Brian Johnson highlights Dean Karnazes' extreme endurance feats: a 350-mile run, a marathon to the South Pole in −40°F, and 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. The core message: stop stopping. Progress matters more than speed.
Questions this episode answers
"Be not afraid of going slowly. Be afraid only of stopping."
Dean Karnazes.
Running 350 miles at once; running a marathon to the South Pole in −40°F; running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days, finishing with the NYC Marathon in 3:00.
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Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Optimize plus one. Men's Health says that Dean Karnassis is one of the 100 fittest men of all time. He's done crazy things like running 350 miles at once plus running a marathon to the South Pole and negative 40 degrees. Then there was the time he ran 50 marathons in all 50 US states in 50 days, finishing with the New York City Marathon, which he banged out in three hours flat. Nice work. So in our interview about his great book the Road to Sparta, I asked him what one piece of wisdom he would share with someone looking to optimize their lives so they can make a positive difference in the world. His response? He quoted the ancient Chinese proverb, be not afraid of going slowly. Be afraid only of stopping. Going slowly. Not a problem. Stopping. Eek. That's when we get in trouble. Whether it's writing a book or running a marathon or doing whatever challenging thing worthy of our attention.
Keep going.
Steve Chandler has a great line for this. He says we need to stop stopping. All of which leads us to today's plus one questions.
What epic quest are you on right now?
What's your next baby step? Keep moving no matter how slowly.
And what's the habit you just know.
Would most benefit you if you had it installed?
That keystone habit that, when in place.
Will most help you optimize?
The one that when you do it, you feel great?
Yes, that one.
Keep doing it.
It's okay to suck, but it's not okay to skip. Remember? Stop stopping. Plus one plus one plus one.
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