Features and media

  • The Wharton Stories feature

    An Officer’s Story on Unleashing Resilience at Wharton and Beyond

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  • ABC News Feature

    Rising Star: Former Marine Captain turns freak accident into competitive sport

    Watch ABC feature

  • Whoop athlete feature

    How a Veteran Uses WHOOP To Prepare for the Invictus Games

    Read WHOOP article

  • Ag1 Athlete Feature

    After being medically retired from the Marine Corps due to the severity of his injuries, Patrick began competing in adaptive sports. His grit, support system, and strong will propelled him to defy expectations and a dire prognosis.

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  • Wounded Warrior Project - Capitol Hill

    Leading Military and Veterans Groups to Congress: End the Wounded Veteran Tax

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What happens when life forces you to rebuild from nothing?

After surviving a life-altering gunshot wound while serving as a U.S. Marine, Patrick Nugent learned that while we don’t choose our challenges, we always choose how we rise to meet them.

In this episode, Patrick shares powerful lessons on resilience, grit, and ownership, shaped by 15 major surgeries and his journey as a Team USA Invictus Games Captain and Medalist.

Today, Patrick is a sought-after keynote speaker helping leaders and teams turn adversity into purpose-driven growth.

👉 Book his keynote, Beyond Grit: Mastering Your Fate Through Purpose, Resilience, and Ownership, to equip your organization with practical tools for resilience and leadership.

🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Eliminate Excuses Completely: Real growth begins when rationalization is no longer allowed.

2. Grit Is Built Through Pain: Adversity can become fuel when paired with discipline and purpose.

3. Resilience Is a Daily Practice: Mental toughness is trained through consistent action, not motivation.

“Have you ever wondered how strength, resilience, and a dash of selflessness can transform lives, even in the face of adversity? Patrick Nugent delivers a masterclass during this episode.

Recounting his time serving in the Marine Corps, and that fateful day when he was shot on a live firing mission, Patrick's story is heart grabbing. There's a raw intensity as he opens up about the physical and emotional pain he experienced, his relentless journey to recovery, and the life-altering diagnosis that reshaped his path entirely. His narrative sheds light on the importance of clinging on to small victories, even when the odds are stacked against you.

As we navigate through his experiences at the Invictus Games, you'll be moved by his determination, grit, and selfless acts of helping his teammates. His tale is a powerful reminder that life is not just about overcoming obstacles, but also about setting ambitious goals, serving others, and nurturing the resilience within us.”

“Patrick Nugent's journey has been one of unwavering determination and personal growth. He has achieved remarkable milestones, earning an MBA from the prestigious Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and an MPA from the esteemed Harvard Kennedy School of Government. These transformative experiences have not only shaped Patrick's perspective but have also fortified his determination to be a force for positive change in the world. It's with great excitement that we announce Patrick's acceptance of a full-time position with BCG, which will commence in January 2024 at their NYC office.

In addition to his academic achievements, Patrick has been bestowed the honor of captaining Team USA for the upcoming 2023 Invictus Games. This internationally acclaimed adaptive sporting event for wounded service members will take place in Dusseldorf, Germany. Patrick's participation in rowing, cycling, and powerlifting competitions will undoubtedly serve as a testament to his resilience and unwavering determination. His unique background and extensive experiences make him exceptionally well-equipped to effectively convey his personal journey and to highlight the transformative impact of HKS/Harvard in his life.”

Five days into deployment as a Marine infantry officer, a live-fire training accident severed Captain Patrick Nugent’s sciatic nerve and paralyzed his right leg. What most people called “the worst thing that could ever happen” became the turning point for everything that came next.

Patrick is a Marine veteran, Invictus Games athlete, Harvard Kennedy School and Wharton grad, Boston Consulting Group consultant, and future Paralympic hopeful. And in this episode of Consequence of Habit, he joins JT to talk about grit, habits, and cognitive reappraisal: the ability to literally rewrite the story you tell yourself about adversity.

Patrick walks through the injury, the brutal recovery at Walter Reed, and the decision to treat his situation not as an ending, but as an opening. They dig into keystone habits, goal-tracking, stoic philosophy, and why believing “this might be the best thing that ever happened to me” changed his life. If you’re facing something that feels defining or impossible, this conversation will give you a new lens, and a roadmap.