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Ben Mumme on personal growth and self improvement, strides as an athlete, joining the run community, building his own podcast and the keys to unlocking your greatness
19 Plays54 minutes ago
On today’s episode of Just In Stride, we’re joined by Ben Mumme, an endurance athlete, content creator, and host of the Living Your Greatness podcast. Through his own athletic journey and conversations with high performers, Ben explores what it takes to push limits, develop resilience, and build a mindset for success—both in sport and in life.
As a passionate advocate for self-improvement, Ben uses his platform to inspire others to chase their potential. Whether through endurance challenges, personal growth strategies, or deep conversations with experts, he’s always looking for ways to help others unlock their greatness.
In this episode, Ben shares his own evolution as an athlete, what he’s learned from hosting Living Your Greatness, and how endurance sports have shaped his outlook on discipline, mindset, and personal growth. His story is a great reminder that success isn’t about talent alone—it’s about showing up, putting in the work, and striving to be just a little better every day.
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Offer from Xact Nutrition: This episode is presented by our friends at Xact Nutrition and they are offering you 15% OFF your order when you use the code JUSTINSTRIDE. So head to xactnutrition.com and fuel your goals today! Now shipping in Canada and the U.S.
Offer from Lagoon : This episode is also brought to you by Lagoon sleep pillow and they are offering you 15% OFF your order when you use the code STRIDE. Mininum purchase of $74 USD required. Limited to one use per customer.
Thanks for tuning in to the Just In Stride Podcast. I truly appreciate you taking the time to listen and I hope you enjoyed that conversation as much as I did. Please take a minute after this to rate and review our show on Apple Podcasts. With your feedback we’ll be able to make the show even better and it’ll help us reach new listeners too. You can also find us on Instagram @justinstridepod and YouTube @justinstridepod for all the latest episodes and updates. Glad you came along for the ride with Just In Stride!
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Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:03
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the Justin Stride Podcast. I'm your host, Justin Pugliese. If you love endurance sports, you've definitely come to the right place. On this show, we'll talk to athletes, coaches, and professionals who can help us reach our true potential.
00:00:18
Speaker
Being a student of distance running for over 10 years and interviewing people in the sport for the last five, I've learned a ton, but there's always more to discover. Everyone has a story and I know you'll resonate with each of our guests as we embark on this new journey together.
00:00:34
Speaker
Join us at home, on the road, or while you run. Together we'll have some fun.
Sponsorship Messages
00:00:39
Speaker
So follow along on Instagram at JustInStridePod and your favorite podcast platform and prepare to be inspired.
00:00:47
Speaker
Come along for the ride with Just In Stride. This episode is presented by our friends at Exact Nutrition, a tasty and healthy way to fuel your body before, during, and after a solid training session.
00:01:00
Speaker
I never had out for a run without a few exact energy fruit bars in my pocket, and now they've made fueling even easier with their brand new minis. Same great taste, now in bite-sized pieces.
00:01:13
Speaker
Each reusable bag has 32 pieces, making it perfect for sharing with teammates or dialing in your fueling on the go. Stay fueled, stay strong, and fuel smarter with Exact Nutrition.
00:01:26
Speaker
Get 15% off your order with code JUSTINSSTRIDE at exactnutrition.com. We're also supported by our friends at Lagoon, the experts in deep restorative sleep, the ultimate recovery tool for your training.
00:01:41
Speaker
When I spoke with Ryan Hurley, the founder of Lagoon, on episode 37 of the podcast, I learned just how important the right pillow is for optimal sleep and performance. After taking their two-minute quiz and finding my perfect match, I finally started waking up refreshed and ready to tackle my goals.
00:01:58
Speaker
Now, Lagoon is offering 15% off your first purchase with the code STRIDE. So head to lagoonesleep.com and see for yourself why better sleep leads to better running.
Meet Ben Mummey
00:02:11
Speaker
On today's episode of Justin Stride, we're joined by Ben Mummey, an endurance athlete, content creator, and host of Living Your Greatness podcast. Through his own athletic journey and conversations with high performers, Ben explores what it takes to push limits, develop resilience, and build a mindset for success, both in sports and in life.
00:02:34
Speaker
As a passionate advocate for self-improvement, Ben uses his platform to inspire others to chase their potential. Whether through endurance challenges, personal growth strategies, or deep conversations with experts, he's always looking for ways to help others unlock their greatness.
00:02:51
Speaker
In this episode, Ben shares his own evolution as an athlete, what he's learned from hosting Living Your Greatness, and how endurance sports have shaped his outlook on discipline, mindset, and personal growth.
00:03:04
Speaker
His story is a great reminder that success isn't about talent alone. It's about showing up, putting in the work, and striving to be just a little better every day.
00:03:17
Speaker
Ben, welcome to Dressed in Stride. Justin, good to be here. Super stoked to be on today. Yeah, it seems like ah yesterday we were were battling it out on the ball hockey court.
00:03:27
Speaker
and here we are, two podcasters having a chat. So it's kind of it's interesting where life takes you. Totally. It's actually really funny because, you know, people were asking me, oh, whose podcast are you on tomorrow? And first and foremost, I'm like, oh, I'm on like, ah he was my assistant captain, but also family friend. You know, I started that route. And then I'm like,
00:03:49
Speaker
No, but honestly, like he's had a really cool ah two podcast journeys,
Ben's Podcasting Journey
00:03:54
Speaker
right? The rundown and now the one that you're starting now. So, no, super stoked to be here today. Nice. So does does your brother, has your brother caught wind of it or or or ah who was asking about it?
00:04:05
Speaker
ah So friends from like the running community and then a couple other friends just like from around like the neighborhood. Yeah, amazing. So, so yeah, no, it's, it's cool. And ah it's a small world, right? So it's, ah it's pretty awesome. So what have been up to lately? I see you popping up on social media quite a bit with all the chats that you've been you've been having.
00:04:26
Speaker
um We can get into your athletic journey. But more recently, you've been you've been having an extension kind of every podcast and in live talks. Yeah. um Well, I would say the first thing is like living your greatness, which is one of my ah businesses um and and podcasts, obviously, right? Through conversations, it brings on a variety of of domains, right? Not just physical well-being where I've had Olympians or high level, you know, athletes on, but you know, therapists to then investors. Uh, but you're right.
00:04:59
Speaker
Um, last May I had a project that was really special, which was called local legends. And so there was a lot of, uh, endurance athletes on that one. And it was super fun because at the time too, I was, I was living in Chelsea. Uh, for those that don't know, Chelsea, it's, it's in a national park of Quebec. It's beautiful.
00:05:20
Speaker
Highly, highly recommend people check it out. But all these like world champions, which it was less about that, like the interviews is more like their stories and, you know, how they've given back to community. And it was less about the gold medals and all that stuff. But anyways, they happen to be from there.
00:05:36
Speaker
So it was it was super meaningful and to meet them in person and to shoot in nature was a lot of fun. So I've had interviews like that that you've seen. And then obviously, ah yeah, just through Living Your Greatness, other interviews that I've done outside of athletics, as well as um a new project, which I started a month ago, which is called Creative Entrepreneurs, which is whole other conversation. But in terms of anyone, whether you're a podcaster, whether you're an artist or whether you're an athlete and you're looking to take your passion and now put that into a business model and, and, and really, you know, go your entrepreneurship journey.
00:06:13
Speaker
So it's been fun balancing like these two projects, um, that I'm deeply passionate about while also, uh, working a full-time job, which I'm a physical educator at a college level.
00:06:26
Speaker
Yeah. Which most of it has to do right at at the onset. Um, I'm just curious, like, why did you start the pod in the first place? Yeah, well, I don't actually think it um comes from, like let's say one day where you kind of think about it. like When I think about the first time I ever thought that I wanted to even start a podcast would have been I was in grade 11.
00:06:46
Speaker
So when podcasts were first coming out and I was religiously following at the time ah Tim Ferriss, who just written like the four-hour work week, and then he had just launched like a really cool podcast where he was bringing on all these high performers from athletics and he was he he was just trying to learn from them and share knowledge and uh so i would say that was when like podcasts came even into you know my uh my my my circumference i guess of of oh hey this is pretty cool podcast like you know at the time a couple years before that everyone was listening to radio right so um but in terms of like i think the more important thing here to answer
00:07:28
Speaker
i' Like, what is my why behind what I do? Right. Because as you probably know, there are so many hours that we put behind the scenes into each episode. And I think for me, what really sparked my desire is I think curiosity first is i just feel i really I want to know so much more about the world, whether that's in athletics, whether that's in business, whether that's in psychology. um And I really, really want to share that to help people unlock like their full potential. So that was kind of like my main idea when I started Living Your Greatness, which as ah as a starting podcaster, that's that's very challenging, right? To be like, ah you know, not that I was trying to be like a Tim Ferriss or Shane Parrish or these people that I admire, you know, their own podcasts, but it's hard to go very broad at the beginning.
00:08:18
Speaker
But for me, it's, ah you know, I truly feel um that if we could be more spiritually well or mentally well or physically well or all all these elements of kind of well-being, um it's truly, truly important. And if I could be part of that ripple effect,
00:08:34
Speaker
um I kind of wanted to be part of it. So it was kind of like, how do I impact myself and learn in these domains and then share that with others? Like selfishly, like how do I take advantage of this?
00:08:46
Speaker
And then like through the conversations, people get to learn. um And would you say, cause, cause you are so broad that you have, do you, do you see the parallels that run through people in different domains or and in the lessons that they're teaching and what we can take away from them?
00:09:03
Speaker
Absolutely. Like one thing that um really comes to mind is like, I don't know if you've ever heard of the three Ps. So like the three Ps is like, you know, when we're learning anything, or we are pursuing anything in our life.
00:09:19
Speaker
um Hopefully, first off, you're, you're even passionate or even curious to go there. But Whatever it is, is making sure that we are practicing, making sure that we are patient with ourself and making sure that we are um having also perseverance. So I really believe in those three words, whether it's in you know athletics or whether it's in you know, business or whether it's in entrepreneurship or whatever it is, you know, like, like even like a musician, like we also, saw i also have stories that i would love to share afterwards of all these different individuals, but it's like, they all embrace, i would say those was three different piece.
00:09:58
Speaker
um Because the thing is, is that there's going to be so many failures before you even get better at something. Right. um And, you know, And so most of the time we don't see that, right? We don't see that on social media or we don't see that like at every race, right? Like, you know, someone that does well.
00:10:16
Speaker
um So it's it's really interesting and when you learn about their journeys, when you learn about their stories, when you learn about their principles, um there's definitely a lot of alignment through all the domains. Differences too, but I think the little expression I would say here is like same, same, but different.
00:10:34
Speaker
yeah And like, yeah, it can connect like so many things. So people like use athletics and then they put it into their relationships or their work or whatever it may be. And so, yeah, I can see how that can definitely happen amongst like different domains. Like how has this journey impacted you? Do you feel like from if you look back to the start of it to where you are now, did you ever think you'd kind of get to this point?
00:11:02
Speaker
Yeah. I, I think ever since I started, even just like starting a podcast, it's kind of like how you start anything. Right. So even when I first got into endurance sports, like people don't realize now, but it's like, uh, you know, I was always a team sports athlete.
00:11:18
Speaker
So endurance sports, you know, I was decent at, but that actually wasn't my, like, I wasn't a, I wasn't a, you know, a marathon runner my whole life or all these, all these different aspects. But to answer your question, I think, uh,
00:11:31
Speaker
the biggest thing is um just being open to you actually trying, you know, and and starting somewhere. And I think that's like the biggest thing is like, we don't realize, but we could have a vision that is so actually close to happening.
00:11:47
Speaker
But the thing is, is people usually get frustrated after a couple tries and they don't realize that it takes progress. It takes embracing like the journey. Like even for example, I've i've i've shared with people actually recently,
00:11:59
Speaker
I'm like, you know what, I still believe in my and my broad kind of vision um because I know that with time, with each episode, each rep, it's going to get more and more clear to people.
00:12:10
Speaker
And it has shown to be true, you know, cause all of a sudden, like last summer, i didn't do anything different in my, in my interview style or even what type of high level
Transition to Endurance Sports
00:12:21
Speaker
guests I brought on. And then all of a sudden, boom, like one episode got, uh, you know, 44,000 views, but that was my motivation, right? My motivation wasn't like, Oh, how do i how do I keep getting like the most views? It was just being consistent and to bringing on people that I thought have good stories to share um and have a wealth of knowledge. And for some reason, that episode maybe resonated with their audience tremendously and I got rewarded, you know? So I really think that big visions, even from day one will happen if you stick with it.
00:12:55
Speaker
And if, if you also embrace too, like I'm also not sharing this, but from conversation, let's say 178 conversation one, I'm also learning a lot of interviewing and how to navigate a conversation as well. Right. So there's that aspect as well too.
00:13:11
Speaker
Right. Yeah, sure. i mean, like, it's like that, if we bring it back to hockey, you miss a hundred percent of the shots you don't take kind of thing. So you don't know what the next thing, progression is going to be like if you, if you don't try, you know, you don't try something different, you don't try a different guest or ah different kind type of conversation. Or is there like a strategy to how you bring on guests because you are so broad and like, do you, are you like, Oh, I have to have a psychologist and a finance person, then a this or that, um or do you find that that becomes difficult in terms of scheduling?
00:13:45
Speaker
So, It comes difficult with two things because obviously like once you start going in a domain, like for example, last year, i was really heavily focused on like the financial sector.
00:13:57
Speaker
And, you know, I think there's a lot of people that need more financial literacy. I think there's a lot of people, you know, struggling nowadays just in general. But once you start now, let's say getting on pretty high level gas, you know, you also get obviously, you from those individuals, hey, yeah you know, this person would be great for your show.
00:14:17
Speaker
So you start to get that momentum or kind of connections, which obviously doesn't mean that for sure you say yes to all those, right? You want to make sure that it's aligned with your audience and and your values and all that stuff. But that definitely helps, right? And so to answer your question, like I really think back to even like last year at one point, maybe because I was more hyper-focused on finance, um I was obviously attracting like that crowd more, you know, and I was getting rewarded because I was i was being consistent, right? I was an episode after ah episode.
00:14:52
Speaker
But now what I'm kind of learning is how do I still give to my audience, which is high performers who really want to you know, learn from someone who has mastered their craft, but by doing series. so that's kind of why now I'm starting to do these series is it gives me a way to hyper focus on a subject matter that I think is important.
00:15:12
Speaker
And then to, to kind of share that with others. Yeah. But it says too, like, I'm not staying here. Like the next series will be focused on and X, Y, and Z kind of thing. Okay. Gotcha.
00:15:22
Speaker
Yeah. Cool. um let's Let's get a bit into your um like physical like ah physical health and endurance. As an endurance athlete, I always like to hear back from you know when you were a kid, how you grew up, like what your interests were.
00:15:39
Speaker
and how you fell in love with like endurance sports. And I saw, you know, I knew you more from hockey, like I said at the very, very beginning, like even your brother, same thing. And it's a passion we shared and it's kind of what but brought us together.
00:15:53
Speaker
But now, you know, then seeing you in the endurance space was was really interesting. It was like, oh, cool. Like... You know, my like my hockey buddies aren't didn't necessarily make it there. i did and and you did, but it's fun when when someone else joins the party, you know, so maybe take us down that path.
00:16:10
Speaker
Yeah, sure. Well, I would say like anything, early exposure to to any physical activity is is is tremendous. Like I want... ah everyone, you know, to try and be, I think the word that comes to me is like physically literate, right? Because if we have a motivation, if we have the competence, if we have the confidence, um then we're more than likely to be open to even if we were in a specific sport transition to other activities and be active for life. Right.
00:16:39
Speaker
So yeah, as a kid, I would say I was put into a lot of team sports. I kind of mentioned that earlier. And also is how, as you mentioned, how we kind of got in touch and ah obviously through family.
00:16:50
Speaker
But then i think after I was a high level water pole player, you know, where you're you're training like 28 hours a week or even more sometimes.
00:17:01
Speaker
um you you know, and you're, you're playing, I was playing for team Quebec. was then training under like the national team. You end up like you, you develop these lifestyle habits that are kind of with you for life.
00:17:13
Speaker
So I think for me, it was more like ah you hear about this a lot, but like almost like the Olympian like depression, right? So it's kind of like you finish, you close that door, which actually for me, maybe not right away, but it was because of an injury. I stopped the sport, but shortly after,
00:17:31
Speaker
ah there was different outlets that I took on to then, how do I say, um get used to, you know, like I had so much time going into something and now it's like gone, right? So I obviously went to academics. I went to McGill, studied phys ed and kin there and got really involved with like the student life.
00:17:51
Speaker
So I put a lot of time there. But then the other aspect was what about my own lifestyle of like physical well-being? And so Yeah, it started off honestly for like, I'd say the first two to three years, like let's say getting into running was like the first endurance sport. It was more like, oh, i always enjoyed like the runner's high, which I think is one high of many highs that we could get through physical activity.
00:18:16
Speaker
And just kind of with time, like, Um, shortly after that, it was funny. It was like, I was a good runner, but I didn't really, i didn't really love it that much, you know? And then it was when I fell in love with running was more when I moved to a different city.
00:18:31
Speaker
So I moved to Ottawa at the time, uh, the capital of Canada. And, uh, Pretty shortly after I was working in sport management at the time. So the house of sport.
00:18:42
Speaker
And at that time, a lot of the the people I was working with, they're all people that were passionate about sports, passionate about movement. And, you know, running is such a quick, effective and efficient way through a community to meet up, hang out, grab a coffee and then kind of get back to it. So that was actually where i first started getting into endurance sports was actually through a different city of community, ah making new relationships, being active with like-minded individuals. And then from there, which was like the biggest thing for me, which was ah discovering like
00:19:18
Speaker
like the city, right? And through all these different run routes, assuming that there's a different run route in the group, you actually, you're you're kind of exploring like the city. And so for me, that was how endurance sports started.
00:19:32
Speaker
And then feel free if you wanna ask me more questions of how it kind of went from there, but that was kind of how how how I got the itch for endurance sports. Yeah, like very like organic kind of way, right? Yeah.
00:19:45
Speaker
And like, what did something surprise you about I know I was surprised. Like I used to run, used to run the Ottawa half marathon every year by myself, like just drive up there alone.
00:19:57
Speaker
Like when I got into running, uh, like around 2010. Right. So it was like, I didn't even know this community existed and it took me a while to figure it out. Actually. you Like, even though I was running, I didn't know there was any like run groups or other people that did the this or how to connect, but it sounds like through kind of what you were doing in work, it progressed. But were you surprised at all by that and how close knit it can be?
00:20:22
Speaker
Yeah, well, I was kind of surprised. um I think throughout our lives, you know, from when we're kids to, you know, till till till the end of our life, like we really crave connection, right? We really crave community. We really create coming together, you know, um like the whole aspect of being part of you know, just like a neighborhood or even like a city. Right. And so, uh, I think for me, it was like, I got that through sports, especially team sports my whole life, you know, and then I got that through my family, you know, I'm i'm from a big family of ah five
Balancing Competition and Enjoyment
00:20:56
Speaker
of us. Right. And then on top of that, I would say, um you know, I got that even through academics because of all the student involvement that I was doing, which was community.
00:21:06
Speaker
So I think you realize later in life when you're, you know, um, working let's say five to nine and you're working really hard and you know, you have your friendships that you care about and, and and like your family, you're like, oh I'm not really kind of communities gone. Like that community that I've always been used to.
00:21:25
Speaker
So I think for me, i think I've always known that there's different ways, like not just through running, that we could find community. you know like Even if you want to, I don't know, let's say get into something else, like even music or dance, right? there's there There are those communities everywhere, but sometimes it's we don't know where they are, right? And yeah luckily, like even when I came back to Montreal,
00:21:47
Speaker
before I even got even more into endurance sports, you know, i reached out to you at the time because I knew you' were one of the few people that I knew that was really involved in the communities here. And, you know, you pointed me in the right directions, you know, and then from there I was able to continue to find those tribes, you know?
00:22:06
Speaker
So, it so beyond like the community, the community aspect, then like at that time there, there's so many groups and it continues to grow, but did you see it more like as a social thing or also did you get interested in, you know, this is fun. I'm enjoying this. I'm enjoying the connections, but like, I want to start to push myself or like, how did you use the sport?
00:22:32
Speaker
Yeah, that's a great question. um Because even though I was going to these community runs, I was still, and it's it's probably something that i I should have spoke about, but I was still training on my own, whether that was, you know, doing my yoga two to three times a week, doing my weight training two to three times a week, and then running on my own as well too, you know, like in my my kind of individual programming.
00:22:56
Speaker
But I would say after I went to more of these events, And I think this is very normal. I started to get more of an itch of, oh, there's, you know, ah these fun, playful runk races coming up, you know? And I really like, I'm someone, I've always been someone, like to be honest, I've never been someone, and people are always like surprised that I haven't actually competed that much in in like endurance sports.
00:23:24
Speaker
Even though like, let's say um maybe my level of athleticism is is is kind of, how do i say i like a good level to compete, you know? And and for me, when I saw these fun little races like within like the city, i was like, okay, I'm down for that because I'm someone I actually, i do like to compete, but i i I only like to do it for fun.
00:23:50
Speaker
Um, and, and I don't know if there's, I don't know if it's, I don't know if that's because, you know, maybe when I used to train at such a high level, we were always competing that it felt like a chore. And for me, I was like, I want to keep doing these endurance sports more for the adventure or more for the playfulness or more for the, um, you know, like that, like high intensity at times too, you know, but, but but not because I have to.
00:24:17
Speaker
you know? And so I think for me, like there, there, there's a book that i recommend everyone reads, which is beyond even like, um, insurance sports, I would say it's just like our relationship to physical activity, but it's called Feel Like It by Kelly Dell.
00:24:32
Speaker
and And it talks about all the reasons that we're actually truly motivated to move our body. And so for me, it's like, and I mean this in like a really humble way. It's like, I know I could compete at a high level and perform, but it's like, that's not what Ashley motivates me.
00:24:50
Speaker
what motivates me is like adventure. What motivates me is being outdoors. What motivates me is like, actually, yeah, in a competitive way, pushing my body some days, you know, where, I'm holding that three 30 pace, you know, or three 45 and it feels good for me, you know?
00:25:07
Speaker
um But it's not because I like, I'm, I'm not training or like my, my, my whole relationship isn't for, the results first kind of like mentality. And I find through that I've, you take off so much pressure and you put enjoyment into your lifestyle that it has such an impact on if you ever choose or want to compete, um you'll do very well, but it's like, that's not what motivates me. And, and, and, and that's also not why I do these sports, you know?
00:25:43
Speaker
Yeah, it's interesting. I think that's a, it's a great line to draw for yourself. It's a, that's how I view it too, to be honest. I maybe didn't compete like at a super high level, like you did in a water polo, but like, I've always been like competitive with myself.
00:26:04
Speaker
And I love to compete, like you're saying, even though I'm not going to win anything, like I probably won't win anything unless it's like a small, like you're saying, one of these community events, which becomes increasingly difficult. But I love the grind.
00:26:21
Speaker
Like I love the, yeah, I just love love pushing myself. I don't know. i don't it's It's a weird thing, but I think that's the healthiest way to look at it, to be honest, because the other way is just like,
00:26:34
Speaker
being disappointed with performance, being like the comparison stuff. I think you see, and it's, that's what hurts me a bit about the sport is that you do see people in your community who struggle with that, with those things, you know?
00:26:49
Speaker
and um yeah, I just, it's it's never like, I never connected that way with the sport. And I think that's always the best way to to kind of enjoy it and keep enjoying it. Right. So Yeah. Yeah.
00:27:03
Speaker
No, no, I totally agree. And, uh, and it's funny too. It's, it's funny that you, you even say that because it makes me even think like for the longest time and there's good reasons why I have it now, but I think I've, I've always learned like, um,
00:27:19
Speaker
to not fall into the imposter syndrome kind of gap. Like it's really easy to compare our, our time to our time yesterday or compare to others, which don't get me wrong. Like there, there are always pros and cons too of, you know, taking that feedback to get better and, you know, push yourself.
00:27:38
Speaker
But um yeah, for the longest time, I didn't even have like, like a watch even like I went from like feel like my body. And then it wasn't until maybe three years ago where I'm like, okay, no, like,
00:27:50
Speaker
you do need to keep track of this for, um you know, like to not get injured, right? And to not over push and to, you know, like also just curiosity of like of of your training programming. But like for the longest time, yeah, I had really good senses of just like I would feel how how my body felt. And so even on days when I was like, OK, this is a longer i run, like I didn't know my exact pace that I was going, but I would actually like really, really feel my body and be like, yeah, I think I'm feeling right now like I'm in a one. Sorry, I feel like I'm in like a zone one right now, you know, and I was able to just feel it. out
00:28:29
Speaker
So it's interesting. Yeah, i think and I think that's the best way to to run and the best way to train. um That's how i train my athletes. it's a I'm always telling them, like, feels like this, but, like, your day might not be the same as it was yesterday or your week or your workload or your, like, the life stresses, right, that that come into play where can't, like, dial it in on the long run or you've just got to go on your your effort and, like, what your body can give that day, right? So – yeah Yeah, I think that's ah that's interesting. what What do you think the biggest lessons you've learned from an endurance sport like that, you know, coming from a team sport background?
00:29:09
Speaker
um I would say in terms of like the training or in terms of just like the environment? Yeah, like I mean, you can, yeah, it could be the training that brings something out of you for sure. i think maybe that's, yeah, maybe that's where I'm going with it.
00:29:26
Speaker
Okay. Well, I think the biggest thing that I find actually there's like parallel, which which we sometimes forget about, but it's like, it's really easy when you're in your specific sport, whether it's a team sport or whether it's running to be very specific for your training, which is great, right? Because you you have to be specific to get good at whatever you're doing.
00:29:47
Speaker
But sometimes we forget, and I see this common across the board, in any athlete, we kind of forget about what it means to have a quality program and what it means like you need, if if you're a runner and you're running a lot, you need mobility, you need yoga, you need you need the opposite from that high intensity that you're putting ah on like your body.
00:30:09
Speaker
You need to eat well, right? All all these aspects. And um I find like those are some of the biggest lessons maybe that I've applied to my lifestyle that like whatever physical activities that I choose to do in my life, ah my programming will always be well-rounded because even if I am more excited, like for example, from spring to you know fall, I know I'll be doing you know, probably at least five runs a week and I love it and training hard, but it's like, I know I still need couple times a week of yoga. I so i know i still need mobility work. I know I still need weight training work.
00:30:48
Speaker
So for
Community and Adventure in Athletics
00:30:49
Speaker
me, it's like, I'm not, maybe I'm lowering how many times week I'm doing that, but I'm still doing that because I know sustainability. If I want to keep loving that primary focus of whatever physical activity that I'm doing,
00:31:03
Speaker
I still need to make sure that I'm well supported. And I find it's it's a common thing that you see a lot. You see injuries a lot, um whether it's a team sports athlete or even or even like an endurance sports athlete, you see that a lot, injuries.
00:31:18
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. it's a It's not just one thing. It's not just the sport. It's all the things that are around it, like you're saying. um So beyond those like races that you were doing, those small races, did you have an itch to find something else? they do Were you curious about longer stuff? you know What did that kind of curiosity look like?
00:31:41
Speaker
Yeah, so it would have been probably last year. um this point, I was, you know, I had been trained so hard maybe the last four years and like kind of running and then cross-training with cycling and then swimming because I obviously always had that as a foundation.
00:31:57
Speaker
But when I moved to Chelsea and Gatineau Park, which which is what I was talking about earlier, i was in, first of all, an environment where you know, i left my doorstep and there was just all these different routes that I could do in this national park, you know, and people don't realize, but Gatineau Park is like the second biggest urban park in the world.
00:32:19
Speaker
Right. And so through curiosity, adventure um and like the, the physical environment, I was doing a lot of like soul runs and, and, you know, and trying out all these routes. But then next thing you know,
00:32:35
Speaker
you know, they have a really good community there, you know, and I discovered Nomad to Park, which is a really, really great, I wouldn't even call it a run club, but they have, you know, from cycling to running to skiing, like everything, right? Like think about Doors, the endurance sports.
00:32:51
Speaker
and And then I met just some people that were, I think, really aligned where, Maybe some of us you know train really hard and competed or train really hard. And it's like, yeah, picked this up like three years ago. used to be a high-level athlete in this.
00:33:05
Speaker
I do this for lifestyle. And so pretty shortly after that, these were a lot of people that were that I was hanging out with. And for me, it was kind of nice because you also see too, and I i know you and I have spoken about this before,
00:33:19
Speaker
you know, any, you know, run club or cycling club or whatever is great, you know, for a community, but there are different types of these clubs, right. You know, like in terms of, is it a social pace, all that stuff.
00:33:31
Speaker
And so what was cool was I was meeting some people through, it was like a a more challenging community, you know, trail run. But I was meeting people that were just like, you know, if it was like their weekend, you know, a 35K, you know, trail run was like enjoyment to them and adventure. And, you know, you know, we would have a couple of stops, you know, and kind of celebrate, you know, have food or or kind of viewpoints.
00:33:57
Speaker
And so pretty shortly after i started hanging out with a lot of people like this, I think it was just at a time in my life where I was already doing it on my own. But now, and you know, you won't see that at most, how do I say,
00:34:10
Speaker
run clubs, right? Because it's, it's way beyond a 5k or even a 10k. And so then, so then from there, it just came from, i started going even, um, and it's really cool to talk about natural fitness lab, which is, they've been around for 30 years, I think, uh, before even like, you know, Strava was a thing or these groups were even a thing, but even though like on a weekly basis, they, they do all these really cool routes of the park, but,
00:34:37
Speaker
it's not ah It's not a one hour or two hour commitment. It's like a three to four hour commitment, you know, and experiences, experiences that you would literally get if you signed up for some of these really cool races that we hear about, you know, that athletes go on and they train all a year for. it and And then, so then shortly from there to answer your question, i was like, you know what I've always wanted to do like running came into my life when I was in o Ottawa. So I did the I did the half last year, I had a blast.
00:35:04
Speaker
ah First time ever ah competing and it was totally, totally bomb. and then And then also I did um the Trail de Collean, which is one in Wakefield of of Quebec. And it was just the whole experience. it was so cool for me to experience something that I had never experienced before, which is now seeing what people talk about in terms of like the support of people that come out and cheer you on and and And also like the the spirit before even the day of, of the shakeout runs.
00:35:36
Speaker
And so to answer your question, like, yeah, just in terms of the ultra level was more through meeting people that do that, not just, let's say you know, on their own or on race day, but literally have like these communities of 30, 40 of them that go around every week.
00:35:54
Speaker
who so So for me, that was a lot of fun because it it hit that level of, oh, this is for play first, right? Like it's happening whenever you want, if you want to pop in.
00:36:05
Speaker
and and And yeah, that was kind of how it came in. just Yeah, it's a little bit more like advanced than just like your weekly social. Yeah. Where you have athletes that want to push a little bit more, that want to go a little bit further. That's like just that next step up.
00:36:24
Speaker
And I think that's that's a great way to kind of get into those those distances. I did the same thing. You you know them well. the the couple that I'm referring to, but, um, You know, Kat and Kev were training for ultra Ironmans and I just tagged along on weekend rides and runs and it was hours and hours on our bikes and on on foot ah prepared me for an Ironman like without me even kind of knowing it. you So it's ah it's like it's fun, it's fitness and it just comes in in waves if you just, yeah, you know, that low intensity, a lot of that low intensity,
00:37:02
Speaker
high volume stuff is, uh, a key unlock for for endurance athletes. and And, you know, you have the beers after or you have the snacks along the way and and ah those those nice views and stuff and just all the motivation you need to kind of
Engaging the Endurance Community
00:37:18
Speaker
to keep going. Right. So I love that. I love that aspect for sure.
00:37:22
Speaker
And like Chelsea, like you're saying, is such a hidden gem, you know, in terms of Gatineau Park. It's like what ah what a great place to be close to and and and to explore, you know, so.
00:37:35
Speaker
Yeah, it's awesome. Did you find like, um did you did you see a way to kind of enter this community, like and find parallels between like, you know, I don't know at the time if you were doing the podcast, but like where you could find, like now you have a presence, I'd say in the space.
00:37:52
Speaker
And did you see a way to kind of merge or like have those worlds collide, if you will? um and And like, was that a clear vision for you? To be honest, ah it was more of an outlet at the beginning, right? An outlet to kind of, like I said, just like, even when I moved back to Montreal, like, meet new friends, you know, like, obviously I have, like I said, great family here and great, great childhood friends, but it was just a way to kind of meet new people from the neighborhood and like the community, which is what we're used to doing, right? When we when we are, let's say,
00:38:28
Speaker
let's say going to college, right? You're, you're meeting new people through classes or, or a new sports team, right? Um, or like the BBHL, right? A new team every year, new draft.
00:38:39
Speaker
Um, so, so that was kind of how it started, but then I think surely it just kind of fell into place, uh, for couple years, I was kind of leading some runs as well. So the 6am club and, and also the Griffintown community.
00:38:52
Speaker
And that just kind of happened out of nowhere. It wasn't like, uh, I think like, uh, I don't know, like i I never thought I would be like leading like a run community. Not not because i'm I'm not open to it.
00:39:06
Speaker
yeah Totally open to it. But it just kind of like I got asked, hey, do you want to do this? And I'm like, yeah, sure. Like I'm here every week. um And then eventually, i think I think what you're getting to is more, it did I ever think I was going to take, okay, I'm already interviewing you know some pretty cool athletes.
00:39:26
Speaker
And some of them actually, even before I got involved in these communities, are impacting, you know at least on social media, or or even in person like these communities. So why not why not do a live interview after a run?
00:39:39
Speaker
And that's kind of what happened with Local Legends, which we were speaking about at earlier sorry earlier on the podcast is, you know, it started with um just being like, there's all these really, really cool people here in Chelsea that and have incredible stories and their beginnings are super humbling. and Like even Zahab, which I know you've interviewed on your show, but it's like, you know, he went from smoking a pack of cigarettes ah to next thing you know, three years later, you know, doing these ultra runs and enjoying adventure and competing.
00:40:10
Speaker
And so I think for me, it was more, um it's cool to be that voice. It's cool to have impact. um But for me, honestly, it came, i think later on through valuing this, I would say the running world or the endurance world. I was like,
00:40:28
Speaker
How can we give more? you know Because people are really here at the end of the day, not just for the runs, not just for the people, but they're here for the experience. So I think for me, it was more like after I've seen more and more community events, which is very different than a weekly run. So going to like a runk event or all these different things, i'm like, how can we add something else that's unique and special?
00:40:52
Speaker
And that's kind of how you know Local Legends kind of started last year was there's all these great people that have great stories to share. And if we could do that after run, that'd be so unique, you know? he's Yeah. I was actually just watching a clip from that chat with Ray. I can't get, I can't get enough of Ray and everything he talks about. You just, he's so captivating, you know, and everything he was saying, he was talking about in that clip. Yeah.
00:41:19
Speaker
the run across the Sahara and, uh, the documentary they did and then having pro jam, like sitting in front of him the yeah the, at the viewing and he didn't have the guts to talk to them.
00:41:29
Speaker
So yeah. And he's the star of the show, you know, kind of thing. So I thought that was, that was really funny. And, you know, pro jam is one of my favorite bands. So it was really, uh, it's, it's kind of cool to hear that from him, you know, but, um,
00:41:41
Speaker
Well, and it it was cool for him too, right? Because he he gets interviewed a lot, as as you kind of know. yeah, yeah. And for him, like he even before, i had interviewed ray online, you know, i think four or five years ago. But now to meet him in person and then also, most importantly for him, like,
00:42:00
Speaker
his friends, family were there, you know, at this live interview. um You know, 150 runners showed up to the run, like brought even more community together. um and then even like before we went on him being like, this is so cool.
00:42:15
Speaker
Like, this is so cool to speak in Chelsea, in Gatineau Park for a live interview, you know? so it was meaningful to him. it was meaningful to me. it was meaningful to nomads. It was meaningful to everyone. So yeah, no, I, know I,
00:42:30
Speaker
i think I think meaningful experiences people really value, right? And that's what keeps them coming back or reminds them why they want to go back to that community, right? what do you what do you What can you take away from a guy like like Ray, you know, someone who's accomplished so much in the space, is so gracious with his time, and just like the most humble guy, like,
00:42:59
Speaker
I don't know. Like I, that's kind of when you talk to him, you're, he just, it's like coffee talk, you know, like he just makes time for you. And it's, he's told the stories a thousand times, but just like,
00:43:13
Speaker
He doesn't, it's like he's hurt for the first time. You know what i mean? Yeah. Yeah. He's so pumped up Right. um I would say what I've learned from Ray and goes to what you just kind of ended off with there, but he's got such a spirit that it doesn't matter if it's day one or day thousand.
00:43:31
Speaker
He's got a spirit. That's just very contagious where He doesn't just share that with you, but it's truly who he is. So I think the most important thing with Ray that I've seen continue continually, like again and again, and you know, there's been times where I haven't interviewed Ray, but like, you know, we're on the phone and I'm asking him, Hey, like I'm organizing this, this event. Like, what would you recommend?
00:43:53
Speaker
And he's just like, so pumped, you know? And so i would say it's his spirit that he's, literally ah given to himself like through endurance sports and being playful and allowing him to be his most authentic self, but also sharing that with others, right? Like he's always jazzed up, you know, about something. And if, if he's not jazzed up, right, like, like even I think he, he was very,
00:44:20
Speaker
vulnerable even at one point on my podcast and he's like yeah like last year I had to pull out i had to pull out of one of my expeditions yeah you know and he's also honest you know but I think his biggest thing is he's got a spirit where you know he's being so true to himself you know and I think that says a lot you know because I think we need more people to not be scared of being themselves you know And like leaning into it, right?
00:44:50
Speaker
Like it's like we we are who we are and and we we can bring so much to the table as long as we know like who who that is and how we can best present that to the people around us. Do you think like this, you know, your're your phys ed teacher do you think that this kind of like desire for sharing tools and information. do you think that, that it makes sense now, like that you're trying to do the same thing through these conversations to kind of enrich not only your own life, but other people's lives to, to get them further ahead, you know, in their journey?
00:45:30
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. That's a great question because there's definitely some interviews that I did that were actually literally specifically designed not just for myself, but like my students. And so even Kelly Dell, who I mentioned earlier, Feel Like It, um that's the book I always recommend to
Influence of Coaching and Mentorship
00:45:46
Speaker
all my peers. um I think it has...
00:45:49
Speaker
it has like changed the way that I see my relationship with physical activity um or things that I was doing that I didn't realize that i that I was doing, which is why I was maybe enjoying physical activity so much.
00:46:05
Speaker
um But yeah, to to answer your question, I think, I think, yes, like I've always been motivated to get tools, you know, for myself or for my students or for my communities.
00:46:18
Speaker
But I think it all comes down again to just pure like curiosity, you know, and it's like, it's like, there's so many things that we don't know, you know? And so whether it's in sports or whether it's in finance, it's like, um you know, I want to learn so much about the world, you know? And like, and like the same way that even an athlete wants to learn so much about, you know, doing different routes and doing, or are going to different countries and, you know, different races, right? It's the same way that I i see kind of knowledge.
00:46:51
Speaker
um And I think just in general, it's like, You know, we're also going through a time where things are really challenging in our world. And I just think people need to be more spiritually well and physically well and emotionally well and financially well, you know. And um i think yeah I think all of us could relate to that, right? Because if one of those aspects of well-being is kind of set off, it could impact like your other areas, right? Mm-hmm.
00:47:20
Speaker
Yeah, i think I think the one too that you say that people really don't know a lot about is the finance aspect. when you When I saw you were doing these these chats, I was like, and I've said it for so long, I wish they taught us more about just normal everyday use finance tools in school when were growing up, like simple investing or I don't know, I think it'd be so interesting for our education system to kind of set us off on the right path and like how to, you know, save and invest. and
00:47:52
Speaker
cause the earlier you can do it, the the better it is, you know, from a, like, if we can really dumb it down and like simplify things. But um yeah, that's just one example of how people can like follow you and listen to these chats and improve that one aspect of their life.
00:48:11
Speaker
um What would you say to somebody who wants to start to learn about anything. You know, I think that's, I think what stops a lot of people is not knowing where to start.
00:48:27
Speaker
i think the biggest, I think the biggest thing is um reframing your mindset and letting yourself learn. And what does that mean? Letting yourself learn. It means like,
00:48:39
Speaker
doing what you did when you were a kid, which is letting yourself make mistakes, letting yourself also have successes, right? And you're gonna make a lot more mistakes than successes, right? So it's like, let's kind of take an example here, okay?
00:48:58
Speaker
So, you know, you and i have a podcast, right? When you look back at, let's say your first 10 episodes of everything that goes into a podcast, There's so much that you did not know before signing up to start a podcast, right? There's, um you know, preparing for the interview, getting the guests. How do you get the guests? How do you convince them when you haven't even started a show yet?
00:49:21
Speaker
um Then there's, you know, being prepared, but not too prepared. um You know, executing and the interview, editing like the interview in terms of, you know, like,
00:49:33
Speaker
making sure that you know um that that the content flows, um having a thumbnail, YouTube, right? All these aspects. So the same thing that goes into any type of skillset is there's never just one thing.
00:49:47
Speaker
And so what happens a lot of the time is whenever someone's trying to learn about something, once they fail a couple times, they kind of give up, right? And so to be more patient and like, that's where it goes with kind of what i was saying before. I really think the three Ps is what really helps people. If you're truly, ah you know, curious about something and you want to learn something,
00:50:09
Speaker
you're always like one step away from getting there. But sometimes you do take a step, you know, two steps forward, one step back, two steps forward, one step back. And that's part of the process. and um And I think like more than ever, maybe in the last, don't know, i would say decade, especially with how social media has developed, like just completely taken over a lot of people's lives.
00:50:34
Speaker
we get so impatient, right? We're so about the quick results or, you know, I want that now, you know? And I think it's, sometimes we we we need to be reminded like delayed gratification is totally normal and it's part of the process.
00:50:50
Speaker
So I think letting yourself learn, you have to do those aspects of just, again, failing and then succeeding, failing, succeeding, and then you get there.
00:51:02
Speaker
Would you say like you've learned these skills um or how much of it is that you've kind of evolved and learned these skills or how much it too could be from some some lessons, some morals, some they've learned like through your upbringing and and stuff like that?
00:51:20
Speaker
you Do you kind of, do you say like, Hey, did I look back at it when I was a kid and remember this or that and and that makes sense now? Yeah. Well, I'm definitely grateful.
00:51:32
Speaker
Maybe like, let's say in my upbringing, I would say, I would say my parents definitely did that good. um You need to have a mix of, I would say, you know, order and chaos, you know, like they, they definitely allowed me, you know, to be playful and then, you know, just, just in anything of, of just being a kid, right. Of, of being curious and trying things and,
00:51:54
Speaker
um again, I don't think anyone's perfect, a coach, a parent, or or anything like that. But I think overall, I got that nice balance. But I would say it does come later to each individual when you see the world a certain way. Like it's kind of weird, but also kind of cool, I guess, that like in grade 11, I was reading like the four hour work week by Tim Ferriss, you know? So that was my mindset was already, I don't know why, but already trying to look at not just entrepreneurship, but just seeing the world different, you know?
00:52:29
Speaker
And then that kind of happened, like when I was in CGEP my first year, I did a research paper that I never realized was so valuable to my life that I still live by today. And obviously like we evolve and things change or you learn so much, but a lot of the principles, it was on, um it was on expert performance, which for me, it wasn't even again, like it wasn't about the results over,
00:52:55
Speaker
um over like everything else. It was more like, I was so curious of why is it that like, you know, down my street, you know, a neighborhood friend, Justin Boyd, you know, we played water pool together and he's the Olympic games or,
00:53:14
Speaker
you You know, or or like my brother, right? He played with Canada, Scott, right? And so I knew a lot of people that I'm like, they're just a person. There's no pedestal at all, at all, right? And so that was an area in my life, like even way before I started the podcast, I would have been like 17 years old.
00:53:31
Speaker
And I took it, it was funny, I took it very serious at the time, but i learned a lot about um expert performance of some of these world-class performers across the world, whether it was a musician, whether it was like finance, whether it was a chess player, whoever it was.
00:53:48
Speaker
And the commonality of the four things that I learned about, one of them was early exposure. So having good early exposure, um but not in every case do all these world-class individuals get there from early exposure. Like if you look at Eric Lindros, he picked up hockey and how to skate very late.
00:54:07
Speaker
And how it said that a guy like him made the NHL, right? after Especially where there's so much competition. But it's just saying these are one of the ingredients where why people get where they are.
00:54:18
Speaker
Another one was mastering coaching. And mastering and coaching is like so intriguing because that goes from like the parents that you have in your life to then the teachers you have in your life to then the coaches so then maybe even mentors, maybe even teammates.
00:54:35
Speaker
So mastering coaching is just like, there's like, it's complex, right? um So i I also think about like, even in my own personal life, like And we could always go into that afterwards, but I had some pretty special, I've had some bad coaches.
00:54:51
Speaker
I've had some good coaches and then I've had very few, but I call it like the Yodas, like the coaches that are very, very rare and are like once in a lifetime.
00:55:02
Speaker
um So mastering coaching, early exposure. and then the other one, which probably a lot more people are like familiar with is deliberate practice. Right. So ah you can put that into anything in your life, but like it's not always about the quantity.
00:55:18
Speaker
Right. Or speed. Right. it's It's knowing how do we get deliberately better at what we do. Right. And so um I didn't talk about this earlier before when you were asking about learning, but it's like, how do we keep refining in a playful way?
00:55:34
Speaker
all the elements that we need to do to get better at that craft. Right. And so, you know, like I always think like for an athlete, there's so much beyond even the physical aspect. There's like, I remember listening to an interview. it would have, it would have been before I started living your greatness and it was Kobe Bryant, you know, and he's probably one of the most spiritual athletes that you'll your you'll ever think of like today, you know, he's coached by Phil Jackson and all that stuff.
00:56:05
Speaker
But it's like, There were so many aspects, not even related to basketball, um that were related to deliberately elevating himself to his full potential in his life that then correlated to basketball.
00:56:20
Speaker
you know And that was like everything that a high athlete has to do the opposite of, which was slowing down, meditating, doing yoga, right? All these things that he was obviously guided by his mentor, right? Phil Jackson.
00:56:32
Speaker
So those are those are just some of the ingredients, you know? And I was only aged like 17 at the time, nerding out on this, you know, and super passionate. But it made me see then from there on, not only in my sport, but like anything that I...
00:56:49
Speaker
want to put my heart into, it made me, I think, see things different and see too, like, okay, to get to that level, um it's not about the results first.
00:57:00
Speaker
The results will always come if you're doing all of this. ah But I also believe too, like, and I know you and I have both done this route, but like, that's how I've been able to learn skill sets very quickly. Like, I know you got into photography, I got into photography too.
00:57:16
Speaker
It was all it was almost like self-taught. And then I would also say like very few of my friends did it, but I had that one or two.
Coaching and Teaching Philosophies
00:57:23
Speaker
And then we kind of shot together and helped each other in feedback.
00:57:27
Speaker
So yeah, like I don't know. just like I hope that adds value. But um um there's someone, too, that I i should connect to you to. But he's he's from McGill. He's a professor. And I was reading all his research. It was on human motivation.
00:57:43
Speaker
um I'll have to get back to you with that. but But like, yeah, so there's just, there's so much potential that we have. Yeah, it's it's amazing that you had that kind of insight at such a young age when a lot of kids would have like way different priorities. I don't know if I had the wherewithal to kind of dig in to those things at 17 like you did. But I want you to talk about about those mentors that you had and those so special coaches because I think I always like to ask that question too when it comes to realizing your own potential.
00:58:18
Speaker
Was it that you saw it in yourself or did someone see it in you? It sounds like maybe there was a few people that did. Yeah, there's there's one coach I would say that stands out the most, though, um that I have to talk about. His name is Clifford Berry. So he was the one that coached Victor Davis, who was like essentially like the Michael Phelps of Canada for swimming.
00:58:39
Speaker
um But yeah, Cliff was... amazing because he he came out of retirement essentially and I was at John Abbott at the time and I decided to do the swim team to cross train for water polo and you know I obviously had had kind of like read up about him like okay he wow okay he coached for 45 years wow that's a long time that's a lot of experience and
00:59:11
Speaker
Why is he coming to coach us? You know, like he's gone to the Olympics like four or five times as a coach, um you know, and then as an athlete himself twice in water polo. ah wait, interesting. His sport was water polo, but not even swimming, you know? And um yeah, meeting Cliff was a true gift that i I would say definitely once in a lifetime opportunity. i was fortunate enough before he passed away to actually have him on my podcast. He was, think he was episode 10 or 13.
00:59:41
Speaker
But um he he understood, i think, a lot of fundamental things that I think more, not just coaches need to understand, but just ah people, like, even if you're, i would say, a coach, like, within, like, the business world or the sports world, but The first thing he he he really understood was putting the person before the athlete, um which sometimes, especially in coaching or or kind of high levels, they kind of typically lose that. Like they're so focused on the result or they're so focused on, okay, you're here. We've got our program, like very rigid head down that they forget about the human that is in front of them.
01:00:22
Speaker
And so Cliff was pretty special because His programming, though, is incredible. It was so quality, you know, like the amount of things we worked on that I had seen in swimming that i I had never even seen before, you know, or even like we did a little bit of head up swimming because it's good for this and this and that. And or even like ah anyways, like the list goes on.
01:00:45
Speaker
But what he was able to do was even within having a quality program for, you know, I think we were like 60 or 70 swimmers. He knew that not all 60 or 70 were at the same level.
01:00:57
Speaker
so how do you now personalize, you know, ah quality, well-rounded program to each of these individuals? And I think he understood something that I even see.
01:01:08
Speaker
and not saying i see it all the time, but I see it sometimes like in like the yoga space is, making his um athletes feel empowered that they have strengths and weaknesses.
01:01:19
Speaker
And, you know, some of our strengths, we don't realize um whether it's in a sport or whether it's in, you know, even our profession. Sometimes we don't tap into that enough or we don't even realize, like, we know we're pretty good at it, but he was able to really showcased that, you know, the things that you're weaker at, that's okay.
01:01:41
Speaker
How do we now work on that? How do we make a plan or how do we, how do we even in a fun way, how do I give that one maybe feedback piece that you're going to be receptive to, you to now want to try and get better at it rather than right away in your head be limited and be like, no, I'm just bad at breaststroke, you know, rather than like, oh, wow, he's now adapted this drill because I'm not even there yet at that progression level so that I can even feel the proper movement that I need to feel before even going to level two.
01:02:12
Speaker
You know, and you you kind of see that a lot in like yoga, right? you see like where there's different progressions and they always say like, you know, if you even need a break, take a break if you're if you're feeling ready to go there.
01:02:25
Speaker
So i I had a coach um that was very unique in terms of Not only was his knowledge so advanced in terms of the amount of things that you could do in the water, outside the water, that was cool. That was one of, i would say, the 20 reasons why i think he had such an impact on myself.
01:02:46
Speaker
as well as the 70 other swimmers that looked forward to showing up to a 5.30 practice in minus 40 weather to get to the pool, you know? And yeah, he he taught us about life. He taught us about food. He taught us about music.
01:03:02
Speaker
um He showed us how much he cared, where when we walked in, it's not like, oh, he's scrambling to even write on the board or or there's no program. Like there was music on, like the environment was set.
01:03:15
Speaker
Uh, everything like lane ropes were in, like usually swimmers help out with that in the morning. And then afterwards, we obviously always helped him afterwards, but it was like, he took accountability where all you have to do is show up and I'll take care of you kind of but mentality.
01:03:29
Speaker
Um, and then just beyond that, he just, um, he knew how to also lead in terms of, um, truly showing him his true authentic self of like, um,
01:03:43
Speaker
I want to help you. You know, I want to help you get to where you're going and like your journey. And like, It is so possible, you know? And yeah yeah, it was just like, I could go on and on and on, but ah there's a really good thing on YouTube that I i ah recommend people i check out.
01:04:01
Speaker
I feel like they'll they'll really enjoy and be like, wow, that was 20 minutes worth my time, but it's called Follow Your Heart. um So he got asked by, i think, Swimming Canada and Swimming Ontario,
01:04:13
Speaker
to put together ah like this kind of like lessons that he's learned in coaching of all his years. And I think any coach can listen to that and apply it to their sport or any person that even if it's outside of sports can apply those fundamentals and lessons.
01:04:28
Speaker
And yeah, no, he he was amazing. So he he's, he's one person particular, I'd say within athletics that I, I really wanted to share and talk about.
01:04:39
Speaker
Yeah. And you find do find, you find you catch yourself applying some of the things that he applied with you with your own, your own students? Tremendously, tremendously. Like, it's funny, like i so I love what I do for my main profession, right? Like, even though my other two projects is what I want to build for, for later in life and to transition to, you like, i I love teaching teaching.
01:05:03
Speaker
people, you know, how to be more physically literate with their body, you know? So, but when I think about at the end of the day, yes, the students are excited. Like, for example, I ah teach a class, list let's say just on fitness conditioning and every week there's a new a new workout right from crossfit to resistance training weight training right but really yes yes my students will will obviously like okay his workouts are good he's knowledgeable but what what they really care is all the other let's say 19 ingredients that i'm doing which is
01:05:38
Speaker
They see when they show up, oh, wow, he was already there like 15 minutes early. It's set up. There's music on. He's like, he wants to know how how I'm doing, right? Like all these like aspects or like the biggest thing that I've learned, Ashley, from an interview I did last year in Chelsea is like sometimes like you'll have like coaches that are great, but they sometimes – they can kind of check every box, but then sometimes they, they, they kind of forget. They assume that they can always just give feedback whenever they want.
01:06:08
Speaker
And there was a guy I had on Mo Sam who has done a lot in, in, in, in like the ski. Well, yeah. Cross country ski community. And he always asks his, you know, his athletes like, Hey, like,
01:06:21
Speaker
you do you want to hear some feedback from me, you know, asking that question? And so these are all elements that I've learned, you know, I'd say a lot of them from Cliff and then a lot of them from some other people, whether it was from my podcast or or other people that I've i've seen before in communities that I've added to my toolkit.
01:06:40
Speaker
um And then on top that, I would say also, know, And sometimes we don't hear this enough, but I've also had some bad coaches, right? And so I've learned lessons. It's really easy when you have a bad coach or maybe, i don't want to say a bad parent, but you you know what i mean? Like just bad influences.
01:07:00
Speaker
It's really easy to copy those behaviors, right? Because that's what you were shown or modeled. And I think when I look back in like my first year that I was coaching,
01:07:12
Speaker
You know, I may, look luckily i I picked up those mistakes quickly, but I would say i kind of copied some of like the behaviors, you know, that I was shown.
01:07:25
Speaker
um But then pretty early, like I said, in my second year, maybe because of influence of ah good coworkers beside me and and and seeing how they treat their athletes properly.
01:07:36
Speaker
really, really early, like this was when I was coaching swimming, really, really learned what really matters about um creating a community, creating ah space that it's, yes, they're there for the sport, but it's beyond that, you know?
01:07:52
Speaker
So. What would you say are some of the bad habits that coaches could have? I would say, Yes, it's good to give critical feedback, but there's a way of doing it.
01:08:05
Speaker
Right. So also overly hyper focused on always like it's it's how you give feedback. Right. And so I would say, OK, in year two, I figured out how properly to do it. But it's really easy just to nitpick or to always look at what someone's doing wrong.
01:08:24
Speaker
But I think it's important to look at, okay, what are they doing right and wrong? And it's it's it's not that youre you're kind of not being direct or or it's important for them to feel good, to know what they're already doing well.
01:08:39
Speaker
And then you can go to, okay, this is what we we really need to work on now. Rather than like, if a coach is always like, let's say watching a race and always just counting, nitpicking what you're doing wrong, the focus is always on wrong.
01:08:52
Speaker
wrong So the athlete naturally, like just like positive psychology, even if you're giving them feedback that's honest or that's truthful, um there's also so much that they're doing right, you know?
01:09:06
Speaker
And so they need to know about that as well. Yeah. And that goes way beyond sport, right? That could be in a workplace. That could be like so many different things. Like, and when you see, when you understand that, but then you see it going wrong, right?
01:09:22
Speaker
with whether feedback given to you or to other people, it's like, Oh my God, like it's like total opposite of what I want to be. You know, um I'm kind of taking some of the things you're, you're talking about now, cause I'll be coaching. got asked to coach high school track and field.
01:09:40
Speaker
ah It would be the first time ever for me. So ah like coaching running and stuff, but ah it's, it's important when you're coaching kids, you know, when you're, when you're kind of trying to shape them, figuring out what they're good at, they don't even know themselves. Right. So it's, uh, it's, uh, definitely like I've learned a lot for, through, through coaching myself, but, uh, definitely like going grab some of your tips and tricks for sure. It's awesome.
01:10:05
Speaker
Yeah. and And also something I would add, which I think Cliff Ashley says it in his, uh, in his 20 minute coaching advice there of, I think it's titled follow your heart, but he talks about, um,
01:10:19
Speaker
Showing someone that you believe in them, and and again, this is beyond sports, is the most powerful tool, you know, and and we obviously see that in relationships, right? Two partners that really believe in each other.
01:10:33
Speaker
Yes, you have to have it from within, but when you know you have that that teammate, that backbone, it's super, super empowering. And so like, that's something that I've, I've really applied. I would say more than ever, yes.
01:10:47
Speaker
Okay. The human first approach, all that stuff. But like, I want all my students to know or or or, or, or anyone like even just from like communities that I, I deeply care about them and I believe in them, you know, and we all have different characters, right. Which is what makes community beautiful. Right.
01:11:07
Speaker
um But I find once they know that, the way they show up for their themselves is already just incredible to see. But you'll see that going forward. It's like you'll you'll just have less issues. you know like you'll have You'll have less behavior issues, less offset issues because they really want to freaking be there. you know And so but believing in someone is I think, one of the most important powerful gifts that you could do.
01:11:39
Speaker
It doesn't mean that like, again, if, if someone needs, you know, feedback that's negative, you know, to improve, it doesn't mean that you don't give it, but, um, once they know that you really believe in them, it's just so empowering.
01:11:52
Speaker
Do you, do you know, is is someone doing that for you right now?
01:11:58
Speaker
I honestly think right now for myself, it's myself doing it for myself, um which is great. um That's like one thing that I'm very transparent about it and totally fine to to say it on here.
01:12:12
Speaker
ah very internally motivated, which is a beautiful gift to have. um I struggle more on the external motivation side. um Like I don't do things for the likes first or I don't do things for the falling first. so um So it's, it's trying to be reminded of, you know, who are people that freaking believe in me that I could reach out to and ask for help.
01:12:38
Speaker
Um, and no, like, I, I know people are really here for me, but I do a lot on my own. Um, and so sometimes it's, it's kind of reminding myself, um,
01:12:50
Speaker
you know, to like, that's actually one reason why even I started creative entrepreneurs, you know, like it's an entrepreneurship journey, even though, ah you know, like i said, like even in my,
01:13:02
Speaker
ah coaching and and teaching space, which so many aspects that go into that. Well, same thing as a podcast host, you know, so many aspects of entrepreneurship. And so that's why I created space. I feel like even when we're very internally motivated, we need the opposite. We need more external motivations without changing who you are.
01:13:25
Speaker
And I think people that are very externally motivated, need more internally reasons, you know, to really like why they're doing what they're doing. And so, yeah, I don't know. i don't know if that makes sense, but like, I just feel more than ever there' there's just great creatives and entrepreneurs out there that I think that need that support or know that, Hey, okay, maybe you have been alone so much in so many ways, but really there's other people doing maybe cooking,
01:13:53
Speaker
completely different things than you, but understand what you're going through. um So it's been beautiful to create that space where, Like he even last month, you know, like when ah when we had our first speaking event, you know, like people just got each other. They were able to relate so quickly because they understand without even talking about it. They understand the amount of hours that are going into their craft, you know, and their creative outlet.
Fostering Creative Communities
01:14:21
Speaker
Just like the way that runners when they first meet, you know, they can understand each other because they all have that shared common thing. You know, so yeah, to answer your question, I feel like I'm still being the person that I need to be to believe in myself.
01:14:39
Speaker
But i think with time, youll you'll kind of realize, okay, who are those people that, ah you know, whether you're here or you're here, that they believe you tremendously. i would say though, one person that I could think of, like that just ah maybe because he's, he's literally listened to so many of my episodes, but I would say he's my father.
01:15:00
Speaker
I'd say he's definitely someone that I know, believes that I have, you know, just the drive, the patience, the endurance to keep going forward. um No matter the highs or the lows, you know? Yeah.
01:15:14
Speaker
Great, great people, your parents. I remember them coming to watch ball hockey games on on Saturday and having good chats with your pops and over a beer in the bar. So yeah, good people. and And that's all it takes sometimes just to know, you know, it's so hard, like sometimes to to even,
01:15:33
Speaker
quantify the work that we and we're doing. Like, we just do it because we love it, but you don't necessarily know who's listening all the time. I've i've spoken about this quite often that like,
01:15:47
Speaker
Um, I know like my wife will listen to the podcast and she'll give me your honest feedback, but like, what do I, what do some other people think about the style or the type of guests or, you know, whatever it is like positive or negative.
01:16:00
Speaker
Um, and it's, sometimes it feels like you're just throwing words into, into space, uh, but, uh, you know, some people are listening and, uh, and occasionally somebody will come out of the woodwork and say, Hey,
01:16:16
Speaker
are you the guy from that? Or I listened to this conversation and yeah, it's quite nice, but it's also good, like really cool you're doing these live events and um putting some like video content out there so people can watch it and, and, and sharing and having a space for people.
01:16:35
Speaker
You know, you have one of my favorite people ever on that panel in Heidi Rubin. Hmm. And um like I mean, she's electric. she's She's such an amazing human being. And I couldn't think of a better person for that that type of event than her.
01:16:52
Speaker
um And just like raw, you know, she's just like a raw human being that just... can, can share and and inspire you with their words, you know, but and so did you get any feedback from that, that event? um Yeah, I was, I was actually blown away because something that I've always, and again, like we were talking about strengths and weaknesses, but something that I'm very strong at when I, like I'm very intentional and I could really see,
01:17:20
Speaker
okay, this is where I'll go with something. But also while being, how do you say, very open to adventure, playfulness, stuff like that. And so it's been really fun with creative entrepreneurs. It's it's a niche community, right? So how do i now bring my...
01:17:38
Speaker
my playfulness that I love to do, but with a community that's hyper-focused, which I'm good at doing, when I have those boundaries, right? Like where it's super, super clear. And so it was really, honestly, it it felt really cool for me where like, I think I told you last year, you know, I had a couple episodes that whatever they, they, they took off, they resonated.
01:18:01
Speaker
And I honestly thought, I'm like, Oh, it was just like, you know, the, a great guest, you know, another great online interview. But to me, it felt like a lot of my other ones. And then, you know, without getting to reasons why, like there's certain conversations that are just way more memorable, right? Like my conversation with Cliff, which is obviously biased, right? On on my end, right? Like my coach that had such an impact, right?
01:18:23
Speaker
which maybe only got like 200 views. Right. Yeah. Yeah. But what was really cool about this was i kind of knew I'm like, I know I really need this and I know other people need this in Montreal.
01:18:36
Speaker
And I know like Montreal is such a creative city. There's so many entrepreneurs, there's so many creatives. And I'm like, I'm like, and what I've always done best is I'm in person, person.
01:18:49
Speaker
Like that's just how I am. And so I was like, you know what? I saw what I was able to do last year with, with local legends. And so originally it was just going to be another series with living your greatness.
01:19:01
Speaker
And I was like, no, I really want to, um be consistent with this. It's not just like, okay, three, four see you and like episodes and then it's done. i was like, this is going to be an ongoing side thing.
01:19:11
Speaker
um It'll be somehow connected a little bit to live in your greatest, but a separate page. And by doing that, like for me, that took a lot of fear. I'm like oh no, another page, more work to manage this and that.
Future Creative Projects
01:19:23
Speaker
But then I was able to have that clean kind of, you know, like brand new canvas to just paint on. And immediately like people were writing me that I had never even known before being like, Hey, this is amazing. This called to me right away through your words or through your branding.
01:19:39
Speaker
Do you need a photographer? Then I had other people write me and it's like, I had never felt like we just talked about before about internal and external motivation. i had never felt so much in and one month ah before the event, the amount of support. Then during the event, even on a snow day,
01:19:58
Speaker
you know, 30 people still showed up for a brand new event that people have not even seen yet. And then like, even like, I'm not someone to do this, ah but I was blown away. Like everyone after the event, I got so much positive feedback. They were all showing on their social media.
01:20:14
Speaker
Never once did I say, Hey, like feel free to tag us today or anything like that. It was just like create the space. Everything was organic. And so now I'm really excited um to have, you know, I still have a living your greatness.
01:20:28
Speaker
probably half the interviews are still online, maybe more in person now. Cause I realized how impactful it is just like human to human connection. um But yeah, just like, and then the conversation, right. It was just so real raw. And like, even like the day of like, you know, I even just said, I said, like super excited to chat with you guys today. Like we obviously had our own chat. I'm like, just be you, like dress like you, be you. Like that's all I asked. Like,
01:20:55
Speaker
That's all I want from this community is everyone to be their most authentic self. And so anyways, yeah, it went, it went really well and I'm really excited for what's to come.
01:21:07
Speaker
So needs to say there'll be more in the future coming. Yeah. Yeah. Very cool. Very cool. Yeah, I think it's like it's it's just an angle that's super interesting. And and sometimes you you know you can get people in the fitness world like Heidi or or other kind of domains and stuff like that. And again, you see those those parallels run through different types of businesses and stuff. But they share very similar struggles always, I think, and can relate through just like – I don't know, it could be scheduling issues or construction or like so many different things that like have nothing to do with the actual thing that they're trying to do, like the business that they're trying to do, whether it's a gym or or whatever, you know, jewelry store or whatever they're doing. So yeah so how will you how will you find like guests now? Like is it –
01:22:01
Speaker
you know, how do you go about that process? And yeah. you So i'm I'm glad that you asked that because that's something that I think, I don't know if you have felt this, but we could just fully go back and forth here. But I've, um I always try like to be like, okay, who is the next guest that I would love to bring on that I'm super curious about, you know, like whether it's for the podcast or even for a panel series and that's great, you know? And then now I think more than ever,
01:22:31
Speaker
I think I'm realizing it and I don't know if you're feeling this too. It's like, you also want to be so like without being a perfectionist, you know, cause you got to just keep being, you know, like true to, Hey, if that's what you felt there, follow your heart, do it, you know, reach out, organize.
01:22:49
Speaker
But I'm realizing more than ever too, like it is okay. Yeah. you know, to also be a little bit more strategic of like, okay, like my time is important and like who are not just three people that maybe have, you know, achieved, you know, what I want to talk about, but really like, like even at that last panel, I felt it, it was on, you know, getting started in entrepreneurship and how to stay in it the long game.
01:23:13
Speaker
And these three entrepreneurs, they happen to all be movers from the movement space, but they were so like, even like for like pre promotions of the event, like usually like you're pulling teeth a bit cause people know it's your event and it's like, they organically like did these videos and it was just like, everything came together because like, I think there was just such a alignment on when I had coffees with them before even, you know, making sure, like I even told them i'm like, Hey, if this is really aligned with you, I want you to be there.
01:23:45
Speaker
If not, it's all good. So something that I'm realizing and um, is alignment on any project you do. Again, it's never going to be the perfect next guest or perfect episode or anything like that.
01:23:59
Speaker
But I'm realizing like, what do I truly feel aligned to you And hopefully if that person is aligned, I really want them on board rather than like, I don't know if you've had this, but I'm pretty happy overall like to be like, a lot of my guests, that was never waste of time. like They were really good people or they had a good story.
01:24:20
Speaker
ah You definitely know like the difference. like You kind of said it before. like You get a guy like Ray Zahab, and not everyone's going to be the same, but you know he's in. you know And you know he he's authentic and he wants to be there.
01:24:34
Speaker
And I know as a person, the way I show up, is I'm a very authentic person. Like what you see, what you is what you get. And so that's something I'm using more now is I think a lot the other boxes of, okay, you know, did they hit that level? you know, are they about community or do have a lot of lessons to share?
01:24:55
Speaker
You know, all that stuff is great, but now it's more like, you know, are they really aligned? Have they told this story so many times where they don't want to tell it again, you know? And so that's kind of where I'm on on like the, on like the,
01:25:07
Speaker
Like that's where my brain is s sinking. And then my other thing that I shared with you is I am also being more selective of, oh, maybe I have to do another series because that's what's also now externally saying my time, you know, to my audience is important, you know, to keep growing and make this a business that I really want to get it to you one day.
01:25:33
Speaker
Yeah, it's ah it's interesting for sure. um i think it's good to have guidelines and in terms of like selection. But um how do I say this? ah try and I was trying to find... It's tough to find the perfect guests. And even if you think you've found them, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are.
01:25:59
Speaker
Yeah. So I've had some amazing conversations, like some of my favorite episodes were actually with some, and I won't mention any names, but they ended up being excellent interviews with, with some people, like some guests that I maybe wasn't as thrilled.
01:26:17
Speaker
or as excited about. i there Just the way they spoke and the way they presented was was captivating and it was fun. And for me, those are always the best interviews is the ones where we're laughing and having a good time and I'm not, you know, they know how to end a question or end an answer, I should say.
01:26:42
Speaker
um Whereas sometimes you get the really popular people Yeah. Uh, the high followers and you could, you could, they could be great, but they can also be disappointing just, just like anybody else.
01:26:56
Speaker
yeah Um, not disappointing, I should say, but maybe just not as into it. Um, So what I'm trying to do now is just if I catch, if someone catches my eye or something they're doing seems seems interesting to me in the moment, I don't hesitate to reach out because there's a reason why they came across my my feed or whatever I see them. and
01:27:27
Speaker
And, you know, sometimes when you catch someone at the beginning too, it's it's the best place to catch them. Um, cause they're, they are so you know vulnerable and raw and they haven't told that story a million times and there's so much to dig into, you know?
01:27:42
Speaker
Um, yeah. So I'm, I'm finding like. not a volume play, but certainly like just being more open-minded to everyone's got a story. So there's technically hundreds of thousands of conversations you can have.
01:27:56
Speaker
And if you, if you're too picky, then you just really like pigeonhole yourself into a spot where it could just be difficult, you know, for, for no, no reason other than some preconceived notion that you might have, you know?
01:28:08
Speaker
i I echo you on all that. And that's why, that's why I think it goes with like, are they aligned with your energy of again, like their story is unique, completely unique, but I like, without even going into names or specifics, like I've had people on where like, you know, they're falling as like 410, you know, K and then like in the pre interview before going on, it's like,
01:28:34
Speaker
they're completely cold with you, you know? And then it's like, okay, actor mode. And so for me, it's like, i don't care if someone has the biggest falling or if they have the most money in the world. It's like, I care who who you are, how you show up as as a human, again, a human before, you know, the athlete, you know? So I'm i'm glad i'm glad that you you also realized that as well.
01:28:57
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, that just comes through, right? Like people's authenticity, like we're authentic people. I find like you know, we've had plenty of conversations and I know where where you're at and I feel like I'm the same way. And, you know, we've had conversations like this over the phone and we've had it over a beer in the bar. So like, but you can also sense it when it's not reciprocated too. So that I think that always becomes a challenge.
01:29:23
Speaker
The most, one of the most challenging things, but. I have a question for you. Yeah, go ahead. You ever think about, let's say, because you've had a lot of athletes. Yeah. um How many, like, let's say therapists or stuff like that? Because like on the ah the other side, right? Human motivation.
01:29:43
Speaker
Yeah, it's certainly like the athlete story is one I love to tell for sure. And I'm not close to The specialists, you know, I actually really like that. I've had a few like mental skills coach. I love having coaches on that sometimes are good athletes and sometimes they're just great minds of the sport.
01:30:03
Speaker
yeah um So, yeah, definitely expanding that to enhance or enrich the like value for the endurance athletes.
01:30:13
Speaker
and Yeah, it's definitely something that ah that I'm open to for sure. Yeah. It's just the easy, the ease like maybe the the easy grab or like what really falls in line with the show for me right now is having the like the athlete on.
01:30:29
Speaker
But yeah for the athlete listening, it's always great to hear like the psychology or the strength component or the food component or the sleep component of that too. So like, that's all always fun.
Where to Find Ben's Work
01:30:46
Speaker
um I'll ask you this, where can people find out more about you, Ben? Yeah. So they could, um I'm pretty active obviously on, on, on, on YouTube with living your greatness, but you can find, if you go to Ben mommy, like on Instagram, you'll find my personal handle and then you'll find living your greatness as well as creative entrepreneurs.
01:31:08
Speaker
So that's probably the best spot or, Um, I think most people just literally I'm on all like podcast platforms. So if you, if you type in living your greatness, you'll get access to living your greatness as well as any, uh, speaking series from creative entrepreneurs or any other limited edition series.
01:31:27
Speaker
And what, what do you hope people take away from not only this conversation, but the ones that you're sharing?
Inspiring Personal Growth
01:31:34
Speaker
I really honestly would love more people,
01:31:38
Speaker
um to really like realize that they have so much potential, you know? um i really feel like we live in a world where, because there's so much comparison nowadays because of social media, which has been beautiful in other ways, by the way, for motivation and external reasons, right? To do things.
01:31:58
Speaker
But i do feel that people feel more limited, you know, or they have limiting beliefs of like themselves. And I really like,
01:32:10
Speaker
that people have so much more um if they want to try, you know, if if, if there's really that thought that they want to do something or learn something like to not be afraid.
01:32:23
Speaker
um And also know it's okay. It's okay that, You might have fear, you know, before you like that's part of the process of trying anything, right? Like if if you were to ask me something right now that I totally haven't done, how would you kind of be nervous like that first time doing it. I totally would. That's totally human.
01:32:41
Speaker
And so i think the the one last message tying into that that I want to go with is, you know, to reach our full potential in anything that we want to do. it's really important to understand that things will be uncomfortable.
01:32:57
Speaker
And that's the way that we go through fear, right? We've got to seek discomfort ah to then overcome fear and then to get to where we're going.
01:33:09
Speaker
And it's usually that when we go through that process and we evolve, we realize that when we get to the other side, Again, it's not about the result.
01:33:19
Speaker
It's not about the finish line. It's not about whatever thing you were trying to do, but the re the the reward of just being so proud of of getting there, you know of of getting through that journey that you had to do its just so empowering, you know, and it makes you realize like, oh, wow, like i can really do any, almost anything I, I, I really truly want to do, you know? And so literally, honestly, probably since like I was 17, you know, I really believe that there's no pedestal at all.
01:33:54
Speaker
i really feel that, you know, everyone has so much potential um at any point in their life. Like even when you think about like Rich Roll, you know, um you know, a very well-known podcaster nowadays and even ultra endurance athlete.
01:34:09
Speaker
Like he started at age 38, I think doing his podcast, you know? So if you're anyone right now tuning in and, you know, you're, younger than that, or the same age or older just shows you like you could pick up something pretty quickly. um But yeah, you just have to embrace the three Ps that I talked about earlier on.
01:34:29
Speaker
Yeah, just try, try, you know, just start.
Conclusion
01:34:33
Speaker
um Ben, thanks so much, man, for coming on. It's been really great catching up with you as, as, as always, but finally put one on the books for, for other people to hear and hopefully walk away with,
01:34:46
Speaker
some great knowledge that they can implement in their own lives. And I, you know, I encourage anybody listening to this podcast to check out Ben's. We'll put all the links in the, in the show notes for sure. And yeah, again, Ben, thanks so much, man.
01:35:01
Speaker
Thank you, Justin. And I just want to say like, um really admire, you know, all the time that you're putting into this, you know, again, no one sees the behind the scenes and it says a lot about, you know, who you are, you know, your heart as well as, know,
01:35:15
Speaker
your your your real passion, you know? And also something that we spoke about earlier is like, you believe in yourself, you believe in your project, you believe in what you're doing, you believe in helping others. And I think that's a beautiful gift that you choose to do.
01:35:31
Speaker
um Because again, it's it's a choice, we don't have to do it. But when we have that much, again, belief in something, we will do it, you know? And so I want to commend you on every second or every breath that you put in and keep enjoying like the journey because I know there's highs and lows with this. But just really want to commend you ever since I've i've seen that you've been you know doing this out out of outside of all the other things you do of just being an athlete or being a person or being a teammate, all that stuff says a lot about you.
01:36:04
Speaker
Thanks, man. I appreciate that so much. And yeah, I wish you all the best, man. We'll talk soon. Thanks, man. Cheers. Ready to crush your next goal? With 15 years of experience across endurance sports, from 5Ks to ultras, over 10 marathons with a personal best of two hours, 45 minutes, including Boston, New York City, and Berlin, plus two Ironmans, I know what it takes to achieve real results.
01:36:30
Speaker
But training for a race is about more than just logging miles. It's about training smarter. And that's where a coach makes all the difference. As your coach, I'll create a personalized week by week plan tailored to fit your unique goals, lifestyle, and schedule. You'll also get guidance on race day strategy, nutrition, pre-race routines, and the insider tips that can transform your performance.
01:36:55
Speaker
With a coach, you're not guessing through training. you're following a proven customized roadmap with support every step of the way. So if you're ready to train smarter and reach new levels, email me at justin at justinstridepod.com and let's make those goals happen.
01:37:11
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in to the Just In Stride podcast. I truly appreciate you taking the time to listen and I hope you enjoyed that conversation as much as I did. Please take a minute after this to rate and review our show on Apple Podcasts.
01:37:24
Speaker
With your feedback, we'll be able to make the show even better and it'll help us reach new listeners too. You can also find us on Instagram at Just In Stride Pod for all the latest episodes and updates.
01:37:36
Speaker
Of course, this show wouldn't be possible without a solid team behind me. With logo and design by Vanessa Pugliese, as well as audio, music, and editing by Forrest McKay, a huge thank you goes out to both of them.
01:37:49
Speaker
Guest outreach, social media, writing, and advertising are handled by me, your host, Justin Pugliese. Finally, we'd like to thank you, our listeners, for coming along for the ride with Justin Stride.