Jennifer Gilbert, a wildly successful events entrepreneur, was assaulted to an inch within her life outside her friend’s New York apartment. Not only did she survive but she went on to live a very rich and fulfilling life. How? The struggle was all too real. It wasn’t an overnight transformation. She was able to recognize the vast, and sometimes elusive, source of resilience that she discovered that day and draw on it to create the kind of life she always wanted. Her story is jarring, graphic, visceral, enraging, senseless, but at the same time life affirming, hopeful, and deeply important.

Lessons:
    1.    The resilient person that you are in your most challenging moments is there for life to aid you whenever the need should arise.
    2.    Fear is the worst feeling to make a decision from.
    3.    Beautiful things often grow from dark, ugly places like flowers from compost.
    4.    You cannot control one thing in the world except who you are afterwards, whether you move towards the light or wallow in the darkness.

Before retiring Sgt. Major Frank Grippe was the senior enlisted Soldier for US Central Command in charge of military operations in 20 countries in Northern Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. He came out of the subzero weather of the Spartan Agoge to share his wisdom of grit hard earned through his 30 years as a ranger in the army. His is decidedly a no nonsense approach. Grippe knew what he wanted and simply did the job day in and day out, learned all he could from the best mentors he could find and when the opportunities to advance presented themselves, he was ready. He has gone through life with a single minded purpose and one might come away with the impression that he hasn’t entertained  the idea of an alternative livelihood, even for a second.

Lessons:
    1.    Knowing exactly what you want makes getting it that much easier.
    2.    Force of will is everything.
    3.    Positions of responsibility demand complete transparency.

According to Col. Liam Collins, Phd., Special Forces Qualified Officer, West Point Professor,and past winner of the Best Ranger Competition - approximately one percent of prospective candidates persist to become members of the special forces. Joe’s always looking for these people but, alas, they are elusive. They may not not linger long by the waterfalls, but are always eyeing the craggy terrain just ahead. Understandably, it is difficult to find those who will consciously fling themselves into relative peril. How does Col. Collins find them and train them? That’s what we want to find out.

Lessons:

    1.    The true test of character is the decisions you make under duress.
    2.    You develop your mental fortitude like developing muscles: push to the limit of your capacity; recover, then push to the new limit.
    3.    The key to success in a highly competitive environment is not to wallow in your comfort zone.

Not too long ago every self respecting long distance runner was toting a dog eared copy of Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run, reconsidering their choice of footwear or forgoing shoes altogether. McDougall’s current explorations have led him to ask new questions such as: what makes a hero, are our vast human skills learned formally or innate and suppressed by culture? Is the ability to survive in dire circumstances unique or is it present in all of us and awaiting the opportunity to be unleashed? You may know Joe’s take on these questions, and in this episode learn if McDougall agrees.

Lessons:

    1.    To be compassionate can also mean to help someone with their problem while it’s small and before it comes back to affect the community at large.
    2.    Many skills are latent, lurking just below the surface, and our mass culture has  limited their full expression.
    3.    Being successful often means identifying and taking that one extra step that no one else is taking.

Kevin Cleary, CEO of Clif Bar, has his company on the right track if not the most trodden one. Whereas most companies only think of maximizing their quarterly profits, Clif bar is planning decades ahead and profiting from the foresight. Whereas most companies focus on satisfying their shareholders, Clif Bar has a firm social and environmental mission that strengthens the company and community at large. They’re one of the few, but important examples that doing good, yet remaining lucrative, are not as mutually exclusive as many believe.

Lessons:

    1.    It’s much better motivation to tell someone they’re a hard worker than to tell them that they’re smart.
    2.    A company that can focus on long term goals, despite the pressure to show quarterly profits, will ultimately make better decisions.
    3.    A purpose driven business keeps those involved with it engaged and passionate.