Why High Performers Are Never Satisfied in Business and Life l Ken Rideout episode artwork

EPISODE · May 7, 2026 · 44 MIN

Why High Performers Are Never Satisfied in Business and Life l Ken Rideout

from One Day with Jon Bier · host Jon Bier

Sponsored By:→ Neuro | Go to https://getneuro.com and use code ONEDAY at checkout for 15% OFF your entire order.DescriptionPrison guard at 18. Wall Street trader. A decade-long opioid addiction nobody knew about. Then running — and winning — some of the hardest races on earth after 50.Jon Bier sits down with his friend Ken Rideout — national bestselling author, fastest marathoner in the world over 50, and one of the most brutally honest people Jon knows — for a conversation about what it actually takes to outrun your own worst version of yourself. Jon knows Ken well. He still didn't know 90% of the stories in this book. That's how deep it goes.Ken doesn't motivate people with highlight reels. He motivates people by refusing to stop — at 103 fever in Kona, in the Gobi Desert with no camping experience, in a decade of addiction that nobody saw coming because the discipline never stopped. The opinion of yourself is the only one that matters. Ken has been proving that to himself his entire life.Nothing in this conversation is comfortable. That's kind of the point.In this episode: • How Ken hid a decade-long opioid addiction while building a Wall Street career and finishing marathons — and what finally made him stop • Why quitting at the Hawaii Ironman became the defining moment of his athletic life, and the fuel that's been burning ever since • The mindset behind being the fastest man in the world over 50 — and why it has nothing to do with genetics and everything to do with never negotiating with yourselfFind Ken: • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ken_rideout/ • Website: https://www.thekenrideout.com/ • The Book: https://www.theothersideofhard.com/Timestamps:0:00 - Intro1:02 - Why Nothing Is Ever Enough (And Why That's the Point)3:52 - A Decade as a Functioning Drug Addict — While Building a Career7:11 - How He Used Drugs as a Reward System (And Exercise as the Gate)9:38 - The Parts of the Book That Got Cut11:25 - The Mentor Who Changed Everything: Getting Hired With No Experience14:19 - The Pedigree He Never Had & the Emotional Intelligence That Replaced It16:22 - Mind Over Matter: Why Average Biometrics Beat Elite Genetics18:02 - Stop Negotiating With Yourself — The Only Mindset That Works19:16 - When His Wife Got Breast Cancer: The Moment Health Became Everything20:35 - You Can Teach Yourself to Be Tough22:01 - Raising Kids Who Do Hard Things (Wrestling, Boxing & Losing in Front of Dad)24:58 - Crying After Berlin: Why His Opinion of Himself Is the Only One That Matters32:13 - Quitting the Hawaii Ironman — The Sting That Never Leaves34:24 - Racing Kona With Pneumonia & Ending Up in the Medical Tent36:48 - The Gobi Desert Race in Mongolia: Winning With No Experience41:30 - What's Next: The Book, a Possible Film & the Agency

Sponsored By:→ Neuro | Go to https://getneuro.com and use code ONEDAY at checkout for 15% OFF your entire order.DescriptionPrison guard at 18. Wall Street trader. A decade-long opioid addiction nobody knew about. Then running — and winning — some of the hardest races on earth after 50.Jon Bier sits down with his friend Ken Rideout — national bestselling author, fastest marathoner in the world over 50, and one of the most brutally honest people Jon knows — for a conversation about what it actually takes to outrun your own worst version of yourself. Jon knows Ken well. He still didn't know 90% of the stories in this book. That's how deep it goes.Ken doesn't motivate people with highlight reels. He motivates people by refusing to stop — at 103 fever in Kona, in the Gobi Desert with no camping experience, in a decade of addiction that nobody saw coming because the discipline never stopped. The opinion of yourself is the only one that matters. Ken has been proving that to himself his entire life.Nothing in this conversation is comfortable. That's kind of the point.In this episode: • How Ken hid a decade-long opioid addiction while building a Wall Street career and finishing marathons — and what finally made him stop • Why quitting at the Hawaii Ironman became the defining moment of his athletic life, and the fuel that's been burning ever since • The mindset behind being the fastest man in the world over 50 — and why it has nothing to do with genetics and everything to do with never negotiating with yourselfFind Ken: • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ken_rideout/ • Website: https://www.thekenrideout.com/ • The Book: https://www.theothersideofhard.com/Timestamps:0:00 - Intro1:02 - Why Nothing Is Ever Enough (And Why That's the Point)3:52 - A Decade as a Functioning Drug Addict — While Building a Career7:11 - How He Used Drugs as a Reward System (And Exercise as the Gate)9:38 - The Parts of the Book That Got Cut11:25 - The Mentor Who Changed Everything: Getting Hired With No Experience14:19 - The Pedigree He Never Had & the Emotional Intelligence That Replaced It16:22 - Mind Over Matter: Why Average Biometrics Beat Elite Genetics18:02 - Stop Negotiating With Yourself — The Only Mindset That Works19:16 - When His Wife Got Breast Cancer: The Moment Health Became Everything20:35 - You Can Teach Yourself to Be Tough22:01 - Raising Kids Who Do Hard Things (Wrestling, Boxing & Losing in Front of Dad)24:58 - Crying After Berlin: Why His Opinion of Himself Is the Only One That Matters32:13 - Quitting the Hawaii Ironman — The Sting That Never Leaves34:24 - Racing Kona With Pneumonia & Ending Up in the Medical Tent36:48 - The Gobi Desert Race in Mongolia: Winning With No Experience41:30 - What's Next: The Book, a Possible Film & the Agency

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Why High Performers Are Never Satisfied in Business and Life l Ken Rideout

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This episode was published on May 7, 2026.

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Sponsored By:→ Neuro | Go to https://getneuro.com and use code ONEDAY at checkout for 15% OFF your entire order.DescriptionPrison guard at 18. Wall Street trader. A decade-long opioid addiction nobody knew about. Then running — and winning — some of...

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