career Archives - Page 5 of 8

January 31, 2022January 30, 2022

EP 21: Blake Cason: Going Out on My Own

Today on episode 21 I want to give a very warm welcome to climber and certified professional life coach, Blake Cason. Blake is the founder of Pivot Wellness and the co-founder of Climbwell, two organizations that allow Blake to integrate her extensive background in mental and behavioral health to make our lives better.

Blake moved to St. George, Utah at almost the same exact time that my wife and I were moving into our new home there. What fascinated me about Blake’s story is that, prior to her new home purchase, she worked as a solo entrepreneur on the road in her camper for years.

The first half of this interview is spent studying the history and logistics of this career path and work setup. For the second half of this interview, we dive into Blake’s bread and butter of examining our motivations, with actionable steps on how to improve and find balance in both our careers and passionate pursuits.

January 17, 2022December 31, 2022

EP 20: Steve Bechtel: The Glass Is Already Broken

Today on episode 20 I am so very pleased to welcome back to Clipping Chains climber, coach, trainer, and all-around great guy, Steve Bechtel. Steve joins us from Lander, Wyoming where he is the owner of Elemental Performance + Fitness and Climb Strong. Steve is a highly regarded pillar of the climbing coaching and training world, seemingly due to his no-nonsense persona, a dedication to simplicity, and a focus on key principles that generate results for his athletes.

That said, regardless of your dedication to training or even climbing in general, Steve has so much insight and clarity into living our best lives. Perhaps most poignant of all, Steve values the impermanence of today. If we can understand that the glass is already broken, a topic we’ll discuss, we know that every moment with it is precious.

December 20, 2021December 19, 2021

EP 18: Kenzie King: Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail

Today on episode 18 I want to welcome Kenzie King. If you listened to last week’s interview with Michael Langer you will recognize Kenzie as Michael’s girlfriend. Kenzie and Michael walked away from lucrative engineering careers in Houston, Texas and moved into a van. Only months later, seemingly on a whim, they smashed the Pacific Crest Trail, hiking over 2,600 miles across California, Oregon, and Washington.

I promise that this is not a retelling of last week’s story. Kenzie has a very unique perspective on their journey. And regardless of your thoughts on the backpacking or thru-hiking, Kenzie shares a number of insightful opinions on the evolving dynamics of workplace culture, relationships in trying environments, and levels of financial or emotional security necessary to make bold and truly lasting changes in our lives. Hang on all the way to the end for some of the best moments of this conversation.

December 13, 2021December 19, 2021

EP 17: Michael Langer: Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail

Today on episode 17 I want to give a very warm welcome to my guest Michael Langer, who along with his girlfriend Kenzie, walked away from lucrative engineering careers in Houston, Texas and moved into a van. Only months later, seemingly on a whim, they smashed the Pacific Crest Trail, hiking over 2,600 miles across California, Oregon, and Washington.

Today we will hear Michael’s perspective on this wild and unexpected journey, but it doesn’t end there. Next week stay tuned for an interview with Kenzie King, who shares her own unique perspective and motivations for their abrupt shift in lifestyle. After all, it takes a special couple to trade a solid paycheck for a heavy pack and mosquitos for five months.

November 15, 2021December 12, 2021

EP 13: Mike Doyle: Remote Work and the Climbing Life

Now seems as good a time as any to welcome back climber and software engineer Mike Doyle. Mike appeared on Clipping Chains for a written interview in February of 2020. At the time, I was curious as to how he managed to climb at an elite level while juggling a very demanding remote job. Mike was still managing to travel to multiple places a year for months at a time, taking his full-time+ job along with him.

After the arrival of the pandemic and surge in remote work, Mike’s original interview feels so much more relevant. In the intervening time, my wife and I have also experienced living and working while traveling, so my thoughts on this lifestyle have evolved dramatically. With all this in mind, the timing feels right to have Mike on for a deeper dive on the realities of the remote work lifestyle.

November 1, 2021October 31, 2021

EP 12: Paige Claassen: “This Was a Big One for Me”

I’m happy to announce that today’s guest is pro climber and all-around genuine person, Paige Claassen. Paige is one of the top sport climbers in America and the world, having sent multiple 5.14+ routes, including her latest send of Dreamcatcher, a 5.14d in Squamish, British Columbia.

Pro climbers are paid in large part to climb, at least for a portion of their life. But Paige does so much more than climb. She’s worked insane hours at a packhouse in Namibia harvesting grapes, she founded and promoted nonprofit projects across the globe, and she’s heavily involved in making a more equitable world.

That said, despite all these achievements, Paige admittedly struggles at times with issues we all face: self-disappointment, a hesitation to celebrate victories, and a feeling that the anticipation of the thing is greater than the thing. Paige is learning to recognize wins and take compliments, with simple refrains, like, “this is a big one for me.” Her thoughts here gave me a lot of room for self-reflection.

October 25, 2021October 25, 2021

Shades of Grey: How to Enjoy Life and Have Money

So many of us in the outdoor world choose a life and career path guided by a seemingly unavoidable fork in the road. Do we choose a safe path, paved with a steady paycheck and a retirement plan? Or do we cobble together whatever it takes to make it work, focusing on experience and patching the inevitable cracks as we go? Today we examine the completely accessible and exciting grey area between these two black and white choices. We can have money and still enjoy life.

October 18, 2021October 18, 2021

EP 10: Mark Anderson: The Seasons of Life

I’m very pleased to welcome back to Clipping Chains Mark Anderson, an elite-level climber, father, husband, training enthusiast, and now-former full-time engineer and manager. Mark and his family have recently achieved financial independence, allowing Mark to step away from his career and focus first on family, and perhaps surprisingly, climbing as a distant second priority.

October 4, 2021October 4, 2021

EP 8: Becky Switzer: This is Real Life

I want to welcome back to Clipping Chains Becky Switzer, a Bozeman, Montana-based climber who delivered a great written interview about a year ago. When I first met Becky in summer of 2020, I was living out of a tiny A-frame camper with my wife and dog. We were passing through Bozeman, and I remembered someone I sort of knew from Instagram who might help me with some local beta: Becky Switzer. I asked if she’d be willing to meet for coffee, and much to my surprise, she was. This was the first pre-interview discussion where I wished I was recording. It was during this conversation that I resolved to eventually start a podcast, and over a year later, here we are.

September 20, 2021September 19, 2021

EP 7: Luke Mehall: The Dirtbag Dream is Not Enough

Today I’m happy to welcome climber, author, and founder of the Climbing Zine, Luke Mehall. Luke is the kind of climber I thought I would never reach with a platform focused on saving, investing, and financial wellness. Luke existed for many years as a self-proclaimed hand-to-mouth dirtbag. He lived on the road for months at a time, barely making ends meet. But as Luke puts it, “the dirtbag dream is not enough.”

At a low point in his life, Luke started publishing stories about the climbing life that didn’t have a home in the major publications. The Climbing Zine was born, which has now grown into a thriving business and paved a path for Luke’s personal and creative freedom. Now he’s turning his focus to expanding the business and facing all the real-life adult stuff so many of us will find familiar: buying a home, saving for the future, and generally evolving with the roller coaster ride that is the modern world.