World's Toughest Race: Behind-the-Scenes with Chris Ellison
Toughness comes in so many forms. And there were many times in the race when I would see Chris Ellison and I would think to myself, “That's one tough dude!”
Chris Ellison is not a racer, per se, but he’s one of the 13 embedded camera operators of the show. The physical challenges were far from easy, but he managed to finish much of the race with us.
I had Chris on my podcast and it was honestly something I needed to hear as I was working to get this podcast off the ground. So I’d like to share with you some takeaways that I’ve had from our conversation:
1. Focus on your job, commit to your purpose.
Focusing on the job for Chris helped him move through the tough parts. He was committed to telling our team’s story. And it was his commitment to the purpose that ultimately got him through the hardships of the course. He just had to take action and figure things out along the way.
2. A sense of home can be found with people.
Taking on an adventure, you get to meet people and it gives you a certain sense of home. And it’s nice to have that force around you to keep you grounded.
3. Be willing to share yourself with others.
Vulnerability happens only when you put yourself in an intentional place to receive it. One of my definitions of intimacy is shared emotional experiences and doing things like this together brings people closer.
4. Listen to your whisper, but be sure you’re emotionally ready.
When Chris wrote in his journal at the age of 18 that he would like to be in film school, he didn’t listen to his voice. That seems like a karmic loss. But 6 years later, he showed up to film school and he was ready to go for it. Today, Chris is one of the most sought out in his field. Listening to the whisper is important, but so is being emotionally ready to take on the task. Nevertheless, shortening the time between these two actions is a good thing.
If you want to learn more about inspiring stories of overcoming limiting beliefs, check out the Tales of Toughness Podcast on https://gosonja.com/podcast.