In short
How a “wrong” outcome and fear of vulnerability can redirect a life toward adventure, action, and long-term goals; includes practical advice for young people to find what excites them, build community, start saving/investing, and stick to decisions.
Guest
Jay Morton (military adventurer). Born in Preston, Lancashire; joined the military and later entered the SAS; passed selection with two others into the same squadron. He wanted Air Troop but received Mountain Troop, which he initially hated yet later became his lifelong path. He leads/looks after clients in remote high-altitude environments (e.g., Everest and 8,000-meter mountains).
Key claims
Listen to what truly excites you; start pensions early; travel and community beat passive waiting; vulnerability and fear can block action; stick to your plan despite doubts.
Notable examples
Mountain Troop instead of Air Troop; Everest/8,000-meter climbs; “no phone signal” client support in the mountains; starting a pension at 18.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOThe Unexpected Path of Mountain Troop
0:36 to 3:17
Jay discusses his initial disappointment with joining Mountain Troop and how it shaped his life.
“What I'm passionate about is, and what I've realized what I'm passionate about is exploration, adventure, travel, and I really enjoy taking people to those environments.”
Advice for Young People
3:17 to 7:34
Jay shares valuable advice for young individuals navigating their future.
“Yeah, there was three of us that passed selection and all went to this one squadron.”
Finding Direction in Life
7:34 to 10:12
Discussion on the importance of having a plan and staying focused on goals.
“What was the one thing you needed to do, to screw it, just do it and get from where you were to where you are now?”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Jay Morton:I always think of this moment. It's one of those moments that could have completely changed your life. I always wanted to go into Air Troop. I didn't get it. And I got the last troop in that moment that I wanted was Mountain Troop. And I remember being so bummed out with it, like so pissed off. Ironically, in that moment that I hated, turned out to be something that I'm going to do for the rest of my life.
0:30Alex Chisnall:for isn't a lack of ideas it's the fear of getting started i'm alex chisnell and this is screw it just do it the podcast for people who are ready to stop waiting take action and make things happen
0:43Jay Morton:i think what probably really scares me is vulnerability and being vulnerable like on it like truly vulnerable um which again man we're not very good at no same yeah across the board
1:00Alex Chisnall:yeah um but what what lights you up um what are you most excited about now what really
1:07Jay Morton:lights me up and and and ignites my fire is um there's a song there yeah you go take that yeah um yeah do you know i i i could leave all the instagram stuff and you know working with brands and I could leave all that in a heartbeat. What I'm passionate about is, and what I've realized what I'm passionate about is exploration, adventure, travel, and I really enjoy taking people to those environments. And that's why I enjoyed the 8 ,000-meter mountain stuff and Everest, and I enjoy being, I enjoy looking after people in those environments. like I get a great sense of achievement and passion from that and I love just there's nothing more that I love than just being you know on the side of the cumberweights fall with a client and they're struggling and you know I'm there for them yeah I'm that person who's there for them uh to keep keep them safe and you're in the middle of nowhere you're not thinking about your next Instagram post um you've no phone signal it's just you and him or her and yeah for me that's that's what i want to do and you know i've got a big passion for adventure and for the world and um for how we kind of i guess leave the world in a or try to leave the world in a in a better place without sounding like some right righteous pr i c k um yeah but i think for me obviously, you know, being born into Preston and joining the military, when I joined the military, that sense of adventure that I got from being in the military and seeing different countries and
3:02Alex Chisnall:exploring has never left me now.
3:03Jay Morton:And I think I wouldn't, I would never have had that if I didn't go in the military. So I have a deep sense of passion to almost show other people that. I always think of this moment, it's one of those moments that could have completely changed your life, but when I first joined the SAS, we went into the Sergeant Major's office and there was, I think, three of us. Yeah, there was three of us that passed selection and all went to this one squadron. And I always wanted to go into air troop because being from the parachute regiment, it was like a natural progression to jump out of planes. And I didn't get it.
3:40Jay Morton:And I got the last troop in that moment that I wanted was mountain troop. and I got Mountain Troop and I remember being so bummed out with it like so pissed off you know I was just like oh Mountain Troop like I have no interest in climbing doing any of that stuff ironically in that moment that I hated turned out to be something that I'm going to do for the rest
4:04Alex Chisnall:of my life what advice would you give and I know a little bit about you know your backgrounds in Preston wasn't it Lancashire yeah and and what you were getting up to etc what kind of advice would you give and you're kind of giving some of it with what you said different outlets but
4:18Jay Morton:interested to know mate it's a good question without trying to sound cliche i'd just say listen to actually what you want in life like have a good solid listen to actually what what you want to do and what excites you um which is hard being 16 right yeah i had no idea no likewise and again i was i don't think the school system set up for young i'm gonna say young males because that's my experience but i think it's set up for young males you know we have so much testosterone and hormones and energy yet we're supposed to sit in a class being taught about algebra it's yeah we should be out throwing stuff making fires you know interacting with
5:07Alex Chisnall:with other males holder males learning from them um so yeah i'd say
5:15Jay Morton:you know if you don't like school that's that's fine there's there's a lot of things that you can do out there that have no relation to anything that you learn from school um play sport find something that means you interact with other other people other men whether that's rugby whether that's football um find something that that means that you meet up with people and and and build a community um look after yourself physically if that's in sport if that's through the gym start now um start investing in a pension yeah yeah things they don't tell you in school sooner you do it the more money you're going to have when you're older correct yeah even if it's hundred pound a month yeah just open that's really good advice actually i listened to was it ramit
6:09Alex Chisnall:sethy on driver ceo and i've just bought his book i'll teach you to cut to become wealthy yeah yeah and you're just like that should because the rewards as you say the earlier you start that are ridiculous but of course you get your first bit of money and the impulse is because you're being bombarded again on social media with buy this buy this buy this is to spend it yeah but if you can squirrel away some of it like you say it's massively gonna i always say to everyone because joining the military you get the pension yeah it's not a good one i left halfway through
6:41Jay Morton:so it's half pension but i started a pension as soon as i got out and i was like why didn't i start this when i was 18. yeah so start a pension um travel get out of your town go live in another the city learn what it feels like to meet people and make friends and learn communication skills go travel on your own go and visit brazil or colombia or africa learn about other cultures like that's a massive form of education put yourself out your comfort zone find something that at least you are interested in or that excites you in a very small amount because not you know, trying to find something that excites you when you're 16 is generally, you know, probably not the thing that you want to make a career out of.
7:33Jay Morton:And just put effort into it.
7:35Alex Chisnall:What was the one thing you needed to do, to screw it, just do it and get from where you were to where you are now? Sticking to your decisions and when you make them and just making the best of what,
7:48Jay Morton:I think there's a gain and a loss to everything, right?
7:51Alex Chisnall:Yeah.
7:52Jay Morton:And you've almost got to forget about what the loss was and just stick to the decision you made and crack on with it.
7:59Alex Chisnall:And what was the one thing that you needed to take that if you hadn't taken that action, you wouldn't have got to where you were? So what was the big domino that knocked over all the other dominoes?
8:10Jay Morton:I'm trying to think of the big stuff that I did in life and how it was all quite homogenous, if that's the word. All kind of just happened, but again, it doesn't all just kind of happen, right? there's no there's a reason you end up there and i guess was it joining the military for example
8:25Alex Chisnall:he hadn't done that nothing else would have happened yeah or leaving the military even i don't know yeah yeah all going on sas who des wins or whatever yeah it's a bizarre one i think
8:36Jay Morton:you could say joining the military you could say going on selection you could say that moment that i turned up and ended up going to mountain troop instead of any of the other troops um maybe that one yeah deciding to climb Everest I think there's a lot of them just uh just having a bit of faith
8:53Alex Chisnall:in what you want and what piece of advice would you give to anybody to help them get from where they currently are in their life to where they want to be have a plan and that doesn't need to feel like a full 30 page business plan yeah it might just be that you know in your head what you want to do um or it might be that you you journal about it or it might be that you actually write down some goals that you want to achieve this year but having a plan just gives us direction um there's nothing worse than being direction less i think yeah for me anyway it's tough that's
9:36Jay Morton:where you get anxiety and like these feelings introspection yeah yeah know that even if you do have a plan it's not always going to feel great um which is what i'm learning now is you know there's going to be some days where you doubt that plan and some days where you go you know oh maybe i should be doing something else and then you look on instagram and you like see everyone out free riding in Austria and you're like oh I should be out in free riding in Austria how do I do that yeah it's like just stick to your plan stick in the lane get there yeah yeah agrees
From the publisher
Jay Morton wanted Air Troop when he joined the SAS.
Instead, he was sent to Mountain Troop. It was the last posting he wanted and, at the time, he was gutted.
Looking back, that unwanted decision became one of the defining moments of his life. Mountain Troop introduced Jay to climbing, exploration and adventure, eventually taking him towards Everest and a life in the mountains. What felt like the wrong direction turned out to be the one he needed.
In this Founder Classic episode of Screw It Just DO It, I revisit my conversation with Jay about that sliding doors moment, the fear of unfulfilled potential, vulnerability and what happens when achievement stops giving you the answers you expected.
Jay also shares what he would tell someone who feels directionless: listen to what you actually want, get outside your comfort zone, make a decision and give yourself enough time to see where it leads.
His Screw It Just DO It moment comes down to something deceptively simple: stick to the decision. Stop obsessing over what you might have lost by choosing one path. Have some faith in what you want and crack on with it.
Key Takeaways
✦ Why getting Mountain Troop instead of Air Troop changed Jay’s life
✦ How an unwanted SAS posting led to his passion for mountains and exploration
✦ Why vulnerability became harder for Jay than physical challenges
✦ The danger of becoming directionless when you do not know what you want
✦ Why leaving your hometown and experiencing different cultures can change your perspective
✦ How sticking to a decision creates momentum
✦ Why your plan does not need to be complicated to give you direction
🎧 Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It for more conversations with founders, entrepreneurs and people who took the decision to stop waiting and act.
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