Spartan Up!

“Take the survival tale of Swedish adventurer Göran Kropp. In October 1995, he left Stockholm, Sweden, on a bicycle and rode it to the base of Mount Everest, arriving there in April 1996. He climbed Everest, reaching the summit with no oxygen mask and no help from Sherpas. He descended the mountain and eventually pedaled back to Sweden. If someone invited you to undertake such a wild adventure, you might say: “That’s impossible!” or “You’re crazy!” As it turns out, it’s not impossible. It’s hard — really hard — but doable under the right circumstances. The cliché is true: Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Seemingly unsurmountable challenges confronting your business, sports, health and fitness, and relationships are far more manageable than you might imagine.”

““Spartan up!” The title of this book is a phrase I bark at people every day in one situation or another. Those two words have a simple meaning: stop complaining and get it done! “Spartan up!” is an attitude, an X factor, a way of life that I would sum up like this: Challenges make me stronger. Failure makes me work harder. Knock me down, and, sure as a shit, I’m getting right back up.”

“In the Spartan world, we have come to believe that in many cases, gratification is something that must be delayed to achieve success. This theory has been validated in the world of science, most notably in the form of what’s famously called “the cookie experiment.” Cookies? Baking goodies doesn’t sound very Spartan, but it has everything to do with the Spartan mentality and underpinnings of our philosophy. It’s also one of the keys to unlocking success in life.

In 1972, a Stanford researcher by the name of Walter Mischel hatched an idea for an experiment that has since become famous and is studied and debated to this day. Mischel would give children their preferred treat: a marshmallow, a cookie, or a pretzel. He would tell them they could eat it right away — or wait fifteen minutes and eat two instead. A simple choice. He then tracked their subsequent success as the children matured into adulthood. As it turns out, those kids who refused the first cookie became more successful adults than those who took it. Cookie refusers became winners.”

“There’s strength, and then there’s Spartan strength, the ability to commit to working for a long period of time without any concrete evidence that it will pay off — doing it because you want to, not because you have to. Mahatma Gandhi’s peaceful campaign for Indian sovereignty required Spartan strength, because there were many times when it looked like it was going nowhere. India still hadn’t gained independence from Britain when Gandhi died — he never saw the two cookies. But still he persevered for his entire life.

Spartan strength relates to a term I discussed earlier: grit, an innate trait that nonetheless can become ingrained through dedication and application. Grit refers to an indefatigable will to overcome obstacles… Think of it this way:

• Spartan strength is the determination that arises out of true commitment.
• Grit is the assertion and application of will to fulfill that commitment.

Spartan strength emerges out of a psychic alignment to get something done. That alignment is determined and unbreakable: this is just what is going to be. Grit emerges out of the force of will that manifests action. Grit is execution. Grit actually gets shit done.”

“For some, becoming gritty may be an easy transition. For others, it may require more conscious effort. Do you want more grit? Start here:

1. Write out your plan for success. Establish your baseline, set a goal, define a clear path toward that goal.
2. Share the plan. The recipient should be someone who is supportive yet can offer constructive criticism when needed. If necessary, hire a coach.
3. Eliminate distractions. What are your barriers? TV, Internet, video games?
4. Keep a journal of your successes and failures. Remember the days when you would receive a gold star for exceptional performance in grade school? Give yourself a gold star for every success you have during the day.
5. Adjust as needed, as long as it doesn’t diminish or change your original goal. Always work on solutions.
6. Last but not least, don’t give up. Don’t let setbacks become failures. Learn from them and keep moving forward. You must remain committed to your goals.”

“All of the sitting of modern life is an outright denial of true nature. We are animals, after all. We are evolved to run and jump and climb, throw spears, fight, and dance. Our bodies were built to move — that’s why we have brains in the first place — yet somehow we ended up sitting for hours on end. Exercise is the best defense you have against anxiety, stress, depression, and a whole host of other diseases. It helps cells repair themselves, and it quite literally heals the effects of stress through the release of something called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. Researchers have found, not surprisingly, that when students exercise regularly, their stress levels drop. Upset? Stressed? Mad? Run. Still feel that way? Run faster. You’ve got nothing to lose but weight and stress. Regular exercise is just as effective as drugs for controlling panic disorders. No wonder employees who exercise call in sick fewer days than employees who don’t.”

“The list of fitness attributes above is a tall order, but I’ve found one exercise that puts it all together: the burpee, aka the squat thrust. Beginning from a standing position, drop into a squat until your hands are actually touching the ground. Without hesitation, kick your legs back to assume the up position of the pushup; do a pushup; and again without hesitation, draw your legs back into lower squat position before standing back up to starting position. From there, drop into another rep.”

“The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places, but nothing tops the feeling of continuing down that road when you feel like giving up. Every step you take is that much closer to your goal. As Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do.” Imagine where you could be if you had already started. So start now. The best way to finish is to start. You can either go to bed satisfied with your efforts today or stressed with what you left for tomorrow. You can either work hard to take on the hill or never know what it is that people see at the top.”

“The way to get through anything mentally painful is to take it a little at a time. The mind can’t handle dealing with a massive iceberg of pain in front of it, but it can deal with short nuggets that will come to an end. So instead of thinking, Ugh, I’ve got twenty-four miles to go, focus on making it to the next telephone pole in the distance. Whether you’re running twenty or one hundred and twenty miles at a time, the distance has to be tackled mentally and physically one mile at a time. The ability to compartmentalize pain into these small bite sizes is key.”

“When you “Spartan Up!” it doesn’t mean you are doing the most extreme endurance events. It’s not about being a gym nut or being tougher than all your coworkers. It’s about maximizing your life, realizing your greatest potential, and, in the end, living a memorable life. Spartan Up! is a change in attitude, which involves taking control of your life and your health.”