The School of Greatness - 592 Danica Patrick: Mindset, Spirituality and Living Fully

Episode Date: January 22, 2018

"If you don’t try hard enough at something, people could knock you down for it.” I recently had a friend tell me I needed to do an interview with someone special. I’m always hesitant on suggestions, but my friend has done thousands of interviews and he said in his top five was Danica Patrick. I felt I had to give her a shot and I’m so glad I did. She and I are on the same wavelength. We’re both into sports, consider ourselves to be spiritual people, and believe so much in the power of the mind. Danica has a strong presence you can feel the moment she walks into the room and yet she is still one of the sweetest and most thought-provoking people I’ve met. She’s had so many insightful things to say. For those of you who don’t know her, Danica Patrick dropped out of high school to pursue a career as a race car driver. In 2005, Patrick became the first woman to hold the lead during the Indianapolis 500. Only three years later, she was the first woman to record a win on the IndyCar circuit. After switching to stock cars, Patrick won the time trials at the 2013 Daytona 500 - becoming the first woman to win the pole position at NASCAR. Patrick has become one of the most recognizable athletes in the to world, having graced the cover of ESPN: The Magazine and TV Guide. She was also featured in the 2008 and 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She has appeared in 14 Super Bowl commercials (more than any other celebrity). She’s not only an amazing figure in the world of sports, but she’s also a great author and mentor. She’s just released her newest book, Pretty Intense, that brings light to living health from mind, to body, to diet. Discover all of that and much more, on Episode 592. Some Questions I ask: How she feels on the paleo diet (11:49) You’ve become more about spirituality lately, right? (15:26) What’s the biggest take away since you started going down that rabbit hole? (22:22) How did you arm yourself against criticism throughout your career? (25:22) What is the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome? (26:44) Do you feel like people attack you in the races? (29:11) How do you handle your ego? (31:15) What’s the question you’ve never been able to answer for yourself? (38:37) How do you condition yourself before practice or a big competition? What’s the greatest moment for you in the last 20 years [in terms of racing] (47:25) How do you condition yourself to believe in yourself? (48:27) What’s the greatest lesson your father taught you? (50:48) If you could give yourself advice when you started, what would it be? (52:38) What are 3 things you want to manifest this year? (55:00) On this episode you will learn: The things Danica and I have in common (9:10) When she started lifting heavier (13:48) Why she started getting into spirituality and healing with the mind (20:39) How she conditions her mind against the intense pressure of competing (23:34) How she gets people to believe in her (27:25) Battles she’s had with her ego throughout the last 20 years (30:05)? What she would do if she could do anything in the world (36:34) What she’s revealed about herself last year she hadn’t revealed before (41:51) How long races are (46:23) The message she gives to women who aren’t as confident in themselves (47:56) Who inspired her the most growing up (50:18) The greatest lesson her mom taught her (51:08) What she has to open up about during the year of open (54:16) Plus much more...

This is episode number 592 with Danica Patrick. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin. Bruce Lee said it best when he said the successful warrior is the average man with laser-like focus. Welcome to another edition of the School of Greatness podcast. We have the legendary Danica Patrick in the house.

And I was blown away by this interview, her perspective, and her realness. And I think you're going to love it just as much as I did. A friend of mine recommended that I have Danica on. And I'm very grateful that I did because I think this is going to inspire so many of you listening right now. For those that don't know who she is, Danica Patrick is the most successful woman in the history of American open wheel racing. Her win in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only women's victory in an IndyCar series race. And her third place in the 2009 Indianapolis 500 is the highest finish there ever by a woman. One of the most recognizable athletes in the world, she's graced the cover of many magazines,

and she's appeared in 14 Super Bowl commercials more than any other celebrity. And she's got a new book out that's pretty awesome, and it's called Pretty Intense. It's actually a really powerful book and I recommend checking it out. What we cover today are the difference between being skinny fat and being fit. Also the positivity that comes from studying spirituality. And Danica goes into detail about how she's gone down this path herself and what she's gained from it. Also how Danica developed a confident mindset on her own from a very young age. The power of writing down what you want

and some of the rituals that Danica has in that process. Also what Danica realized last year about racing that changed the game for her moving forward. And Danica's message to women who have big dreams in maybe a world that hasn't fully supported the women with those dreams. This is a powerful one. Make sure to take a screenshot of this, post it up on Instagram at Lewis Howes and make sure to tag Danica Patrick as well. Post it on Twitter or Facebook. I think your audience is going to love this as I think you

will as well. But before we dive in, big shout out from the fan of the week over on iTunes who posted their name, One Versus Many. And this person said, Lewis Howes' podcast is one of the best out there. Hands down, subscribe and put it on your weekly listen list. You will not be disappointed. You'll be blown away. A++++ guests plus amazing conversation, intelligent, insightful, practical, wise, grounded in truth, inspiration. Thank you, Lewis, for bringing the light.

So one versus many. Thank you for sharing that review. We appreciate it. And every time you guys leave a review, it helps us get the message out there to more people. So if you haven't left a review yet, go to iTunes right now, or just go on your podcast app that you're on and leave us a review for your chance to be shouted out as the fan of the week. But I am so pumped about this one, guys. We have a legend in the house, someone who has defied the odds for many, many years, who's broken barriers, and who is here to tell the story of how she did it. So without further ado, let me introduce to you the one, the only, Danica Patrick.

Welcome back, everyone, to the School of Greatness podcast. We have Danica Patrick in the house. Good to see you. Thank you. Nice to see you. Thank you so much for being here. I'm very excited about this and your new book. Pretty intense. You seem like you're pretty intense. Do I? Like, what's your first impression when you met me? When I met you?

Pretty intense. Oh, good. Yeah, focused. Good. Like, came in and, like, focused, ready to go. Good. Well, that's, yeah. I've been described similarly by many people. So, that's good.

I like that it's authentic. Very authentic, yes. Slight play on words. Exactly. Pretty and intense, yes. Now, my friend introduced me to you. He made the connection to your publicist for the team, Dan Schaubel. And you guys did an interview.

You may not remember. It just happened, I think, recently. And he's interviewed over 1,000 major influencers, right? Billionaires, authors, you name it, celebrities. And he said, this is my top five. What? Most interesting interview. I'm going to have to go back and see which one it was now.

Dan Chabelle. And he doesn't send me a lot of people to interview. But he was like, you have to interview her. Lucky me. So I said, okay, I'll check it out. I want to share some things we have in common from the research I did. Okay. Both professional athletes.

Yeah. Both lived in Illinois. Oh, yeah. Where did you live? I lived in a small village in Illinois. It was called Elsa. It was near Alton, Illinois, near St. Louis, Missouri. Okay, a little further south, but Illinois.

Exactly. Both do CrossFit. Yes, up high. Louis, Missouri. Okay, a little further south, but Illinois. Exactly. Both do CrossFit. Yes. Up high. I love CrossFit. It's the basis for the workout program. Exactly, yes. At home CrossFit. Absolutely. Can't give somebody a bar and rack it up with, you know, 35 pounds. You know, HIIT workouts, circuits, stuff like that.

My girlfriend is a huge HIIT workout person and she always puts me through them. CrossFit style, timing, reps, stuff like that. My girlfriend is a huge HIIT workout person, and she always puts me through them. Crossfit style, timing, reps, stuff like that. Absolutely. We were both the same age and born in the same month. Oh, are we both March babies? March baby. You're actually a year older.

I'm March 16, 1983. Ah, okay. You're 82, right? I'm 82, yeah. Yeah, my sister's March 84. It's a good month. There you go. Both have NASCAR connections.

I have a lot. Well, I don't know anything about NASCAR, but my brother-in-law works with the Joe Gibbs team. Oh, okay. He's an engineer. They're a great team. And so, anyways. He does good work then. He does good work, yes.

What's his name? His name is Tim Bruce. Oh, okay. Yeah, he's an engineer with the team. We both went to Europe to pursue sports. That's right. You were 14 when you left? 16.

Why did I read 14? 16. Yeah. Come on, let's be realistic here. 16. 16 is still very young to go there. It is. 16 and 19.

I lived there for three years. Three years. How long were you there? I was only there for a few weeks, yeah. I went about four years ago to Spain to play with a professional handball team. I don't know if you know team handball. It's an Olympic sport, it's kind of like water polo

on a basketball court. Okay. Two teams, like, yeah, anyways. We've both been on Ellen. Oh yeah, Ellen, I just used my Ellen coffee cup the other day. I love that mug. I love mugs.

It's the only thing I collect. I'm such a geek about it. Really? Yeah, I collect coffee cups. What's your favorite mug? What's the quote say on it? Well, Allison's got me some great ones that say, like, you know, I'm an effing unicorn. Can we swear on this podcast?

Can you swear on podcasts? We'll believe it, Alba, yeah. No, like, well, I didn't have to swear. I'm an effing unicorn. I'm an effing unicorn. Or I do what I want with a unicorn. Or I have one that is, oh, since I'm from the north, my sister got me a cup that says, oof, you betcha, because my mom's side of the family is from northern Minnesota, Canada.

What else do I have that I really love? Yeah, I have a lot of coffee cups that I love. That's great. I love them too. Yeah. And we both like eating paleo. I love it. It makes me feel good. Feel very good, right? Yeah. I love them too, yeah. And we both like eating paleo. I love it. It makes me feel good.

Feel very good, right? Yeah. I've run this. I sort of walk like all the food in the book because I wrote and photographed 50 recipes in here, and it's all paleo. But I don't know. I'm dealing with this whole like do I go more vegan route or not. Have you tried it yet? I have never gone all the way.

I've only just like migrated that way with like less meat, more fish, smaller portions. I haven't really gone into, I haven't, but it's really hard to be vegan paleo. That's really hard. Because if you don't do grains or beans and it cuts down on a heck of a lot of your food, what do you eat? You just eat vegetables and fruit. That's it. I mean, that's really probably good for you, but I'm probably lacking something.

So I don't know. Maybe I'm not. Have you tried it? I've never tested it. I can't. I don't have that willpower. Have you tried it? She's full vegan.

Full vegan. So you eat grain. I mean, is full vegan gluten-free too? No. No, it's not. You can still be extremely unhealthy vegan. Yeah. Oh, yeah.

No doubt. You need all the sugar and gluten and all that stuff. But it's pretty amazing, I went through the book and got the photo of your transformation from I think 2003. Oh yeah, when I was an FHM with me standing in front of the muscle car. Exactly, it was a pretty amazing transformation. Exactly. It was a pretty amazing transformation. Well, that was me doing like 45 minutes on the elliptical at 3 a.m. No matter what time my flight was or what I had to do that day.

And no weights and just like all cardio and eating extremely restrictive, like very little. And, you know, I probably weighed 95 pounds. Skinny. Skinny fat. Skinny fat. There's no muscly muscle. And like you look at that picture and without, you don't really know my size based on it. The only way you can really create like a look of leanness is to have angles and muscle tone. And the only

way you're going to get that is you're going to have to work out. Actually, you have to lift weights and you're going to have to eat more and you know, all those things. So, you know, so, um, when did you start lifting heavier? Um, it it was it was an indycar it was like the end of my indycar days um i started i had a trainer that would just literally just send me a pdf of a workout of a month of training and that's when i started going to like three to five sets of five reps and less uh and i finally and I noticed there was no downside to it. I just was getting more muscle tone and I was like, oh, this is kind of good actually. The problem with lifting weights is, and working out in general, I feel like with most people is that they start

and there's something good that happens at first because you're kind of like getting the blood pumping, you're sweating, you're probably eating better. But you are putting on muscle at the same time. And so there tends to be a yo-yo period, in my experience, where you're gaining some muscle, but you haven't burned the fat off yet, and you're sore, which if you're sore, you're swollen. It's just a fact. It's just you are swollen. So there's that yo-yo period of people.

They're like, oh, my God, it's not working for me. It's like, no, stick it out. Do you think, you know, I mean, sprinters, weightlifters, all these people, they're not fat. Right, right. So stick with it. You've got to stick it out. Do you think, you know, I mean, sprinters, weightlifters, you know, all these people, they're not fat. Right. So stick with it. You've got to stick with it. Yeah, exactly.

Now I'm curious, what— Do we have any other things in common? Probably. We'll probably figure more out. We actually—you follow one of my Instagram pages. Okay. Yeah, I've seen you in some—I'm going to be really like an idiot right now. I'm going to be like, I walked in, I'm like, oh my God, this all makes so much sense.

And I'm like, I recognize you. I'm just terrible with names. So I'm like, oh, I like, yes, I'm so glad I'm here. I mean, I'm glad I'm here anyway. I think we have a lot of mutual things in common. People that we follow, you know, things that we're interested in. I think we have a similar mindset. Yeah, food, fitness, mind, body.

I mean, it's all really important. And you've gotten more into like spiritual outings. Yeah, I have. Yeah, for sure. That's been more of a recent thing, I mean, it's all really important. And you've gotten more into, like, spirituality. Yeah, I have. Yeah, for sure. That's been more of a recent thing, I guess, in the last few years. Yeah, for sure, in the last few years. You didn't start off that way. No, I didn't.

It was more about I've always had that part of me. Like, I remember when I was younger, I, like, called a psychic when I was 18 and living in England for my birthday. And, you know, I got the Linda Goodman Sun Science book about about you know love compatibility things like that and so I've always kind of been interested in that but it really hasn't been until the last few years that I've gotten more interested in it and you know. You've got a quote from Louise Hay in your book too. Yeah I love Louise Hay yeah I mean I want to believe that it's the Heal Yourself book, the tiny little pamphlet of Heal Yourself where everything that's wrong with you is like a direct, it's basically from your, you create it in your mind. Hannon is her name. She's dead now, but she's a hypnotherapist and goes into the subconscious, and she talks about how you literally make yourself sick.

She's like, people don't want to hear that because they want to think there's a fix, and they just take something. Just as you can make yourself sick, you can also make yourself better. So I'm not going to lie. If I feel anything coming on, I'm literally like Mantra City and positive thinking, like I am well, like I pulled a Wayne Dyer. I am well. I am healthy. Wayne Dyer. I am well. I am healthy.

I feel good. I am of perfect health. When did you start doing that? Only in the last probably six months, but I'm not going to lie. It's worked every time. You know what's interesting? It's funny you say that. I was raised in a religion called Christian science.

Okay. I don't know if you've ever heard of it. Actually, Ellen was raised in the same religion. Okay. It's not Scientology, so I have to make that preference. And it's not Christian. It's Christian Science. Okay. I don't know if you've ever heard of it. No. Actually, Ellen was raised in the same religion. Okay. It's not Scientology, so I have to make that preference. And it's not Christian. It's Christian religion.

Yeah, it was studied in the Bible and things like that. But it was actually founded by a woman. Ah. And the entire basis of the religion is that you can heal yourself with your mind if you believe.

Uh-huh. And it's one of the reasons why, you know, one of the challenges of the religion, I'm no longer in it, but I was raised in it, and I didn't have vaccinations, I never had medicine. You didn't? Never had medicine growing up,

because they taught us to heal ourselves with our mind. And belief. So when you're saying like for six months you've been doing this thing, a mantra, I pretty much grew up doing that with this belief in spirituality. You know, it kind of had a bad rep though sometimes because some people would get serious injuries or they would die because they wouldn't go to the hospital. This reminds me, someone in my neighborhood growing up was of a religion that didn't believe in holidays or medicines at all.

I can't remember what the religion was, but it seemed very, very crazy to me young. It is a little crazy. It is a little crazy. It is a little crazy. But when you come back to a full circle and you say, well, I actually do believe that I can heal myself or prevent getting sick. Yeah. You're witnessing it, right? Yeah, I am.

It's worked every time so far. There you go. There's probably been about three different times. The power of the mind. Where you can feel lymph nodes coming on your throat. You can kind of feel it coming into your head and you're like, oh i'm i this is exactly how you feel before you get sick but instead of thinking i'm getting sick i'm getting sick which then you are right you're calling it into your body yeah you're you're literally manifesting it then i would just say like i'm well i'm fine i'm

perfect health i i'm i'm doing well yeah And there's so much research and science that's backing the connection of pain in the mind. So when you say that, it reminds me of, I was, I went to church with my sister. I mean, I'm like, I don't necessarily, I'm not of any religion. I kind of like them all and don't like them all. I don't believe anything of, I don't believe all of any one of them. Yeah. But you take the best from all of them. Yeah, exactly. They all have good points and I could go to any religious ceremony and be like, oh, I might learn something today, or I might dismiss it all. I'm not really sure. But we came out of church, and there was a guy that was standing there as my sister was waiting for two little girls to come out from the daycare

that they provide. And he is an anesthesiologist. And he was, I was like, I think it's crazy how, this is me telling him, I'm like, how do you put people, you sedate them, and you don't have to numb anything. And he's like, nope. And he's like, and we don't understand why. Like he said, we don't really understand why. Why they don't feel the pain? Why they don't feel the pain. How can you just make someone go to sleep and then just cut them wide open?

Open up their chest and open heart surgery. But how do you do that, right? But it's like they don't understand it. So then it leads to the fact that you are literally manifesting the pain with your mind. Because say you have surgery and you wake up and you're like, I had my chest open. Oh, my chest must hurt so bad. Like you must be imagining some of it to truth. You must be some level.

I don't know, because it just doesn't make sense how you don't have to numb it, because it must be so painful that you'd, like, have to wake up of some level. Yeah. Yeah. So, it's crazy. I think there's more underneath what we can prove with medicine right now and all these other things. There's something else, you know?

Yeah. I think that's where the culture, like, I feel like the world is starting to wake up to that kind of stuff, the stuff that's where the culture, like, I feel like the world is starting to wake up to that kind of stuff, the stuff that's unseeable, the metaphysical world. Why did you start to get into this six months ago? Yeah, over the years, over the last few years. You know, it really stemmed from a trip to Sedona with my girlfriends. Yeah.

I mean, it's always been sitting there. It's been, like, resting there, like, right underneath the surface. And we went and we did a whole vortex tour. We went to a labyrinth. We got crystals. We got psychic readings. What opened up for you during that? It was just kind of like a level of curiosity.

There was so much of it that it was like, there must be, like, wow, I can keep going here. there must be like, wow, I can keep going here. And then you do things like start following people like you or Jason or, you know, any of the other people that are into the mind, body, metaphysical, spiritual connection stuff. And there's just so much more. And then you can get into everything from, you know, aliens to conspiracy theories. And there's just like the, the, the, you run down any rabbit hole you want and there's plenty of the, you run down any rabbit hole you want, and there's plenty of content, and it's very thought-provoking. So I've always described myself as even like growing up, I'm like, I've always described myself as a skeptical religious person.

Like I'm a question, I question it all. Like I just, I'm like, why and how? And I was telling a story last night even about how, you know, Lent comes around and everybody gives up meat on Friday,. I'm like, why and how? And I was telling a story last night even about how Lent comes around and everybody gives up meat on Friday. And I was like, why? So I looked it up and it had to do with that meat was a luxury. Like lobster was the peasant's food. And I'm like, well, I don't like that now. So I'm like, I'm going to give up lobster then, I guess, right, if that's what the point is.

I'm going to give up lobster then, I guess, right, if that's what the point is. Right. But then I went on to say that I think a lot of times people give things up as a means to an end to a diet program more than an actual spiritual program. That's true. So, anyway. Trying to lose weight or whatever, yeah. Yeah, you're like, I'll give up chocolate. Exactly.

Then I'll eat something else and something's still missing, yeah. Yeah. What do you think is the biggest takeaway you've found, I guess, since you started going down that rabbit hole six months ago of Sedona? Positivity. Just overwhelming more positivity. Just understanding the power of the mind. And maybe you know more about this.

I've been meaning to look it up before I started doing some of these interviews I've been rant that I was going on down the rabbit hole of the subconscious mind not being able to tell the difference between a truth and a lie. Do you know anything about that? Tell me more. That's what I know. It's like if the subconscious mind can't tell the difference between a truth and a lie, that would lead you down the path of thinking that I am sick. I'm getting sick. So it is, right? Because if it can't tell the difference between a truth and a lie, it also is like I am well. I am sick. I'm getting sick. So it is, right? Because if it can't tell

the difference between a truth and a lie, it also is like, I am well, I am healthy. I'm confident. I need to look more into that because you can't talk to, you can't talk in big arenas like this with people listening and not know your stuff. But anyway, it's thought provoking stuff. Wow. Did you always have someone training your mindset from an early age when you were competing in Europe? No. How did you start to condition your mind against the intense pressure of competing and then being on a bigger stage and then just being a female in the sport that you were in, dominated by men? How did you train your mind?

I guess you became pretty intense at an early age. Yeah, I had to, I believe I just had to create coping mechanisms in an understanding, rationalizing what information is coming from what kind of people and how that really affects me and what's true and what's not and what's true to me. So I think that the real root of it all is knowing who you are and what you stand for and also putting in the right amount of effort so that nobody nothing anyone says could um really hurt you because you know you know you've done everything you can i think that probably on a real surface level like if you don't try hard enough at something people could knock you down for it and if you really don't then it hurts because you're like shoot you're right you know the sub you know you're you're like in your mind you're like yeah they're right and you feel bad right you feel guilty for yourself and for others but if

you do everything that you possibly can then you know that um then nothing anyone says can really hurt you because you've done everything you can well you can do hate yourself for being your best right whatever that is right so i think i just learned how to deal with the things that people say by putting in the right amount of effort and knowing who I was and knowing what I wanted. I think that knowing yourself on a much other deeper level is something that's come much later in the recent few years. For you. Yeah. But as far as the effort level put into a certain thing that people want to judge really quickly like your performance or the way you act things like that I mean it's easy to get brought down if you're not doing your best if you're not putting in the right

amount of effort because you see you you really do feel guilty how did you arm yourself against those critiques throughout your entire career and still you know when everyone maybe was trying to pull you down or say something that you're not good enough or you're this or you shouldn't be doing this or you should get out of our, like, all boys club or whatever it is they would say, how did you arm yourself with that? Well, I just knew I was capable. So, you know, you base it on. And there were times where I totally doubted myself.

I would imagine everybody faces that at some point in time. And so there were points in time where I would doubt myself, but then I would look in the, I'd pull back and look at the bigger picture and be like, no, no, I'm here because I did this, this, this, and I've been around for 20 years. I'm not here by, by, by accident or just out of one good charity case to keep me around. Um, I'm here because of all the things that I've done. So you have to kind of sometimes pull back a little bit to get a little perspective because it's easy to get knocked down confidence-wise on things that you're doing. But then the things that people say, I mean, most of the time they're from strangers.

You probably face this too, of course, on social media. All the time. You don't know them, so it's easy to blow them off. But that's a luxurious standpoint that I'm in because I don't know these people that are talking to me. And, you know, what I like to bring up is how hard it must be for kids and people that are working in smaller circles with, you know, 50 followers and they all know them. And so if they say something mean, it's I think it might be true. Yeah. They really know them. Yeah. Over the last 20 years, what would you say has been the biggest challenge that you've had to overcome or that you've faced? Getting people to believe in me has always been the hardest, I think.

And I believe that everyone struggles with it. You were in sports, like getting people to really believe in you and do everything it takes to be great, whether it comes from an ownership or a team standpoint or teammate standpoint, that I think is always hard, but I think it's a little harder for me. Do you feel like every year you were fighting that?

Yeah. Getting people to believe in you, even still today? Yeah. Even after the staying power you've had, the results you've had? Yeah. Yeah, sure. Really, still? Yeah.

Huh. How do you get people to believe in you? Communication, relationships, developing them. I think it takes more effort on my part just to earn that trust and earn that belief. But again, I don't think there are some people that you're never going to convince because it's just a cultural divide that's not, you know, there's just separation and segregation within things still, and we're not all one big happy family, and girls aren't in racing,

and they tend to not do well. So, you know, society and culture would say that it's not really a proven thing. So, you know, it's easier to just. And also, you know, being a woman in a man's world, I think that, you know, there's just generally that whole, like, lack of feminine, right, to have sympathy and understanding and compassion and respect because you're like, I'm macho and I have all this testosterone and no girl's going to beat me doing anything.

And what do you have to say to that? Do you agree with that? That's interesting. Yeah. I mean, what do I have to say about that? Yeah. Would you agree that that would have probably affected me? Absolutely.

Yeah, it would affect you. I mean, I think it would be challenging for men in that sport to lose to you, who definitely don't have that emotional ability to communicate or express themselves in a healthier way. I could see their egos just flaring up and then wanting to attack you, to take you down, so they wouldn't look silly to their friends. Like, oh, I lost to a girl or whatever. And that's probably why you got a lot of those attacks

because these guys were like, you shouldn't even be in this sport. Right. I can imagine. Again, I don't know anything about the sport really, but that's what I can imagine. If I'm playing basketball against a girl or something. What are they going to say about me? Oh, just take her out, you know?

Yeah, exactly. I'm not being generalizing a scenario. Do you feel like people would attack you in the races and intentionally try to get you out sure and then also just make it really difficult i think that's what i faced most was just people that you know made it really difficult for me to get by you know just like put up a huge fight and you know fought tooth and nail when there really wasn't any point on lap you know 152 of 367 you know what i mean like really what are we doing here here? All we're doing is slowing each other down.

So, yeah. Ego, huh? Totally. The ego is powerful for motivation. You can use the ego. The difference is letting the ego rule you will lead you down short-term paths. And it will also lead you to regret because it wants instant gratification. You know, it wants it right now. And soul truth and soul missions and soul messages are something

so much more subtle and patient and kind, and they get overshadowed by ego. Do you feel like you had a battle with your ego throughout the last 20 years at all? Or was there another? That's a great question. I don't think I've really been asked that before. You're on the school of greatness. Yeah. This is what this place is for. Do I think that I've been ruled by, yeah, of course the ego comes in.

I mean, whether it be what I'm doing, how I'm doing, what I think of myself from a performance standpoint or a look standpoint, yeah, I mean, the ego comes in for sure. How do you overcome that? When it starts to flare up and get nasty? Well, I would say that's one of the most, I have said that recently,

that one of the most beneficial things that I've learned is to identify when I'm being led by ego versus soul. That's been really helpful. And how do you identify that? And you almost laugh at the ego. Like the ego comes up and you're like, you jerk. How do you identify that? I don't know why I gave it a guy jerk quality.

I don't know. It's a masculine quality, I guess. It is. Well, it is. The ego is, right? You know way more about this stuff than I do. But it's also motivating. So it's the driving force in things.

But you can do it with soul after you've sort of created a goal. How do you bring attention to your ego? Do you meditate every day or you just recognize it when you've been frustrated or angry about something or resentful and you're like, oh, okay, I need to let it go? I would say that the journey was through a lot of sort of walking meditations is kind of how it started. Just guided meditations or just walking? No, no walking and nature, nothing. Like I was on a property that was completely empty and a huge property and there's trails and I knew I'd never see anyone.

And I would play music and I would just stick it in my pocket. And I don't know, music really helps me too. Like East Forest, have you heard of East Forest? Or Trevor Hall or Mako? I east forest have you heard of east forest or trevor hall or i'm sure if i heard or they're just really positive kind of like i mean they're not reggae but you know they kind of like our same positive messaging vibes and some of them are just instrumental uh and so they would really kind of help me get to a good place and i just don't think it's possible to get out in nature and not feel happy, grateful, small, but part of a big

thing. Like it's just a really, really productive space. If you can, if you don't have the discipline to sit and meditate or pray or whatever it is that is, you're more connected deeper than, and it doesn't mean you can't get deep in nature. I'm just saying like, that's more purposeful. Like, and you just want to do something active. Maybe you're a little like me. I'm like, I want to move, so this feels good. Nature walks, hiking trails, all that is such a great way to just really go within. Do you agree with that?

I 100%, I think nature is the doorway to the heart. And I can be, I was watching a thing on grounding, actually, on Facebook the other day. I don't know if you've seen this documentary. Earthing, basically. Exactly, earthing. And I was like, man, how many weeks, days, years do I go by without actually having my bare feet on the ground?

Or just like, how many days do I go by being in LA, not like taking a hike or being just in trees and nature? Putting your feet in the sand, like you're right here. Exactly. Or even just walking in the forest, even in shoes. How often am I not doing that? I can go weeks and just being on concrete and being disconnected to the earth. So I believe nature. And I've done, over the last two years, I've done a week in Hawaii where I didn't take

my phone with me. And it was one of the most incredible experiences. It was the first time in 15 years I didn't have my phone on me for one day. 15 years. It was deliber first time in 15 years I didn't have my phone on me for one day. 15 years. It was deliberating. It was terrifying to go on a plane without my phone. What am I going to do?

How am I going to get there? I remember getting to the airport. Where's my map? Exactly. I got to the airport and I rented a car beforehand, but I forgot which rental thing it was. So I'm asking all the different ones

the reservation. Oh my God. Then I get in the car. I have to stop at a gas station to get directions to where I'm going, like old school. But it was so magical, just not having to check my phone and just laying in the ocean. I've actually entertained the idea of going somewhere

totally away from everything for like a month. I mean, I have that kind of time now, but I never used to and I'm like, man. That would be amazing. I could do it. Another thing I did. Disconnect completely. It'll be a game changer.

Another thing I did is I went to India for two and a half weeks. Okay, I don't know if I'm brave enough. Is it worth it going? I went to a meditation retreat. So it's, you know, it was protected. Plung pain out in the ashram and, you know. It wasn't that intense. It wasn't like a silent retreat either.

So there was people, they were teaching meditation. You were like practicing stuff. But it was being so disconnected from electronics where I was just connecting to my soul and my heart and the mind. Spirit and inner voice. It was unbelievable how much peace I felt in my heart afterwards. It kind of makes you wonder why we're doing all this, doesn't it? They get those moments where I'm like, what's the point? Why am I running around?

Why am I running? Everything you're doing, yeah. Yeah. But there are some people like yourself that are incredibly good and can connect with people and get these messages out. And if you don't, who's going to do it? And so I feel that level of responsibility myself, too. And that's kind of like the first

five chapters of the book are on the mind and it's like literally just scratching the surface on simple things like get out in nature. You know, your thoughts are really important. Make sure they're good. You know, it's scratching the surface. But what I've heard from everyone is that that's their favorite part of the book. I like the idea of the mind river. It's called the mind river, right? Yeah, I really like that. Yeah. Neuroplasticity is the bigger word, but. Yeah, exactly. Simplify it. Yeah. I mean, but you have very simple practical things that people can do in exercises, which is what we all need. Yeah. And then there's also parts in there too, at the end of each of those chapters that is thought provoking for you to, because I'm a firm believer in writing down what

you want. So every month I get into my little notes app and I write down just like every month. I'm like, what I, anything, right? What I'm grateful for, what I want, how I want it to look. Sometimes it's general. Sometimes it's specific. But if I don't write it down, then how is it ever going to happen? And so, you know, I'm a believer in writing things down and really like manifesting on more levels than just a passing thought through my mind or like, I hope so. You talked about it in there where you've got to really write it down,

schedule it, and plan to make it happen. Some people just never ask themselves the question. So they're like, the biggest question, the simplest question is, what would you do if you could do anything in the world? What would your job be if you could make anything in the world? And most people don't have an answer, especially adults. What would you do now? What would I do now? If you could make anything in the world and most people don't have an answer especially adults what would you do now what would i do now if you could do anything in the world um i would um i'm living some of them um so i would i mean this clothing line is wonderful i'd love to create

with my warrior clothing line i'd love there to be some more of a charity element to it i'd love to develop that and i mean like i have this lofty thought of like some kind of a charity element to it. I'd love to develop that. And I mean, like I have this lofty thought of like some kind of a camp or something, like once or either once a year or quarterly. I don't know what kind of thing it'd be, but I have so many other interests. So I love cooking. So I'd love to have a cooking show.

I read that about you. I mean, I love wine, which follows along with all that. I love traveling. So I mean. You're living it all. Yeah, I'm living it all. Yeah, but I living it all. But I answered the question, what would I do if I could do anything?

You did that 20 years ago. Yeah. And you pursued it. Yeah. But people don't ask themselves that question because they get put on this wheel of like, I go to school. I do what I'm told. I go to the bathroom when I can. I eat whatever's provided for lunch.

I got to go to college now. And then what do I want to do? I'm not really sure because I haven't really thought about it because I've been too busy at parties and stimulated by, you know, social media and distracted from the real thing, which is what I really want. And instead of what I'm told to want or what's cool or what's in or what pays well, you know, do what you really love to do. But it's not that easy. It's not that easy to figure yourself out. And, you know, there's too much stimulus out there to distract you. So much distraction. And so, um, and it's addictive. Like I would describe myself as addicted to my phone to some degree. I don't want it, but I want it. You know what I mean? Like I recognize that I'm somewhat addicted to looking at social media and, you know, scrolling through things, but,

you know, I still don't want to put it down. Yeah, of course. That's why I need a forced scenario where I'm in another country where my phone doesn't work. Exactly. Yeah. Where you don't take it with you. But then the problem happens now where they never used to have Wi-Fi, so you could get away for the whole time, but now there's Wi-Fi everywhere, so I'll play my music through

the Wi-Fi or something like that, so I'm like, oh, now my messages come in. What's the question that you've never been able to answer for yourself? Tough questions. Or is there something that's been on your mind, whether it be spirituality or about the body or about relationships or about health or anything in general? Just the question you haven't been able to answer, but you're constantly seeking. What is God? Not who, but what? Do you have an idea yet?

I mean, that's kind of what provoked a lot of the development, is that I kind of thought of that, and instead of a who, which everybody wants to answer who, and I'm like, no, you're not answering the question what. I believe it's the highest level of vibration. There's nothing negative can resonate at this vibrational level. It is pure love, positivity. It is a oneness presence that is eternal.

It's God consciousness, Christ consciousness. It's source. It's omnipresent. It's not a, Christ consciousness. It's source. It's not really, it's omnipresent. It's not a dude on a throne in the clouds. It's so much more than that. It's everywhere all the time. That's why God lives within you and everyone else, because we're all connected.

I don't know. How did I do it? I like the answer. I'm sweating. These are hard questions when I'm sitting here with somebody like you. I don't know. I like that answer. I think it's a are hard questions when I'm sitting here with somebody like you. I don't know. I like that answer. I think it's a powerful, I think that's, in my opinion, I would say that's very accurate on my belief too.

Yeah. My challenge is, the reason I started this podcast five years ago was because I had so many questions. And I realized that I didn't have any of the answers. And I wanted to bring on people like yourself who had experiences that could shed light on their personal experiences. And I've had so many different spiritual pastors and leaders and people. I'm looking at you with Tony Robbins right there. I'm like, you got them all. And every time I bring on a different spiritual leader,

I feel like I get almost a different answer as well. And so in some ways, I feel like. Love is my religion. That would be a good way to sort of like Encompass that's how I respond. Yeah, and I'm I don't know if you know who Rob Bell is he's no he do you know Aaron Rodgers He's close with Aaron. Yeah, I met Aaron actually I want to rob Bell's speeches. He's a spiritual You should ask Like his confidence.

Has he spoken at his team or something? Probably, yeah, yeah. Okay, now I know who you're talking about. He's about a mile away. He's been on the show a few times. Okay, yeah. He's got great wisdom on all of this. So you should tell Aaron.

This just came up, so I know what you're talking about. Yeah, exactly, yeah. You should ask Aaron about Rob Bell. Okay. But anyways, I'm constantly in question. I'm gonna ask Erin about Rob Bell. But anyways, I'm constantly in question. I'm constantly questioning. And sometimes I feel more confident because I think I have some answers

and other times I'm like, nothing is true. Because everyone's got a different opinion or a different belief, and that's a challenge. And people are persuasive, right? I mean, you're like, yeah, that makes sense. And then you go another route and you're like, God, that makes sense too, you know? And so it's this eternal, like I get, I have words of the year. So my word of the year is open. So this year is open. Yeah. It was truth last year. So that was a big one. Was that the first time you had truth? Yeah.

I've only done word of the year for about five years. So what did you feel you revealed about yourself last year that you hadn't revealed before either to yourself or to others that racing really wasn't my passion what really i know that's i don't really really never said that out loud but here so yeah i mean i love it i'm good at it but i mean even my dad said he's like i know he's like you're you're good at it and you needed a job. I'm like, all right. So last year you finally, like, revealed that to yourself.

Yeah, yeah. Said it out loud. Right. Actually, I said it a couple years earlier to one person. And then a few things unraveled and, you know. Wow. Yeah. I love, it's not that I don't enjoy it.

It's just not what I do for fun. And if I don't do it for fun, is it really my passion? Is it? It's the job. It's the job. And that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it. You still enjoyed it. This is going to be year number 27, so clearly I haven't hated it.

Right, that's also burnout too. There are some days I do, but that's a job. Wow. Yeah, yeah. Huh. Yeah. Again, I don't want to put it down it's given me

everything that I have it's the only reason why I have a book it's why I have a clothing line it's why I wine company yeah I mean

it's the only reason why any of it's happened but it also doesn't mean that I haven't enjoyed it and it's not facilitated other things in my life to happen and it wasn't meant

to happen I believe it was right right and you know maybe it's a platform to other things in my life to happen, and it wasn't meant to happen. I believe it was. Right, right. And, you know, maybe it's a platform to write the mind part of the book. Maybe that's going to help people even more. I don't know. But, yeah, kind of facing that truth. And, you know, as things were developing or not developing on the racing front

with sponsors or teams or anything, I just really pulled back and just, like just let agents and people do the work, and I didn't push, and I just kind of let it happen, or let it not happen. You know, whatever. I don't know if it's like I let it happen the way I did or I just let it not happen, but I just kind of wanted things to happen organically and fluidly,

and if something came through, I was like, it's meant to be. It's meant for me. If it doesn't, then that's also meant for me. So, yeah. But I have so many other – I mean, if anyone knows me, they know. I'm not a car girl. I don't barely know how many cylinders I have in my car. And I'm not a car girl.

And I don't go to races for fun. I like to go to, you know, like, you know, crystal shops and I like to go to yoga retreats. Okay. I haven't done a yoga retreat, but I want to, but you know, I love to go to places like that and very like spiritually connected places. And, um, that's, what's fun to me. So, and I love cooking and I love wine. I love food. I love all that stuff. And so that's what I do for fun. I work out. I enjoy working out. You probably do too, but some people hate it. So that's me. That's what I do for fun. So I'm getting to address those and I'm very, very fortunate that I was given a platform that's letting me do it in a big way.

Wow. Truth. I wonder what open will bring me what tell me about your mindset how you would condition yourself before either practice or big competitions what's the process of either the night before day of how would you condition your mind or did you have no ritual you just show up and said i'm gonna do my best yeah let's go i mean you don't want to be like hung over you know that's i guess preparing your body but you didn't have some type of ritual where you were visualizing i'm no the only thing that i would use uh some visualization technique was for qualifying i would visualize the lap but um that's about it there's too many scenarios that happen on track they're out of your control and they're unique every time and you can't plan for it.

That's why race car drivers can do it for so long is because you're not limited by strength or your body. You can keep going with it, and you also learn more every year. So essentially, you're not really a worse driver from one year to the next. You're better, and it's just really a matter of your equipment and then your motivation. Wow. So it's almost like you need to clear the mind and just say, I'm open to whatever happens. Because at any moment, someone could nudge you or you could fall back or in front.

I think that, and this probably happens for a lot of athletes, but I think that we enter a different state of consciousness when we're performing. And there are just things you just don't think of anything. Right, you can't. You can't, and then there's the little, I think you enter a different state of consciousness, and then I think athletes have the ability to go to another level for a little bit of time, but not all the time.

Because how long is a race typically? I mean, the longer race can be hours, right? Three to four hours is pretty normal. It seems like a long time sitting in a car. Yeah, but I didn't start out doing three to four hour races. You know, I started off with, you know, ten minutes on a go-kart. Three to four hours is a long time. Yeah, five hours is the longest I think I've been in the car.

That's exhausting. Yeah, it is. I'm bored by then. You probably are, though, right? Sometimes. You just laugh at your laugh. You're like, holy crap, I'm bored by then. You probably are though, right? Sometimes. Just laugh at your laugh. You're like, holy crap, I'm not even halfway. You're just trying to draft.

Usually the very first quarter of the race is like, God, I'm not even halfway. Really? And then maybe even halfway comes, but then the last half tends to go pretty fast. Yeah, you kind of get in a rhythm. Wow. What's the greatest moment for you in the last 20 years in terms of racing? What's the greatest moment for you in the last 20 years in terms of racing? Whether it be on, in the race or after the race, but something around racing in general.

I mean, there have been various races that I don't think that one really stands out as being the one. But there's been a handful of races where it's just like the car was handling well, I was passing in cars and having a great race. I didn't win the races, but they were really good races for me where you just feel like. You felt in flow. Yeah, you just were really in flow for sure. And yeah, in charge and in control. You're such a massive inspiration for women in sports, right? Or just in the world to be able to go and pursue something

they normally wouldn't think is possible. What's the message you give for women who maybe aren't as confident in themselves? Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. How did you have that belief? Well, Henry Ford said that. It's in your book too, I saw that. Yeah, it's my favorite quote because it's true.

That's the power of the mind. Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. So if you tell me I can't do that, well, then you won't. I promise you won't. Yeah. No, you change your words and I promise you will. How'd you condition yourself to believe that and believe in yourself? Well, I think that there's a certain level of athlete having to know, having to, knowing that you have to have confidence.

Knowing you have to believe that you can do it. Knowing how powerful that is. Just because you're going and like, it's not always head to head, but you're in these duos, these like very intense situations where you have to, like you know that if you're not confident, you'll be taken advantage of.

So just training yourself in that way, because you know how important it is um and then outside of that yeah it probably started back in the indycar days where i don't know just i was miserable a lot of the time and so i would instead of you know being in this crappy cycle of like god i don't want to do this these interviews suck or. Or like, I'm so tired. I'm just like, car sucks. I'm like, this is, what about, why do you do that? And, you know, then you've got to shift it. And so me and another girl who's still with me,

we would, you know, meet in the morning to head to practice or my interviews or whatever I had to do. And it was, we called it like our kittens and rainbows moment where we'd go up and be like, good morning. It's going to be a fantastic day. I have lovely interviews and just kittens and rainbows. And you'd fake that you were happy like in an obnoxious way until you actually did believe it.

It really doesn't take very long. You can, I mean like I can smile doing it and like it takes seconds or minutes to get into that mind frame where you're like, oh, yeah, it's all good. But, you know, you do that all the time, and then you are all good all the time. And so, you know, I'd say that shift of mindset came probably 10 years ago. Yeah. I'm not very good at it every day, but I try. Sure.

And who do you think inspired you the most growing up to believe in yourself? My dad, yeah. My dad is incredibly negative at times, but he is also very positive too. Maybe he would describe himself as realistic, but positive. Yeah. Lace those together. But, yeah, he always would tell me that, you know, you can do it. Anytime you get in a car, you show people you can do it.

And that's true. I mean, anytime I would get into a new car, have to prove myself, I would. And it was a good reminder of like, all right, yeah, you're right. Because it's easy to doubt yourself. Of course. What do you think the greatest lesson is that he taught you? Was it that or something else? He always told me to doubt yourself. Of course. What do you think the greatest lesson is that he taught you? Was it that or something else? He always told me to have fun.

I don't think I always have had fun, but it's a good reminder that that was supposed to be the point. And so, yeah, it's a simple mindset, but he always told me from a young age. And what about mom? Greatest lesson she taught? Always be a lady. I fail at that. I'm like, mom, how can I do that? I can't do that every day all day.

No, my mom is really even keel and she called herself the referee growing up because my dad would get so mad and we'd be yelling and arguing and swearing at each other when I was like 13 years old. And my mom just was on the hot seat to try and figure it out. And so my mom's just,

my mom's always been sort of easy to talk to. Or someone to go to. My dad's always been just kind of realistic and real and will give you whatever his straight answer is. He's not going to fluff and buff stuff. And I'm very much get to the point kind of person. The same thing. You're pretty intense.

Yeah, of course. So as things are transitioning for you, for 20 years you've been in this career, living this lifestyle, right? This will be my 27th year. 27th year? Yeah, the start of my 27th season. Season? How many years though? Yeah, every year is a season.

27, gotcha. 26 full years. 26 full years, crazy. Yeah. That's a long time. It is a long time. Now if you could go back 26 years then and talk to yourself,

yourself just getting started in the first go-kart race or getting serious about this, knowing everything you know, what would you say to yourself? Don't say fuel it, the 2005 Daytona, or Indy 500, go for it now. I wouldn't change anything because honestly, if I would have won that year, I mean, everything would have changed and everything. It's the butterfly effect, I believe in it. So I love, I'm so happy where I am today and everything. I don't believe that everything happens for a reason as in like, you know, you just sit back and things just happen. You do have to have some intention.

I think the intention, I've always had good intention though. I've always known what I've wanted. And so perhaps things would have gotten off track if they would have happened otherwise. So I wouldn't change anything. Would you give advice in terms of what to think about or how to act or anything else like that? No, it's really all part of being here today. Life is a learning experience. There's a great song, and in the song, it says we're all students and we'll all graduate.

It's fine. It's your path. It's your journey. I wouldn't change anything. Yeah, I would just say the only thing I could ever say would just be to remind me from a young age to stay true to myself, to believe in myself, to be confident in myself, to say nice things to myself, right? Because I think that we all can be quite self-critical. Were you not always nice to yourself?

Sure. I mean, like, I feel like I do typical girl stuff, but probably typical human stuff, where you down yourself for something that you do or say or how you look. And I think that everyone falls victim to that a little bit here and there. So, you know, positive self-talk. But, again, everything would have changed the rest. So I wouldn't change it. Yeah. As the year of open then, what was your intention for wanting to be open? Is there something you want to? Well, so many things have changed. So it's about being open to flowing with what's

coming and how it goes and what comes and what goes. So I'm sure there'll be some ebbs and flows as things evolve. And I dream into every business being a massive success. And like I told my agents, I'm like, guys, I can't be a billionaire as a race car driver, but I can with all these other businesses. So, you know, as they're worrying about what happens next, I'm like only better things. Sure. Um, so I, or at least I have to, I have to, um, uh, imagine that so that I can create that reality for myself because I want to. Of course.

So, yeah, I'm excited about them all. So it's the end of the year then. Imagine it's the end of the year. What are three or four things that if you could manifest anything to happen, what would those be exactly? New Year's Eve, you're celebrating 2018, and you're reflecting back, and you're saying, I did these two, three, four things. Like, anything you could create or want. Anything, if I had, like, two or three things.

Yeah, call it three things. Whether it be personal stuff, business stuff, fitness, whatever, anything. Anything you could manifest, what would you like to create? Since the space is open to create. Yeah, okay. I would first off want to be in a place where I was so content and happy and confident and comfortable as a person. Like so whole. You can only do that yourself.

But, you know. It's a good space to be in. I would want to. If I had to pick. It's so mean. But I'm going to pick. Well, I mean. I can have three.

I would want to win the Daytona 500 and the Indy 500. But if I had to pick one, I'd pick Indy. I would. You can take either one. I can both. Indy. But I can pick them both, I would. You could take either one, take them both. Indy, but I can pick them both. Yeah. So I was trying to dabble in categories.

That's fine, and then give me two more if you have one. Oh, two more. Well, I would want a New York Times bestseller, and I would want my wine to sell out. Yeah, it's really good. How many cases? So it's super small production, so it'll only get to about 1,000. 1,000 cases? It's really good. So it's super small production, so it'll only get to about 1,000. 1,000 cases?

Cases. Gotcha. So it's about 250 cases. It's 12 bottles per case. So there's about 250 cases from 2014. 2015 is bigger, and 2016 is too. And then 2017 was small, but we're going to make rosé, and we're making a Sauvignon Blanc as well.

So it's a Cabernet. It's a Napa Valley. Where's the link to get it? Somniumwine.com. Somnium wine? Somnium, like insomnia. Somnium means dream in Latin. So I went to Napa Valley in 2006 and was doing wine tasting,

sitting over this beautiful valley, the fog pulling back down into San Francisco, sipping my Sauvignon Blanc, going, I would love to have something like this someday. And then I did. Amen. I like it. I know. Well, I will get a case and I will donate some to some friends. I'll give them as gifts since I won't drink it myself, but I will support the cause. Well, maybe you will. I mean, hey, if you've only ever had one other sip, I'm going to call that a pretty big victory.

Here's what I'll do. If I'm with you with your wine, I will have a sip with you. Okay, sounds good. So if you're in LA or from Phoenix, we'll make it happen.

Sounds good. I like that. So we got selling out of the wine. We don't want to hear you. If you had three wishes at the end of 2018, what would you, how would you,

what would you want them to, which ones would you want to come true? It's kind of vague, but being the best health and shape of my life, which is going to be challenging because as a professional athlete, I trained a lot. So I think it's being super smart with what I'm eating. Nutrition is the key. Just in two weeks, I already feel so much leaner from just being so mindful and intentional of every meal.

But I also love, like, pizza and ice cream and gelato and, like, oh, my goodness, I could just go on forever. But when I set my mind to it, I am so disciplined, like, that I don't miss those things. It's when I'm, like, loosey-goosey. Well, food is medicine, and it also is how you feel. So if you stop connecting food with a reward or punishment or like, oh, a luxury, you can still eat sweets, but you can do it in a different way, and your palate will change to the point where you appreciate something that's less sweet or a smaller portion or something that's not your typical fluffy big cake. I mean, you can get used to those things, but you do have to get used to them to some degree. But that's what I like. That's my hopeful takeaway from the book for

people. When they do it, you're going to lose weight. You're going to feel better. It's just going to happen. But what I want them to do is start to view food as medicine and fitness as fun. Like they can be those things. And if you do those things with the mindset of just wanting to be the best version of you and doing them because you feel good and it gives you confidence, then you're going to keep doing them because you don't want to not feel like that. But if all your only goal is to lose weight, then what are you going to do when you're done? Right. So, you know, Whole30 is about, you know, a whole new shifting mindset. It's about starting to view food in a different way.

That's why you don't recreate treats, right? That's why you don't, that's why you can't have pancakes. I mean, in my book I do, but, you know, they're like eggs, pumpkin, raw pumpkin, and, you know, things like that. But, you know, it does have some of those things, but it sort of keeps your mind attached to pancakes or waffles. I know. Waffles are amazing.

But you can have them in a healthy way. So they are really good. You like waffles too? I love waffles. I make waffles all the time. Oh, my gosh. I have a simple waffle recipe in here. So when you're done with Whole30, you can kind of.

I'll get it. But it's about the mindset, right? So it's just stopping to go like, oh, God, I just want cake right now. Or like, I want pizza. Right. It's like that. You're going to feel like crap. And then that's horrible.

Like, there's nothing worse than feeling like Thanksgiving dinner when you eat. The only problem with starting to eat this way, which I'm sure you've done many times. I mean, if you're doing Whole30, I'm sure it's not your first time dabbling in the paleo world or whatever. You do feel bad when you eat off of it. You feel really bad. You feel really bad.

And you need more of the bad foods to feel a little bit better for a little bit. Do you? No. I'm grabbing lemon water and turmeric and all the stuff. I'm like, I don't know, lemon water and turmeric and like all the stuff. I'm like, I need like, I don't know what kind of, do I need probiotics? Do I not need probiotics? Like, I'm like, yeah. Like I'll have one cupcake and a piece of pizza and then I'll have a box of cupcakes

and the whole pizza because I'm just like, well, I need to feel a little bit better about how guilty I feel. Stop it. I'm horrible. That's why I'm like an all in type of person. It's like, I can't have any. I'm horrible. That's why I'm like an all-in type of person. It's like, I can't have any. You have somewhat of an addictive personality. I just feel like I need to have complete structure in my life in order to be like disciplined structure. And then I can be flexible in my creativity, if that makes sense. I think you're attached to the outcome more

than you are the process. Maybe, but I love the process that I'm in now because I've trained my mind to not desire other things. Yeah. It would get better. I feel so much better. I'm not aching. I'm not sore. God, you live in LA.

Dude, I lived in North Carolina. Do you know how hard that was? There's nothing there. I had to grow my own garden. There's Bojangles or whatever. You have every option under the sun in LA. No, trust me. But there's also unhealthy sweet options that are also like, they make it seem healthy.

And restaurants are in the business of making things taste so good. So even if you go to a restaurant that has healthy food, it's still not home cooked, which I'm always going to make it more healthy at home and still taste as good. Yeah, exactly. I've got so many more things I want to ask you about. This has been fascinating, but I want to try to wrap it up here soon. Well, we can just do it again. We can do it again. again another time because I feel like

I've just started scratching the surface with you and I think there's so much more underneath that I want to unpack and Dan was right about you

he was like I wasn't sure what to expect but I'm fascinated by this conversation so I want to do more of this well maybe we'll just

sometime we'll all get together and we'll have some wine and then work out and wine Well, maybe we'll just sometime we'll all get together and we'll have some wine. Do a workout and wine. And then workout and wine. And, you know, we'll come up with all new directions and concepts for podcasts. And we'll just do a series. That's it.

I'm in. But I do have a few questions still. Okay. A few questions I want to wrap it up with. Okay. What's the question that you wish more people would ask you, but they never ask? Yeah, I think that being in the position, I mean, I have a lot of good friends and good family. And, you know, I mean, I'm very blessed, but I think that, I think that the, the, your pure state is

sometimes ignored. Um, like people like, Hey, how you doing? You okay? And you're like, yeah, I'm fine. How are you supposed to answer that? And you're like, yeah, I'm fine. How are you supposed to answer that? So I think that the deep connection that someone wants to have, like are you okay? Like how are you? Like tell me about it. How do you feel? And like talk through something.

Like a deeper understanding for how somebody's really doing. I think that people miss that. I think that not a lot of people do it, and they just are more worried about themselves, and they don't connect with people or want to or care because they're preoccupied. Do you feel like people don't ask you about those things? I think most people in general skim over that, you know, like, I mean, and I don't even think it's necessarily like a question we should answer here, but it's like from your true friends and family, you know, those are your, that's your,

that's your therapy. It can be. Okay. This is a question I ask at the end. It's called the three truths. Oh, well, since my word of the year was truth, I'm fresh. Exactly. You should be right on this. All right.

Imagine this being the final day for you many years from now. Okay. You're 100 and something. Oh, wow. Thank God. You last as long as you want to live. Okay. Okay?

Good question. How long do I want to live? Exactly. Whenever you want it to be the last day, it's the last day. Okay. Okay? Good question. How long do I want to live? Exactly. Whenever you want it to be the last day, it's the last day. Okay. You've achieved everything. Okay. Everything you've set your mind to has happened.

Businesses, billions of dollars, products, whatever it is. Cooking show, all that stuff. But for whatever reason, all the information you put out there is erased. So the books you put out there, maybe video, cooking you put out there maybe video cooking shows videos are gone recipes everything's gone all the videos of you racing gone no one has access to you right it's a hypothetical yeah getting into the mindset but then there's a piece of paper and a pen and you got to write down three things you know to be true about all of your experiences in life the three biggest lessons or truths that this is the only thing that people would have to be remembered by you what would you write down as your three truths

well the first one would be to about about me, they be about me. Kind of like the lessons you would, yeah, truth. The lessons I'd want to put out. To share out the world. Yeah, share out there. Here's what I believe. Here's what I hope that, here's what I want you to take away to lead your life. Yes.

One would be to have an attitude of gratitude. I think that's just like a cool, catchy, great, easy way to be like, yes, to be grateful. Because through that comes positivity. You're nicer to people. You're nicer to yourself. So having an attitude of gratitude I think is a very important one. I would say that find yourself regardless of what anyone thinks you should be. Take a walk in

the woods until you find yourself. There you go. Take a walk in the woods until you find yourself. And yeah, I think that you just love hard no matter what anyone, love anything or anybody hard no matter what, no matter how they treat you. You can never be, I don't think you can ever feel bad about loving something too much or someone too much. It doesn't mean they don't disappoint you, but it was what you had, you know? You give your all, all in, right? Go all in and you have no regrets. You know, you've done everything you can.

So whether it's your job or whether it's someone or whether it's everything, and that tends to be more me, everything, you know, you got to walk away without any regrets. You're like, man, I half-assed that. Shoot, should have tried harder. Yeah. I don't live like that. Yeah. Those are good truths. Okay. I like those. Those are good. All right, good. I want to acknowledge you for a moment, Danica, for your realness. I think you are who you are. And you're unapologetically you. And you represent a sense of truth. Thanks, Gary.

Because you're constantly putting yourself out there on a big stage with a lot of criticism or potential criticism, and yet you're doing it with grace and with a level of confidence and poise that I don't think many people could do, especially a five-foot-nothing female. The little dogs bark louder. They do bark very loud. But you've overcome so much over the last 26 years that I think would be very hard for a lot of people

to overcome year after year after year and still take care of your health and still be there for your friends and family and still be kind to people in the media or to other people you've constantly shown up. Sweet, I heard from a friend of mine just the other day, she was texting me about something. And she was like, you're just a very loyal person.

Like, she's someone that I touch base with very randomly, but I've known her since high school. And it was, like, really nice to hear that because I think that, especially in the world of fame and, you know, whatever, money and all those different things, like, it's possible to get off track, which I don't understand but it is and i'm so grateful when i do get that reassurance every now and again from someone that sort of reminds me like you know you're you're the same girl in high school i'm like but better like am i growing a little because i'm like i also love when i look on instagram it's like the whole like someone says

you've changed and the reply is thanks for noticing. Because I hope so. Right. But in a better way. Grown. Grown. Grown. Changed. Grown. Yeah.

Improved. Expanded. Well, congrats on everything. Thank you. Your book, pretty intense. Make sure you guys check this out. I went through page by page, actually, before you came here. I went through everything.

Didn't read 100% of it, but I went through every page. And it's very powerful. So make sure you guys get this book. Pretty intense. I can't read 100% of it, but I went through every page, and it's very powerful. So make sure you guys get this book. Pretty intense. I can't wait to get your book. I remember, again, not that long ago, I remember seeing that and being like, that is such a great message right now. I feel like the femininity in everyone, even women. I find myself trying to get more into that, too, because I'm so dominant and I've had such that role in life.

Because we all have masculine and feminine in us. So it's even women get more into the masculine and need to get more into their feminine. And so it's a great message for now because we've been in such a doing phase of culture of doing and, you know, it's time to feel. And I think when we start feeling, then we'll start to have more compassion and come together a little bit more. So I think it's a great, great a great timing on that. Thank you. Thank you.

Yeah, I think less doing, more being. Yeah. Human beings. So make sure you guys go get the book. You can get it out. It's out right now. Pretty intense. Online, your website, social media, at Danica Patrick everywhere, right?

Yeah, Danica Patrick, all the, yeah, pretty intense. All the places, danicapatrick.com, all that stuff, right? Yeah. Final question for you then is what's your definition of greatness? Contentment. Right. I mean, it's just having no regrets. Everybody's greatness is different.

That's why the record books change all the time. So it's about being content with your career because then you know you did everything you could. And that is your great. And everyone's is different. Yeah. Thanks for coming on. All right, thank you. Appreciate you.

Love it. Thank you. See you next time. We'll figure out their next podcast. Absolutely. There you have it, my friends. I hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I enjoyed the experience.

Danica really opened up and shared a lot of wisdom for me, and I felt it was profound in so many ways. So I'm very grateful for her coming and sharing. Make sure to check out her new book, Pretty Intense. Really insightful, actually. I went through the entire thing. You guys know me. It's hard for me to finish a book.

Went through the entire thing, looked at all the exercises. Some really great stuff in there. So make sure to check it out, pick up a copy, but take a screenshot of this and tag me on Instagram at Lewis Howes on your Instagram story, tag Danica Patrick as well, and let us know what you thought of this. We'd love to hear from you over on Twitter, Instagram, all the places, and share this with your friends. If you know someone who might be inspired by this, someone who could be uplifted by this message, then make sure to share this with your friends. If you know someone who might be inspired by this, someone who could be uplifted by this message, then make sure to share it with your friends.

Again, lewishouse.com slash 592 is the link. The full video interview is there. All the other show notes and links we talked about in this episode are at that link as well at lewishouse.com slash 592. If you haven't left us a review over on iTunes yet, please subscribe and review. That'll help us spread the message even more to more people in the world. And we're constantly trying to reach a greater audience to help people unlock their true

potential and live their fullest lives. So that would mean the world to us. If you want to give back in any way, we have got some amazing guests coming up, some big interviews, and also the five-year anniversary of the School of Greatness is coming up very soon. Make sure to stay tuned to that. We've got a special episode just for you, for everyone who's been around in the podcast for a while. You're going to love this one. It's coming up very soon. But as Bruce Lee once said, the successful warrior is the average man with laser like focus. You have the ability to be successful. You have the ability and opportunity to create the results you want in your life, in any area of your life. If you are willing to have laser like focus,

always remember how powerful and inspiring and incredible that you are as a human being. You're here for a reason. It's your job to make meaning of that reason. And you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great. Thank you. Bye.