Media Reviews

mykawartha.com Article: Giving peace a chance, May 5, 2004 by: Clark Kim Former U.S. Navy SEALs commander and author Jack Schropp has come full circle; war 'is like winning the heavyweight boxing match while suffering major brain damage'. When Jack Schropp and his Navy SEALs team returned to southern California in between tours of Vietnam, anti-war activists held up two fingers, greeting the uniformed men on their way for additional sniper and guerrilla training. In return, they saluted the hippies with their middle, index and ring fingers up in the air -- a hand gesture that meant "F--- peace." As commander of the Navy SEALs who served three tours in Vietnam, Mr. Schropp never saw the legitimacy of the anti-war movement and numerous, often violent, peace rallies held on American soil through the 1960s into the early 1970s. "I looked at them (protesters) as just college kids," says Mr. Schropp more than three decades later at his Lakefield cottage home along White Lake.
"They didn't know what the hell they wanted to do with their life." But that view took an abrupt about face, shifting all at once, after he participated in a transformational workshop that ultimately led to his retirement from the U.S. Navy in 1982. After spending 24 years' specializing in abductions, ambushes and P.O.W. rescues, Mr. Schropp became a man standing firmly for peace with an insight into the true reality of war which only experience can provide.	Kyle Griffin/This Week SERENITY: Jack Schropp, a former U.S. Navy SEALs commander and Vietnam War veteran, stands on the dock overlooking White Lake behind his Lakefield cottage home. An outspoken peace activist, he's enjoying success with his self-help book Unbeatable.
His transformation first involved cutting down on his two-pack-a-day smoking habit. He then focused on building a better relationship with his parents. That, in turn, resulted in his being able to tackle the big issue in question during his time in the war-torn southeastern Asian country: Whether that conflict was worth the casualties suffered on both sides. "I was fighting an illusion," Mr. Schropp came to realize. "I never met any Vietnamese that I disliked. I was fighting people just like myself. "I found out that I was a guy who'd always spot a threat and if I didn't, people in the government who didn't know anything about wars, they'd spot one for me. And like a dumb-ass, I'd run off fighting and not complain about it." At that point, Mr. Schropp says he denounced the idea of fighting wars to attain peace. "It's like winning the heavyweight boxing match while suffering major brain damage. Where is the win? All wars are the same from one perspective -- it's a breakdown in communication." With the current war in Iraq, Mr. Schropp isn't surprised at the strong local resistance against U.S. occupying forces and the decision to invade the country under the rule of Saddam Hussein . "Each generation is more concerned about their current war or the one just fought," notes Mr. Schropp, adding society has almost grown accustomed to being in continuous conflict. But after the horrific events of Sept. 11, 2001 that left a nation demoralized and in mourning, Mr. Schropp felt compelled to contribute in some manner. The end result was Unbeatable, a self-help book he wrote from his experiences as a transformational speaker of 16 years; a book that provides readers with the attributes to possess an unbeatable attitude. "The only way they're going to get me out of here is they're going to have to kill me," he says, citing one of the chapters in his book. He also shares secrets learned from his experience as a former commander of the Navy SEALs to help both men and women attain the qualities to succeed in business, family and romantic relationships. Mr. Schropp took his own advice and got married this past November to Shari Darling , a food and wine critic and the author of several best-selling books. They met at a leadership course in California, where Mr. Schropp was speaking, and started dating four months later. "He's one of the good guys," says Ms Darling, who grew up in Toronto but lived in California to help Mr. Schropp with his book. "He's really straight. He doesn't beat around the bush. He's just honest." She recalls during their five-year courtship that Mr. Schropp always called her at a specified time, no matter where he was in the world as a transformational speaker and or in which time zone was in. As they pondered their future, they eventually decided to settle down north of the border. "We moved to Canada because both Shari and I wanted to live by the lake in the woods," says Mr. Schropp, who's always home and at peace near the water. "It is quiet. It's nice to be awake at 6 a.m. with Canadian geese flying over." Mr. Schropp will sign copies of his book Unbeatable at Chapters in Peterborough on Saturday, May 22, starting at 2 p.m. Limited copies of his book are available at Smith and Titles bookstores. For more information on the author and his book, go to www.jackschropp.com.

 

The Community Press Article: Life's a freakin' combat zone! Local author to sign books Schropp says we all possess these Navy SEAL secrets, but at different degrees. The idea is to distinguish what secrets are the weakest within us and simply polish them so that we can be UNBEATABLE as a matter of routine, within our careers, family or romantic relationships.

 

Lebanon Daily News
Article: Native details why SEALs are 'Unbeatable'
By SANDI LYNN BROWN, Staff Writer

Ever wonder what secrets the United States Navy SEALs are hiding?

A Mt. Gretna native and former Navy SEAL is revealing all 12 of the Sea, Air and Land specialists' key secrets in a 268-page book called "Unbeatable: Recreate Your Life As Extraordinary Using the Secrets of a Navy SEAL."

"My intention was not to sell books or be an author," Jack Schropp said recently. "My intention was, would this make a difference?"

Schropp, 60, a retired commander of the Navy SEALs, wrote about altering behavior to become a teammate in work, relationships and romantic partnerships by using the SEALs' 12 secrets, also referred to as a set of attributes.

Navy SEALs are volunteers, and if you want to be unbeatable, you should be one, too, Schropp suggested. Your only other alternative is to be a victim, his book states.

Schropp said volunteers take responsibility for their actions, provide support to others and feel blessed despite less-than-blissful circumstances. This is the opposite of the acts of victims, many of whom blame outside forces such as bad luck or their parents for their lots in life, are self-absorbed and feel victimized by obstacles.

Schropp said he is not referring to people who really are victims of accidents or violence.

After each chapter of "Unbeatable," Schropp asks the reader to reread the chapter and then complete a few exercises, or evolutions.

"The idea is not for you to understand the evolutions from an intellectual standpoint or even for you to agree or disagree with them," he said. "The idea is for you to do the evolutions despite your understanding or opinions.

"In other words, the only way you'll actually own the secrets, to have them be a part of who you are, is not by understanding them, but by doing the evolutions," he added. "The more diligence you devote to these evolutions, the greater your chance of developing yourself as unbeatable. If you are unwilling to do the evolutions provided in each chapter, there's no need to continue reading this book."

One of the exercises is to talk in front of a group, Schropp said, which can be unnerving for some people. But if the task can be accomplished, it could open doors.

"I was shocked to find out in a poll conducted by USA Today a number of years ago that Americans are more afraid of speaking in front of groups than they are of dying," he said. "If you can (speak in front of a group) and you can get good at it, there's a lot of things you'll be able to do that you currently don't have access to. You don't even see the opportunities that are present."

For Schropp, his childhood environment played a role in his later life. He was born at Good Samaritan Hospital and grew up in Mt. Gretna. His parents were the late Jack and Rosemary Schropp. His father was one of three owners of the Lebanon Daily News until it was sold in 1979. His mother acted under the stage name of Diana Gibson in Hollywood in the 1930s.

The lake at Gretna was a major influence, Schropp said, because there was nothing else to do in the village but swim. When he learned about Navy Frogmen, he knew that was the career for him.

Schropp said he was good at what he did and thought his job exciting. However, he eventually realized fighting did not produce peace. He retired from the SEALs in 1982, less than six months from a promotion to captain.

"I'd gotten to a place where I saw that war is a poor way to achieve peace," he explained. "Essentially, the argument boils down to 'we've always done it that way.'"

After quitting the SEALs, he became a transformational speaker for Landmark Educational Corp., for which he had completed a multiple-day workshop while in the Navy in 1975.

Schropp said he saw how the program makes a difference without the need for fighting. All you have to do is speak to them, he said.

Today, Schropp lives in Lakefield, Ontario, Canada, with his wife, Shari Darling. He has five children from previous marriages.

 

Argus Courier, Sonoma, California
Article: New Books by local authors: teaching tales, war memoirs, wine guide

"Schropp says that there is nowhere to get to in life. Life is happening right now, right now, right now ... the only time we can participate in our lives is right now. So, Schropp offers the 12 secrets to being unbeatable which the reader can apply to his/her life right now."

This is not a leadership book about war or military strategy, Schropp explained. It is a peaceful technology for men and women.

"While Navy SEALs are effective commandos, they possess an attitude and a set of attributes (the 12 secrets that everyone can attain to have them be unbeatable in the face of their own impossible odds -- in business, in family, and in romantic partnerships."

Independently Reviewed
Article: UNBEATABLE

You could say that Jack Schropp is the neext "peaceful warrior," albeit his book, UNBEATABLE, is unique and the first of its kind. Surprisingly, while the author is a former Navy SEAL Commander, his book speaks as much to women as it does to men! It's an excellent book for my book club. I know it will ignite lots of meaningful discussions.

Peterborough Examiner
Article: Secrets of Navy SEALS for Everyone

Getting testimonials from people who have attended his seminar, worked with him would be a "slam dunk."

But Schropp wanted testimonials from people who did not fal into those categories.

So testimonials came from people like former Minnesotaq governor jesse Venture, Dick Grace, Buddhist activist and founder of Grace Family Vineyards, Donald Ziraldi, president of Inniskillin Wines, and J. Barrie Graham, president and CEO of Exchange Bank.

 

 

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