049: Rob Sembiante | Former Navy Diver Tactics: How to Manufacture Chaos for Growth

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Matt King Show – Episode 049

Guest: Rob Sembiante
Host: Matt King
Title: Former Navy Diver Tactics: How to Manufacture Chaos for Growth
Date: March 3, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this dynamic episode, host Matt King sits down with Rob Sembiante, a former Navy diver turned entrepreneur, endurance athlete, and adventure crew chief. Their conversation explores the mindset, habits, and tactical frameworks Rob applies to create “manufactured chaos”—deliberate, high-stress situations—for the purpose of growth, resilience, and self-discovery. Through gripping stories, practical routines, and philosophical reflections, Matt and Rob unearth the lessons of pushing limits, embracing discomfort, and building a life rich with purpose. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in developing mental toughness, leading high-achieving teams, and cultivating a life of intentional challenge.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Learning Through Hardship and Manufactured Chaos

• Self-Discovery via Challenge
  • Rob describes how deliberately putting himself into hard, stressful situations both in the military and in civilian life trains his ability to operate under pressure, making other challenges—whether in business or relationships—feel easier.
  • “Putting yourself forcibly into uncomfortable scenarios and discomfort helps you in the times when you can't decide to be in that scenario.” (Rob, 00:14)
• Seeking Out Difficult Experiences
  • Rob acknowledges a kind of "addiction" to high-stress, high-stakes situations: “Some people call me a masochist or kind of crazy, but I do seek that out.” (Rob, 01:41)

2. Building Stress Tolerance: The Vegas Gambling Streak

• Tactical Risk and the Tunnel of Chaos
  • Rob spent six months living in a van, including a month and a half in Las Vegas executing a strategic, high-stakes gambling routine inspired by the “tunnel of chaos” betting strategy.
  • “Based on blackjack odds or baccara[t]...if you’re able to bankroll the eight times, you’re going to make it out 99.97% of the time. But it gets stressful when you’re on hand six and hand seven—all of a sudden, you don’t know if you’re about to dump ten grand into an abyss.” (Rob, 02:18–03:21)
  • Memorable moment: His daily routine: wake at 5:45 am, journal, hype music (“Ride the Lightning”-style rock), hit the casino to win $100, then work out, eat steak and eggs, do work, and hit the trails. (04:12–04:40)

3. Endurance Sports: Self-Testing and Ultrarunning

• From Navy Selection to Ultramarathons
  • Rob translated the adversity and growth of military selection into the world of ultrarunning, running his first 50k immediately after leaving the submarine service, hungover and “trashed.”
  • He intentionally avoided training for his first several ultras to put himself deeply outside his comfort zone.
  • “Now I’m on this team, life’s easy. Let me try and manufacture that again where I’m able to grow.” (Rob, 06:14)
• Insights on Pushing Limits
  • “There’s a not a threshold, but a governor. You just push to the point you can’t move any faster but you can exist in that space.” (Rob, 08:17)
  • “If you just kept feeding me and you made the event 15 days, I’d be going the same pace, the same headspace.” (Rob, 08:27)
• Why People Seek Extremes
  • Many endurance athletes begin by “running from something”—trauma, anxiety, or noise in their own head—but often run into a new perspective or find peace.
  • “Most of the time it is running from something...but usually they run into something else.” (Rob, 11:11)

4. Presence, Peace, and Maximizing Time

• Meditation in Motion
  • Long runs—and even failed attempts—become acts of presence and peace.
  • “Finding your peace is almost a version of maximizing your time on earth.” (Matt, 13:03)
• Community in Endurance Events
  • Even in “failure,” such as being forced to walk most of a 100-mile race, the camaraderie and support in the ultra community stands out. (13:53)

5. The Courage to Start and the “Day Zero” Mindset

• Small Habits, Big Starts
  • Building courage starts with consistency in small things; these accumulate into readiness for bigger challenges.
  • “Once you’re that person who understands like three, two, one, go...you get a good amount of facts, not overanalyzing it...and take it.” (Rob, 15:07)
• Framework for Operations and Life: Day One, Every Day
  • Borrowed from Navy practices: treating every day as “day one” eliminates complacency, both in big operations and in relationships.
  • “Complacency...is where all the issues come from.” (Rob, 16:09)

6. Applying High-Performance Tactics to Relationships

• Consistent Effort Prevents Complacency
  • The same operational rigor can (and should) be structured into relationships: scheduled date nights, small gestures, quarterly reviews.
  • “If you don’t treat the relationship like it’s one of these operations...things fall through the cracks.” (Rob, 18:05)

7. The Power of Routines and Sensory Triggers

• Grounding With Simple, Sensory Rituals
  • Rob advocates for tight, five-minute routines that utilize all senses (sound, taste, smell) to efficiently ground oneself, a method honed through Navy deployments and carried into ultra events and daily life.
  • Example triggers: sounds of rain, specific supplements or snacks, music playlists (Asian lo-fi hip-hop for work), and candles. (22:50–24:19)

8. Life After Losing Pillars & Reinventing After Failure

• Navigating Major Transitions
  • Rob describes a low point upon leaving the Navy, losing his relationship, selling his business, and being cut off from his support system.
  • He built new pillars through fitness, travel, and putting himself in isolating, challenging environments—such as solo travel in Europe without learning the language and a harrowing attempt at a nearly fatal mountain trail in Italy. (25:22–30:31)
• Turning Crisis Into Routine
  • “Any movement is better 99% of the time than no movement.” (Rob, 29:30)

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9. Crewing Ultra Events & Service to Others

• The Joy of Developing Others
  • Rob takes pride in helping others push their limits as much as breaking records himself.
  • “My mission statement in life is to maximize my potential and the potential in others.” (Rob, 36:34)
• Operating in High-Performing Teams
  • Scenarios covered include supporting record attempts (Run Across America, ultra runs in Texas), coordinating large teams, and treating each effort as both a mission AND a learning experience for everyone involved.

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10. Giving Back: Making a Ripple of Good

• Direct, Hands-On Charitable Impact
  • The upcoming Mexico-to-Canada ride aims not just to raise money, but to distribute aid directly to overlooked communities along the way, creating a “movement for people to pause and say, ‘Hey, are you good?’” (Matt, 45:10)
• Living a Full Life With Gratitude
  • “I have a full plate. Who the hell am I to complain about any of this? I’m just going to be grateful for every single bite, every single day of whatever life throws my way.” (Matt, 49:24)

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11. Foundations of Excellence: Going Deep Before Going Wide

• Focus Over FOMO
  • Both Matt and Rob caution against comparing your chapter one to someone else’s chapter twenty; develop mastery and build stable “pillars” before expanding into other domains. (59:42-62:35)
• Stacking Wins
  • “You stack wins on wins...It's really hard to stack wins on losses.” (Matt, 62:38)

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12. Mentorship, Service, and the Secret to Opportunity

• Be Useful, Expect Nothing
  • “If you’re just a useful person in general, a mentor will find you...help people around you before you help yourself...” (Rob, 65:16)

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “Putting yourself forcibly into uncomfortable scenarios and discomfort helps you in the times when you can't decide to be in that scenario.” —Rob (00:14)
• “Some people call me a masochist or kind of crazy, but I do seek that out.” —Rob (01:41)
• “Consistency in that effort...making sure you make your bed...and all these small efforts and pursuits will then make the idea for you personally to start on a bigger effort a lot less effortful.” —Rob (15:07)
• “Every day is day one...this eliminates complacency.” —Rob (16:09)
• “My mission statement in life is to maximize my potential and the potential in others.” —Rob (36:50)
• “The magic we’re seeking in life lies on the other side of whatever we’re unwilling to do.” —Matt (38:38)
• “Be a useful human being. Help other people around you before you help yourself most of the time, and it will pay dividends.” —Rob (65:16)
• “Service is the Trojan horse to knowledge.” —Matt (65:44)

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Segment Highlights & Timestamps

• Gambling and Stress Tolerance (02:08–06:14)
• First Ultrarun Lessons (07:19–09:03)
• Motivation Behind Ultra-Endurance (10:11–12:44)
• Day Zero Mindset and Operations (15:07–17:47)
• Naval Routine and Sensory Cues (21:51–24:57)
• Rebuilding After Loss of “Pillars” (25:22–30:31)
• Mindset During Life or Death Situations (29:24–31:00)
• Crewing for Record Attempts (33:36–37:52)
• Building Momentum and Avoiding Comparison (59:42–65:01)

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Tone & Style

The episode is candid, reflective, and energizing—balancing high-octane tales with deep introspection. Both Matt and Rob speak with authenticity, humility, and a drive to extract actionable lessons from raw experience.

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Takeaways

• Growth is found at the edge of your comfort zone—manufacture adversity before life does it for you.
• Small, consistent habits form the bedrock for future challenges.
• Complacency—whether in business, sport, or relationships—is the enemy; treat every day as “day one.”
• Service to others and helping them exceed their limits is as rewarding as personal achievement.
• True fulfillment comes not from stacking tangible achievements, but from presence, gratitude, and contribution.

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Connect with Rob

• Instagram: @robsembiante (Type in “Rob S” to find him)
• Events: Bootleg Boogie (Vegas ultramarathon) and various crew/record attempts
• April 2, 2026: Attempting the Central Park FKT (Fastest Known Time)—123 miles in under 19 hours

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Final Thoughts

If you’re pursuing growth, building resilience, or seeking to transform your environment for good, this episode will challenge your narrative around hardship, inspire belief in the value of presence, and arm you with tactical frameworks to live every day as the first—and the most important—day in your pursuit of greatness.

Transcript

[A]

So you talk a lot about learning about yourself through doing hard things. You've done a lot of really hard things. What have you learned about yourself in doing those things?

[B]

I have. Well, first of all, doing hard things puts you in the position where you're able to operate at that higher stress level. And everyone operates differently. Just like if you're going over a deal, you have your parameters that you set for whatever investment before you get into it. But then once you're in it, things get a little bit convoluted and distorted. Being able to operate in that space more often and in higher pressure scenarios makes everything else in life a hell of a lot easier in regards to important decisions. Family loss, relationships. Breaking down pillars or levers in your life that you used to have is something to lean on sometimes when they go out. Putting yourself forcibly into uncomfortable scenarios and discomfort helps you in the times when you can't decide to be in that scenario.

[A]

But what have you Rob, learned about you, Rob, in the shit you've put yourself through?

[B]

I'm really good at operating in a high stress scenario in just day to day life, whether it be the military or operating a team going from Mexico to Canada. I've also understood that my for investment risk threshold or stress tolerance is a lot higher than other people. We've talked about my business before. It is very high levered. The returns are great. But it's also other people couldn't stomach it.

[A]

So it's almost like you're addicted to it, like you seek it.

[B]

I kind of do. Some people will say that it's like being. Some people call me a masochist or kind of crazy, but I do seek that out. We were talking about in the past. I went on a gambling streak in Vegas for a month and a half. I didn't need to win the money. I didn't need the money in general. But that itch to do something very difficult or very stressful to put myself in that scenario is something that I do seek out from my prior life in the military.

[A]

But you didn't just like go on a gambling streak. You like were very tactical. Tell me about how you took on Vegas every single day for a month and a half or two months.

[B]

Okay. Pre story. I was living in a van. It was. I was in it at that point for six months. I was in Vegas. It was winter time. I couldn't really go anywhere else. And I was watching these guys called busting with the boys and a gentleman called Dana White, he owns a ufc, Busting with the boys Have a podcast, and they like to gamble a lot. And they have this theory called the tunnel of chaos, where essentially you keep on raising your bet until you eventually get what you want. So if you want $100, you start with 100. If you lose, you go to 200. If you lose, you go To 400, etc. Etc. And based on blackjack odds or Bach Rot, whatever you want to play, it's almost impossible for you to lose eight times in a row. So if you're able to bankroll the eight times, you're going to make it out 99.0 or 99.97% of the time. And I would just keep on repeating that. But it also gets kind of stressful when you're on hand six and hand seven where you don't know if you're about to dump ten grand into an abyss that you won't get back.

[A]

But doesn't it matter how many decks are being?

[B]

It does. If you're at a table that has eight decks and it's being shuffled by a machine, you, you know, I wouldn't do it that way. I. I would do it double deck or less. The higher you bet, the more favorable games you can play. For example, most likely you're not going to find a double deck in the middle of an evening in Vegas, especially on the Strip, just because it's a lot lower odds for the casino. You'll find massive decks, you know, electric card count. Not card counters, but card shufflers. Compared. If you're pay playing Bach Rot, for example, which is a very even game, the minimum bet usually is 200 to $400 for baccarat. almost every casino, at least that I used to go to.

[A]

So you would go in in the morning with $100, and what was the goal? What did you want to walk out of there with?

[B]

So essentially, I would wake up every morning, 5:45 journal, throw on some hype music, and then go into the casino at six like a complete degenerate. And I would go win my hundred dollars. I would then go to the gym, work out for an hour and a half, take the $100 that I won, go to the casino. You know, restaurants that they had, usually a steak and eggs would be in favor, have the steak and eggs, hang out, do a little bit of work in the van, and I would go out on the trail for the rest of the day.

[A]

So you literally, your morning routine was wake up journal. What kind of hype music are you listening to before you go gamble in a casino?

[B]

Usually some rock or some like ride the lightning kind of style, get myself amped up, like hey, I could lose, you know, X amount of dollars this morning, get myself a little bit, you know, a little, little edgy. I think people do chase that. I think gambling is an extraordinarily addictive thing. I do not recommend it for anyone. However, it does get you that, that rush. I'm kind of a. Yeah, I love that.

[A]

When I would think through like going to a casino and gambling, I would think of like Mozart or like something like very like surgical or almost like serial killer esque. Like I need to go in there, I'm on a mission, I'm gonna go do my thing and then I'm gonna get out of there. So you literally put a hundred dollars down. If you won that firsthand, you were done.

[B]

Yeah, they didn't really like me much for that. A lot of people will be like, oh, I got gifted this by the casino or gifted that. Even if I was doing five, $10,000 hands, if I played the way that I was playing there, most likely they're, they, they wouldn't necessarily be about giving me free stuff because they know that all I care about is just showing up, winning and leaving. If you're there, the longer you're at the, the tables for, the more they're going to reward you because the higher their odds of winning are as a casino, Even if it's 0.5 difference on your odds, you'll eventually lose over long term.

[A]

So you, you like literally created this chaos, this manufactured chaos to just kind of feel the stress and the anxiety that came with it. Yeah, and that's what you do too in the ultra space.

[B]

I do in the ultra space. I started doing that when I, just before I turned 21, I got off of a submarine and then five days later was my 21st birthday. So I signed up for a 50k the day after my 21st birthday. Mainly because of my past. I was in these selection programs in the Navy which where you'd work out all day, you'd get quote unquote beaten every day and your life would suck. And it was really hard and I grew a lot and I was like, now I'm on this team, life's easy. Let me try manufacture that again where I'm able to grow. So I showed up to my first not a hundred miler, 50k, trashed, drunk, having a good time as a newly 21 year old. It was a night run, so we started at 6:00pm I didn't finish until 1:00am I finished. Hungover, delusional, battered. And I made that more of a routine. And I did about six ultras without training before I started to really dive into it and see what I could really do.

[A]

What did. What did you see in that first 50k that made you go for another one?

[B]

I think it's what I saw in selection is when you get put into a position where I used to call it putting someone in check. So if you're playing chess or if they're gonna checkmate you, is that in selection? They're trying to put you in a position to quit and to see how far you can push yourself. And there'll be times where I'm sitting there, I'm like, if they do this, or if they do this, like, I gotta figure out how I'm mentally gonna figure it out, because that would obliterate me. So being able to put yourself in a position of, okay, I can't feel my legs. We're 22 miles in. I'm hungover. There's nine miles to go. Like, can I finish this? I told people, I do this. Am I going to be the one to do this? Is there ramifications afterwards? Am I going to get injured? All these things are going through your head. And you're able to operate and figure out how you perform under that stress.

[A]

Where's the line, though? So 50k, you've done 100 miles. Like, what's the most you've done? What's. What's the line?

[B]

The most I've done was a little over 300 miles, was 323 in the middle of July through the mountains of Utah. There were 64,000ft of climbing, 65,000ft of descending. I did that in about five days. And that was. I discovered that there's a. Not a threshold, but like a governor, where you just push to the point of you can't really move any faster, but you can exist in that space first. If you just kept on feeding me and you made that event 15 days, I would just. I'd be going the same pace, same mental headspace. So I haven't pushed any further than that. But I think that I got to the point where it's like, okay, I could do this pretty much in perpetuity. Just really want this to be over now.

[A]

Do you think you'll ever go past that?

[B]

I'm not sure there are events that I could do that. However, doing that and then also operating a business or having a family or any sort of relationships in general, training for that your weekends become long runs, your day becomes recovery. It's very difficult to multitask the two. I have experienced that and I've experienced that through others that I've helped. So I don't necessarily know if I'm discovering that anymore. And the discovery part is huge. Especially as you're going out on your ride. The things that you've never done before, as you've also experienced with business, is where you grow. And eventually you're like, I'm not growing, I'm just doing stuff that I know I could do.

[A]

Right? Yeah. That was what was interesting about signing up for the a hundred miler that I didn't train for was like, you just, you find that breaking point and then you see what's on the other side of it. Now when I was doing that and thank goodness for your help and for Melissa's help in crewing it. Cause I came totally under prepared. Um, but I had a couple little injuries that could have jeopardized the ride. And so the biggest lesson I learned in that experience for me was sort of this idea of conflicting goals. Like we have all these goals to start a year, we have all these goals in our lifetime and sometimes they can contradict one another. And so I was, in that moment, I was like, wow, these two things kind of compete against each other. One I'm really committed to, we've already raised over $270,000 for, and we have a plan and a process and a purpose. The other was just sort of ego, like the ego talking. But what I've, what I've discovered about myself is when you can seek the adrenaline, it makes everything else far easier. So when I wrote a bull, I realized how much I could actually be scared. And then when it came time to do a $10 million deal or have those hard conversations, it's like, well, this isn't a 2000 pound animal that's going to kill me. So it doesn't really matter that much. Like this isn't life or death. In your experience with all of the athletes you've worked with, are people in the ultra space doing it to run from something, run from trauma, run from fear, run from the noise in their own head, or are they doing it in pursuit of something else?

[B]

Most of the time it is running from something with the people that I've been with, but they usually run into something else which is finding that opportunity of like, oh, things that I was running from aren't hard anymore. The other things that are coming up aren't that hard. Anymore. It also depends on the person's self perspective and how they operate their life. I have seen people that just run specifically for mental health or run because they have this, that and the other going on in their life and they just want to forget about it. Ton of those friends. I also have the friends that go, hey, I don't want to do like X, Y or Z anymore in the endurance space because I've already gotten the benefits out of that because you can only squeeze a lemon so far.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And they operate in the more of I need to do something to optimize the rest of my life space.

[A]

Yeah. It's like you look at what Alex Honnold or whatever his name is, you know, free solo. You're like, okay, now what else am I going to do? And now he's free soloing a skyscraper. Like okay, at what point do you go okay, I've done all that there is to do in this space and I don't need anything else. And I think for some people it's just like almost like meditative. Like you get to the point where you realize how good you are at pushing through that breaking point or overcoming that fear and you're like, this is just where I'm at peace. I mean we just did the on the ranch and you were driving the tractor and I was like, this is where I'm at peace. You're moving round bales of hey, you're feeding animals. For those people it's like 100 miles in, 200 miles in. They're just at peace. They've silenced the noise in their mind and they're just with themselves almost like meditating it seems.

[B]

Yeah, I haven't thought about it from that aspect before. I guess I'm kind of a guy who always wants to get something out of some of something that I'm doing at least to maximize my time on this earth. But that's actually a great point is like if you don't usually find peace in your day to day and that is your realm of opportunity for that, that makes sense.

[A]

And finding your peace is almost a version of maximizing your time on earth. Right. Like, because a lot of us I think live as though we have to have all this chaos and we have to have all these things and what's the next thing and the Amazon orders and all this stuff and life is so short and maximizing our time sometime can just be present. Like just be so present that you can feel and experience all that there is to offer. And when I was on my 40 mile walk. I realized, like, this is just peace. Like this is just presence. Like I'm just here in the woods, nowhere to go. I can't go faster. I probably could have gone slower, but I couldn't do that to myself. I'm like, I just have to enjoy this. Like this is just where I am in this moment. I'm here, this is the now, and I'm just gonna enjoy it and embrace it.

[B]

Also for perspective, for anyone listening, he means Rocky raccoon that he tried to run and then wound up walking. Yeah, about 33 miles of it.

[A]

Yeah. Logan and I, who, who ran it, walked it with me, now referred to as our walk. And it's kind of become this thing where we just talk about. Oh yeah, we talked about that on our walk because we set out to do this 100 mile run injured like a small injury tweak. At mile seven, Logan was cramping up. And so it ended up turning into a just a long, beautiful walk in the woods, which was still great. It's still beautiful. And for anybody that hasn't done the a hundred mile race, even if you can't finish it, go do it. Just because the community that was there was so incredible. I mean, everybody that passed me, cause I didn't pass many people, but everybody that passed me was like, hey, good job, man. Hey, keep it up. Hey, good job. And you know, I was like, I was having the time of my life. I was just whistling. At one point you gave me those walking poles which I couldn't figure out how to use, so I just collapsed them. I was just twirling them on the trail, just having fun, just going for a little walk. But you know, it's just finding like the courage to start. I think is, is oftentimes where the, the good in life can come is just having the courage to start. And you've seen that with the Run Across America. You've seen that with two Runs Across Texas. You've seen that with setting the world record, which you're going to go back and beat in Antarctica. What do you think it takes from a person to actually have the courage to start?

[B]

I believe it takes consistency in that effort. So it doesn't have to be a massive start at first. It could be starting with making sure you make your bed in the morning or eat breakfast if you don't like to eat breakfast, but you want to. And all these small efforts and pursuits which will then make the idea for you personally to start on a bigger effort a lot less effortful for Lack of a better term. And then once you're that person who understands like three, two, one, go. You don't have to dwell on things. You get a good amount of facts, not overanalyzing it. Understand the opportunity and take it.

[A]

So what I hear you saying is it's almost like your day zero mindset of like, these are the standards. We uphold the standards. And this is day zero. Talk to me a little bit about how you manage these run across Americas, or these run across Texas, or this ride that we're about to do so that every day is day zero. Explain that to me. Day zero. Here's the standards.

[B]

So I learned this when I was in the military. And as things go well, the. The culture of the team will change to a one of, we got this. And that's when people die, or at least my old job. And that's when people screw things up and things go terribly wrong. So we would treat these. I would treat every single day like it's day one, where everything is brand new, fresh. We have to learn everything or we have to operate at this perfect standard that you're trying to hit every single time before you understand that you're good at it. This eliminates complacency, which is where all the issues come from. So when it comes to getting people across the country, I personally don't go into the hotels or I won't go into anything that makes it enjoyable per se, just because I know that when you have that. All right, now waking up at the 3:35 alarm or 3:40 alarm is a lot more difficult. Okay. Getting out of the hotel is actually a lot longer than getting out of the rv. X, Y and Z will wind up putting you into a position where you're now missing 15 minutes on three evolutions a day. You've wasted 45 minutes a day for 20 days, and now you're a whole day behind where you would be all compound. And it seems small and it seems sadistic or overreactive on it, but every moment in an operation counts. And if I'm able to keep myself as a leader in the headspace in line with where we're going, that's how it's worked out. So successful for everything that I've done.

[A]

How do you parlay that into your personal life? Like, do you take that same mindset into relationship? Because I believe in relationships, a lot of people get complacent, and that's when divorce, cheating, frustration, anger, fighting happen. So do you. Do you take that mindset into your personal life? As well.

[B]

I do maybe not as cognitively as I would with the ride. However, I do try to keep things nuanced from a day to day perspective. You make homemade cards in the first beginning party relationship and you stop with that. Or you're making sure that date night's a priority for X amount of years or months and then that disappears too. Or before you'd cancel your meetings for business to be able to go make sure that you're at that event for her, but then you don't in the future that I try to uphold, I have to cognitively do that when I do weekly planning, monthly planning, quarterly planning to have those goals there. Because if, if you don't have those goals and you don't treat, at least personally treat the relationship like it's one of these operations or like it's a business, things fall through the cracks.

[A]

And do you have to when you get into these relationships? I mean, you've got a great girlfriend now who I haven't had the privilege of meeting yet, but hopefully soon we will meet her. Like, do you have to articulate these things on the front end of like, this is how I'm wired, this is the standard, this is how I live. And do you seek that in your partner or is it like, this is me, this is my way, and they're going to have them, and they're going to have their way.

[B]

I'm pretty hands off on trying to make my partner like me. I understand I'm a little bit of a different human being. I think that most partners I've had, including Charlotte, understand the more that they know me, that I do prioritize lots of things in life. So if somebody wants them to be the number one priority all of the time, it's difficult for me because there's other tasks that do require a lot of effort. For example, in the Navy where I used to work, I was a Navy diver. I worked on a SEAL team as a, as a support crew. There was a 95% divorce rate. And a main reason for that is when you're operating at that high of a level, it's very hard to be able to split yourself between two things. And I'm making sure in my personal life that I don't get to that point of, okay, the business is now more important than the relationship. Okay. The fitness is more important than the business and the relationship. Being able to split up and divvy up those things is a challenge. I'm not perfect. Sometimes I mess up, sometimes I'll forget things. But Writing stuff down and keeping track of it like a business does help in regards to my relationship.

[A]

Yeah. It makes sense that a lot of this framework comes from that discipline in the Navy. I mean, if you're a Navy diver, you're likely starting on a submarine. If you're on a submarine, you're likely there for a long time.

[B]

I mean, we were a little bit blessed. I'm not going to say I'm like a submariner. We would fly into a neighboring island and then get onto the boat. The people on the boat would be there for six to nine months. The longest I ever went was 42 days, 43 days.

[A]

When you say boat, submarine or submarine,

[B]

I've never went on an above ground boat. Yeah.

[A]

So let's be real, it's not a boat. This is. This is below water, dark seas.

[B]

Yes. There was two boats that we used to go on. One was a boomer, also known as a gn, and the other one was a Virginia class, which is a fast attack. I think if I mess that up, I apologize everybody. But yes, one's. One's a bigger boat, one's a lot smaller boat. And a smaller boat. We would like. The distance that we are between each other right now is the maximum distance that you'll be away from somebody at all times. Every day for 40 days. For 40 days.

[A]

And you sleep on that, Sleep on that, you eat on that, work out on that, work outside of that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then come back inside and hang out.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

And every day you treat it as

[B]

day one for that. Every day. I do treat it as day one. There's also other things that I learned from those deployments, like giving yourself a mini routine. Everyone has their morning routine nowadays, and I don't think it's hogwash, but I do think having an hour and a half morning routine might be a little silly in regards to time optimization. But if you have a five minute, like, hey, I wake up, I turn this song on, I go write in this journal, I go take this supplement. And essentially involving all of your senses. So like your cognitive function, you're hearing something, you might be smelling something, you might be tasting something. All of that at the same time, within a 5 minute period can ground you drastically compared to if you don't have it.

[A]

Yeah. That's one of the things you encourage the crew to have on the ride. Like we're going from Mexico to Canada. Thirteen days, six states, many, many, many different cities. And you've. That was like. The first thing you said is like, you have to have A routine. Something to ground you. So what is yours? It's wake up.

[B]

I would do wake up. Liter of water with an electrolyte. Maybe a little bit of a snack if it's there. Usually not. I'll journal. I'll maybe read something, whether that's a quote or a verse or something of the sort, and then I'll. Sounds kind of crazy. Like, even, like, let's say, like I was. I was ramping up to go onto a dive. I would make sure 45 minutes before everyone else starts prepping. I would start prepping my gear while I listen to sounds of rain on my. On my phone. Because I downloaded rain sounds and thunderstorms while I also drank an AG1, which always tastes the same, which, no offense, AG1 kind of like shit and do that every single time. So I knew that when that rain sound came on, my body's like, okay, it's happening. When I drank that supplement, my body's like, okay, it's happening. When I taped up my chem lights the right way every single time, it knows it's happening. And you could use those subconscious functions that your body has to your advantage rather than to your detriment.

[A]

And the rain sound, because when you're on the submarine, it sounds like rain or where did the rain thing come from?

[B]

Well, you wouldn't hear anything of nature ever when you're underwater. So just the rain sounds makes it

[A]

feel like there's something.

[B]

There's something there that's not just metal and water.

[A]

That's crazy, man. I would have thought it'd be like birds chirping, wind blowing like a beautiful. But you were just like, this is a sound that I can use to train my subconscious mind that when we hear this sound, it is go time.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

It's time to be prepared and.

[B]

Or, for example, when I started doing. I had a real estate portfolio in the past. Small one. But if it was late and I knew I needed to work, I had a certain scent candle that I would light. And I'd go put on my Asian lo fi hip hop playlist that I would always play. And I'd go have it.

[A]

Wait. Asian lo fi?

[B]

Asian lo fi Hip hop was a playlist on Spotify.

[A]

What kind of music is that?

[B]

It kind of sounds like you're in Japan, but with, like, a little bit of techno in there.

[A]

Yeah, but like low. Like quiet or.

[B]

No, it's like lo fi is like a category of song. We can listen to it afterwards. But that. With two Nature Valley bars, the green ones with the crummy ones. And when I do those three things, like, I know I'm locked in until

[A]

3am until you have, yeah, you're done. So then you come back from the Navy, you start doing these ultras, you buy a van, start living out of this van. What was the transition for you, like, going from the Navy, this routine, these boats, which are submarines, which I still. Why you call them boats? I mean, like, you're under the damn water. What was that transition like now to civilian life?

[B]

I had a little bit of a rougher time for multiple reasons. So I got out of the military and I was dating this girl. She lived in Tampa. So the plan was I was going to leave the military, move to Tampa. To move to Tampa. I wanted to sell off my portfolio. So I sold all of the real estate before I moved to Tampa, got to that place two months later. She had been cheating on me the whole time. Now I had lost a few what I call pillars in my life. So like, let's say you have fitness, family, your business, maybe your job and all these different things you can lean on. Yeah. So I lost my job in regards to Navy diving. I had sold off my business in regards to all of my real estate. The relationship is gone. All of my friends and personal life is gone because I left them all in Virginia Beach. All these different things happen at the same time. Not a very good scenario that I put myself in. So it was difficult at first. When that happened, I reached out to a mentor of mine, shout out Anthony Vincino, and he's like, hey, we've always talked about how you wanted to travel around in a van. You have capital, no responsibilities, which most likely you won't have again for the rest of your life. So take that opportunity. Went to Europe for a month and a half, came back, bought a van, and then started traveling around in the van.

[A]

When you were in that dark spot, you had lost your pillars, as you said. Did you have the routine that you were still doing or did you lose that routine?

[B]

It was more difficult to stick with it. But fitness, as people say, they're running away from something. I got pretty shredded. I almost beat this eight year record on one of the hardest trails ever, called Altavia 2 in the Italian Dolomites, until I almost slid off a glacier and died. Side story. I would journal rigorously to be able to work on those things that I had going on and to make sure that I put systems in place for that to not happen again. Fitness became a staple. Also travel and discovery of other cultures. In different ways was an interesting position I put myself in. I went to Europe and I specifically didn't want to learn any of the languages so I could be in this isolation state like I was in the submarine but without actually being isolated. Like I would talk to somebody maybe like once or twice a week in English and everything else is kind of communicating with my hands. That was an interesting perspective opener. But yeah it was difficult to to follow the usual routine. I leaned on heavily journaling self improvements and fitness.

[A]

You just kept running.

[B]

Yeah, I did. I did a lot of mountain climbing. So that that trail in Italy is 92 miles with 46000ft of climbing and 45000ft of descent. And it is one of the hardest trails I would say in the world. And the Italian Dolomites. And I didn't really prepare for it logistically as well as I should have. I had an Amazon headlamp and I'd never used ice crampons before on my shoes. Didn't have mon right was about 400ft up a climb up an ice glacier at 2 in the morning about halfway through and I slid and almost slid off the side of a cliff. That would have been a 2,000 foot drop. And then got stuck on this rock until morning and almost froze to death. So that also is another self discovery.

[A]

You slide off the side of a mountain, you're sitting on this rock freezing cold.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What did you just sat there?

[B]

I waited until. Because of the headlamp wasn't good enough to actually see where to go. And it's an ice sheet on it was about an 1800 foot mile which for anyone who knows trails it's very steep. You're pretty much climbing at that point. I couldn't do anything. And then the next morning some French dude showed up and looked at me like why don't you have a pickaxe? I'm like because I showed up here without the right preparation.

[A]

What did you think in those moments you just sat there with your thoughts. Did you fall asleep? No.

[B]

Another thing that my time in the military and just operating in harder conditions is that when you're in that position that you did not ask for, you just you operate right, you know, okay, I'm cold, put on all my layers, make sure that I have everything on possible get into a warm position, pull all of your warmth in as you can, make sure that you're eating to be able to generate heat, make sure that you have enough water. Like don't just sit there, feel sorry for yourself and not get something done. Anytime that you're in that position of, oh, this sucks, whether it be business, whether it be relationship, don't, don't sit idle. When I was underwater, one thing that I got taught is never sit idle. Because when you do, someone dies or someone gets their hand crushed or someone gets lost if there's something that's going wrong. Any movement is better 99% of the time than no movement.

[A]

So you just had a plan. You just went back to your plan, went back to your standards and said, get on all my layers, stay warm, keep myself present, keep myself aware, and when the opportunity presents itself, I'll get out of the situation.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. I just had to wait like three and a half, four hours until sunlight.

[A]

Just nothing.

[B]

It's pretty cool. There was a nice moon out. You know, it could be worse. I could be like freezing in a different place. That's not the Italian Dolomites.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Or that, that mindset of like, it could always be worse. Definitely does come from when you do a lot of hard activities. As you're talking about. It's. It's easier than bull riding. It's easier than mile 80 of the 100 miler. It's always.

[A]

The thing about bull riding is it's eight seconds.

[B]

It's a hard eight seconds.

[A]

I mean, like, once the gate opens, it's over. Like, it's easy. You just hang on.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Now, I mean, if you rupture Achilles doing it, then it's a long nine months. It's a hard nine months. But like, in theory, like, sitting in the chute was the scariest part because you're just like, okay, what's going to happen once the thing opens, Adrenaline kicks in and it's like, it's probably like you leaving the sub, right? Like, when you're sitting there prepared to go on the mission, you're like, okay, thinking through everything, what could happen? What do I need to do? But once you're on the mission, adrenaline kicks in, your instincts kick in. It's just like you're executing, you know, the plan. So you do this crazy journey, almost die sitting on a side of a mountain in the freezing cold, Come back to the United States, buy this van, go to Vegas, start doing your crazy gambling streak.

[B]

There's a little bit of in between there, but yeah, yeah, I eventually went up there.

[A]

Then how do you start crewing these crazy experiences?

[B]

So I have a coach, his name is Mike McKnight, and he has a friend named Ben Light. They are who I've learned the majority of my running knowledge and crewing knowledge, respectively, to each of them. And I helped my friend Mike, who is running the Arizona trail. So that's an 850 mile trail with 120,000ft of climbing and descent. I drove my van from New Jersey all the way out there to the border of Arizona with them and joined along. He was my coach. He helped me out with other races that I've done. I'm going to go help him. I learned a lot from Ben. Ben's arguably, in my opinion, one of the best trail crew chiefs in the. In the world. So I got to learn a lot through him and learn a lot through Mike and his perspective on how to get through an event like that. He wound up dropping about 450 miles in. His knee swelled up to the size of a watermelon. It's pretty good. Pretty good look for him. So after that, I wound up hanging out in Vegas. I was helping Ben crew these three girls at this race called jackpot ultras. They were doing a 48 hour. He's like, hey, crewing three people kind of sucks. I would love to take it in shifts. I came out to go help him, and I was introduced to the opportunity to help a guy named Paul Johnson run across the country because his crew had fallen through. I'm just gambling every day. What the hell do I have to do? Why not just help something that's a

[A]

little bit bigger than you sound like this degenerate. It was. It was a very tactical. It was a job.

[B]

Tactical degeneracy gets you far. No, just kidding. I. I went, I sent him a dm and I said, hey, I'm pretty good at this whole crewing and running thing. If you have a problem with your crew, just know that I am available and open to helping you for this event. We met two days before the start of the run and the run across America.

[A]

No pay.

[B]

No pay. Did it all for free. Which does make it an even more interesting dynamic from a current perspective.

[A]

Yeah, because it's like when it gets hard, like I could just leave the whole time.

[B]

Which is why in that instance, too, with the really long stuff, every single day is day one. Treat it like day one. Don't look too far in the future, because that's how you get psyched out on how much further you have to go. Don't look at the past and what you've done right. Because then you'll do something wrong.

[A]

Yeah. So just every day is day one. How long were you guys out there?

[B]

A little under actual running 50 under 52 days. And then the whole op was like 57 days straight.

[A]

Gobundance is a community of over 800 high performers, entrepreneurs and investors with a combined net worth of over $5.7 billion. But look, it's not just about the money. We're about building lives of abundance. If you're ready for a tribe that challenges you to achieve a higher standard for yourself, visit gobundance.com Tribe that's G O B U N D A N C E.com T R I B e to apply today. How did you meet Matt Johnson?

[B]

I finished up with Paul. That went really well. Right. So Paul raised about $650,000 for Team RWB, a massive amount of viewership. His following went from like 180,000, 150 to 180,000 to 360 when it was done. So a lot of eyeballs on how did Paul get this done. People thought it was impossible. He didn't get the goal that he wanted to set out for. But he did get the fifth fastest time across America ever and honestly could have gotten third. But we decided to time it for charity run. Then Matt reached out saying, hey, Paul told me about you or something that I saw you online. I'm looking to run across Texas. Is it something you'd be interested in? And I entertained the idea. It's like, first let me go see your training because I'm not gonna help somebody for no reason. And then he started offering pay. I didn't charge nearly anything just because I was like, let me go charge him something to see if he's not just talking all this smack that he's gonna do it and then just bail and yeah, help Matt. I met him again two days before the start of his run across Texas in person for the first time and then helped him for that 18 day adventure.

[A]

And then did it again and then

[B]

did it again for part two. That one was a little bit more professional. Like we have all the systems in place. It was the same crew dialed in a little bit more. Also, Matt has a lot more experience so he didn't really agree with me on a lot of things that I try to crew him on. But that was another great experience. That was 19 days north to south of Texas.

[A]

When you're crewing for other people, what's in it for you? Why do you enjoy it so much?

[B]

I think there's multiple things. If it's a standard, just a normal crewing gig and let's say there's no charity, there's no records involved. I personally, my mission statement in life is to maximize my potential and the potential in others.

[A]

And.

[B]

And when I get to visually see people that have not been on a trip of this stature or this difficulty, be able to push past their limits as a crew member and then also pass through their limits as an athlete, that is very rewarding for me. On top of that, if there's a charity part involved, which I do have a tendency to act like it's not happening when we raise a lot of money, just so, again, treat it like day one. Don't get complacent. And then also if there's a record involved, I enjoy the idea of being able to be a part of something that is so incredible. For example, Paul wanted to go break the record for across America, or Matt being able to break the record for Texas or for you, you're raising a million dollars and we're actually directly involved in being able to help these communities that are overlooked. That gives me a whole nother avenue of satisfaction, gratification from the event.

[A]

Yeah, I think that's. It's weird how the world works where, like, the path we need to take kind of is laid out in front of us, and then all we have to do is have the courage to choose it. And when I came to run with Matt, when he was doing it the second time, I got to meet you, and you were like a drill sergeant. I mean, Matt and I were just sitting there talking, and Matt will tell stories all day, and he's an incredible storyteller. And you're like, all right, dude, let's go. We gotta go. We gotta get to the start line. And you're like, okay, great. We go, nope, you got two more minutes on this snack break. Then we gotta go. Like you were just dialed in. And I remember getting back in the car with my team, I was like, man, that was such a cool experience. Like, this group of people are out here in the middle of nowhere, Texas, doing something for a cause greater than themselves and suffering on purpose. Like crewing is not this glamorous thing where you're staying in a Four Seasons. Like, you're working 16, 18 hour days. Most often you're working longer than the athlete is because you have to prepare beforehand and then you have to clean up and prepare for the next day afterward. And the athlete is kind of resting. Like, this is not a glamorous job by any stretch of the imagination. I was like, those guys are doing this for a cause bigger than themselves. It's like, what the Hell could I do? And I remember the first thought I had was like, well, I'll just ride my bike across Texas. And I looked in the mirror, I was like, what a coward. That guy just ran across Texas twice. Who am I to get on a bike? Like, that's weak. And so I was like, well, what if I rode my bike from Mexico to Canada? And, like, I could feel a titan in my chest and I could feel like a. A pit in my stomach. Because I'm not a cyclist. I don't really enjoy riding a bike. I've never really ridden a bike. I had a bike, but it hung on the wall because it was purchased off of Craigslist. And I wrote it once, and I was like, if it scares me, I probably should do it. I mean, I. I say all the time, it's like the magic we're seeking in life lies on the other side of whatever we're unwilling to do. And so I was just like. I remember telling Holly on my team, I'm like, I'm gonna ride my bike from Mexico to Canada. And she kind of did what you did, maybe with Matt, at first you're like, ha, okay, cool. Like, yeah, you're just saying this, like, whatever. And I remember reaching out to you, and I was like, hey, man, I've got an idea. Like, sure, let's jump on the phone. I'm like, I'm gonna ride my bike from Mexico to Canada to raise a million dollars for underserved families. You're like, okay, yeah. And I think there was a part of you that's like, he might be full of shit. And then I think there's probably is like, maybe this is legit. And it was really cool because you're like. And I said, I'm gonna do this in. In tandem with gobundance. You're like, well, that's really interesting because I was given the book Tribe of Millionaires before I went on the submarine. And I had read that book and I'd had this on my vision board. Like, it's just weird how the world works where that path is literally laid out in front of us. So now here we are, and we've built a friendship. You know, I'm like, hey, I'm gonna run this a hundred mile race that I'm not training for. Like, I'm gonna come crew. I'm like, nah, dude, don't come crew. Like, why not? Like, I don't really like asking for help. You're like, no, I want to be there. I want to help. I'm like, okay. And I remember telling Logan when we were walking and my wife after, I'm like, there is zero percent chance I would have done it without Rob. Like, I didn't finish anyways. But had you have not been there, the chances of me completing it were 0.000. Like, I still didn't finish, but my odds were much better because you were there. As we get ready to embark on this ride, what are you looking for in it from you? Like, what do you know you'll learn about yourself from this?

[B]

I think that there's a different stack of, I wouldn't say rules, but unwritten rules on different personalities that you crew. So I've been able to crew the influencer space. I've been able to crew the athlete space. I've never crewed somebody that has had massive success in other realms of life and being able to work on that and tailor that to be able to be successful. From a you perspective for the crew, I've been pretty lucky where I usually either have my pick of the litter on who the crew is or it's somebody who's had crewing experience in the past in some realm. So being able to take a crew of people who have not been on a situ in a situation like this and pushing them far past where they're capable of, they're all going to be leveling up just like the same way that you're leveling up just the same way that I'm leveling up, all in different avenues. So being able to see that in real time and be able to assess that daily as before, somebody would be stressed about something. And you'll see the next day they're handling a little bit better the next day I don't have to tell them. They just do it.

[A]

Yeah. So the good news is, what I hear you saying is, is I'm not an athlete, I'm not an influencer, and our team is a bunch of knuckleheads doing something we probably have no business

[B]

doing, which is the best scenario you can have for the most growth possible.

[A]

But it's.

[B]

Yeah, it's very different.

[A]

It's very different. And I think that's what is most challenging for me about this experience is. And like, no disrespect, not taking credit from anybody that's doing these hard things. Like, Colin o' Brady right now is walking across Antarctica twice. But that's his job. Like, he can literally prepare for that for months leading up to it, where every single day is like, I am solely focused on this thing and it's still an incredible feat. I would never do it. That's absolutely insane. But I'm trying to prepare for this bike ride while also running multiple businesses, while also having a six year old, a four year old, a one year old, while also trying to keep a happy wife and keep life at home, travel for business, do all of these things. And so it's been a really interesting challenge for me. And you've gotten to see it this last couple days. Like the days are really long. And then I get home and it's chaos in the best kind of way. The kids are nuts. There's stuff everywhere, there's dinner on the table and it's a blast. But it's not my only thing. It's not my sole focus. And I think that's gonna be the hardest part of the ride itself, is the work's not gonna stop. Like, I still have the businesses I'm managing, the businesses I'm overseeing. They're not gonna put pause because like, oh, Matt's riding his bike across the country. Let's just hold off. Everybody take a couple days off. And so, like, it's going to be really interesting to watch how I'm able to juggle the business, the mental and physical of the ride and then also incorporate this giving aspect. Because I think what we're doing a little differently than maybe things you've done in the past is we're not just going to give to a charity that's doing great. We're getting the money and we're giving it to the people in these communities that are overlooked as we ride through every single one of them. And it's going to be a very unique scenario.

[B]

It is most definitely going to be a scenario that I haven't been in at this scale. I do try for my charitable contributions that I do the things in person, whether that's I'll split it between. Because when we're calculating our charitable con or contribution to community, you have your hours that you're working and you also have the money that you're putting in. I try to combine both. So I'll be able to buy the food, prep the stuff, and then also give it to the people at the other end. But I'm small scale. Million bucks is not small scale.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So it'll be crazy to see that drastic impact.

[A]

Yeah, it's going to be cool to see how that giving doesn't just impact us that are there in person, but impacts the people watching on the other side. I mean, documenting it daily and Vlogs, social media, all that stuff. Like, we're going to really bring the feeling of the giving to everybody that's donated, everybody that's following along on the journey. And, you know, my hope from this whole thing is that we create a movement of good. Like, there's overlooked communities all across the United States, all across the world, but let's just focus on the United States. There's overlooked communities everywhere that all of us are guilty of saying, like, I'll stop at the next town because it's a little nicer. I'm just going to keep driving till that next exit. But there's humans in those towns that deserve to be seen and loved and heard and might just need a handshake, might just need a high five, might just need a hot cup of coffee to give them that little glimmer of hope to keep going. And my hope is that this creates a movement for people to pause and say, like, hey, are you good? How are you doing? Oh, hey, let me buy that coffee for you and just try to make a difference in the world. I mean, the world's a big place. We're only here for a very short amount of time, so why not try like hell to make a difference, even if it's a little ripple that has the ability to create many more ripples.

[B]

That's true. And I just want to rewind really quick just to emphasize on what you can do from a ripple effect and butterfly effect Avenue. I know you're humble, so if, if you don't want to include this, I understand. But he kind of glanced over before. You have a family of five, including you.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And including your relatives as well, that you. That you're taking care of. You have 35 businesses that you're operating. I'm assuming you may go through an acquisition during this time when you're on the ride. Most likely you have a ranch. You have your job of being a CEO of a group of 800 people that are looking for guidance and are all high level folks. There are events happening for that group at the same time of the ride. All of these different things, you are operating at the same time as doing something that people can't do in general.

[A]

Mm.

[B]

That level and volume will speak to a lot of these other entrepreneurs and a lot of other high octane folks that it is possible and your ripple effect might have more people do this. So you are very humble. But the idea of you being able to say, I do all of these different things that are drastic and I still have time to Be able to be successful on all of them is incredible to even put into a sentence. We were going over that the other day.

[A]

Yeah, it's funny because last night after we had our team meeting all day, Haley and I had to go stop and pick up the barbecue for everybody to come over for dinner. And what was cool is like the team was there for dinner, but also my mom and dad were there for dinner, my sister was there for dinner, she's getting ready to go back to Africa for work. And so, like huge family dinner. We picked up the barbecue. And when I went to pick up that barbecue, there was a man inside in front of me at the line. And he's like, hey, do you have a military discount? Like, just probably 70 year old man. And the, the young kid at the desk is like, oh, let me go ask, ask, come back. He's like, yeah, we do have a, you know, military discount. He's like, yeah, I'm Marine. Semper Fi. And he starts like, wanting to talk about what he's done. And I could tell this man was so lonely. You know, the boy said, like, are you gonna. Is this for to. For here or to go? And. And the man's like, no, it'll be for here. And like, he, he had nobody else with him. And this was like a dead little barbecue joint in Dripping Springs, Texas. And I remember last night getting in the car with Haley and I said, you know, Rob talks a lot about how we're going to need to rest at the end of the day. I said, I don't think Rob realizes just how hard I'm going to go. Like that guy I will sit and have dinner with and have a conversation with and hear his story. And if that means I don't get to rest that night, then I don't get to rest that night. But I want to hear that story. I want to be present. And Haley just kind of laughed and she's like, yeah, I don't really know where you get all the energy or don't really know how you do this all, but it's going to be really interesting to see how you manage it while we go. And I think, like, you know, all I want to say is like, we've all dreamed of living an abundant life, whatever that means for us. Some people it's financial. Some people it's health. Some people it's family. Some people it's sand in their toes every single day and a warm glass of water. I don't know. But like, I've always dreamed of having A full plate. Like, just having a full life, having a healthy family, having a beautiful wife, having never dreamed of a ranch. But now that we have it, I can't imagine my life without it.

[B]

And.

[A]

And I'm like, I have a full plate. Who the hell am I to complain about any of this? Like, I'm just going to be grateful for every single bite, every single day of whatever life throws my way. And now, don't get me wrong, there is bad days, there are bad moments. There are times when I'm like, annoyed and pissed off and frustrated, but I always reground myself in the fact that, like, there's billions of people in this world that don't know where their next meal is going to come from, that don't know if they're going to get water today. I'm like, who the hell am I to complain about having too much to do today? Um, and as we go to embark on this ride, I think what's going to be fun is to watch who I become on the journey. I mean, I'm not a very outgoing, bubbly person. And so, I mean, I remember when Logan and I were just on our walk, we saw you at mile nine, which you told us was 10, which was a lie, but we saw you at mile nine. It's seven in the morning, 7:15 in the morning. And Rob's like, hey, guys, how are you? And like, Logan were like, I'm like, my knee shot. His stomach hurts, he's hungry. And as we were walking, we were like, how is he always so happy? Like, how is he always so positive? Like, I can already feel that through this journey, like, your positivity is going to radiate through what we do, giving in these communities, but also through the riders that ride along with us, through myself, and just, like, continue to learn and evolve as a human, which is, I think, really what we're all chasing in our life. But we got 2,000 miles on a bike, and it's gonna be a long journey and it's. It's gonna be a fun journey. But I. I can tell you without a doubt, there is 0% chance I would actually be confident in doing this without your help and support. I mean, when we talk through those logistics, we talk through the planning, we talk through the preparation. I mean, you brought up something the other day. You and Jeff are like, hey, let's talk about security. I'm like, security? You're like, oh, yeah, we're gonna have this, this, this. I'm like, I never even thought that anybody would Think of robbing us, stealing the cameras. Like, I'm like, you guys are so far ahead of where I would even think through that. It's just fun to see the level at which people operate in their own zones of genius. And you've, you've truly found yours.

[B]

Thank you. I appreciate that. It's. It's a joy to be able to get people to where they want to go in a space like this.

[A]

Tell me about this run around Central Park.

[B]

So I, I do help a lot of people out with their stuff, but I also still have my sadistic masochist adventures. Essentially, there is this thing called fkt. You can call it world record if you want, but fastest known time was what FKT stands for. So if you're ever in the running space or the biking space, it's essentially your world record, quote unquote. The FKT for the most amount of loops ran around Central park in one day was set before by this guy named Oz Pearlman. He is a mentalist. Pretty famous American New Yorker was really stoked to have that record. And he, he broke it from a very drastic margin. And then recently another guy broke it. He's from the uk. Not saying anything bad about the uk, but at Central park it is, it is a staple in our country. And my family's from around that northeast area. My girlfriend lives in New York. I was running around Central park and I looked it up. I was like, I wonder who has the fkt? Like, who's done it? And I saw it was someone who's not really related to the area in the slightest. That's like, if I were to go to the UK and I ran the fastest time across it, someone from the UK would be like, well, that's our, our country. Why are we not doing it? So I felt pretty patriotic and compelled to take that down. It is a moonshot at the moment. I will get it eventually. Will it happen on April 2nd with my first attempt? Likelihood not. ChatGPT says about 4%, but yeah, essentially I have to run 123 miles in 18 hours and 50 minutes, which is an average of 9 minutes and 6 seconds per mile on average for 18 hours and 50 minutes.

[A]

Yeah, that's no breaks. That's no peeing. That's like, you're literally gonna have to eat, pee. Like all of it's gonna be running.

[B]

I'll likely eat and pee or urinate while running, and then I'll only stop to poop throughout the whole time, which means that my moving pace will likely be something like a 8:45 to an 8:50. Just because then I factor in the time for when I do have to stop. I also change my shoes probably once. Once, yeah, I'll probably Change it like 70.

[A]

That's insane. What do you think is the thing that stands in your way from accomplishing it?

[B]

Other than my fitness people, there's a lot of people in the park. So having to move around that, if you think about it, if you move 1 yard over 50 times per lap, if 20 laps. So now you're moving thousand, a thousand yards out of the way. Okay, so now we're coming up on almost a mile of added distance which means that the pace has to be even faster. So that's an issue. Weather could be an issue. Being able to get enough food down is an issue. There's a whole bunch of different factors in there, but people's a big one and you're just.

[A]

This isn't like a big event. This is no start line. No 8 10. This is just Rob on April 2nd, Central Park.

[B]

Yeah, I, I enjoy those, I enjoy races. Don't get me wrong. I have a mindset where even I have a three step mindset for how to get through difficult things during races. And step one is I know that we're all human and we all feel the same pain. If you feel the same pain I do right now, there's no way you're gonna be able to last as long as I can. That's what I take for the majority of my run. That's what gets me through. So being able to do by myself and it's like me versus myself and like I know I could handle this pain. I don't have anyone to bounce it off of. Helps my mental and also in general. For example, one day I fasted for 14 days straight. I just drank water for 14 days. 14 days and I went from 204 pounds to 177 in 14 days. And I was injured. I couldn't do any of these difficult things or being able to maximize myself or learn about myself. So any of these personal endeavors that you go on. I said I go on. I use to be able to grow myself.

[A]

When did the hunger stop?

[B]

It didn't. Everyone kept on saying, oh, you'll lock in. Oh, you're going to reach the state of ketosis. It's going to be great. I was starving from essentially a day and a half in until the second I finished. I wanted nothing more. I would, I had this garlic rosemary bread in the house. I would Spend hours just sniffing it. I looked at Korean fried chicken for. I don't know why I had that craving. For like four hours a day I would just stare at pictures of. Was a very difficult mental task. It had nothing to do with the physical and an output. It was just like existing and doing that, doing these runs, doing other endeavors with other folks, like, this is how I grow a lot further than the age that I'm at.

[A]

What do your parents think?

[B]

My parents, after the military, nothing could be as, let's say, dangerous as that was. I mean, think about it. For people who don't know, essentially I would dive off of the back of a $2 billion boat, essentially, in dark water sometimes where we're training or sometimes where we're not supposed to be a lot easier than just not eating food for two weeks. Also a lot easier than at least a little safer than, than that. So they don't necessarily know, they don't care. They're just like, oh, Rob's doing something dumb. Dumb thing.

[A]

Nothing surprises them. No, no, it's amazing, man. It's. It's truly remarkable. I mean, even when we got back from, from my walk in Houston, you know, we were gonna bring the family out to the ranch and like, oh, yeah, I'll run there. I'm like, I was like, 14 miles and very hilly. Yeah, I'll run there. Like, okay, like, there's a major highway. Like, yeah, I'll see you guys there. Hopefully I beat you there. I'm like, okay, like, you were gone. Like, I mean, we like literally got to the house, the kids are like, let's go swimming. I jump in the hot tub with them. And you're like, hey, can I go out this gate or that gate? I'm like, whichever gate you want to go out, dude. And like, you were just gone. And the kids are like, what's he doing? I'm like, he's running to the ranch. And my son. Boy's like, that's really far. I'm like, it's really far. And you just did it right. Like, so you just, when you put your mind to something, you just go. And I think something you said earlier that really hits with that is like, start with the simple habit. Somebody hears this and goes, oh, I gotta go run around Central park as many times as I can in 18 hours. That's not where you started. You started with make your bed, make breakfast, have that five minute routine, that sleep simple thing that we can all find time for. And then what I heard you say is like, you've built off of that. You've used that momentum to build piece by piece, brick by brick, into the man you are today. So as you keep going through your life, the question I would ask you is, where in your life are you most flirting with disaster?

[B]

Most flirting with disaster as of I try to optimize everything and I'm getting better at it now. But my entire generation, I'm 27, is all struggling with screen time issues. We just suck our lives away out of a phone screen. Mine, on average about three months ago, was eight hours a day. So, like, if I live for 90 years, I just sold 30 of them to a phone. I don't like that deal. So that's one place that I'm flirting with disaster. Another one is I had a lot of things on my plate that I was trying to do all at once. A lot of shiny object syndrome. I had the Amazon selling business, I had the race director or the race that I'm hosting. So I was race directing for that. Also trying to start an experience business. But do I start the experiences business or do I scale this? I also have the girlfriend, I also have the family, and I wasn't doing good at any of them. I think also a question for you at the same time, as you're further along than I am, is in the beginning, it seems like to me it is. It is a lot better of an idea to do good or great at one, to maybe two things. And then as you learn how to be great, you're able to then split that up into different disciplines rather than trying to do everything all at once.

[A]

Yeah, I think you go a mile deep before you go a mile wide. And what people make a mistake often of doing is they study your success late in life and they see you at a mile wide, but they don't go back and study the journey. You know, if you studied the Navy seals, you're studying the elite of the elite after they've gone through buds, after they've gone through all of this stuff, and you're like, holy cow, how am I ever going to do that? Or this is how I have to be, or this is how I have to show up. But what you don't go back and look at is who they were day one of boot camp. Like, that's really who you need to study because, like, you need to be that person. And then who are they on day two and who are they on day three? And so the mistake I think a lot of people make, and I'm guilty of still making this mistake in my life, I did it with the ranch, is you look at people way further in their journey than you on social media, which, let's be clear, everybody only posts the good shit out there. It's like, look at me, look at me. And it's like, you don't own that plane. You rent that apartment. That's not your view. Like, but they always post that stuff and they're like, oh, I got to compete with that. I got to compete with that. I got to do that. I got to be that. I have to have all these businesses, all of these things. And what we fail to do is go back and study who they were early in the journey and compare them to who we are today on the journey of where we're at right now. And, I mean, I did that thing with the bike. I. First time I talked to Coach Joey that you connected me with, he's like, yeah, I'm training for the Olympics. I'm like, oh, okay. Like, my bike's on the wall. I bought it off of Craigslist. He's like, yeah, you'll average 16 and 19 miles an hour. And the first time I got on the bike, I was like, dying at 14 miles an hour. And I was like, how am I going to ever get to be 16 to 19 miles an hour? And so then I went back and I started asking him questions like, how many hours a day do you ride? He's like, most days it's like six. I'm like, oh, so here I am, not riding a bike, comparing you to me, who's training for the Olympics, who rides a bike for six hours a day. Like, that's a dangerous place to be. Because if I try to hit that 16 to 19 minute mile every single mile on my bike without training, without doing the thing, I'm going to burn out. I'm going to blow up. And the same is true of business. The same is true of life. So it's about going back and studying their journey, not their success. Because the success is only a very, very small slice of all of the hard work, habits, sacrifices, disciplines, failures, losses, bad deals, good deals. And that's where the gold exists.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah, that's definitely something that I. It took me a while to. To understand the concept of like. Like, even if I. Like when I'm at a Go Bunnance event or if I'm talking to you, I need to stop and understand. So we went over the things that you're doing all at once, like, all right, I'm trying to start this events and race business.

[A]

Yeah,

[B]

I need to do that. Rather than, you know, well, Matt's able to do this, or will that person to go bun is able to do that, that and that. Focus on the one thing that matters to you.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Get good at that and then focus on. On doing more afterwards.

[A]

Yeah. It's no different than the way you talked about. You build off of your habits and your successes. Like Pat Hyman said in his book Six Steps to Seven Figures, he said, you know, you stack wins on wins. So, like, you get a win, you stack another win. It's really hard to stack wins on losses. Like, when you think about. You talked about the pillars. You had the Navy, you had the girlfriend at the time. You had your friends, you had your family, you had your real estate portfolio. It would have been easy to stack another pillar on all of those pillars had they been strong, because you have the foundation there. A lot of people make the mistake. I think of saying, hey, let me go build this giant skyscraper on sand. That's not gonna work. Like, it might work for a short amount of time, but it will fall and it will crumble. And so it's like habits and disciplines of finding a win, Build on that one, find another one, build on that one. And then all of a sudden, you have some wins, you have some teams, you have some processes. Now you can go say, okay, do I want to go a mile wide, or do I just love this life that I've built here today? And it's just the only way to learn these lessons, I truly think, is doing them. Like, I made all of these damn mistakes when I was younger. I still make these stupid mistakes. When we bought this ranch, there was 10 ugly Black Angus on the property. I was like, oh, we should get some longhorns. Learned that there was money in the breeding of longhorns. Learned that there was even prettier longhorns than the one I had. I only have 20 acres, and all of a sudden, one day, I looked up, I had 30 Longhorns on this property. It was way too much. I'm like, oh, this is wrong. But I thought, like, the big breeders are doing it. Like, how? Well, they have thousands of acres. Like, who am I to compete with them now? I can compete with them in a small manner. It just is going to require me to be a lot more educated and a lot more disciplined. And so you just learn through failure. Like, that's why there is really no such thing as failure. I'll tell people all the time, like, oh, I failed and even when we were talking, I failed running the a hundred mile race. I say that so people can understand in their language. But failure is not in my language. Like, I don't hear the word failure. Like, I hear what I learned. And I only fail if I stop now. We stopped that race. But that's just a small moment, a small chapter of my life. I'm not going to fail because I won't stop. And I think it's just all about the labels you give things and where you spend your time, where you spend your energy and then just finding momentum, creating momentum. Make your bed, make breakfast, journal. Okay, cool. The next day, can you add another thing? Cool. The next day, can you add another thing? Now all of a sudden, let's talk about working out. Add that in. Same is true of business.

[B]

Noted. Yeah, definitely on that journey at the moment. It has been. It's also reassuring that for folks that do feel lost in what they're doing, everyone says, go find a mentor. Go find a mentor. Be useful to somebody.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it doesn't have to be the somebody that you're targeting. If you're just a useful person in general, a mentor will find you at least that. What I've seen is that when I. Because I like to help people. That's why I helped Paul out for free. That's why I was able to help Matt out for almost no money at the first time. When you do that, it pays dividends big time. Be a useful human being. Help other. Help other people around you before you help yourself most of the time. And it will pay dividends.

[A]

Yeah. I tell people all the time, service is the trojan horse to knowledge. If you want to learn anything, serve somebody that's doing it. And when Matt said he was running across Texas and raising money for valor fit to get veterans back into community, I was like, that's a cool cause. How can I be of service? Well, he needed help with donations. Tap the people. I know. Like, hey, guys, I have a really cool opportunity where we as a group can come together to serve a cause bigger than ourselves. But I didn't just say, hey, who wants to donate money? I was like, how can I be of service to these guys? Hey, anybody that donates this money can come spend a day with me at the ranch. We'll talk about whatever you want to talk about. Bring whoever you want to bring. Anybody that gives over $5,000, boom, $55,000 goes right to valor fit. When I went and ran with Matt, met you, how can I be of service? How Can I help? And so I love what you just said there because I think that truly is the missing piece to people getting to where they want to go is nobody's going to come knocking. Nobody's going to come asking. You have to go find the opportunity, be of service, and just do it without any expectation. And what will come back to you is far more than you could ever imagine.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So as people hear this and hear just how crazy you are, they want to come to Central park, watch you run on April 2nd. They want to find out the next race you're going to do. They want to sign out, sign up for the bootleg boogie in Vegas next year. How do they find you? How do they follow you? How do they cheer you on from the sidelines?

[B]

You can find me on Instagram, Rob Cebionte. If you just type in Rob S, you'll likely find me. Send me a DM on there. Also, if you see me with somebody else, send them a dm. They'll always be able to get in contact with me. So message Matt. Message Matt Johnson. Message Paul Johnson. All these folks that are a lot more notable to me or further along than me, if you're able to reach out to them, I'm sure they'll be able to reach out to me.

[A]

Yeah. And come join us on the ride. You're going to meet Rob. You're going to see him in his. In all of his glory and his true zone of genius. Crew chief, Rob. He's blunt, he's direct, but he's on mission every day. Is day one. No around, no sacrificing the standards. I'm looking forward to getting to know you even better. I'm looking forward to creating the impact together that I think us and the crew are going to create on this ride. And I really enjoy you spending the time here today, feeding the animals, taking care of the morning chores for me.

[B]

Of course.

[A]

And I'm excited to see what you do with your life, man. Thanks for being you.

[B]

Thank you, Sam.