All Episodes

September 14, 2025 73 mins

In this episode of Burning the Ships, I sit down with Brad Ritter, author of School of Grit and one of the few civilians to complete SEALFIT’s Kokoro Camp—a 50-hour crucible designed by Navy SEALs to break down and rebuild your mind, body, and spirit.

Brad and I dive into his journey from humble beginnings in sales to pushing himself through one of the toughest training experiences on the planet. We talk about how purposeful adversity forged his character, why service to others became his biggest lesson, and how his book and coaching help people cultivate grit in everyday life.

This episode is packed with lessons on resilience, faith, fitness, and how to raise kids with grit in a world where comfort is the norm.

If you’ve ever wondered how to train your mind and body to thrive under pressure or how to instill grit in the next generation, you won’t want to miss this one.

Key Talking Points of the Episode

00:00 Introduction

00:58 JJ’s Joke of the Week

01:11 Who is Brad Ritter?

04:06 Brad’s background: family, 20-year marriage, and being intentional with fatherhood

05:31 Meeting his wife at Menards, building their first home, and early careers

11:11 Struggles after college: FedEx graveyard shift, inside sales, and humble beginnings

13:15 Lessons from failure, sleep deprivation, and owning responsibility

17:42 Transitioning into sales: liquor industry, Xerox training, and building resilience

22:05 Medical sales, confidence-building, and learning by pushing past limits

25:09 Getting fired before Christmas, leaning on his network, and authenticity

30:13 Influence of Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins and the accountability mirror

33:00 Discovering SEALFIT’s Kokoro Camp and choosing adversity at age 35

37:30 The Kokoro experience: 50 hours, no sleep, minimal food, and team-first mindset

43:43 Lessons learned: selfishness vs. service to others

46:07 From Kokoro to School of Grit: arrival fallacy, coaching, and legacy

51:26 Parenting, adversity, and how to raise kids with grit in a comfortable world

58:57 Modeling grit for kids: workouts, prayer, and setting the example

01:05:52 What’s next for Brad: kids coaching, retreats, and online courses

01:10:17 Building grit, starting small, and doing the hard things

Quotables

“Rejoice in adversity. How do we become warriors? It’s through adversity.”

“Blame is the enemy of progress. Ownership is the fuel for momentum.”

“Maybe what’s been holding you back is that your life has been too comfortable.”

Links

School of Grit

https://schoolofgrit.org/

608B Capital

https://608bcapital.com

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist

CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist

It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.