Red Bull Can You Make It Challenge 2024

You’re stranded in the middle of Barcelona with no money, no phone, no accommodations, and the only currency you have is Red Bull and you have to make it to Berlin in one week…do you think you can make it?

The 10 lessons I learned from an Adventure of a Lifetime..

1. Detach from the Outcome

At the core of this entire challenge was to detach from the outcome. Before we knew we got accepted for this challenge we said as a team that either way if we get accepted or not it doesn’t matter and when we finally submitted our application I didn’t even think about it until we got the phone call that we made it. It’s interesting because when you let go of all expectations of how things should go and just focus in on what you can control the journey of life is a lot more enjoyable. We carried this lesson throughout the rest of our adventure had us just focus on taking one step at a time and not focusing on the end goal of trying to win the race. When you detach from the outcome you attach more to the moment you are in.

2. The Kindness of Strangers

The second lesson I learned quickly was the kindness of strangers. On the first night of our adventure, two strangers named Stan and Rafel welcomed us into their home making us dinner, providing us a place to sleep, and giving us time to just be in the chaos of this adventure. Throughout the entire trip, we encountered countless strangers who were willing to open their hearts up and help us. It was a powerful reminder that no matter where you are in the world, there are always good people willing to help.

3. Don’t Take Rejection Personally

In a challenge like this, you’ll face plenty of rejection so you have to learn not to take rejection personally. When we were stuck in Béziers France at the local train station we have never faced more rejection than there in our lives. Of course, it stings at first but each “no” brought us closer to a “yes”. We realized that rejection is not a reflection of our worth but simply a part of the process that we need to have.

4. Life Really is Your Playground

As I was trying to fall asleep on the beach in Nice France I learned that life is my playground. Regardless of how hard we laughed, how tired I was, or how much I just wanted to cry it’s all just a part of life that we get to experience. No matter where we found ourselves we always made the most of it and it reminded us that life is meant to be enjoyed and explored regardless of where you find yourself.

5. The Power of Real Teamwork

We ended up teaming up with another team from Arizona which was the best decision we made that highlighted the power of real teamwork. Our success depended on our ability to work together, communicate effectively, and of course support each other. There were many moments of exhaustion and frustration, but we learned to lean on each other because that’s all we had at the end of the day.

6. Your Energy Speaks for Itself

Throughout our journey, we discovered that your energy speaks for itself. We all mostly just spoke English and there were countless times when we still were able to communicate with other people who spoke another language simply just based on our energy. One of my favorite moments was when we were walking the streets in Leipzig Germany and we passed a group of guys walking and out of nowhere we started having a dance battle with no verbal communication. People are able to pick up on your energy and who you are before you even try to speak.

7. Be Thankful for Where You Come From

This experience made me truly thankful for where you come from. I love traveling and experiencing what this world has to offer but when you see and hear about strangers situations it does ground you a bit to have gratitude for the life you do have at home. Whether it’s when we slept on the floor of the airport or when we were listening to strangers' stories about their lives it all just made me appreciate the life I have that I often take for granted. This gratitude fueled me throughout the rest of the trip but also kept me grounded.

8. Leadership

Leadership is something that I believe is something that just comes naturally in any given situation but sometimes you just have to take charge, make quick decisions, and keep everyone motivated around you. There were many times when one of us would have to step up and lead and navigate through unknown cities, talk to strangers more, or try to just figure out what to do next. Leadership in this case wasn’t just about being in control but more so about guiding and supporting each other through all the highs and lows.

9. Do The Right Thing

Integrity was tested on multiple occasions, teaching us to do the right thing. Even when it was difficult, choosing honesty and fairness paid off in the long run and there’s no other way I would have wanted to do this challenge. We had chances to cut corners and make faster progress but sticking to rules made the adventure more filling and memorable.

10. “Enjoying the Journey”

The final lesson I learned from this trip is that you trying to enjoy the journey makes you not enjoy it. It’s almost like when someone tells you to calm down and it does quite the opposite. Before this trip, the more I tried to be present the less present became but when you’re stuck in the middle of France at 2 am with no money, no food, or no place to sleep your mind is not thinking about anything else so inevitably you become present. After crossing the finish line I learned that the true journey isn’t just about the journey itself; it’s about experiencing God’s presence in every step and trusting the people he puts on your path to walk with you and there’s no one else I would’ve wanted to walk this journey with.

The Red Bull Can You Make It challenge was more than just a race to Berlin; it was a life-changing experience that taught me a lot about myself and what you truly are capable of doing when you remove any limitations. This challenge was a true testament to the incredible experience that happens when you step out of your comfort zone, let go and just embrace each step of where the journey takes you no matter where it leads you.

to more life,

~Serafina Gargiulo

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