A huge reason I do this podcast is that I get to speak to people who are living their version of success; defining how we want to do life.
Brendan Leonard embodies this perfectly. His message is a reminder to each and every one of us pushing ourselves each day to be better and to do better, that there is joy in every day. That morning trail run before a day sitting in front of the computer. An afternoon dog walk, a glass of wine with a good friend that you kinda sorta didn’t want to go do because you wanted to get that “project done” so you could, what, make it big? And sacrifice enjoyment along the way.
Brendan is a writer of adventure and travel, and the human experiences that lies within. He is a contributing editor at Adventure Journal and a columnist at Outside. His stories have appeared in Backpacker, National Geographic Adventure, Outside, Men’s Journal, Sierra, Adventure Cyclist, and other publications. He is a public speaker, and an author of books like Sixty Meters to Anywhere and the New American Road Trip Mix Tape.
Like many of us, our rock bottom informs who we are now and rock bottoms have varying degrees of lows. For Brendan, it was alcohol and jail. He made a choice at his rock bottom. he stopped drinking, found journalism, and the mountains and the rest is history
Today we discuss:
If you have been enjoying this podcast, I hope you’ll subscribe, share and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. Don’t forget to visit gearshow dot com to learn more about us. Until then, don’t play it too small, but don’t worry about playing so big.
Resources mentioned and where to find Brendan.
About Lisa Gerber:
Lisa advises CEOs and senior level management on how to use the power of storytelling and effective communication to influence action and bring ideas to life.
She guides companies through the digital maze of constantly changing tools to build discovery, loyalty, and ultimately help them achieve their own big leaps.
When she is not in her office, she might be out skiing or trail running. This is where she does her best creative problem-solving.
To learn more about booking Lisa for consulting, speaking or workshops, visit www.bigleapcreative.com.
Kikkan Randall is an Olympic champion cross-country skier. She has won 17 U.S. National titles, taken home 17 U.S. Championships, made 16 podiums in the Stage World Cup, made five trips to the Winter Olympic Games and had the highest finish by an individual U.S. woman at the World Championships (2nd in the Sprint FS at Liberec, CZE in 2009). She was the first American female cross-country skier to take a top ten finish in World Cup competition, to win a World Cup race and to win a World Cup discipline title.[2] She won the silver medal in the individual sprint at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, becoming the first American woman to win a medal in cross country skiing at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, and in 2013 teamed up with Jessica Diggins to win the first ever American FIS Nordic World Ski Championships gold medal in the team sprint. She and Diggins won the United States' first ever cross-country skiing gold medal at the Winter Olympics in women's team sprint at Pyeongchang in 2018.
If you have not seen that race, I encourage you to go check it out before you listen. It is off the hook dramatic and awesome! Kikkan has had quite a year. Shortly after winning Olympic Gold, at the peak of her career, she learned she will have to wage a new battle: breast cancer.
We cover a lot in this conversation. I was curious to know how she handles big performance days. What is it like the morning before an Olympic Gold medal win, ya know? I get butterflies just heading out to our local trail race. She walks us through her training program at a high level. We talk about her battle with breast cancer, her pledge to stay active, focused and positive through it. Lastly, I asked Kikkan about her community engagement. So many athletes inspired her as a kid. She pays it forward now.
With that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next!
Resources mentioned and where to find Kikkan.
About Lisa Gerber:
Lisa advises CEOs and senior level management on how to use the power of storytelling and effective communication to influence action and bring ideas to life.
She guides companies through the digital maze of constantly changing tools to build discovery, loyalty, and ultimately help them achieve their own big leaps.
When she is not in her office, she might be out skiing or trail running. This is where she does her best creative problem solving.
To learn more about booking Lisa for consulting, speaking or workshops, visit www.bigleapcreative.com.
“I took risks because progression requires risk and because risk is the price of admission to the only game I ever cared about: improvement.” - Amanda Batty
Amanda is a former professional mountain bike racer, Bike giver-away-er, firestarter, former pastry chef, current industry troublemaker and forever interested in good business.
Today we’re going to talk about ego and what fills that ego. For some it’s mountain bike racing, and for Amanda, it was. for a while, until it wasn’t. And then, she decided she wanted to be the "bike Oprah" and she tweeted about that, and became integral to a huge bike giveaway. We discussed how one can use giving to fill a hole, perhaps the hole created by leaving racing.
We also might talk about getting kids on bikes and active at a young age, baking with rage and emotional eating. Lots and lots of fun stuff.
Resources mentioned:
Where to find Amanda
IG: @abattycakes
Twitter: @theamandabatty
About Lisa Gerber:
Lisa advises CEOs and senior level management on how to use the power of storytelling and effective communication to influence action and bring ideas to life.
She guides companies through the digital maze of constantly changing tools to build discovery, loyalty, and ultimately help them achieve their own big leaps.
When she is not in her office, she might be out skiing or trail running. This is where she does her best creative problem solving.
To learn more about booking Lisa for consulting, speaking or workshops, visit www.bigleapcreative.com.