Remi Adeleke’s life changed abruptly when his father died—when his family went from being royalty in Nigeria to struggling to feed themselves in the Bronx.
The public education system was so poorly resourced and Remi was exposed to precious few role models in his early life. As a result, he didn’t feel that there was an expectation for him to even graduate high school; it seemed the only path available was stealing, selling drugs, and running scams.
But when Remi hit rock bottom at 26 and realized, he needed something bigger than himself. That’s when Remi met Tiana Reyes, a military recruiter who helped him find his true path. Tiana was also from the Bronx, so she was passionate about helping to give young people from the neighborhood an opportunity to establish a career and explore the world—because she knew that not many other people would give them the chance.
Tiana attended multiple court hearings to advocate for him and helped him fill out the paperwork to get Remi into the Navy. Once in Navy boot camp, Remi was exposed to all the different programs and set his heart on becoming a Navy SEAL.
But it wasn’t a slam dunk. He didn’t pass the academic test on his first attempt and, even if he had, he wouldn’t have passed the physical test because he didn’t know how to swim. But Remi’s mother always taught him to persevere, and he drew on that to train and study in the time outside of his role as a medic. The hard work paid off and Remi was accepted into Navy SEAL training.
In addition to fulfilling his dream of becoming a Navy SEAL, Remi is an actor, entrepreneur, writer, husband, and father. He has written a memoir about his life called Transformed and volunteers as a mentor for kids in similar situations that he was in.
He believes that the past does not have to be a template for our future, that there is always hope and that you can help a person so much that you’re actually hurting them because you're enabling them to keep doing what they’re doing.
As for all the hardships, setbacks and failures in his life, Remi says they made him who he is today because “you can't grow without failure.”
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Instagram: @remiadeleke Twitter: @RemiAdeleke Facebook: @RemiAdeleke LinkedIn: @RemiAdeleke Read: TransformedEp. 135 - Epic Fatherhood: How to Hone The Dad Edge - with Larry Hagner
Ep. 134 - Change Your Behavior, Change Your Life - with Tony Grebmeier
Ep. 133 - Stretched Too Thin - with Jessica Turner
Ep. 132 - Everything is Better as a Team: From SEAL Teams to the Business World - with Flynn Cochran
Ep. 131 - Movement is Life - with Jeff Moreno
Ep. 130 - Learning at the Speed of Love - with Dr. Carrie Rose
Ep. 129 - Being Chief - with Rick Miller
Ep. 128 - Start, Love, Repeat: Choosing to Trust & Love in Your Relationship - with Dorcas Cheng-Tozun
Ep. 127 - Being Different Makes the Biggest Difference - with Christopher Lochhead
Ep. 126 - What Have You Been Given Breath to Do? - with Cara Miller
Ep. 125 - Multiplying Your Understanding of Purpose & Passion - with Cara Miller
Ep. 124 - Designing Your Life: Lessons from One of Stanford’s Most Popular Classes - with Dave Evans
Ep. 123 - White Collar Warriors: What We Can Learn From Army Rangers & Navy SEALs - with Bill Hart
Ep. 122 - Grit, Gratitude and Beating Chains - with Rusty Labuschagne
Ep. 121 - The Art of Coming Back - with Jordan Harbinger
Ep. 120 - Leading from Purpose - with Nick Craig
Ep. 119 - Start, Love, Repeat: Supporting an Entrepreneurial Spouse Through The Struggle - with Dorcas Cheng-Tozun
Ep. 118 - Recovering from Addiction & Sharing Our Stories to Empower Others - with Jason Coombs
Ep. 117 - Cracking The Legacy Code & Creating a R.I.C.H. Experience - with Armando Cruz
Ep. 116 - Get Your Foot in the Door & Figure it Out - with Jesse Itzler
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