Today, Paula Christine welcomes Mark Booher, a former soldier with a background in intelligence who is now a licensed attorney. Mark's unique journey takes us from his early enlistment in the Army at the age of 19, driven by a passion for the military, to his transition into law school following injuries and disillusionment with the practice of law. Despite his varied roles, Mark's unwavering love for the military remained a constant throughout his career.
The heart of the discussion centers around the concept of a "warrior mindset," a topic that has always fascinated Paula. Mark sheds light on this mindset, emphasizing that it encompasses more than just physical strength. It involves a holistic approach to life, characterized by discipline, courage, and self-mastery, all tied to a higher purpose and sense of duty. Drawing from historical examples, Mark highlights how ancient warriors balanced physical prowess with spiritual growth and self-discovery, resonating with the idea that true warriors conquer their internal struggles before external ones.
Paula raises a pertinent question: How can someone without military experience cultivate a warrior mindset? Mark's response revolves around adopting the right framework, and embracing struggle, sacrifice, and discomfort as essential ingredients for growth. Drawing parallels with the hero's journey, Mark explains how facing challenges, seeking knowledge, and overcoming obstacles are integral to developing this mindset. Both hosts discuss the significance of personal growth in alignment with community betterment, and Mark stresses the importance of striking a balance between individual achievement and communal contribution.
Learn more about Mark by listening to his podcast Pearl Snap Tactical, or visiting his website https://www.barritusdefense.com/
Find Paula Christine at PaulaChristine.com or via email at paula@paulachristine.com.
Paula: Hi, welcome to Beyond The Paycheck. I'm Paula Christine. I believe that the way we think can really make a difference in our lives and can help us move ahead. Today we're going to chat with Mark Bower. He used to be a soldier, worked in intelligence, and now he's a licensed attorney. How'd you go from that to an attorney? Anyway, he's going to speak to us about how to build a strong warrior mindset. I've been really super excited to talk to Mark today because I'm just fascinated about that whole warrior mindset. Welcome, Mark.
Mark: Hey, thanks for having me on, Paula. I'm pretty excited to be here.
Paula: Okay, first question. How do you go from soldier intelligence to an attorney?
Mark: Actually it's even more convoluted than that actually because I still am a soldier.
Paula: Oh.
Mark: Yes. I started in the Army when I was 19 and really didn't know what I was doing. I had been in college a little bit and I was just aimless, didn't really have a lot of direction and I always knew I wanted to be in the military, but I didn't know what I was getting into. I really didn't know anything about it. I just knew I wanted to do it. I just jumped in eyes wide shut, I guess. I loved it. I drank the Kool-Aid immediately, even in basic training. I just absolutely loved every aspect of it. From there I was like, I'm going to make this a career. I want to be an infantry officer and all that kind of stuff.
I did a couple of years or three and a half years, applied to a thing they call Green to Gold where it's a scholarship program where you basically they cut you loose and you go to college and go through this ROTC. Long story short, I ended up getting injured and having to leave and separate out. I really didn't have a plan B, but I was already in college. I was like I guess I'll finish that and make a ton of money with a college degree. I got out of college, I realized that I wasn't making a ton of money with a bachelor's degree. I decided I know what I'll do. I'll go to law school and make a ton of money as a lawyer. Went to law school, graduated and I realized like so many people do on their third year as they want to do anything, but a lawyer, law school has so thoroughly sucked the life out of anything having to do with the practice of law that most people are wanting to leave the practice before they even started, and I wasn't any different.
I did clerk at the district attorney's office in my town where I was going to school and I loved that. That was probably the closest thing to the military that I had experienced in the civilian world in terms of just close-knit group of people to work with, the comradery, you're serving the community, kind of like that. I was like, "Hey, this is definitely what I want to do." I did that for six years, but my first love was always the military. I never got over that. I figured out a way to rehab those injuries, took about 10 years, or actually more than that, and then I finally went back into the military.
By this time I was too old to go back on active duty and you're married to kids, it's different lifestyle, different responsibilities. I wasn't able to go back on active duty, but I did go back onto reserve status. I have two MOSs or jobs, what they call, an infantryman. My current position is I'm a infantry instructor and love that, love that life but I also spent some time in the intelligence field.
Then somewhere all in the middle of all that I also left the practice of law in 2013, and I started a security training and consulting company which marries the military background and my law enforcement background. We train members of the military, we've done subcontracts with the Department of Defense, Department of Justice. I've consulted with some Fortune 500 companies, and I've taught at probably over 60 police departments across the country. Then I've probably trained, I don't know if this number is 100% accurate, if it's not, it's getting really danger close to getting there, but probably at least a thousand civilians in firearms and weapons tactics. I stay busy.
Paula: I guess so!
Mark: Yes.
Paula: I guess so. I feel like I'm under accomplishing over here.
Mark: Oh no, not at all. It's just that's my path. It's funny, it might sound impressive, but there's people I look up to that have done way more than I have. I am in the same boat a lot of times I feel like I haven't done all the things that I wanted to, but I'm fortunate to have done what I have.
Paula: Okay. Let's move on and talk about the warrior mindset. Whenever I get a chance to listen to somebody, I'll speak about that mindset. I'm just fascinated with it. Still haven't been able to develop it enough for myself. Why don't you talk about what that is. Then the second part of that I want you to talk about how someone like me not being with any military experience can develop that mindset.
Mark: Sure. That phrase warrior mindset, if you look it up, if you do a search online or whatever you're going to get the phone book or you're going to get the Webster's dictionary type variety of definitions. It probably means different things to different people. I know it's a very popular, there's a lot of motivational guys out there, some from the military, some from not that are talking about those things in terms of grinding it out and being productive and overcoming adversity. For me, that certainly is part of it, but for me personally, it goes much deeper than that. To me, the way I use it to develop my own self is that it's a holistic approach to life to where you are embracing discipline and courage. Really what it comes down to is just a relentless pursuit of self-mastery which ultimately comes to the ultimate knowing of self, knowing yourself. It's not just about gain for the sake of gain, it's tied to a higher purpose and a sense of duty, a connectedness to a higher purpose.
Paula: The higher purpose being what?
Mark: For me, it is for my community, for my people, I guess my family, my kindred, my friends, my family, the people that I'm connected to, and in a sense, even the community in which I live. They can certainly go higher than that. If I look at this, I find that the template for this really goes back into antiquity. Right now when you hear warrior, people automatically they think of army, marine, they think of Navy SEAL or infantry guy or a commando or whatever. If they don't live in that life, they think, "Oh, well, that's not really for me," because they view it just like a physical thing, like someone who engages in the profession of arms.
In antiquity, yes that's certainly a part of it. I think in the modern era, that's just a soldier that's not necessarily a warrior. You can be a soldier, in my opinion, but not really be a warrior. I think to be a warrior, it engages both developing your physical acumen, but also there's a spiritual component in this. If you look historically, like in antiquity, this was part and parcel of what it meant to be a warrior, is that these guys pondered themselves, contemplated themselves very deeply whether you go into Marcus Aurelius or onto Socrates who a lot of folks don't know that even though he was a philosopher, he was a soldier first before he aged into the wise sage and philosopher that we know him as.
That used to be part and parcel of what it meant to be a citizen in your community is that you developed yourself not only your physical capabilities so that you could defend your community, but part of that, because you're dealing with death, you're dealing with destruction, you're dealing with catastrophic forces that you also developed a spiritual discipline as well. For me, that's very important as well. In fact, I think it becomes more important especially the older that you get.
Paula: Sorry, just a lot going on in my head right now. I'm actually taking notes. I know I'm supposed to be interviewing, but I'm taking notes.
Mark: Oh, that's cool.
Jon: If only we're recording this like it was a podcast or something.
Paula: I know, too bad. I'm sorry. I'm just trying to digest all of this.
Mark: Yes, it's a lot of stuff. You had mentioned, hey I'm not an army gal or a military gal, how do I make this for myself? I think that even if you look at these ancient philosophers who were skilled in the arts of war guys like Heraclitus and people like that, even Plato these people is that you can read their writings and see that they understand or understood that apart from just imposing your will and conquering others that the ultimate enemy lies within. To conquer yourself, to discipline and gain and maintain control of yourself over your own weaknesses, your own fears, and attachments, that really is the greatest enemy.
Paula: How do you do that?
Mark: For me, the physical acumen is one component of it. It can be something as simple as someone who's getting up in the morning and they're going to the gym or what, it doesn't have to be in the morning, but they have a regular practice. I do work out. I do try to take care of myself. The martial skills, not just martial arts, but because of my business, we train with firearms and weapon tactics, that is the physical modality that I use to foster a bond between my mind, body, and spirit. To bring that connection in. That is one aspect of it.
Then there is the software component, right? That would be the hardware component if you will. The software component is really developing of the cardinal virtues that a lot of the ancient writers would talk about like courage, developing inner strength, developing and living life with honor, self-reliance. These are things that were absolute imperatives back in the old days that have fallen out of favor in postmodern society, maybe even mocked really. Just look at where our society is. Without getting political and everything, all you got to do is scroll through your newsfeed and see what state the society is.
Paula: Yes. It has a lot of people are concerned about where the state of our society is going. If I take what you've just said because most people have had their self-confidence is down, most people felt like they've failed in life and so they have these setbacks and to develop courage and honor, when you just can't muster that up on a daily basis, what's the first step you can take to develop that?
Mark: Well, the first thing is you have to adopt the right framework. Framing things. When you're talking about like, there's people who failed, there's people who just feel like their back's against the wall and everything. For a warrior, that is where we are very much at home. [chuckles] Struggle, sacrifice. That is the path. You have to understand, Heraclitus wrote and it's one of my favorite quotes at all time that I try to live by is that war is the father of all things. What he is talking about is there is struggle, there is violence. Anytime you try to create, to produce something, it means that you have to step out of your comfort zone into chaos, into the unknown, and bring order from the chaos. That's going to require out of you a struggle, a willingness to sacrifice.
I don't care if you're writing a book, when you sit down-- I think it was Hemingway that says, writing is easy. You just sit at the typewriter and bleed. I don't read a lot of Hemingway, but I think that's a badass quote. It's someone who understands that the process of creating, whether it's creating a piece of art or creating the life that you want to live entails, that there is going to be struggle, there is going to be sacrifice.
Right now in our society that is so addicted to comfort and safety, those things don't sound appealing to people. What happens is we just waste away in these lives of mediocrity and people don't become half of what they could be because they're not willing to pay the price, which is, you're going to struggle, you're going to experience pain, discomfort. That is absolutely essential. It's part of the beauty of the process.
Paula: Through all that, that's where you get growth.
Mark: Absolutely. Again, I'm not a historian and I don't mean to keep going back to antiquity, but the template certainly is there. It's always the same thing. There's the dragon who's threatening the village. Nobody can go up against him. Here's this one person that raises their hand. They'll say, I'll go, but they're not 100% equipped to do the job, right?
Paula: Right.
Mark: Joseph Campbell wrote about this, about the hero's journey, so they get the call to adventure and they head out on this quest, but they're not 100% ready to take on the quest. They have to, in the process, as they journey, they meet people that help them, that give them knowledge or a talisman or some magical weapon which really in our just is knowledge.
These are metaphors for the mundane things that you don't have knowledge, you get knowledge, you learn things. If you don't know something, you seek out a mentor who coaches you and then gets you ready for the big day where you do meet the dragon. The whole storyline over and over again is that there is this process and oftentimes it's a painful process. It is a separation from the things that are comfortable, safe, and familiar to you so that you can grow and transcend into something bigger. Then when you do face the dragon, you are ready to party. You're ready to get it done.
Paula: Take them out. I love that metaphor. That is a great way to explain that. That I understood.
Mark: Awesome. If I could just riff off of that real quick. I think this is something that is lost in large part in our society, is that the thing that makes the difference between the ancient warrior and just how we perceive today is that the warrior wasn't just doing it for himself. He was willing to undergo that pain and that struggle to become something great to vanquish the foe for the benefit of his community. I think in a lot of ways we have that opposite. We forgot about that. It's like everybody wants to grow and expand. They want to climb the corporate ladder, they want to make more money, they want to have all these things, but it's not really for a higher goal or purpose other than really themselves.
Paula: For themselves. Yes.
Mark: What happens is, and I see this all the time. You've got the guy that's become the CEO or the gal that's become the CEO and they've spent years and they've invested all this time and sacrificed their family, their relationships to get what they think is the holy grail that, Oh, if I can just get this, then I'll be happy. Then they accomplish it, and then they're left with an ashes, just like, now what do I do?
Paula: Yes. They've lost all the important people in their lives.
Mark: Exactly.
Paula: They end up really with nothing.
Mark: Right. Or they become these vain conceited things, They become the dragon themselves. They become the thing that the hero goes out to vanquish and part of the journey, they become corrupted and they become that person nobody wants to work for, nobody likes, nobody wants to be around. They have the accolades and the certificates and the trophies on the wall, and no one to share it with.
Paula: It's sad.
Mark: Well, It is. I think that's sums up quite a bit of what our society is about but not for everyone. Not for me, not for other people that are on this journey. That's what it comes down to. That's what I get so excited about it because it will create a beautiful life for yourself or the results are beautiful. I guess in some sense, even the struggle can be beautiful. Even though it doesn't feel like that at the time but there's a beauty in it.
Paula: Yes. Struggling. Then when you can sit back and look and figure out what you've learned from that struggle. There's beauty in everything if you choose to find it.
Mark: Absolutely.
Paula: I really enjoyed talking with you. I love that. It reminded me you were talking about the Game of Thrones. That's what I was picturing as you were explaining using that metaphor. I actually could take that metaphor and explain it now to somebody else about what that means to be the warrior mindset.
Mark: Oh, cool.
Paula: It's not just about you, it's also about your community. I really like that.
Mark: Awesome.
Paula: I like that. I really appreciate you being on with us. If anybody wants to talk with you, how can they get ahold of you?
Mark: I guess the best way to find me would be at the website. Our website is www.barritusdefense.com. It's B-A-R-R-I-T-U-S. They can email me it's info@barritusdefense.com. Real creative there. I'm on Facebook and Instagram @thebarritus. There's a number of ways, and you can direct message me, you can email, whatever. Then I also run a podcast called Pearl Snap Tactical podcast. It always comes up.
People are like, "Why do you call it Pearl Snap Tactical?" It's me and my business partner who was in special operations veteran, super awesome dude, one of my best friends in the world. He does a lot of the training with me. We're both from the south. We both talk funny and everybody in the South wears-- well not everybody, but a lot of people wear Pearl Snap shirts if you know what those are. We just named it that.
Paula: I'm going to have to google what a pearl snap shirt is.
Mark: Oh my gosh. Yes, you do.
Paula: Is it just as no buttons? It's just a snap with the pearl on it.
Mark: Yes. If I can't say there's a country western artist called Jason Boland & The Straggler that wrote an awesome song called Pearl Snap Shirts. There's a line that says cheap bourbon whiskey and pearl snap shirts are two things that stay the same. In this world of change where everything's going crazy and up is down and right is left or whatever, there's two things that will always be there for you. That's cheap bourbon whiskey and pearl snap shirts, because I've been wearing them since I was a kid and they've never changed. They are exactly the same as when I was wearing them in kindergarten.
Paula: Thank you so much for being with us today. If anybody would like to get ahold of me, they can reach me at @paulachristine.com, or you can check out my website at paulachristine.com. Thanks again, Mark.
Mark: Awesome. Thank you.