“Human beings thrive on challenge. This has been true for hundreds of thousands of years. It was certainly true for the ancient Spartans. …
Look, life is tough. You’ve just gotta be tougher. You cultivate resilience by facing challenges, not by ignoring them and hoping they’ll go away. There are no shortcuts to get anyplace worthwhile. So my question is: ‘Are you just gonna lay there with Doritos crumbs on your shirt or are you the kind of person who gets knocked down but gets back up?’
This book, like every Spartan Race, is a rebellion against a life of passivity and softness. It is a rebirth of grit. And it kicks off by forcing you to identify a purpose for your life that’ll ignite a fierce, unstoppable passion in you.
This book’s purpose is to teach you how to apply the ten timeless principles of the Spartan Lifestyle. If you master these, the next time you’re up against a wall, you’ll find a way to push through. You’ll see. The Spartan Way is the ultimate recipe for success. It’ll help you embrace adversity and beat any difficult challenge to a pulp.
Tackle it. Own it. We ALL need it.”
~ Joe De Sena from The Spartan Way
Joe De Sena created Spartan Race.
As per the back of the book, he is “Determined to yank 100 million people off their couches to start living instead of being passive observers of life” and his ultimate goal is to “help improve everyone’s physical and emotional health by teaching them the tenets of Spartan living from ancient Greece: simple eating, smart training, mastering resilience, and an all-out commitment to achieving your goal.”
As you know if you’ve been following along, I absolutely love what Joe’s created with Spartan Race and I’m a huge fan of him, his grit, and his astonishing (!) commitment to being an exemplar of the Spartan virtues he talks about in this and his other two books.
I did my first Spartan after reading Spartan Up! and stepped it up a notch (or three) after reading Spartan Fit!
Now, I’m officially all in on using my Spartan training as my athletic “portal into enlightenment.” Every time I think about PAYING to face obstacles I smile, say “OMMS!” to myself and fall even more in love with the sport. (And, remember: Swamis love obstacle course races as well!)
In this book, we get to learn the ten Spartan Core Virtues—from Self-Awareness and Commitment to Grit and Integrity. If you’re into embodying the classic virtues of ancient Greece as much as I am, I think you’ll dig the book as much as I did. (Get a copy here.)
Of course, it’s packed with Big Ideas and I’m excited to share some of my favorites so let’s jump straight in!
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