July 28 2026
ep66: Meet Don Mann: Popular motivational speaker, New York Times bestselling author and host of the TV series “Surviving Mann”
This week on Elaine’s Literary Salon: Meet popular motivational speaker and New York Times Bestselling author Don Mann. A retired Navy SEAL Team SIX who, for the last two decades, has delivered compelling presentations that have inspired business leaders, military and government personnel, and professional athletes. The lessons he shares during his presentations are born from his colorful and action-packed life as a SEAL, his experiences competing in some of the world’s most grueling competitions, and his experience in the business world: usfrogmann.com.
Our host, Jeffrey James Higgins, interviews Don about his career, journey to being a bestselling author, and his newest book — The Navy SEAL Playbook: Master the Mindset of Elite Warriors with Don Mann, USN SEAL (Ret.).
Learn battle-tested strategies for leadership, teamwork, and mental toughness from Don Mann, a decorated Navy SEAL veteran with decades of experience in the most demanding special operations environments. These aren’t theoretical concepts—they’re proven methods refined through real combat missions and high-stakes scenarios.
Transform your approach to pressure, adversity, and success with practical lessons rooted in real SEAL missions. Whether you’re leading a business team, competing in athletics, or pursuing personal excellence, the SEAL mindset provides a framework for achieving extraordinary results under any conditions.
The principles inside this playbook have been pressure-tested in the world’s most challenging environments. Now, they’re available to help you develop the same resilience, focus, and leadership capabilities that define America’s most elite warriors.
Don’s military biography includes: Being a decorated combat veteran; Corpsman; SEAL Special Operations Technician; jungle survival, desert survival, and arctic survival instructor; small arms weapons instructor, foreign weapons instructor, armed and unarmed defense tactics, advanced hand-to-hand combat instructor; and Survival, Evade, Resistance and Escape Instructor; in addition to other credentials.
“When Osama bin Laden was assassinated, the entire world became fascinated by the men who had completed the seemingly impossible mission that had dogged the U.S. government for over a decade,” shares Don, noting that SEAL Team SIX became synonymous with heroism, duty, and justice. “Only a handful of the elite men who make up the SEALs, the U.S. Navy’s best and bravest, survive the legendary and grueling selection process that leads to SEAL Team SIX, a group so classified it technically does not even exist. There are no better warriors on earth.”
Don knows what it takes to be a brother of these ultra-selective fraternities. As a member of SEAL Team SIX he worked in countless covert operations, operating from land, sea, and air, and facing shootings, decapitations, and stabbings. He was captured by the enemy and lived to tell the tale, and he participated in highly classified missions all over the globe, including Somalia, Panama, El Salvador, Colombia, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
Since retiring, Don has written dozens of books, including the New York Times bestselling autobiography, Inside SEAL Team SIX: My Life and Missions with America’s Elite Warriors.
Don is also the host of the TV series Surviving Mann, the ultimate test of strength and survival. He takes contestants to remote special ops training locations where they must battle it out to challenge Don in the ultimate survival showdown: survivingmann.com.
Education: Don received a Master’s in Management from Troy State University, in Troy, AL, a B.S. in International Relations and Criminal Justice from Florida State University, in Tallahassee, FL, and a B.S. in Liberal Science, from State University of New York. He lives in Cape Charles, VA.
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In this tome, readers will discover how the world’s toughest warriors train their minds and bodies to overcome any challenge. Navy SEALs represent the pinnacle of military excellence, combining extraordinary physical conditioning with unbreakable mental fortitude. This playbook reveals the systematic approach these elite operators use to perform at the highest level when everything is on the line.