Ben Smith – The Man who ran 401 Marathons in 401 Days – Part I

Ben Smith – The Man who ran 401 Marathons in 401 Days – Part 2

Ben Smith an endurance marathon and ultra runner from Portishead in the UK where he lives with his partner Kyle.  He is a passionate mental health campaigner, motivational speaker, endurance athlete and mass participation event organiser, famous for his incredible achievement of running 401 marathons in 401 days back in 2015 which raised over £330k for two charities Kidscape and Stonewall. His next project USA 2020 will see Ben run a marathon in each of the 50 US state capitals and then cycle between each one. Ben will be aiming to complete the 18,500-mile adventure in just 104 days – starting in March 2020 and finishing during the Youth Sport Trust National School Sport Week in June 2020. During this epic challenge; with the help of schools, organisations and individuals all around the UK and further afield, Ben is aiming to raise £1 million for two charities: The 401 Foundation and Youth Sport Trust, supporting their work which uses physical activity to improve people’s mental health and wellbeing. Ben incredible marathon journey started in Brighton and would take him on to Amsterdam and then all over the world as he discovered his love of travelling combined with his love of marathons and having a positive impact on people around him. Not only this but it came at a time when Ben would grapple with a history of bullying throughout school, suicide attempts, dyslexia, and a stroke as he also came to terms with his sexuality at the same time. What Ben and I discussed in Part Two of our two part conversation: Ben’s worldwide marathon adventure which started at the Amsterdam marathon.How at this stage he was also coming to terms with being gay which he had known since he was 13, and he was really beginning to enjoy running marathons along with a dream of traveling and discovering the world. At this point he was divorced and ran 18 marathons in 2014 all over the world. He would fly out Friday, spend the day in the city on Saturday and run the marathon on a Sunday.  It became an adventure for him at the same time as seeing a counsellor to deal with his mental health issues.How working with his personal trainer Andy helped Ben with his mental as well as physical approach to the 401 challenge (the idea for which was conceived in a pub over a few pints of cider). The idea was to raise 250,000 for two anti-bullying charities, Stonewall and Kidscape, to get people involved through running clubs to inspire and challenge people.The chance meeting with Larry Macon at the Riverboat Marathon Series in the USA who thought the idea was awesome so the idea of 400 marathons became the 401 challenge in April 2015 with the start in September 2015 from PortisheadLost 17 kg in the first 50 days, and sustained some injuries.How food clicked last of all and Ben realized he wasn’t eating enough so on day 51 onwards he ate what he wanted and it really effected his energy and mental health.The amazing support from friends, family and his partner Kyle. As people followed it on social media the project became a great way to build people’s confidence. They had 600 people running their first marathon with no training which proved to him that it’s all about mindset.Where Ben didn’t run very fast his body became accustomed to the rhythm of running, but at marathon 285 he had to take some time out due to a fractured back injury, he took 10 days out and ran 117 ultras in order to make up what he had missed having run 4 marathons with a fractured back. The love and support he received after his back injury.Some of the strange reactions from people watching and running with him.13.5k people came out and ran with Ben and he found it hard on the days running by himself.His food of choice was chicken wings and flat whites and bacon and egg sandwiches.Bens winning chicken, rice and olive feta dinner. Bens view of energy gels which your body doesn’t require and how he needed high protein high fat energy which released slowly. H

Ben Smith – The Man who ran 401 Marathons in 401 Days – Part I

What Ben and I discussed in Part One of our two part conversation. In his early years sport didn’t play a part in Bens life as most sport at school was largely skill based.How his TIA (stroke) at 29 was a big wake up call and at that time he weighed 17 stone, was a 40 a day smoker, depressed and in a relationship he shouldn’t be inHe started to make some changes and tough choices.A year after, a friend told Ben she was sick of him and listed all these things in particular. She told Ben he was moaning about his health and doing nothing about it.She said why don’t you come and join my running clubBen was surprised that there were people like him and surprised by the pain he felt from running which he hadn’t felt after so many years of not exercising.He used to work 60-70 hrs a week, have a nice car, was married nice a house, but he was influenced by peers that to be happy he needed material things and success meant happiness.Ben was shocked when he had the stroke because it showed how lost he was. The anger, frustration and sadness that took hold as he began to try and change. How change is a journey, and why Bens change was organic, and more a mindset thing with running his vehicle for change.The camaraderie around running, Park Run, Couch to 5k.Ben ran with 350 running clubs around the UK during his 401 marathons and he describes how the Elitist element has really dropped away She said why don’t you come and join my running club?Bens Friend The cathartic nature of running and how it can be anything you want it to be.How Bens first marathon was the thing that really started him on the journey of looking at bigger things and challenges, and more to the point planning them. The way in which beliefs shape how you see the world around you and how once you break though your beliefs they begin to fall down.Why Ben’s last challenge was about giving back and how he sees his bullies as being effected by their own beliefs. How he questions what is wrong in a bullies life for then to be why they are.How behaviour is often a symptom of something that has happened earlier.Bens early life living in different countries because of his father being in the military and how he ended up in boarding school at an 10How Ben was singled out very quickly at boarding school because he stuck out as being different from the other kids and having different values.In no time at all Ben allowed the bullies to control he and he became the person they wanted him to be thinking it would make life easier.The bullying being mental to begin with and then physical, he thought if he kept quiet they would leave him alone, how his education suffered as a result.This took him to 18 (8 years) when he tried to take his own life – after that he tried to cram everything back down again deep down inside, but this started to eat away. He wasn’t ready to take action on his issues at that time, instead throwing himself into his university years along with drink and drugs and a bad group of people.He was lost he did jobs he didn’t want to, didn’t like, but felt he had to.Bens dyslexia and how in a lot of ways it has allowed him to think differently.The necessary step Ben had to take to cut certain people out of his life whilst he was struggling and trying to get himself out of a rut.The importance of people surrounding Ben who had no reason to doubt him.Bens first marathon in Brighton and how difficult it was, but how he got through it How you can link up with Ben 401 Challenge https://www.the401challenge.co.uk/ Bens book 401: The Extraordinary Story of the Man Who Ran 401 Marathons in 401 Days and Changed His Life Forever https://www.amazon.co.uk Instagram https://www.instagram.com/the401challenge/?hl=en Facebook https://www.facebook.com/the401challenge/ Twitter https://twitter.com/the401challenge The organisations we mentioned in our discussion Park Run https://www.parkrun.org.uk/ Couch to 5k https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/

Jessica Lahey – The Gift of Failure: How to Let go so your Kids can succeed.

SUBSCRIBE IN YOUR FAVOURITE PODCAST PLAYER Jessica Lahey is a teacher, writer, and mom. She writes about education, parenting, and child welfare for The Atlantic, Vermont Public Radio, The Washington Post and the New York Times and is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed. She is a member of the Amazon Studios Thought Leader Board and wrote the educational curriculum for Amazon Kids’ The Stinky and Dirty Show. Jessica earned a B.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of Massachusetts and a J.D. with a concentration in juvenile and education law from the University of North Carolina School of Law. She lives in Vermont with her husband and two sons and teaches high school English at a drug and alcohol rehab for adolescents. Her second book, The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence, will be released in 2020. Jessica and I discussed the following in our conversation: How Jess noticed that the fear of getting things wrong was hindering her own and other peoples kids ability to learnWhy perfectionism used to be a good thing but now is seen as a bad thing and almost obsessiveThe sheer amount of resources available to parents and the conflicting amount of advice.Parents fear of being the ‘first one’ to break from cover.How the most common feedback Jess gets from kids is that they feel compared to their parents and siblings and that they don’t feel heard.Why low self-esteem is not helped by telling kids how great they are.The misunderstanding of praise as mentioned by Carol Dweck in Mindset.The realisation Jess came to that she was not helping kids in her classroom at the same time as she was using controlling parenting methods with her own kids.How showing children that what they are learning is relevant to them, builds self-efficacy, emotion, and the belief that they could use this knowledge in the world.In Edward Deci – Why do we do what we do: Understanding Self Motivation he talks about interpersonal connections but as a teacher it has go between what is being learnt and going on in the outside world. How do we make these connections on an interpersonal, academic and material level?Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation and how this works.How there can be negative and positive extrinsic motivators.Why extrinsic motivators don’t work for rewarding children e.g. reward charts.How parents can communicate with their children and discuss with them how they are going to go about their day.  The simple act of asking them, rather than controlling them.Giving your kids the opportunity to see the natural consequences of their actions, just as they would in the real world.The application of autonomous parenting for kids with Autism and how it can be a good thing for them.The differing challenges parents face and how Jess referenced the boy who was given 100% responsibility and fully rose to the challenge.How 90 day plans are excellent for bedding in habits in children. KJ Dell Antonia, How to be a happier parent. The current discussion within the education system and how a similar discussion is going on in the entrepreneur space as to how kids are being prepared for the work place as referenced in: Adam Grant Originals, Tim Harfords Book Adapt.How executive function works and why it presents such a challenge for early teens but at the same time is the reason why they present as such endearing challenge for teachers. Why executive function has such an influence on a kids bandwidth.The stress of transitions on children, giving kids control makes them feel a lot less helpless. Martin Seligman – Learned HelplnessnessJess’s top tips for parents:What is my long term goal here? – parenting is a long term thing.Stay focussed on the process rather than the product – also model the behaviour you want to see in your childrenRemember the power of the world ‘yet’ – kids aren’t able to do thi

Charles Byrd – How to make productivity second nature & unlocking the Power of Evernote

SUBSCRIBE Charles Byrd is an expert in productivity, organization and information overload which is so prevalent in the modern world today. He is also the founder of Byrd Word.  He is a world renowned expert on the Evernote app and desktop programs and advises people in how to use it to maximum effect to reduce chaos in their lives. I find out from Charles today how to make productivity second nature. *CHARLES’ FREE COURSE: https://www.killthechaos.pro/eg-fb-webinar-registration Charles coaches CEO’s and entrepreneurs in how to “Kill the Chaos” of information overload. He is a lifelong learner and has a passion for helping others through his designed solutions such as online trainings, webinars and tutorials. Not only this but Charles speaks in front of audiences on the subject of productivity, technology and partnerships and has been consulted with by the Evernote organization themselves in the past year. Charles and I discussed the following when we spoke: How a lot of apps are designed to steel your attention rather than empower you.People end up falling into survival mode, which means they are using so many systems that mean a lot of things fall through the net.Why the more difficult a task is, the more chance that procrastination can set in so it’s very important to work out a next step path.Many of the things you put off are not difficult, we just don’t have a system in place for doing them.The subject of bandwidth and why you can use certain tactics to overcome bandwidth by using blocking and bite size pieces.When it comes to focus you are working on the internal and external world. Everyone’s environment is different but by creating the space to get deep work done is important for building momentum and feeling good about your day.How we are becoming addicted to distractions and why early morning starts are so important for starting the day in control. Choose your top 3 priorities for the day, set the Pomodoro timer and go. That momentum carries through the day and you are less reactive instead of responding to other people’s priorities.Charles has trained himself to get way more done and ignore distractions.Airplane and do not disturb modes in IOSTask Management apps recommended by Charles = Todoist, Things, Asana, Trello. Really good shortcut keys on the Mac for ‘Things’.The problem with paper is that everywhere you look you feel like you are behind, with these apps you can priorities and section them off. Allocate a time each week and sort by your top priorities. Charles recommends tagging with a tag ‘current focus’.By default Charles instructs his team not to expect an instant response from him.Charles came across Evernote when he was working for a tech company in silicone valley and after an urgent presentation he decided to make a system for everything that would be available in under 5 secondsHe decided to create a course to kill the chaos and get together tools, workflows, and habits (power trifecta), the foundational component of this was EvernoteThe 5 second superpower of finding things in less than 5 secondsTo have a system where a system benefits you internally, externally, personally and professionally is really powerfulCharles advocates the “I dig it bell”, based on who, what, where, why to find it using tags in Evernote.You can use the same method for tagging items on mac or pcEvernote integrates with Google drive.Why other programs like Dropbox are a good example of using the right tool for the job.How Charles believes you can claim 3 hours a week back of wasted time, and why this allows calm and creativity in and focus longer.How productivity, focus and flow plays into whole life balance.The use of templates for doing repetitive and regular tasks and how you can set this up in Evernote.The power of SIRI shortcuts in Evernote, open a note, click 3 dots, and add the note to SIRI. *CHARLES’ FREE COURSE: https://www.killthechaos.pro/eg-fb-webinar-registration How you c

Alex Lickerman MD – The Path to true happiness via Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science

SUBSCRIBE Alex Lickerman is a physician, former assistant professor of medicine, former director of primary care, and former assistant vice president for Student Health and Counseling Services at the University of Chicago. He currently leads a direct primary care private practice in Chicago called ImagineMD. Alex’s first book, The Undefeated Mind: On the Science of Constructing an Indestructible Self, published in 2012, has received numerous favorable reviews from many sources, including Publishers Weekly and his follow up THE TEN WORLDS: The New Psychology of Happiness written alongside his friend Ash El Difrawi has received critical acclaim from the literary psychology movement in how it blends the latest scientific research with ancient Buddhist philosophy. Alex has extensive speaking experience, having given talks at medical conferences throughout his career including a talk to an audience of over 3,000 at a Pri-Med Conference put on jointly by the University of Chicago and Northwestern University. Alex has been quoted in Crain’s Chicago Business, The Chicago Tribune, Men’s Health, The New York Times, and TIME, and has had articles appear in Psychology Today, Crain’s Chicago Business, USA Today, Slate, The Huffington Post, Counselor Magazine, and Medicine on the Midway. He’s also been a guest on NPR’s On Point. He’s also written a television pilot called Sessions that was optioned by DreamWorks Television, as well as several movie screenplays, including an adaptation of Milton’s Paradise Lost. Alex and I discussed the following in our conversation: How Alex was inspired to write his recent book over 20 years ago after getting involved in a secular form of Buddhism.The philosophical idea he discovered around the 10 worlds and how we cycle through these life states.How Alex’s best friend Ash became very interested in the Buddist philosophy and their joining together to write a book around happiness which is also linked to modern psychology.The way in which they were looking to hypothesize the Buddhist model, and create the notion that what creates these different worlds are our beliefs.How people are frustrated by having more things than ever before, but at the same time as being more unhappy than they have ever been.Hedonic treadmill effect, in acquiring new things and the short lived pleasure.Experience stretching can make you very unhappy but only temporarily How belief systems work and are formed.A belief is an emotional feeling about a statement that is true, we are born with beliefs about happiness but are also formed during life.How we form these core beliefs or core delusions as Alex calls it.The part dopamine plays in the reward mechanism of our brains and how it is the wanting chemical.In people who are drug addicted the spike of dopamine in their brains is far out of proportion to people who are not drug addicts. The effect of dopamine in Parkinson’s patients and addiction.There is a difference between pleasure and happiness, but without the feeling of pleasure you cannot feel happiness. We are wired to experience joy when experience something good, but joy, pleasure and happiness fires different parts of the brain.How you can influence the way in which emotional beliefs work, and the difficult part of making the emotional shift in awareness needed.Everyone has potential and awareness to reform their beliefs which are often unconscious.The idea of attachment and why certain types of attachment are healthier than others.10 worlds (in order of joy, low to high) are Hell, Hunger, Animality, Anger, Tranquillity, Rapture, Learning, Realisation, Compassion, Enlightenment.How we all cycle through the above worlds, and what beliefs throw you into certain worlds.The realisation you can come to about the worlds you spend a lot of time in and awareness.The process of interrupting yourself when caught in a world you don’t want to be into.How the attainment of happiness in the first 9 worlds are dependent o