Virtual Mentors
4 Mentors to Challenge Your Limits
Redefine what your potential really is
By Jesse J Rogers
Before Roger Bannister ran a mile in less than 4-minutes in 1954, many people believed that the barrier was simply impossible for humans to break. If no one before us could do something, why would we be able to?
After a human had overcome that limiting belief, it only took six months before someone else had broken Bannister’s record — an Australian named John Landy. Again, think about this. Before 1954, no human had run a 4-minute mile. In the years since around 1500 have run a sub-4-minute mile. It didn’t take long for “doing the impossible” to become almost routine.
Surely there are going to be some physical limitations and hard limits. We can probably all agree that an unassisted 1-second mile really is out of the question. There are hard limits on reality. But Bannister’s example prompts a question — how many more limitations aren’t set in stone? How many barriers exist only in our imagination and can be knocked down simply by changing our thinking?
Even if you don’t know yet know anyone in your own life that’s done something extraordinary, that’s fine. You can be the first in your peer group. You can lead those by example by adopting the mindset of virtual mentors.
Once you learn self-discipline and self-accountability, you don’t need a physical mentor there with you anymore. Even if they’re on the other side of the world, or even if they have no idea who you are, you can gain enormously from virtual mentors. From them, you can learn to bend or break the rules of the Matrix and redefine for yourself what the limits are.
Break Limits of Memory and Cognition — Jim Kwik
As a child, Jim Kwik suffered a traumatic brain injury that severely impaired his learning. Working incredibly hard to overcome this, he succeeded academically. Then when all seemed to be going well, he passed out from exhaustion and re-injured his brain. Fighting despair and overwhelming discouragement, Jim eventually found techniques to learn significantly faster and memorize large stores of information. He’s now become one of the foremost memory experts and consultants, frequently working with A list actors to help them learn their scripts.
This is his powerful, touching story.
You can find his free academy here.
Break Limits of Toughness— David Goggins
For a long time, David Goggins was an overweight, traumatized, people-pleasing, comfort-seeking nobody. He made $15 an hour as a cockroach exterminator, until one day he realized nothing was going to change in his life until he changed himself.
Goggins became obsessed with the movie Rocky. He knew he wasn’t good enough to win. Fine, roger that. But he could refuse to stay down just like Rocky did. “It was the face of Apollo Creed that changed my life,” says Goggins. “Rocky had taken his soul. Had literally taken his soul. His [Apollo’s] head goes down, he looks at him [Rocky] like who the f*** are you? I wanted to be that.”
Pushing his body to the limits, he completed Navy Seal training with pneumonia, fractured bones, and no excuses. That was only the beginning.
In so many ways, David Goggins has become a legend.
He has been especially active in supporting veterans and their families.
Break Limits of Body — “Iceman” Wim Hof
Wim Hof knows what it is to suffer. The suicide of his wife nearly broke him. He found refuge from his pain in the sanctuary of nature and the merciless solitude of the cold. The things Wim Hof does do not seem possible. You may have to test his breathing techniques out for yourself to see that they’re real. You can instantly improve the output of pushups you’re capable of doing, for example.
A brief tutorial of his technique is here.
Break Limits of Impact — Tom Bilyeu
Today, Tom Bilyeu’s net worth reported to be almost half a billion dollars. What would you do with that kind of money? As strange as it may sound considering how much of it he’s acquired, money isn’t what motivates him.
Money is a means to an end, a resource that can power the changes and innovations he wants to see.
But it wasn’t always like that for Tom. For a very long time, he was crippled with anxiety, self-doubt, and in a state of crushing poverty. He felt powerless, just like you still might while you read this.
His story shouldn’t just inspire you, because that won’t change anything. His story should motivate you to take massive action. That’s the only thing that can transform your situation from what it is to what you want it to be.
Something all three of the previous role-models mentioned earlier have in common is that they've appeared as guests on Tom Bilyeu’s groundbreaking show Impact Theory. You can watch their full interviews below.
Watch Tom’s interview with Jim Kwik.
Watch Tom’s interview with David Goggins.
Watch Tom’s interview with Wim Hof.
Below are other stories by this author that you may enjoy. Jesse J Rogers can be reached at [email protected]
