113. Do epic things and get after your life with Thom Shea

The difference between the ones at the top of their field and the other people isn’t genetics, isn’t where they went to school, isn’t family upbringing, isn’t luck.

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The difference is that the top people actually are trying to do something they cannot do. They are doing epic things when everyone else is trying to just survive.

Can you imagine what your life would actually be like if you learned to do epic things, if you learned to commit to doing things you currently aren’t doing at all.

Running an ultra marathon or doing any physical event that lasts more than 12 hours is epic. Building a business or making a new technology or turning around a failing business is epic. Learning to do something with your other hand, or learning a new skill is epic. Currently marrying your equal and raising a family of warriors is epic.

Purpose

The first factor that differentiates the top for all others is clarity of vision and mission focus. The few at the top have a clarity of vision that separates them from all others. They can see what they want; they can smell it; they can taste it; they can feel it in their bones, even when others cannot. The top have laser focus on their mission to win. Actually that is all they focus on and completely disregard all else. That is the foundational point of why they are on the top.

Relentless Passion

The second factor that bridges the gap between top and bottom is that the people on top are always practicing and learning the skills required to win. Actually the ones at the top are relentless, overbearing, inexhaustible and consumed with getting there. Yet they cannot imagine why anyone would take a day off. They rest because they are completely spent and have to, they are always working on a better solution. It isn’t a lifestyle as most refer to it in today’s social media; the relentlessness is their life. They have to, but often don’t want to.

The Team

The third factor that propels the top people across that gap between epic and normal is the ability to surround themselves with people who support and drive them toward where they want to go. The capacity to kick out the nah-sayers is darn near impossible in today’s social media and virtual world. Yet, without this factor purpose and relentless passion literally gets drenched in the stink of negative people and the fire to keep doing it gets put out.

It takes 100 miles a week for 6 weeks to survive a ultra and not injure yourself. That is 24 plus hours a week running. To do that you need to be completely clear of the end goal and the process needed to even train. You have to learn five different forms of running. I bet you didn’t know there were different forms. You have to learn to eat and drink while running. You have to learn to handle the emotions of what goes on with your body and mind during pain and isolation. It isn’t just running. It is fragile. If you spouse doesn’t’ support you don’t even try. If your friends you spend time with question you then you won’t do it for long. But, when you get a team to help you, you are unbreakable.

It takes 5 years to get a start up to a profitable business worth investors or worth selling. You will work every day. You will fail so often and make bad decisions every week if not every day. You will lose money, period. You will make money and it will freak you out then you will lose it. If you don’t hire a team or have support then you might as well just go to Vegas and put all your net worth on a green color. Because you have no real chance to get to the success point. You will have to speak your company into existence before it is even a company. You will have to hear people tell you no so often you will forget what yes sounds like. If you don’t quit on yourself and your team you will make it.

It takes a life time to have a successful marriage and raise warrior kids. There is no book on how to do it. Lust for your spouse changes with the weather. You will get fat then skinny. So will she. When you are carrying the baby your life style prior to that is gone. You will have to adapt your diet to fries and vinegar. You will have to deal with crazy mood swings. When baby arrives you no longer matter. Most people cannot deal so they quit. And that may all occur in the first year. At 10 years you will not remember your life before. That is if you are doing it right.   Then as you and spouse make it to the puberty years of your first kid, and your kid starts testing you. That makes for some impossible times. But you must stay at it everyday. Every day is a marriage. The past is gone the future is weird and today is hard. But it is epic.

Why don’t you give up the notion to be normal and take on an epic life. Go for it. Go for it now before it is too late.