How do you stay calm under pressure? According to retired Navy Master Diver Thomas Perkins, it isn't a personality trait, it's a process you build through repetition until fear can't get to the front of the queue. "You don't have to let fear come all the way to the front and own the room," Perkins says, describing the mental checklist he still runs before every dive, flight, or sail. Perkins helped bring one of the U.S. Navy's atmospheric diving suits to 2,000 feet, a depth well past the roughly 1,200-foot limit of the established hard-suit systems used in the North Sea at the time. He got there the same way he built everything else in his career: drill after drill, until a record-breaking dive felt like just another Tuesday. In this episode, Thomas and Pippa talk about what it actually takes to lead people through danger without losing your own nerve. Thomas spent 21 years in the U.S. Navy, including four years training Navy SEAL candidates at BUD/S, and earned a Bronze Star for calm, decisive leadership under fire. They get into why he spent years "running towards danger" before he learned to value his own life, what changed after an 18-month deployment away from his young children, why inclusion turned out to be one of his core leadership tools, and the one decision, at 16, that he still calls his only real regret. Pippa brings her own fear of falling into the conversation, and the two compare notes on why her tandem skydive went so differently from his by-the-book approach to facing fear. Thomas Perkins is a retired U.S. Navy Master Diver, Bronze Star recipient, and pilot who spent 21 years in the Navy, including four years training Navy SEAL candidates in underwater operations. He's the author of A Life Not Worth Living: What Combat, Courage, and Fatherhood Taught Me About Finding Inner Peace, and runs Lentic, a veteran-owned services company. He currently splits his time between sailing the Caribbean and Florida. Connect with Thomas Perkins: 🌐 lentic.us 💼 linkedin.com/in/thomasperkins3 📖 A Life Not Worth Living: amazon.com/dp/1971949485 📱 Instagram/Facebook: @AuthorThomasPerkins Welcome to the Journey to Purpose Podcast — your guide to personal transformation, spiritual awakening, and finding meaning. Hosted by Philippa Bagley, each episode features in-depth interviews with inspiring thought leaders, therapists, coaches, and everyday people who have overcome addiction, trauma, financial hardship, and burnout to build purposeful lives. Whether you're seeking direction in your career, healing from past struggles, building resilience, or exploring spirituality, this personal development podcast delivers practical insights and transformational wisdom. Topics include: personal growth, healing and therapy, entrepreneurship, financial independence, mindfulness, spirituality, overcoming adversity, life coaching, and authentic living. Join our growing community of listeners discovering their life's purpose. New episodes every week. If you like what you hear, don't forget to follow, review and subscribe
