The Hard Way w/ Joe De Sena

The “man whisperer” Mammarella-D'Cruz runs men’s groups that set them on a course to fulfillment. Clients, even billionaires, find they need help understanding how to achieve happiness. His ability was honed by the dire circumstances of his own childhood. After his family was placed on the death list in Uganda, Mammarella-D'Cruz spent a significant portion of his formative years on the run. This summoned his survival instincts, which were vital at the time, but when the threat eased were not helping him live the life he had dreamed. After a string of successful endeavours that left him wanting, he learned to live life to it’s fullest and is helping others do the same.

Lessons:

    1.    Find how your life’s “script” impedes you, to move on.
    2.    It’s more efficient to learn from other’s mistakes than to make them yourself.
    3.    If your life is entirely run by your internal protector you are surviving and not living.

Direct download: 113-SUP-Mamma_Rella_Audio.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:30am EDT

Adaptive athlete Amy Winters, is so resilient she was chosen to help struggling athletes complete the brutal 60+ hour Spartan endurance event Agoge. If you ask her, she won’t credit rugged individualism for her perseverance. She relies on the strength of others to buoy her up as she does the same for them. It may be that the wellspring of grit that her loss summoned helped her to recognize and rouse that same potential in others.

Lessons:

    1.    When you see something different about a person, smile with them.
    2.    Working as a team, as a community, you bring to the fore each other’s strengths and lift each other towards completing the improbable.
    3.    To connect with people, disconnect from the screen.

LINKS:
One Step Ahead Foundation https://onestepaheadfoundation.wordpress.com/
One Step Ahead Foundation on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/OneStepAheadFoundation/

Direct download: 112-SUP-Amy_Winters_Audio.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:30am EDT

Coach of the highly successful wrestling program at Cornell, Rob Koll wasn’t an overnight success. His virtuosity was years in the making, working hard and surrounding himself with the kind of motivating people that would eventually transform the program into a powerhouse. When asked, Koll denies that his methods involve any mystique. He simply doles out his nose to the grindstone, meat and potatoes work ethic with devastating consistency. Those who don’t have the discipline to endure it fall by the wayside. Those who do, find themselves competing with the best and winning often.

Lessons:
    1.    It’s not how much you want to win that day; it’s how much you want to win on all the days leading up to that day.
    2.    Even a mildly active wrestler is going to go through more pain, hardship and sacrifice than the average person on the street.
    3.    A supportive upbringing that instills good values is crucial.

 

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Direct download: 111-SUP-Rob_Koll_Audio.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:30am EDT

A restaurateur with 7 NYC restaurants and a passion for fitness, his restaurants have succeeded in large part due to Chernow’s keen sense of emotional intelligence. One of the unique ways he keeps his staff happy is the emphasis he places on fitness in the workplace and the program he started to cultivate this. The interview takes place in Seamore’s which specializes in locally caught species that are delectable but often overlooked. Dogfish, for example, is just as tasty as trendier fare. Chernow is working new projects with a voracious diligence Chernow can trace back to his childhood. As a kid he walked dogs and delivering food to transcend his family’s modest lifestyle.

Lessons
    1.    Don’t underestimate anyone. There’s no way of gauging how valuable a relationship will be down the line.
    2.    Don’t “want,” “need,” or “wish” …. “do.”
    3.    Cultivate a happy, cohesive team and the guests will be made happy as a matter of course.

Direct download: 110-SUP-Michael-Chernow-FULL-for-Libsyn_01.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:30am EDT

UFC fighter “The Spaniard” and lifelong wrestler, Charlie grew up in normal circumstances. As he puts it “I’m just like you,” he didn’t have to overcome a great deprivation or trauma, he just worked hard and went on to great successes. Brenneman dispels the myth that you must follow a Rocky type trajectory to compete with the best. Instead he shares the simple steps he took, including surrounding himself with good mentors and Consistency. He arrived by realizing that in a sport like wrestling in which “heartbreak far outweighs the triumph” the journey is what matters.

Lessons:
    1.    Being in a normal family that provides good core values and a supportive environment is an underestimated advantage. It doesn’t take extraordinary circumstances to do extraordinary things.
    2.    Every opportunity, no matter how small, counts. Things add up.
    3.    If you don’t move the proverbial line in the sand, you’re never going to get best.

Direct download: 109-Charlie_Brenneman_VOTAG_Audio_01.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:30am EDT

A former infantry officer Josh Mantz was shot by a sniper in Baghdad.  He flatlined, and his life was in the hands of a nineteen year old medic in the heat of battle. Mantz was revived ten minutes after the period that’s considered survivable. When asked why, the medic said simply that he never gives up.  Mantz moved on to Tesla, pioneers in electric vehicles. The atmosphere there is in some ways as intense as the military.  Why? They too are mission driven. Outside of Tesla Mantz has harnessed his healing to help veterans heal from their trauma.

Lessons:

    1.    You can’t do it all alone, sometimes even your very life is in the hands of others.
    2.    Recognizing and absolving yourself of guilt and shame is the first step in overcoming trauma.
    3.    A solid sense of mission and purpose precedes any great accomplishment.


CREDITS
Producer – Marion Abrams, Madmotion, llc.
Hosts: Joe De Sena with Johnny Waite, Sefra, Col. Tim Nye, Delle & David Deluca
Synopsis – Matt Baatz
© 2016 Spartan

Direct download: 108-SUP-Joshua_Mantz-FULL-AUDIOV_01REV.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:30am EDT

Former Olympic downhill skier Doug Lewis decided at 8 he’d compete on the Wold Cup level. Success came very early, but during his first World Cup race at age 17 he broke his back.  Failure, he now says, is critical to building confidence. He went on to win World Cup Bronze and represent the US in 3 Olympic games. The problem with peaking early is the looming question of what to do next - and will anyone care. Lewis chose to pass on the lessons he learned by creating a youth development program called Eliteam. He also chose to stayed close to ski racing and is a Skiing analyst for NBC for World Cup and Olympic games. Lewis is content with his life, but continues every day to look for new adventures and inspire kids to set lofty goals then dig deep to achieve them.

Lessons:
    1.    Good coaches set goals challenging enough to spur growth but not so overwhelming they create despair.
    2.    Students should set goals they may never reach, they will provide direction and inspiration.
    3.    Confidence requires failure.
    4.    In any meaningful life path, ebbs and flows are inevitable.

Direct download: 107_Doug_lewis-FULL-EXP-A_1_01.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:30am EDT

The founder of a massive sports promotion company Matchroom Sport, started off without a clear direction. He says just start, take a scattershot approach and eventually you’ll find your direction by the process of elimination. Aim high, then adjust. Hearn wanted to be a heavyweight boxing champion, but his path lead him to be a promoter instead. His own passion could comes across as draconian, but that’s only testament to how strongly he believes in the power of the individual to create a meaningful life.

Lessons:
    1.    At first take a scattergun approach in life; don’t set limits and then adjust to find your place.
    2.    Start an hour earlier and end an hour later.
    3.    Champions are impressive, but the people at the back of the field who refuse to give in may be even more impressive.

Direct download: 106-SUP-Bary-Hearn_Audio.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:30am EDT

His first memory is the moment his mother gave him away. Former NFL player, Anthony Trucks, wants to matter because his first memory in life was feeling like he didn’t. At 14 a harsh remark by a girl in school shocked him into self awareness. Sheer force of will it set him on a course that has defined his life to the present day as a successful business owner, athlete speaker & author.

Lessons:
    1.    Live a life that will produce a huge turn out at your funeral.
    2.    If you think the hand you’ve been dealt is an excuse, think again.
    3.    Practice effortless effort--that activity that resonates so deeply with you that the work you do starts to feel effortless.

Direct download: 105-SUP-AnthonyTrucks_Audio.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:30am EDT

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.

Direct download: 104-SUP-Shannon_Galpin_Audio.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:30am EDT