Good Life Project - Do The Hard Thing & Love It | Robin Arzón

Episode Date: June 13, 2019

Robin Arzón (https://www.robinarzon.com/) knew she wanted to be a lawyer since she was 10 years old, went to NYU, the Villanova Law and landed a job at a top firm in New York where she practiced for 7 years. But, along the way, a series of events would profound change her path. While still an undergrad she found herself being held at gunpoint in the middle of a standoff with police. That moment shook her and she found herself, much to her surprise turning to running as a way to both process the trauma and reclaim her power.What began as a two-mile jog to school after a largely sedentary life, turned into a deep passion for movement, running, especially at night in the city with a sort of fitness-counterculture group of friends, taking on marathons and ultramarathons. This passion would eventually lead her out of the law, into the world of fitness, media, teaching, activism and to writing a New York Times bestselling book, Shut Up And Run (https://amzn.to/2X8g7Bk) about her philosophy of movement and life. Her passion for running also expanded to fitness, indoor cycling and business, where she found a home as Vice President of Fitness Programming and Head Instructor at Peloton, and brand ambassador for some of the world’s top fitness brands.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest today, Robyn Arzon, kind of knew she wanted to be a lawyer since she was 10 years old. She went to NYU undergrad, Villanova Law, landed a job at a top firm in New York where she practiced for seven years. But along the way, a series of events would profoundly change her path. While still an undergrad, she actually found herself being held at gunpoint in the middle of a standoff with police. And that moment really shook her, and she found herself, much to her surprise, turning to running as a way to both process the trauma and reclaim her power. And what began as a two-mile jog to school after a largely sedentary life, it turned into a deep passion for movement and running, especially at night in the city with a sort of a fitness counterculture group of friends

taking on eventually marathons and then ultra marathons. And this passion would eventually lead her out of the law into the world of fitness and media, teaching, activism, and even to writing a New York Times bestselling book called Shut Up and Run about her philosophy of movement and life. And that running also expanded to fitness, indoor cycling, and business, where she's found a home as a teacher and vice president

of fitness programming and head instructor at Peloton, and also as a brand ambassador for some of the world's top fitness brands. So excited to share Robin's amazing journey and energy with you. I'm Jonathan Fields, and this is Good Life Project. The pilot's a hitman. I knew you were going to be fun. On January 24th. Tell me how to fly this thing. Mark Wahlberg. You know what the difference between me and you is? You're going to die. Don't shoot him, we need him. Y'all need a pilot.

Flight Risk. The Apple Watch Series 10 is here. It has the biggest display ever. It's also the thinnest Apple Watch ever, making it even more comfortable on your wrist, whether you're running, swimming, or sleeping. And it's the comfortable on your wrist, whether you're running, swimming, or sleeping. And it's the fastest-charging Apple Watch, getting you eight hours of charge in just 15 minutes. The Apple Watch Series X,

available for the first time in glossy jet-black aluminum. Compared to previous generations, iPhone XS or later required, charge time and actual results will vary. Were you the type of kid where it's like you kind of saw parents as a doctor and a lawyer, you kind of like always assumed that was part of your path or not so much? Well, it's interesting because I view kind of the classic American dream through their work ethic and their narrative. So they, my mother's from Cuba, my father is from Puerto Rico. And so I literally saw them rebuild themselves. My mother tells the story about how she taught herself English watching PBS and Sesame Street, you know, at the age of 14. So witnessing that

and then seeing them succeed, it was like, I understood the narrative of the hard work and creating yourself from a really young age. And then I just assumed like, if they can do that, I can do that too. And I have, I have to, you know, I felt not pressure, pressure is the wrong word, but a sense of honoring where you came from. Were they both first generation here? Yes. Both first generation here. Got it. Have they shared a lot of the stories, a lot of sort of like their early days with you. Yes. And it's fascinating because, you know, when I look at these old pictures, especially my father grew up in poverty, but my mother actually in Cuba was, they were wealthy. They grew up with, in a way that I can't

even imagine with servants and farmhands and, you know, just really like elaborate birthdays and all these things. And then they come to Philadelphia starting from nothing, you know, getting winter coats from the Salvation Army and, you know, a true evolution of like, you have everything you could ever want, then you have nothing. And then you're grateful for what you, the little you do have and you build from there. So that perspective I think has been always been part of my mother's story. And it's something I very much admire. Yeah. I mean, it's so interesting to me also that you said you didn't feel a sense of pressure, but like more of an internal sense of honoring. Yeah.

So the choices that you made, it wasn't like you were being forced or like I have to live up to their expectation. It's not obligation, but it's sort of like, it seems like there was something wired in you that just says like, they've worked so hard to be here. Like something inside has to sort of honor that. Yeah, I feel like there's something really powerful. I mean, I was, it's, it's funny that

I'm in fitness now because I used to be allergic to exercise. So I was the arts and crafts straight A kid. Right. So they really never, and I don't think they even would have had I not been a straight A student, but I really always had that in me and my sister as well. We were always, you know, just the academic children. But there is an understanding of like honoring your ancestors. Like I saw something, a meme or something on Instagram and the spirit of it was like, I'm going to make my grandmother's grandmother proud. And I was like, whoa, like it stopped me in my tracks. It gives me full body chills right now because I think like legacy is so powerful. And I think about that all the time. Like, I believe that our legacy is really just comprised of a lot of small decisions. And when I'm trying to make small pivots in my life, I think like, how will this contribute to my legacy even in a 0.1% way? And I really, I take that really seriously. Yeah. It's amazing too, because I think legacy a lot of times, so it can be a sword and a shield, right? So on the one hand, you can feel a sense of like, I have to do certain things because the

expectation is like, that's the appropriate way to honor my legacy. But on the flip side, it can also be like the appropriate way to honor my legacy is people who've come before me have worked so hard to create a level of agency and freedom that Yeah. That who am I not to step into my own sense of agency and do like the thing that I'm here to do? Well, both offer perspective, right? Cause it's like, I would never, you know, what is it? It was just in the Beyonce homecoming documentary. I think she quoted Maya Angelou, like you can't be what you can't see. Like, I am so grateful that I was able to see strong characters in my life who were like, you just got to figure it out and do it. You know, had I had a different understanding of agency, I might not be sitting here.

Yeah. So you end up then, so you're the kid who's arts and crafts and also academics. Where'd you end up going to undergrad? So I went to NYU undergrad and Villanova Law School. I was in Gallatin. So it's a school you make up your own major. And it was the most amazing intellectual creative freedom I've ever had. Yeah, you really, you're able to take classes from all different realms of the university. So what'd you make up? I studied the social construction of reality. That was my senior thesis. So I took

classes in politics and English. I took classes in the business school. I took classes, you know, I knew I was going to be going to law school. And the greatest advice my father gave me at that time was study what you're interested in because you're going to learn how to be a lawyer when you're a lawyer and they're going to teach you things in law school that are relevant to that canon, right? So do things that you're interested in. And I didn't want to be just a strict English major or econ major or politics major. I was like, shoot, if NYU has this offering, I'm going to take advantage. And I'm just going to let my creativity fly.

And thankfully, that's exactly what I was supported in that pursuit. That's amazing. So you kind of knew going into that, though, that you were tracking to law school? No. I knew since I was 10 years old that I wanted to go to law school. What happened at 10? I think, so honestly, I remember watching my dad grade. He was a part-time professor at Temple University Law School at the time, teaching real estate. And I remember this is back when law students still had exams in blue books. I'm raising my hand. I wrote so many blue books. So he, I remember him

grading the exams in blue books. And I remember being fascinated by like, how do you fill all those pages with a thought, you know? And at 10, I was like, am I ever going to have that many thoughts? You know? So I think it was just this understanding of like, that's a challenge. I think I could be up for that challenge. And I just always had it in my head that I would be a lawyer. Ah, that's amazing. So you ended up going to NYU, but before you head to Nova, I guess it was your senior year at NYU where- Yes, approaching my senior year. Yeah. Where you got involved in something that was pretty horrifying in these fields. Yeah. I was out with friends and in walks into the wine bar we were at. It was like an amazing Friday night in New York City. The weather is good. People get out of work early. There's just such a vibe in New York City in the summer. And then unexpectedly, a man walks in with a gun and proceeds to hold the entire bar hostage. I mean, it really was like, as many times as I've told this story, when I look at the mental movie in my head, it's in slow motion. So when I replay this,

it's in slow motion and I can literally see him walking in and brandishing the gun and grabbing me by my hair. I mean, I had clumps of hair ripped out from my head because he grabbed me so forcefully. And it was in this two hour period that I had an acute understanding of my own, like the inner transcript of my own inner monologue or the transcript of my inner monologue, as well as, again, agency. Yeah. So he comes in. He's burning a gun. He grabs you. I happened to be sitting at the stool closest to the entrance. And it's still there in the East Village. And he grabbed me. And he said, people are going to be leaving in body bags.

I was like, okay. I always refer to it as time slowing down. Like, really, like, I think oftentimes when we experience trauma, we remember it in a myriad of ways. But for me, it's almost like when you're in a car and you have a fender bender, like even those things I remember in slow motion. And this is like, obviously one of the most transformative, if not the most transformative things in my life. So yeah, so he, he, he basically people who were at the bar went one of two ways. The other went straight back, which is the dead end kitchen, which is basically a wash basin in a closet, or they may went right. And they were able to exit out of a window in the bathroom. And I had nowhere to go because I was with him, but my friends who were with me made it out of the bathroom. And then about 20 of us were in a dead end in this wash basin kitchen area.

So what's going through your mind? I mean, things are happening in slow motion there. You're in a dead end area with this guy. So he hands me garbage. He shoves me to the ground and hands me garbage bag ties and tells me to tie people up. They were the kind of sliding garbage bag ties. And I remember thinking, I need to do what he's saying so I don't die. But I also want us to be able to get out of these hand ties. So I remember doing them just loose enough. I don't even know how I was physically able to do it because I'm sure I was trembling or shaking. But yeah, so I did what he said. And then he

proceeded to spray us with a flammable liquid. It smelled like kerosene or gasoline. And I remember the cut in my head burning so much. And I was just like, oh, wow, this is like, he really wants us to die because he started flicking a barbecue lighter above our heads. Then he grabs me and says, you're coming with me. And I was his human shield. He literally just held me in front of his body and then kind of showed me to the NYPD who are now outside of the bar. And so there was probably like, I don't know, a corridor length between the front door at 2nd or 3rd Avenue. I'm forgetting exactly where the front face of the bar is. And then where we were in the kitchen. And it was like, he would show me to the NYPD and then he would close the swinging doors into the kitchen area. And that

was it. Like, I was just like, okay, is this really like the last chapter? Like, I don't believe this is the last chapter of my life. And for some reason in that moment, I realized I have to humanize the situation because he was spewing all kinds of vitriol. And he was a lot of times unintelligible and definitely angry. But it was also then he started talking about his children. And I was like, OK, like, let's talk about the family angle. Like, maybe there's something. And I mentioned, like, there are people in here.

They have families, too. Like, what is it that you want? What is it that you want to get out of this? And I became this, like, pseudo-negotiator at 20, having no idea what I was doing, but I was like, he needs to know that these people are humans too. And somehow that let the conversation go on long enough for him. I don't know. I just wanted to like keep the clock going. Like, how long can I keep the clock going until this ends? Yeah. How do you get ahead of it? So it ends. Thankfully it ends with nobody dying. So that's, that's a huge plus. So really, really brave woman named Ann-Margaret Gidley,

she was sitting kind of in elevated in one of the wash basins. A lot of folks were on the floor, but she happened to be seated in a wash basin. And she saw that the perpetrator was struggling with holding me, holding the gun, holding a barbecue lighter, holding my cell phone, which he asked to use. And we were on the phone with 911. It was like, just really kind of chaotic. But she noticed when he would holster the gun in his jeans. And at one moment when she saw him holster the gun in his, in his jeans. And at one moment when she saw him holster the gun in his jeans, she leapt and leapt him from behind. And then I think a few folks, I, my back was turned, so I didn't see this, but I felt the sensation of falling. And then the NYPD entered and that's, that's when it was over. So yeah, I have, it's crazy because it happened so long ago, but it really does feel

like it happened yesterday. Yeah. I think when something like that happens, I mean, it's like, I think it's always just beneath the surface. This was also, so we're talking New York City, this is 2002, 2003. This would have been 2002 because it was the summer before my senior year and I graduated in 2003 that May. Okay. So then it was your, with that timing, you would have been in New York the year before for 9-11 also. Oh yeah. So this is, I mean, this alone is like seriously traumatic. I'm assuming being in college downtown on 9-11 for you was pretty traumatic as well. Yeah, it was. And I worked downtown at a law firm.

I was serving as like a legal assistant. And I lived just below, like after 9-11, below 14th Street. It was like, it was totally, I mean, nobody could even walk. It was like a war zone. And they had it blocked off and you could only go down there if you showed proof of your address. I remember, like, the local, like, Union Square movie theaters were, like, playing free movies. And people were just walking around, like, looking for any kind of connection. Like, anything.

Just any kind of connection. And, yeah, so I don't, I've never even made that, I haven't even put two and two together that, like, as a young person, that's kind of a lot to go through within, you know, a span of 18 months. Yeah. I mean, it's like these two life-altering traumas are like stacking one on top of each other. So how do you emerge out of that? Like physically unharmed, but psychologically and emotionally? Yeah. It's interesting. Like you wake up the next day and you look down and you're like, well, I've got all my limbs. I'm good. And NYU was really supportive. They immediately offered anything I needed, free therapy, whatever it is. And I went to talk therapy and I just, I talked it out and I had no issue talking it out. But, and I knew I wanted to finish school and I wanted to stay in New York. And I remember just needing to like choose fear or like a greater faith.

And I'm like, I have faith that I'm supposed to be here for a reason. Like, I'm just going to keep doing what I do every day. But it wasn't really until I was in and I was so in the throes of like getting ready for law school. And, you know, I was busy. Right. So it's easy to kind of compartmentalize it. And I was so in the throes of like getting ready for law school. And, you know, I was busy, right? So it's easy to kind of compartmentalize it. And it wasn't until I was really dealing with the stress of law school that I was like, oh, like I'm just beaten down.

And I knew it wasn't just because of law school. And I looked at a pair of shoes. I don't even know if they were running shoes in my closet. And I just said, like, maybe I'm just going to jog to campus today. And I've never had the impulse to jog. I literally, I think my mom hates when I tell this story, but as a physician, I used to like sneak off and take a script from her pad and write notes to get out of gym class, like totally illegal. But I was that, I had such a fear of physical activity because I told myself, you're not an athlete. You're going to be picked last. You can't run. I got made fun of, which is ironic. I got made fun of by a kid when I was like 10 in gym class for the way I ran.

So I always told myself, don't embarrass yourself. Just don't even show up. So that was a very odd thought for me to think, let me just put these shoes on and run to class. But I did. And I just kept doing it. And I felt like, oh, I'm physically running it out. Like as the stronger I physically feel, I'm gaining a little bit of my power back. And I never before equated power, feeling powerful with a physical understanding of like space and movement. And that was a really big light bulb moment for me. Yeah. I mean, and it's also that, because you're essentially, it's like you're running the trauma out of your body at the same time. I mean, on the one hand, you're running into like a place of power. No, I was running it out. Right. You're processing out of your body. And it's like, when you look at all the latest research that I've seen on PTSD, like so much of the therapeutic world around that is coming around to the idea that like, we can't actually just treat the mind alone. Like the body, it becomes traumatic. It becomes so physically embodied that like, you've got to actually add some level of physicality to it if

you really want to process it. Oh yeah. I'm a firm believer of that. And I don't think one, I could have done one without the other. Like, I think it was the right path. I think for a year, I just like, I was like, how many more times can I talk about this story? And then finally I was like, well, I clearly I'm like, I've got a heavy physical internal weight that I just need to start to like chip away at. And that's what the runs did for me. So the first time you like lace up your shoes, having like really basically never moved your body. And then also like, I've been through law school. I know what happens in law school. Like you're just nonstop heads down. Like basically everything gets shut down. You put on your shoes and you run. Like, what's the physical sensation for you the first time you're actually

like, I'm going to go and just run? I'm pretty sure it was like horrible. Right. I think it was pretty horrible. You know, that's hard. But you know, it was out of necessity. And I think that's why, first of all, in terms of time management, I'm like, well, I could drive two miles or I could just try to jog it. Right. And so for me, it was like, okay, well, this is practical because I'll still get there and I'll get my exercise. I don't have to carve out another 30 minutes of my day to work out. Not that I really was doing that anyway at the time. It was out of necessity because I was like, all right, well, I don't have a car.

And this was like really before like apps and Ubers and you could just hail. This was in the suburbs. I went to Villanova. So this was Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. There's trains and stuff, but like it wasn't really that easy to get around if you didn't have a car. And so, yeah, there was a practical element. Like, well, I've made it halfway. I better get to class. That's too funny. Did you have books in the bag with you? I would leave my books. So I would either leave my books in the locker or have a friend take them.

Yeah. So you start doing this. I mean, after the first time, did you know after that very first time that something had switched for you or was it just like you did it once, whatever, and then for some reason you kept going back to it? I think it was, I remember depositing a check at the bank and seeing a flyer for a 10K that happened to be the next morning.

I didn't know how far 10K was. And again, I didn't have a smartphone, so I wasn't like, I was like, 10K, I don't know, whatever that is, I'll do it. So I didn't look up the distance and mileage. And I don't even think I would have understood in mileage, like what that even feels like, because you don't know what it feels like to run 6.1 miles until you do it. And I did it and it was really tough. And I vowed that it would never be that tough again. So that was like kind of, then I had a goal anchored to the, to the experience. Then I was like, okay, now I know I can physically do this. There's a distance and a time element. How can I play with that to make it, to maintain this momentum? We'll be right back. The Apple Watch Series X is here. It has the biggest display ever. It's also the thinnest Apple Watch ever,

making it even more comfortable on your wrist, whether you're running, swimming, or sleeping. And it's the fastest-charging Apple Watch, getting you 8 hours of charge in just 15 minutes. The Apple Watch Series X. Available for the first time in glossy jet black aluminum. Compared to previous generations, iPhone Xs are later required. Charge time and actual results will vary.

So you made the vow, it's never going to be this hard again. A lot of people will do that and they make the vow, I'm never going to do this again. Yeah. So my curiosity is like, what happens in your mind

that's so different than other people's minds that makes you say, huh, that was really hard. It didn't feel good, but it's going to happen again. And it can't feel the same way instead of, okay, check that box. That was brutal. Never again. Yeah. That's so interesting. I think I really associate discomfort with pride. Huh. What's that from? I don't know. I just, I really feel, I think like I loved law school. Like I loved just being like, okay, you have like 500 pages to read tonight. Like, like not from a place of suffering or this kind of like martyrdom, but it's like how I love that sense of being gritty and feeling like, how are you going to rise above this? And how are you going to rise above this? And how are you going to rise above this? And it was a unique experience because I actually hadn't had, like, I knew how to be academic. I knew how to go and read and study for a test and write a paper. And this was really brand new. I'm like, I don't know how to do this. Like, and not necessarily in a learned skill. Like, of course, if you don't learn how to play the violin, you're not going to play the violin. But this was like something really innate. Like you put one foot in front of the other and the simplicity of it was actually

fascinating because I'm like, I can't do this well, but it's also something I've been doing walking around the world my whole life. So that kind of, I think the simplicity of running allowed me to enter it in a way that was like, I'm just going to own this in my way. So what was that like? I mean, I needed, so I felt still intimidated by the running community. I wasn't a track star. And, you know, I saw people at these races with all the all fancy stuff and kid it out and and and I like the idea of representing you know I wanted to show up with like wearing gold rings and black eyeliner and

like wearing what I wanted to wear like representing what I wanted to represent or how I thought I was having a visual conversation with the world. And thankfully, throughout my running journey, I was really welcomed when I came back to New York and I started practicing law. I was welcomed by, you know, a running group called the New York City Bridge Runners. And they are a really amazing cobbled together group of like DJs and artists and people who never went to college

and people who are lawyers like me and then doctors. And like, it was a mixed bag of mayhem. And I was like, I can get down with this because we can show up to races like whoever we want to be. And so can the person who, you know, is wearing the same kit from their high school track meet. Like, cool. Live your life. That's awesome. But I hadn't really seen a lot of that. So running as a lifestyle, running as kind of an expression of a lifestyle really came into vogue when I started falling

in love with running. And then I happened to meet people, others who were willing to express running as a lifestyle. And we would go on runs at 9, 10 p.m. and then go out to gallery openings and clubs and dinners. And it was just like, we were a crew, you know? And that, that it really emboldened me to be like, I have a voice in this space. And that was powerful. Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you hadn't somehow stumbled upon Bridge Runners? Like, do you think you would still have, like, would this entire journey have been just radically different and had that discovery never happened? I think the path would have been really different, right?

So I think if I would have joined maybe a more traditional running group, I don't know if I would have truly fallen in love with running the way I did. Because I happened to sign up for a half marathon, sign up for a marathon, simultaneously start to run with bridge runners, really feel like I could get into my own with using running not only as a tool, but also as potentially a profession. So I know that I would have been in fitness anyway, but I don't know what, I'm certain that the path would not have been what it has been, which is primarily running, then writing a book and then, you know, ending up with cycling and Peloton. Yeah. I mean, because you, like the phrase running as a lifestyle is, is really interesting because that's been around in a lot of different ways for a long time. But it's like, I think I often wonder that if you don't find the part of the lifestyle is the culture

of like that you share with other people who are doing the similar thing. And if the huge part of the existing culture, when you step into something new like that, isn with other people who are doing the similar thing. And if the huge part of the existing culture, when you step into something new like that, isn't something that vibes with you. It's like you have two choices, well, three choices, either quit or just do it solo, assimilate into that culture

or find or create your own group where, so it's not just you always running in isolation. It's you like, okay, so there are people like me in this space who we can actually create like a family around and we can share the love of running and also all the other, you know, sort of cultural identifiers and things that are meaningful to us about the way we want to live in the context of running and also the broader life. And it's like the, I feel like a lot of times it's, that is as important as the actual exercise modality in what keeps you in it.

Oh, yeah. I mean, I think, I know community is the linchpin to most movements. And certainly like nobody said that actual movement, like if you can find a community you feel proud of, you're much more likely to keep coming back. Yeah. So you end up coming back to New York. You discover Bridgerton. At the proud of, you're much more likely to keep coming back. Yeah. So you end up coming back to New York. You discover Bridgerton. At the same time, you're starting your law career. Right?

New York City, not the easiest place in the world to practice law. I practiced here also. And you end up in a giant firm also, which the reputation for a lot of big firms in New York is essentially, okay, welcome to the firm. Here's a giant paycheck. We'll take your life. Yeah. What was your experience working? I worked my ass off, but you know, I knew that going into it. I didn't, and thankfully, like I was a young person. I didn't have kids, still don't have kids. You know, I was single. Like I was like, I'm going all in. And I actually have extremely, there were lots of tough moments, but I,

when I look back at that part of my story arc, I actually have really fond memories of the law firm. It wasn't my passion and I know that now, but it felt good to be challenged in that way. Like I liked the challenge of needing to suss out, like even at a junior level, as a junior associate, you know, these day-to-day problems. And it was during subprime and I was working on a lot of SEC cases. And like, I mean, it's just like, it's so hysterical because I went to law school, so I didn't have to do math. And every day I was speaking with like forensic accountants. I'm like, what is happening? But yeah, I mean, I left as a rising, I think a rising seventh year.

So, and I was a summer associate also at the same law firm, Paul Hastings. And, you know, so that's a big chunk of your 20s to give to a place. And I really had a lot of admiration for the people I worked with, but there was no way I was gonna continue counting down the hours until I could have like my 30 minute run or my loop around the park or my meet up with bridge

runners. I was like, this is nonsense. Like I'm literally at the office all day counting down to when I could feel like I'm putting on my superhero cape to like do the thing I was meant to do. It was definitely a two year slow process of my departure because like, I like running. Okay, lots of people like running. How the heck am I gonna monetize this if I'm not gonna be an actual competitive professional athlete, you know? So that was the conundrum.

Yeah, I mean, and it's so, it's funny. There's so many parallels. I started at the SEC. Okay, I know about your days. Gosh. Which was interesting. I was like on the other side of the emails that you'd be sending and stuff like that. And we were enforcement division in New York. So we were like constantly investigating people like in cinderblock rooms and under secrecy. And then I went to a large firm in Midtown doing securities work and had a similar Jones. I realized that I was physically kind of dying

inside. And for me, like the wake-up call was I ended up in emergency surgery when my immune system shut down and things weren't good. And thankfully everything was fine. So I had a faster transition after that because my body was literally rejecting my career. But for me also, I was a kid who was deeply fascinated with movement and I was a gymnast for the first half of my life. So one of the things that I, and this is my curiosity with you, I kind of knew, like once I decided, okay, so I'm out. I also knew, okay, I've invested a lot of money, a lot of time in this. I have this powerful, prestigious job, an insane paycheck, you know, for somebody that was my age back then. And stepping away from that, you know,

there was a lot of internal judgment and I knew I was about to get hit with a lot of external judgment too, especially to step into the world of quote fitness, where I think a lot of people in the professional world, they're like, you cannot do, like you're, you have what everyone wants. Why would you ever do that? Did you have those sort of like inner dialogues? Like when you were during that two year window or were you just like, nah, this is going to happen? You know, it's interesting. And I get that question a lot. And I think I just had myopic vision for figuring it out. So there were practical elements, right? So like I lived in a walk-up my entire law career. I lived below my means. I didn't want anything fancy. I didn't

want to be saddled with a mortgage I couldn't afford. I didn't, I was just like, I'm going to save, you know, live. I traveled a lot, you know, I lived, but I was like, I'm going to make sure that I don't have to be at this job without having to ask for any support from my parents, which I never did. And so there was a practical element of like, how are you going to pay your bills? How are you going to pay your rent? How are you going to live? Cool. So once I felt like I had that sorted enough, a little bit of runway, I took a leave of absence and I kind of started dabbling. But the external pressures, I think thankfully I was surrounded by people who were doing really unconventional things. Like when you're going on runs with graffiti artists and, you know, occasional drug dealers.

You know what I mean? These are people who are just like living on their terms and good people, kind people. But like they're doing their thing. And when you see that, it's almost like you can't be what you can't see. When you see somebody running literally to the beat of their own drum, you're like, how can I pave my own way? And thankfully my family was really supportive. They always, first of all, like you can't really, I'm not really one to receive a no very well. So I'm just going to keep doing it, you know? And my family really trusted my

instincts and my preparedness. But the, yeah, there was definitely a question mark of like, you're doing what? You're going to go do like, I don't get it. Are you a blogger? Like, what do you do? You know? And a lot of those people aren't in my life anymore. And some of them now are on the other side of the screen when I'm teaching at Peloton and I'm just like, hey, nice to see you again. Right, right. No, that's awesome. My first step out was as a personal trainer. Yeah. Learning the fitness industry because I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I wanted to know the industry and find out what was broke and how to fix it. And the big concern for me was like, I remember literally like running around Central Park with clients and I'm like, what if one of my old, you know, like zillionaire clients from the law firm

sees me in tights and a ripped up old t-shirt, like stretching a client on the grass in Central Park. And I was like, okay. So there was like, there was just an ego thing that I had to kind of work through. But what's fascinating about you is like, it seems like you constantly put yourself in scenarios where you are presented with the hard path and the easy path. And whereas a lot of people be like, I'm okay with the easy path. You look at the hard path and you're like, oh, I like hard. Like I can, like this is, it's an imitation to you rather than something that says, you know, like now go the other way. I find the difficult path, it beckons.

It really just beckons. And I've always understood that you have to make it matter in order to make it happen. And I think I make the difficulty matter to me. So whether it's a tough training run or a tough business meeting or, you know, just even days where you're just like, oh, what is the point of this? You know, you have to kind of remember. And for me, you know, I have, I really do fear mediocrity. Like I think about my legacy. Like, what do I want to be talking about when I'm 90? Like I hope I have really amazing stories to tell and kids and grandkids to make proud and, you know, my mother to honor and my father to honor. I mean, that stuff like matters

to me in a very, very palpable way. So I've just made that part of my story matter. And it is such an overarching thing that sometimes that can be a little bit like vague and overwhelming. But for me and my micro decisions, I really do think about that. And then sometimes it's a practical element of like, listen, I have this race to run, just go and do it. Right. So it's like, it's like, I think it's layered motivation and layered kind of a layered approach to constantly reigniting that fire and constantly flexing that willpower muscle. And then I have my priorities. I say no to a lot of stuff just so I can have bandwidth and energy and dedication to the difficult path. Because you can't be everything to everyone. And I'm okay with not being everything to everyone.

Yeah. Do you feel like that the fact that it's hard is a big part of what makes it worth it? Oh my God, yes. I mean, if things were handed out, if running a marathon were truly, truly easy and you polled people and were like, yeah, 26.2 miles, no biggie, and you get York City, would they be as valuable? No. It's like you have to earn your value. And I think that there is some kind of the currency of like energy and hustle and sweat and grit. Like I talk about being kings and queens, you know, and this kind of regal narrative of like stepping into your power and like not letting your crown slip.

I firmly believe the jewels of my crown are made of grit and hustle and sweat. And that is because I know that journey. I know that path. It will always be worthwhile to me. And even the missteps and even the failures are just feedback. Yeah. I mean, it's like the power of the long cut. You know, I think so many people just wake up in the morning and they're like, what's the shortcut that gets me from here to there? You know, and even if you find it, like a lot of times you don't, but sometimes you do. But then you get there and you're like, well, that doesn't actually feel the way I thought it would feel. It's like, it's the long cut.

It's like the doing the hard work. It's the putting your head down when it really sucks and staying in it, you know, not to the point where it becomes destructive, but it's the fact that you endured that, you know, and then you rose through it that like, to me, that's always, that's what makes the outcome worth it at the end. So it's like if somebody just showed up one day and said, okay, so here it is, like, here's the answer or here's the end, you know, you can check that box and move on. It's kind of like, okay, then it just doesn't matter anymore. You know, but it's interesting because I don't, I think a lot of people don't look at life that way. They're constantly like, what's the fastest, easiest path to get there?

Not realizing that there ain't going to feel the way you think it's going to feel unless you've earned your way there. And it's, yeah, and it's so ephemeral, right? So, like, I think we look at life as being punctuated by these big achievements. So it's like, I'm getting this degree or marrying this partner and having this, whatever. And it's like those maybe moments fueled with pride and joy, but that is so fleeting.

When you can start to find those little moments in the glimmers of all the everyday mundane stuff in the process, that's when you truly will achieve that frequency. Like I just look at it like a radio frequency. Like how can you tune into that a little bit every day? Because it's really like you get your degree. How many people are still riding high from their college graduation day? Like, no, you don't even think about it anymore. You know what I mean?

So these are just moments. Well, I got to say in the law, so many people point back to whether they made law review. Oh, gosh, yes. 20 years ago, it's like top thing on the resume. It's a very, very strange, odd, weird thing. So you get to a point where you're like, okay, I'm at the end of my two years. I'm done. I'm out.

Movement, exercise, fitness. Seven years. Seven years. Yeah. Right. But then there's like the two-year window where you're kind of thinking, okay, so how do I make this transition? What's the first step out for you?

What do you actually do? So I kind of put one toe out or one foot out. I took a three-month leave of um, unpaid, but I was still kind of on, on the books and still had my health insurance, which is a big deal at the time. And, um, I, I traveled, I did a bunch of races and I kind of put my name out there. I was like, I want to be able to get paid to like do social media storytelling about running. I want to, you know, I would just talk to anyone who listened. And at the time, the running group Bridge Runners was doing a lot of work with Nike.

So I had a lot of contacts there. And then it was, I was back at the law firm for a few months and it was just coming up on the eve of the 2012 London Olympic Games. And I had started previously, maybe a year or two prior, a blog, a Tumblr, to document my first marathon training. And it kind of got a little bit of traction. The name of the blog was Shut Up and Run.

And I was like, maybe I should just go to the games and like, quote unquote, report from the games. And the law firm was like, we're not giving you another law, you know, leave absence, either you're in or you're out. So I was like, gosh, I guess I'm out. And that was when I was truly like, I ripped off the law firm was like, we're not giving you another leave of absence. Either you're in or you're out. So I was like, gosh, I guess I'm out. And that was when I was truly like, I ripped off the Band-Aid, no more income. You're living on your savings, the big deal.

And I bought a plane ticket that cost more than my rent at the time for my one bedroom walk-up, cost more than my rent. And I just hustled. I hustled to get interviews. I hustled to get tickets. I just reported in my way, in my kind of like on the ground way when Instagram was just really getting kind of, I guess, big. That was my point of view. It was like, this is the hustler's point of view of the London Olympic games as a non, as a non professional athlete. Um, and that gave me a little bit of visibility and to like, just on checking the boxes and perhaps creating my own way to do things. And I, I also look at it as an example of doing your homework and being prepared for the phone call.

Like I often say, a lot of people like to talk about Oprah or their Beyonce's or these iconic people that they would love to just like meet or work with. And my follow-up question is, would you be prepared if Oprah called tomorrow? Like, are you ready? Are you ready to like do the work and have the conversation? And like, are you ready to meet that greatness with your version of greatness? And I had read a lot about Mark Parker, the Nike CEO. And I happened to see him in London in a shoe store. And the only reason I recognized him or knew anything about him was because I had done my research.

And we just got to talking and he was like, wow. He just approached me. He's like, you have a great sense of style. You should have a blog. And I was like, funny you ask. I do. And I gave him like this cobbled together business card. I don't even know what it was, you know, but it was just like a reminder of like, you've

got to be prepared for the greatness that you're asking for. And then I just so happened that same in the London Olympic Games trip. I met someone who was working on the agency side where Nike women was their client. And then I basically left London with a job to work for Nike women on their social media campaigns. So I left London. I came home with a job. I came to New York city and I was like, wow, I'm working on at this agency. We're doing all this creative work. And it was at the agency about six months in that I realized, oh gosh, I still don't like this. I want to tell my own story. I want to be able to monetize that.

So that second leap was actually much scarier because I thought I had my dream job and I didn't. And even working with one of the best brands in the world, I didn't want to be behind the scenes. I didn't want to be that, you know, behind the cloak of the great and powerful Oz. I wanted to be like out there doing the thing, like building the Yellow Brick Road. You wanted to be Oz? Well, no, because Oz was an illusion, right? So like, but using that same analogy,

I wanted to be like building the road to the Emerald City, a real Emerald City. Not just this illusion of like, oh, you're writing tweets and it seems you're writing about female empowerment, but like you don't actually feel empowered because it's still behind the scenes. Which is kind of interesting how it comes full circle to the major you created as an undergrad. Mm-hmm. Literally. Literally building the yellow brick road. Yeah. Sort of like you were doing, you spent four years fundamentally studying. How do you do that? Like, what are all the universes? Like, what are all the different domains and how do they come together to help like somebody actually do that, to create that reality. Well, when I was in school, I loved studying the different ways the medium contributes to the message. I mean, it's like classic McLuhan, Marshall McLuhan stuff.

But it's like with the printed page, we had linear thoughts, right? With the bards, they were oral conversations. The stories were circular. So I really do think about that stuff. And I'm like, what's contributing to how I'm perceiving this story right now? Like I really, I get meta and I get meta often. And at that point in my life, I'm like telling the story, like I'm writing copy, like I'm actually telling the story, but I'm the freaking story. Like the light bulb went off and I'm like, I could literally charge for my opinions as a consultant And be making more money and it would feel more true to who I am And that's when things changed. I stopped accepting free shoes

And I started charging an hourly rate for my ideas And I had no idea what I was doing and I had no idea what to charge But I had to just like take that second leap because that felt more true To the course I needed to take and thankfully social media actually had like and still has like a currency of relevance. So without that, I would have been in bad shape. But thankfully, it was part of the time when Facebook and Twitter and Instagram were becoming like relevant marketing decks. Yeah. I mean, it's also you saw that, you know, like you actually had your finger on the pulse of the fact that these things were allowing you to be an entity unto yourself, to have direct access, you know, like both of the people who might pay you as a consultant for your ideas, for your thoughts, for your voice, and also directly to the people who you might go out and say like, come along with me. Like, let's build this yellow brick road together. Yeah. I mean, that thing-

It's like it didn't just drop into your lap. You cultivated sort of like the fierce sense of observation to just constantly see what's coming. It's like you said when you were at the Olympics and you bumped into the person from Nike, he used the phrase, just so happened. Yeah. It didn't just so happen. True. You know, like I got to believe in your reality and the life that you create. Like there's very little that just so happens. It's like you're constantly out there making it happen.

And I think that's a huge difference. When you said, you know, like when Oprah calls, when whoever that person is, you want to call, like, are you going to be ready? Yeah. You know, that's not about waiting for the phone to ring. Oh no, for sure. That's about what you do. That's about stepping out and saying, I am going to constantly be out there making things happen. It may not be the ultimate thing that I want to happen, but anything that I can grasp, I'm going to push and make it happen. So when you finally step out completely on your own at this point, how does the world respond to that? Oh, gosh. You know, on the creative side, related to kind of being consultants on photo shoots and things like that, that worked pretty well.

And I was sometimes casted in campaigns. But from the writing side, I also fashioned myself like this burgeoning journalist. And I was like, oh, I'm just going to like write for magazines who were having, obviously, we all know that industry has had a lot of pressure in the last 20 years, 10 years, especially. So I would pitch these articles to editors who may or may not know who I am, definitely probably didn't know who I was. And, you know, get quoted rates and stuff and be like, my jaw was just on the floor. I was like, oh, so this isn't like, you know, that was a rude awakening, a necessary awakening. But I just kept writing and I just

kept writing and I just kept focusing on the ways that things that I, I always say this in training, focus on what you can control. I was like, I can write at a laptop. I can keep pitching. And that process of like writing and pitching and keep creating and writing and pitching, even though a lot of times I was told no, and it never actually got to, you know, an engagement with the magazine, at least I was like constantly trying to understand the pulse of the industry and what people wanted to talk about. And then I would use my own blog and social media to engage in those conversations. Then my following grew and then my presence grew. And so it was like I channeled the no's into the only things I can control, which were like my own platforms, my own yeses. And then finally things, people started

piping up and paying attention. And then out of really kind of boredom, I decided, I just want to start teaching at my local spin studio because I love spin. And I had already my certification from when I was a lawyer because I just wanted to geek out on like the science of, you know, the conditioning of it, the science of conditioning. And that just really started because I was like, I have gaps in my day. This doesn't make sense. Like, let me just keep doing it because it wasn't necessarily that it was very lucrative. I just wanted to do it. And thankfully that the people there, I didn't know how to teach. I couldn't read. I couldn't listen to beats. Like there were when people under like my friends remind me of that time in my life when I was trying to learn how to be a spin instructor. And they were like,

oh my gosh, you would come home just like drained and frustrated and not understanding how you passed the bar exam but couldn't do this. You know, and I'm sure you have times when you were a personal trainer. You're like, how was I like a high-flying attorney and now I can't teach somebody how to do a push-up? You know, it's very humbling because a very different skill set. It requires precision and it requires hard work. So thankfully the folks at that studio really, really took the time to teach me how to be a teacher and how to be an instructor. And I'm incredibly grateful for that time.

And that is what then teed up, you know, me reading about John Foley and Peloton and reaching out directly and saying, I'm ready for this. Apple Watch, getting you eight hours of charge in just 15 minutes. The Apple Watch Series 10, available for the first time in glossy jet black aluminum. Compared to previous generations, iPhone XS or later required, charge time and actual results will vary. Mayday, mayday, we've been compromised. The pilot's a hitman.

I knew you were going to be fun. On January 24th. Tell me how to fly this thing. Mark Wahlberg. You know what the difference between me and you is? You're going to die. Don't shoot if we need them. Y'all need a pilot. Flight risk. And actually, I want to talk more. I want to dive into Peloton as well. But along the way, you know, it's really one of the things we haven't really shared is like, you're deepening into your own fitness. You're running more and more and more. You're starting

to run longer and longer races and ultra marathons. But at the same time, you also ended up getting diagnosed with type one diabetes. Oh my gosh. Yeah. I mean, I kind of, I literally, not that I forget, I never forget, but yes, that's a very integral part to the story. I came home from India after a trip with my mother and my sister and I was just so dehydrated. And I thought it was jet lag. I'm like, this is weird. And of course, my mother as a physician was like, we've got to get you blood work.

This doesn't make sense. And I was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic. My pancreas produces little to no insulin. So I'm insulin dependent, and I have technology now, thankfully, that helps me with that. But I was already running ultra marathons at the time. I was already running 50 milers and more. And I think I already, I think I had like a few races like in the next month after my diagnosis. And the, you know, the, the doctor pulls out this, I'm a plant-based athlete. And this doctor pulls out this like food chart with like,

this is how many ounces are in a glass of milk and stuff. And I was like, I couldn't, I was like both like horrified and incensed. I'm like, this is not the conversation we're having. How am I going to run a 50 mile marathon, ultra marathon in six weeks? With diabetes one plant-based. Yeah, yeah, all of it.

And I'm like, I'm not changing course. We're just going to have to figure out how this adapts to me. Thankfully, I think if I hadn't already been an athlete, it would have been a lot tougher because, you know, I wasn't, I didn't, not type one because I wasn't healthy. You know what I mean? Like it was, it's an autoimmune condition. So that was, and I was already very self-aware of like, when I eat something, how do I feel? What are my energy levels? Like truly like any biohacking, I was kind of already on that trend. So now I just like have to do it as part of my day-to-day self-care. But yeah, that was really tough. And it was tough because a lot of folks in the medical community, at least the ones I had access to at the time, they like, didn't really get it. They're like, oh yeah, I had a patient once who ran a half marathon.

I'm like looking at them like, you don't, this is my freaking life. And then, and I'm way more intense than one half marathon, you know, I'm going to keep doing this and do it aggressively. So it's like, I worked so hard to create myself into an athlete. I wasn't going to let this derail me. So, um, So how do you find the team from there? Right. Like, cause it, so you go to somebody like, you know, your person who's normally, they're great, they're smart, they're skilled, they're accomplished, they're a great physician or team, right? But at the same time, you're not the average patient. Correct. And they admitted that. You are on the extreme of what anybody with even the best

training in the world is used to dealing with and used to advising and being in partnership with as a healthcare provider. So how do you then assemble a person or a team who is down with taking this journey with you and capable of just adapting on the fly and being gritty on the level that you are? You know, it's still, it's still a work in progress, right? So I obviously I have like baseline medical care that I get and blood work and you check your A1C and all that kind of stuff. But a lot of it was like taking it into my own hands and trial and error. And, and people ask me all the time, like, I don't get it. Like I can barely go on a 30 minute run. Like, how do you do five hours? I'm like, I take big risks. Like, I'm not saying people should do what I do, but I was

willing to take big risks because it mattered so much to me that it was like, okay, do I like totally suspend my insulin? Do I not, you know, do I need, how much do I need to eat? Like you just figure it out. I needed to do it on my own terms and take risks. And I haven't been, you know, I haven't had any serious medical scares. Yeah. What's on the other side of that risk for you though? Because for you to say, okay, so I take big risks. I'm going to do this.

I'm going to go out and go on five hours. What's it in the name of? Like what in your mind, what are you going to get? What are you going to feel? What are you going to experience that in your mind is like, oh, hell yeah, it's worth it. I don't want to be defined by a medical condition. I don't want to be defined by,

for the same reason that I don't want to be only understood as a Latina or a vegan athlete, or my title at Peloton, or a global ambassador for Adidas. I don't want to be known by any one of those things. I decide who I am. And when I can own my own agency and reaction to some of these risks that maybe sometimes they don't always go so well, when I can at least own that, I feel like I'm at least dictating the story and it's not being dictated to me. And that's always going to be important to me because I don't need to live for somebody else's title. I create my own titles.

Yeah. So Peloton. Yeah. You're managing all this and this is just managing feels like it's like actually not even doing what you're doing, service. Like that word isn't right. Like you are embracing it. You're just sort of like fiercely immersed in this process. And from your experience versus, you know, with indoor cycling, how does Peloton happen?

So I've read about Peloton. Well, I've read about Peloton's CEO. First, we should probably explain what Peloton is. Yeah. So Peloton is a company that offers fitness products, a bike, a tread, and a digital app that offers content married with the hardware where you have live cycling tread or strength classes, yoga classes, meditation that you can access right from the comfort of your living room or at the, at the reach of your phone. Yeah. Or if you are lucky to be in New York. Or if you're lucky, you can come, come down, come on down to the New York City Peloton Studios. So how do you get involved in that? I read about the company and, and I thought, this is genius. This is, this is, you want to talk about story arc. This is like scaling

fitness and entertainment and technology in a way that's never been done before. Obviously there's lots of, were there, even at the time there were a lot of digital plays for fitness and YouTube, it was like a black hole of fitness, but this was modern and sophisticated. And I had at the time, a vision board of brands that I like admired and respected. And I had at the time a vision board of brands that I like admired and respected and I wanted to work with. And Apple was on there. And I remember reading about Peloton and thinking, and then even I think the moniker at the time was like Apple of fitness or Netflix of fitness. And we've well exceeded that in terms of a definition. That's kind of one note, but at the time it was pretty

accurate. And I thought, oh, maybe there's synergy here. So I, at the, we weren't, this is before the studios were even built. We were filming the, the first bikes weren't even in homes yet. Like this was really nascent. So when was this then? Five years ago? Been five years ago. Yeah. Just over five and a half years ago. So I started the company five, five years ago, February. Right. So you were there like in the really, really early days then? Yeah. I mean, not as early as the co-founders, but like, yes, like this is after like the, after they got some money, the bikes are being built and now it's the time to hire the talent. So I was, I think that's third instructor hired at the company and we were cutting shows, you know, literally from a closet. We refer to it affectionately as the closet. And this was, there was 30 people in a

room. It was the co-founders. I mean, the CTO, like our former chief information officer, Yoni Feng, used to cut my shows. I mean, now we hire folks, much more junior folks to do that. So it was just like an all hands on deck, like we're just going to get this off the ground. So it was really cool. It was a really cool time. And I remember it fondly because we were, and we're, and still are like incredibly scrappy. Yeah. I mean, it's interesting also, because if you zoom the lens out, what they're doing as a company, as a brand fits your mentality about doing the hard thing. Oh yeah. Because they like the fitness space has been really interesting for a really long time and brutally hard,

but there've been so many people who've come and tried to figure out, and for those who've never tried it at all, so like there's this fantastic programming and you can do it in your own home, but they've also produced a bike, you know, like their version of an indoor cycling bike that you get at home,

which is, I've ridden pretty much every bike on the planet. This thing just destroys them. It is gorgeous. Yeah, thank you. So much every bike on the planet. This thing just destroys them. It is gorgeous. Yeah, thank you. So smooth. It is the best. But what they did was they're like people for years in the fitness world have been trying to figure out how do we create a modality where people can do it at home.

It accommodates everybody. It's actually fun, engaging, interactive, reinforcing. And there's a piece of equipment that is, you know, like a real investment also that goes along with it. People have been trying to figure out how to crack that nut for a long time and nobody's been able to. And it's always been considered in the industry super hard. And then Peloton comes along and they're like, we're going to crack that nut, you know? And it's almost like knowing that nobody's been able to do it yet. People have been trying for years, but if you can, you know, like this is like the definition

of blue ocean, right? You'll own that for a window of time. And it's interesting to me that you were attracted to that brand. It just so goes along with who you are. It definitely does. And I'm glad they also saw the synergy because they really accepted me with open arms. Yeah. Yeah. So you've been rolling with them for five and a half years now. You wrote a book also. I did. Yeah. During this time I wrote a book. Right. Just because, you know, sometime I got like free time, just hanging out, totally bored, nothing else going on. I think, all right, because how got like free time, just hanging out, totally bored, nothing else going on.

I think I'll write it. Because how hard could that be, right? Which also takes the name up, I guess, the original blog, right? Yes, it does. To set up and run, right? So why this? Like with everything else that you have going on, right? With your fierce commitment also to movement, to being out there, to being super active.

And especially like, so I'm a writer, I'm a couple of books in also, it is a notoriously sedentary pursuit for a fixed window of time. Why that? Where does that fold into your master plan? Well, when I left law, I did an honest assessment of my skill sets. And I'm like, I know how to write. I know how to speak. I know how to engage people. I know how to lead. And I always wanted to find ways to still honor that because that was one of the, those were the things I loved about being a lawyer was where I actually loved writing briefs and stuff, even if the topic was a little mundane. So when I was approached, I was

approached by an agent, like, Hey, would you consider putting together a book proposal? Let's see if anybody bites. And it was a crazy summer because I was already teaching at Peloton full time. I was approached by this book publisher, put together a very traditional book proposal, but also with more imagery because I knew that my book would kind of be part training manual, part my own story, mini memoir, and then, you know, a visual representation of like how I pursue sport, which I think is a very central element to my brand. Sweating with swagger, I think is not only the visual conversation you're having with the world, but like how you step into power in your own way. And for me, that's always been, there's a stylistic element to that. And so anyway, put together always been, there's a stylistic element to that. And so anyway, put together the book proposal and then National Geographic contacts me to go on this trek through the Serengeti in Tanzania. And this was literally all happening. Like my book proposal

was due and then I was leaving in two weeks. And this was the exact time. And thankfully, we had some folks, some publishers who were interested in the book. And my agent was like, I'm just going to have to suss this out while you're gone. Because I was going to be completely offline, living in Tanzania for six weeks. And I was like, okay, I trust you. And then I got back from the Serengeti. And I had a book deal. And they were like, you have until this day. And it was like, ta-da, welcome home.

You have four months to do this. And I'm like, wait, oh, okay. It's like, watch what you ask for. You better be ready. So yeah, I had to just do it. You know, I had a deadline. I treated it like a finish line. It was like every day you just chip away and you do it and you do it and you do it. And it was a fascinating experience, but a necessary one because I was stretched and I, you know, I look forward to being stretched more. Well, I mean, the book itself is gorgeous. And it's so interesting because, and now actually to know that you did that in four months is kind of mind blowing

because the average person takes a lot longer to write a book than just the words, just the manuscript. And what you've created is this like, it is so you, it's gritty, it's alive. It's like energetic, it's beautiful. It's filled with motion and images. And it's like energetic it's beautiful it's filled with motion and images and it's almost like like it represents your entire ethos which kind of like takes it all the way back to when you

started with ridge runners you're like you know what the universe of running has a culture which is pretty well defined right but that's not you yeah and almost feels like this is a flag in the sand that says like you can be like this you can flag in the sand that says like, you can be like this, you can like this, this can be your aesthetic and this can still be for you. And everyone's invited to this party. Right. Or not. You know what I mean? Like, I think it's a statement of saying, do you want to show up to that marathon rocking a red lip or not? Do it. You know? And that was very important. And it was kind of a line in the sand. And it's essential for us to show the ways we can show up. And I've always felt incredibly proud of knowing

runners who were willing to kind of be the kooky ones, be the unconventional ones, sometimes the fastest, oftentimes not the fastest. And guess what? We're still doing the damn thing and we'll see you at the finish line. And that emboldened, I think, an entire pedigree, I guess, if you want to call it, of runner who's just like, I'm still going to own this part of my journey, even if I'm this minute mile or this minute mile or wearing this or owning that or wearing, you know, I often show up to races in like crazy gold jewelry. And that just became like my thing. Like I had this insane Panther ring that I brought with me on the Serengeti and that we, each person could bring one thing. Mine was the most impractical, but I had to,

that was like my power source. So I wanted to unpack and demystify running. It can be, it's only when people think of you, what do you want them to think of? But immediately I'm like, when I think of you, it's like, there's no one thing. It's almost like, it's like there's a fierce rebel in there that says, I am like, I don't want them to think of. Like, how do you even process that question? Yeah, that's a great question. I mean, I do think about it in terms of like, I often think about like, what are my values, which then, which then goes into what are my brand values and how do you post responsibly and speak responsibly, right? So like, once you get a certain amount of shine, like you've got to take responsibility for that shine. And I know I live via hustler's ethos. And that word hustle means a lot to me.

And it means that you're going to continue choosing the sometimes, oftentimes, harder, more difficult, uncomfortable path. I also want to be in a lot of senses unapologetic about who I am because that doesn't come, you know, sometimes that might come from a place of ego, but really I feel like I'm blazing sometimes a path for others to be like, you know what? Like she did that and she asked for a raise. I'm going to do that too. Like, yes, let's talk about it more. Let's talk about more about knowing our value and adding tax and illuminating each other's amazingness. Because I don't think we do it enough because I think, the most simple example I use is if you see someone wearing like a wild outfit and you're like, oh, I can never wear that. And then you look at him or her and you think, oh, that's other. Like, why not you? That is the central question to my entire life is like,

why not me? Why not me? And that is what I propose to people. Like, why not you to be that person that you are admiring and maybe even a little jealous of? Because that means you care. It feels like a good place for us to start a couple of circles here. It's like we're getting right into the philosophy. So we're hanging out here in this container in the studio, Good Life Project. So if I offer up the phrase to live a good life, what comes up?

To live a good life is to tell stories in your final years that you're incredibly proud of. Thank you. Thank you so much for listening. And thanks also to our fantastic sponsors who helped make this show possible. You can check them out in the links we have included in today's show notes. And while you're at it, if you've ever asked yourself, what should I do with my life? We have created a really cool online assessment that will help you discover the source code for the work that you're here to do.

You can find it at sparkotype.com. That's S-P-A-R-K-E-T-Y-P-E dot com. Or just click the link in the show notes. And of course, if you haven't already done so, be sure to click on the subscribe button in your listening app so you never miss an episode. And then share, share the love. If there's something that you've heard in this episode

that you would love to turn into a conversation, share it with people and have that conversation. Because when ideas become conversations that lead to action, that's when real change takes hold. See you next time. Mayday, mayday. We've been compromised. The pilot's a hitman. I knew you were going to be We'll be right back. X is here. It has the biggest display ever. It's also the thinnest Apple Watch ever, making it even more comfortable on your wrist, whether you're running, swimming, or sleeping. And it's the fastest charging Apple Watch, getting you 8

hours of charge in just 15 minutes. The Apple Watch Series X. Available for the first time in glossy jet black aluminum. Compared to previous generations, iPhone Xs are later required. Charge time and actual results will vary.