I always say marathon is life, and life is marathon. In life, there is a lot of challenges.
We can't laugh every day because we get challenges, but we move on because every day we need to press on, press on, press on, press on.
The moment we are no longer pressing on, that's the end of life.
Hey guys, how are you doing?
Hope you're having a good week so far.
My name is Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, and this is my podcast, Feel Better, Live More.
When life doesn't unfold the way we hoped, it can be tempting to see that as failure.
But what if it was those moments that actually shape us the most?
This week, my guest is the one and only Elliot Kipchoge.
Guy. Elliot first came on my show almost three years ago in October 2022, just one week after he broke the world record at the Berlin Marathon. And this brand new conversation with him was recorded a few weeks back, just days after he completed the 2025 London Marathon. Elliot is a Kenyan athlete who is widely regarded as the greatest marathon runner of all time.
He has won two successive Olympic marathons and 10 major titles.
And of course, he's the only athlete to have ever run a marathon in under two hours, which he did back in 2019 in Vienna as part of the 159 challenge.
But Elliot's wisdom goes far beyond running.
During our wonderful conversation, you will hear why discipline is what creates freedom, and how keeping promises to yourself builds the self -trust needed to face life's hardest moments.
Why failure is not the opposite of success, but instead the soil where wisdom grows.
How running has become a metaphor for life with its highs, lows, unexpected challenges, and the need to keep moving forward. Why goals alone do not define success.
How Elliot not being able to finish his last Olympic marathon taught him more than any victory ever could.
The true power of community, humility, and purpose, and why he still cleans toilets at his training camp, despite being a global icon.
on, and why he believes that ego is something we must all learn to let go of.
Yes, Elliot is an elite, all -time great athlete.
But honestly, what I love about him the most is his warmth, humility, compassion, and clarity of thought.
Whether you identify as a runner or not, this episode is an an invitation to reflect on your own mindset, your own values, and your own relationship with failure.
And it also serves as a powerful reminder that progress in life is not always linear and often happens in the moments we never planned for.
many people regard you as the greatest marathon runner of all time and often i've noticed before you compete in a race journalists ask you what is your goal very often your answer is my goal is to run a beautiful race we're sitting here two days after you completed the london marathon marathon when you finished sixth was that a beautiful race absolutely yes uh beautiful race is a race whereby you start and you finish starting is a different thing and finishing actually is a different thing going through through the whole 26 miles and just crossing the finishing line is two different things.
Your mind, your body is changing immediately you cross the finishing line.
And when you cross, you get that accomplishment that I have accomplished a mission of a beautiful rest. And that's why I always say it was a beautiful rest, regardless of any number, regardless of any position.
But it was beautiful because I was running with the values.
I was running with the spirit of sport and spirit of humanity.
And I managed to go through all 42 kilometers with the same spirit and finish with the same spirit.
And that's beautiful.
truthful. When you say you ran with the values of humanity, what does that mean?
By saying the values of humanity, I mean the values which actually respects the humanity.
I mean, I respect the sport.
I value the sport. I run with respect.
I run with integrity.
and about all I regard sport as a movement, you know, and I am really a big supporter of this movement.
So inside it there is respect, there is integrity, there is consistency, there is love.
And those are the values which actually every human being, all the seven billion people should live with and we'll have a football you know a lot of people elliot when they run they're thinking about their finished time okay so let's say you know people run a 5k yes right oh i want to beat 30 minutes so i want to beat 25 minutes do you think it's good for people to have goals in terms of the time in which they run or can sometimes those goals become limiting and we can forget about the joy and actual experience of running?
They say actually trimming is good, but don't trim too much. Getting efficient and setting a goal is really good, but don't set too much goals.
calls, first there is a real system before that call that you need to plan well and prepare well.
The minute you respect the two values of preparation and planning, then the fighting of that call, the fighting of that vision comes in because if you put actually in front of your mind the coal itself.
And what coal is sown behind the scene is not actually, is not the coal itself.
You need to work more hard. There is a lot of things going on behind the scene before that coal.
I'll give you an example.
When you are planting a seed, when you put a seed into the soil, you wait for seven days to germinate.
But what's happening between the first day and the the seventh day, is really wonderful.
You know, the seed starts to grow downwards, not upwards.
But going down, inside the soil, it's really warm.
It's hard to penetrate.
And trying to penetrate that soil, resisting that warmth, that oddness inside the soil, and then coming out after seven days.
then you get the real plan is coming out, testing the sun and going very fast. That's now the call.
But what has been going on behind the scene or inside the soil is a lot of things.
A lot of heartbreaks, a lot of tiredness, a lot of hunger.
Anything which can actually make you to go back has been happening.
I always give that respect and philosophy and bring the running.
That you can set a goal and a vision that I want to run 13 minutes in 5k.
But what are the recipes for actually running 13 minutes?
There is a lot of recipes for running 13 minutes.
You need to prepare well.
You need to plan. You need to go all through the trainings.
You need to create consistency in training.
You need to be disciplined.
You need to hit well.
You need to actually throw away the normal food and eat food which can build you.
You need to eat that food which is not really sweet but which brings a lot of energy.
And that's the hardest moment here.
So it's all – it's good to dream.
It's good to set a goal.
It's good to actually have a vision.
but to draw a map to draw a roadmap for running that 10 minutes is crucial yeah yes it's interesting because i understand for an elite athlete like you a marathon training cycle is what three four months yes something like that okay so let's think about that through the lens of goals okay so the reason i asked the question is because i find well i've experienced this myself in the past but i I also find with many people that goals, they sound like a good thing, but sometimes they can become a trap.
And so let's say in a four month training cycle, let's say there's many days in those four months where you're training, you're preparing, you're doing what you need to do.
So I don't know, let's say 30 days a month.
So let's say it's 120 days of preparation and planning for the one race yes you could have 119 perfect days right where you train where you rest where you follow the plan you exercise discipline but on the 120th day the marathon day things outside your control could happen right and so some people if all the focus is on the goal they forget about the 119 days that were brilliant that 120th day where they don't get the time or they don't win the marathon they then regard themselves as failing but that's the problem isn't it because that's not failure that's a that's a huge problem that's not failure
in fact that person is a real real success success.
That's a huge success.
But they don't see it, some people.
They look at the time and go, I didn't make the time.
I failed without seeing all the great things that they did.
That's when I say for some people, I think goals become limiting.
Yes. That's what I mean by it.
I get you. Yeah. Goals are becoming limited.
But, you know, we should appreciate what we have been doing all the way.
You should appreciate when you wake up and do the right thing.
That's what we should be appreciating.
The 119 days is a real accomplishment.
What can we do with these 119 days?
What have you learned?
There's a lot of learnings inside.
And you know, if we are open enough, if we have shock absorbers enough to handle any setback which can arise, Then we can confer those days.
Get real accomplishment and move on.
Those days can make us to actually skyrocket very fast again because you know what's going on.
You now have experience.
Take time, sleep, wake up tomorrow in the morning, set another goal and move on.
in some ways the goal is there to help you focus and do the preparation but actually in many ways whether you achieve the goal or not i guess in some ways doesn't matter it doesn't matter call is what makes you to be disciplined yeah to bring you to the course that's the reason why people are setting their course is to bring you around the course when you undergo a stray it brings you back that's the that's the real reason for setting a goal but all in all is that what's happening within the course is what life is you know when you first came on my podcast two and a half years ago i spoke to you
one week exactly after you broke the world record in berlin since then a lot has changed in the running world records have changed um people coming and competing against you has changed and you went through this period of time for years where you know everyone knew or we we thought ellie is going to win eddie's going to win you kept winning okay and that's constant um string of victories has now changed okay and one of the interviews you gave before the london marathon you were talking about the new generation and you were saying hey the new generation are better okay when you said the new generation are better
what did you mean by that um i'm now 40 approaching 41 and i consider myself not the next generation because i believe anybody after five years is no longer the next generation and our work now and my work now because i'm no longer next the next generation is to nurture the the next generation, is to build the next generation, is to give holistic education and holistic training to the next generation.
What I mean by holistic training is training which makes them better than where I am.
I believe that anybody younger than me is really better because they are better than me because they are getting the holistic education from myself, which makes them better than Where I am now, that's what I mean Because you know, when they talk of love They say beautiful ones Are not yet born I believe That actually the fastest ones Are not yet born But those who are younger than me Are faster than me Yeah It's so interesting In some ways it feels As though you have that sort of Fatherly relationship with them Or you want to give that sort of fatherly guidance to them?
Is that fair to say?
That's fair to say.
I want to give everybody a fatherly love.
You know, my profession now is 22 years old.
Yeah. Most of the athletes now are between 18 and 22.
My profession is really older than their age.
Yeah. and my car now is 18 years first year they know us so all these people are like my kids i need to provide a fatherly laugh to them the fatherly guidance the fatherly nurture and i need to be more friendly to them and provide the right things which make them actually think make them treachery dwell with with the world of sport where do you think that comes from within you because Because if I look across elite sport beyond running, I'm not sure I've seen this kind of approach that much. I'm not sure I've seen people who were the very best. You know, I'm not sure how common it is for people
to then want to spread that love.
I don't know if it comes to upbringing, mindset, culture, what our parents instilled into us, but you don't see it everywhere.
And so I'm interested for you, where do you think that kind of giving collective community mindset comes from?
I always take time myself to think and ask myself, what will the world benefit from me?
I ask myself a lot of questions.
That I am 40 now. That I am 40.
but for the next 12 ,000 days where will Hollywood be?
What are the contributions to the sport?
What are the contributions to this planet?
Those are 20 years to come.
So I see that because I'm a sportsman I can use running as a messenger to carry the message of and put hope of the whole world for the next 20 years.
And the only way is actually to nurture the next generation, to nurture the young people, to make the young people more better than me, to make the young people to think more than what I think, to make this world a lovely world, a united world, and to make everybody respect each other in a healthy way.
Yeah. That's what I've been thinking because, you know, sometimes you ask yourself, this world we have 7 billion people.
Can we say the next 3 ,650 days, that's 10 years, where will the world of sport be?
Those are the questions we need to ask ourselves every time we wake up.
And if all of us can ask ourselves those questions, we'll have a platform whereby we'll make, the sport beautiful will make a sport benefit each other and the next generation will actually enjoy sport and and you know that there will be big reasons to be in sport yeah not only to get money and run not only to get money and just walk there is life beyond that sport yeah touching lives is the reason in sport yeah it's clear from watching you run hearing you speak that it's you feel that your contribution to running is much more than just winning races and setting records okay i know you want to
inspire people and i think you inspire people in so many different ways when I sat down with you face -to -face two and a half years ago you very kindly spent some time with my children afterwards okay it had a really big impact on them to the point where just six weeks ago my son did a project for his school okay it's a important project and you know what the title was no the title of his project was was will someone run an official marathon in under two hours, a race marathon within the next 10 years?
So he had to do a whole project on this idea when he went through various points and looked at what the scientists say and running shoe technology and all these things, but he finished off talking about mindsets.
And he brought up the example of Roger Bannister when Roger broke the four minute mile everyone said he couldn't do it it wasn't possible and after doing it I think eight people in the next two years broke it you know because we we look back to that with the four minute mile and some people call that the Bannister effect okay by Roger Bannister breaking the four minute mile it showed the next generation what is possible and we were saying well maybe in 10 years people will say well that's the Kipchoge effect effect by Eliud Kipchoge breaking two hours in those conditions it then sets the scene
for the younger generation to do it in a race how does that feel for you to know that your impact isn't just for people running it's even affecting children and how they do their school projects that's huge news for me and you know that's what makes me to wake up every morning and run.
Those are the news, which actually acts as an ignition key in my life.
Yeah. That when I hear those news, it makes me the charm at 5 .30 in the morning.
Get my clothes and shoes and go to the road and run.
That's my motivation and that's my inspiration.
Yeah. One of your Kenyan compatriots, Kelvin Kipton, unfortunately unfortunately died a couple years ago Kelvin broke your world record yes in Chicago yes I'm really interested in your relationship to winning and your relationship to world records when Kelvin broke your world record do you remember where you were at that time do you remember, you know, were you watching the race?
When did you first hear about it?
And how did you feel when you found out that somebody had broken your world record?
When Kelvin was actually breaking the world record in Chicago, he was at home watching on TV.
And I was happy man, to see somebody younger than me breaking the world record because I broke the world record twice and you know inside my heart I believe that records are there to be broken and that's the beauty of sport when the sport actually really will reach a space whereby records are not touched and that that's no longer sport so it's really a sport you pray today I break tomorrow, you win today, I win tomorrow.
That's sport, that's sport.
It's like premier league you know the least the three are going for relegation and you know teams are fighting to win EPL teams are fighting not to go to relegation that's sport and that's the sweetness of sport.
So when I saw Kelvin running and breaking the world record I was the happiest man because after all my name will be there twice as a record breaker and people I was not the fastest one a lot of people have been breaking the world record from 1980 all through to 2022 then the breaking of the record should really go on, go on, go on, that's why I always believe that anybody younger is better than me yeah yes the circle of life yes yeah in my son's projects he has to write a conclusion you know because the question was will a human break the two -hour barrier in an official race within the next ten
years and in his conclusion he made the case for why he thinks they will.
What do you think? I think the conclusion that he made was that human beings can play their part in the next 10 years.
You think so? I think so.
What's the key factor for someone if they're going to run sub -2 hours in an official race?
It's simple. The key factor actually is that they have to think, they have to try, and dare to do it if you go in that process that's the simple process to protect your body yeah it's interesting when i talked to you when i spoke to you the very first time in 2022 this this deep belief you have that no human is limited absolutely right that we shouldn't believe the stories that people tell us.
Like people say, a human can't run a marathon in under two hours.
What did scientists say?
It's going to be 2075, right?
People were telling you that it's not going to happen till 2075.
Absolutely. But you did it, right?
And it's interesting.
Yesterday I spoke to a fellow athlete of yours, Saifan Hassan.
And I was just chatting to her about her mentality and that in the 2024 Olympics, she decided to run the 5k, the 10k and the marathon. And she was also sharing this idea that people around her were saying, oh, you shouldn't do this, you know, it can't be done.
Or, you know, you've not done enough training to do the 2023 marathon. But there seems to be in Sifan and yourself and many of the top athletes, there seems to be this inner belief, this inner belief that it doesn't matter what people say, doesn't matter what stories, what culture says, what society says, I believe I can do it.
And so I'm going to try, right?
Now, sometimes you'll try to do something and it won't happen.
But you still have that belief.
Where did the idea come from within you that no human is limited?
Do you think that applies to everyone on the planet or just to a few?
I think by now it applied to nearly everybody, but the idea came in the year 2017 when the Nike came in with trying to get people to break the world barrier.
And, you know, it was really hard. A lot of stories were going on in all social media channels, you know, a lot of stories on Twitter, a lot of stories on local newspapers that these people are chokers.
But I ask myself, are the human beings limited?
Then I answer myself, no. No human is limited.
In this world there is no human being who is limited.
The moment you are limited, then it only applies in your thinking.
And to be unlimited, it also always stays in your head also.
Because, you know, and that's where at that time no human is limited came in.
I just jumped into the ship in 2017 but although I missed it to break the tour of Haria but it was a success and I missed it by 25 seconds which shows I'm not limited at all and then the world now started to open the world in 2017 was like in a cocoon everybody was closed but I used the word no human is limited to break it and leave people to be free free to know that they are not limited at all.
If there's someone who's struggling in their life at the moment, let's say, I don't know, a single mother who feels that life is tough, what can they take from your message that no human is limited?
All the single mothers are beautiful.
and I have the strongest children ever I am actually from a single mother I went to school as know that I can sleep without food but I was taken care of by a single mother so the message the whole single mothers about no human is limited is to know that the moment they break that cocoon and come after I will move on with my children I will take care of my children I will put the food on the table I will take them to school I will mentor them I will nurture them I will live with them I will show them the way that's the game changer that's a belief believe and put on and move ahead it feels like
running a marathon is a metaphor for life we have to endure we have to go through ups we have to go through downs but somehow we have to get through it seems like a lot of the lessons that you have learned yourself through running marathons can also be applied beyond beyond running.
For you, what is the similarity between running a marathon and getting through life?
And then what are some of the key lessons you've learnt through running marathons that we can all apply in our own lives?
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.com forward slash live more I always say marathon is life And life is marathon In life there is a lot of challenges We can't laugh every day Because we get challenges But we move on Because every day we need to press on Press on, press on, press on The moment we are no longer pressing on the stand of life.
In marathon there it is a huge and long journey.
There is bumps on the way, there is potholes on the way.
Potholes are like small challenges comes in within your profession, within your personal life.
The potholes are actually that challenge which you believe that you are down and you will never wake up.
It's the same thing that you've If you actually happen to drive a car, eat up all of it and you get a puncture.
Just go on the road, change your tire and move on.
That's not the end of life.
You cannot leave the car and just move.
So it's like life. When you hit actually the hardest rock ever, that's not the end of life.
Go back, see how you can eat it more.
more. Eat it more again that drug, because the last stroke will break it.
But if that last stroke is not really important, the rest we have been using to hit that drug is countable.
And anything we are doing actually cannot go into a loss.
Until the 2024 Olympic marathon, you had never not completed a marathon race that you started.
for many people who watch that race it was quite a shock for us to see you stop and pull out of that race okay so through the lens of what you've just said okay life is full of challenges and potholes and unexpected things come up all the time i'm guessing for you not completing the 2024 marathon in paris that wasn't part of the plan was it It was not part of the plan, but I think I hit a portal actually on the way.
When we talk and bring our minds as far as life is concerned.
In sport, that's a big challenge.
But what did I learn from this challenge?
Was it the end of the world?
Was it the end of my career?
Was it the end of sport?
All of them know. We go back, we sit, we learn from it.
I collect myself, put myself on the table, and you know, write what I've been doing.
You actually absorb the news and move on.
What happened actually I learned that this world is full of challenges.
life can try to break you but if you are strong enough life cannot break you you bounce back you know the important thing is that I fall down but when did I wake up how fast can you wake up how far can you wake up the important thing is waking up not getting derailed because we forget what happened we forget Okay, but we wake up and move on.
If we go back to that race, because I think coming into that marathon race in Paris, you were hoping to maybe get three consecutive goals.
Absolutely. That was your plan, right?
The goal, right? Which then, as you said before, the goal allowed you to put a training plan in place to try and achieve that goal.
during that race can you just talk us through at what point did you start to realize something was wrong what was your self -talk like because a lot of people struggle with negative self -talk and you know was it hard for you to get to that point where you thought actually you know what i'm gonna pull out of at 20 kilometers actually i feel my legs actually it's no longer moving I have some pain and it can come half the way I think.
Then I tried to push on and push and push, but I realized I can't go anywhere.
A lot was going on in my mind.
Can I finish within the time?
Can I just stop? What can I do?
Then I made a decision to stop and move on.
Stopping actually for me was the hardest thing ever Not finishing actually was the hardest thing ever I was the oldest athlete there And you know what comes in a lot in the social media Hey, somebody sent me a message That the best dancer Knows when to leave the stage Just a small text like that In other words He was telling me It's your time To leave the stage and run But I took it in a positive way And just read the message and leave Because I know what I am doing So it was a lot going on Retirement Leaving the sport Just going to do other things but what can I do what can I do to empower this wall
with tool can I can I use as a messenger to take my messages across the world and the answer was this don't leave the sport fight within the sport but make this sport your great messenger to empower the world then I woke up go to training and here I am now When you pulled out of that race, was it intentional to let the runners past you first?
I realised I can't move on anymore.
Then I said, hey, let me start to jog around.
I jogged because I didn't see any padauk and I didn't see any car actually coming for me to jump in and go to the finishing line.
Then I jogged slowly by slowly.
I knew to start to walk on you know just decided to say let me stop wait for for there for the people who are actually taking people to the finishing line on yeah yeah it's interesting you talked a lot about values and running with the values of humanity and a lot of people had a huge amount of respect for you that when you stopped you walked with a lot of the crowd yeah i walked with over 600 people all the way and you took your your vest off you signed things you gave people things my socks everything so i say these are their gifts because they are giving me i have inspired them you know Now,
people actually, a lot of coming from North and South America, Asia, everywhere, Europe, Africa.
And I say, hey, let us work together.
Let us actually, you know, running as a movement.
Let us use this vehicle actually to move things in this world.
It was a wonderful moment.
And I think it really, you know, again, people call you the greatest of all time, I think, for a variety of different reasons.
Yes, your athletic ability, the records, the wins.
But I don't think it's just that.
I think it's the humility.
It's the way you conduct yourself, the values with which you race.
and I think you walking at the Paralympics after you'd pulled out you must be very disappointed you'd never done that before yet even in that moment of disappointment you were able to conduct yourself with this sort of humility and this warmth you didn't seem to be angry and didn't want to talk to anyone and go off leave me alone you were there with this supportive community it It was quite incredible to watch. Yes.
So, you know, humility is the key.
And, you know, understanding life is the best thing ever.
They say anger, actually, is a weed which can destroy you.
But if you manage to throw away anger, that's the only way to get knowledge and, you know, think straight and do the right things.
Yeah. Yeah, and I believe that the moment you are humble in a good way, that's the best time actually to think and be on the right course.
Yeah. How do you feel now, almost a year on from the Olympics?
You had this plan. You had this goal, third consecutive goal.
It didn't happen. Do you regret that now or do you think that you pulling out of that marathon has taught you incredible things about life that you could not have learnt had you not been through that experience.
Absolutely. You know, pulling out of the Paris Marathon actually tight in my heart and I learned a lot, because let us say, the best things had happened last year and I won the third gold medal.
For now, I just know how to handle the setbacks.
I didn't know I could not have the knowledge on how to sit down see what has been happening behind my back what has been happening for the last 20 years try to wake up sit on the chair and you know see the table in one eye and draw another road map but I think I thank all that it happened in Paris race now I think I am I am I am holy enough to hold any setback which comes in yeah in my own my way they say don't they we learn more from our bad races than our good races yes and one of the things that I find myself trying to teach or share with my children quite a lot these days is when when something
doesn't go to plan for them, one of the questions I ask them is, what has this situation taught you that you would never have learnt had it not occurred?
It's my way of trying to get them to start taking that sort of mindset to life, the mindset that I didn't have until recently, that when things don't go to plan, there's always a learning opportunity if you train yourself to look for it.
Yes, that's exactly what, you know, anything you fail, then you actually scoop the learnings.
But anything you get, it becomes a success.
It's hard to actually poke on the positives.
But if you fail to actually get those negatives, it's very easy and learn from it.
Was you pulling out of the 2024 Olympic Marathon, do you regard that as a failure?
Not real failure, but anything can happen in life.
You can't control. Your hands cannot handle, but life must continue.
That's the thing I've got.
I realize that you can spend five months and fail to clinch what you have been doing.
You know, I took time I always watch the fighting games, boxing You know, working up very early in the morning To watch those people fighting in Saudi Arabia, in America And learn, and you know, research on their training And you know, somebody has been living in a gym For four months Good busy, good mind A lot of energy energy.
Going to the ring, 18 seconds.
Knockdown, knock out, 18 seconds.
Just imagine, you have been there with a whole team of 12 people training for three, four, five months, but you fight only instead of 25 minutes.
Took 18 seconds. That's a real challenge, that that anything can happen, but life is about facing it with your two eyes and going through it.
What will happen? Let us learn from it.
If it's success, let us absorb success and move on.
If it means that we miss success, let us learn from these missings and move on.
Yeah. Something I think about a lot, Elliot, you know, there's a narrative that goals are always good.
But I don't believe anything in life is always good.
It depends on what's going on behind that goal.
If the goal is there to say something about who you are as a human being, then I think that goal can become problematic.
I don't know if you've heard of the English rugby player, Johnny Wilkinson.
He was one of the best rugby players in the world.
and in i think it was 2003 in the final minute of the world cup final he scores the winning goal okay so it's the kind of thing that children in rugby playing nations would dream about as as kids right the final minute the world cup final you take the kick and your country wins the World Cup, he did that at the age of 23.
But he will share that actually, that caused him 10 years of depression and anxiety and real mental health struggles.
There was too much focus on the outcome.
A lot of the things you're talking about today is about process over outcome, journey over destination.
And he will share that there was a real focus on the outcome.
come. He said to me that he used to play rugby as a child for fun, to express himself.
Then somewhere along the line, rugby said something about who he was as a human.
And that's when all his problems started, right?
So this idea that goals can be helpful, but also limiting, I think it's really, really interesting for people to think about.
Yes, goals can help, but it can be a limiting factor too that we need to have a call but we need to put aside but walk on the right systems and make that call as a cadence to kite you know to fall to kite you know to stop to kite you know to fall astray or or do anything else but if all of us can can have all the right systems all the workings in front of our minds put the call at the park of minds then as the time goes we'll grow in a good way.
I was at my local park run last week okay Saturday morning and there's a prime example here of what we're talking about um this chap who I know super well there two years ago he was averaging 25 26 minutes for his his um saturday morning 5k run okay and then for a few years he's now transformed his lifestyle and his training and he's now running like 22 minutes 22 and a half minutes a huge improvement from just two years ago okay and then recently he ran a he ran a park run and it was like 22 40 and he was so disappointed he's like oh man i can't believe it i messed up and what was really interesting
to me i said to him hey you know like just two years ago if you broke 25 minutes that was amazing right but now you're disappointed and you're really really upset with a 2240 and it was just quite interesting to me how that goal or that again it's not for me to say It's for him as an individual to figure out what's important to him.
But there's so many things that we can't control when we just focus on the time, the weather, the wind, how much sleep did I have the night before?
How stressful was my week at work, right?
So the time is just the time.
It doesn't show us the story behind the time, does it?
Yes, absolutely. So for him I would argue that in some ways that goal is not allowing him to appreciate how far he's actually come Yes I think the only thing for him is actually to understand that he has made a huge huge improvement of three minutes which is really huge but not all days are equal you can run 19 minutes tomorrow Next week, you can run 25 minutes, and that's life in sport.
That's life. Yes. And you can run 25 minutes next week, and the following day, you can run 19 again.
That's how the body actually reacts in sport.
So it needs understanding that the moment we're okay, we're okay.
The moment when we feel our energy actually is average, we appreciate the average energy.
When our energy is equally at 90 % we appreciate also and we press our putties to the limit.
You said before that running is not just about the legs.
It's also about the heart and the mind.
Yes. What does that mean?
I say that actually I'm not running with my own legs, but it's about my heart and my mind.
that what drives me is what I am putting in my heart, put in my mind and say it with my mouth that I need to control my body and the moment I have internalized about running in my heart, then to control my legs is really easy because it can move, because the body is just your body but you know respecting and putting your everything the running in your heart and you know making your mind to control everything it's what's needed this whole idea of controlling our minds it's something that a lot of people struggle with i recently saw an interview with the amazing tennis player novak djokovic and the interviewer
said something to djokovic said something like um you've you have the gift of a strong mindset mindset and Novak stopped the interview said no this is not a gift this is a skill that I've worked on and cultivated how do you work on and cultivate the skill of a positive mindset I am using actually what I'm doing in training that if I train for four months running 50%, 70%, 90 % I don't care if trainings are up and down but hitting the targets and feeling that I'm okay then that's the way to build a fit mind.
That's my only skill that I'm using.
The moment I'm happy with my trainings then my mind is happy also.
Because the moment I'm not happy with the training the mind is not happy And that's a real, real challenge.
So I need to train in a happy way.
And the mind will be calm enough knowing that everything is well.
Is this the reason that you say that discipline is what leads to freedom?
Absolutely, yes. I always say those who are disciplined are the free people.
The moment you do what you know more every day without missing it, that's your mind will cope it your body will cope it and and you know then your profession will be clean yeah yeah one of my roles for many years as a doctor has been to help patients make different choices with their lifestyle and their eating habits okay and one of the things I often share with people is this idea that saying you're going to do something and not doing it is one of the most toxic things you can do.
Because you say I'm going to do something and then by not doing it, you show yourself that you can't trust yourself, you can't rely on yourself.
And I think about that when I hear you talk about discipline.
To me, it seems that by you having a training plan and doing it and committing to it, you're building up that trust in yourself, right?
You know that actually I said I was going to do it and I did it, which is why I think a lot of people struggle.
They make New Year's resolutions.
They say, I'm going to do this this year.
And they do it for two weeks.
And then they stop.
And then they don't do it anymore.
And But I think they start to break the trust that they have with themselves, the word that they give to themselves, they're breaking.
So I say to people, listen, make your goals less, maybe it's just one thing, but do that one thing every day.
Because by doing that thing, you build up trust in yourself over time.
And it sounds very much that you have a similar approach to training.
Do you think it helps you build that trust in yourself which is what you of course need when you're in the middle of a race absolutely as you know doing everything actually without missing is creating trust between my call my trainings and myself trust is a semen between me and what I'm doing trust is a huge value it which can destroy you if you don't take care of it so you need to mix it well you need to make that trust actually have real real to make it real real hard because you know between me and what I am doing is the trust but I respect and treat trust as a sermon it needs to be really
firm and I'm moving on in a good way the the woman is not found, then you can go anyway.
What's the balance people need to have between discipline and compassion?
What I mean by that is discipline we get taught is about, you know, the mind's in control, okay?
I said I was going to do that.
I'm going to do it, you know.
I said I'm going to work out or walk for one hour a day.
I'm going to do that.
But on some days, of course, life can get in the way, okay?
OK, people can be busy.
One of their family members could be sick.
Maybe they've got an injury and they need to rest and not move.
So how do you see that balance between discipline, doing what you say you're going to do, and compassion, where you sometimes need to be kind to yourself and allow yourself to go, actually, not today?
you know I believe the real person most of the human beings are not busy you can wake up and plan your day as well unless otherwise that you have something like an injury you have something that can prepare you not doing that but any other thing you can plan yourself and say I'm I am in my office after 1 o 'clock, but I need to grab water and walk for five minutes, come back, take shower and go back to the office.
That's creating time.
There is nobody who is busy in this world.
Being busy is just in our minds, but in reality, there is nobody who is busy.
see yeah now i imagine there'll be some people listening to that elliot who might be pushing back and saying adi you don't understand my life i've got two jobs to do i don't have any help with my children my life is busy what would you say to that person you know i always tell people before you go to sleep know what you will be doing tomorrow if you wake up in the morning Without any plan Stay in your house In the evening Just go Get a paper Write the assignments Or appointments you'll be doing tomorrow Create all the timings Even if you are doing Actually two jobs There will be a loophole somewhere Where you
can do something So I believe Planning is the key if you sleep with your plan that's the best yeah but if you don't sleep with your plan you tomorrow morning you feel like you are really crazy busy yeah but you are not busy yeah i love that i definitely think for some people at least they haven't taken the time to ask themselves the important questions get clarity on what is truly important in life life and so the lack of clarity means that we don't properly prioritize so yes everything feels equally important right but it's not and i know you're a fan of journaling i'm a fan of journaling one
of the questions i ask myself every morning as part of my journaling practice is what is the most important thing i have to do today and it's such a beautifully simple but very powerful question because in a world where many people have all these competing demands you know I've got to do this for work or family or my fitness or whatever that question forces you to make a decision every morning what is the most important thing I have to do today and then you go and do it yes on my side actually in the evening I get a channel right 20 things that in there I need to do it tomorrow Tomorrow morning
I wake up, go to training, come back.
I cannot do all of them.
Even if I just jump out for two hours and do ten things, that's enough.
The rest will come on the next day or next week.
Don't rush. Provide that you actually well planned and you know you are prioritized.
Two first things first. The rest will come in.
Elliot where do you think your humility and lack of ego comes from just taking a quick break to give a shout out to AG1 one of the sponsors of today's show nutrition can often seem really complicated we get confused about what exact diets we should should be following and which supplements we might benefit from taking.
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this episode is brought to you by airbnb now recently i was chatting with a friend and we were talking about how when life gets really busy it can be tough to keep up with everything especially if like him you travel a lot for work and that's when the idea of hosting on airbnb came up and it really got me thinking hosting your place when you're not around is a fantastic way of earning a bit of extra income.
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So if hosting is a side hustle you've thought about but you need a bit of extra help getting started, find a co -host at airbnb .co .uk forward slash host. I think respecting humanity and knowing I have a purpose in this world is what has given me power of humility and power of actually destroying our ego.
I believe that we are all human beings.
At the end of the day, you ask yourself when you arrive in your house, what did I do that promotes humanity?
what did I do that they benefited me and the whole planet and if ego is there that one has actually subtracted your mind it has subtracted your values it has subtracted your spirit to walk and we need to throw it away but humbleness actually connects you with people humbleness actually creates a real connection with everybody in this world and that's my power did you have ego earlier on in your career?
I have never possessed any ego at all.
Do you think your upbringing, you shared before that you were brought up by a single mother.
Do you think part of your childhood has sort of taught you about humility and the importance of compassion?
Absolutely. I think being taken care of by a single mother is what has brought me to learn many things.
Learn to be because, you know, I come from Africa.
I'm from Kenya, where we have different cultures, traditional cultures, whereby children with their fathers are more superior than children who have been taken care of by the single mothers.
And we feel inferior because we don't have our fathers.
But I ask myself, I will cut across all these things, move on, use this power to empower anybody and everybody in this world.
And that's what I am doing.
I treat all the human beings in an equal way.
I give the same love, the same respect, the same thing to every humanity.
I was looking at the winners list of the London marathon for the last few years, and in the men's race, at least, it's been a string of Kenyans.
Yes. Why is it do you think that there are so many elite Kenyan marathon runners?
Is it the physiology, the psychology, the culture?
What is it you think?
I think it's the culture and the thinking.
It's the culture that we have enough muscles, our high altitude holds us well and we have energy to run for long and that's why East Africa are producing long distance runners.
But if the world actually will come out of the cocoon, Know that all of us We are human beings Who will compete in a good way In America Fischer actually broke the World record He's not a Kenyan More far as living in United Kingdom You won a lot of gold medals In Olympics and World Championships All other marathons Actually from across All over the world are now realizing that if we train for it and work for it we'll actually get where people are yeah yes one thing i notice when i watch these elite races is the kenyan runners seem to be very close at least from what i can tell when i watch it
there seems to be a real joy when you or another kenyan runner sees another kenyan run to do well would you say that is something that exists in kenya a real yes people are competitive they want to do well but are they also happy when one of their comrades also performs well even if that person beats them absolutely as you know kenyans mostly kenyans actually respect the sport and you know that if you want to enjoy sport you need to accept the outcome and that's why kenyans are happy when they see somebody else is winning and beating them and by accepting and enjoying that's the only way to laugh
the sport and you know make the sport live again that's such an interesting point kenyans respect the sports so it sounds as though the sport Sport is the most important thing, right?
That we conduct ourselves with the values associated with that sport.
Now, I'm not convinced that all countries, as a generalization, have that relationship with sport.
Some countries and cultures, to me, seem to be more individualistic.
It's about me and my relationship with that sport.
you know I want to be the best and the way I can be the best is by being better than others you've never struck me as someone who thinks like that and I I'm also drawn to something you said in our first conversation together that you never train by yourself right you're always training with your crew with your tribe with your group right you always train together you guys run run together and i said to you last time that in countries like the uk and the us there can sometimes be a me perspective with your sport and it seems that you and other kenyans have a we perspective for the rest of my life
for 22 years i have never said hi i always say we as a team I've been training for twenty years with a world team and when I jumped in into the path of Marathon then our management actually started a running club called NN running team and we try to sell the narrative of teamwork and our motto is because running is a team sport I believe that running actually in general is a team sport and it makes you to get the best results when you are with a team I always tell my people team is a group of people who trust each other and team is a group of people who are working to create a community of runners
and spread the gospel of running across the world.
And if all of us, if all of the partners can see us as people, then we are going far.
I always tell my training partners that a training camp is not a training camp even ladies know there an office is not an office people at the office what makes a training camp at the people inside what makes an office is the people working in that office the moment we remove the human force it's no longer company it's no longer in office it becomes a building and that's why I I always say, running is a team event, and when you win, you win alone.
But what's the important thing?
The important thing is what you have been going through all the way, that the mutual interest that you exchange with your teammates.
Because, you know, you were discussing that somebody got discouraged when he ran 25 minutes on 5K.
Three weeks ago, he was running 22 minutes.
minutes. It's because he was running alone, not with the team.
Today the whole team can run 25 minutes.
Tomorrow the whole team can run 18 minutes in five kai.
The next day they can run 22 minutes.
And that's how to enjoy running with the whole team.
Because you don't measure yourself alone.
You measure yourself with the team.
And you enjoy. You don't feel that you have put your whole you feel that you are 70 with the team when you are alone even if it's 60 you feel it's 90 and it's training it makes your mind walker it makes you a put it to work more hard yeah it's so interesting hearing how you talk about running being a team sport i think there's many people in the world who think it's an individual sport and you know when we read about your team and your training camp one of the things I've read at least is that there's still a simplicity to daily life there's a real focus on running together resting eating together
but also there's a rotor for let's say cleaning toilets okay and we read that you're still part of that rotor and that when it's your turn to clean toilets it's your turn to clean toilets even though you're regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time you're still doing your part in the team is that correct that's very correct you know it's uh you know i always say what i'm saying is what i'm doing yeah so i want to be a real good example by cleaning the toilets cleaning the dining room cleaning the kitchen and the The next generation can get a small teaching from myself and say, hey,
this is the way to go.
And, you know, I will be leaving a mark which can go ahead, can hide for the next 100 years.
I love that so much, Elliot.
It really paints a very powerful picture and helps, at least on one level, explain this incredible humility that you have. that I think draws so many people towards you, it also makes me think about what you said before about a great dancer knows when to leave the stage, right?
I've been thinking about this a lot in preparation for our conversation today, okay?
And I've been, frankly, I've been thinking about this a lot for years.
There's this phrase that people often say, oh, that athlete's gone on too long, okay?
They might talk about a boxer who should have retired at the top or a golfer who keeps playing even though they're no longer winning majors, right?
And that the kind of societal narrative is, oh, they've gone on too long.
But I thought that's ridiculous.
How can we say someone's gone on too long?
They've only gone on too long if their relationship was only about winning and being number one.
But if their their relationship was about enjoying the sport, being the best that they can on any given day, then who's to say that they've gone on too long?
If that's the goal, then who the hell can say that you've gone on too long?
You should have retired at the top.
And so I look at your career and I watch you when you finish sixth on Sunday.
A lot of athletes these days know the correct things to say.
They've been media trained, right?
They say the right things.
But you're someone who's not just saying the right things.
It's so clear that you believe those things, like you're speaking truth.
You had such a big smile on your face afterwards.
And I think a lot of people who were interviewing you were confused.
They were like, yeah, but two years ago, you're breaking world records, but you're still really happy and have a smile on your face, even though you finished finish six and I'm not sure people fully understand your relationship to running and your relationship to winning do you know what I mean yes personally I want to live in sport and tell all the athletes running marathon that running for three hours is just nothing longevity is the key the more you you stay in this sport, the more you learn more.
Let us use this sport actually to get the right values which can inspire the right people and make the right people to be there for long.
Because, you know, if you stay for long, you get a partner with you think together and move on.
It's pushing you and you are pushing them.
And that's what we want.
Yeah, we don't, we really You really need to see who are you.
Ask yourself who am I?
What contribution am I making in this sport?
What did I bring to London Marathon?
What did I bring to those one billion people who watched you over the weekend?
What did they learn from me?
Are we on the right track?
That's the questions you need to ask yourselves because it's not about just winning or be on the limelight for some few years and just disappearing.
You will give more people You put hard time to write history, and they don't understand you because you came and just go away.
What defines a successful race for you today?
What defines a successful race is the accomplishment that I'm getting.
When I finish a marathon, that's success in myself.
self what whom the thai inspire whom the thai motivate the thai master running on the road in a good way we can inspire the next generation that's success you know to handle those pressures in training in our trainings in life and you know and staying for four months in a good way and managing to run all through the marathon in a good way.
That success according to me.
There was a world record on Sunday.
I think it was around 56 ,000 people finished, completed the London Marathon. You're someone who wants to spread the inspiration of running all around the world.
I think you said in an interview recently that running is a movement.
Yes. Okay and you are clearly one of the leaders and spearheads of this global movement.
What does it say to you that two days ago there was a world record in the number of people completing a marathon?
That must give you hope I imagine for the future.
And also Elliot if someone is listening right now okay they've clicked on the video because they're interested to hear what you have to say and they hear about the life lessons you've learned through running marathons but they don't run and they're scared they're not sure if they can do a marathon i'd also love to know if you have any words of wisdom or advice for them you know when 56 740 people cross the finishing line of the london marathon they have helped me to make this world a running wall they broke a World Record of New York.
And I trust in the future the governments, the county governments, you know, the local governments, the whole government in every country should try to accommodate over 100 ,000 people per weekend.
And if all of us, you know, we are still far, about 1 .5 million to 2 million people are running marathons every year.
We are still far. we have a lot of job to do because the population is 7 billion people.
We need 4 billion people to run.
We need 4 billion people to run.
Why? Because we want to make this world a running world.
And if all of us we can run, there is a lot of benefits.
Let me come to anybody who is watching actually London Marathon and knowing that the record has been broken.
I want to tell that person, please get out of your door and walk, don't run, just walk for 20 minutes 30 minutes and come back feel the difference in your body and in your mind.
Take that difference to the place of your work.
Create the theater in the evening, the work you have done that day and the work you have been doing for the last one year, you will be shocked.
I want to actually challenge the human resource managers.
Let us make all our staff to walk and run.
And you will never write any letter of sickness at all.
Never. The world can sometimes seem very divided.
A lot of conflicts, a lot of division.
Do Do you think if more people were runners, that would help to heal the world?
Absolutely. You know, if all of us can run, we can heal the world.
It can help us to come together on the table and ask ourselves, what do you really want?
Because sometimes I sit and ask myself, how do people think?
You know, I respect the law that we can't think together.
That's against the law of nature, but also on the other hand, the law of nature is actually allowing all of us to bring our minds together, sit on the table, discuss, bring all the ideas, put on the packet, share all the ideas, have an agreement and move on.
the moment we move on, we move on with a mutual agreement in our hearts and our minds, not on the paper, because just the paper, it's in our hearts and our minds.
I always ask myself, when will this happen?
Because we want to see when we are still living, we want to see people sitting together, want to see people enjoying their lives, and exchanging their ideas.
Everybody raising his own issues and you know trying to think together and if all of us can get out of the door and run then you get a lot of ideas put the paper and the pen outside your door, run for 40 minutes, 1 hour.
All the ideas you are getting in, come and put on paper and go back, take a shower, go to the job, work on the ideas when you get back home and we luckily transform this world Yeah.
I don't know how much of an issue this is in Kenya, Elliot, but certainly here in the UK, many people feel self -conscious.
So let's say people have got a body that they're not happy with, that they're not proud of, that they're maybe a bit ashamed of.
Sometimes I know because because I've had patients tell me this in the past. They are nervous to go out running because they don't like their body and they don't like what people might think of them when they do go running.
What do you say to them?
Can I tell you something?
Please. This world belongs to all of us.
Nobody is holding the world.
All of us in this world are holding the world.
The whole 7 billion people are haunting the planet.
Do what you like. Go for an exercise and come back.
Don't get ashamed. Just why?
It belongs to all of us.
So I want to tell anybody who feels that he or she is not accommodated somewhere, no. We belong to this world.
We need to fight for the space.
And that's the only way.
Has running made you a better father?
Absolutely yes Running has made me a good father and I want to be the best father for my children and you know, bring all the children who are at the same age as my kids and take them actually in a good way to this world What specifically has running taught you that's helped you become a better parent?
It has told me it has actually taught me about humility that I need to be humble and transfer to my children I need to understand more and I'm understanding my children in a good way.
I need to absorb the values which can make me a better human being and I'm teaching them the right values to be the better human beings and that's what running has actually taught me You say running is a team sports and you have had a very close relationship with your own coach for many years yes how important has that relationship been to your success as an athlete I've been with my coach for the last 22 years your entire running career my entire running career same coach same coach that shows that the value of trust is playing a big role that we trust each other in a a good way.
He is doing his part, I'm doing my own part.
We are coming together, talk of what has been happening and move on.
So respect is the key.
Trust is the summon. And you know, understanding each other is the way to go.
Yeah. a few years ago you gave a talk at oxford university a wonderful talk um this was i think the year after you'd broken two hours um in your race in that talk there were some life lessons that you were sharing with the attendees there were seven okay the importance of self Self -discipline, the importance of preparation, the importance of organization, positive thinking, working with other people, consistency, and also the ability to accept and adapt to change.
I wonder if we could just briefly go through those seven key life lessons and just get a couple of lines from you on what they all mean.
So number one, self -discipline.
Self -discipline actually means a sacrificial of my personal passions.
and pleasures first you set your priorities right that's how to understand discipline you learn to say no in anything comes in that self -discipline make that select discipline your lifestyle you are ready to move number two preparation preparation is the key The moment you set a call, that call is just nothing without the best preparation ever.
Preparation is what moves you every day.
Preparation is what makes you to work for that call that you have set.
That call which acts as a discipline to bring you between your course.
Organization. Organization actually is how you organize yourself daily.
How you plan yourself.
I always plan myself at the end of the day what I will be doing the next day.
And the next day, my life moves in an organized manner without any interruption.
And that's why I stress that organization should play a key role when you are a student, when you are a manager, when you are anything in this world.
Positive thinking. Positive thinking is the key that when you go to sleep, go to sleep with positivity.
And sleep deeply. But wake up thinking in a positive way, and your day will be great.
Working with other people.
Working with other people is another name for teamwork.
And I always define and teamwork as a group of people who are trusting each other and working together.
That's the way to go.
That's the way to get actually a lot of knowledge, a lot of resources and makes you not to work 100 % but help each other to work and the same thing is that mutual interest. They help you, you help them.
Number 6. Consistency.
Consistency actually is a trap that you You have a glass of water.
And slowly by slowly you are bringing just a small drop of water.
But at the end of the month, it's full.
That's consistency.
And number seven, accept and adapt to change.
Change is the key. Without change, you can't go anywhere.
anyway. So the only thing when you find yourself anything has changed, be it in technology, be it in anything, accept and move on.
And that's the only way to develop this world.
That's the only way to develop yourself, develop your families, to develop our communities, to develop our nations and to develop our planet is to accept the change.
And if you want to know more about change, uh just get a book uh who took my cheese it's a very small book you can read in that minute but it's actually giving us more about change wow yeah those are seven life lessons you shared i think six years ago now given what you've learned over the past few years are there any new ones you would add to that list uh not really i'm still working on the seven i'm still working on.
Planing is there, that you need to plan.
But I think the key seven is what actually driving us.
What does the word happiness mean to you?
I always tell people, let us be happy.
Happiness means actually accepting change.
Accepting what's in your table.
What's in your plate is what happiness means.
work on those which you see and that's happens and that's happiness yeah yeah in terms of breaking records of course you've been someone who has made world records you are still the only human being that we know of that has run under two hours a marathon okay um recently someone i think you You know very well Faith Kip -Yegon has announced that she is going to try and become the first woman to run a sub -four minute mile later this year.
When you hear other athletes really expressing this idea that no human is limited, trying to do something that no human has done before, I don't know, how does it make you feel?
I think the happiest man is myself, you know, especially a home man saying that.
that, for fate to run under four minutes will be a huge, huge day for women in this world.
It will show that women can do anything they put in their hearts and their minds.
It will be a precious day and a fruitful day for the human family, especially on women and mothers, culls, women, mothers, anybody actually called, anybody female in this world.
That's their day. But it will help to celebrate because it's humanity.
But, above all, it's their day for the women.
Actually, it will be awesome.
You know, it will inspire Carl in India.
It will inspire Carl in Macedonia.
It will inspire Carl in South America.
Anyway in this world to come up and do other things which can create history.
Because that history is not about breaking the world record. It will be a world record. But what matters is history.
Elliot, normally I finish off the conversation asking for advice for someone who's listening.
But it's interesting as I spend more and more time with you, and I'm struck by how humble you are, your humility, your lack of ego.
ego. And I unfortunately, I don't think that is as common as we might want it to be.
Okay. So there will be people listening now who struggle with their ego, who know that they judge others too much. They judge themselves too much. They look down on other people.
They criticize other people.
Okay. You're someone who appears to not do any of those things.
So for that person who who knows that this is a problem for them?
What advice do you have for them on how they can reduce their ego and be a bit more humble like you?
First and foremost is that anybody who has an ego, you should sit down, think well.
Put the right side of yourself as a human being.
The left side of yourself, put an ego.
Put all those things you think you have achieved, gift which makes you to have an ego, on your left side.
Just relax and behave like a human being.
You know, I will tell you something.
If you buy a bread, a loaf of bread, you cannot finish it alone.
You will eat with the whole family, even for two days, even for two mornings.
that means we cannot finish everything in this world let us not criticize anybody you know when you have been soft like try to eat your own food don't concentrate on seeing what your neighbor I sitting what I'm trying to say is this if you concentrate or not your neighbor is sitting you Yours will become cold, and the neighbor will finish the food.
You will see the neighbor finishing the food, and then you start eating.
That's criticizing what somebody else is doing, leaving you a whole problem within yourself.
What am I meaning? You have a problem yourself.
So as a human being, let us put all the titles we have apart.
You know, one of the Navy soldiers, actually, who was holding high ranking in the U .S. a long time ago, once said, if you want to be successful, make your own bed.
It means solve the small things first before you go to the big things.
But on the other hand, it means that make this bed because at the end of the day, you will come back here.
In that bed, you will sleep alone.
and you cannot show your ego to yourself, you only show ego to the rest of the population, then what's the reason for actually possessing an ego?
If that ego you can only show the rest of the population.
Half those things you can do to yourself and to the population and sleep with it.
The rest whereby you can see that you can get rid of, just get rid of, because all of us are human and no human is limited absolutely as no human is limited and all of us we must fight for the space and that's the only way to enjoy life in this world elliot it's been such a joy chatting to you on my show for the second time you really are an inspirational human being you're inspiring millions around the world in the running worlds and outside of the running worlds and thanks for making time to come back on my show thank you very much lastly said I want to ask you actually telling all people will be
watching this podcast that for the next 15 ,000 days where will you be what contribution will actually make to this planet if you answer those questions please let us work on it and will make this planet a beautiful one.
Elikip Cherki, thank you.
Thank you very much. Really hope you enjoyed that conversation.
Do think about one thing that you can take away and apply into your own life.
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