OM DENNE EPISODE
What does it take to choose the fight when every instinct tells you to run? Retired Green Beret Major Ray Dillman spent 23 years in the Army answering that question, rising from enlisted private to senior medic on a Special Forces combat dive team, with time in Ranger battalions, command of the U.S. Army Sniper School, and a professorship at West Point.
Yet for years he kept that Green Beret past quiet, living the creed of the silent professional: when you are good, you do not have to crow about it. In this conversation, Ray opens up about what that creed taught him and what came after. He breaks down his signature challenge, refusing to take a coward's way out, and explains the difference between feeling fear and letting fear decide. He shares why no one survives the battlefield alone, how purpose works as stewardship of everything God puts in our hands, and why childhood wounds must be recognized and overcome rather than carried for life.
Signature Quote
"The coward's way out is to talk yourself out of being audacious."
The coward's way out is not failing. It is letting fear talk you out of trying in the first place. Control the fear, do not let the fear get the best of you, and go forth.
THIS EPISODE IS FOR YOU IF...
- You have been talking yourself out of something you know is right
- You want to understand the difference between feeling fear and obeying it
- You are searching for purpose and what it actually looks like in daily life
- You carry old wounds that still shape your decisions
- You believe no one wins alone and want to hear it from a man who lived it
MEET RAY DILLMAN
Ray Dillman is a retired U.S. Army Major and the founder of Discipled Warriors, a men's ministry that builds cohorts of men who disciple one another in churches. Across 23 years of military service, he rose from enlisted private to commissioned officer, serving as a Green Beret senior medic on a special forces combat dive team, in Ranger battalions, as commander of the U.S. Army Sniper School, and as a professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
After retiring, Ray spent ten years full-time at Mid-America Christian University and continues there part-time today. In 2024 he launched Discipled Warriors, and he is the author of the Discipled Warriors Handbook, the ministry's core text. He is a husband, a father, and a grandfather of six who goes by Pop-up.
CONNECT WITH RAY
https://discipledwarriors.org/
Listen on Major Platforms
🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/2jVR6V7X2kRiCCDXE0FTyl?si=IR3TsfEWR3WA6BzfBRnVXQ
🍎 Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-audacious-living-podcast/id1547447345
📦 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/9f7902bb-dec8-4bd9-918d-d1fef21b7c67/the-audacious-living-podcast?ref=dm_sh_pGv57yQvAmAQVp2IIaXoDwtFt
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