The Sisu Way

Jen Widerstrom's resume will tell you that she is a celebrity fitness trainer, Coach on the NBC show The Biggest Loser, former American Gladiator, model, best selling author of the book Diet Right for Your Personality Type, entrepreneur, and Fitness Director for Shape Magazine. But as we know on this show, sometimes: “Everything that can … Continue reading 39: Jen Widerstrom – Discovering Strength

This is a special episode of The Sisu Way. The format is different because on this episode, I was a guest on Marcus Aurelius Anderson's podcast, Acta Non Verba. This episode includes many topics I have not yet discussed on The Sisu Way, so we agreed to release it on both platforms.  There is something … Continue reading 38: Scott McGee – Acta Non Verba

This episode is dedicated to mastering peace and learning how to live a happy and fulfilling life. I believe a peaceful life is centered on 3 main themes: mastering your desires, performing your duties, and learning to think clearly about yourself and your relations within the larger community of humanity.  My guest Eva Charlotte helps … Continue reading 37: Mastering Peace with Eva Charlotte

This episode is about The Character Mile and the reminder that Movement is a Gift, Health is Wealth, the Present is a Present, and that we have the freedom and opportunity to choose not only strength, but gratitude. Our paths are unique, but the courage, resilience, and willpower to overcome is universal. For those that don't … Continue reading 36: The Character Mile – Movement is a Gift

Dr. Nicholas Romanov's mission is to advance the science of human movement and make it useful to people.  He is committed to empowering people to take greater control of their well being. Dr. Romanov is a 2-time Olympic Coach, developer of the Pose Method of running, author, coach/athlete and world-renowned sports scientist. His career has … Continue reading 35: Dr. Nicholas Romanov – The Man Behind the Pose Method

We are only as strong as the adversity we overcome.  If that is the case, then Marcus Aurelius Anderson is a StrongMan of character.  But facing adversity isn't the only prerequisite for developing grit, you have to choose to use it as an opportunity for growth so you can adapt. It is not freedom from … Continue reading 34: Adversity is a Gift with Marcus Aurelius Anderson

Erik Swoope is an NFL Tight End with a humble spirit who was with the Indianapolis Colts the past 5 seasons. He is 6'5”, 250 lbs, athletic, fast, and moves with the mass of a truck and coordination of a gymnast. The impressive part is this: He's never played football before playing in the NFL. … Continue reading 33: Perseverance & Gratitude with NFL Athlete Erik Swoope

What happens after an injury, loss, or major change? How do you adapt to this new normal state? How do you find strength in the face of adversity? How do you accept this new change without always wishing to be like before?  My guest, Dr. Theresa Larson, helps me answer these questions. She says our … Continue reading 32: Finding Strength in Struggle – A Warrior's Perspective with Dr. Theresa Larson

Pain x Resistance = Suffering In life, things happen around us, and things happen to us. The only thing that truly matters is your choice of how you respond to it.  You can learn, adapt, and choose to make the best of each experience. Pain is inevitable  and inescapable, but suffering is optional.  Emotional progress … Continue reading 31: Dr. Jen Esquer – It Starts Within – Building Strength through Infidelity

Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing. – Camille Pissarro, painter Ruben Rojas, knows what it means to take beautiful intention and turn it into soul moving action.  To choose love over fear.  He is the co-founder of Beautify Earth, a social impact entrepreneur, and world-class artist … Continue reading 30: See Love with Ruben Rojas, Artist & Co-Founder of Beautify Earth

Your mind is your best weapon. The mind is a battlefield, and we are all warriors. We are in a war for independence, for the right to use our own mind and break free.  We are strong enough to break free from our own mental cage, like a rope tied to an elephant's leg. The journey starts with … Continue reading 29: The Four Agreements – A Guide to Personal Freedom, Happiness, and Love

The breath is the bridge between the mind and the body. This episode with international best-selling author of The Oxygen Advantage® and master breath instructor, Patrick McKeown, will change the way you think about breathing.  How do you increase health, performance, resilience, mindfulness, fitness, and train the brain to be focused while lowering stress?  You … Continue reading 28: The Way to Breathe – The Oxygen Advantage with Patrick McKeown

Burn the questions, burn your doubts, burn who you were, burn everything. See if you can make your soul bleed. Julien Pineau is a Humanist, Movement Specialist, and Founder of StrongFit, an intellectual and physical gym that has transcended the actual workout into an education. It's a culture and a tribe of people who seek … Continue reading 27: Julien Pineau – Discovering StrongFit

We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all … Continue reading 26: Mary Beth LaRue – Creating Room for Embracing Vulnerability & Love

Dr. Lindsey K. Mathews bio says she is a doctor of chiropractic, birth doula, NLP practitioner, strength and conditioning coach, and creator of the rockstar movement, BIRTHFIT! Beyond her extraordinary titles, Lindsey views every obstacle as an opportunity. She is a resilient woman in pursuit of truth, reflection, growth, and connection. Simply put, Lindsey is … Continue reading 25: Lindsey K. Mathews – A Peaceful Warrior Empowering Women through Love

Ryan Fischer has off the charts fitness, numerous feats of physical strength, and experience in helicopter flying, Olympic skeleton, BMX racing, competitive CrossFitting, and hiking all over the world.  His life is a set of circumstances that have developed him into a fulfilled gym owner.  But his biggest strength is his drive and his work … Continue reading 24: Ryan Fischer – Strength, Work Ethic, & Reflection

How do you create an unbeatable mind that provides the fortitude, grit, sisu, invictus, and mental toughness to overcome adversity? How do you positively alter your mental state? This is the episode that answers those questions.  The goal of this episode is to bring awareness on how we make decisions and how we take action … Continue reading 23: Author Ryan Munsey – Awareness Creates Choice

  The Sisu Way is defined as strength and determination in the face of adversity. Persistence. Hope. GRIT. An unbeatable mindset full of courage, tenacity, resilience, willpower, triumph, and an unconquerable soul. They say the finest souls are those who gulped pain and avoided making others taste it.  Well ladies and gentlemen, that is my … Continue reading 22: Kenny Kane – A Path of Joy, Suffering, & Effort.

“In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few.” — Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki Andy Petranek couples curiosity and enthusiasm and applies it to learn new perspectives for a better way.  He is an early adopter, coach, athlete, entrepreneur, family man, and a life-explorer who travels with a sense of humor. … Continue reading 21: Andy Petranek – Stepping Up through a Beginner's Mind

Before recording this episode with world-class human Logan Gelbrich, Dr. Cara Miller had some advice for me. She said, “Hold him steady with love – Push him deep with humility – and be willing to go there with him courageously.”  This episode is a journey into the man, not just the entrepreneur/coach.  We learn how … Continue reading 20: Logan Gelbrich – Awareness & Vulnerability on a path to Hold the Standard

  Lil Misty Diaz is a force of light that has grown out of darkness.  This darkness began with being born with Spina Bifida (birth defect affecting the spinal cord). Followed by 28 operations by middle school (not including exploratory surgeries) and compounded by medications, isolation, depression, loneliness, and 3 suicide attempts.  But like a lotus flower, she … Continue reading 19: Adaptive Athlete Lil Misty Diaz – Spina Beautiful

One of the best and simplest pieces of advice anyone could give to benefit energy, freedom, and health is:  Remember to breathe and relax. We are constantly faced with acute and chronic stress, which causes soul cavities.  Stress causes inflammation, which may contribute to many serious health problems such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, heart … Continue reading 18: Wim Hof Method: Breathing, Cold Exposure, & Mindset with Retired Peace Officer Erik Milosevic

Dan “Nitro” Clark is a American Gladiator, TEDx Speaker, Writer, Happiness Seeker, & Gratitude Practicer, who is committed to serving others.  Dan's path was one of suffering and trauma, but he grew into someone who set out to burn bright, or die trying.  In this episode we learn about his past struggles, how culture taught … Continue reading 17: Dan “Nitro” Clark – Death Lessons

How do we master ourselves to be of greater service? My guest, Greg Amundson, is an operational and spiritual swiss army knife of a human being.  He is the original CrossFit Firebreather, affiliate owner, a law enforcement officer, swat operator, DEA agent, Army Officer, martial artist, yogi, speaker, and author of the new book, The … Continue reading 16: Greg Amundson – Warrior Monk

Caroline Burckle is an Olympic Bronze Medalist Swimmer performing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 4 x 200m relay.  She took gold in the 2007 Pan Am Games in the 800m freestyle, was the 2x NCAA champ, and was named the 2008 NCAA Swimmer of the Year.  But this is not a story of … Continue reading 15: Caroline Burckle – Strength in Vulnerability

The Sisu Way: Strength and Determination in the face of adversity. Persistence. Hope. Grit. A unbeatable mindset full of courage, tenacity, resilience, willpower and triumph. An unconquerable soul….  This description, this definition, describes my guest Marcus Kowal.  Marcus is a martial arts coach, gym owner and professional fighter that specializes in kickboxing, boxing, BJJ, and … Continue reading 14: Marcus Kowal – Life is a Moment

The most beautiful people are those that have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have still found their way out of the depths. These people have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.  … Continue reading 13: Keep Swimming – An Episode on Grief

Lauren Gibbs is an American bobsledder who won a silver medal at the 2018 Olympic Games.  While that is a statement of fact, it does not define Lauren's character. She is equal parts power, intelligence, intuition, respect, and drive. This makes her a champion of a human being. Our conversation is meant to show people … Continue reading 12: Olympian Lauren Gibbs – Happiness is a Choice

Christmas Abbott joins The Sisu Way to talk about resilience, the collateral beauty of tragedy, vulnerability, and her pregnancy.

Traver Boehm is a man of the heart. He is a primal man, a sensitive man, and a Man Uncivilized. Traver is a man that was completely broken by life, and decided to skillfully use the pain as rocket fuel for growth.  It is that pain that rebuilt a life dedicated to service. That service … Continue reading 10: Traver Boehm – Strength Reborn

Lindsey Valenzuela is someone you may identify as a CrossFit Games Athlete, but Lindsey is more than that. She is a powerhouse of emotion, passion, strength, and love that has had a renewed sense of purpose since the birth of her son.

A conversation with Tait Fletcher about appreciation, gratitude, humility, service, and growth.

Episode 7: Fostering Love with Matt Aporta is more than a story of what its like to foster-to-adopt a child.  It is a lesson and reminder that everyday is a gift and nothing is more powerful than love. Relationships can come and go in an instant. Nothing in life guaranteed.  Love with a sense of urgency and live on purpose.

The Art of Living, the classical manual of Epictetus on how to live a good & moral life is presented in honor of one of the most virtuous people I know.

   Val Voboril is the everyday woman with super-powered fitness.  She is a mother, 4th Grade teacher, and a 6-time CrossFit Games Athlete.  But these titles do not define her. The quality of her character is shown through her resilient spirit, her unconquerable soul, and her commitment to teaching kids that they have the power … Continue reading 5: Val Voboril – Strength is a Choice

Health is Wealth is a tagline of The Sisu Way. This episode is about appreciating that Health is Wealth, Movement is a Gift, & Your Will is Within Your Power.

Episode 3: Strength to Love is about perspective. This episode stands to provide a different light on the finger pointing mentality we sometimes show, and instead, turn the light back on ourselves. We have the ability to chose strength, love, and forgiveness.  This leads to growth, not pain.  We are the master of our fate. … Continue reading 3: Strength to Love – MLK “Loving Your Enemies”

Episode 2: Strong Willed, is a story of strength, fortitude, and a celebration of resilience told through letters that were written to my sons from several months in 2015. In Episode 1: For Dad I looked back to the generation before me. In this episode, I take a look at the generation after me by … Continue reading 2: Strong Willed – A Parents Story about Strength, Willpower, & Resilience

Welcome to the first episode of The Sisu Way Podcast. There are many reasons for this passion project, and I'd like to start the show with my ‘why'. One of the major themes is the awareness, appreciation, connection and gratitude for life and the opportunity to leave lessons for the next generation.  In this episode … Continue reading 1: For Dad – The Why