The Navy SEAL's guide to success

What ahighly decorated, financially successful, wildly knowledgeable former elite soldier can teach you about howto get ahead.

- Jack Otter

IF ERIC GREITENS WERE your commanding officer, you'd have to listen to him-the military is tough like that. Of course, he's not your CO, but you should listen to him anyhow because he's a worthy superior in every way. A former Navy SEAL and commander of an al Qaeda-targeting cell, he's a also a boxing champion,a taekwondo second dan, and a sub-3-hour marathoner who benchpresses 130 kilogrammes. That's not all. Greitens is also a Rhodes scholar who got a full academic scholarship to Duke. And, most obnoxiously, he's not obnoxious, either. In fact, when he returned from Iraq with a Purple Heart, he used his combat pay to found a charity, The Mission Continues, which helps veterans find meaning and thrive in their post-service lives. So it's no surprise that a guy who knows his bench max down to the half pound doesn't get through life just by winging it. Greitens has developed systems and techniques to help him achieve his goals, many of which he outlines in his new book, Resilience: HardWon Wisdom for Living a Better Life. Here are his essential lessons for achieving financial freedom and professional success.

Greitens says, you need more precision.

First, put your goals on paper.

Yes, it sounds dorky. But experts have found that the mere act of writing down goals increases your chances of achieving them.

Then Greitens takes it a step further. "Visualize the moment of achievement," he says. "Show me what the movie poster looks like." Once, when a veteran was struggling to transition to the civilian world, Greitens helped him create this mental snapshot: "He said, 'I've just walked across the stage, I've just gotten my degree, I turn and see my family smiling at me, and I've got a job lined up," " he recalls. You can guess what that soldier did after that.