Thriving in Uncertain Times with Joe De Sena
Hello our beautiful friends! Today we have a very special guest – our dear friend Joe De Sena. Joe is a true motivation in life: his day starts at 4.17am, he has inspired thousands of people to live better and healthier lives, and when he decides to do something, he commits to it 100%. Join us in this conversation as we unpack Joe’s incredible journey, learn his life hacks and talk about what it takes to be an entrepreneur.
Joe grew up in Queens, New York, surrounded by 4 organised crime bosses. As a young kid, he looked up to those guys and wanted to be like them: he wanted money, respect, nice cars and nice clothes. However, he understood that in order to have that, you need to be tough, be ready to go to jail and harm people. And Joe’s big question for himself was whether he was tough enough.
In the same time, around the 1970s, Joe’s mother opened the world of mindfulness for herself – she became vegan, practiced yoga and made kombucha before it became mainstream. For Joe, it was too bohemian – he wanted to build a business. He started cleaning pools for “big guys”, and learned three major lessons from them:
Lesson 1. If you agree to be somewhere at 8 o’clock, be there at 7.45, because being somewhere on time means that you are late.
Lesson 2. If you say you will clean the pool, go above and beyond, and mow the lawn.
Lesson 3. You never ask for money – you get paid if you are supposed to get paid and if you do a good job.
Those three lessons became Joe’s mantra. He started a successful business while still being in college and moved to Wall Street, but that didn’t feel substantive, it was superficial. Joe found himself in a place where he didn’t feel very good. Yes, he had money, he had achieved everything he wanted, but he didn’t feel good – he wanted to get reward other than money.
He decided to get back to his mother’s teachings: he started to do yoga and eat raw food, and he started to feel alive. He started to compete in any extreme sports adventure he could find, testing his mental and physical endurance against nature. This conscious lifestyle, that engaged both his mind and body, took over Joe’s life.
By that time, all Joe needed was water, food and shelter, and he realised that the reason there are so many psychologists in the United States is because people have too much free time. “If you go to the third world, where people struggle and only want water, food and shelter, they don’t need psychologists, all what they do is very human”, he explains.
This aha moment made Joe want to change millions of lives. He decided to build a business centred more on meaning and less on money. And this is how Spartan, the world’s leading obstacle race, was born. Now, Joe measures success in the number of lives changed.
“At the core, you are just a human being who lives to help others drive value to their lives.”- Alex Ikonn
Joe is a very committed person. And here are some of his life hacks:
Say out loud what you commit to, what you want to do, and repeat it hundreds of times, make it part of your daily narrative, and that way you have no choice but to do it, because otherwise you will be a fraud if you don't deliver what you promise.
Get clear purpose, vision of your life, and goals. They have to be big, audacious, so strong and powerful that it will make you go through whatever the obstacles are. It doesn’t have to be the same thing throughout all your life, but this purpose has to be a magnet, it has to give you footing and hold you accountable.
Take care of yourself first. You are not helpful to anybody if you don’t take care of yourself. Surround yourself with like minded people who would hold you accountable. Whatever it is, you have to find little hacks that will keep you on that path to be as healthy as you can be.
Wake up early and commit to workout, “to sweat” as Joe names it, in the morning. “You are not a night owl, you are a human being”, he argues.
Get into an ice cold shower for 30 seconds or 2 minutes, it not only makes you feel alive, but it also reconnects your body with your brain.
Never get calories from the liquids: your body can’t recognise them, your body needs fibre.
Get your work done, but attack your work with enthusiasm. Even if you aren’t feeling it, smile. Smiling tricks your brain and body to be more happy.
Go plant-based, but if you feel like you want to eat some fish, some meat and some eggs, make sure they are as clean as possible.
Go to bed early. As human species, we are wired to go to bed when the sun goes down. If you stay up late, studies show that you are going to eat more the next day. Also, the study shows that the brain cleans itself during the night. “Do you want your brain to be dirty?”, Joe asks.
Put things in the calendar, because the day in the calendar is the most powerful motivator. lit holds you accountable, it makes you do the work. Avoidance of discomfort is the biggest motivation, and the day in the calendar forces you to be uncomfortable until that day comes.
Breathe to calm yourself down: do two breaths in through the nose, hold for a pause, and then exhale through the mouth.
A lot of people want to become entrepreneurs now. For those people who may have what it takes to be entrepreneurs, here are some Joe’s advice:
If you think you want to be an entrepreneur, go for a 26.2 miles walk, grab a gallon of water, get ready to dedicate 6 to 7 hours to this walk, and don’t stop until you’re done. What does this entail? When you get into your own business, it is going to feel like going for a 26.2 miles walk every day. Be prepared.
Every time you meet a person, think of how you can help and what you can do for them. This is how business opportunities appear. Because if there is a customer for the problem you are trying to solve or the service you want to provide, then there are probably two customers.
Have very little money when you start, because it doesn’t let you be sloppy. Once you have proven the model of your business, be prepared to make moderations, be ready to be agile and adapt to the marketplace.
Find honest, enthusiastic and hard-working team members.
Cultivate drive and manufacture some adversity in your life.
Follow rire-ready-aim rule: put your back against the wall even if you don’t need to. If you succeed at one thing, that doesn’t mean you can’t succeed at another thing. Don’t get comfortable.
Hope you enjoyed this week’s episode with Joe, you can find out more about him here:
Joe’s Podcast ‘Spartan Up!’
Designed to inspire you to live your own dream life.
You can find out more about Alex and Mimi here:
Mimi’s Instagram
Alex’s Instagram
https://www.youtube.com/mimiikonn
https://www.youtube.com/alexikonn
Produced by Jason Sanderson - Podcast Tech
Show notes by Veronica Joce
