Episode 5: Leadership Begins Before the Title

Every result has a price. Every goal requires a choice. Comfort keeps you where you are. Discipline takes you where you want to go. Welcome to Discipline Over Comfort with Bob Terrio, real world conversations on leadership, business, marketing, and execution. Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of the Discipline Over Comfort podcast. I'm Bob Terrio, and today I'm joined by Adam Bauman, an entrepreneur, small business owner, former US Navy Special Warfare combatant, craft crewman, former US Border Patrol BORTAC operator, and a candidate for the United States Congress representing the Texas 16th Congressional District.

Adam, thanks for being here. It's great to have you on the show. Uh, the list keeps going on and on from your career. I'm super excited to have you on, so thank you. I appreciate it. I appreciate you having me today. Thank you, Bob. Yeah, so, you know, I, I, I, like I said, I wanna kinda get into this, and one of the things you and I, we've known each other for a long time, it's over 20 years now, so I'm just super excited for you. I'm very happy. I'm proud of all the work you've done. Thank you.

And we've had lots of conversations about different things, but one of the things is people, they hear say- they hear people say, "I'm running for office, you know, I wanna be a, a politician. I wanna get into politics." So what happened in your life that made you decide, "I'm the person to step up. I'm the guy"? You know, Bob, that's, that's a really in-depth question of why, right? So the why really is I'm tired of seeing the typical politician going up there being divisive, having their own political agenda, their own rhetoric.

I think as far as El Paso goes, in our district here, we can be represented better. I think that, uh, there's a lot of things that, that aren't being done, but by our cons- current congressional representative, and I think I can do a lot better job. A couple things that, uh, that, uh, that I see that again is a, is the divisiveness, the lack of re- respect honestly from one side to the other, and that, that goes across both parties, right? So I mean, the lack of respect is from one side to the other, and the divisiveness really, really has really bothered me for a long time, so I wanna be that person to get in there and, and truly show how a district is represented.

That's great. And that, you know, I just want everybody to know, this is not like a, a lifelong goal of yours, right? This is like- No... "Oh, I wanna be a politician." Absolutely not. Yeah. No, I never... A- actually I, when we say politician, I don't, I don't strive to be a politician because a politician is in office for numerous years, you know? A, a representative for a district is intended to go up there and represent their district for a couple terms, two or three terms, and then let somebody else fresh ideas to get in there.

Yeah, for sure. Was there anything that was like a defining moment for you that said, "You know what? This is it. I'm doing it"? What was the impetus for that, that made you decide? Just constantly seeing what we have representing El Paso currently. And, and, and my ability to do a better job. Yeah. Leadership isn't tested when everything is going well, you know? It's, it's tested when it gets uncomfortable. So what do you believe separates real leaders from people who simply just hold titles? You know, there's a couple things with leadership.

Leadership's leader- true leaders inspire people, right? They inspire people by their actions and their values and how they do things. True leadership, uh, allows people to, to be motivated and to wanna do better, a better job in, in various a- So your biggest leadership lesson from your military service. Biggest leadership lesson from my military service. Never give up. You know, going through, uh, SWCC, it's a, it's a tough school, and, uh, you can't, you can't quit. I mean, we had a lotta, a lotta candidates in our class and, uh, just you can't quit.

Gotta get, gotta keep going, and even though days aren't great, they suck, but yeah, you keep, keep going and gotta keep motivated. A lot of people, they don't make it. A lot of people don't make it, yeah. You come, come out with a lot of close friends, and the people that do make it, you have a great, great career with. What did you do while you were in the military? We hear BORTAC. I don't know if people know what the, the acronym stands for. Yeah. So, so Special Warfare Combatant Crewman, right?

We drive high-speed boats. A lot, a lot of times we in- insert and extract Navy SEAL teams or, or other special operational forces. We also have our own independent missions. The unit that I was with was Special Boat Team 22 down in, uh, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, and did a lot of work down in Central and South America. And I don't know if people know this about you, but you're, you're fluent in Spanish. I am. I am. Pretty, pretty close to being fluent, right? Yeah, you are. You are. Yeah.

I mean, tell people how that worked. Uh, you had the immersion training. Yeah, so we needed a, we needed a linguist for our, for our 10-man detachment, and they sent me to Costa Rica to live with a family and go to school, and then I had the ability to go to Quito, Ecuador, and again, live with a family and go to school merely to join Spanish. Yeah. It was a great time. And how did you end up in El Paso? Well, got out of the Navy, and then ended up in, in the Border Patrol, and Border Patrol brought me here.

And you've been here how long now? Ooh, almost 27 years. Almost 27 years, yeah. Raised a family here. I'm definitely El Pasoan. Definitely El Pasoan at heart, and yeah, family, family w- kids grew up here. Graduated school here. Yeah. Yeah. That's great. Let's talk a little bit about decision-making. So, you know, I have a newsletter. It's called the Decision Over Comfort, uh, Weekly Briefl- Briefing. It's basically a newsletter that helps people with leadership, marketing, uh, being uncomfortable.

So looking back over your life, what's one decision that completely changed the trajectory of your life? You were going this way, and now you're going this way because of that decision you made. I'd have to revert back to joining the military, and that was a, that was a big step to, to do. You know, none of my family had ever been in the military before. I was the first one to join, and, uh, actually I didn't, I didn't tell my mom that I had joined. I just up and [sighs] I was like, "You know, I, I need to, I feel like I need to join the military."

You know, something that I, I thought about and I, yeah, went and did it, and my mom found out about, about a month before I actually shipped off. How'd she take it? Better than I thought. I mean, she was actually really proud. I should've told her from the get-go, but yeah, it's- Yeah. We build things up in our head- I wasn't sure how she'd react... right? Like it's gonna be worse- Right... than it actually was. Yeah. [laughs] Yeah, right. No, that's good. That's good. If you had to make that decision again, would you do it?

Join the military? Absolutely. I'm a big, big pro-military person. Uh, any, any young man or woman that wants to join is definitely, it's definitely a plus. You know, you served both in the Navy and the Border Patrol Tactical unit. Does Business ever feel anything similar to those careers that you had? Because now, I mean, you own a business, you're a small business owner, and I think, uh, some people don't know that about you. So you have that perspective as well. I do. I mean, yeah, being a prior law enforcement, being prior military, and now small business owner, it's definitely gives you a different perspective on e- actually everything from politics to, to running your own, running your own business and, and doing things for yourself.

Is the leadership different from being in the military to running the business? It is. Uh, you know, I mean, actually when it comes down to leadership, it goes down to, uh, not doing everything yourself, right? You can't do everything yourself 'cause then you're gonna, you're gonna fail. Same thing with, uh, within the military and, and border fleet. You gotta delegate, delegate responsibilities and trust that the people you have are gonna be able to, to do the job right. Yeah. How has being a business owner changed the way you look at government now, besides taxes?

Yeah. Oh, I know. So I mean, I, I think it's like Washington or up in, yeah, Washington, that they, they look at everything as like everything, everybody's like a huge company, right? So they, they, they create these like regulations and, and things like that, that, that really affect the small businesses, small business owners. Yeah. You know, for- What do you think is the biggest challenge for business owners and entrepreneurs today from your seat? Uh, a- again, being able to, to not do everything yourself.

That's, that's, uh... You need to have a good team and have good people that work for you. You know, back to the, the other topic of, of things in Washington, I'll give you a quick example. Like California, they passed that rule that, or that law that everybody has to make $20 an hour. That really affected small businesses 'cause the, the eight-person, 10-person operation, they don't have the ability to, to pay everybody that amount of money versus let's say McDonald's, right? They can adjust and keep moving forward.

So things don't alway- It's not always a one-fit answer when it comes down to, to regulation. Yeah. I, I think when you impose those type of minimums, those, and you raise those job minimums, the companies like you said, McDonald's, all they do is they absorb the cost, but they can eliminate people 'cause they'll... I don't know if you've ever walked into a McDonald's. There's some here, but they have the automated kiosks, right? Where- Yes... you walk in and you don't even see anybody. You walk up- Right...

place your order. It's just like the automated checkout systems, right? It's like they're gonna replace you. We're gonna- Exactly. Yeah... we're not gonna shrink the margins. We're gonna keep returning good dividends to our stockholders, and they'll do whatever they need to do, and the first thing they cut is the labor force. Sure. Yep. I agree. I, I know you've been out in, you know, meet and greets and all over town. What are business leaders telling you? What are you hearing right now? What are their challenges?

Regulations, taxes. A lot of the, a lot of the bigger corporations get a lot of tax breaks, and the small business owners are, are really aren't, they're not getting the same treatment. Yeah. Take a, take a f- a, a food truck, you know, a food truck owner, they're not getting tax breaks like, you know, the big corporations that are, they're getting those, those, those levied tax incentives, right? Absolutely. And like the, the b- the people that are not non-business people, what concerns are you hearing?

Are they hearing, are they talking about crime or are they talking about property taxes? What are you hearing right now? Oh, property tax is always a, property tax is always a big one. Yeah. Right? And although the congressional representative doesn't have, you know, purview to, to lower property taxes, we all know that, right? Yeah. But there are certain things that, that can be done to advocate for and, and budgets within a city, county, independent school districts, MC hospital. So yeah, so property tax is a big concern for a lot of, a lot of people that I talk to, but also the DUIs.

People are really tired of the amount of, uh, DUIs we have, the fatalities here in El Paso, so that's a hot topic as well. Yeah, I heard you talking a little about, about, a little bit about that the other day on a podcast. And so what are your thoughts on that? Like what can actually be done? Because it does seem like every week somebody dies in El Paso from a DWI. Maybe even, I, I don't know what the numbers are, but it does seem like it's always in the news. It does seem like that. Yeah. Yeah.

You always read about it on Fit Am or on the news almost weekly. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Like I said on the other podcast, I, I don't think it's a one, a one solution answer. I think it's multiple avenues that have to be taken down to or go down to, to assist with this, this issue. Sober Streets Movement's a great organization, doing a lot of great things, trying to, trying to get better laws passed. You know, I know one thing that, that I know it, it keeps br- being brought up is these individuals getting let off very easily by our judges.

So I think maybe harsher punishment, punishments that actually stick is definitely something, you know, a deterrent at least. Yeah. A lot of it too is societal, right? Like I think- Mm-hmm... I mean, kids have always, you know, I look, you know, I'm an '80s kid, and I can remember, you know, there's always been alcohol and some drug usage at parties and things, but I think that there's just too much time on kids' hands right now, and I think everybody is on the phone. Uh, you know, they're just, they're not very motivated.

I don't know if you heard about that Newport Beach. There was like these flash mobs and, you know, you would hear flash mob and people would say, "Oh, you know, uh, kids get together and just start dancing in public." Well, now the, the flash mobs aren't even dancing. They're just getting together and beating each other up and causing chaos. And over the Fourth of July weekend, there was this big chaos where they had to bring out, you know, cops on horseback to... And these are, this is an affluent area.

This is somewhere you would not think this would happen, but I think it's just too much time on kids' hands. I don't think kids are working enough. You know, but that's a whole, [laughs] like I said, that's a societal issue that we have on our hands right now. Yeah. No, it is. And ag- ag- again, there's no, there's no deterrence from that behavior. You know, I think people need to be held accountable for, for their actions. Absolutely. Yeah. Is there anything that you've heard since you've been out, I, I'll call it the campaign trail, or that's surprised you?

Anything that somebody has said to you where you're like, "Wow, I, I did not know that," or, "I didn't know that people felt this way"? Yeah, I mean, they, they really wanna see our representatives being out there with the public a lot more, and I've heard a lot of good things and thankful that I'm out there talking to people. They, they really wanna see, I guess, more, more of our, our leaders' faces in the public asking, uh, you know, being able to talk and, and talk and interact with, with just the general public.

I mean, 'cause they're, they do represent us, and we should be able to listen to their concerns. So what do you think happens to these politicians? I'll say politicians. I know that, you know, you don't like that term. No. But what happens if they get into office and they just, like you said, they're not out They're not out in the, the public-facing arena, you know. What, what happened? Yeah, I think, I think once somebody gets elected, they spend too much time, that's my opinion, they spend too much time in Washington or in any seat, and they get comfortable.

They really become self-serving, I mean, 'cause they, they stop listening to their constituents, and they st- stop actually representing the district they've been elected to, uh, represent. So the longer the time, the long... To my, my opinion, the longer time they spend in that seat, the more self-serving they do become, so. I, I don't know if you know this, but I, I did sign a pledge. I, I am a big term limits advocate. Again, this, they need to pass some legislation in Washington that our elected officials don't need to be serving no more than two to three terms.

Yeah. Does that have support right now, or- It has a lot of support. Pro- I don't know about has enough support to pass, but, you know, 'cause people don't wanna lose their jobs up there. That, it goes back to the beginning, you know. You got people that spend 20, 30 years in Washington, and it's, uh, it's ridiculous. Yeah. You know, running for Congress is one of the biggest commitments that someone can make, at least in my opinion. So what are you hoping to accomplish, you feel that can't be accomplished from outside the government?

You know, I want, I wanna be a voice, an actual voice of both sides. You know, here in El Paso, we have a lot of people believe one thing, and one thing believe another. But I wanna be able to represent both sides and, um, be an advocate for the things that concern both sides. I think unity and enough with divisiveness, being able to, to listen to everyone's concerns and make a collective decision on, on, on issues that are actually affecting El Paso. Yeah, I mean, there's so much div- divisiveness in the society alone.

It's just crazy. It is. Again, going back to social media and algorithms and what... You know, people consume their content, their news. Usually, they get it from one source, and it really, it does skew the way they think. And if you consume enough of it, I don't care if you're right, left, far right, far left, you're gonna see that same content, and y- it just becomes an echo chamber of information. Yeah. Yeah, really, uh, social media really is, it really is a disservice, I mean, 'cause it, people watch o- only one thing.

That's all they, that's all they see. Yeah. When I see something, you know, I don't believe anything. I- I'm kinda cynical. I, I'll go to three or four sources before I make my mind up. You c- you can't just get it from one source. Right. Yeah. Not today. Not today. I agree. Yeah. Yep. How have you stayed focused when people disagree or attack you? Like, has there been any kind of... Have you had any run-ins with anybody that's come up to you in public or at these meet and greets or anything? It's been minimal, honestly.

It's be- it's been minimal. I mean, people disagree and, and that's okay. I mean, 'cause people, we, people don't always believe the same thing, and that's perfectly fine. Uh, I do have a lot of people come up and say they, they don't, they don't support Trump, but they like me, and, and they do support me, and that's, that's really refreshing, and I, I like hearing that. Means you're doing something right, right? Absolutely. Yeah, I mean, leadership comes with criticism, but politics multiplies it.

Yes. Oh, big time. Yeah. It, it's really... Politics these days is very inflammatory for some people. Yeah. Has the military experience helped you with that, to stay focused and stay grounded and kinda block out the noise? It has. Yeah, 'cause you know, different situations you go through in the, the military, it helps with that. I think just being grounded as an imma- individual, just the discipline that you, that you have, that you've created through your, throughout your life, you know, personally.

It definitely keeps you grounded when, when things- Yeah. For sure. So you know, the show's Discipline Over Comfort. The name of the, the weekly brief is Discipline Over Comfort. What does that phrase mean to you when you hear that? Discipline over comfort. Yep, so there's a lot of uncomfortable situations that you're gonna get put in, and that's okay. That's, that's the name of the game, right? Being, getting yourself out there in those uncomfortable situations. But being disciplined when you're out there, it really affects how you, you perform and how you come across.

Being able to speak your mind and speak your thoughts to the people that you're, that you're out there trying to, to represent. I think, uh, discipline goes a long way. What daily habit do you have that keeps you grounded? I think I know, but I don't know if the public knows. Well, getting up early and going to the gym is definitely my, my lifestyle. It's been my lifestyle for many, many years. But you know, get- just... Sorry. Getting up e- early, you know, and altogether is just the way that affects me positively, right?

Getting up early. Mm-hmm. Get my day going. So that's, that's how I, that's how I work my day-to-day. So 20 years from now, talking about your legacy, what do you hope people would say about you? That I was fair and I listened to everybody. Yeah. That's pretty cool. In, in a nutshell, right? Yeah, of course. Of course. So I'm gonna do this thing called rapid fire. I know you're super busy, got a lot to do. I'm gonna throw some things, these one-word questions. You can just give me an answer, top of your head.

Super fun. All right. Right. So coffee or tea? Coffee. Morning or night? Morning. What book influenced you the most? Extreme Ownership. Okay. Favorite leader in history? Oof, man. That's a... There's, there's a lot. I know it's a one-word answer. Yeah. I'm gonna say it's Arnold Schwarzenegger, honestly. Okay. And it's not for the reasons that you think. It's because he came from... I mean, in a nutshell, Arnold came from nothing. Yeah. Came from nothing, came to the US, and made something of himself.

Has inspired so many millions of people, not through just fitness, but acting and in politics. That, that man's amazing. Yeah, and business. I mean- Yeah, and business. Yeah, that guy. He, he could have ran for president, but he's, he wasn't born here. He's not eligible. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's, that's great. What's your biggest strength? My biggest strength is, is listening. Listening and, and taking everybody's opinions into account and, and making a decision based on that. And your weakness? Biggest weakness.

Uh, trying to do too much myself. For sure. Taking on too much? Yeah. Do you have a favorite quote? So I like to remember the, the, the definition of insanity, right? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting the same outcome. You gotta get away from that. Yeah. Here's one. It's kind of vulnerable, but what scares you? What scares me? It's definitely not failure. I'm not afraid to fail. Uh, I guess it would be doing... Like for instance, for Congress, getting elected and not doing what I'd say I'm gonna do.

Mm. Falling short on your promise. Falling short. Yeah. Yeah. And you don't seem like a big promise guy. It's not like you're out here promising the world. It's like- Right... "Hey, this is what I think I can do," right? Exactly. Yeah. And what I wanna do. You have a nice 31, not just one side of the aisle. Right. Exactly. So you said failure, that doesn't scare you. So what biggest lesson did you learn from failure when you did fail? To get back up. You know? It's everybody fails. Everybody makes mistakes.

Everybody fails. You got, you gotta pick yourself back up, dust yourself off, and, and continue on. Yeah. What does success mean to you? What does it look like? Success. I think being happy All right? So at the end of the day, if you're not happy, then what's it for? Yeah. Discipline or motivation? Motivation, and I mean by motivating others. Okay. So what's one piece of advice you would give to, like, young leaders, people that are coming up that wanna lead, whether it's business, whether it's whatever?

Well, don't ask somebody to do something that you're not willing to do yourself. What's your favorite place in El Paso? Do you have a favorite restaurant- Favorite place in-... a favorite- Rosa's Cantina, my favorite restaurant, for sure. Okay. Do you have a hidden talent that we don't know about? A hidden talent. Not particularly. Not particularly, but- Okay. Okay, okay. That you wanna disclose, right? That I would disclose. Yeah, there you go. There you go. So if you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?

Man. Oh, definitely Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yeah. Okay. For sure. What's one message you want every listener, viewer to remember after they finish this, uh, episode? What do you want them to remember about you? That I'm here for El Paso. I'm here to represent El Paso, to take El Paso's concerns to Washington, and my votes will always be based on how it affects El Pasoans and nothing else. Not party lines, not a political agenda. I'm gonna get things done for El Paso. That's great. So what's on the agenda?

What, what does the next few months look like for you? Can you just walk me through your campaign, and then let's talk about if anybody wants to donate to your campaign, how do they do it? Yeah, so I mean, the next four months is gonna be heavy getting out there in the community, still talking to people, and it's the best way to, to let everybody know how I am, is doing, uh, community events and being out there with the public. AdamBaumanForCongress.com. You can go there on my website. There's a donation link.

Love to have it. We don't... I'm not asking for... I, I don't heavily go out and ask for donations because I believe it is a completely grassroots- Mm-hmm... campaign, and, uh, every vote's, every vote is equal. Doesn't matter if you're rich, if you're poor, uh, your vote matters just as much as everybody else. Yeah. Well said. Is there something that I didn't ask you that you, that I should have asked you? Definitely not my age. Yeah, no, I mean, I just want everybody to, to know that this, this campaign really is an El Paso first campaign.

El Paso first meaning everything for El Paso. Doesn't matter what's going on in, in Washington, it's gotta benefit El Paso to, to get my support. That's awesome. Besides your website, uh, is there any other... You're on social, right? You're on Instagram? Yes. Yep. Adam Bauman. Adam Bauman for Congress 2026. Awesome. Yeah. Adam, thank you for joining us today. I appreciate your time, your friend- Yeah, Bob, thank you for having me... your friendship, your willingness to have an open conversation, fun, not so serious- Right...

about leadership, your service, and what you're planning on doing. Um, so if you guys enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the Discipline Over Comfort podcast on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify. And don't for- uh, don't forget to subscribe to the weekly newsletter, Discipline Over Comfort, where every Tuesday, every Tuesday morning, I share practical leadership lessons, business strategies, marketing insights, and real-world execution tips that you can apply immediately. Thanks for listening. Remember, comfort isn't easy, but discipline changes everything.

Till next time, bye-bye. Thank you, Bob.

In this episode