What if your entire playbook fell apart mid-game? For most, that’s when panic sets in. For Marty Strong, that’s when real leadership begins. A retired Navy SEAL turned business leader and author, Marty has made a career out of thriving in chaos.
In the latest episode of the Health & Wealth Power Hour, Marty shared his insights on leading through uncertainty, fostering creativity in rigid systems, and turning failure into a springboard for success. His stories and strategies challenge conventional thinking and offer a fresh perspective on what it means to lead with purpose.
Leading Through the Storm
Imagine stepping into a mission where half the intel is wrong, the terrain is unrecognizable, and every decision feels like a gamble. For Marty, this wasn’t just a possibility—it was a regular part of life as a Navy SEAL.
“You’re going into a goofy place that doesn’t make a lot of sense, and nobody else can do the job,” he explained. “The odds of success are usually against you, and you’re expected to overcome those odds.”
This mindset shaped his approach to leadership in the business world, where unpredictability is the norm. In his book Be Nimble, Marty lays out strategies for preparing teams to face disruption with confidence. Success, he argued, isn’t about avoiding chaos—it’s about being ready to navigate it.
“You can teach people to deal with crisis and chaos,” Marty said. “When the day happens, if you have a team trained like that, everybody looks at each other and says, ‘OK, where are we going to meet?’ Not, ‘What are we going to do?’”
Unleashing Creativity
Marty’s next book, Be Different, tackles a problem he’s seen play out in both schools and workplaces: the suppression of creativity. He believes that rigid systems often stifle innovation, rewarding conformity instead of original thinking.
As a board member for Best Robotics, Marty has witnessed the power of unstructured problem-solving. Students participating in the program are given a challenge but no instructions or kits to follow. The results are often extraordinary. One year, students designed robots to perform remote surgery; another year, they tackled logistics and supply chain problems. Each team approached the challenge in a completely unique way.
“They don’t know the rules, so they don’t know they’re breaking any rules,” Marty said. “They’re not trying to comply with any instruction, so they’re free to create whatever the heck they think makes sense.”
For Marty, this freedom isn’t just important—it’s essential. As he put it, “The universe abhors stasis.” Leaders and organizations that fail to embrace change and foster creativity risk being left behind.
The Gift of Failure
No entrepreneurial journey is free from failure, but Marty sees it as a necessary part of growth. Reflecting on his time managing high-net-worth individuals, he noted that many of them had faced significant setbacks, including bankruptcy, before achieving success.
“They acted like it was just going in and losing a fight,” he said. “They didn’t look at it like, ‘I can never box again.’ They thought, ‘I’ll lick my wounds, figure out what I did right, what I did wrong, and then I’ll get back in the ring.’”
Marty believes the key difference between those who succeed and those who give up is simple: the willingness to try again. “The second shot,” he emphasized, is what sets serial entrepreneurs apart from those who quit.
Visionary Thinking in Practice
How do you prepare for a future you can’t predict? For Marty, the answer lies in a daily practice he writes about in Be Visionary. Each morning, he dedicates 10–15 minutes to thinking about the next two years. This isn’t about solving immediate problems; it’s about imagining what success looks like and aligning today’s actions with long-term goals.
“I push everything out about two years,” he shared. “What do I want to look like in two years? Am I on track for that?”
This simple yet powerful habit allows him to stay proactive and adaptable, ensuring that his decisions are driven by vision, not just reaction.
Fiction with a Mission
Beyond his leadership books, Marty has also ventured into fiction with two series: the Time Warrior Saga and the SEAL Strike Series. These stories combine his deep understanding of resilience, purpose, and the human spirit with imaginative storytelling.
In the Time Warrior Saga, set in the year 2143, Marty explores a future society where purpose and passion are lost—and how combat and camaraderie rekindle the human spirit. Meanwhile, the SEAL Strike Series follows the journey of a Navy SEAL grappling with life after service, tackling challenges like PTSD, personal redemption, and unconventional missions.
What makes these works even more meaningful is Marty’s commitment to giving back. All proceeds from his fiction go to the SEAL Veterans Foundation, supporting PTSD and traumatic brain injury programs.
Why Marty’s Lessons Matter
Marty Strong’s journey offers a roadmap for anyone looking to lead, innovate, or simply navigate life’s challenges with greater resilience. His approach to chaos, creativity, and failure challenges conventional wisdom, proving that success doesn’t come from avoiding difficulty but from embracing it.
“You have a choice,” Marty said. “React to everything, keep your head in the sand, or change the way you think and start getting ready for that train.”
Whether you’re leading a team, building a business, or navigating personal growth, Marty’s insights serve as a reminder that the tools for success—adaptability, creativity, and persistence—are already within you.
Ready to dive deeper into Marty’s philosophy? Check out his books, including Be Nimble, Be Visionary, and his latest release, Be Different (coming December 1st), at MartyStrong.com. Don’t miss his fiction series, where resilience meets imagination, with proceeds supporting the SEAL Veterans Foundation.
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