The Undeniable Leader with Rob Cressy

If You Can Dream It, Be It with Riley Tejcek

• Rob Cressy

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What’s stopping you from chasing bold dreams and taking action on the life you truly want? Is it fear? Doubt? Waiting for the perfect moment? The reality is, that there will never be a perfect time, there is only now. 

In this powerful episode of Built For The Game, Olympic bobsled hopeful, U.S. Marine Corps captain, and children’s book author Riley Tejcek shares how she’s turning big dreams into reality. Whether it’s training for Olympic gold, leading in the Marines, or becoming an author, Riley proves that success isn’t about luck, it’s about bold choices and daily discipline.

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SPEAKER_00

Hey, if you dig this podcast and want a deeper dive into the lessons, mindsets, and routines that will keep you winning for the next decade, then head over to my YouTube channel. Just search Rob Cresty and subscribe. I've got a ton of additional content that'll help you be exceptional. I also created a separate YouTube channel just for chat GPT tips for growing your business. Search Unlimited Coach on YouTube. It's some of the best AI tutorials you'll find anywhere. If you can dream it, be it. You're about to listen to the most inspiring conversation you will hear all day. What's good? I'm Rob Cressy and welcome to Bill for the Game, and I am super excited for today's conversation with Riley T Jack. Riley, how are you doing today?

SPEAKER_01

I'm so excited to be talking to you, Rob. I'm here at the Olympic Training Center, training for Bobsled, but ready to inspire some people together.

SPEAKER_00

So, how in the world did this even get created? So, about I don't know, 10 days ago, I was on a conversation with somebody who I just met for the very first time. Awesome guy. Shout out to Mark. And in that, at the very end, there's the inevitable question of, oh, how can I help? And I'm somebody who is always prepared to have the answer for how somebody can help me. And my answer was who is the most exceptional person that you know? I want an introduction to them. And Mark chose you and connected us. And you and I had a conversation. We totally vibed. You told me about all that you have going on from the release of a book to you on your journey of winning an Olympic gold medal to everything in between. So, Riley, before we get into the depths of this, can you give a quick overview on who you are and what you do?

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. Shout out, Mark. Thank you. And this is so much about the power of connection and who you know, but a little bit about me. I am 28 years old. I'm an active duty United States Marine Corps captain. In addition, I'm a member of Team USA Bobsled, where I'm here at the Olympic Training Center right now. I am a pilot trying to be the first female Marine in the Olympics. I also have just got off winning my last race, a gold medal, and the North American Cup here in Lake Placid. In addition to those two things, I am a new children's book author of my book, If You Can Dream It, Be It. So this is something pretty new that I've also taken into. I know we've been able to talk about the book. I'm really excited about that. And then I do have a variety of different other things. I'm a speaker, I've won a couple game shows, just appeared here and there and everywhere.

SPEAKER_00

Wow, I love it. And I appreciate you appearing here. So if you can dream it, be it. That resonates with me because, among other things, I'm a dreamer. I left my old life 12 years ago to go all in on living my dreams and making them happen. And a lot of people say, it's like, well, Rob, what was it like that moment before you took that leap? And for me, it was a very simple one. I said to myself, I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't give it a shot at making my dreams happen. For me, the bigger risk was not taking the risk. I had to know, and I was not willing to live the rest of my life if only dot dot dot. I wanted to take regret off the table and it's a thing that I live by. And in the process, the way I show up every single day and the way that I create is because I am all in on my dreams and being the best version of myself. And you, Riley, are a perfect example of this. So I would love to hear from you. Let's get to the root, the origin of this, because it can be challenging for people to see you doing all these amazing things, creating gold medals in your life and books and everything. Like, oh, Riley and Robert is different. I'm not like that. But we both started at zero. So talk to me about that route, that zero to one, where you had this dream in your mind, and then you creating it and stepping into it, going into zero and getting in the game.

SPEAKER_01

I'll start by saying this. For anyone listening, there's no difference between you and me. The only difference is I haven't let fear hold me back from pursuing and walking into my passion and my dreams. And so for me, I listen to that passion that's on my heart. What is it that makes you excited to wake up? What is it that you're so passionate about that you couldn't imagine doing anything else but that in life? What is it that like butterflies just come every time you talk, talk about that subject? And oftentimes people have that passion that's put on their heart, but they don't do anything with it. And that's the difference between me and you right now, if you're listening to this. I decided that the passions that are put on my heart, I'm gonna put into action. It doesn't mean that they're gonna happen every time. I've been told no more times than I've been told yes. And I think we all have, but to your point, there's knowledge and or there's power in knowledge, there's power in knowing, and there's power in the pursuit. And the pursuit of excellence and the pursuit of your journey, truly, is the most important and rewarding thing you will find. So for me, there is no reason why I should be where I am today. A little bit has to do with my faith, a lot of it has to do with my belief in myself, my belief in the Lord, and ultimately putting myself out there. So before we dive in too much, I am a Marine officer, I'm a Bobsled athlete, and I am an author. I did not get a degree in English, and I say, y'all, my parents make fun of me. I probably shouldn't be an author and written a book. I am a female Marine Corps officer. Less than nine to eight percent of women are officers in the Marine Corps, and I really didn't have a big military presence in my family. And last thing number three, I didn't do the sport of OBSA until I was the age of 23. I actually was a softball athlete. I got a Division I softball scholarship for softball. So at the age of 23, I then transitioned into a new sport, and I'm here now at the Philippine Training Center, trying to qualify for the Olympic team. So, all this to say, you can pursue your passions, and there is no reason and nothing that should hold you back from doing that.

SPEAKER_00

All right, I can do an entire masterclass just based on the few minutes that you said right there. So let's pull this bad boy apart. And the first thing that comes top of mind for me is don't be your own no. And this applies to creating your dreams and giving yourself the gift of pursuing them all the way up to all the things that you want to do along the way on that journey. I want to write a book, I want to speak on stage, I want to do podcasts, I want to train for the Olympics, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot. And so often in life, it can be easy to say, I don't see the path, I'm not gonna do it, or I'm gonna allow my fears, judgments, and self-limiting beliefs to have a large, a louder voice than my faith, my belief, and my vision. And this journey isn't easy because by design, we are leaving a life of um comfort and consistency where things are created for you, versus I'm gonna wake up every single day and everything is on you to create whatever you want. And for me, and I say this often, the moments in my life in which everything changed, the number one was my very first morning when I'd quit my job. And it was morning one, day one of being all in on my dreams. And I sat there eating breakfast and I was like, wow, there is no one to tell me what to do, when I do it, do I work out? Do I call anybody? It is all on me. And in that moment, I became self-aware. And up until that point in my life, the first three decades, nobody had ever told me the term self-awareness, right? I'd never exp I didn't know what that was until all of a sudden I'd given myself the gift of you can do anything that you want. And in that moment, all of a sudden, my standard got created. Because I was like, okay, if everything's on me, I better figure this thing out. Because I'm back at zero again. No website, no clients, no revenue, no nothing. And that set me on the journey to the next thing you said, the pursuit of excellence. And there's something that is a gift that I wish I could give everybody, and I can because I've go to right now. It's the all right, if you don't see the realization of your dreams every single day, how can you guarantee that this day is not a failure, right? Because it can, when you're all in, but you haven't quite touched that yet, man, it can be very challenging because you're literally signing up for challenges, adversity, obstacles, and the unknown by design. And for me, I said there's two things that nobody can ever take from me. Number one, what I learn, and number two, my mindset. Therefore, when I reverse engineered what success was gonna look like for me, I said, I am going to put my personal growth and development very first thing that I do every single day because it guarantees I'm better today than I was yesterday. Nobody can take that away from me. And then doing that every single day for a decade is what created me into a coach. I never set out to become a coach, I just lived like one for more than a decade. So I'm curious to hear from you on don't be your own no in your pursuit of excellence.

SPEAKER_01

After everything you just said, the first thing that came to my mind is step one is action. So oftentimes I tell people and in my story, what was it that made me take the step first step, that leap, the little step, whatever you want to call it, is action. And the easiest way to perform action is by telling someone else. Oof. It's a lot simpler than it sounds, but it requires that guts and a little bit of like bravery. So oftentimes people hold their passions within, right? Oh, I would love to do that, or in another life, so and so, or I just don't have the time, but that really excites me. Well, oftentimes we don't share that, we actually keep that within. So when you start sharing that with your tribe or your loved ones, that's when I feel like you are able to have that first action step because now you have people that are gonna hold you accountable. So, step one, sharing your dream, passion, desire with other people, which inherently requires action. Two, finding those people that then you have to tell them to hold you accountable to pursue that. And then three, starting out from square one. And there is so much knowledge because you talk about what you learn and learning something. And let me tell you, majority of the time, you're not the first person to do it. You don't need to reinvent the wheel every single time. That's when then you reach out to other people, you then you start asking for help. Hey, do you know anyone that does fill in the blank? Or hey, could you connect me with so and so? Or for goodness sakes, if you don't talk to people, go on to LinkedIn and start adding them as friends and send them a message. But there's some kind of action set that needs to take place. There needs to be some something to do with your boldness and your courage and taking that big leap forward. And that for me drives from my favorite Bible verse, which is Joshua 1.9, and it talks about being bold and courageous. Don't not be basically anxious or fearful for anything. And it's the pursuit, right? I'm not saying the answer is gonna be yes, and every single door is just gonna open for you, but you won't know if you don't make an actionable step, and it's so much easier when you get help from the people around you. You do not have to do this process alone, no matter what it is, and oftentimes you are gonna require support, and so that's the best actionable step that I could take. For me, the second I told the nudie, the news and media outlets that I was gonna write a book before the age I was 30, I looked at myself and I was like, oh no, it's real now. I just told people, I myself have to hold myself accountable, but anyone who's reading this is gonna expect that from me, and now I have to do it, and it kind of lights that fire under yourself of like I just put it out there and now I must follow through. And again, most people just won't put it out there. So I think that's step number one.

SPEAKER_00

All right, so two hours ago, I just recorded a podcast with my friend Fiona Ross, where if you're listening to this in the future, go back and listen to the episode with Fiona and I. And what we talked about is Abracadabra. I create as I speak your ability to speak things into existence. And for a lot of people, this might come off as a little bit too woo-woo. But then there's those of us who live by this, right? And we understand the power of language, the power of creation, and your speaking is an invitation and it's an energy that you can put out there. So for me, anytime I want to step into the next level of my identity and who I am, Abercadavera. I'm going to speak it as much as possible. Which, Riley, that is exactly how you got here. Because what is the thing that I smoke? Who is the most extraordinary person that you know? I want an introduction to them. Boom, there's Riley. Because guess what? My strategy is this year. Every single person I talk to that says, Rob, how can I help? They're gonna get the same answer. Who's the most extraordinary person that you know? I want an introduction to them. And you said something that there's levels to this game, and you said the word accountability. And yes, we can have people that can hold ourselves accountable. We also have speaking something into existence, and by publicly declaring this, oh whoa, now I'm on the line for this. So there is social accountability, but I think there's a more important one for someone like you and I, but certainly with you and all that you have going on is self-accountability, right? Because you and I are on these one-of-one, one-of-one journeys. And even though there's gonna be a lot of people involved in this journey, it is still our ability every single day to get up and be the person who is committed to excellence in the pursuit of mastery and making their dreams happen. So I'm curious from you because um, with you on the journey of creating an Olympic gold medal, I would love to hear more about your mindset for accountability. Because now we're gonna be driving into your processes, your systems, because this is where the real challenge is, because it's really easy to not hold yourself accountable, or as I like to say, comfortable is always comfortable, right? But nothing great ever came from your comfort zone. Therefore, one of the things in the pursuit of excellence is your ability to embody self-accountability.

SPEAKER_01

I'm gonna ask you a question, and this is rhetorical for anyone who's listening. If you were to describe five of your best friends or people that you love the most, would you use the word to describe them as liars, failure to commit, not showing up on time, flippy floppy all over the place? The answer would be no, I would hope. I would hope that the people that you're surrounding yourself with, your bestest of friends, all this stuff, are not gonna leave you hanging, are not gonna lie to you, are not gonna say one day they're gonna do something, the next day they don't. So why do we do that for ourselves? Why would you be the person to lie to yourself, to not show up for yourself, to be flippy floppy, wishy-washy, all of these things? And that I think is why some people don't like themselves, is because you don't even enjoy the company of yourself. So you want to talk about that self-accountability? Be someone that you would want to be friends with, be someone that shows up for somebody, be someone that shows up for yourself, be someone who, when they say that they're gonna do something, they follow through. I'm not saying you're gonna be successful at it, but you at least do it and you can feel good while you do it because you were telling the truth and you you did what you said you were gonna commit to. And that in and of itself, I think a lot of people don't ask that hard question to themselves. So for me, how my process works is I want to wake up and I want to win every day. What's important now? How can I win? How can I be successful and focus on my priorities of those days? And for example, the priority recently that I'm having here at Limited Training Center is performance. So my priorities are to eat, sleep, and train. Number number three priorities that I'm working on. And then in addition, I can't ignore the fact that I'm a Marine officer, I'm a Marine 24-7 nonstop. That also is my top priority. So as I'm training, I also have to feel as how I can balance, and again, I don't love the word balance, but for lack of a better term, how can I also juggle and fix in my work accountability? And then I'll then fill my schedule with the other things that are of lower priority if I have time. So for example, I could be taking a nap right now, I could be watching a Netflix series, but for me, it's a higher priority and something I'm more passionate about to get up on here and to try to inspire other people and share my story and to motivate them and pull something out from them. So the way my brain works is I want to be the best version of myself constantly. So I want to be engaging and pulling things in, my consumption rate of things that are going to uplift me up. If you don't feel like you have a good consumption rate, ask yourself what is showing up on your social media page for recommended. Oof. You'll then see, is it something that's positive? Is your consumption negative? And the more you start surrounding yourself with people you want to be, it'll have that effect on you. But make sure you're in that crowd too. Who are you giving off of? Giving off to. Like, what are the things that you're doing that people are like, I want to be around her, I want to be introduced. I am ready when that message was made to be at a great place to be like, you know what? Yes, Rob, like let's meet. And you know what? I have someone that you can meet to. And just the cycle continues to go on and on and on and on. So I don't think that there's anything overly special other than it is a habit to live a life that you're proud of, to look at your priorities and to execute accordingly and to hold yourself accountable.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. And let's drill down on the micro even one step further around the power of consistency, right? I'm I'm vibing with everything that you said. We're listening, we're watching right now. You're like, yeah, you're the right, you're right. But every single day, so now we're gonna go from the ability to show up as the best version of yourself and win today once. Any of us have won one day, right? We all know because you can say, hey, go to Saturday, man, great day Saturday, versus let's do this for a decade in a row every single day. And for me, the way that I coach this and I live this is that our conversation we're having is a mindset, a lifestyle, and a way of being, right? So we do hard things by design because we know the journey that we are on is hard. So we're building various, as I almost like to see, armor inside myself, because the second that I step out, there's gonna be a bunch of arrows, fear, judgment, challenges, stuffling beliefs shooting at me. So prepare for what's difficult when it's easy. So for you, when you're sitting there and you're on that run in the bobsled where boom, we're winning this gold medal right here. It's gonna be a series of you getting up one day at a time, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, and doing so in a way that is world-class, in a way that nobody else ever does. And it's very challenging in a moment, certainly if we're looking towards the future, to see that this is what it's going to take. And it's why one of the biggest perspectives that I share that has really helped me in this commitment to excellence is stacking ones over zeros, right? The micro and where that fits inside of the macro. You got the big vision, win a gold medal. All right, what is that going to take? It is going to take the power of consistency, not only every single day, but understanding this is actually on a moment-to-moment basis, because it is just as easily gonna get off course in one moment, this training didn't go well, or this thing happened with a client, and your ability to shrink that dispersion and refocus on the thing that makes you the best version of yourself, and this is where the mental side of things comes in because there's certainly going to always be people who are bigger, faster, stronger, but that doesn't mean that their commitment to consistency and excellence and the way that you design your days every single day for four years in a row. Can you speak to that?

SPEAKER_01

My dad and I were just having this conversation. A lot of people are jealous of your results. They're not jealous of how you got there. They're not envious of the process and the day-to-day grind, right? So people might look at me now, they're like, I'm so envious that, you know, Riley just wrote a book. And I'm like, well, do you do you are you really jealous of what it took, all of the effort that it took to go into this? Or being a Marine captain. I wish I was a Marine Captain. Really? Would you be willing to do all the work that I did to be put into this? And oftentimes the answer is no. So to your point, you have to be willing to do the things that others aren't to achieve the results that others will never have. And so what that looks like is showing up day to day by doing the little things. There's a great military video that talks about making your bed every day. The simplicity of waking up and making your bed. And you might be like, How is that a life lesson? Like Mr. Miyagi, right? Like, how is how does that tie in? Without giving too much away, the first thing you do when you wake up is you accomplish a task. So even if you have the worst day ever, you know that when you come home at the end of the day, you have accomplished something, and then something you could be proud of. There is one task that you fulfilled, regardless, every single day. What I look into doing that is you have to win the day. And it's the days that psych up to the weeks, the weeks that sec to the months. And there's a bunch of scientific studies, and I I don't know the facts off the top of my head, like some people. But what does it take to build a habit? What does it take for a habit then to become second nature? And so for me, for example, working out is a great thing. My my boyfriend Danny and I, he's a raw marine. We love to work out and train. It's like just ingrained in our blood. And if there is more than 40 out 48 hours we go without training and working out in some capacity, we're like the worst people around. Like you don't want to be around us. Like we get cranky, we get angry, we're like, I have to go to the gym, I have to exercise and move my body because we're trained like that. First, there's people that are like, oh, maybe I'll get off on the couch once a month to go to the gym. I mean, if you look at how often people are actually using their memberships or stuff like that, right? Think about it. So how do you get to that? And it's by showing up for yourself every single day, but it's also by setting goals. So you can't just say, for example, I have a goal of I want to run a marathon. Incredible. You said it out loud, people are gonna hold you accountable, but now you need to have a freaking plan because you're not just gonna show up the night before and think that you can just wool your way through it. Maybe you can, maybe you're like David Goggins, but the odds of the times you're probably not and you're gonna be a quitter. So then how can you set yourself up for success and you break that down month by month, week by week, day by day, hour by hour? And what are these things that I can control that I can do to make sure that this now becomes a habit? So when I go on these runs, it's no factor for me. When things happen in life that are hard for me, it doesn't knock you down. I always say this if you haven't had a hard day yet recently, one is coming. And I and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but what is your foundation built on? And so for me, I lock, I look at this from a faith standpoint. In Christ, I want to have a firm, strong foundation, which I know that I do because when the wind comes and a storm comes, it wants to knock it down. It may knock some stuff down, but you're not gonna mess up that interior. And we talked about this earlier. How do you do that? By building resiliency. How do you do that? By doing hard things. Well, what's a hard thing? Well, what's something that makes you uncomfortable? So I'm not saying you have to go jocko willing and wake up at 0434. That's not what I'm saying. But put yourself out there and do something that's hard. I think that's why people like cling to like cold plunges right now. It's uncomfortable to put your human body into it. People are like, well, Riley, you bobsled you're used to the cold. It does not mean my human body likes cold temperatures. Right? Taking a cold shower, immersing yourself in cold water sucks, but it's a mental resiliency of doing something that is hard. For some people, going up to a stranger and having a conversation is hard. And if you know that, start doing it. I was talking to one of my really good friends. She's like, I used to hate videoing myself on social media and speaking to, you know, my fans. And she goes, So I just started doing it, and now it's like secondhand nature. So for so many of us, if you know there's a skill or something that's hard for you and you struggle with it, start doing it. Day by day, make the decision to choose the route less traveled. Day by day, do something that's hard, and you build up that cookie jar. What I mean by that is you have this big jar, and the more cookies that you can have and you can stuff into it, when things are really getting harder, you question yourself with the self-doubt because it's coming, you can look back and you're like, I can do this hard thing because look at all the hard things I've done in the past. And I think being able to have a really big, massive cookie jar is something that I'm very interested in. And it allows me then when a challenge arises and I want to do something like writing a brand new book, I'm like, I have done hard things, I can figure out a way to do this. And then you do.

SPEAKER_00

All right, here is the level up hard things by design, right? So this prepare for what's difficult when it's easy. So this is why so many of us have done Andy Frisella's 75 Hard or the Live Hard program or running a marathon, because it activates something different in you. And for me, there's a phrase that I live by that you're speaking about. Earned confidence. Where does confidence come from? Uh, you know where confidence comes from? Doing the work all day, every day for more than a decade straight, right? So this is your ability to um do hard things. Oh, it's raining out, nobody's working out. You're like, boom, no one's working out. That's my opportunity to get the inch. I was listening to a podcast that shared a really good perspective that said, you cannot get in shape in one day. Just not possible, right? So we live in this world that wants this instant gratification, but if you want a sticks back or to look really good, it's going to take this power of consistency. And for me, the reason why I show up the way that I do and I exude this energy is because I've earned it every step of the way. Because I also know where I started from, not only just zero, because yes, I went to zero, but I started from like way not zero. So in the negatives, no self-awareness and no growth mindset. So I would consider that like I started at negative one. Get to zero and you're like, cool, clean slate. But the more you do so, Riley, when you said your friend who uh didn't like what she looked like on camera, the best in the world, use that as an opportunity. One of my favorite books is The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday. What stands in the way becomes the way. Okay, if I don't like what I look like on camera, I'm about to do this a thousand times in a row. Why? Because I got a hole in my boat, right? Because there's something, a story that is not serving me. So let me take the thing that is stopping me and turn that into the thing that becomes the way. And this becomes the superpower because so many people have never done this before, is the reason where the fear, the judgments, the self-limiting beliefs, and the uncertainty is gonna come in. I've never been the pilot of a bobsled before. I've a I have a uh softball's my background, right? All the reasons make sense. You look around you. Do I know anybody else around me wants to be an Olympic gold medalist? Well, I mean, you now, but like you at zero, you're like, I don't know, probably not. So all of the reasons why not, they're there. They're easy, they're comfortable. However, we live by a different standard. And that's where this is a 1% of a 1% conversation. And what I enjoy about your perspective is because uh those who do the work appreciate those who do the work. Because even though you and I just met 10 days ago and we live in different parts of the world and have different journeys, you're going to be an Olympic gold medalist, and I'm a leader of a global movement helping 10 million people. But guess what? Both of us are gonna pay our dues every single day, and we are going to earn our confidence. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And so for anyone listening to this, I don't expect you to be like Rob or I. You're gonna have whatever that passion and desire looks like. It does not mean that you can't get to our level. It's attainable, it's right there in front of you, but it starts with one easy decision after easy decision after hard decision, and that's to show up for yourself, to hold yourself accountable, to then ask and invite others to hold you accountable and take actionable steps moving forward. How does it start? It starts by you starting. There's never a better time to start than than now because you should have started yesterday. And there's no excuse if you do fall behind because you will at some point, do not let that be the reason why you stop and do not start again. It's okay. Being consistent doesn't mean every single day. But being consistent, if you do majority of your days, will work out and get better and better for you each day, each step of the way.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, and Riley, in the journey of consistency, let's say we have 100 ones, right? In a given day, we'll just say there's a hundred of them. Well, we might get 84 one day, 62 one day, probably not 12 one day, but we don't think that consistency consistency isn't about being perfect, right? Right. We show up and there's full lives that we live, right? So, like you, if I don't work out usually by about noon every day, I can't stop thinking about how I haven't worked out. And I will have to work out just so I stop thinking about working out. And this is the most real-time thing possible. So, Riley, right now it's 3:35 p.m. East Coast time when I'm recording this, and I've got a three-year-old toddler who's waking up at various times in the morning. So it is made the consistency of my morning routine as it relates to working out at 6.15 in the morning challenging because Rob being a dad is number one priority. So, with this, I'm like, cool. Today I'm gonna go for a run. I'm training for the 2025 Chicago Marathon. Um, side note for any of you who want to read more about my journey, go to runrobrun.com. Um, I will be running as my fourth marathon. But as part of this, when we're gonna be done, there will be call it an hour and a half left in my air quotes day before I pick up my son from preschool. And I've got a massive list on my get-to-do list of things that I could do the rest of the day that I would love to from a business perspective. But I also know this to be true. I've not yet got my run in. And I was scheduled to do this in the afternoon. Not from it, I knew this is how my day was. So I have a choice right now. When I'm done having this conversation with you, am I gonna go for a training run or am I going to keep doing the business stuff? Well, we both know what the answer to that is going to be, certainly after this conversation. And this was already predetermined, but it's the perfect example here. I'm gonna go for the run. And these are the micro decisions, though. And this is both super important yet super easy. It would be easy just to keep working and keep building my vision for the next hour and a half. But I know the best version of me goes for the training run because when I'm completing the Chicago Marathon in October, I will look back on all the days in which I did an afternoon training run, in which I was a dad first and still made time to make this happen.

SPEAKER_01

And let me tell you, the voices that are in your head right now aren't there and they're in all of ours. The voices that say, be comfortable, just work, but you're still progressing. It's okay, you can pick up tomorrow. No, silence them, put them away, and freaking get after it. And my dad and I, and my boyfriend and I have just talked about this. There's times when it's like, oh my gosh, all right, life happens. I only have 20 minutes, and it's like you can do a lot in 20 minutes, it's still gonna work out and feel accomplished. Stop making excuses. And if you if anyone on this, and I'm I'm just really honest, if anyone on this listening to this are like, well, Riley, I just didn't have time today, turn your screen time on and tell me that you don't have time again. And again, to your point, your priority is being a father. That is a massive priority, but you also made another commitment, and that's also a priority that has to be taken extremely seriously, which you are. So it's not that you didn't have time, it wasn't a priority. If something is not a priority, that's a hard conversation you have to have with yourself. And then what overcame that priority? Because to your point, if playing and scrolling on your phone and watching other people work out on Instagram is more of a priority than you getting it done, you need to have a conversation with yourself.

SPEAKER_00

100%. So, Riley, let's wrap a bow on this by talking about your children's book. As I said, I've got a three-year-old toddler, and I'm uh readers are leaders, right? 30 minutes every single day, first thing in the morning for 10 years in a row for me. I love reading because it creates who I am. And in the process, I've transferred that to my son. We read a lot of books, but I'm also exposed to audit your inputs. Gold in, gold out, garbage in, garbage out. And I can't just assume because I'm buying a children's book that it's going to be aligned to the way of thinking and the way that I want to build a family and a son. And guess what? It is not the case. Not everything, and of course, this does not mean that my three-year-old son needs to be doing 75 hard and reading David Goggins right out of the gate. He will get there eventually, but I'll let him be a three-year-old kid. But you published a children's book, and it really resonates with me because I'm somebody who's about this life, and I believe and know I'm a mirror for my son. I want to be able to instill these fundamentals right out of the gate. Because, no joke, he will have a 30-year head start on me. Right? And I did not learn these things. So tell us about your children's book.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, so it's called If You Can Dream It, Be It. And you can see a little bit of tease throughout the cover. You can see, oops, a girl that is a female marine. You can see baseball, softball, tiara, um, and a salute. And so it's really a true story about me and my journey, but one geared towards children. What you're gonna get out of this is the concept and theme of being bold, courageous, putting yourself out there and not accepting limitations for anything that you want to do in this life. Who do you want to be? Not necessarily what you want to do, who do you want to be? And I always write in people's books that I've been given to them be kind, be bold, be courageous. And what my goal that children get out of this is number one, selfishly. I want children from four to eight years old, which is who it's geared towards, but it could that could fluctuate. To one, see a female Marine, two, to see a female marine that's also a professional athlete, because there's not a lot of women professional athletes that are successful, that also can do pageants and write books and all of these things. Do I expect your children to be like, yes, this is what I want to do? No. What I want to show them is the possibility to think outside the box, to pursue every single passion that's put on your heart because each of us have a unique passion and ultimately also have parents get something out of it when either they're reading with their kids or to their kids. And part of the story, without giving too much of it away, is she is on an assignment to interview people that are closest to her. So here's one of the pages, and um, she's interviewing her grandfather. Uh, my grandfather was a marine, and she's asking about being a Marine. But she also interviews her father, my father was a professional athlete, etc. I want parents to realize oh my goodness, my children are watching every single thing that I do. And that job that I take, the types of food that I eat, how I treat people, my spouse, my children, how I speak, act, walk, talk, all things, my children are looking at and they're gonna replicate that. In addition, your kids love you so much that they're creating core memories from the time that you're spending with them already. So, what are you consuming your children's mind with? What are you allowing them to watch? Who are you allowing them to interact with? And I'm not saying parents are perfect, I'm not a child, I am not a mother. I hope to have children really, really soon. But being aware of that, of like, wow. For example, people ask my parents, how did Riley become what she what she is? And it's not just one person, it's all the people that were around me as a child that like poured into me that I'm like, that's why I am able to be who I am. So who are you surrounding yourself with? Who are you allowing your children to interact with? What is their consumption rate? They don't need to listen to Goggins, but are you limiting your children? Are you telling your children, whether you're male or female, sorry, it's not possible for you to be a marine because you know, no one in our family ever done ever done it and you never have shot a weapon, you don't want to go to war. Or are you telling people there's no point to be a professional athlete as a woman because you're just not gonna make a lot of money? Or there's no way you're gonna be running around in the mud doing marine-like actor activities and be a pageant winner because they just don't go together. False. Don't limit and tell people what they can and cannot do. Let them figure it out for themselves. And I hope that everyone enjoys this book of all ages. It's geared four to eight-year-olds, but like I said, I think that parents can pull something out of it as well. Um, if anyone is interested in the book, it's available on Amazon, Barnes Noble, and through my publishing company Ingame Press. Again, it's called If You Can Dream It, Be It. And if you do enjoy it and you're listening to this, um, please let me know or any takeaways that you guys got out of it because maybe there's something that I'm not even thinking of. And I would love to be involved in your journey of how your kids um are reading it and what they get out of it.

SPEAKER_00

Love that. Look at that. The perfect bow on this conversation, Riley. I feel so thankful and blessed to have had the opportunity to have two conversations, two conversations with you over the last 10 days. I'm a champion for you. I'm rooting for you. Uh, amazing things are on the horizon. I look forward to watching with my family, with the book that we will purchase for this with my son, seeing you at the Olympics with that gold medal, knowing what is possible. It is going to happen. So thank you so very much, Riley. Where else can everybody connect with you if they have any other thoughts or questions or they want to support you on this journey?

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. You can connect with me on LinkedIn, Riley Tjack, or on Instagram, Riley.tjak. I love interacting with people, people that say, hey, I listen to your podcast, I have some more questions, or hey, I just want to like follow each other and motivate each other. I'm like, heck yes, let's do it. Let's uplift this community. So please, please, please reach out. I will always respond.

SPEAKER_00

And I would love to hear from you. There was so much goodness in here. What resonated with you? What caused you to think or take action? You can hit me up on Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn at Rob Cressy. Sending tons of love and good vibes your way. Have a blessed rest of your day.