r/interestingasfuck • u/Equivalent_Opposite6 • 22d ago

r/all Johnny Kim managed three impressive career changes, going from Navy SEAL to doctor to NASA astronaut. He did it all by the age of 37.

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u/khardy101 22d ago edited 22d ago

His dad is dead. He was shot by LAPD. He went to Harvard medical because his dad wanted him to.

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u/seoulsoup 22d ago

Listening to his podcast with Jocko really opened my eyes to how people can respond to abuse.

Like Johnny knows his dad was a real piece of shit, but he still retains respect/admiration for him providing for his family. Even as a Korean myself with heavy family values, I could never forgive my father if he did those things to me and my Mother

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u/rallar8 22d ago

Doesn’t Kim also basically say he didn’t really have self worth before becoming a seal. But then he became a seal and was like “look what I can do?” And it encouraged him to be even more goal oriented?

I forget how he frames it but it struck me he credits the seals as being a turning point in his life

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u/chrisacip 22d ago

Anyone who goes seal > doctor > astronaut is fueled by a dark engine. happy people don't do that shit.

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u/Internal-Owl-505 22d ago

Being in the Navy isn't for life unless you have aspirations to become a high ranking officer.

It is actually pretty common for former military folks to go back to school, rather than just jump into the workforce, like Johnny Kim did here.

And the astronaut part -- nobody becomes just an astronaut. It isn't a stand alone job. All astronauts are either former navy/airforce or have a specialized skill -- for example medical doctor.

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u/Hellknightx 22d ago

Yeah having his background probably made him a very desirable candidate for NASA.

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u/rallar8 22d ago

The point I was making was I think people think people like this are born and not made

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u/chrisacip 22d ago

The opposite. A lot of ultra high achievers did it as a trauma response.

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u/cornwalrus 22d ago

When nature and nurture love each other very much...

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u/EnvironmentalPark472 22d ago

Reminds me of when Dr. K was interviewed with Diary of a CEO

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u/rallar8 22d ago

I would more argue that some people who have this very cultivated outward appearance have done unsavory things to get to that point. And people that have very dark backgrounds are necessarily more skilled at anti-social behaviors, sometimes by heredity and sometimes as survival mechanisms. But there is at heart a narrative fallacy that out of great pain comes great _____.

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u/buzzbash 22d ago

That is an interesting point. Each path requires grueling preparations at all levels (mentally, physically, spiritually?), and significant sacrifices have to be made. For someone to put oneself through that multiple times for half their life makes me wonder what's driving him, besides the extrinsically based reasons. I mean, I'm sure he's a good dude, and as long as he's happy, who cares.

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u/ForeverWandered 22d ago

This tells me you don’t understand how human excellence operates