Work Motivation, Not Giving a F*ck and Successful Mornings
TRIBEathlon Podcast
Episode 57: Ultra runner, Anna Troup, overcame hideous weather, injury and sickness to set a new female record time on the iconic 268-mile Pennine Way this year, only weeks after triumphing as the fastest female in the Lakeland 100 and less than two months since she won and set a new women’s course record for the Summer Spine Race 2021 in 80 hours and 28 minutes.
2021 has been an incredible year for a woman in her 50s that, by her own admission, came to ultra-running later in life. As well as this year’s race successes, she won the Lakeland 100 two years ago and had other wins in the Arc of Attrition 100, the Wendover Woods 100, and the Exodus 100, so I wanted to learn more about the secrets to successful endurance training in your 50s, about the best equipment for ultra-running and how you can fuel your race on scones and marmalade sandwiches!
TED Talk I’ve Found Interesting
What motivates us to work? Contrary to conventional wisdom, it isn't just money, but it's not exactly joy either. It seems that most of us thrive by making constant progress and feeling a sense of purpose. Behavioural economist and author of the brilliant book ‘Predictably Irrational’, Dan Ariely, presents two eye-opening experiments that reveal our unexpected and nuanced attitudes toward meaning in our work in his TED Talk What makes us feel good about work?
What I’ve Been Reading
I resisted reading The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson for a long time, as the title felt like a marketing gimmick. Then a friend whose opinion I rate highly recommended it, and I decided to reconsider. One thing is for sure, if you don’t like swearing, this is not the book for you. If you don’t mind reading a torrent of colourful words with some wisdom thrown in, I can honestly say I’ve not laughed as much through a personal development book almost ever.
According to Manson, there are only so many things we can give a f*ck about, so we need to figure out which ones really matter. While money is nice, caring about what you do with your life is better, because true wealth is about experience. The book is a grab-you-by-the-shoulders-and-look-you-in-the-eye moment of real talk, filled with entertaining stories and profane, ruthless humour, and is a refreshing slap for a generation to help them lead contented, grounded lives. Proceed with caution!
App I’ve Found Useful
As you know, I love audiobooks; personally I prefer to buy them through Audible, however I have recently been trying SCRIBD as an alternative. There aren’t as many of the books I want to listen to here so I don’t think I’ll continue long term, but the difference is you can listen to as many books as you like for a £10 monthly subscription; they have some exclusive content, and you can do a free 1 month trial.
Whilst away on holiday I listened to What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Mornings--and Life by Laura Vanderkam, a speaker I highly respect. In 1 hour, I got some more great ideas to boost my early morning routine. Worth a listen, and also worth exploring as an audiobook alternative.
Quote of the Week
“Own your morning. Elevate your life.”
- Robin Sharma
Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering
For those who are interested in the economy, the markets and investing money, there is no shortage of advice and guidance online; the difficulty is sometimes finding content you can trust and that relates to your investments specifically.
As most of you now know, we are partnering with True Potential for our client investments, so to read a blog written by the people managing your money can deliver that specificity and that trusted knowledge. Whether it is the investment themes around the portfolio, what’s happening in the US market or a budget update, the True Potential blog is a great resource for keeping you in the loop.
