Tom Hathaway: You Can Be Miserable Anywhere

Teach, Coach, Mentor

🎙️ Episode 001: Learning with Purpose — Tom Hathaway on Experience, Self-Awareness, and Leading Others

Welcome to the first episode of Teach Coach Mentor — the podcast that’s all about learning how to learn, and helping others do the same.

In this conversation, host Mike Wish sits down with Tom Hathaway — a Marine infantry officer, educator, and leadership coach — to explore how we learn, how we teach, and what it really means to grow.

Tom reflects on his journey from the battlefields of Afghanistan to the classrooms of the Naval Academy, where he now teaches leadership and coaches high-performing athletes. The conversation ranges from stories of failure and resilience to the nuanced differences between teaching, coaching, and mentoring.

In this episode, we discuss:

🎬 Why every student plays a different “movie” in their head during learning — and why that matters for teachers

🔍 The power of experience in shaping understanding — and when it leads us astray

🧠 Reframing “boring” topics and teaching with humor, passion, and purpose

📚 The difference between preparing to learn and preparing to teach — and why teaching forces clarity

💡 What it means to coach someone who isn’t receptive — and how to build trust first

🪞 How holding up a mirror (not a lecture) leads to real transformation

🎯 Why chasing achievements won't make you happy — but meaningful pursuit might

🧘‍♂️ How self-awareness is the foundation of leadership, growth, and happiness

Quotable Moments:

“Experience is a different kind of learning. It’s a movie you’ve lived—not one you imagined.”

“You could be miserable anywhere. The flip side is—you could also be happy anywhere.”

“The most important subject you can learn is yourself.”

Resources Mentioned:

The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt

Thanks for the Feedback by Douglas Stone & Sheila Heen

A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic by William B. Irvine

Bluey (yes, the kids’ show — with a surprising lesson about ‘boring things’)

About Today’s Guest:

Tom Hathaway is a Marine Corps infantry officer with leadership experience ranging from combat deployments to Arctic operations. He holds a master’s in Security Studies and teaches leadership at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he also coaches the D2 men’s hockey and endurance teams. He’s passionate about unlocking potential through reflection, coaching, and challenge.

🎧 Like what you heard?

Subscribe, leave a review, or share this episode with someone who teaches, coaches, or mentors in your world. For more resources and conversations, visit vellelogos.com (still a work in progress!)

Until next time — keep learning, keep leading, and pass it on.