30. DEAN KARNAZES: There’s no struggle in our lives
Dean Karnazes (1962-) is an American ultramarathon runner, author and was named one of the world’s top 100 most influential people by Time magazine in 2006. When I first read about Dean I could instantly relate to his story. At the age of 30, he realised he hated his corporate job and quit to pursue his true passion of running. (I was 29 when I quit my job last year.) Karnazes hasn’t looked back since, becoming the world’s most recognised ultramarathon runner, raising money for charities through his races and inspiring others to overcome adversity.
- Thanks to Zen Pencils regular ICY for submitting this quote. How to submit your favourite quote.
- The above quote is from a great interview Karnazes gave in Outside magazine.
- Dean’s official website.
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I don’t need to run a marathon to know what it’s like to struggle. My struggles did not make me happier. I’ve experience poverty and deprivation enough to appreciate what comfort I have now. It’s not great, but it’s better than what I’ve had.
Hey Jim! You’ve been through struggle, so you can appreciate where you are today. Would you have been as appreciative, had you not known the hardship you experienced?
You’ve missed the point entirely Jim.
I think this is your best yet. It’s awesome!
this is what I need to read today. thank you
damn Gavin, this is badass. it looks great, and i think you really captured the spirit of the quote. keep it up.
I’m with Jim, it’s good to know this guy has the leisure to run when and where he pleases.
Troll much?
I agree with Jim. I have been well below the poverty line my entire life and I was on the streets for several years. Those who have become bored with their comforts have no idea how lucky they are. I enjoy being able to wake up in my warm bed, having (enough)food in my kitchen to be able to know that I will be able to eat today and being able to bathe when I wish. Although it is nice that Dean Karnazes and others are able to gain a form of income by doing something they enjoy, there are enough of us out there who have been out of work for a goodly while, have no other special talents/abilities and are having a huge struggle just trying to stay afloat. So sum up this comic/drawing: “first world problems”.
Agree.
I am ‘living it’ right now
Looking forward to seeing you today Gav! These just keep getting better and better. Judging by how many people in the office are running marathons, this certainly must have some credence!
x
Dean was just talking about the slothfulness of a lot of people today and the joy of pushing ones physical capabilities – don’t think he necessarily meant the struggle for food/shelter/income/survival.
I come from both sides; I have a background of struggle in terms of survival in the modern world, and I also enjoy constructed struggle in outdoors or sports activities. What this cartoon brings up for me is that we manufacture activities that help us feel “alive” while still maintaining the standards of comfort outside of those activities. We drive to a gym in order to sweat hard for an hour or two, but we look for the nearest parking space to the door. One of the many funny contradictions that exist in our modern world.
What I’ve really enjoyed about these “cartoon quotes” is that they always create a point for discussion; I appreciate the effort and time it takes to create these, and that there’s a mix of quotes which are commonly spread and ones that are more obscure. (Loved that you did the Litany against Fear, btw. Read the book yet?)
I really enjoy the different points of view too Narinda.
Dune: haven’t started it yet, it’s next in line on my bedside table!
Man, this really lift up my spirit, thanks for this
, another great art, this is what im looking for, hope you make more great art n story like this.
Thanks
Homo sapiens – the only species to domesticate itself…
…as I type on my computer in my climate controlled office…
The first time I read ‘Ultra Marathon Man’ it was really hard to resist the temptation to run. My favorite quote from that book, (if I remember correctly it is something his friend said to him): ‘Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: “WOW!! What a ride!”‘
You never seize to amaze me! Somehow you find the best quotes and integrate them into fantastic comics that speak to the emagination. Thanks for this. On a side note: Will you be doing some horizontal 1 frame comics anytime soon? I’d love to have one of your drawings as a background image on my computer. Love from The Netherlands!
Thanks Jasper – probably not many horizontal comics but I will make some wallpapers available for download soon.
I met Dean at the Chicago Marathon Expo. Great guy and a huge motivator and running idol to me. It’s not about the distance, its about overcoming the feeling of ‘I can’t’ or ‘I won’t’ with the overwhelming feeling of ‘I did’. The journey is what makes it worth it. The finish line is extra. It isn’t always about running. Everyone has an adventure.
i know i’m lucky to have job that pays me every month – although it didn’t make me feel happy inside.
that’s why i’m struggling to defeat the stress by playing more music, drawing more sketches, and try to remember, how lucky i am to have a warm shelter and a full stomach.
and i know, the limit of a ‘comfort life’ we should have. whenever i could, i use bus or taxi, i don’t need my own car. whenever i am able to climb stairs, then i will. and in fact, i don’t have any smartphone right now to avoid such intensive calls that will kill my personal time (you know, like blackberry and such). it’s all in the limits we could push.
sometimes, i think “Karnazes running”, is me keeping up myself to stay as who i am, against the majority of life.
Well said Ara, I know what you mean.
Today’s comic goes for rich guys whose life is a bore because they have everything. But effort coming from inside is more rewarding than the latest gizmo. I agree.
Gav, you should look up Chuck Palahniuk and his works. I think he’d be a fitting reference for your comic strips.
I know I haven’t read any of his stuff but always hear good things bout him
Here’s an excerpt from his Fight Club book that I think fits this strip -
“God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables, slaves with white collars, advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need.
“We’re the middle children of the history man, no purpose or place, we have no Great war, no Great depression, our great war is a spiritual war, our great depression is our lives, we’ve been all raised by television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars, but we won’t and we’re slowly learning that fact. and we’re very very pissed off.” ? Chuck Palahniuk
My life has had its shares of struggles and I’ve worked hard to get to this point of comfort. At the same time I do see that this comfort does not push us as a Western culture to strive beyond our own boundaries anymore, which is why I run-to challenge myself and my own boundaries. On the flip side, when I discussed this with my mother who was a child of parents during the depression and World Wars, this is what our grandparents were fighting for; a generation that could live life without fear and constant daily struggle to survive.
Beautiful
it pains me to see all these people completely missing the point…
love your site, been coming on here for a while now and I’ve got to say it’s amazing
I’ll be sure to buy a couple of your prints…
When we feel discontented we are often tempted to think that the problem is out modern world. We envy people of the past, thinking that their lives were simpler and some how better. We forget that they had problems we need never worry about. We also for get that today some people have these problems today. I remember reading something once about Sierre Leone after the civil war. A female aid worker recalled seeing young children eat food off the ground, and by the ground, i mean the dirt right next to them. They had no bowls or plates, or even a piece of paper or plastic to put their food on. Whenever someone complains about how modern life is making us soft, I remember that story, and I’m grateful for plates.
This quote is about trading one set of luxuries for another while lacking the self-awareness to understand that. Slamming your feet into pavement is a luxury . With a little Nerve damage Dean could discover that he doesn’t need to run marathons to feel struggle and pain. He gets a high from being a tourist to struggle and pain. What a douche
It’s amazing how your work always feel like a solid nudge towards moving forward. Thank you!
Can completely relate to this one. Had led comfortable few years after college. Was getting more money than my batch mates and colleagues. Life was good. It was Perfect was satisfactory. But not content. and one should never be content as it makes them complacent in life.
So I Quit that easy paying comfortable job and now own my Construction company. Struggle everyday, strive everyday but whats fun in otherwise aye
Wish you all the best for your future
I was 22 when i left my 1st and only job as a software engineer for an MNC. Ma going to be 23 this Feb 26th
Now I along with my childhood friends are trying to kick start a venture. As all of us are techies, we have no sense for business development. As I am from a typical middle class Indian family, family support, both in terms of financial and motivational are limited. All my other friends are earning a fat salary in their respective MNCs while we are trying here to raise even for the basic bills. Even in this short time of 10 months we fell so many times, failed and ridiculed. Many a times we felt like leaving the path but then a voice inside my mind says, “better be a wolf than a sheep” 
dont know whether we’ll succeed or fall flat on our faces but at my death bed m not gonna regret – Oh I wish I did what i wanted to 
Your posters give us energy Gav, everytime when we fall or fail. Your posters make us push ourselves 
Wish me luck people 
hope I will succeed 
I wonder what you do when you don’t know what you’re true passion is anymore…
I’m amazed of how many people only stuck to pain and struggle and didn’t see beyond. It is not about how much you suffer but about how much you push yourself even though your body may hurt and struggling for high achievement. This is not about running, this is about leaving a comfort zone and about pushing yourself further. And a comfort zone can get anyone, even people who are struggling economically.