Spartan Up! - A Spartan Race For The Mind!

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

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

Nate Carr grew up with a full team of elite wrestlers in his backyard. Out of five competing brothers, all were Division I NCAA All-Americans and two reached the Olympics. Nate managed to edge above the rest, earning Olympic bronze. What spurred him on? It could have been his indomitable attitude. His positive mindset is a motivational machine first leading to his success and then to that of the wrestlers he coaches. Listen in to hear the sort of self-talk that leads to greatness.Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com Lessons:1. Never personalize failure.2. “No” means “next opportunity.” “Yes” means “you expecting success.”3. Speak the end of the thing at the beginning, i.e., state the goal then set the strategy.

Starting out homeless in 2008, Johnny Waite has certainly emerged from adversity and hit the ground running. He's gone on to finish the Death Race, and become a master at motivation, hypnosis, psychology, adversity and raising his two children. Johnny's official title is Quality Manager for Spartan Race. His obstacle laden path has taught him the value of a challenging life and its ability to unleash positivity into the world. His mission is to compassionately dole out that same hardship to others so that they too may build up obstacle immunity. Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com Lessons:    1. An easy life is no life at all.2. Always ask, “so what?” meaning in the face of this situation, what will you do now?3. Most of us live in abundance and can therefore be producers instead of consumers.4. Interrupt a person's usual pattern and you may spark a positive change in their life.

ll Mimi Anderson really wanted was thinner legs. She ran the windiest road imaginable to get there, a journey that brought her across frigid tundra and blistering desert alike and placed her in the record books for posterity. Along the way, what she found hidden underneath her compulsion to thin down was a passion to challenge herself and grow. Anderson runs it in 100 mile+ chunks, but swears that 5k is plenty if that's what challenges you. She has one deceptively simple piece of advice: Just sign up and you'll find a way to make it happen.  Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com  Lessons:1. Just sign up and it and you'll find a way to make it happen.2. When the going gets tough, think of all the people who expect you to fail.3. If you don't constantly push boundaries, you're not going to grow as a person.Panel Notes:Joe Desena: Who would take a hair dryer on a long distance multi day run? Multi day! She ran across South Africa.  Most people complain when they need to drive that far. Find out

Mike Sandrock, a formidable marathon runner and author of Running with the Legends, finds that excellence and talent are not necessarily interchangeable. It is those with the wherewithal to actualize their potential who reach the highest levels. Raw talent is not enough to drive an athlete to give everything they have every day which is what it takes to be the best. It takes a desire, usually spurred by adversity, to dig deep into the essence of who they are. Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com   Lessons:1.  Find your passion and thank those around you who help you along the way.2.  If you want to be great don’t cut the lines in practice and life. 3.  Inspiration is hard work.  No complaining. Panel Notes:Joe Desena: Mike Sandrock was talking Spartan before many of us knew what it was to be a Spartan. He has studied all kinds of ultra-endurance athletes. Tune in and learn a little about sports and persistence beyond what you thought was normal. Col. Nye: Author of Running with the Legends. 

Steven Pressfield, author of "Gates of Fire," War of Art," "Warrior Ethos" and many others tells us what we can learn from the original Spartans and how to overcome resistance in everyday life. Synopsis:One of the first things Steven Pressfield learned in researching his book Warrior Ethos is that the Spartans were serious about their laconic ideals. To his knowledge, they wrote a grand total of twenty four words about themselves so Pressfield had to rely on hearsay and poetic license to flesh out that  portion of his tome. But, fortunately, the actions of the Spartans spoke volumes, imparting valuable lessons on honor, determination, discipline and overcoming adversity. Pressfield harnessed these lessons when faced with the challenges of a blank writing page and the ultimate obstacle, a resistant mind. Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com  Lessons:1.  Honor yourself.2.  Embrace Adversity.  The harder it is the more you get out of it.3.  When you wake up, expect the negative force of resista

Obstacle immunity became a kind of obsession for Mark Webb after attempting, and failing, the Death Race for the third time. First he overhauled his mental toughness, and next his physical, then came redemption and the iconic finisher's skull. His growth as a human became all too obvious after he lost his leg below the knee in a freak motorcycle accident. Just days before the accident he completed a Spartan Sprint with his young son. In retrospect, these races seemed like a dress rehearsal by comparison, but by now Webb was well tooled to take on the next challenge with grace and an indomitable spirit.Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com   Lessons:1. You can’t quit life. You only get one shot at it so you must keep going.2. You can’t stop doing the things you love in life because there is risk. 3. Recognize that you will have days that you don’t want to do your workout so just do a small amount and more often than not you will achieve your goal.4. Aim as high as you can for a goal and then c

Angela Duckworth, Associate Professor of Psychology at Penn, not only studies grit, she epitomizes it. She has doggedly researched the concept for a decade. Despite what may appear to be over the top determination, even obsessiveness, those with the quality are unusually down-to-earth. They're that rare breed who has their head in the clouds but their feet on the ground, which, surprisingly, means that Spartan Race co-founder Joe Desena may not be so crazy after all.  Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com   Lessons:1. Sustaining passion and endurance over time (years) is essentially the definition of grit.2. People who are gritty have a cognitive mindset to focus on things that they can change. They are positive and optimistic.3. Always remember that no great human achievement exists that doesn't have thousands of hours of work behind it. Panel Notes:Joe Desena: Do you know what grit is? Do you have it? Have you ever quit anything and regretted it? Well, Angela has been studying grit for a lo

Four time NCAA wrestling champion Kyle Dake's parents raised him in a nurturing environment that would pave the way for his success. Yet this never meant that he could bypass the hard work. Every day, and he's in the gym just about every day, Dake pushes the wall back a little further, extending how far he can go without breaking. As a result, he has complete faith in his invincibility. He doesn't believe in losing. He wants to be the best, and, more importantly, he knows the way there.     Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.comLessons:1.  Actions speak!  If you want to be great, commit to it and do the things you need to do to be successful.2.  Be positive!  You can always take something away something positive from an experience.3.  You can only lose when you quit. Panel Notes:Joe Desena: What does wrestling have to do with success? Everything! Life is one giant wrestling match. You have to hand it to a guy that can go up four weight classes in four years, while everyone else is losing weigh

Allen Lim, founder of Skratch Labs and the only American scientist to have worked and cooked for teams at the Tour de France, has worked with dozens of top American cyclists to improve their performance and nutrition. He conceived his company in the intense atmosphere of  the Tour de France. If his methods could succeed in this gritty environment, he figured, they'd certainly thrive in day to day life. His company caters to the daily lifestyle needs of young athletes in particular, who may neither have the time or resources to keep this crucial ingredient of training in check. Excellence is ultimately a holistic endeavor, and as Lim proves, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.    Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.comLessons:1.  We are all humans and we are all athletes.2.  Lessons learned in sports can be helpful in life.3. Find a way to be happy first and that happiness will create success. Panel Notes:Joe Desena: He and I disagree on some things regarding food. We met in a coffee

Gracie Van Der Byl finds her bliss by swimming in competitions that are the aquatic equivalent of the Tour de France. It is in the midst of these undertakings when she feels like she is her best, most authentic self. Her swims are an exercise in zen, focusing on the now and surrendering to not knowing. Even her philosophy on shark hazards reads like a koan: It's not the shark you see that's the problem; it's the shark you don't." That's little comfort to Joe Desena who is afraid of something after all. Who knew?   Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.comLessons: 1.  During life tackle things one stroke at a time.2.  Don’t overly project into the future; live in the now.3.  Boredom comes from not setting good enough goals.  Always find new ways to grow. Panel Notes:Joe Desena:  I have always had a fear of sharks. I remember as a kid taking a shower standing on a chair. I'm kidding about the chair but not about the sharks. The fact that she can swim in the dark all through the night gives me chill

It started as a bet, but soon turned into a mission. Tony the Fridge carries a 93 lb. "burden" on his back on journeys that make marathons look like fun runs. Why? He does it for those who carry what he sees as greater loads, notably the cancer sufferers for whom he raises funds. How? He never runs solely relying on his own strength. He is empowered by the community supporting him. His dedication to them leaves him no choice. When he's running, Tony rarely thinks beyond the next step.  Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.comLessons:1.  We are all going to die that’s why we have to live.2. Focus on who you are not what you are.3.  Live everyday as it’s your last one. Panel Notes:Joe Desena: Tony the Fridge was the first interview I did that got me to cry. His story, energy, and reason for doing what he does is pretty incredible. Col. Nye:  Leadership through demonstration. Grit personified. The measure of a man is not what you’ve earned but what you've achieved for the greater good.  Tony provid

How does Jeff Clarke, the new CEO of Kodak Film, propose to take a company that the digital age has rendered bankrupt back into prominence? He has a few tricks up his sleeve. If you ask him, analogue film, much like vinyl records in the music industry, is an art form that is bound to make a comeback. Furthermore, film has spurred many cutting edge technologies with exciting possibilities for everything from healthcare to smell free clothing. Clarke tells us why he welcomes the challenge.  Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.comLessons:1. Spartan values and philosophies are valuable in work and life.2. Maintaining a healthy diet and an active lifestyle helps the mind process clearly at work.3. As a leader it is important to take time to mentor employees and monitor their wellness by supporting the importance of living a balanced life.Panel Notes:Joe Desena: What kind of a guy, one who is already wealthy and a great family man, takes on the task of rebuilding one of the world’s if not the world’s

Zach Even Esh, body builder, strength coach and author, built success out of the raw material of failure. His self belief carried him through the rough patches of a startup wrestling camp that he ran out of his garage. It took him a year to even make a dime. But he would tap into the energy of the small successes to build momentum, in his eyes a crucial component of making it, and that propelled him past the disappointments. In the process, his mental grit became the equal of his physical grit.   Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.comLessons:1.  On the road to success, pay attention to the unsuccessful stuff.  These experiences will help you.2.  Don’t let circumstances boss you around.3.  Wake up early!4.  When the going gets tough, get creative. 5.  Build on momentum.Panel Notes:Joe Desena: Zach is the man. It’s rare to find someone that cares so much about helping people. He's an educator, a trainer, a businessman and a family man.  Zach’s a really awesome guy who opens up his life to anyone

Joe banters with the guys from Barbell Shrugged at the Pittsfield Original General Store. Barbell Shrugged, a podcast for all things Crossfit, was Joe's inspiration for the one you're about to watch. The guys chat about everything from the future of Spartan Race to what life would be like if Joe were king. (Hint: not too easy.) Is Joe heading to a counterculture rave in the desert? Joe is hosting a cruise this spring. What gives? Is he finally going soft? Find out the fascinating answers in this podcast!   Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.comLessons: 1. You grow by pushing your limits until you level out into complacency, and then pushing on to the next limit.2. If you want to change the world, first you must make your bed (i.e., take the first small step). 3. If everyone thinks you're strange, take heart. It may just mean you're years ahead of your time. Panel Notes:Joe Desena: These boys from down south are good ol’ boys, but don't let the accent fool you. They are fluxing smart. They know

Ben Greenfield, triathlete, Spartan Racer, fitness guru, father and author of Beyond Training is equally driven by his passions as well as his family. The whole idea, he says, is to remember the important things in life. To achieve that balance, instead of forgoing one thing or another, he combines both. His family stays together while they play together. It started when he began running triathlons together with his wife eight years ago, and continues to this day even if it means doing hill sprints with a toddler on his back.  Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.comLessons:1. It’s okay to push the limits in life.  But be when your activities take you away from your family, friends, relationships, love, etc., you have gone too far.2. The best way to stay active and motivated is to sign up for something – 5K, Spartan Race, etc.3. Expose your kids at a young age to fitness and an active lifestyle.Panel Notes:Joe Desena: Ben Greenfield is the ultimate body hack. He is always experimenting and tryin