Step 10 - Stoic vs Epicurean Arnolds 1000 Reps Apache Cold Showers and the Spartan Whipping Post
This lesson explains why some people made it and others with the same wishes and intentions didn't. In general they can be divided in two parties.
- The Epicureans, who think that humans should live for now, drink, eat and marry, for tomorrow we might die.
- The Stoics who believe it is better to forgo present pleasure, in the hopes that we get something better in the future.
Since Newton's 3rd Law states, that for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction, it makes all the difference, if we are stoic or epicurean.
History showed us, that a nation is born stoic, and dies epicurean. Great nations and great businesses are built by people who are willing to sacrifice present luxury for a future benefit. It also means nations and businesses, lives and families fall apart, once they get into the hands of soft people.
The tough are the ones who are followed. The tough are the ones who are considered brave. And the toughest man, get the rewards of life. Before Arnold Schwarznegger went to USA, he had a German idol. He once visited him and was shocked, that his idol started training at 5 in the morning. Thus he toughened up and woke up the same time.
Adversity makes man, and prosperity makes monsters.
In the same way, the rewards go to the man who are the toughest. If you are tough, you might get rewards, but once somebody else is tougher, your business and women are going to follow him.
For good or bad, we live in a world of technology and this has made us slowly but truly weaker. And we have to develop a thick skin.
A prime example of toughening up, were the Spartans. They trained their children from ground up. They encouraged fighting. And they fed their children as much, so they don't become sluggish, but also giving them a taste of what it is, to not have enough, by intentionally scarcening the food supply. And sometimes they took a man and whipped him so hard, that some of them died. But the survivors were the tough ones.
We have to find the balance. The balance should be accustomed to our current soft level, so maybe it is 1 part convenience and 2 parts challenge. Or if you are softer start with 3 parts convenience and 2 parts challenge.
Tremendous power and respect in business and in life will come to you, when you are tough.
Even your bones work like this: "Use them or lose them". There is a penalty for not hardening up.
Story time
Let's say one night as you walk out of a restaurant you get in trouble. You are confronted by two big people, that seem hostile. And then one of your friends comes out of the restaurant: "Hey, what's going on there?".
Who would you want to come out of that restaurant?
The deity person, soft hands, soft skin. Or somebody who has a few scars on their face. Who took of his shirt and had the whip scars of the Spartans? Forget the soft, bring on the hard person.
Be mentally the equivalent of Arnold Schwarzenegger. You need to toughen up. Toughening up will give you an competitive advantage. Jeff Bezos for example never used the elevator.
Next time you don't want to do something, just do it to train your brain.
Step by step you get ahead and not necessarily in fast spurts. Entrepreneurs will save the world, but it will be the Stoic entrepreneurs.
Practical Steps
- Take a cold shower. (Tai does it 4-5 times a week)
- Go a week without any sugar.
- When you lose a client or an experiment in business fails, you will probably freak out, but no. This is like a scar on my back like the Spartans and one day it will turn me into a warrior.
- Lift waits, which is the only thing that renews the body on a cellular level.
Questions
What area are you not tough in, and what is 1 thing you can do to toughen up?
There are a lot of things. Maybe I should start with taking a cold shower for 2 seconds for once a week. I often make push-ups, but I always hesitated using my knuckles for push-ups, like some family members, who do martial arts, kept recommending me for years. Also I go for no sugar till the rest of the 67 steps.