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024 | Stop Settling and Start Living with Clark Danger

2/24/2014

Are you ready to stop settling and start living? To stop constantly 'playing defense' in life? Are you ready to play to go for audacious goals? Health guru and men's coach Clark Danger and I discuss the value of personal development in creating a freaking awesome life for yourself. Stop waiting for that magical day to come when you are allowed to start living the epic life you have dreamed of. Create it now. Stop settling, start living in Episode 024.

Make sure to connect with Clark at ClarkDanger.com and check out his podcasts on iTunes.

For those of you interested in diving a little deeper into what happens in the brain during coaching, here is a link to the Neuroscience of Good Coaching - a synthesis article of a recent paper published in Social Neuroscience.

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023 | Running Out of the Cage

2/16/2014

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    Call me crazy, call me masochistic, call me just plain stupid, but I decided to go on a run with Michaeline. That’s right - the Michaeline I spoke of last week - the ultrarunner who only seems to get stronger as she goes. Uhh, just hearing her name is a formidable challenge.
   My alarm clock rang at 6:03 (I don’t like to set alarms for even numbers), and almost immediately I heard Mikey stirring in the other room. Not 30 seconds passed before she had her shoes on and was at the door: “Are you ready yet?” “Uhhh” I groaned.
   I’ve first met Mikey in Freshman year of college... but I think we exchanged our first words two years later when we both worked at a geology lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. We became fast friends... and that’s when I first noticed her strange habit: she came to work after having run at least ten miles, and headed off after work to run another ten. I mean, she was on the track team and all, but still, it seemed a little excessive for running the steeple chase or a 3k race.
   I tried to go on runs with her sometimes, but was dropped in approximately 1.3 seconds. She did her best to make me feel good - she said she wanted to work on sprint training with me, and as a recovering football player, I knew my fair share about sprint training. So we began. And I noticed something even more peculiar about her.
   In a 40 yard uphill sprint, I blew her away. Again it happened. I gave her a 5 yard head start, same result. 7 yards, 10 yards. I was still passing her. The thing was, her top speed just wasn’t that fast... but she could hold it for miles.
   And that’s just what she began to do on this dark, rainy morning in Berkeley. The feeling of running in the rain was actually quite liberating, but as I struggled to regain my breaths, the classic old thoughts began to creep in. Why am I doing this?
   We veered off road and started up a muddy trail in the dark, our feet sinking into the soft earth as the trail began to ascend. And ascend. We climbed, climbed some more, and reached areas where we started literally climbing. I grabbed onto roots and clumps of grass, using them to essentially slab-climb up the trail - the difference between this and true slab climbing, of course, was the fact that I couldn’t trust any feet. Mud gave out beneath each step as I clawed my way uphill next to Mikey. Eventually, though, she found her footing and trotted on. I continued to slip and slide, finally reaching a 10 foot section that had no good roots or holds. I made a go at going straight up it quickly, but slid back down, covered in mud. Mikey had noticed my lagging and customarily turned around to run back until I met with her. I was determined to get up the section, though, with no help, so I ran towards the side of the trail, kicked off the mound and lowest branch of an innocent tree, and leapt for a clump of grass at the top of the section, just barely catching it with my hands and hoisting/mantling/rolling like a beached whale on top of it. Mikey laughed, turned, and ran on. For the first time in quite a while, I felt like the out-of-shape fat guy once again. whew.
   The trail flattened out for a bit and came to a divergence - one path exited from the park onto the street, and the other headed straight up. Mikey went straight for the path out to the ... well to my suprise to the street. I got hopeful! I wanted to be done now! She stopped, carefully looked at the sign facing the opposite direction, and said - ‘let’s go this way!’ So straight uphill we went.
   My calves were slowly suffocating. I was pretty sure they were going to need to be amputated. I wasn’t keeping up with Mikey at all. I wanted to be done running, not just now, but for good. She would run far ahead, and then turn back, meeting up with me again to sprint on ahead. This was both very nice of her and like leading a rabbit on with a carrot on a string - every time I thought ‘this is the time I’ll be able to keep up with her!’ and didn’t.

   It’s about time I heeded my own advice, right? I reminded myself - just find a process to focus on, and trust the process. It doesn’t matter what the rest of your body feels like, just focus on maintaining breathing only through my nose. If you must slow down, so be it.

   Slowly, gradually, I began to relax and run. To just settle into my rhythm. Maybe I’m being too woo-woo positive and it was actually just that the 14% grade began to gradually reverse its direction. Whatever the case, I trusted the process, and I loved it. I felt strong. I trusted the process, and it set me free.

   I think we all put ourselves into cages created by our own minds at times.

   What’s the process you’re going to trust in?

Listen in to Episode 023:

Music by David Phillips! Check him out! And like I said, if you have a story to tell, get on the Newsletter by entering your email below and send me the goods!

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013 | Adventure Tea with Alex Davis

12/9/2013

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Close your eyes for a few seconds and take a deep breath, then come back and read this.

Back? OK, now imagine you are in the Himalayas hiking through deep snow drifts. You are cold, but the air is pure and refreshing. As you take another deep breath, you see in the distance a small wooden structure.

Upon arriving at the structure, you realize it is an abandoned Yurt. You open the door and peer inside, and find that high mountain flowers are growing. Close your eyes and take another deep breath, and take in the smell of the flowers and the old wood mixing together.

That's where Adventure Tea's Himalayan Oolong comes from, and what it makes you feel like. I have verified it.

Alex Davis, the founder of Adventure Tea, tells his story of creation in this interview. He also gives us some descriptions of the varieties of tea that Adventure Tea offers ... beware, though - your mouth may water a bit.

During the interview, we enjoyed some smooth, floral Hawaiian Volcano Green Tea, and as I write this now I am enjoying the transcendent Himalayan Oolong Tea. Yesterday I had "The Champane of Teas" - the Washington State White. Can I say WOW!?

The beautiful designs on the tea box labels were created by Saskia Bailey, and copy is done by T.J. Lowther. They make for great house decorations after you drink your tea!

Make sure to head over to Adventure-Tea.com for the inspiration and this amazing tea alike.

The beautiful boxes that come with Adventure Tea! Designed by Saskia Bailey.

Episode 013:

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008 | Yoga as a Lifehack with Heather Quinn-Wagner and Hobbes

11/4/2013

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Have you thought about trying yoga, but afraid to actually walk into a class? Heather Quinn-Wagner not only gives us insights into the benefits the practice can provide in other aspects of life, but also starts the show off by taking us through some poses! We also discussed the habits you can use to become a writer and the challenges of chasing your dreams.

Want to get a Brave Monkey Sticker? If you haven't already, please write a review for the show on iTunes. Then, send me an email with your reviewer nickname and I will put you on the list - once we have 100 reviews I will send out the stickers!

Alright - on to Episode 008!

Music by Shattervox - so awesome! Thanks to Mevio's Music Alley for sharing it.

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005 | The Olympic Mindset with Olympic Javelin Thrower Craig Kinsley

10/14/2013

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I got some schooling today from Olympic Javelin Thrower Craig Kinsley on the Olympic mindset, staying contented and focused during times of diversity, setting your goals high, and fully engaging in multiple passions. Make sure to ignore our crude but really funny poop jokes at the beginning of the show...

Onto Episode 005:

Music by 4 ME 2 C. Sweet.

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About The Show:

The The Brave Monkeys Speak is the climbing, cycling, adventure podcast that's not really about any of that stuff: it's about lifestyle design. How can you design your life around the things that excite you, and get better at your day job as a result? Well, listen up Monkeys. We're speaking.

Disclaimer! Side effects of listening to this show may include:
1. The desire to change the world.
2. Extreme contentment with life.
3. The desire to climb.
4. Occasionally pooping your pants with excitement/fear.
5. An inability to control awesome stories from pouring out of your mouth.
6. An extreme attraction to marshall moose moore.
7. Participation in meditation practices.
8. Occasional unprecedented body odor.

024 | Stop Settling and Start Living with Clark Danger

023 | Running Out of the Cage

013 | Adventure Tea with Alex Davis

008 | Yoga as a Lifehack with Heather Quinn-Wagner and Hobbes

005 | The Olympic Mindset with Olympic Javelin Thrower Craig Kinsley

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