What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?

Life coaches & motivational speakers often ask this hypothetical question.

The idea is to get you to look at your life and discover those epic dreams you have for yourself that you’re afraid to go after.

You’ve probably heard this question before. 

Have you thought about an answer yet? What challenge would you take on if you knew you couldn’t fail?

When I was 27 years old, I was a runner. I’d been married for a few years and started putting on weight. I decided I could become a runner and still eat whatever I wanted.

It worked. I lost weight. Then I decided that since I was a runner I should set a goal to run a marathon.

But after I reached my goal, I quit running. For 30 years, I quit. 

I learned a lesson about success! Don’t quit.

How do you fuel your body to train for and finish an Irornman race?  Dana Eshelman  is an Ironman athlete and nutrition coach and she shares her knowledge and experience from her personal training and competition as well as coaching other endurance athletes. Dana wants athletes to not be afraid to eat carbs. But getting the right kind of carbs in the right amounts and at the right time is important. Whether you are an endurance athlete or a casual runner, Dana's approach to food as fuel will give you a good perspective on healthy eating.

We hear about fires in the western United States every year. And the news reports give stats on how well those fires have been contained. What is left unsaid is that those fires are contained by men and women trekking through the forest with tools and gear. 

My guest this week is Martha Schoppe. She is one of those who go into the wilderness to fight the fires. She also has the distinction of being a smokejumper. She and her team parachute into remote areas that would take too long to reach on foot.

Martha is also an ultramarathon runner. She started running as part of regular training for the fire teams and kept going farther.

Once you decide what you want and you decide that you’re going to do what it takes to get what you want, you need to take the next step immediately!

Most people think the next step is to make a plan for how you’re going to get what you want! This is WRONG!

Oh, don’t misunderstand! You need a plan. But now is not the time for planning. Planning at this point will slow you down at best. At worst, it will completely derail you.

Raise your hand if you’re like me and have notebooks in a drawer with amazing plans for stuff you never did!

Now is not the time to plan! It’s time for action.

Iveta Zaklasnikova knew at age 16 what kind of life she didn't want. She didn't want to be stuck in a job that slowly drained her life energy. So she studied business and got a job in sales when she left school. 

It took a few years of working a "regular" job for her to discover what kind of life she did want. She wanted the freedom to travel and to work from anywhere in the world--the life of a digital nomad. So many people find a dream and then talk themselves out of it. Others will tell themselves the time will be right somewhere in the future. These people usually end up stuck and never reach their dreams.

Iveta took the plunge to make her dream happen. In spite of her fears and doubts, she hired a coach and launched her business. Her story is one that demonstrates how the mindset for success is the same, whether running ultramarathons or going after a different epic goal.

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day. It’s a day of remembrance for those who have died serving in the US military.

Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War (which ended in 1865) and a desire to honor our dead. On the 5th of May in 1868, General John Logan who was the national commander of the Grand Army of the republic, officially proclaimed it in his General Order No. 11. 

“The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land.”

Imagine what it would be like to plan a big goal for your 60th birthday. It should be something epic and noteworthy. After all, turning sixty is a milestone.

Will Turner decided that the year he turned sixty he would do sixty Ironman triathlons. A full Ironman is 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles on a bike, and running 26.2 miles. Sixty of these in a year is more than one a week!

After he finished his goal for his sixtieth year, he decided to keep going to 100 Ironman triathlons. Then he discovered he could beat the world record if he did 105 Ironmans within 2 years. 

What is the number one most important thing you have to do if you want to have an amazing life? 

You have to do this if you want to have even a good life.

You have to do this even to get a mediocre life.

The better you are at this one thing, the better your life will be.

And if you have epic skills at this one thing, you can have an epic life.

So what is the one thing you have to do in order to have an epic life?

You have to make Powerful Decisions!

Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis as a child, Mike Burke's life expectancy was supposedly only a handful of years. But he beat the odds, even playing sports in high school. But when he began his career, his hectic lifestyle took a toll on his health. But he decided to change his mindset, and he began running and cycling. He ran multiple marathons and eventually became an Ironman. Mike wrote a book, Waiting to Die, Running to Live  and is a speaker and executive mindset coach.