Spartan Up!

"What stands in the way becomes the way." How can the mindset of ancient Spartans and extreme athletes transform your modern life?

1. Comfort Leads to Complacency

Comfort makes life predictable, but it also dulls your ambitions. Ancient Spartans trained for endurance and discipline, ensuring they were always prepared for challenges. Modern life, filled with convenience, often takes us away from those values.

Embracing discomfort by tackling challenges like extreme sports can reignite passion and purpose. Joe de Sena shares how participants in the Death Race, his signature extreme sports event, often feel alive and recharged after completing physically grueling tasks like hiking 50 kilometers or diving in icy water.

The famous marshmallow experiment, led by Walter Mischel, illustrates why resisting instant gratification is essential. Children who waited for a second marshmallow, rather than eating the first one, grew up to lead more successful lives, showing that endurance and delay of pleasure pave the way for long-term success.

Examples

• Spartans trained rigorously to stay battle-ready, regardless of peace or war times.
• The Death Race participants experienced long-term benefits from a short-term grueling event.
• The marshmallow experiment revealed how delayed gratification leads to better life outcomes.

2. Proper Planning Drives Success

To meet your goals, you need a roadmap. Planning creates accountability and focus. Without a plan, life becomes aimless and efforts scattered. Spartans thrived because they prepared for every battle, every day.

Joe de Sena encourages people to lock in their commitments early by signing up for activities in advance. This forces them to stay honest with their intentions. For example, sticking to a workout or meal schedule boosts discipline in other areas of life, too.

Having a success journal can help track progress. De Sena recalls a lesson from his professor: knowing the people who support your journey, like coworkers or service staff, is equally important. Whether it's appreciating the janitor Sarah or preparing simple, nutritious meals, mindful planning makes achievements possible.

Examples

• Registering for a marathon in advance fosters accountability for training.
• De Sena’s professor’s test reinforced the importance of acknowledging support systems.
• Eating raw fruits and vegetables aligns with a clear, deliberate dietary plan.

3. Passive Living Breeds Mediocrity

Society often makes us passive, promoting comfort and unhealthy lifestyles. Children naturally reject passiveness through exploration, but as adults, we conform to societal routines and expectations.

Passive habits – from television bingeing to poor eating – rob us of vitality. Sugar addiction, for instance, shows how industries encourage overconsumption. Since 2000, diabetes rates in America have jumped dramatically due to diets filled with processed food.

Active living counters these tendencies. Exercise reduces stress, increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and fosters mental resilience. True Spartans prioritize movement and nutrition to live meaningful lives.

Examples

• Kids discover joy through active play, which adults replace with sedentary habits.
• Sugar-laden snacks foster dependency and increase diabetes risks in modern diets.
• Regular exercise builds mental health through stress-relieving chemicals like BDNF.

4. Small Steps Make Big Changes

Big goals feel overwhelming, but breaking them into simple steps eases the journey. Ancient Stoics, like Epictetus, emphasized tackling one decision at a time to cultivate happiness and peace.

De Sena's life reflects this philosophy. His severe Attention Deficit Disorder repeatedly blocked his college acceptance, yet he applied four times before getting in. By embracing repetition and adding effort every day, he achieved what once seemed impossible.

The key isn't overthinking but doing. Over-analysis cripples action. Focus on taking the next essential step instead of calculating all possibilities; many obstacles dissolve once you get started.

Examples

• Repeated college reapplications helped de Sena overcome his academic struggles.
• Athletes improve through consistent training, even when initial efforts seem discouraging.
• Complex workouts aren’t always necessary – simple squats train major muscles efficiently.

5. Healthier Foods Sharpen Mind and Body

A Spartan diet means simple yet nourishing meals. Modern processed foods contain addictive sugars that harm both body and mind. But fresh produce, nuts, and water feed natural strength and sustain endurance.

De Sena knocks down extreme, fad diets. Instead, he advises sticking to basics: unprocessed fruits and vegetables. He highlights how such simplicity benefits physical stamina and mental willpower at the same time.

Fueling your body with healthy meals creates a foundation for anything extreme in life – be it a Death Race or a marathon workday. As Joe observes, simplicity is always the way out of chaos and imbalance.

Examples

• Sugar overload leads to diabetes, impacting health nationwide.
• Spartans maintained peak performance by sticking to basic food sources.
• Eating fresh apples over candy contributes to long-term energy and success.

6. Reconnect with Your Inner Child

Children’s natural instincts include movement, exploration, and curiosity. Adults lose this spark due to societal demands or fear of failure, making life monotonous.

Joe de Sena inspires us to channel our younger selves by taking risks, following curiosity, and trying unfamiliar challenges. Children rarely analyze situations extensively; they leap first. This spontaneity brings them joy and wonder.

By living with curiosity and openness, you nurture innovative thinking. Exercising can also remind us of childhood freedom — whether through climbing, hiking, or dancing just like we did years ago.

Examples

• Adults grow anxious over minor risks that children naturally embrace.
• Curiosity-driven habits lead to progress in sports, art, or problem-solving.
• Childhood play inspires spontaneous exploration, which de Sena recommends revisiting.

7. Acknowledge Limits, Safeguard Progress

Knowing your limits and respecting them is critical when pursuing big challenges. Pushing past personal boundaries takes courage, but ignoring true risks is reckless.

Joe notes how some Death Race participants push beyond safety – continuing despite life-threatening conditions. True Spartans balance ambition with rationality to ensure sustainability in their pursuits. Understanding when to pause helps you adjust and return stronger.

Nutrition supports limits, too. Energy drinks may mask fatigue but ultimately hurt long-term endurance. Instead, proper hydration and nutrient-rich snacks like nuts bolster consistent results.

Examples

• Reckless racers endanger themselves by ignoring immediate injuries.
• Spartans adjusted their tactics rather than rushing into avoidable losses.
• Proper hydration sustains energy better than sugary, short-term solutions.

8. Accept Obstacles as Permanent Teachers

Stoics like Epictetus saw obstacles as opportunities for growth. Spartans embraced adversity, knowing it tempered their strength and minds. Today, obstacles can also serve our growth powers.

De Sena overcame his impatience and self-doubt through trials he faced in fitness and business. Viewing setbacks as challenges — rather than curses — trains resilience over time.

The challenge may be fear, fatigue, or failure. Instead of shrinking back, aim to turn such moments into triumphs. Every obstacle contains lessons for your next step forward.

Examples

• Training setbacks sharpen athletes over seasons if reflected upon positively.
• De Sena’s extreme races challenge participants to see limits, then exceed them gradually.
• Learning from a failed project can lead to business reinvention.

9. True Happiness Comes From Fewer Wants

Material wealth doesn’t equal happiness. Instead, being satisfied with less builds contentment. Excess distracts us, but simplicity lets us focus on what matters.

Joe de Sena’s life reflects this shift. Raised in wealth, he realized fulfillment wasn’t in luxury but in longing for less. The philosopher Epictetus taught self-sufficiency by wanting only essentials.

Simplifying life creates clarity — whether in physical fitness or relationships. The path to happiness lies in reducing needs and embracing what is readily available.

Examples

• Epictetus recommended focusing on inner peace over outer riches.
• Physical endurance simplifies focus and energy, as shown by de Sena’s extreme races.
• A “less is more” lifestyle often brings joy by cutting away distractions.

Takeaways

1. Commit to something outside your comfort zone, whether it’s an intense workout, a new skill, or unfamiliar travel.
2. Plan your days intentionally, including your meals, goals, and time spent with others.
3. Simplify your priorities. Start small, persist, and focus on appreciating the things you already have.