Rob Jones Keynote Speaker
- Retired Marine Sergeant and Paralympic Bronze Medalist
- Rob completed a month long, back-to-back marathon challenge, running 31 marathons in 31 days in 31 different major cities
- Shares his incredible story and his strategies for staying motivated, pushing past fear, and living a life filled with purpose
Rob Jones's Biography
Rob Jones is a Retired Marine Sergeant and Paralympic Bronze Medalist. A former combat engineer with the U.S. Marines, Rob served two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2008 and 2010.
As a Combat Engineer, Rob specialized in finding hidden Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), the enemy’s most deadly weapons. On a mission in July of 2010, while executing an IED sweep, Rob was struck and injured by a land mine, resulting in a double above-the-knee leg amputation. He spent the next year and a half in physical therapy before retiring from the Marine Corps in 2011. Upon his retirement, Rob was forced to adapt to a new way of being a leader. To do this, he turned to the world of sports and in the fall of 2017, Rob completed a month long, back-to-back marathon challenge, running 31 marathons in 31 days in 31 different major cities.
In 2012, he competed in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, England, bringing home a bronze medal in rowing. In 2013, he became the first double above knee amputee to ride a bicycle across the United States, riding 5,181 miles from Bar Harbor, Maine to Camp Pendleton, California. Over the course of the ride, along with his team, he raised $126,000 for the Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes, the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, and Ride 2 Recovery, three charities which aid wounded veterans.
Rob is currently a trainer at Echelon Front, which is the nation’s premier leadership development company founded by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. Throughout this journey, Rob has relied upon the principles taught at Echelon Front to turn the darkest moment of his life into a life of impact—more meaningful than he ever could have expected. Rob now brings his experience to Echelon Front to help teams of people take Extreme Ownership and overcome the challenges they face in business and in life.
Rob Jones's Speaking Topics
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The Rob Jones Journey
Since being discharged honorably from the Marines, Rob Jones has continued to motivate himself to achieve new heights. He shares his story of perseverance and the values-based belief system he uses to stay inspired and keep reaching—including his battle-tested view that the best way to overcome any obstacle, accomplish any goal, and improve yourself is by embracing selflessness. Rob shares his inspiring personal story and, with a thought-provoking and incredibly moving first-hand story, hammers home the importance of acting in the best interests of those around you and the causes that you care about. Rob has lived this value, as evidenced by his recovery and achievements since his time in the Marines. Rob talks about his desire to incite all citizens to action, and how he hopes his life will serve as encouragement for anyone doubting their abilities or the impact they can make. Rob provides audiences with a roadmap for harnessing selflessness to rise to the occasion and take on difficult tasks, inspiring audiences around the world to: Stay on Mission: Understand clearly their “mission” and why it’s so key to stay dedicated despite barriers to success / Proof the Lane: Recognize that the responsibility falls to them to be the one to prove what is possible for people like them and to open up possibilities for these people / Use the Weight: Become better able to use the stress of a situation to cause the appropriate adaptation in themselves, becoming better because of it
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Finding Your Selfless Purpose
Rob Jones joined the Marine Corps while in a college—a life-changing decision spurred by a realization that courage, brotherhood, and selflessness were missing from his life. His tours in Afghanistan fulfilled these personal vacancies, and he became a combat engineer trained in IED detection. One fateful day, however, an IED exploded at close range to Jones. Physically and emotionally broken, Jones felt “on his own once again,” as the Marine Corps—the reason for his newfound courage, brotherhood, and selflessness—now seemed far out of reach. Deeply inspired by the will-power of other disabled veterans, Jones was soon determined to turn his stresses into strength—not for himself, but for the people he loves. He converted the dismay of his injury into the motivation necessary to become a Paralympic athlete, bike across the country, run 31 marathons in 31 days, and become an example of what veterans can do. Recounting his incredible journey, Rob Jones explains how he pushed himself to greater heights by acting out of selflessness, rather than self-interest.
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