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Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: Conquer Your Mind and Redefine What’s Possible with Colin O’Brady
00:42:06
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A
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B
I don't have enough money. I don't have enough time. I'm not strong enough. What if I fail? I hate being uncomfortable. Generally one of those 10 limiting beliefs are actually what are holding you back from living your best life. But I bet if you're listening to this podcast right now and you just heard me say walk in silence for 12 hours. Some women beliefs popped up in your mind around the 12 hour walk that you're assigning to the 12 hour walk. Those same limiting beliefs that are popping up for you when thinking about the 12 hour walk are the exact same limiting beliefs that might be holding you back from having breakthroughs in other aspects of your life.
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A
I'm on this journey with me each week when you join me. We are going to chase down our goals, overcome adversity and set you up for a better tomorrow.
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B
Fasten your seat belts. I'm ready for my close up.
- [01:31]
A
Tell me, have you been enjoying these new bonus Confidence Classics episodes we've been dropping on you every week. We've literally hundreds of episodes for you to listen to. So these bonuses are a great way to help you find the ones you may have already missed. I hope you love this one as.
- [01:47]
C
Much as I do. Hi and welcome back. I'm so excited for you to meet our guest today. Although he has been on the show before and if you haven't caught that episode, go back and consume it. But you're gonna love this one. Colin O' Brady is a 10 time world record breaking explorer, speaker, entrepreneur and expert on mindset. His feats include the world's first solo, unsupported and fully human powered crossing of Antarctica which is insane speed records for the Explorers Grand Islam and the seven summits and the first human powered ocean row across Drake Passage. Colin's highly publicized expeditions have been followed by millions, and his work has been featured on the New York Times, the Tonight Show, Joe Rogan Experience, and the Today Show. He's the author of the New York Times bestseller the Impossible first and now the 12 hour walk. Invest one day. Conquer your mind and unlock your best life. Colin, thank you so much for being here with us today.
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B
So great to be here with you. Thanks for having me.
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C
Oh, my gosh. So as I was mentioning to you before we started recording, I read a ton of books for the podcast, and I was so blown away by how different, how differently you did this book versus your last one and how much work you put into this thing. I mean, this is massive.
- [03:06]
B
Yeah. I mean, you know, it's. It's certainly a book, but I think of it even more so as a global movement, so really trying to inspire people to take that action in their life. And the book is really a blueprint to what they can do and invest one single day to make a sweeping and monumental change in their life.
- [03:20]
C
So, guys, he didn't just write the book. Every chapter has key takeaways. Every chapter has ways you can apply it back to your actual walk, which we'll get into what that means in a minute. But he also created videos for every chapter so that you can reference and go back. You know, so often when we read a book, we forget, oh, what was that about? And now you have videos that are really short. They're a minute, two minutes. And you can go check them out to help support you when you want to stay committed on this journey. So I want to start. Colin, I love the opening of the book when you tell the story. I'm a super visual person. So I'm thinking of it right now of walking into that really intimidating, like, gorgeous New York, really incredible event that you were going to with all billionaires, and you show up in a T shirt. And what struck me from that evening was the conversation that you had with that older gentleman at the end, because it really hit so close to my heart, and I was hoping you could share it with everybody.
- [04:15]
B
Yeah. So, you know, I do a lot of public speaking, and in this sense, I was invited to give a speech for a Wall street group, and I was giving the speech the following day, but the day before, they kind of invited me to a intimate gathering with like eight or so folks. You said all, you know, billionaire, hedge fund manager, investor, you know, big hotshot guys in Wall street, older gentlemen, kind of average age, was mid-60s, maybe early-70s. And it was a very interesting night. I certainly maybe was a little bit of fish out of water, as you mentioned, walking up in a T shirt and jeans and low top Jordan sneakers. But, you know, they made me feel welcome. And we had a really interesting conversation just around hopes and dreams and aspirations and goals. But they really wanted to hear about my expeditions. Oh, what was crossing Antarctica like? What was it like being Everest? You see dead bodies. And every single time I try to kind of pivot questions back to them about sort of their life philosophies or really their goals, aspirations, or more deeper vulnerable questions around that they sort of, kind of, kind of push, you know, pivoted off of that. And so at the end of the night, as I was getting ready to leave, an older gentleman, I'd guess his age around 75, kind of pulls me aside. We had this short but very memorable conversation that really stuck with me where I love to ask people, you know, from school kids all the way up to CEOs, you know, what's your Everest? For me, that's metaphor for my childhood dream. I always wanted to climb Everest and I've been fortunate to summit that mountain twice. But I recognize that most people don't necessarily want to go climb mountains or walk across the continent. But we all have huge, you know, goals, I think, in our life. And I'd asked that question and no one gave me a response. And he pulls me aside and he says, you know, Colin, I'm sorry myself and none of my friends answered your question. It's a super important question. And he says, I feel like I want to share this with you, which is when you ask that question to me. I keep thinking about this moment I had in summer camp when I was 14 years old and I was sitting quiet alone on this peaceful mountain lake. And he goes, you know, I have made more money than you can possibly imagine in my life. But there's not a day in my mind that I don't go back to that mountain lake as a 14 year old kid and wonder what would have happened had I actually allowed myself to ask this question. He said, I got so caught up in the rat race and what was expected of me and by everyone else's measure, I've been quote, unquote successful. But there was something in the way he told me this story that he was like, he felt like he had kind of missed out on something that life had to offer without having asked him this question. So it's an interesting moment. I chose to open the book with that. Just as I think we all have an idea of what success looks like externally. We look at somebody on television or on our social media feeds or, you know, in any sort of context and say, oh, he or she has it figured out. And this guy would be like the most obvious sort of archetype of a person. Like, well, that guy did it. He crushed his life. He made so much money, had this impact and whatever. And even for him to share with me, like, hey, I'm not sure I actually summited my Everest. I summited a bunch of other mountains, but it wasn't my personal Everest. And so I opened the book asking people, you know, what is your Everest? You might be down pretty far down a path. You might be wondering what your purpose is, what you're driving towards. And it is vulnerable to actually ask yourself that question. And then, of course, this book doesn't just ask you that question, but allows you to answer it and gives you an action towards actually how to move towards it, how to actually reach that summit. But I think it's important. I think it's super important to be vulnerable with ourselves and actually say, you know, what is my Everest? Even if that's not what other people around you think you should do. And this book really starts to break down the limiting beliefs that pop up for us. Well, my Everest is this. But then you start going, oh, but I don't have enough money, I don't have enough time. But what if people criticize me? What if I fail these limiting beliefs? And the book really goes through the lens of really exciting adventure stories, but through how we all have these limiting beliefs, myself included. But how I figured out how to overcome many of them and thrive and how you can as well.
- [07:56]
C
So, you know, I love everything you're saying. I know everyone that is listening loves it, too. And so my Everest, I guess I didn't even really know when I was back in corporate America. To your point. I was caught up in the rat race, caught up in a paycheck, trying to get, you know, upgrade the car or do. I never even thought about things like this, literally up until I was 43 years old. But I remember at one point in time, I was taking a stage, speaking at a huge event back years ago, and I might have been 40 years old. And I remember the day I got off that stage feeling like I was flying, like I'm magic. And I never felt like that before at work, ever in my life. And I said to someone, oh, I wish to God I got to do this For a living. I'm like, magic right now. And someone said, oh, yeah, that would be so cool. And then I forgot about it. You know, I went back to work. I got fired three years later. And then randomly, I found my way into speaking business. And that's, you know, what I do now for a living. And it's so crazy. So I feel like I found my Everest, but it took a weird way to get there. Your way of finding out what your Everest was to begin with was a little different, but it was still, it was harder than mine because I got fired with, which pushed me out the window. You quit. So maybe you can take everybody down that road a little bit.
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B
Yeah. You know, you said something that really strikes me, which is you kind of felt it in that moment. You were on a stage and you were like, this is what I'm meant to do. You know, you felt that. But then it's hard to listen to that echo. One of the chapters of this book, I'll talk about kind of quitting my job. But there's another chapter that's really about intuition. You know, listening to our gut and being able. Able to say, oh, wait, recognizing those signs. It's so easy to go, oh, one day, maybe I could speak again one day. This. You're like, wait, this is what's lighting me up. How can I do more of this? You know, like you said, it's a throwaway comment, like, God, I'd love to do this for a living. It's like, actually, turns out, Heather, you can. And I love speaking myself. I've had that same feeling on stages. But it's interesting, you know, when we ask ourselves that question, we kind of, oh, if only I could do that. But we think for some reason that that life or that better life is reserved for somebody else. Oh, that somebody else is a public speaker. Somebody. El is that entrepreneur that I want. No, that can be you. Any person listening, like, whatever, that there's no reason that that cannot be you. Absolutely. For me, you mentioned quitting my job, you know, early on. I have an economics degree from Yale. I grew up as a public school kid in Portland, Oregon. So, you know, an Ivy League economics degree was not necessarily in the cards for me, but through swimming and academics, and it ended up out there. It was a great opportunity for me and exposed me to kind of a whole new world, you know, New York City and the, you know, the big, you know, fast moving, high paced life of that. But there was something sort of in my intuition that was like, I don't know if this is for me or not, but certainly the money was enticing, of course. Right? Like, I had never been around money like that. And so, you know, I ultimately took a job in commodities trading. You know, rewind from that. We imagine we talked about on our last podcast. But I was severely burning a fire. When I was traveling in Thailand, I was told I would never walk again normally. So that's a whole other part of this. But recovering from that injury and ultimately getting my first real job out of college, I took a job trading commodities in Chicago. And I thought that that would sor. Sort of be my path. But because I had just been burned in this fire, I had set myself this goal to recover from it by racing a triathlon, by saying, hey, you know, doctors say I might never walk again normally, but I'm going to figure out a way somehow to get back on my feet, literally start moving my body. You know, I said, maybe I should race a trifle. And that was my goal. And certainly there was.
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C
I need to interrupt. But your mom played a big part in that. I love that.
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B
Huge. Huge. Yeah. Yes, I was just going to say that. Which is. There were many around me that said, oh, that's a crazy. That's a ridiculous goal. But my mother. And ultimately this entire book is really about mindset. And my mother said to me, you know what? That's your goal. Let's start training for it right now. Let's start working on it right now. Like, why not? And she instilled in me what I call a possible mindset, which is a core component of this book, what I define as an empowered way of thinking that unlocks a life of limitless possibilities. So even when the doctor is saying, you would never walk again normally, and I said, well, I'd like to race a triathlon. My mom was like, great with the possible mindset. You know what? Anything's possible. So I started training for this triathlon, take this job in commodities trading. And it took me a year and a half. I mean, I was in a wheelchair. Had to learn how to walk again. You know, I had to wear. Wear slippers on my feet to my first job interview for this job. I mean, I couldn't wear shoes. But eventually, 18 months after being burned this fire, I did race the Chicago Triathlon. And as my complete and utter surprise, I didn't just finish the race that day, but I actually won the entire Chicago Triathlon, placing first out of nearly 5,000 other participants on the day. Now, you might be thinking, like, oh, that's where I might be thinking, wow, I missed some superhuman athlete. But it's the opposite for me. It's the moment I went back to that moment in the hospital where I could easily have given up, where I was going in the depths of despair, emotionally, physically, people were telling me, hey, your life's going to be this way because you screwed up and burned yourself in this fire because of a mistake of my own. And instead my mom forcing me to set that goal, forcing me to believe that I could do more beyond this tragedy, forced me to sort of open up to these limitless possibilities and ultimately win this triathlon. And so with that same mentality, I said, well, what more am I capable of?
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A
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C
Confidence.
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A
I asked you to try to find your passion.
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B
I recount this in the book. You know, each chapter is a short story. Like I said, it brings you right into adventure story or story for my life and then kind of zooms out and talks directly to the reader. Because ultimately I'm not the hero of this book. I'm not the hero of this story. I'm using my life as some examples. But you, the listener, the reader, you are the hero of this story. This book is geared around getting you to unlock your best life. And I'm just teaching through some stories from my own. And after that triathlon victory, I got offered a sponsorship. Now, being sponsored in triathlon is not like the NBA or the NFL or a secure Wall street future or anything like that. And so I call up my grandmother who lived in Chicago where I was living, and she was a huge influence on my life. And I said, hey, grandma, I think I'm going to quit my job tomorrow. And she's like, what? No, you're not like, that's. What are you talking about? I'm like, yeah, I think I might try to race triathlon professionally. She's like, that's not like what? That's not even a professional. What are you talking about? Just trying to knock some sense into me, she's look, you work so hard to get this education, you have a bright future in front of you. And she gives me all the reasons which honestly are pretty reasonably good, logical reasons as to why what I'm thinking is not the best idea for this sort of secure, well off financial future. But I won't give away the whole story. But the long story short is I think people are giving good advice, particularly people that love you. There's certainly people that are giving you bad advice, but at the end of the day, it's your life. It's your life. And so if you're trying to do things to please every other person, whether that's your grandmother, your colleague, your sister, your best friend, whatever, but it's not in alignment with your truth, then you start living other people's lives. And so this chapter in the book breaks down this limiting belief. Like what if people criticize me and I break down the different types of criticism. One's like random people on the Internet or on social media criticizing you. Like that's easy. Like, you know, throw that aside. Like that doesn't matter. But it's harder to be discerning about my mother, your grandmother giving you advice. But in this case I said, I love you grandma, but I'm going to follow this path. And I ended up quitting my job racing triathlon professionally. And it's a long road from that that I explore in the book of ups and downs and success and failure. But ultimately sitting here with 10 world records and you know, I should say for the entrepreneurs on the phone, you know, I don't think of myself as just an athlete but also an entrepreneur. You know, I've, I've started and co found a business, I've had an eight figure exit with a business I bought and sold. I speak, I write books. You know, I've turned this into a very lucrative care, but by virtue of following my heart and by following that Everest. It's not a trade off, so to speak, a say of like, oh, I could either do what I love or make money. It's like, can I do what I love and make money right? Can I have those things work in symbiosis? And don't get me wrong, it's not like that happened overnight. That happened because I kept doubling down on my intuition and my passions. But I honestly believe that like, just like I said, I don't think I'm a superhuman athlete. And that's why I won the Chicago Triathlon. I don't think I possess skills any different than anybody else. You know, I think we all have this capacity inside of us to unlock this possible mindset, to conquer our minds and really live our best lives. When you sort of take the time to think about that, when you take the time to commit to those goals. So I think we should talk about what the large call to action is at the center of this book, which is called the 12 Hour Walk. So the book's called the 12 Hour Walk. I crossed Antarctica. I was the first person in history to cross Antarctica solo, unsupported and unassisted. So nearly 1000 mile journey pulling a 375 pound sled with all my food and fuel across the frozen continent. No one had ever done that before and people had attempted it and people had said, this is gonna, is impossible, you'll never make it across. And so that I didn't run out of food and I was racing another guy, I started pulling my sled every day for 12 hours. So it's 12 hours every single day in Antarctica, pulling my sled.
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C
Well, just so people know, it was usually 10 was the max, correct?
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B
Yeah, yeah. So going in, I had this plan which was, I'm gonna pull it 10 hours per day. And there was another guy out there who ultimately I was trying to raise history, but it turned out, and this is what I wrote my other book, the Imp, first about. But there was this other guy, this British military sort of special versus military guy named Lewis Rudd, Captain Lewis Rudd, who we got dropped off on the same day, same moment, to start this race across Antarctica. And in the first day he kicks my butt. I mean, he just takes off. I'm nowhere to be found behind him. And I think, man, I'm never going to catch up to him. And I eventually do catch him on the sixth day and we have this kind of standoff between each other and we're walking side by side, ignoring each other, but it's this intense battle and I say to myself, I'm not going to stop until he stops. And 10 hours, I thought, was my absolute maximum. Keep in mind it's minus 30, minus 40 degrees outside. You know, it's brutal weather, winds blowing in your face. I mean, we're in Antarctica alone with no external inputs, and I get to 10 hours and he's still walking. I think, man, I didn't think I could ever go further than this, but I'm going to keep walking. 11 hours goes by. 11 and a half hours go. Eventually I see him sit down and pull out his tent and I'm exhausted. At this point, but I think I'm going to take a little bit further and I complete a 12 hour day. But then I start doing some math and running some background back home. My wife Jenna, who is incredible, you know, I always say it should have her name on the COVID of the books and all the things we do because she has been my, not just the love of my life, but my business partner, my co creator of everything we've done in our life. We've been together for 15 years. So blessed to have her in my life. And I'm on the phone, she was.
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C
Trying to talk you into going 12 hours and not buying it 100%.
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B
So I was on the phone with her on the satellite phone connections crackly saddle. And I was, I was literally, she's like, you got to go more hours per day. And I like, I can't possibly. I was like, I wasn't like yelling at her, like, and like I was angry with her, but I was frustrated with myself. I was like, you don't understand, I'm in Antarctica. Point of £375. This is my limiting belief. Like, I'm like, it is impossible for me to go one step further. So anyways, this day proved to me that I could go 12 hours. But she's spreadsheeting miles and calories and all the things back home and she realizes, she's like, look, if this doesn't become your new norm, you don't figure out in your mind how to say I didn't just go 12 hours one day, but 12 hours have to be the exact every single day to make it. So I switch over to going 12 hours every single day. I decide I'm not going to take a single day off because I'm going to run out of food otherwise. And sure enough, on the 54th day, basically with my last bite of food in my sled, I complete this crossing. And had I gone 10 hours per day, multiply that by 50 some days that's 100 hours less, I would have come nowhere near the finish and I would have run out of food and had to be evacuated from the continent, et cetera, unsuccessful. So it was the difference for me. But believe it or not, this is not about my 12 hour walk. This is about you. And you might think, wow, now this kid's talking about walking across antarctica by himself 12 hours pulling 375 pound sled. How could this possibly apply to me? But something I think we can all relate to is the darkness of the COVID deep lockdown. You know, Those first couple months where it was like, I mean, obviously the last couple years have been really tough, but those first couple months was like, what's going on? We're locked in our houses, can't travel. You know, life, just as we've all know it, has turned upside down. No matter where you were in the world, I think it pretty much touched everyone. And I was in Oregon, where my family's from, and it was just Jenna and I, my wife and I and our dog. And we're living on the Oregon coast on a small cabin my family has out there, just isolated from everyone. Hadn't seen anyone in a couple months. And I was really dark. I mean, it was dark for me. I was. Everything I had going on was canceled. I was just used to kind of being outside, moving my body, and it was just kind of in a really dark headspace. And so I thought back when was the last time I felt super content, super at peace, super calm. And it turned out that when I really went back in my mind, it was when I was pulling my sled in Antarctica. It sounds ridiculous because it was so intense and so life threatening and all the things, but I also found a lot of peace out there. And I felt, why did I find so much peace out there? Well, I was kind of disconnected from my phone, obviously, and the Internet, and I deleted all my music and podcasts. So I had all these long days basically walking in the stillness and silence of my own mind. And so I said to my wife, I said, this might sound ridiculous, but tomorrow morning I'm going to wake up and I'm going to walk for 12 hours like I did in Antarctica, but just here on the Oregon coast. I'm going to walk out our front door and just go for a long walk, basically. And I'm going to put my phone on airplane mode. So if you don't hear from me, don't worry, but I'm going to just try to be disconnected from my phone. And so I went out there and I ended up for the first time in a couple months after this COVID lockdown feeling again, this inner peace, this inner strength, this creativity, this curiosity about life, this sort of vitality bubbling up inside of me. And I came back home and Jenna saw it in my eyes the second I came home. She's like, wow, like, you're like, you just. You seem like you're different, you've changed. Like, what, what, what happened? I was like, I just went for a walk, like, simple as that. And so, you know, I thought, wow, there's something to this, but maybe this is just the thing that works for me or, you know, but my, my overeager sort of endurance athlete mindset, like, oh, walk around for 12 hours. So I drafted some test subjects. You know, I said to some folks of friends of mine, different ages, different fitness levels or different walks of life to test this idea. And I said, hey, I've got this idea. It's super simple. Take a day, put it on your calendar, walk out your front door, put your phone on airplane mode and walk for 12 hours. Some people are like, you know, well I couldn't possibly walk for 12 hours. I'm not in that good of shape. And I said, look, I don't care how many breaks you take, like this is about training your mind that you don't have to train for this physically. This is meant to meet you exactly where you're at. I don't care if you walk for one mile or 50 miles, as long as you stay in silence and solitude throughout this 12 hours. No music, no podcasts, no social media, et cetera, then you are completing the 12 hour walk. And so I now have had, you know, a bunch of people test case this idea. And every single person that has done this, like I said from, I think the oldest at this point is a 77, 7 year old. My mother in law, 77 years old, has completed this all the way down to people just out of college to again different points in their life. People have big decisions to weigh with family or career, et cetera. So everyone's in a different point in their life. But every single person that does this walk comes back with their life improved, feeling more connected to yourself? Because look, I'll ask you this question, Heather, in the last, let's say 10 years, what's the longest that you have spent in silence and solitude? And I'll define that. So sleeping doesn't count, but every single time you're awake, if you talk to somebody else, every single time you look at your phone, the clock resets. Every single time the TV is on or you're listening to music or a podcast or there's some sort of external stimuli, the clock resets. What do you think's the longest that you've, you've spent in the last, you know, in the last 10 years of that nature?
- [26:42]
C
Probably an hour.
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B
Right? I mean, look, and again, I've done some pretty extreme things to deep silent meditations and things like that. But that's the normal answer, right? And that's the normal answer in my life. By the way in a day to day, my day to day life is no different than that. Right. Because we have all of these stimulus, we have our phones, we have all this sort of way to connect. And I am not. The 12 hour walk as a concept is not a vilification of technology, a vilification of community or family or friendship or podcasts or music. It's just to say we can all benefit from a one day, not even a full day, a 12 hour, essentially detox to listen to these thoughts in our mind. Because you might be listening to this right now and you think 12 hours. I think, Heather, before we hit record, you've been said, I don't know about this 12 hour thing, but here's the thing. Here's what I've noticed about the 12 hour walk. The book breaks down these 10 most common limiting beliefs. Like I mentioned before, I don't have enough money, I don't have enough time. I'm not strong enough. What if I fail? I hate being uncomfortable. Comfortable. Generally One of those 10 limiting beliefs are actually what are holding you back from living your best life. And you're applying them in some way in your life. Oh, I always wanted to start that business, but I have this secure job and I'm worried about quitting that. What would happen? Maybe my friends would criticize me. But what if I fail? What if it doesn't work? You know, so we have, I have all these same doubts go through my mind as we talk about in the book. But I bet if you're listening to this podcast right now and you just heard me say walk in silence for 12 hours, some limiting beliefs popped up in your mind around the 12 hour walk that you're assigned to. The 12 hour walk. I see Heather's nodding her head.
- [28:18]
C
Yeah, of course.
- [28:19]
B
Right, right. You're saying, you're saying, oh man, like I'm not, I'm not in shape for that. That would be uncomfortable. What if my feet would hurt or I don't have the time for that. Like, I got a busy life, I got kids, I got. What am I going to find? Like 12 hours, right.
- [28:31]
C
Immediately I said, oh, my son, I can't do it. I have my son.
- [28:34]
B
Right? Yeah. And here's what I would say to that. Is those same limiting beliefs that are popping up for you when thinking about the 12 hour walk. The 12 hour walk is an exercise of 12 hours hours. But it's also, in this moment, the discussion around it. It's a mirror. It's a mirror to you because those same Limiting beliefs, I bet that are popping up in your mind that you're applying to the 12 hour walk are the exact same limiting beliefs that might be holding you back from having breakthroughs in other aspects of your life. And how many other instances where you might be like, oh, I could do that, but I have this other responsibility, I don't have enough time, or I have this deep seated fear of failure, or I'm not really listening to my intuition, I don't know how to make big decisions. Those same limiting beliefs around the 12 hour walk walk are likely holding you back because that same feedback loop you're assigning to many other things. And so what I think the magic is, the idea itself is simple. But when you say, you know what, I'm listening to this podcast right now, or I bought Colin's book the 12 Hour Walk and I read it at the very end, I've got a QR code that says commit. It just says, yo, put this on your calendar and commit to this right now. And by committing, you take that momentum and you say you're fighting, start fighting back against those limiting beliefs. Beliefs. And as the date comes closer and then you actually complete the 12 hour walk, you're not only dispelling those limiting beliefs all along the way, but as you get to the end of the 12 hour walk, you go, oh, I had all of these negative thoughts in my mind. I have these limiting beliefs, but I fought through them, I battled through them. And I said, like I said before, it unlocks what I call a possible mindset, that empowered way of thinking that unlocks a life of limitless possibilities. And so the exercise in itself, it takes one day. Like the subtitle says, you invest one day, conquer your mind, unlock your best life. And as I said, the test case of people that have done this and with the book coming out, my next Everest is to actually inspire 10 million people to take this 12 hour walk. But really it is about you. It is about a lot of these personal development books, give you all sorts of advice and different platitudes and things like that. I'm like, look, I think the advice in this book obviously is very sound. There's a lot to be gained. But what I think the biggest gain is is for you to take this 12 hour walk and actually assimilate those lessons into your own life right out your front. Do. There's no cost to this. There's no training necessary. It just requires you committing one day. And on the other side of this 12 hour walk, you'll be so amazed by how in just one day, how many things can shift in your mindset, which then empower you to get past these limiting beliefs, not just with the walk itself, but in all other elements of your life. And the ripple effect of growth and positivity and strength on the other side of this is very profound.
- [31:06]
A
Meet a different guest each week.
- [31:10]
C
Confidence.
- [31:12]
A
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- [35:22]
C
I just had a little epiphany. It didn't jump out to me until now. But when you said whatever the thoughts are or limiting beliefs you're having right now about walking out the door for the 12 hour walk are probably the same ones that hold you back. Two things came to my mind when you said that to me. My son, number one, right, is like, oh, I'm supposed to be a mom first, I've got to be available first. And then number two is I wouldn't know where to walk to, I wouldn't know where to go. And it's funny because when I first got fired, those are the two things I was like, oh my God, I have to take care of my son. And now what do I do? Like, where do I go? So that's so interesting. It's good, really good perspective and it's a completely new way to look at this. One of the limiting beliefs that you talk about that I really like is being a beginner. And you use that story of Drake's passage. And to me that is, it's hard AF to Be super successful at anything and be at the top of your game and get fired and have to start over. As a beginner, I had to walk that walk, but I wanted to make that leap years before. But I was too scared about the idea of being a beginner. I needed this book years ago. Will you take us a little bit through how to overcome being a beginner?
- [36:28]
B
Yeah, absolutely. I want to just double click real quick. It's really clear on what you said before about your son. That's an important factor, right? That responsibility. But I do talk about self care in this book, right? This idea that we have built up that self care is, you know, somehow selfish. But in fact, I think it's selfless. Like to show up as the best parent, to show up as the best colleague, to show up as the best partner to your spouse, whatever it actually requires saying, hey, sometimes I gotta take some time alone to myself. And that's why this, the 12 walk prescription is so beautiful. It's one day, like one day that will have a cataclysmically positive benefit to you as a mother, you as a, as all the other things that you want to optimize in your own life. And so it's funny because we all have those same sort of hang ups. But this allows you to be like, oh, right, if I do this, I actually might show up as even better mother, as an even better, you know, not like, oh, I'm taking away from this, but it's showing up better on the other side of it. So I just wanted to say that. And like you said, with your job, I wouldn't know where to go. You know, I created an app. App, actually, the 12 hour walk funny app. Like I said, really not vilifying technology. The app itself, it helps put your, it does put your phone in airplane mode, but what it does give you is your phone's in airplane mode, but it gives you a map. So you have basically Google Maps inside of the 12 Hour Walk app that allows you to not get lost. And I actually say to people, I encourage people to walk out their front door. People often think, oh, I should go on vacation, I should go on this beautiful hike or this trail or something like that. And I'm not saying you shouldn't do that, but I actually think the most profound and what I've seen from other people doing it is when people walk out their very front door. And I said, just like life, you choose the destination. You don't even have to choose before you walk out your door. Say, just take those first few steps and see where those feet take you. The app will allow you to not get lost, but also stay in airplane mode, because GPS still works in airplane mode. So I've done a number of things to kind of help aid this process because I wanted to be as frictionless as possible to just have people get out the door and take those first steps. Now, talking about being a beginner, I came back from the solo Antarctica crossing, which I mentioned before. And you know, there was a lot of press, a lot of acclaim, a lot of, you know, people very curious to hear about it, lots of media and all this sort of stuff. I'm very humbled by all of that. And of course, the question I get most often then is, okay, great, but what's next, right? You know, what's the next big adventure? What's the next big feat? And sometimes I laugh like, yo, I just walked across Antarctica by myself. Like, it's been a week, like, give me a break. But of course, I am the type of person that is curious about continuing to push my body in unique and interesting ways. And so I started to tell people, hey, actually I'm going to go back to Antarctica, but this time I'm going to do it completely differently. I'm going to go in a rowboat. People like in a rowboat. I said, yeah, nobody in history has ever crossed Drake Passage in a rowboat. So that's from the southern tip of South America all the way to Antarctica. 750 miles of open ocean. They say it's the most dangerous ocean crossing in the world because it's got icebergs and there's three oceans, the Atlantic, the Southern Ocean and Pacific, all converging and creating 40 foot swells and really unpredictable currents. A cruise ship, just 10 or 12 years ago in a modern time, times have sunk in the Drake Passage. Like, this is a rough ocean. And me and a group of others, we're going to attempt to make this crossing with no motor, no sail, just us in a tiny little 28 foot rowboat that's sitting about 2ft off the ground. And so people started hearing about this, that I was planning for this project. And of course the next immediate question is, cool, so you've been rowing your whole life and you've been sailing and you know everything about the ocean. And as you know from the book, chapter four of the book is the limiting belief. I'm not a fill in the blank, which is to say, oh well, I can never run a marathon, I'm not a runner. Or I had this idea for a business. But I'm a lawyer. I'm not an entrepreneur. So I'm not going to start this business or, you know, all the things we say. I'm not a boom. That's the limiting belief. And I'll tell you what, in this moment, I committed to this row. I actually pitched it to Discovery Channel, got them to put a few million bucks behind a huge production around this row. And I looked in the mirror and. And said, you know, to myself, and my wife's like, well, you do know I've never rode a boat before, right? Like, I've never. Not at summer camp, not like at college. Like, I have no experience rowing a boat. But that didn't stop me in this moment. I was like, I am not a rower yet. Yet. That's the important word there. I am not a rower yet. And I went and found, as the stories, you know, from the book come, and I. I found this incredible guy to help coach me and teach me, etc. Etc. But the lesson from this is so important. I think it's so important for all of us. And I relate to it. We all relate to it, is looking at another group of people or look at somebody's success and say, well, I couldn't be them. They're so skilled at this. And in the book, it's some simple advice, but I go, look, there was a time when Kobe Bryant had never shot a basketball, and then he went and dribbled a basketball. There was a time when Meryl Streep had never read a single line, and then she tried out for her school play. Or Janis Joplin had never strummed guitar but then said, I'm a musician. Or Stephen King. You know, there was a time when Stephen King had never written a book. Now he's Stephen King. He's written 64 books and, you know, all are all, you know, New York Times bestsellers, et cetera. But there was a time where he was not an author. But at some point he had to claim that as part of his identity. I am a rower. I am a writer. I am a basketball player. I am an actress. And it's really powerful to be able to claim that identity. And it doesn't require being a master of your craft craft to do that. Like, you've never run before, but you want to be a runner. Like, go jog around your block one time. You're a runner. You are a runner. Like, yeah, you're not a Olympic gold medalist marathon runner, but you're a runner. Like, you're getting into it, you're trying. And so the ability really is about growth mindset. You know, Carol Dweck, the woman who really originated that concept, you know, this idea that we can be and become anything that we set our minds to through diligence and hard work of saying, I might not be this right now, now, but a fixed mindset says, I might not be this right now and I will never be this ever. But a growth mindset, the same mindset that I applied to this rowing project with the most dangerous ocean in the world is like, I am not a rower yet, but I can reach into my resources, people, my know, my network, et cetera, and learn some skills. And that, and the story in the book starts out with me quite literally falling flat on my face the first stroke. I try to take in this tiny little really unstable rowboat and falling into a Lambette river in Portland, Oregon, near. I was living where I grew up, up. But I didn't, didn't stop me. I got back in the rowboat, got back in again and ultimately, you know, completed that crossing of Drake Passage, becoming the first person in history to row the most dangerous ocean crossing in the world. But had I stopped with that limiting belief or have you listening, stop with the limiting belief. I'm not this, I'm not that. Well, you never will become that. But being able to claim that in your identity, I am this. A possible mindset says the possibilities are limited, limitless. I am a rower or whatever I want to become. And the 12 hour walk is a great example for that. You're sitting there going, well, I'm not the type of person who does this kind of physical stuff. You know, I, I'm not a 12 hour walker, I'm not that kind of a person. Whatever, you know what you are. Every single person is every single person. Because I'm telling you, it doesn't matter how far you walk, you have the capacity to put on your shoes, walk out your front door. I don't care if you walk one mile or 50, but you have the capacity to do, do this. And when you do this on the other side of the 12 hour walk, just like the 12 hour rock breaks down all the limiting beliefs, the 12 hour walk itself will prove to you, oh, you thought you weren't that kind of a person that does this kind of stuff, but then you do it, you're like, oh wait, maybe I am a 12 hour walker. Well, if I can finish this, what else can I finish? What else can I become? And it's a really beautiful thing to have that, like you said, that beginner's mindset of, you know, stepping into a new reality and realizing you can grow and develop into whatever it is you want to be. Like you said from that first speech to now, you know what, who you are in your life, you're speaking on stages all around the world, and it's incredible. But at one point you had to walk out there as Heather and be like, I'm Heather. I'm giving my first big corporate keynote speech. You know, a little imposter syndrome, or a little like, do I belong? But now you've done it, you keep doing it. And it's a huge part of your identity that you can own.
- [44:27]
C
Because I wasn't a speaker yet until I was. And so that is such a powerful message. Even if you don't think you're going to do the 12 hour walk, go get the book, the 12 hour walk. Because the lessons that you teach in this book and all the reference is unbelievable to keep people on that track. But I know you're inspiring 10 million people to go for the walk. So, guys, please go for the walk. Kong. Where can everybody get the book? How can they follow you?
- [44:51]
B
The book is available wherever you can get books. Pre order is open now. The book comes out on August 2nd. So depending on when you're listening to this, either pre order the book or buy the book. And then the 12 hour walk.com has all the resources. It has, you know, background on the book, but also, as you mentioned, those videos, the supplementary help FAQ is about the walk itself. You can sign up for the walk on September 10th. The book comes out on August 2nd. The 12 hour walk is meant to be taken anywhere, single day. But on September 10, to really kick this idea off, I'm inviting global participation in the 12 hour walk. So I'm going to be walking that day. I've got lots of other big podcast hosts. Heather, I don't know what you're doing on September 10th, but I'd love for you to join us, as many people as possible to participate any day. But September 10th is going to be a big day where I'm going to be walking. Of course it's all alone. You're doing this from your front door or wherever you are. But walking alone together, having that accountability to a larger sort of global community of people that are saying, hey, that's the date I'm putting on my calendar. I'm going to take that on, buy the book, check out the website, sign up, and take the 12 hour walk. I promise you it will unlock your best life on the other side of it.
- [45:55]
C
Oh my gosh. If you've been struggling with any limiting belief, go get this book. Now. You will have the inspiration and the tools that you need. Colin, thank you so much for inspiring us all and for all the amazing work you're doing.
- [46:05]
B
Thank you so much. Great to be here.
- [46:07]
C
We'll see you next week. I decided to change that dynamic out.
- [46:14]
A
I couldn't be more excited for what.
- [46:17]
C
You'Re going to hear.
- [46:17]
A
Start learning and growing. Inevitably something will happen.
- [46:21]
C
No one succeeds alone.
- [46:24]
B
You don't stop and look around once in a while. You could miss it.
- [46:28]
A
Come on this journey with me, with me.