#125 BONUS Episode: An Interview with Dr. John Cordle (Letters To Myself)
A single book can change your life, and sometimes it starts with one brutal question: what do you wish you’d known back then? We sit down with Dr. John Cordle, a retired Navy captain, to talk about his new book Letters to Myself and the real experiences behind it, from early doubts at the United States Naval Academy to the pressure-cooker moments that define military leadership.
John explains why he structured the book as letters to his younger self at major career milestones, pulling one core lesson from each phase: technical proficiency, tactical growth, self-care, and even failure. We get into what it felt like to write down mistakes across a 30-year Navy career and turn them into something useful for midshipmen, future officers, and families trying to understand the Naval Academy journey. The conversation doesn’t dodge the uncomfortable topics either, including how fatigue can wreck judgment and why alcohol mistakes can create consequences that last long after the night ends.
If you found value here, subscribe, share this with a midshipman or parent, and leave a review or comment with the lesson you wish you could send to your younger self.
Book orders are available at: www.stonetowerpress.com/shop
Additional details and updates can also be found on his LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cordlejp
The Vermeer Group is a residential real company matching military families with trusted real estate teams across the country. If you have any real estate questions at all, please text Grant at (650) 282-1964 or email [email protected]
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The mission of Academy Insider is to guide, serve, and support Midshipmen, future Midshipmen, and their families.
Grant Vermeer, your host, is the person who started it all. He is the founder of Academy Insider and the host of The Academy Insider podcast. He was a recruited athlete which brought him to Annapolis where he was a four year member of the varsity basketball team. He was a cyber operations major and commissioned into the Cryptologic Warfare Community. He was stationed at Fort Meade and supported the Subsurface Direct Support mission.
He separated from the Navy in 2023 and now owns The Vermeer Group, a residential real estate company that matches service academy families with trusted real estate teams all across the country. Text (650) 282-1964 with any real estate questions.
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