From how to establish yourself in a group, how to set yourself apart, to ways you can strengthen a team even from a supporting position, Ant Middleton’s ‘First Man In’ provides an all-encompassing look at being a leader. This makes the insights easy to apply no matter where you are in your existing or aspiring hierarchy. Personal Development as Well as Leadership Development Nebenbei gibt er in seinem Buch nützliche Leadershipskill-Tipps, die ich weitestgehend mitgehen würde. Alles in allem, eine sehr bereichernde Geschichte, aus der ich viel mitnehmen konnte.

Spread across the entire book is a strong focus on not just leadership techniques, but how to be a leader. As the first chapter says, it’s not something that just happens; it’s something you become. The example stories and the summary tips emphasise personal development, with a strong focus on being the best version of yourself. And ‘versions’ there must be since the author emphasises that trying to emulate just one persona will stunt your progress. No one is born a leader. But through sheer determination and by confronting life’s challenges, Ant Middleton has come to know the meaning of true leadership. In First Man In, he shares the core lessons he’s learned over the course of his fascinating, exhilarating life. Special forces training is no walk in the park. The rules are strict and they make sure you learn the hard way, pushing you beyond the limits of what is physically possible. There is no mercy. Even when you are bleeding and broken, to admit defeat is failure. To survive the gruelling selection process to become a member of the elite you need toughness, aggression, meticulous attention to detail and unrelenting self-discipline, all traits that make for the best leaders. After 13 years service in the military, with 4 years as a Special Boat Service (SBS) sniper, Ant Middleton is the epitome of what it takes to excel. He served in the SBS, the naval wing of the special forces, the Royal Marines and 9 Parachute Squadron Royal, achieving what is known as the ‘Holy Trinity’ of the UK’s Elite Forces. As a point man in the SBS, Ant was always the first man through the door, the first man into the dark, and the first man in harm’s way. In this fascinating, exhilarating and revealing book, Ant speaks about the highs and gut-wrenching lows of his life – from the thrill of passing Special Forces Selection to dealing with the early death of his father and ending up in prison on leaving the military – and draws valuable lessons that we can all use in our daily lives. First Man In: Leading from the Front by Ant Middleton – eBook Details

About this book

Basic training was hard. But I made it. Because I wanted to be the best me. Sometimes you have to learn that being the best you is being the second best you. I learned the hard way that the army doesn’t want people who always come first. Otherwise there would be only one person in the army. And there wouldn’t be enough men to deploy in Afghan. The army needs people who can come second, third, fourth and last. Know yourself and be that person. Leaders understand that. Two shots through the mouth. His head exploded. I felt nothing. It was easy. Job done

At some point I got married again. This time it was for food. Because there were three people in the marriage. Me, Emilie and my demons. I also trained for the Special Boat Service. But that’s something for me and my demons. Since leaving the SBS, I’ve done a lot of TV work. Helping people confront their demons. Helping people to be the real them by sailing across the Pacific in a shit boat. We did that. Now they are the real them. Not the real you. Because only you can be the real you. Obviously this is how he came across to me in the book. He's probably a perfectly nice person. I also have to remember that the book had editors and they probably told him what to leave in and leave out etc and that coloured how he came across.There are self-help guides about leadership aplenty. There are countless memoirs of soldiers sharing their experiences – even those from elite forces. But it’s rarer to find a book like ‘First Man In’ by Ant Middleton (best known as the head instructor on the Channel 4 television series SAS: Who Dares Wins), which blends life experience with actionable insights on how to be a better leader. In this fascinating, exhilarating and revealing book, Ant speaks about the highs and gut-wrenching lows of his life – from the thrill of passing Special Forces Selection to dealing with the early death of his father and ending up in prison on leaving the military – and draws valuable lessons that we can all use in our daily lives. This doesn’t come across as preachy or ‘inspirational’ to the point of being inauthentic. A strong point is made in the early chapters, and the methods of accomplishing this are spread organically throughout the rest of the book. The focus is always about becoming a leader, not just how you can act like one. No Questions Left Unanswered This book follows Ant Middleton’s journey as a soldier and as an individual. It delves into his early life, his personal relationships, his jumps between careers and goals. Moreover, it explores his experiences as – quite literally – the first man into the fray. From his newly gained fame in television to his many positions in the British Military, this book – refreshingly – provides a clear look at Middleton as a person. Importantly, however, it never strays too far from the actionable insights this book promises. Condensed and Easy to Reference ‘What We’ve Learned’ Sections I like Ant's no nonsense approach to situations. As well as his journey on finding his own balance, his he is honest about his mistakes, but again these were also his teachers. Another message is that life is not about lessons learned, but the learning must continue throught a person's life.

I have watched several series of SAS who dares wins on UK TV since I read this book and I would like to revise my opinion. No one is born a leader. But through sheer determination and by confronting life’s challenges, Ant Middleton has come to know the meaning of true leadership. In First Man In, he shares the core lessons he’s learned over the course of his fascinating, exhilarating life. Book Genre: Autobiography, Biography, Leadership, Memoir, Military Fiction, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Self Help, War Ich glaube einer seiner nicht explizit genannten Stärken ist es, Menschen zu lesen, sie auftragsorientiert gezielt einzusetzen und sich nebenbei auch selbst noch gut in Szene zu setzen. Für mich vollkommen ok. Denn wer viel leistet, darf auch gerne aus der Masse hervorstechen.

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After a while, I realised 9 Para wasn’t for me. There was too much macho shit in the regiment. The reality was they weren’t nearly as hard as they thought they were. That’s because they didn’t know themselves. Like you don’t know yourself. I know myself. I know my demons. We all have demons. You may not think you have demons. But I can guarantee you do. And your demons have to be confronted. I've always enjoyed the kind of reality TV that involves tough jobs of any kind from crab fishing to gold mining, oil rigs to logging. I also like shows that show the young people heading into basic training for the military, showing their highs and lows, and also watching military people trying out for the elite services like the SAS or command positions in other parts of the military. There was a show on years ago that I loved where ordinary people are put through a version of SAS training. I think it was called SAS Are You Tough Enough? A few years ago a similar show called SAS Who Dares Wins came out and I just had to watch it. By the end of the first season I was hooked on it and I just loved the guys who were running the training, including Ant Middleton, who can go from normal to scary in the blink of an eye. I've been devouring the books written by the guys who run the training on the show.

However, I was heartened to read that when he was imprisoned, he used the experience to improve himself. Redemption is possible, hurrah! This book looks at various events in Ant's life, both personal and military, and what he tries to do is look at what happened with each event and the lessons he learned from it. He points out where he went wrong and why, what he could have done differently and tries to turn it into a life lesson that anyone can use in their working or personal lives. I knew that this was the format of the book and I wasn't sure if it would work but I think it does. Anyone watching SAS WDW would be interested to know a bit more about Ant's personal and military life and he is not shy in talking about these things here. He doesn't sugercoat how badly behaved he was in his early military career and the things he did wrong, he doesn't try to hide his mistakes. Frankly he wasn't a very nice guy but the point is, he learned from his mistakes and tried to make himself a better person and for that I applaud him.At the end of each chapter, there is a summary that outlines the lessons described in each portion of the book. It’s structured in a way that’s easy to reference for later use. Furthermore, it rephrases the points in more concise, actionable ways. also passed through. There are certain parts of this book that do not ring true with me particularly the description of violence being employed by Directing Staff in the RE and 9 Para training. This simply did not happen in the late nineties, this type of behavior was eradicated at least 20 years earlier. I'm not saying that the DS were angels by any means but physical bullies they were not. Ant also makes much of the "alpha male hierarchy" within the RE and 9 Para - in my experience this is/was just not true. Admittedly you get the occasional obnoxious braggard as in any walk of life but the overwhelming sense is of comradeship and support for each other, i.e. looking out for your mates. After 13 years service in the military, with 4 years as a Special Boat Service (SBS) sniper, Ant Middleton is the epitome of what it takes to excel. He served in the SBS, the naval wing of the special forces, the Royal Marines and 9 Parachute Squadron Royal, achieving what is known as the 'Holy Trinity' of the UK's Elite Forces. As a point man in the SBS, Ant was always the first man through the door, the first man into the dark, and the first man in harm's way. Special forces training is no walk in the park. The rules are strict and they make sure you learn the hard way, pushing you beyond the limits of what is physically possible. There is no mercy. Even when you are bleeding and broken, to admit defeat is failure.