Finding Your Summit

Latest Episodes:

Don Dow: My former teammate from the University of Washington describes how he had to make a pivot during Covid and adjust his Event Planning company to position for success in the future... Jan 08, 2021

Show notes

185: Don Dow: Former NFL player and founder of Dow Events talks about the football lessons he has brought with him to business and how he and his company are overcoming the challenges of COVID.

Don Dow

What does Don want people to understand about his accomplishments? "We both played in the NFL, we both got drafted. And the thing that people need to understand is those things don't just happen magically. Hard things are hard, right? They're hard. Starting a business is hard. Sustaining a business is hard. But when you get through to the other side, there's so much reward in terms of the daily discipline, the hard steps you took to get to that place where now you can really reap and go, that was worth it."

On this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, we talk with Don Dow, former Huskies teammate with Mark Pattison and event production company owner. "My earliest lessons in the event business was being a player and going to the Rose Bowl or going to an Aloha Bowl or going to the Sun Bowl, as we did. Because here's the buses, here's the hotels, here's all the organization, you're going to these parties as a player, organized and otherwise. So for me, my earliest experience in this business I've been in was as a player and being hosted as opposed to being on the other side of it."

What You Will Learn

How did Don transition from playing pro football to events? "Where it really started for me was when I came out of football, a guy in Seattle by the name of Bob Walsh was my agent. And I went to work for Bob shortly after I was released from the Seahawks, right at the end of training camp the year I was drafted. And he said we'll bring you in, we'll give you training, you can do sales and everything else… I went to the 9ers the following year, blew a disc in my back right before the Superbowl in practice, came back, went to work for Bob, and never left."

What is it that sets Don's event company apart? "I think where we're different, especially in the internet age—once the internet happened, all of a sudden there was transparency. You could go find a ticket on StubHub, you could kind of put it together on your own. But in my world, in the Dow Events world, no matter what event we're at, and we really set the tone for this at the Masters, is you land, and my team has you from the time you land until we put you back on the plane. So it's transportation, it's accommodations, it's tickets, it's hospitality, it's dinner reservations. It's a complete, full-service, turnkey program. And that really set the stage for us in where the company's gone in over 25 years."

What was the start of COVID like for Don and Dow Events? "I literally went to Augusta about the 4th or 5th of March, I was getting ready for my 25th consecutive Masters, we had a lot of stuff in the works, you know, clients coming in as always, etc., etc. And the world stopped. And so literally, anybody in my business has a safe deposit box or a safe somewhere full of badges, 2019 badges, that are now worthless. And you've put deposits out for houses and transportation and catering and everything else, you've got client money that's come in to you. And thank goodness as I mentioned earlier I'm definitely a relationship client guy, because I can sit and talk with our clients and roll them, hopefully to 2021. I'm not sure that the Masters is gonna happen with spectators in April. I don't see it happening. So now all of a sudden we're rolling clients to 2022, and in the meantime, we've got to survive."

What does Don predict events will be like after the pandemic? "To the extent that people participate in 2021, I think it will largely be high net worth individuals that come to things like the Masters or CMA Fest or Wimbledon or some of those other things that are on our calendar. I don't see it as being corporate. I think they're gonna be much more cautious. I also think that the second half of 2021 is gonna be like Mardi Gras every day for those high net worth—people just want to get out and go experience stuff… I think 2022 is going to be absolutely nuts."

"I think the work from anywhere is going to stay. I've always said in my business, I could be on a boat and as long as I've got an uplink, I can run Dow Events worldwide. The flipside of that, I was on the phone with a longtime, 20+ year client the other night, he called and we kind of did a year-end chat. And he said to me, 'What's going on with Masters? Are we going?' I said, 'I really don't think so.' I said they'll make an announcement in late January, but I said I'm thinking they're gonna do it like they did in November, maybe expand guests for members and maybe some of their sponsors, but that's gonna be it. He said, 'Well gosh, I've got to get face to face with our customers. This whole thing with Zoom and everything is great, but there's nothing like spending time looking people in the eye.'"

Lessons from the Coach

What did Don Dow learn from his coach when he played for the Washington Huskies? "I think one of the greatest things I learned from Coach James was he trusted his people. He delegated to everybody, all the coaches and everything else, right? And in the end, he was the key decision maker there… I think the biggest thing for me coming out of it was I admired the way that he dealt with relationships. And that's the only way my company has survived over the last 25+ years is relationships."

How have lessons from Coach James translated into Dow Events? "I think that probably the biggest thing that I can say that's helped our success, and I think this goes back to Coach James and everything else, is you do what you say you're gonna do. You always deliver. That has cost me over the years… I've always told my team, if somebody spends $1 with us, they're gonna get $1.10. It's always a bit more. Take that last step just a little bit farther."

Links to Additional Resources:

Mark Pattison: markpattisonnfl.com
Emilia's Everest - The Lhotse Challenge: https://www.markpattisonnfl.com/philanthropy/
The Thursday Speeches: Lessons in Life, Leadership, and Football from Coach Don James: https://bookshop.org/books/the-thursday-speeches-lessons-in-life-leadership-and-football-from-coach-don-james/9780692328354?aid=4638
Don Dow: don@dowevents.com
Dow Events: www.dowevents.com

As a child, Dung Duong fled Vietnam, lived in refugee camps, was jailed, and found himself homeless before immigrating to the United States and finding success as an entrepreneur and investor Jan 01, 2021

Show notes

184: Dung Duong: Entrepreneur and Author of Shifting Optics: Life in Perspective talks about experiencing being jailed at 5-years-old and homelessness before immigrating to the United States and transitioning into becoming an entrepreneur.

Dung Duong

How did Dung Duong develop his positive attitude and ability to see life from the bright side? "I think in life, it is one of those things where having gone through the things that I've gone through, you build up a little bit of resiliency. You build up a little perseverance through any sort of obstacle, and when you have hard to go through so many obstacles, you don't look at obstacles anymore. It is just another part of life. In doing so, you always look forward and not try to think about all of the obstacles in front of you."

On this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, we talk with Dung Duong, Entrepreneur and Author of Shifting Optics: Life in Perspective, about growing up in Vietnam under really difficult circumstances. "Communism took over, the war ended. Foreigners had to leave. Certainly there was April 30th, which was when you see all the footage of people climbing buildings and getting on the helicopters, and being flown out, and helicopters being pushed over of the decks of these ships, a big group of people. That was April. I was born in October."

What You Will Learn:

Dung Duong talks about the family status that he came from before coming to the United States. "My mom's dad, her parents, were very rich, filthy rich in South Vietnam. So, the problem with that is that when Communism took over, being rich was not necessarily a good thing. When Communism took over, being rich was like, hey, you only amassed your wealth because you took advantage of poor people, and stuff like that. So, they were in an environment that was probably not very conducive to raising a child that has disabilities."

Where were Dung Duong parents trying to get to with him when they left Vietnam? "I think the intent was to get to Thailand. It was either Thailand or to a neighboring, well, there is really nothing around Vietnam except for Thailand, which is the next neighbor and if you want to go further south, it is Indonesia. But the intent was to get out, get away from Vietnam."

Dung Duong discussed having to go through a name change. "Being caught leaving was not a good thing. The U.S. has a lot of freedoms to move about. When you are in a tight regime, there is not that much freedom. So the first trip after we left, we actually saw land "We ended landing back in Vietnam and I remember my parents were drilling my sister to change their name, change her name to a different last name. With our family name, we were sort of known in South Vietnam. So, drilling into my sister, this is your last name."

What was it like as a five-year-old for Dung Duong to be in jail? "Jail in South Vietnam is not quite like jail here. There is just bamboo sticks in a mound essentially. During the wet season, dry ground is not exactly easy either. Jail is jail. My memory of it, I don't have that many memories of it. But certainly I remember that it was a difficult time for the family. Obviously, my dad was separated from myself and everyone involved. The good news was that my mom, myself, and my sister got out relatively early, within a month or a couple of months. My dad, I think he spent a little bit of a longer time there. After we made it to Saigon, my mom would take trips to visit my dad."

How did Dung Duong ultimately get to the U.S.? "My uncle studied in the U.S. and became a fairly famous doctor in Virginia. We had another Uncle in Belgium and another Uncle in France. My dad's sister also made it to the U.S. as well. SO, they helped us with the signing in process, and eventually we were granted permission in the U.S...We didn't get to the United States until I was six, six and a half. In 1982 is when we got here."

Adapting to America

What was it like for a young Dung Duong to adapt to life in the U.S.? "I was somewhat unique in that I got out of ESL in less than a year. Whereas, most people that go through the program take about three years. I always credit that to watching a lot of Three's Company. But that is a different story...We flew to the United States. I think the first port was Oakland, then we moved to Chicago...My uncle lived in Northern Virginia, so we settled with him before moving out to other family in a different place. The thing about that is that we are living in essentially adjunct poverty at the time. My parents were working literally any job that they can."

Words of Wisdom

During this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, Dung Duong talks about communicating the wisdom he has gained from the tough road to success that he endured to his children. "That is exactly why I wrote the book. It is really for my kids. That is exactly why my wife started the charity. We are trying to give my children a perspective on life that they may not get from their daily life, right? They are in a gated community. They are never going to struggle as I did, I hope."

Links to Additional Resources:

Mark Pattison: markpattisonnfl.com
Emilia's Everest - The Lhotse Challenge: https://www.markpattisonnfl.com/philanthropy/
Dung Duong's book: Shifting Optics: Life in Perspective by Dung Duong

Show notes

Dung Duong

What You Will Learn:

Adapting to America

Words of Wisdom

Links to Additional Resources:

Mark Pattison: markpattisonnfl.com
Emilia's Everest - The Lhotse Challenge: https://www.markpattisonnfl.com/philanthropy/
Dung Duong's book: Shifting Optics: Life in Perspective by Dung Duong

Brian Von Herbulis: 17 years as a special opps leader in the Marines, this all star now empowers people to unleash their potential through outdoor adventures. Prepare to get optimized... Dec 25, 2020

Show notes

183: Brian Von Herbulis: Retired U.S. Marine and Chief Executive Officer at Ultra Solutions discusses how he overcame getting kicked out of college to then earn his MBA degree, serving in the U.S. Marines, and living up to his personal mission statement to be an honorable man and enrich the lives of others.

Brian Von Herbulis

How did Brian Von Herbulis arrive at his mission statement, 'To be an honorable man, enrich the lives of others'? "I heard somebody once mention their personal mission statement, and that made me think. What am I doing on this planet? What am I doing with my life? What is my mission here right now? That mission statement can change over time. But right now, when I developed that personal mission statement, it was just a couple of months ago, and in reflection I thought about how I want to live my life? What I want to be doing. What I want to be thought of by my family, by my friends, by those that I encounter, and it is simply being an honorable man."

On this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, we talk with Brian Von Herbulis, Retired U.S. Marine and Chief Executive Officer at Ultra Solutions about what being 'honorable' means to him. "The word 'honor' to me has so many connotations to it. It is kind of an umbrella term for all of the facets of my life that I want to exercise and showcase to people. It is about being a person of integrity, knowing and living by your values and principles. It is about who you surround yourself with and making sure you are loyal to those people that you have committed to and people in a positive relationship with. It is about being trustworthy. It is about being confident. It is about being humble when that is the right approach. It is about being genuine. It is about being authentic to who you really are and finding purposefully ways to live your life."

What You Will Learn:

How does someone get to the point in their life where they openly want to enrich the lives of others? "It is about reflection. Who impacted you in life and how did you take those lessons learned in your journey of life and look at those people that had an impact on you? What did they do right? What did you learn from them? How do you want to move forward projecting that same thing? I think back on my own life and I think about those people that had a tremendous impact on where I am today and how I got there, and I am so grateful for them, and they were such strong, such honorable people for me to follow as mentors to me, and that is where it starts."

Brian Von Herbulis explains how he has taken stock of how he has treated others in the past to improve his ability to enrich the lives of others. "You think back about the opportunities that you had to impact others and whether you did it right or whether you made a mistake in your approach to those people. So, you are constantly learning, iterating in your own life and processes, and then having that positive impact going forward. I spent a career in the military and there is no greater opportunity to shape young lives as an officer of the Marines. So, when I look back at all of those encounters I had with thousands of Marines, did I do things right? Was I honorable in my approach to them and how I treated them, how I taught them, how I prepared them, how I trained them? Then, how did I discipline them?"

Did Brian Von Herbulis come from a military family? "I don't have a tremendous military lineage in my family. My grandfather was a Navy corpsman, so a medic in World War II, stitching up Marines on the beaches in the Pacific. But like so many of that World War II generation, he came home and suffered tremendously in his mind, and he struggled in life. So, I never saw the military in such a positive way. I knew it had a really negative impact on my grandfather. I grew up an athlete and I had dreams of being a professional baseball player, and put the majority of my time and effort into that. Unfortunately in that process I suffered some injuries, and lack of talent, I never made it to the big leagues in baseball."

How did Brian's life change when his parents got divorced after 25 years of marriage during his sophomore year of college when he found out upon arriving home on Christmas break? "I became different at that point. I became jaded. I became angry. I was lost. I went back to school not to go to school. I was unfocused, undisciplined, and I partied like a rock star. Baseball fell apart. My grade point average I think that following semester was like a 0.07. I didn't even go to class. I don't even know how I got the 0.07. I was just lost. Here I am maturing. But really, I was falling apart. So, when I talked about mentors, this is when they became really important. Because I ended up getting kicked out of college. I went home and had to quickly figure out what it means to grow up."

Brian Von Herbulis highlights the key element to why the Marine Corp was the place to be for him. "I always looked at the Marine Corp as the grit, just tough fighters that loved every challenge that you could ever throw at them. They are like rabbit dogs, you know? That was what I was drawn to. I didn't know anybody in the Marine Corp. I just wanted what was in my mind appeared to be the toughest, the greatest challenge. The mystery around the Marine Corp."

Up for the Challenge

When Brian Von Herbulis entered the Marines, was he overwhelmed by it or did he embrace the intense training? "I recognized that there was going to be this new model of life. But I also knew that that was what I needed. I craved that structure. I missed athletics so much and team dynamics so much that I was ready for anything they had to throw at me. The unfortunate part was that I got rejected by the Marine Corps initially."

Higher Ground

During this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, Brian Von Herbulis discusses his connection to the organization Higher Ground. "I first encountered Higher Ground when I moved here. I got invited to their annual fundraising gala called Hero's Journey and that was my initial introduction to the organization. Then I came up and they kind of showcased some of the work they did and took me through some of the things they did with adaptive athletes or military veterans that had suffered some sort of physical trauma. I was very moved by what I witnessed, the work they do, and I have maintained a relationship with people on the team here at Higher Ground."

Links to Additional Resources:

Mark Pattison: markpattisonnfl.com
Emilia's Everest - The Lhotse Challenge: https://www.markpattisonnfl.com/philanthropy/
Brian Von Herbulis' social media: Instagram
Brian Von Herbulis' website: ultra-solutions.com

Benjamin Alexander: From being an international DJ to trying to make the Jamaica Olympic Ski Team. What are the odds? Dec 18, 2020

Show notes

182: Benjamin Alexander: Soon-to-be Olympic Alpine Skier representing Jamaica and former International DJ discusses his journey from being a financial analyst to traveling all over the world as a DJ and his current pursuit to represent Jamaica in the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Benjamin Alexader

What is Benjamin Alexander's connection to the Jamaican Olympic team? "I'm half English, half Jamaican. My father was born on the south side of the island. that's actually why this whole thing came about. The funny thing is, as a mixed-race person, half-white and half-black, whenever you're in a group of white people, you're the black guy; when you're in a group of black people, you're the white guy. So, skiing is obviously a very very white pursuit, so that means I am the token black guy in any group of friends when we're skiing. I'm also Jamaican, so then there's also this movie Cool Runnings about the Jamaican bobsled team in 1988. Everyone knows this movie so there's people always talking about Cool Runnings and Jamaican on ice. So, honestly, this whole thing just started off as a joke."

On this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, we talk with Benjamin Alexander, Expert Alpine Skiier and former international DJ. "Sometimes failing is not a failure. Sometimes failing is a pivot into something that 10 years from now you look back and realize that maybe that was the better thing that you didn't even think about because you were so focused on the first goal I don't think there's anything more positive than a human that is on a mission that they're really really pumped up and jazzed up about. When you have this thing in life that is a burning passion, it creates a better version of you."

What You Will Learn:

Benjamin Alexander dives into his love for electronic dance music and how that took him all over the world. "So, I actually started DJing 20 years ago...before YouTube. I had come across this genre of music, this underground form of electronic dance music that was really only available in nightclubs, at raves, or illegal pirate radio stations in London. Because I wasn't of legal age, so I couldn't get into the night clubs or the raves, the only way for me to really recreate that experience was to buy turntables and just go out there and buy the records myself and recreate it in my bedroom. This week, actually, is the 20-year anniversary of one of the first mixtapes that I put out. It just started as a hobby. My interest in it just kind of came and went. It wasn't until I moved to Asia that I started to collect the music that was super popular at that moment."

How did Benjamin take his basement hobby and turn it into a career? "I really enjoyed performing for people. Something that I would do casually at afterparties then turned into a bit more of a serious hobby. I was invited to play at the best nightclub in Hong Kong called Club Voila. It got to the point in early 2010 where I was working 50 hours a week in the industry of finance and wealth management, and working 5 or 6 hours a week across 2 or 3 gigs in Hong Kong and Macau, and making enough money from the djing alone to scrape by but having far more fun with the djing than the suit and tie 9 to 5. I decided to take the leap of faith in just going full-time with the creative pursuit and I just wanted to see what happened. My eyes were opened to this event called Burning man and from then everything exploded and I before I knew it I was playing all over the world. I was living in Ibiza for my summers and by the time I retired from djing at the end of 2018, I had the opportunity to perform in almost 35 countries."

Where did Benjamin's creative bug find him? Or did he find the bug? "Definitely was the class clown. Definitely the trouble maker. I never thought of being a performer of any sort. When I started to collect records, I really did it out of necessity. The energy that I was listening to out of these cassette tapes that were being recorded from pirate radio was like nothing else id experienced. The only way that I could get access to this thing that had this allure, this energy that I hadn't experienced anywhere else was really just to recreate it myself. I'm an engineer by trade and I just kind of approach these problems by brute force. After a while, you find yourself in a place where without even realizing it, you're better than 95% of everyone else that's doing it. You weren't doing it with the anticipation or the expectation or the desire to be doing it on stage. You were doing it because you just loved the trade and after a while, you were just so much better than everyone else that you naturally just have to follow this through."

When did the light go off that inspired Benjamin's goal of getting to the Olympics in 2022? "In 2018, I went to the Olympics in South Korea as an attendee and I noticed that there were only 3 Jamaicans representing the entire country and I was kind of taken by surprise by that fact. We put the Cool Runnings movie on and a lightbulb kind of went off. If there's only 3 athletes representing the country of Jamaica, maybe I can be plus one when we get around to the Olympics."

What is Benjamin trying to show people about skiing and achieving their dreams in general? "The story that I'm' trying to tell here is not only that minorities can do well in winter sports, it's also that you can do really well even if you pick up something as athletic as skiing later on in your life. But it's also trying to tell that skiing doesn't have to be expensive. How many pieces of sporting equipment sit idle in a garage. If you are unafraid to just ask the people around you for help, for gear, it's incredible. I looked at a photo of all of the things I was wearing in July and every single piece of clothing that I was wearing was a gift, a hand-me-down, or something that I was sponsored. So there are ways to make this thing inexpensive?"

Heli-Ski Trip

Where did Benjamin find the inspiration to not only get into skiing but skiing at an elite level? "So, at the end of 2015, I was invited to a heli-ski trip. I had never skied before. Without embellishing the lavishness and how amazing this thing was, on one of the days, the housecats as they called us, the 8 of us that were not skiing, had the opportunity to jump into a helicopter and join the skiers on top of the hill for lunch. I got up there, and I was just blown away by the scenery by the beauty, by the remoteness of being the only people for tens of miles if not further. Then at the end of lunch, just watching all of my skiing friends hop on their skies and just disappear down the side of the mountain. It just blew my mind. From that moment, there and then I set the intention that I would not return to that place without joining the skiing contention."

Qualifying for The Olympics

During this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, Benjamin Alexander discusses his improbably rise from a 12-year-old in his room, to an international DJ, to his current pursuit to make the 2022 Olympics as a Jamaican Alpine skier. "How can it be possible that someone who just started skiing in 2016, especially someone who started skiing later in life, that he believes within 5 years he'll be able to qualify for the Olympics? The spirit of the Olympics is that you have as many nationalities represented in as many disciplines as possible. What the Olympics does to make that possible is every nation has the ability to put forward 1 b-standard athlete. What that basically, means is, if I can get myself to the level of a really good 16-year old ski racer, you know, the cookie-cutter ski racer started skiing at the age of 2 and started racing at the age of 7 and by 16, they're going to be at that level if they're good that I need to get to for me to qualify for the Olympics."

Links to Additional Resources:

Mark Pattison: markpattisonnfl.com
Benjamin Alexander: Instagram | Website
Mark Pattison: Instagram

Kevin Sorbo is an American Actor who has appeared in over 65 movies plus numerous TV shows including playing Hercules which lasted 6 years Dec 11, 2020

Show notes

181: Kevin Sorbo: Actor, Director, Producer, Author who has been in 64 films discusses what it took to rise up from Mound, Minnesota to become internationally known for his television role as Hercules to having to overcome strokes that surged down into his brain.

Kevin Sorbo

Kevin Sorbo discusses his early background and the moment that he knew he wanted to become an actor. "I grew up in a really small town called Mound, Minnesota on the western shore of beautiful Lake Minnetonka, about 25 miles west of Minneapolis, fourth of five kids. My dad was a schoolteacher. My mom was a nurse, but pretty much a stay-at-home mom since she had five kids so quick in her life. I was 11-years-old and we went to the Guthrie Theater, a very famous theater in Minneapolis. A lot of Broadway plays start there before they move to New York, and it was The Merchant of Venice. It was a Shakespeare play. I didn't know what the heck they were saying because it was Shakespeare. But I was mesmerised by the actors on stage. I went home and told my mom, 'You know what? I'm going to be an actor.'"

On this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, we talk with Kevin Sorbo, Actor, Director, Producer, about pursuing his acting dreams after he went to college. "I double majored in Business, Marketing and Advertising, but took a minor in drama. I started doing a lot of commercials. Minneapolis is home to a lot of big companies. I don't think people realise. They have Best Buy there. They've got 3M. They've got Honeywell, Pillsbury, General Mills. So, there are a lot of commercials. Target, all of those things are headquartered there. I got that all-important Screen Actors Guild card before I made the big move out to Los Angeles."

What You Will Learn:

Kevin Sorbo talks about the evolution of his professional acting career."When I got Hercules I had to move down to New Zealand. By the third year, that series became the most-watched TV show in the world, in 176 countries. I did my first big budget motion picture Kull the Conqueror. My movie career was really starting to take off because of that series. At the end of season five on Hercules, I had all kinds of problems with my left shoulder. I couldn't quite figure out what was going on, and these three fingers on this hand were numb and cold, and it was just weird. But, I was blowing it off because I was working 12-14 hours a day. I was lifting weights two hours a day."

What was the origin of Kevin Sorbo realising he had a health issue? "You know what it was like when you were younger. I was 225-230 (pounds). I was ripped up. I was in better shape in my 30s then I probably was in my 20s, and I was doing my own stunts because my ego said that I could. I went back to the States to do promotional work on my first movie Kull the Conqueror and then I went to see my doctor in L.A. and said I got something going on here. I don't know what is going on. They found a lump way up here in my left clavicle. They wanted to do a biopsy on it."

Kevin Sorbo discusses what happened when his neck was cracked during a health procedure. "A voice in my head warns me, 'Don't let him crack our neck,' over and over again. I'm going, why am I getting this, 'don't let him crack your neck?' He has never cracked my neck. So, while I'm arguing with the voice, he cracks my neck. Well that lump ended up being an aneurysm that had been spitting blood clots down into my arm, and that vicious crack knocked a series of strokes into my brain. I spent the next four months learning how to walk and balance again. It took my three years to fully recover from it."

What was it like having to recover in rehab? "You know what it is like when you step out of the limelight that way. I wasn't a pro athlete. But I felt like I was a good athlete in great shape. All of a sudden I'm playing this guy Hercules and I can't even stand up and walk. I'm in a rehab center with 90-year-old stroke victims. It was tough on my ego. It was tough on my psyche. It was tough on my body. It was just brutal for me to get through this thing. I wrestled with God. When these things happen, we tend to blame everybody but ourselves."

Kevin Sorbo opens up about how his life was changing during recovery. "I was forced to make a lifestyle change, obviously. It sucked. I will tell you, for two years I had vertigo. It didn't matter if I was laying down, seated, or standing up, I was always falling back. You get that jerk sometimes like you are falling back. I had that sensation almost 24 hours a day. Halfway through the second year of my recovery there would be like a week window where I didn't feel that anymore. I would tell my wife that. She goes, 'See, you are getting better. That gave me hope."

True Strength

Kevin Sorbo talks about pushing towards writing his book. "My wife bugged me for a long time to write a book and I didn't want to write the book. But finally, years later I did write it back in 2012. Here is the book right here, and it is called True Strength: My Journey from Hercules to Mere Mortal and How Nearly Dying Saved My Life. I call it True Strength because in Hercules, that was a television show, right? I had a bunch of stunt guys making me look like a big stud. But in reality, I had to rely on my own self. I have always been a person of faith. But I never needed faith until this roadblock hit me."

Too Much Hate

During this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, Kevin Sorbo, "We get so caught up in our lives. Look at all of the anger we have in this world right now, the divisiveness, the hatred, the violence going on. Even in your home city of Seattle. You see all of the stuff going on with these Antifa punks, you know? It is unbelievable that they are just destroying people's businesses and destroying lives. There is so much hate. I'm trying to go, how can we find a place where we can just help people?"

Links to Additional Resources:

Mark Pattison: markpattisonnfl.com
Emilia's Everest - The Lhotse Challenge: https://www.markpattisonnfl.com/philanthropy/
Kevin Sorbo's social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram
Kevin Sorbo's website: kevinsorbo.net

Kevin Richardson is a former Husky Football player who had aspirations of playing in the NFL but never happen and took him 33 years to move past it. Inspiring... Dec 04, 2020

Show notes

180: Kevin Richardson: Book Author at Morgan James Publishing, and former University of Washington Husky football player had aspirations of playing professionally in the NFL. When this dream didn't materialize, it took him 33 years to move past it. Kevin Richardson shares his inspiring story of overcoming thoughts of suicide and depression and evolving into a writer.

Kevin Richardson

Kevin Richardson discusses where his early football journey began, before he was recruited to play for the Washington Huskies in the mid-1970s, prior to Mark Pattison. "My time going up to the University of Washington was DisneyLand to me. Even though I went to high school and it was very prestigious in Sacramento, California, Rio Americano High School. It was known for its Olympic-caliber swimmers. Debbie Meyer, who won three gold medals in the '68 Olympics, was a schoolmate of mine and she is a dear friend to this day. There were others of course that earned gold and silver and bronze."

On this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, we talk with Kevin Richardson, book author at Morgan James Publishing, and former University of Washington Husky football player, about his attraction to the University of Washington. "There was this allure that was bringing to that gym of the Pacific Northwest, the Emerald City. So, it was like already in my DNA. It was just a matter of taking that first trip and walking out of that tunnel for the very first time with Lambo and looking up and seeing that huge concrete monolith on that other side and envisioning people in the sky."

What You Will Learn:

Kevin Richardson talks about an early football influence named Forrest Blue. "As I got to the U (University of Washington) I ended up blowing out my knee in spring practice in 1973, and under the tutelage of somebody I never knew would come into my life, a guy named of Forrest Blue, who lived in our neighborhood back home, I ended up having this impromptu lunch from a guy that brought his son to my mom's daycare center in her home and I sat there and I talked to Forrest. He gave me the greatest sage wisdom in the world about moving on, down the road and projecting to the NFL, because that was where he was."

Kevin Richardson discusses the process of revving up his momentum during his training process. "I needed to have a workout partner and I looked around the Huskies football team trying to figure out who that guy might be. There was only one guy that stood out and that was Dave Pear. So I approached Dave right before the Washington State game in 1973 and asked him who he was going to train with and he goes, 'Well, I don't know. Whoever shows up.' Next thing you know, we become training partners. I became his personal trainer for the most part. We rub off on each other. His tougher mindset, street-fighting mentality rubbed off on this teddy bear, ok? So when I became a senior as a fifth year, I finally found my stride. I was there. At the end of the season I ended up leading the team in quarterback sacks and everything else. But my eyes were on the NFL draft."

How did the weight of being downgraded from first team to second team feel when Kevin played as a Washington Husky? "My whole thing was I was going to start every game. I elevated myself. I was there. Everything Don James said to the media about me, the expectations they held, and everybody else, the press, family, friends, everybody, was just blown out the window. Nobody ever said why it was done, why Doug was put on first team in front of me. I was left spinning in the wind, twisting, unknowing. I'm this big passionate gentle giant teddy bear inside. But yet, I can be a hulk in a second on the football field. I can flip that switch immediately when needed to."

Where did it all fall apart and get really tough for Kevin Richardson after not making it into the NFL after being so highly regarded at the University of Washington? "When this happened and I was put on second team, everybody's jaws were dropping, lke what is going on? That plane ride home it started to hit me, and that was like November 20th, 1976 and by the end of January I was in full-blown out severe depression, suicidal ideation, creatively thinking of ways of ending my life. That moment changed my life, I mean completely."

How did everything change for the better for Kevin Richardson? "When I started to write. It took me back to that deep, deep, deep space and I was able to start sorting everything out and going through those old dusty filing cabinets in the hallways of my mind and pulling this file out and pulling that other file out, and resorting it and shifting it, while new life experiences were happening at the same time. They were enabling this writing process. So, the whole truth about finding my way, the writing got me there. It was this writing-to-heal component, this journalizing thing that really flipped my go-switch to what I call the 'God Side.' It renewed my faith at the same time."

New Purpose

Kevin Richardson talks about how writing has become his new purpose in life. "The writing was that golden key to that door to the other side, ok? But through this process, it is treacherous, Bro. You are opening a door, and your mind sees this door with this light beaming around it and a big sign, 'Do Not Enter Danger,' big flashing stuff, right? Your mind doesn't want you to go there because it has to control you. The next thing you know you say, no, and you find the combination you open it and in there, and you are pulled into a vacuum of light that is so amazing that you didn't even know it ever existed. But you hoped it did because it is going to show you something you always hoped and dreamed for. That is the same thing I was hoping and dreaming for when I had a childhood dream in this tangible, gravity-bound space of ours that we can touch and feel with our senses and everything else, right? But, I went beyond that. I went outside of that. I found my new reality and with it there was this force that I left behind that was trying to upend that whole discovery process."

Divine Doors

During this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, Kevin Richardson, also talks about his spiritual awakening. "Right now, these divine doors, God keeps opening these doors everyday to keep me where I am supposed to be until I get this book done and then whatever happens is going to happen of course. But I have always had this vision, this writing thing and this creative process is the real me and who I am really supposed to be in life, as my measure of giving back through my life experiences, the school of hard knocks."

Links to Additional Resources:

Mark Pattison: markpattisonnfl.com
Emilia's Everest - The Lhotse Challenge: https://www.markpattisonnfl.com/philanthropy/
Kevin Richardson's social media: Linkedin Twitter
Mark Pattison: Instagram

Mike Marolt adventurer, has climbed and skied down multiple 8 Meter Peaks on over 40 expeditions including the crown jewel, Mt Everest Nov 27, 2020

Show notes

181: Mike Marolt: Ski Mountaineer and Author of the book Progression: A Lifetime of Skiing the World's Greatest Ranges talks about how he went from being the son of a father who was an Olympic athlete to blazing his own trail as a ski mountaineer who hit the heights of Mt. Everest.

Mike Marolt

Mike Marolt talks about his dad being in the 1960 Olympics and where Mike's inspiration came from. "I was really fortunate. I had a dad that was not only a really good dad, but was a world-class athlete. Being in the Marolt household, I was born in '64. He was in the Olympics in 1960. So, having a dad that was that close to ski racing; I was exposed to a lot of his contemporaries and a lot of racers."

On this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, we talk with Mike Marolt about the areas in which his father supported his athletic ambitions. "He went to every baseball game I ever played. But when it came to ski races, he just had nothing to do with the ski races. He would train with us. But he just didn't want to put that pressure on us. At the time it was frustrating a few times. But I understood. He was always out raining with us. That is where he really pushed us and taught us."

What You Will Learn:

How has Mike Marolt "I'm still a hardcore on-mountain skiier. I ski three or four days a week. I can walk to the gondola. It is about a five minute walk from my office. So, in the afternoon before the lifts close I will call up Steve and we will head over there and get a bunch of skiing. But what we gravitated towards was the ski mountaineering. The phrase that they coined about that is, 'Earning your turns.'"

Michael Marolt discusses the book he wrote called Natural Progression: A Lifetime of Skiing the World's Greatest Ranges. "The reason why I titled the book Natural Progression is it really has never been biting off more than we can chew. All of our parents, my friends, and my dad just stressed being humble in the mountains. Really, you can go out there if you are prepared, and you take the time to train. You can do that stuff safely. But, if you run past your experience level, that is when bad sh*t happens."

What advice does Mike Marolt have for mountaineers in training? "The name of the game in mountaineering is experience, and you really have to be cognizant of what those mountains are capable of throwing at you. The only way to gain that awareness is by going to them, and just really being humble, and really taking it step-by-step, and just not getting too excited about summits and all of that stuff. Really, just trying to figure out what they can throw at you.

Mike Marolt describes the seriousness of skiing mountains. "You can go to those mountains and get in over your head really quickly. Nothing will stop you except for the natural environment, and unfortunately when you get cut from a college team you just walk away. When you get up and get in over your head in the mountains you can lose your life."

What is it like for Mike Marolt to be a skiing mountaineer? "You are totally exposed, and you are relying 100% on the automation that you have standing on skis after doing it 100s of days a year for the last 20 years. Skiing is a unique aspect of mountaineering. A lot of people can ski. But not a lot of people are super comfortable skiing on those high peaks because the snow is not groomed and it is pretty rough. It is exciting. But that is why we do it.

Preparing to Ski Everest

What were some of the ways that Mike Marolt got ready for Mt. Everest? "We would literally be on one peak, see another peak, and plan on going back to that peak the next year. Through that process we gained 8000 meter peak experience on Broad Peak, and we went back and got a whole bunch of 6000 meter peak experience in South America. So, by 2000, nobody from North America or South America had skied from an 8000 meter peak, and we didn't automatically say that is going to be us, we are going."

True Adventure

During this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, Mike Marolt also defines adventure and setting goals. "You take them on as many times as it takes to understand that you can't accomplish it...or you accomplish it. But you can't give up on anything until you give it 110%. Because there is nothing worse than unanswered questions. That has been the story of our career.

Links to Additional Resources:

Mark Pattison: markpattisonnfl.com
Emilia's Everest - The Lhotse Challenge: https://www.markpattisonnfl.com/philanthropy/
Mike Marolt's website: skiingeverest.net

Hilaree Nelson is a world class adventurer, mountaineer & high altitude ski who has been the first woman to climb Mt Everest + Lhotse within 24 hours Nov 20, 2020

Show notes

178: Hilaree Nelson: Professional Ski Mountaineer for North Face, National Geographic Live Speaker, and TNF Athlete Team Captain who has had over 40 expeditions and has been voted National Geographic person of the decade discusses how she evolved from someone who enjoyed mountaineering to making it the focal point of her professional life.

Hilaree Nelson

Hilaree Nelson talks about her hometown of Seattle and how it informed her appreciation of being outdoors. "Ironically, it took me leaving Seattle to find my way as a mountaineer and really discover what that was, and a sky mountaineer at that. I skied from a super young age at Stevens Pass in Washington. I skied at Crystal and I skied a few times at Baker. There are amazing mountain ranges surrounding Seattle, and a lot of people I know who discovered mountains have moved to Seattle for that reason."

On this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, we talk with Hilaree Nelson, Professional Ski Mountaineer for North Face, National Geographic Live Speaker, and TNF Athlete Team Captain about how she fell in love with climbing mountains. "I ended up leaving to go to Colorado to go to university. I think it was there that I first started going uphill with my skis instead of just downhill and really fell in love with it. But, I would say my real connection to wanting to do this for the rest of my life was after living in Cheminée in France, and experiencing the Alps and the history that they have.

What You Will Learn:

How has Hilaree Nelson transformed mountaineering from a passionate hobby into a successful career? "When I first started down this path I didn't think it would actually be a career. I was working three different jobs. I was also a Hally Ski Guide. I was doing everything I could to make ends meet and really just following a passion, a love, something that I found myself to be really good at."

Where has Hilaree's motivation for mountain climbing come from? "I wanted to see how far that could take me I guess, where I go, and sort of learning my physical and mental boundaries within the sport of ski mountaineering. As I progressed I had a lot of doors open for me, partly because I was a female in a fairly male-dminated world, the world of mountaineering in general."

How long did it take Hilaree Nelson to start going pro? "It probably wasn't until I was 5, 6, 7, years into this path, I had a sponsorship from North Face that I started focusing solely on being a pro athlete in that regard and letting go of some of the other jobs and starting to make some money enough to support what I wanted to do, what I love to do."

What have been the elements of mountaineering that have excited Hilaree Nelson? "I found myself really drawn to really remote places. I have a really mathematical brain. So, places that really required a lot of logistical planning, places that despite the logistical planning things often were a mystery. Things would totally go awry and it was all about thinking on your feet. It was all about adjusting, adversity, all things that really go back to that initial experiential passion of knowing my boundaries, blasting through them. How can I do better? How can I be more? How can I do more? Ironically, a lot of those things weren't even on the mountain. They were traveling to get to the mountain or traveling to get back."

How has she developed her strong, unflappable mindset? "I grew up in a very family-orientated way, a very protected sheltered home. I was the youngest. I had the big brother that looked out for me all of the time. I had the same group of friends that I played basketball with. That was a huge part of my life as a kid was playing basketball. I played basketball with the same group of girls from the age of 8 to 18. So, for me to step away from that and go out on my own to a state that I had never been to and didn't know anyone there, and I immediately found friends that got me into rock climbing and ski touring. I think that the question mark that I always had about myself growing up was, I can do all of these things with all of this help and all of this familiarity. But, I want to see who I am when I am by myself and I am forging my own path."

Enjoy the Great Outdoors

"No matter where you live, if you can just take 10 minutes in a day and find a park or find a way to walk around the block and be outside. It has always been my go-to place to scream at the top of my lungs or to let out whatever type of frustrations I have in life. Again, I am really fortunate to live here. But, gosh, I hope everyone can just find that space wherever you live to just manage the things that we are going through and just life in general."

Common Mistakes

During this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, Hilaree Nelson mentions the most typical mistake that she notices amateur climbers making. "Part of these lines of people when you are trying to summit Everest with these groups is that you are in a line. The most common mistake that inexperienced climbers make is they take that jumar and they ram it right into the knots at the top of a line. If you do that, you can't get the jumar off of the line. So, then everyone is just standing there waiting. Us being pro climbers, we would just take our jumar off and just climb without a rope."

Links to Additional Resources:

Mark Pattison: markpattisonnfl.com
Emilia's Everest - The Lhotse Challenge: https://www.markpattisonnfl.com/philanthropy/
Hilaree Nelson's website: HilareeNelson.com

Former Heisman Trophy winner, Danny Wuerffel was not only an amazing quarterback for Florida back in the day but has taken that same drive and energy & made helping others his life's mission. He is the executive director of Desire Street Ministries and t Nov 13, 2020

Show notes

178: Danny Wuerffel: Former Heisman Trophy Winner and Executive Director of Desire Street Ministries shares his path to going from being an amazing quarterback in Florida and transformed that energetic drive and desire into making a meaningful impact in the lives of those less fortunate. Danny Wuerffel also is the force behind the Wuerffel Trophy which recognizes the top college player in the United States who is also involved in community service efforts.

Danny Wuerffel

Danny Wuerffel discusses growing up with his family in Florida as one of the top quarterback recruits. "I definitely have to thank my family and sort of the foundation of my parents. I remember being young winning something, bragging about it. My dad, I will never forget a look he gave me in fourth grade when he found out I was bragging in a sense. He was like, 'That is not how we do things.' So, there was this tension of always wanting to win. But at the same time trying to be humble about it and recognize that it is not all about you."

On this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, we talk with Danny Wuerffel, Former Heisman Trophy Winner and Executive Director of Desire Street Ministries, who also emphasizes the role his spiritual faith has had in his life. "A lot of my understanding of the world and not seeing yourself as the center comes from my faith, and there is a long line of Christian faith in my family. My dad was an Airforce Champlain, and a lot of other folks and families. So, a part of the way that we understand our faith is to live it in a way that really impacts other people. So, I think that was very foundational for me. At different points as I got older, kind of recognizing that and embracing it for myself."

What You Will Learn:

Danny Wuerffel talks about how humility has continued to be important to himself and his family. "You never want to be around somebody who thinks that they are better than you are. My son is on a soccer team and there is a couple kids on the team that are really good. But, he just struggles because they walk around like they know they are good. So, he immediately doesn't feel connected to them. So, I think the ability to be honest, and to be real, and share your own struggles, and to walk with people, and to listen, you know? I was going to write a book. It was kind of a joke. Sometimes when you are successful, it can stunt your growth as a human being."

Danny Wuerffel discusses getting involved in Desire Street Ministries as the executive director. "I was drafted by the Saints and I felt like I wanted to be a part of something to help people. So, I was kind of looking around and I didn't have anything specific that I was looking for. Just a unique coincidence if you will, or perhaps divine intervention if you believe that led me to a small organization in the 9th Ward of New Orleans working in the Desire Housing Project called Desire Street Ministries. It was working with families and kids in the neighborhood trying to raise up leaders with the goal really, it sounds insane, but to help transform at one time the worst neighborhood in the country to a desirable, wonderful place to live."

What is the moment that pushed him towards the work that he does? "As I drove by these empty buildings, I saw a girl walk out with a doll, a little girl, and then I realised that she was living there. That ever so often in these projects you see an air conditioner and there were people living in these neighborhoods. My heart was broken. I definitely wanted to be a part of helping and making something better. So, Desire Street is very holistic. At the time we started an after school program and then we started a school. We had started building houses. We had started helping people get into jobs and businesses. We started a health clinic and a church."

How long has Danny Wuerffel been the director of Desire Street Ministries? "In the years since (Hurricane) Katrina, I became the director in 2005, and we moved our headquarters to Atlanta to expand. What we do now is we basically, instead of starting and running new Desire Streets, we found that there are already heroes living and working in neighborhoods all over the country. But, so often they don't have the resources they need, the training, the support. So, rather than these heroes having an incredible effect on their neighborhood, they are often burning out or just hanging on."

How does Desire Street Ministries expand their reach? "Really what Desire Street does now is we partner with leaders to establish thriving and sustainable works in the inner city. Our new mission is to develop 20 sustainable ministries in the next five years and we are really excited about how that works and the things that we can do to support them."

African American Leaders

Danny Wuerffel talks about being committed to work hand in hand with African American leaders to make change a reality. "I feel a little bit more like a proud brother, someone who is there right alongside and doesn't always have all of the answers, but is committed to walking the walk with them. Also, in particular, my heart has been in what happens to be often African American neighborhoods and leaders and just over the years of getting to know and listen and be in deep relationships with people. It also makes me extra encouraged that so many of our leaders, our people of color that so often don't get the same levels of trust from donors that I would get, or the same opportunities. To see them rise up and be so successful is extra special as well."

Succeed with Humility

During this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, Danny Wuerffel speaks about how important it is to be humble. "Whenever you are successful, people like to say, you know, anybody can do anything if you just try hard. There is some truth to that. But, I also think there should be a little bit more humility with those of us that have succeeded because a lot of times we are just fortunate, you know? My dad was supposed t o move to Minnot, North Dakota when I was going into high school. Instead, at the last minute they switched it and moved to the panhandle of Florida where football is amazing."

Links to Additional Resources:

Mark Pattison: markpattisonnfl.com
Emilia's Everest - The Lhotse Challenge: https://www.markpattisonnfl.com/philanthropy/
Danny Wuerffel's social media: Instagram Twitter
Danny Wuerffel's website: DannyWuerffel.com
Mark Pattison: Instagram

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