WELCOME
Challenges and Operations from Apogee Strong
What is Apogee Strong?
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The Story
Apogee is an online mentorship program birthed in 2020 based on the ideals our founders wanted to instill in their own sons. Apogee is focused on mentoring young men with a guiding philosophy designed to build character and help them learn to be providers and protectors. Our decisions are grounded in the same servant-leadership philosophy we aim to pass on to our mentees. Learn how Apogee can make a difference for you.
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The Mission
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In today's rapidly evolving world, it's crucial that individuals have the ability to think critically. Apogee's participants have the unique opportunity to engage in a community designed to help them learn how to think, not what to think. That core philosophy shapes our missions and how we interact with our participants.
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The Philosophy
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Apogee’s goal is not to coach men on what to think, but how to think. We are growing tomorrow’s leaders by helping young men understand the power of ideals. You will complete this program as a more self-motivated young man, with the tools you need to reach your ambitions. Discover the structure and tools that help us achieve this below.
Operation Yes Sir, No Sir
This operation was pretty straightforward. Call men "sir" and women "ma'am." In addition, hold doors open for women, and stand up for them. This challenge was hard for me to adapt to, but in the end, I loved it and will continue doing so.
Operation C.E.O
Find C.E.O.s or influential men around you and interview them for at least 15 minutes. There are four questions we must ask: What made you man who you are today? What do you want to see from young people? What are you working on? What separates you from other men? I interviewed pastor, author, and podcaster Mr. Douglas Wilson. Along with Randy Haacke of World Vision and Adam Smith of Spokane Valley Brazilian JiuJitsu.
Operation First Responder
This Operation is extremely similar to Operation C.E.O with the exception that instead of C.E.O.'s, I interview L.E.O.'s or first responders. I interviewed retired sniper Vincent Peak, volunteer fireman Mr. Adam Smith, and Captain Joe Apolinar
Operation Public Speaking
I attended the Wild Turkey Tourney speech tournament in Addy Washington. I spoke in the Apologetics and Original Oratory categories. My Original Oratory was on the widely controversial question: Should We Follow the Old Testament Laws?
Operation Hospice or Shelter
This operation's idea was simple enough: Volunteer.
My brother and I decided to volunteer at a center for women who decided against abortion and need help supporting their newborns. We raked, weeded, shoveled, and did all manners of lawncare for the facility.
Operation old school
Now I know how my grandparents felt. And, I suppose, my parents to an extent. No more than thirty minutes on the phone, and no using the computer for anything else besides school and God.
I've got to admit, it was hard in the beginning. The phone was easy, but I found myself making reminders to keep off anything non-Apogee approved. I even put up blockers on my chrome and Macbook to whitelist what I used.
Operation Big Brother
Mentoring someone isn't something I've often done. Sure, I've had many mentors, all of them amazing, but I've never had to mentor someone myself.
There are a lot of people these days, sadly, many of them children who are hopeless. With the hope of God within me I helped both plant a seed of Christ and give hope to Rachel.
90 HARD
90 Hard surpasses the other challenges in difficulty and required discipline. For 90 days, one must stick to a diet, spend 90 minutes a day working out (45 minutes must be spent outdoors), drink a gallon of water, and read 10 pages.
Operation Paperclip
In a short and summarized way:
Take a paperclip and trade it up to the most valuable item you can. I must document each trade and I only have a month
Operation Get to Work
This Operation - like Operation Paperclip - was quite simple. I had to make a list of my skills and passions. After, I could list the jobs that I could find success in.
Operation Manskills
Changing a tire, tying a clove-hitch knot, performing the Heimlich maneuver, all of these things (and more!) are part of Operation Manskillls. Essentially, Operation Manskills tasks me to practice and perfect some of the most important skills for a man.
Garbage in, Garbage out
Sometimes my brother will ask me if I remember what I had for breakfast. During Apogee Month 8 I could tell him every time because I had to write down every calorie of food I put in, logging it into my journal. This operation showed me what I am really putting into my body and what I should change in my diet. (Except for Easter, which was this month, on that day I totally pigged out for Easter Sunday Brunch)
Mr. Randy Haacke
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Mr. Haacke has traveled to the countries and helped the people there. But more than
that, Christ has shown him that he must do so. Along with working on the ground, he
helps others in his community help those who are less fortunate.
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Near the end of the interview, we began to converse about the roles of the next generation.
World Vision has started a fairly new program (two years!) for young people around the country to
help raise awareness of poverty. Mr. Haacke believes it is our responsibility (the young people) to help others, not just our calling.
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World Vision is constantly developing communities. In fact, raising a community takes fifteen years, and every five years, they will check on the progress of the community. Therefore, World Vision is always striving for a better world. But as Jesus said: “The poor will always be with you.” So, although we will never eradicate poverty, helping even one soul is progress. ~ Mr. Haacke
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This was my first interview, and I was faulty. I did not ask him this question, but I can reply to it if rephrased slightly. What separates World Vision from other charities? World Vision gives the donor a choice. Whether they want to dig a well or give a goat, there is so much to offer. Mr. Haacke helps people do this very thing, and as he phrased so nicely, “he helps people help others by using the methods they resonate with.”
Mr. Douglas Wilson
In Idaho, amidst the rolling hills of grain lies the town of Moscow. In which
there is a ministry by the name of Christ Church. Though a small town, Christ
Church has been on the news several times, as with the headline: Christian Nationalism
on the Rise. Leading the church is a board of elders, and beneath them is Pastor Wilson.
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Mr. Wilson explained that the call to the church was a hard one to receive. He had just come out of the Navy and wanted to open a bookstore. He attended the University of Idaho and studied psychology from an Atheist's viewpoint. Mr. Wilson's debate with atheist Christopher Hitchens (see here) showed off his learnings from these studies. In the end, Mr. Wilson reluctantly agreed to help in the church. Guitar in hand, he greeted the attendants of the new church. And as he said, it was a "Jesus people type Church."
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No more than a year into the making of Christ Church, the original pastor was offered a bigger job in a bigger city. With no pastor to teach the Church, Mr. Wilson warily stepped up and gave a sermon. It was not a calling, it was a duty, one Mr. Wilson wasn't pleased with. He and his lovely wife Nancy even began to look for others to fill the previous pastor's shoes. But no one did.
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Now, Mr. Wilson knows he belongs as the pastor of Christ Church, and he is fulfilled doing the work. Along with the ministry, Mr. Wilson loves to write. Regarding future generations, Mr. Wilson hopes to use his works of literature and talent for the better.
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Christ Church, now a Presbyterian Reformed Church, continues to expand its outreach and has entered into the online realm too. Learn more here.
For me, Mr. Wilson is an amazing man and fulfills Hebrews 12: 1-2.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder, and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
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Mr. Vincent Peak
Mr. Vincent Peak is a retired Special Operation Sniper. In short, a veteran.
I had the wonderful chance to shoot guns with him in his backyard and, for the
first time, tried on night vision goggles.
This experience was in month two.
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Now, I'm in month three.
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If you read above, you know that month two is interviewing veterans, L.E.O., or first responders. Unlike Mr. Wilson, I didn't learn a whole lot about his past, but he did have a great analogy which I'd like to share below:
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When I asked him the question about what quality or virtue served him the best in his life, he gave a surprising answer, flexibility. As he is a veteran, I expected a tough and gruff answer. To help me understand he gave an analogy.
"Like a plant, right?" He said. "The plants without plasticity are the ones that don't survive."
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Later, he also told me about perseverance, the virtue that goes hand in hand with flexibility. You must have one mission, a mission that you love to do of course, and stick with it. The thing is though, you have to be willing to give it your all, and how you do that is where the flexibility comes in. For instance, he started a company that takes local foods and sells them in bulk to large companies. Six years ago, he was told it would never work. Now, those same people want to join him.
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Along with this, Mr. Peak hoped to see young people work together on projects they love. In his Special Operations training he did group challenges, and he believes that young people could benefit greatly from doing though things together as a team.
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Mr. Joe Apolinar
When I was thirteen, my brother and I were surprised one day by a package in the mail.
On the side, it said, "TOP SECRET" in big, bold, red lettering. Our Dad smiled knowingly and
told us to open it. We did, and inside were two compasses, a map, and a note. The note simply said:
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"Check your email."
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We ran upstairs to our computers and hastily refreshed the email inbox. With the little "unopened" symbol beside it was a fresh email from someone named Captain Joseph. The email said that if my brother and I accepted this mission, a great and challenging day lay ahead for us.
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Needless to say, we accepted.
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Fast forward to today, I still look fondly at using compasses, finding caches, and eating lunch over a fire with Mr. Apolinar and his team that afternoon. I also remembered that he happened to have served our country. One of the specifications for the month three "Into the Fire" operation interviews. So, with the old email, I reached out and secured a fifteen-minute interview.
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It was wonderful seeing his face again, though it changed a bit from Italy. I quickly began to fire my questions, and he began countering with his excellent answers. When it came to skills that helped him the most, it was very similar to Mr. Peak in that it was perseverance. He told me stories of when he wanted to play video games like normal kids but had to help his Dad haul logs up hills instead. Though he hated it, it taught him the valuable lesson of holding fast.
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From young people, he answered with discomfort. Young people seek comfort, which is understandable. Who wouldn't want salty, crunchy, and flavourful chips on a nice plush couch with absolutely no expectations? But at the same time, who has grown as a person doing it? His answer reminded me of a Roman businessman named Seneca, who would three days a week eat peasant food and sleep on a bed of hay every day. Emperor Nero was jealous that a man would value honor over money and devised a plan to kill him via poison. Later Nero stated he found the deed "Impossible since he only consumed berries and water."
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Mr. Apolinar was an amazing man to talk to, and I can proudly say another good time with him has found its place in my memories.
Mr. Adam Smith
I've been under Mr. Smith's teaching of JiuJitsu for a long time (almost eight years!). And
although I've known Mr. Smith is also a volunteer fireman, I never really asked him much
about it. That is until Month 3 of Apogee came, and we secured a call together to discuss
his bravery and fearlessness in the midst of fighting fires.
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"A person's worst day is a fireman's best." - Mr. Adam Smith
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The only way a firefighter proves their training is through fighting fires. The only problem is when a person's house is caught ablaze, it's their worst day, but of course, it's the fireman's best.
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Mr. Smith was very clear with one attribute he strived towards during the whole interview: being calm. I was taken aback. I expected something more along the lines of: "Sauna often. Because you're gonna want to get used to the heat."
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But that wasn't the case. It was far from it. If anything, Mr. Smith was saying to be cool, calm, and collected under high-pressure situations. It's this attribute that makes him my favorite fireman and JiuJitsu teacher.
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Opertation Public Speaking
Operation Public Speaking was interesting for a number of reasons. One, my topic was probably the worst topic I could have chosen for my FIRST PUBLIC SPEAKING outing. And two, it was my FIRST PUBLIC SPEAKING outing.
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These reasons of course are only sensible, but for me they were nerve-racking. Throughout the day, we weren't allowed outside of the church and had to stay in a single room. Thankfully, we came prepared with card games and sketchbooks. Not to mention the need to memorize our speeches further still. Most of the day comprised of sitting down, occasionally mixed with fifteen minutes of pure anxiety and adrenaline.
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I can remember standing in front of the judges in my first apologetics round and drawing a random slip of paper with a tough theological question written upon it. Just moments before, I had reviewed this very question and in my mind, I was crying in pure joy. No matter how much I prepared though, I still stuttered and stumbled over my words, and my four-minute speech came out as a 6/10.
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My original oratory went much better. I forgot the reference of a bible verse, (Leviticus 20: 10-12) and my speech came out at a short six minutes, but for me, it was a total victory. The judges were chuckling from the jokes I had slipped in, and I was grinning from ear to ear. Even so, my speech was short and my introduction was rough, motivating me all the more to absolutely smash my next round.
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When I walked into the next room, the judges looked stone-faced with the intent to roast me alive. Not that they were, of course, but to me, it seemed that way. In my defense though, these speech judges weren't even supposed to SMILE. However, I cracked them up, and by the time I reached my conclusion, two out of the four judges were beaming at me.
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I'm not sure how healthy my nerves were after this, but my speaking ability grew by leaps and bounds. Not only my speaking in front of crowds but my parents, friends, and people in general. Even my vocabulary has improved, and eloquent speech is not so far of a goal to reach. This operation has been my favorite so far, and I already have another speech tournament in February of 2023 planned.
Operation Manskills
I remember vaguely, in the Fifth Grade, having to perform CPR on a test dummy. All I recall is having no idea whether I was doing it right or not because... well, it's a dummy. It has no consciousness. When it comes to vital, life-saving skills such as the Heimlich maneuver, CPR, or even basic first aid, I was not the person you wanted to be dying in a locked room with.
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Yet, straying away from life-saving skills for a moment, I could not and did not know how to change a flat tire or tie a tie. Some of the simplest actions of life were beyond my meager grasp. I was really surprised when I read Mr. Beaudreau's PDF on Month 8. Why would I need to know how to tie a clove hitch? Also, what is a clove hitch?
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But, being faithful to the Apogee program, I decided my grumbling was to be ended, and the operation started. I decided to start easy with the knots, move onto Heimlich, then change a tire, and finally, CPR and first aid. River would come up to me and randomly give me Heimlich, which I suppose is practice for him, but let's just say my ribs won't quite be the same again.
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Overall, this Operation was one of my favorites. Although I hope I never need to use most of these man skills, I'll be ready when and if the time comes.