Olivia - Episode Recording
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Values are those deeply rooted core beliefs that help you. They're like a compass that help you navigate yourself through decision making, through goal setting, through skill building. They're essentially the lens through which you see the world and your goal is to make them part of your operating system.
So I think that one of the best ways to figure out what your values are is recognizing when you're not feeling great about yourself, is typically when you're not living in alignment with your values. Welcome to the Wild and Well Collective Podcast where we believe empowered health is your superpower. We have combined our expertise in medicine and nutrition to bring you the latest research expert insights and success stories of people on a mission to live a big life. So buckle up and get ready to learn how to live wildly well.
Welcome to another episode of The Wild and Well Collective. And today we [00:01:00] have Olivia Chadwick, who is a mental performance coach, a certified exercise physiologist, a speaker, and now the co-author of an amazing book entitled 17 Runs the Unbeaten Path to Unlocking Your Potential in Life. As the founder of Movement Medicine at first of its kind coaching practice, Olivia leads an integrated team of world-class experts in exercise science and mental performance.
Beyond coaching. Olivia is the host of She Knew Better, a podcast that explores the societal norms and systemic factors shaping women's health, confidence and success. She believes that true transformation begins with turning inward, building self-awareness, compassion, and unshakeable self-belief. I'm super excited for you to have the experience of this conversation today with Olivia.
Christa Elza: Welcome, Olivia, back for the second time on the podcast. We're so excited to have you. And this time we really wanna talk more about your latest creation and gift to the [00:02:00] world, which is your book 17 runs, and I'm excited to hear more about it. I'm also excited to hear how, because I know this book is about a relationship between you and a friend who happens to be an older man, and I think let's start there.
Like, how did you actually meet this person that kind of inspired the book and the creation around all of this?
Olivia Chadwick: Thanks for the question, Ashley. Thanks for having been back on the show for a second time because I, this is the first time I get to be a second timer on a podcast, which. Whenever that's happened, when I've listened to podcasts before, it makes me feel like they're friends, the people who are interviewing interviewee, and now that's how I get to feel with both of you ladies, which is super lovely for me.
Yeah, so the book 17 runs came about because of a relationship between myself and Garnet Morris. So at the time we were dating the book. Traverses back in time to around 2013 when Gartner and I first met, I was working as a personal trainer and a colleague reached out to me and said, Hey, I [00:03:00] have this client, he's really lovely, but we meet at 5:00 AM for workouts, and he's incredibly successful businessman, and he sometimes shows up and sometimes doesn't.
He cancels last minute and I can't handle it. 5:00 AM for crying out loud. Would you take him? Doesn't that sound like an offer you can't refuse. But honestly, I was a young woman. I was I had a young child who had a lot of health challenges. I was really struggling to make ends meet financially.
Having gotten into the personal training business out of my degree and it was really unhappy in my marriage and was trying so hard to move forward in life, but struggling. I was honestly prepared to do whatever it took. I'm just was in major hustle mode. And so I was like, yes, of course I will take on that client, whatever it takes.
And so, it started out, of course, as I've described, he was my athlete, as I always say. Well, my client and Garner had already gone on a big health journey in his forties. He went through bankruptcy as well as huge health problems being dosed with being diagnosed with diabetes. He was over 300 [00:04:00] pounds.
He was a smoker. And at that moment in his life, and he will chronicle this part of his journey so much better than I would. He basically turned his life around through engaging in very high level coaching practices. There was probably a few other things in there as well, but that was honestly the pivotal shift that helped him transform, lose 150 pounds, turn his businesses around and go on a massive health journey and to, if you take us to present day, Garnet is now the founder of the leading diagnostic medical clinic.
In Canada, it's probably better than most of them in North America. So to say that he went from that in his forties to now 70, founding a health clinic, a functional medicine clinic it makes you realize how important health became in his life. So anyways, I'll take you back. When Garner and I first met, he'd actually already been on a health journey, but he was still chasing bigger goals to pursue other levels of optimization.
At the time that we met, he was pursuing running in a much more hardcore way, and he had a goal of running the a [00:05:00] hundred mile Canon ASCUS relay in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. So we had to gather a team of 10 people to go and participate in this race. But what started out as me being my professional shell self and showing up every day and trying to really meet my client where they're at and help them get to where they want to go.
Garnet showed up as hips himself, which is somebody who is very invested in the journey, but not just in the skill set and the strategy that has to happen. The tactical parts, it's very relational for Garnet all the time. And so we very quickly became friends and would. Be out on a run sharing stories about our day and our lives, and just really having a beautiful opportunity to connect.
He was as interested in learning as much about me as I always do with my clients, because to coach them really well, I have to understand the nature of their lives really well. But it was always so reciprocal. I. As you mentioned, Gar, it's older. He's 30 years older than me and honestly, he was, became like a father figure.
He would, as I would share stories in my life, he would be [00:06:00] helping me navigate the problems and the challenges that I was going through as much as I was helping him, to the point where I was definitely getting more out of, showing up for those 5:00 AM runs probably than he was. what happened was that he became more of a, from a friend then to a mentor.
Like I would go to Garner with so many of my problems. And he was incredibly generous to always be available to help me move forward in through the problems that I was facing. And that is really what the book Chronicles, it's the wisdom that he shared with me and the conversations that we had while out on the run that.
Transformed his life, as I've said, that massive pivotal turnaround in his life whereby he was using those tools to try and help me turn my life around. That's awesome. I love that. Thanks.
Christa Elza: So the relationship then, yeah, like he's, we mentioned beforehand, like from the outside I could look kind of like what in the world is going on here with an older man and a younger woman, yet they're not dating yet.
They have this good symbiotic relationship. What would you, so that [00:07:00] is, that relationship inspired this book essentially, right? That's pretty inspirational to say, I'm gonna write a book about what I learned. What were some of the highlights then of.
Of what you learned. what are some of the highlights then of what you highlighted in the book, I should say?
Olivia Chadwick: Yeah, thanks. I think I'm gonna, actually, before I answer that question, I'll preempt it with something that you acknowledged, is that it is pretty unusual that we were able to connect on that deep level.
Garnet would say and he has in other interviews, it's almost like Olivia was reincarnated, but in the same lifetime that I was incarnated. If you're into the whole Buddha's perspective, 'cause we have. Really shared similar childhood experiences. We had similar trauma stories of sexual abuse of siblings who committed suicide of a lot of mental illness in our families and backgrounds.
And I. Extreme poverty in our early childhood. So when we are sharing stories with one another, we started to realize like we had very [00:08:00] similar pain and so we, we knew each other in a way that most people don't get to know. Well, first of all, most people don't get to know your story in that intense way, but running is this like, great, we run in the book.
So it's 17 runs, but running is really there because it's a metaphor for the journeys that we go on that are really hard and really challenging, but that we can persevere through. I. But what I love about running the most is it allows you to go inwardly on a journey every time you go out on a run. And, but if you're running with someone, that inward journey is usually shared.
So there can be a really unique bond between running buddies that can happen that you don't share with anyone else. And only, I'm sure other people get this, but if you run, like you really get this, if you run with other people. Because you have like endorphins in this. You're like, well, it's not really weird that I'm sharing my story of sexual abuse.
Like, I'm not overexposing myself, am I, like, we're cool with this. You just, you're just not reading the situation in the same way, but in a good way you're able to be vulnerable and really open up with people. And so I think that Garner and [00:09:00] I yes, then we knew each other's stories in a really intense way.
But we also like really knew each other's stories in a really intense way. So there was, that part of it that was the sort of foundational piece of our relationship and probably why Garnet wanted to help me so much, because we had that connection. And then if anyone knows Garnet, we call it the Garnet isms, right?
One of the cool things that he does when he's mentoring you is he repeats himself a lot, which. It sounds annoying when people tell you the same story twice. You're like, mm-hmm. I've totally heard this one before and I can't decide if I'm gonna tell them this yet or not. But when it's in the context of them trying to help you, it's because you're, you have a block, right?
And they're constantly presenting you with the same information over and over again. You're like, yeah, that makes sense. But you're so blocked about it. It takes like 200 times for you to hear the same damn thing before you like fully get it and you can do something about it. And so Garnet has these isms of like things that he might repeat really frequently, that it's [00:10:00] not just, I know them, but lots of people in his circle will know them.
And we often say like, we should create t-shirts of like different garnet isms if you're in his circle , of family and friends and whatnot. And so Garnet did come to me and say like, I want to write a book. He's been really blessed with a lot of financial success and success in lots of areas actually.
And he felt that that was credited to things that he'd learned along the way. That he would love to give people the upper hand and teach them. And when he presented me with this idea, I was like, well, obviously we need to do that because it's helped me so much. Then we should, do the work of giving more people this information.
Sheree Beaumont: I love this and I love that you've shared so much about the relationship and I think just to give some clarity on this. From a like as a PT and like my background and personal training, I think sometimes people can really misinterpret relationships or look from the outside in, especially when it is a male female dynamic.
And so I like that we're actually highlighting this because so often, even if you look at the, there's, I mean it's not a huge age gap, but [00:11:00] there's an age gap between c myself and I think when you ask someone that is open to mentorship, when you are someone that is on a wavelength of being in a highly ambitious.
A highly ambitious person, like you said, you were willing to do whatever it took to be successful. Like that doesn't matter if you're 30. It doesn't matter if you're 20. It doesn't matter if you're 60 or if, it doesn't matter if you're 80. At the end of the day, at least my personal belief is that you're gonna resonate with people who have been on similar journeys.
You're gonna learn from people, and I know we look at it and go, oh yeah, you probably got a lot out of it, but you. And I'm sure you've had these conversations, you've probably taught him so much as well. And I think that the book is a beautiful reflection that it goes both ways and when it comes to business, when it comes to learning, when it comes to growth, relationships really are at the core.
And the fact that you highlighted that very early on, that that's how he operated, I think is also a really empowering lesson. When it comes to understanding all of this. And I'd love for us to dive into the concepts that are coming up in the [00:12:00] book a little bit more. I know one of them is around, and it's something that is so important.
I don't think many people actually define is those core values because like you shared, there has been so many things that you were able to relate on. There was the cross, almost like trauma bonding in the sense that you've both been through so many extremes in. In like similar ways. And so how you managed to get to that point and how you managed to come up with some of these key concepts that are in the book.
I'm super curious about like how those conversations really happened.
Olivia Chadwick: Hmm. Oh gosh. I don't know if I can. Necessarily describe how those conversations really happen, because you know how that is when you're, they, they move from quickly from one topic to the other based upon what's happening in the context of your lives or the book that you're reading.
We'd often talk about the book that you're reading or the problem that I'm having typically resolved around those two. But I'll, I will jump into the conversation around values and why it's in the [00:13:00] book. And I think it's in there for several reasons. One is obviously with the past that we've talked about between Garnet and myself, both of us have been quite lonely in our lives.
We've moved away from dysfunctional family environments and forged out on our own path. And as a result of that, you start to wonder, I think, in that isolation, is there something wrong with me and. What can, if you're fortunate enough to go on that journey long enough that you do start to explore who you are as a person and what you want out of life, you have to also turn inward and say, who am I?
What do I care about? What do I value? What do I want out of my life? And these are very deep and big questions, and they're really hard to answer in the context of most of our cultures because we often will look outward to say, what does society want? What does society expect of me? I. Especially as a woman, I think that that can be even harder.
How do I [00:14:00] get to show up in the world that's okay with everyone? And determining success by your own metrics. These are concepts that yes, we're talking about, but finding a way to actually know for ourselves what they are is a lifelong journey. And one of the ways that you can engage in that journey is through determining your values.
Values are those deeply rooted core beliefs that help you. They're like a compass that help you navigate yourself through decision making, through goal setting, through skill building. They're essentially the lens through which you see the world and
Olivia Chadwick: they're you.
Your goal is to make them part of your operating system.
So I think that one of the best ways to figure out what your values are is recognizing when you're not feeling great about yourself, is typically when you're not living in alignment with your values.
Olivia Chadwick: Right? So a really obvious one, and [00:15:00] one that Garnet certainly will quote a lot of the time is honesty, and not just honesty with telling the truth, which is an obvious one, but telling the truth to yourself is a really, really difficult thing to do.
And something that we have to constantly reflect upon and be aware of because it's a really, really hard thing to navigate if I'm, am I doing this because somebody wants me to do it? Or is this something that I genuinely believe that I want to do for myself? Sometimes we don't even know the answer to that question, right?
But if we decide that honesty is a value to us and it's more important that I am true to myself. Then I'll appease everyone else in my life, which is definitely something that I personally really struggle with. If we realize that that's actually causing us to feel bad about our life and not live in alignment, then that's something that we have to do something about, and therefore we might decide to make a stronger commitment towards our own personal value towards honesty.
And then the actions that we take as a result of that obviously can be far [00:16:00] ranging.
Christa Elza: I think you bring home a good point that it is. Hard sometimes to differentiate what we think we should be doing or what we should be accomplishing versus what we actually truly, truly, truly want. Just because you brought it up, I'm assuming these were definitely conversations that you all had together on some of these morning runs.
Mm-hmm. What kind of tools or what did you, how have you navigated that of really. I think when you bring up values, it's difficult sometimes to just circle five of your top values, right? Yeah. 'cause you're like, I don't know. Yeah, I like honesty. I don't dislike honesty.
I like some accountability. I think it's hard to narrow it down to what are your actual true values? Because everything in a value list is pretty much positive things that we all should value, right? Mm-hmm. Yeah, so narrowing down what you really, really, really, really, really is your top three to five, let's say.
And then, so choosing that. I think number one is I guess you're not choosing it. It really already [00:17:00] exists, but acknowledging truly what it is and then taking that and making the practice of applying that to your daily life and who you choose to hang out with and where you, how often you choose to travel or where or what you choose for a job, that that's another level, right, of.
Taking values and actually applying them. So it's a two-tiered thing. I would love to know what you guys talked about on these runs and how you navigated some of that topic.
Olivia Chadwick: Yeah, I get, we talked about so many things and, and what we try to do in the book is to, create a boundary around a topic and so that people could really identify with a specific topic.
And we could have had more chapters, right? We actually could have had more chapters, but we tried to focus on the key ones. I think that the core concepts that are in the book are the ones. That were predominantly pivotal, honestly, in Garner achieving the success that he has because we really don't just wanna offer topics that are useful necessarily.
'cause [00:18:00] we, you could go quite far ranging or healing. You could, you could certainly go down a certain journey if you were looking for. Healing to be your topic or, building strong social connections. That could be a whole topic of tools around that. But this, the topics that we talk about are really meeting your potential.
And so it's really about setting big goals and what are the tools that you might use to achieve them. Garner's an entrepreneur. So how entrepreneurs work typically is they have a vision and they break that vision down into goals that they then pursue. Anyone on an entrepreneurial journey, and you ladies will know this, I am a thousand percent sure that when you are moving towards a vision, you are faced with so many obstacles and barriers.
Not just external, but predominantly internal. And most of the chapters in the book are us giving you tools to face those internal barriers so that you can continue to pursue your goals.
Sheree Beaumont: The, this is like we are just able to break and dissect and I know you said like you've had so many conversations obviously on the rounds and there was so much [00:19:00] you dive into and distilling it.
Into this way that people can take these digestible pieces out of it and monitor this or like look at the progress. I think one of the things I love about books the most, especially like yours, is that you learn through the shared experiences because it's very easy to sit here and go, here's the tools, sit down, circle your five values, walk away with that.
But the stories that are weaved through and the acknowledgement of the journey that you get to and that you learn from. Other people's learnings, if that's making sense. That's one of the things I love about books and I love about reading, is because we, as human beings, we take so much away from other people's experiences and we actually learn through stories.
We remember through stories. And I'm curious, is there a story that maybe you can kinda highlight the key things from or share with us that was really a pivotal point. That you've maybe put in the book or that even led you to creating the book, because I [00:20:00] think that is such a huge part of the transformation, is understanding how you really got there.
And I, like I said, I love learning through stories and I'm wondering if there's one that kind of comes to mind.
Olivia Chadwick: Yeah, thanks. That's a great question. One of the chapters focuses on one specific value. Called generosity. And the reason why that is one of the chapters is it's the value that Garnet credits probably the most with his success is that he is more of a conduit for his success.
Meaning things travel through him out to other people more so than he feels that it comes to him naturally. If that makes sense. If you, I dunno if that really, if I explained that very well, but, if he is the recipient of positive goodwill energy from the universe, let's say in a specific way, he is, he's more just a conduit of it typically channels out to other people.
And so he would often say the most important thing that he does whenever he meets people is to show up and figure out what is. The problem [00:21:00] that they're facing in their life and how can he help them solve it? And that is why he's such so good at sales because he naturally operates from that perspective and that has allowed him to be really successful in that area.
But it's also allowed him to be really helpful to a lots of people in different areas. So I was sharing with Garnet a lot of the challenges that my son was going through out on the runs, and I probably mentioned to him. That my son was at the time was three. He was really into mechanics. And he would notice like the, the strangest thing about my vehicle, if it changed that I could care less about.
But he'd be saying like, oh, like pointing up my tires, saying, oh, you changed your tires, 'cause we changed from winter to summer tires here. Just so you know, it gets really cold. You need snow tires. And so he'd notice that. I'm like, you're three. Who the hell notices that and who cares? But it would really fascinate him.
And so Garnett heard that and said, oh, so he really likes bikes and cars. And so one Sunday afternoon, Garnett showed up on his brand new Harley Davidson and said, Keenan, and I've heard you really like bikes. I wanted to take you around the block. If your mom will [00:22:00] let me come ride on the bike, I.
And so he did that. And then another day, 'cause Keenan's also into, he would also point out all the tractors and combines. We live in a prairie province, lots of agriculture. You're getting a full image of Saskatchewan here. And so Garnet said, well, I'll come pick you up one day and I'll take you to my buddy who is a manager at the John Deere dealer dealership, and you can sit on a tractor and we can maybe take it around.
And he would do things like that with Keenan, like a grandfather figure, his. A friend and a grandfather figure, but Garnet had been really sick as an asthmatic and spent time in the hospital as a young kid, and so he really empathized with a lot of the health challenges that Keenan faced and just really wanted to do nice things for him that made him.
Be happy for a moment in time and he really felt that he was touching a part of his own inner a child when he did things like that. And just acts of generosity that Garnet shared with me then would extend out, you have people in your life, that might empathize with you when you're going through problems.
And Garner has a really unique talent for [00:23:00] empathy and really understanding and standing with you in that challenge. But empathy by definition is being able to walk in another person's shoes, like really understand in a really tactile, visceral way, the challenge that they're going through. And I think sometimes we get confused, that feeling with somebody is not the same as really getting in their shoes.
And Garnet gets in your shoes because he's so, as it empathetic as he is, he's practical, right? So when you tell him I'm thinking about leaving his next thing is like, oh my goodness, that sounds really hard, but where are you gonna live? Right. Like, where are you gonna live? How much money do you have for rent?
Let's go call this person who I know has 10 properties and let's find out how much those are for rent so that you have somewhere to go and live. He's very practical, and you need somebody like that that isn't just gonna stand with you in your shit, but is gonna help you climb out of it. [00:24:00] Right? I'm grateful that you stand with my feelings, but.
Mama needs to eat and live, right? And so that extension of generosity into action, into real problem solving that level of solidarity is super duper rare. And the further and further that I. Was in relationship with Garnet, I realized how many people he shows up in their life for like that it makes you feel special.
But it turned out that I wasn't so special because there's actually so many other people he was doing that for. But regardless, I felt really special. So I would call him pseudo dad, like he was my dad, but he was like lots of people's dad. But that didn't bother to me. It just mattered to me that he was mine.
Yeah. I don't know if I really even answered your question fully, but I wanted to share that idea of generosity. 'cause it's just a, it was just so helpful in my own life and it's just shifted how I even think about generosity.
Christa Elza: I think it's interesting too though, to find somebody who has those traits to be an entrepreneur and also be empathetic because I [00:25:00] find that when you're a high achiever, when you are an entrepreneur, a lot of times.
On the emo on the relationship side, there could be challenges in terms of like not having enough empathy, right? Because you're so headed to your goal that sometimes it gets hard of who's in the way, what's in the way, and just wanting things to go the way that you want it to go. To open yourself up to being good at both of those, like visual.
As well as empathetic, as well as really supporting people. I think when we look back in time, some of the more successful entrepreneurs really learned that skill, or were born with that skill to be very go-getter and also stop and smell the roses and with someone, right? That's a challenge, I think to be able to really hone that in.
What a, what an amazing opportunity to have a mentor that kind of embodied that that does embody that to see that, because it's, I think it's a unique, an a unique combination of connection there. For [00:26:00] sure. Yeah.
Olivia Chadwick: I think so too. I think though that what we have done maybe is, how much exposure do we get to people who have been ultra successful to really know who they are?
Right, and that's one of the super cool things about this book is you get to know who somebody truly is and you go, well, maybe the media representation of what makes people really successful isn't actually what makes people really successful. Maybe it isn't just assholes that rise to the top. Sometimes it is, but if it isn't that and you can not be an asshole and still rise to the top, what does that look like?
Right. 'Cause it can happen. Garnet is living proof that it can happen and also, you know that it's still an evolution and maybe you weren't as your ultimate version of yourself in the past. Maybe your Garnet 2.0 as sometimes he will say, that's
Christa Elza: awesome.
Sheree Beaumont: It's, it is that evolution and it is that constant growth and it is that need to.
I love that you also came in with a different perspective. Like a lot of the times, and I'll, I'll call it out, you said they can be the [00:27:00] assholes rising to the top. And so the example of generosity, I think is always heartwarming too. We always love like the underdog that wins, right? As the human. And being like, not saying that he was the underdog in that situation, but to see someone with such kindness and such beautiful values actually have the success.
It tends to light everyone else up. And also we can quite often see ourselves in that as empathetic human beings to be like, oh, if it was possible for him, and that's what I, to tie it back to that storytelling piece becomes a lot more easier, for us to resonate with people who are on that same wavelength.
So I think first and foremost, it's super inspiring. Another concept that you bring into the book, which is one of my favorite things to actually talk about, so I hope we can dive into this quite a bit, but is that. Feeling of getting comfortable in the discomfort. Right? And we know this a lot from a health perspective.
I always reference it to like saunas and ice baths. When you get comfortable in the uncomfortable, your stress resilience, your tolerance for those sorts of [00:28:00] things, start to expand your capacity on a nervous system level. I also think, if we think about the concept of the book and sense it around the running, like there's a point of so much discomfort when you're out on a run and you're like, I gotta push through this level of fitness, the fatigue, the impact it's having on my joints.
And so there's this physical component of discomfort and moving through that. But what you really talk to in the book is more from this mindset perspective and getting really comfortable in that space so that you can keep. Learning from those mistakes, learning from the essence of, okay, I am in this discomfort, but what is this teaching me in this moment?
And having almost correct me if I'm wrong, like a neutrality to it, so it doesn't tear you down and we stop seeing things as failure. Can you talk to this and expand on this a little bit more from your perspective, because I think it's such a beautiful message to hit home.
Olivia Chadwick: Thanks Garner talks about this topic [00:29:00] probably more than any other because it's the space that he lives in, so it's not necessarily the most important, but it's the one that impacts him probably more on a daily basis because he does live in a elite level entrepreneurial world.
There can be major things that he's doing on a regular basis, so just for instance. This was a joke that we had yesterday. 'cause it was, yesterday was Tuesday, the book launched yesterday and Monday Garnett bought a bank with a conglomerate of people and I said, Garnet Monday you bought a bank on Tuesday you launch a book.
What the hell are you gonna do on Wednesday? It better be good, and so when you're living life at that level, you obviously have gained a lot of tolerance. You clearly have a massive supports of network of people around you who are really excellent in what they do, but you personally are managing a lot and have learned to tolerate a lot.
And so, but I knew Garnet way back in 2013 and trust me, he's grown exponentially in the last 12 years to where he is today. But even at that [00:30:00] time, we, he would be talking about what he'd be doing in a day and he'd be saying things like, I'm sick to my stomach today. I've got this happening.
And that would be a term that he would use a lot and. It's very visceral, right? Like if you think about that, when people are telling you that they have a really difficult day, typically what they would say is, I'm really worried about this. This person said this to me. It would be very analytical, right?
You'd be worried. Thoughts happening all the time, and that's not really how Garnet shared the disturbance. It was, this is how I'm feeling in my body. It was a very embodied approach. 50-year-old white guy at the time is like, that's pretty high level. You know it, and I'm feeling really nauseous.
But the impact that that then had on me was when he was challenging me, me, to go after my goals. When I had that visceral response, when I was feeling nervous and sick to my stomach, I was like, ah. I'm like, Garnet now this is awesome. Maybe I'm going somewhere with this. So instead of rejecting that response and trying to figure [00:31:00] out how to get rid of it, I was like, well, how do I stay okay with this?
Because I'm actually probably in the zone right now where I'm probably in a bit of a sweet spot. I. Be, most of us would think we want to eliminate that feeling, right, like regulate our nervous system. And of course there is that balance of regulation, but it's not to passivity, it's not to the point of elimination, it's to regulate, it's to feel like that you can handle it.
So it's a massive reframe around discomfort. We say you wanna have a challenge every day, or you hear that you wanna have a challenge every day, but I think that ultimately it's that you're pursuing your goals. So. In ferociously that the challenges are naturally there. That's the way that you've constructed the day and you are just learning to meet them with the right level of regulation.
I
Christa Elza: do think that it's interesting, like we live at the top of our tolerance, even though we think that we want more. Like, part of that energetically is that we just can't, we [00:32:00] can't reach that next level because we're intolerant to it. Right. And busting through things left and right. It is part of growth for sure of like meeting the edges of discomfort, of spending more money than you're used to or talking to the people and getting in front of people that you're not used to or.
Changing the way you eat, if health is the goal, and working out and pushing your physical limits, like all of that to reach anything greater than where you're at is going to be uncomfortable. I think that that is, yeah, that's really cool that you guys have those kind of conversations and how our body really is the unconscious.
Like, I tell patients that all the time. Like, if you, how do you feel when you're tense? Well, I feel it here or here or here. And it's like, well, that's your signal of. Sitting into it, breathing into it so that you can move through that so that's not the blockade. Like you mentioned earlier, when you are an entrepreneur, you're just wanting a person that's hitting certain goals that are challenging.
I. A lot of them are internal blocks. Yes, there can be [00:33:00] government stuff or there can be money blocks or there can be like literally like not money flow, right? But a lot of it is an internal block that keeps you from standing in front of the crowd or spending the money or hiring the trainer.
Right? A lot of it is working through acknowledging it and then building tools, IE hanging out with people who are maybe at a higher level than you that really show you the path and like. Holds your hand, so to speak, or teach you some tools to move through those blocks, right?
Because that, that really is the biggest challenge I think. And reaching something beyond where you're at currently.
Olivia Chadwick: Yeah. I 1000% agree. And that's why both dreams and goals are part of the chapters as well, right? So we only are going to put ourselves in situations of discomfort. If we have an outcome that we so strongly desire, we can't stop ourselves from needing to pursue it, right?
Mm-hmm. Right. Or interconnected topic.
Christa Elza: For sure. I love, and I wanna acknowledge you for this, that here you are running with someone and I think a lot of this [00:34:00] conversation has been around him and like what he inspired you to do, but obviously he's in relationship with you and decided to write a book with you.
So what I think is cool is that you must equally inspire and I know you don't wanna sit here and toot your own horn and all of this on the podcast, but that. I wanna acknowledge the fact that you are in relationship and wrote a book with a person who obviously has a mutual respect and was probably mutually inspired by just as you are.
So I think, it's, the way you're speaking of him, I think is a beautiful, beautiful reflection of most likely what he would say to you. And the lessons that you guys learned together, really, it sounds like throughout and so inspired that you took time to write a book about it. So.
That's amazing.
Olivia Chadwick: Yeah. Well, the final chapter in the book is chosen Family. So like we said, garner and I come from different and unusual family backgrounds and we, I. Came up with this chapter at the end of the book. Honestly, I don't know [00:35:00] if it was like before, I guess it was slightly before the book, but the term chosen family, because we both really adore the quote, which is in the book from Mother Teresa, which is The problem with the world today is that we draw a circle of family too small.
We're often times so worried about the fact that we didn't fit into our families of origin, that we forget that we daily have an opportunity to build a family. When I met my husband, I didn't think this is the guy, I'm gonna build a family and we're gonna live our values together with no, I just like, I don't know, fell in lust like immediately and then the journey continued, right?
But like that was actually happening. I don't know why we don't talk about that, that. When you choose to be with somebody, you choose to have kids. You're literally building your next family. And especially if you didn't come from a family that showed you the way to do that, you better figure out what you want that to look like because that's gonna be the foundation of your entire life and probably your entire life's fulfillment and your success moving forward.
No small joke happening there when you decide to do that. Right? But it's almost like you're just taking [00:36:00] benign steps of fulfilling a sort of concept that you agree with. 'cause you. You were built, born into families, and therefore you're choosing to build them again. But if you've really figured out what you want that to look like and if you figure out what you want it to look like, have you decided who gets to be in the club?
Because you do get to decide, right? So, Garnet and I decided that we would be in each other's club. Garnet also got divorced. During the time, at the beginning of the book, he remarried. That person had children, so those children got invited into his family as a part of her family. And so you are constantly due to the nature of our lives, growing families in different ways.
And sometimes that just seems like through little decisions that are happening, but you also get to decide along the way, then how are you gonna show up for those people that are coming for your life? And how do you expect them to show up for you? And can you come together and decide together collaboratively how you're gonna help each other maneuver through life?
Because that's what we're gonna do together if we're choosing to be a [00:37:00] family. So Keenan was invited in. To the family, the with Shirley and Garnet and the rest of the family members, and so was I and one other sort of non-biological tied person. So, yeah, that is what has happened as the final step in the process of, of our relationship of, moving from coach, client, friends, mentor, mentee, and now we just consider each other family.
And so why did he write, ask me to write the book? I think because of the way that the lessons and the conversations that we had tied together. That we felt that we could come out in the way that we would process a book together, that I would be able to retell the stories that he would tell me in a way that probably no other people could, knew enough of, or could stand in as much as we could with each other.
But also probably because Garnet saw a potential in me just keep moving forward and the book being a part of that, to do that together to help me move forward as well.
Sheree Beaumont: It's such a [00:38:00] beautiful message. I think, I always believe that friends of the family that you choose, and so such a beautiful reminder that we do have that and our capacity, and especially when you've come from a background like you said, where there may have been trauma in your childhood or you maybe feel like the black sheep of your family or you feel like, okay, this is who I'm isolated to.
So I love that reminder and I love that. That's how the book rounds out. I'm gonna ask a question that has absolutely nothing to do with the book, but I'm really curious. Yeah. Okay.
Christa Elza: Sure. '
Sheree Beaumont: cause you said right at the start you were like, he was someone that didn't really show up all the time and was constantly like bailing on these five ams.
And again, I totally get that as a pt, like that is the worst client to be canceled. You don't care if it's a paid session, you are like. I could have had another hour of sleep right now. Oh yes. It's precious. And so I'm wondering, but, and again, like to, to second, what Chris has said, you obviously add so much value to his life and I know we've spent a lot of the time talking about him, but I [00:39:00] do wanna know, like even as your coaching hat went on, I was like, how did that relationship get to the point where like he was showing up for these runs, he was actually showing up to you and these sessions and like is there any little tidbit or trick that you bought in as a coach?
Obviously the relationship was beautiful and maybe that was the incentive, but yeah, my little nosy self is just curious as to how this progressed to where it is. Based off someone that, again, we probably look at it and go, what someone so successful was like neglecting their training or neglecting showing up for things sometimes.
Yeah. I'm curious if you can expand on that.
Olivia Chadwick: That's, honestly, the reason why Garner didn't show up is because he had multiple satellite offices. And so we live in Canada, like every flight is a time change and a long flight. And because of where we lived, and he lived in Saskatchewan, right now he lives in Vancouver, bc.
But in Saskatchewan, the flight that would come in from either Toronto or Vancouver would be if you're gonna fly after work, which he did, right? He didn't fly in his workday. He owned the business. He flew outside. You would get in at midnight or 1:00 AM. [00:40:00] If the flight was on time. So sometimes the flight would get in at two or three and there would be days that he would show up for a five 5:00 AM workout after he got in at one or two.
But there were many days where he could not Right. And which was totally fair. So it wasn't like he was like, I didn't feel like doing it. I'm tired or I'm stressed. Like, nah, I gar. It showed up like integrity. 1000%, but there would be just human moments that one should not show up. But having said that, I think that the reason why he would show up was because he never really felt like he was following a training pram.
He felt like he pla training plan, he was just meeting a friend. And he, I think that one of the other tools that I would use as a coach in that particular scenario is. Not let somebody know you're gonna kick their ass until you're kicking their ass. You just sort of like head out and you let physiology happen.
I love that. You let them tell you how tired they are and you go through the warmup and then at some point you you can tell if somebody's nervous system is really flat. And like they, you might make them cry if you [00:41:00] ask them to do something. 'cause they're just so tired.
Their emotions are like spilling over. And it's just not the day. And then some days, for whatever reason your HRV is good or whatever, you can tell that actually no matter how tired that person is, they're good. They have enough recovery in their system that we could do this. And then so it's just like being really adaptive and just being really able to respond to what they need that day, but also be constantly reading it even though you're, you look like you're not paying attention and you're asking them what their weekend was like or whatever. Yeah.
Christa Elza: That's
Olivia Chadwick: interesting. As a
Christa Elza: PT, I. I am not, both of you guys are, but to not be so much in your own body that you're not able to see where they're at physically, especially if you're running alongside them or working out alongside them.
I love that. I also think it's really cool that the way that God, the universe, whatever, puts people together, right? Like how, just, I would say by chance, but it wasn't that someone introduced you to a client that became a lifelong. Chosen family member. I think that's an amazing, [00:42:00] amazing story.
And I just, I wanna say that I think that your book is great masterpiece. I am so excited for you that you guys accomplished this and that you've launched it. And I think it's just gonna be such a great addition to your amazing gift that you are giving, that you give to the world on a regular basis and what you do.
And now in this book. How can people find you to work with you to get to know you better? To buy the book, all of the goodies? Yeah. So that people can dive
Olivia Chadwick: into this. Thank you for asking. So, we have a great website. 17 runs at 17, the number 17 runs.com, and you can buy the book either in Canada or in the US through our website.
If you head to the website, you also have the opportunity to sign up for a bonus visualization. It's a visualization masterclass where Garnet will actually walk you through the process of how he does his own visualization. So you know, if you are somebody who is feeling like they're lacking clarity in the direction that they want for their life right now, and you have this opportunity not just from somebody who knows [00:43:00] visualization.
'cause I know visualization, like I am highly trained in performance visualization from a sport perspective. But if you are looking to uplevel in life. Specifically if you're an entrepreneur, especially if you're really trying to move forward and really change your reality, so you're not practicing a high level skill, like classic visualization, you're really trying to change your reality.
What is it gonna take and how would you use visualization to do that? The the trailer that will be out on the Instagram if you sign up for Instagram, lifeless at Life lessons on the run the trailer, the first line from the trailer is, you never know when you're gonna meet somebody who's gonna change your life, and that idea gives me goosebumps all the time.
I hope that idea inspires people to realize that if you are going through problems. We, yes, we wanna help you. We'd love to join you on this journey, but also be open, be vulnerable, and open to share your yourself, your person with the world, and know that there are probably people out there who wanna meet you and be in a relationship with you and help you grow alongside you in the same way that happened for me.
Sheree Beaumont: Thank you. Thank you [00:44:00] so much, Olivia. It's been such a blessing to have you back on the podcast m. For something so different, like if you guys have loved Olivia's energy, please go back and listen to the first episode as well. We talked all things movement. Movement as medicine, and I love that there is this, this beautiful transition as often tends to happen.
From the physical to the mental and emotional. We see that so, so commonly in the journey and I'm so excited for this book to be out. I'm so excited to dive into it even deeper myself. And it's funny, like listening to you speak about it, going back and rereading it is gonna be phenomenal 'cause you've got so many more tangible little tidbits of insights, even more so behind the scenes.
So thank you so much for your time today. For being here. We'll pop the link in the bio if people want to go and grab the book as well. And I love that note on vis visualization. I think that's the third thing today that someone's mentioned around that. So I'm like, this is a sign that I need to go and get that masterclass to.
Olivia Chadwick: Thank you ladies. I love chatting with you. It just feels like girlfriend's having a conversation, which is what podcasting I think is supposed to be. So [00:45:00] I really appreciate it.
Christa Elza: Absolutely. Thanks for being here.
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