The Hard Way With Joe De Sena

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 victim to life's obstacles.

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 in the darkness.

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.