January 3, 2025 • 29 mins
Matt Dawson, founder of Dawson's Peak Foundation and author of "Strength in Surrender." A former investment banker turned extreme adventure athlete, Dawson has conquered some of the world's most formidable challenges – from summiting the highest peaks on every continent to skiing the South Pole and rowing across the Atlantic Ocean.
Make sure to check out Jason on IG @drjasonpiccolo
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
no-transcript.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Hey, I appreciate you having me on and listen.
All my good friends call meDawson, so please feel free.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Dawson what's going on.
You know, every time I hearDawson I think Dawson's Creek
man.
I'm kind of aging myself alittle bit.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
It's funny, I've gotten that my entire life since
the show came out.
And then our 501c3 Dawson'sPeak Foundation is obviously a
play on Dawson's.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Peak.
I like it.
I like it.
What is the foundation?
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah.
So Dawson's Peak Foundation isa fully registered 501c3.
That a very good friend of mine, Jay Jablonski.
He and I started that back inAugust 2018.
And our mission is to inspirethe discovery and pursuit of
individual purpose, to getpeople to understand that we're
all capable of so much more thanoften we want to believe,
(01:20):
Because a lot of times it's like, oh, I can't do this, I'm like
I hate to break it to you.
You can do whatever you want tobelieve.
You know, because a lot oftimes it's like, oh, I can't do
this, I'm like I hate to breakit to you.
You can do whatever you,whatever you want to do, but you
know, a certain amount of powerand responsibility comes with
that, or responsibility comeswith that power, rather.
And then really just to getpeople to understand that our
lives need to be lived withconcerns about more than
ourselves.
It's not just about what we'redoing in our lives for ourselves
(01:41):
, but how we can be of serviceto others and how we can
incorporate our purpose inelevating others.
So, in a nutshell, that's whowe are.
The way that we accomplish ourmission is by creating large
global expeditions where wesponsor athletes that are
pushing the boundaries of humanpotential and capabilities where
viewers can draw parallelsbetween themselves or athletes
(02:01):
and say, hey, if this person'sclimbing a mountain or rowing an
ocean or whatever, I can find amountain or an ocean in my life
in a relative sense that I'mconcerned that I can't overcome
or face or conquer or whatever,and to get people to understand
that we're all capable of doingall these things.
And it's been a great ride sofar.
We've got our current project,which is Seven for Soldiers,
(02:24):
where I was attempting to setseven world records.
I've set six so far.
But most importantly is we'reworking with two of the highest
rated veteran charities in thecountry Gary Sneeze Foundation,
Hope for the Warriors andthey're receiving 100% of the
net proceeds from the money thatwe raise.
So we've got to do some funthings but, more importantly,
help some great organizations.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
You know, a lot of times and this podcast does
reach a different audience, anda lot of the audience is from
what I call the protectorcommunity.
Those are the ones that arelike kind of committed their
life to service.
But I've kind of expanded thatto not everybody has to have a
uniform on, not everybody has tohave a badge.
Not everybody has to have auniform on.
Not everybody has to have abadge.
Not everybody has to have a gun.
(03:06):
Not everybody has, like, swearan oath.
But to me it's people who giveback.
And when you're talking aboutthings like this, I think a lot
of people don't understand thatthere's more to life than just
money.
There's more to life than juststatus.
There's more to life than quoteunquote being an influencer.
That when you have a missionand maybe that mission does
bring you to one of these thingswhere you can find out what
your true potential is, it'swhat really works for your
(03:29):
mental health.
You have to have somethingother than money and power.
You really do.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
I think you said that very well.
A lot of times you'll see thesebooks or read movies and it's
about the secret to life, what'sthe secret and all this kind of
stuff.
And in my opinion it's very,very simple.
Life and like, what's thesecret and all this kind of
stuff, and in my opinion it'svery, very simple.
While we're here, we're herefor only two reasons One is to
live with a sense of purpose andsecondly, or two, is to apply
that purpose to elevate others.
And it's really that's it.
(03:56):
And it's like you just said isyears ago is I was working 80 to
100 hours a week and investmentbanking and I worked my butt
off, I mean for decades, youknow to make my way in this
industry.
I was very comfortablepersonally and financially and
could have what I wanted withinreason, all this kind of stuff
and I was in a dark, dark place.
(04:17):
I was disconnected from myself,from others.
I was just.
I was angry, I was confused.
I think a lot of people canrelate to that, and it's not
until I took a step back andstarted living a life of service
to others, making my life aboutmore than myself, that I've
been a better place now thanI've ever been.
I feel more connected to othersthan I've ever felt and I feel
(04:37):
more connected to myself.
So it is to.
Your point is I don't care howmany Super Bowls you win, how
many cars you have, how manyhouses you have, that's not
going to lead you to a sense offulfillment.
It's simply not how it works.
It's about being of service,and you said it very well.
You don't have to have a badgeon, you don't have to wear a
uniform, you don't have to carrya gun.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
It's about we can all find ways of being of service
to others, it feels so muchbetter about giving back.
You know, when you talk aboutlike the money, the power, the
status, the symbols.
I used it to tell people I'mlike you know my thirties and
everything.
I would do everything to buildmy resume, everything I possibly
could do, I'd like to takecertificates of education,
everything.
And then when I got in myforties, it was like you know
what I want to have my personalresume Like what am I doing?
(05:22):
You know so in my forties Istarted doing things that are
like that means something to me,that are outside of that.
And now, like in my fifties andnow that I'm retired from being
an LEO, is I'm looking at howdo I have another mission?
How do I keep continuing togive back after 30 something
years?
And I think a lot of people,when they leave any type of job
(05:43):
or they transition or they pivotin life, that they need
something or you will end up ina dark spot.
Yeah, you will.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Yeah, no, look, I think you said that well, man is
, we need a reason to get out ofbed in the morning.
But I want to be very clearit's not 100% about others.
Clear it's not all, it's not ahundred percent about others is
that you need to have things foryourself as well, that you're
finding a sense of fulfillmentor or you know, pushing yourself
and expanding your limits andcapabilities, your education or
(06:13):
your understanding, or what areyour resources.
But then it's also aboutincorporating how you can use
that expansion you know in thelives of others, cause I think I
think I think sometimes peopleget confused and maybe they get
too service oriented, wherethey're either consciously or
subconsciously hiding fromsomething personal that they
(06:33):
need to work with.
But I think you said it verywell is that you've got to have
a personal mission, a reason whyyou're getting out of bed in
the morning every day, and notjust because you have to.
It needs to be something thatyou can be excited about,
something you can take somepride in every day.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Yeah, and you know what?
I tell people that all the timewhat you see on social media is
like 5% of people's lives 2%,1%.
Yeah, it's great to be inservice to others I have my own
nonprofit, I do this, I do thatbut there are things that you
need to do that will give youmental clarity, and that's one
thing I want to talk to youtoday about is like it's that
(07:08):
point you get where you want topush your body, because I think
when you get to a certain pointwhere you're pushing your body,
you get clarity.
You know, I did that.
God who wrote the book?
I interviewed him a couple ofyears, two, three years ago.
He wrote a book like the 12hour walk or something like that
.
Okay, and I remember I did thatand it was just like some random
day.
I was like I got up at likefive in the morning no
(07:30):
electronics, no, nothing.
And you know I I brought someum, just some water pack on me
and snacks and I just got onthis trail near my house that
goes for 20 something miles andI just walked 12 hours, nothing,
and I stopped to get coffee,have to do that.
But you know you get a littlesexist stuff, but just 12 hours,
no electronics and I would sayprobably about um, 10 hours in
(07:52):
um is when I started getting theclarity.
You don't get the clarityunless you really push yourself.
You have to push your mind, youhave to kind of.
You have to get to that pointand I don't think you could do
it in comfort, in a comfort zone.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Now you can't.
And the way that I look at itis it's kind of like an
hourglass is when you start this12 hour walk or you start, you
know whatever it is.
Fill in the blank is becauseit's like when I train, as I
train, I always train alone.
I never take music, anythinglike that, it's always just,
it's just me and my thoughts.
But it's when you first startoff, it's very easy.
(08:27):
There's a lot of room, there'sa lot of space.
The longer you do it, it startskind of funneling down into this
point where your mind can startspeeding up.
You, where your mind can startspeeding up, you can start to
feel anxiety, you can start tofeel like all these things.
You feel like you run out ofoxygen, sometimes almost like
you're underwater.
But I can just tell you and youexperienced this around the
(08:49):
10-hour mark is, if you continueto push yourself forward,
you'll come through that darkest, smallest, most difficult point
.
Then it'll open back up andit's the bottom of that
hourglass and then noweverything is just speeding up,
everything's just kind offalling out, everything opens up
.
And what I say is you break outof your personal gravitational
field and you go to this otherplace where you, just you, open
up.
Your perception opens up, yourappreciation opens up, your
(09:11):
perspective opens up, everythingopens up.
But to your point is, you haveto break through that, that
sticking point in order to reachthat that other side.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
You know that brings me back to like your origins in
this, like were you always anathletic person.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Yeah, in a general sense is, I've always been
athletic and active, but it wasmore in a traditional sense.
So, as baseball football trackis, I had a couple of contract
offers to play professionalfootball, you know that kind of
stuff, but I didn't discoverendurance and mountains and
things like that until I was 38years old and I didn't start
training full time until I was40.
(09:45):
So it's kind of that old adageof it's never too late to become
what you might've been.
And when you start training 20plus hours a week at 40 versus
20, you know, like you know isthat there's a that's a
different game.
You know 40 year olds don'trecover like 20 year olds do.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Oh, I'm hearing it, brother, and you know the thing
is like.
You know, mondays and Tuesdaysare like hey, monday's chest and
tries.
You know what I mean.
You have to do the things thatare different.
And you know, when you'regetting to people trying to get,
just start.
Then, when they want to startmoving their body, I always said
(10:24):
people like just walk, yeah,just get out there and walk.
And then when you start gettingused to walking, if you want to
jog, fine, I'm a huge proponentof rocking, uh, hiking anything
where your body just moves,yeah and then then start working
.
I mean because, look you, youhad that corporate gig.
And I can imagine a lot ofpeople are like, well, you're
making a lot of money and youhave the fancy things and fancy
that, but you're putting in 40,80, 100 hours a week and
mentally you got to be drained.
So how do you go from thatmental drain to being like oh
(10:46):
man, I got it, I got to shift.
Man, I got to pivot.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
You know it's is I reached just an absolute
breaking point.
As I was, I was in my late 30s.
I as I was, I was in my late30s I'd achieved a level of
(11:16):
success professionally.
But, to your point is, I worked80 to 100 hours a week for
years and years and years.
I mean I worked my butt off toget where I was and I'd forego
how much money I had or what Ibought is.
I've just felt an increasinglevel of disconnection and an
emptiness and a darkness insideof me that I couldn't understand
.
And it finally reached abreaking point where I was ready
to either check in to life andto start living a different kind
of life or just to check out,where I was virtually on the
verge of suicide.
I was in that dark a placewhere I mean I was virtually on
(11:36):
the verge of suicide.
Like I was in that dark a placeand, long story short, at that
same time my mother passed, Ibroke up with a serious
girlfriend and and I knew Ineeded I needed to change
everything about my life, and itwasn't going to be found by
(11:56):
speaking with a counselor once aweek or reading a book or
listening to something, or likeI needed to get away from
anything and everything I knew.
So I traveled alone to theMount Everest region, the Khumbu
Valley and the Himalayas, hadno previous experience, like I
couldn't have told you whereEverest was.
It was over there somewhere andthe idea of climbing a mountain
to me sounded dumber than hell,like that's stupid.
But I just went there and itwas on that trip that I had, you
(12:24):
know, spending three weekshiking alone.
You know, through that to theregion is I had a breakdown and
a breakthrough.
And the universe, or God, orthe collective unconscious or
whatever you want to call it,spoke to me and it's a longer
story, I'm just going to giveyou the bullet point of it Spoke
to me on this trip and it saidthat you're not living with any
sense of purpose and your lifeis only about you.
And in that moment I knew whatmy purpose was and I discovered
what my purpose was, and thatwas to help people avoid the
(12:46):
place that I was in, where I'vebeen lost, alone in that
darkness for decades, and it's ahorrible place.
You can't buy your way out ofit, and you know.
And I finally understood thepotential, the power and the
magnitude of it.
And you know, and I finallyunderstood that the potential,
the power and the magnitude ofevery single second where our
lives can change for better orfor worse and never go back, and
that's what kind of got mestarted on the journey that I'm
on now.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
You brought up a good , a good word in there, the one
that's like it's all about you.
And you know I've I've dealtwith a lot of people in these in
my I was in the federalgovernment for 20-something
years and military andeverything else.
But you always get to certainpeople where it's always about
them, it's always about theposition and power, and they
will ride that out until their50s or 60s.
But then there comes a point intheir life where they have to
(13:28):
hit it.
I'd imagine either they'regoing to hit it on their
deathbed or hopefully they'llhit it a lot earlier than that.
Where they go, you know what?
What is this all for?
You get one life, one singularlife.
You were lucky, you caught itwhen you were in your 30s, your
late 30s, early 40s, to whereyou said you know what, I've got
to do something else.
(13:49):
And you know when you say yougo out and you hit a mountain
and you do this and you do that.
But you're getting the claritythat you need and you know I was
reading a description of yourbook You're, you're surrendering
to your mind.
You know your mind.
You know, believe me, we've,I've tied.
We've all talked on thispodcast a lot about suicide and
the dark thoughts and the areasyou get to.
But and you have to getsometimes the only way you can
(14:12):
get past it is if you surrenderyour mind to say you know what,
wow, when you look at the globalscale and I'm not getting all
philosophical but if you look atthis world and the things that
you can see listen, I grew up onthe Appalachian Mountains.
There are so many things outthere.
I can see that I want to see.
Like, my next goal is I want tojust hike down the trail by
(14:33):
myself and just do things.
But you have to find somethingand surrender to it.
You know it could be yourhigher purpose, it could be
something, but you have tomentally surrender to get to
that.
That, that point you need to.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Yeah, it's especially with your experience in the, in
the military and with thegovernment is we probably have
very similar mindsets in manyregards and that, you know, when
I grew up, it was always tofight everything and it was just
whatever was in front of me isI would just overcome it, I
would destroy it, I'd go throughit, I'd go, you know, whatever
(15:06):
it was and everything justseemed like a fight to the death
.
And but after a while I had todo that for decades and decades.
Literally and metaphorically itwears you out.
And what I found to your pointabout surrender is a lot of
people confuse surrender.
You have that traditionalnegative connotation.
Surrender, the way that we'reusing it, is not giving in,
(15:29):
giving up and going along.
It's finding new ways, morepositive ways of meeting your
needs.
And the way that we do that isthat you surrender into the
unknown.
And all this is in the book andthere's like a very detailed
process about what it is and howto do it and all this kind of
stuff.
But it's basically as you faceyour fears and hesitations and
trepidations, you allow them tomove into you.
(15:52):
You don't run from them, youexperience them to their fullest
but, most importantly, youallow yourself to release them.
So it's like a cloud that kindof comes into you, you
experience it and then yourelease it to where you don't
hold on to it and you don't giveit the ability to take root
within you, where you'recarrying it with you for the
rest of your life.
Because a lot of times whenwe're upset during situations,
(16:14):
we're not upset about thesituation we're facing.
That situation is simplybringing up things that we've
dealt with, you know, dozens orhundreds or thousands of times.
These things we just keepreliving, that we refuse to let
go or we're unaware of how tolet those things go.
And that's what surrender is.
It's finding strength through adifferent means.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
And I think surrender to me is also you've built
these walls.
We've all built walls, thesecurity walls.
You know we don't let people in, sometimes we don't let
ourselves out, and surrenderingis also tearing down those walls
.
So you could actually open upyour mind, exactly, and open up
your thought pattern.
So you could actually open upyour mind and open up your
thought pattern.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
That's exactly it.
And look, we all have thesepeople in our lives that we call
brothers, that we call sisters,that we call family.
It's hey, I love you, man, I'llbe there for you and you're
there for me, and all this kindof stuff.
But within that, we all havethese things that we're too
scared to share with anybody,these deep, deep things that we
hold on to because we're eitherembarrassed or nobody can
(17:16):
possibly understand what we'refacing or whatever.
Fill in the blank and I'm tryingto get people to understand is
we're all the same person,looking for the same things.
We're just going about it inslightly different ways.
And no matter what we're facing, whatever the pain and
confusion and frustration is, Idon't care what it is and I'm
not diminishing it because Iknow it hurts, I know it's
(17:37):
confusing and painful, but it'sbeen faced by millions and
billions of people, millions andbillions of times.
There's nothing unique aboutour pain and suffering and if we
can understand that andcommunicate that better and more
effectively to one another, ithelps us to release that and, to
your point, tear down thesewalls that we build consciously
(17:58):
and subconsciously to protectourselves.
But what we don't understand isthere's some protection, but
there's also a cell that we'rebuilding around ourselves where
we limit our ability toparticipate in life to its
fullest.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
And there is more to life than monetary things and
flashy cars and flashy people.
I you know I was thinking abouta mission and I'm like a
mission is more than just othersgiving back to others.
Sometimes a mission is yourself.
Right, sometimes you gotta belike you know what I really need
to work on my brain.
I need to work on my body.
I need to become the bestversion of myself.
(18:33):
Now you did that, you're stilldoing.
I imagine you're going to keepdoing it.
But these world records whatare we?
Speaker 2 (18:41):
talking about here.
What do we got going on?
So, within a 12 month period,from from May 2021 to May 2022,
is I was able to set five worldrecords, and that was in a the.
The activities includedclimbing the highest peak on
(19:03):
each continent, skiing to theSouth Pole, rowing a boat across
the Atlantic Ocean and thenbecoming the first person to
trek, solo and unsupported,across the Mojave Desert and
Death Valley.
And then, since that time, Iwent back to the Mojave.
That was 213 miles was theoriginal crossing.
I went back and did about a 330mile crossing, which was
(19:24):
another freestanding record.
But the whole purpose of it isnot just to say, hey, look at
this guy doing these extremethings which most people are
never going to do.
It's a Trojan horse tofacilitate a deeper conversation
, to say, hey, if this guy'sdoing this, then I can find
something comparable in my lifeand really all these physical
endeavors.
I enjoy being out there, Ienjoy being in the pain and the
(19:46):
challenge of it, but more thananything, it's a tool or a
mechanism of self-reflection and, just like you said, is where
you need to work on yourselffirst before you can help others
.
It's a way of me being able todiscover more about myself,
where I can have a strongerpersonal base, to where I can
perform better and more for theworld around.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
And relate to people too.
You know, we could listen, youcould do 8 million different
world records and stuff, butwhen you, there's always a way
to relate to people.
And when you, when you relateto someone, maybe they can't do
a world record, but maybe theycould do a record for themselves
.
That could be, you know, hey, Iwant to walk around the block.
Some people are immobile.
(20:29):
Maybe it's like uh, I haven'thad this book in the back of my
head for 20 years.
Maybe I just sit down, buckledown and do it.
But you have to have some sortof purpose and that's how you
can relate to other people.
You can find purposes inanything.
Exactly you can find your limitsin anything.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Yeah, and that's again, and we're not telling
people as an organization andI'm not telling people to go out
and climb Mount Everest or todo something like that.
To your point is we all havethese things in our lives.
It may be having a conversationwith somebody that you've been
putting off for 20 years, orhaving the courage to quit your
job and to pursue something thatyou feel is going to fulfill
(21:09):
you, or starting a family orending a bad marriage or
whatever it is.
We all have these things.
You, or starting a family orending a bad marriage or
whatever it is, we all havethese things.
It's just a matter of pushingourselves beyond our comfort
zones to learn about ourselvesand to understand, because I
think you know we talk about,people are scared that they're
not enough most times, or theybelieve.
I think more than that, mostpeople are more scared that
(21:31):
they're more powerful than theywant to believe.
Because with that power comesresponsibility.
Because if you don't have anypower, you can sit back being
that hapless victim saying, hey,my hands, you know it's outside
of my hands.
I don't have any control, Idon't have any power here, but
when you understand how muchpower you do have, there's a
level of responsibility thatcomes with that, and it's like
you pick up one end of the stick, you get the other, and that's
(21:53):
what we're trying to get peopleto realize is that we're all
capable of doing more.
It's just fill in the blankwith whatever is best for you
respectively.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Well, the other power is the power to invest in
yourself.
And that doesn't have to beinvesting money in yourself, but
just invest your time.
We fill up the hours of the day, we fill up the minutes, we
fill up the seconds witheverything we possibly can.
And if you think about just howmuch time it takes to take that
first step sometimes literallyminutes.
When you want to push your body, you start somewhere.
You could literally walk fiveminutes a day to start.
(22:24):
You could literally say, hey,you know what I wanted to write
that book for 20 years.
You could literally take 15minutes every night.
You could do anything you want,but you have to invest your own
time.
You have to invest in yourself.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Yeah, which.
It's just like if you're goingto be, you know, an anchor or
try to be as a support for youknow, for someone else, another
network or whatever, is that youhave to have your own solid
foundation first.
And it's just, if you want tobuild the prettiest house in the
world but the foundation sucks,then you're going to have
issues.
So to your point is and wetalked about this a little bit
(22:57):
earlier is, before you canreally truly help others to the
maximum of your ability isyou've got to develop your own
foundation first, but then alsowork to maintain that foundation
going forward.
It's not just a matter of youwork for a day.
You got your foundation andthen you never have to address
it again.
You got to do something everysingle day to check that
foundation, make it bigger, makeit stronger, and that'll just
(23:19):
maximize your own performance,but then again, your ability to
help others, Now can you imagineyou knew this?
Speaker 1 (23:24):
you knew this in your twenties, you know, I think
back about some of the thingsthat my physical being in my
twenties compared to this now.
But imagine you had clarity.
And what I like to say aboutpeople with clarity is it
doesn't have to be 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, even 60s or 70s or 80s.
Find it and do something withit, clear your mind and you have
(23:49):
to build on it.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
You know something that it's funny.
You brought that up.
So I've got a niece and anephew that are 17 and 18.
And I recently saw them.
And one thing I talked to themabout, and I talked to a lot of
younger people about, is I wishI had a greater, a greater
understanding of the role that Iwant to play in the world when
I was younger, and especiallywith the concept of concepts of
(24:14):
appreciation and and perspective.
You know, and I think thegreater your level of
perspective, the greater yourlevel of appreciation and the
more clarity you can have out ofyour life, and I think that's
something that needs to becommunicated to younger people.
You know earlier on to where wedon't just start having these
big, these big revelations.
(24:36):
You know, in our 40s, 50s, 60swe start to work on a little bit
earlier.
But again, it's yourunderstanding of things changes.
You understand things a littlebit better or differently as you
get older.
But at least to initiate theconversations with with younger
people.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Oh, believe me, I'm doing that with my kids.
I have two teenagers, a 14 anda 16 year old, and it's like the
way their dedication to sportsis like nothing I've nothing
I've ever had.
You know their dedication to,like you know, just things like
that and they're, they're frugaland just I'm like I'd like to
think it's some good parenting.
But, man, like they just havedifferent clarity.
(25:09):
Like you know, when I was a kid, I just was, yeah, what I want
to do, I just want to getthrough the day I work my job
and do some sports with theseguys, or, uh, it's crazy how the
you know, maybe it's their,their eyes are open up to the
world more than we were when wewere kids.
I, I don't know, but it's just.
Maybe they have some goodmentors here and there, but,
like you said, man, they justhave to open their eyes to
(25:30):
things.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
It is.
I think it's a combination ofthat, and then it's just every
day is do something that you canbe proud of.
And to your point is, I don'tcare if that's taken one step,
that you didn't take the stepthe day before, if that's walk
around the block, if that'swriting a sentence in the book
or you know whatever it is.
Just do at least one thingevery day that you can be proud
(25:52):
of, and that stuff starts tobuild upon itself and you start
to feel better about yourself,even subconsciously.
Then it eventually will showitself consciously and start
moving in a better direction.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
So you wrote the book .
And I always tell people, mike,if you have a book and you
write it because a book is alegacy, it's more than just you
know a podcast or this or that.
But where did the idea of thebook come from?
Speaker 2 (26:15):
Yeah, it was.
It was really just wanting toshare the journey.
You know that I'd been on withpeople and you know the book
starts from when I was veryyoung.
You know that I'd been on withpeople and you know the book
starts from when I was veryyoung.
You know, through today it'sbasically a personal memoir that
includes the all the recordsand all the events and
everything.
But it's just.
It's more than anything.
It's a matter of the humanexperience and about getting us
(26:38):
to relate to one another, causeyou know, in there they're all
my personal journals that Inever thought would be published
, from my expeditions that arevery kind of raw and colorful
and embarrassing at times.
But then there's also lessonsthat are incorporated throughout
the narrative, that are justthings I learned along the way,
that helped me on a daily basis.
And then there's major, majorpillars that I call meditations.
(26:59):
They're like the major thingsI've learned over the past
couple of years, major thingsI've learned over the past
couple of years.
And then at the end of eachchapter there's an ask yourself
and apply yourself section whereyou can take what you've read,
ask yourself three or four verydirect, poignant questions, sit
quietly with them, and thenthere's an apply yourself where
you can.
There's, you know, directiveswhere you can apply, you know
today, and so if someone isn'tconcerned, isn't interested in
(27:22):
hearing about you know, themountain was 26,000 feet and it
was 30 degrees below zero andthe desert was 100 degrees.
My pack was 400 pounds and ifthat doesn't interest you,
there's so much more to thestory that's in there.
But that kind of stuff doesinterest you.
All that stuff's in there aswell.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
That sounds really good, man.
I'm going to pick up a copymyself, but we're looking at
what.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
January release right , yeah, so January 7th will be
the ebook, the audio book andthe paperback.
A couple of weeks ago we we didopen the ebook to pre-release
on Amazon and I'm proud to saywe've been number one Amazon to
release for several weeks nowand getting a very big uh, uh.
You know some great feedback onthat, so it's been wonderful to
see.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Well, I appreciate you coming on to awesome man.
I'm looking forward to the bookand looking forward to watching
your next ventures, and I likethe fact that you're helping out
the Gary Sinise foundation.
That's a that's a solidorganization, right there.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
It's funny man as I've known.
Dude for 10 minutes you come,it's a weird.
It's weird is you come awayfeeling better about life but
you feel worse about yourselfbecause he's such, he's such a
good person.
(28:35):
You're like, how can this guybe so good?
You know, but he, he's exactlyyou know what?
Speaker 1 (28:40):
I tell you what it is tough, a tough, tough, tough in
the veteran community to find anon-profit that is authentic
and that is one that I wouldvouch for, like any day of the
week, and for someone toconstantly give back, like
constantly.
I mean, if we're talking likedecades now, probably I can't
remember when gary sinning'sfoundation started, but it's
(29:01):
been a long time and uh, justwhat a solid human being man.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Oh dude, he's awesome .
And then then the other group,hope for the Warriors, which got
started by Robin Kelleher,primarily initially as a as a
Marine, focused, you know,charity.
But the charity Navigator is agroup that that vets you know
and scores a lot of charitiesand, as you know, there are
thousands, literally thousandsof veteran focused charities.
Hope for the Warriors and GarySteeves Foundation, year in,
(29:27):
year out, are two of the top 10rated charities.
So both these groups are justwonderful, valid organizations
that we've certainly come totrust and really enjoy working
with.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
Cool brother.
Well, I appreciate it, man.
We'll keep in touch.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Hey, thank you, I appreciate it.
no-transcript.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Hey, I appreciate you having me on and listen.
All my good friends call meDawson, so please feel free.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Dawson what's going on.
You know, every time I hearDawson I think Dawson's Creek
man.
I'm kind of aging myself alittle bit.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
It's funny, I've gotten that my entire life since
the show came out.
And then our 501c3 Dawson'sPeak Foundation is obviously a
play on Dawson's.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Peak.
I like it.
I like it.
What is the foundation?
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah.
So Dawson's Peak Foundation isa fully registered 501c3.
That a very good friend of mine, Jay Jablonski.
He and I started that back inAugust 2018.
And our mission is to inspirethe discovery and pursuit of
individual purpose, to getpeople to understand that we're
all capable of so much more thanoften we want to believe,
(01:20):
Because a lot of times it's like, oh, I can't do this, I'm like
I hate to break it to you.
You can do whatever you want tobelieve.
You know, because a lot oftimes it's like, oh, I can't do
this, I'm like I hate to breakit to you.
You can do whatever you,whatever you want to do, but you
know, a certain amount of powerand responsibility comes with
that, or responsibility comeswith that power, rather.
And then really just to getpeople to understand that our
lives need to be lived withconcerns about more than
ourselves.
It's not just about what we'redoing in our lives for ourselves
(01:41):
, but how we can be of serviceto others and how we can
incorporate our purpose inelevating others.
So, in a nutshell, that's whowe are.
The way that we accomplish ourmission is by creating large
global expeditions where wesponsor athletes that are
pushing the boundaries of humanpotential and capabilities where
viewers can draw parallelsbetween themselves or athletes
(02:01):
and say, hey, if this person'sclimbing a mountain or rowing an
ocean or whatever, I can find amountain or an ocean in my life
in a relative sense that I'mconcerned that I can't overcome
or face or conquer or whatever,and to get people to understand
that we're all capable of doingall these things.
And it's been a great ride sofar.
We've got our current project,which is Seven for Soldiers,
(02:24):
where I was attempting to setseven world records.
I've set six so far.
But most importantly is we'reworking with two of the highest
rated veteran charities in thecountry Gary Sneeze Foundation,
Hope for the Warriors andthey're receiving 100% of the
net proceeds from the money thatwe raise.
So we've got to do some funthings but, more importantly,
help some great organizations.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
You know, a lot of times and this podcast does
reach a different audience, anda lot of the audience is from
what I call the protectorcommunity.
Those are the ones that arelike kind of committed their
life to service.
But I've kind of expanded thatto not everybody has to have a
uniform on, not everybody has tohave a badge.
Not everybody has to have auniform on.
Not everybody has to have abadge.
Not everybody has to have a gun.
(03:06):
Not everybody has, like, swearan oath.
But to me it's people who giveback.
And when you're talking aboutthings like this, I think a lot
of people don't understand thatthere's more to life than just
money.
There's more to life than juststatus.
There's more to life than quoteunquote being an influencer.
That when you have a missionand maybe that mission does
bring you to one of these thingswhere you can find out what
your true potential is, it'swhat really works for your
(03:29):
mental health.
You have to have somethingother than money and power.
You really do.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
I think you said that very well.
A lot of times you'll see thesebooks or read movies and it's
about the secret to life, what'sthe secret and all this kind of
stuff.
And in my opinion it's very,very simple.
Life and like, what's thesecret and all this kind of
stuff, and in my opinion it'svery, very simple.
While we're here, we're herefor only two reasons One is to
live with a sense of purpose andsecondly, or two, is to apply
that purpose to elevate others.
And it's really that's it.
(03:56):
And it's like you just said isyears ago is I was working 80 to
100 hours a week and investmentbanking and I worked my butt
off, I mean for decades, youknow to make my way in this
industry.
I was very comfortablepersonally and financially and
could have what I wanted withinreason, all this kind of stuff
and I was in a dark, dark place.
(04:17):
I was disconnected from myself,from others.
I was just.
I was angry, I was confused.
I think a lot of people canrelate to that, and it's not
until I took a step back andstarted living a life of service
to others, making my life aboutmore than myself, that I've
been a better place now thanI've ever been.
I feel more connected to othersthan I've ever felt and I feel
(04:37):
more connected to myself.
So it is to.
Your point is I don't care howmany Super Bowls you win, how
many cars you have, how manyhouses you have, that's not
going to lead you to a sense offulfillment.
It's simply not how it works.
It's about being of service,and you said it very well.
You don't have to have a badgeon, you don't have to wear a
uniform, you don't have to carrya gun.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
It's about we can all find ways of being of service
to others, it feels so muchbetter about giving back.
You know, when you talk aboutlike the money, the power, the
status, the symbols.
I used it to tell people I'mlike you know my thirties and
everything.
I would do everything to buildmy resume, everything I possibly
could do, I'd like to takecertificates of education,
everything.
And then when I got in myforties, it was like you know
what I want to have my personalresume Like what am I doing?
(05:22):
You know so in my forties Istarted doing things that are
like that means something to me,that are outside of that.
And now, like in my fifties andnow that I'm retired from being
an LEO, is I'm looking at howdo I have another mission?
How do I keep continuing togive back after 30 something
years?
And I think a lot of people,when they leave any type of job
(05:43):
or they transition or they pivotin life, that they need
something or you will end up ina dark spot.
Yeah, you will.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Yeah, no, look, I think you said that well, man is
, we need a reason to get out ofbed in the morning.
But I want to be very clearit's not 100% about others.
Clear it's not all, it's not ahundred percent about others is
that you need to have things foryourself as well, that you're
finding a sense of fulfillmentor or you know, pushing yourself
and expanding your limits andcapabilities, your education or
(06:13):
your understanding, or what areyour resources.
But then it's also aboutincorporating how you can use
that expansion you know in thelives of others, cause I think I
think I think sometimes peopleget confused and maybe they get
too service oriented, wherethey're either consciously or
subconsciously hiding fromsomething personal that they
(06:33):
need to work with.
But I think you said it verywell is that you've got to have
a personal mission, a reason whyyou're getting out of bed in
the morning every day, and notjust because you have to.
It needs to be something thatyou can be excited about,
something you can take somepride in every day.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Yeah, and you know what?
I tell people that all the timewhat you see on social media is
like 5% of people's lives 2%,1%.
Yeah, it's great to be inservice to others I have my own
nonprofit, I do this, I do thatbut there are things that you
need to do that will give youmental clarity, and that's one
thing I want to talk to youtoday about is like it's that
(07:08):
point you get where you want topush your body, because I think
when you get to a certain pointwhere you're pushing your body,
you get clarity.
You know, I did that.
God who wrote the book?
I interviewed him a couple ofyears, two, three years ago.
He wrote a book like the 12hour walk or something like that
.
Okay, and I remember I did thatand it was just like some random
day.
I was like I got up at likefive in the morning no
(07:30):
electronics, no, nothing.
And you know I I brought someum, just some water pack on me
and snacks and I just got onthis trail near my house that
goes for 20 something miles andI just walked 12 hours, nothing,
and I stopped to get coffee,have to do that.
But you know you get a littlesexist stuff, but just 12 hours,
no electronics and I would sayprobably about um, 10 hours in
(07:52):
um is when I started getting theclarity.
You don't get the clarityunless you really push yourself.
You have to push your mind, youhave to kind of.
You have to get to that pointand I don't think you could do
it in comfort, in a comfort zone.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Now you can't.
And the way that I look at itis it's kind of like an
hourglass is when you start this12 hour walk or you start, you
know whatever it is.
Fill in the blank is becauseit's like when I train, as I
train, I always train alone.
I never take music, anythinglike that, it's always just,
it's just me and my thoughts.
But it's when you first startoff, it's very easy.
(08:27):
There's a lot of room, there'sa lot of space.
The longer you do it, it startskind of funneling down into this
point where your mind can startspeeding up.
You, where your mind can startspeeding up, you can start to
feel anxiety, you can start tofeel like all these things.
You feel like you run out ofoxygen, sometimes almost like
you're underwater.
But I can just tell you and youexperienced this around the
(08:49):
10-hour mark is, if you continueto push yourself forward,
you'll come through that darkest, smallest, most difficult point
.
Then it'll open back up andit's the bottom of that
hourglass and then noweverything is just speeding up,
everything's just kind offalling out, everything opens up
.
And what I say is you break outof your personal gravitational
field and you go to this otherplace where you, just you, open
up.
Your perception opens up, yourappreciation opens up, your
(09:11):
perspective opens up, everythingopens up.
But to your point is, you haveto break through that, that
sticking point in order to reachthat that other side.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
You know that brings me back to like your origins in
this, like were you always anathletic person.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Yeah, in a general sense is, I've always been
athletic and active, but it wasmore in a traditional sense.
So, as baseball football trackis, I had a couple of contract
offers to play professionalfootball, you know that kind of
stuff, but I didn't discoverendurance and mountains and
things like that until I was 38years old and I didn't start
training full time until I was40.
(09:45):
So it's kind of that old adageof it's never too late to become
what you might've been.
And when you start training 20plus hours a week at 40 versus
20, you know, like you know isthat there's a that's a
different game.
You know 40 year olds don'trecover like 20 year olds do.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Oh, I'm hearing it, brother, and you know the thing
is like.
You know, mondays and Tuesdaysare like hey, monday's chest and
tries.
You know what I mean.
You have to do the things thatare different.
And you know, when you'regetting to people trying to get,
just start.
Then, when they want to startmoving their body, I always said
(10:24):
people like just walk, yeah,just get out there and walk.
And then when you start gettingused to walking, if you want to
jog, fine, I'm a huge proponentof rocking, uh, hiking anything
where your body just moves,yeah and then then start working
.
I mean because, look you, youhad that corporate gig.
And I can imagine a lot ofpeople are like, well, you're
making a lot of money and youhave the fancy things and fancy
that, but you're putting in 40,80, 100 hours a week and
mentally you got to be drained.
So how do you go from thatmental drain to being like oh
(10:46):
man, I got it, I got to shift.
Man, I got to pivot.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
You know it's is I reached just an absolute
breaking point.
As I was, I was in my late 30s.
I as I was, I was in my late30s I'd achieved a level of
(11:16):
success professionally.
But, to your point is, I worked80 to 100 hours a week for
years and years and years.
I mean I worked my butt off toget where I was and I'd forego
how much money I had or what Ibought is.
I've just felt an increasinglevel of disconnection and an
emptiness and a darkness insideof me that I couldn't understand
.
And it finally reached abreaking point where I was ready
to either check in to life andto start living a different kind
of life or just to check out,where I was virtually on the
verge of suicide.
I was in that dark a placewhere I mean I was virtually on
(11:36):
the verge of suicide.
Like I was in that dark a placeand, long story short, at that
same time my mother passed, Ibroke up with a serious
girlfriend and and I knew Ineeded I needed to change
everything about my life, and itwasn't going to be found by
(11:56):
speaking with a counselor once aweek or reading a book or
listening to something, or likeI needed to get away from
anything and everything I knew.
So I traveled alone to theMount Everest region, the Khumbu
Valley and the Himalayas, hadno previous experience, like I
couldn't have told you whereEverest was.
It was over there somewhere andthe idea of climbing a mountain
to me sounded dumber than hell,like that's stupid.
But I just went there and itwas on that trip that I had, you
(12:24):
know, spending three weekshiking alone.
You know, through that to theregion is I had a breakdown and
a breakthrough.
And the universe, or God, orthe collective unconscious or
whatever you want to call it,spoke to me and it's a longer
story, I'm just going to giveyou the bullet point of it Spoke
to me on this trip and it saidthat you're not living with any
sense of purpose and your lifeis only about you.
And in that moment I knew whatmy purpose was and I discovered
what my purpose was, and thatwas to help people avoid the
(12:46):
place that I was in, where I'vebeen lost, alone in that
darkness for decades, and it's ahorrible place.
You can't buy your way out ofit, and you know.
And I finally understood thepotential, the power and the
magnitude of it.
And you know, and I finallyunderstood that the potential,
the power and the magnitude ofevery single second where our
lives can change for better orfor worse and never go back, and
that's what kind of got mestarted on the journey that I'm
on now.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
You brought up a good , a good word in there, the one
that's like it's all about you.
And you know I've I've dealtwith a lot of people in these in
my I was in the federalgovernment for 20-something
years and military andeverything else.
But you always get to certainpeople where it's always about
them, it's always about theposition and power, and they
will ride that out until their50s or 60s.
But then there comes a point intheir life where they have to
(13:28):
hit it.
I'd imagine either they'regoing to hit it on their
deathbed or hopefully they'llhit it a lot earlier than that.
Where they go, you know what?
What is this all for?
You get one life, one singularlife.
You were lucky, you caught itwhen you were in your 30s, your
late 30s, early 40s, to whereyou said you know what, I've got
to do something else.
(13:49):
And you know when you say yougo out and you hit a mountain
and you do this and you do that.
But you're getting the claritythat you need and you know I was
reading a description of yourbook You're, you're surrendering
to your mind.
You know your mind.
You know, believe me, we've,I've tied.
We've all talked on thispodcast a lot about suicide and
the dark thoughts and the areasyou get to.
But and you have to getsometimes the only way you can
(14:12):
get past it is if you surrenderyour mind to say you know what,
wow, when you look at the globalscale and I'm not getting all
philosophical but if you look atthis world and the things that
you can see listen, I grew up onthe Appalachian Mountains.
There are so many things outthere.
I can see that I want to see.
Like, my next goal is I want tojust hike down the trail by
(14:33):
myself and just do things.
But you have to find somethingand surrender to it.
You know it could be yourhigher purpose, it could be
something, but you have tomentally surrender to get to
that.
That, that point you need to.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Yeah, it's especially with your experience in the, in
the military and with thegovernment is we probably have
very similar mindsets in manyregards and that, you know, when
I grew up, it was always tofight everything and it was just
whatever was in front of me isI would just overcome it, I
would destroy it, I'd go throughit, I'd go, you know, whatever
(15:06):
it was and everything justseemed like a fight to the death
.
And but after a while I had todo that for decades and decades.
Literally and metaphorically itwears you out.
And what I found to your pointabout surrender is a lot of
people confuse surrender.
You have that traditionalnegative connotation.
Surrender, the way that we'reusing it, is not giving in,
(15:29):
giving up and going along.
It's finding new ways, morepositive ways of meeting your
needs.
And the way that we do that isthat you surrender into the
unknown.
And all this is in the book andthere's like a very detailed
process about what it is and howto do it and all this kind of
stuff.
But it's basically as you faceyour fears and hesitations and
trepidations, you allow them tomove into you.
(15:52):
You don't run from them, youexperience them to their fullest
but, most importantly, youallow yourself to release them.
So it's like a cloud that kindof comes into you, you
experience it and then yourelease it to where you don't
hold on to it and you don't giveit the ability to take root
within you, where you'recarrying it with you for the
rest of your life.
Because a lot of times whenwe're upset during situations,
(16:14):
we're not upset about thesituation we're facing.
That situation is simplybringing up things that we've
dealt with, you know, dozens orhundreds or thousands of times.
These things we just keepreliving, that we refuse to let
go or we're unaware of how tolet those things go.
And that's what surrender is.
It's finding strength through adifferent means.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
And I think surrender to me is also you've built
these walls.
We've all built walls, thesecurity walls.
You know we don't let people in, sometimes we don't let
ourselves out, and surrenderingis also tearing down those walls
.
So you could actually open upyour mind, exactly, and open up
your thought pattern.
So you could actually open upyour mind and open up your
thought pattern.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
That's exactly it.
And look, we all have thesepeople in our lives that we call
brothers, that we call sisters,that we call family.
It's hey, I love you, man, I'llbe there for you and you're
there for me, and all this kindof stuff.
But within that, we all havethese things that we're too
scared to share with anybody,these deep, deep things that we
hold on to because we're eitherembarrassed or nobody can
(17:16):
possibly understand what we'refacing or whatever.
Fill in the blank and I'm tryingto get people to understand is
we're all the same person,looking for the same things.
We're just going about it inslightly different ways.
And no matter what we're facing, whatever the pain and
confusion and frustration is, Idon't care what it is and I'm
not diminishing it because Iknow it hurts, I know it's
(17:37):
confusing and painful, but it'sbeen faced by millions and
billions of people, millions andbillions of times.
There's nothing unique aboutour pain and suffering and if we
can understand that andcommunicate that better and more
effectively to one another, ithelps us to release that and, to
your point, tear down thesewalls that we build consciously
(17:58):
and subconsciously to protectourselves.
But what we don't understand isthere's some protection, but
there's also a cell that we'rebuilding around ourselves where
we limit our ability toparticipate in life to its
fullest.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
And there is more to life than monetary things and
flashy cars and flashy people.
I you know I was thinking abouta mission and I'm like a
mission is more than just othersgiving back to others.
Sometimes a mission is yourself.
Right, sometimes you gotta belike you know what I really need
to work on my brain.
I need to work on my body.
I need to become the bestversion of myself.
(18:33):
Now you did that, you're stilldoing.
I imagine you're going to keepdoing it.
But these world records whatare we?
Speaker 2 (18:41):
talking about here.
What do we got going on?
So, within a 12 month period,from from May 2021 to May 2022,
is I was able to set five worldrecords, and that was in a the.
The activities includedclimbing the highest peak on
(19:03):
each continent, skiing to theSouth Pole, rowing a boat across
the Atlantic Ocean and thenbecoming the first person to
trek, solo and unsupported,across the Mojave Desert and
Death Valley.
And then, since that time, Iwent back to the Mojave.
That was 213 miles was theoriginal crossing.
I went back and did about a 330mile crossing, which was
(19:24):
another freestanding record.
But the whole purpose of it isnot just to say, hey, look at
this guy doing these extremethings which most people are
never going to do.
It's a Trojan horse tofacilitate a deeper conversation
, to say, hey, if this guy'sdoing this, then I can find
something comparable in my lifeand really all these physical
endeavors.
I enjoy being out there, Ienjoy being in the pain and the
(19:46):
challenge of it, but more thananything, it's a tool or a
mechanism of self-reflection and, just like you said, is where
you need to work on yourselffirst before you can help others
.
It's a way of me being able todiscover more about myself,
where I can have a strongerpersonal base, to where I can
perform better and more for theworld around.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
And relate to people too.
You know, we could listen, youcould do 8 million different
world records and stuff, butwhen you, there's always a way
to relate to people.
And when you, when you relateto someone, maybe they can't do
a world record, but maybe theycould do a record for themselves
.
That could be, you know, hey, Iwant to walk around the block.
Some people are immobile.
(20:29):
Maybe it's like uh, I haven'thad this book in the back of my
head for 20 years.
Maybe I just sit down, buckledown and do it.
But you have to have some sortof purpose and that's how you
can relate to other people.
You can find purposes inanything.
Exactly you can find your limitsin anything.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Yeah, and that's again, and we're not telling
people as an organization andI'm not telling people to go out
and climb Mount Everest or todo something like that.
To your point is we all havethese things in our lives.
It may be having a conversationwith somebody that you've been
putting off for 20 years, orhaving the courage to quit your
job and to pursue something thatyou feel is going to fulfill
(21:09):
you, or starting a family orending a bad marriage or
whatever it is.
We all have these things.
You, or starting a family orending a bad marriage or
whatever it is, we all havethese things.
It's just a matter of pushingourselves beyond our comfort
zones to learn about ourselvesand to understand, because I
think you know we talk about,people are scared that they're
not enough most times, or theybelieve.
I think more than that, mostpeople are more scared that
(21:31):
they're more powerful than theywant to believe.
Because with that power comesresponsibility.
Because if you don't have anypower, you can sit back being
that hapless victim saying, hey,my hands, you know it's outside
of my hands.
I don't have any control, Idon't have any power here, but
when you understand how muchpower you do have, there's a
level of responsibility thatcomes with that, and it's like
you pick up one end of the stick, you get the other, and that's
(21:53):
what we're trying to get peopleto realize is that we're all
capable of doing more.
It's just fill in the blankwith whatever is best for you
respectively.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Well, the other power is the power to invest in
yourself.
And that doesn't have to beinvesting money in yourself, but
just invest your time.
We fill up the hours of the day, we fill up the minutes, we
fill up the seconds witheverything we possibly can.
And if you think about just howmuch time it takes to take that
first step sometimes literallyminutes.
When you want to push your body, you start somewhere.
You could literally walk fiveminutes a day to start.
(22:24):
You could literally say, hey,you know what I wanted to write
that book for 20 years.
You could literally take 15minutes every night.
You could do anything you want,but you have to invest your own
time.
You have to invest in yourself.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Yeah, which.
It's just like if you're goingto be, you know, an anchor or
try to be as a support for youknow, for someone else, another
network or whatever, is that youhave to have your own solid
foundation first.
And it's just, if you want tobuild the prettiest house in the
world but the foundation sucks,then you're going to have
issues.
So to your point is and wetalked about this a little bit
(22:57):
earlier is, before you canreally truly help others to the
maximum of your ability isyou've got to develop your own
foundation first, but then alsowork to maintain that foundation
going forward.
It's not just a matter of youwork for a day.
You got your foundation andthen you never have to address
it again.
You got to do something everysingle day to check that
foundation, make it bigger, makeit stronger, and that'll just
(23:19):
maximize your own performance,but then again, your ability to
help others, Now can you imagineyou knew this?
Speaker 1 (23:24):
you knew this in your twenties, you know, I think
back about some of the thingsthat my physical being in my
twenties compared to this now.
But imagine you had clarity.
And what I like to say aboutpeople with clarity is it
doesn't have to be 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, even 60s or 70s or 80s.
Find it and do something withit, clear your mind and you have
(23:49):
to build on it.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
You know something that it's funny.
You brought that up.
So I've got a niece and anephew that are 17 and 18.
And I recently saw them.
And one thing I talked to themabout, and I talked to a lot of
younger people about, is I wishI had a greater, a greater
understanding of the role that Iwant to play in the world when
I was younger, and especiallywith the concept of concepts of
(24:14):
appreciation and and perspective.
You know, and I think thegreater your level of
perspective, the greater yourlevel of appreciation and the
more clarity you can have out ofyour life, and I think that's
something that needs to becommunicated to younger people.
You know earlier on to where wedon't just start having these
big, these big revelations.
(24:36):
You know, in our 40s, 50s, 60swe start to work on a little bit
earlier.
But again, it's yourunderstanding of things changes.
You understand things a littlebit better or differently as you
get older.
But at least to initiate theconversations with with younger
people.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Oh, believe me, I'm doing that with my kids.
I have two teenagers, a 14 anda 16 year old, and it's like the
way their dedication to sportsis like nothing I've nothing
I've ever had.
You know their dedication to,like you know, just things like
that and they're, they're frugaland just I'm like I'd like to
think it's some good parenting.
But, man, like they just havedifferent clarity.
(25:09):
Like you know, when I was a kid, I just was, yeah, what I want
to do, I just want to getthrough the day I work my job
and do some sports with theseguys, or, uh, it's crazy how the
you know, maybe it's their,their eyes are open up to the
world more than we were when wewere kids.
I, I don't know, but it's just.
Maybe they have some goodmentors here and there, but,
like you said, man, they justhave to open their eyes to
(25:30):
things.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
It is.
I think it's a combination ofthat, and then it's just every
day is do something that you canbe proud of.
And to your point is, I don'tcare if that's taken one step,
that you didn't take the stepthe day before, if that's walk
around the block, if that'swriting a sentence in the book
or you know whatever it is.
Just do at least one thingevery day that you can be proud
(25:52):
of, and that stuff starts tobuild upon itself and you start
to feel better about yourself,even subconsciously.
Then it eventually will showitself consciously and start
moving in a better direction.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
So you wrote the book .
And I always tell people, mike,if you have a book and you
write it because a book is alegacy, it's more than just you
know a podcast or this or that.
But where did the idea of thebook come from?
Speaker 2 (26:15):
Yeah, it was.
It was really just wanting toshare the journey.
You know that I'd been on withpeople and you know the book
starts from when I was veryyoung.
You know that I'd been on withpeople and you know the book
starts from when I was veryyoung.
You know, through today it'sbasically a personal memoir that
includes the all the recordsand all the events and
everything.
But it's just.
It's more than anything.
It's a matter of the humanexperience and about getting us
(26:38):
to relate to one another, causeyou know, in there they're all
my personal journals that Inever thought would be published
, from my expeditions that arevery kind of raw and colorful
and embarrassing at times.
But then there's also lessonsthat are incorporated throughout
the narrative, that are justthings I learned along the way,
that helped me on a daily basis.
And then there's major, majorpillars that I call meditations.
(26:59):
They're like the major thingsI've learned over the past
couple of years, major thingsI've learned over the past
couple of years.
And then at the end of eachchapter there's an ask yourself
and apply yourself section whereyou can take what you've read,
ask yourself three or four verydirect, poignant questions, sit
quietly with them, and thenthere's an apply yourself where
you can.
There's, you know, directiveswhere you can apply, you know
today, and so if someone isn'tconcerned, isn't interested in
(27:22):
hearing about you know, themountain was 26,000 feet and it
was 30 degrees below zero andthe desert was 100 degrees.
My pack was 400 pounds and ifthat doesn't interest you,
there's so much more to thestory that's in there.
But that kind of stuff doesinterest you.
All that stuff's in there aswell.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
That sounds really good, man.
I'm going to pick up a copymyself, but we're looking at
what.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
January release right , yeah, so January 7th will be
the ebook, the audio book andthe paperback.
A couple of weeks ago we we didopen the ebook to pre-release
on Amazon and I'm proud to saywe've been number one Amazon to
release for several weeks nowand getting a very big uh, uh.
You know some great feedback onthat, so it's been wonderful to
see.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Well, I appreciate you coming on to awesome man.
I'm looking forward to the bookand looking forward to watching
your next ventures, and I likethe fact that you're helping out
the Gary Sinise foundation.
That's a that's a solidorganization, right there.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
It's funny man as I've known.
Dude for 10 minutes you come,it's a weird.
It's weird is you come awayfeeling better about life but
you feel worse about yourselfbecause he's such, he's such a
good person.
(28:35):
You're like, how can this guybe so good?
You know, but he, he's exactlyyou know what?
Speaker 1 (28:40):
I tell you what it is tough, a tough, tough, tough in
the veteran community to find anon-profit that is authentic
and that is one that I wouldvouch for, like any day of the
week, and for someone toconstantly give back, like
constantly.
I mean, if we're talking likedecades now, probably I can't
remember when gary sinning'sfoundation started, but it's
(29:01):
been a long time and uh, justwhat a solid human being man.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Oh dude, he's awesome .
And then then the other group,hope for the Warriors, which got
started by Robin Kelleher,primarily initially as a as a
Marine, focused, you know,charity.
But the charity Navigator is agroup that that vets you know
and scores a lot of charitiesand, as you know, there are
thousands, literally thousandsof veteran focused charities.
Hope for the Warriors and GarySteeves Foundation, year in,
(29:27):
year out, are two of the top 10rated charities.
So both these groups are justwonderful, valid organizations
that we've certainly come totrust and really enjoy working
with.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
Cool brother.
Well, I appreciate it, man.
We'll keep in touch.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Hey, thank you, I appreciate it.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Cold Case Files: Miami
Joyce Sapp, 76; Bryan Herrera, 16; and Laurance Webb, 32—three Miami residents whose lives were stolen in brutal, unsolved homicides. Cold Case Files: Miami follows award‑winning radio host and City of Miami Police reserve officer Enrique Santos as he partners with the department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit, determined family members, and the advocates who spend their lives fighting for justice for the victims who can no longer fight for themselves.