361: George Chmiel, part 1: Why run 3,000 miles? Why challenge yourself?
George and I talked about three big topics
- George Floyd demonstrations and riots from the view of a man watching his businesses and his communities’ businesses vandalized and destroyed. You’ll also hear him reflect as a man who dismissed Colin Kaepernick—in his view disrespecting the flag.
- Why did he have that view? For supporting veterans, especially veteran suicide, through incredible runs—ultramarathons, 100-mile-plus runs, and longer. The more he ran for others, the more rewarding it became, to where he ran across the country through injury.
- We talked about finding your limits, serving others, and how much each helps your life.
My key takeaway: that he got more out of his challenges than he put into them, for serving others. He explained better than I why I act on leadership and the environment, probably because he’s done so much more
Tell me if what he says doesn’t make you feel that whatever you’re doing, no matter how much people tell you it won’t make a difference or is more than you have to, that you want to do more. A few years of not flying and avoiding eating unhealthy products that end up not tasting good anyway feel so small, partly because I can do so much more, but because I’ve barely scratched the surface of what I could get back.
George said what I’ve tried to but haven’t succeeded in doing—communicating how much serving others brings to your life, expanding it, filling it with joy, community, connection, and emotions at the pinnacle of what humans experience.
I didn’t want to say it to him, but knowing that he’ll find more than he expects from acting on his environmental values, I bet he’ll end up doing a lot more.
While some might think it could detract from his supporting veterans, I predict it will augment it.