right
Dallas Burnett: not saying that you have to be the expert.
We're saying that you have to be the expert in shaping belief.
That's
Andrew Wittman: dude.
That's
Dallas Burnett: leader.
Andrew Wittman: that's I'm tagline.
But that's it.
that's.
I'm serious, and I don't even care what your belief is.
This, all I do is teach you how beliefs are made and how to vet
them and then ask yourself is this belief helping me or hurting me?
But that's it.
If you know how to shape your beliefs, you can literally write
your own ticket on the entire planet.
Dallas Burnett: Now, and now you talk about thought audits,
Andrew Wittman: Hmm.
Dallas Burnett: kind of your daily armor routine.
Is that kind of, is that in that same vein of shaping those
Andrew Wittman: Absolutely.
So,
Dallas Burnett: about
Andrew Wittman: so I, we got, that's the corporate term thought
audit, I call it honest assessment.
So I'm gonna ask myself, I ask, because the human brain is like
the original search engine, it has to answer a question.
Now the answer doesn't have to come outta your mouth, but your
mind will search for the answer.
So I'm always gonna ask, and if you right asking, you shall
receive, ask a bad question.
What kind of answer you're gonna get is a bad answer, right?
I wanna ask you a good question.
I wanna ask a better question.
Dallas Burnett: Sure.
Andrew Wittman: a really great question is, once I set my target, what do
what, the first thing I ask myself is, what am I trying to accomplish today?
What am I trying to accomplish?
Like even doing the show with you, what am I trying to accomplish in this email?
What am I trying?
that's the first thing I wanna do is set my target.
What is it that I'm trying to accomplish?
I'm trying to do three things on this show.
I want it to be a win for you.
I want it to be a win for your audience, and I want it to be a win for me.
So we all have a great time.
We all learn something.
I've already learned like what, battle for your belief.
I'm just gonna steal that.
I'll give you credit the first three times after that, I'm like, I.
Dallas Burnett: Yeah,
it's yours.
You can take that.
it.
Andrew Wittman: That's what I do.
I'm gonna ask these questions, right?
how's this?
Once I set my target, what am I trying to accomplish?
Not what I don't want, but what I do want.
Then I ask myself, whatever's next, is this helping me or hurting me?
Hit my target is what I, the action I'm taking is the word I'm about
to say is, the thought I'm having, right now, is that helping me get
closer to my target or hurting me?
like I have, we have self-doubt thoughts all the time.
and I say this all the time, right?
You cannot keep birds from flying over your head, but how many of you
let them make a nest in your hair,
Dallas Burnett: Right.
Andrew Wittman: right?
So yes, negative, right?
Dallas Burnett: a great analogy.
I love that.
Andrew Wittman: thoughts are coming, but man, if you a bird, like if
a negative thought you'd be like, yeah, I'm, well, you know, they,
you act like it's the unwanted house guest from Saturday Night Live.
They moved in, living in a van down by the river, right?
But no, if a bird landed on your head, you're gonna start freaking out.
I mean, you know, and get it off, right?
We should be doing that with our negative thoughts.
So that's our my, that's my thought on it.
I'm not gonna let any birds.
Make nests in my hair that doesn't help me get to my tar.
Does that make sense?
Dallas Burnett: Oh, a hundred percent.
My daughters were at, camp a few, a couple
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: they were talking to, they had a performance coach come in.
It was an athletic, it was at tennis camp.
And so they, had a performance coach come in and they were talking
about it, it was from another sport.
But the performance coach made a comment, said, don't judge your thoughts.
don't say, well, I'm, I'm like, in terms of like hitting, I've
made a bad shot or I've done that.
Said, but just judge whether what you're thinking is productive or
Andrew Wittman: Hmm hmm.
That's good.
Dallas Burnett: That
Andrew Wittman: Stealing that too.
Dallas Burnett: It's
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Lemme write.
Dallas Burnett: You're
Andrew Wittman: Lemme write that down too.
That's another,
Dallas Burnett: Write that down.
We'll both take that one.
Andrew Wittman: I dunno.
Some guy from club.
Camp we always say, me Dallas came up on the show.
Dallas Burnett: Yeah, exactly.
yeah, but I just thought about that as, it's just what you're saying
is that you can't control these.
These birds is flying over.
And, but if you can say what's productive and what's not, then it allows you to just
Andrew Wittman: Yes.
Dallas Burnett: the ones that are unproductive to make nest in your hair.
Andrew Wittman: So that's what I'm gonna do is
Dallas Burnett: good.
Andrew Wittman: thought, I'm gonna run it off.
Like I have an id sta it's like I have a border, right?
A border checkpoint, and I'm gonna, ID, the thought is, and all my
books, I have this, what I call the good list or the evil list, right?
The red flag or green flag list.
Oh, good.
Thoughts are all bad thoughts.
Dallas Burnett: Mm-hmm.
Andrew Wittman: on the, I check it.
What's your id?
Lemme see.
Oh, you're on the, you're on the deportation list.
So you're out, man.
You're not coming in the, I'm sorry.
You're an illegal, you can't come in here.
I'm gonna deport you.
You can't come in.
But people don't do that with their thoughts.
they let you know, bad thoughts in, and then they set up shop, right?
So that's what we, I wanna ID every, and I'm gonna handcuff 'em and take
'em outside and Nope, you're deported.
You can't come in here.
and I, you do it in conversations all the time.
I talk about this with my parents.
They would give me their organ recital as they got old.
my pancreas is going, my heart's bad.
My kidneys are failing, right?
My eyes are getting dark, right?
The organ recital, I'm like, that's nothing but the bad list.
How is that helping you?
So I told you gotta tell me something good that's going on in your life or
I'm not gonna talk to you for 30 days.
I'm not gonna talk to you.
You guys think about what's good in your life.
'cause it was just constant what your brothers and sisters did.
This is bad.
The neighbors, that's what we do, right?
So we're on this evil list, I call it.
goes by, I don't answer their calls.
So then I called and my dad answered and I said, Hey, what's up pops?
He said, did you know that Tuesday bananas are on discount special at Kroger?
'cause it's.
Dallas Burnett: I love that.
That's so good.
Bananas are on sale on
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
that's all you got and gimme that.
That's all you could come up with at the time.
But
Dallas Burnett: take
Andrew Wittman: take it.
I was like, alright.
That was my signal that he got.
He got the message.
We're doing it right.
So then after that, all of our conversations were great.
Everything was good.
We got a new, I got new flowers for the porch.
It was sun shining out.
It was all the good, 'cause they're in retirement.
They're telling me all the good things that are happening.
Then my brothers and sisters would go be like, Hey, do you know what's going on?
I'm like, yeah, I just talked to 'em.
They're doing great.
No.
And then they would try to, I'm like, so they're still giving
their organ recital to everybody else, but they wouldn't to me.
So I Right.
Well that's what I'm, as an elite thinker, I lead warrior, right?
As this inner armor.
I wanna, I'm gonna push my airspace out.
It's not, listen, if you have permission to tell me all the garbage that's
gone on in your life, I believe that.
I'm not gonna argue with you, but it gives me permission to tell you all
the good that's happening in my life.
'cause misery loves company.
If I'm not gonna be miserable, you're not gonna wanna hang around me.
Dallas Burnett: I think that's true too for leaders.
If you're leading a team, I think a lot of times when you assume leadership
positions are, you create a new team or you're, you've been put in this place, you
promoted there's this re character that could be on your team, lurking on your
team, and you feel the negative vibes.
And it's just that person that always is just complaining The
glass is, you know, half, half
Andrew Wittman: Yep.
Dallas Burnett: everything's not good enough.
And I think to your point, what you did with your parents
is so important for leaders.
And ultimately, as a leader, you are, you're working to coach and
develop that person out of that habit.
Andrew Wittman: Right.
Dallas Burnett: or out of your team.
Andrew Wittman: One or the other.
Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: want, I don't want, I don't want that to be around.
But I think one of the ways you can do that is not accepting that to you.
So they know that if they're going to say that they either keep it to
themselves, but they're definitely not gonna say it to you as a leader.
Andrew Wittman: Right.
Dallas Burnett: not acceptable.
And it's just like when you said with parents, look, I'm not gonna
take you for 30 days until you tell
Andrew Wittman: Right.
Dallas Burnett: good.
And then it was just like after that, yeah, they could, they
might say it to other people.
Andrew Wittman: Not me.
Dallas Burnett: it to
Andrew Wittman: Right?
Dallas Burnett: I think that's really, I think that's really powerful, as a leader.
When you're engaging with your teams, you can bring that same
level of clarity and expectations.
'cause what you're doing is you're raising the level of the
expectations that you have on your
Andrew Wittman: Hmm.
Dallas Burnett: especially the person that's got that bad attitude.
You're saying, look, your expectation is everything's falling apart.
My expectation is you've got to do better.
You can't talk like this.
Andrew Wittman: Right.
Dallas Burnett: share.
And so I love that.
Andrew Wittman: No, that's so good, man.
and lemme just throw this out, George, you're saying that a thought popped
in my head that silence is consent.
Like you cannot let 'em say it and say nothing.
And this is what a lot of leaders do.
I don't want the confrontation.
Look, it's the confrontation will is not conflict.
The, but it will turn into conflict if you don't confront
that e that attitude, right?
So I'm not gonna just ignore it.
'cause if you ignore it long enough, it will turn into a blow up conflict.
So I don't wanna be silent, like every time I got, every time.
it's, you gotta be consistent with it.
if you're saying something on the, on that red flag list or the evil list,
I'm gonna tell you something good.
I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna argue with you.
I'm just gonna tell you what the, I'm gonna point out the good thing.
Dallas Burnett: and again, it's hard when you're catching people.
You made a comment of, not just berating people when things go
wrong and it's ultimately catching people doing the right thing and
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: that.
Andrew Wittman: Correct.
Dallas Burnett: it just all goes together, right?
If you're catching people doing the right thing and you're rewarding the
right behaviors, then it just isn't, it is not congruent with someone
that only sees the bad and only sees the, and so I just think that, the
consistency though, is the key in that.
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: And that is, is that, is the messaging.
Again, we're battling for the beliefs and we always talk about on the
show, it's like Ford Truck doesn't tell boys when they're 16 that they
need to buy a Ford truck and then never talk to 'em again the rest of
right?
They're, just a barrage.
Every sports show, every radio broadcast, every, and so you
need a four, you need a four.
And so at the end of the day, we've gotta be the same way as
Andrew Wittman: Hundred percent.
Dallas Burnett: to catch people doing right.
We're gonna raise the standard and we're not gonna accept this,
negativity that people bring
Andrew Wittman: Dude, that's so good, man.
Dallas Burnett: love it.
Dude, this has been a great conversation.
So let's, if you were to give people, one piece of advice, for living in the
last 10% to up their game, in their personal life, in their leadership and
leading teams or their organization, if we wanted to leave with one thing here,
what would be your advice to our listeners
Andrew Wittman: It's just a, it is just a quick thing called ride
hard, shoot straight and never lie.
Dallas Burnett: Hmm
Andrew Wittman: hard, shoot straight.
So my, I got that from my leadership mentor, Lieutenant Colonel John Chetty.
He was my commanding officer in Desert Storm.
and then when he change of command, he took over, weapons Company three six.
That was his speech.
He got up there.
He is gents, ride hard, shoot straight, never lie.
And we're like, we love this guy.
It's short, we're not cooking in the sun.
But it took me years to like really unpack that.
it's I'm gonna ride hard.
I'm a man of excellence.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna give my best effort at everything I do.
That's the test.
10%.
Dallas Burnett: Yeah.
Andrew Wittman: if it's easy that, look man, if you're not, if you're
not giving your be, and I always ask this, do have you, can you think of a
time when you gave your best effort?
Dallas Burnett: Hmm, hmm
Andrew Wittman: What's that look like?
Like for my wife, it was like when she was giving birth to our kids
without any epidurals or drugs.
that was her best like John, right?
That for me, it was like a rookie on the street where the first time a bad
guy tried to take my gun from me and kill me with it, and we're fighting.
that's my best effort, right?
So if you don't have a best effort story, how do you know
if you're riding hard or not?
So the next thing,
Dallas Burnett: do you
Andrew Wittman: yeah, you don't know.
You're just like, I'm doing my best effort.
what is your best effort?
and the next thing is shoot straight.
that's about being skillful, right?
I'm gonna hit the target.
I wanna hit the target that I'm going for.
I have to identify the target, and I have to make sure that my skills
in hitting the target are up, right?
So that means for us in the professional world, and I co man, you gotta read an
hour a night and you're, if you read an hour every night, people are like an hour.
Yeah.
Stop watching Netflix or something for a minute.
Read before you go to bed, something in your field in five years, imagine
what kind of expert you're going to be.
Dallas Burnett: Oh, unbelievable.
Andrew Wittman: So shoot straight.
And then the last thing is, never lie.
that's pretty easy, man.
But not just don't lie to others.
I mean, yeah, that's great.
Don't lie to yourself, man.
That's the thought audit, that's the honest assessment.
I'm not gonna lie to myself, I'm gonna be brutally honest with myself.
Dallas Burnett: Yeah, I love that, man.
That's all right.
So I'm just recapping some of the great ideas that you shared with the
listeners date, suspend disbelief.
Oh man, that was really great.
I love catching people doing really, you know, the good
Andrew Wittman: Yep.
Dallas Burnett: and raising the, that bar of excellence.
I love that.
silence is consent.
That is just a great, that's, this is great.
And then obviously, the question that you just asked, how do you know
that you're giving your best effort?
Oh, that's a man
that's stepping on some toes right there.
That's
Andrew Wittman: I'm sorry, but
I
Dallas Burnett: it,
Andrew Wittman: club It's toughness.
Dallas Burnett: Hey, listen, it's, it is, we gotta have it.
Leaders gotta have it.
and you gotta be willing to go for it.
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: live in the last 10%, you gotta get the toe
stepped on every once in a while.
That's really good
Andrew Wittman: Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: So, all right.
How can listeners of the last 10% connect with you?
Find out more information and, find your book
Andrew Wittman: Yeah, I got a special thing for all your listeners if you
go to get warrior tough.com/podcast.
So I got stuff up there just for the listeners of the podcast.
Get warrior tough.com/podcast.
That's where you guys should go.
and you can find me on, I'm on all the social medias, under Get
Warrior tough or Warrior Tough PhD. but man, what a great time, Dallas.
I mean, I, dude, where have you been my whole life?
I can't believe we're both in Greenville and we're not.
This is the first time I'm like, what is going on here?
Dallas Burnett: I know we need to do this more often.
This is
Andrew Wittman: So crazy, dude.
Dallas Burnett: we always ask the, when we end the show, we always
ask the guest, is someone you'd like to hear on the last 10%?
So
Andrew Wittman: Yeah,
Dallas Burnett: that
Andrew Wittman: I told Nick Saban is my, I mean, 'cause you live in Greenville and
Clemson and Dabo would be an easy get, but you get Nick and Nick's retired now.
He ain't got nothing to do except talk on tv.
Dallas Burnett: Got more
maybe he's got more
Andrew Wittman: But I do love,
Dallas Burnett: have, we'll have,
Andrew Wittman: process and.
Dallas Burnett: he's a great.
The process is great.
Yeah.
I love saving too.
he's a, obviously phenomenal coach and I've watched a lot of
his YouTube stuff, just, nuggets from his, his career too, yeah.
All right.
we'll have to, we'll have to put him on the list.
We'll see if we can get him on the last
Andrew Wittman: How would you do it?
Because I know when I said it, you're like, we can't get Saban.
All right.
How could you, if you could get him,
Dallas Burnett: That's
Andrew Wittman: how would you get him?
Dallas Burnett: disbelief.
Andrew Wittman: would you get him?
I have faith in you Dallas.
I know you can get him.
Dallas Burnett: Alright, we're gonna put it down.
We're gonna suspend disbelief and I'll
Andrew Wittman: Because I knew it.
I knew it.
I'm like, I'm gonna give him somebody that I can know.
He is gonna be like, we can't get that guy out.
This.
I'm like,
Dallas Burnett: me, man.
we're in the
Andrew Wittman: we didn't even, yeah,
Dallas Burnett: disbelief.
Andrew Wittman: wasn't even an hour.
And you forgot the question, bro.
Man.
Dallas Burnett: All right.
I got my challenge.
I got my
Andrew Wittman: Alright.
Dallas Burnett: sure.
All right, we're gonna, we're gonna suspend this belief.
We're gonna get Nick Saban on the
Andrew Wittman: That's what I like to hear.
Yeah.
Dallas Burnett: That's great.
Now, Andrew, this has been a fantastic conversation.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom, insight with all of the listeners.
We just appreciate you.
We should
Andrew Wittman: Oh, no.
Thank you so much for having me.
What a great time.
And you're, I, dude and this, I seriously, I feel more energized being with you.
I need to be in your space more because I'm serious.
I feed off that energy you bring.
It's just so good.
I'm like, where's he been my whole life?
I need to pay pocket.
I need a pocket.
Dallas, I can just pull outta my pocket.
Dallas Burnett: Pocket, Dallas.
That's right.
that's awesome.
thanks again, brother.
We'll, we'll have you back on the show again
Andrew Wittman: Awesome.