The Hard Way With Joe De Sena

It takes more energy to catch up than it does to simply keep up. This extra expenditure of energy ends up creating a greater deficit which in turn feeds the loop to fall behind yet again. This is simple physical conservation of energy theory. What happens with individuals on a psychological level is an entirely different story. The tendency is to attempt finding shortcuts rationalized as improved...

Organic foods are generally more expensive than conventional foods because conventional foods often use substances to accelerate plant and animal growth, protect against insects or increase the scale of farming. These substances are certainly not part of the natural growth cycle of the flora and fauna that we eat. For flora, there are pesticides, ionizing radiation, artificial fertilizers and, yes...

Is your work or career just a job? Or, do you truly live the code, being a pro whether you are at work or not? LESSONS: If the culture at your work is about kindness and excellence, do you live this after the 9-5 hours are over? Excellence is a habit. Practice excellence, even when you're not at work or when the cameras are not rolling. Joe DeSena is a Spartan whether the camera is rolling or not....

Our mind is a melting pot of different kinds of thoughts. Joy ones, excited ones, worry ones, hopeful ones, and, yes, negative ones. It is important to be aware of your own negative thoughts because denying they exist doesn't make them go away - and in some circumstances doing just that only makes them grow stronger. And, at the same time, you want to be strategic about how you address them becaus...

Fran Martinez tragically lost his son to an undiagnosed illness when he was an infant. In the beginning, the pain seemed too much to bear. In the midst of this his marriage ended. He ran from life and friends. Loving friends brought him back to society, got him exercising, and eventually he found Spartan Race. He realized the obstacle course was a metaphor for life. The community, the exercise, an...

Host Brian "Tosh" Chontosh takes a deeper look at the value of consistency. Everyone should take a moment to go back and dig into the definition of consistency. And on that note, appreciate the difference between consistency and persistency. If we look at consistency as harmony towards a whole and seizing opportunity when it presents it reframes how we may hold ourselves accountable towards failur...

Processed foods are foods that are handled and altered in some way before they get to your pantry or refrigerator. The more harmless kinds of processing are things like cutting and peeling a variety of fruit and packaging those things as a "fruit salad." The next step in processing is canning food, which can either reduce the nutritional content of food or introduce some unhealthy quantity of natu...

Major (Retired) Scotty Smiley became the first blind active-duty officer in military history following a face-to-face confrontation with a suicide car bomber in Iraq in 2005. After his injury, Scotty's faith led him to forgive his attacker and inspired him to rebuild his life while continuing to serve his country in the U.S. Army. His wife Tiffany's drive and support are an incredible model of par...

Sweep the Sheds Comes from the book Legacy, a book written about the New Zealand All Blacks. In order to build a GREAT team, no individual can be too good for something, including sweeping the shed. LESSONS: "Sweeping the Shed" is a tradition that says that no individual is bigger than the team and its ancestors. This includes cleaning out the locker room after practice or a game. The All Blacks w...

Anger is one of those emotions that few like to acknowledge and even fewer like to talk about. Either way, however, avoiding anger doesn't mean that it goes away. In fact, the more you understand your anger the more likely you are to manage your responses appropriately and not be overcome by expression. It's important to remember that anger is a normal emotion and, although it may be uncomfortable...

"We were made to do hard things," is Katie Wells family motto. Her popular website "Wellness Mama" features simple answers for healthier families. Mama to six children, she has found ways to bring lessons from the workplace to the management of her home. She systematizes her household (spreadsheets are one of her "love languages"). All this to empower her children- who by the way, have to start th...

It's fairly obvious that if you look for your car keys or you look for your wallet, you will eventually find your keys and wallet. When we are riding our mountain bikes and there is danger to the right, the inexperienced tend to look to the right - where they want don't want to go. Which is where the bike then tends to turn. If you walk through life looking for conflict you will find it. If you lo...

The popularity of collagen is skyrocketing. It's especially effective in compensating for problems related to our bones and our skin as we age. Although human beings start out making collagen naturally, as people get older, they become less capable of absorbing nutrients or synthesizing them. In that case, collagen-rich foods and supplements can compensate for deficiencies. Collagen is also the mo...

Scott Jurek is widely considered one of the best ultra marathoners ever winning Badwater, and Western States multiple times. He also recently broke a speed record for running the entire Appalachian Trail. You can learn a lot more about him by reading the book "Born To Run", and two books he's authored, "Eat and Run", and "North". LESSONS: Finding things that motivate you. The best way to find what...

Pressure is a privilege. I first heard this from Tim Grover, the author of Relentless. Tough times and challenges mold us into stronger men and women. Spartans love challenges. Rather than avoiding challenges, Spartans say Bring it on!!! LESSONS: High performers seek out challenging opportunities while "normal people" see challenges as something that holds them back Nothing worth having will ever...

We have become pathologically attached to the end product of things. We focus more on the grade, the paycheck, the medal - all while ignoring the hard work and process that it took to get to the end. The problem with this is that when we only focus on the product, we are missing out on all the vital, awesome information that we can gather from the process. We need to look more towards all of the g...

"It's the START that stops you" says the electric Eric Byrnes who launched his Major League  Baseball career with a 22 game hitting streak. Byrnes was a player who relied on his speed and hustle, and he brings the energy of a fast ball to this interview. Drafted out of high school by the Dodgers, he went on to play for the Oakland Athletics, the Colorado Rockies, the Baltimore Orioles, the Arizona...

"You've got to give respect to get respect." Well, if everyone is waiting for someone else to give it to them, we will be waiting an awfully long time. If you share anger, anger gets returned. If you're always picking fights, you'll always be fighting. If you want Love, love others. If you want friendship, be a good friend. LESSONS: Rise up, Give. Give, not for the sake of getting, and it will be...

Because the word "fat" is associated with being overweight, many people go overboard and think that all fats are bad. But that's far from the case. Some fats are necessary and … some fats are amazingly good for you. What we talk about A source of some of these amazing fats is coconut oil. These good fats are "medium-chain fatty acids" (or MCFAs). They are: ●        Caprylic acid, ●        Lauric a...

Have you ever found yourself being busy yet not productive? In a day and age where too many people are over inundated due to having too much information and too many options, we are afraid to just do the work! LESSONS: Instead of thinking you need to "get ready" for something, why not just get started! Organization is crucial for success Cook your lunch and dinner for the week ahead by cooking in...

We can only store and attend to so many things at any given time. Our mental energy actually has a limit. Because of this we need to be intentional on where we invest our mental energy and take inventory on what is occupying space in our mind. If we are more curious and intentional around where we are investing mental energy, we can adjust time spent so that very little time gets wasted. A simple...

Nicole Alexander, Major, U.S. Army Special Operations & PROMOTE Co-Founder, was born with grit and determination. As a young girl she always wanted to be doing as much as possible, which led her into the rigors of a "company" of ballerinas. In college she found rowing and pushed herself to the limits, inspired to "find her swing!" Joining the army and then Special Operations she utilized rigorous...

We tend to all be able to appreciate what 'leaving something better than you found it' means in a physical sense. Picking up after yourself, picking up trash off the ground, leaving the surroundings a little nicer than when you arrived. Now, the mark of really appreciating this is how you apply this to relationships, feelings, and some of the less observable, measurable imports in life/community....

Allium vegetables – like onions, garlic, leeks and shallots – have a host of health benefits, including possible reductions in the rates of some cancers. Two of the most commonly used of these veggies – onions and garlic – are also the most pungent; sometimes too pungent. But despite some drawbacks, they are minor compared to the variety of health benefits that these veggies can bring. WHAT WE TAL...

On this episode, Kevin talks talk with Amber Klein. Amber is a well spoken, well known & passionate high energy Spartan Ambassador for the Spartan Race brand. She truly believes in our mission & has the passion, and race experience, to back it up. TAKE AWAY POINTS: You CAN really do more than you think! Promote & support what you believe in Keep your training fun Anyone can do a Spartan Race! SUBS...