From Car Crash to Conquering the Seven Second Summits | Jenn Drummond

00:00
And this guy came running and I could hear words, but I wasn't registering those words were coming to me. And he's like, are you okay? Are you okay? I'm like, I'm hearing it, but I'm not connecting. And then he peeled back the windshield and we caught eyes. And he looks at him and he goes, are you okay? And I looked at him and I'm like, I must not be, because his facial expression is terrible. So I'm like, oh my gosh. I was so afraid to look at my body that I just closed my eyes.

00:28
and I wiggled my fingers and toes. It's like, oh my gosh, I can feel my fingers and toes. I can feel my fingers and toes. And he's like, if you can feel your fingers and toes, you're gonna be okay. I just have to leave you here until the ambulance comes because I don't know if I move you something happens. And so I went to the hospital and I got checked out the same day. I took an Uber home to my house. I remember walking in that front door.

00:55
And I like you hear kids screaming, there's pizza on the counter, someone goes by and rollerblades like all the things, right? Like total mayhem that before would have been like, what is going on? At this moment, I'm just sobbing. Like, like tears are just running down my face because I'm thinking, I almost never got to be a part of this anymore. Like my story was done and it's not done.

01:24
Today's guest is Jenn Drummond. Jen is not only a mother of seven, but also a world record holding Mountaineer and the author of Breakproof. Her journey is really nothing short of fascinating and inspiring, and it really serves as this powerful testament to the human spirit's resilience and determination. In this episode, we'll discuss Jen's remarkable transformation, which really began with a life-threatening car accident in 2018. 2018, not too long ago.

01:52
This near fatal experience served as a wake up call, prompting Jen to embrace a life filled with adventure and significance. She'll share how this pivotal moment led her to pursue audacious goals, such as climbing Mount Everest and others, and aiming to become the first woman to complete the seven second summits. We'll explore the themes of authentic living, the catalyst for change, and really the pursuit of bold goals. Jen's story is a beacon of hope and courage, reminding us...

02:20
that while we can't control when we leave this life, we can certainly choose how we live it. So without further ado, here is my conversation with Jenn Drummond. I'm Matt Gilhooly and this is The Life Shift, candid conversations about the pivotal moments that have changed lives forever.

02:50
Hello, my friends. Welcome to the LifeShift Podcast. I am here with Jenn. Hello, Jen. Hi, how are you today? So good. And Jenn is joining us from Utah, Park City, Utah. And we were just talking about the weather. I'm in Florida and it's quite humid and crazy here. And so hopefully you're having a nice weather out there. Yeah, so I'm in an elevated desert. So we are not humid, but we are warm. There you go. Yeah, it's...

03:15
Utah, what I know of Utah is very beautiful. So I hope to make it to all other parts of Utah at some point in my life. Yay, please do. Which is, you've been to all sorts of places that a lot of people haven't been to. And I'm excited to hear a little bit about that. But before we go down that road, let me just share for anyone that's new with the Life Shift podcast listening, because Jen is a guest, this show really stems from my own personal experience. When I was eight, my mom was killed in a motorcycle accident.

03:45
At that moment, my parents were divorced. They lived thousands of miles apart. I lived with my mom. And at that moment in time, my life completely shifted from everything I knew to everything I didn't know. And really my dad and I kind of navigated this world, figuring out like now what do we do? But it was like late 80s, early 90s, and people weren't really talking about grief. It was just like...

04:12
He'll get over it, he's a kid, you make him happy, kind of go through that. But behind the scenes, I was always like, I wonder if other people have these moments in time in which it really like draws this line in the sand and everything's different. So I started the podcast and it turns out that a lot of people do have lots of life shift moments. And so I feel a little less alone in this experience. But this is really where the show and the idea for the show stems from is just my own personal shift in my life that I couldn't control. And you know,

04:42
Here we are able to talk to people like you. So thank you for being a part of this and just being a part of this healing journey that I'm on. Oh, my pleasure. We're all on a healing journey. Some of us draw lines in the sand deep and some of us just put little tally marks. Yeah. And it's so interesting to me too sometimes, I guess growing up with this traumatic event in my life.

05:04
I never really realized that other people have these intentional life shift moments until I started talking to more people and then digging into my own past. Maybe I did that as well, but it just never crossed my mind that people would be like, yes, I'm going to light my own fire and I'm going to change things for the good. You did that based on some other traumatic events as well, but that was a fascinating discovery of my own. Oh, I can imagine.

05:29
So before we jump into your life shift moment, maybe you can just tell us a little bit about who Jen is 2024. Like what does your life look like now? What do you do now? Yeah, so 2024 is a big year for me. I have seven children and I know it's crazy. And my oldest is gonna be a senior in high school. So I have a senior, junior, sophomore, freshman, seventh grader and twin sixth graders. So I'm out of elementary school. Well, there's that. And like.

05:58
Yeah, right. And so I literally am like, okay, this is the last year that everybody's home under my roof before I start losing him to college and different life experiences. So I have been very much probably a helicopter mother this year because I'm like, I want to hold on to these moments as long as I can. I mean, that's amazing, though. I mean, to want to do that as a parent, a lot of parents are just like some...

06:24
check out or some just, you know, don't want to be around all the time. And I love that you just want to be a part of all their lives. Hopefully they're enjoying it as well. And they will look back with fondness of all the helicoptering that you're doing. Yes. Yes. You know, and I did have balance for a while, right? Like I was doing this big world record pursuit for the last few years of my life. And that distance has allowed me to, you know, grow a little fonder of everybody here and hold on to it as much as I can.

06:51
Yeah, no, I mean, we're going to talk about that because that is something that I don't think a lot of people can relate to that are listening. And it's so amazing to to one, just decide to do it, which I think is kind of stemming from a life shift moment of yours, but then to actually do it. So good on you for both of those decisions to kind of move forward with that, because I think I think so many of us would just be afraid of that first.

07:18
like inclination to, oh, maybe I should do this. So like maybe you can kind of paint the picture of what your life was like leading up to why you made this decision or why you shifted your life in this way. Yeah, you know, I was the girl next door for sure growing up. I mean, I definitely was ambitious and a lot of energy. So let's not discount that, but I played sports. I went to high school, I went to college. I took a job in finance right out of school.

07:46
worked for a couple of years, then started my own firm, worked a whole bunch more because of that, and then started having children. So I started to hire myself out of a job, and I was the stay at home mom, which where I grew up was the dream. So here I am living the dream, wondering why mine resembled more of a nightmare than a dream, and I don't know where I went wrong. And I just remember telling myself, I'm like,

08:14
Okay, I'm so lucky. I'm so lucky I get to be a stay at home mom. I should be more grateful. And it was fun for a while, but then all of a sudden my kids were in school all day. And I didn't quite know what to do with myself in case somebody needed me or something. And I just felt a little lost. I remember going to a Thanksgiving party for the school. And I was the room mom in a couple of rooms because I was so used to busying myself. I needed to stay busy. And...

08:43
I remember these moms showed up that were helping with one of the parties and they had like turkey sweaters on and socks with like turkey things on them. And they had like turkey feathers in their hair. And they came towards me with an outfit so I could match them. And I was mortified. I literally went into the bathroom.

09:05
I'm like trying not to cry wondering how this was my life. Like how did I get here and why is this me? And I pulled it together and I just like, I buckled down and I said, you know what? This is just the season I'm in. I'm gonna grit and bear through it. And someday these kids are gonna launch and I'm gonna miss these days, they tell me. And you know, that was my life. It was this excuse of you're lucky. You'd be grateful for what you have. This is what your life is like. And just, you know.

09:34
You only have two more decades of this or something, right? Grin and bear it, right? Grin and bear it, for sure. And it sounds like you were kind of like living this, I call it a checklist life of like the things that we're supposed to do. Someone says, you know, society tells us we have to do this, this, this, and this. That somebody that we can't name, right? Like so and so, but no, I was, I was checking the boxes, getting through the motions, doing all the things that looked good, right? Like it's reputable to hide in your children.

10:01
you're doing a great job at parenting, you're volunteering, you're doing all these things, like your society praises that. Meanwhile, I'm dying on the inside, like wondering how I'm gonna get through this life. And I was like masking depression, miserable, like I just wasn't thriving by any definition of the word. Yeah, I don't think that's uncommon. I think a lot of people get lost in that parenting role and then they feel guilty that they feel

10:31
bad about not having this identity. You know, like I feel like there's a lot of mixed emotions that come along with that and society. And I don't know who's telling us this. I think we're putting a lot of this on ourselves. Like we think, oh, well, people expect me to be a good this, that, or the other, but you think a lot of people care? I don't know. Looking back, I don't think a lot of people cared. That was probably my big aha moment, right? Like all of a sudden I realized, guess what? There's moms.

10:58
that love to bake brownies and Pinterest is their favorite website. I'm not that mom and that's okay. And there's a lot to be a mom that looks differently and is still a good mom. And so I was definitely grateful that I had the accident that I had because it woke me up to, where am I making, why am I making this stuff up? Well, tell us what, what

11:22
What accident was this? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So my life-changing event or lying in the sand happened on December 18 of 2018. I was driving home to my house and was paying attention to the reservoir at the side of the road. I just kept thinking like, I'm surprised it hasn't frozen over yet. I wonder if we're gonna get a lot of snow this year. You know, all the thoughts. And then all of a sudden my eyes got pulled back to the road and I realized I was coming up fast on a semi truck that was definitely going under the speed limit.

11:50
And so I went to go into the fast lane to get around the semi truck, but I didn't make it. And the second trailer that he was pulling hit the front passenger side of my car. It went end over end three times. I'm like, okay, I'm going to lose momentum. I'm not going to end over end anymore. And then I started doing these sideways rolls until the car came to a stop and I was hanging upside down from it.

12:14
And this guy came running and I could hear words, but I wasn't registering those words were coming to me. And he was like, are you okay? Are you okay? I'm like, I'm hearing it, but I'm not connecting. And then he peeled back the windshield and we caught eyes. And he looks at him and he goes, are you okay? And I looked at him and I'm like, I must not be, because his facial expression is terrible. So I'm like, oh my gosh. I was so afraid to look at my body that I just closed my eyes.

12:43
and I wiggled my fingers and toes. It's like, oh my gosh, I can feel my fingers and toes. I can feel my fingers and toes. And he's like, if you can feel your fingers and toes, you're gonna be okay. I just have to leave you here until the ambulance comes because I don't know if I'd move you, something happens. And so I went to the hospital and I got checked out the same day. I took an Uber home to my house. I remember walking in that front door.

13:10
And I have like you hear kids screaming, there's pizza on the counter, someone goes by and rollerblades, like all the things, right? Like total mayhem. That before would have been like, what is going on? At this moment, I'm just sobbing. Like tears are just running down my face because I'm thinking I almost never got to be a part of this anymore. Like my story was done and it's not.

13:37
done and all these things that I thought were bad or wrong or whatever are actually just beautiful because their life, right? It was fascinating. And then, so we had, I have that accident, I get a call from the police a couple weeks afterwards and they tell me like, hey Jen, we've rebuilt this accident every way we possibly can. We cannot build a scenario where you walk away, let alone live. And we just wanted you to know. I'm like, okay.

14:05
And then that same week, a girlfriend of mine goes running on a trail. She calls me to go. I'm like, I can't go. It's like a bad weather. I can only run in good weather, believe it or not. And she's, and I literally get a call from her husband that evening saying she went for a run. She slipped, hit her head on a rock and is not coming home. Oh God.

14:27
So I'm metabolizing like this crazy accident that my car looks like a tin can, it doesn't even make sense that I walk away from. My girlfriend who's doing something healthy doesn't get to come home and I have nowhere to place it in my head. And so the only thing I come up with is, we don't get to choose when we die, but we sure get to choose how we live. And was I really living? And that was my line in the sand.

14:56
because I all of a sudden realized that everybody's opinions or that somebody or that whatever was gonna be in the grave pretty close to the time that I was gonna be in the grave. So why did I care what that was? Because that's not out, like I don't check out with that person. I check out with the guy upstairs and myself. And so I need to decide if I'm using my talents, not somebody else. And that like started a whole bucket list and all kinds of things.

15:25
I can understand that. I think, I mean, first of all, to find out that they ran it all different ways and that, you know, there's no possible way that you could walk away from this. And then, like you said, with your friend going out and doing something seemingly not simple but seemingly normal and for everyday kind of occurrence thing and not being able to come home. Did part of you, was there, was there a part of you that like looked back on those years where you were like, I don't.

15:54
like this, like, and feel guilty about all the time that maybe you didn't enjoy the things that we should be enjoying and those kinds of things. Cause I feel like someone like me, I would spend all that time wasted looking back on those moments. Are you someone like that? Or were you just like, slate clean, let's move forward. I think I was so afraid of dying. Okay. Like there was so much left in me. So the past was the past. The past is the past. I'm like, oh my goodness. Like,

16:21
I wasted how much time? I don't have time to waste more. I need to look at this and be like, what happens if this is my last year or month or week or life? Like, I wanna do things and see things and experience things. And when the accident was happening, I saw out of the corner of my eye, like the whole thing happened. And I remember being like, okay, I promise I'll do something significant. Like, just give me a chance. And so I, you're like, okay.

16:49
I said I was gonna do something significant. Like I need to do something significant because I need to hold up my end of the deal. Yeah, cause there's a reason that I made it through this. There's a reason why I was saved. I couldn't make, like, and I just was like, what is it, what is it, what is it? And I started leaning into myself again. I'm like, who am I? Like I was so lost in my children. Like I didn't, if you asked me to go out to dinner, I would know, I'd like chicken nuggets and fries. I have no idea what I would order.

17:18
I didn't know my favorite color anymore. I didn't, like just silly things. I just didn't get myself time to explore. And so I started making a list of like places I wanted to see, things I wanted to try, experiences I wanted to have. Did it feel realistic like when you were making that list or did it feel like a wish list that like, I'll get to that someday? Or did you really feel like this is a definitive list that I'm gonna do? Oh, I mean, there's stuff on that list that's definitely a wish list.

17:47
And then there's like, and there's stuff on the list that once you go to a place, you're like, oh my gosh, now I wanna see this or that, like it's always expanding. But I think the purpose of the list is just to get you used to dreaming again and playing again and allowing concepts. Yeah, just a lot like figuring yourself out, like why do I wanna do that? What's interesting there? What am I learning about myself? And I mean, I was a financial advisor before, right? So like I'm used to this.

18:15
Okay, this decade, we do this, that decade, we do that. So I'm putting this huge list on, and then I'm starting to break the list saying, okay, museums are for my 90s. Right now, I need to go swim in oceans and climb mountains and ski ski runs, because that's only gonna get harder as I get older. So I started dividing the list up a little bit based on what made sense on what I was physically capable of doing. Right, but nothing, you're not gonna push off the big things because you know, like you said,

18:44
You have to choose to live and choose how you're going to live. And you don't get to choose the other part when it stops. So what was like the first thing where that you did that you felt, Oh, wow, I'm doing this for me, not for the kids, not for anyone else around me. But like for me, what was the first thing that you did that kind of brought you joy in that way? I was really bad at it at first, but the first thing I did is made myself go on a date by myself once a week and just, I like blocked that. And I said, okay, no matter what,

19:14
I mean, one of my dates literally was driving on the highway to music blasting, singing songs with the radio. Okay. I mean, we're not talking. I mean, good on you getting back in the car. Yeah, that was a challenge that took me about six to nine months, to be honest. But yeah, no, it was just learning how to appreciate my life and realize my kids are important. But if I don't teach them that I'm important,

19:41
then when they become parents, how do they learn how to have a boundary for themselves and for their children? And so all of a sudden I realized, I'm my kids, fast forward. And so I need to show them what's possible for them because they're not getting it anywhere else. Yeah, no, I mean, I think there's also something really beautiful about a kid seeing their parent, like living in their truth and themselves. Because I think when,

20:10
I think we take for granted as children, we take for granted that our parents are just always going to be there, always going to do the things for us. But then when we start seeing them enjoy things that they love to do and they're living their life, I think that's even more inspiring. Because like you said, not even when they become parents, but even just like becoming themselves is like, oh, mom likes to do this and I didn't know she liked to do this and now she does. Maybe there are things that I like to do that I don't even know yet.

20:39
So there's like that inspiration piece that I think probably brought your kids a lot of joy too, even if they didn't tell you. Yeah, well, and if you demonstrate curiosity, it allows them to start getting curious about things and opens the door to other ways of doing stuff. And taking chances and like things that maybe seem scary, and then you do it, and then maybe you don't do it, like maybe you don't love it. And that's okay too, because now you know. Did you face any of those kinds of things where you were like, yes, this is on my list,

21:09
I did not like doing that. Yeah, no, funny story. So I have a friend that has a plane and we went shopping. And all of a sudden I was like, oh my gosh, I am buying a plane. This is absolutely magical. I didn't have to do TSA. We dropped the kids at school. We went shopping. We came back before they were out of school. Magic moment. So I had this like idea of what it was gonna look like and what it was gonna feel like and all the pieces. And so I started getting my pilot's license.

21:38
And I like one day I'm like, okay, I'm gonna bring a couple of my kids on this flight so they can fly over the house and they'll think it's cool. So, you know, pilot's license is a lot of work. Okay, the cool part is being a passenger on a private plane, it is not flying the private plane. So I get the two kids in the plane, you know, there's no bathroom, there's no snacks, there's no television, there's no nothing. It's hot. And they're saying they're like complaining the entire time. I'm like, I can't play a plane and have these guys complaining.

22:08
And then what happens when you fly like 99% of the time when you're in a single engine plane is you're always looking for a place to land the thing if something goes wrong. It's not like I'm up there and be like, oh, this is so beautiful. I'm having the best time. It's like, okay, if something went wrong, where would we land? If something went wrong, where would we land? Well, it's not a switch. So when I come home, all of a sudden I'm scanning my environment for something that's wrong instead of enjoying it. And you have seven kids.

22:33
there's always something you can find wrong, okay? And I'm like, this isn't turning me into a good parent. Then I found out how much it was to insure myself and all the pieces and I'm like, I'm out. Now I know, I didn't know before. I know I'm excusing myself from this pursuit and life is good. And that was a lesson. But you tried it and then maybe before as the like the school mom, you know, of the rooms, the room mom could never have imagined.

23:01
Or maybe she could have imagined, but would you have taken those chances? Because you were supposed to be the mom. You were supposed to be at the PTA meetings and wearing your turkey shirt and your turkey socks. I know. Yeah. Did you wear those in the plane? Yeah, no, that's burned. Burned. Burned. Yeah. But you had your bucket list. Now, I don't know. You don't call it a bucket list, do you? It's just a list. It's a list. Yeah. Yeah. On there was something pretty, pretty amazing, pretty world record breaking. Yeah.

23:31
Let's start with how that started. On that list was climb a mountain. I live in Park City. I'm surrounded by mountains, like everywhere. And so I had asked, and then the next year, 2020, you know, 2018, the accident happened, 2019, I'm in this like dream mode. 2020, I'm turning 40. I'm like, oh, this is a big year. This is a significant landmark in my life. I need to do something cool for my 40th birthday. And so when I looked at my- Welcome pandemic. Yeah, well, that interrupted my plan.

24:01
So here I am like, I'm gonna climb a mountain. Like that's gonna be cool. So I asked some friends, if you could climb a mountain, what mountain would you climb in the world? And a couple of them said this mountain named Amadeblum. I'd never heard of it. Like it's in Nepal, it means the mother's necklace. Someone told me it was the Paramount Pictures logo. So if I saw a movie, I could be like, hey, I climbed that mountain. I'm like, okay, cool. So I'm training for Amadeblum. And like you said, COVID enters the scene.

24:28
So now I'm homeschooling seven children and not training for any mountain because I'm not traveling anywhere. And- That's a mountain of its own. That was a mountain of its own. Homeschooling seven children. Yes, yes. And one day, like one of my little guys was struggling with his math homework. So I'm doing that parent pep talk. We do hard things. Like, you've got this buddy, like blah, blah, blah. And this little guy looks up at me and he goes, mom, if we do hard things, why are you climbing a mountain called I'm a dumb blonde instead of a real mountain like Mount Everest?

24:58
And I'm sitting there thinking like, I'm a dumb blonde. I'm a dumb blonde, honey. Not I'm a dumb blonde. Who are you telling this to? Oh, kids. And so then I'm like, you know what? Finish your homework, we'll look at Everest. And he did and we did. And then he went to bed and I was still looking at Everest. I'm like, you know what? If this kid thinks Everest is the hardest mountain in the whole world, I'm gonna climb it. And I'm gonna show them whatever Everest is we're capable of climbing.

25:24
So I call a coach and this coach is like, oh yeah, I can get you ready for Everest. The battle will open next year, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So I buy this book about becoming an uphill athlete. Like, okay, so I buy this book. I'm like reading the book. And in the front of it, there's a story of this lady who gets a Guinness World Record. I'm talking to my coach. I'm like, my kids learned how to read and Guinness World Record books. If I got a Guinness World Record, I'd actually be the coolest mom my kids know. And I'm kind of about that.

25:53
And my coach was like, okay, cool, I'll think of something. And a few weeks later, he's the one who calls me back. And he's like, Jen, I have the perfect world record for you. I'm like, okay, what? He's like, I think you should be the first woman to climb the seven second summits. Like, I don't know what you're talking about. What? And he's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's like, listen, he's like the seven second summits. It's the second highest point on each of the seven continents. It's harder than the first seven.

26:24
It's only been done by one male, so you'd be the first woman in the world to do it. And he goes, if you think about it, seven continents, seven mountains, seven children, I think it's a jackpot. And I'm like, it is! I have never slept in a tent before, but you think we can figure this out? He's like, I got you, girl, we'll go, we'll figure it out. Had you climbed a mountain at all by then, local ones?

26:48
Yeah, yeah. I mean, I've done enough to be like, I mean, the beautiful thing about climbing a mountain is you're in nature, right? It's gorgeous. It's quiet. No one says, Mom, all these wonderful little details. Yeah, no, I mean, first of all, like, I can't imagine, I can imagine dreaming like that. I can't imagine for myself. And maybe I'll get there someday of being like, yeah, let's do it. I can do that. Like, how do you go from this, like, this giant idea?

27:18
to like actually making it happen? Yeah, well, I think in the beginning, there was a part of me that was like, guess what? If this doesn't happen, it's never been done before. So NBD, right? Like, let's just see what goes on. And so then you start doing it, and then like you're halfway through it, and you think, oh my gosh, like this could really happen. This is crazy. And then you start getting more than halfway through it, and then you kind of hold onto it tighter, because you're sitting there thinking,

27:47
Oh my gosh, this is going to be over. Like I'm going to be sad. This has been like my life's purpose for the last couple of years. Like what am I going to do? And then you're like 12 steps from the top of your last one and you almost don't want to take them, right? Like you're taking them, but you're like, oh my gosh. And then you get to the top and there's like every feeling you could possibly have from pure elation to like deep.

28:15
seated devastation that it's done. Like we're so powerful. And I think we like to pretend we're not. Well, I agree. I think we, I don't know if it's that we pretend we're not. I don't think we've, to your point, to the conversation we were having earlier about how like your kids see you do these things and now they know it's possible. Like a lot of us haven't seen the people around us show us that. Like we've seen it on TV. We've seen it in books. We've seen it.

28:45
But it still blows my mind to sit here virtually across from you that you were like, OK, yeah, I'll climb a mountain. OK, yeah, I'll climb the second highest mountains on all of the continents. No big deal. NBD. And then you do it. I don't know. It's amazing. So congratulations for doing that. But I just can't even imagine having the confidence, I guess, to do it.

29:13
Like we set these massive goals, right? Or I hope we set massive goals because I think we're designed to set massive goals. And that massive goal gives us direction. It allows us to say yes or no to things that show up on our lives because it either brings us closer to that goal or farther away from it. And when it's such a big goal, you don't have margin for error. Like you have to say yes to things that bring you closer to bringing it to life. And then once you're on that,

29:43
journey. Like that's where the magic happens. Like a hundred percent. Because for example, I was climbing Mount Kenya in Africa. It's a rock climb, like pitches and rock shoes and harnesses and all this stuff. So I had to learn how to rock climb because mountaineering is a little bit different. And then I got introduced to this charity and about how women had period poverty and this whole cause that I knew nothing about.

30:10
And so then I started raising money for this charity. And then we kept 400 women in school for four years. And like this magical thing that I never knew existed all of a sudden became so cool to be a part of and make like a little dent in the world on that you do that. And now every client is like, okay, what charity can I benefit? What can we do? Like, how do we make this more? Right, it's not even about the climb. The climb was what got me there, but it's the journey, which is what made it magical.

30:40
Would you say the metaphorical hardest step was that just like that first one, like getting to that first mountain? Not for me. No, I think some people, the first step is, but like for me, I have so much excitement on the first step. Like I'm an easy start. You're like running up the mountain. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But where I run into problems is like when I'm in the messy middle, right? Like, you know, you don't get to see the summit cause it's too far away. You can't see where you started because you're too far away from that.

31:10
So you're in this middle and you're just like, am I making progress? Am I, what am I doing? Why am I here? I could have used this money and been out of beach and here I am freezing and peeing in a hole and like, you know, just things. And so I'm an easy start, but that middle can get me sometimes. Yeah. How do you push through that? How does someone like you push through that? Yeah, you know, I start making many milestones. Okay. You start celebrating like the tiniest thing and I'll like, I would walk.

31:40
and we didn't have any markers, I'd be like, okay, I'm gonna put a timer on my phone and for the next hour, this walk is for Jack, my oldest or whatever. And then after that, my next hour would be for Joe. And I would literally just run through memories I had of them in my head. I would send them like little messages from across the world in my head and just really connect to who that child was and what was so special about him. And I would get out of the monotony that I was in and I'd be like, okay, well, I had to get somewhere because I've been walking for an hour, next kid.

32:10
What does it look like to climb a mountain? I think a lot of people can't, I mean, I've climbed like 14,000 ones, like in Colorado, but like, what is, what does a real mountain look like when you're climbing? Like, what is that experience like? It's like, okay, so have you been to the Grand Canyon? I have not, I've flown over it. Okay, so it's one of those things where you can look at a picture of it, and then when you actually go there, you're like, okay, pictures don't do it justice.

32:38
Right? Same thing for mountains. You can like look at a picture of Everest and you go to Everest, you're like, oh, okay, this is okay. I get it, right? Like next level. Yeah, makes sense now. Yeah, but I think these mountains are so big and they're so beautiful and they're so just stunning in their own way that you just get caught into this world to playground.

33:03
Like there's so much magic in just these different environments and these different parts of the globe. And how lucky am I that I get to be here and experience this? And it's so big, it's small, and it's so small, it's big. How long does something like that take? Like a single mountain? Yeah, different ones take different times. So, for example, Mount Kenya, you do in a day and you're actually racing the clock because it's at the equator. So only only up 12 hours of light.

33:32
and light turns off like a light switch there. And so like that's a short one. K2 was about a four week expedition. And so that's the longest one. And then they're in their different distances in between. Yeah. What was your favorite? Do you have a favorite? Oh, I don't have it. Like that's asking if I have a favorite child. I mean, you like different mountains. I won't go down that road.

33:57
No, but you know, like so Mount Logan was my most physically demanding one. It took us two attempts. So that one was special. Mount Tyree, it was the second female ever to climb it. So that one was kind of special and I think only 15 people had climbed it before us. So they all kind of had their own fun story, their own fun people and way and just experience. I'm grateful for all of it. And you wrote a book.

34:24
Did you write a book about the experience or about this kind of journey of finding you through this? Yeah, so the book I wrote is called break proof and it's seven strategies to build resilience and achieve your life goals And basically what I did is I take the reader to each mountain And I highlight a lesson that that mountain taught me that applies to anybody's life whether business or personal

34:49
so that the reader is getting one, a little bit of a taste of what it's like to be there, but then two, oh, this is a strategy or a concept I can apply to my own life and maybe get further on my own dreams. Yeah, that's amazing. As I think about that concept of the book, were those ideas, because you have a lot of time in your head as you're climbing, and were those ideas like percolating as you were doing this, or was this more of a reflective activity where you're like, oh,

35:18
That one brought me this. Yeah, you know, it's interesting. I was halfway through the pursuit and a friend of mine who's an author, note to self, if an author tells you to write a book, think of who that source is. And he's like, you should write a book. As in like, do you want brownies or cookies with dessert today? Okay. And so I'm like, I should write a book. That would be a great way to share this experience with others and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Let me put that on my list. Yeah, and then you start writing a book and you're like.

35:45
Oh my gosh, this is so hard. It is so hard. And so I started writing and then I was like, okay, what did I really learn from this mountain or what did this mountain really represent in my life? And then I started just honing in on those stories to make them more tangible for the reader. Yeah. It's, in my opinion, in someone that does reflect on experiences like that, did it make that more like a-

36:14
a more rich experience for you? Did like looking back at that journey and what you learned and how you kind of could create something for other people, did that enhance the experience of climbing each of those mountains or the journey to meeting that record? Or was it just kind of just another thing on your list? No, it's kind of interesting. There's some beauty to it and there's some less beauty to it. So tell me about the last beauty. Yeah. So like the last beauty is you start like.

36:44
Like, for example, my K2 climb was a big lesson in my values. And one of my values is people over peaks. And I think it's really important, like who we show up as people is way more important than anything we'll achieve. And that mountain was that lesson, like deep to my core. And it made me realize like how important it is to have values before you do things. However, there are so many other lessons on that mountain that because I didn't excavate them as much.

37:12
they get clouded over a little bit. And I have to be like, read my notes and be like, you know, there's more to it than just that one bullet point that we put in the book. But you get to hold those to yourself, right? Those are like your little, in your keepsake box of in your mind of the things that you've done. Because it's, you know, like so many people will never be able to relate to your experiences.

37:36
So that's so cool to have like that little keepsake of your own of these things that you created for yourself, especially thinking back to like 2017 version of Jen doing her thing in the Thanksgiving day at school. Like, I mean, it blows me away when I think about it too, because I was like, okay, listen guys, I started my career as a waitress at Applebee's, okay? Like I babysat the neighborhood kids, okay? Like I was like Jenny on the block.

38:06
100%. And so now I look back on this, I'm like, I've written a book, I've spoken on global stages, I have achieved a Guinness World Record. Like, it's like, it doesn't even make sense at all. Right? I mean, it does. You conquered it. I mean, does that give you when you look at it like that? Does it give you a sense of pride? Or is it just like, Oh, well, I did that. What's next?

38:30
I mean, I'm trying to enjoy the pursuit. Like I'm definitely a pursuer. Okay, so I love doing this year of slowing down is a little hard for me because it's just not my normal gear. But I think it's so important for me to demonstrate to my children, hey, we're not always in summer mode. Like this is my year to rebuild and kind of get quiet and figure out what I wanna stick my teeth into. And so this is what that looks like. And when you do something significant,

39:00
allow yourself time to recover from that before you step into the next thing. I think that's an important lesson. I think that- It's hard though. I think it's very hard. I mean, talking earlier about that checklist life, it was very much for me, it was always like the chase of the next thing. Clearly not a bunch of mountains, but you know, like you had to get a job and then you had to get a promotion and you couldn't stay in that role for too long because you had to get another promo. You know, it was always just like, it was never like, oh, I got a promotion or-

39:30
oh, you know, like all these good things happen, or I graduated with this, it was just like, what do I do now? What do I do now? And so I can imagine how hard, after doing something like that, it is to just like sit back and sit in it, and sit with it, and celebrate it, in a way. I think there's such a confidence after you do something like I've done, that you realize, if you set out a pursuit, like a dream or a goal, and you start putting action behind it, understand that you're gonna hit it.

39:59
Like just believe 100,000% that this goal is going to happen because now your energy isn't in how do I make it happen. Now your energy is in how do I enjoy it? How do I make it fun? How do I make this like the best experience ever? Because there's a different level of confidence when you say like, I'm gonna climb Everest. It's gonna get done. So if I know it's gonna get done, how do I make it fun versus like this like stressful, make sure I get it done attitude?

40:28
And I think that's what has been the biggest shift for me. Yeah, I think that's a trick. I mean, I think you found the cheat code of like, you know, achieving because finding the way to make it fun is probably the way you get it done. Because if it's not fun, why do it? Right. But also like with this big achievement, is there like, is there a sense of like, now what do I do? Can I do something bigger, better? Does it have to be bigger, better? Or is it just different things that fill your cup now that...

40:57
that become part of your list? Yeah, I think there's so many things I wanna do, right? I don't need to take them all to the nth degree. Maybe, I don't know what it's gonna look like, but there's a lot of stuff I wanna try and experience. Also knowing that I have about seven years and I'm without children at home. So now is probably not the time to take on another big pursuit like this. Now is the time to enjoy this little stage that I have and then know that another...

41:26
Opportunity is going to present itself without a doubt. Does it give you all that time away and all that time training and achieving your goals and all the things? Does it give you a different appreciation now as a mother and the things that you didn't like before? Are there things that you like to do more now because you've done those other things? Yeah, I mean, I'm so big. Like so for example, I climbed Kilimanjaro this year, which is the highest point in Africa. And so the second highest point and I took three of my kids and we did it together.

41:53
And it was super fun for them to be a part of that. So now it's like, okay, I know how to do this. I know how much joy and excitement it brought me. How do I share that with others? Yeah. Did you ever climb that mountain that the first one was recommended to you? The Amas de Balam? Yes, I did. That was one of my first ones still that I climbed. Cause I'm like, I'm climbing this. I committed. We're doing it. And it's still actually funny story. One of my favorite climbs. Really? Why is that?

42:21
Just so pretty. It's so pretty. Nepal is a gorgeous country to spend time in. When you go into big mountains like Everest and K2, you have so much waiting around for good weather because there's like different, you know, think of when you fly in an airplane and they're like, okay, we have turbulence. We got to move up elevation or whatever. On a big mountain like that, you have just different weather patterns throughout the mountain.

42:45
And so just so much waiting for the weather to cooperate. When you're on a shorter mountain like Amadou Blanc, it's like, okay, I'm there, I'm gonna climb the mountain, I'm gonna come home. And it's just so much less waiting. Right. What do your kids say to you now that you've achieved this? Do they have any, do they, how do they feel about this journey for you? This is like the classic story. Okay, so I'm done with my last climb.

43:08
I'm feeling like a million bucks, if I had to be honest. I bet. And so I fly home and my kids meet me at the airport. I'd been on like a plane for hours and my son gives me a hug and I'm like, thanks, honey. He's like, mom, you have bad breath. I'm like, I was on a plane for hours. Of course I have a bad, like, come on, like throw me a bone. You know, it's just like so life. Yeah, so they're just like, welcome back, mom. Mom, yeah, you're here. What's for dinner? You're cool, you're still my mom. Yeah.

43:36
Well, I mean, that's good. They keep you a little humble, right? I guess. Yeah, totally. No, I think it's it's I love. I just talked to someone who he went blind, like in his 20s, and he was telling me about how recently, like in his late 30s, he decided he's going to start skiing down Black Diamonds. And I'm like, what? I I can see and I can't do that. You know, and that's like so stories like yours are like, wow.

44:06
maybe I could do more things. And then I start going in this spiral of like, well, why am I not doing more things? And so how do you, I'm sure in your speaking gigs and things when you talk to people, what do you say to people like me that are like, well, maybe I could do those things, but like, maybe I can't. Yeah. I think when you start saying you can't or you're paralyzed by doing something, you're going too fast. Okay, so I, you know, like I didn't start with the world record. I started with the mountain.

44:35
that went to Everest, that went to a world record. And so when you start with a mountain, you know what your next step is. If you start with a world record, you're like, what mountain do we do? There's seven of them, how do we train? Like blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So like, I think anytime we're feeling stuck, that's just an excuse. And we need to dial it back into something more granular to pick the next move. Little tiny baby steps, if you will, or I guess a mountain isn't quite a baby step, but you know, I also think about, yeah, it's a lot of baby steps. I...

45:04
I think about someone like me, you know, having lost my mom when I was a child, I had this perfectionism came about by fear of abandonment because as an eight-year-old, when someone dies like that, it feels like they've abandoned you. And so I took on the responsibility of being perfect so that my dad wouldn't leave in that same kind of brain. And that carried on until like my thirties. And so I think part of that is that fear of, well, what if I actually can't do it?

45:34
when in reality I think I probably could do a lot of the things that I'm fearful of. But I also don't think I'm alone in that feeling of like, we're afraid to, some of us are afraid to do things because we're afraid that we might not be perfect at them or great at them. Yeah. And that's a lesson I think a lot of us struggle with, no matter what your trauma pattern is from your past. I was a gymnast. Like you didn't put your fingers on the right spot in the air, you got knocked down points, right? And so that really trained you to

46:04
pay attention to all the little details, but you can get lost in those details. So it was my kids, having kids and watching them experience life and explore and not know how to figure it out and then figure it out. Right, I mean, every parent loves to watch their kid go from crawling to walking. They don't do it perfectly, but that process is just so beautiful to witness that you realize it's the process that's beautiful, not the end result.

46:31
No, I think you're right. And it all goes back to what you just said earlier or just a couple of minutes ago of saying, just break it down to smaller pieces. Because if we can break it down small enough, everything, pretty much everything is achievable. 100%. What do you think? And it doesn't have to start perfect. I mean, one of my climbs was in Russia and it was a technical climb. So I had ordered literally 20 pairs of gloves and sent 19 pairs back because I figured out the right fit that didn't cut off my circulation and still gave me dexterity.

47:01
I land in Russia, none of my gear lands, like none of it. And they can't find it. And so they're like, oh, the guides meeting me at the turntable for the luggage is like, you go home or we rent gear. I'm like, what? He's like, yeah, we're not waiting for your stuff. We'll go rent gear or you go home. I'm like, okay, well, I guess we'll rent gear. So we go to this gear store after COVID. So nobody has any anything because no one's been shipping anything and everything's been outside for the last year because there's nothing else you could do. And I like literally,

47:30
rent a coat that I have to roll the sleeves, I have a backpack that we have to like tie so it doesn't fall off my shoulders, like all the things. Like, well, I'm not gonna stop it, but at least I'm gonna figure out what's going on in the mountain, right? Because I could only read so much, there's not a lot of English text about this mountain I was gonna climb. So I'm like, okay, well, whatever I learn, I learn, it'll make me stronger for the next time I come back. And I mean, it was not a pretty climb. I'm glad that all my cameras were lost and we have no footage because I mean, it was just a mess.

47:59
But guess what? We got to the top and I went home and I've got my gear on my way home that met me at the airport when I got back. And six months later, Russia closed. I wouldn't have this record today if I didn't do that climb in rental gear, backwards, ugly, like all the things. Imperfect. Yeah. And it's like such a lesson to me to remind myself like, okay.

48:26
Just because it starts this way doesn't mean it ends this way. And you don't know if you get a chance to come back. So make the most of what you have. Yeah. Before your accident, were you someone that would tackle things like that in a similar way? I mean, I don't know. I don't know. I think the only reason why I stayed.

48:46
when he's like, you go home or we rent gear, is because an intercom came after him, which was like another loud, obnoxious sound in an airport. And I'd been in an airport for like 30 hours. And I'm like, I can't spend another moment in airport and be a human. So this is a better option. No, part of me like thinks back to when you said you worked in finance and I feel like everything is so like black and white in finance or, you know, there's a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things. And

49:15
this new or this approach that you take is like, I don't know if this is wrong until we try it, you know, like, I don't know that this is right until we try it and we just do it. And you're like living for the experiences and not for the right or wrong answers, but rather for the life that you're creating as you make these decisions one at a time. Yeah, you know, it's funny you bring that up because it makes me think back to Mount Everest and my climb there. Like Everest was training ground for me for K2.

49:43
So for me to summit Everest, it wasn't a big deal. It was me learning like, can my body handle this lack of oxygen? Well, how do I layer my gear so I don't get too cold? Because on K2, you don't have that space to test all those things out because it's so much steeper and more dangerous. So for me, Everest wasn't like this end all be all. I hadn't dreamt of climbing Everest since I was seven and it blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And so it was fascinating because when it came down to the summits of the people that didn't summit,

50:11
I would say 90% of them didn't summit because of mindset. They put too much pressure on themselves. They didn't know who they were gonna be after they summited. Like there was just all this story. I didn't have that story because I literally was like, here's what I'm trying to do. And if we get to the top, fantastic. If we don't, it's not one of my mountains, it's fine. I've gotta go get my other one. And so that experience made me realize like, wow, our mind limits so much of what we're capable of. Yeah, you're talking to them.

50:40
No, I'm just kidding. No, I'm not. Did you have any of those like, cause I know when you survived that accident, you said like, we can't choose how we die, we can choose how we live. Did you have any like scary moments in these journeys that you were like, oh, am I going home? Yeah, no, a couple of them, a hundred percent. Like it was bad. One of them, I was writing notes on my phone to my kids so that if something happened to us and someone found the phone, they'd have notes.

51:08
I mean, there were some moments that were really scary. And I just like, from my car accident, right? When I remember looking at that guy's face and the world was telling me I wasn't okay, I closed my eyes and like, I can feel my fingers and toes. And so when I was on the mountain and I was in these overwhelmed situations or fear was getting a hold of me, I would close my eyes, like I can feel my fingers and toes. Everything else is a story I'm writing. So I need to stop that story and start over and just take one more step.

51:38
And that's what got me through every single time. So anybody that's listening, like having something that connects you to your body and shuts down your brain for a moment and allows you to be like, okay, my fingers and toes are fine, everything else I'm making up is a great reset to be able to continue doing what you're doing. Yeah, it's like a grounding exercise in some way.

52:02
I just can't even imagine being in scary elements and then being able to do that. So to your point, this mindset is really so important going into this. As hard as the physical aspect of what you've done is, there's probably a mental aspect that's just as hard and just as difficult. And so you have to intentionally move through that so that you can be quote unquote successful in whatever that looks like for you to achieve whatever you're hoping to achieve. Definitely.

52:31
I mean, we're seeing it in the Olympics right now. Right. I watch the Olympics, I'm like, I can do that. It's no possible way. Mostly when I watch Simone Biles, I'm like, it's easy. I can flip 500 feet in the air and 600 times over. And land it. And land it perfectly, no big deal. With a hurt calf, no big deal. Yeah, no, it's good on you, though, for just really taking life by the horns and just like, let's go and make things happen, because I think so many of us could do that.

53:01
and we choose not to, and the fact that you chose to do it, even though you had this really challenging, scary experience that kind of triggered this, but you got to do it, and you're doing it, and you're creating this, which is inspiring thousands, hundreds of thousands, however many people hear your story, see your story, whatever that may be, you're inspiring people through just living your best life and the life that you want to live. Yeah, I think we forget that

53:30
wherever we are in this world, the people that are around us we're impacting. And so it's important for us to show up as raw and authentic, as strong as we can, because you're gonna be affected by me, I'm gonna be affected by you, and together we rise. Yeah, like you said, the people over peaks, right? Is that what you said? Yeah. You know, it's as important that I've learned on this journey of talking to about 150 people now on this show is that like,

53:59
There are so many more things that we have in common that we can connect with. And like, even though I can't relate to your big story and your achievements, I am inspired by those and the things that you do and the words that you're saying that it impacts my life and I can relate to it. It makes sense. I just have to unpack the other mess that I mentioned before to get to it. Exactly. You know, I love to think about wrapping these conversations up with a question. I'm wondering if like,

54:29
You gave the perfect visual earlier of you walking into those classrooms and with the Thanksgiving day and the potential sweater that you almost had to put on and the socks that you might have had to put on. If this version of Jen could talk to that version of Jen, is there anything that you would want to tell her? I think the biggest thing is to just be kind to yourself. Like stop trying to... Yeah, so if I look back at me, I was so hard on myself because...

54:58
I wasn't what I thought I should be, instead of just embracing who I was. And when we're kind to ourself, we build that confidence and we build that courage and we build that strength to actually be able to act out on it when we're ready. And the world's hard enough. Like we do not need to be hard on ourselves on top of it. Yeah, and you learned shortly after that, that what you thought the world thought of you probably didn't matter, and they probably weren't thinking that at the time.

55:28
And so they're you know being kind to yourself is a huge element but also to understand that you know yourself best and That you can make it through this world in the way that you want to because as far as I know so far We might only have one shot So I don't know you know and so make the most of it And I just love that you're like I'll climb a mountain and then you talk to your trainer and you're like what else can I do and and it turned into this world record and

55:57
I can't wait to read about what you do next whenever you decide to do that, besides the museum visits. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Perfect. I'll let you know. Follow along. In half a century from now, when you're ready to go there. If people want to read your book, they want to get in your circle, they want to learn more about you, connect with you, what's the best way to find you and be in your space? Yeah. So for everybody that's listening today, if they text the word Everest to the number 33-777,

56:26
you're gonna get a little video clip that's the Milky Way galaxy going over Everest Space Camp. And it's one of my favorite video clips because anytime life gets overwhelming or hard or crazy, I look at that thing and I'm like, okay, like we're on this crazy planet circling all this beauty. Like, why am I concerned about, I have a red light right now, whatever it is. And so if you text Everest to 33777, you'll get that video clip, save it on your phone and you'll be in my network.

56:55
and you'll get updates on what we're doing. Awesome. And then we can also include your website and stuff like that in the show notes so that people can connect with you and see you and be in your world. Check out your book, I'm sure, is on your website as well and all that stuff. Yeah, and Amazon and all the places. It's 2024, Matt. We know that things are connected to each other. So just thank you for allowing me to have this conversation, ask these questions, tell you that I will never climb all the mountains, and just.

57:22
You know, being a part of the LifeShift podcast, it means so much and it heals a little bit of that eight-year-old in me that I'm still carrying and walking with side by side. So thank you for that. Thank you for the opportunity. Yeah. If you are listening and something that Jen said like resonated with you, be sure to text 33777, is that correct? Correct. And get that video and get into her network. But if you heard something that Jen said that you know someone in your life and you're like, hey,

57:50
I think so and so needs to hear this story today. We would love it if you took this episode and shared it with that friend because like Jen said, however we interact with people, we're impacting them. And whether we want to or not. And so if we can intentionally do that and help someone around us, we would just be so grateful for you doing that. For everyone listening, I will be back next week with a brand new episode of the Life Shift podcast. But for now, thank you so much, Jen, for just being a part of this.