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This edition, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-6459890-0-7

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The Art of Being Limitless

JASON DUNN

Introduction

It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves

— Sir Edmund Hillary

You have the power to transform your life. And when I say transform, I mean a real, profound change. It doesn’t matter how old you are or what stage of life you’re in right now – you can change it. Your best life is still ahead of you, but only if you make the choice to pursue it. Yes, you. You must decide to begin the journey toward your best life today. You are unlimited. Even though you may not realise or believe it yet. So, let’s briefly discuss the problem and then dedicate the rest of our time to exploring solutions and crea ting change.

Sadly, a significant portion of humanity will never come to realise or accept their unlimited potential. Consequently, their most extraordinary capabilities will go untapped for eternity. Life often has a way of limiting our belief in what we can achieve, this is often ingrained during early childhood. This belief then gains strength from a society entrenched in and constrained by societal and cultural norms that promote the idea of limitations. We end up thinking that we all have a designated place in life and that our existence should revolve around safety and comfort.

Many of us are conditioned to believe that failure is a sign of weakness, and as a result, it’s safer to avoid risks and challenges altogether. Whatever the underlying reasons, these beliefs often lead people to choose the path of least resistance, avoiding hard work, effort, and sacrifice. Their reluctance to make short-term sacrifices or delay gratification in favour of future rewards demonstrates difficulty in making tough discretionary choices. You may be one of them, I know I was.

Most people are too weak to prioritise discipline or sacrifice, opting for immediate comfort or validation. This is not a judgment but rather an observation made over many decades – it’s the state of the society and world we live in. I firmly believe that everyone has the right to choose their own path in pursuit of happiness. However, long ago, I recognised that my own path needed to change, and I will always be deeply grateful that it did. My reckoning with my own legacy occurred when I imagined how I would feel about my life a decade, two decades, and three decades ahead, based on what I had and hadn’t done up until that point in my life. If someone had asked me two years before accomplishing my first impossible goal if I could have achieved such a feat, my response would have been, You’re joking, right? Never.

However, gradually, one by one, I unearthed 8 daily practises that empowered me to transcend limitations and realize my impossible aspirations and dreams. Impossible is primarily a mental state that can be dismantled by making a single decision: one choice to forgo the path of least resistance. That one decision can transform the impossible into the possible. And as you persist in making the right choices, one decision at a time, you will ultimately cultivate an unlimited state of mind.

Then, you achieve your impossible – whatever that may be. This is the magical, life-altering transformation that I’ve been lucky to witness in many individuals. Ordinary people, achieve extraordinary feats that they once thought impossible. By sharing my own journey, my challenges, my setbacks, the lessons learned from overcoming extreme adversity, and the 8 daily practices I’ve employed to achieve more than I ever envisioned, I aim to inspire and empower you to pursue and accomplish your own impossible.

Sometimes in life, we undertake seemingly crazy endeavours that neither we nor those around us thought possible. People often question why we do what we do because it doesn’t seem rational or even comprehensible. The responses from those who have ventured into the realm of the extraordinary tend to be similar: Because I can or I wanted to see what I was capable of. Regardless of the answer, it doesn’t seem to change the perplexity, often accompanied by furrowed brows, leading to the typical response, You are crazy! Can you blame someone, though, for their disbelief? Once upon a time, that would have been my response, without a doubt. However, there is only one response to such a question that has ever made genuine sense to me. It encapsulates why those of us who are a little crazy drive ourselves to achieve the impossible. John Collins, the founder of the most iconic endurance race on the planet, the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Championships, famously said, The difference between those who get, and those who don’t, is those who get it, have, and those who don’t, have not.

One of the most inspiring sights to witness is the growth and transformation that occurs when a person achieves something truly extraordinary. Now, when I use the term extraordinary, I mean it within the context of their own life — something they once believed to be impossible. It doesn’t have to entail solo climbing Mount Everest without oxygen support to be considered extraordinary. For example, it could be obtaining a higher education degree, mastering a musical instrument like the piano, completing your first 10k fun run, or even finishing your first Ironman triathlon. When someone achieves their first significant goal, a special transformation occurs. You can see it, feel it, and carry it with you for the rest of your life if you choose to do so. It becomes one of, if not the most defining moment of your life. It’s a supercharged high that propels you onto an extraordinary journey of growth and self-discovery.

I’d like to take you on a personal journey of discovery, failure, tragedy, transformation, and the achievement of goals beyond the wildest dreams. Along that journey I have swum 1,500 kilometres, cycled 105,000 kilometres – 2,5 times the circumference of the globe – and run 130,000 – 3 times the circumference of the globe. As I recount my own deeply personal journey of transformation, I will introduce 8 daily practices that have greatly benefited me. I hope you will be inspired to consider incorporating them into your own life.

There was a time when I opted for the easier path and often boasted about my untapped potential, using I could have as a temporary ego boost. However, self-reflection made me realise I had grown to dislike this aspect of myself. It was time to become the person I had always aspired to be. Now, I am on the brink of turning sixty, a milestone I couldn’t have fathomed when I was 35. Life has proven to be vastly different from my earlier expectations. During my journey of transformation, my primary focus has been on becoming the best version of myself. I’ve undergone profound changes and accumulated invaluable lessons about myself, others, the world, courage, humility, discipline, failure, vulnerability, and the relentless pursuit of seemingly impossible dreams. I’ve learned exponentially more in the past 25 years than I did in my first 34, reinforcing the idea that there are endless lessons to be learned, regardless of age, as long as you remain open-minded.

My pursuits have never been about extending my longevity because no matter what you do, you will grow old. Aging is an inevitable part of life - guaranteed! However, I am determined to live each day with strength and happiness for as long as I’m blessed with life.

My own transformation began with regular introspection, envisioning both the past and the future I desired. My inspiration has always revolved around helping others and reshaping my legacy. Sometimes, this involves imagining a short-term outcome, like envisioning the future you want later in the same day when you’re faced with a challenging decision amidst excruciating pain. That inner voice may tempt you to quit, promising instant relief. Just give up. You will instantly feel better. You must find the courage to persist because quitting, once you’ve grown comfortable with it, will hurt more than the pain urging you to give up. Making the right decision in the moment may also require subsequent correct choices in quick succession. Most importantly, empowering yourself to change your legacy involves projecting yourself far into the future and reflecting on your journey, a concept we’ll explore shortly.

I’ve been fortunate to draw inspiration from many people, but I also feel privileged to have been a source of inspiration to others. Finding inspiration is often easier than people realise; you just need to choose to see the good in the world around you. For instance, this story has been 60 years in the making, and it took someone truly special entering my life to inspire me to share it. Inspiration is all around us if we make the choice to look for it.

My life, like everyone else’s, is flawed, and I embrace those flaws. They are what make us beautifully human and provide opportunities for growth and self-improvement. This principle applies not only to ourselves but also to those we interact with. I’ve been working on one of my major flaws, which is common, especially in sales-related roles. For many years, I believed that being interesting and having something influential to say was key, but I’ve come to realise it’s quite the opposite. When this flaw surfaces, I remind myself to be interested, not interesting and to remember that we learn nothing when we are talking, only when we are listening. Therefore, it’s an insatiable desire to learn and genuine curiosity that should drive our connections with others.

Throughout many decades, I’ve had the privilege of facilitating hundreds of conference and training sessions while also participating in many more. My professional journey has brought me into contact with exceptional athletes and individuals who have achieved remarkable feats, often starting from very humble beginnings.

Between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five, I vividly remember attending conferences where I listened to speakers who left me in awe. I would momentarily imagine achieving their seemingly impossible accomplishments, and I’d eagerly discuss my thoughts with others in the audience. However, deep down, I knew that, like me, almost everyone in that audience would return to their regular lives and comfort zones, and very little would truly change. It rarely ever does.

A few years ago, a friend of mine, who works with individuals and teams to help them live their best lives, shared a story about a conference attended by the top 100 people in a particular industry. The number one person in that group was asked to reveal the secrets of her success during her presentation. Afterward, someone asked her why she was so willing to share her winning strategies. Her response was revealing; she believed that at least 50% of the audience hadn’t really been listening, and among the rest, only 3 to 4% possessed the inner strength and determination to change their behaviour significantly. She concluded by saying that she was confident she would still be number one by the end of the year. And she was.

A significant turning point in my life, one that propelled me into the 3 or 4% category of individuals with the strength of character to enact substantial change, stems from a story I heard at a Financial Planning Association national conference held in Cairns. This particular narrative remained in my mind for years, though I initially failed to grasp its full significance and, as a result, did not tap into its profound potential. The story was a deeply moving account of human experiences encompassing themes of greed, privilege, tragedy, and, ultimately, humility and a new perspective on life. When I first heard it, I was overwhelmed with emotions – I felt deeply moved, inspired, ashamed, fortunate, and a whirlwind of other sentiments. The closing words of this extraordinary individual, who had allowed themselves to become unconditionally vulnerable while sharing their life story, were:

To be truly successful, you must first be prepared to do what you don’t want to do, when you don’t want to do it.

Many years later, I started living by this profoundly powerful mantra, adding- until you do to the end. I’ve applied these exact words countless times when my mind resists doing something because it’s challenging or uncomfortable, urging me to choose the easier option. I push back by repeating these words, instantly recognising that the very thing I don’t want to do, at that moment when I least desire to do it, is the action that will lead to true success.

For example, picture a scenario at 5 am in the middle of winter when I’ve just woken up, contemplating the day ahead, which may involve a run, a bike ride, or a swim. On this particular morning, it’s a long swim, which means entering a dark, cold swimming pool first thing in the morning and swimming for an hour in the cool, chlorinated water. The thought of this is paralysing while I’m still comfortably nestled in my warm bed, tempting me to stay put until it’s too late and the window of opportunity to complete the task before work has closed.

Consequently, overcoming this inertia demands technique and discipline, as it can easily become a habit if left unchallenged. Regardless of the specific choice, these are the discretionary decisions that offer a priceless chance to transform your life. So, I trained my mind to shut down that tempting inner voice within 4 seconds and simply get up. This time-bound technique, combined with the adoption of this potent mantra, could be the key component among the 8 daily practices that contributed most to my success. Although it might not be apparent to most people, these discretionary choices shape their day and, ultimately, their lives. Thus, you hold the reins of your day and your life. You are the only one capable of changing your life. The choice is yours.

In the upcoming chapters, I will delve into and share each of the 8 daily practices, drawing from my experiences in how I came to discover, refine, and incorporate them into my life. Each of these practices has individually enhanced my life, but when combined, they have brought about a profound transformation, making me a happier, healthier individual, both mentally and physically, and enabling me to embrace each day with gratitude. All you need to do is start with one of these practices today, just one, and I assure you that you’ll begin to experience the same positive changes. The more you adopt and integrate into your life, the more you’ll grow and realise your boundless potential.

Own Your Legacy

To be truly successful, you must first do what you don’t want to do, when you don’t want to do it – until you do.

Transformation typically begins, in my view, when a strong impetus to change emerges, often prompting a sequence of decisions to take the more challenging road rather than the easier one. In my case, the driving force for change was the legacy I would leave behind. Without a doubt, your legacy is created, like it or not, by everything you undertake, and sometimes even more so, the opportunities you let slip by. Eventually, there comes a time when you must confront your legacy and live with it, often during a stage of life when you have the most time to thi nk about it.

But when I say, your legacy, I’m not referring to the one visible to others. I mean the one that you see, feel, and experience — which is the only one that truly matters. It is the one you can’t escape, even though it’s possible you’ve evaded it for an extended period until you confront it. I hid from mine for a very long time. Consequently, my reckoning with my own legacy occurred when I imagined how I would feel about my life a decade, two decades, and three decades ahead, based on what I had and hadn’t done up until that point in my life.

Let’s start this exercise with your own self-reflection. Imagine yourself looking back over your life at age 65 or 70. What you would want your legacy to be? If you haven’t taken the time to complete this exercise before, I would strongly recommend that you dedicate time to ponder this question and write your answer down.

This introspective practice, which I’ve come to know as the armchair test, generally and naturally occurs when people reach retirement. As they unwind in their armchairs, they consider the tapestry of their lives. I also suggest that you reflect on where you are now and evaluate how you are tracking progress towards the ideal legacy and future you would love to see. This exercise, though, comes with it both a responsibility and an opportunity—to act purposefully and to command your destiny. You should also place your written legacy statement somewhere prominent as a persistent reminder. How does that prospect feel? At the conclusion of this chapter, you will find a more expansive exercise that forms the nucleus of this daily practice action.

Make no mistake about it. My purpose is absolutely clear: I aim to shock you, to jolt you, irrevocably, out of the snug cocoon of your comfort zone well before the window of opportunity shuts.

It’s possible, though, that you’re content with your current circumstances. If life were to continue without alteration, you might be content with your present achievements when looking back at 65 years of age. Should this be the case, I tip my hat to you. You are likely an immensely grateful person, and that would firmly place you amongst the minority of people. Should you not place yourself in this category right now, my genuine intention is to shake your world a little. Without change, deliberate planning, and personal sacrifices, the day could soon dawn when it’s simply too late. It’s highly likely that without decisive action today and without embracing the challenges over easier, more comfortable paths, you may eventually find yourself nestled in an armchair, besieged by regrets for the multitude of missed opportunities that you let pass by.

Drawing from my decades of interactions and working with retirees, I’ve seen that regret often serves as the seed of depression – which I have found to be the single greatest affliction of retirees in Australia. Among the most frequent and impactful regrets that have crossed my path is the saga of those who frittered away a significant chunk of their earnings without adequately saving from their most important asset. Naturally, the tougher road would have involved forgoing certain expenditures or abstaining from borrowing for items or assets that didn’t contribute to their future. The judicious choice would have been to buy within their means and channel more toward their retirement nest egg—the largest financial challenge of their lives. Tragically, all too often, I have borne witness to individuals who spurned the chance to make sufficient sacrifices and, as a result, have fallen well short of amassing the means needed to live comfortably in retirement. The regret, for most people is acutely palpable.

At the age of 34, I confronted my personal armchair test, and the reflection wasn’t kind. My go-to saying until then had been, I could have. In truth, I truly could have. The realisation that I could have achieved far more than I had, coupled with the persistent echo of I could have, rendered both the mantra and, consequently, my impending legacy intolerable. And to this day, I am eternally grateful that I finally faced myself.

To context the significance of my midlife epiphany, the catalyst for a transformative journey during which I would reshape not only my life but also my legacy, it’s fitting to start from the very beginning of my journey in Ware. Ware? I can hear you exclaim, a common reaction. Indeed, Ware in Hertfordshire, UK, is located roughly twenty-six miles North from the centre of London in the green belt. For the most part, I remember my childhood very fondly. My parents raised me well, loved me generously and provided me with every opportunity to be happy. Both my mum and dad led active lives, playing sports regularly throughout their lives. My father was an accomplished cricketer, rugby, and hockey player, and I certainly inherited my dad’s competitive nature. Ironically, the one pursuit he detested was running — his childhood antics to evade running at school are among his favourite stories. He would start a run at school with a pack of boys before hiding under a small bridge and lighting up a cigarette, then rejoin the pack again as they came back around to the point that he had abdicated. The irony of his aversion to running isn’t lost on me as I recount this, and as you read on, I am sure it will not be lost on you. I often joke with my dad on this topic. It is worth mentioning that at the time of my authoring this book, my dad is a spritely 87, lives in Melbourne, Australia, and still plays tennis twice a week, as well as 2 rounds of golf.

Growing up, I was a competitive athlete from an early age, and like most other young boys in the UK, my ultimate dream was to one day become a professional football player in the English topflight.

I am not sure what age I became an Arsenal fan, but I really was a fanatic. From the age of thirteen, I would travel on my own by train to watch my beloved Gunners play at Highbury, London. Come rain, hail, or shine, I would stand shoulder to shoulder with the thousands of devoted Gunners fans in Highbury’s North Bank. Catching the train to and from the stadium was often a scary experience! I was quite an accomplished player from an early age, and by the time I turned thirteen, I found myself playing between 3 and 5 competitive games a week. These games were spread across my school side at Monks Walk, my Sunday league side at Welwyn Pegasus, and as County representative, firstly for schoolboys, then also for the Sunday League national association.

Playing as the number 9 centre forward, I absolutely loved playing football, and there was nothing in this world that I loved more than scoring goals. I dreamed of scoring goals – literally. Fortunately, it appeared that goal-scoring was destined to be my one true talent.

I could have... but I didn’t

At the age of fourteen, my new team, Panshanger Yellows, made a significant announcement: our team was embarking on a tour in the USA. This was quite a big deal some 46 years ago when travel wasn’t as accessible or affordable as it is today. The prospect of playing against teams in the US, especially during a time when soccer was rapidly gaining popularity and the fastest-growing sport in the US, filled me with excitement. To top things off, we were going to watch my hero, then as he is now the world’s greatest player, Pele, playing for the New York Cosmos.

By now, my parents had separated, and the decision was made that my mum would travel with me on the trip since a parent’s presence was required. The adventure that followed turned out to be the greatest time of my life to that point. Our days were filled with matches, interspersed with trips to enormous shopping malls that were unlike anything we had in the UK. We fully immersed ourselves in American culture, relishing in burgers, mall trips, going out to the movies, and even managing to see Grease within a day of its world premiere. However, the pinnacle of the experience for me was watching my idol Pele. What an unforgettable night that was..

When I returned, my passion for football and my desire to play in the top-flight remained front and centre, and my love of the game was as strong as ever. But the time had come to knuckle down and focus on my studies, which I threw myself into, just as I did with everything that I set my sights on. Football wasn’t my only sporting pursuit; I was also active in playing cricket, cross-country running, and athletics, representing my school and district teams. I even secured a commendable 7th place in the state championships for cross-country running. This is where my passion for running took root.

As I approached 15 years of age, distractions crept in, as they often do. Girls and nights out at local pubs became appealing pastimes, even during some school lunch breaks. Smoking entered the picture around this time as well, which, accompanied by the consumption of alcohol, didn’t bode well