This week’s episode is a great one if you are the person who has thinks to yourself “running a half marathon looks super cool, but I’ll never be a runner… so there’s no point of even signing up.”

Matt Rackers is fresh off of finishing his very first half marathon and, while he may currently be limping around like a John Wayne, he’s feeling pretty dang good!  Bucket list item=complete!

In this episode we discuss the guts it takes to take the first step in any goal, running without the classic “runner’s body” (he’s almost 6’6″), learning how to pace yourself, the importance of setting goals, inspiration vs. jealousy, and letting go of your ego as both your wife AND your mom effortlessly run by you during the race.

Matt is my youngest cousin and has always been one of my best friends.  Although he may not be a stupendous runner (yet), he’s a tremendous athlete having played college football and is one of the only people I know who can do a full pistol squat.  He spends his days managing his own business, taking care of his two dogs Bella and Bill Murray, and constantly setting the bar of what it means to be a kickass husband to his wife Lauren.  In short, definitely tune in to this one because, as he does for me every time we talk, he will inspire you to be a better person.

(P.S- “Like a John Wayne” was initially a typo…but I loved it so much…look for “likeajohnwayne.com” soon!)

No guest this week, just the ramblings of a severely sleep-deprived, exhausted dude who had just seen the most beautiful sunrise of his entire life.

The tale of my early morning, snow-covered, misadventure up Buffalo Mountain in Summit County, Colorado.

In this episode, recorded as my weak attempt at a beard thawed, I attempt to explain why I crave adventure in the wilderness, realize that camelbacks can and WILL freeze, surrender myself to the beauty of the mountains, and relearn the most important lesson- the present moment is always here and will always bring peace and happiness.

Riding high on my 4 week in a row streak!  Gonna keep this up for at least 48 more as per my “one year challenge.”

Hope you enjoy and hope you find your own adventure!

Aron Johnston is a husband, a father, and an artist.  After high school he fell into a construction job.  It was the safe choice- comfy, secure, and gave him a steady paycheck.  But it wasn’t his passion; it wasn’t what he saw himself doing the rest of his life. So he stepped off that path.  Left the safety of his job of 15 years and began to pursue his passion- art.

Oh yeah…did I mention he had two young boys and a wife (who was also jumping off her career path to pursue her dream)?  Did I also mention they had to leave their family and friends in Oregon to the unknown land of Iowa?

In this episode he shares his thoughts on taking the leap, pursuing his dreams, the challenges faced by him and his family, how he overcomes self doubt, the importance of a mentor, and much more!

Aron is seriously one of the best fathers I know and I have had the privilege of spending a couple vacations with his wonderful family….my wife and I with notepad in hand trying to figure out “how can we raise awesome kids like the Johnstons?”

He’s also the artist that designed the “Like a Bigfoot” logo.  He made my dream of “Bigfoot hang snatching a Redwood tree” a reality.  That’s literally all I emailed him…”hey dude I want Bigfoot hang snatching a Redwood…is that possible?” His email back “Of course!  But I think he should have his feet bursting out of trail running shoes.”

Please check out the rest of his beautiful art at his website aronjohnston.org.

Aron painting my wife and daughter on our Shenandoah Weekend last November

Scavenger- this is one of my personal favorites

Celebrating Jesse’s 13th birthday the best way we could think of….jumping into the Shenandoah River

Calvin Johannsen is in the middle of an epic quest to summit the 100 tallest mountains in the continental United States in….100 DAYS. It is called the “14ers Project.” No doubt about it, he is on an ADVENTURE. One most people don’t have the strength to endure. He has faced adversity, self doubt, gained incredible physical strength, solidified his adventure mindset, demonstrated super human endurance as he has pushed himself beyond what he thought was possible.

Follow his progress from mild-mannered dude to kickass mountain goat at calvin.johannsen on Instagram or at www.14ersproject.com. The man is the most inspirational person I know! Keep pushing forward.

(NOTE: he was through 64 mountains when we recorded this but is now well past his original goal of 75.  Go Calvin!!)

2013- Calvin and I at the summit of Mt. Bierstadt

2016- Joining Calvin for his 14ers project on Mt. Massive (the first mountain we climbed together in 2012)

Episode #1: Rediscovering health and the art of sustainability.  

For the last 9 months, one of my best friends, Brady Manriquez has been on a quest to become a healthier, more active version of himself. By using a focus on SUSTAINABILITY he has been able to drop 60 pounds, find a passion for running, and benefit in all areas of life from his new found self confidence. Listen in for advice about how taking it day by day and celebrating the little victories can help you in the pursuit of your own goals!

Also, how did Whoopi Goldberg guide him down the path of self improvement? (My favorite inside joke is attempted to be explained at the end)

So I’m starting to embrace some of my life philosophies in ALL areas of my life.  For example, being comfortable with discomfort.  I’ve wanted to start a podcast for YEARS now.  It has always been a goal of mine to become comfortable talking to people who inspire me (whether I personally know them or not)  In fact I had previously started one and made it two whole episodes before being overcome with self doubt…  Thinking I wasn’t good enough literally stopped me from simply pursuing a goal.

Instead of waiting for the perfect moment or “once I this finally happens, then I can….” I decided just to jump in feet first.

Is this perfect? Heck no!

Am I great interviewer?  Not yet.

Do I know what I’m doing all the time? Nope.

But you can’t wait around expecting those things to happen to you when you are not willing to put in the work!  Your goals don’t just magically get accomplished without you consistently putting in the effort.

So here I am, putting in the work.  Being comfortable with releasing something that is finished not perfect.  

I listen to a lot of professionally produced podcasts which is probably one of the reasons why I held off on this project for so long.  I hold myself to a high standard.  I can be extremely self critical.  It’s as if I believe “if my podcast isn’t as good as a professional one, there’s no point of releasing it.”  This belief can, has, and will hold me back.  So this podcast is helping me work on letting go of this disruptive thinking.

You won’t be an expert at anything on your first attempt.  Instead its the magic of repetition- the act of showing up consistently- that will propel you towards a higher level.

If you don’t understand this at the start of pursuing your dreams, then you will never take that terrifying first step. So today’s episode represents my terrifying first step.  

And then here’s the second principle to goal achievement: BEING CONSISTENT.

My lofty goal is to release one episode a week for the entire year.  Putting in the work and shipping a new episode every Monday. 

So here we have arrived at step one.  It might not be pretty (although I think it went pretty well and Brady, as always, is fascinating, inspirational, funny, and FANTASTIC), it might not be perfect, but it’s finished and it’s shipped.  I’ll evaluate what worked this week and apply it to next week.  I’ll do that over and over and over again and see where I end up.  

That hard, painful, embarrassing work, my friends, is the ONLY path to true success.

Hope you enjoy and that you start down the scary path of pursuing your goals!