6 Questions – You scored below 35
We’re going to be straight with you, you’ve got some serious work to do. But you took the first step by taking this test, and the first step can be the hardest. The first lesson you’ll need to learn a.s.a.p is not to be afraid of hard work, because you’ve got hard work ahead of you. We’re here to help. We’ve compiled suggestions to help you improve your score on every one of the questions below. Try them work, on them, then come bakc and take the test again.
If you scored below 8 on #1 work toward building a positive attitude:
Read: “The Power of Positive Thinking” by Norman Vincent Peale. This is the classic on positive thinking written in 1952.
Do: Get out and exercise. Set an achievable goal to increase your workout by 10% this week. When you succeed, see your positivity grow.
If you scored below 8 on #2 work toward learning from your mistakes:
Read:”Why Smart Executives Fail: And What You Can Learn from Their Mistakes” by Sydney Finkelstein. Sydney Finkelstein, a distinguished professor at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, carried out a six-year study of leadership failure, the largest of its kind.
Do: Try a challenge that is way above your ability. You’ll fail. See what it teaches you.
If you scored below 8 on #3 work on diet and fitness:
Read: “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto” by Michale Pollan. Pollan proposes a new answer to the question of what we should eat that comes down to seven simple but liberating words: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
Do: Eat clean and get a good night’s sleep, stay away from sugar and other stimulants to build long term sustainable energy.
Bonus points: sign up for the Peak Snowshoe Race and pick a distance you’ll need to train hard to achieve.
If you scored below 8 on #4 work toward understanding you are in control:
Read: “Stepping Up: How Taking Responsibility Changes Everything” by John B Izzo. Another good book on the subject is Joe Desena’s”Spartan Up!,” but we don’t want this to sound like a sales pitch. Maybe you can borrow it from a friend.
Do: Start with one full day. From the time you wake to the time you sleep remember EVERYTHING you do is a choice, there will be consequences to your choices, but they are choices.
If you scored below 8 on #5 work toward trusting your creativity:
Read: “War of Art” by Steven Pressfield. The War of Art was written to identify the enemy that every one of us must face, outlines a battle plan to conquer this internal foe, then pinpoints just how to achieve the greatest success.
Do: practicing thinking “what if” instead of “I can’t” when you come up with an off the wall idea.
If you scored below 8 on #6 build persistence:
Read: The story of Ernest Shackleton “Endurance” then the book “Adrift.”
Do: Practice suffering. Create difficult situations for yourself and deal with them. Cold and wet are good.
Bonus Points: Register for the 2015 Peak Summer Death Race, this year’s theme is persistence. Double bonus … don’t allow adversity or excuses to get in your way, show up on race day.