Have you ever wondered how it would feel to live life headfirst, embracing every challenge that comes your way? Our guest, Brandon Mulnix, a paramedic, a director of commercial accounts, an extreme sports enthusiast, and much more, has made this his life mantra. Brandon's journey is a unique blend of resilience, determination, and an unquenchable thirst to make each day count. He takes us through the different stages of his life, sharing his experience of running a 50-mile race with a wired jaw, reflecting on the profound impact of adoption on his life, and the identity shifts he navigated along the way.
Imagine being featured in Sports Illustrated and Runners World for running an ultra marathon with a jaw fracture. That's Brandon for you! Not one to back down, he turned his accident into motivation, setting specific goals, and overcoming challenges head-on. His inspiring journey brings to the fore the power of self-reflection and the need to balance ambition and humility. Brandon's story is not just about his love for extreme sports but also paints a vivid picture of his experiences in the Coast Guard boot camp and the mentors who have played a pivotal role in his life.
As Brandon takes us through his daily routines, we uncover the importance of stability and consistency in our lives. Whether it's running, journaling, or simply taking a walk with the dog, it's about finding that perfect balance. Brandon's words resonate with wisdom, urging us to reflect, plan for the future, and share our unique stories. As you listen to Brandon's story, remember, every single one of us has a chapter waiting to be written. Let's write it headfirst!
https://bamboolab3.com/
Have you ever wondered how it would feel to live life headfirst, embracing every challenge that comes your way? Our guest, Brandon Mulnix, a paramedic, a director of commercial accounts, an extreme sports enthusiast, and much more, has made this his life mantra. Brandon's journey is a unique blend of resilience, determination, and an unquenchable thirst to make each day count. He takes us through the different stages of his life, sharing his experience of running a 50-mile race with a wired jaw, reflecting on the profound impact of adoption on his life, and the identity shifts he navigated along the way.
Imagine being featured in Sports Illustrated and Runners World for running an ultra marathon with a jaw fracture. That's Brandon for you! Not one to back down, he turned his accident into motivation, setting specific goals, and overcoming challenges head-on. His inspiring journey brings to the fore the power of self-reflection and the need to balance ambition and humility. Brandon's story is not just about his love for extreme sports but also paints a vivid picture of his experiences in the Coast Guard boot camp and the mentors who have played a pivotal role in his life.
As Brandon takes us through his daily routines, we uncover the importance of stability and consistency in our lives. Whether it's running, journaling, or simply taking a walk with the dog, it's about finding that perfect balance. Brandon's words resonate with wisdom, urging us to reflect, plan for the future, and share our unique stories. As you listen to Brandon's story, remember, every single one of us has a chapter waiting to be written. Let's write it headfirst!
https://bamboolab3.com/
Hello and welcome to the Bamboo Lab podcast with your host, Pete Performance Coach, Brian Bosley. Are you stuck on the hamster wheel of life, spinning and spinning but not really moving forward? Are you ready to jump off and soar? Are you finally ready to sculpt your life? If so, you've landed in the right place. This podcast is created and broadcast just for you, All of you strivers, thrivers and survivors out there. If you'd like to learn more about Brian and the Bamboo Lab, feel free to reach out to explore your true peak level at wwwBambooLab3.com.
Speaker 2:Welcome everyone to this week's episode of the Bamboo Lab podcast. I'm your guest today, brian Bosley, and I just want to thank you all for joining in and I want to really thank all of you subscribers and all of you members of the Bamboo Pack, when we started July. The summers are a difficult month for podcasts because people are outside a lot and they're not really necessarily listening to as many shows. So I really thought July would be you know it's going to be a down month for new subscribers and downloads. It actually was the second best that we've had since the beginning, which is 96, 97 episodes. January was a month to beat because we put on six or seven shows that month. We only did two in July and we still had our second best month ever. So I want to thank all of you. We are now at have subscribers on six continents, 50 states, 60 countries and 1,714 cities around this global hours since this morning as of this morning. So thank you very much everyone. I appreciate you all. If you haven't yet, please hit that like button, subscribe button, rate, review us and please share this episode with three people you love and care for. All right, I'm going to start off with a real quick heart letter we received last week via text and that was regarding the episode we do with Shannon Mondor and this subscriber just said, wow, that Shannon is powerful. Anyone who needs some help, she's the one, and I couldn't agree more. So let's get started today.
Speaker 2:We, today, we have a really cool guest and I had the honor of talking with Brandon last week on the phone and we we met, but not actually officially. I did a small talk in Grand Rapids, michigan, a few weeks ago and Brandon was one of the men that was involved and it was in the audience and we started talking within 24 hours afterward and hit it off on the phone. So I'm like, dude, I got to get you out here. So today we have Brandon Molnick's on just a real quick, because I want his story to dominate today's episode.
Speaker 2:Brandon, professionally, is a director of commercial accounts. He's responsible for sales, marketing and new business development with prism controls. But really, man, this guy's a bunch of things. He's like a renaissance dude. He's been heavily involved in paramedics and saving lives, heavily involved in photography, extreme sports, which we're going to get into today. He's a husband and father and he's a man of extreme strong faith. And I just want to. Before I even say welcome, I want to read a quote that I found on social media that I think sums him up, and he wrote this to live in every moment is my desire, adventure is my way of living. So, without further ado, brandon, my friend, welcome to the bamboo lab podcast.
Speaker 3:Well, thank you, brian, I really appreciate being here today.
Speaker 2:It's an honor, I have a feeling. After we talked last week I was so full of energy I actually poured myself an extra strong cup of coffee this morning, sitting next to me in our micro studio here. So let's just get started. So I've got to know more about you. I've done the research. I've Googled you. I've got to talk to you last week over the phone for quite a while. Can you now share with the bamboo pack members out there a little bit about yourself, your childhood, your family, where you came from? You? Just tell us what you'd like.
Speaker 3:Yeah, brian, I've lived a full life. One of the things that one of my sheets had kind of about me is I just try for being active and adventurous and one day, when we all get to the end, I just want to be able to look back and say, hey, did I live a full life? And at this point I've definitely lived a full life. I was born and raised in a little town not too far from where I work called Sarenac Still live there to this day Moved away for all of a year to marry the farmer's daughter and another community Married two kids, one when I was 23, she's now 20, which is crazy to think of my daughters at old. And then I have a son who we adopted when he was five, from Ethiopia, and that's its own story and its own journey.
Speaker 3:As I go back to my childhood, looking and self-reflecting, I realized that from a young age I grew up living headfirst, literally headfirst. Everything I seemed to do in life I hit my head on. It's kind of the whole subject matter of the story, which is kind of what, raised by two hardworking parents, my dad was a volunteer fireman, served 30 years before he retired, trying to give me that bug for serving the community, giving up being able to risk my life, running into burning buildings or going to medicals. And then he was an electrician which all those years of him talking about what he did, no idea that it would come to play one day and I'd be in a similar industry, talking about PLCs and controls and all that stuff. So we always had some good fun conversations. And then my mom I mean she started a sewing business. I mean I think she sewed from before I was born and then she made a career of it and she still to this day helping men, people's clothes and alter them to fit them thankfully not the wedding dresses that she used to do. But yeah, I just had really hardworking parents that gave me everything I needed in life, showed me what hard work looked like and showed me that it didn't take a college education to be successful, that we weren't rich but we lived a good life and they provided me lots of opportunities. Most of those opportunities were around sports played little league growing up, soccer, and then, once I got into high school, it was all about cross-country wrestling and track and to me, running was an individual sport that I could excel in and I was never that great, but year after year coaches would give me awards that were most coachable, and so that meant a lot to me because kind of paved the way for my life is being coachable and not knowing really what that meant. Back in wrestling, other than I would do the things that my coach would tell me to do. You would show us some weird move that you would think nobody's going to do that and I would be the one to go out and do it, practice it and then do it successfully in a match. And so, looking back at sports, it really built a lot of my foundation of who I was.
Speaker 3:School came easy for me. I didn't really work that hard. I took a lot of photography classes, which ended up proving that he worth something to me later on in life. And then also, just you know A's and B's pretty easy. If I was challenged a little bit more, I might have done something more.
Speaker 3:But I did have a plan for life. During my high school, my senior year, I had a right of scholarship application and in that scholarship I was very clear at what I wanted. I wanted to be a full-time fireman. I wanted to own a photography studio. I wanted my White House, be married, have my picket fence and my 2.3 kids. The fun part was is 10 years later, going back, going to one of the teachers that kind of criticized me for having too specific of a 10-year plan. I was able to go back and share my journey and say, yeah, I screwed up on the 2.3 kids. A few years later I ended up adopting my son and if you go through the adoption process it seems like a little bit more than just one kid. So I'll tell him it was the 1.3 kids.
Speaker 3:But yeah, I mean, as I got into the working world I knew I had goals. I knew that I wanted to be a full-time fireman, so went to the local community college, went to photography school my first year my morals got in the way and I decided to switch from photography, which I could do at any point it's an art and I realized an arts degree wasn't going to really do anything for me. So I switched over and got my certification as an EMT, as a fireman fire one, fire two back at the time and it just worked, worked as an EMT and that next year I became a paramedic school again very easy for me and so got into the field of being a paramedic, and just worked, spent a lot of time, you know, building, building life, getting married, having, you know, having our daughter, you know, finding her house, doing those things. And over that time, you know, I still had that dream of being a full-time fireman. So I kept applying, applying, you know, and I would look and go, ok, what is my resume? Not have that the other ones had, and come to find out, you know, talk to some people and you know good, my godfather actually said, well, most of them have military background and you don't. So remember looking at my wife one day going, hey, I want to join the military, and she's like, well, which branch? Oh, the Coast Guard. I could be stationed here in Michigan Reserve. Life is good. So another, another title to go live life and join the Coast Guard.
Speaker 3:Got my resume built up, got the full-time fire job, firefighter job at my dream department in Lansing, and I worked there for a few years and that's where I first, that's also where I realized that not every, every place you go, you're there for for a really long time. I worked there about three years in this, you know, thought, hey, the photography thing is kind of kicking up on the side. I'm not really feeling safe when going in to a fire anymore, just for a lot of reasons. So I said, hey, I'm going to quit this whole, this whole firefighter thing, and I'm going to go full-time in photography 2009. If you think about 2009, that was when GM and the photography industry created thousands of photographers people that would go out and shoot pictures and because they were all laid off, they had a severance package that were laid off and I had a lot of competition really quickly and the economy went to crap here in Michigan.
Speaker 3:So by the end of 2009, I was back being a paramedic, bankrupt from all the business expenses, and remodeled the studio, stuff like that. But I knew that these were seasons in life. I had to try something. What's the worst thing they could do? I failed. It's money I can go back and rebuild and I always had the paramedic thing to back off to live from.
Speaker 3:So the next 10 years yeah, the next 10 years were tough. They were probably the toughest. I went through a lot of marriage woes, got into ultra running at that time, started doing little runs, such as 50 kilometer runs, which is 32 miles, all the way up to 100 mile races, but also in 2011,. That's when life really got hard. I was on my way home from paramedic shift and the car crossed the center line and hit me head on. I was on a little Ford Escort and I quickly realized that I was allergic to steering wheels. Never knew that was an allergy, but that day I did. I had 12 fractures in my face, and my 14th compression at that point goes back to that. Head on in life, I kept hitting my head on everything, and that was probably one of the most trying events of my life as well.
Speaker 2:So what year was?
Speaker 3:that Brandon 2011.
Speaker 2:Okay, so tell us a little bit more about that. I think that's. You alluded to that on our when we talked last week, but we didn't go into detail.
Speaker 3:Yeah, 2011. I mean, it was ironic that it happened because a week before I had that car accident, I had signed up for a my first 100 mile race. That was going to be that July. This is February. I've just gotten back from running my first 50 miler. I was on the runner's high, you know, hey, I can go figure farther.
Speaker 3:And, ironically, right before the accident this is I'm a man of faith and I'm a man of. I see where God works is. I was very selfishly praying for my health. I'm like God. I'm eating this bag of donuts. I want to get faster, I want to get better runner, I just need to be healthier.
Speaker 3:And 30 minutes later, this car accident happens and the 12 fractures to my face resulted in my jaw being wired shut for the next six months, and it's really hard to eat donuts when your jaw is wired shut. So I saw the irony in that and the fact that, okay, you want to be healthy, I'm going to make you healthy. And that started an entire journey of health in my marriage and my business and everything that I was doing. It really did start a real big journey in health, but I was able to get back to running two months later, just weeks after my jaw was unhooked and free to eat again, I was out. I ran my first 100 kilometer race 62 miles and then, later that summer, ran a 100 mile race, which is kind of what led me to probably the grit and determination of later that summer. I found out that my jaw had refraction from not healing correctly. I was in the middle of that 100 mile race and I felt a little bad pain and, ironically enough, when your body hurts and you feel something in your mouth, you're like, okay, why am I feeling something in my mouth? And so I went back, had to have my jaw rewired shut. And then that's where you know I'm like, okay, what can I do with this? With this to make things, you know, make things for the good, because going back to the surgery the day I was in the hospital would be after the accident.
Speaker 3:I just remember, you know, all of the patients I've had and all the ways they responded to the worst day of their life. When you call an ambulance, it's not the best day of your life, it's usually, you know, your mom's sick or dad's sick or you're, you know, having a really bad day. We have to call an ambulance and I remember their reactions and I made a point that day to say this is not going to negatively affect me. I'm not going to let you know this head injury and I'm not going to let this you know, this fracture jaw I'm not going to let the consequences, you know the effects of this accident negatively affect me. And I remember making that decision and from that point during my recovery, I did everything I could to bring joy to those around me.
Speaker 3:And so fast forward back to August. You know I'm rewired shut. What can I do to make this a positive for somebody? And I couldn't eat. You know I couldn't eat nutrition like everybody else could. I had a drink boost insurer, mcdonald's chocolate shakes room. I remember how many of those I ate during that period of time. But I also still wanted to run. So at that point I raised food for a foundation, for a local food bank, to say people sponsoring, as I decided to go and run a 50 kilometer or 50 mile race with my jaw wired shut and that was probably physically the hardest thing I've ever done. But looking back, even during that race I made a lifelong friend of another runner who was struggling and had no idea that my jaw was wired shut as I helped her get to the finish line, as I, as I needed somebody along the finish line, she needed a coach, she needs somebody there for her. And in my misery, my pain, I could look past and say, hey, how can I get you through this? And to this day we're you know, we're lifelong friends and you know, keep connected about that.
Speaker 3:But even that period of time getting through all of that and getting five minutes of fame, it was. I realized that you know, running, running was okay, but running became such an identity to me and it became such a distraction to so many other things. It became a distraction for me being a dad, became a distraction for me being a good husband. Probably my co-worker should say, hey, yeah, you were pretty absent during that time. All your focus was specifically on your personal life. But it did take my mind away from the trauma of being a paramedic. It did take my mind away from the stress of everyday life, because when I run, it's my mind is is is able to go and concentrate on things. And the way my mind was back then it was very what. You know, what's next, what's next? But it's very selfish. You know, you spend hours and hours running on a trail and you're just thinking about yourself and what you could do to better your personal life and that's, you know, some of the.
Speaker 3:I guess that's how running became almost like a drug to me, where I just keep going out there running and getting accolades and recognition, and then in the end it was really, you know, breaking down my relationships with people because it was more self centered and self focused and anything in and too much can be a bad thing. So shortly after that, my wife and I were blessed to adopt, and that's a really, really long story I don't think this podcast has enough time to go into. But through that process I had to do a lot of self reflection. I had to get myself right in order to be a dad to a son, after I spent the last six you know, last three, four years being very selfish in life but, as blessed from the accident, was able to, you know, have a little bit of extra financial ability to go to Ethiopia with my pastor, document the process and then meet my son there. And while we were there we didn't know we were going to adopt and so, by the grace of God, many miracles happened and we were able to bring him home about 10, 10 months later.
Speaker 3:And that's kind of where ultra running took a backseat in life. I'd run a little bit here 5K, 10k, I think. I even got up to a half marathon once after 2012, 2013. But I kind of just stepped away. And that's when being a paramedic. That's when depression started stepping in in life, and what I mean by that is going through life. You can, you know you have. We can only get so much satisfaction from, from helping people, especially if you're going into it with that mentality of say, I saved my life. Why is there no gratitude from that? And realizing that you know in those moments that's not when gratitude, you know, that's not when gratitude really does happen. And so, yeah, seven, you know, more years go by and and I finally get to where I'm coming up and you know I've got to make some life decisions on career. I can just stay in the same field or I can start to look, look out and do other things. So, about 2013, I remember talking with my boss at the time and saying, hey, what you know, what did you do to get to where you were, you're at? And he's like.
Speaker 3:I went back to college and of course you know 14 head injuries in my doctorate. At that point said if you ever want to go to college, you're gonna have to quit all your jobs and focus on college Because there's no way you're going to be able to focus and get through this. You got traumatic induced ADD, which anybody who knew me before my accident probably would say I already had ADD, but it was. You know the effects of that head injury were. You know we're much deeper than I anticipated. I was happy to say.
Speaker 3:In two years finished my bachelor's degree summa cum laude from local university, all online, all finding ways to get around, to get around the ADD effects, such as audio books and you know, just the community of classmates and asking for help and just focused on it and being an adult it costs us for easy, but that actually helped lead me to, okay, I have a degree now. Now, now I have this career as a paramedic, fireman, photographer, owned a business, all these things what can I do in life? How do I, as I sat in an ambulance, I watch an airplane fly by. How do I? How do I get one of those jobs where people fly across the globe. How do I get that job? Did I check the wrong career, the wrong box or career day?
Speaker 3:And so, again, you know that coachability comes in. Well, I had a guidance counselor in my school, helped me, so why not go find a guidance counselor? So I went to a counselor Welcome to find out. You know there was more underlining there. You know needed a little bit more counseling to find out why I wanted to change careers. And it's just ironic that you know I went to counseling on a Tuesday and Tuesday or Thursday and on a Sunday that same week had the worst call of my career that said okay, it's time to get up, there's no more of this needed. Because I told that counselor I never have to see the things again that I've experienced, I would be fine.
Speaker 3:So then the experience that we lasted a couple more months, but part of the process of when you're in that self reflection was going in and there's so many resources out there, there's friends, there's family, and so in this case I had a whole business book of customers that I could reach out to and say, hey, what skills do you see in me that are outside of being, you know, a photographer or a paramedic and, thankfully, a great, great CEO, you know, took the time invested in me and said, hey, that's project management. And of course I had no idea what it is. And so, yeah, just listened to him, ended up applying for a job within his company and worked, you know, left EMS and got into the role and role, project management. And again, three years go by and walk in on a Tuesday and I walk in on a Thursday and my department's cut, budget cuts. Come in and boom, my entire department's gone. But having to wear with all.
Speaker 3:I remember that day very specifically saying that he was going to have a worse day than I, was my life. And you know I've prepared myself for bad days. I've, you know, gotten through a lot of worse things than that and I knew that I could find another job. He's the one who had to tell 20, some people that day that you know they were without a job. So he had a rougher day than I did that day and God bless me with the job I'm in now where I've been able to succeed. So yeah, there's my story. It's crazy.
Speaker 2:I just got to recap a couple of things here. Brandon, before we go on and I think this is so good for you out there listening in the audience right now is number one, I would. If you caught this. What Brandon said at the very beginning is he focuses on living a full life, and part of the way he does that is he just remains very coachable. I mean the fact that he reached out to a counselor, that reached out to clients and the CEO. He listened to people going back to his guidance counselor. Even if he had a guidance counselor in high school, his wrestling coach winning most coachable. The power of that being coachable is, to me, it's the most powerful skill set you can have, because once you close up that mind and you close up your patent office and don't want to invent any more changes in your life, your comfort zone is completely. It is stagnant where it's going to be now. But, by the way, everybody, you're going to hear some clanging around Brandon they're having some roof work done. He warned that before we start the podcast today. So if you hear the banging, just know that they're having work done on the roof at where it is in his location right now.
Speaker 2:So, but I really liked what you said and this is an important element too. You had that. You did that thesis in school and you put down what you wanted to be firefighter, you know, 2.3 kids or 2. Whatever the number is, you know, be married and all this. And then you earn that. And I think so often, a lot of times, people want these vague long term goals and I think the more specific any goal we can set, the more likely you're going to hit it. Now you might not hit the exact goal, because goals are a moving target, but the more specificity you put into your goal and your aspirations, what you're doing is you're slowing down that target, so you have a much more like higher likelihood of hitting at least very close to the bullseye. But I'm so impressed so I got to ask a question. So, after your car accident in February of 2011, how many races did you do that year? Again, I got three down 60, 100 and then the oh, I did.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I've got probably 12 or 13 ultra marathons under my belt, two 100 dollars. I did go after finish 100 once. I had to prove to myself I could do it again, and then I did a number of other distances that were less than 100 miles.
Speaker 2:I mean. The thing is you did in the same year of your accident, though, in 2011,. You were running, you were racing that year, correct, correct? Yes, I mean. So think about that out. There is one of the things after his car accident 12 fractures in his face, his jaw wired shot. He got his 14th concussion during that accident, 14 in his life. Then he said this is not going to, I'm not going to let this affect me negatively, and he started focusing on bringing joy to other people. And then one I like that idea that 150 mile race when you help that other runner through the race and in that you gain some five minutes of fame, which you kind of you alluded to, but you just bypass it. I want to go back to that. What was your five minutes of fame?
Speaker 3:A local paper picked up the article wrote in my story about just the food razor I did. It was just incredible amount of food that was raised, like seven, eight thousand cans of food to local food banks. And then it got picked up on that AP press and next thing I know I'm getting called from people around the country going, hey, we just heard about you on the news. And I was blown away Like what do you mean by that? And so I started Googling my name and I realized that the article had been picked up by sports illustrated, been picked up by ESPN radio.
Speaker 3:There were some radio stations that were making, you know, making light of it and kind of having fun with it. And so I just laughed and you know I'm a good sport with all that and all the jokes that were made and comments and all that stuff because I had no idea that running 50 miles with my jaw wire shut was going to be my way of making it, making it to be famous. And you know, one of the most things I'm proud of was later that year Runners World contacted me and did an article about the same, what it takes, and it's just about the grit and the heart of running 50 miles with your jaw wire shut, and that was one of those things. I can go back to that same teacher who was also a cross country coach and show her just to say when your runners made Runners World, it wasn't for speed.
Speaker 2:Well, I got to tell you when I was in seventh and eighth grade I wanted to be a long distance runner. My frame isn't really made for that now, maybe if I would have really worked on it, but I was really into running and I had. I was a heavily subscribed to Runners World and Running Magazine and I would read all the ball. I think it was. Sebastian Coe was one of the world leaders at the time and running I think that was his name. I mean I was. I wish I had all those old magazines, but I loved. I think the longest race I ever ran was 8.3 and that was the Mackinac Island Road Race across around the island twice. I did that in seventh and eighth grade and I since then I've only done 5K. So, man, you do it a hundred mile, I respect. We got to tell the audience. Today is Tuesday, the 1st of August, and you're flying out to Washington here in a couple of days. Can you tell the audience what you're going to be doing?
Speaker 3:Yeah, you see, after all these years of taking a break, I decided you know, one of my self-reflections was to get healthier last summer, and I realized I was missing running. And so last fall I started running and I had the goal of getting the marathon again. And after taking tenders off, your body definitely is back to square one. And so my goal was a marathon and then, secretly, my goal was to run an ultra marathon again. And so Saturday I will be running around Mount St Helens, which is a 50 kilometer race in just some of the most rugged rock, in elevation change, and just it's going to be an adventure.
Speaker 2:That's powerful and by the time we air this you will have already run and everything. But I can tell you I have it in my calendar already for on Friday to be start thinking about you. Over the weekend I'll be sending my prayers and some real positive thoughts for you to have an incredible, safe and productive and amazing, memorable journey on that race, my friend. But you know, I thought what you said, brandon was really powerful too. That running became. It was an outlet for you and it was such an incredibly powerful, positive outlet. But at the same time it became a distraction for other parts of your life. It became a distraction away from your family and you had to realize that you were becoming a little self-focused and self-centered and you dove into that self-reflection and that self-reflection for so many people is such a scary concept. To stop and really give yourself a good internal audit of where am I right now in all aspects of my life and pertaining to where I really want to end, and to realize that it's not just about one element, it's not just about the running or the business or just the family.
Speaker 2:We juggle all these priorities in our life on a consistent basis and what I term that phrase conscious living, and a person who can live consciously is a person who can look at all the important aspects of their journey and their life here and try to. You know you don't balance them. I don't like the term balance because I think it's difficult to balance, but I love the term blend, where we can put. You know it's like juggling. If you're juggling tennis balls, you know sometimes when you're juggling one tennis balls on the top, one's on the bottom and the other one's on the side, but as long as they rotate they're all getting the proper amount of attention and priority throughout your life is important and that self-reflection that you did allows you to continue that motion forward of juggling all the priorities in your life and blending them together in a really healthy unit.
Speaker 2:And I thought that was really important for people to really understand is the power behind self-reflection and that's the ability to change and that's, you know, that keeping open-mindedness, coachability and that self-reflection is really what has allowed you to really live so far and incredibly full life, and I don't see that changing anytime soon for you. I don't think you're going to get back from Seattle next week or from Washington and say, okay, I'm done, now I'm just going to sit down and watch Netflix for the next 10 years of my life. So I have a feeling that grit, that passion that you carry is, I think it's going to continue on and we're going to be probably having you on here in another year or two for your next adventure that you've gone on or you're going on. So I kind of asked you the question I didn't ask you what's the most difficult thing you've ever gone through, but I'm assuming that the car accident was one of the more challenging aspects of your life. Am I correct in saying that?
Speaker 3:Yeah, that was probably the most physically and where it led in my life. I mean, of all the different challenges I had after that, that was the culminating event for that, for sure.
Speaker 2:So, Brandon, you're a unique dude. Obviously I picked up on that last week when we spoke and you so growing up let's just put your mom and dad were hardworking, amazing people, but if we could even setting them aside for just a minute, was there another person or event or book or experience that was an inspiration to you growing up, to turn you to the kind of person you are today?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's interesting because the man that meant a lot to me has since fallen out of grace with a lot of people just based on some of his life choices and life. But it was definitely one of my school teachers who, you know, just he was a paramedic and went on to be a school teacher. I remember hearing stories of him jumping out of airplanes, just being that adventure. But he had a huge impact on my life all back in the fourth grade and, just you know, you know, picked on me but yet also just invested in me and then went on to be a coach of mine.
Speaker 3:So so, yeah, they I'm not going to name him, but yeah, it was definitely one of my fourth grade teachers was, you know, one of one of my biggest inspirations and you know even his life journeys help, help me. You know, be aware of other things in my life as well. You can always fall from grace later in life and and then hopefully his story is a chance of rebuilding as well.
Speaker 2:Well, you know, I would say one of my biggest inspirations I feel the same way about is a person who has made some horribly, some horrible and horrific personal choices, but still, at a certain time in my life when I needed Someone to believe in me and someone I could look up to for a period of, for a brief moment of my life, of my existence. You know, we all have those people. They're not perfect, you know, but we, we tend to think that all Forms of inspiration have to be perfection, just like we think all historical figures have to be have led perfect lives when none of us do so. I'm glad you, I'm glad you didn't name the person, but you know, I'm glad you can see that that there's still. You got value out of somebody who made personal choices down the road that you didn't agree with. So well, let me ask you now Okay, so you You've done a lot.
Speaker 2:I didn't realize you were in the Coast Guard. I didn't know that and I gotta tell you I was um, one of my best friends retired four years ago as a colonel in the Marine Corps and he was telling me that the Coast Guard and the Marines are two of the toughest boot camps to go through and I didn't realize that. About Coast Guard, I heard it's incredibly challenging to go through that boot camp is. Was that true when you went through it?
Speaker 3:I Was 22 when I went through and I was actually pretty, pretty okay physical health, um, I didn't find it a challenge just because of the mental side of it. I was already more. I was a little older, so for me I didn't realize it was supposed to be so tough. So I laughed my way through it, um, lost a bunch of weight through it and just, yeah, I enjoyed it.
Speaker 2:So yeah, good, yeah, I've heard that the, the Coast Guard and the Marine Corps have gotten together. I don't know if the Coast Guard went to the Marine Corps and Said, hey, we want to kind of, we want to learn what you guys are doing here, and anyway, my friend said it's they have an incredibly challenging boot camp to get through. It's right up there with the Marine Corps as the toughest one. So Now, I know you have a ton of passion. You know, I think it was when we talked last week I we kind of determined that your unique, outstanding quality, or, as I term it, your butter. Going back to a previous episode I did, your, your real uniqueness is your passion, your energy and your drive. So, with that being said, right now, what do you consider to be a win or a victory in your life?
Speaker 3:Yeah, a win or a victory. It's interesting because I always have to go back and compare to, you know, live saved, or that when I, you know, in the hero days of being a paramedic is what I call it Now it's just having a positive effect on people's lives, whether that's Interns working with us, whether that's a customer. I just love solving problems for people, but when I solve the problem, the win is more about the relationship and the eternal, you know, benefit. Am I leaving them a better person than the way I came? And with that passion it's. It's easy for me to, you know, drive 100 miles an hour, but just being able to slow down and walk alongside them at whatever speed they're at in life and just be able to help them in their, in their need and and where they're at, that's, that's my win in today's, in today's time.
Speaker 2:And I got to believe at the pace you go at, not just physically but also kind of mentally. You have to slow down at times and let people catch up. I mean, I could see you really moving forward at a pace where you're looking, going. Wait a minute. Everybody else is still 12 steps behind me. I have to let them come with me. Do you find that to be a challenge at times?
Speaker 3:Oh, yes, you know, going back, you know I, I talk about my dad being electrician and all the things that I've been blessed with. You know the vision I, when I, when I get a new light, when I see a new problem or a new solution, I'm like 10 steps way past people, things like a new product and, oh man, all these features that are on version three and we're still back in the prototype. So I have to slow down and go oh, back up. Okay, where are we focused on? How are we gonna get you know? How are we gonna successfully launch version one? And oh, by the way, version two, three, four, five are coming out there. So I'm very visionary in that realm, being able to see solutions and what it could mean for the greater world, and I need to come back. What does it mean for our team and our customers?
Speaker 2:now. All right, that's the. You know the beauty of being a visionary. There's so much strength in being a visionary but the biggest detriment is being frustrated at times or impatient with those who quite can't grasp that, can't get quite grasp of vision. And you know I like the fact that you brought up a few, didn't use this word. But one of the things I've picked up on this conversation so far is you have a great deal of empathy. You know helping the fellow runner, eraser, in the race when your draw was wired shut, talking about developing other people and solving problems and with impacting people's lives and and even being having that self-awareness to say wait a minute. I know I have a visionary mindset and so many visionaries that I speak with or work with, brandon they, their biggest problem is is they get so frustrated with everybody else. But they have to realize that's just not their strength. You know there are.
Speaker 2:You know I love the michael gerber's concept. It is in his works on the emeth, revisited when he talks about there are entrepreneurs which are visionaries, there are managers who manage the vision and then there are technicians who do the actual work and that technical work and when visionaries and entrepreneurs just go off on their own. I mean, it's like like we talked about in the pre show today. You know, we, we, we can't do this on our own. We need the, the managers, we need the technicians, and it takes an extra special person to realize it and to pull everybody alongside them and work, you know, kind of bring them up as a high tide raises all ships. That's a rare, that's a rare gift, and I think it all comes with a lot of that empathy that you share, that you have for other people. So kudos to you, my friend.
Speaker 3:Well, at 44 years old, and I still want to be coachable, you know, and that's the, that's there. The thing, as I look around and you know I want to encourage the listeners is you know, where you're at today doesn't mean where you're going to be at tomorrow. And most of the time what I've learned is what holds most people back is fear, fear of of success, fear, failure. You've talked about that on a lot of your episodes, but it's getting past that to realize you know there is more available and you know what are you doing to to strive.
Speaker 3:You know I remember us talking about, you know, getting up at four o'clock in the morning, five o'clock going running. Well, that just puts me ahead mentally amongst those people I work with. I'm able to get all that energy out by nine o'clock. I'm. I'm already, you know, five hours into my day and my brain is just, you know, went through all that adrenaline dump of running and, and you know, some of us ideas are during that time and so, yeah, that's just that physical exercise, part of that, and just yeah.
Speaker 2:That's, that's.
Speaker 2:That's a different breed. Even to get up at four or five in the morning is a different breed. When you go for a 10 mile run or longer and I think when I talked to you last week, you ahead. You said I just did a 10 mile this morning. I'm like Dude, I've never run 10 miles in my life In one fell swoop. I'm a I'm a 5k a day guy. I'm at four weeks, four days a week, 5k and that's that's my sweet spot for running. But uh, you know that's.
Speaker 2:I have a lot of respect for people. I know a friend of mine did 100 mile. Actually, the same gentleman who retired from the Marine Corps did 100 miler. Oh, my goodness, seven, eight, nine years ago. Because I knew Hit oh, maybe longer his for his birthday. His wife flew him, I believe, from Paris Island when he was stationed to see me in east Grand Rapids. That was his birthday gift. He spent four or five days with me and he had just finished 100 miler and I was boggled. I'm like what?
Speaker 2:But it's interesting because so many of the guests I've had on here are ultra athletes. I'll, you know, do the extreme sports, whether it's, you know, the a lot of them are, you know, iron man or the. I don't know if I've met any 100 milers yet on this podcast. Maybe I have, but you know the very long distance and I it boggles my mind that the human body can actually do that. It's the David Goggins type of mentality that Is inspiring and I use that in a lot of other aspects of my life. But I don't think I'll ever do 100 miler. I think I'll sit with my, I'll stick with my 5k and let you do those and you can tell me about the experience and you get back. But I love the aspect and I think this is so true, we've talked about this a lot on the show Over the time is getting up in the morning and having a morning routine.
Speaker 2:It might not be running 10 miles, but getting up and doing something physical every morning, doing something spiritual every morning, something intellectual every morning and something emotional every morning. You know you can be a quick brisk walk, a stretch, meditation, journaling, prayer, uh, gratitude, journal reading, you know, whatever it might be. But having that morning routine is so incredibly powerful and and obviously it helps, has helped you dramatically out through your life, both personally and professionally, brandon, and I can't stress that enough to the listener out there right now who might be stuck in a little bit of a rut in life, and stuck on the hamster wheel and spinning around and around is Start a rotting routine. It doesn't have to be five o'clock, I would recommend five o'clock. I get there, that's a good witching hour, man, to get up and you have a good couple of hours of just getting your life and your day scheduled and set physically, emotionally, spiritually and intellectually.
Speaker 2:But that's that's important. I mean, one of the things I've learned, brandon, over the past several months is I have an incredibly structured morning routine. I don't have a good evening routine and I that's what I'm actually going back home this afternoon for a couple or three weeks before I Travel again. And that's my focus over that three weeks is to structure a good morning or evening routine. That doesn't involve me cracking a gin and tonic, it doesn't involve me watching you know Three hours of television, which I'm not a big fan of tv anyway, but I'm looking to put what can I do in the evening. I'm done with my working out. I'm, you know it's probably going to be reading some prayer, maybe some meditation, but I think having that, that evening routine is may not be as important as the morning routine, but it's still a rather important part of our lives. So do you do anything in the evening? That kind of kind of caps encapsulate your day.
Speaker 3:Brian, you just described my evening perfectly. That's why I'm gonna ask you, you know, hey, how does this go in the next couple weeks? Let me know how that goes, because I have that same fault. I get done with the end of the day and just the schedule of life with my wife. She gets home from work around 7 30 after being a nurse all day, and it's like trying to find that balance. You know, go on taking the dog for a walk Um, that's probably one of my you know Most refreshing moments spending time with my son, my daughter, before she runs off to work. You know those, I guess, more reacting. But you know I also find boredom in that time period, you know as well. So it's, it is, there's a challenge there, being wired the way I'm wired. But yeah, let me know how it goes over the next couple of weeks because you could maybe give me some pointers. And it's only worse in the wintertime when it's dark outside.
Speaker 2:Well, it's dark at 515, 530 here in Michigan. We have four or five hours before we go to bed, and that's the way I've described you described. You said boredom.
Speaker 2:I was always using the word loneliness. I felt loneliness at night and I think it's because mornings I'm just, I'm just, I'm fired up. I can't wait to get out of bed in the morning and then I have client calls and I'm on the phone with my family and you know, sometimes running up to see my children and my grandson or or whatever might be, when I'm up, when I'm home, and then I get done at like five o'clock and it's like I think boredom is a better word to use, because loneliness is a real powerful word and I wanted to kind of get away from that word, but I think it is. It's boredom for me. I'm like now what? I just want to go to bed so I can get up in the morning again, you know. But I'll test a few things and I'll get back with you when you get back from Washington. I'll be the guinea pig on what works and what doesn't work, at least for guys like us.
Speaker 2:So, all right, I have a. This is my favorite question, brandon, and that, if I'm gonna, if I'm going to drive over and see you today which which I could because I'm not I wouldn't have to fly. We're close enough. But if I were and I had a time machine and you never to fly back to, let's just say, maybe you were 20 years old or some former age in your life you can choose the age and you were to sit down and talk to your formal self, that former self, that younger version of Brandon Molnick's. What would you say to yourself? What would piece of advice, words of wisdom, recipes for success or happiness Would you share?
Speaker 3:I'm going to go back, yeah, to 20. Around that time I remember same. I'm very specific, that you know. I looked at my life around me and I said, hey, you know what? I can't have a good testimony unless I have tests, and I'm okay with that. And to go back and say what you're absolutely correct. Life is going to come at you much harder, much, much more dramatic than you could ever imagine, but you've got the grit, you've got the power. Believe in yourself more, maybe, be a little less selfish, a little less self centered. You know, love your kids, love your wife more. Those are the keys. You know that I would probably tell myself, because I wouldn't take away anything that happened to me. That's made me who I am. And you can't be a sharp sword without a lot of pounding. You can't be a strong sword with a lot of pounding, and so I'm okay with that. It's just, that's. Looking back, yeah, you got a good, good life ahead of you. Just, you know, be present along the way.
Speaker 2:So let's recap that for the audience member out there. So I, this is a powerful statement here there are no testimonials without tests. You know, in life is going to throw a lot at you. Life is going to beat us down, it's going to, it's going to knock us down and it with and within those tests. Believe in yourself. Know that you have the grit to get through this and throw it. While you're getting through it, don't be so self centered. Love the people around you, love your family, love your friends, love your community. And a good another good statement is a sharp way I think it was if you can't have a sharper, strong sword without a lot of pounding, powerful stuff, so when you're going, whoever's right now is going through that pounding, who is going through that? Those tests in life, remember, this is where your testimonials in life begin. This is the story you tell your children and grandchildren. This is the legacy you leave others. To inspire them to impact other people around you is how you handle this, because I had a guest on back, I don't know how many months ago, and he was saying that something to the effect that you know this can either be you, it can, it can. Oh, my goodness, I forget how we read. Anyway, it was all about the choice. The choices you make during the tests of life are going to determine whether that test was a failure or a success for you, and you have 100% control over that choice. It's how you deal with it and that you know.
Speaker 2:You and I alluded to this a little bit in our call last week, Brandon. We talked a little bit about I reckon I'd recommend the book I think called the obstacles away. I could be wrong, I don't know if I recommend it or not, but you know they talk about the philosophy of stoicism. Ryan Holiday is a modern day stoic and Epitetus and you know Marcus Sirillius, I think, was one, and quite a few people were back in the day. And it's all about it's not how life treats us, it's how we react to life's treatment of us. That makes all the difference in the world and every obstacle that we have in life. That is the way to success. The obstacle is the way to happiness, to fulfillment, and so many people see the obstacle and they either back away from it or they allow the obstacle to beat them down.
Speaker 2:And I do believe that, like you said, no testimonials in life without true tests. And you know, you got to hear my testimony a little couple of weeks ago in in in Ada. We talked and it was so inspiring to hear other men come up to me and the phone calls and emails and texts I've received since and with other men share me with the testimonials. They've gone through the difficulties and some of them still going through those, and how they're starting to realize now, probably because of the amazing group that RJ Broodrow put together in Ada at the barn. They can see that that is my way out of the of the issues I have in my life. This is not another struggle for me to fail. It's a struggle for me to prove how badly I want something.
Speaker 2:And if you ever get a chance, maybe you've watched this before, but, brandon, there's a video and there's a book out there called the last lecture and it was by Randy Posh. He was a Carnegie Mellon University professor who died back maybe 1012 years ago pink red cancer. And he had an opportunity as he was a Carnegie Mellon University computer science professor and because he knew he was dying he would obviously retired in the Carnegie Mellon University allowed him to do a final lecture and they videotaped it and he was really gave the lecture to his young boys who were he knew they would grow up without him being present with him on here on earth. And so he talked and he said he part of the lecture on the video which he then turned into a bestselling book before he passed away he talks to his boys and he says an unparaphrasing to some degree.
Speaker 2:He said you know you are going to reach, you're going to come across brick walls all throughout your life, some tall, some medium, some extremely high. Those brick walls are not there for you to turn on and walk away with your head down. Those brick walls are for you to prove how badly you want what's on the other side, and I just think that's such a powerful statement. And that's exactly what you've been doing. You turn these testimonials into, into these, these tests and the testimonials, and I think that's very powerful. So I love. What's next for you, my friend? I mean you come back next week. You've run, you've run the out in Washington, in Mount St Helen. What's next? What's your next big adventure in life or focus?
Speaker 3:My next big adventure, my next focus is going to be on planning what that next big event that focuses.
Speaker 3:Do some more self reflection, take some time and and figure out what the next five to 10 years of life is going to be. Because, you know, I've realized in this time that you know, I've met every career goal I've ever had. I'm in the best place I've ever been. I'm, you know, this job I'm in, you know, utilize this, all of the skills and all the talents that you know I was, I was born for this, this, this job, this position, the people I'm in, the culture I get to help form, you know, and I can only imagine what God has planned for me the next five, 10 years. But I just take some time and stop and and see what we're running fits in, see where, you know, I can be a better husband, better dad, and just keep getting healthier, you know, just keep working on my health, and that and that is vision, that is finding out that goal, so I can set my mind, you know, and both personally and professionally.
Speaker 2:Love it. Well, true, you know you just made a statement that we talked about earlier. So audience member out there. So when we before the show today, we were talking and and Brandon said I wish you still had that theme song born for this by the score, because I had it for a while was actually going to be my theme song until I heard it, I got some pushback from people saying, hey, you might want to get that off before you get sued, but that's kind of his theme song is. So if anybody got a chance out there, go out there. I think it's called born for this or something. I think that's by the score.
Speaker 2:Google that song and listen to man's powerful song. It's so powerful I wish I could still use it. I reached out to the band a couple of times. Haven't heard anything back from them, so I decided not to use it. Several months ago probably, probably more than a year ago we stopped using that theme song, that theme song day for the intro. But it definitely is Brandon's theme song and I can see it could be a theme song for a many people out there. So, all right, so as we wrap up, one final question brand. Is there any question that I did not ask you that you wish I would have, or is there any final message you want to live to lead to that member out there, who that bamboo pack member, that subscriber who's struggling right now?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm gonna just go back to the coach ability. You know, be coachable and then, when you are coached, help coach others, be share your testimony. It's given to you through all your test, trials, tribulations, but it's can be very powerful to help others, you know. Thank you, Brian, for you know this platform where I'm able to share my testimony I'm sure that you've seen it in three days and his platform at the barn. It's just a place where where people can share their story, help form the thoughts in their head and be proud of your story. So for the listeners, definitely share their story. It could definitely improve. It may not be on a podcast, but it might be helping volunteering at a local organization where you're able to work with a youth.
Speaker 3:You can, your story might influence somebody and it doesn't have to be as crazy as my story. It's your story, it's your adventure. But you have to one self reflect long enough to know what that adventure is and what that, that story is. And then you have to. You know, you know and I'm assuming, since your five guests mostly for you know people on the answer wheel in life, or you know striving to be the perfect self, or there. You know it's. Yeah, I'm hoping there's there's more out there that will listen to this and go from that to but yeah, sure story.
Speaker 2:I can't think of a better way to capsule, capitalize this. So everybody out there, just to listen again, because I know a lot of you are riding, you're driving, you're running, you're on your treadmill, whatever it might be, just listening to those brief, the brief little summary that Brandon just shared be coachable, stay coachable, but also help coach others, and one of the best ways to do that is to share your story, share your testimony and be proud of your story, because everybody's story is different. I think. So often we think the story we have, is, is, is. They're all unique, but there are other people, stories who mirror our own at times and we can learn from those people and you can teach other people how to go through life a little bit better, maybe a little more, with a little more dignity, integrity on or courage, whatever it might be, competence.
Speaker 2:And you can't do that until you self reflect, which has been a common theme in Brandon's story and message today is self reflection is so incredibly powerful and man it's so.
Speaker 2:It's so scary for us but a lot of us to slow down in life and self reflect, and a good friend of mine share with me in college. He said I think the two of us go so fast in life because we're afraid, if we stop, our stench from our past will catch up with us. And that's really what sometimes self reflection is, as it's slowing down and letting everything from the past catch up with us and really dissecting that, and then with that you find your test, you find your testimony, you find your story and with that story you can build from there, you can write the next chapter in your story and you can share with others to help them write their next chapter. So I can't imagine a bit more succinct Message that we shared in the last 55 minutes hour, whatever it's been that could change a person's life. So, brandon, thanks, my friend man, thank you for being just an amazing guest on the bamboo lab podcast.
Speaker 3:Thank you, brian.
Speaker 2:Hey, we're going to be rooting for you. I know by the time this airs you'll be back home, but I'll be rooting for you, praying for you, sending positive vibes. This weekend, my friend, you'll probably get a text from me. Just ignore it, because you'll be busy getting your body and your mind psyched up for this. But make it memorable, man, make it another part of your story. Alright, everyone out there, please, thank you again for listening in. Please hit that. Subscribe, like button, rate, review us and please share this message. Text it, email. Whatever you might need to do, share with three other people. Let's get Brandon's message of self reflection, of coach ability, of grit and passion and drive out to the people you love and care about in your world. I'll talk to you in a week. In the meantime, please remember everybody, get out there and strive, love and live. See you, guys.