The Hard Way With Joe De Sena

Latest Episodes:

028: Risa Mish | Critical Thinking for Life & Racing Mar 31, 2015

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Risa Mish, an expert in critical thinking, problem solving & leadership teaches at Cornell. In her interview she shares critical thinking tips that apply to life, business and racing. Learn how and when to set aside assumptions, why more experience isn’t always better, why flexibility is important and some concrete ways you can bring these lessons into your life. Mish demonstrates how critical thinking can move us with greater success through a race, business and life. Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com/028Lessons:1. Mitigate failures by predicting ways you might fail and troubleshooting preemptively.2. Place yourself around people who are different than yourself as a way checking your biases.3. Problems always have multiple causes.

027: Wes Chapman | Are You Talking or Doing? Mar 24, 2015

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Until Joe dragged him out to do burpees, Wes Chapman hadn't formally exercised in fifteen years, but don't label him gritless. He is the founder of three successful podcasts and is a master at identifying and fomenting human potential where many have lost hope. When he calls people who want to change the world cocky, crazy, stupid yet confident, one has the sneaking suspicion he's engaging in self deprecation. He has started A Human Project which empowers troubled youth to rise above their situation through respecting them, and it is bound be world altering.Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com/027

Lessons:1. Empower troubled kids by giving them responsibility and ownership over their situation.2. To change the world you have to be cocky enough to think you can, crazy enough to know you can, stupid enough to actually try, and confident enough to share the responsibility.3. Just be good and it doesn't matter what you believe in.

026: Chris Legh | Is Winning Worth Dying for? Mar 17, 2015

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Crawling toward the Iron Man Kona finish line, the end in sight, Chris Legh collapsed before he could reach it. Despite winning 96 triathlons, Chris Legh is best known for the one he DNFed. He clawed his way into contention only to fall violently ill. Legh staggered towards the finish line but fainted and crossed the finish line unofficially, prostrate on a stretcher. It took a lot of guts, as you'll find out, but he thinks you'd do the same thing in his position. Whether you would or not is largely a question on how much you take Legh's compelling lessons on grit to heart.Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com Lessons:1. It's only pain.2. Don't do anything half heartedly; make a decision and focus on something with all your power.3. To stay motivated, get an hour down the road even if you're tired, and chances are you'll go further anyway.

025: Richard Branson | Shares his Secrets to Success Mar 09, 2015

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Richard Branson defies conventional wisdom on success. With Virgin Airlines - he started a thriving airline literally in an afternoon. With Virgin Cola - he took one of the most successful companies of all time head on and almost won. With Necker Island - he acquired the island first believing that the money to develop it would show up eventually, it did. A notorious adventurer, Branson is clearly, within reason, not afraid to live.Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com Lessons:1. Get out of your comfort zone and go into the world and explore.2. Push yourself beyond your limits.3. Practice balance. Learn to trust your instincts.4. Find fun ways to stay fit - involve your friends and family.5. Look for the best in people. There is always something special to acknowledge in a person.6. Forgiveness mends.7. Expect things to be hard along the way but be sure to enjoy the sense of satisfaction from simply trying and being on the journey.

024: Are you Trying Hard Enough?| Matt Segal - Climber Mar 05, 2015

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Matt Segal, an accomplished rock climber, will be returning to the Bugaboos in British Columbia for the fourth time this summer. Their seeming insurmountability almost got him down, but their inspiration lifted Segal right back up again. Where else would he be except faced with all the things he loves--beauty, challenge, the thrill of a first ascent, and the satisfaction of overcoming failure? This is Segal's formula for creating a life filled with passion and grit. Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com Lessons: 1. To prevent burning out from your passion, vary the ways you practice it.2. Letting yourself be inspired by the objective paves the way to success.3. If you're succeeding all the time, you're not trying hard enough.

023: Mark Owen | How He Learned "Tough" Mar 03, 2015

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Mark Owen was one of the SEALSs on the mission that killed Osama Bin Laden. He revels in the gritty life. He prefers not the sugar cookies taken with tea, but the variety Navy SEALs dole out--soldiers moistened and rolled in beach sand and made to tolerate it the rest of the day. This is the kind of discomfort Owen loves, that forges men. Find out what molded him through his rugged childhood in the extremes of Alaska. He's mastered getting through tough times and his secret is surprisingly simple. Find it in this episode and get on the fast track to grit.Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com Lessons:1. The only easy day is yesterday.2. Break difficult tasks to one bite at a time and prioritize. The greater the pressure, the smaller the bites.3. Be all in all the time. Do what you're doing in the moment the best you can.4. Put everything in perspective. If you've done it before, you can do it again.Panel Notes:Joe Desena: Who jumps into ice cold water in third grade in Alaska and then starts his own fire to make sure he can handle himself? Mark Owen, that's who- one of the men who took out Bin Laden. Obviously there's lots of controversy around the book he authored, but even with those questions looming, it's always very interesting to learn about someone who accomplished such a massive task in front of the entire world.Sefra Alexandra: I recently met Kevin Maurer co-author of "No Easy Day," while working at the Global SOF Foundation Symposium for Col. Nye. The attendees were the elite of the Special Operations community and viscerally familiar with the adage that, "the only easy day was yesterday." Matt hails from the great state of Alaska, where he was raised being comfortable with being uncomfortable. His tactics to accomplish any goal: "break it down into one bite at a time!"

022: Taylor Phinney | How to Use Pain to Your Advantage Feb 26, 2015

Show notes

Taylor Phinney, an Olympic cyclist, recently sacrificed some "skin for glory." He fractured his leg after crashing his bike at speeds usually reserved for the highway. As with many champion athletes, he found a way to turn adversity to his advantage. The recovery process has pushed his pain threshold that much higher enabling him, in turn, to push the limits of his endurance. He has learned to trust the struggle as a way to impart valuable lessons on how it can make him that much stronger.Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com Lessons:1. Children should be allowed to find their own way as athletes.2. Black Top Effect suggests that athletic talent is a mixture of nature and nurture.3. You've got to play every day as if you were a pro.

021: Monty Halls | 7 Meals from a Savage Feb 24, 2015

Show notes

Monty Halls, a BBC host and adventurer, has the definitive test of grit: See what happens when people are denied their next seven meals. Hunger will transform us all into gritty, foraging survivalists. When voluntarily stranding himself on a remote island in Scotland, the rugged individualist in him leaned on the strength of the community. After all, it was their hard earned knowledge and culture that helped them survive the rugged environment and it would be foolhardy to ignore this.Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com

Lessons:1. Wherever you go, it's best to learn from the locals.2. We're seven meals away from a savage. I.e., all inherently capable of grit.3. We all need to go slay dragons now and then.4. "I can't do this" is sometimes a brave decision.5. Unfulfilled potential is the biggest crime against self.

020: Suzette Clarke Wants your Kids to get Dirty Feb 19, 2015

Show notes

Suzette Clarke is on a mission to reconnect thousands of kids a year back to the land. Slide Hill Ranch, the original organic farm in America, offers a holistic remedy for the childhood epidemic she identifies--lack of exercise, unhealthy eating and a disconnect with nature. This sort of alienation doesn't discriminate between the wealthy and impoverished. Both groups are isolated from the earth in distinct ways. But all kids who pass through the ranch are left no choice; the cardinal rule is “get dirty”. Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com

019: Mark Divine | How to Manage Your Mind Feb 17, 2015

Show notes

Mark Divine opened SEAL Fit, a Navy SEAL preparation center, in response to the stark proposition candidates faced: Ninety percent will fail if left to their own devices. Fortunately Divine has the key for bolstering their mental toughness and dramatically increasing their odds for success. He took the same journey himself after upheaving a stable but miserable career as a CPA. What he found along the way defies stereotypes. According to Divine, philosophies similar to those of gentle spirits such as the Dalai Lama and Eckhart Tolle are a more effective way to grit than those of the average drill sergeant.Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com Lessons:1. The human spirit soars when it's challenged.2. Life is made up of the small choices you make from moment to moment, rarely the big ones.3. The essence of mental toughness is to notice when you unconsciously make the wrong choices.4. The most important lesson for mental toughness is to know your "why."Panel Notes:Joe Desena: He looks exactly like the Navy Seal in the movie Captain Phillips that helps take out the pirates. I am not so sure it wasn't him. Great guy, great friend that was a Seal and wrote to talk about it, but not in a way that upsets the military. He writes to help all of us develop an unbeatable mind.Col. Nye: SEAL Fit Sauna. Always know your why. Must be disciplined. Inspirational fitness guru and bona fide hero. Holistic view of fitness, body, mind and spirit. He is there to teach resilience and toughness.Sefra Alexandra: “SealFit develops warriors of all walks of life in elite-level fitness, awareness, durability and longevity. We thrive on cultivating the “Kokoro” (warrior) spirit in our clients, helping them be unbeatable in life.”We as a culture have much to learn from the Navy SEALS and Special Operations/ veterans community at large in terms of physicality, strategy and endurance. My twin brother runs a similar venture- Tactivate - to bridge the gap between the skill sets of special operations x entrepreneurship.SEALFIT Values:Loyalty – to our family and our teamService – to others before selfHonor and integrity – in public as well as in privateLeadership and followership – we must be good at both to be effective at anythingResponsibility – we take it for both our actions and those of our teammatesDiscipline – the only easy day was yesterdayInnovation – adapt, improvise and overcomeJohnny Waite: This one is all about how to teach grit. A former Navy Seal, who now operates SealFit; he knows what it takes to develop physical and mental toughness.

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