Author Talk: 'Mission Driven' by Former Navy SEAL Commander Mike Hayes

Event Details

In a chaotic world, how do we navigate life's transitions with intention? Westport Library board member Dave Briggs sits down with former Navy SEAL commander, White House Fellow, and Westporter Mike Hayes to explore what it means to navigate life’s transitions with purpose. Drawing from his book Mission Driven: The Path to a Life of Purpose, Hayes offers a practical and inspiring roadmap for building a more meaningful life.

Mission Driven is also the featured Thought Readers book for May — Join the discussion at our next book group meeting on May 13!

About Mission Driven

Mission Driven is a practical guide for seekers at transition points: young people, recent graduates, professionals considering new roles, those contemplating legacy, or anyone looking to find a more optimal balance in their life. In two sections, the "Long Game" and the "Short Game," Hayes walks readers through the most critical lessons for a life of meaning. Whether someone is at the beginning of their journey or at any stage looking for more, Mission Driven is a book about knowing yourself, training yourself, generating opportunities, and building a life of impact and reward, however you personally define it.

Mike shares lessons on:

• Not what you want to be — but WHO you want to be
• His most powerful secret: Helping others helps us more
• Getting comfortable making fecisions
• Finding rnough in the ways you spend your time

Whether someone is at the beginning of their journey or, at any stage, looking for more, Mission Driven is a roadmap for discovering what drives you, and a playbook for translating those drives into opportunities. It is a book to help us satisfy our ambitions and our souls, filled with smart, empathetic guidance.

About the Speakers

Mike Hayes is Managing Director at Insight Partners, a global software investment firm. Prior to Insight, Mike was Chief Operating Officer at VMware, where he led the company's worldwide business operations, their SaaS transition, and the successful acquisition into Broadcom. Before that, Mike served as Senior Vice President and Head of Strategic Operations for Cognizant Technologies. Mike previously spent four years at Bridgewater Associates, an investment management firm, where he served in Chief of Staff to CEO and COO roles.

Prior to Bridgewater, he spent 20 years in the U.S. Navy SEALs where his career began as one of 19 graduates from a class of 120. Mike served throughout South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, including the conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. His last job in the Navy was the Commanding Officer of SEAL Team TWO, which included ten months as the Commander of a 2,000 person Special Operations Task Force in southeastern Afghanistan.

Before that, Mike was selected as a White House Fellow ('08/'09) and served two years as Director, Defense Policy and Strategy at the National Security Council. In the Bush Administration, Mike was responsible for the START Treaty, where he produced a new proposed START Treaty and flew to Russia for negotiations. In the Obama administration, he led the White House response to President Obama's first major foreign policy showdown — the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama off the coast of Somalia. Prior to the White House Fellowship, Mike served as the Deputy Commander for all Special Operations in Anbar Province, Iraq.

Mike holds an M.A. in Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School and received his B.A. from Holy Cross College. He is the author of best-sellers Never Enough: A Navy SEAL Commander on Living a Life of Excellence, Agility, and Meaning and Mission Driven: The Path to a Life of Purpose. He donates all profits to a 501c3 he started that pays off mortgages for Gold Star widows and children. He also serves on the board of Immuta, a data governance company, and is the founding board member of the National Medal of Honor Museum. Mike is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, is fluent in German and Spanish, frequently speaks about leadership and elite organizations, and enjoys mentoring others to success.

Dave Briggs is a longtime national broadcaster at CNN, NBC Sports, Fox News and Turner Sports. He is also vice president for business development at Cann Social Tonic. He’s been a Westport resident since 2008 and is very involved in town activities — as a Westport Library board member, a Fashionably Westport MC, and more.

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