Ethan Stone photo doubling for Ashton Eaton (Olympic Decathlon Champion)

I am so inspired by the success of Ashton Eaton. Not only is he an Olympic champion in my sport, the Decathlon, he also holds the world record in both the decathlon and indoor heptathlon events, and is only the second decathlete to break the 9,000-point barrier, with 9,039 points. And I am praying along with countless others that he does it again this summer in Rio.

Recently I had the honor of working with Ashton on a commercial. He is a wonderful human being and was nice enough to talk with me during down time about track and field. I want to share with you something he told me about training. When I asked him how he finds the willpower to train as hard as he does, he told me that he trains just 2hrs per day. I was dumbfounded. The greatest athlete in the world trains just two hours per day?

What could we accomplish if we all did the same? What kind of people could we become? What kind of world would we live in if we all spent 2hrs a day dedicated to our dream, to our calling? And I don’t just mean showing up. I mean putting in the work the way he does. 2 hours of focus, of sweat, of tears, of the type of pain and suffering that builds champions. 2 hours of laying it all on the line Every day. For one…dream.

2 words. Challenge Accepted. 

thank you Ashton Eaton for being so great. And more importantly, for reminding us what what greatness is made of.

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Ethan Decathlete nbmarathon02 (5)