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#80: Why Hard Isn't Better with Ret Taylor
Ret Taylor spent 35 years chasing success.
From building companies and climbing mountains to running ultramarathons and achieving goals most people only dream about, he mastered the art of doing hard things.
Then, 18,000 feet up on Denali, he realized something that changed everything:
The life he had built was driven by a story he created as a scared 10-year-old boy sitting in a Greyhound bus station.
In this episode of MaxLife, Ret shares the moment he stopped rowing against the current and started following what he calls his "Honest Yes."
Why achievement often becomes a substitute for security
The surprising downside of being great at hard things
How childhood experiences quietly shape adult ambition
Why some forms of success leave us feeling empty
The difference between forcing life and allowing life
How to identify your "Honest Yes"
Why alignment often feels easier than achievement
Check out the worksheet for this episode: https://maxlifecoach.com/episodes/why-hard-isnt-better
Guest Bio
Ret Taylor is a former founder and CEO who spent over 20 years building companies around the world while chasing a version of success that looked right from the outside. Underneath it, he was driven by a deeper need to prove he had escaped the scarcity he grew up in.
He got good at winning games he didn’t actually care about.
But there was always a knowing that it wasn’t actually him.
After climbing Denali and selling his company, Ned, he stopped ignoring that and walked away from the life he had built to return to the work he had always known was his.
Today, he works with founders, executives, and high-performers who have built lives that work but don’t feel like their own. Through challenge, nature, and rites of passage, he helps them tell the truth about their life, let go of what isn’t theirs, and make decisions they can actually stand behind—even when it costs them.
He lives in Boulder, Colorado and spends as much time as he can in the mountains.
Website: rettaylor.com
Instagram: @rettaylor_
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rettaylor
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By Ben LawsRet Taylor spent 35 years chasing success.
From building companies and climbing mountains to running ultramarathons and achieving goals most people only dream about, he mastered the art of doing hard things.
Then, 18,000 feet up on Denali, he realized something that changed everything:
The life he had built was driven by a story he created as a scared 10-year-old boy sitting in a Greyhound bus station.
In this episode of MaxLife, Ret shares the moment he stopped rowing against the current and started following what he calls his "Honest Yes."
Why achievement often becomes a substitute for security
The surprising downside of being great at hard things
How childhood experiences quietly shape adult ambition
Why some forms of success leave us feeling empty
The difference between forcing life and allowing life
How to identify your "Honest Yes"
Why alignment often feels easier than achievement
Check out the worksheet for this episode: https://maxlifecoach.com/episodes/why-hard-isnt-better
Guest Bio
Ret Taylor is a former founder and CEO who spent over 20 years building companies around the world while chasing a version of success that looked right from the outside. Underneath it, he was driven by a deeper need to prove he had escaped the scarcity he grew up in.
He got good at winning games he didn’t actually care about.
But there was always a knowing that it wasn’t actually him.
After climbing Denali and selling his company, Ned, he stopped ignoring that and walked away from the life he had built to return to the work he had always known was his.
Today, he works with founders, executives, and high-performers who have built lives that work but don’t feel like their own. Through challenge, nature, and rites of passage, he helps them tell the truth about their life, let go of what isn’t theirs, and make decisions they can actually stand behind—even when it costs them.
He lives in Boulder, Colorado and spends as much time as he can in the mountains.
Website: rettaylor.com
Instagram: @rettaylor_
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rettaylor