Navy SEAL Senior Chief Mike Day was the first man through the door into a room hiding four al Qaeda operatives. All four terrorists opened up on him the moment he stepped into view. He was hit 27 times, including 16 shots to the torso, shots to both arms, and shots both legs. A grenade went off, peppering his body with shrapnel. The only place he wasn’t hit was in the head.

Then he went to work.

One of the constant themes that you hear in stories of survival against tremendous odds is the force of will.

One group that seems to do more than their fair share of surviving the “almost impossible” is elite special operations soldiers like Sr. Chief Day. A great deal of their ability to overcome phenomenal odds can be credited to their constant training and high state of readiness, but what really sets the elite warriors apart from other servicemen is their mindset, and their will to complete the mission and refuse to submit, or admit even the possibility of not succeeding.

Now retired, Day battles to help other veterans with TBI (traumatic brain injuries) and PTSI (Post traumatic stress injuries).

Develop a mindset to push through adversity to win. While firearms are important for self-defense and such a mindset can help you become victorious against any criminal, it can also help you succeed in other aspects of your life, not just those Very Bad Days that we all hope to avoid.