Conversations with Sean Patton

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Patton.

Hi Sean, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2005. I served 10 years as an active US Army Infantry and Special Forces Officer. I commanded frontline troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan and served as an Infantry Rifle Platoon Leader & Scout/Sniper Platoon Leader in the 101st Airborne Division. After being selected for Special Forces training, I earned my Green Beret and was assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group.

There I took command of my first detachment and several weeks later we were sent to conduct irregular warfare operations along the Afghan and Pakistani border. Upon return, and after passing the rigorous Special Forces Combat Diver Qualification Course, I was selected for a 2nd command and assigned to an Underwater Infiltration team. My team was assigned to partner with a strategic Middle Eastern ally and created a new strategic training protocol that was approved by the US Embassy for permanent implementation.

After leaving the military in 2015, I earned my MBA from UNC Chapel Hill and began my entrepreneurial journey. I worked with several start-ups in the role of COO, owner, and Director of Operations before I founded Legion Jiu Jitsu, which has grown to four locations around the Nashville Metro Area and quickly became one of the largest martial arts companies in the Southeast United States. I received my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt on the podium after winning the Master’s Brown Belt World Championship in 2019.

My passions have always been leadership and problem-solving. I knew that coaching and creating quality leaders was my calling, but I didn’t want to be the military officer who gets out of service and thinks they are qualified to teach business leadership with no business experience. So after I got my MBA, learned tough lessons in the real world, and got a company from ideation to self-sustaining profitability, I felt I was ready to create a leadership coaching and consulting company.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have been a ton. My first business was a gym/martial arts hybrid concept. It was a franchise. I raised capital based on a 3,000-5,000 sq/ft model, but I struggled to find real estate. At that time the franchisor changed to an 8,000-12,000 sq/ft model. So I was locked into this new size. I was overconfident and got a $500,000 loan to help cover the extra costs, then got a lease that was too expensive, and all the forecasts they provided proved to be off.

So I was stuck with a lease that was too expensive, massive debt, and a brand that didn’t play well in the market that I couldn’t change. So a lot of lessons were learned. I learned so much about employee incentives, marketing, and operations during this struggle.

I eventually had to close the business and declare bankruptcy. This was devastating, going from a successful overachieving Special Forces Commander to a broke failed business owner. I suffered physical ailments and panic attacks through this period. But I found new partners and started working my way back up with Legion Jiu Jitsu.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My passions have always been leadership and problem-solving. I knew that coaching and creating quality leaders was my calling, but I didn’t want to be the military officer who gets out of service and thinks they are qualified to teach business leadership with no business experience. So after I got my MBA, learned tough lessons in the real world, and got a company from ideation to self-sustaining profitability, I felt I was ready to create a leadership coaching and consulting company.

So I now help individuals and businesses build more fulfilling and profitable futures through Stronger Leaders Stronger Profits by shifting from management to whole-person leadership culture. I published my book, A Warrior’s Mindset: The 6 Keys to Greatness at the end of 2021. This framework provides a roadmap to achieving fulfillment, living with purpose, and maximizing one’s positive impact on the world.

In addition to Executive Coaching and Leadership Workshops/Consulting for a variety of companies, I do public speaking on Mindset Mastery and Whole-Person Leadership.

What matters most to you? Why?
Living a life of purpose. To me, this means impacting others and striving to achieve my full potential, I believe It’s ingrained in every human, down to the genetic and cellular level, that we require the guiding light of a North Star, a higher purpose, to experience fulfillment.

As social creatures, we must root our fulfilling purpose in something grander than our own self-gratification which is always short-lived. We can only achieve a permanent state of transcendence by walking the path toward a defined higher purpose. When correctly identified, defined, and driven toward it, purpose illuminates and guides our journey to greatness.

I am so grateful for every moment, that I am passionate about maximizing the experience of life and doing what I can to positively impact those around me. I believe you can measure the potential of our world and our current reality by those who settled for good when they could have been great. Apathy and self-centered existence are the blame for nearly all unnecessary human suffering.

Leadership is the most powerful force on the planet. Helping companies and organizations create cultures of whole-person leadership, not only improves their bottom line and longevity but improves the lives of their team members and empowers them to positively impact their communities. Selfless, values-driven, and loving leaders can change the world.

Pricing:

• Executive Coaching. Leadership Workshops. Public Speaking. A Warrior’s Mindset $24 on Amazon.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.strongerleadersstrongerprofits.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanpattonpresents/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seanpattonpresents
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2WL_xSBB6slNUVedCmADsA
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/Warriors-Mindset-Keys-Greatness/dp/B09HG54YS4