Maximum Enthusiasm

(After riding the TransAmerica Trail), "I wouldn’t have known to even dream that big."

Stephanie is a force. A FORCE, I tell you. She is inspiring, strong, spirited, bold, fierce and engaging- she has my vote for whatever future public office position she decides to run for, that's for sure.

Stephanie shares with us her story- how the bike and her incredible ride as a relative-newbie on the bike, along the entire TransAmerica trail, opened her eyes - and showed her that she deserves more, that she can and should pursue more, and that her future holds more for her than she previously dared allow herself to dream -- and now she's running headfirst into it- and the exciting adventures and endeavors ahead for her.

Learn more about Stephanie, follow her, read her TA trail blog, and more, here:

https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/adventure-cycling-route-network/transamerica-trail/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniepuello/

https://www.blackgirlsdobike.com/chapters

https://www.bicycling.com/culture/a34340282/transamerica-stephanie-puello/

https://www.instagram.com/istephmeister/?hl=en

https://linktr.ee/spuello

https://followingcairns.com/

"I have that level of intensity around playing this game of business...at the same time, I don't want to suffer from it. I wondered, how can I stay at this level of ambition without suffering from it -without feeling like I wasn't far enough along? ...now, I know it's possible. That duality can exist in harmony." - Andy Seth

This week’s guest is a FORCE. He’s the type of person I LOVE being around because of the way his energy radiates- it’s contagious, it energizes me and pumps me up and every time I talk to him, I learn more of his story and become even more inspired.

I present my friend and fellow entrepreneur, Andy Seth. I wish we could’ve talked for hours. SO much goodness here.

Most recently, I saw Andy in person at his book launch party (pre-COVID, and feels like ages ago!)…. his book, BLING, was newly-published, along with his accompanying playlist, and — no surprise — the book went to the top on Amazon and the party where he released it and the playlist was OFF THE HOOK. The party was RAD and there was a magical moment when his daughter referenced some of his song lyrics when she asked Andy for the mic… priceless. Magic.

The book is inspiring, as is-the play list… as is Andy’s story.

Learn more about him here: https://www.andyseth.com/

Learn about his business FLOW here: https://feelmeflow.com/about-us/andy/

Learn about his book (and order it) here: https://www.andyseth.com/bling/

Listen to his playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/album/1xiOOKOK5ht9uCPQmiXTHe

(and more here: https://303magazine.com/2020/02/local-listen-86/)

During my intro of this episode, I mention EO — the organization through which I met Andy (and many of our other business-owner guests on this show). If you are a business owner, I HIGHLY recommend you check out EO Accelerator and/or EO…. it’s a global organization and I cannot say enough about how it’s helped me in business and in life — and how addicting it is to be around fellow entrepreneurs (crazy risk-takers like me!)…. Learn more about EO here: https://www.eonetwork.org/

SPONSOR: Wild Zora (friends from EO, actually!): organic meat & veggie bars, as well as amazing oatmeal for on-the-go …. and more! Check them out here (and listen to this episode/intro for the discount code you can use to save some money!).

EPISODE EDITING AND COMPILATION: provided as always by the wonderful and ever-amazing Stu at RELISH STUDIO. Check them out here: https://relishstudio.com/

"...what can be a deterrent is, when you look at these marketing pieces, there is nobody that looks like us. At all. Cycling apparel on Instagram feeds- you don’t see any black people, you don’t see any minority groups, period. I think that’s an inaccurate depiction of cycling – I don’t know why there isn’t more representation, but that’s something that motivated me. I’m going to do a photoshoot to show some nice gear and we’ll take shots to give people imagery of two dudes riding bikes- maybe cycling isn’t just for white people, maybe I can do this! It sparks inspiration. They get intrigued. They give it a shot." - Calvin Smith

Today’s guest is my friend Calvin, aka C-Smith (@seesmith on IG). We met riding bikes down in Scottsdale awhile back, he’s one of those cyclists you gravitate towards in groups— smiling, energetic, friendly, engaging — and I’ve been following along in his cycling adventures and conquests ever since.

A “former hooper, now cyclist,” as he says, it’s clear he has serious athletic talent and excels at anything he puts his mind to. As I began watching his IG posts closely I learned he was trying to send a far more important message than simply, “go fast on your bike” … his message: yes, cycling has black athletes in the sport— we just need to do a far better job showing them in cycling marketing pieces and online campaigns. Calvin decided to do something about it by compiling his own sponsors and photoshoots with friends, to make it more enticing and welcoming; to bring in more cyclists.

He is sparking inspiration, indeed. Give him a follow and you’ll see the passion, energy, enthusiasm he exudes. He’s a joy to host on the show, I enjoyed learning even more about him and his life off the bike, and want to share his current fundraising effort here in the hopes you’ll take part:

It’s called 10 for 10 (read more here). He posts, “The goal is simple: Raise $10,000 to buy 10 laptops for 10 kids from underserved communities to help close the Digital Gap. The money that is raised will go directly to The Hidden Genius Project (@hiddengeniuspro) who will purchase these computers to train them on computer technology, software development and entrepreneurship in the growing tech sector.” As of June 24, he updated by saying, “Together, WE, have raised over $6400 on Bonfire (including direct donations that were given to The Hidden Genius Project) and over $5400 on GoFundme! Exceeding our goal!”

You can donate/get involved in his campaign here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/campaign-for-the-hidden-genius-project

Book that Calvin mention as one of his faves: Optimism, by Helen Keller (who doesn’t need more of that these days!?). Find it on bookshop.org or your local bookstore!

Read more about the apparel company that Calvin represents here: OrNot - https://www.ornotbike.com/

SPONSOR OF THIS EPISODE: Champion System cycling apparel. Visit their site at https://champ-sys.com/ and use code MEGAN10 to save 10% off your order!

If you listened to guest Walt’s episode, you know that his coach Joe played an important part in his discovery of his heart issue and need for surgery (which likely saved Walt’s life). Given all that Walt told me about Joe, I had to host him on the show!

Joe’s website: https://www.summitenduranceacademy.com/about-me/

“I enjoy watching & helping people have those breakthroughs. It’s about when the light goes on and I can tell somebody just did something they didn’t think that they could do, and getting to that point where they start to question all of their other limitations – when they start to see that they did this one thing that wasn’t on their radar before, and they look around saying, what are other things I could do?!” - Joe Howdyshell

Books Joe recommends:

Atomic Habits: James Clear & Ryan Holiday: The obstacle is the way

SPONSOR: Crafted Energy : https://www.craftedenergy.com/

EPISODE EDITING/COMPILATION: Relish Studio: https://relishstudio.com/

"I came up on this mountain. Then I realized the universal truth – the thing that I learned is that you always have to have a positive mindset. Because if you don’t, everything will be difficult, it will be a challenge. If I started griping about the mountain, I would’ve probably been stuck at the next few mountains.  Keep your head down, keep plugging away, eventually you’ll get to your destination- but you gotta have a positive mindset about it. "

My guest this episode is Corey Hilliard, aka “Corey the Courier.” (https://www.instagram.com/coreythecourier/)

We met out on the race course at Gravel Worlds in 2015 and then again as we rode up a hill side by side in the 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 mile race. I was on my singlespeed- and I looked over at his bike and he was on his FIXIE! I’ve been following along with Corey and his adventures and endeavors. He is inspiring and funny and it seems there is NO challenge that he won’t tackle! I was so excited to pick his brain about cycling, diversity in this sport that we love, how and why he does these crazy bike events and challenges and what keeps fueling his fire.

Book that I mentioned I am reading: Together by Vivek Murthy, MD

Also check out more about Corey here:

https://www.pledgereg.com/ride-for-the-future — please consider donating to Corey’s fundraising effort - he just wrapped up a weekend of attempted- Everesting to raise money for his Ride For the Future.

 Not So Friendly Laps- Prospect Park

https://www.linkedin.com/in/corey-hilliard-7029a822/

http://detourblog.co.uk/2017/05/04/corey-the-courier-hilliard-stories-from-new-york/

Sponsor: Today’s episode sponsor is my local bike shop here in Golden, C3 Bike Shop! Stop in and visit them at their shop here in Golden and be sure to tell them you heard about them on the Maximum Enthusiasm.

Friends, I am so excited to introduce you to my friend Cajardo Lindsey... Lawyer, husband, Dad, actor, and now movie-writer and producer!

Prior to this podcast I did not know about the events that led to Cajardo’s decision to attend law school. This event- traumatic and awful - led to him becoming this powerfully-persuasive and compassionate attorney with his acting background lending itself to him being an amazing story teller and very effective advocate. He’s incredible to witness in the courtroom.

Learning about Blackface The Movie also really touched me - the premise behind this movie really really impacted me. The anti-racism movement is on FIRE in our country right now and this movie is on point with that movement and frankly on point as we all decide what we will do about it to make our world better - and also perhaps, how we will choose to live life differently coming out of COVID as well.

From the movie website: https://www.blackfacemovie.com/

How many of us struggle with feeling like an impostor, asking ourselves questions like:​

Who am I to start a business? 

Who am I to go to college? 

Who am I to try to make a difference in this world? 

Who am I to do one of the millions of things we as human beings desire for ourselves? 

​This film flips those questions on their head and asks, who are you not to do one of the millions of things we as human beings desire for ourselves? And if, and when, you do - what does it mean?  

https://www.blackfacemovie.com/why-this-film

I am proud to say that I contributed $1000 to this movie and I hope you’ll consider supporting it as well.

Here are a few of the film festival awards he mentions:

Austin Film Festival:

https://austinfilmfestival.com/submit/screenplay-and-teleplay-submissions-2/2019-script-competition-semifinalists-second-rounders-2/

We ScreenPlay:

https://www.wescreenplay.com/blog/announcing-the-fall-2019-diverse-voices-semifinalists/

Cajardo’s Bio: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1540125/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

 The book that Cajardo and I reference and both appreciate at this time in our lives: The Surrender Experiment

Finally -the scholarship I mention in my intro is now called the Megan M. Hottman scholarship at Creighton University School of law and if you’d like to get involved we’d love to have your involvement! My contribution was matched and a few others have also added to it, so we’re now up to $11,200/year for three years!

This episode SPONSOR: Aspire Medical Spa ! Check out the Maximum Enthusiasm podcast bundle here:

https://www.secure-booker.com/AspireMedicalSpa/ShopOnline/Product/10297424/Maximum-Enthusiasm-Skincare-starter-kit

Today’s episode features guest Steve Bitter, Athlete Branding Consultant. Read more about him at his LinkedIn bio here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-bitter-04b9239/

His business website: http://www.athletessoul.space/athlete-personal-branding.html and see also, http://www.stevebitterbranding.com/

We talk about how COVID is affecting athletes of all levels in all sports … the TDF and Olympics have been postponed, many events and races have been cancelled, so what do athletes who rely on racing and endorsements doing right now? Well, Steve and I talk about how athletes can use this pause and reset time to really ramp up their ambassador-athlete-brand game in this time of an extended-off-season. How can athletes be better at branding themselves - at leveraging their image and influence? Well - Steve has a few thoughts about that. And spoiler alert: it has a LOT more to do with the athlete as a person and their entire platform, than it does about just the results and performance alone.

SPONSOR: Runners High Golden - check them out here in Golden CO or call them to order shoes and goodies for delivery! Listen in to this episode for some discount codes to save money on your next shopping trip there! https://runnershighco.com/

I welcome back guest Demi McConkie, my wonderful friend, coach, and soul sister. We talk about the COVID-induced breakdowns that many of us are experiencing and how it can actually create space and opportunity for breakTHROUGHS. Because in the slow down, Demi believes, we can discover the magic meant for us. If you missed her first episode awhile back (https://www.maximumenthusiasm.com/ep-16-demi-mcconkie-soul-purpose) , be sure to listen in to that one as well.

Demi is working on her website and socials but for now you can find her on Insta at @wealthywomennow. You can also read a blog I wrote about her and the SP Live we did back in February, 2020, here: https://www.meganhottman.com/blog/2020/2/6/wonder-women-demi

I hope you enjoy this one and feel renewed and refreshed as much as I did after speaking with her.

Books that we discuss:

Inside Out Revolution & Surrender Experiment

SPONSOR: This episode is sponsored by RELISH (https://relishstudio.com/) - the folks who help me with the editing and compilation of this podcast. Check them out if you want help with a logo, website, socials, or marketing emails, and more. Be sure to ask for Stu!

Demi’s SOUL PURPOSE LIVE INFORMATION:

Normally Soul Purpose Live is $3,200.00, going virtual we can pass our event savings onto you. SPL-Virtual is $1,800.00 To register--

Here is the link to register for Soul Purpose Live. Use code VIRTUAL for savings.https://mailchi.mp/bd9bb6ad63ab/soulpurposeliveregistrationRegister for Soul Purpose Live June 11-12 2020.

“I consider myself really lucky and really blessed - to even be on this podcast today. I have this strong desire to get this message out to as many people as possible... if just one person hears this story and can live, I feel like I’ve done the world better.” - Walt Bleser

Today’s episode is an interview with my friend Walt. Walt and I met through cycling- specifically, bike racing, back in the early 2000s… probably around 2004, when I was living in Kansas City racing bikes in the midwest and he was doing the same. I moved to Denver in 2006 and a few years later Walt and his wife “Mel B” also moved out here and we’ve been riding bikes ever since. Walt takes part in our Lookout Week every June, and if we get our schedules aligned, we usually nab a few other rides together here or there. Last year, Walt and Mel B welcomed Freddie B into the world, he’s the CUTEST little guy.

So yeah - as you’ve probably guessed from the title of this episode, we’re talking about a near-death experience related to heart health… except the catch is this- Walt is HEALTHY. He’s only 40 and he’s been an endurance athlete for the last 20+ years…. cycling, running, skimo …. he’s an exercise fiend. So to say that this problem doesn’t fit the patient, is an under-statement. Hence, our desire to get this message out, in case it does impact you or someone you know. Hopefully this will help you pay closer attention to the subtle warning signs — the signs that Walt tried for a couple years to rationalize away….

Walt also did an article with our friends at 303 Endurance, check that out here:

https://303cycling.com/walt-bleser-40-year-old-strong-cyclist-lucky-to-be-alive-heart-attack-barely-prevented-his-story/

Related Books- Haywire Heart by Leonard Zinn –Walt hasn’t read the book yet and it may not even apply to his actual situation, but this also points to the glaring absence / rarity of info about this topic out there.

At the end of the day, I’m so glad the stars aligned for Walt to get the care and intervention he needed— there were many opportunities for this to have gone MUCH worse. I’m so thankful he’s been fixed up and is healthy and around to parent that cute new son of his and so stoked to ride LookoutWeek 2020 with him!

Today’s guest is my coach and an all-round badass, Shelley Paxton. Powerhouse- published author- coach- rebel… she’s amazing. And I can’t wait to deliver her energy and wisdom to your ear drums!

First things first —you MUST read her book — this is what kicked it all off for me and I think you’ll find it powerfully inspiring and intriguing. Find it on Bookshop.org at: https://bookshop.org/books?keywords=soulbbatical

Second — hear her out on this show, as she challenges us to set new goals and make this time of COVID a launchpad for new and rebellious ways to approach work, life, and just BEING.

Finally - Check out the online course she mentions: https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-science-of-well-being/home/welcome, yes that’s right it’s the TOP-ranked course at YALE! Since we recorded this episode, I started the course and am on week 6 now. I cannot wait to get my first YALE Course under my belt ;). Kidding — I am learning a LOT and love and appreciate the science and psychology behind the science of happiness. This has re-ignited my love of learning and kicked off me diving headfirst into learning PhotoShop and then… signing up to take the Real Estate Exam to get my real estate license here in Colorado ! (Shout out to my friends at American Dream Real Estate school in Arvada CO: http://www.adreschool.com/ ).

She also recommends the following books (again—order them on Bookshop.org and support local bookstores!) :

Untamed (ordered, reading next!)

A Beautiful Constraint (ordered, reading next!)

Essentialism (reading now — LOVING it).

SPONSOR: This episode is sponsored by my friends over at Wild Zora: https://wildzora.com/ — I LOVE these products, and they’re made here in Colorado up in Loveland. Listen in on this show for a discount code to save you money on your next order!

Finally — in my intro, I mention some photos I took on my bike ride on the day that this episode was recorded and wanted to share a few of those here: https://www.maximumenthusiasm.com/shelley-paxton