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.

As Outside Magazine Editor, Mike Roberts has access to the stories of the top outdoor athletes in the world and to their wisdom as well. He’s seen Kelly Slater, “the Michael Jordan of surfing,” heal his life through the zen of the water, and age gracefully through his sport. He has also seen top climbers act boldly, but with a skill honed through the culmination of years of dedicated practice. Through these stories we can garner how to be a better human, how to risk without risking it all, how to truly be alive and not just live.

Lessons:
    1.    In tough times you can either be afraid or think “what an interesting time to be in” and seek creative solutions.
    2.    Use the lessons that you find in pursuit of your passion in the other areas of your life to help make you a whole person.
    3.    Excellence in sport doesn’t necessarily have to waver once you reach middle age: for one thing, you often gain the wisdom to keep going, to learn to suffer a bit better.

Spartan pro Isaiah Vidal, through the rough circumstances of his life, took the road less traveled to success: He saw the troubled path of his father and didn’t take it. Sons often repeat the mistakes of their fathers, how did Vidal manage to turn things around? In a nutshell, it was a combination of will, determination, and an orientation towards positivity as well as turning towards other strong role models in his life like his mom and grandfather for inspiration. Their influences, as Vidal will describe, laid the foundation for his transformation.

Lessons:

    1.    When proceeding with your life, think of the legacy you want to leave, the example for your children to follow.
    2.    Take measures to guard against negativity in your life.
    3.    If you want to get back on your feet, first you have to get off of your ass.

No one should ever wish tragedy into their own or other’s lives, but it has the potential to lead to some incredibly beneficial life changes. Chris Kresser transformed a decade long struggle with a rare chronic disease into something that benefits society. He was able to restore himself to health and is now doing the same for others. His main piece of advice, “eat real food,” is deceptively simple until you look at the food trends in American culture and realize that the majority of the people the majority of the time are doing no such thing. It may be the single most important thing you can do for your well being. Kresser explains why.

Lessons:
    1.    To stay focused, create a pointed mission in life; do everything that delivers you towards that mission, eliminate those things that don’t.
    2.    In order to accomplish your goals, you have to be a whole person: if you don’t optimize your physical and mental well being, then you’re not much help to others.
    3.    Eat real food. Maximize nutrient dense whole foods and minimize those that come from a box, bag or can or use sugar, white flour or seed oils.