**Summary:** In Episode
#170 Ari chats with [Trevor Shirk](http://www.uncommonhuman.com/), an engineer, Captain in the United States Army and a member of the US Army Rangers. During their conversation, Ari and Trevor talk American Dream University, the US Army’s Ranger School and the key drivers for human excellence.
**Sponsored By:**
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**Special Announcements:**
##Fuel the Fire Come watch Ari light-up the Drake Hotel in Chicago on Wednesday, August 5th as he delivers a rousing keynote speech for IPPA Business Excellence Conference: _Fuel the Fire_. This will be a great opportunity to watch Ari translate the lessons of Less Doing into terms business leaders can take to the bank.
##[Rockefeller Roundtable](http://helmsociety.com/ari-meisel-ceo-roundtable-nc/) Come watch Ari regale a roundtable of avid [Helm Society](http://helmsociety.com/) listeners with the lessons of Less Doing on September 9th from 10AM to 2PM in New York City. .
##[Freeing Finland](http://www.biohackersummit.com) Come watch Ari and a collection of other well-renowned biohackers free the people of Finland from their bodily limitations at the 2015 Biohacker Summit being held in Helsinki, Finland from September 23rd through September 24th. Those interested in attending can [buy tickets here](http://biohackersummit.com/#pl_areauf9k2sm).
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**Time Stamped Show Notes:**
– 11:12 – Introduction of [Trevor Shirk of the US Army](http://www.uncommonhuman.com/)
– 11:39 – Why Trevor joined the military
– 13:00 – Trevor’s focus in Afghanistan was IED clearance
– 14:10 – Trevor is a Ranger-qualified engineering officer
– 14:50 – The experience of Ranger School
– 15:20 – Ranger School teaches men and women how to perform optimally in the worst of circumstances
– 16:23 – The Best Ranger Competition
– 16:55 – Essentially a 60-hour, non-stop event
– 19:00 – Defining what the Rangers are known for
– 20:10 – The Lean Transformation
– 22:05 – Trevor developed a 2-week sprint framework for transforming his life, focused on 6-7 activities
– 23:14 – Focus on positive, residual benefits for the future
– 24:00 – Trevor did a Lean Transformation for his marriage and personal finance as well
– 25:30 – We focus on 30-day, six-month programs…but the timeframes are far too long—two weeks is the sweet spot
– 27:15 – There is no one-size-fits-all solution
– 27:40 – American Dream University
– 31:49 – Speaking to soldiers at Fort Benning was one of the highlights of Ari’s life
– 32:25 – Vets are good at what they do but they don’t know what’s possible with their skills in civilian life
– 32:55 – Trevor’s _Top 3 Tips to be More Effective_:
– 33:05 – Find your true purpose, the thing that makes you tick
– 33:36 – To be effective, you need to be a leader
– 34:36 – You need to grow—practice a growth mindset
**7 Key Points:**
1. When it comes to fitness, we focus too much on strength and weight gain—more often than not this leads us past our optimal performing weight/strength level.
2. Keep your mindset on the positive, residual benefits of whatever activity you’re doing.
3. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to any problem—you need to create your own, custom solution.
4. Addictions – by definition – are bad—there are no good addictions.
5. Ask yourself what you’d do if money was not an object.
6. Don’t waste time doing tasks your attention and time don’t deserve.
7. Find a great life partner and hold on to them.
— Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lessdoing/message
