On the latest episode of the Easton Staff, our host, Mike Tousignant, sits down with Professor Reid Delman – a wrestler, coach, race director and Jiu Jitsu back belt who has been with Easton since its inception.
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Of all the paths Reid has taken throughout his life, his tenacity and the singular, undiluted ability to grind has driven him to persist and succeed at whatever he sets his mind to – from college wrestling to teaching high school, being a stay-at-home dad and ultimately launching his own adventure race company.
Perhaps the ability to face and overcome discomfort has to do with the fact that Reid started wrestling in middle school; we often see that confidence instilled at a young age has the ability to redirect a child’s focus and commitment in all aspects of life from a young age. (Though, Reid will argue he wishes he had started even earlier for his own athletic dreams.)
To Reid, who tells us he didn’t grow up naturally athletic, discipline became a key component to getting where he wanted to be. He could drill individual moves for hours, and became obsessed with the tiniest of movements that he could tweak.
“No matter how much I lost,” Reid tells us, “I kept going.”
Eventually, this led Reid to a successful life as a coach and race director and founder of Gemini Adventures, helping others push themselves and crush their goals in a supportive, like-minded community.
It’s this tenacity, this dedication to the process, that turns the dreamers into doers.
[Race Director and Easton Black Belt Reid Delman: Pushing Your Limits + Creating Your Vision]
We all have goals that can feel unattainable at times, but if we make them a priority and channel everything we’ve got into them, we can overcome the odds. This might mean more work on the front end, but if we can identify our goals and drive towards them with voracity, all the time, sweat and tears we put in have a container to funnel into.
Much like in running, as long as we’re continuously putting one foot in front of the other on the trajectory towards our goal, we’ll get there. And if we stay open, not only will we get there, but we’ll pick up trades, ideas, lessons and important friendships along the way.
The key to getting to the end, however, requires falling in love with the process. While our goals may sustain us with a vision of success, we spend most of our time in the thick of the process.
With little to no glamor compared to what we envision, we face daily challenges both getting ourselves to focus and perform and then the challenges brought on once we do get there. It’s exhausting, repetitive and not always our best work.
Once we commit to seeing something through, we may even have to forfeit certain things in our life to make room for the commitment to yourself and your goals. The truth is that we can’t do everything in life and often, we have to choose. Sometimes, we may not be applying ourselves in any one direction because we simply can’t choose a priority to focus on.
Instead of thinking about it purely from the end result, or the perspective of what you hope to achieve, tune into the side of yourself that loves the grind. Smell, taste, and see it. What does it look like? How does it feel? Do you immediately need a good stretch and a shower?
Begin to see those moments as valuable building blocks of your life instead of routines you have to get through. Notice the shaping of your spirit as each day you grow more strong and resilient, capable of accomplishing not just what you initially set out to do, but so much more.
“Most time is spent in the process,” says Reid. “If you don’t love the training, you don’t love the sport.”
When you fall in love with the process – all the minutia, the nutrition, the eating, the sleep everything else will fall into place.
Catch the full interview on the Easton Podcast, and learn more about Professor Reid’s story, including how he fits into Amal’s journey of first opening Easton Training Center in 1998.
