How I Met Jocko Willink & Leif Babin
I’ve been a big fan of Jocko and Leif ever since I read their book “Extreme Ownership.” Every now and then you read a book that is so impactful it literally changes your perspective on life, and this book did just that. If you haven’t read it, you can read my book review here and a separate article about it here.
I’ve been following Jocko and Leif on Twitter ever since I read their book and noticed that they were going to do a book signing event to promote their new book “The Dichotomy of Leadership.”
The book signing image Jocko tweeted out.
Since the two were only doing a few meet and greet events, I knew I had to attend. So when September 27th came, I drove an hour and a half to the Hilton Garden Inn at Staten Island. The venue was packed with people; I’d say there were around two or three hundred people. Interestingly, a lot of young kids were there as well.
I recorded part of the event; unfortunately, I only had my phone so the image and audio quality isn’t the best, but I figured something was better than nothing.
After Jocko and Leif were done speaking, there was a quick Q&A session. After that, it was the moment everyone had waited for–lining up to personally meet Jocko and Leif and have their books signed.
The line was incredibly long, I waited about an hour till I got to the front, but Echelon Front later tweeted that the last person had waited 3+ hours on the line to meet the two authors.
Here are a few pictures from the event!
Getting my books signed by Jocko while talking to Leif. Check out the huge line in the background.
When I got to the front of the line, Jocko greeted me with a firm handshake and I handed him my books. I then shook hands with Leif. These guys were super nice and humble, they asked me what I learned from the books and were glad to see I was getting after it.
I then took a picture with them, shook their hands again, thanked them for their work and moved along so others could get their chance to meet these two great men.
I brought “Extreme Ownership” and “The Dichotomy of Leadership” to the event.
Picture of my signed books.
If you haven’t read any of Jocko’s books, here are three that I HIGHLY recommend reading (you can get the book by clicking on the images):
“Extreme Ownership” focuses on leadership and taking responsibility in business and life.
“Dichotomy of Leadership” is a deeper dive of EO and focuses more on the balance leaders must have in business.
“Discipline Equals Freedom” focuses on motivating people to overcome obstacles, reach goals, fight weakness and procrastination, and Jocko’s personal workouts from beginner to advanced athletes.
Jocko has also written a couple books for kids. Although I haven’t personally read these books, they have received high remarks and reviews from a ton of people online.
If by any chance Jocko or Leif are reading this, just want to say it was awesome meeting you guys and thank you for all the incredible work you’ve done. I wish you all the best with Echelon Front and I hope you continue to write great books!
For just a few dollars and a couple hours, books can give you an enormous amount of valuable information that can help you in life. It’s practically high-robbery. So take advantage of this and read as much as you can.
If you want to check out my list of recommended books, you can find that here.
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