Living A Life With No Limits - with Mark Ormrod MBE

00:00 In this episode of the Team Superdad podcast, I talk to former commando triple amputee in Victor Games medalist entrepreneur author husband and dad. Yes he really is all those things! The man that is Mr Mark Ormrod. Roll Th- Welcome to Team Superdad Real dads creating their best lives ever more time more money more fun you are not alone You're on team superdad Hey, welcome to the Team Superdad podcast. It is great to have you here! My name's Jonnie Jensen and I am the founder of The Team Superdad community and the creator of the Hero Academy program – the program for dads who want to create their best lives ever and accelerate it if you like on all things important. You know, dads we get very worn out

00:57 And And of course, there's a lot more to it than that. Guests like we have today. Mr Mark Ormrod, you may well have seen him particularly if you're in the UK although saying that his recent He tells me in our conversation that he's video the one where he falls over and he's blades Has now reached 7 million views on YouTube So the likelihood is that there are definitely a lot of people around the world who are now familiar with mark so why is he

02:02 So well known, why is he so popular? Why is he's so out there. I think it's just because he's so real you know like I said in the intro He's a dad, he's a husband, he's a bloke You know he talks about his mates and as a former soldier Former commando in the US sorry in the UK Army There's obviously a lot of squaddy bloke banter that goes on there as well And that's part being real And

02:51 And I'm going to start with a question that's been asked quite often by people who have I'm so grateful for him to come on the podcast and share that story with us all because we have life-changing decisions to make most days, most weeks. You know whether it's to move out whether it is to take a job or change your job start a business ask someone to marry you decide that its not working out and your going leave them have a kid not have a kid

03:39 Life-changing decisions are all around us. But what happens when that choice, when that decision is actually made for you such as it was for Mark? We... we what?! We still have two choices sink or swim and Mark has chosen to get up off of that hospital bed when he was told he would never walk again without the aid of a wheelchair You know, he'd never walk again He would never move without the aid of a wheelchair. He was having none of it and There are some documentaries out there of his rehabilitation and he talks about that a little bit.

04:18 In particular about when he was in America and they were not quite as generous as the UK medical teams, in making him basically get off his ass and learn how to use his prosthetics. So that so that the metaphor there for us all in our own life is what what life-changing moment are we gonna face where we're going to get up off our arse and say I'm not gonna let this define me! I'm gonna go out there and create And as you'll hear, Mark shares about how the more he pushes on the more he leans into this and I don't mean Gary V kind of hustle hustle hustle. Just... He's up to stuff! He's like what do you mean we're gonna run 5k? Okay yeah go for it What do you mean we're gonna swim a kilometer? I've only got one arm okay go for it

05:10 You know, he just raised over £400,000 in that one kilometre open sea swim. And as he pushes into this, he goes on these adventures more opportunity comes back his way. He touches the lives of more people. He meets new people. We learned new things and I just... That message if you've listened to the Team Superdad podcast before you'll know that message is something we talk about all the time. What's it going to take? What is it you want? How are you going to make it happen. It doesn't have to be hard work, You just got to enjoy the journey and Mark's story, it just exudes all of that and uh... And he's a good bloke really top bloke Just a bloke at the end of day! Just a bloke like you like me and we can all make this happen

06:02 So wherever you're at, whatever it is that you want to create more fun with your kids a better relationship with your partner the strength to start business the strengths to break up positively. You know we have to face these crossroads with strength and conviction and with a smile on our face more than anything with a smile on our face I know you're going to love this. If you're interested in all the work we do at Team Superdad, come on over to teamsuperdad.com forward slash group that will let you into our community and you really can start to create the life you desire and get out of the life you feel stuck in. I'll see on the other side! Hello Mr Ormrod Mark great to have you here with us thanks for joining us today on Team Superdad Joe

06:50 Mate, what an epic intro. That was pretty cool! I enjoyed that. Thanks very much. Do you know the people do say that and uh i put it together quite quick and found the music and got a guy to help make it and i keep thinking i need to change it because it's a bit cheesy and then everyone keeps saying oh i love it i love it so like okay let's keep going... It reminded me of uh like Shaft you know back in the day? Exactly is definitely some of that some inspiration from my funk and soul Musical interests. So yeah, Mark you're so many things but people might have seen you recently for your Reorg charity challenges the 1km Open Sea Swim 5k Run Okay, quite impressive maybe But it's when they find out that you are a triple amputee There it is! As one of them The other two under the desk

07:48 Not much of an arm there. Could be useful when you do a swim in the sea! But yeah, also Invictus Games medalist... A dad most important part of your career. Your dad and the husband but I'm also just finding out about some of your entrepreneur work and how you've built up your finances now your future is being put together based on so much of your drive And so that's what part of this show today is all about. You know, there's so much content online lots of interviews and yeah well for the people who don't know you we'll touch on some of that but We're also really interested for the Team Superdad community to talk about the dad stuff because I share this at the beginning for people are just tuning in like why should you listen? Team Superdad is all about

08:44 The Jonnie Jensen Show, Jonnie Jensen, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan The struggle of that seriously, that it can all go wrong. And people are welcome to come and be part of the Team Superdome community and hear more about what actually involves but today on this podcast we're going to dig into some of those subjects so that people can feel inspired by how you have had to reinvent yourself and overcome things that other people might have crumbled in the face off. So

09:31 What do people say when they introduce you? People say loads of things about you, don't they? Soldier, ex-commando, triple amputee. What are you like when people introduce you? I've never really thought about it if i'm honest! It generally is former Royal Marines commando, triple amputee... Things that you just said, Invictus Games athlete. It's funny you say it because a lot of the time prior to podcasts, interviews shows that kind of stuff people say look what do you do? How would you introduce yourself and we talked off air just now and I was telling you about like the 50,000 different things they've got going on. And I was like well what do i do because I sit in this camp and this camp and this camp and this camp how do

10:23 The Jonnie Jensen Show, Jonnie Jensen, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan Maybe that's a decent way to intro me. It is! That's what I'll go with from now on. I'm going to answer that and this is why it's an interesting question, right? Dad, husband, son... Right Are you a brother? Have you got siblings? I've got twin sister, I'm an author...it's just mental When you put those everyday bits in someone else can say oh yeah I'm a dad, I'm a brother

11:06 I'm a son. And you can look at Harry Kane or you can look at like someone, actor or dancer anything we might aspire to like oh i could never do that but at the end of the day when they go home and shut the front door they're back to daddy husband right yeah And that's the leveler for us all because it is easy to put people up on a pedestal and fail to realize what's actually going on. Social media, people must make judgments or expectations of you do they? Based on what they see on social media? Yeah I think they do! I've been very lucky in the social media realm in that

11:52 The Jonnie Jensen Show, Jonnie Jensen, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan The Jonnie Jensen Show, Jonnie Jensen, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan Well, certainly don't understand me but didn't really understand my job either. So I just let it go you know? It's no big deal but 99.99999% of it is all good!

12:40 Well that's how I, to be honest. That's how i first came across you was it was a few months back when you were training for your 5k run and the video where you slipped over and on the wrap-up we do a podcast on Friday evenings which is the wrap up of the week Glenn and I and occasionally some other dads and it's just a piss take It's just chatting about what's been happening in that week How was work? How was life? Did we have any fun? Are we fit? Taking the piss. We do a hot in the night, trying to remember who we... back in the days of lads mags who were yoggled over and stuff And then your video came up and you've got your blades on and you went arse-over tit on the concrete I just like it was funny The funniest part of it was when your coach or mate tried to help you up

13:38 You know, F off. Pushed him back and I just saw your drive and you're like... Just the blokeness of it there. What's that? Obviously the response to that video was pretty huge in terms of this last wave of stuff you've been doing it seemed to kind of ignite around that video Was at the case yeah, literally checked it this morning It's up like 7 million views I can't keep up with the comments that are on it and thousands and thousands of shares. What did you say? We do have swearing on here but it's still a day type, what did you say because he did come to help you or were just like get off? Yeah no I didn't lose my temper with him No no I know You got a bit...I was super tired because I'd just ran about 2.2k yeah I was embarrassed cause I hit the deck yep But for me

14:38 In many different situations as a triple amputee, if I end up on my ass or if I'm getting in and out of the car or got to go upstairs. I have certain techniques and routines that I go through so when I fall especially on running blades I have a set way to get up for me it requires space basically going onto my knees do this splits far as I can The Jonnie Jensen Show, Jonnie Jensen, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan But people, even Ben I've known for years he's trained me for years but we never ran together before so even people that know me don't necessarily know that and all they want to do is help right which you understand but sometimes that help can be a hindrance. So and i'm always very aware that I... You know stay polite Mark! Don't say F off I'm good and get angry just like

15:36 I don't exactly remember what i said but it would have been along the lines of, I'm good mate. Just give me some space and then we got up and we cracked on! But there's a lesson there for all of us whether that speaks to me quite a lot about over helping our kids as a dad in like always when my wife ex-wife now was sick I now realize in hindsight I tried too much to help her get better She probably needed space and she needed me to just get on with my own stuff, not try epically to fix her. And there's a lot to be said for that and I'll put this into context with regards to like more recovery... Yeah So in the beginning that was exactly what it was like even though i was always in a military environment you got wrapped in cotton wool

16:34 It was very rare that you'd even, when you got to the stage where you could walk around semi-confidently. it was very rare that you go outside because it might be windy or it might be slippy Or the gradients and terrain might be too tricky And very early in my recovery I posted about this so it's a 10th of June now yesterday 9th of June 2009 I flew out into America So its my 12 year anniversary yesterday of not using a wheelchair and they The Jonnie Jensen Show, Jonnie Jensen, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan

17:24 You know, you come across a set of stairs out in the mall or something for example. And before it would be like oh yeah well you know we'll take the lift or can you help carry my bag? They're like just get up the stairs mate what are you doing hurry up I'll meet at the top and these able-bodied people right and it was very much that let's not mollycoddle him this is life and I always remember they said to me The world will not adapt to you, you have to adapt to the world You know, and it's true. If I travel to a country where the terrain is very hilly for example or somewhere like Italy where it's all cobbled you know cobblestones are not tarmac For me It's a lot more difficult to walk on They're not gonna tarmac Italy for me if I go out there on holiday I've got to deal with the cobbles And they taught me that early on So yeah absolutely There's that line as well with your kids Where you help them to a degree

18:21 The Jonnie Jensen Show, Jonnie Jensen, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan Just get on with it. All you got to do is make a phone call, send an email follow up Do you know what I mean? You're gonna get knocked down That's part of the process suck it up move on to the next one But now don't say that to her but I'm very much like I'll give her a clear Well what I think is a clear direction and then I'll wait One day two days whatever it is for it to hear back I won't be constantly emailing and messaging in calling every hour So how'd it go? What are you doing now? You gotta do yourself even at 16

19:08 I was pretty much on the cusp of starting Royal Marine Recruit Training at our age. So you just gotta dive in there early, you're not in school anymore! You know? You're in the real world now. And do... as a dad did you do that when they were younger as well? Do you feel like that's been a style of your parenting their whole life? I think so. So my eldest daughter is from a previous relationship, so you know it's been a rollercoaster over the years You know sometimes we've had real good contact early on not-so-good and all that kind of stuff But i'm very much This is what I like to think my parenting style is right? All three of them They'll always know I'm there when they need me but I'll always sit in the background And let them figure stuff out for themselves Yeah Do you know what I mean like

20:05 I can't think of a good example right now, but and i'm not judging but you see some parents that are constantly oh i'll do this for you. I'll do that for you let me do this and trying to over guide their kids and you know what i mean they're like there for everything every second of the day One, I don't think that's unhealthy. Uh...I think that's unhealthy and two it's not really helpful because there'll come a point when they're 25 years old and they're looking for you and you like you're 25 so get out yourself but they've never had to build up resilience in their self-reliance even the little things you know my mother too. So Casey is 16 Mason is 9 Evelyn is 7 even now I'm kind of like

20:49 Figure it out. I'll be here if you really, really need me but figure it out type thing you know? And is there a part of that which then flips into role model where you're leading by example as much as anything? This is what I like to think that I do so like I just said I haven't used the wheelchair for 12 years they won't get this right now because they're too young right I get up every day I have past five. My son, I have to tell him to go back to bed because he'll get up and into the bedroom at 5-6 in the morning every day when he hears me get up! I work harder than i ever had when i had all my limbs. I'm always traveling working on a computer or laptop doing what i need to do to build build build build build and although they don't always know what im doing they always see

21:43 I don't use a wheelchair. I work, I use prosthetics every day. I still go to the gym and train. I don't make excuses. I'm still hustling working building You know, I could just sit back and go you know, I'm retired. I'm retired...I could have technically retire at 24 years old but um, I didn't want to yeah, you know and so you can tell them a lot of stuff and You know give him inspirational quotes or whatever it is But if they see doing the opposite Later on when they grow up, they'll see that conflict in what you say and what you do. And I guess the congruency is gone but if they see you getting out every day doing things and saying things then They know that you mean it You know, I mean, you're not just talking because they see you doing everyday So, you know, I just hope that through the things That I do do...they see that

22:46 Later on when they maybe do face some challenges that'll, it will start to click. You know? Yeah I think that's definitely the case especially moving from toddlers into kids and then you're moving from kids into tweenies like both mine are hardcore practicing their teenage skills right now at nine boy 11 girl 9 Puberty at the same time, lovely. But and then into teenage years I got mates who are kids of teenagers and just thinking right well there's no point saying to your teenager why don't you talk to me

23:27 If you've never really spoken to them when they were kids, and I like that because we spend so much time chatting and how's it going? How was your day? And what's any good bits any bad bits. What are you creating at the moment? They're trying to be leaders when they can at school they're putting their hand up for To being in a play or to volunteer for things. Yes When I see them doing that, i'm thinking yes they've picked up on my words and my actions. And when they become a teenager... There's even silly little things right like with my two youngest now if they want something like if we go into a toy shop for example and they want a packet of pokemon cards right? They got the money and that's what we've gone there for but they can't find it

24:20 I'm like, well go and ask somebody. Oh i don't want to daddy! I mean...I'm a bit embarrassed. I'm shy What's the worst that can happen? Just go and ask them. So you're almost, you know trying to get that confidence instilled in them from an early age... And I certainly at seven or nine would not have gone up to a shopkeeper and said can you help me with this! I would have sent my parents do you know what i mean yeah um so i'm trying to those things are really important those life skills people skills that confidence being able to go and do that do you know what i mean because i know it seems small but Effectively teach them to overcome their fears at an early age. You know, it's uncomfortable they don't want to do it you've made them do it whether they realize that or not They'll get that little dopamine hit here because they've done it and achieved their objective And hopefully they learn a lesson from it Yeah! That is mega what you just said there The science behind some of these things The reaction, the habitual ways

25:20 The reward rather than the fear mechanism. So did you get that at home when you were a kid or where did you pick this up for yourself? I just think it's things that i've learned in life through experience, through self-education, self development whatever I've done in my life places The Jonnie Jensen Show, Jonnie Jensen, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan

26:17 It's got to be, that skill in itself has got to be one of the most impactful powerful skills in the world. Because when you grow up if you're in a job If you're that guy You know there are five people in a room right and as a promotion coming up They've all got the exact same skill set they work at the exact same hours They've got the exact same job title but one of them is able to get up and present or isn't afraid to go and ask The hierarchy this question that question They're gonna stand out in front of the others, right? And I think they teach it a lot in America because American kids seem to be very confident and able to stand up in front of a room and present and do show-and-tell. But over here they don't! You ask them to do a 30 second presentation everyone clams up you know we don't really teach those kind of things in school so as a parent

27:11 You kind of, to whatever degree you want to I guess. You need to pick up the ball and teach him that and be like... Just develop your confidence at an early age And more than that The whole failure is feedback thing Do you know what i mean? Failing something doesn't mean That you're a failure It just means you've not figured out how to do it yet and you need to be resilient and keep pushing forward and figure out another way You know, this is why I don't want to go down this road because it's my opinion. But the whole thing that...I don't know if they do it here or not but like this whole participation trophy thing everyone's a winner you're just teaching kids that you're taking away that gift of teaching them to bounce back from failure and push a little bit harder. Well Sports Day is a classic one for me. They've been at a running race

28:05 Have a come last, come first come last but be in the race. You know every race you lost you were... you finished ahead of anyone who didn't enter that race. I felt a little bit silly actually a couple years ago four or five years ago at the youngest kids sports day i didn't know that you're not allowed to cheer anymore I I don't know, you know as well as the confidence and everything else resilience is a big thing that we need to teach. As parents... You know that the ability to bounce back from failure teaching that failure is okay in fact it's better than okay It's good because you've learned something from it and be resilient enough too and flexible enough to keep moving forward try something new yeah you know what mean? These are really important things that we don't really teach

29:21 They start off as values for an individual, but then they're core attributes to what it is to survive and thrive in life. That's the perfect segue into a different subject but before we get into that let's just mention a couple of other places where people can I know you've got the Facebook supporters group. Tell us a little bit about that and why people should go over there, just some of the stuff that you're doing and then we'll touch on to Re-Org and then dip into what it's been like building yourself back up so yeah tell us about the supporters group and some things you've got going on

30:01 Yeah, so I am a Facebook supporter. So we've got my main page and then at the top of the page is the little blue button that says become a supporter and it's a subscription based private supporters community And i'm in the early stages of building it now to create content for it and value for the people in there But it's like something facebook introduced last year and he found out about it after Christmas So people join up if they like what you do, the content you deliver, what your all about. Whatever it is they'll pay £3.49 a month I think. Yeah i'm in it. Right and your in this private community?

30:40 So the great thing, first of all I thought well it drowns out a lot of the negativity that comes with social media because this is a private enclosed group you're not likely to pay money to be in a group if that's about empowering and supporting each other if you're a negative person right so it kind of keeps all that out but then What it does do then, the opposite is it does create that environment of empowerment community support and it brings people together that have that similar mindset and that similar ethos I think and values. You know there's a hundred... There's 181 people in there now! And I've sat back and just read comments and stuff at the moment just to watch you grow and it's really good because

31:32 I'm The Jonnie Jensen Show, Jonnie Jensen, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan If you want to talk about the entrepreneurial kind of side of it, I left my job in February and i've never been busier. Even though I don't technically have a job, I've never been busier so I saw that then as a way of creating a revenue stream where I could do what I love, I could help people, I could do it anywhere in the world as long as I got a smartphone and I can still live and provide for my family

32:37 What is exciting and equally scary about it, is the scalability of it. So there's 181 people in there right now There's 36 thousand people on my Facebook page And if they all just go up and click that button and they pay that subscription I don't know what £3 49 times 36 thousand is but this a shit tonne of money You know what I mean? I have a vision for that as well, what i would do with that or percentages of that to give back and to help other people in a kind of charitable way. No it's not...I don't want to say charitable way because it's not charity but an empowering way. Yeah! It's fueling your

33:23 Enterprise, fueling your mission. You can't... I heard someone say it was like a Jim Rohn or someone but yeah you can't if you haven't got any money you can't do anything in the world Right exactly right? So for example if that group was generating ten thousand pound a month and I keep seeing and you have to be careful with this but if I see someone that recurring over the weeks of months The Jonnie Jensen Show, Jonnie Jensen, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan

34:08 I can help that person and this group's generating money, i just blow it out. And you don't know what I mean? Two Christmases ago there was a guy in the Team Superdad group and transpired he didn't know where he was going to get presents from for his kids. I got talking to him transpire they had no bloody carpet in his house And I didn't know what to do and a guy called Daniel Latto, awesome guy. He said we got to do something for this guy and between the Team Superdad group and his community, and his community was very generous, We raised about £1000 So, let's get started.

35:00 And then we had like a 400 quid voucher to go and spend in Argos. So he got presents for all the kids, and I'm not saying that to big us up if anything Daniel was the real driving force behind that but just mega! That you can impact people's lives in that way...and I know that you probably think this as well when you send stuff out like that The ripples come back for sure The Jonnie Jensen Show, Jonnie Jensen, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan

35:55 Under anyone else's direction. You haven't got higher-ups telling you, you can do this or that. If I see the opportunity to do some good...I can do it! Absolutely brilliant. So definitely if you search Facebook, literally if you search Mark Ormrod Supporters Group, you get Mark Page and you get supporters group so go over and do that So we've spoken about being a dad and I think it's absolutely bloody perfect way to start this chat really. And in the second section, let's talk about what it was... What has been like rebuilding and creating your life as is now because the reason this is so important to Team Superdad is so many families, so many dads at the top of their families are faced with these kind of choices. Am I doing the right job? Have we got enough money? Is this the right place to live? Is our relationship working? Are we going to break up or not?

36:49 They seem like monumental, life-changing choices but that's all like a frame. Monumental life changing is when you step on a mine and get most of your bits blown off you know? So for you it wasn't a choice and I think that if we can sort of piece this together the inspiration i hope for dads listening will be oh my gosh okay well I can choose what happens next and then I can grow with it, my family can benefit from it.

37:27 I used to read a lot of comics, like Battle. Battle was my favourite comic. They were kind of World War II you would walk into a blown up church and they would hit a trip wire and they would stop and they would kind of work on fixing the mine so it's like do you have any memory of treading on that bloody mine? Like how much of a cock-up was that is it just instantaneous or what happened I have every memory of it and there's no click or two second delay. Obviously, there are thousands of variants of ieds but the one I stood on was just...

38:12 I didn't even know i stood on it and next thing i know the dust cloud settles, you know. I look around and three of my limbs are just shredded off my body and i'm lying in a pool of blood dying in a crater. And that... You know what? The funny thing was is that we would always me and the lads would always talk about stepping on IEDs because i was in Afghanistan right and A lot of people know what the terrain's like. It's very sandy and it's very dusty, but it's not like sand you find at a beach... ...it's very hard compact kind of sand so if people dig into that ground it's pretty obvious that they've been digging in there. Like a molehill?

38:55 Well you just see the disturbed ground and, you know it's not flat and it would be pretty obvious but where I stood on the IED was in like a little bowl. And they'd been raining for like three or four days so I guess when they dug in the rain had smoothed... You know debris had rolled down to the sides and it smoothed over and there was zero ground sign! Nothing to indicate at all that there were actually six of these IEDs in the area that we're walking around But no ground sign at all to show any indicators. So it's literally, and I know it is cliche when people say that your life can change in a heartbeat or quicker but its literally...I'm walking and then next minute there's a big cloud of smoke And then two seconds after that I'm looking out where my legs should have been and my arms should have been and they're not there! You just in this chaotic frantic adrenaline-fuelled

39:51 Panic trying to figure out what the hell's going on because a split second ago You were just about to take a fire position and now your life is completely different if you survive at all Yeah, you know and it's very surreal I think anybody who has been in a traumatic incident will know what? I mean when I say it's surreal like time slows down externally but speeds up internally And you can't really Comprehend what you're looking at. Your brain kind of freaks out and it's like, this doesn't make sense to me especially if you're not in pain which I wasn't So yeah, I remember all from the minute I stepped on it To the medic evacuating me To falling out a back of their vehicle that was evacuating me To then getting on the back of a helicopter And then passing out and dying temporarily Yeah, it was pretty hectic Pretty hectic Christmas Eve that time

40:49 It was Christmas Eve? It was, yeah. Your wife would have got the call at Christmas! She did, yep she was in Surrey with her parents wrapping presents up I was due home a day before New Year's Eve for two weeks R&R midway through to deployment and there she got the phone call saying i'd been injured Wow. And would you class your relationship as healthy, close? You know it was... you were a tight team where there was no kind of friction in your relationship at that point There was zero friction but we'd only been together for about 11 and half months

41:27 Oh wow, so is she gonna hang in there? Does she really want this? Yeah. So my eldest daughter I think i said earlier she's from a previous relationship you know she was born in 2005 and I was injured Christmas 2007 so that relationship had ended I'd got into a new relationship with my now wife we've been together about 11 and a half months when I deployed And she just finished university. So she was only, I was 24 and she was 21 so very young whole life ahead of her now She finds out our boyfriend well She only thought I'd lost a foot it wasn't until they got to the hospital they realized the severity in my injuries So yeah, she had every right and no one would have blamed her for walking away But she didn't and she stuck around. I mean a lot of couples avoid difficult conversations

42:24 You know, like can we have sex? How difficult is that conversation should be quite easy but in a fractured relationship you're terrified to even ask can we have sex tonight let alone what are your goals for this year. Do you want to go back do you want to change career or just stick with the bloke who's been blown to bits? Is communication something Was a cornerstone of your relationship before or has it become even more so? Obviously you're married, you've been together 10 years I'm sure it has but like talk to me about communication as far as your relationship goes. Yeah we talk all the time and we talk, we moan about either each other or family or work...I'm not gonna lie about any that stuff! We have all those conversations that people maybe don't talk about outside

43:20 The Jonnie Jensen Show, Jonnie Jensen, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan Less arguments than I have with my wife now in 12 years. We've probably had less fallouts and arguments than I had in one six-month relationship when I was 19, you know? We just click we just get on! And...we bounce off each other, we support each other. I understand fully how lucky I am to find that because

44:07 In the past it definitely wasn't the case. Do you think that's about aligned values? You click because you've got similar values or is... Yeah, absolutely! We don't stress out about money we're more about adventures and memories and I hope this doesn't sound like i'm bragging or anything but The Jonnie Jensen Show, Jonnie Jensen, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan

44:48 I mean this weekend we're going to a caravan in Bidderford, that's where we're happiest. Going into some tin box in Bidderford right? To go to some kids...I think it's called the Milky Way and the big sheep We'll just chill out there for the weekend and you know maybe go paddle boarding or something, I don't know but we have very We're very low maintenance. You know, we could win a billion pounds and we'd still go to the caravan. It's not... Money is important I get that you need to survive but it's not our number one value at all. Our happiest certainly my happiest is on Friday or Saturday when we close the curtains put on a DVD and order pizza

45:33 You know, some people want to go out to fancy restaurants and spend a thousand pounds and drink champagne. All that glam stuff... We just like getting our pyjamas at 7 o'clock on a Friday night And just chill! So yeah I think it's definitely a values thing. That's what i said in the beginning about you can be superman, you can be super footballer, you can be supersoldier but at the end of the day like on a friday night when that door shuts your husband friend daddy And it's about how you value those times. So when you started to put yourself back together and make a plan, were the plans you had for... let's talk about your entrepreneurial side and what you've had to learn and develop in yourself?

46:27 Was that part of your toolbox when you were in the army? Were you already thinking about self-development and entrepreneurship back then or were you just thinking, I'm a squaddie. Actually, you weren't just a squaddie, you're a commander right? You're a bit badass yeah! A little bit I think, sorry let me ask about that. Do you think that's part of why you're so driven now because you were top of the game as far as soldiers go? Is that part your makeup is just to be relentless and keep going? To be relentless but to be smart at the same time. So a good soldier is a soldier who's alive yeah okay right yep

47:19 I don't think, and i say this to everybody like being disabled you couldn't have picked a better time in human history to be disabled right now. And i know we're going to lead into this talking about entrepreneurial stuff but... You know i've got four fingers and one thumb as long as i got a smartphone i can run a business yeah As long as i got a smartphone i could increase my footprint online with podcasts social media posts We just talked about the Facebook supporters group. I can create an income stream, I don't need both arms, both legs a big network be grinding 28 hours a day to be quote unquote successful so you've got that...I take that Royal Marines mindset and then I try and mix it with a bit of IQ, bit of EQ and work smart

48:09 You know, and do the things that I want to do. To build the kind of life that I want to have You know, and you've got to have balance in it. Oh oh back in the...you know when me and Becky first met all that was available online really was MySpace? Yeah I remember when she had an account like you're a nerd why are you going on putting pictures on the internet of you going out drinking with your friends what's stupid thing to do! And now I'm like the most social media intense bloke that she's ever met because I understand the value of it now for a design specific purpose. Yeah, but yeah I think i went a little bit off piece there without announcing it... You uh..I think what you shared there was that anybody with a goal and ambition and vision can go out there and achieve it! And it doesn't start with knowledge, It starts with a willingness

49:08 And then an idea of like, well okay that's what I want to achieve. I believe it's possible who else has done it before me? Where can I learn from who can emulate? Who can I ask? Who can I get involved with? Yeah absolutely and its... What I really like now is when I look at people in the military I know numerous people that are still serving but run side businesses Coffee companies, clothing companies. Whatever it may be security companies as a partner with some guy or girl or whatever and I really like that you know when i worked for the Royal Marines charity part of my job every two weeks was I would go and speak to the recruits at room 28 and sign them up to the Royal Marines Association

50:01 And I'd always say to them, lads you're just about to start this career right so this is probably not even on your radar but it's never too early to start thinking about the next step or the additional step You know what I mean? If you're doing this and you want to have a business on the side, you can do this now because you have the smartphone. Back when i was in... it's only 2001 but you were still using payphones back then! Do you know what I mean?! Yeah there's so much more opportunity now for people to either completely

50:37 Alternative stuff to what they're doing now or stuff that complements what they're doing. To help build, build and build and build you know? And these things come along in life that you don't expect... You could stand on a mine your girlfriend could get pregnant! You might lose your job! You need to have those things in place those backups in place just trickling along in the background so you can pivot if you need to yeah What about people that say, oh well yeah I want to but just don't got time. That's gotta be the number one excuse out there basically hasn't it? So this is one of the things i'm trying to do with the entrepreneurial stuff without coming across like a dick right my whole messaging behind it is I've got one hand right I have time I have three children I have one hand

51:32 I think off the top of my head, three businesses. Three or four collaborations and partnerships. I run seven social media platforms. I've got three email addresses. I have time because I have systemized automated prioritised collaborated with people and put everything in place Where I don't have to be working 23-24 hours a day. And that's all, a lot of that is through self education and i'm by no means like super successful in those areas but i'm chipping away at it a bit at time and i'm getting there and soon enough I will be! Then I want to try and encourage other people you know my aim was really to kind of encourage disabled people

52:18 You know, because there are a lot of people out there that don't... if they become disabled they don't want to just sit on their ass and do nothing. Do you know what I mean? They want to do something that lights them up, something that gives them a purpose but they can earn a living from. They don't want to live on handouts and i'm trying to do this to say look you don't have to if you don't want to but then the side effect hopefully is that able-bodied people will see it as well and realize that you can run work or job and run a business and there is time yeah well you don't have to get blown into bits to be motivated like to find inspiration The Jonnie Jensen Show, Jonnie Jensen, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan

53:01 You know, I don't sleep like three hours a night. I get a good seven hours every night but i've just kind of over the years structured my days weeks months into a way where they're efficient yeah you know what I mean so I can do things well our health and fitness for me are one of the...I call it the F5 right? Fitness is one of the f5 focus fitness finance family and fun and any human man or woman needs their health and fitness that doesn't have to be that The Jonnie Jensen Show, Jonnie Jensen, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan.

54:02 20 press-ups a day, doing a park run on a Saturday morning. And I want as many men and their families to put health and fitness as just part of their everyday life like you clean the car or hoover the carpet You just do a bit of exercise because it's what needs to be done. But that...I'm a super nerd when it comes to double or triple tapping my time So if I'm starting to train now for a 100 mile bike ride, so when iIm next door my terrible trainer. I'll have these on with a podcast or an audiobook so when I'm on there for two hours of also consuming two hours of content and I'm learning yeah right? And then later on as that's my kids are growing up like if I can include them in my workouts then we're spending time with them and keeping fit and healthy and maybe will put the content on speakers so they're also subliminally

54:59 The Jonnie Jensen Show, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan Just double tap, triple tap. You know when people are in... People say I haven't got time to read How much time do you spend commuting every day to work? If you do half an hour in the morning and a half hour in the evening put a podcast on audio book in the car In the subway And you've got an hour you've learnt for an hour that day and you just double tapped your time instead of scrolling through Facebook listening to Morag moaning about her neighbor Do you know what I mean? Do some education.

55:40 I'm up to some kind of 70, 80 books. Even that mate sorry to interrupt but there's yeah i forget oh i think it's called Blinkist. They just summarize books so you can get seven hours of content in 15 minutes! Yeah...I've never used it but it sounds pretty decent. No there's a bunch Headway, Blinkist um uh but yeah exactly like you say they have Writers, authors or editors they read the book and shrink it down into an hour chunk so you get the important bits. It's funny mate... Sorry I'm getting excited now! I get passionate about this but it's funny and I dabbled in the world of coaching a while ago but other things took priority and I didn't feel like I could give enough attention to it to give people what they deserved and when people say stuff like

56:35 I haven't got time to meditate. I'm too busy, so I'll be like okay what time do you get up in the morning? Half past six! We'll get up at 20 past 6 and do 10 minutes meditation and then that light bulb goes off and they're like well yeah it's only ten minutes... Okay when you get home from work and you have dinner and you've done the dishes and it's seven o'clock And you put the kids to bed, so now it's half past eight. What time do you go bed? Half past ten! What are you doing that two hours?! I watch Love Island and EastEnders and Big Brother...I'm like there's two hours there that your wasting! Two hours you could be doing..and i'm not saying decompression and doing things you enjoy is wasting time but you DO have the time if you make it a priority yeah you know

57:22 And that's where a lot of people I think fall down. Well, like they say no plan or no routine is a plan or a routine you're just not constructively using it and uh...you know just as a message and encouragement for people on that point um date nights and one-on-one time with your kids is gotta be scheduled its got to be in the same way personal development time growth time if you schedule make it priority What meditation, tell me briefly what you get from meditation because I encourage this with all my clients and Team Superdab members. And some people really resist it! What do you get out of meditation? Space... headspace So there are times when i do go at 150 mile an hour

58:14 Right, so I'll give you an example. Today i've got up you know we're doing stuff for the kids Becky takes them to school I'm then email, email, email about 50 thousand different things. I come on this podcast with you and then i've got to go to one of my properties and get a toilet unblocked because the tenant's not here right? And then I've gotta do the school run and pick up the kids. Then Becky is going to get her hair cut so I have to cook them dinner. Then tonight I am going out with a friend of mine who is super busy I completely forgot now where we're going with this. Oh my god, I got deep into it! Meditation? Like what do you get out of meditation? Right and so you just like all the time but 10 minutes in the morning and in the evening...I like to do a little bit longer or 15-20 minutes in the evening turn the phone off and decompress because

59:05 I have to stay focused on the long-term vision of my life. You know, we talked before we went live about how i've got my own podcast but haven't been consistent with it And I know that, and I really enjoy doing this. I really enjoy talking to people but stuff gets in the way but when you focus on it a bit more that meditation time gives me time right remember the big picture what's the long-term goal here? You know stop wasting time because i still do a lot as well waste time on stuff that isn't really relevant It gives me that space Cut the noise out and refocus. And keep on track, do you know what I mean? So I do use Insight Timer, yeah i think that's great and I've got a little like list of my favorite ones

1:00:00 And then I actually do it in the bath. So, in the evening... ...I'll draw the curtain in my bathroom, I'll close door, the kids know not to come in and their bathrooms as dark as I can get it. Yeah! I don't have candles or any of that stuff. I just need it dark and then I put usually my bathtub like if I'm doing some sort of recovery from training so they add some salt and all that's enough and I just either focus on My goals for the year and just keep centred and keep envisaging what I want it to look like by the end of the year. Or sometimes, we'll just have a brain dump where i'm like well don't...I'm not focusing on anything! I'm just gonna whatever random crap comes into my head, I'm going to let it in and then let out because we all get really overwhelmed from time-to-time and its very hard to concentrate

1:00:56 So even when I do meditate, sometimes I'll struggle because I can't think about what I'm supposed to be thinking about. Yeah! So i just have those brain dump sessions where I'm like well...I have no mission here it's just to come in let all the stresses the things that are playing on my mind come to the surface and then dump them get out of the bath and you just feel lighter and more focused yeah Obviously an advocate of meditating as well and for pretty much those reasons. And my style is very similar to yours there, Insight Timer by the way everyone is an app. There's thousands and thousands of different types of meditation tracks on there all free. There's a paid level as well but the free stuff is totally open so get on there do that. Just before we wrap up Mark many dads will be stressed out and worrying about what to do next

1:01:55 I don't want this isn't a challenging question right but when they've been thinking that for a long time and they're like stuck worried about making that leap, what's an encouragement you can give to those men? If you're talking about careers changes in careers and stuff like that well in fact it doesn't really matter. I think the most important thing to do with any type of change if you're a dad you have responsibilities is to plan for it

1:02:32 You know, don't make any rash decisions and just jump from one thing to the next without really planning. If you've got a mortgage and you've got children and a wife and all that kind of stuff but plan! Make it...make a plan Don't just..don't make a plan and sit going over it and over and over and over it. Make a realistic solid plan. You know what I mean? Be tactical with it Yeah Because In many ways I'm in a very fortunate position. You know, I was medically discharged from the military and I've done stuff over the years which means that I don't really need to work but I do understand from previously when you know when I left the military for the first time and I was able-bodied

1:03:19 I failed massively. So, I understand how the stress is the anxiety and the fear of failure that can affect people but i had no plan the first time I left. I just did it because I was angry and annoyed lots of stuff and ultimately I failed so with a lot of things in life you know plan, plan stuff um The Jonnie Jensen Show, Jonnie Jensen, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan

1:04:16 Because your options were limited. We just talked about how you can run a business from a smartphone, you know? Your options aren't so limited nowadays with reference to what you're gonna do. Some of the richest people I think on the planet are 16 year old lads that play Minecraft on YouTube! It blows my mind it... I watch my son watching this stuff and you see him run through house playing hide-and-seek on camera they've got four Lamborghinis in their garage and they're 21 years old You know, don't be afraid. Open your mindset and make a calculated decision. Brilliant!

1:04:57 And people need to just, you know... whatever their situation is they need to take a look at your situation and it's not about who's better who's worse off or that but it's just faced with challenging circumstances and limitations that other people said you could or couldn't do. You've gone out there and absolutely smashed it! I love something you said in one of your videos and even touched on today that the crazy thing is more opportunities keep coming your way The more that you swing out and take the world on. And I just believe that's how the world works, and you're really illustrating it and living in it so it has been a pleasure and absolute honour to hear you share some of your wisdom and story today Mark thank-you. Mate before I go do yo mind if I say something? Please do yeah! Is that alright? It is hard not knowing whether anyone needs this or not but again

1:06:00 Like everything, it's just my opinion. The role that we play now as a father and husband is... I think it has changed over the years. And I feel personally there's a lot of pressure on men The Jonnie Jensen Show, Jonnie Jensen, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan

1:06:46 You know, you need to talk to other people about the stresses that you're feeling. The anxieties your feeling. The pressures your feeling So I guess what i'm trying to say is wreck that we do have a lot on our plate and don't be afraid go and talk to people about it you know what I mean? And just get out there and see what other people are dealing with and see what other people can maybe help You know, because it feels sometimes like an ever increasing pile of pressure to do the very best you can bring all the money in pay for the holidays. Be there for Christmas play and sports days And I mean it's a lot to do so Anyone listening who is struggling feeling their stresses just understand that loads of people understand what you're going through and if you need to chat someone about it don't be afraid to reach out and have that conversation

1:07:46 The Jonnie Jensen Show, Jonnie Jensen, Mark Ormrod, MBE, Afganistan A life cut short and we've got to be there for our friends, to have the banter. Take the piss out of the bloke that flipping trod on a mine he should have seen and then straight afterwards say is there anything you need? Like what can I do right? I'm here for you it's... It doesn't have to be serious but but we do have to look out for each other so true Brilliant. Well Mark, we'll wrap this up and I say goodbye on the other side but let me play the video and say goodbye to everybody. Mark Ormrod supports his page on Facebook and obviously all Mark's work is at markormrod.com We will definitely be seeing your next 100 mile bike ride! Yeah it was my coach's idea

1:08:44 We'll get Peloton to sponsor you, it's going to be sweet. Nice one for everyone watching thank you very much! You can catch this on the podcast if you're listening to the podcast then it's been a real pleasure to have you here for The Last Hour make sure you subscribe and we'll see you on The Wrap-Up this Friday where we have a laugh and talk about how our week has gone I'll see you on the other side Wow! I seem to always say wow when i come back. What a lot of fun that was, what an inspiring conversation what a moment to reflect on different parts of our lives and think okay well where did i not make a decision? Where did i not step up

1:09:35 Where's my relationship at with my wife? You know, that just blew me away. The bit when he was talking about how Becky and him had only been together 11 months it was Christmas when he got injured and the relationship they've created... He is a single dad to his first child, he has new children with Becky, his wife And what a journey. I hope it inspired you, I hope it made you reflect on opportunities that you can create for yourself for your life areas of personal growth and development Your fitness like if he can swim a mile in the sea with one arm How far can use him this week? How many press-ups can you do? It's not about winning a triathlon You know but it is about finishing the race

1:10:28 Because you can, because you said you would. Because you want to be a role model for your kids and more than anything, because you want to have a really great life being the man you want to be and the dad your family needs So come on over to TeamSuperDad.com forward slash group I would love to have you part of our community You can find out about The Hero Academy just by messaging me via the group via the website teamsuperdad.com And finding out more about The Hero Academy 90-day program Subscribe, of course. I should have mentioned that loads of times already if you're not subscribed to the podcast get on it we will be back on Friday night Saturday morning with the wrap-up You can watch that live or catch the recording On this wherever you're listening to this podcast now subscribe and the wrap up will be through to you This weekend dads until next time be the best version yourself and make it happen ciao for now

1:11:27 This has been Team Superdad. Find us at teamsuperdad.com Join the program and create the best life ever for you and your children You are not alone! You're on Team Superdad