What makes you tick?
That’s the question at the heart of Stephen Bradshaw’s podcast. I’ve told my story on stage many times, and it would have been easy to give Stephen a mini-version of my keynote. But he really made me think about that fundamental question. I found myself reflecting in the moment, and it took us nearly two hours to get to the bottom of it.
Things that are epic
My answer, right at the start, was that what makes me tick is doing things that are epic. Things that excite me. Things that have no set rules. And things that risk failure.
The risk of failure is the important bit. In my Unbreakable Framework, it’s the first decision: step into the arena as a competitor, rather than sit on the sidelines as a spectator. Competitors pursue success and risk failure.
It’s also about identity, and who I’m becoming. I’ve had to rebuild mine more than once.
Losing my sight at 22
When I lost my sight at 22, I had to grieve for the loss. I had to learn to use assistive technology. And I had to rebuild, step by step.
That rebuilding took me into adventure racing, across the Gobi Desert and, eventually, to the South Pole. I didn’t get there alone. We carried a flag to the Pole with the names of 500 people who had supported us.
Acceptance isn’t resignation
Then, shortly before Simone George and I were due to be married, I fell from a second-storey window, broke my back and was left paralysed.
I had to decide all over again what to do next.
Acceptance was the starting point. Not resignation. Acceptance. Facing the facts of where I was, so I could decide what to do about it.
Stephen and I talked about the Stockdale Paradox: confronting the brutal facts of your situation while maintaining a sense that you’ll prevail in the end. It sits very close to the realist decision at the heart of my Unbreakable Framework.
Optimists rely on hope alone, and when the best case scenario doesn’t play out, they’re left disappointed and demoralised. Realists deal in facts, accept what they can and can’t control, and give themselves something to go for, fuelled by hope.
For me, that hope became a mission: to cure paralysis in our lifetime.
Simone, and finding your own path
We talked about Simone, and how the best partners support you and challenge you in equal measure.
We talked about finding your own way, and how much easier that gets when you stop comparing your path to anyone else’s.
And we talked about learning. At 50, I’m still experimenting, including as a doctoral researcher in elite performance at Dublin City University.
Four things to take away
Look for something epic: something that excites you, has no set rules, and risks failure.
Acceptance isn’t resignation. It’s knowing exactly where you’re starting from.
Deal in the facts, and keep hope alive. You need both.
Find the people who will support you and challenge you.
Listen to the full conversation
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/amGItF6W4eo
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/09auZPwEKjidixXaQqMZwv
Read Stephen’s write-up: https://whatmakesyoutick.net/69-mark-pollock-blindness-paralysis-and-the-pursuit-of-epicness/
Thanks Stephen for a brilliant conversation. And thanks Simone, for everything.