Wild Ideas Worth Living

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Jesse Itzler - How to Build Your Life Resume Dec 05, 2018

Show notes

Jesse’s Wild Idea: To encourage people to achieve massive things in their life and focus on what matters most.

Today’s guest eats only fruit until noon. He loves Run-DMC. He wrote the New York Knicks anthem, “Go New York Go,” and he likes to live life out of the box. In his New York Times bestselling book, Living with a Seal, Jesse invited Navy Seal David Goggins to live with him for a month and train him. Years later he wrote Living with Monks, where he lived in a monastery in upstate New York. Both of his books are about learning lessons that others have to teach you, something Jesse is passionate about.

Early in his career, Jesse was a rapper and wrote and performed in the NBA’s Emmy Award-winning “I Love This Game” music campaign. Prior to being a best-selling and hilarious author, he co-founded Marquis Jet, the world's largest private jet card company which he and his partner sold to Berkshire Hathaway/NetJets. Jesse then partnered with Zico coconut water, which he and his partner sold to The Coca-Cola Company.

He is also a serious adventurer, running ultramarathons and launched an event a few years ago called 29,029 that brings “Everesting” to individuals around the country. Today, he’s the owner of the Atlanta Hawks, husband to Spanx founder Sara Blakely, and a father of four kids. His latest online course, called “Build Your Life Resume,” is all about encouraging you to get out there and build a life full of experiences, creating memories, achieving big goals and doing more.

With an infectious energy about him, Jesse has some great insights about how we spend our time, and how we can use this knowledge to live more fully and be more present with those we love. In our conversation, we talk about goal setting, why you have to give in order to get, how to support your partner, why we all need to get real with time, and how to achieve one massive thing every year.

Listen to this episode if:

You like living life on your own terms.
You’re want to set and accomplish big goals.
You’ve ever thought of writing a book.
You want to experience some amazing things in your life.

For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/96

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Eric Goodman - Helping People Optimize Performance and Relieve Pain through Foundation Training Nov 28, 2018

Show notes

Eric’s Wild Idea: To create a program that helps people optimize performance and alleviate pain.

As an athlete and human, it’s important to be able to move to the best of your ability. Injuries and pain that have kept me from running, surfing, or other adventuring have always been challenging.

Today’s guest, Dr. Eric Goodman, has been recommended to me by many guests of this show. As the founder of the movement-based Foundation Training program, Dr. Goodman has helped thousands of athletes and every-day people alleviate pain and increase performance. Some of the people he’s worked with include athletes like surfers Lakey Peterson and Brad Gerlach, the late climber Dean Potter, as well as actors Rob Lowe, Chris Hemsworth, Jeff Bridges, and Matthew McConaughey. Both my partner Johnny and I have been using Foundation Training for the last six months to help us alleviate a nagging back injury and IT band pain, and both of us have experienced positive results.

I wanted to have Dr. Goodman on the show because he has a great story. His wild idea to become a health practitioner and create a program to help people move and feel better is something I think a lot of people can relate to.

A former water polo player, Dr. Goodman developed back pain that doctors told him he would need surgery to fix while he was in chiropractic school. Instead of going under the knife, he developed a series of exercises that helped him heal and became the origins of Foundation Training. Early in his career, he was also hired to train the U.S. Olympic Men’s Water Polo team, and used his methods to help them the year they took the silver medal. Today, Dr. Goodman has published two books, and there are Foundation Training trainers in over thirty countries around the world.

Since many of you are getting ready to make New Year’s Resolutions, I wanted to get Dr. Goodman’s advice on how to avoid injuries and train the right amount. We also dive into why healing emotional pain is as important as healing physical pain, how he got the wild idea to create a new movement practice, and what other methods he uses and thinks you might want to check out.

Listen to this episode if:

You struggle with injuries or chronic pain.
You want to strengthen your body.
You are interested in helping others heal.
You are curious about movement-based training programs.

For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/95

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Elizabeth Weil – Writing and Publishing Stories About People Who Live Their Wild Ideas Nov 21, 2018

Show notes

Elizabeth’s Wild Idea: To write about people who adventure for a larger purpose.

There are some writers whose words resonate so well and whose descriptions are so deep, their words hit you to the core and transport you into their world.

Today’s guest, Elizabeth Weil, has evoked that feeling for me time and again through her work. The award-winning writer often covers the kind of people I love - those who live outside the normal boundaries of society, and pursue their own wild ideas and make them a reality. She has written about everyone from snowboarder Shaun White and skier Mikaela Shiffrin to swimmer Diana Nyad, Senator Kristen Gillibrand and a man named Doba who kayaked across the Atlantic in his seventies. In addition to writing articles for The New York Times Magazine, Outside Magazine, Wired, and more, she has also written a book about her own marriage, and she recently penned the New York Times bestselling book, The Girl Who Smiles Beads. In addition to being a writer, she’s also a mom and a wife. She’s married to one of my other favorite writers (who happens to cover surfing and rock-climbing), Daniel Duane.

In our conversation, Liz and I talk about a few of the subjects she’s covered including Doba, and some other adventurers who have done wild feats without the desire for any recognition. We also talk about why she is attracted to stories about people who live wildly, why they do it, what she has learned from them, and her advice for anyone who wants to make a living as a writer.

Listen to this episode if:

You want to be a writer.
You love reading amazing stories.
You like stories of adventurers who do wild things just for themselves.
You are looking to improve your relationship.
You need help balancing your personal and professional life.

For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/94

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Samin Nosrat - The Adventure of Good Cooking Nov 14, 2018

Show notes

Samin’s Wild Idea: To share the power of food with the world and inspire everyone to get in the kitchen and cook with confidence using salt, fat, acid and heat.

If you have been anywhere on the internet lately, you’ve probably seen something about Netflix’s new series, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. The show follows today’s guest, Samin Nosrat, around the world as she teaches the importance of cooking with each of these four elements. On the show, she travels from Italy to Japan to Mexico and back to Berkeley, California working with internationally known foodies to discover how things like miso, soy sauce, corn tortillas and parmesan cheese are made. The whole series is beautifully documented, and she makes cooking and eating accessible and fun for everyone.

Samin’s cookbook of the same name came out just a year ago, and it quickly became a New York Times bestseller and won a James Beard Award (which is like an Oscar of the food world). She has been cooking since 2000, when she started working in the kitchen at the world-renowned Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California and has been called the next Julia Child by NPR’s All Things Considered.

I actually know Samin from high school where we were on the same cross-country running team. I remember her being very nurturing, making cookies to share and always bringing people together. As the daughter of immigrant parents, food has always been an important part of her life and identity. She didn’t always feel like she fit in, which taught her some important life lessons about failure and self-acceptance. It was a joy to talk to her about her success and her journey. We get into her upbringing, her mother’s cooking and the impact our cross-country coach had on her life. She also talks about how author Michael Pollan became her mentor and the work that went into creating her Netflix series. Plus Samin shares a few tips on how to make your Thanksgiving or holiday meal the best one yet. Listen to this one through to the end.

Listen to this episode if:

You love to cook or want to learn how.
You love to eat and are passionate about food.
You are an immigrant or come from an immigrant family.
You need some inspiration to be persistent and go after your goals.
You want to hear from one joyful storyteller.

For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/93

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Gabby Reece – Advice on Life, Finding Balance and Optimizing Fitness and Health Oct 31, 2018

Show notes

Gabby’s Wild Idea: To continuously learn new ways to optimize health and fitness while helping others be their best selves.

Gabby Reece is a woman of many talents. She is a health and fitness expert, a former professional volleyball player, a best-selling author, a model, a TV host, wife to big wave surfer Laird Hamilton, and a mom. She is also the co-founder of XPT (extreme performance training) and founder of HighX Training.

I have looked up to Gabby since I was young, and have even written a few stories about her throughout my career. It was pretty exciting to interview her at her house in Malibu (they have a slackline over their pool), and this conversation is different than many that you usually hear on this show. Instead of asking Gabby about her one wild idea, I ask her for advice on health, nutrition, training, how to have a great relationship, being a female athlete, being a mom, and so much more. She has a huge passion for what she does and an incredibly intuitive sense about her. It makes her an awesome coach and a great person to ask for advice. Enjoy the show!

Listen to this episode if:

You want to train smarter.
You want to get motivated.
You are trying to eat healthier.
You have ever felt insecure.
You are trying to raise strong, confident kids.
You are looking for a healthy and balanced relationship.

For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/92

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Shannon Walker - How To Become An Astronaut And Get A New Perspective On Earth From Space Oct 17, 2018

Show notes

Shannon’s Wild Idea: To work for NASA and spend months aboard the international space station.

Shannon Walker first dreamed of becoming an astronaut in the 1960s. After getting her undergraduate degree in physics and her Masters of Science and Doctorate of Philosophy in Space Physics, she got her start with the Rockwell Space Operations Company at the Johnson Space Center in 1987 as a robotics flight controller for the space shuttle program. In 2004, she was selected to be a part of NASA, and six years later she served as a flight engineer for a long-duration mission aboard the International Space Station. Not only did Shannon need to know how to work a spacecraft, but she had to know how to do it in Russian.

In addition to spending time far above the earth, she has also spent time below sea level as an aquanaut on the NEEMO, an underwater space station. She also loves the outdoors and has seen earth from a rare perspective so I was excited to get her thoughts on how the planet and the environment are changing.

Shannon and I discussed how she became an astronaut (which I think most people dream about as kids) and she shared her advice for anyone who wants to work at NASA or who wants to go to outer space. We also talked about overcoming rejection, the excitement that comes from actually learning about science, and how there is so much to explore here on earth.

Listen to this episode if:

You have ever wanted to go to space.
You’re interested in getting a new perspective on our planet.
You are focused on achieving a huge, long-term goal and need some inspiration.

For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/91

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tate MacDowell - Summiting Grand Teton On Chemotherapy Oct 10, 2018

Show notes

Tate’s Wild Idea: To climb over 13,000 feet up Grand Teton in Wyoming after seeing an image of the mountain in the hallway where he received cancer treatments. To not let his diagnosis affect his sense of humor and positive attitude.

Today’s guest is a skier, filmmaker, and all around awesome guy who I’ve known for a few years. Tate MacDowell got his start as a filmmaker making ski movies for companies like Teton Gravity Research and Brain Farm. His current company, Death Cookie Entertainment, specializes in editorial action sports films. He’s very present in the outdoor and action sports industry, and I have loved watching his movies. I started following his story more closely the last few years after he shared some vulnerable posts.

In 2008, Tate and his wife moved from Jackson Hole, Wyoming to Cardiff, California and a few years later had a son, Wilson. Just two years ago, Tate was diagnosed with cancer, which has now advanced as he is going through stage IV metastatic rectal cancer. While undergoing treatments, he got the wild idea to climb Grand Teton after seeing a picture of the mountain in the hallway where he was getting cancer treatments. His journey to the top has been an emotional ride, and one that he shares in detail in our conversation.

We talk openly about his journey with cancer, being a dad and husband, his new hobby painting with watercolors, and why we shouldn’t waste any time in going after our dreams. His honesty in this challenging time is astounding, and I love his message and his story.

Listen to this episode if:

You or someone you know has had cancer.
You’ve ever dreamed of going to the Grand Tetons.
You aren’t one to let some obstacles stop you from achieving your goals.
You are in need of some inspiration to go out and make your dreams reality.

For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/90

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rue Mapp - Starting a Movement to Celebrate Diversity and Get more People Outside Sep 26, 2018

Show notes

Rue’s Wild Idea: To start a movement that celebrates diversity, and helps gets more people outside and connected in nature.

Rue Mapp is a true force of nature. The activist, nature-lover, and mom of three founded Outdoor Afro as a blog in 2009 and has since grown it to become the nation’s leading nonprofit network that encourages African-American leadership in nature. With nearly 80 leaders in 30 states around the country, the organization has connected thousands of people to outdoor experiences, changing the conversation around who plays outside. Diversity in the outdoors is a hot topic these days, especially at the Outdoor Retailer show where we did this interview. Rue’s voice is a valued leader in the conversation.

Outdoor Afro started as something small and personal to Rue, but has grown and become incredibly influential in the outdoor arena. Rue herself has been invited to the White House to participate in the America’s Great Outdoors Conference and was part of a think tank for Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Initiative. In 2014, she was appointed to the California State Parks Commission by California Governor Jerry Brown, and her work has been featured everywhere from the Wall Street Journal and NPR, to Sunset and Ebony Magazines.

Rue’s ability to connect and empower communities from across all cultures is inspiring and has made her a sought-after speaker. We talk about diversity in the outdoors and who is doing it well (you might be surprised), how nature doesn’t discriminate, and the power of joy, humor, and relationships in your life.

Listen to this episode if:

You are trying to create or grow a community.
You want to see more diversity in the outdoors.
You want to know which companies are showcasing diversity well.
You are looking for inspiration to do something meaningful with your life.

For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/89

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Peter Mel - Balancing Life as a Big Wave Surfer, WSL Commentator and Family Man Sep 19, 2018

Show notes

Pete’s Wild Idea: To surf on the Big Wave World Tour, and create a life and career around surfing.

You may have seen today’s guest gliding down a giant wave at Mavericks, or heard his voice behind the microphone as the commentator for the World Surf League. The long-time Quiksilver athlete, WSL commentator, owner of his family surf shop in Santa Cruz, husband and dad, Peter “Pete” Mel has a lot of roles he balances. We talk about how the man with one of the longest and most robust surfing careers does it all. We also chat about the complexities of big wave surfing, how he conquers fear, his sobriety, parenting advice, his take on failure, why he’s so into Eckhart Tolle, and so much more.

Listen to this episode if:

You’ve ever wondered how people surf six-story tall waves.
You want to ask better questions.
You love surfing.
You are on a journey to find a better work-life balance.

For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/88

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Courtney Carver - Tackling Autoimmune Disease with Minimalism and Embracing JOMO (the Joy of Missing Out) Sep 05, 2018

Show notes

Courtney’s Wild Idea: To battle her autoimmune diagnosis by embracing minimalism, being less busy, having more JOMO, and sharing her journey and tips with the world.

If you have social media or are connected to our current tech-savvy world, there’s a good chance you’ve experienced some FOMO (fear of missing out). Or maybe you’ve experienced a sense of feeling overwhelmed, being too busy, or had this deep desire to simplify your life and be happy with where you are and what you have right now?

If those questions spark something inside you, you will love today’s guest. After years in a fast-paced career as an ad executive, Courtney Carver was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease that forced her to rethink her whole life. Stress caused major flare-ups for her, so she went about eliminating as many sources of stress as she could. This led to a passion for minimalism, the creation of Project 333, and her book Soulful Simplicity, which has become a huge hit and really touched me when I read it.

I don’t talk about it much, but in the last few years I’ve struggled with an autoimmune condition Vitiligo that only affects me aesthetically. It seems to also be exacerbated by stress, and I’ve tried a lot of remedies to combat it. You can hear me talk a bit more about it in this episode, and you’ll also hear about how Courtney’s book and her message of living with less can give you so much more. I loved talking to her about how to minimize your life, how to be less busy, her love of hiking, and how to embrace JOMO (the joy of missing out) instead of suffering from FOMO.

Listen to this episode if:

You’ve ever suffered from FOMO and you want more JOMO.
You want to minimize your life.
You dislike the busy-ness epidemic.
You have an autoimmune disease.
You feel stressed out by technology and social media.

For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/87

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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