Tribal Origins: The Adapt and Overcome Motto
High school lifeguards! Unreliable!
It was a cold, dark, February morning and my athlete Keith was making his 30 minute drive to the pool for a swim workout.
He was 2 months into Ironman training and brand new to swimming.
But he wasn’t just new to swimming. He was new to all things endurance.
Before we started training, he didn’t own a bike. He knew how to run and could grind out a hard mile.
But not much more than that.
The idea of doing an Ironman terrified him.
Who Does An Ironman? And Why?
Keith was 42 years old, a husband and father of two boys.
He ran a 2nd generation family grocery in a rural, dirt road town in southwest Missouri.
Nothing about his life said “Ironman”.
But on a chilly fall night in November 2022, something shifted inside Keith.
He was sitting around a bonfire with his childhood best friend. But it wasn’t just any old night. They were celebrating.
His best friend just beat Stage 3 neck cancer.
Over the prior year, Keith saw his friend give more in life than he had ever seen before.
He saw his friend show up for himself, fight when he was tired and come out on the other side a better man.
The front row seat to this battle made Keith realize he had more to give in life.
And he was about to see an opportunity to do just that.
Who Do You Follow?
On that same night, as Keith and his buddy were sitting around the bonfire, Keith was following Team Tribal’s Ironman Florida updates on Twitter.
He was tracking each finisher as we went 8/8 with seven first timers.
Keith wanted to get more out of himself. And he saw the Ironman journey as a way to do it.
He was afraid of the challenge and had doubts he could do it.
But at the same time, he was hopeful and optimistic.
After getting on a call with me a few weeks later (and praying on it with his wife), Keith committed.
Endurance: The Productive Addiction
Like a lot of Tribal athletes, Keith has an obsessive/addictive personality.
And like a lot of Tribal athletes (myself included), there have been times in his life where that mindset has been destructive.
But that’s the beauty of endurance.
It’s a positive and productive outlet for that approach to life.
And Keith’s training consistency (and early progress) was proof of that.
He was hitting every single session from Day 1.
He was learning from all the resources inside Tribal. And he was staying in close contact with me.
He was locked in and building confidence.
Roadblocks Are Inevitable
Keith had driven to the pool a dozen times by now and nothing about this Tuesday morning in February seemed out of the norm.
Until he walked in through the rec center’s front door…
The lady working the front desk said the high school life guard didn’t show up for work and they couldn’t let anyone swim.
All of a sudden, his fear of the Ironman and doubt in his ability took over his mind.
He felt like he was being blocked from his goal. He felt powerless.
He felt like if he didn’t do this swim, the entire Ironman was in jeopardy.
Feeling Stranded
Keith went back to his truck in a panic over what to do.
He hadn’t missed a single workout in 2 months of training.
His doubts in his ability had been alleviated by perfect compliance in his process.
He sat alone in the black and quiet stillness of morning. Swimming wasn’t an option this morning.
He was in his truck. But felt stranded on the side of the road.
He was just 30 minutes from home. But the journey he was thinking about felt 3,000 miles long.
And he didn’t know what to do.
When In Doubt, Send Coach An Update
He sent me a video huffing and puffing, shaking his head and telling me what was going down.
I could feel his frustration when I watched the video.
And I could tell he was overwhelmed thinking out loud about when he could make the swim up.
“I could maybe come after work on Thursday.
Or I guess I could come after family time on Saturday.”
Pool options in his rural town were limited.
And with responsibilities as a husband, dad and biz owner, his training windows were limited too.
After filming and sending the video, he went back into the gym and got a lift in instead of swimming.
Once I saw the video later that morning, I sent him one back brushing the situation off and telling him it wasn’t a big deal in the big picture of training.
I figured it was a one-off thing and wouldn’t happen again.
But I was wrong.
Repeat Problems Need New Solutions
A week later, the same thing happened.
And just like the first time, Keith went back to his truck to send me a video.
But this time, his energy was different.
This time he wasn’t just frustrated. He was straight up pissed.
“This fuckin high school kid man…
He didn’t show up for work again…
I’m not gonna be able to get this swim in.”
The fear of the Ironman was starting to boil.
The anger at the obstacle was building.
And the feeling of being stuck was paralyzing.
I knew I needed to help him change his perspective.
My Coaching Style
When I help an athlete through challenges, I go through phases of guidance.
Here’s two of them:
One is all about alleviating stress and providing assurance that the athlete is on track to their goals.
It’s a calm, patient energy.
This is the one I start out with.
But when challenges repeat and an athlete’s mindset stays the same, I evolve to a different approach:
Lighting a fire in their ass.
This is all about reminding an athlete who they are and what they’re capable of.
It’s an aggressive energy that helps athletes rise up.
The Motto Is Born
I sent back a video and said this:
“Some high school fuck didn’t show up for work? Who cares???
You did your job. You showed up. You put in the effort.
Adapt and Overcome.
Go get a lift in instead. Do what you can. Don’t let this break your spirit.”
I assured him that a few swims in February will not jeopardize an Ironman in November.
But warned him that letting things outside your control make you feel defeated and powerless will.
The message landed.
Immediate Life Application
A few days later, Keith sent me a video from the back of his family grocery.
This is when I knew that the message didn’t only land with Keith…
The entire experience helped him develop a new mindset towards obstacles.
And he was already applying it to other areas of life.
He shared a story that just went down at the store.
They had a high school girl working the deli counter and were in the middle of the lunch rush.
Something went wrong with the meat slicer.
Just like Keith’s initial reaction at the pool, the high school girl was flooded with fear and panic.
In a flash, the pressure of a long line of customers and the obstacle of a broken machine was overwhelming for her.
She rushed over to Keith short of breath and stammered with her words as she explained what was going on.
Keith looked at her with a smile and centered breath and said,
“Adapt and Overcome. It’s no big deal. We’ll figure something out.”
Keith went over to the meat slicer, shifted a part or two and got it back up and running.
The lunch rush of customers was served and Adapt and Overcome was solidified as the Team Motto.
Not because it worked in training. But because it worked in life.
What Adapt and Overcome Means To Me
Being flexible and steady when life throws you curve balls.
Having a plan. But being open to it changing.
Focusing on what move you can make.
Being resourceful under pressure.
Never giving up.
And endurance training gives us consistent reps sharpening these mental skills.
The Legend of Keith
The OG Adapt and Overcome story was the start of Keith’s legend inside Tribal.
His training continued and the obstacles kept coming. But his Adapt and Overcome mindset kept him steady through it all.
And that’s not even the best part.
The Adapt and Overcome story wasn’t just a spark that caught flame for Keith.
It became a roaring wildfire inside the whole team.
Athletes were handling adversity better because of Keith’s example.
They were sharing stories of conquering setbacks in the team chat. And encouraging their teammates more through adversity too.
When an athlete faced an obstacle in life, they saw it as an opportunity to find a win and go share it with the team.
The positive feedback loop was in full force. And Keith was leading it all from the front.
He was a constant source of energy and encouragement in the team chat while he was building to the greatest challenge of his life.
Keith stayed in process. He continued to Adapt and Overcome.
And that November, Keith became an Ironman.
Bonus Section: Legend of Tribal eBook
In the process of writing my book (and publishing along the way), I want to continue sharing Tribal’s evolution from Coaching Service to Brand to Team.
So I’ll share how I built on the motto.
Adapt and Overcome emerged from a real life athlete coaching experience
I wanted it to be a foundation of the brand so that it could be referenced often and used for collective growth
I wanted to put it on gear/merch so that athletes could wear it, deepening their connection to the motto and identity with the team
Later that year, I worked with a designer to bring the first Tribal Mascot to life.
I named him “Chief Manitou” and recorded this podcast with Tribal Prof. Jordan Goldstein on:
what the name means
what the mascot stands for
how he embodies our team spirit
With the creation of the mascot, “Adapt and Overcome” was solidified as a foundation of the brand in a secondary logo (see below).
I put the logo on tee shirts that I sent out to all 50+ athletes inside Tribal as a surprise team gear bundle around the holidays.
The Chief Manitou logo was also used for team flags that I surprised our Zion group with when everyone arrived to the team house before the race.
A future post will pick up Keith’s story to see how Adapt and Overcome merges with other team themes and creates more unlocks in Keith’s life.