Podcast Summary: The Ultimate Human with Gary Brecka

Episode 245: Jesse Itzler & Devon Levesque: On Life Design, The Misogi Ritual and Winning Routines
Date: February 17, 2026

Episode Overview

In this lively, inspiring episode, Gary Brecka hosts Jesse Itzler (entrepreneur, author, adventurer) and Devin Levesque (athlete, entrepreneur) for a powerful roundtable on intentional living, designing your life for adventure, the "misogi" ritual, building good habits, forging authentic relationships, and the routines that drive fulfillment as well as success. The tone is candid, humorous, and energetic, with all three sharing personal anecdotes, “aha” moments, and actionable tips from their own journeys.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Misogi Ritual: Designing a Meaningful Life

[00:00 - 07:47]

• Jesse Itzler introduces the misogi, a Japanese tradition of doing one major, year-defining challenge annually.
  • “If you don't have one thing to show for your year, your work life balance is so out of whack.” (Jesse, 05:31)
  • Itzler stacks these big “misogis” with six mini-adventures per year (Kevin's Rule) to intentionally add newness to his life and avoid the rut of routine.
• Big insight: Even just one large challenge and several small adventures per year can lead to hundreds of memories and a more interesting, fulfilled life.
• Quote: “You bond so much more with people through experiences than you do sitting at a cubicle.” (Jesse, 03:16)

2. Meeting and Bonding Through Adventure

[08:00 - 14:38]

• How Jesse & Devin Met: They first connected at the 29029 event—climbing the elevation of Mt. Everest in 36 hours—then flew to Atlanta for a basketball game mid-challenge before finishing the race.
  • “We finished the whole race with 30 minutes to spare. And that was the first 36 hours I ever met Jesse, by the way.” (Devin, 10:10)
• Adventure as a Catalyst for Deep Friendships
  • Shared intense experiences (from marathons to sauna tours) build bonds that outpace years spent side-by-side at work.
  • “One adventure is like ten years of sitting at a cubicle.” (Jesse, 14:29)

3. Intentional Scheduling & “Big-Ass Calendar”

[11:47 - 13:15]

• Gary describes implementing Itzler’s “Big-Ass Calendar,” where family, adventure, and self-care are scheduled first, then work is added around them.
  • “This is the first time we've ever done this... I've been so much more intentional about my time with my kids.” (Gary, 12:01)
• Jesse: “You can see where you have gaps in your time. You can literally see where you're spending time and not spending time, what you're neglecting, what you're not doing right.” (Jesse, 12:49)

4. Life Design & Learning from Experience

[18:33 - 25:42]

• Jesse’s Unconventional Path: From running a jingle company, to living with Navy SEAL David Goggins (whose discipline and simplicity deeply influenced him for years), to founding Marquee Jet with zero aviation experience.
  • “You are the combination of all these experiences... you didn’t just let them pass through your life. You said, what can I learn from this?” (Gary, 18:43)
  • “Learn like you’ll live forever, and live like you’ll die tomorrow.” – Gandhi, cited by Jesse, 19:25
• Simplicity and Clarity: Downsizing possessions, focusing on what you love with people you love—making more space for what matters.
  • “When you can downsize to figuring out what you love to do, the people you love to do it with, and do more of that, that’s a great journey.” (Jesse, 22:48)

5. Developing Personal Systems & Saying No

[28:22 - 31:52]

• Devin shares his “five non-negotiables”: Family, health, community, freedom of time, and giving back.
  • “If a person, place, or thing isn’t adding value...they’re taking value from you.” (Devin, 28:50)
  • Uses calendar “red X/green X” method to physically see and remove what doesn’t fit his values.
• On Regret & Wisdom: Both Jesse and Devin emphasize seeking wisdom from elders and listening to those who’ve lived long, full lives—those most often regret wasted time, not spent time.

6. Scheduling Around Self-Care

[33:29 - 36:08]

• Gary shares scheduling sleep and workouts first before work, a change that transformed his energy, focus, and presence for family.
  • “The idea that you could be selfish in the morning and then give the rest of your day away... that made a lot of sense to me.” (Gary, 34:00)

7. The Power of Silence and Detox

[35:31 - 37:05]

• The group discusses the value of moments of silence—especially in the sauna—as well as digital detoxes (e.g., the Hoffman Institute, no-phones retreats).
  • “Three minutes silence... you just hear yourself breathing, and life just starts to make sense a little bit.” (Devin, 35:32)

8. Building Winning Habits & Joyful Routines

[39:11 - 40:07]

• Jesse: List your daily “vitamins”—activities that make you feel good. Strive to check 2–3 of these boxes daily before giving yourself to others.
  • “If my work is taking all that stuff away, I’ll resent work... If my wife says, 'we’re going to the opera,' but I get my cold plunge in, I’m happy to go!” (Jesse, 39:12)

9. Unconventional Business Success Stories

[41:35 - 46:46]

• The Muffin Story: Jesse, lacking access to a wealthy crowd at a TED event, buys all the muffins at a local shop. Offering one to an attendee leads to his first Marquee Jet customer and, via over-delivering on service, cascades into $5 billion in sales.
  • “Your secret weapon is caring the most. I cared so much about this guy’s experience... He gave me a referral, and the next guy gave me a referral, until we did $5 billion worth of referrals and sales.” (Jesse, 45:43)

10. Intentional Product Building & Passion

[47:25 - 51:13]

• Devin shares the founding philosophy behind Promix (and now Sweet Honey Farms): unwavering commitment to quality, transparency, and caring about every detail for the customer.

11. The “Spiritual Billionaire”

[51:16 - 57:24]

• Jesse introduces the concept: True wealth is about spirit—enthusiasm, kindness, adventure—not only money.
  • “If you have a billion dollars but your spirit is zero, a billion times zero is zero. But if you just have $1, but your spirit is a billion, a dollar times a billion is a billion.” (Jesse, 56:12)
  • The “million dollar” habits—enthusiasm, care, positivity—are free, not taught in school.

12. A Blueprint for Life Design

[58:04 - 63:00]

• Jesse's Practical Formula:
  • Do one year-defining (“misogi”) thing annually
  • Schedule six mini-adventures (one every two months)
  • Add one new “winning habit” per quarter (e.g., drink more water, meditate 10 mins daily)
  • Over five years, this compounds into hundreds of meaningful experiences and habits.

13. On Decision Making & Simplifying Life

[63:06 - 77:08]

• Devin: “The human makes on average 250,000 decisions per week.” Surrounding yourself with “yes, and” people and seeking new experiences expands your options and sharpens intentional choices.
• Jesse’s Approach to Simplicity: Each year, he donates what he doesn’t use, unsubscribes from emails, and removes clutter—“I want to walk around feeling as light as I can. Physically light, time light, people-wise light. I want to be light, man.” (Jesse, 77:08)

14. Ultimate Human: Final Reflections

[77:44 - End]

• Devin: To be an ultimate human is “comparing myself right now to the guy I was yesterday... Was I a better person than I was before? In every aspect: brain, spiritually, physically.” (Devin, 79:00)
• Jesse: “Being as good as you can be in the buckets that matter most to you... And then, squeeze as much out of life as I can... I want to die young as late as I possibly can.” (Jesse, 80:44)
• Gary: Resonates with the idea—“I want to die young as late as possible.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jesse Itzler on intentional experiences:
  “If you don’t have one thing to show for your year, your work life balance is so out of whack.” (05:31)

• On creating bonds:
  “One adventure is like 10 years of sitting at a cubicle. You can learn more. I only knew one of the 10 guys 10 years ago, so it’s like a whole new friend group has emerged.” (Jesse, 14:29)

• On simplifying your life:
  “When you can downsize to figuring out what it is you love to do, the people you love to do it with, and you do more of that, that’s a great journey.” (Jesse, 22:48)

• On regret:
  “Every single person, the common denominator is regretting what they did with their time, not maximizing it.” (Devin, 31:52)

• On building habits:
  “List your daily vitamins—what makes you feel good. Check two or three boxes daily, then give the rest of your day away.” (Jesse, 39:11)

• On the “spiritual billionaire”:
  “If you have a billion dollars but your spirit is zero, a billion times zero is zero... But if you just have a dollar, and your spirit is a billion... A dollar times a billion is a billion.” (Jesse, 56:12)

• On life design blueprint:
  “One big thing, six mini adventures. Every quarter, add one winning habit to your life... Now you have 30 new adventures you would have had and 20 new winning habits. That process will ripple into your whole life.” (Jesse, 59:12)

• On ultimate human:
  “Being as good as you can be in the buckets that matter most to you... I want to die young as late as I possibly can.” (Jesse, 80:44)

Recommended Timestamps for Important Segments

• On The Misogi and Life Design: 05:11–07:47
• Jesse & Devin’s Epic Meeting Story: 08:05–10:17
• The Power of Scheduling Adventures First: 12:01–13:15
• Jesse on Living With David Goggins: 18:39–19:25
• Devin’s Five Non-Negotiable Values: 28:22–29:48
• Habit-Building and Selfish Mornings: 33:29–36:08
• Jesse’s Muffin Story (Marquee Jet’s First Customer): 44:00–46:33
• Explaining the ‘Spiritual Billionaire’: 56:12–57:12
• Jesse’s Blueprint for Life Design: 58:04–60:33
• Ultimate Human Definitions: 77:44–80:44

Episode Takeaways

• Design your year: Intentionally schedule major and mini-adventures before work and obligations.
• System beats time: People don’t lack time, they lack a system.
• Curate experiences: Stack newness, adventure, and connections for a richer, more meaningful life.
• Simplicity wins: Clarity, focus, and happiness come from simplifying possessions, commitments, and relationships.
• Spirit trumps money: True wealth comes from positivity, enthusiasm, kindness, and living aligned to personal values.
• Continuous improvement: The ultimate human is someone who strives to be just a little better than yesterday—in the areas that matter most.

In Their Words: Notable Final Quotes

• “I want to die young as late as I possibly can.”
• “Being as good as you can be in the buckets that matter most to you.”
• “Don’t live the 80% version of yourself.”
• “People aren’t lacking time, they’re lacking a system.”

For listeners: this episode delivers practical, heartfelt strategies for living with adventure, designing meaningful routines, and cultivating a fulfilled, purposeful life—no matter your age or starting point.