legacy mindset: take charge of today and build extreme resilience

We’re all broken in some way-but ＂broken＂ is not forever. In fact, it’s just part of the story of how we build our legacies.

Entrepreneur and US Marine Korey Shaffer’s road through life was tougher than most. After returning from a harrowing tour of duty in Afghanistan, and still aching from his troubled childhood and adolescence, Shaffer felt his chance to leave something of value to the world might have passed. But even in despair, he knew that many did not return home at all, or returned more broken than he was. Determined that the wounded and fallen not be abandoned or forgotten, Shaffer founded the Til Valhalla Project, an organization devoted to honoring the fallen and preventing veteran suicides. Til Valhalla unexpectedly proved to be Shaffer’s salvation as well.

Sharing intimate details from his square-peg childhood, reckless adolescence, brotherhood-seeking teen years, and traumatic experiences in combat and back home, Shaffer demonstrates that society doesn’t dictate who we are or will be-that is up to us. The path to who we can become lies through careful, daily exercise of will, repetition, and affirmation.

Shaffer is convinced that the discipline he drew from this struggle can be of use to others. What it takes to overcome the broken state, Shaffer contends, is a willingness to face pain head-on and use adversity as rocket fuel to regain purpose and create resilience. In Legacy Mindset: Take Charge of Today and Build Extreme Resilience, Shaffer lays out the sinews and bones of the daily discipline that allowed him to repair what was broken and build upon it. He challenges us to:

• Evaluate whether our pain is constructive or destructive
• Reassess what things in life we assign value to
• Radically change our daily habits by practicing micro-disciplines
• Trust our intuition when it is telling us to speak up
• Commit to excellence in everything we do-even when no one is watching

Everyone has a past to deal with and damage to overcome. As Shaffer demonstrates, the road to Valhalla is a warrior’s path of controlled sacrifice and steady daily transformation.

Korey Shaffer is a former US Marine and entrepreneur who started Til Valhalla Project, a mission dedicated to honoring fallen troops with conscientiously sculpted memorial plaques, all of which are funded through clothing apparel adorned with positive messaging.

Throughout his life Korey had struggled to ＂fit in,＂ whether it was in school or in society in general. But in his late teen years, he discovered the rewards of brotherhood and belonging after joining his high school wrestling team-and it was from there that his spark of interest for joining the US Marines was ignited.

When Korey returned home from a harrowing mission in Afghanistan, however, he felt broken, mentally, physically, and emotionally. Only then did he learn of the death of one of his best friends in the service. This was knowledge that could have spiraled Korey even further into his pain, but instead, it was an inflection point. He found himself inspired to build his first memorial plaque. Little did he know that this single plaque would turn into thousands.

Today, Korey oversees Til Valhalla Project in ensuring that it memorializes fallen members of the military with a dedication to quality and care, while contributing millions of dollars every year to help reduce the incidence of veteran suicide. His project has been recognized by various news outlets, and is continually expanding