Finding Ultra
Rich Roll is a revelating and inspiring athlete who broke all odds of middle-aged alcohol addiction to complete the impossible, the EPIC5. The EPIC5 is a challenge where competitors cover 250 kilometers in five consecutive days while running a 50-kilometer course on Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, and the Big Island. Within his book, Finding Ultra, Rich walks us through his story from childhood to the end of the EPIC5 journey with a conclusion of tips and methodologies for the reader.
What was your favorite quote?
Throughout the book, there were over 15 standout quotes. The one that stood out the most was:
“Change your perception, change your reality.”
Perception of how we view stories are two sides to one coin. On one end is where you are defensive and asking yourself why something happened, whereas on the other side is the offensive seeing it as an obstacle where you persevered and overcame it. How you view yourself in a situation defines where your thoughts will go next leading to a change in reality.
What did you think about the book?
The pacing and order of the book provided suspense, anguish, and realization as you walk through many significant moments within Rich’s life. The way Rich paints each scene and immerses the reader is nothing short of phenomenal. From talking about topics such as long-term alcohol addiction and rehab to athletic training, there was a wide net to learn in a world without the technology we have today of smartphones and ChatGPT.
There were a handful of statements that did have a passive aggressiveness tone that could have been left out such as within the plant-based chapter. Nevertheless, this was only a tiny portion of the book that did not take away from the main story.
What were the top 3 lessons you learned?
Lesson 1: You are what you eat
“If you change your plate, it will change who you are. It will change how you are.”
Everything you consume on a daily basis will provide you with energy and nutrients. This energy is provided when your body breaks down the food into a molecular forms such as glucose and adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
Southeast Asia has different food options between countries and cities. As I continued to change environments, I checked in periodically with how much energy I had in correlation with the foods I take in. When in doubt, keep a journal of what you ate and take a look back to see which foods made you feel the best. Everyone is different with what they can consume.
Lesson 2: Everything makes sense after the event
“Hindsight is always 20/ 20.”
Let’s say a rabbit jumped on a rock. Once the rabbit landed, the rock moved. Turns out, the rock was a turtle. After the rabbit found its footing, it looks back and notices the coloring of the rock to realize it was a turtle in the first place. The rabbit now knows why the event happened.
Without the rabbit looking back, it could have deduced the rock moved for many different reasons such as an earthquake or a trap. After gaining more information about something, the rabbit found out why something happened, making its hindsight understand what happened; however, when the rabbit jumped on the rock, it did not have that information, making it conduct that decision.
Lesson 3: Natural talent will only take you so far, fall in love with the process
“If I wanted to catch up and make the leap to the national level, I couldn’t rely on innate gifts. I was going to have to go the extra mile.”
Consider a fully-grown tree in a park. Before it was fully grown, the tree was a sapling and had to nourish itself daily from its surroundings to grow to where it is at now.
Similarly, all of us have a sapling within us for a skill that has grown to some varying height. We can stay at that height. We can also water that sapling further with hard work to develop the sapling into a taller tree. The tree will reach new heights, but without the nourishment, it would not have reached that milestone. What sapling are you watering?
Conclusion
Overall, this was an eye-opening depiction of hard work, dedication, and perseverance. Thank you Rich Roll for writing this book and sharing your story!
Want to read the book?
Consider buying from the affiliate link below! This comes with no extra fee for you, and I will receive some of the profits.
