Heroes

We all have heroes; people we respect and look to as good examples.

I have many but below are video interviews/talks from two of my favorites.

The first is Jack Lalanne. Many likely don’t know who he is. Those who do may only remember him for his funny work out clothing from his 1950’s TV show.

Jack Lalanne was a founding father of diet and exercise. More importantly he was a leader about strength of mind. Jack was a STUD. At one point he held a world record for fastest 1000 pull ups. On his 70th birthday (that’s right 70th) he towed 70 boats, each containing one person (70 people) for something like a mile in frigid Pacific water. Oh yeah - he was also shackled while doing it. The term Jumping Jack is named after him. My favorite Jack quote is “I can’t die - it would be bad for my image”. I can relate brother. Jack died at 97 years of age with his boots on. I’m not certain but I think Jack once swam the English Channel shackled.

The second video is David Goggins (aka SEAL from the book Living With A SEAL). David talks about strength of mind and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.

David refers to a a few episodes that are detailed in the book. David decided he wanted to honor and raise money for veterans. At 270 pounds he decided to do something he hated - running. David didn’t just run, he googled “what is the hardest running race in the world" which is the Badwater 135 - a race through summer time Death Valley finishing with a climb up Mt. Whitney which is the highest peak in the continental US. Oh yeah - in his talk David mentions going through SEAL Hell Week 3 times. What he doesn’t say is that it wasn’t because he failed but rather that, although he passed, he felt his first two efforts were weak. I have a feeling even Navy SEALS think he is a little crazy.

The point is if you believe it you can do it. The secondary point is you haven’t fully challenged yourself unless you’ve failed - and of course failure is not an option - kind of a Catch 22.

Go get out of your comfort zone (yes you Youngner) and enjoy the videos.