Diana Nyad: On Finding A Way
Takeaways from this episode:
- Why age has made her a better athlete
- Coping with sexual abuse
- What it takes to plan a 110-mile swim... 5 times!
For The Curious,
We’re coming upon the fifth anniversary of one of the most outrageous achievements I’ve ever seen.
That is when Diana Nyad swam between Cuba and Key West . . . at the age of 64!
Diana swam roughly 110 miles. She swam for about 53 straight hours. She swam through water filled with poisonous jellyfish and all kinds of sharks.
The footage of her final steps to the shore of Key West tells you what it’s like to give all you have for a cause. Check it out on YouTube.
Those images will make this week’s episode of Big Questions even more powerful.
I feel like I’m a better person just for having this conversation with Diana, and I believe you’ll be a little different just for listening to it.
Because you’ll come away knowing that you’re capable of doing way more than you think.
You’ll come away understanding that you can improve over time not only as a person – but even as an athlete.
Diana had failed on her first attempt at crossing when she was 28, back in 1978. And she explains how time and experience took her to a higher level as an athlete.
There were four failed attempts before Diana finally succeeded. And this reinforces the secret sauce behind that famous quote: “Success is the ability to move from one failure to another without loss of enthusiasm.”
You’ll hear about the sexual abuse that Diana experienced when she was an adolescent and how the ocean made her feel safe. You’ll hear how time and experience allowed Diana to put the pain of that abuse in a place that was under her control.
This is a conversation about the determination to get the most out of life every day no matter what the obstacles.
You’ll even hear how great a distance the simple act of singing a song can take you.
I waited 40 years to have this conversation.
I hope you take as much out of it as I did.
Cheers!
Cal