Win Today

#182 | Memory Dividends: Two Insane Challenges I'm Taking On In 2025 & How You Can Too

• Ryan A. Cass • Season 5

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In this episode, we dive deep into the transformative power of experiences over material possessions. Discover how prioritizing meaningful moments can lead to long-term fulfillment and personal growth. Key topics include the concept of memory dividends, the return on inconvenience, and the profound impact of pushing yourself through personal challenges.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

  • How experiences strengthen relationships 
  • The importance of reflection on time and life's fleeting nature
  • The life-changing power of shared experiences over material items
  • Understanding the return on inconvenience and how embracing discomfort leads to growth
  • A look into the grueling challenges of the Spartan Death Race 
  • Upcoming 2025 personal challenges and how they can inspire your journey
  • How the Breaking Ribbons Ultra Marathon supports fundraising for meaningful causes
  • The value of pushing past your comfort zone for self-improvement
  • An invitation to join the Unshakeable Discipline Mastermind Group for like-minded individuals

This episode is perfect for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of how experiences shape our lives and how embracing difficulty leads to personal breakthroughs. Tune in for actionable insights on living a more meaningful, purpose-driven life.

Thank you for tuning in! If you feel led, please subscribe & share the show to others who you believe would benefit from it.
Keep in touch below!

Speaker 1:

When you spend time or money on experiences, they are not only enjoyable in the moment. They pay an ongoing dividend, the memory dividend. When you have an experience, you get that current, in-the-moment enjoyment, but you also form memories that you get to relive later. This is a big part of being present as a living human being, part of being present as a living human being, for better or worse, you re-experience that experience, often more than once. And, going back to the beginning, when you spend time or money on experiences, therefore, the way I interpret this is when we spend time, when we spend time to create, when we spend time, when we spend time to create meaningful experiences whether it be a challenge or spending time with your family then you get to recreate that experience time and time and time over again. So in the most simply put version of that quote, my interpretation is prioritize meaningful experiences.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Win Today podcast, a weekly resource thoughtfully crafted to equip people with tools to build and refine discipline, accomplish your goals, fortify your mindset and be of service to somebody in this world. Thank you. If you love the show, please hit the subscribe button, share with somebody who you believe will benefit from it and leave a rating and review so we can continue to grow and inspire more people in this world. We believe that everybody in this world is meant to do something great with their lives and we're here to play a role in that. Thank you for tuning in and let's win today.

Speaker 1:

Happy 2025. Here we are. It's officially a new year, first episode release of 2025. I appreciate you for tuning in, whether you're a loyal listener or this is your first time being led to the show, this officially kicks off season five of Win Today, which is a reminder of how fast time goes by, and that's what we're going to talk about a little bit here. In the beginning is the concept of time, and I believe it's more and more evident at the start of a new year and at the end of the current year, of a new year and at the end of the current year, that we really don't have that much time. We only get one of these lives, and the two certainties with life is that life will change and life will end, and we don't know when. Ideally after a long, well-lived life, but we don't know. But those are the two things that we do know. And if you want to add a third for humor, because people bring this up a lot, we will also be paying taxes. So there's death, change and taxes. We're in 2025, and it's my wish that it's off to a great start for you and that you've got some amazing things lined up, amazing goals written down, visible, that you're looking at day in, day out If you need help with that.

Speaker 1:

The last four episodes have been dedicated to the 2025 Goals Series. 2025 Goals series so I encourage you to go back, listen to one, some or all of those really deep dives into my playbook, things that have worked well for myself over the years and things that I've incorporated from studying, learning and befriending some highly successful people and renowned folks in the world many who have been on the show. So this one is titled Two Absolutely Insane Challenges that I'm Taking On this Year, which we'll get into. But before we do that and I'll tie it into the challenges, here's a new thought that I'm exploring and this got put on my heart and mind after a recent conversation with my friend, nick Hutchison, who is the founder and CEO of BookThinkers Amazing guy, and you can imagine what BookThinkers does they connect authors with podcast agencies. They help share author stories, get their books out there. Therefore, nick is the most well-read person that I know and I was sharing with him the previous concept that I've shared on the podcast, which is the return on inconvenience ROI.

Speaker 1:

That being that, I find it quite beautiful that a small instance on our timeline, meaning if we do something that's challenging. Let's say, in what I referenced a few weeks ago, I ran 150 mile ultra marathon in October, in the end of October. It took 43 hours most challenging 43 hours of my life. Took 43 hours most challenging 43 hours of my life. When I zoom out on that against my timeline, assuming that I live to 100 years or close to it, that'll only represent 0.00005% of my life and with that, so basically a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of my life, fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of my life. But now here I am still talking about it, and that'll be something that I leverage for the decades to come to inspire people to push themselves further, to dig deeper, that we're capable of so much more than we believe. And here's a living example from experience, and I explored the return on inconvenience, meaning that that 0.0005% of my life now gives me the opportunity to share and inspire with just that specific story alone, for the next 60 to 70% of my life, for the next 60 to 70% of my life. So the return on that, if we break it down from a math perspective, is over 1 million%. So a small investment in something in our lives from a time perspective, can give us the opportunity to create and inspire so many new stories for other people's lives, meaning that because you did something difficult or challenging or inspiring, now you can create that for other people.

Speaker 1:

What Nick introduced to me and it's from a book that I haven't read yet but many of you probably have read or are familiar with, from Bill Perkins it's called Die with Zero and it's the concept of memory dividends. So I found a quote doing a little bit of homework and I'm going to read this out to you the concept of a memory dividend, because this may be a little bit more memorable than return on inconvenience. So here's the quote memorable than return on inconvenience. Here's the quote when you spend time or money on experiences, they are not only enjoyable in the moment, they pay an ongoing dividend, the memory dividend. When you have an experience, you get that current in the moment enjoyment, but you also form memories that you get to relive later. This is a big part of being present as a living human being, for better or worse. You re-experience that experience often more than once. And going back to the beginning, when you spend time or money on experiences, therefore, the way I interpret this is when we spend time, when we spend time to create meaningful experiences whether it be a challenge or spending time with your family then you get to recreate that experience time and time and time over again. So in the most simply put version of that quote in my interpretation, is prioritize meaningful experiences in your life, knowing that they are going to continue paying dividends, just like when you would invest in a stock or in a home. You are doing that with the intent that the stock price is going to go up. When you would invest in a stock or in a home, you are doing that with the intent that the stock price is going to go up when you sell it later, or that your home price is going to increase in value so you can make some money later. So what if we apply that same concept to activities? And it makes me think.

Speaker 1:

One thing I stopped doing years ago with my family, and primarily with my family, is giving Christmas gifts. And you may think, oh, you're a jerk, you turned into the Grinch. No, what I prioritize now instead of giving my family gifts I'll get them little trinkets here and there, but I prioritize an experience with each member of the family. So rather than buy a shirt, which I'll probably buy the wrong size for somebody, I gift an experience. So last year I took my dad, sister and sister's boyfriend out to a high speed go-kart facility out just outside of Charlotte, and we did that. This past year I took my mom night ziplining at the Whitewater Center and years before that, taking my dad out golfing or out on trips to go watch the Yankees beat the Red Sox. So those are things, that those memories, rather than buying a gift, the dividends from there. We'll talk about those things until the big man says it's time for us to go home.

Speaker 1:

So the concept of memory dividends is one that I'm exploring more now, in addition to that return on inconvenience, because I personally enjoy experiences that are very challenging because they're memorable and you get to help other people take on very challenging and scary feats as well that maybe they wouldn't have done if it wasn't for you charting out that course. So with that I'll continue to share some more powerful thoughts that are on my mind. But I love that one Memory Dividends and Die With Zero. I will prioritize that book here soon after I finish reading my current one, which is 10X is Easier Than 2X by Dr Ben Hardy, which, if you're not familiar with Ben Hardy, I highly recommend his books. I reference it a lot in the podcast, particularly the Gap and the Gain and who Not how? Two of my absolute favorites the Gap and the Gain and who Not how? Two of my absolute favorites. Now, 2025, two absolutely insane challenges that I'll be taking on and creating some massive memory dividends from. The first one is because this one will come before. The next is.

Speaker 1:

I was accepted into the Spartan death race which will be at the end of June in Vermont at the founder and CEO, joe DeSena's farm, and I'm super stoked for this. I had Joe on the podcast at the start of 2023. And his episode first releases number 77. Phenomenal conversation with Joe. We hit it off, linked up afterwards about wrestling and life, and he's somebody that I'll send him a text and it's surprising how fast he'll get back to you. That's how passionate this guy is about getting people off the couch, getting people into the most challenging environments possible. So on the podcast, we had talked a little bit about the death race and it was originally intended to go out there last year in 24 and didn't work with the contacts we had. So I reached out to him again this year and went through the application process, let him know that I had sent an application and would love to be a part of it, and got accepted.

Speaker 1:

So a little bit about the death race. I first heard about the death race in 2010, going into my senior year of high school, and that's when I was really starting to see the value in doing really hard things and the value of personal discipline, which I talked about last week on the Unshakable Discipline episode that you know when you put your body and mind in the most challenging arenas, most other things in life that we deem as quote problems are really just trivial pebbles that we can easily overcome. So I saw this video in 2010 and it's the first thing I remember is there's a guy that is low, crawling up a muddy mountain and he's got a backpack with all of his gear a bucket, a shovel. He's low, crawling under barbed wire, god knows how far, and he looks absolutely exhausted. And then he needs to cross over a pond and, rather than take his gear off which I believe most of the other folks did he wanted to keep it on, likely because he was already so exhausted he thought it would save him time and there's this clip where he gets in the pond and literally completely submerges because all of his gear weighs him down and he comes back up shell-shocked. This guy was literally in a moment of panic because he was starting to drown, because he was so exhausted. His gear weighed him down and he wasn't strong enough to fight back up. So he had to find a way to unlatch himself underwater in this pond and I'm thinking, oh my God, this is freaking intense, like who would want to do that. And then, the back of my mind, I'm thinking I would freaking love to do that. How does one get in?

Speaker 1:

Later in the race? There's another point where the contestants have been going for about 30 to 40 hours and they're wet, it's cold, it's muddy, they probably haven't eaten much and one of their challenges is, in order to pass go, to advance to the next stage, they need to give 5,000 pennies to the we'll call it the gate master. There's somebody that's at this checkpoint that says you cannot pass go unless you give 5,000 pennies. At the very beginning of the race, every contestant got 10,000 pennies, not knowing exactly what it was going to be for to be four, and they dished them away at various points and up until it came time. Hey, you need 5,000 to go. And if people didn't have 5,000, then what they did the race directors did they threw thousands of pennies into this cold, dark pond and said, well, go out and find the pennies and you cannot pass until you have 5,000 or you can quit. Just imagine the mental anguish that is experienced in that, in that moment. And and then the last, the very last thing that remember is discipline is a key component of this podcast and a key thing that we preach.

Speaker 1:

We view discipline as the fuel to help you create the life that you ultimately desire, and discipline being the fuel that gets your habits and systems in check so that you can actually accomplish your goals. If you're looking to level up in 2025, I am happy to be a part of that and encourage you to join the Unshakable Discipline Mastermind Group. This has been my baby for a couple years and we're finally launching it here in 2025. The group consists of a self-paced course that teaches you how to form core habits and mindset that will allow you to accomplish your goals, a daily accountability channel to keep you on track, motivated and in alignment with our members and weekly mastermind sessions where you're going to learn from either myself or a suite of renowned guests many who have been on the podcast that are going to share pieces of their winning playbooks directly with you. I've learned that being a part of groups over the years has helped propel me to so many new levels in life.

Speaker 1:

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, then go together, and it's my wish that the Unshakable crew is a choice that makes sense for you in 2025. We are growing up to 100 members this year and have limited time founding member pricing for 12 more folks before we permanently increase pricing to $97 a month. You can get in now for $67 a month, locked in for life, and be a part of the adventure that we're creating with our members. If you're somebody that craves discipline, seeks it or wants it this year, and you're really committed to making lasting changes in your life and being around others that are committed to making lasting changes in your life and being around others that are committed to winning and serving the world and sharing what they learn with others so that we make this world a better place, then join the Unshakeable crew. Go to unshakabledisciplinecom and you can sign up. It is also in the show notes Unshakeable shake, as in milkshake, unshakabledisciplinecom, and we're excited to have you in 2025. Let's go that.

Speaker 1:

The signs at one point in time, the race signs like if you're ever running a 5k or 10k marathon, there's usually arrows that point to which direction you're supposed to go, in case you, if you're leading the pack or if you're, you know, in a, in a chase pack. And at one point they turned all the signs into Greek and they gave the contestants a Greek textbook. So this death race is not typical from the normal Spartan races. You'll see where there's obstacles, set distance, set time. This is you don't know when it starts. You know when to be there, but you don't know when it starts. Once you get there, you don't know when it ends. Roughly a hundred people are accepted. Less than 10% of people actually finish it.

Speaker 1:

And we're going to go do it, and at the start of every month. So the death race technically has already started. At the start of every month, contestants get an email on the first of the month of a challenge that they have until the end of the month to complete. So in the month of January I get to go and find a log that weighs as much as me so roughly 160 pounds and make a harness out of chains and rope and pull said log one mile and I get to record that and put that on social media. So that's something that you can look forward to me, look forward to seeing from me. So if you're not following me then maybe there's a good opportunity. You can see that I'll be posting at least six challenges before heading up to Vermont in June.

Speaker 1:

I'm really excited because this challenge it touches a little bit of all the things that I love, that it is going to be a test of mental, physical and emotional strength. More than anything, at some point I know that the physical part that your body is going to be absolutely destroyed, so it's really going to come down to destroyed. So it's really going to come down to what is in your mind, what is in your heart, and that those two areas are where I believe in myself more than anything, and that is because of intentionally putting myself into the arena, doing hard things, doing the things that often don't want to do, and that means going out on a run with no shirt on when it's 30 degrees. I don't do that to be cool. I do that to challenge my body and mind and know that that might give me a slight 1% advantage, or even 0.1% advantage over the competition or over what 99% of other people are doing. I love being uncommon. That sounds fun to me and it is going to be a great opportunity to train harder and differently, more differently than I ever have before. And I know that on the other side of this whether I'm up there for 29 hours, 51, 72, that there's a better version of me. That's something that I believe people should look forward to is in the moment.

Speaker 1:

We might not want to do things, we might not want to wake up early, we might not want to go to the gym, we might not want to stay consistent with our podcast because it's not giving us the numbers we want to see. It's not giving us the numbers we want to see, but by continuing to show up on the other side of that is a better version of you and all the things. Nearly everything that we want in life is on the other side of something that we don't want to do, something that is inconvenient yet is going to create that memory dividend that you'll talk about forever. Got something that is inconvenient yet is going to create that memory dividend that you'll talk about forever. Got something that can help you with your big challenges in 2025. This is something that has helped me tremendously. It is my secret weapon to staying calm clear, laser focused and really gets me going before my most difficult tasks in the morning. So if focus and productivity is also something that you are seeking to gain in 2025, then check out Magic Mind.

Speaker 1:

Magic Mind is a two ounce energy boosting, a two ounce energy boosting, stress reducing shot that is packed with adaptogens and powerful ingredients designed to help you stay centered and sharp. So, whether you're working on your big goals, powering through your to-do list or simply staying focused throughout the day, then Magic Mind has got your back. I also personally love it so much because it helps me stay calm and focused without the overwhelming feeling of what's coming next. It's the perfect way to support your body and mind in staying on top of things, especially as we're, in this new year, focused on bigger challenges and creating bigger wins. So here's the best part is that you can get 40% off your order right now using code WINTODAY40 at checkout. It's linked in the show notes. Go to magicmindcom slash win today, 40, and you can experience the incredible power that Magic Mind offers. That's going to help you stay sharp, calm, focused and help you achieve your greatest challenges and help you create your ultimate sense of being in 2025. Magicmindcom slash win today, 40. Thank you.

Speaker 1:

One thing to think about is have you ever felt worse about yourself after doing something challenging? Probably not. You know if you really felt bad or gotten upset with yourself after you chose to do something that was beneficial, whether it was read the book instead of watching Netflix, which is what you wanted to do. Folding laundry instead of scrolling on your phone, which is what you wanted to do. A lot of the things that, again, which is what you wanted to do. A lot of the things that, again, the best version of ourselves is on the other side of the things that we often don't want to do. So the Spartan death race. I'm stoked for that.

Speaker 1:

And one thing that I'm also thinking about, going back to the very beginning. Now, with time, I first saw that video. I went back and looked when they released that. They released that first video in 2010. So 15 years ago now it'll be 15 years. So I watched that when I was 17 years old. I just turned 32. It feels like yesterday when I first looked at that and I don't want to go through this life and then it goes by in the flash of an eye and I'm looking back like man. There's so much I wish I would have done in those ages where I had the most ability to do it.

Speaker 1:

Therefore, every year, I'm going to keep adding on these insane challenges and I encourage you all to do the same. It doesn't need to be maybe to the extreme, but do something every year that is going to push you in a way that you've never been pushed before, and that also means things far beyond just the physical realm. My biggest goal for the year is growing my mastermind group you know unshakable discipline to 100 plus people, 100 plus members. That's like my one big thing. That is already pushing me in ways that makes me so uncomfortable. It's not even funny, because now, when I'm, as I'm, building a system around it, what's that going to require to get a hundred people in? What is that really going to require? I'm going to have to talk about this. I get to talk about this and bring it up 10 times more. And it's not to boast about it. It's because I understand the power of this group and everything that's been put into it and the years of work that has gone into it and how it's going to transform other lives.

Speaker 1:

But you can't get what you want by sitting and dreaming about it and not taking action on it. So take action in 2025, and take action, put yourself in challenging arenas, because it's going to prove to yourself what you really have in you. We have so much in us. So that's for the Spartan Death Race. There's more to come on that, but could use prayers for strength and support and that we make it through that thing. Man, I would. I'm already envisioning myself being one of those finishers at the very end, you know, and if it comes down to body and if it comes down to heart and mind, I have no doubt that I'll definitely be out there for a very long time. No doubt in my mind about that, because I continue to challenge myself in that arena.

Speaker 1:

Now the second one is I'll be running across the entire state of South Carolina. This is likely going to be sometime in December, god willing, and my brother, edwin Martin, has committed to doing the whole distance with me. This will be part of the Breaking Ribbons Ultra Marathon fundraiser. This started in 2023 as a 100-mile bridge run. We raised $5,500 for four families that have a loved one battling cancer. This past October, 2024, we did it again Ran 150 miles, took 43 hours, as I mentioned at the beginning, raised $7,000. Just met the first recipient of the Breaking Ribbons 2024 fundraiser a couple weeks ago over Christmas. This woman, misty, has stage three breast cancer and really not many financial means and we got to help her out.

Speaker 1:

So we're going bigger in 2025. We're increasing the distance. We're going bigger in 2025. We're increasing the distance, increasing the impact. So what I do know is it'll be hometown to hometown. So we're going to run from Fort Mill, south Carolina, to Charleston, south Carolina. It'll be well over 200 miles, probably take us three-ish days, something along those lines, and we're going to get it done. We're going to find a way. There definitely will be a lot more focus on media and sponsorships and outreach. So the last couple of years I haven't done the greatest job of that, but we've still created an amazing impact. But this year we'll definitely be planning several months in ahead, a lot more details and looking forward to seeing again like what can the body and mind do at this point.

Speaker 1:

Furthest distance I've ran is 150 miles. Why not 250? Why not 260? And I'll foreshadow a dream of mine that I do have and this will likely be one to less than five years away is running across the entire United States. Now that's going to require being out of the corporate world and all this being sustainable and full-time by then. No doubt in my mind that we'll get there, but that's kind of how my mind works is how can we go bigger, further, harder, greater than we ever have before? With the intent to prove ourselves right, show ourselves what we have, but then also and really when I say ourselves, show myself that so that I can also show you and be a great example for you that hey, you can do so much more, you can push so much further and harder, and here's exactly how and here's exactly how to make it through the most difficult times. I don't want to be somebody that just talks about go do hard things and be disciplined and not live that out to the full extent. So that really covers the why. Because people have been asking lately why are you doing this? Why not just be okay with 100 miles, 150 miles? Why go to this extreme. We get one life.

Speaker 1:

I love exploring what I'm capable of. I love exploring what I'm capable of and I love to be a living example for others as to what they can accomplish and achieve. You know, when we think about things that take place in this world like amazing things that take place in this world, it was because, in many cases, it was because of somebody that paved the path for the rest of humanity. Now I'm not claiming that. You know I'm. I'm long. I'm long from being the first person to to go out and and run these mega distances. I'm I'm probably the only person that has run 150 miles on the Ravenel bridge in in Charleston. I'll put money on that. But as far as going out, running across the state of South Carolina, that's been done. Running across the USA, that's been done. But because other people have done it, you know. Okay, hey, I believe it's possible. And why not be a living example for somebody else and create this compound effect? Sometimes that's what it takes.

Speaker 1:

I think about the sub-two-hour marathon record. Elliot Kipchoge broke it and proved to the world hey, you can do this. A lot of people now use that example and that record will be broken again. Mark my words, it will be broken. Sub-two-hour marathons at some point in time will absolutely be the norm and most likely the standard. So it's beautiful what we can accomplish, and it's part of my mission to help show others that they too can do anything, and I find the best way to do that is by showing that and resembling that myself.

Speaker 1:

So advice for you all, encouragement for you all for 2025 if your goals list doesn't have something that's extremely challenging on there, do some thinking. Do some thinking and put something on there that that scares you, and it doesn't need to be physical. Again, I will say that until I'm blue in the face, but do something. Or jesse Itzler calls it the Masogi.

Speaker 1:

What's the one big thing you can do in 2025 that is going to set the tone for the rest of your life? That's going to create memory dividends for the next five years, 10 years, 20 years, 30, 40, 50, for the rest of your life. One amazing experience, one challenging experience, can pay dividends for five, six, seven, eight decades. Think about that. A small portion of our lives can set the tone for the vast majority of our lives and create lasting impact and inspiration in countless other lives. That's something that really fires me up and I'll keep doing my best to set a strong example for you all in 2025 and show as many people as possible what is possible when we push past the voices, when we push past the demon on the shoulder telling us to stop or that success is reserved for other people, et cetera. We can do it, you can do it, let's do it. Crush 2025, do something hard and win today. Thank you.

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