Run Toward the Fire: John Graham on Risk, Meaning, and a Life of Service

🔥 Excerpt
“You can chase adrenaline or you can build a life that matters. One keeps you entertained. The other keeps you proud.”

📄 Show Notes
I don’t often meet someone who literally ran toward war just to see what he was made of. John Graham did—and then spent the next few decades turning that raw hunger for danger into disciplined service and leadership. In this conversation, we trace his arc from Algerian border crossings and frontline diplomacy in Vietnam to a mid-storm bargain with God in the Gulf of Alaska, and ultimately to a life committed to peace, justice, and building courageous humans.
John’s through-line is simple and inconvenient: if you don’t define what your life means, every decision will feel risky, shallow, or both. He breaks down how founders can take smart risks (not performative ones), do a ruthless inventory of their actual capabilities, and anchor ambition in service so setbacks become speed bumps—not sinkholes.

We get into the moments that rewire a leader: ordering a firing squad—and realizing he no longer believed in the game he was playing; prying the “plywood off his heart” to become a better father, citizen, and operator; and co-leading the Giraffe Heroes Project to showcase people “sticking their necks out” for something bigger than themselves. We finish with practical counsel for founders who are tired of hollow wins: build meaning first, then scale it. That’s how you win relentlessly without losing yourself.

✅ Key Takeaways

•  Define meaning before you scale; purpose tightens decision filters.
• Risk ≠ recklessness: map the terrain, assess capacity, weigh risk–benefit—then move.
• Anchor in service so walls become speed bumps.
• Remove the emotional “plywood” blocking empathy and clarity.
• Humor is a resilience tool—get flattened, learn, get back on the horse.
• Model courage publicly; stories multiply courage inside your company.

👤 Bio
John Graham is a former U.S. Foreign Service officer, mountaineer, and global adventurer who redirected a life of high-stakes risk toward high-impact service. He helped advance anti-apartheid efforts at the United Nations, co-leads the Giraffe Heroes Project—spotlighting people “sticking their necks out” for the common good—and is the creator of Badass Granddad, a fast-growing series offering short, hard-won life lessons to younger audiences. He’s the author of multiple books on courage and service and continues to mentor the next generation of leaders.

🧭 Chapters
00:00 Introduction & John’s Background
05:38 Lessons From the Sea: Toughness, models of manhood, and early risk
09:50 Running Toward the Fire: Wars, revolutions, and the cost of adrenaline
14:39 Vietnam Reckoning: Power, orders, and a crisis of character
19:24 From Danger to Direction: Leaving the old script behind
19:49 Survival in the Gulf of Alaska: The typhoon, the bargain, the rescue
23:13 “Live or Die”: A commitment to service
24:31 Giraffe Heroes Project: Turning courage into a movement
26:21 Reaching the Next Generation: Badass Granddad and practical wisdom
27:33 Smart Risk for Founders: Terrain, capacity, and risk–benefit clarity
34:31 Changing the Operating System: From armor to empathy
39:47 Meaning Over Metrics: Building a life—and company—you respect
41:50 The Relentless Part: Humor, resilience, and getting back on the horse
43:03 RPOW Clip Outro
43:13 New Chapter Tease