Hi Candidate,
I don't know about you, but when I think about the most extreme physical accomplishments a person can have, 3 things come to mind.
- Running an Ironman race in Hawaii (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, 26.22-mile run, no breaks)
- Deadlifting 1,155 lbs
- Climbing Mt. Everest
I wanna talk about #3.
Climbing Everest is a serious achievement. On the way up the mountain you cross countless 100-foot–deep ice chasms on bridges made of flimsy ladders tied together with old rope. As you get higher, the air grows so thin you have to carry oxygen tanks to think straight.
The entire trip takes two months. And more than 280 people have died trying to reach the top.
But what most people don't realize is, no westerner would ever make it to the summit without the help of a unique group of local people called Sherpas.
Sherpas act as guides and porters for the westerners who come to climb the mountain. They make the "once-in-a-lifetime" trek multiple times a year, during climbing season, like a college kid working the ski slopes over winter break.
And they do it wearing 150+ lb packs, rather than the typical load of water bottle, jacket, camera, and lunch like visiting climbers.
For years people thought there had to be something physically different about Sherpas that let them do this. That they had to have some adaptation from generations living in the mountains that made them better suited for the rigors of climbing the highest peaks in the world.
But then, researchers from Belgium's University de Louvain did a study on 113 Sherpas.
Are their bodies specially adapted to handle it? Is their endurance a genetic trait? Is it their diet?
You know what they found?
Nothing.
"They haven't got any trick," the researcher said. "And what they do is pretty amazing." That finding emphasizes just how remarkable the human body is, says David Carrier, a comparative biomechanist at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City...
The researchers found no physical differences between Sherpas and the rest of us apart from being slightly more adapted to high altitudes. Totally amazing.
This week, I want to talk about what it is that sets these Sherpas apart from 99.99% of the population. This isn't just about mountain climbing, it's about mastery and performance.
The same secret that gives the Sherpas their edge can give you an edge in your life.
Most people want things as easy as possible. Think 7-minute abs, 4-hour workweek, 10-minute meals, weekend MBA.
But I don't want easy. I want hard. Because the best don't avoid hard work, they seek it out.
That's why today I have a small challenge for you.
I want you to go out of your way to put 10% more effort into something you usually do on autopilot. You don't have to do 1,000 push-ups or climb a mountain. It could be:
- Take a different, longer route to work
- Instead of stoically walking up to the barista for a "black coffee, please," smile and tell a story about how your morning's going
- Take a cold shower
It could be anything.
Take 30 seconds and decide what you're gonna do. Then, tweet me @ramit with your challenge. I'll be checking in throughout the day to see what you came up with.
