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Episode 270

Live At Your Limit with Dean Stott | Win the Day
February 3, 2026
Dean Stott MBE is a British special forces operator, two-time Guinness World Record Holder, and TV personality.
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In this episode of Win the Day:

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." — Edmund Burke

Dean Stott served in one of the world’s most elite special forces units, the British SBS (Special Boat Service). In a 16-year military career, Dean deployed to the planet’s most hostile environments, tackled counter-terrorism operations, and lived the unrelenting pursuit of excellence.

In 2011, a parachuting accident ended his military career, but Dean didn’t slow down. He became a world-leading security consultant, protecting presidents, royal families, and governments—even evacuating the Canadian Embassy in Libya in 2014 and rescuing over 200 people from Israel in 2023.

Then, with barely 20 miles of cycling experience, Dean set out to break two world records by biking the 14,000-mile Pan American Highway from Argentina to Alaska in under 100 days. He did it—raising over $1.4 million for mental health charities along the way.

In 2024, Dean was awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for his humanitarian, sporting, and mental health contributions. Dean now hosts Netflix’s Toughest Forces on Earth and SAS Australia, while inspiring global audiences as a sought-after speaker.

In this episode:

  • How to set—and achieve—goals beyond your wildest imagination.
  • The best lessons from the world’s preeminent special forces units.
  • How to build unbreakable resilience when everything goes wrong.
  • Why a better life starts with you.

Let’s WIN THE DAY with Dean Stott!

Timestamps

00:00 Who is Dean Stott
2:00 Interview starts
2:58 How to handle the haters
7:04 The power of self-belief (how to achieve the impossible)
9:45 The #1 skill of a special forces operator
11:23 Selection for British special forces (SAS/SBS)
14:00 Special forces secret to overcoming fear
14:42 What’s the difference between the SAS (Special Air Service) and the SBS (Special Boat Service)
16:08 Be the "Grey Man"
20:16 If you don't believe that you can do it, you've already failed
21:21 What’s the difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 special forces
24:02 The #1 tip for a success life (do the basics well)
25:22 What it’s like to be a Tier One special forces
26:44 Why SAS and SBS are different to Delta and SEAL Team 6
27:35 How each special forces unit is different
31:02 How dangerous are the most dangerous places on Earth
34:30 Life as a security contractor
36:20 Having a “fixer” in every region
42:46 How to prepare for violence
44:42 Transition to civilian life
46:27 Dealing with ungrateful civilians
49:26 Dean Stott parachuting accident
54:24 Going from Tier 1 operator to military contractor
57:21 Being in Libya for the 2012 Benghazi attack
59:09 Saving children from the 2024 terrorist attack in Israel
1:02:26 Never getting emotionally involved
1:05:35 How to survive your darkest moments
1:08:38 Why you need a support network
1:09:36 How to push through when you’ve got nothing left
1:11:10 How Dean Stott planned his world record
1:15:27 From the battlefield to the boardroom
1:18:02 Best tips for parenting
1:20:57 The unrelenting pursuit of excellence
1:24:20 Affirmation
1:26:01 Rocket Round

 

Resources / links mentioned:

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⚡ Dean Stott website

📷 Dean Stott Instagram

📝 Dean Stott Facebook

🌎 Dean Stott X

📚 ‘Relentless’ by Dean Stott

📽️ Dean Stott YouTube

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Inspiring quotes in this episode:
  • "The best course of action is action itself." — Dean Stott
  • "I'm going to cycle the world's longest road next year and break the world record." — Dean Stott
  • "I would never have been successful in my missions if it wasn't for them [locals in warzones]." — Dean Stott
  • "The more time you spend doing it, that's how you overcome your fear." — Dean Stott
  • "They tell you to be the 'Gray Man' on selection. The gray man is basically not bringing any attention to yourself—for good reasons or for the wrong reasons. Try to stay under the radar." — Dean Stott
  • "One of the ethoses of special forces is humor." — Dean Stott
  • "If you don't believe that you can do it, you've already failed." — Dean Stott
  • "For Tier 2 special forces, as soon as you're working together as a team, the easier it gets. For Tier 1 special forces, you have to be self-motivated." — Dean Stott
  • "I do a lot of evacuations. It always tends to be someone who's got themselves in trouble because they're not culturally aware." — Dean Stott
  • "The cartel now don't kidnap people. They don't want the trouble. It's more white collar crime for them. There's less risk and there's more reward." — Dean Stott
  • "If I take eight guys in to Mogadishu with me, I'm basically looking after eight guys. If one of them messes up, it's like you're babysitting. It's easier for me to just look after myself." — Dean Stott
  • "The military's not going to let me buy weapons on the black market and bury them between Tunisia and Egypt. They'll probably say it's too risky to go into certain countries because of your background. They could misinterpret that you're a spy." — Dean Stott
  • "I always have a great fixer in each country." — Dean Stott
  • "I did have a team, it just wasn't your typical UK or US special forces guys. Pedigree wise, the big one for me is cultural awareness, no ego, being able to sort of blend in." — Dean Stott
  • "I would build the team around the task." — Dean Stott
  • "One of the reasons we're the best special forces is not because of the caliber guys or the training, it's because we're always evolving, we're always learning. We do a thing called a hot debrief. Three simple questions: what worked, what didn't work, and what would we do differently?" — Dean Stott
  • "There's no point in me trying to push my experiences onto civilians. It's good that people don't really know what's going on. I think if the world realized what was going on sometimes, it'd be hysteria." — Dean Stott
  • "If I get emotionally involved, I may make the wrong decision." — Dean Stott
  • "In Afghanistan, it was the men that were leaving, and the women and kids were staying. In Ukraine, the women and kids were leaving, and the men were staying. That says a lot about those two different operations." — Dean Stott
  • "You have to set yourself challenges." — Dean Stott
  • "You can't be experienced without experiences." — Dean Stott
  • "What do I need to do today to be here tomorrow?" — Dean Stott
  • "I'd like to change the word 'failure' to ‘experience’. It's not a failure, it's an experience. What I get upset about is when people then make that mistake again, because it means they haven't learned from that experience." — Dean Stott
  • "The ethos of UK special forces is 'The unrelenting pursuit of excellence.'" — Dean Stott
  • "The best students now are those that come in the sport late." — Dean Stott
  • "Anticipation is worse than participation." — Dean Stott
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