with greg layton

The Inner Chief is for leaders, professionals and small business owners who want to accelerate their career and growth. Our guest chiefs and gurus share powerful stories and strategies so you can have more purpose, influence and impact in your career.

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In this episode I talk about why you should run across a desert (and love it).

Huh?

What I really mean is why you should do something epic.

In 2007/8 I conducted a personal growth experiment by tackling the Gobi March a 250km ultra marathon across the toughest terrain in the world. I then repeated the effort with my mate Glen Hunt at the Atacama Crossing over the same distance in Chile in 2010. 
This is a bit of that story and what I discovered on…and didn’t expect.

The benefits of doing something epic:

  1. A totally new perspective on life
  2. Boosted confidence and esteem
  3. Knowledge of the power of total commitment
  4. A new and awesome network
  5. Practical application of smashing big goals

Most people never attempt big goals because their mind is full of objections like, “I’m not an athlete” or “I don’t have time in my life already so how would I do this?”

The thing about big goals like this is that you find a way to learn something new or get fitter so you can get a little further along the journey.

You find something that inspires you—like climbing Kilimanjaro, or completing the Camino trail—and you find a way to get it done.

When you settle on something epic, make it congruent by involving your family in the training, doing it with your partner, or raising money for charity. I raised money for Bravehearts and it kept me going at least once or twice when the chips were down in training or during the run.

The greatest victories are closer than you think…but the window of opportunity for doing them gets smaller every day. Just do it.

Stay epic,
Greg