December 25, 2021

I recently got put in the interviewee hot seat by my friend Joseph Apolinar, a United States Air Force SERE (survival, evasion, resistance, and escape) specialist.

Whether it’s in the desert, the arctic, at sea, in the jungle, or as a prisoner of war, airmen must be prepared to survive, evade, resist, and escape any situation. And it’s the SERE specialists' mission to train them. These experts know how to survive in the most remote and hostile environments on the planet. It’s up to them to make sure that when a mission doesn’t go as planned, the airmen involved are ready for anything and can return with honor.

So Joseph Apolinar is kinda a badass and even visited my property in Spokane, Washington to take me and my sons through a pretty epic, personalized wilderness survival course.

But this podcast isn't about survival.

It's about me.

Joseph Apolinar wanted to get a glimpse of my environment, to expose himself to some words or ideas that may offer insight to better my life in business, with family, and in life, and to learn how I am productive, how I schedule and live the average day, and the routines, rituals, habits that I depend upon for success and impact.

During our discussion, you'll discover:

-Thoughts on maintaining balance in your life…08:30

• You are who you hang out with
• Traeger grill
• Dry Farm Wine
• How you spend your days is how we spend your life
• Self-examining thoughts via a journal
• You affect others when you improve your own life
• BGF podcast with Rick Rubin:
  • How To Lose 131 Pounds By Eating Meat: The Rick Rubin Podcast

-Why Ben begins his productive day very early in the day…13:56

• Wake at 4:30-5:00 a.m.; no alarm; wake when the body wakes
• Map out the day the night prior
• Sleeping and walking (or praying) on problems
• Care for one's body and spirit at the beginning of the day
• Do less productive things in the evening; go to bed early if you're done with the day's work
• Self-care; Ayurvedic routines in the morning
  • Tongue scraping
  • Oil pulling
• Trampoline
• BGF podcast with Dr. Bhaswati Bhattacharya:
  • The Perfect 11-Minute Morning Routine: How To Make Your Day Better By Using Ancient Ayurvedic Principles To Optimize Your Morning Routine.
• Tackle the most important items first thing
• Reactive tasks (involves other people) mid-morning thru the afternoon

-How Ben maintains balance with work structure and family/friend relationships and obligations…26:44

• Sacrifice for others (Jesus is the best model to follow)
• Spiritual Disciplines Journal
• Highly protective of assigned time for productive tasks (early morning)
• My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
• Schedule important things such as intimate time with wife and children
• Outsource more mundane tasks such as mowing the lawn; hire an assistant
• The 4-hour Workweek by Tim Ferris
• BusyCal app
• You sacrifice some things in order to be more impactful in other ways
• KetoFast by Dr. Joseph Mercola
• Work doesn't feel like “work” when you're living a self-actualized life and career
• Deep Work by Cal Newport
• Rent Ubers rather than a car while traveling so you can work in the back seat of the car

-How controlling your diet affects your productivity…49:40

• Educate family on proper nutrition decisions and the consequences of decisions
• Keep no food in the house one would consider a “cheap” or “junk” food
• Parenting With Love and Logic by Foster Cline
• Very few non-negotiable rules in the family
• Your kids are more likely to listen to you if you walk the walk
• “Eat whatever you want…as long as you cook it yourself” – Michael Pollan
• Books on education:
  • Unschooling to University by Judy Arnall
  • Free Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy
  • Let Them Play by Denita Dinger
  • Free to Learn by Peter Gray
• BGF podcast with Judy Arnall:
  • The Ultimate Guide To Unschooling: Top Tips To Create Free-Thinking, Resilient, Creative Young Humans Who Can Thrive In A Modern World.
• Mathnasium
• Mark Sisson's The Secret to Health & Longevity: Are You Following the 10/90 Rule?

-The one animal Ben would choose to be, and why…1:07:18

• Rich Christiansen of Legado Family (use code BEN40 to save 40%)
• Ben would be a grey wolf – a hard-to-kill, fierce, autonomous but a pack animal

-And much more!

Upcoming Events:

• Keep up on Ben's LIVE appearances by following bengreenfieldlife.com/calendar

Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.

Resources from this episode:

– Joe Apolinar:

• S.E.R.E.

– Podcasts:

• The Perfect 11-Minute Morning Routine: How To Make Your Day Better By Using Ancient Ayurvedic Principles To Optimize Your Morning Routine with Dr Bhaswati Bhattacharya.
• How To Lose 131 Pounds By Eating Meat: The Rick Rubin Podcast
• The Ultimate Guide To Unschooling: Top Tips To Create Free-Thinking, Resilient, Creative Young Humans Who Can Thrive In A Modern World with Judy Arnall.

– Books:

• My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
• The 4-hour Workweek by Tim Ferris
• KetoFast by Dr. Joseph Mercola
• Deep Work by Cal Newport
• Parenting With Love and Logic by Foster Cline
• Unschooling to University by Judy Arnall
• Free Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy
• Let Them Play by Denita Dinger
• Free to Learn by Peter Gray

– Other Resources:

• Spiritual Disciplines Journal
• Traeger Grill
• Dry Farm Wine
• Tongue Scraping
• Oil Pulling
• Trampoline
• BusyCal App
• Mathnasium
• Mark Sisson's The Secret to Health & Longevity: Are You Following the 10/90 Rule?
• Rich Christiansen of Legado Family (use code BEN40 to save 40%)

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Do you have questions, comments, or feedback for Joseph Apolinar or me? Leave your thoughts below!