What do you think of when you think of a warrior? WARRIOR!!! I think the word warrior should always be written that way; all caps and a lot of exclamation points! …and BOLD! In that vein, I think that anyone who lives his life in all caps, boldly with exclamation points could be defined as a WARRIOR!!! Urban Dictionary defines WARRIORS!!! as fearless, strong, skilled fighters that are lacking in our modern times. Duncan Richardson, the vice president to his wife Rachel, of Bodies in Motion, in my opinion, fits the description. I would put Rachel in that category too because together they the fearless sought a dream to take a small taekwondo studio to a multi-purpose facility that serves the community on countless levels from taekwondo for adults and children, to after-school care, they have a preschool, team building activities, a high ropes course, an indoor playground and café, birthday parties, fitness classes, camps and the list goes on… If you live in Boise you have probably been to Bodies in Motion at least once. If you have kids, I’d wager you’ve been there lots! Together they are fearless, strong and skilled and I know their journey over the years has been a fight, requiring a good dose of cleverness and dexterity to overcome stumbling blocks that come with entrepreneurship. And a whole heck of a lot of stamina…and the race isn’t over, according to Duncan, Bodies in Motion isn’t where they have envisioned it yet.
Recently, Duncan and his family overcame on really big, personal hurdle having to do with Duncan’s health. At the age of 42 and seemingly at the peak physical condition Duncan was told that if he didn’t repair a genetically impaired valve on his heart he’d probably die within five years. That’s big, difficult, scary, mind-blowing news! To repair the valve would require open-heart surgery which came as more big and scary news. Duncan is the picture of perfect health; he’s a 5th degree black-belt in taekwondo and an elite Spartan racer. He seems to have endless energy as a father of four, an entrepreneur and someone who is very hands on in a thriving business. Hearing of his heart condition surprised a lot of people, especially those on his Spartan race team who trail behind has he marches up the face of Camel’s Back with huge, thick chains hanging around his neck and down from his shoulders.
His goal going into surgery was to inspire others. Copied from his FB post: “Every day, I go through a morning ritual that involves affirmations. Part of my affirmations is that “I inspire people to be their best. I inspire people to reach their goals. I lead by example by accomplishing my goals…” That being said, please don’t say, “I am praying for you.” Instead, be inspired! Be inspired to make a difference in your life and the lives of others. That would mean the most to me. That would help me know that I have purpose!
I look forward to your comments, and hope that it’s one word. ‘Inspired!’”
I, for one, was inspired and knew he would be someone perfect to feature on my blog about embracing imperfection. Amid his crazy schedule, he took time to have coffee and share some of his philosophies and practices that help him stay focused and able to make his way through hard times and able to come out even stronger
OBSTACLES:
The message I gleaned from my interview is the vital importance of having obstacles real or created in our lives to make us stronger, healthier, better people. Overcoming small obstacles trains us to conquer the big ones, the ones that come from nowhere and try to turn our lives upside down. Duncan has built his life, business and reputation by setting goals for himself and over-coming obstacles in order to achieve them. Open-heart surgery was no different. When I asked how he prepared himself for facing what could potentially be a life-threatening surgery, I was surprised when he said he trained for it like he would the highest level championship, “a strong body would mean a better chance to recover.” In a Facebook article, he wrote “heart surgery is just merely another obstacle in my life.” That didn’t mean he wasn’t scared, it meant that he was doing whatever he could do to make sure he had the best odds on the operating table and in recovery. He is also a global thinker when it comes to life and has philosophies about life and death based on science and some Buddhism that helped him realize that even if the worst would happen, his family would move on. But a champion would never surrender, a champion trains and fights. Duncan also believes that we must place obstacles in front of kids, rather than removing them in order to train them for real life obstacles. A book he recommends for teaching kids how to have grit is How Children Succeed. As a martial arts instructor, his program is largely built on the act of setting goals for his students and helping them overcome obstacles. He leads one of the largest Spartan teams through a literal maneuvering of obstacles every year and through several races nationwide from Sprint to BEAST!
GOALS:
How does one gain practice in overcoming obstacles? By setting goals, he says to “set a big ass goal for yourself and accomplish it…or fail.” Duncan remembers training hardest when he wanted a spot on the U.S. National Team for Taekwondo. The desire to reach that goal forced him to train and push himself beyond what he is naturally inclined to do. He said it was really exciting and totally worth the effort even though he didn’t make the team. I know that building a business from a small taekwondo studio to a huge multi-dimensional health and wellness facility, did not come easy, but started with a goal. “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” ~Lao Tzu. Duncan admits building BIM both literally, (all the obstacles built in his facility have been built by him) and figuratively has been the hardest thing he’s done in his entire life and also admits that they aren’t where they want to be yet. He and Rachel are spread thin as leaders and with debt still looming they continue to struggle, yet he still has a vision and continues to move forward toward the finish line.
SAVER:
Besides being naturally driven and perseverant, I think part of Duncan’s success comes from being conscientious of both his physical and emotional health. His morning smoothie contains, water, kale, banana, peanut butter, turmeric, black pepper, and organic protein powder. He also spends his morning in a ritual learned from the book The Miracle Morning; S.A.V.E.R.
S- Silence…spend the first 5 minutes of your day in silence or some form of meditation
A – Affirmations – Self-Talk
Here are some of Duncan’s affirmations:
“I am a great leader”
“I inspire people to be the best motioneers (his BIM employees) and instructors (his taekwondo instructors).
“I am a great father and listener; I am fun and helpful”
“I am a great companion and provide tokens of appreciation…”
V- Visualization – Duncan has pictures on his phone of his future goals, one of which is to take his family to Italy for 1-3 months.
E – Exercise – the book recommends 20 minutes of exercise or yoga each morning
R – Reading – one of Duncan’s favorite parts of the day is spent reading and note taking with a cup of coffee at the start of the day.
IMPRFECTIONS:
According to Duncan, his greatest imperfection is being judgmental. This is an imperfection not apparent to many and when asked about how he manages it, he replied that it’s because he’s aware of it and has to constantly remind himself to not pass judgment on what people say. He also says he holds grudges. When upset by something someone does, he has no expiration. Both of these self-proclaimed imperfections come with a good dose of self-awareness and balance from his wife Rachel. Duncan doesn’t view his valve impairment or asthma as imperfections, rather just the hand he’s been dealt in life.
HORIZON:
What are Duncan’s present goals? First…and this is a big one! …he’s auditioned to American Ninja WARRIOR!!! Anyone who knows Duncan believes he will be the NEXT American Ninja Warrior!!!My son, Luke, watched his audition video, knowing of his heart surgery said “It’s like Mr. Richardson wants to make something of his life!” As a mom, I appreciate that influence on him. Other goals are to turn Bodies in Motion into a “well-oiled machine”, pay off debt and open more in multiple locations. And then personally, Duncan plans to take his family to Italy for 1-3 months, which I’m hoping he’ll need a family photographer to capture their time there.
THE SILVER LINING AND A WORD OF ADVICE:
The silver lining of having facing a life-threatening impairment and open-heart surgery and any hurdle in life, for that matter, Duncan says is that which doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. He says all obstacles ultimately make you stronger. His advice to others is to not wait until you are facing a big obstacle in life to learn how to conquer it, but rather set up challenges now, create obstacles by creating goals. One great goal full of obstacles is the Spartan race. Duncan has built a team and will lead and train ANYONE to complete a race. He sees how something like a Spartan Race mimics life in several different facets. It takes having a goal, training for that goal, preparing your body and mind to be tough, overcoming obstacles and relying on others. His best advice to those facing huge hurdles in life is to rally a team. In the Spartan race there is always someone there cheering you on, helping you over the wall and then when you see someone struggling you stop and help them. Never feel like you have to go it alone, rally a team.
If you are interested in setting a big ass goal and learning what you’re made of, I encourage you to check out Bodies in Motion’s Obstacle Fit Class. It’s part SpartanSGX and Running, it’s team building and games created to make exercise fun. You can also join Duncan’s Spartan Team for leadership and support as you climb that wall and reach your big ass goal.
Stay tuned, I expect to see our local imprfect WARRIOR!!! on the NEXT American Ninja Warrior!
