A marathon finisher on seven continents, an aerial skiing Olympic hopeful, head of a prostate cancer awareness foundation, and she’s just 15. That's just how Winter Vinecki rolls. She already holds a world record and she is nowhere close to her prime. She nurtures a healthy positivity that covers all eventualities. Should anything go awry, she's still on track to go to Stanford and perhaps try a little skydiving. Winter leaves little doubt that she'll succeed no matter her path.
www.SpartanUpPodcast.com/030

Lessons:
1. A worthy cause is a great motivator.
2. Active and supportive parents are great role models.
3. Have a good backup plan.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes holds the greatest number of exploring world records of any living person and almost inconceivable endurance in every facet of his extraordinary life. Considered the world's greatest explorer, he has a decidedly different take on concepts such as grit, obstacle resistance and success. But even if his views don't take on the traditional motivational parlance, they have clearly worked in his life, an extraordinary one to say the least.
http://spartanuppodcast.com/029

Lessons:
1. You never “reach success”; you're only as good as your last movie.
2. It’s never too late to face your fears.
3. To surmount obstacles, have a cup of tea and figure out how to go around them.

Risa Mish, an expert in critical thinking, problem solving & leadership teaches at Cornell. In her interview she shares critical thinking tips that apply to life, business and racing. Learn how and when to set aside assumptions, why more experience isn’t always better, why flexibility is important and some concrete ways you can bring these lessons into your life.  Mish demonstrates how critical thinking can move us with greater success through a race, business and life.  
Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com/028

Lessons:
1. Mitigate failures by predicting ways you might fail and troubleshooting preemptively.
2. Place yourself around people who are different than yourself as a way checking your biases.
3. Problems always have multiple causes.

Until Joe dragged him out to do burpees, Wes Chapman hadn't  formally exercised in fifteen years, but don't label him gritless. He is the founder of three successful podcasts and is a master at identifying and fomenting human potential where many have lost hope. When he calls people who want to change the world cocky, crazy, stupid yet confident, one has the sneaking suspicion he's engaging in self deprecation. He has started A Human Project which empowers troubled youth to rise above their situation through respecting them, and it is bound be world altering.
Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com/027

Lessons:
1. Empower troubled kids by giving them responsibility and ownership over their situation.
2. To change the world you have to be cocky enough to think you can, crazy enough to know you can, stupid enough to actually try, and confident enough to share the responsibility.
3. Just be good and it doesn't matter what you believe in.

Crawling toward the Iron Man Kona finish line, the end in sight, Chris Legh collapsed before he could reach it. Despite winning 96 triathlons, Chris Legh is best known for the one he DNFed. He clawed his way into contention only to fall violently ill. Legh staggered towards the finish line but fainted and crossed the finish line unofficially, prostrate on a stretcher. It took a lot of guts, as you'll find out, but he thinks you'd do the same thing in his position. Whether you would or not is largely a question on how much you take Legh's compelling lessons on grit to heart.
Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com

Lessons:
1. It's only pain.
2. Don't do anything half heartedly; make a decision and focus on something with all your power.
3. To stay motivated, get an hour down the road even if you're tired, and chances are you'll go further anyway.

Richard Branson defies conventional wisdom on success. With Virgin Airlines - he started a thriving airline literally in an afternoon. With Virgin Cola - he took one of the most successful companies of all time head on and almost won. With Necker Island - he acquired the island first believing that the money to develop it would show up eventually, it did. A notorious adventurer, Branson is clearly, within reason, not afraid to live.
Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com
  
Lessons:
1. Get out of your comfort zone and go into the world and explore.
2. Push yourself beyond your limits.
3. Practice balance. Learn to trust your instincts.
4. Find fun ways to stay fit - involve your friends and family.
5. Look for the best in people. There is always something special to acknowledge in a person.
6. Forgiveness mends.
7. Expect things to be hard along the way but be sure to enjoy the sense of satisfaction from simply trying and being on the journey.

Matt Segal, an accomplished rock climber, will be returning to the Bugaboos in British Columbia for the fourth time this summer. Their seeming insurmountability almost got him down, but their inspiration lifted Segal right back up again. Where else would he be except faced with all the things he loves--beauty, challenge, the thrill of a first ascent, and the satisfaction of overcoming failure? This is Segal's formula for creating a life filled with passion and grit.  
Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com

Lessons:
1. To prevent burning out from your passion, vary the ways you practice it.
2. Letting yourself be inspired by the objective paves the way to success.
3. If you're succeeding all the time, you're not trying hard enough.

Mark Owen was one of the SEALSs on the mission that killed Osama Bin Laden.  He revels in the gritty life. He prefers not the sugar cookies taken with tea, but the variety Navy SEALs dole out--soldiers moistened and rolled in beach sand and made to tolerate it the rest of the day. This is the kind of discomfort Owen loves, that forges men. Find out what molded him through his rugged childhood in the extremes of Alaska. He's mastered getting through tough times and his secret is surprisingly simple. Find it in this episode and get on the fast track to grit.

Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com


Lessons:
1. The only easy day is yesterday.
2. Break difficult tasks to one bite at a time and prioritize. The greater the pressure, the smaller the bites.
3. Be all in all the time. Do what you're doing in the moment the best you can.
4. Put everything in perspective. If you've done it before, you can do it again.


Panel Notes:
Joe Desena: Who jumps into ice cold water in third grade in Alaska and then starts his own fire to make sure he can handle himself? Mark Owen, that's who- one of the men who took out Bin Laden. Obviously there's lots of controversy around the book he authored, but even with those questions looming, it's always very interesting to learn about someone who accomplished such a massive task in front of the entire world.


Sefra Alexandra: I recently met Kevin Maurer co-author of "No Easy Day," while working at the Global SOF Foundation Symposium for Col. Nye. The attendees were the elite of the Special Operations community and viscerally familiar with the adage that, "the only easy day was yesterday." Matt hails from the great state of Alaska, where he was raised being comfortable with being uncomfortable. His tactics to accomplish any goal: "break it down into one bite at a time!"

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.