Run Slower

"We are all broken in some way, and learning to give ourselves grace in all of that brokenness wherever we are is the beauty of endurance sport. It breaks us down to our core parts, lets us explore them core parts and then builds them back up the way we want them to be. As we handle ourselves with a little more patience and a little more humility. And that's how we find greater and greater mountains to climb and finish lines and summits." -Colleen Rue

In this episode, we explore four people's stories before, during, and after 29029—an endurance event where you have 36 hours to climb 29029 feet (the equivalent height of Mt. Everest. Hike up the mountain, take the gondola down, repeat. Thanks to Colleen Rue from 29029, Kate and Steve Anderson, Meredith Carlson, and Carol Wisecarver for sharing their journey and hearts. 

-Scott Papek

https://29029everesting.com/

https://www.weisstrong.org/

https://www.maxoutmindset.com/

 

 

It was an honor to spend time with Jeff Browning, known in the ultrarunning industry as bronco billy. He is a pioneer in the sport and has finished over 100 ultra marathons in his twenty-year career, with 25 career ultra wins (17 of those in 100 milers). A few weeks ago, he won the Moab 240-mile ultra at the age of 51. Jeff is also an endurance coach, ultra athlete, husband and father of three kids.

In this conversation, we discussed mindset, how to control your emotions when things get challenging, the importance of constantly challenging ourselves, parenting, creativity, and longevity.

It is so clear to me why he is a champion. He is a master at pushing his mind, body, and spirit within his craft. Most of us will never run a 100-mile race, but that doesn’t mean we can’t train our mindset like Jeff no matter where we are in life.

Connect with Jeff at https://www.gobroncobilly.com/

Instagram: @gobroncobilly

 

This episode is brought to you by Age Is Your Edge book: A practical guide that includes strategies, tools and real-life relatable stories that help you discover purpose and develop a positive, resilient mindset during midlife. Pick up a copy here: scottpapek.com.

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Exploring our full potential is an ongoing process that takes place throughout our entire lives. Yet even though we know this truth deep inside, sometimes we use age or our current responsibilities as an excuse to stay in our comfort zones, even though deep down we’re miserable. By changing our mindset, clarifying our purpose, and focusing on what we can do instead of what we can’t, we can become empowered to courageously move toward our dream life and achieving our potential, one step at a time.

In this concise manual, Scott Papek shares his personal and professional experiences and real-life stories to guide midlifers through a simple self-discovery process that shares introspective questions, details the four pillars of CARE, and explores mental skill strategies that open the heart and strengthen the mindset to embrace all the possibilities, no matter the age. Through his roadmap, midlifers will learn how to be comfortable in the uncomfortable, discover the importance of identifying strengths and core values, set appropriate, realistic goals, incorporate positive self-talk into every action every day, and overcome fear and distractions.

Follow scott on Instagram @scottpapek

 

 

My marathon training started 8 months ago. I'm not an athlete, and I don't love running. But running checks all the boxes I need for personal growth. 

My mission for the race is to finish.

This episode is brought to you by the Keep Climbing Mindset Journal, a companion journal to Age is Your Edge. A Self-Help Journal to help you navigate the adventures of midlife and cultivate a positive, resilient mindset. It would be awesome if you grabbed a copy on Amazon

Age Is Your Edge is hosted by Scott Papek. He has over 25 years of coaching high performers to reveal their purpose, authentically live it, and help them communicate it to the world. 

 

 

 

My name is Scott Papek, and I believe a strength for me is my creative thinking. I also think a challenge for me is my creative thinking.

 

For me, creativity used to come with lots of complexity. The creative idea surfaces, and then all of a sudden, my mind is obsessing and trying to take my creative thought from the idea and map it on how I can make it the best view in the world. Don’t get me wrong, I love deep-thinking creativity, but I would take the idea and complicate it in the past. Let’s say I had two pretty good ideas in a week. I’m consumed now with how to make them work. Then you share it with a few friends, and they offer suggestions, good and bad, which adds more complexity. It’s plain maddening.

 

To break this mold, I had to get coached up by my business partner Commander Jack Riggins, the greatest leader of people I’ve ever met. I would share an idea, and he would dismantle it so fast. And I’d be like; he just doesn’t get it. He is a master at communication; he knew exactly what he was doing. Jack always says the Elites master the basics. They don’t get sidetracked with shiny ideas; they stay the course no matter what because they are clear on their purpose.

Discovering and identifying my purpose, which I share how I did it in my book age, is my edge exactly has been the greatest filter for me. It’s pretty simple, does this creative idea align with my purpose or not? If not, then don’t think about it again. You can apply this to anything when there is confusion. Should I have that piece of cake? Does it align with my purpose? When you begin to talk yourself out of working out that day, ask, does missing this workout hurt or help your purpose?

 

My purpose is to help others discover their full potential and authentically live it. 

 That’s what I strive to do every day with my interaction with others, in my writing, in this podcast, how I parent, etc.

It is a work in progress, but for me, it’s been the most significant discovery with my creative, complex thinking.

 

Complexity is the killer of dreams and goals.

 

The first conversation is with the Commander on the basics, and the second is with Danny Woodhead and Matt Slauson and how they attack, keeping it simple.

 

If you enjoy this, please share.  

 

This episode is brought to you by the Keep Climbing Mindset Journal, a companion journal to Age is Your Edge. A Self-Help Journal to Help you navigate the Adventures of Midlife and Cultivate a Positive, Resilient Mindset. It would be awesome if you grabbed a copy on Amazon

 

When writing Age Is Your Edge, I searched for a second editor to ensure my book flowed well. That's how we met. I enjoyed our back and forths so much on email that I asked him to come on the podcast. I'm always fascinated with people's journeys, especially in a field I know zero about. We both have a particular interest in the psychology and mental model of professional athletes, so we cover that along with some interesting advice on writing a book if you'd like to someday. He's a pro, and I strongly recommend him.

Check out his work  at www.davidaretha.com

This episode is brought to you by the Keep Climbing Mindset Journal, a companion journal to Age is Your Edge. A Self-Help Journal to Help you navigate the Adventures of Midlife and Cultivate a Positive, Resilient Mindset. It would be awesome if you grabbed a copy on Amazon

I'm part of the Out of Nowhere podcast with Danny Woodhead and Matt Slauson. Both were small-town Nebraska kids who made it to the NFL and had 10-year careers. But the cool thing is they are better humans, and their identity isn't tied to their NFL careers. You should know I'm fascinated with people's journeys, and I've learned so much from them.

I will share some short segments that are great teaching moments no matter where we are in life.

Being a professional athlete, the worst moments are injuries. Their bodies are everything.

I asked the men how they dealt with injuries. Some cool lessons we can learn when things don't go our way.

Subscribe to the Out of Nowhere podcast at Apple or Spotify

This episode is brought to you by the Keep Climbing Mindset Journal, a companion journal to Age is Your Edge. A Self-Help Journal to Help you navigate the Adventures of Midlife and Cultivate a Positive, Resilient Mindset. It would be awesome if you grabbed a copy on Amazon

Erica Hawkes is a Canadian landscape artist passionate about creating fine art from gorgeous captured moments in nature. She loves everything about the creation process, from taking photographs for future works to sketching new ideas and laying paint onto a canvas. Erica’s work is carried in several fantastic galleries across the country, and her work can be best understood through the confluence of two styles.

 

Nouveau 7 

This style is inspired by various works of The Seven, a renowned group of Canadian artists, coupled with the beautiful flowing lines of the Art Nouveau movement at the turn of the 19th century. She discovered mixing elements borrowed from those who have inspired her the most creates something entirely new.

 

Born and raised in beautiful BC, she studied at the Colorado Institute of Art in Denver before returning home to Vancouver to finish her degree in design. She has worked with countless mediums throughout the years, including graphite, acrylic, watercolor, india Ink, and oil. I’ve had the privilege to work as an illustrator, portrait artist, teacher and photographer, but my truest love is painting beautiful landscapes that bring a little joy to every home they find themselves in.

 

Erica's website:  https://hawkesfineart.com/

Erica's Instagram: @hawkesfineart

 

This episode is brought to you by the Keep Climbing Mindset Journal, a companion journal to Age is Your Edge. A Self-Help Journal to Help you navigate the Adventures of Midlife and Cultivate a Positive, Resilient Mindset. It would be awesome if you grabbed a copy on Amazon

Age Is Your Edge is a practical guide that includes strategies, tools and real-life relatable stories that help you discover purpose and develop a positive, resilient mindset during midlife.

In this concise manual, Scott Papek shares his personal and professional experiences and real-life stories to guide midlifers through a simple self-discovery process that shares introspective questions, details the four pillars of CARE, and explores mental skill strategies that open the heart and strengthen the mindset to embrace all the possibilities, no matter the age. Through his roadmap, midlifers will learn how to be comfortable in the uncomfortable, discover the importance of identifying strengths and core values, set appropriate, realistic goals, incorporate positive self-talk into every action every day, and overcome fear and distractions. Preorder here  Subscribe on Spotify or Apple

Growing up, school was not for me. But for fun. I tried several times.  Back then, it was preached. If you didn't have a college degree, you would never find a good job and you would never work for a good company. This led me down a path looking for the outliers—the ones who avoided traditional education and created their own map instead. I became passionate about learning more about why their life adventure was different than most. What drove them to the unknown? Why didn’t the person give up? What did these rebels have In common?

Ultimately, I sought the answers to the above questions so I could apply them to my life. This was the beginning of a lifelong learner’s quest to understand other people’s journeys. Today, I’m still a student as much as I am a teacher. I deeply care about sitting down with all walks of life and ages to learn. I believe our elders can teach us wisdom, midlifers can share valuable knowledge, youth can share wild ideas, and children can teach us not to take ourselves so seriously. These conversations have increasingly made me aware of the importance of you have to fall in love with something. That something for me eventually led me to writing a book called age is your edge, a practical guide that includes strategies, tools, and real life relatable stories that help mid lifers discover their purpose and develop a positive and resilient mindset. You will quickly learn on this podcast, I’m still a student as much as I am a teacher. I deeply care about sitting down with all walks of life and ages to learn. I believe our elders can teach us wisdom, midlifers can share valuable knowledge, youth can share wild ideas, and children can teach us not to take ourselves so seriously.

"I BELIEVE THAT... • Success is driven by vision and is achieved through preparation and execution • A man’s word and his handshake carry weight • Commitment means “staying true to what you said you would do long after the mood that you said it in has left” • Effort trumps talent • Authenticity and transparency are critical elements to strong relationships • When you compete with passion you are playing to win • Risk is necessary for reward • Loyalty is earned • Perception is reality • A smile and a kind word can alter the direction of a person’s life • People will invest their time and energy in those who are honest and trustworthy • To achieve meaningful progress it is necessary to commit to engaging in consistent action • The mind can be our greatest asset or our worst enemy – we have the power to choose • Life is a gift • Faith can move mountains • Miracles happen daily • God is listening and He will provide