Spartan Up! - A Spartan Race For The Mind!

www.spartan.com/103 As a professional recruiter and founder of Executive Athletes Ken Lubin knows what it takes to build a career. As one of the ultra endurance athletes that built the epic Stone Steps in Pittsfield, Vermont he knows grit and hard work too. He says it’s what will get you hired, and what will make you successful once you land a job. Knowing the company culture, offering them what they need is crucial too. Become the indispensable lynch. Building a massive network that includes all types of people, not just those who can obviously help you may be the most important step of all. Garner lots of career development gems in this week’s episode. Lessons:     1.    Be the guy that does the hard thing and you’ll distinguish yourself from the rest of the pack.     2.    Know the culture of where you want to work and find out how you can fit in.     3.    Realize the power of the network: even when it doesn’t look like a connection has any benefit at the time it may prove to be beneficial down the line.

When Amelia Boone isn’t pulling i-beams out of frigid Vermont rivers for the Death Race or winning Spartan Races, she working as a highly competitive attorney. Every day she’s up at 4:07, running trails at 5 and at her desk by 7. Has she always been that way? Yes. As a child, in what must have seemed odd to observers, her family was encouraging her to relax and not take things so seriously.  She believes perseverance and drive can be a habit, don’t let them lapse. It’s harder to start or start again than just keep going. Lessons:     1.    Make success part of your routine as regular as brushing your teeth, not allowing yourself to opt out.     2.    The difficult path is where the growth happens. Choose it often.     3.    Make one small change a day and let it build into something great.   CREDITS Producer – Marion Abrams, Madmotion, llc. Host: Joe De Sena with Johnny Waite, Sefra, Col. Tim Nye, Delle & David DeLuca Synopsis – Matt Baatz © 2016 Spartan

US Pentathletes Nathan Schrimsher and Dennis Bowsher. The pentathlon has been an Olympic sport for over a century, but chances are most people don’t know much about it. What are the skills a messenger would have needed in wartime? Riding, swimming,running fencing and shooting. It has recently been given a modern upgrade: the guns shoot lasers instead of the original bullets. Joe talks to two of the best American pentathletes to discover what it takes to excel at this intriguing discipline - one on the current Team competing in Rio in a few weeks. Trust us, there are 4 or 5 key lessons that will carry over to whatever challenge you face on the way to your goals. Lessons:     1.    Run your own race, the race of life.     2.    There is no substitute for the internal motivation to practice EVERY day.     3.    Don’t underestimate the value of wisdom and patience.     4.    Set aside your wins and your losses, focus only on what is in front of you now.  

One hundred episodes in, Joe, Delle, Johnny, Colonel Nye and Sefra talk about the guests that resonated with them the most. Spartan UP! has interviewed writers, athletes, generals, monks, CEOs, entrepreneurs, nutritionists, farmers, lawyers, doctors, explorers...to garner their unique spin on what it takes to succeed. There have been one hundred different answers, one hundred stories on how to live a fulfilling life, but many common threads. These inspiring people are telling us it’s okay to be afraid, but not to live in fear, to have a why, but live in the moment, and to find  a passion (or passions) and follow it with all we got. Lessons from 100 Episodes:     1.    Have a why.     2.    Life is a series of moments. Live each one.     3.    A challenging life is a satisfying life.     4.    The first step to success is getting off the couch.     5.    Surround yourself with good, supportive people. Lose those who aren’t.     6.    Persevere, but if you find yourself on the wrong path, be prepared to go a

Alan Jope, president of Unilever’s Personal Care business, understands how to live. With such an high position many would not be surprised if Jove was a man completely consumed by his work. Though his commitment to his job is complete, it is not the source of his identity. He and four friends are riding stretches of a world spanning motorcycle trip with its share of mishaps and broken bones. What he does is not who he is, but enables him to become the person he always dreamed he could be. In this episode Jope also discusses the benefits of mission driven brands. Lessons:     1.    Where you are in the world is more important than what you’re doing in it.     2.    Concentrate most of your energy into what you’re doing now, not worrying about the future, and opportunities will open up as a matter of course.     3.    In life, follow the packing rule: put the big thing in first.

Masha Gordon, a mountaineer who completed the seven summits and both poles in record time, ventured to take lessons in grit from the boardroom to the most challenging terrain on earth. Thirty minutes from the summit of Everest she was faced with an executive decision: should she risk getting caught in a storm and possibly putting her life in peril or divest and live to see another day? Luckily the risk was worth taking, but the tough mindedness she earned in business made her decision a sound one. Learn how doing great things has taught Gordon how little it actually takes to be happy and successful.   Lessons:     1.    Even when you invested a large amount in an experience the smartest thing could be to divest if it means living to see another day.     2.    Move counter to stereotypes so that they no longer define you.     3.    Let a healthy fear and respect complement the excitement of your expeditions.

The sole survivor in a vehicle obliterated by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, Earl Granville had to find a way to get up again, but with only one leg remaining. This interview transpired after Granville completed the seventy+ mile, sixty hour adventure known as Spartan Agoge, so clearly he is well on his way.  As if the accident weren’t bad enough, Granville’s twin brother took his own life, but in his greatest tragedy he also found his redemption. As a motivational speaker, he has used his misfortune to be in service to others. Granville’s life so far is a testament to the Nietzsche truism, “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” Lessons:     1.    Sometimes the most unfortunate people are the ones who are never tested.     2.    We should honor the privilege of being alive by giving back.     3.    The upside of adversity is that it can be harnessed to find your passion.

Bob Roth, transcendental meditation teacher of 45 years, has seen the progression of the practice go from a fringe activity to a scientifically backed technique taught widely in such institutions as schools and prisons. As Roth describes it, transcendental meditation allows one to be a better warrior, whether on the OCR circuit or in facing daily life, by bringing you to a state of level headed calm where you can make the best decisions. A large part of building resilience, after all, is finding ways to put the tumultuous highs and lows into the proper frame of reference so you can sail easily past  life’s obstacles. Lessons:     1.    No matter how much turmoil exists on the surface of the ocean it is insignificant compared to the depths of calmness that lie underneath. The mind is like an ocean.     2.    Meditation is Spartan in that it gets to the essentials of your body and mind.     3.    To the mind that is still, the universe surrenders--Lao Tzu. I.e., If you have a complicated mind, you’ll be a vict

The eastern philosophies that influence the school headed by Master Xi Qi Ling provide a valuable counterbalance to our western ones. In our individualistic culture we often forget that in order for our lives to function optimally we need to consider how they can harmonize with the greater whole. For example, the school realizes that if they merely teach the students and neglect what happens when they go home, then the teachings are at risk of being lost; therefore they teach the parents as well. In short, the universe is more powerful than any one person and if we nurture it, it will nurture us right back. Lessons:     1.    Health and well being depend on harmonizing your physical, mental and spiritual being.     2.    Everything is connected.     3.    Some problems can be solved very quickly while others can only be solved slowly. Knowing the difference is important.

Tim Morris, adaptive athlete and SGX coach, didn’t need to get off the couch, his quest for the Spartan Trifecta started from a wheelchair. He powers through a course relying on the strength of his upper body. If, for some bizarre reason, this doesn’t impress you, try the same across your living room floor. He trains an increasing number of adaptive athletes as well as the able bodied. He can teach both groups much about grit. But his teaching by no means ends there--he demonstrates that by the simple act of living passionately those around you will learn what it means to be fully alive. Lessons: 1.Talking about things merely kicks the can into the future; you have to do them. 2. Build your life around the three “p”s: passion, perspective, and perseverance. 3. Always be aware that your reality affects others and act accordingly.

Jennifer Gilbert, a wildly successful events entrepreneur, was assaulted to an inch within her life outside her friend’s New York apartment. Not only did she survive but she went on to live a very rich and fulfilling life. How? The struggle was all too real. It wasn’t an overnight transformation. She was able to recognize the vast, and sometimes elusive, source of resilience that she discovered that day and draw on it to create the kind of life she always wanted. Her story is jarring, graphic, visceral, enraging, senseless, but at the same time life affirming, hopeful, and deeply important. Lessons:     1.    The resilient person that you are in your most challenging moments is there for life to aid you whenever the need should arise.     2.    Fear is the worst feeling to make a decision from.     3.    Beautiful things often grow from dark, ugly places like flowers from compost.     4.    You cannot control one thing in the world except who you are afterwards, whether you move towards the light or wallow i

Before retiring Sgt. Major Frank Grippe was the senior enlisted Soldier for US Central Command in charge of military operations in 20 countries in Northern Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. He came out of the subzero weather of the Spartan Agoge to share his wisdom of grit hard earned through his 30 years as a ranger in the army. His is decidedly a no nonsense approach. Grippe knew what he wanted and simply did the job day in and day out, learned all he could from the best mentors he could find and when the opportunities to advance presented themselves, he was ready. He has gone through life with a single minded purpose and one might come away with the impression that he hasn’t entertained  the idea of an alternative livelihood, even for a second. Lessons:     1.    Knowing exactly what you want makes getting it that much easier.     2.    Force of will is everything.     3.    Positions of responsibility demand complete transparency.

According to Col. Liam Collins, Phd., Special Forces Qualified Officer, West Point Professor,and past winner of the Best Ranger Competition - approximately one percent of prospective candidates persist to become members of the special forces. Joe’s always looking for these people but, alas, they are elusive. They may not not linger long by the waterfalls, but are always eyeing the craggy terrain just ahead. Understandably, it is difficult to find those who will consciously fling themselves into relative peril. How does Col. Collins find them and train them? That’s what we want to find out. Lessons:     1.    The true test of character is the decisions you make under duress.     2.    You develop your mental fortitude like developing muscles: push to the limit of your capacity; recover, then push to the new limit.     3.    The key to success in a highly competitive environment is not to wallow in your comfort zone.

Not too long ago every self respecting long distance runner was toting a dog eared copy of Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run, reconsidering their choice of footwear or forgoing shoes altogether. McDougall’s current explorations have led him to ask new questions such as: what makes a hero, are our vast human skills learned formally or innate and suppressed by culture? Is the ability to survive in dire circumstances unique or is it present in all of us and awaiting the opportunity to be unleashed? You may know Joe’s take on these questions, and in this episode learn if McDougall agrees. Lessons:
     1.    To be compassionate can also mean to help someone with their problem while it’s small and before it comes back to affect the community at large.     2.    Many skills are latent, lurking just below the surface, and our mass culture has  limited their full expression.     3.    Being successful often means identifying and taking that one extra step that no one else is taking.

Kevin Cleary, CEO of Clif Bar, has his company on the right track if not the most trodden one. Whereas most companies only think of maximizing their quarterly profits, Clif bar is planning decades ahead and profiting from the foresight. Whereas most companies focus on satisfying their shareholders, Clif Bar has a firm social and environmental mission that strengthens the company and community at large. They’re one of the few, but important examples that doing good, yet remaining lucrative, are not as mutually exclusive as many believe. Lessons:     1.    It’s much better motivation to tell someone they’re a hard worker than to tell them that they’re smart.     2.    A company that can focus on long term goals, despite the pressure to show quarterly profits, will ultimately make better decisions.     3.    A purpose driven business keeps those involved with it engaged and passionate.

Wrestling requires a mindset that transcends sport. What can you learn from them? Everything. It’s a sport with no excuses. It’s just you and your competitor and if you fail, there is no one else to blame. The sport by its very nature develops mental toughness. Joe talks to three promising young wrestlers, Nate Carr Jr., an Olympic hopeful in a legendary family of wrestling greats, and All Americans from Cornell, Gabe Dean and Nahshon Garrett. They discuss  the unique aspects of the sport that prepare its participants to excel in life.  The thing that they all share in common is their sense of drive and moving forward no matter what.  The very tools that’ll help you grapple with life’s inevitable adversities. Lessons:     1.    If nothing changes, nothing changes.     2.    Sometimes to master adversity you need to create it.     3.    Treat people to your gift.

Biohacking ground breaker Dave Asprey, got the controversial trend of adding butter to coffee going and it turns out that’s just one of many hacks espoused by this alternative health entrepreneur. He believes that by gathering the right data, our bodies can be optimized through unconventional methods. Asprey himself has been hacking his mitochondria for many years. Besides the things we can monitor, Asprey describes the confounding array of activity that occurs without our conscious awareness. Yet this state that is most difficult to pin down turns out to be the one in which human performance peaks.Lessons:    1.    Recovery is a vital part of training but often gets neglected.    2.    The flow state is elusive but when we reach it we do amazing things.    3.    Biohacking attempts to understand when your body is helping you and when it’s betraying you.

While running the Boston Marathon, clinical social worker Jeffrey Zeizel had to call up all his expertise and coping mechanisms when a bomb went off at the finish line. His son was ahead of him and there was a chance he was caught in the fray. Though nobody would blame him for panicking, he immediately went into action administering psychological first aid reassuring others that the worst case scenario is not the most likely one and in the process helping himself to cope as well. Zeizel has a wellspring of insight on what it takes to be resilient and the good news for humanity is that, in short, it involves bringing all of our best qualities to the forefront.   Lessons:     1.    The last stage of going through grief is not really acceptance but developing the tools to cope.     2.    Remember AAA: action alleviates anxiety.     3.    It’s easy to fulfill mundane responsibilities, but to do the things that give life meaning is difficult yet worthwhile.     4.    To be resilient optimism is crucial but it mus

Reno Rolle, to paraphrase Hippocrates, let food be his medicine when seeking ways to ameliorate his son’s ADD. It worked so well Rolle pivoted his successes into a company, Boku Superfoods. He harnessed the power of nutritionally dense foods, popularly known as “superfoods,” to create a line of foods. In his years long effort to develop a superior product, Rolle not only fulfilled his mission of having a positive impact on people, but gained some valuable insights into a productive life as well. Obstacles are a part of life and a few successes in pursuit of a lofty goal provide the impetus to overcome them.Lessons:    1.    Nutrition is a key factor in meeting challenges.    2.    In starting a business, focus on having a positive impact and the money will eventually take care of itself.    3.    A taste of success may be all you need to provide the impetus to overcoming great obstacles.

If Ned Spieker is a typical billionaire real estate mogul, then the path to success isn’t what you might expect. According to Spieker, it’s not about being an autocrat, but being a servant, not creating a hierarchy, but sharing responsibility, and not about wanting it all, but starting small and working very hard. Serendipity, Spieker admits, plays a big part, but that’s out of our hands regardless. It often takes a little luck to get past seemingly insurmountable obstacles. But in the meantime we have to lay the groundwork that effectively loads the dice in our favor.Lessons:    1.    When you’re going through difficult episodes they’re crises; but in hindsight they’re blips.    2.    Self esteem is earned; you can’t give it.    3.    Good leaders eat last: when you serve your people and build trust they will work harder and smarter as a result.