"The only person who can tell you if you have what it takes is you," Jesse Clay said Tuesday.
Clay was speaking to an audience of young people at The Mix in southeast Lancaster.
He regaled them with tidbits from his career as a Navy SEAL and martial arts champion and urged them to focus on their goals in life.
The Mix invited Clay as part of its Lombardo Speaker Series, sponsored by area philanthropists Sam and Dena Lombardo.
It brings in professionals and community leaders from all walks of life to share stories and "engage, motivate and inspire our students," the organization says
Sam Lombardo said he reached out to friends who know Clay after having a conversation with Giobanni, a student at the Mix who said he wanted to be a SEAL when he grows up.
"I think Jesse might be able to shed some light on how tough it is," he said.
Growing up, Clay split his time between the U.S. and Japan, spending six months in each country. In martial arts, he is a four-time world heavyweight Kumite champion and a member of the U.S. and World Martial Arts Halls of Fame. He is a nephew of Cassius Clay, better known as Muhammad Ali.
He joined the Navy a year after finishing college. After completing Navy SEAL training, he was assigned to Seal Delivery Vehicle Team Two, part of a crew that conducts maritime special operations using submersible vehicles. As a SEAL, he spent time in the Mideast and South Africa.
He went on to create CMAD, a hand-to-hand combat training system used by naval special forces and law enforcement.
Everyone who begins training for the SEAL program has physical strength and prowess, Clay said. The ones who complete the program also have the tenacity and determination to succeed.
He said he never let other people's opinions stop him from doing what he wanted to do. A case in point: His drill instructor mocked him for wanting to become a SEAL, because "Black people can't swim." Clay said he later learned the man had tried and failed three times to become a SEAL himself.
He considers his fellow team members his brothers, he said, no matter their skin color or background.
"It's a very inclusive world," he said. "The more you include people in it that are like minded, the better off you're going to be."
