KNOW FEAR with Tony Blauer Tony Blauer / Anchor

For those of you who have been following the Know Fear Podcast since its inception, you should remember my friend Akshay Nanavati -featured in April 2020.
If you aren’t familiar with him, Akshay is a United States Marine veteran, speaker, entrepreneur, ultra runner, and author. He served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom and was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. His book Fearvana was endorsed by the Dalai Lama and Jack Canfield.
Akshay is back again after a couple of crazy years of navigating fear along with all of us, he dove into a couple of events where he deeply explored the human mind, will, and fear. You all know this is a subject near and dear to my heart, so being able to listen and learn from Akshay helps my appreciation of adaptation and personal development. And both events fascinated me, and I wanted him to share them with you. No clues here, you’ll need to listen in!
Akshay's story and his past personal journey and current mission are something we can all be inspired by.
Take some time, sit back, and enjoy this podcast with my friend Akshay Nanavati.
Coach Blauer
To watch this on VIMEO Click Here

 
 

All the guests on the KNOW FEAR® Podcast are hand-selected. This means every one of them has a story, an expertise, and a message I want you to learn about.
I interview people from all walks of life, but of course, you know I have a love and deep respect for those who serve.
Just look back at the list of some of the amazing people I’ve had on the show:
Mike Glover, Andy Stumpf, Pat McNamara, Clint Emerson, JC Glick, Dutch Moyer, Craig Sawyer, Brian Chontosh, Dave Grossman, Ryan Michler, Jack Carr, Steven Pressfield, and Byron Rogers, to name a few.
When I heard the interview between Nick Lavery and Shawn Ryan, I was blown away on so many levels…
The story is nuts…but it’s Nick’s personality and his story-telling skills that make this even more powerful.
I hadn’t even finished the Ryan interview and was already reaching out to Nick’s team to set up an interview.
KNOW FEAR family, I’d like to introduce you to Nick MACHINE Lavery.
Let’s start with this:
SILVER STAR
THREE PURPLE HEARTS
TWO BRONZE STARS
BRONZE STAR WITH V FOR VALOR
5 MORE AWARDS AND THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND EXCALIBUR AWARD
👉 If you don’t know what these awards represent, I suggest you look them up online and learn about them.
And if you're not familiar with Nick, then you need to read this and wrap your head around this feat: “In 2013, on Nick's second combat rotation to Afghanistan, he and his Detachment fell victim to an insider attack ultimately resulting in the loss of his leg. Following a year of surgeries and initial recovery including the use of a prosthetic at Walter Reed National Medical Military Center, he returned to his unit.”
Nick refused a military medical retirement and returned to operational status!
“In 2015, at the conclusion of a challenging, comprehensive assessment designed to evaluate Nick's abilities to operate, he returned to his Detachment and was subsequently deployed once again to Afghanistan conducting full-spectrum combat operations.”
Nick is the first Green Beret to return to combat as an above-the-knee amputee!
I love this quote. “If army scientists and tattoo artists had hijacked a DARPA LAB to create the ultimate soldier, they would’ve created Nick.” -Connor Narciso from Wired Mag.
You won't know who Connor is unless you know the story (which Nick explains in our talk). When you learn who he is, the quote is even more remarkable.
Be sure to check out NIck's book: OBJECTIVE SECURE

 
 

How to save America (and the rest of the world)
I’ve known Ryan Michler for some time now. I’ve watched him grow his business, improve his writing, fitness, mindset, and razor-sharp messaging on social media, but probably the most impressive thing I’ve witnessed is the impact (and influence) he’s had on his family.
I watched his son Brecken transform before my eyes (online).
One day, I reached out to Ryan and asked him if I could interview Brecken for KNOW FEAR. He agreed to it, but we needed to wait for our schedules to line up. (I didn’t know they had been planning to launch a podcast called Man In The Making - which you’ll learn about soon enough - the title is self-explanatory.)
So what’s the connection to the subject line and Ryan?
What do I mean “Save America and the rest of the world”?
Simple: Our future rests on the shoulders of our kids, and if we don’t prepare them, then we will have failed them.
This, of course, should be any parent’s goal, but something has shifted in the last 30 years and things are very bizarre.
What is happening in our schools? And not just our schools. Look at all the lying, manipulation, and deception going on everywhere, from news stations to doctors, to politicians, to influencers, the list is endless. Look at how entitled, disrespectful, and selfish people have become. And then there’s the other chunk of the population that is lacking basic critical thinking skills.
Things are a mess.
This isn’t just from the last 2+ years, this has been building for decades.
What do most of these people have in common?
Parents and conventional education.
PSA: If you don’t see that there is something drastically wrong with the world, leaders, parents and kids, then you must not be reading this because you are not online.
I digress, and I want to get you listening to the podcast, so I’m keeping this short.
One last story.
When I took custody of my son Nick, he was just 3 months old.
I did not know what I was doing. I read books and articles on parenting to help me navigate my fear and uncertainty.
Three quotes stopped me in my tracks.
I wrote them down 30 years ago and carried them with me. And I always shared them when discussing parenting with friends willing to listen along the way.
Here they are. I hope they impact you the way they did me.
“I always want to meet the parents, it helps me forgive the children,” - Unknown Therapist
“Nothing affects a child’s life more than a parent's unlived life.” - adapted from Carl Jung
“I never wanted my child to look at me and see a liar.” - Sean Penn
Each quote had a deep impact.
#1 means it’s the parents’ responsibility to ensure their kids are response-able.
#2 If you don’t respect your purpose, passion, etc., it will impact how you raise your family.
#3 Be true to yourself, develop self-awareness, do your best to grow and evolve. (And please don’t email me about your opinion on Sean Penn, I don’t care.😉)
So how do we save America and the world?
Listen to the podcast.
Get your mind & body in shape.
Fix your home life.
Ryan, my friend, I loved our talk. I’m super proud of you as a man, protector, provider, and father. I hope our talk lights a fire under all parents’ asses and they shift more focus to preparing their children.
Brecken, I can’t wait to meet you in person and I’m excited to watch how you impact the world.
To those of you listening, I hope this very important talk inspires you.
Coach B

The legend Steven Pressfield (Gates of Fire and so many other great books) messaged me and recommended I interview Gary Quesenberry for KNOW FEAR®. Gary’s current focus is on the very important subject of situational awareness and he thought he’d make a great guest for our audience - Mr. Pressfield’s intuition was right! I really enjoyed this talk, and after nearly screwing up the pronunciation of his last name, we had a great talk. I think you'll really enjoy it!
Check out Gary’s background: He served in the US Army as an artilleryman during Operation Desert Storm. After the events of 9/11, Gary went to work as a Federal Air Marshal. There, he traveled the world in his country's service and became a leading expert in the fields of violence and predatory behavior.
He is the CEO of Quesenberry Personal Defense Training and is the author of the “Heads Up” situational awareness series, the latest book in the series is Spotting Danger Before It Spots Your Teens.
Gary has an extensive background in domestic and foreign counter-terror training and has worked in both the private and corporate sectors to educate others on the importance of situational awareness and personal safety.
Stay safe!
Coach Blauer

Before this podcast, I had never met Jorge.  
If I told you the details you'd assume I was lying...but it's all true. 
Jorge used my system to protect himself and his family during an attempted home invasion.  
The suspect was armed, Jorge was not armed.
As the gunman pointed his pistol at Jorge, he thought "this is it, this is where I get shot", then he remembered my video on active shooters using improvised weapons and triggering their startle flinch! 
In those harrowing seconds, Jorge recalled the lesson and went for it. 
You'll need to listen to the story in his words to appreciate how amazing his story is! 
Here's a link to the active shooter video Jorge studied dozens of times: https://vimeo.com/351921499

I've known Marcus for several years now. During that time we've had some amazing talks and share similar philosophies about life.
Since his life's work, mission and vision are helping people understand the 'gift of adversity,' I thought it would be fitting to share with you given the year we've all just experienced.
Coach B
PS I recorded this back in 2019 and thought I had released it! (Better late than never!)
Learn more here