What can Navy SEAL training teach you about leadership, business, and life?

In this episode of Anything But Typical, Gary and Ben sit down with retired Navy SEAL Lieutenant Commander Tim Cruickshank, founder of Bone Frog Coffee Company, to break down the mindset, discipline, and team-first philosophy that shaped his journey.

Tim shares how elite military training—including BUD/S and combat deployments—built the mental toughness and adaptability he now uses as an entrepreneur. More importantly, he reveals how his business was born out of a deeper mission: honoring fallen teammates and supporting Gold Star families.

This episode is a powerful conversation on leadership, resilience, entrepreneurship, and what it truly means to put others first—in business, family, and life.

• 00:01:00 – The “heartbeat question” and defining your legacy
• 00:05:00 – Military upbringing and lessons in integrity and trust
• 00:09:00 – How Tim decided to become a Navy SEAL
• 00:18:00 – What BUD/S training is really like (mental + physical)
• 00:29:00 – Building mental toughness: “30 seconds at a time” mindset
• 00:33:00 – Combat lessons: adaptability, leadership, and trust
• 00:38:00 – Transitioning from military to entrepreneurship
• 00:39:00 – The origin story of Bone Frog Coffee Company
• 00:41:00 – Starting a business with no experience + finding mentors
• 00:47:00 – Building during COVID and learning from customers
• 00:49:00 – Leadership lessons from Navy SEAL training applied to business
• 00:54:00 – Scaling impact and giving back to Gold Star families

• Leadership starts with serving others first, not yourself
• Mental toughness is built through small, repeatable wins under pressure
• The best teams are built on trust, accountability, and shared hardship
• Entrepreneurship requires adaptability, humility, and constant learning
• Purpose-driven businesses create deeper loyalty and long-term impact
• Surrounding yourself with mentors accelerates growth significantly

BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training) is one of the most intense military training programs in the world, designed to push candidates mentally and physically. It focuses heavily on teamwork, resilience, and mental endurance, with extremely high attrition rates.

Navy SEALs develop mental toughness by breaking overwhelming challenges into smaller time increments (like 30 seconds at a time), controlling their mindset, and learning to operate under extreme stress and discomfort.

Key leadership lessons include:

• Put your team before yourself
• Adapt quickly under pressure
• Communicate clearly in chaos
• Earn trust through consistency and action

Tim’s approach:

• Surround yourself with experts and mentors
• Start small and iterate quickly
• Listen to customer feedback
• Stay consistent and adaptable

A purpose-driven business builds deeper customer loyalty by aligning its mission with impact. In this case, giving back to Gold Star families and honoring fallen heroes creates emotional connection and long-term brand trust.

Navy SEAL mindset, leadership lessons, mental toughness, entrepreneurship journey, purpose-driven business, startup advice, team culture, business leadership, resilience training, Bone Frog Coffee, veteran-owned business

• Bone Frog Coffee Company – https://www.bonefrogcoffee.com
• GovX (military & first responder discounts)

• Visit: https://www.bonefrogcoffee.com
• Get 10% off your first order
• Military & first responders: 20% off via GovX
• Support a mission that gives back to Gold Star families
• Follow Anything But Typical for more real conversations on leadership & business

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Episode live date: March 10

Name of show: Anything But Typical Podcasts

Episode number and title: Episode 164: The Power of Relationships in Business and Life with Ashley Tison

Brief summary of show: What if the most important business question has nothing to do with business? In this episode, Ashley Tison shares the powerful question he returns to over and over again: “If I were given six months to live, what would be my regrets?” Through years of walking alongside entrepreneurs navigating growth, exits, and major life transitions, Ashley has seen how success often gives way to a deeper realization — that time, relationships, and meaning matter more than most people expect. This conversation explores the tension between building something significant and not losing your life in the process.

Bullet points of key topics discussed & time stamps: 0:00 – Opening reflection: the question that changes everything 1:12 – Why entrepreneurs eventually start asking deeper questions 2:48 – The hidden cost of building, growing, and chasing success 4:15 – Why founders often realize too late what mattered most 5:42 – Family, experiences, and meaning in the next chapter 7:03 – How the “six months to live” question reframes priorities 8:21 – Why the next chapter people want is often the one they’ve delayed 9:37 – Closing thought: sometimes business conversations become life conversations

List of resources mentioned in episode (including sponsors): OZ Pros OZPros.com Annie Dillard quote: “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

Calls to action: Learn more at OZPros.com Visit trustbgw.com Follow Anything But Typical and BGW on social media: Instagram: @anythingbuttypical LinkedIn: BGW CPA, PLLC

“I’ve been poor before. That doesn’t bother me.” – Cathy Maday Cathy didn’t grow up around startup jargon or leadership books. She grew up on the Bad River Indian Reservation in northern Wisconsin. Work wasn’t a phase. It was how you made things possible. You did chores, took odd jobs, & learned early that no one was coming to rescue you. There was freedom in that. By 12, Cathy was holding her first paper paycheck. She hasn’t stopped working since — not always because she had to, but because work meant agency. Motion. A steady sense of “I can handle what’s next.” That assurance followed her from childhood into college, into technology, & into corporate environments where she saw it clearly: systems weren’t failing. The people inside them were carrying too much, alone. Eventually, Cathy did what entrepreneurs do. She chose the harder path & built the solution — Wingspan — from the same instinct that had always guided her: if you want options, you create them. This episode isn’t about hustle or reinvention. It’s about knowing when the instincts that made you strong are asking for something completely new. To learn more, connect with her at WingspanPerformance.com. Entrepreneurship isn’t about escaping where you come from. It’s about carrying what made you — and knowing what to set down. As Wendell Berry wrote, “It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work.”

“I closed the biggest deal of my life playing Candy Crush on my phone over Zoom… I could do this in my sleep at this point.” — Lauren Goodell One moment, Lauren Goodell was operating at the highest level — thriving in corporate tech, leading the room, closing deals most people never touch. And then, something became clear. The work wasn’t hard anymore. The risk was gone. The challenge had faded. What once demanded everything she had now required very little. In that moment, her future shifted. Not because she failed — but because she succeeded. And she knew that mastery without growth is just another form of standing still. So, she walked away. What followed wasn’t instant clarity. It was friction. Failure. Momentum earned the hard way. Today, Lauren is building technology that handles the prep work she got bored of — so people can focus on the conversations that actually matter. That moment — the quiet realization — is where her story really begins. Connect with her on LinkedIn & learn more at getZinnia.ai Success doesn’t always signal arrival. Sometimes, it’s the cue to begin again. Anaïs Nin said it best: “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

“I’d like people to say this guy lived life with no regrets.” – George El-Hage There are moments in life when something small reveals something big. For George, it was a note on his desk praising his performance… along with a $5 Tim Hortons gift card. It wasn’t the amount that bothered him. It was the message underneath. Years of effort reduced to something transactional. Something polite. Something small. That’s when he knew. Not that he needed a new job — but that he needed a different path, one that matched how he works, how he connects, & how he shows up every day. That recognition became direction. What emerged was Wave, a digital business card platform — not just another cool tech tool, but an answer to connections that deserved more than a polite exchange, a quick goodbye — or a toss in the trash. Turns out, George’s “no regrets” isn’t just about risking everything. It’s about paying attention — and taking action — when the truth shows up quietly. To learn more, head to wavecnct.com. Wayne Dyer once said, “Don’t die with your music still in you.” George won’t.

“It’s the fleeting moments of bliss — being connected to your family in a real, meaningful way.” – Daniel Hearl Dan has a big job. Really big. He leads a 300+ person sales organization inside a Fortune 100 company. It’s not what he talks about most. In fact, he rarely talks about titles, quarters, or wins at all. What he talks about is time — with his kids, with his family, & in life outside the day-to-day grind. It’s not by accident. Dan grew up watching his parents work hard to provide, doing everything right but often letting work take over the life they were trying to build. What he learned wasn’t to chase more. It was to guard the moments work can quietly steal. So he’s intentional about where his energy goes, who gets it, & how not to let “success” quietly replace presence. Because in the end, there are only a few relationships that truly shape a life. And you don’t protect those casually. You give them everything you’ve got. To learn more, connect with him on LinkedIn. Not all legacies are loud. Some are built quietly — right where you are. As Audrey Hepburn once said, “The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.”

“Belief isn’t a feeling — it’s a decision.” – Dean Otto One moment, Dean Otto was living life on his terms — an avid cyclist, athlete, & high-achieving leader. And then, everything changed. On what should have been a routine morning bike ride, an F-150 — a truck weighing more than two tons — struck him from behind. The impact shattered his spine. Doctors gave him a 1–2% chance of ever walking again. In that instant, his future was rewritten. Not by the accident — but by the decision he made next. Dean didn’t put his faith in percentages. He put it in belief — in himself & what persistence could unlock. Months of grueling rehab followed. Pain. Setbacks. Uncertainty. And then, miraculously, steps. One year later, Dean crossed a half-marathon finish line. Not alone, but alongside two unlikely partners: the surgeon who helped him walk again & the driver who hit him. Together, they raised nearly $100,000 for spinal cord injury patients — turning trauma into hope & recovery into something bigger than self. Dean could have stopped at survival. Instead, he chose impact. Connect with him at DeanOttoSpeaking.com Strength doesn’t always look like winning. Sometimes, it looks like getting back up — and bringing others with you. As Albert Camus wrote, “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”