Jason Gardner is a father, homesteader, leadership instructor, and regenerative agriculture devotee who lives with his family on a remote property in the mountains of northeastern Washington State. Jason is also a retired Navy SEAL Master Chief who spent nearly thirty years in the SEAL teams and is a recipient of the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, a Purple Heart, and numerous other awards. As you’ll hear in our conversation, Jason applies the lessons learned from his years of service toward building a meaningful life for his family in the wilds of Washington– a life lived with purpose and intention, built on a deep respect for the land.
If Jason sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the husband to Iris Gardner, who was a guest on the podcast just a few weeks ago. Given all of the wisdom that Iris shared regarding parenting and intentional living, and how fondly she spoke of Jason as a father and husband, I thought it would be fun to have Jason join me for a conversation. It was fascinating to hear Jason discuss many of the same topics that Iris and I covered, as he provided a complementary perspective on subjects including parenting, marriage, and thriving as a family in such a remote, wild region of the West.
This was a fantastic conversation, and I can’t thank Jason enough for taking the time to share his wisdom with me. We talked a lot about his military service– from his decision as a high-schooler to join the SEALs to his long and diverse career as a SEAL leader. We also discuss his life-long love of wild, mountainous places, and why he and Iris have chosen to raise their family in northeastern Washington. We talked about how to find purpose in work, no matter what your chosen career. We discuss the idea of having a warrior’s mentality and how he applies that idea to parenting and his current career as a leadership consultant. Jason explains the dichotomy of being an elite special forces operator and gentle father and husband. And we also talk about regenerative agriculture, the many life lessons he’s learned from training horses, influential music, his favorite books, the best advice he’s ever received, and much more.
There are so many insights and resources packed into this episode, so don’t forget to reference the episode notes for a full list of topics and links to everything we discussed. And if you’d like more insights into Jason and Iris’s life in Washington, you can check out their Youtube channel, which I’ve linked to in the notes. Thanks again to Jason, and I hope you enjoy.
Images courtesy of Jason Gardner
Download on Apple Podcasts
—
Download on Spotify
—
Download on Google Podcasts
—
Download on Overcast
—
EPISODE NOTES
Topics Discussed:
- 3:50 – Where Jason grew up
- 5:50 – How Jason developed a love of wild places
- 6:10 – When Jason first started considering military service and the SEALS
- 10:05 – How music helped frame Jason’s mindset
- 12:50 – Jason explores the dichotomy of his military and personal life
- 17:50 – What makes Jason so good at his job
- 19:20 – How Jason knew it was time to retire
- 23:20 – Jason explores the intentionality that enabled he and Iris to live the life they do
- 24:35 – How Jason’s approach to parenting has changed since retiring from the SEALS
- 28:20 – How did Jason come up with the points of To My Daughter
- 32:20 – What being a warrior means to Jason
- 34:35 – Jason explores how marriage works between two strong-willed individuals
- 37:50 – Jason discusses his recent work with horses and its impact on himself
- 43:50 – Jason’s advice on finding purpose, told through the lens of sniper training and “the stalk”
- 52:05 – Jason discusses his current role as a leadership coach
- 56:35 – Jason discusses books that have been important to him
- 58:05 – Jason discusses regenerative agriculture
- 1:01:05 – What Jason does for fun
- 1:02:50 – The best piece of advice Jason ever received
- 1:06:20 – Jason’s parting words of wisdom
Information Referenced:
- Jason Gardner on Instagram
- Jason’s motivational battle speech
- Iris Gardner
- Echelon Front
- Marin Corps Air Station El Toro
- San Clemente
- Camp Pendleton
- Okinawa (Kadena Air Base)
- Navy SEALS
- Marine Corps
- Hardcore (punk)
- Punk Rock
- Metallica
- Dead Kennedys
- Cro-Mags
- Minor Threat
- Uniform Choice
- Ill Repute
- Stalag 13
- Speed Metal
- Danheim
- Faun
- Wardruna
- Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
- Slayer
- Chris LeDoux
- To My Daughter
- Jocko Willink (podcast)
- Jordan Peterson
- Marcus Aurelius
- Larry McMurtry
- Akiva Silver
- Gabe Brown
- Joel Salatin
- The Daily Stoic
- Stoicism
- Jim Howell
- Dungeons and Dragons
- Jocko, “Good”
- Sisyphus
Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these as well:
- Iris Gardner – Living with Intention
- Chris Douglas – An Unexpected Artistic Journey
- Chris Burkard – The Art of Suffering
- George Hodgin – Mission-Driven Entrepreneur
- Daniela Ibarra-Howell – Healing the Land Holistically
- Kate Kavanaugh – Regeneration & Restoration
- Matt Skoglund – Adventures in Bison Ranching
- Hampton Sides – Live at the Aspen Institute
M&P IS POWERED BY:
FEATURED UPCOMING EVENT:
—
