#17: He was a former drill sergeant and now he’s a motivational speaker. Hear his advice on confidence, leadership, and success.
Join us as we speak with Al Cook—former drill sergeant, business and community leader, and motivational speaker—to unpack how confidence is built under pressure, why leadership is an art, and how attention to detail can shape your life. Al takes us behind the scenes of basic training: the controlled chaos of arrival, the initial shock that flips a mental switch, and the quiet satisfaction of watching a scared 18-year-old become a soldier who trusts themselves when it counts. From there, we chart Al’s path into retail management and entrepreneurship, where he sharpened his philosophy: thoughts drive emotions, emotions drive actions, actions become habits, habits form character, and character sets destiny. He shares practical tools for business owners feeling stuck and we dive into the power of visualization and why most people unintentionally imagine failure more vividly than success. Al discusses how to redirect that imagination toward outcomes you actually want.