Behind the Bluff
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Behind the Bluff
Constant Corrections | Pete Cawley
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Flying a plane is not about locking the controls and hoping for the best. It’s about noticing drift and making constant, small corrections, and that single idea turned into one of my favorite metaphors for wellness, discipline, and living with purpose. I’m joined by Pete Cawley, a third-generation Navy man, former fighter pilot, entrepreneur, investor, and longtime CrossFit athlete, for a conversation that goes way deeper than credentials.
We talk about how discipline actually works in real life: it shows up when you have an objective worth chasing. Pete shares why freedom matters so much to him, how family shaped his standards, and what it looks like to be “a rock” for other people while still having the humility to ask for help. We also dig into the practice of staying humble through coaching and curiosity, including the question that can change your relationships fast: “Was it me?”
From there, we zoom out to decision-making under uncertainty, including lessons from real estate cycles and a meaningful pivot into assisted living with a simple mission: taking care of the people who used to take care of us. We finish with tactical mindset tools for staying calm under pressure, plus Pete’s definition of wellness through longevity and the environment you build around you. If you got value here, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show.
Welcome And Meet Pete Collie
SPEAKER_01Are you ready to live an active lifestyle? Welcome to Behind the Bluff, where we believe every moment of your life is an opportunity to pursue wellness on your terms. I'm your host, Jeff Ford, and today I am ecstatic because I get to welcome Pete Collie to the show. Pete is a third generation Navy man, entrepreneur, investor, and longtime CrossFit athlete. While his experiences span military, service, business, and fitness, today's conversation is about much more than a resume. We're going to explore timeless principles that have guided Pete through every season of his life. And we want to dig into what they can teach all of us about living with purpose, discipline, and humility.
SPEAKER_00Pete, welcome to Behind the Bluff. Jeff, thanks for having me. I appreciate the uh the the thought to have me on your uh show. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01You're very welcome. And this is the last official episode in the original podcast closet. That's awesome.
SPEAKER_00So I'm the last one you chose. How many, how many? 123?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we're we're up over 120
Navy Roots And Early Work Ethic
SPEAKER_01now. All right.
SPEAKER_00At least I made the cut.
SPEAKER_01You made the OG cut for sure. Nice. So Pete, let's let's dive in here. You come from a family of Navy service individuals. Thank you so much for your service. With both your father and grandfather serving before you, how did growing up in an environment like that shape you with who you've become today?
SPEAKER_00Well, my grandfather uh flew well, my my father flew airplanes in Brunswick, Maine, uh in the 50s in the Korean War. Uh and uh he flew P2Vs. Um and uh and while he was doing that, my grandfather was still running our our cauli fuel company in Lowell Mass. Uh we started with uh coal, then oil, then propane. Uh and I hit the generation was the propane guy who was hauling hauling uh uh uh tanks around to factories and uh and growing up in the family business uh with him. But this was after my uh grandfather passed away, well after. Uh so uh my dad was uh he really wanted to go be an airline pilot in the 50s, because that was uh that would have been, you know, that was one of his dreams. But uh my my grandfather got sick and uh and and dad just chose to uh just leave the uh active duty Navy and uh go help with the family business. So that's what he ended up doing uh for the rest of his life, basically, back back in Lowell. Uh but to I hope to answer your question, I I ended up uh working for my dad starting at like 13 years old. Um we had a um in addition to the delivery business in in propane to factories and homes, uh, we also had a gas station and a car wash. And I was 13 years old. Uh and uh he he put me to work uh, you know, the the cash register and hitting the button for the car wash and all that. That was obviously supervised by other people.
SPEAKER_01Were these the days where you were pumping gas for customers?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. It was like there was no self-service. Yeah. Uh and uh yeah, so I started working for for dad uh when I was 13, and then uh um every summer uh coming home from school, either high school or college or whatever, I just to go go go work uh for him at the plant. Um and uh I and I think because of starting to work for him early, I I I I just learned um a sort of work ethic uh that I think started me in the right direction working working for for dad in the summers. And uh right up until uh using the the you know the cash under the table table thing. I would spend about every bit of it on flight lessons uh when I was a little older. Trevor Burrus When did you start flight lessons? Uh I was uh 17. Man. Yeah. Yeah, I've been flying airplanes for a long time.
SPEAKER_01So when most people are getting their driver's license, you were in the process of getting your pilot's license.
SPEAKER_00Aaron Powell Yeah. Dad dad had a flight lesson. Uh my mom got his uh him a package of flight lessons to give him uh a hobby to do uh uh uh after the the days of flying in the Navy. So he just he said one day he had a dentist appointment he couldn't go and it's gonna be a waste of money if you don't if I don't take the lesson and all that. And that was in uh Tokesbury, Mass. And I uh I took the uh I took the lesson and I just that was it. That was it from the five. You were hooked from the get-go. Yeah. I was just I don't know if it was like a total DNA, DNA fit or what, but that was it. And I was just uh I absolutely fell in fell in love with that. Um so I think I think between uh that sort of uh lineage, if you will, and then matched with my um strong interest in in hockey and team leadership and all that, I think I started, you know, kind of in the right direction that would ultimately lead me to the military. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. It sounds like starting work at such an early age, having a a mentor like your father, like seeing his work ethic through osmosis. And then it seems like this exposure, you know, I'm I grew up playing hockey too. And it's yeah, it's it's a difficult sport, like cardiovascularly, you get hit. There's something that I think hockey teaches you about life.
SPEAKER_00Oh, for sure. Um it's uh it's a super dynamic sport, right? I mean, I think I'm a hockey guy, so I'm um I'm way biased, but I think it's the most dynamic uh sport on the planet. Uh and uh and I think that that probably helped with the athletic requirement for ultimately flying high-performance fighters, too. You know spatial orientation skills were like really good. I uh I don't know if I got to get those developed from hockey or what, but but certainly uh flying was uh a good natural extension of that dynamic three-dimensional um spatial orientation game, I guess.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I could see some overlap with the skills of hockey and how that would translate to even even the adrenaline of flying, too. For a lot of listeners out there, there's a common fear of flying. For someone like you who absolutely fell in love with it. How do you approach when you're behind the wheel? Do they say that for an airplane?
SPEAKER_00Sure. The wheel stick, whatever it is. Yeah, the yoke. Sure. Yeah. Uh I I think it's um uh I don't know if uh if people have um um fear of flying because it's a control thing. Um I'm not sure. Like I I'll just give somebody the stick and let them fly the airplane and all of a sudden they just calm right down. So um uh but yeah, but the uh I I loved uh you know working into that dynamic uh space in that environment. I think I was always very comfortable uh um in a a cockpit in the dynamic, um sort of the fluid three-dimensional uh aspect of what flying is. Somebody told me one time, a long time ago, he said flying is a game of constant corrections. Um I mean you can apply that to pretty much everything, can't you?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, flying is a game of constant corrections. So no matter how long that flight is, there's little adjustments that pilots are making. So, Pete, you've lived through some remarkable chapters of your life, and uh I think you're a good person to dig into principles that can help those listening today be guided, sort of like a foundation of life, well-lived principles.
Discipline Freedom Family And Service
SPEAKER_01So being someone who's built successful businesses, flown combat missions, and competed in CrossFit for nearly 20 years. That's how you and I first met. What principles have remained constant for you in every season of your life?
SPEAKER_00I I I think that uh I'm not naturally a hyper disciplined person, but I just learned from an early age that uh uh discipline is uh something you need, or at least I need for me to achieve an objective. Um whatever it is, hockey, flying airplanes, CrossFit, CrossFit competitions. I think if I have uh an objective to meet, um discipline just automatically starts to uh weave into the solution set. Um and uh uh I I think that's a big thing for me. D discipline's one. But then uh I don't know if this is uh the right principle thing to say, but um I also at the core of me love freedom. Uh I love the freedom to be able to choose what I want to do, where I want to go, who I want to be with. Uh and that leads me back to uh my um my closeness and love for my family. Uh Mary, of course, but uh my my family growing up in uh around Boston. Uh my dad was uh basically the center of our family. And he was sort of like the he was sort of the rock of uh you know the entire ecosystem of the family. And I think we learned a lot of that from him. And we to this day we have a really close-knit uh um family and c including cousins. I was just on the Cape with uh with Mary, it just was kind of family reunion every year. Uh and uh just the week before the fourth we go, and uh we have uh the uh uh we call it the Eddie Open. It's really a family reunion with like 50 people. Um but uh my dad died of uh brain cancer when he was uh 67. Uh in the very next year, and that's probably part of the environmental exposure to I think, you know, to to oil and gas and propane and all that, but um uh but we get together and we have an absolute blast. Uh and it's technically a charity event for brain cancer research uh around a golf tournament. But the whole week the whole weekend is just family, family, family. By the time it's all done Sunday, uh Sunday afternoon, we're all exhausted. I can only imagine.
SPEAKER_01It's like fifty people that you're super connected to and very close with year after year for someone in your life who who was the rock for the trickle effect of everything today.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. And I think he taught us uh to be a rock for everybody else. Um so part of how I want to live and how I try to uh how I try to live is to um recognize when I need to be available for some someone else. Um mostly that's family and friends, but uh you know, just to be a good uh good American, a good citizen if you need, you know, somebody needs help walking across the street, just don't you know, I just try to recognize that and uh uh and uh you know take a look at my external environment and uh and just be available for people uh when you think they need help. Uh and that's just everyday stuff, but uh I think uh I think the discipline behind um how I've tried to live my life, I think is sort of a uh part of a core part of my uh personality that um uh that I want to hold myself accountable to as well. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01That's good, Pete. When you first mentioned discipline hasn't come naturally for you unless there's an objective. When you have the objective, discipline is the ingredient that's needed, and and it's almost like sounds like it's second nature for you now that that objective's there, discipline's gonna be there too. And I just love that you've you've pointed out a couple principles here freedom, choice, and awareness of others and the impact that you can make if you're staying aware of your external surroundings and and how that's that's just not a second nature principle, I think, for a lot of people out there.
SPEAKER_00No, you gotta uh that's like a uh something you have to uh force yourself to do, I think, because everybody's so busy and uh thinking about 50 things that they gotta do I haven't done, or they screw this up, or I gotta go here or there, or whatever. So um I think just having sort of a presence uh uh uh of your environment to just kind of you know, leave leave maybe 10 percent for helping somebody out. Uh and you know what I uh tell you kind of a silly story, but this is back in uh early days of hockey. Um and as a hockey guy, you'll you'll appreciate what I'm about to say. Uh you were a forward?
SPEAKER_01Defense. You know, looking at me, you would say forward all day long. Okay, okay. And I was still the I'm the size I am now is the size I was with skates on.
SPEAKER_00Okay. So then you'll appreciate this even more. Yeah. Uh as a defenseman, I'm a forward, you're a defenseman. Uh I love to be in offense and I love to score goals. I love to playmake and uh in the creativity and the uh dynamic environment of uh the offensive environment on the ice. Um I was just that's my personality was just a little bit more uh uh forward uh uh um oriented. So but I hated to backcheck.
SPEAKER_01I hated to backcheck because uh You were not someone who would rush back to go help out me per se.
SPEAKER_00You know how I know okay. So this is what you appreciate. You know how I had to teach myself to back uh to back check? I had to pretend like I was playing offense for the other team. Uh and I taught myself that early. I was just like, okay, uh it was to help you, but I had to trick my brain into thinking that I'm on offense again until I get back into play. So it's just uh kind of a stupid little story, but um you know that gave me discipline to back check to help you out. Um I had to teach myself these tricks.
SPEAKER_01That's a great example, even for the non-hockey player out there. Because for many of us, we can be high expectations on ourselves when we don't do something that we know is for say the good of another person. And it's okay to create strategies and practices that get us to back check, if you will.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's uh it it's it's you can you can apply that to pretty much, I think, uh pretty much anything. Um or at least I do. Yeah. If something that I just don't don't don't really want to do, I'll you know, kind of hold myself accountable to the to because I also think like, well, what's gonna happen if I don't do that? That's a good question to ask.
SPEAKER_01You've operated in vi in environments of excellence your entire being,
Humility Through Learning And Coaching
SPEAKER_01Pete. I want to dig a bit more into humility. So we know discipline is required to help us achieve an objective, this freedom of choice, this connection and relationship with our family, and helping that stranger off the sleep off the street. All all principles that that can apply here. How do you how do you go about staying humble as a general practice as a human being?
SPEAKER_00Well uh I g I guess I'll start by saying like you know, I I'll I'll I'll suck at something until I really make sure that I put the work in to get something done right. Uh and and I can learn from people, even in CrossFit after doing CrossFit for 20 years. I I uh I still want the coaches to cue me all the time. Uh because there's always CrossFit's so broad, right? You there's there's so much, so many movements, so many uh whether it's Olympic lifting or gymnastics or uh bodywork, uh machine work and running, all that, there's so much to work on, so much to do. Uh even if you get super proficient at one particular thing, you're not gonna be that proficient at that thing. And there's always a new skill. Right, right. There's always something be better at more of everything, basically. So I think knowing that uh even in aviation, I uh there was there's always so much more to learn, uh, and especially from other people.
SPEAKER_01So to stay humble, what I'm hearing is have a growth mindset, be a learner, know that you're never gonna have it all figured out, and and CrossFit is a great example of that because you know, based off our different body types too, you know, one person's gonna be more natural at the handstand pushup than the deadlift. That's right.
SPEAKER_00And recognize that, you know, and support and encourage that. It's like, hey, those are awesome muscle ups you did the other day. I can't do that, and I can't do what you do. Uh but uh yeah, there's always more to learn. And uh and uh there there's always something else uh that you don't know that you didn't know, you know what I mean? There's always something that you don't know that you didn't know. Yeah. That's fair. Like you don't know what you don't know kind of thing. It's like and and I I think and and I'm guilty of not doing this, but I think being self-aware is much like I look at myself in the mirror, like, wait, wait, was that me? Or like an interaction or something, some sort of a behavioral thing. You and I are talking, and I said something, or you said something, and I'm like, wait a minute. Was that me? You know, I gotta be, you know, I think it's important to be sensitive to, you know, uh either something's going on with that other person or I behaved uh, you know, about 10 degrees off a north with our conversation or something like that. So I always want to be, and that's part of the coaching, coaching cueing, as as a uh as an athlete um and um a member of a gym. I think it's uh important to honor and recognize uh you know the the coach's intention to help you improve yourself.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Pete, I connect to that a lot. I just think it's so important for us to always be asking the question of, you know, was it me? That's such a humble question. Like, was it me? Could I have done better in that interaction? Could I have done better in that fitness class? Did I listen to the coach the way that I could have so that I could be better to, you know, take off the pride of like I've been deadlifting for years, my back's perfectly flat. You know, in a fitness context, I mean I think you and I connect to this a lot. You know, fitness is such a comparison to life. The the gym teaches you so much about life as long as you're willing to listen. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's exactly right. I think maybe that's part of why I love being in the gym so much. It's like one, I love to work out, of course, I love to be fit and uh and move, but the interaction with community, I think, is uh is uh uh I think probably 50% of it, you know, being around the team. But yeah, you know, you don't realize what people are going through when you know, in the old days of CrossFit, we um it was it was it was really pretty brutal. Um not just the workouts or painstorms and all the stuff we used to do was this pretty and I, you know, being th Virginia Beach for 30 years, I was around a lot of very fit people, not me per se, but uh, you know, I'd work out with uh a lot of military uh people and it was just it was just no BS at all. Uh and we didn't have AC, we didn't have it was just pretty brutal and raw. But you know what? I loved it. You like that. I loved that other elements. It's kind of like being on deployment in the military. It's just like it's just all business, you know, and uh and and people were they'd just come in, keep the mouth shut, and they would do the work. And they wouldn't stop until the work was done. You know, we'd sweat like crazy, and then we'd have a laugh later, and uh and that was it. It was just uh but that's I think what the uh the gym environment for me is uh so special.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. The social connection piece, the doing the work with other people. I mean, that's probably one of the biggest satisfactions we have at the end of the day of life is when you accomplish great things with other people, even in a you know, a difficult fitness class. There's an impact there that it can't be explained all the time. It just feels good.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. You know, a long time uh I don't know, about 10 years ago, I wrote a series of blog articles called Ambush Living. I just wanted to write, I just wanted you know, sort of like uh motivational, sort of like just a few paragraphs and I would slip something uh, you know, in the door. Uh in one of the articles I wrote, one of them was about that back-checking thing with the heart. And the other was the title of it was Does CrossFit Save Lives? And my intention for the article was that it it could be anything. It didn't have to be CrossFit. It could be soccer, it could be, you know, strength and conditioning, whatever. But you know, the the the concept of fitness, does it actually save lives? Um and then I I meant that to be a physical, uh physical or physiological uh thought piece. Um but recently I was talking with one of my coaches about another athlete. And uh it wasn't a physical thing. It was something we then learned to be concerned about their psychology. Um in not a big deal, but it was just kind of a thought of of uh what somebody's going through at at the particular time. This is just uh a few days ago. And uh it dawned on me that actually does CrossFit save lives or does fitness save lives, you know, ph physically, mentally, psychologically. Um I don't know the answer to that, but I want to say, and I will bet you a nickel that it does.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01I I'd have to agree with that, Pete. And I think bringing up the psychology, the mental, emotional benefits of being part of a community goes much further than we think it does because the physical is one thing. We know physical health is gonna help us play with our grandkids. And do what we want to do, have choice, have freedom, the principles of of how we want to live.
SPEAKER_00But it it's hard for those out there to see the data sometimes behind the emotional impact or the psychological impact. And it's just an intangible, it's hard to put your finger on it. But um I know if you if you go you do, you know, you blood markers and you know you look at longevity issues and David Sinclair stuff and and you know the uh the uh the idea and the uh the the audacious uh notion of reversing the clock, uh which I totally dig. Uh but uh but but that uh that's your whole body. And you speak of wellness all the time, not just strength and conditioning. Your your concept of life in this context is is wellness. Uh and I think it's again, it's another game of constant corrections. You know, you just gotta always be working for on yourself for for uh the changes in your life too, but then recognize them recognize them in uh in other people, I think, is important too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah. Well you were getting at earlier with recognizing them in other people. That that plays a pivotal role in our progress as individuals.
Big Decisions And The Power To Pivot
SPEAKER_01I want to flip to kind of the business side of this, okay? I didn't know all of these details about your background on the real estate side of things. And I know listeners who have jumped in today can already tell how humble of a guy you are. So I'm gonna try to get this out of you. Um but the housing market collapsed and you later transitioned into assisted living. Like you, you had you had a difficult challenge or you saw it coming, and then you pivoted. And that's a word I use a lot these days. Like, you gotta pivot. You gotta, you gotta be comfortable with pivoting. But for me, I struggle with like decision making. It's like you can get in that like thought process all the time, you can get in your head. And I think a lot of people who are listening today hopefully feel the same way. So, Pete, how do you approach big decisions?
SPEAKER_00Well, uh I think that I don't actively approach big decisions until they come to me. Uh you know, like in the the days of uh our residential real estate investing, and this is while I was flying for United Airlines, uh, and Mary was doing all the heavy lifting and all the day-to-day management.
SPEAKER_01Uh so you were a full-time uh pilot for United Airlines and managing real estate portfolio. Mary as well, it sounds like really, really.
SPEAKER_00Mary was yeah, I gotta make sure I say this on on on on air. No, she did all the heavy lifting while I was flying. I had to come home and I help out, and there was some rehabs and reconstruction and stuff I was managing and all that. But uh the I think sometimes the external environment dictates uh making you or helping you make a big decision. In this case, just this example. Uh in 2003, four, and five, when the real estate market was just bubbling up all over the place, and it was like it was crazy. And then, of course, 2007 and eight happened with all the CDOs and the you know, investors were coming out of the woodwork to just pay us like all kinds of money on a per unit basis for these uh condos and duplexes and fourplexes. We were looking at the essentially 10 years of pretext cash flows on a per unit basis that people were just offering. We weren't I didn't have anything listed or anything. It just came out of the uh and I looked at Mary and I said, My goodness, we have no choice but to sell. I don't know what's going on, but like this is a great time to sell. So that external environment helped me. It was just like sort of a forced gump moment. It's like, we we don't have a choice but to sell. So I think uh that external environment really helped uh create uh just a ton of clarity for us at at that time. So, you know, we we got lucky on that, and the timing was just really good, but it was uh it was also just completely external uh that I couldn't ignore.
SPEAKER_01That that's helpful, Pete. I've never thought about decision making in that way where the external environment is speaking to us. We just have to listen and and remain aware of like it, you know, it it's not a too good to be true moment. It's this is the information you're receiving.
SPEAKER_00Now what are you gonna do with it? Yeah, you can have your intentions all day long of like, okay, well, in this case, I want to just flip properties real fast, okay, and make a bunch of money. Um, but the the the world just doesn't work like that. And it didn't work like that for us. And we were, we were holding these units for for years because the market wasn't conditioned to flip property that kind of just at just at the time. So we were the good news is we were forced to hold everything and manage it. Well, okay, that worked out great for cash flows and you know, learning the skill and and all that. But then when that environment came around, uh, and I also knew that what Mary was getting pretty burnt out of, you know, managing day-to-day, and I was gone for three or four days at a time, and you know, she was basically she was a social worker for all the you know, tenants that was just wearing her out. So the transition that we made, the pivot that we made, um closing one chapter and opening another, what I told Mary, I said, look, I don't want you to have to manage day-to-day operations anymore, because you I don't want you to have to do that anymore. So we moved into commercial real estate. We used this and we leveraged a little bit of that to go into commercial real estate. I just didn't know what until we had uh one of our old CPAs uh introduce the idea and the notion of assisted living. And uh read a couple of books and I found it to be and still do, it's probably one of the most meaningful businesses you can be in. Uh so in the la for the last 20 years or so, we've been uh involved in uh investing in and managing assisted living facilities, uh. And that's what we still do today.
SPEAKER_01Let's jump into that word meaningful. What makes managing assisted living meaningful to you, Pete?
SPEAKER_00Well, our unofficial motto is we take care of the people who used to take care of us. And that's back to my family and dad and and mom and all of my family and cousins and and that watching them grow old and die. And we just I think it's one of the best businesses for us that we could be in to serve the community. That's good. And make a you know, make a couple of dollars doing it, you know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, it's very connected to what you said earlier, taking care of people. And I think there are populations out there that we we forget about, you know, and and as we get older, memory dividends are huge. And you know, it's the littlest of conversations that we sometimes think um can go a long way with someone who might be lonely too. And it's it's just really powerful to hear how you how you describe the meaning there. We're getting close to the end of our time, so I want to get even
Intentional Focus And Asking For Help
SPEAKER_01more tactical with you, Pete. You've been you've been tactical your your whole life and and today. It's one of my favorite words. If you could pass on one lesson to our listener about pursuing excellence without letting achievement define them, what would it be?
SPEAKER_00Well, I I think having a plan, yeah. I mean, obviously a plan is is if you don't have a plan, uh nothing else exists. But I think that for my experiences in life, um things just don't get thrown at you. You have to be very specific and very intentional for what you want to accomplish. Uh and that's true of me today as a 60-year-old. I uh that nothing's changed. Um but I think that you know, that saying no man is an island, I think it's really critical for people to realize that there's so much help around you all the time. And be humble enough to just ask questions. Um hey, help me work through this. If you have, you know, two or three of your best friends, you should be leveraging them them all the time. And they and they you, right? I mean, there's the the people around us are you know so gifted and talented. I think um I think asking for help is like s super important, even for small things. You know, you want to hold yourself up to a standard, of course, and be the guy that um gal that people can depend on, um, you know, and and uh when things go sideways. Um and then otherwise my objective for all the things that I do or try to do is like my objective is to be doing push-ups when I'm 85 years old and be able to pull a 200 200-pound man out of a burning vehicle. You know, that's uh those are very specific. Those are specific, but it also just is again um being of service when when when it's needed and recognizing it and having the capacity to do it.
SPEAKER_01Being of service when it's needed and having the capacity to do it, the plan, being intentional. And then I love that aspect of like you gotta ask for help, leverage the people around you. That's something that I I think can be a little bit societal here, where we we're scared to ask for help. And and yet we have these great people in our life who do want to come alongside of uh side of us. Just open yourself up.
SPEAKER_00It's a world of resources anywhere around, whether it's here in Palmetto Bluff or just uh where wherever you are. I think it's just uh you know I think people want to help too. They just you but you just gotta ask them because they're not aware of what you're going through, maybe. So they just don't have a clue. So but uh pull them, pull them in, you know?
SPEAKER_01Pull them in. If you could leave our listeners with one habit now, or or a mindset that's made the biggest difference in your life, what would that mindset be?
SPEAKER_00Intentional focus. I'd say that uh, you know, uh again back to having a plan, but I think the mindset should be okay, I'm gonna go execute on this. And what that means is I'm going to execute on this. It it's not like I want to be the world's best crossfitter or something or the best pilot. But if my intentional focus is, the world will have a a weird, creepy way of kind of screwing you out of your intentional focus. Um stick to it like a junkyard dog, basically, because uh, you know, the world's just not gonna give it to you. Um and uh, you know, it's just uh uh don't don't give up.
SPEAKER_01I've got a close friend who we we call it a a rally cry, and his rally cry is so aligned with what you just said. The world world's gonna try try to trip you up every day you wake up. Like I mean, I I see it every day in in different realms of my life, and I I know everyone listening today does too. He uses this phrase, filter to focus.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And it's sometimes hard to filter when things are coming at you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, somebody somebody else will call it like straighten the line out. Straighten the line out. Uh yeah. Just just just you know, the we the we the curves and the nonlinear uh uh um uh path. Do what you can to straighten out the line.
SPEAKER_01One more question before we hit the final question. You're the type of guy who, to me, always feels calm, cool, and collected under pressure. You've been in situations that require that of you. What's one mindset that someone could adopt for when the unexpected is occurring?
SPEAKER_00Uh well, let's go back to aviation real quick. Um in a tactical aviation, since we're being tactical now. Um when I was learning to be uh a a naval aviator, f uh fighter pilot, my fleet airplane was the F-14 Tomcat uh in Desert Storm. But in order for me to be good enough to get to that place where um, you know, essentially you basically just trying not to kill yourself because it's such a highly dynamic environment. Um but it was we call it, you know, time under the barbell, but the practice uh an intentional focus um of learning how to be a fighter pilot and then going to deploy uh into combat. Uh I I think for me, what kept me safe was uh staying in the moment. Um because you because you really can't afford to screw that up. Um uh learning all not just the procedures and the process, uh, but staying uh hyper-focused on where you are in the jet, whether you're on the ground on a catch shot or uh in a combat scenario, uh knowing where your wingman is or your lead is, uh, and essentially having situational awareness such that when a pop-up bogey or bandit shows up, you know, there's one oh a couple of times where we're vectored to intercept uh uh uh a flight of boat bogies. Bogies are unknown. They may be bad guys, may not be bad guys. A bandit is a known bad guy. So bogeys and bandits. So these are airplanes that are popping up in front of you. These are airplanes that are uh command and control uh airplane, um the uh the the the C-2s usually uh would um would snap vector us to uh targets. And I I knew my training was just really on point because when we snap vector to that, those b bogies, uh, we were ready to fight and kill. And I felt like a wolf. My everything just slowed down. I mean, all that training just sort of was captured in that moment where I knew I might have to fight and kill. Uh, and I had such clarity and such calmness. And that is essentially a function of all the training that we had done to get to that point. Fortunately, there were Omani F-5s, and they were just heading south in the Adriatic. So they were the they were friendly. You didn't have to shoot anybody down. No, we didn't. Those guys are great. Uh so we intercepted them. We realized that they were friendlies and all that. But just uh the two or three minutes before that, um I think that uh that being in the moment present and being capable and ready. Uh and I think that's a function. Well, it's a function of training uh and time. Uh I'm not sure if that answered your question, but I I think that's right on B, because it's a pressure situation.
SPEAKER_01And the only way you're gonna be able to respond. I don't like the word like being reactive, right? Right. What really came up for me is things got slower and you didn't hesitate. And the training was the reason why you didn't hesitate.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think that's the power of control. Uh when you know you're well, you never go into these things, knowing you're, you know, really good at what you do. You're just one, like I said, trying not to kill yourself. And two, uh being a good wingman, right? And then uh and then and three, letting all of that training settle into uh and it I'd really call it an opportunity because you felt like you're you're you're trained to fight, you're trained to kill, um, and uh and we were ready. And in that moment, I finally, you know, I knew that uh, you know, that that my training has been exceptionally good in that moment in time and space. Um uh but that helped me uh laser focus in the moment where everything could slow down because I felt in control.
SPEAKER_01In control, prepared. You had gotten under the barbell. Pete, this has been so much fun getting your mindsets, your humility, the principles today, like all of this inter interrelates to anyone out there trying to live the life they're meant to live. And that's exactly what these conversations are about. It's yeah, we talk about fitness, we talk about longevity, but at the end of the day, it's it's how do we live our lives? What kind of impact do we have on the people that matter most to us? And that's just such a great thread to bring up. So I appreciate you diving into the deeper side of things here. Before we close out, we ask the same question to every guest who joins Behind the Bluff. What does wellness
Wellness As Longevity And Environment
SPEAKER_01mean to you?
SPEAKER_00Well, the first word that comes to me is longevity. Um and uh and I think your environment has a big part uh a lot to do with wellness, your environment. Uh you know, so uh shaping your environment, uh the people you want to be with, uh holding yourself to a standard in that environment, so you're not the you know, uh the weak link, basically. Uh and then you know, if it's possible to re reverse the clock, then uh you know I'm uh I'm excited to say that, or at least uh be intentioned to do that, I think. But it's a lot of work. So for me as a six-year, it's like a full full-time job. Um So w wellness to me, I think, is just really um uh a longevity and peace in the environment you create. Let's go. Yeah. We're not done yet. I mean it it never stops, you know. I'd also like to say that we're still building a country. You know, it's been two 250, right? Hasn't been that long. I know. We're still working. We're working in progress. Let's keep going. Yeah. Work in progress. Just keep keep keep keep moving those weights around.
SPEAKER_01Keep that foot on the pedal. Right. Well, Pete, thank you so much for sharing a bit of your story, scratching the surface. I mean, I I loved hearing about your roots and the principles that have guided your life. And no matter what profession you have, no matter where you're struggling today, no matter where you want to go, the discipline is going to be a piece of reaching your objective.
SPEAKER_00Hey, look, I I think what you've done for the last few years here has been exceptional. Uh and I also love that Mary loves the strength and conditioning classes here because of what it's done for her. Uh her range of motion, uh, her strength at end ranges, her movement mechanics, uh, and the variability of what you've designed as a strength and condition with the different class structures and the curation of your staff, including Steele and the Dare from Bay River.
SPEAKER_01Was he your first coach over there? We used to work out together.
SPEAKER_00He used to coach over there. But but that was a great uh great win for you guys, too. So your team is awesome. And uh thanks for you know really evolving this uh this uh uh this fitness environment and this wellness environment into something that this is your uh this is your baby. You've done great.
SPEAKER_01You're so welcome. Yeah. Thanks. Thanks, Pete. I really appreciate that reflection. Appreciate you letting us have Nader. He's he's so impactful on everyone he meets. Don't tell him I said that. No, no, we'll we'll make sure he doesn't pop on behind the bluff uh when this one comes out. But uh thank you for your service. Thank you for your perspective. Uh look forward to having more conversations in the future. I appreciate you having me. Thanks, man. Appreciate it.
Healthy Momentum And Small Corrections
SPEAKER_01Listeners, feel free to hang out with me for a few more minutes and get some healthy momentum the rest of your week. Every time I have the chance to sit down with an individual on the podcast, there's a moment that sticks with me from the conversation. With Pete, it wasn't a principle or fitness. It was the picture that he painted flying an airplane. Pete shared that when you're flying, you don't simply point the plane toward your destination and hold the controls still. You're making constant, small corrections as a pilot. The wind shifts, the conditions change, and just like a car, the aircraft naturally drifts. Your job is to recognize it and gently bring that plane back on course. The more I sat with this and thought about it, the more I realized that's what wellness looks like. We often think living well means getting everything perfectly aligned. But maybe wellness isn't about imperfection. Maybe it's simply recognizing when we've drifted and making the next small correction. Pete also said something that really resonated with me. Discipline requires an objective. Discipline isn't just grinding for the sake of grinding. Pete said it himself, he's not a very disciplined person. But when there's an objective, it's different. I've always found it's much easier to stay consistent when you know where you're trying to go. Purpose gives discipline direction. When you have clarity about what matters most, your daily choices start to align. They start to point towards the type of person you want to be. The second lesson that sat with me was about strength. He talked about being a rock for the people around you. We all want to be someone others can count on, am I right? For our family, our friends, our team. But he also reminded me that there are seasons when someone else needs to be your rock. Real strength isn't about pretending you have it all together, it's having the self-awareness to recognize when you need support so you can continue showing up for the people in your life who matter most. And finally, one sentence has been integrated into my gut this week. It stayed with me ever since we recorded. It was this there's always something you don't know that you didn't know. That's humility. The healthiest people I know never stop learning. They stay curious. And when something that doesn't go exactly according to plan, can you be the type of person who immediately looks outward and ask a simple question? What does it mean? Not from a place of blame, but from a place of growth. Because self-awareness is one of the greatest gifts we can personally develop. So here's your healthy momentum for this week. If you've drifted, make a small correction. If you've been carrying everything yourself, don't be afraid to lean on someone else. And if you're committed to becoming a little better, stay curious enough to ask, What don't I know yet? Because the people who continue moving forward aren't the ones who never drift. They're the ones who keep making the next small correction. That reflection brings us to the end of this week's episode of Behind the Bluff. I appreciate that you have taken the time to join the conversation this week. If this impacted you in a positive way, in a way where you're gonna take your next action, share it with someone else. Comment on your podcast app. Tell us what action you're taking. And until next week, remember to actively participate in life on your terms.
