Jordan Jonas grew up on a farm in Idaho and from there, traveled the world, which he recalls through his various injuries.  Jordan’s first significant memory comes from after a summer of riding freight trains across the country when he critically injured his knee.  Soon after, he set off for Siberia where he would eventually learn to fur trap and survive in one of the most remote places on earth. While in these harsh conditions he spent a month and a half alone in the wilderness where he survived a fall through the ice into a frozen river – alone and miles from a cabin. After that learning experience, he began living with nomadic Evenki reindeer herders deep in the taiga. Of course, those years were not without incident either, including chopping a tendon in his good knee that left him immobilized for three days in a tipi, pulling himself out of a mud bog that enveloped him to his shoulders, having his ribs broken by a reindeer, and nearly dying after accidentally ingesting a mouthful of gasoline. The skills acquired over his life were proven effective and reliable when Jordan won season 6 of History Channel’s Alone show, spending 77 days in the Arctic while also successfully hunting a bull moose, a wolverine, dozens of rabbits, squirrels, grouse and numerous fish.

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  • Excellence =
    • “It’s all about your mental approach.”
    • Attitude through adversity – Must remain positive
    • Have the proper skillset to survive
  • Be proactive — “When problems arise, be in fight mode rather than flight mode.”
    • “Think… ‘This happened, how can I adjust my plan?”
  • Perspective:
    • Jordan’s grandmother watched seven siblings die while growing up… “Staying outside alone for a while is easy compared to that.”
      • She had 11 kids. Didn’t harbor hate… And is a joyous person
    • His dad had diabetes. He’d be in pain, but remain so positive.
  • Jordan is interested in history and is very well read.
    • The Gulag Archipelago — Studying different ways of approaching suffering. Take the higher path… Read war memoirs.
  • Spent summers riding freight trains:
    • It was a coming of age experience… Freedom, pace of life
    • With his brother, they rode around the country
    • The trains had no roofs
    • They learned to resourceful
  • He went to Siberia to help build a orphanage – Jordan immersed himself in the culture
    • He learned life skills and lived how our ancestors did… Lived within nature, always hunting for meals. He felt part of the life cycle.
  • He enjoyed not being on set schedule…
  • His prep process for ALONE:
    • He put on weight
    • Worked on the skills needed to hunt big game
    • Everything he took was there to help him get food
    • He built a shelter that was simply “good enough” to keep him warm and nothing more extravagant
  • Isolation for 77 days:
    • He expected to need to be there at least 140 days to win the show
    • He was always working in order to stay busy
    • Had a great attitude and used the camera as an acquaintance and used humor as a tool talking into the camera
    • Jordan was grateful for the camera and thought of it as a friend
  • Killing the moose:
    • People said it was impossible
    • He knew he needed it to give him a shot to win the game
    • “It had to happen to win.” He saw moose tracks, he ran a string of tin cans. He failed initially, learned from it, then built a funnel fence, and modified the cans.
    • The Russian phrase: “Eyes afraid, hands do…”
  • The Wolverine was his nemesis — He pillaged his food (the moose) the first night. Jordan eventually got him.
  • He had to focus on the next opportunity… Like Tiger Woods, just focus on the next shot.
  • Final day when he won…
    • Development of character and love are the most important aspects. Appreciate life.
    • “Even if you’re gone, love will still be there.” Focus on relationships.
  • How has winning the money changed his life?
    • Save money, bought a nicer house…
  • Jordan regularly takes leadership teams out in the woods to learn…

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