The Hard Way With Joe De Sena

Growing up as the child of holocaust survivors, Broadway director Jerry Zaks, often found himself overprotected with his family wanting him to enter a “real” profession. At the moment he found his true passion and was happiest his family felt sorriest for him and that he had thrown his life away. But he had inherited from them a ferocious will to live that enabled him to take nothing for granted and propelled him in a vocation in which the odds are stacked up against you. Though not apparent on the surface, performers and directors are Spartans and in this episode Zaks will describe why.Lessons 1. Seek out the roles in which you best fit and then make fulfilling them a matter of life or death. 2. Getting the part, whether it be the leading actor or position in a dream job, involves translating your talent into behavior that’s unforgettable. 3. Protect the possibility of a happy ending for as long as possible.

Xand Van Tulleken, a doctor who practices in hostile regions, had a taste of the easy life growing up, but it did not sate his appetite for adventure. He has worked in such places as Sudan, Uganda and Peru and the excitement of the challenge has made it difficult to go back to a conventional existence. He and his brother have even started a TV show in which they immerse themselves in traditional indigenous medicine with no other recourse. The takeaway? Western medicine has a lot to learn.Lessons:1. When things go badly wrong it's because of indecisiveness and uncertainty, therefore, be prepared.2. People can live quite well without western medicine. It has little to offer to the indigenous way of life, for example.3. Some of life's happiest moments are in the midst of doing difficult things.

To say the least, Lewis Howes had a focused vision. He wanted to make the Olympics and figured that the best way in was by joining the national handball team. There was a slight problem, he never played the game. He brought his athleticism and Arena Football experience to New York City, practiced intensely and now finds himself tantalizingly close to his daunting goal after an incredibly brief quest. He has some sage advice for the longer road to greatness as well.Lessons:1. Live in the moment, in the flow and take tiny steps.2. The health and performance benefits of quitting, or limiting, simple carbs and sugar are a game changer.3. If you lack natural talent, you must seek out alternative means to gain an edge.

Tucker Max is an author who pioneered the genre known as “fratire,” an irreverent, tongue in cheek description of his testosterone and beer fueled exploits that gained a decent following about a decade ago. Now CEO of Bookinabox.com, his life appears to have taken on a decidedly different tack as he stands head to head with Joe in the MMA octagon. By his own admission, he’s only achieved modest success in the ring, but what he has learned is priceless. In the ring, as in life, there is no such thing as “losing.” There is only winning and learning.Lessons: 1. There’s no reason to worry about losing. There’s only winning or learning. 2. Great mentors shorten the learning curve and speed the way to mastery. Take the effort to find one. 3. If you want something, make sure you have something to offer first.

Unwittingly paddling into hippo infested waters on the Zambezi was the perfect, if unintentional, predictor of later success for Juliet Starrett who co-owns the San Francisco Crossfit with her husband Kelly. After the most lethal mammal to man upended her canoe, she was already strategizing her plan to survive midair. This is the perfect metaphor for making it in business: peril will gauge a sneak attack at the most inconvenient times and you gotta summon up the fortitude and flexibility to adjust your strategy when suspended at the height of danger. There is simply no time to lick your wounds.Lessons: 1. Taking risks in your day to day life helps prepare you for the risks in business. 2. Be or recruit someone who is highly organized as an essential member of your team. 3. To retain quality staff, create enough space for them in the company to diversify and grow.

“Chefrepreneur” Jeffrey Zurofsky, co-founder of Wichcraft sandwich shop and judge on Bravo’s “Best New Restaurant,” suggests the obstacles of running an efficient kitchen and a successful restaurant should be a model for entrepreneurship. A high quality restaurant is like a virtuoso pianist playing a finely tuned piano: a great deal of talent, coordination and practice goes into an end result that appears graceful, effortless and exquisite. As paradoxical as it seems, for him creativity thrives within the bounds of a certain amount of discipline. In this episode Joe and Jeff discuss some of the finer points of applying these lessons to your business and life. Lessons: 1. To get the job done effectively, follow the kitchen inspired concept of mise en place--organize everything into its proper place before getting down to work. 2. In it’s essence, service is a well crafted method of preparation that ensures that the results are consistent and high quality. It is well worth honing this technique. 3. Avoid the big mistakes but accept the small ones as necessary obstacles to shape the unique character of your business.

John Durant, author of the Paleo Manifesto, dispels the myth that Paleo is a meat intense, monolithic diet. There are many indigenous cultures, he explains, with different levels of meat consumption, and therefore many models to choose from. What he doesn’t accept, however, is that vegetarianism exists in our nature. In his research, Durant could not identify even one xexample. He does agree that the most important aspect of this and any other health conscious diet is the elimination of processed foods. He describes how our cultural shift towards expediency and convenience has made us sick.Lessons: 1. Vegetarian and vegan diets are not noted in indigenous diets and are largely grew out of our industrial cultures. 2. The most important aspect of the paleo diet is not to increase meat consumption, but rather to eliminate processed foods from our plate. 3. We are products of our habitat. To effectively change your diet, change your surroundings.

In this episode, Dr. Fred Bisci tells us how to cut out processed foods from our diet to vastly improve health and athletic performance. In his case, though, “processed” also means any form of cooking. Bisci has found through fifty years of eating a raw vegan diet that meat and cooked foods are optional - and may even be detrimental. Incredibly active at age 85, Bisci certainly makes a good case. Yet he urges us not to follow his and Joe’s example: instead of taking the extreme measure of going 100% raw from the start, try making a more gradual transition.Lessons: 1. In Bisci’s experience, athletic performance can be amazing on a diet of only raw fruits and vegetables. 2. If switching to a purely raw diet is too extreme, the most important way to improve your diet is to eliminate processed food, anything from a can or a box. 3. When coming off of the standard American diet onto this one, it’s common to go through a detox period in which you’ll feel ill. Persist through it and you’ll feel great eventually.

Becoming the only person to win the Boston and New York marathons AND medal in the Olympics, Meb Keflezighi stepped up to the challenge by remembering his father’s sacrifice. His father fled war torn Eritrea carrying only a canteen, stick, sack of barley and matches to ward of hyenas; Keflezighi is grateful for regular aid stations to ease his way. He and his family made it to the United States via Italy and through hard work and perseverance all became successes in their respective ways. Keflezighi details his inspiring journey in this episode.Lessons: 1. Frame of reference can push you towards your goals. Running a marathon with the luxury of aid stations is nothing compared to hiking hundreds of miles through hostile lands to save your family. 2. A goal bigger than yourself, that impacts people in a positive way, is an excellent motivator. 3. It’s not about winning, but getting the best out of yourself.

How does one, like Evan Dollard, become an American Gladiator? The frank answer, according to him, is that you don’t. Instead you make all the preparations within your power; go where the action is; pursue your passion to the fullest; make yourself known and talk to the right people and do everything to put the odds in your favor. If it doesn’t work out chances are that you’ve created an environment where something else, maybe even something better, will. This is the way to live a fully realized life, one without regrets. Dollard is living it and he has some valuable wisdom to help you live it too.Lessons: 1. It’s worth laying the groundwork when pursuing an opportunity because even if it doesn’t pan out, you’ll be ready for the unexpected opportunity that may be around the corner. 2. The riskier path is worth it even if you don’t meet your goal since it means eliminating the “what ifs” and “if onlys” and living a life without regret. 3. Always move forward: If you see a stagnant pond you don’t drink from it but instead seek out the fast flowing stream with the freshest water.

Mike Reilly is the voice of the Ironman. He has lent his voice to over 1000 events and his declaration, you are an ironman, has helped transform lives. Reilly takes great care in choosing his words because he knows they’ll have not just an impact on the racer’s life, but everyone around him as well. Reilly is a firm believer in the power of the individual to shape their own experience, but this doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t benefit from some words of encouragement to propel them towards the next finish line.Lessons: 1. If you live by the adage, “you’re the cause of your own experience,” you’re on the right path. 2. Experiences, unlike things, permeate to other people which makes them more valuable. 3. Live from the inside out and everything else falls into place.

As one might expect from the author of the “Four Hour Work Week,” Tim Ferriss has a solid, well established routine. He awakes, meditates, exercises, journals, blocks off four hours for creative work, then frees himself for meetings and phone calls. This well balanced approach has taken him far. When the inevitable drudging task comes around he slogs himself through it by building momentum with “Scooby snacks,” short, fun activities preceding the boring ones. From the start of this interview it quickly becomes apparent that Ferris is a wellspring of great advice for anyone who is aiming to build a successful business or life.Lessons: 1. Narrow things down to one or two things to focus on daily. 2. Volunteer for great organizations then go the extra mile to stand out. 3. Find a small but fast growing company to work for and observe the deal makers at work. Note the kind of questions they ask to get ahead. Example: “I know its impossible, but if there was a way to make it work, what would it be?” 4. When things start going well in business, to maintain focus, separate the great opportunities from the potentially overwhelming number of good ones. Ask yourself, what it the one step that will make all the others irrelevant.

Forget what your first grade teacher told you, according to Kelly Starrett, owner and cofounder of Mobility WOD, children should never sit still in class. He believes that we learn better, are healthier, and by burning more calories are starting to reverse the obesity epidemic when we are standing. Even healthy adults who work out regularly suffer from the negative affects of too much sitting. Starrett, through his crossfit gym, encourages the type of holistic practice that will prepare an elite athlete, or a normal person, for any situation. In this episode, he describes how in depth.Lessons: 1.The benefit of having a good conditioning program is not learning how to suffer but learning how to problem solve in the face of discomfort. 2.There’s no way to solve the obesity epidemic without tackling sitting and inactivity. 3.If we can’t use the lessons of elite sport to help the layman, then sport is just folly.

Travis Macy, an avid ultrarunner, wrote The Ultra Mindset after he learned a valuable lesson himself. He was working to become a school principal, a respectable position and by all means a sensible decision, but stopped in his tracks to write the book. Pushing forward in the wrong direction for the wrong reasons would’ve left Macy unfulfilled. Raw perseverance without deep purpose is not enough. Lucky for us, Macy channeled his mental toughness into the right endeavor and he shares a number of strategies for you to do the same in this podcast. Lessons:1.When things get tough it’s helpful to focus on why you’re doing something and not on the drudgery of the task.2.Training is equally important for developing a strong mind as it is for getting fit.3.Quitting is okay when you find yourself on a path that doesn’t align with your values, but if you are on the right path, don’t give up.

To be a success, or even to survive, emotional intelligence often trumps raw IQ, as Jordan Harbinger discovered while being detained and interrogated in Serbia. He used his humanity to escape. Similarly, being empathetic and genuine is just as important in finding and keeping friends and lovers as it is in advancing in your chosen field. Harbinger taught this through his Art of Charm podcasts and life coaching, and now on his "Jordan Harbinger Show.". As he describes in this episode, it's not so much the skills you add that are important, but the bad habits that you subtract in order to expose your best self. Lessons: 1. Unless you are at the top of your field or a workhorse, relationship skills are the key to advancement. 2. If you want to present your best self you need to silence the self criticism. 3. External sources of validation (fancy cars, houses, etc.) are not as impressive to emotionally healthy people as displaying your true self. 4. If you're not creating good habits you're creating bad habits, but you're creating habits no matter what. LINKS: http://www.jordanharbinger.com/podcast/

Adventure race champion Robyn Benincasa delved into her paddling passion by entering and excelling in a kayak ultra endurance race several hundred miles long. Several world records and hip replacements later, she is still going strong. It is her core philosophy that once you find something that you’re good at, pursue it with every ounce of your being. Since she’s channeled much of her boundless energy into her foundation, Project Athena, that helps women who’ve survived medical setbacks, this is great news for them. Benincasa will describe the transformative power of adventure and persistence in this episode.Lessons: 1. Make the effort to find your strengths and continue down that path. 2. To bypass the victim mentality, always be working towards a big goal. 3. Success is driven, not by money, but the desire to fully realize what you’re capable of.

After successful real estate businesses in Lebanon and Iran, Karim Jaude arrived in Los Angeles in 1979 with only $17 in his pocket and not a friend within a thousand miles. By merely being in the wrong place at the wrong time, he lost almost everything … twice. He was kidnapped, tortured and forced to flee the country, but, in an extraordinary display of resilience, he got up and thrived again and again. Jaude’s determination started early in life and pushed him through the rough spots, of which there were many. He recounts his extraordinary journey in this podcast. http://www.spartanuppodcast.com/051Lessons: 1.There will never be justice in the world but we have the ability to reduce people’s suffering and not add to it. 2.Adversity teaches you to float over the small hassles in life. 3.What happens to you doesn’t matter as much as how you react to it. 4. Help one person every day.

Austin Malleolo is a formidable CrossFit competitor and level three trainer, but he says there was not much indication earlier in his life that he would achieve what he has. He was a troubled youth who was making many bad decisions that ultimately lead him to his path and passion. Instead of allowing him to continue down a trajectory that was aimed straight at a life of dead ends and possible prison, his father wisely opted to derail that destiny. In this podcast Mallelollo describes how this change in his frame of reference got him back on the track to a fulfilling life.Lessons: 1. Physical disadvantages just mean that you have to work harder than everyone else to succeed. 2. Everybody needs someone in their corner. 3. Practice with someone better than you. 4. You control your own destiny.

Joe navigated his way through tough neighborhoods, a broken family life, organized crime, a near hopeless bid to enter the Ivy League, Wall Street, a human Iditarod, and daunting business prospects in backwater Vermont until he found his true calling. As usual, Joe insists he isn’t special and outlines how you can do it too. Lessons:1. Commit: Say what you’re going to do and do what you say.2. Go above and beyond.3. Never complain. Practice gratitude.4. Choose your path and stick to it.5. Persevere and persist.6. Practice upside/downside decision making.7. Change your frame of reference and develop grit.8. Do something you’re passionate about and it will no longer be work.9. Road blocks are obstacles to overcome.

According to the Entrepreneur, Investor & Best-Selling Author Gary Vaynerchuk, he was bad at many things. But what he was good at was crucial for his successes: he knew himself very well and acted on his strengths, intensely. He was equally adept at reading others and is living proof that EQ (Emotional Intelligence) is as important as IQ in the world of business. His grit was shaped by a tough Eastern European upbringing tempered by compassion. In this episode, Vaynerchuck explains what obstacle resistance means from a humanistic perspective.http://www.spartanuppodcast.com/048Lessons:1. If you know who you are, by nature you’ll bet on your strengths, and if you bet on your strengths, you’ll win.2. You must be willing to invest several years ahead of time to realize a payoff.3. Almost anything you do is good as long as you’re “all in.”

How did Kris Halenga, diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer at 23, with no business experience, manage to become such an admired and inspirational charity CEO? Her version of grit was a mix of passion and taking small steps that eventually added up to something spectacular. She was kind to herself along the way and is now extending that kindness to others by raising breast cancer awareness. Just as compelling is the story of how she was able to take a potentially devastating condition and use it as a foundation to build a life she loves.Lessons:1. Passion and a willingness to learn along the way can stand in for business skills in entrepreneurship.2. Don't let a challenging situation consume you but change it into something good that can help others.3. Achieving small things each day can make you happy and will soon build into a big thing.

Marc Von Musser, the director of coaching for Tony Robbins, says find the why and the how will follow closely behind. He shares the secret in this interview. If you're like most people, you've been lulled into complacency, seduced by the sirens of comfort and convenience. But Marc Von Musser says that you're wasting your precious life. So what do you do to get out of this predicament? Work harder? That will only take you so far and will prove to be a partial solution. Work smarter? Naturally, but again this doesn't probe deep enough. As Von Musser elucidates, we're asking the entirely wrong question: We should be asking why and the rest will follow closely behind.Lessons:1. If a person has a big enough why, they can do anything.2. Once you find a why, backload it with intelligence and inspired action.3. To find your why ask yourself what you would do if money wasn't an issue.4. Don't question the price of success; pay it gladly and success will come to you in droves.5. Most people who play it safe are bored to death. And most people play it safe.

Explorer Club members have ventured to the bottom of the deepest ocean, the top of the highest mountain, to both poles and to the moon and back. Next stop for their iconic flag - Mars. According to executive director Will Roseman, members of this venerated organization have undertaken extraordinary expeditions that have significantly advanced the cause of humankind, they’ve also used extraordinary means to survive everything from panther attacks to avalanche burials. Counted in their number are a US president, a hugely successful movie director, astronauts and many legendary explorers. Roseman tells their stories and reveals some of their secrets.Lessons: 1. "Never give up. Never give up. Never give up." Winston Churchill2. But, on the other hand, go into an endeavor mindfully: Assess risk. Do your homework. Be prepared.3. The will to survive is indomitable.

Levison Wood just finished walking the full length of the Nile. Walking, that is, when he wasn't running from charging buffalos, elephants and crocs or wading through python infested swamps, or dodging bullets... Yet for this seasoned explorer it was well worth the risk, not only for the exhilaration of being the first, but also for the richness of the experience. Often the biggest obstacle was not escaping the perilous but enduring the mundane. Wood describes how he developed the grit to push through.Lessons:1. Manage risk; don't avoid it. No risk no reward.2. We need much less stuff than we realize. Simplify your life.3. You're the only one who determines what you're capable of, so persist through the naysayers.

The span of Tyler Wren's 13 year pro cycling career included a time when doping was rampant. Giving in to the status quo, while risky, could almost certainly have landed Wren a coveted spot in the Tour de France. He was too well grounded in his values: To him success was not about his position relative to others, but becoming the best person he could be. Learn about his journey which has taken him, currently, to directing bucolic, community oriented cycling events, the next of which takes place at the birthplace of Spartan Race in Pittsfield, Vermont.Lessons: 1. Success is personal. It's about focusing on and achieving your own goals without being diverted by other's opinions.2. Align your values with your actions by writing them down and hanging them in easy view.3. Just stepping out the door is simultaneously the simplest and hardest action you can take in service of success.

Howard Chang was a karate champion at 17, but he derives more satisfaction from being bad at something than he does from being a master. At 17 he completely switched gears to endurance racing, a sport which he admits no natural affinity towards. He eventually excelled at that as well. Learning to fail and get back up, Chang believes, is the key to success in any endeavor, and he is eager to practice this at every opportunity. Not content with the everyday challenges of life, Chang seeks out adversity. This gritty strategy has propelled him to high places. He is currently CEO of a Toronto ad agency which is renowned for its high standards of environmental and social responsibility.Lessons:1. The fast track to growth is to take on a challenge you're not necessarily good at and let adversity be your teacher.2. The ability to fail, pick back up and rebuild is essential in business.3. Don't coddle your kids. Teach them a work ethic while still allowing them the freedom to have adventures. Don't shield them from difficulties.

Carl Quintanilla, weekend NBC Nightly News anchor, decided to make the jump from The Wall Street Journal to Television when the future of print looked uncertain. Though he has secured a coveted position, he initially paid his dues by always saying yes to opportunities, including reporting in Iraq, where by that time, fortunately, hostilities were on the wane. The resilience he built up in such an ambitious career track explains why he coasted through the Spartan course prior to the interview. Joe and Carl discuss what they have learned through their interactions with the successful as well techniques that have helped them in their own lives.Lessons:1. Set a limited time to reflect on failure (3 days max) then move forward.2. In general, yes is the best answer. Don't build walls.3. The key to success is surviving long enough to get lucky.

Dr. Galasso has, in his work with developmentally disabled Spartans, motivated some 2000 gritty children across the finish line. This endeavor is a great model for the no less formidable challenge parents face in setting a worthy course for their own kids. In this episode Galasso describes a strategy framed by hope, healing, empowerment and connection. Celebrate Father's Day by striving to be the type of parent that enables his children to thrive in the face of life's obstacles.1.Support children in a way that instills the belief that they are capable of anything.2. Notice the things you like about your kids, even in the teen years.3. Being a strong father figure is the will increase the chance that your children follow a righteous path.

Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter, is an extreme example of the high school reunion paradox. We all have seen it. Homecoming kings and queens who have sunk into mediocrity while awkward "nobodies" have somehow made it big. Costello, the one who was always picked last for the team, is now CEO of Twitter. He describes how he used his perpetual outsider status to scrap his way to the top. His strategy is surprisingly simple; it's only the execution that's difficult.1. With enough perseverance even the most unlikely to succeed may find themselves on top.2. Simply being willing to put yourself in uncomfortable situations is the best way to build resilience.3. Success in business is like forestry management: you may be surrounded by wildfires, but the key is to identify and extinguish the most urgent ones first.

The Underground Strength Training crew is about to be subjected to a 24 hr. workout, but as entrepreneurs they are well accustomed to that dynamic. They have some great insight (Like the failsafe man in the mirror test) on what it takes to navigate through the hard times in service of a passion. http://www.spartanuppodcast.com/038 Lessons:1. Look at sacrifices made for success as an investment.2. If you can delay gratification, you will be more successful in all areas of life.3. Find your why by telling it to yourself in the mirror since it’s almost impossible to lie to yourself this way.4. Surround yourself with supportive people of a like mind, if they can’t be found in person find them in books and podcasts.

Dan Richards, Global Rescue CEO, is here to remind you that there’s a fine line between pushing through adversity and putting yourself in unreasonable peril. His company Global Rescue rescues those who walk that line then somehow slip, any place in the world. He shares stories of some of those rescues and what they taught him. http://www.spartanuppodcast.com/037Lessons:1. Never underestimate the environment.2. You need to correctly calibrate your perception of risk to the environment you're entering and not just try to push through adversity. 3. The law of numbers will catch up with you, so scout out risks beforehand by analyzing the situation.

How far would you take a dare, especially one that started as a joke? These guys took it all the way up Mont Ventoux, the iconic slog of the Tour de France, on a clunky cumbersome rental bike built for flat city lanes. They attempt the same feat up Mt. Washington. Why? Because others were calling it impossible. They were also driven by a worthy cause, Macmillan Cancer Support. Faced with adversity every step of the way, they pushed forward, always eking out a solution. Their achievement epitomizes the adage "Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid." http://www.spartanuppodcast.com/036Lessons:1. People saying it's impossible makes it all the better.2. Keep going even when it doesn't look like it's going to happen. Things will often pull together at the last moment.3. Just start it.

Professor Robert Sternberg, psychologist and psychometrician thinks schools have been testing and teaching the wrong qualities for the last century. What if we've been frittering away vast amounts of human potential in that same time frame? Cornell Professor Sternberg has found that success in academics and in life is more closely tied to creative and practical thinking, wisdom and ethics than it is to IQ and memorization, the measures currently in use. He's on a mission to shake things up. Sternberg also has some invaluable advice on perseverance and seeing through our passions, and he speaks from experience as his path stretches all the way back to elementary school.http://spartanuppodcast.com/035Lessons:1. The most valuable qualities for success are not tested for in schools: creative and practical thought, wisdom and ethics.2. Keep going in the face of obstacles; persevere, but also realize when you're in the wrong race.3. Achieving success is not always getting to your original goal. Sometimes the path was right but the goal was wrong or the goal was right but the path was wrong. Constantly reexamine your path and your goal.

As superhuman as skilled parkour practitioners appear, Dan Edwardes reveals a very different view of the sport he helped popularize. Through running, jumping, crawling and climbing it brings us back to our roots, the functional ways that humans were meant to move, quite apart from the desk jockeying and couch denting now common. According to Edwardes, Parkour is a metaphor for life: one person's obstacle is another's stepping stone. As he proves, this amazing sport has the ability to completely flip flop your frame of reference. www.SpartanUpPodcast.com/034Lessons:1. Treat fear like a cowardly friend--it's advice might be right some of the time, but you wouldn't want it to rule your life.2. Obstacles are really stepping stones we can use to better our lives.3. If you are content on the path you have chosen, then you are successful no matter the opinion of others.

For the founder, chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, getting fired in the prime of his career is the best thing that ever happened to Barry Sternlicht. He recruited a couple of friends, borrowed a few million dollars, followed a business plan that bucked all conventions, and set off on a path that would make him a real estate and hotel investing star. He tucked away this mantra in his wallet for eight years: “Perseverance is genius in disguise.” He found it in a fortune cookie. Sternlicht, in fact, is a treasure trove of adages which have no doubt driven him through the tough times. His father, a holocaust survivor, was one of his first inspirations. www.SpartanUpPodcast.com/033Lessons:1. Perseverance is genius in disguise.2. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.3. Find the freight trains in your life and then get on them instead of in front of them.

Amit Kumar studies happiness at Cornell University. Can money make you happier? Is the key to happiness a newer car, bigger TV, & more electronic gadgets. That's what the ads tell us, but according to happiness expert Amit Kumar, enduring happiness is manifested through experiences. That's great news for everyone who has ripped themselves off of the couch. And though many of you undoubtedly drew that conclusion already, Kumar explains the fascinating theories behind it. www.SpartanUpPodcast.com/032Lessons:1. Experiences and not material goods lead to long term happiness.2. Due to our capacity for adaptation, you can live a happy life after a negative event.3. The “hedonic treadmill” will not sustain happiness; you will always need to “up the dose” of material goods.

Jimmy Binns will never stop challenging himself. Becoming a police officer at age 74 is just the latest in a lifetime of impressive feats. He passed the bar exam in 20 states just to see if he could, was a marathoner and a boxer. He was a lawyer to the boxers, most notably representing Don King against Mike Tyson, and practiced for half a century. His track record of determination and perseverance is legend and inspirational.www.SpartanUpPodcast.com/031Lessons:1. Motivation is a contagion. If you're around motivated people you'll either drop out or become motivated.2. Preparation is everything.3. You're never too old to take on a serious challenge.

A marathon finisher on seven continents, an aerial skiing Olympic hopeful, head of a prostate cancer awareness foundation, and she’s just 15. That's just how Winter Vinecki rolls. She already holds a world record and she is nowhere close to her prime. She nurtures a healthy positivity that covers all eventualities. Should anything go awry, she's still on track to go to Stanford and perhaps try a little skydiving. Winter leaves little doubt that she'll succeed no matter her path.www.SpartanUpPodcast.com/030Lessons:1. A worthy cause is a great motivator.2. Active and supportive parents are great role models.3. Have a good backup plan.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes holds the greatest number of exploring world records of any living person and almost inconceivable endurance in every facet of his extraordinary life. Considered the world's greatest explorer, he has a decidedly different take on concepts such as grit, obstacle resistance and success. But even if his views don't take on the traditional motivational parlance, they have clearly worked in his life, an extraordinary one to say the least. http://spartanuppodcast.com/029Lessons:1. You never “reach success”; you're only as good as your last movie.2. It’s never too late to face your fears.3. To surmount obstacles, have a cup of tea and figure out how to go around them.

Risa Mish, an expert in critical thinking, problem solving & leadership teaches at Cornell. In her interview she shares critical thinking tips that apply to life, business and racing. Learn how and when to set aside assumptions, why more experience isn’t always better, why flexibility is important and some concrete ways you can bring these lessons into your life. Mish demonstrates how critical thinking can move us with greater success through a race, business and life. Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com/028Lessons:1. Mitigate failures by predicting ways you might fail and troubleshooting preemptively.2. Place yourself around people who are different than yourself as a way checking your biases.3. Problems always have multiple causes.

Until Joe dragged him out to do burpees, Wes Chapman hadn't formally exercised in fifteen years, but don't label him gritless. He is the founder of three successful podcasts and is a master at identifying and fomenting human potential where many have lost hope. When he calls people who want to change the world cocky, crazy, stupid yet confident, one has the sneaking suspicion he's engaging in self deprecation. He has started A Human Project which empowers troubled youth to rise above their situation through respecting them, and it is bound be world altering.Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com/027 Lessons:1. Empower troubled kids by giving them responsibility and ownership over their situation.2. To change the world you have to be cocky enough to think you can, crazy enough to know you can, stupid enough to actually try, and confident enough to share the responsibility.3. Just be good and it doesn't matter what you believe in.

Crawling toward the Iron Man Kona finish line, the end in sight, Chris Legh collapsed before he could reach it. Despite winning 96 triathlons, Chris Legh is best known for the one he DNFed. He clawed his way into contention only to fall violently ill. Legh staggered towards the finish line but fainted and crossed the finish line unofficially, prostrate on a stretcher. It took a lot of guts, as you'll find out, but he thinks you'd do the same thing in his position. Whether you would or not is largely a question on how much you take Legh's compelling lessons on grit to heart.Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com Lessons:1. It's only pain.2. Don't do anything half heartedly; make a decision and focus on something with all your power.3. To stay motivated, get an hour down the road even if you're tired, and chances are you'll go further anyway.

Richard Branson defies conventional wisdom on success. With Virgin Airlines - he started a thriving airline literally in an afternoon. With Virgin Cola - he took one of the most successful companies of all time head on and almost won. With Necker Island - he acquired the island first believing that the money to develop it would show up eventually, it did. A notorious adventurer, Branson is clearly, within reason, not afraid to live.Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com Lessons:1. Get out of your comfort zone and go into the world and explore.2. Push yourself beyond your limits.3. Practice balance. Learn to trust your instincts.4. Find fun ways to stay fit - involve your friends and family.5. Look for the best in people. There is always something special to acknowledge in a person.6. Forgiveness mends.7. Expect things to be hard along the way but be sure to enjoy the sense of satisfaction from simply trying and being on the journey.

Matt Segal, an accomplished rock climber, will be returning to the Bugaboos in British Columbia for the fourth time this summer. Their seeming insurmountability almost got him down, but their inspiration lifted Segal right back up again. Where else would he be except faced with all the things he loves--beauty, challenge, the thrill of a first ascent, and the satisfaction of overcoming failure? This is Segal's formula for creating a life filled with passion and grit. Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com Lessons: 1. To prevent burning out from your passion, vary the ways you practice it.2. Letting yourself be inspired by the objective paves the way to success.3. If you're succeeding all the time, you're not trying hard enough.

Mark Owen was one of the SEALSs on the mission that killed Osama Bin Laden. He revels in the gritty life. He prefers not the sugar cookies taken with tea, but the variety Navy SEALs dole out--soldiers moistened and rolled in beach sand and made to tolerate it the rest of the day. This is the kind of discomfort Owen loves, that forges men. Find out what molded him through his rugged childhood in the extremes of Alaska. He's mastered getting through tough times and his secret is surprisingly simple. Find it in this episode and get on the fast track to grit.Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com Lessons:1. The only easy day is yesterday.2. Break difficult tasks to one bite at a time and prioritize. The greater the pressure, the smaller the bites.3. Be all in all the time. Do what you're doing in the moment the best you can.4. Put everything in perspective. If you've done it before, you can do it again.Panel Notes:Joe Desena: Who jumps into ice cold water in third grade in Alaska and then starts his own fire to make sure he can handle himself? Mark Owen, that's who- one of the men who took out Bin Laden. Obviously there's lots of controversy around the book he authored, but even with those questions looming, it's always very interesting to learn about someone who accomplished such a massive task in front of the entire world.Sefra Alexandra: I recently met Kevin Maurer co-author of "No Easy Day," while working at the Global SOF Foundation Symposium for Col. Nye. The attendees were the elite of the Special Operations community and viscerally familiar with the adage that, "the only easy day was yesterday." Matt hails from the great state of Alaska, where he was raised being comfortable with being uncomfortable. His tactics to accomplish any goal: "break it down into one bite at a time!"

Taylor Phinney, an Olympic cyclist, recently sacrificed some "skin for glory." He fractured his leg after crashing his bike at speeds usually reserved for the highway. As with many champion athletes, he found a way to turn adversity to his advantage. The recovery process has pushed his pain threshold that much higher enabling him, in turn, to push the limits of his endurance. He has learned to trust the struggle as a way to impart valuable lessons on how it can make him that much stronger.Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com Lessons:1. Children should be allowed to find their own way as athletes.2. Black Top Effect suggests that athletic talent is a mixture of nature and nurture.3. You've got to play every day as if you were a pro.

Monty Halls, a BBC host and adventurer, has the definitive test of grit: See what happens when people are denied their next seven meals. Hunger will transform us all into gritty, foraging survivalists. When voluntarily stranding himself on a remote island in Scotland, the rugged individualist in him leaned on the strength of the community. After all, it was their hard earned knowledge and culture that helped them survive the rugged environment and it would be foolhardy to ignore this.Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com Lessons:1. Wherever you go, it's best to learn from the locals.2. We're seven meals away from a savage. I.e., all inherently capable of grit.3. We all need to go slay dragons now and then.4. "I can't do this" is sometimes a brave decision.5. Unfulfilled potential is the biggest crime against self.

Suzette Clarke is on a mission to reconnect thousands of kids a year back to the land. Slide Hill Ranch, the original organic farm in America, offers a holistic remedy for the childhood epidemic she identifies--lack of exercise, unhealthy eating and a disconnect with nature. This sort of alienation doesn't discriminate between the wealthy and impoverished. Both groups are isolated from the earth in distinct ways. But all kids who pass through the ranch are left no choice; the cardinal rule is “get dirty”. Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com

Mark Divine opened SEAL Fit, a Navy SEAL preparation center, in response to the stark proposition candidates faced: Ninety percent will fail if left to their own devices. Fortunately Divine has the key for bolstering their mental toughness and dramatically increasing their odds for success. He took the same journey himself after upheaving a stable but miserable career as a CPA. What he found along the way defies stereotypes. According to Divine, philosophies similar to those of gentle spirits such as the Dalai Lama and Eckhart Tolle are a more effective way to grit than those of the average drill sergeant.Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com Lessons:1. The human spirit soars when it's challenged.2. Life is made up of the small choices you make from moment to moment, rarely the big ones.3. The essence of mental toughness is to notice when you unconsciously make the wrong choices.4. The most important lesson for mental toughness is to know your "why."Panel Notes:Joe Desena: He looks exactly like the Navy Seal in the movie Captain Phillips that helps take out the pirates. I am not so sure it wasn't him. Great guy, great friend that was a Seal and wrote to talk about it, but not in a way that upsets the military. He writes to help all of us develop an unbeatable mind.Col. Nye: SEAL Fit Sauna. Always know your why. Must be disciplined. Inspirational fitness guru and bona fide hero. Holistic view of fitness, body, mind and spirit. He is there to teach resilience and toughness.Sefra Alexandra: “SealFit develops warriors of all walks of life in elite-level fitness, awareness, durability and longevity. We thrive on cultivating the “Kokoro” (warrior) spirit in our clients, helping them be unbeatable in life.”We as a culture have much to learn from the Navy SEALS and Special Operations/ veterans community at large in terms of physicality, strategy and endurance. My twin brother runs a similar venture- Tactivate - to bridge the gap between the skill sets of special operations x entrepreneurship.SEALFIT Values:Loyalty – to our family and our teamService – to others before selfHonor and integrity – in public as well as in privateLeadership and followership – we must be good at both to be effective at anythingResponsibility – we take it for both our actions and those of our teammatesDiscipline – the only easy day was yesterdayInnovation – adapt, improvise and overcomeJohnny Waite: This one is all about how to teach grit. A former Navy Seal, who now operates SealFit; he knows what it takes to develop physical and mental toughness.

The fact that soldiers came out of retirement to follow General McChrystal back into a very challenging war in Iraq speaks to his effectiveness as a leader. He knows a thing or two about motivation and how to bring out the best in people. McChrystal has adapted this gift to start up a consulting firm. His facility to raise expectations and adapt in the most trying of circumstances has served his clients well in the equally competitive corporate world. McChrystal posits that adaptability is the new efficiency.Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com Lessons:1. Performance usually rises and falls according to expectations.2. What got you to the first success will not necessarily take you any further.3. Adaptability is the new efficiency.Panel Notes:Joe Desena: Talk about a no-nonsense guy that can teach us about success. You don't just get handed four stars when you become a general. You earn them and he did. He is all business and has been getting the job done throughout all the modern wars we have been alive for. He knows what makes great warriors and what makes successful missions and organizations.Col. Nye: Grit, success, self discipline can be taught. Surrounding yourself with exceptional people rubs off. Organizations and people must constantly set new standards and goals. Great organizational stress. Raise the bar at every chance but the bar has to be achievable. EQ is the ability to look long term. Adaptability is the new efficiency. Sefra Alexandra: “Leaders can let you fail and yet not let you be a failure- I came to believe that a leader isn’t good because they’re right; they’re good because they’re willing to learn and to trust.”From General Stanley McChrystal’s 2011 TED Talk, “Listen, learn… then lead” General McChrystal imparted the words of wisdom to Joe that, "the first thing you should do each morning is make your bed, so you have already accomplished something when your day starts." My bed has been made first thing every morning since. Thank you gentleman.Johnny Waite: This guy is so impressive! Incredibly intelligent and compassionate. He gives some very clear advice that anyone can follow to achieve higher level of success and, just as importantly, how to help others succeed!