Training over the last few months for a backpacking trip, I’ve gotten turned on to the ultralight gear community. Search “ultralight backpacking” on YouTube, and you’ll quickly become overwhelmed by the amount of available content. Specifically, for an ultralight backpacker, the goal is to minimize the weight you carry on your trip. Simply put, carry [...]

Gratitude, and the idea behind writing down what we're grateful for each day, seem to be gaining more and more traction. So what's the hype, and is gratitude journaling all it's cracked up to be? Here's some research and science that may make you want to crack open your own gratitude journal… Why gratitude?  Let's [...]

"Minutes become hours, hours become days, days become weeks, and before you know it, a year has passed with little to show for it." - Nick Lavery In 2013, on his second combat rotation to Afghanistan, Green Beret Nick Lavery and his detachment fell victim to an insider attack. Nick ultimately survived that attack but [...]

I often use my writing as a way to let my mind reflect on things in my life. More often than not, writing is where I host mental Jiu Jitsu matches with myself. Here’s an example of one of those grappling matches I’m having with myself right now, wrestling through my own beliefs about my [...]

Here's a question I've kept asking myself over and over again… one that has changed everything as I've answered it… "Why not me?" For years, I had unspoken aspirations. "I'd like to run my own successful business." "I'd like to have a podcast." "I want to write a book." "I'd like to be a coach." [...]

My daughter called me yesterday, wrapping up the last day of her sophomore year. She was excited, even borderline giddy, about the grade she had gotten on her math final. That short conversation was an opportunity for both of us to celebrate her hard work and for me to let her know how proud I [...]

"I don't have time."  I hear people say this a lot. They're overwhelmed by everything they have to get done, so they procrastinate on doing what's most important. The busyness of life leaves them saying "I don't have time" to the things in their lives that really matter.  You're right. You don't have time.  You [...]

Imagine this with me. When you wake up each morning, you have a jar beside your bed, and inside that jar are one hundred balls. Each of these balls contains one percent of the energy you have to spend on your day. You’ll carry the jar with you, and over the course of your day, [...]

The end of my 75 Hard journey is on my doorstep. In 24 hours, I’ll be celebrating seventy-five days of discipline and hard work. Reflecting back on the last 1776 hours, I’ve found the idea of finishing this more emotionally charged than I could have expected. Like finishing a marathon, crossing this finish line brings [...]

Six years ago, I ran Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. It was a grueling run, but of the 26.2 miles, I found the last two miles to be the most challenging. I was well-trained, but regardless, ending strong tested me. It pushed all my physical limits but challenged my mental toughness even more. Finishing would [...]