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Ep#65: Set Your Table | Brian Cook

Season #3

In this episode of the Healthy Leader Expert Forum, Traci Fisher is joined by Colonel Brian Cook, US Army (Retired), soldier, strategist, author, and certified heroic coach, to explore a foundational question for sustainable leadership: Are you preparing for the life you want, or simply reacting to the life in front of you?

With thirty-three years of military experience across five combat tours, Brian brings a unique perspective on strategy, resilience, and sustainable performance. Drawing from his book, Set Your Table: Reclaim Your Life, Brian and Traci explore the difference between constantly fighting the next battle and intentionally creating the conditions that allow you to live and perform well over the long term. As Brian puts it: “I am not the battle. I am the war.”

In Today’s Session, You’ll Discover:

  • The “I Am the War” Mindset: Why your identity is bigger than any single setback, and how this perspective helps you move beyond tactical losses.
  • Tactical vs. Strategic Living: What Brian learned from planning a national election in Mosul and why solving the right problem matters more than simply working harder.
  • The 5-Pillar Sustainment Plan: How Sleep, Eat, Move, Focus, and Breathe can help you sustain energy and avoid burnout.
  • Closing the Freedom Gap: How to recognize when you are living in conditions someone else created for you and begin reclaiming your time, attention, and choices.
  • Escaping Digital Hostage Mode: Why constant demands and attention residue keep us reactive, and how to create space for what matters.
  • Setting Your Own Table: Why caring for everyone else shouldn't come at the cost of neglecting your own well-being.

📘 Brian Cook’s Book: Set Your Table: Reclaim Your Life is available now. Purchase the book here.

🔗 Connect with Brian Cook: LinkedIn

🎧 Listen to the full episode, and consider this: Are you fighting every battle in front of you, or creating the conditions for the life you actually want to live?

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