What I learned from Winston Churchill, Michael Jordan and an angry dude carrying a log
Reading time: 4 minutes
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While the world was on fire, the guardian of Western civilization was napping. Throughout WW2, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill didn’t miss his daily post-lunch naps. He didn’t nod off on the couch for 20 minutes. No, he enjoyed a deep slumber in bed wearing pyjamas and his black satin eye mask. He even had a special pillow he took everywhere he went.
“Don’t think you will be doing less work because you sleep during the day”, said Churchill.
“That’s a foolish notion held by people who have no imagination. You will be able to accomplish more. You get two days in one–well, at least one and a half, I’m sure.”
Churchill wasn’t an anomaly. Margaret Thatcher often dozed off in the back of her official car. Staff were under strict instruction not to disturb President John F Kennedy during daily post-lunch siestas with his wife, Jackie. To fuel his gigantic brain, Albert Einstein relied on 10 hours of sleep at night and a daytime snooze. Can you guess what John D Rockefeller (an oil tycoon and one of the richest men in history) liked doing after lunch?
Last year, I tried to improve my physical fitness. Pumped with New Year’s resolutions, I hit the gym in January, doing high-intensity workouts as often as I could. Motivating me was the voice of David Goggins barking in my head:
“I don't stop when I'm tired, I stop when I'm done.”
If you’re not familiar with David Goggins, he’s an ex-navy SEAL, ultra-marathon athlete, world-record holder for doing over 4000 pull-ups in 17 hours, motivational speaker, pain addict and all-around psychopath. Here he is carrying a tree without a shirt on (as one does from time to time).
But soon, my energy started to fizzle, and each morning, I’d wake up more fatigued than the previous day. But then I’d hear David Goggins ranting in my head again:
“Attack! Be tough, Robert! Weakness is the enemy! Go go go!!!!”
So I’d push through and head to the gym anyway.
I was petrified of David Goggins.
I didn’t take recovery and rest seriously enough. The quality of my workouts started declining, I got sick often and picked up niggles. I started my gym stint like a kangaroo on ecstasy skipping rope and ended like a geriatric tortoise on sedatives crawling on a treadmill.
How it started:
How it ended:
In his book Stillness is the Key, Ryan Holiday writes:
“The overworked person creates a crisis that they try to solve by working harder. Mistakes are piled upon mistakes by the exhausted, delirious mind. The more they try, the worse it gets.”
After finding myself in a rut, I listened to a podcast where Dr Andy Galpin, a professor of kinesiology and world-renowned exercise expert, gave a pro tip that turned things around for me:
“Consistency beats intensity.”
Intensity is great for short-term results, but if you’re thinking long-term, it’s all about consistency. So, I slowed things down and built recovery days into my routine. It didn’t take long to see an uptick in energy levels and physical performance. Best of all, my routine is still going strong one year later. (Side note: Whatever you do, please don’t tell David Goggins this.)
As a part of my physical fitness goals in 2023, I started the combat sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). It’s one of the most effective combat styles in the world where technique and intelligence trump strength. It’s like chess, but with chokes. It’s all about efficiency, and as a beginner, I quickly learned a foundational principle of BJJ: get your opponent to burn energy at a higher rate than you are. Once your rival is gassed, you take them out. Energy management is everything.
In October 1993, 30-year-old Michael Jordan was on top of his game. He had led the Chicago Bulls to a third successive championship title and propelled Nike into a global sporting powerhouse. Up there with the likes of Mandela and Michael Jackson, he was one of the most famous people on the planet.
Then he quit basketball, and the Bulls started losing.
“Physically, I was getting exhausted. Mentally, I was way past exhausted,” said Jordan in the Netflix series The Last Dance. (Side note: It’s an awesome documentary series. Watch it.)
But after an 18-month break from basketball, Jordan was ready to return. “I’m back” read his short and sweet press release in 1995. Rested and ready to rock and roll, he led the Chicago Bulls to another three straight championship titles, and each time was named MVP of the NBA finals.
The moral of the story:
Rest isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity.
Watch out for David Goggins.
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