Elias Kfoury was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and immigrated to the United States at an early age in search of a brighter, safer future. After college, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving 21½ years before his medical retirement. Beginning as a Hospital Corpsman supporting the U.S. Marine Corps, he soon entered the Special Operations community as a Deep Sea Diving Medical Technician and completed advanced medical training to support Naval Special Warfare units. Following his service in Little Creek, Virginia, he successfully screened for Naval Special Warfare Development Group, where he spent the majority of his career as a Squadron Medic in multiple roles. After retiring, Elias transitioned into the business world, but soon recognized the deeper need to heal himself and his family. Today, he dedicates his life to supporting others on their own journeys while cherishing time with his family.

Eli's Book Recommendations for special operations candidates (aside from Building the Elite):

Breath – James Nestor

The Way of the SEAL – Mark Divine

Peak Performance – Brad Stulberg & Steve Magness

The Talent Code – Daniel Coyle

The Obstacle Is the Way – Ryan Holiday

With Winning in Mind – Lanny Bassham

Deep Survival – Laurence Gonzales

Call Sign Chaos – Jim Mattis & Bing West

Legacy – James Kerr

Timestamps:

00:00:21 Introduction to Eli Khoury

00:00:52 Where Did Eli Khoury Grow Up?

00:01:36 Experience of Growing Up in a War Zone

00:05:54 How "Real Mortal Danger" Shapes Your Mental Health

00:08:59 How Many Children Currently Don't Have Physical "Third Spaces"

00:12:05 Formative Moments That Clarified "Who Eli Is"

00:18:20 Eli's Educational Background

00:24:43 The Goal of Coaching

00:27:48 Common Things People Struggle to Let Go of

00:29:43 Improving the Coaching Process for the Future

00:32:04 Coaching Families

00:34:04 Utilizing Tools like Psychedelics

00:36:18 Teaching How to Give Up Control While Using Psychedelics

00:40:40 Teaching How to Let Go Without Psychedelics

00:48:20 The Skill of "Sitting With Stillness"

00:52:48 What Military Skills Transfer to the Rest of the World?

00:58:04 Teaching Resilience to People Early in Their Career

01:13:45 Advice for Someone Trying to Enter BUDS

01:14:49 Advice for Someone in a Special Operations Medical Path

01:16:33 Advice for Someone Who Wants to Screen for a Tier 1 Unit

01:18:20 One Book that Everyone Should Read

01:18:37 Sponsor Note - Our Book, "Building the Elite"

01:19:05 Best and Worst Advice Ever Received

01:21:48 Outro

If your selection will be held in a hot environment, it’s important to acclimate to the heat before heading out. Any SOF selection will push you to your physical limits, and not being acclimated to the heat can significantly increase your risk of failure.

Heat injuries in SOF selection are fairly common, and they can be sneaky. The workload is so intense that even moderately warm, humid days can produce conditions that encourage heat injuries, particularly for people who are coming from cooler, drier climates who aren’t habituated to the weather.

Like any adaptation, how you stress your body changes your rate and degree of adaptation. Randomly doing hard things in hot conditions isn’t the best strategy. In this episode, we’ll outline our recommendations based on practical experience and the most current research.

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Timestamps:

Matt Stevens transitioned from the U.S. Navy in 2017 after serving for 26 years as a SEAL.

Transitioning from the SEAL teams to civilian life brought him to The Honor Foundation, a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting U.S. Special Operations Forces as they transition from elite military careers into impactful civilian roles.

Matt attended The Honor Foundation’s (THF) inaugural East Coast class in the spring of 2016, joined their SOF Advisory Board in the spring of 2017, and then joined their Board of Directors in February 2018.

A native of Charlotte, NC, Matt graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1991 with a B.S. in Ocean Engineering. He graduated BUD/S in 1992 with class 179 and was assigned to the East Coast, where he served in various SEAL Teams, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Teams, and Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG).

Matt commanded at every level in the Naval Special Warfare Community, including a Squadron at DEVGRU, SEAL Team Two, Naval Special Warfare Unit Three, and Naval Special Warfare Group Four.

He served on staff tours at the Joint Special Operations Command in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as the Operations Officer at Naval Special Warfare Group TWO in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (ASD SO/LIC) in the Pentagon.

Matt served on the leadership team of an emerging technology company from 2017 to 2019, before assuming the role of CEO of The Honor Foundation.

Learn more about The Honor Foundation at www.Honor.org

Timestamps:

00:00:22 Introduction to Matt Stevens

00:02:00 26 Years in the Teams

00:03:25 DEVGRU and Seal Teams

00:04:36 The Hardest Part of BUD/S

00:06:16 Sponsor Note: Our Book Building The Elite

00:07:03 Toughest Moments of Matt Stevens' Career

00:09:32 Giving Bad News About Performance

00:11:12 Becoming a Good Leader

00:15:08 Becoming Better at Public Speaking

00:17:04 Transitioning Out of the Military

00:20:21 How Did Mentorship Affect Matt Stevens’ Career?

00:23:20 How Did the Honor Foundation Come About?

00:26:28 The Honor Foundation's Three-Phase Program

00:31:09 Impacting Veterans Lives

00:34:31 What a Special Operations Background Brings to the Table

00:37:23 Surviving in the Civilian World

00:40:31 Who is the Honor Foundation For?

00:41:45 Honor Foundation's Goals

00:45:19 Supporting the Honor Foundation

00:46:09 Advice for Special Operators Transitioning Out

00:49:00 One Book Everyone Should Read

00:49:43 Best and Worst Advice Ever Received

00:50:25 Outro