#278 An ‘Odyssey’ of Obstacles WILL Arise When Pursuing Big Goals -- Here’s How to Handle Them

Rachel Denning (00:07.379)
Are you sure we didn't have both cameras on this screen? Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to the Extraordinary Family Life podcast. We're your host Greg and Rachel Denning. I'm laughing at you because I did we decide what we're talking about? Nope. We haven't decided. We have we got some questions in and then we're having some wonderful. We're having an challenging. Yes.

obstacles. Yes, the Odyssey. I seriously felt like Odysseus. I just could not get home and and we're joking with the boys. I'm like, okay, it may take us 10 days and we should just be grateful it didn't take us 10 years. So, I guess we'll go with that. So, the boys and I, we flew, Kimball wanted to do a project. He wants to purchase old lens. wants to start a business essentially. Yeah. it's a bit. He's interested in doing as a business. And it's it's awesome.

So he's taking the older style Land Rover Defenders. Which are popular in Europe and around the world. They're not as popular in the US. Just because they weren't allowed into the US. these things are amazing. They're military vehicles, overland vehicles, safari vehicles. Let me give a little bit of context for people who don't know and don't know anything about cars. This is the vehicle, if you ever watch a movie that has a tough

man going to a foreign country driving off road to do something bad eh? They're driving a They're always driving a Defender. Like that's what these are. Yep. They're just they are the the classic tough guy cars. road. They're just awesome. And they they they started making them in the 60s and really didn't change them. They just stayed that way until 2015. Then they did Land Rover turned into a soccer mom SUV. So

you can take these things and all the parts are still available and you can completely remodel them. that's what Kimball, our son, he's 19, that's what he wants to do. we flew to the Canary Islands. Let me also add to this, again we have to provide this context for people who don't understand. You can buy old Defenders for fairly inexpensive. 15 ,000 euros, 18 ,000 euros.

Rachel Denning (02:21.723)
And while we said they're not popular in the United States, there is actually a market for them. absolutely. Because they're not allowed in the United States, newer ones. But if they're older than 25 years old, they're allowed to be imported as a classic vehicle. in that case, you can import them, but they also are decked them out and they sell for $

Anywhere from a hundred and a hundred and twenty thousand to two hundred and fifty thousand euros. Yes. Completely, completely redone. So a big deal. Yeah. It's not like you're buying it for fifteen thousand and selling it for twenty or something. It's not that. No. Because you fix them up and you import them. And so it's... And they're rare. They're very rare in the U .S. And so yes, they have a decent price tag and it's worth every penny. They're And yeah, it's a niche market, but there's a market there with...

Yeah, it is awesome. So I drive one just for context here. drive one here in Portugal. We had when we lived in Germany and Europe before. Just absolutely love these things. They're amazing. So Kimball and I went to buy one and we flew to the Canary Islands to buy one and the guy was pretty deceptive and it was just covered in rust so we walked away and he was so disappointed to walk away

We're giving all this context, we're explaining this story because we want to teach a very, very, very important principle that we have personally experienced. So many times. times. Painfully. That is critical to the achievement of big goals and dreams. Like it's literally a pattern. It's literally a principle. It's a thing that happens. And so that's what we want to talk about because we want to explain that this isn't just

happenstance, random, like this is a pattern we have seen again and again and again and again over the past almost 20 years of pursuing big dreams and goals. And we're not just talking about small things. We're talking about big dreams and goals. This is the pattern we've seen. So we want to explain, we also want to give the context of like everything that's happened. Even you, you jumped to, you jumped.

Rachel Denning (04:36.219)
to flying to the Canary Islands. Like it was a little bit of process to even get to that point. Because first of all, it's a unique situation. You're trying to buy a vehicle. As a foreigner. As a foreigner. In a foreign land. In a foreign country. But then not even, we're living in Portugal, you're trying to buy it in Spain because Portugal has horrible import taxes on vehicles, which we just heard they actually changed, which is great. But. Because of a Supreme Court case, which is awesome. Somebody was like, are you kidding me?

How can you charge double taxes, you monsters? But we are yet to benefit from that so far. So you're trying to buy a vehicle in Spain because they're cheaper. And so you had to go through the whole process, of course, getting a Spanish tax ID number. Like, multiple things happened. Yeah, it took. We wanted to stay days. It took weeks. Because he's 19 and they only insure people that are over 30. I don't know, weird things, right?

And so anyways, to get to the point where you've, and then in the meantime, he'd found a vehicle he wanted, but someone else sold it because he couldn't buy it and couldn't get insurance. Then I had to get a tax ID number. Yeah, then you had to get the tax ID and number. So we're already in it, into this odyssey with multiple things. finally, you've got the tax ID number, you've got the insurance, you find the vehicle you want. It's in the Canary Islands, which if nobody knows, because many people don't, that's off the coast of Morocco.

It belongs to Spain, but it's off the coast of Morocco. It's essentially in Africa. Yeah. It's way down there. Except islands way off the coast of Africa. So you fly there with a layover in Madrid for 12 hours, and you got to go see our son who's serving as a missionary there, which that was fun. So you went there, and you get to the Canary Islands, and the guy was Deceptive.

Deceitful because it was it was covered with rust. So You've done all the due diligence possible, but it was covered with rust. Okay. So now you're the Canary And Tim was like, let's just take it. I'm like, no man, like this thing is completely rusted out. It would be so He's like, I know, but I love it. Let's take it. And he just, he's so anxious to get going. And just wants to get it and get moving forward on his project here, which is understandable. So then we walk away. We had to.

Rachel Denning (06:58.275)
Okay, you walk away, but you're on the Canary Islands. Exactly, I didn't walk very far. Right, because it's an island. And the plan had been you would fly back to our home in Portugal to keep working, and he was going to take a three -day ferry from the Canary Islands to Spain and then drive to our house in it was going to be an awesome adventure, and then it ended that day, the first day. So had five, I had five more days before my flight there, who were like...

We're not just going to walk around this island for five days. Like, let's go, sweet. Called Rachel, got some tickets, flew to Sevilla. Well, because you found another defender that you're like, OK, we'll go by in the mountains. In Sevilla. And this guy, like, he's like, yeah, it's I'm like, OK, we'll come get it. He's like, great. I'm like, great, we're buying flights. He's like, fantastic. So I buy you flights from the Canary Islands to Sevilla, Spain, and rent you a car.

You land that night and the next morning you get up and you're like, okay, where do we meet you? We went out. We just wanted to go sleep in the woods and we ended up sleeping in some olive orchard and it got cool. because this is part of Kimball's business, he's essentially financing it. And so that was also cheaper to just have you guys camping. I'm trying to help him feel and experience the realities of business.

The cost of business, the hardship of business, every little last cent. It's like, didn't anticipate that. Although I have spent a lot of money helping him. Right. he's... He's awesome. He's learning. He's feeling it. He's paying for as much as he can. So we get up in the morning, okay, we're ready to buy it. He's like, well, I can't meet you today. This is the guy in CBA. in CBA. I'm like, what are you talking about? Like we bought tickets, rented a car so we could buy this thing. He's like, well, I can't.

I'm like, why can't you? like, I got to work. I'm like, OK, we'll come over after work. He's like, I can't. I'm like, how about tomorrow morning? I can't. He just told me, I can't. I can't meet you. I can't sell it. I'm like, bro, we flew in here. So was so frustrating. And it was just weird about it. was so weird. I can't meet you. After we're like, hey, we're buying plane tickets. Anyways, so Kimball was pretty frustrated. I was frustrated. We get on a bus, bus home.

Rachel Denning (09:20.707)
Yeah, so then you're like, well, we don't know what else to do. So you got bus tickets, got home later that night. And now he's like, now what? Back to ground zero. You start looking. There were no other options. Well, there's a couple that really overpriced. And the gentleman was like, no, this is the market. This is the market. Whatever. And I'm like, let's look. Let's look in Germany. So we start looking in Germany.

And we find one on the border. We found a bunch of great ones, actually. We find one on the border of Poland. And so we reach out to this guy. Turns out this awesome Irish guy living because he a Polish girlfriend living across the border. And so we fly into Berlin and take a train over to Poland. So OK, so you got home from Sevilla. Maybe like.

Thursday or Friday, something like that. Monday he finds this and you guys are just like, my gosh, this is a great vehicle. Let's go get it. So he buys flights that night, 3 a Tuesday morning. You fly to Berlin and took a train, right? And we took Atlas with us. Yeah. And then took our son because it was also his birthday. A little land holiday turned out to be.

so much of a holiday obstacle so you take the train to Poland and meet this guy the vehicle is great he's supposedly he's driven it to Norway and then all these things did all these I I don't even know still other like why this is such a great vehicle I guess it has upgrades and cool things and whatever I don't even know you talk about it

It like has things and stuff. It's like so great. And you're going to understand why in a minute why I'm saying this because in my mind after the rest of the Odyssey that we haven't yet explained, I'm like, why did you buy this thing? what? How was this such a great vehicle? OK, so that's my little womanly insert there.

Rachel Denning (11:35.085)
Maybe Greg will explain why this is why I have to explain because from your point of view is like that was not a good idea. So we get there and we're like this is great. He's great. He's taking care of it. It's great. We'll take it. And so we do our wire transfer. It said should be there in two hours. Fantastic. Originally it said forty seven minutes. yeah. So we use an app we've used many many times. It's called wise. I use it all the time. It's great for making international transfers. I mean I use it.

All the time. All the time. We paid so... We bought your Defender with it. Yeah, exactly. It says 47 minutes for this wire transfer. We're like, fantastic, great. This is kind of funny little part of the story. When it says what's it for, Rachel put Defender. Now... It's a Defender. They're buying a Defender. If you're sending many thousands of euros to Poland for a Defender...

It's gonna set off some red flags. It got flagged. We didn't realize it that it got flagged and major. Stop, pause, pause.

Rachel Denning (12:42.959)
You have to turn your alarm.

Rachel Denning (13:21.787)
Okay, so does it look like it's recording now? Exit out. Okay, perfect, we're good. Okay, just stop. you feel like I need to what? Like you need to tighten this thing so it doesn't... So lift it up so it's at your chin and then just tighten it, babe.

Rachel Denning (13:51.963)
So somebody gets scared that it's for a defender. But we didn't know that. So here's the challenge. Yeah, was irritating. We're waiting. So the way it worked is it was a wire transfer, but because US banks don't have e -bonds and all these different things, I had to manually wire the money from the US bank to the company who then sends the money to the seller.

Part of the problem was I requested that wire at like 9 in the morning US time, but they didn't send it until, I think, 9 at night US time, which was the middle of the night for us. So in the meantime, he was like, hey, I don't feel comfortable until my money's in the account. I'm like, I understand. I mean, we have confirmations being sent. He's like, no, I don't feel comfortable. Well, we were going to actually drive back to Berlin.

do all the paperwork and hit the road, go have an adventure with the boys. And he's like, no, I don't feel comfortable. So we went back and slept in his barn. So in the meantime, which is awesome and cold. you back to his house and you slept in a 150 year old Polish barn. It was awesome actually. Okay. got, I got to back up for a second, a little side story. Cause it was in the middle of nowhere. Like we drove to the middle of nowhere and then we drove to his middle of nowhere. And we went through these old, old Polish villages and they said,

they're all like that. Like these, it's just forest everywhere. And you come in these old villages and I literally, when we drove in, I told the boys, I'm like, guys, we just stepped back in time. Like it was so awesome. They're all just this old, old, old brick barns and houses. It was so beautiful and so like quaint and quaint and picturesque. And I don't even know, I don't have the words. It was awesome. Like you just felt like you just did a time lapse. It was so cool.

was so cool to be out there. that was pretty special. So we watched the sunset, a little fishing. Fishing? Yeah, yeah, private pond. So we like, threw through, and the boys, the boys, I've never taken my boys fishing. They're so deprived. were like, they were like, he's like, why don't you cast it out? And Kim was like, I've never fished before. I didn't know what to do. So I taught him how to cast and we sat there on the water's edge and talked.

Rachel Denning (16:12.475)
about things, all things life. It was awesome. And then we slept in the barn, get up in the morning, and then we finally get an alert that says, it's been flagged. What is a defender? Yeah, so I get up in the morning. Actually, I didn't sleep well because I was worried about it. And I get up and I look, and it still hasn't gone through. And I'm like, what the heck? It was supposed to take 47 minutes. And here we are almost 24 hours later. And.

Yeah, so then finally I get this notice. I got a message from my bank saying, yeah, we sent the money, but told me it was like 9 PM their time. So I'm like, OK, that's part of the delay. But then now we know Wise has the money, but they're not sending it. And they're saying, we have to check a few more things. So I think there was another thing about me being the joint.

Hold her on the account. then there was like a six dollar difference. Are you kidding me? Stop. And then then it was the what is a defender? Yes. It's a Land Rover. And by this point, I was like, you guys, I thought the whole world knew what a Land Rover is. you kidding me? And so I wrote him an email. I sent him a text message. I call I literally called and talked to a human four separate times. And they're like, we just need to know what a defender is. I will send you pictures. You can Google it.

are you kidding me and it went on and on and on it took a long time and then he called them three times you were sending I gave lots of negative feedback you guys are killing me so finally it goes through we go to wait finally because because at this point they're saying we have to look at more documents it's gonna take another four days like

Four days? Four more days of you sitting there at those guys. like, you know, because we already sent the money. What are you going to do? Just leave? And so then he gets the money and you don't have a vehicle. So I'm just like, this is this is horrible. What is going to happen here? So finally, though.

Rachel Denning (18:22.745)
I don't know. don't even know what happens. He opened his phone and he got a message saying it's being sent. It's sending. I'm receiving it. He's like, he's like, cool. So I got a message on my end that it's coming. So he's like, you know, I'm OK with that. You guys can roll. So but even the person you were talking to didn't even know that happened. Well, no, no, that's different. So then then we take off and he reaches out and says, hey, this is coming. And they tell him, no, it's not coming. It's frozen because we don't know. he got that notification. Yeah, what the defender is. And so he calls me. He's like,

You got to come back like I don't I'm not getting the money now. I don't have my car like I'm not We're close to Berlin we're on our way and so I get on the phone again I'm messaging I messaged like three or four different people then I get on the phone again And I'm talking to this senior level whatever and she's like no we got to find out what a defender is We're just waiting. I'm like just who needs to know I'll send a picture and I was on the phone with her for like 30 minutes and then Finally whatever happened it cleared and he just sends me a quick message say hi

got it good luck have a great trip. like man. While you were on the phone with her. Finally. then okay so then we have these little pockets of reprieve. And I think again we're telling this whole story because it's very illustrative of the process and I think that

Because you and I have gone through this process many times we're able to recognize Patterns in fact I was recently I was telling Greg about this we were talking about it Because I was reading this book on meditation and one of the things she was pointing out is that as you grow and develop as your brain grows and develops that you gain these abilities to do certain things and one of them that she mentioned was that you gain the ability to recognize patterns

And I think that that's very, very insightful because I know that a lot of people, and I know I didn't have that ability. Like it's something that we've gained through experiences, through experiences like this. We're able to - Awareness too and paying attention because we went through it again and again and again without ever noticing a pattern. And then now we've worked with thousands of people across five continents.

Rachel Denning (20:31.957)
I see the patterns all the time. You see the patterns all the time. But the people who are in it, they don't see the pattern. It just keeps happening. I literally have to point it out. like, no, this happened before. And they're like, really? And I'm like, I look back at my records. I'm like, yeah, it was right here and right here and right here. And they're like,

I didn't even notice that. exactly. And it's not to throw anybody under the bus. It's like, unless you have this awareness, unless you're looking for patterns, it's hard to notice there are patterns. exactly. And so because we have gone through a process like this multiple times, and I'm sure people can relate. As we're telling a story like this, they're probably like, yeah, something like that happened to me. was this whole saga of things that happened.

And we're pointing it out, we're sharing the details, but we're also bringing awareness, hopefully, to you to realize it's a pattern. Like it's thing that happens, and it happens for a reason. My belief is it happens for a reason. It's not just random, it's not just accidental. It's this pattern that Some of you are thinking, yeah, the reason is incompetence, you knuckleheads. And often it is.

Often these troubles, these obstacles are because of ignorance. Ignorance is painful and costly. You think it's expensive and difficult to gain education, try ignorance. man, it is so costly and so painful. And sometimes it's a lack of skill. And again, this is across the board. This is with marriage, parenting, business, life, leadership. you're trying to pursue like this. Any goal, any target.

when you struggle, when you reach the current limit of your skill sets. So it could be a lack of knowledge, a lack of skills. It could be just ignorance. It could be just poor decision making. And I think that this is an important point to emphasize here because you're saying when you reach the limit of your current skill set and inevitably that's essentially what you're doing whenever you're pursuing a new big goal or dream because if

Rachel Denning (22:40.813)
it was already in your current skill set, you would already have that. That's not a big goal. You'd have that, you would already have achieved that goal or dream. Right, fundamentally, because it's outside of your current abilities. Exactly. It's just above where you currently are. Exactly. That's what makes a target or a goal or an objective big or dumb is the acronym I like to use. It's in the unknowns. It's in the space of the unknown.

Yes, if you're thinking about the hero's journey you're going from the known world and what you do know and your current skills into the unknown Which is also beyond it's beyond your comfort zone It's beyond your current skill and that could even be the unknown in that it's just a little bit higher or farther or Faster or bigger than you've done before. Yeah, so like well, I've done I've done a sprint triathlon and now I'm do an Olympic triathlon and and that's unknown because it's

It's just longer or it could be something completely different like I've never tried this before. I'm going to try it. So it's in the unknown, but it's also it has to stretch you. It's just above where you're already able to do things. Right. To be on that. Now, I think the interesting thing with this scenario here in this specific story, because I think there's also a principle here, is it's not like anything we've just described is nothing we've done before.

Like we've traveled, we've gone places, we've bought things, we've bought defenders, we've transferred money. Like all of that we've done before. It's not like this is a new skill set. It's kind of in some ways new to Kimball himself. It's brand new to him. Meaning he hasn't personally done these things. The entire process for him is brand new. It's all new, it's all first time. And I thought, know, as a dad, as a mentor, I'll help him through a lot of these things so he doesn't end up buying a lemon.

even in spite of what Rachel thinks. he doesn't just get ripped off or doesn't become disastrous. Which is the value of having a mentor. That's the point. It's to prevent disaster. So the irony, I've done this so many times, I know exactly what to do, I how to do this, everything looks good. And for whatever reason. It's happening. Obstacle after obstacle after obstacle.

Rachel Denning (25:05.723)
Why do I feel like Odysseus? I just want to get back home. So I guess we're going to continue the story. Yes, and that's why I'm bringing it up though back to this as another principle because I believe that the pattern here in this case, because I've seen it again and again, is that it's simply a part of pursuing a big goal in life. I agree. And in this case, especially for Kimball, I think it's part of what he has to learn. He's really...

since you're about.

creating this dream lifestyle of his, which is doing what he wants to do here. He loves fixing up cars. He loves He's going to restore... We talked about yesterday, really talked through it. It was awesome. So he's going to restore and import Land Rover Defenders and old Land Cruisers. He's going to do both of them. So inevitably that process is going to involve these types of frustrations. And insane amounts of problem solving. Yeah.

And the best way to become a problem solver is to face problems. And that is painful and frustrating. yes it is. it just really makes me think about the phrase you love to say all the time that God and universe are conspiring in your favor. And despite how much we hate it, these things are that conspiring. So it feels like they're conspiring against us.

And so we've been wrestling with this and talking about on this trip. Because we wholeheartedly believe that God and his universe are conspiring in our favor. And those of you listening, I believe that for you. God and his universe are conspiring for you. Because every time we face something like this and we go through all these struggles and hardships and trials and frustrations, it's always worked out for our best good. Yes. yes. And sometimes, though, here's the hesitancy because

Rachel Denning (27:06.021)
When God steps in and smooths things over like so well and I'm sitting there thinking that shouldn't have been that easy. Like that was amazing. That's when I feel like, yes, God is working for me. He's clearing the way. This is the best. I'm like walking on cloud nine, like God is in my corner. Let's go. Right. That's when it's easy to remember that he's in your corner.

And like purchasing this, our resort was like, put in this, this crazy low offer with crazy terms only benefiting us. And the guy responded like an hour and said, yep, I'll take it. I'm like, what just happened? That's amazing. Now then we got here and we worked our tails off and earned it the other way. And there was lots of problems to solve, of course, and remodeling and fixing up and figuring things out in a foreign land. But it's when it's challenging, they're like, wait, where are you?

Like, why aren't you like making this easier? And it felt specifically on this trip, it felt like...

The universe was intentionally making it harder than it should have been. Well, OK. As we're going to get into the story more, yes, because that's not the end of the story, of course. It definitely seemed like that. even while we're recording this, it still hasn't been resolved. Because you got home last night at midnight after renting a car because the vehicle broke down again the fourth time. Something like that. The fourth time.

and is currently stuck in Valencia, Spain. And here you are. You came home because you couldn't fix it. I came home just because I wanted to make sure I could come home. I literally felt like Odysseus. I like, I just need to go home. But you're leaving tonight or tomorrow. To go back. To go back and So the Odyssey continues. Yes, to resolve the Odyssey. So we're making this podcast. midst of. I feel an.

Rachel Denning (29:12.463)
This is an interesting point too, because I feel like the only reason we have confidence to even make a podcast like this, and I'm sitting here knowing this will be resolved. Knowing it will be resolved and will work for our good and for Kimball's good. Like I know that. I don't have a doubt in my mind. But the only reason I have that certainty, despite the fact that it's, and that doesn't mean I'm not going to be frustrated or annoyed or irritated by whatever happens in the next few days, I still have the certainty.

because we've been through it before. Because we know the pattern. Like, we've seen it. And so we know, even though it's so irritating and annoying, that ultimately, as long, and I guess I have to give that caveat, as long as we don't give up, which we've learned not to, or are not gonna give up, we just keep pushing until we find the answers, that it works for your good. And I think that that's a part of the pattern.

That's a part of the test. That's a part of this hero's journey. How bad do you really want this thing? I think there's two major things there. Number one, it comes in as an obstacle, as a test. Are you willing to push through this? Are you willing to overcome? Are you going to quit? And I feel like it's almost like this. What is it?

It is, it's a test of sorts, an exam. It's part of the price tag. are you gonna quit? And honestly, most people do. They, okay, I'll try starting a business or I'll try doing things. I'll try homeschooling. I'll try something different. And if it doesn't go smoothly, then they're like, I'm out. I'm out. I tried that once, it sucked. And not only if it doesn't go smoothly, but especially if things go wrong that you feel like this shouldn't even be going wrong. Like we're gonna tell in a minute, you know.

Even mechanics saying, I've never seen this happen before. Like, this is so strange. It's not even just that it's going wrong. It seems like it's going extra wrong. Like, more wrong than it should, like, should go wrong. Exactly. It's a special kind of wrong. Exactly. You're like, is, it almost like is defying the normal laws. Of wrongness. Yeah, exactly. It's like, OK, there's a little bit of wrong, like maybe a flat tire, but are you kidding me? Right. So one is, are you going to keep going? Are you going to quit?

Rachel Denning (31:38.436)
We have learned through experience We keep going right Well, luckily we learned that hard way. We had no choice right like we got to a couple of spots were like we have no out like week even though we want to turn back like we can't because we burned our ships we burned our bridges like We were going on we crossed the Rubicon and like crap. I can't turn back now like Yeah, we're either gonna figure this out

We're just gonna like hold hands and die with our kids. that was luckily, luckily we were two, we were such bold risk takers when we were young. With ignorance and, and bliss. And just were like, no, we're gonna figure this out. Which now is a life model that I've embraced from this ancient quote. says, I will either find a way or I will make one. So that's how we live. I'll either find a way or I'll make one, right? And again, you have to make sure you're on the right path.

If you're trying to bark up the wrong tree, you've got your ladder against the wrong wall and you're like, I will persist. like, dude, no, you're going down the wrong path. And the caveat here as well, because you're right, people can approach that completely the wrong way. That's detrimental and dangerous. the caveat is we do our research beforehand. Like we do all the research, we examine all the pros and cons. But then once we realize from a logical viewpoint that this is a good idea. And sometimes a spiritual one. Yeah.

Definitely. And heart, there's passion there as well. But when you look at it from all those ways and then you decide and you're like, yes, this is what we're going to do. This is what we're going to pursue. And in this case, same with Kimball. He's had multiple experiences that have led him to like, yeah, this is the kind of path I want to pursue. This is the direction I want to go. Once you've made that decision, meaning you've actually analyzed all of the pros and cons and facts and figures and all of that.

That's the point when we're like, OK, we've made the decision. Now we're either going to find a way or make one despite the obstacles and the extra obstacles that we're now facing. That's the difference. That's a good lead into my second point. So the first point was, are you going to quit? Are you going to keep persisting? The second point is, the most important part of a journey is who you become. It's what you learn. It's who you are on the other side.

Rachel Denning (34:00.643)
of those obstacles are on the other side of the achievement. It's not getting to the top of the peak or the summit. It's who you become in the training and in the approach. Exactly. And it's not, I achieved this great goal. It's like who you are now. It's the knowledge you gain, the skills you gain, the problem solving. Yeah, your ability to deal with frustration and to solve problems and to remain sane. And that's, yes, and how to handle disappointment and frustration and setbacks.

that were totally unexpected, just how to get blindsided and get back up physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially, all of it. And it's frustrating. It's tough. Like when you don't know something and it hits you upside the head and you had different expectations, you're like, man, it's so disturbing. It is so disturbing.

But it's in those moments of pain and uncertainty and frustration that if you stay open enough, you can learn so much. And I've been watching that process, especially with Kimball, myself included, like we have learned so much on these. We're seven days in through our Odyssey. seven days since Poland.

Yes, it doesn't count. doesn't count. This work or a couple weeks in on that. The Canary. So we're seven days in trying to get home from Poland. We're still not home. I mean, I'm home because of a rental car. But this Odyssey and going, but we because of it. We've met people we never would have met. We cool people, really cool people who are very helpful and just doing cool things with their lives, pursuing their dreams. We got to we got to bump into them like this little garage.

outside of Switzerland. Kimball walked in and was like, this is my dream. He got exposed to his dream by seeing somebody else. Their garage was just, it was this old, old building from who knows when. And it was full, completely full of defenders and this epic Unimog. And it had all the cranes and all the tools and everything to set up. We were just like.

Rachel Denning (36:23.541)
He got a glimpse of a vision of what could be and but we never would have gotten there if it wasn't trouble after trouble and that's Fascinating to me because from our own experiences. I know that it's things like that where we were forced into Situations or circumstances where we were exposed to something that planted a seed that later led to You know helping us to achieve other dreams even now with the world school family resort that we have here

You know, I have all sorts of plans and visions and dreams and goals for it. And they come from all of the places we've been and all the places we've seen and all of the places we've stayed around the world. And a lot of times that has come, like we've had those experiences and been to all these different places because of the trials and difficulties and challenges that we've gone through that has led us around to unique places. We never would have stopped. there's something to be said there. And there's a little bit of

being forced. Sometimes that's the only way we end up in certain places is because we're forced there through. But this trip was like this. of the universe. Yeah. We ended up in places. It wasn't on our route. We never would have stopped. We didn't plan any of that. But we gained a lot and we learned so much. He needs he needs to learn everything inside and out about this dream.

and specifically about these vehicles, about how they work, what breaks down, what's needs to know. He needs to eventually know every bolt. And that comes through a painful experience. He was like, couldn't it have happened when we got home? And at home, I start taking apart instead of freezing our butts off in the cold rain in Germany and then in Switzerland and then in Spain. And and each time it happened on the highway.

And two of the times it was at night in the dark. Of course. And it's like, why? And all three times it was in the middle of nowhere. wasn't near a city. yeah, you keep saying, of course. I'm like, why? Couldn't this have happened near a shop or a garage or a tool store? And we flew it so we didn't bring any tools or anything. Like, couldn't this have happened?

Rachel Denning (38:50.149)
during the day. mean we've been driving for hours and hours and hours. Why get dark and then it would happen. So just quick story. we're cruising along. It's nighttime in Germany. I mean it broke down and it took you three or four days to leave Germany. The drive shaft just literally snaps off. Gone. I'm like my goodness.

So then we slept in a gas station trying to figure things out. It was so bizarre. So we rig it together miraculously. We learned all about driveshafts and u -joints and all the fact that you can actually drive a Defender without a driveshaft? You can put it in. That's strange. You have locking differentials and you can drive without the driveshaft. I'm like, okay, this is amazing. You would have never learned that. Never would have known that. And now you're like, if something breaks down here, you just release driveshaft and you can keep going.

But then we get a phase where we're like, we're good. We get into Switzerland. The second one. Like, there First of all, I didn't even know there were two driveshafts. And then the front one just literally snaps. The metal snaps, it snaps off.

Rachel Denning (40:03.909)
this even possible so we ended up at that cool shop on a on a Saturday when it was closed met this cool guy he called a friend and he's like you know I'll send my son over there he'll help you guys out and he did and he just he threw it up on a stand threw him in there

and only charges for the parts and charges labor. He didn't have the parts so he had to take the parts off. He's I'll just pull them off these other rigs and I'll just throw them on yours because we don't have the parts. I'm like dude you are the man. Like just so helpful and so awesome. I invited him to come stay so he's gonna come stay here. Just a cool guy. So then and he's like I've been doing this since my it was his dad's shop so he's like I've been doing this since I was born I've never heard of that.

Both of coming off like what in the world? So then okay and this Just to reiterate back to the womanly view. This is what I'm saying Didn't you buy a lemon like what? What what is wrong with this vehicle? What what what's going on here and yet? I don't know if you can explain it, but

you still think they could. Here's a cool thing about these vehicles and that's why it's such a beautiful dream. And I've loved these things for years and years and years. As long as I can remember. Yeah, for like a... We had one a decade ago when we in Germany. I flew in from Morocco and... But I remember when we lived in Costa Rica way before we I was driving them because Hernan had yes, that's right. Yeah, so we'd go drive with the guy where we lived. He had one and we would just go drive all over Costa Rica. like, I love these things.

So yeah, that was long before we moved to, that was the first time we were in Costa Rica. So this was a long, time ago. I just love This was like 2007. So what's cool is every single part comes off. They're designed to be completely taken apart and completely put back together in remote areas. Yeah, it's Lego. But they're the most amazing things. They go anywhere, do anything. We took it, in December we took our whole family into Morocco and we drove out into the Sahara.

Rachel Denning (42:07.095)
And I'm like, I didn't even have to put it, I didn't have locked differentials or anything. Like we even have to drive in four wheel drive. Yeah. We were just like all through the sand. mean, deep, deep sand. All these other rigs are getting stuck. I'm just like, just drive. It was amazing. These things are so incredible. And what you can do is, is literally from bumper to bumper, you can replace everything. And now they have upgrades for everything. And now customization, like you can customize every single piece.

And that's why some of them are literally selling for $250 ,000 for a vehicle that was built in 1991 or whatever, right? So this one's a 99, but you go through it. So you're there saying, isn't this a lemon? Isn't this a broken down vehicle? It's like, what you do is you just go through and you just replace every single part and you literally have a brand new vehicle.

And so the frame is amazing. It's been protected. Everything you do have is still worth the value you we got a great deal on it. yes, these pieces are breaking. I'm like, he and I were talking, we were planning on working through this, but I guess for now we're doing it on the side of the road instead of at home in a shop. So you're just going through and replacing it all. that's what we're doing. So it's still a fantastic deal. still.

great rig and we're just having to do it along the way instead of at home and then the last thing is whatever weird little thing happened some for some reason so you got the drive the second drive shaft fix in switzerland i didn't even know about it we went to riggs stop we got to go so it's a new country for us and it was beautiful it was so so beautiful but because i didn't know you broke down again in switzerland you just sent me a text

it was fixing miracle number 37 yeah we're on the road again and I'm like gosh I didn't even know if you're broke down so you're back on the road again you made it through through France no problem we all across we drove all across Switzerland so we went straight I got a backup here because I'm gonna share another little principle told side note we went to Munich and we wanted to buy a knife for Atlas's birthday okay

Rachel Denning (44:19.545)
Within all of this, in fact, the day the money went through finally was Atlas's birthday. And so we were actually heading to these, they have these awesome indoor water parks and pools and spas and saunas in Germany. all over. They're so fun. So I'm like, let's do that for his birthday. He's like, yeah. And it broke down. And we ended up spending the night at a station. So his birthday you spent at a gas station fixing the delivery. Let me give context here too. So you're like, what? You guys are a bunch of hillbilly gold digger.

hippies what are you doing this whole trip the plan was we brought hammocks and sleeping bags it was it was on purpose we're gonna do an adventure like we're going out we were purposely we were purposely gonna rough it we're not going from a hotel to resort to hotel like we're we just said hey we're gonna rough it the whole time and we like roughing it we do this are the boys elite us too so in our family except for Rachel

everybody likes roughing it. I'm like give me a bed. Yeah Rachel's like the most luxury hotel in town. I luxury. Like that one we stayed in Warsaw. Okay so we're purposely roughing it and what was awesome is this was set up as an overlanding rig it has a bed in back so we modified it a little bit so all three of us could sleep inside and it was it was really comfortable like we were super comfortable.

So we slept in a gas station. We were sleeping in rig. But guess what? We were in the parking lot, which I realized across the five countries we drove through, almost every major gas station along the highways and everywhere, they're just packed with campers and overlanders. So we were one of 20 or 50 vehicles sleeping in the parking lot. so we were like, this is amazing. We're rolling with all the other overlanders because most of them go in either smaller V's.

Sprinter vans or any kind of van that are converted or defenders or whatever and so you sleep in there So we did that and we the next morning went to that water park was incredible super amazing And got ideas for our saunas that we're gonna make here. my goodness Yes, cuz they went to the sauna. So this thing was divided into a massive pool area with slides and a wave pool all indoor It was and heated it was wonderful and then this entire section. I've never seen this before an entire section

Rachel Denning (46:37.125)
huge for just was just sauna with cold plunges and saunas. this was different though because it was like sectioned off only adults no clothes so I was like we're gonna put my swimsuit on he's like kind kind like no kind I think that's like I think that's like no like no no go like you don't you don't wear swimsuits

I wanted to go find the hottest hottest sauna and just sweat I just needed to sweat I've been a sign it was cold you guys we we went like shorts and t -shirts and it was cold in Germany so it was snowing in Switzerland and Lichtenstein we're rolling through middle September it was snowing so cool so as I go in this sauna and in classic Germans the Germans don't like clothes much in certain areas the whole place was just

nude and it was you know it was like 11 o 'clock in the morning so it was only elderly people okay anyways but yeah we got cool ideas for the for the saunas and for the cold plunges that we're gonna do here but my whole point was on this tangent yeah what is the point was this this awesome gentleman we met in Munich and I looked for a knife shop and there was one in the kind of southeast side of Munchen

I like Munich a lot and I love Lucerne now. These old European cities are so amazing and romantic. They're so cool. So we go to this little knife shop. It was a tiny little shop. It was an old guy back there. And we went in and the three of us start geeking out and he just kind of starts to sparkle. And I'm like, and in this small shop, his shop was maybe as big as my office.

and but he had the best stuff which is like like the best stuff yeah it's like 12 by 15 or something like that we had stopped at a place in berlin it was similar it was super disappointing i went in i'm like this is lame it was small thing i'm like he has nothing here that that we like so then we go down there everything i could have bought the whole shop like everything in there was i thought you guys did buy the whole shop it was amazing

Rachel Denning (49:01.559)
And I was like, I'm interested in this. And he pulls it out. He's like, but what about this? And I'm like, yes, I'll take it. And as soon as he saw, like, I was ready to get some stuff. And he's like, what about this? And I'm like, I'll take that. And I'll take this. I'll take that. And Asa grabbed his and Kimmel grabbed his. And again, we love knives. We love, love knives in our family. Knives and swords and bows and arrows and cool things. But you also bought a crossbow and a tomahawk. We know what we're looking for because we've

We do this all over the world. Every country we go to, we look for knives. So Aliyah just bought this incredible knife when our trip in Mongolia. She and I went to find a knife shop there and found it. So we know what we're looking for. It's not like we're like, eh, we'll take whatever from a truck stop. For context with this, when we were in Turkey, I don't know how many knives you bought. But then we flew from Turkey to Egypt, and we got stuck at the airport.

Because we had, I think, 17 knives. We had like 17 knives. And not just knives. Some of these were like machete -sized knives. Like they huge knives. there it is in my office here on my shelf. Yeah, so we love this stuff. Anyway, this is one of the things we geek out about. And I want to buy them. I want unique ones that are generally handcrafted by some gentleman somewhere that that's been his life's work.

And that's why I bought so many in Turkey because I found this little shop in Istanbul, this old man, and he made them and they're one of a kind, like phenomenal. But this guy, he was a classic. He himself was a classic and he was old guy and we were looking at him and so we were sitting there and Kimmel picked out a knife that he had like that was unique for him. He grabbed it Atlas two. Then I got a hatchet that I wanted for a long time. Amazing. And then a crossbow and then a kitchen knife.

for Rachel 69 layers of steel I this thing is cut the best steaks with this man I told him I say hey like I eat steak every day give me the best knife and he's like and so this one's a Japanese one anyway he was so excited we're standing there and then all these customers come in and they're coming and going coming going they're bringing this one guy brought in is he this whole stack of extremely extremely expensive knives

Rachel Denning (51:21.381)
this guy so he could sharpen him then he comes back later picks him up I mean this guy is is the he himself is the classic of knives and while we're standing there this older lady walked in and she looked at it she's like buy everything because he won't be here very long and once he's gone this is gone like once he and he's been here for you know for so long once he retires which is probably gonna be soon he's an old guy that's it that's the end

That's the end of this classic. he pay her to come in and say that? No, I don't know. She's walked in and she was getting some scissors sharpened or something. And she said, she turned to us in English. Everyone's speaking Deutsch. And she's like, buy it. Because once he's gone, this is gone. This guy's the best. It was special. And I love that little glimpse into.

you know, here's just German life. Because when you live in a place like that, you know these people, like they know each other. They're coming in, they're sharpening their knives and their scissors. Like they know each other. This is their community and it's just so beautiful to me. love that. And it's cool. But the guy who he must have he must have dropped off five, six hundred dollars worth of knives and he probably brings them in every once in a while, you know, every month or two and

go see the old man, hey sharpen these up for me, I'll be back tomorrow to get them. Just awesome, and you're right, this is just seeing a little glimpse of life. But anyways, it was a really special experience, it was super awesome. So then we go into Switzerland, that whole saga, and then we cross France. Okay, back to the saga. You get it fixed.

France was fine, no problems in France. The rest of Switzerland was absolutely stunning. France of course, my goodness, we love France. So we did all of France and just And I was like, my gosh, they're making such great time. They're gonna Across the border, sleep in. I woke up and you were in Barcelona and I'm like, is amazing. They're coming and then I saw you leave Valencia heading across Spain and then.

Rachel Denning (53:22.971)
three way again in the middle of nowhere. Had it happened 20 minutes earlier, everything would have been so much easier and cheaper. Cheaper because you had to end up getting towed back It was like a holiday or something as we had to pay special prices for the tow truck.

Weirdest thing and it was a Saturday. No Nothing was open except one part store that didn't have it was for it was a it was a store for truckers It was the only thing that was open so I'm like we'll tell us there and we'll go get some tools and see what we can do and And it was just outside the city enough. No ubers No taxis. No nothing like it took me an hour and a half to find a taxi just to go to the airport

to pick up, okay, this is the next day. because finally you're like, here's the kicker, it's 12 minutes, 12 minutes from where I was to the airport and I could not get a single ride. There's nothing in that area. like, how do people get around? And everyone's like, I don't know.

Yeah, so it broke down. You had to get towed. You ended up spending the night there at that. Which is a great place. And we walked. We took a break, walked over town and went to a little an old donor shop. Turkish donors, Turkish donor. we just it was our first hot meal in six days. And we were just like, this is the best again, you guys. So you don't misunderstand. We're purposely roughing it. We purposely were fasting. Because I don't want to be like, we're just like starving, bro.

can't do anything or like we went intentionally roughing it sleeping in the defender camping just grabbing a few things from the grocery store but like fasting I mean it was this is gonna sound really weird but we we like roughing it and we were roughing it all right and and then all this happened so anyways

Rachel Denning (55:22.447)
The car's still in Valencia. So yeah, so you stay the night. So the next morning, you spent some time working on it. A lot of time. finally, learned so much. Took the whole thing apart.

find me a car or a plane ticket or a train or something we're coming home because I started to feel like Odysseus like I'm not waiting 10 years before I see my wife I said don't marry don't marry someone else I'm gonna come back but you also believed at this point and this is where you are now at this point the best option is to take your defender to somehow tow this thing home so you can which it's about nine hours from

So anyways, the whole reason, if you're still listening after all that story rambling on, it's story time. And I hopefully, if you guys hear the story and maybe you can relate to experiences you've had or maybe you just think we're retarded, probably both cases are true and incompetent. The reason we're telling you this story and we even wanted to talk about it is because...

It's true in life, whatever you want to pursue, there's going to be obstacles. And what I tell my clients every day, I tell somebody this, obstacles are opportunities. Every obstacle is an opportunity. In fact, as there's a book out by.

Ryan Holiday who got the quote from Marcus Aurelius, the obstacle is the way. Well Marcus Aurelius said, he said this is what he wrote in his journals and he was writing to himself he just said we often think the impediment is in the way but in in reality the impediment is the way. and and that is that is what we're trying to talk about. That is essentially what we're trying to say we're trying to point out to people this is the pattern.

Rachel Denning (57:14.287)
This is what happens if you want to pursue something especially and I would often say I think the bigger it is the bigger the obstacles because every single thing worth having in life comes with a price. Like there's a price tag and the bigger the thing the bigger the price tag and that often comes in the form of impediments and obstacles. That is the price tag you have to pay in order to

get the thing you're after. And in this case, you know, we're not just talking about, getting a defender home. We're talking about this is a dream path that our son wants to follow. And the skills, mental, emotional, plus the physical, social, physical, financial, spiritual, guess every aspect, those skills he gains from this experience are going to be a blessing to every other aspect of his life. Right.

And it's an experience like this that is testing all of those aspects. You're literally being tested and tried. You're literally being refined and honed and improved so that, like you said, when you achieve the thing you're after, it's not just about having actually achieved it. It's about who you have become in the process of achieving. But like you were saying, if you're up for it. Because yeah, the other option is, the other option is,

which I think too many people do is they say, my gosh, what a pain, what a hassle. This is not meant to be. I'm out. This is just a headache. I'm out. I could very easily see you just saying, you know what? Forget it. I'm selling it. I'm leaving it there. I'm going to sell it. And that's it. We're done with this plan and giving up on it. But you.

are not doing that of course and when I had a little conversation with Kimball this morning because I haven't seen him since you guys left he's obviously frustrated and I said you know and he's out of money and all of these things and I said well you know we've been there and what you do at this moment is what matters most and I said if you give up then that's it he's like I'm not giving up like I know and that's that's the point that's the point

Rachel Denning (59:37.089)
is that you still push forward to find solutions. That's what makes a difference. Because if you give up and say, I'm never doing that again because that was horrible, that's what makes a difference between those who achieve huge levels of success or any success sometimes and those who don't. Yeah, and those who become successful people. It's it's who you are. so.

So those of you listening, if you're still listening, wow, we love you. We you a big hug for listening to that whole ramble.

Pick something that is meaningful, that is purpose -filled. Well, go back to your dumb goal. Pick the dumb Yeah, dumb. The acronym dumb is demanding. there it is right there. The D. It's demanding. Yeah.

It's demanding of your time, your energy, your want it to be like demanding within certain boundaries and like can it be demanding this? long as I'm home for dinner by Friday. Right, and like I don't mind doing hard things but I just need to be home by tomorrow evening, right? Demanding but in unexpected ways. It's unrealistic, it's meaningful, and it's bold. And so pick those things, make sure they're in alignment with what you want most in life. We often are chasing things that are out of alignment. So make sure it's in alignment as well and then fully expect obstacles.

And fully expect things, other things to go smoothly and well. Like, just went right through. And see if both things, both the obstacles and the cleared pathway are both God and his universe conspiring in your favor. Now that all of that being said, I think we definitely need to do a podcast episode about the times when the obstacles are actually a sign that you're on the right, wrong path, because we have also been there and you can think.

Rachel Denning (01:01:31.479)
wait how the heck do you tell the difference? You just a can of worms right there. But there is definitely a difference and so yeah I would actually love to discuss that and go through that because we've also faced the times and experiences where we're like my gosh okay this is a sign. the wrong path and we felt like God and his universe were saying don't go down this path. Yeah so we should definitely talk through that and because that's another pattern it is.

And you have to learn to have the awareness to tell the difference. Like we know right now, this is just. These are just obstacles. This is just a part of this process. It's for whatever reason, well, for all the reasons we outlined. Like this is the path to achieving dreams. But there are other times when.

you get that and it's a sign that you're pursuing the wrong thing. This is the wrong path. On this one though, I want to ask those of you listening, just for all of us, for myself always first and foremost, but for you, like, how well do you handle disappointment? How well do you handle obstacles?

How good are you at solving problems? keeping your mind in a good state? Keeping your emotions in a good state when things don't work out, when they go wrong, when there's failures, when there's mistakes? Because we're still learning, we're definitely not mechanics.

we actually get in and try to figure things out and we make mistakes. And at one point I made the situation worse. Didn't you burn your fingers? totally melted my fingers. And I did something like, it might be this. And it was the total wrong thing. And I made the whole situation way worse. Although, you know, after we figured out it didn't make any difference. But in the moment I was like, I just made this, I made a bad situation worse.

Rachel Denning (01:03:41.081)
Which is always possible. Exactly. You're like, how could this get any worse? Well, it can get upset and see what happens. But can you keep your mind in it? Can you keep your heart in it? Can you keep your spirit? Can you keep your relationships? mean, so many relationships get burned. Well, OK. And the yelling and seeing insulting like you ruin relationships. So this relationship. think that this is I'm glad you brought this up because this is a huge deal because.

I don't know I wasn't there but I'm pretty certain that your guys' relationship was not damaged by this experience. the slightest, it was strengthened massively. I don't think there was any arguing, fighting, getting upset or angry at each other. None of that happened. None, not even the slightest. There was no anger, there was no yelling or frustration at each other or at the situation even. just...

We handled it and I've been training myself. You guys, had an insane temper. Those of you who have following us for a while, heard about my story, those of you are new, like I had an absurd temper. It was madness before I met Rachel. And I got rid of it because I knew it would just destroy things. And so I've been working for years just to master my own emotions. And so in all this frustration, all this extra expense, all the garbage, not a moment.

And when you called me yesterday and we're finally like, okay, we just need to get a car to come home or something You know, I mean the one thing I just thought is like I'm so grateful

Rachel Denning (01:05:24.581)
so grateful for you that you just can handle all of this with just such a positive attitude and a good example.

Rachel Denning (01:05:36.955)
Because it makes all the difference. makes even something like this as frustrating and irritating as it is, it's damaging or destroying to our family. In fact, like you said, it's actually building our family. And so I'm just so thankful that you have that ability and that strength because it's big deal. is. It does. It makes a massive difference. Because you called not...

Frustrated not annoyed not irritated. You're just like, okay This is where we're at and it goes back to that problem solving that you're talking about and I know for me too I've grown in this ability because I remember early on in our journeys when things like this would happen and I like you said can things get worse I used to say that why is this happening things can't get any worse This is so horrible and I've learned to not say that because it can always get worse So instead I take all that energy now

And I direct it towards, what can we do about it? What are our options? And you're so good at that. And you just called, like, okay, this is where we're at. Our options are, get us home. that point, we'd reached, we'd done everything we knew how to do, everything we could. Every limit. It's like, okay, we have pushed and pushed and pushed. We pushed past limits and we're stuck. So let's just come out with an escape plan here. Exactly. And then we'll recoup and go back.

Yeah, but it's just this simple attitude of what are our options now and what do do about it? And I feel like when you put your energy into those types of things, rather than blaming or cursing or getting upset or angry, that's where the power lies. That's where the growth happens. It's so interesting because we can put all of our energy on the problem, which is, think, what most of us do and I used to do. Or you can put all of your energy on a solution or multiple solutions.

And you're right. I mean, it's so easy to put all of your energy on the problem and curse it and be so frustrated and angry and why is this happening? And just all of it. Or you say, OK, it happened. I'm not happy with it. I don't like it. This is really, really miserable and frustrating. It's wrecking ball on our plans for the week. And I could put all my energy on that. Or I could just say, well, it's done. Like, we don't like it, but it's done. Let's put all of our energy into options for solutions.

Rachel Denning (01:08:03.491)
And man, that's Massive. Okay. As we wrap up, I, gotta throw out this super exciting teaser. We're coming towards the last trimester of no last quarter, the last quarter of the year. And I know a lot of you want to get into better health and I am super.

crazy excited about a new program I'm launching. My whole thing is like be formidable. a formidable family man. Which I think is exactly what this Odyssey is... It's an example of... Demonstrating. To me that is formidable. Yeah, you're facing obstacles and challenges and problems but you're able to do it with controlled emotions.

Clearheadedness problem solving and strengthening relationships throughout the entire thing like that That is the definition of Formidable formidable And so but this specific thing well, I'm doing two things so get excited one actually might have been three because Rachel and I are working on our new parenting course and it is awesome, but from me

What I have coming out is formidable fitness and food. I'm going to go into exactly what you can do to get in the best health of your life and stay there. it's sustainable stuff, exactly what to eat, how much to eat, exactly what exercises to do, how often, when, how long to get lean and fit. So it's formidable fitness and food, and we are going to meet every week live.

and I'm going check in every day. I'm going tell you exactly what exercise I'm doing, exactly what food I'm eating and give you a plan for you to get if it's that extra 10 pounds, stubborn 10 pounds, it just won't come off. Or if you're fit, but you just want to get a little more lean or a little bit more muscular, or if you need to drop 60 pounds, wherever you're at on that, we're going to lean into that and do it. So.

Rachel Denning (01:10:25.881)
When New Year rolls around, you're not like, I better set a resolution that I'll forget by February. No. In this instance, by New Year's, you are going to look and feel amazing and have energy and to spare. The energy and vitality is the most important element there. So that and then this exciting thing I'm working on for marriage that's going to be absolutely incredible. Absolutely incredible.

for marriage. So anyways that's coming. So be excited. Watch out for it. Get on, subscribe. Get on the email list. Message us on social or whatever. Like you're gonna want to participate in both of those things. And probably the parenting course too we're gonna release. yeah. I'm super excited about that. But I think you know especially just to close here we want to emphasize hopefully we've brought awareness to the patterns. then you die.

No, not that. It's the opposite of that. Life sucks sometimes. But it's part of the growth process that helps you to become who it is you want to become. Exactly. To be able to achieve what it is you want to achieve. I mean, really, that's what we're after. If it was just life sucks and then you die and you just have to deal with it and endure to the end, sorry, that's not a message that I resonate with. It's miserable and it's victimism.

you know, sometimes life does suck. It really does. And at that point we have a choice. We can just say, it sucks and later on you'll die. Or you say, life sucks, I'm going to embrace the suck so that I become more. Yes. So I'm more capable, more useful. So I'm a better person because of it. And I think when you have that approach, yeah, we've had a frustrating week, but

our life is still amazing. And we still have great relationships. And we still have so many wonderful things. And I think that there's another pattern there, which we have talked about before. It's basically, you can choose your challenges or your challenges choose you. I think those who take this passive approach to life, you still face challenges and obstacles. But if you choose to pursue something,

Rachel Denning (01:12:47.885)
It's almost like, yeah, you're still going to have the obstacles like we've just described, but it's with an intent. You're choosing them because you're choosing the path you're pursuing. And that, to me, is a more rewarding path. yeah, I will take those obstacles all day long because they literally are helping me to become the person who can obtain the goal that I'm after. Exactly. And in this big scheme of things, even on this trip we talked about, Kimball kept saying, he's like, this could be much worse.

I mean we're in Switzerland like this is amazing. Now we're in Spain and wherever like so horrible things could happen we realize that these are Mickey Mouse problems. Yeah they really are and and we realize that and so it's just it's an it's a it's a goofy story that's frustrating just to illustrate some principles that are good reminders for all of us and what we're facing so love you guys thanks for watching and listening reach out to us if you have questions or

Let us know how we can help so you can live and create and design your extraordinary family life. Love you guys, reach upward.