{"id":34794,"date":"2016-12-16T04:45:11","date_gmt":"2016-12-16T10:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michaelhyatt.com\/?p=34794"},"modified":"2016-12-16T04:45:11","modified_gmt":"2016-12-16T10:45:11","slug":"ultramarathoner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/ultramarathoner\/","title":{"rendered":"The Self-Leadership Secrets of Extreme Athletes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes leading a business can feel like running a marathon. That\u2019s especially true when our goals seem ambitious, daunting, and a long way off. What could the sport of running teach us about reaching the finish line?<\/p>\n\n

I\u2019ve been a fan of Dean Karnazes ever since I read his book, Ultramarathon Man<\/a><\/em> several years ago. His story inspired me to run my first half marathon. So I eagerly devoured his newest, The Road to Sparta<\/a>,<\/em> which tells the story of history\u2019s first marathon.<\/p>\n

Some of us know the popular version<\/a> of the story. After the Athenians defeated Persian invaders at the battle of Marathon 490 B.C., a messenger ran twenty-six miles to share the exciting news.<\/p>\n

But Karnazes shares the real story, and it\u2019s far more compelling.<\/p>\n\n

The First Marathon Was How Long?<\/h3>\n

The runner, whose name was Pheidippides, actually ran more than 150 miles all the way from Athens to Sparta\u2014and then back again\u2014before the battle. That\u2019s 300 miles. And Karnazes says the same runner might have run the final stretch after the victory at Marathon for a grand total of more than 325 miles!<\/p>\n

That might sound farfetched, but Karnazes recounts the story of a British air force commander named John Foden. In 1982 he led a small group who ran the distance from Athens to Sparta in under thirty-five hours. A year later Foden cofounded a 153-mile race retracing his steps. It\u2019s called the Spartathalon.<\/p>\n

Karnazes ran it in 2014. As an ultramarathoner, he\u2019d already run 350 miles nonstop<\/a>. But the Spartathalon held mammoth challenges of its own, including Karnazes\u2019 determination to run the distance with only the foods Pheidippides would have eaten: olives, figs, and cured meats.<\/p>\n

Why would a person willingly go through something like that?<\/p>\n

The Discomfort Advantage<\/h3>\n

\u201cWestern culture has things a little backwards right now,\u201d Karnazes once said<\/a>. \u201cWe equate comfort with happiness. And now we\u2019re so comfortable we\u2019re miserable. There\u2019s no struggle in our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

That observation doesn\u2019t just apply to running. That applies to all of life, including leading our organizations. When it comes to work, comfort equals boredom.<\/p>\n

Engagement<\/a> and even happiness come when we\u2019re gunning toward major goals. I\u2019m talking about the kind of achievements that push us outside our comfort zone. Maybe it\u2019s launching a new product line, starting a new career, or growing a sales channel by double digits. If staring down the goal makes you feel uneasy, you\u2019re on the right track.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written about that before<\/a>, but the Discomfort Advantage is only one of the lessons running can teach us.<\/p>\n

3 Leadership Takeaways from an Ultramarathoner<\/h3>\n

Here are three leadership takeaways I discovered when I read The Road to Sparta<\/a><\/em>:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Leverage your unique abilities.<\/strong> When Karnazes was a child, he went to a basketball camp coached by the legendary John Wooden. A small kid, Karnazes struggled to get rebounds like the bigger children. But Wooden could see his spirit and gave him some advice: \u201cDo what you can.\u201d Instead of going for rebounds, he started playing the backcourt. And he dominated.\n

    When we compete head-to-head as if our abilities are the same as others, we sometimes miss playing to our strengths. It\u2019s like we tilt the playing field against ourselves. Instead, we need to focus on what makes us unique. Steve Jobs is one of the best examples of this in recent years. Apple played its own game and rose to dominance.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. Let passion outrun balance.<\/strong> We have to be careful that our jobs don\u2019t dominate our lives, but there\u2019s a natural tension in play<\/a> if we really love what we do. \u201cPeople speak of finding balance,\u201d says Karnazes. \u201cTo me, that\u2019s a misplaced ambition. If you have balance, you do everything okay<\/em>. \u2026 Balance doesn\u2019t lead to happiness\u2014impassioned dedication to one\u2019s life purpose does.\u201d\n

    What else could lead a person to run 153 miles through Greece? What else could lead an entrepreneur to do what the market believes is impossible? Balance is desirable, but it\u2019s not the endgame. Finding and achieving your life\u2019s purpose is.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Celebrate your wins.<\/strong> When we reach our goals, we need to take the appropriate time to celebrate. That\u2019s a critical way to honor our work. But it\u2019s also a key component of living a full life.<\/p>\n

    Hosting another run in Greece called the Navarino Challenge, Karnazes was surprised at how the townspeople came out to celebrate the winners. \u201cThese people were all willing to put aside what they were doing and join together,\u201d he remembered, \u201crejoicing in the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u201cIf we always made decisions with our heads instead of our hearts, we\u2019d probably live much more orderly lives,\u201d he says, \u201cbut they would much less joyous. \u2026 How many people spend their entire lives striving for something with their nose to the grindstone, only to wake up one day and realize they haven\u2019t really lived at all?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\t\t