TRIBEathlon Podcast
Episode 31: Will Clarke is one of Britain’s most successful triathletes as World U23 Champion, with 3 Sub 8hr Ironman Performances, the Beijing Olympics and World Series Podiums; he has now turned his hand to coaching top triathletes including Ironman age group World Champion Ruth Astle.
In this interview I got the opportunity to chat to him about his wins, his disappointments, balancing competing with a family life, Ironman Hawaii and what he believes creates to success in others.
What I’ve Been Watching
As you know I love running, so while I’ve been taking some recovery time after my first 50+ mile run a couple of weeks back, I’ve been watching documentaries on the subject (while cycling on the turbo trainer!).
A loved a couple of these documentaries in particular – the first being ‘The Dragons Back Race’, the film of a legendary 300km run of relentless, brutal mountain running that weaves a precipitous path down the mountainous spine of Wales. The second is ‘Running for Good’, which follows world record marathon runner, Fiona Oakes, in her attempt to, not only to set a new global record in endurance racing, but to compete in the “toughest footrace on earth,” the Marathon Des Sable – a 250km race through the Sahara Desert.
What these people do is quite incredible, and the more you understand what the human body is capable of, the more you realise you can achieve yourself. Its only 2 years ago I ran my first marathon, so to be running 50 miles is way beyond what I thought was possible. The question is, what next?
What I’ve Been Reading
The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson is as good a way of understanding how we work as any book I’ve read. As ever, Bryson gives colour to what could easily be a dry subject, whilst educating you about your most valuable asset.
As the Sunday Times said, “So packed with arresting facts (you eat 60 tons of food in a lifetime) and unlikely anecdotes (such as Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s six weeks with a half-sovereign lodged in his throat) that you barely notice the sheer volume of anatomical knowledge you’re digesting … makes complex subjects simple and eminently entertaining.” A must-read book from our Life Library.
TED Talk I’ve Found Interesting
What if you knew what your co-workers really thought about you and what they were really like? Ray Dalio makes the business case for using radical transparency and algorithmic decision-making to create an idea meritocracy where people can speak up and say what they really think — even calling out the boss is fair game in his brilliant TED talk How to build a company where the best ideas win. Learn more about how these strategies helped Dalio create one of the world’s most successful hedge funds and how you might harness the power of data-driven group decision-making.
Quote of the Week
“Pain + Reflection = Progress”
- Ray Dalio
Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering
At the end of last week, it was announced that we had won the New Model Adviser (NMA) award for Top Financial Planning firm in the Midlands. NMA is our top industry publication, so to be recognised by them as the top firm in the Midlands is amazing. It is a testament to the hard work of the Efficient Portfolio team; the culture of ‘Constant and Never-ending Improvement’ has helped up consistently improve what we do, so it is wonderful to be recognised for that success. Normally there is a big black-tie dinner for the awards, so it’s disappointing not to be able to collect the award from the stage, but instead I was asked to make a digital acceptance speech, which you can watch here if you wish.