CNLP 364: Nik Wallenda on What World Record Tightrope Walking Taught Him About How to Train in Adverse Conditions, Preparing for the Unexpected in Leadership, Overcoming Fear, and How to Revive a Dying Industry
Nik Wallenda has set numerous tightrope walking world records, including being the first man to cross Niagara Falls, and wirewalking across Times Square, the Grand Canyon and more.
Nik talks about how to train for adverse conditions, responding to failure and constantly changing conditions, how to reposition your mission when your model breaks, and how to push past fear and anxiety.
Welcome to Episode 364 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.
Plus, in this episode’s What I’m Thinking About segment, Carey talks about how to lead your church when people just can’t agree on anything right now.
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CONVERSATION LINKS
The Last of the Wallendas by Delilah Wallenda
How to Lead a Church That Can’t Agree on Anything Right Now by Carey Nieuwhof
Text CAREY 33777 to join more than 70,000 subscribers to our leadership content
3 INSIGHTS FROM NIK
1. You can never be too prepared
Nik was the first person to walk a tightrope wire directly over the precipice of Niagara Falls. To do this, he endured 65 mile per hour winds, torrential rain, and he was walking on an unsecured cable that was swaying 18 inches from side to side. The odds were stacked against him. So how do you prepare for something like that?
Nik is a firm believer in overpreparing. On top of his lifetime of training, Nik was intentional to overprepare for this event. To prepare for the winds and rain, he practiced in 90 mile per hour winds and had fire trucks spraying water on him. That way, when he is doing the walk, he knows that whatever winds and rain he might face, he’s prepared for it.
2. Complacency can kill
According to Nik, one of the most dangerous things that can happen while he’s on the wire is getting complacent. If he gets complacent, he can begin to let his mind wander, lose focus on the task at hand and end up falling off the wire. The same thing happens to you in leadership.
If you are beginning to get comfortable with the “good enough” results that you’re getting at work, at home, or even where you volunteer, you’re in danger of becoming complacent. Complacency probably won’t kill you in your job but could very easily kill your progress towards your mission.
3. To combat irrelevance, change your methods
When Nik was young, his mother wrote a book called The Last of the Wallendas. In it, she tells how their generation would likely be the last generation of Wallendas to make a living tightrope walking, because the circus was dying out. This caused Nik to look for other ways to do what he loves. If he wanted to keep doing what he loved, he had to reinvent the methods.
Nik did this by changing where and how he walks. Now, rather than being under a circus tent, he walks across natural wonders like the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls. This pivot increased his exposure and has allowed him to continue his mission of inspiring others.
What do you need to reinvent in your organization?
Quotes from Episode 364
The only way to get over fear is to push yourself through it and step out of your comfort zone. @NikWallenda Share on X I don't believe that God wants us to live in fear. He wants us to live in freedom. @NikWallenda Share on XWe all have a wire, and we're all trying to get on that wire, and then we're all trying to get safely to the other side. @NikWallenda Share on X
A lot of times I think our greatness callings are behind those closed doors that we need to walk through. @NikWallenda Share on X
A negative thought is like a weed growing in your garden. If you don't pull that weed out immediately, it'll eventually take over your garden. @NikWallenda Share on X
Remaining relevant is very tough in any business because society changes. @NikWallenda Share on X
I inspire people to step out of their comfort zones, and that's my goal. @NikWallenda Share on X
A great mission will unify people who are otherwise divided. @cnieuwhof Share on X
You can often turn an opponent into an ally if you separate them from the problem. @cnieuwhof Share on X
Your job as a leader in divided times is to be the chief unifier. @cnieuwhof Share on X
Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 364
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Read or download a free PDF transcript of this episode here.
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Next Episode: Cathy Heller
Cathy Heller’s Don’t Keep Your Day Job podcast has 15 million downloads, and she runs a multiple seven figure business from her home, but it didn’t start out that way. Cathy shares her remarkable sideways journey to success, the key ingredients of a successful launch, how to gain traction online and how purpose cured her depression.
Subscribe for free now so you won’t miss Episode 365.
