Spartan Up! - A Spartan Race For The Mind!

Aiden Chase, a spiritual healer for Hollywood types, entrepreneurs and regular folks, takes a holistic approach to success in life: we approach our highest selves through a balance of mind, body and spirit. Fanciful as it sounds, there’s common sense behind it.  The mind functions optimally when allowed to reflect clearly and honestly in the quiet places that are growing scarce. Importantly, he guides clients to identify their biggest obstacles, their fears, and no longer repress them, and then do it anyway. Chances are they won’t become billionaires, but then again it probably won’t matter. They’ll have obtained something far more valuable. Lessons:     1.    Success is achieved through a holistic integration of mind, body and spirit.     2.    Fear is the biggest obstacle we need to transform to move forward.     3.    Nature is the best place for quiet contemplation in order to envision your direction in life.

Zhong Lou’s path to MMA prominence was never in doubt. He started practicing karate not long after he learned to walk and talk and has mastered a strikingly diverse number of disciplines, from Chinese acrobatics to Mongolian wrestling, since. Forty years later Lou is determined to leave a legacy with his San Francisco gym, Dragon House MMA. The money to keep it up and running is not easy to come by, and it’s not unheard of for a student to sweep the floors in exchange for training. But the bottom line for Luo is human transformation, and in that he is making a tidy profit.Lessons:    1.    Even in solitary endeavors, mastery often requires a team effort.    2.    When money isn’t quite cutting it, passion will keep the doors open.    3.    Fitness priorities shift with age; training for invincibility while young must gradually shift to training for health if one is to remain viable.

Human guinea pig and journalist A.J. Jacobs has lived according Old Testament rules, outsourced his entire life, and subjected himself to every diet and fitness program he could find to he could to see what he could learn.  Besides the more obvious lessons, like sheep don’t do well in New York apartments and long beards are itchy, he gained valuable takeaways that he shares in his books which include “The Year of Living Biblically,” “Drop Dead Healthy.” He provides a whole other angle to the trope, “fake it til you make it.” Through his interesting experiments Jacobs proves that some of the best adventures can be conjured up in the mind.Lessons:    1.    Expressing gratitude for everything develops awareness of just how many things we have to be thankful for.    2.    It’s easier to act your way into a new way of thinking then to think your way into a new way of acting.    3.    In terms of genealogy, we are all one large extended family, so be kind.

Col. Nye spent the weekend at the very first Spartan Winter Agoge to to get a taste of the lessons shared by instructors there.  We’ve also included a special message about Agoge’s meaning from Joe De Sena.  The Spartan Agoge is a 48 or 60 Hour test of mental and physical endurance. The goal is not just to break you down but to build you back up with greater purpose, resilience, commitment and knowledge of yourself.  The winter Agoge includes the practical survival skills you’ll need to complete the event safely even in the brutal sub zero conditions this year’s participants faced.  This is Col. Nye’s first time doing solo field interviews for Spartan Up, let us know what you think. PS- this is an episode we suggest you WATCH.

Hoby Darling, CEO of Skullcandy, in pursuit of his success, got out over his skis and accelerated through the turns, got up early every day, set the bar high for his community, and built up obstacle resistance by challenging himself on a regular basis. Darling demonstrates the wisdom of leading by example, not by decree. He shows that one of the most crucial aspects of motivation is redefining what is possible thereby opening the door for others to excel. In this episode, Darling will reveal what it takes to dream big and turn that dream into a reality.Lessons:    1.    Leaning into yes makes life a lot more fun and interesting.    2.    The best way to motivate others is to set a great example and let those you’re trying to influence figure out their path.    3.    The best way to advance in life is to concentrate on doing your best everyday and the bigger picture will often take care of itself.

Synopsis: Which diet will optimize your obstacle resistance-- Paleo, raw foods, clean eating or some emerging trend? According to Cornell head nutritionist Clint Wattenberg, there is a time and a place for almost any kind of food as long as you eat it in moderation and your grandma would recognize it. Trying to be “perfect” with your diet will often drive you to the other extreme or, worse, to an eating disorder. If you love food and eating, then Wattenberg has some great news.Lessons:1. Be moderate with your diet, not extreme.2. Only eat foods that your grandma would recognize and as many whole foods as possible.3. Nutrition is the foundation to build a performance, not the golden key.

Bart Yasso earned the title of Chief Running Officer at Runner’s World magazine through a rugged initiation that involved life altering missteps in his adolescence. It took a stark confrontation with his own mortality via the loss of a close friend to jolt him onto his path of pursuing his passion. This experience upheaved his frame of reference from a toxic one to one of redemption. It’s a running theme in our tales of grit: climbs to great heights very often begin at rock bottom. Yasso’s love for running and for life shines through in this episode.   Lessons:     1.    You are the average of your five closest friends, so choose wisely.     2.    You need to think like a champion before you can become one.     3.    Say yes often to new experiences; embrace and love them.

Thom Beers,  successful producer of shows including Deadliest Catch, Ice Road Truckers & Monster Garage has taken a treacherous path to achieve his success himself.  Starting at the bottom he worked his way up through grit, persistence and staying one step ahead of everyone else. His passion, apparently very much alive, propelled him through the rough patches. He has some valuable tips on how to navigate those icy roads and stormy seas that one will inevitably encounter along the way to any achievement worth pursuing. Lessons:     1.    Passion is the most important thing in the world: If it doesn’t make your heart pump Kool-Aid, it’s not worth doing.     2.    Develop an optimal business culture by gathering together people with the same passion as you.     3.    Hire really good people and then let them run.

What could Dandapani, a Hindu monk turned adviser to entrepreneurs, have to offer to a world seemingly far removed from the monastic life? Plenty it turns out. Through his practice he has come to personify the calm in the midst of the storm, and if there is one way of being that would be a boon in the tumultuous climate of the business world, this would have to be it. Calm reflection is the key to creating positive habits of the mind and Dandapani has mastered this in his many years of practice. He has built a solid foundation of wisdom which he will touch on in this week’s podcast.Lessons:    1.    Motivation requires a lot of energy, therefore it is important to let go of the things that drain your energy including negative media, tv, toxic friends and sometimes even family.    2.    One of the greatest gifts you can provide yourself is taking a few moments each day to clarify your direction in life; once you do that, you can overcome almost every obstacle.    3.    Use positive affirmations to shape and ch

Entrepreneur and athlete Sami Inkinen, along with his wife, rowed 2,750 miles over 45 days without using any of the traditional “athlete foods” conventional knowledge says are essential: sugars and carbs. They didn’t starve, far from it. They came out of it healthier than can be expected from such an endeavor. Why? As fit as Inkinen is, he developed prediabetes by following the standard diet and surmised that sugar was the culprit. If someone like Inkinen is vulnerable, we should all be aware. Inkinen recounts his amazing journey from California to Hawaii.Lessons:    1.    The key to success is anything is a growth mindset: Don’t go through an experience, grow through it.    2.    Sometimes you have to face a challenge as if you were eating an elephant, one piece at a time, slowly, as best you can.    3.    The only way to escape an unpleasant experience is to embrace it fully, not fight it.

As Outside Magazine Editor, Mike Roberts has access to the stories of the top outdoor athletes in the world and to their wisdom as well. He’s seen Kelly Slater, “the Michael Jordan of surfing,” heal his life through the zen of the water, and age gracefully through his sport. He has also seen top climbers act boldly, but with a skill honed through the culmination of years of dedicated practice. Through these stories we can garner how to be a better human, how to risk without risking it all, how to truly be alive and not just live. Lessons:     1.    In tough times you can either be afraid or think “what an interesting time to be in” and seek creative solutions.     2.    Use the lessons that you find in pursuit of your passion in the other areas of your life to help make you a whole person.     3.    Excellence in sport doesn’t necessarily have to waver once you reach middle age: for one thing, you often gain the wisdom to keep going, to learn to suffer a bit better.

Spartan pro Isaiah Vidal, through the rough circumstances of his life, took the road less traveled to success: He saw the troubled path of his father and didn’t take it. Sons often repeat the mistakes of their fathers, how did Vidal manage to turn things around? In a nutshell, it was a combination of will, determination, and an orientation towards positivity as well as turning towards other strong role models in his life like his mom and grandfather for inspiration. Their influences, as Vidal will describe, laid the foundation for his transformation.Lessons:    1.    When proceeding with your life, think of the legacy you want to leave, the example for your children to follow.    2.    Take measures to guard against negativity in your life.    3.    If you want to get back on your feet, first you have to get off of your ass.

No one should ever wish tragedy into their own or other’s lives, but it has the potential to lead to some incredibly beneficial life changes. Chris Kresser transformed a decade long struggle with a rare chronic disease into something that benefits society. He was able to restore himself to health and is now doing the same for others. His main piece of advice, “eat real food,” is deceptively simple until you look at the food trends in American culture and realize that the majority of the people the majority of the time are doing no such thing. It may be the single most important thing you can do for your well being. Kresser explains why.Lessons:    1.    To stay focused, create a pointed mission in life; do everything that delivers you towards that mission, eliminate those things that don’t.    2.    In order to accomplish your goals, you have to be a whole person: if you don’t optimize your physical and mental well being, then you’re not much help to others.    3.    Eat real food. Maximize nutrient dense who

Jay Jackson is the subject of Joe’s ultimate wrestling story, but you’ll have to wait to the very end of the episode to hear it. Jackson,assistant principal and wrestler, recognizes a need to nudge students into uncomfortable situations that will develop their grit, but that are often absent in an increasingly bubble wrapped society. He got his grit from his parents. His father, as a wrestling coach, would push his physical boundaries and his mom had clever strategies to develop his social skills. Jackson shares some valuable advice about how to advance towards your goals with a smile on your face.Lessons:    1.    To raise your children to be resilient, practice pushing them out of their comfort zone gradually through time, but not without building a solid foundation of security and love when they’re young.     2.    Since a majority of your life is spent getting to a destination it is vital to find a way to enjoy the process.    3.    If you can persist in every area of your life, physically, mentally, mora

In world renowned ultra runner Dean Karnazes, Joe tracked down a real Spartan by both disposition and bloodline. Does he eat gruel for breakfast, take cold showers, and run wearing a hundred pounds of armor? Maybe. He’s run marathons in every state and is now setting out to do the same in every country. Certainly that falls within the same spirit. So you might be taken aback to hear that Karnazes tells us that we should set out not only to fail, but to fail big. His advice is backed up by a life changing experience that he will describe in this episode.Lessons:    1.    To achieve great things take small steps and ask yourself at every step if you’re conducting yourself with discipline.    2.    Never stop exploring: don’t be afraid to try new things and eventually you’ll discover your passion/s.     3.    Fail boldly: the most useful lessons are learned from the most dramatic failures.

According to writer Andrew Marantz, if you want to have a fulfilling life, take the largely accepted wisdom “live each day as if it were your last” with a large grain of salt. On the road to success, merely satisfying every desire as it appears will get you nowhere. In a philosophical conversation on the Spartan Cruise Joe and Andrew discuss the the crossover between perseverance and success in artists and athletes, the importance of future memory, the strong drive towards innovation and a variety of other topics. They also attempt to answer whether human achievement is driven by chemical releases in the brain or something more complex.Lessons:    1.    “Live each day as if it were your last” may be a misleading aphorism: There are clearly many things you must do to achieve long term fulfillment that don’t involve instant gratification.     2.    The thing that often gives you the most satisfaction, your life’s passion, is paradoxically the thing you frequently don’t enjoy doing at all, but after all is said

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.