It was with a heavy heart that we heard of the passing of Marc Sluszny, a truly inspirational individual. Marc died doing what he loved best – taking risks. Our condolences and thoughts go out to his family and those close to him. Of course he touched many people outside of his close circle and he will be sorely missed. We thought it would be the right moment to re-run one of our articles about him…
Paul Morris looks at a Belgian phenomenon, a force of Nature with a story to tell: Marc Sluszny
For this month’s Be Successful article we called on a tennis player who was part of the Belgian National Davis Cup Team. And also a swimmer who crossed the English Channel solo from Dover to Cap Blanc-Nez in 10 hours and 30 minutes. A Belgium sky-surfing champion. A member of the Belgian Himalaya expedition, climbing Annapurna, at 8,031m, without oxygen. Hang gliding records, fencing, yachting… you have no doubt surmised that this is one and the same person. Oh, and he flew across the United States from coast to coast in an old-timer seaplane and broke the altitude record in a glider above the Andes.
Welcome to the world of Marc Sluszny.
Locally, one of the most remarkable things he did was to run down (yes, down) the Belgacom building in Brussels, setting a new world record (15’56) in the vertical run discipline. So what does this extreme sportsman, who searches to overcome his mental and physical boundaries by such carrying out such challenges, do in his ‘spare’ time? Increasingly, he coaches others to reach their full potential, through keynote speeches, his books and one-on-one sessions with people who want to get his invaluable advice so that they can reach their dreams – it may not be deep sea diving outside of the cage with a great white shark (see the documentary movie Sharkwise), but a dream is a dream, a goal is a goal, and Marc is dedicating himself to driving others on to reach their full potential.
And that all starts with his favourite call to arms: “It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be.” And he firmly believes that his lifelong passion for testing the limits of his mental and physical capacity has gained him extensive insight and enlightenment.
His 30 or more years of experience of taking risks and pushing himself to the limits of endurance have left him with some sound knowledge to pass on to those who are about to take, perhaps, the first step to self-improvement.
He sums it up by saying: “To achieve your goals, you must overcome your fears. To conquer your fears, you must be willing to push your limits. If you exceed your limits, you will get to live your dreams. Do the right thing, at the right time, in the right way and be satisfied with nothing short of excellence.”
Excellent advice all round…
Watch his interview here
