The Hard Way With Joe De Sena

Explorer and mountain biker Shannon Galpin brings cycling to Afghan women. The 2014 National Geographic Explorer believes bicycles are a vehicle for transformation in a society where this simple freedom and pleasure is denied to women and girls. This simple act, easily taken for granted in the West, provides them with a stronger voice so vital in what often appears like an insurmountable obstacle--positioning Afghan women in a place of greater equality. Lessons: 1. Simply doing something right can a powerful form of activism since it will inspire others to mirror you. 2. Hope and change prevail over fear. 3. Don't take even the simplest things for granted.

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 different direction. 7. Aim to be a whole person, mind, body and soul. 8. Those who succeed aren't afraid to fail, often. 9. Experiences are much more valuable than things. 10. Whatever you are doing, no matter how big or small, commit to it wholly.

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.