US Pentathletes Nathan Schrimsher and Dennis Bowsher.
The pentathlon has been an Olympic sport for over a century, but chances are most people don’t know much about it. What are the skills a messenger would have needed in wartime? Riding, swimming,running fencing and shooting. It has recently been given a modern upgrade: the guns shoot lasers instead of the original bullets. Joe talks to two of the best American pentathletes to discover what it takes to excel at this intriguing discipline - one on the current Team competing in Rio in a few weeks. Trust us, there are 4 or 5 key lessons that will carry over to whatever challenge you face on the way to your goals.

Lessons:

    1.    Run your own race, the race of life.
    2.    There is no substitute for the internal motivation to practice EVERY day.
    3.    Don’t underestimate the value of wisdom and patience.
    4.    Set aside your wins and your losses, focus only on what is in front of you now.
 

One hundred episodes in, Joe, Delle, Johnny, Colonel Nye and Sefra talk about the guests that resonated with them the most. Spartan UP! has interviewed writers, athletes, generals, monks, CEOs, entrepreneurs, nutritionists, farmers, lawyers, doctors, explorers...to garner their unique spin on what it takes to succeed. There have been one hundred different answers, one hundred stories on how to live a fulfilling life, but many common threads. These inspiring people are telling us it’s okay to be afraid, but not to live in fear, to have a why, but live in the moment, and to find  a passion (or passions) and follow it with all we got.

Lessons from 100 Episodes:

    1.    Have a why.
    2.    Life is a series of moments. Live each one.
    3.    A challenging life is a satisfying life.
    4.    The first step to success is getting off the couch.
    5.    Surround yourself with good, supportive people. Lose those who aren’t.
    6.    Persevere, but if you find yourself on the wrong path, be prepared to go a different direction.
    7.    Aim to be a whole person, mind, body and soul.
    8.    Those who succeed aren’t afraid to fail, often.
    9.    Experiences are much more valuable than things.
    10.    Whatever you are doing, no matter how big or small, commit to it wholly.

Alan Jope, president of Unilever’s Personal Care business, understands how to live. With such an high position many would not be surprised if Jove was a man completely consumed by his work. Though his commitment to his job is complete, it is not the source of his identity. He and four friends are riding stretches of a world spanning motorcycle trip with its share of mishaps and broken bones. What he does is not who he is, but enables him to become the person he always dreamed he could be. In this episode Jope also discusses the benefits of mission driven brands.

Lessons:

    1.    Where you are in the world is more important than what you’re doing in it.
    2.    Concentrate most of your energy into what you’re doing now, not worrying about the future, and opportunities will open up as a matter of course.
    3.    In life, follow the packing rule: put the big thing in first.

Masha Gordon, a mountaineer who completed the seven summits and both poles in record time, ventured to take lessons in grit from the boardroom to the most challenging terrain on earth. Thirty minutes from the summit of Everest she was faced with an executive decision: should she risk getting caught in a storm and possibly putting her life in peril or divest and live to see another day? Luckily the risk was worth taking, but the tough mindedness she earned in business made her decision a sound one. Learn how doing great things has taught Gordon how little it actually takes to be happy and successful.  

Lessons:
    1.    Even when you invested a large amount in an experience the smartest thing could be to divest if it means living to see another day.
    2.    Move counter to stereotypes so that they no longer define you.
    3.    Let a healthy fear and respect complement the excitement of your expeditions.