No Time to Waste

Andy is the co-founder and voice behind Headspace, the leading mindfulness, meditation and sleep app that seeks to improve the health and happiness of the world. He’s also an ordained Buddhist monk who spent 10 years training all over the world, a cancer survivor, and a compassionate, humble human with a lovely British accent.

Andy and I talked about the tragedies that shaped his decisions in life, the importance of intuition, and how to find peace in our minds when life doesn’t go our way, followed by a short meditation just for us.

A truly special episode full of hope to kick us off for 2021.

@andypuddicombe

Andy’s TED Talk

www.headspace.com

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The modern voice of all hard things ,Nora McInerny, is back for the conversation I originally envisioned - the harder one - that I wasn’t forced to have the first time around. Remember, Nora knows what it's like to get dealt a crappy hand. At 31, her unborn baby, father, and husband all died within the course of six weeks, and her work has since focused on helping others navigate the terrible things of life.

Unlike our first exchange, this time Nora and I were in person together and I got to ask about what it was like from the partner’s perspective to be there for her first husband Aaron through his terminal diagnosis and a few years later, watch him die from brain cancer. But our convo wasn't all tears and sadness. It was just real and full of emotion as Nora shared her experience and I got honest about some of my biggest fears - that maybe those without a terminal diagnosis might share, too. Will let you decide.

@noraborealis

Podcast: “Terrible, Thanks for Asking” aka TTFA

Nonprofit: stillkickin.co

www.noraborealis.com

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Entrepreneur Jen Gurecki is a mover, a shaker, a hustler, and above all else, a modern day feminist who lives a purpose-driven life where SHE makes the rules - not society - and she’s been marching to the beat of her own drum since birth.

At 26 years old while doing her masters’ research work in Africa, Jen founded nonprofit Zawadisha which provides microloans, solar-powered equipment and education to rural Kenyan women to empower them to become financially self-sufficient. Years later, she started women’s ski and snowboard company Coalition Snow to see how the male-dominated industry would react. Within just a few years, she turned down a $1M offer for the business from ski legend Bode Miller on the CNBC TV Show Adventure Capitalists.  Then she created Sisu Magazine, and now she also co-hosts the Juicy Bits podcast.

The common tie to all of her entrepreneurial endeavors? Jen’s challenging the patriarchy and fighting for gender equality through innovative businesses and content mediums - all while unapologetically pursuing a life full of freedom, adventure, and impact.

@coalitionsnow | @zawadisha | @sisumagazine

www.coalitionsnow.com | www.zawadisha.org | www.sisumagazine.com

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We all know who Lance Armstrong is - what he’s known for, and what he’s not. I just wanted to talk to him about the cancer that almost took his life 20+ years ago.

When I got diagnosed back in September 2018 one of the first things I did was go buy his book, “It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life.” I needed to know how Lance beat the advanced testicular cancer that had already spread to his lungs and brain by the time they discovered it, when he was just 25 years old and at his physical prime.

So that’s what Lance and I talked about. Lucky me, I got to spend an hour with the guy who unknowingly helped me warrior up and bring my A-Game to my own cancer battle.

Like Lance said in his book, “What other choice is there but to hope? We have two options - medically and emotionally: Give Up...or Fight Like Hell.”

I’ll opt for the latter, just like Lance.

@lancearmstrong

www.lancearmstrong.com

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Molly MacDonald is the Founder + CEO of The Pink Fund, a scrappy non-profit that provides “Real Help Now” to newly diagnosed breast cancer patients by directly paying bills like housing, utilities and insurance to take the tasks off their plates and not have to worry about paying taxes on the financial donations - totaling $4.5 MILLION to date in direct support.

But it’s Molly’s personal story that really got me because this is not your average Boomer.

After living much of her life in affluent wealth, thanks to her ex-husband, Molly experienced catastrophic financial loss (think $15M in debt), left with sole custody of five children under the age of 13, alone, jobless, leaning on a church basement food pantry to help provide - when she gets diagnosed with breast cancer.

Her story is one of a feisty maverick with grit and grace who can empathize with people from all walks of life and for the last 15 yrs while she’s been in remission from her cancer, Molly has made it her purpose to become a helper focused on serving others.

Now for a limited time through Black Friday, you can purchase $35 No Time to Waste Engraved Cuff Bracelets (Gold, Silver, Rose Gold) on our swag site that will directly support The Pink Fund this holiday season.

Nothing but love and #LFG energy for The Pink Fund!

No Time To Waste Cuff Bracelets 

www.thepinkfund.org

@thepinkfund 

Molly MacDonald

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Think you’ve had a rough month? At 31, Nora McInerny aka @noraborealis miscarried her second baby and lost her father and then her husband to aggressive brain cancer - all within a few weeks. As soon as I heard her 2018 TED Talk about the experience of moving fwd (vs moving on) through this grief with wit and realness and truth, I realized I’d stumbled upon the refreshing and relatable voice I’d been searching for. I fell into a welcomed rabbit hole of her content which brings “heart and levity to the difficult and uncomfortable conversations most of us try to avoid”.

Thankfully, the convo I originally planned didn’t have to happen yet because I caught a break in the storm and got myself some time to breathe - so this convo was a lot more fun. Nora weighed in on everything from our resistance as a society to talk candidly about life’s harshest experiences, why the sick need to feel empowered to be direct, and the genuinely harmful effects of toxic positivity.

And most relevant to me personally, she helped me start this journey - as myself.

@noraborealis

Podcast: “Terrible, Thanks for Asking” aka TTFA

Nonprofit: stillkickin.co

WWW.NORABOREALIS.COM

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It all started at musical theater camp in Upper Darby, PA with Tina Fey (yep, dead serious). Chris Heuisler and I spent our middle school summers surrounded by fellow theater nerds basking in the glow of all day rehearsals, absolute freedom, and Dairy Queen, just feelin’ so cool.

Life took us down different roads but over time, our identities as athletes emerged as the ones that fueled our souls. Chris scored a dream job as the Westin Global Run Concierge while I sat in my corporate office wishing I was more than just a Weekend Warrior. Both hard driving, high achievers, we learned what can happen to self-centered people like us when that energy is channeled in the wrong direction, as we both ran into substance abuse challenges as adults.

But now, like a perfectly-timed tv drama crossover starring two washed up 40 yr olds, we find our storylines intertwined again, both sober, both on new paths, both still pining for those sweet, simple summers when we thought we had it all.

@chrisheuisler

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Caroline’s one of the most accomplished ski mountaineers in the world and a passionate activist for the environment and gender equality. But we didn’t hit on any of that in this interview. Instead, we talked about her experience being forced to confront mortality - first when she was 15 and her half-brother died in an avalanche, later when she lost her best friend to the same fate in 2014, and as recently as 2019 when she summited Everest and encountered something rarely talked about.

It was an honor to bear witness to Caroline’s openness around these topics and hear her share how these experiences have impacted her life now. Couldn’t have asked for a better kickoff to Season 2.

@carolinegelich

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US Women’s Soccer legend and host of ESPN’s “Laughter Permitted” Podcast, Julie Foudy just led the charge in successfully bringing a professional women’s soccer team to LA as part of the NWSL along with a group of 30 star-studded investors. Hear us talk about Angel City, donuts, doodles, real leadership and how to stay grateful and interject joy into everything you do.

NOTE: This episode was originally recorded on IG LIve (never meant to become a podcast) so the audio is not ideal - but hey, I don't have time to waste. Season 2 is much improved!

@juliefoudy

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