240 Seconds To Save Your Own Life. - Featured - MTNTOUGH+ (2024)

🫵🏻 NO EXCUSES - Too many people make the mistake of making up the story in their minds , they are “not worthy”. For example, I am “not worthy” to climb Denali because I am 44 years old with a time consuming career, I am “not worthy” to run the NYC marathon because I am a busy working mother with two young kids at home, I am “not worthy” to hunt out 7 days in the Montana wilderness because I am out of shape with two bad knees. We construct a reality in our minds, and then process information that fits that reality. But if we are TRULY lucky...someone comes along and interrupts our story, the reality we believe about ourselves, and through their story they dismantle our current belief system, ignite our spirits and transform our lives. Like Zion Clark, the Kent State University college wrestler, who was born without legs. Or L’Damian Washington, whose father was murdered, his mother died of a stroke, orphaned with 3 brothers but then he became the first kid in his family to go to college and is now a wide receiver in the NFL. These stories are all around us and they teach us that excuses are fabrications, and we can truly speak our future into existence if we so choose. Being “Always Ready” means having No Excuses, and altering our personal expectations will reshape the trajectory of our entire lives.

📦 ALWAYS LIFT THE HEAVY BOX FIRST -This isn’t about the box. It is a metaphor about micro-decisions that we all face each and every day. Every day we all face thousands of micro decisions and we typically have two options...the easy choice or the hard choice. “Always lift the heavy box” is a mantra to remind you that the hard choice will make you better every single time. Mentally and Physically. It is about doing what is right, not what is easy. Think about the most mentally tough person you know, I would be surprised if they didn’t have this key trait. This is a ethos you nearly always find in the world's most mentally tough individuals. Plus the cool thing about mental toughness is once you push a threshold once, it is easier the next time. After a while, you won’t even think about it, and will start racing for the “heavy box”, before anyone else gets it before you do, because you have learned it makes you better every time!

🇺🇸 LIVE FEARLESS - My good friend keeps a coin on him that says “Memento Mori”, it’s a Stoic Latin saying that basically translates to “remember that you have to die.” It is a daily reminder to live fearless, because when this game of life is over, everything goes back in the box. Eventually this all ends. It is hard to be “Always Ready” when you are bound by fear & anxiety. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen this training in “The Lab” here in Bozeman. Individuals scared to try, push hard, and just plain terrified to fail. The cool thing is to witness them finally break this chain, and when they do, watch their minds & lives transform. What I do know, is God places the best things in our life, on the other side of fear. I have experienced this too many times to doubt it anymore.