Pat Dossett | From Navy SEAL to Self-Improvement Entrepreneur

Natural ability is a useful starting point, but the trait that will push you over the finish line is grit. Navy SEAL veteran and Madefor co-founder Pat Dossett admits that he isn’t the best at anything, but he is extraordinarily resilient.

After studying hard to get into the Naval Academy, Pat earned a highly competitive place in SEAL school. When his military career ended, he embarked on yet another challenging path: entrepreneurship.

The skills and training instilled in him during his time as a SEAL translated well into business. For example, Pat says he learned the value of “having a mission-focused mindset, being able to understand what the big picture is … [and] not allowing a small setback to derail a larger mission at hand.”

Of course, it also helps if that particular mission serves more than your own needs. 

“You can do extraordinary things when you're serving things bigger than yourself,” Pat says. “It can't be about making money or individual accolades.”

The final major SEAL lesson Pat brought to Madefor is the importance of acting as a team. “Team; teammates; self — that is the order in which you serve,” he says.

However, the transition from military service to entrepreneurship wasn’t easy. After deciding that business school was the right next step, Pat admits that he didn’t get in the first year he applied. In fact, he took the GMAT seven times.

After graduating from Wharton’s MBA program, Pat worked with Lindsey Weening and TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie to create Madefor. It’s a 10-month self-improvement program in which participants are given a monthly area of focus and tools and tasks to help get better at it. 

“We focus on foundational habits, so things like hydration, movement and social connection,” Pat explains. He and his team worked with experts in fields like neuroscience and psychiatry to make sure Madefor’s methods are as effective as possible. 

In Pat’s mind, the most important element of Madefor is the emphasis on taking small everyday steps to form habits and lasting change.

“I tell our members at the beginning of every program, ‘We spent a lot of time on the science, but the value of Madefor is not in this cool kit that shows up on your doorstep every month. The value comes from the effort that we compel you to take in a sustained manner over time.’”

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👱‍♂️ Name: Pat Dossett

⚙️ What he does: Pat is a Navy SEAL veteran and co-founder of Madefor, a 10-month self-improvement program designed to transform lives for the better. 

📦 Company: Madefor

💎 Words of wisdom: “It's great to have a bigger intention and to know what you want to work towards — but when you can, focus on the process and let the outcomes take care of themselves.”

🔍 Where to find Pat: Instagram | LinkedIn

🔍 Where to find Madefor: Facebook | Instagram | Website

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💡 Hang tough: Pat wanted to be a Navy SEAL since the seventh grade. He worked hard to improve his academics and get into the Naval Academy before earning a coveted spot in SEAL school.

💡 Think big, start small: During SEAL training’s Hell Week, Pat realized that having a bigger mission and focusing on small tasks to achieve it will help you avoid feeling overwhelmed — and keep going.

💡 There’s no G.I. Joe in ‘team’: Despite what the movies say, for Pat, the best part about being a SEAL was not blowing things up. Instead, it was working with a small, dedicated, loyal team.

💡 Bunker to business: When his military service came to an end, Pat decided that entrepreneurship was a way to continue working with a small team to achieve ambitious goals. 

💡 Testing times: Pat struggled to get into business school, but he never gave up. He was eventually accepted into Wharton School of Business’s MBA program, an experience that exceeded his expectations.

💡 Special delivery: Pat teamed up with TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie and Lindsey Weening to start Madefor, a 10-month self-improvement course in which participants receive monthly toolkits.

💡 Sustainable change: To Pat, the most valuable part of Madefor is teaching people manageable psychological tools and challenging them with small tasks that become long-term sustained change for the better. 

Top quotes from the episode:

Pat Dossett:

“I have never found that my expectations have been perfectly met with anything I've done. We have this idea of what something is going to be and what's going to be amazing about it, and then once you start and you go through the process, you find that the experience of it is much different than the fantasy you created.”

“In the SEALs, when you talk about another SEAL, you don't say, ‘That guy's an amazing shot,’  or ‘That guy's a badass,’ or ‘That guy can do a lot of pull-ups.’ What you say is, ‘He’s a good team guy.’”

“I love shooting. I love diving. I love blowing things up. I love traveling. I love serving with amazing teammates and doing big things. But the thing that mattered most to me in the SEALs wasn't the exciting things that you see in the movies. I'm not an adrenaline junkie. The thing that moved the needle for me was working with a small group of committed professionals towards a bigger goal and creating positive outsized effects with small teams.”

“I've yet to find that thing that comes easy or naturally to me. I think the gift that I've been given is an ability to persevere and to work hard and find a way. But nothing's ever come easy.”

“The goal of Madefor is not that you graduate this program and you have a checklist of 10 things that you have to do every day. Rather, the goal is that when you graduate, your deliberate self or your reflexive self is now your best self. You're not having to expend effort — you're just moving through the world differently, engaging with your environment and the people in your life differently, and in a way that builds you up and builds resilience over time.”