From Alcoholism and Chronic Illness to Endurance Racing

From Alcoholism and Chronic Illness to Endurance Racing: Defying the Odds with Nick Klingensmith In this episode, you'll hear: How did Nick go from dealing with medical issues to being an extreme athlete?  How can we shift out of the victim mentality?  What do defensive feelings tell us about our role in the situation? Are you drinking more than you’d like? Are your relationships not where you want them to be? Do you feel like medical issues are all you will ever know? If you are ready for a change, this is for you.  In this episode, Mathew, Dr. Dave, and Nick discuss why making dramatic change is so hard for many people, how a rebellious kid became an adult rebelling against his own bad habits, and what it means to understand that “everything that happened to me is for me." Nick tells us he was abandoned, neglected, and rejected by his parents and the kids at school. His drinking started when he was young because it helped him feel like he finally fit in and turned off the part of his brain that made him care if they even liked him or not. Dr. Dave notes that these kinds of patterns will follow us into adulthood unless we go out of our way to change them. Fear controlled Nick's life when he was younger, and now he actively faces his fear to regain control. Nick sees failure as a prerequisite for moving forward and understands that when faced with a challenge, it is not a binary of “yes or no” or “can you or can't you." Instead, it's about how you can and what it will take. What do you want to do, and what is the price of admission?  Nick Klingensmith is a 4x cancer survivor, type 1 diabetic, recovering alcoholic, has sleep apnea, nerve damage, 7 herniated discs from 2 rollover accidents, and almost died from meningitis. However, he defied it all and redefined his life when he became an obstacle course racer and is now living inspired to embrace purpose, overcome adversity, find belonging, and encourage others to do the same. After being thrown out of a Las Vegas hotel in a drunken haze, jeopardizing his career and relationships, Nick knew he had to make a change. After he beat cancer for the fourth time, his boss suggested he train for a Spartan race that was 9 weeks away. Nick had so many reasons he told himself he couldn't do it, but eventually, he decided to try. For him, it was about defying comfort and realizing that he could experience life. Refusing to accept his limitations, Nick has completed over 100 Spartan races, six major marathons, several ultras, and scores of other obstacle and endurance events. He left the logistics industry to pursue his career as a motivational speaker, using his experience in endurance racing and overcoming his personal adversity to inspire other achievement-driven professionals to push past self-limiting doubts, build resilience, and take purposeful action toward their goals. “The superpower I embrace is vulnerability.” Follow the podcast:  Listen on Apple Podcasts (link: https://apple.co/3s1YH7h)  Listen on iHeart (link: https://ihr.fm/3MEY7FM)  Listen on Spotify (Link: https://spoti.fi/3yMmQCE)  Get LFPWLI Merch here! Resources: StrideMotivation.com THROUGH THE FIRE  Spartan Races DavidGoggins.com   Connect with Mathew Blades:  Twitter - twitter.com/MathewBlades Instagram - instagram.com/MathewBladesmedia/  Facebook - facebook.com/mathewbladesmedia/  Website - learnfrompeoplewholivedit.com/   Additional Credits: LFPWLI is managed by Sam Robertson