Aiden Chase, a spiritual healer for Hollywood types, entrepreneurs and regular folks, takes a holistic approach to success in life: we approach our highest selves through a balance of mind, body and spirit. Fanciful as it sounds, there’s common sense behind it.  The mind functions optimally when allowed to reflect clearly and honestly in the quiet places that are growing scarce. Importantly, he guides clients to identify their biggest obstacles, their fears, and no longer repress them, and then do it anyway. Chances are they won’t become billionaires, but then again it probably won’t matter. They’ll have obtained something far more valuable.

Lessons:
    1.    Success is achieved through a holistic integration of mind, body and spirit.
    2.    Fear is the biggest obstacle we need to transform to move forward.
    3.    Nature is the best place for quiet contemplation in order to envision your direction in life.

Zhong Lou’s path to MMA prominence was never in doubt. He started practicing karate not long after he learned to walk and talk and has mastered a strikingly diverse number of disciplines, from Chinese acrobatics to Mongolian wrestling, since. Forty years later Lou is determined to leave a legacy with his San Francisco gym, Dragon House MMA. The money to keep it up and running is not easy to come by, and it’s not unheard of for a student to sweep the floors in exchange for training. But the bottom line for Luo is human transformation, and in that he is making a tidy profit.

Lessons:
    1.    Even in solitary endeavors, mastery often requires a team effort.
    2.    When money isn’t quite cutting it, passion will keep the doors open.
    3.    Fitness priorities shift with age; training for invincibility while young must gradually shift to training for health if one is to remain viable.

Human guinea pig and journalist A.J. Jacobs has lived according Old Testament rules, outsourced his entire life, and subjected himself to every diet and fitness program he could find to he could to see what he could learn.  Besides the more obvious lessons, like sheep don’t do well in New York apartments and long beards are itchy, he gained valuable takeaways that he shares in his books which include “The Year of Living Biblically,” “Drop Dead Healthy.” He provides a whole other angle to the trope, “fake it til you make it.” Through his interesting experiments Jacobs proves that some of the best adventures can be conjured up in the mind.

Lessons:
    1.    Expressing gratitude for everything develops awareness of just how many things we have to be thankful for.
    2.    It’s easier to act your way into a new way of thinking then to think your way into a new way of acting.
    3.    In terms of genealogy, we are all one large extended family, so be kind.

Col. Nye spent the weekend at the very first Spartan Winter Agoge to to get a taste of the lessons shared by instructors there.  We’ve also included a special message about Agoge’s meaning from Joe De Sena.  The Spartan Agoge is a 48 or 60 Hour test of mental and physical endurance. The goal is not just to break you down but to build you back up with greater purpose, resilience, commitment and knowledge of yourself.  The winter Agoge includes the practical survival skills you’ll need to complete the event safely even in the brutal sub zero conditions this year’s participants faced.  This is Col. Nye’s first time doing solo field interviews for Spartan Up, let us know what you think. PS- this is an episode we suggest you WATCH.

Hoby Darling, CEO of Skullcandy, in pursuit of his success, got out over his skis and accelerated through the turns, got up early every day, set the bar high for his community, and built up obstacle resistance by challenging himself on a regular basis. Darling demonstrates the wisdom of leading by example, not by decree. He shows that one of the most crucial aspects of motivation is redefining what is possible thereby opening the door for others to excel. In this episode, Darling will reveal what it takes to dream big and turn that dream into a reality.

Lessons:

    1.    Leaning into yes makes life a lot more fun and interesting.
    2.    The best way to motivate others is to set a great example and let those you’re trying to influence figure out their path.
    3.    The best way to advance in life is to concentrate on doing your best everyday and the bigger picture will often take care of itself.

Synopsis: Which diet will optimize your obstacle resistance-- Paleo, raw foods, clean eating or some emerging trend? According to Cornell head nutritionist Clint Wattenberg, there is a time and a place for almost any kind of food as long as you eat it in moderation and your grandma would recognize it. Trying to be “perfect” with your diet will often drive you to the other extreme or, worse, to an eating disorder. If you love food and eating, then Wattenberg has some great news.

Lessons:
1. Be moderate with your diet, not extreme.
2. Only eat foods that your grandma would recognize and as many whole foods as possible.
3. Nutrition is the foundation to build a performance, not the golden key.

Bart Yasso earned the title of Chief Running Officer at Runner’s World magazine through a rugged initiation that involved life altering missteps in his adolescence. It took a stark confrontation with his own mortality via the loss of a close friend to jolt him onto his path of pursuing his passion. This experience upheaved his frame of reference from a toxic one to one of redemption. It’s a running theme in our tales of grit: climbs to great heights very often begin at rock bottom. Yasso’s love for running and for life shines through in this episode.  


Lessons:
    1.    You are the average of your five closest friends, so choose wisely.
    2.    You need to think like a champion before you can become one.
    3.    Say yes often to new experiences; embrace and love them.

Thom Beers,  successful producer of shows including Deadliest Catch, Ice Road Truckers & Monster Garage has taken a treacherous path to achieve his success himself.  Starting at the bottom he worked his way up through grit, persistence and staying one step ahead of everyone else. His passion, apparently very much alive, propelled him through the rough patches. He has some valuable tips on how to navigate those icy roads and stormy seas that one will inevitably encounter along the way to any achievement worth pursuing.

Lessons:

    1.    Passion is the most important thing in the world: If it doesn’t make your heart pump Kool-Aid, it’s not worth doing.
    2.    Develop an optimal business culture by gathering together people with the same passion as you.
    3.    Hire really good people and then let them run.

What could Dandapani, a Hindu monk turned adviser to entrepreneurs, have to offer to a world seemingly far removed from the monastic life? Plenty it turns out. Through his practice he has come to personify the calm in the midst of the storm, and if there is one way of being that would be a boon in the tumultuous climate of the business world, this would have to be it. Calm reflection is the key to creating positive habits of the mind and Dandapani has mastered this in his many years of practice. He has built a solid foundation of wisdom which he will touch on in this week’s podcast.

Lessons:

    1.    Motivation requires a lot of energy, therefore it is important to let go of the things that drain your energy including negative media, tv, toxic friends and sometimes even family.
    2.    One of the greatest gifts you can provide yourself is taking a few moments each day to clarify your direction in life; once you do that, you can overcome almost every obstacle.
    3.    Use positive affirmations to shape and change your mind in order to attract good things into your life.

Entrepreneur and athlete Sami Inkinen, along with his wife, rowed 2,750 miles over 45 days without using any of the traditional “athlete foods” conventional knowledge says are essential: sugars and carbs. They didn’t starve, far from it. They came out of it healthier than can be expected from such an endeavor. Why? As fit as Inkinen is, he developed prediabetes by following the standard diet and surmised that sugar was the culprit. If someone like Inkinen is vulnerable, we should all be aware. Inkinen recounts his amazing journey from California to Hawaii.


Lessons:

    1.    The key to success is anything is a growth mindset: Don’t go through an experience, grow through it.
    2.    Sometimes you have to face a challenge as if you were eating an elephant, one piece at a time, slowly, as best you can.
    3.    The only way to escape an unpleasant experience is to embrace it fully, not fight it.