The Mindset HACKS Used To Complete 5 Triathlons & Row SOLO Across The Atlantic Ocean w/Katie Spotz EP 1242

Today’s Guest is Katie Spotz. The list of accomplishments to her name is long, and includes five ironman triathlons, running 100 miles nonstop, cycling across the USA twice, a 325-mile river swim, running across deserts and a solo row across the Atlantic Ocean. In this episode we discuss:How to find your calling and pursue itHow to shift your mindset when you’re going through tough timesHow to reach a flow state in any aspect of your lifeWhy pain and failure is actually necessary for successAnd so much more! For more go to: www.lewishowes.com/1242Check out Katie's website: https://www.katiespotz.com/Mel Robbins: The “Secret” Mindset Habit to Building Confidence and Overcoming Scarcity: https://link.chtbl.com/970-podDr. Joe Dispenza on Healing the Body and Transforming the Mind: https://link.chtbl.com/826-podMaster Your Mind and Defy the Odds with David Goggins: https://link.chtbl.com/715-pod Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Lewis Howes?

  This is episode number 1242 with Katie Spots.

• 0:06Lewis Howes?

  Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin.

• 0:29Lewis Howes?

  Welcome back my friend. Today's guest is the inspiring Katie Spots and the list of accomplishments to her name is so long. And it includes five Ironman triathlons, running 100 miles nonstop, cycling across the United States twice, a 325 mile river swim, running across deserts and a solo row across the Atlantic Ocean. That's right. She went alone across the Atlantic Ocean. She's a woman on the move. And so I'm grateful to have her on the show today. And in this episode, we discuss how to find your calling and pursue it. Even when you're not sure what you're supposed to do in this life, how to shift your mindset when you're going through

• 1:10Lewis Howes?

  extremely challenging and tough times, how to reach a flow state in any aspect of your life. Why pain and failure is actually necessary for success and so much more. This will inspire you. The things that she has overcome and endured is incredible. The way she has mastered her mind in the face of adversity and pain. So if you're enjoying this at any moment, make sure to leave a review over on Apple Podcasts. Share this with your friends on social media. Make sure to tag Katie as well. It'll all be in the description of the show notes over on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, wherever you're listening to this. And feel free to share it on social media, lewishouse.com/1242 and spread the message of this interview.

• 1:54Lewis Howes?

  I'm so excited for you to dive in, the one and only Katie Spots.

• 2:01Lewis Howes?

  Welcome back everyone to the School of Greatness. Very excited about our guest. We have Katie Spotts in the house. Good to see you. Welcome, a fellow Ohio athlete. You kind of remind me, as I'm learning more about your story, of the female David Goggins, like this willing to take on any extreme endurance challenge. You have rowed across the Atlantic Ocean by yourself, which is crazy. You've done a number of rows across the ocean. You have run 11 ultramarathons in 11 days consecutively across Ohio. That's over 30 miles a day, setting a Guinness World Record. Many other incredible feats, running, rowing, all these different things. And you're also in the Coast Guard now, which is cool as well, another story.

• 2:46Lewis Howes?

  But I want to ask you, how did you get into this in the first place of wanting to take on some of the most challenging things that the body can take on? And what is the biggest lesson you've learned about being an endurance athlete at this level?

• 3:00Speaker 01

  Yeah, so I actually started by avoiding physical activity. And so I had to take a gym class to get my high school diploma.

• 3:10Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 3:11Speaker 01

  I found the easiest class, which was walking, running. And I was going to put the least amount of effort to get that easy A and kind of move on. And I just did that at first, just putting that bare minimum effort. And I was already forced to be there. And so one week I was just kind of bored, right? Walking in circles is pretty boring. So I thought, okay, well, if I tried to run one mile straight, could I actually do it? And this is coming from someone who, in team sports, I was physically there, but mentally I was kind of not checked in. And so it didn't really, I didn't connect with sports and the team sports,

• 3:56Speaker 01

  but I set that target. And it wasn't this Nike moment. It wasn't this immediate thing, but it was a moment where...

• 4:07Speaker 01

  Redefining possible happened. And even when people say, oh, only one mile. All it takes is one mile to redefine this conversation we have with ourselves, which is, you know, I can and can't do things. And in my mind, I couldn't do that. And so knowing that I could do something I never thought I could, it started this little thing like, oh, well, if I never thought I could run one mile and I was wrong, what else am I wrong about? And so one turned into two, turned into three. And that place was really where all the confidence to take on, you know, running and cycling. And the same process happens within each sport of endurance.

• 4:51Lewis Howes?

  You've never done it before. You're like, I can't do 100 miles on a bike. I can't row three miles or hundreds of miles. But then you do one mile and you're like, okay, I can figure it out.

• 5:00Speaker 01

  Yes. And I mean, there's momentum. And I think what happens a lot when, you know, attempting bigger challenges is we expect that we need to be motivated. And I learned very quickly that you don't actually need motivation. What you need is to begin and the motivation happens. Like a late friend that's coming to the party. That was something that, you know, I've run many marathons and ultramarathons, but I've never felt motivated at first. And you don't need to. And so that's something endurance taught me. Endurance has definitely shown me that just because you think you can't do something doesn't mean you're right.

• 5:45Speaker 01

  And so, you know, when I share what I do, a lot of times it's, well, I could never do that. And my first question is, have you tried? And if you haven't tried, you don't really know. And so, yeah, endurance has been a really great. Platform to be able to explore possibility. And I think that's what's also really cool about endurance is in team sports. It's winning, losing, sometimes tie. And in endurance, you're discovering what is humanly possible. What is the limit? And I mean, we could go a long way.

• 6:19Lewis Howes?

  Long way. So how many years have you been doing this now, taking on challenges?

• 6:23Speaker 01

  So it's been about a decade. And so it started with running and moved to cycling. Shortly after my first marathon, I cycled across America.

• 6:34Lewis Howes?

  Crazy. How long did that take?

• 6:35Speaker 01

  That was 40 days and then did it again as a race. And that was seven.

• 6:41Lewis Howes?

  Holy cow. Seven days?

• 6:44Speaker 01

  So we did it as a

• 6:45Lewis Howes?

  Oh, as a team, not individually.

• 6:47Speaker 01

  But there are people who do go.

• 6:49Lewis Howes?

  Seven days across country? Really? They're going like 10 hours a day, huh? 12, 15 hours a day?

• 6:54Speaker 01

  22.

• 6:55Lewis Howes?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 6:56Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's crazy what you can do.

• 6:58Lewis Howes?

  That's incredible.

• 6:59Speaker 01

  What is possible.

• 7:00Lewis Howes?

  A friend of mine walked across the country. I think it took him like six months, but he got, actually a snake bit him. So he had to take like a month off. And then he started back up once he healed his leg. Cause it was like swollen.

• 7:11Speaker 01

  Oh, my goodness.

• 7:12Lewis Howes?

  Shout out to Mike Posner. I think it was a six month journey for him. But did you hike his, or you walked it, or you ran across the country?

• 7:19Speaker 01

  I, so I cycled across the United States and then swimming came next. And then there's been endurance rollerblading. And so basically, and rowing. So those are swim, bike, run, row, rollerblade. Is all the long distance.

• 7:36Lewis Howes?

  What would you say has been the three greatest lessons that you've learned about yourself? Or the human capacity in the last 10 years of taking all these challenges on?

• 7:46Speaker 01

  A lot of these challenges, especially rowing across the Atlantic. It was a really difficult decision to make because when I was in the airport saying goodbye to my family, we were looking at each other like, oh, we don't know if this is it.

• 8:00Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 8:00Speaker 01

  Because, I mean, it's not just physically hard. I didn't have a follow boat and nothing.

• 8:06Lewis Howes?

  There was no support there?

• 8:07Speaker 01

  There for two, three months and so.

• 8:10Lewis Howes?

  Holy cow. So you're in like a tiny little boat?

• 8:12Speaker 01

  Yes. Yeah. And so those were really hard decisions to make. Do I really care that much about doing this that I'm willing to give up potentially my life? And so that's as a 19, 20 year olds, you know, making that kind of decision.

• 8:27Lewis Howes?

  Did you have a phone or anything?

• 8:28Speaker 01

  A satellite phone that worked at times and cost a dollar fifty a minute, so it was definitely for emergencies. And so I've learned a lot about fear. I don't necessarily, like, of course I have fear. It's an important and a valuable emotion. It protects you when you, you know, know how to channel it. But there is this saying of like, facing your fears. And for me, I see it more as choosing your fears. Because you really can't outrun your fears. Sometimes it seems like the easier answer is to quit, to give up, to not continue on. And sometimes that is the easier thing at first,

• 9:13Speaker 01

  but it may take days or weeks or months, maybe years or your deathbed. But this is the moment where it's the fear of regret. And so we have the fear of failure and the fear of regret. And so I really looked at fears and said, what one do I want to choose? Do I want to choose the fear of failure or the fear of regret? And with facing the fear of failure, yes, you get that discomfort, but you also get the reward of doing hard things. So just reframing fear, just because there is a lot of fear of failure in everything I do. And I mean, the last bigger challenge was running across Ohio.

• 9:55Speaker 01

  And I was injured and wasn't able to run at all for four to six weeks before. So when people are like, oh, are you ready? No, I'm not. I have no idea what's gonna happen. Like, you're just, you know, running on faith a little bit.

• 10:10Lewis Howes?

  So you weren't prepared physically?

• 10:12Speaker 01

  No, no, I wasn't.

• 10:14Lewis Howes?

  Although you had done endurance before, you knew how to take it on, but you weren't, your body wasn't conditioned.

• 10:20Speaker 01

  So I was doing a like a splits challenge for 30 days while training for that. And my hamstring didn't like that. So.

• 10:28Lewis Howes?

  Did you learn the splits?

• 10:30Speaker 01

  No.

• 10:31Lewis Howes?

  Didn't it work?

• 10:31Speaker 01

  No, I listened to my body and it didn't want to do it. So.

• 10:34Lewis Howes?

  So you've got a little bit closer down, but you're gonna go all the way down. Yeah. I keep wanting to get more flexible, but I'm like, maybe I'm just not supposed to be that much more. Maybe a little bit, but the splits seems like a lot.

• 10:44Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 10:44Lewis Howes?

  So what's the difference between choosing fear versus facing your fear? How should we be thinking about fear? Cause it sounds like you're still afraid to take on these challenges. It's not just like, oh, this is gonna be easy. There's still a lacking motivation, although you have a deeper sense of why you're doing things. But how do you face on some daunting task? With the fear or the anxiety of like, this is gonna be painful. This is gonna take a long time. What do you think about with the anticipation going up to it? And then also in the middle of it, when you're like, do I really want to be doing this right now? Or do I rather be relaxing?

• 11:15Speaker 01

  Very rarely, once I begin, do I feel I don't want to be doing it? Or just because there's so much joy. And I mean, even saying things like, some of the things that I've done or do are similar to like a David Goggins. But I think my mindset is very different in that there's a lot of joy in it. And I feel like you should probably be in a better mood if you have that many endorphins. And so there's a lot of joy found in doing these things. And just the changes that are happening in your body with all the endorphins. And you know, like the runner's high, and those are very real things that happen.

• 11:56Speaker 01

  And I believe that if you have a strong enough why, you could figure out how. And how's aren't as important as why's. And knowing that these runs, this temporary discomfort, it lasts a day, a week. But the impact can last a lifetime. And that's with using these as a platform to raise money for clean drinking water. And so all of the endurance challenges have helped over 43,000 people get clean water.

• 12:23Lewis Howes?

  It's pretty cool.

• 12:24Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 12:25Lewis Howes?

  Do you think if you didn't have a why behind it to help others, would you still be able to take on certain big challenges and complete them? Or do you feel like you'd give up more easily?

• 12:36Speaker 01

  You have to have a strong vision and purpose or else. I mean, your whys have to be stronger than your doubts, your fears, your discomforts. And so before doing any challenge, it's really reflecting on that why and making it stronger than than anything else that you might face.

• 12:57Lewis Howes?

  How do you do that then, when you're thinking beforehand? How's the mindset? How do you frame it for yourself? Okay, in two weeks, I'm going to take on this big challenge for three months by myself in the middle of an ocean. How do you think about it? Is it something you're thinking about every day, nonstop? Well, this is why I'm doing it and the people that I'll impact, the memories that I'll have for the rest of my life and how I'll be proud of myself. And what do you do?

• 13:19Speaker 01

  Sometimes the very thing that I feel most called to do is the thing that I almost want to avoid the most or I'm intimidated.

• 13:27Lewis Howes?

  You're like, I don't want to do that. Yeah.

• 13:29Speaker 01

  A part of me is like, I don't know if I can. And that's the exciting part. So there has to be an element of, I don't know if it's possible. It has to feel like it's a call, like it's a calling. There's usually some resistance and that's when I know I'm on to something.

• 13:46Lewis Howes?

  That's where you gotta go. Yeah.

• 13:48Speaker 01

  The thing you resist is oftentimes where you have the potential to grow.

• 13:52Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 13:53Speaker 01

  The most, so.

• 13:54Lewis Howes?

  So what are you thinking then, after you've made the decision about your why? Like, leading up to it a couple of weeks before? You've already committed to this thing that you resisted. You've planned it out, you know, like what you're going to be eating and the stops and all the training for it. What do you think about in that place then, leading up the final couple of weeks?

• 14:12Speaker 01

  The plan, whether things are coming together with the plan and all the steps. I think a lot about nutrition and like fueling strategies and making sure I have all the gear and double checking. And some of these events do have crew, so having calls with crew, communicating and problem solving, thinking about potential problems. And what's also important is before going into every challenge, before I get emotional, is what is the pull the plug moment? And so it's to the point where. I don't really need a crew to be like, "Keep going." I need a crew to be like, "Stop."

• 14:51Lewis Howes?

  Your leg is literally broken in half. We need to relax.

• 14:55Speaker 01

  So we've, you know, identified those things. And yeah, that could be a hard moment to be in when you're in the middle of a challenge. You have all this adrenaline, you have all these emotions tied up to it. So I think it's very healthy to know when to stop.

• 15:08Lewis Howes?

  Have you ever stopped?

• 15:10Speaker 01

  No.

• 15:11Lewis Howes?

  I mean, you tore your ACL, MCL, and you kept going in a rollerblading endurance race, so...

• 15:17Speaker 01

  Yes. I mean, I did get the MRIs after, so I didn't know that it was.

• 15:23Lewis Howes?

  Maybe I tweaked it a little bit, yeah.

• 15:24Speaker 01

  Yeah, there was a little bit of that going on.

• 15:26Lewis Howes?

  My leg's broken, I'm just gonna keep going. I didn't know it was broken, okay. So there's a lot of people that were like you at one point, that one mile seemed so intimidating or so far, or that they weren't capable of it. They're not athletes, or they're not in shape, or whatever it is. But now you're at the point where it's just like, okay, 100 miles is no big thing. And you said you don't need motivation. Why do people who can't even do a mile need motivation? Or do they need something else?

• 15:52Speaker 01

  First thing is, I have so much respect for endurance that 100 miles, I could run 100 miles 100 times, and I still will go into a 100-mile run being like, "I don't know." And because all it takes is one misstep, it is not guaranteed to anyone, no matter what endurance challenge. So I've done a lot of Ironmans, I've done a lot of hundreds, I've done a lot of events to know that one mistake and you could be derailed. And so there's always respect and humility going into these because so much could change when you're doing something for... The longest run I've done was 33 hours running nonstop.

• 16:32Lewis Howes?

  How many miles was that?

• 16:33Speaker 01

  140, yeah.

• 16:35Lewis Howes?

  33 hours, no sleep?

• 16:37Speaker 01

  No sleep.

• 16:38Lewis Howes?

  No stopping? I mean, like some walking to grab food, or to go to the bathroom, obviously?

• 16:43Speaker 01

  Yes, every hour I was meeting up with the support crew just to get water and fuel.

• 16:49Lewis Howes?

  Water and fuel, because you have their calories in your system, obviously, otherwise you'll burn out and losing the bathroom, or whatever it is. 33 hours, 140 miles. How do you keep yourself motivated at hour 20, when you're like, "I just want to sleep"?

• 17:03Speaker 01

  I had a friend join at night, like there were, there were little things. Sometimes I break it into segments and at this 25 mile, I'll be able to listen to music.

• 17:16Lewis Howes?

  Right, right. So I wait, I'm almost at the 25 mile, we're gonna listen to music. Yeah, okay.

• 17:21Speaker 01

  So I do little things like that, but there is a state of flow that I'm in in endurance that I haven't experienced anywhere else but endurance. And what I mean by flow is this state of you're present, you're not worried about tomorrow or yesterday. And I think endurance, the longer you go, the more you have to be so focused. And so I really listen to my body. And so there is, yeah, there's a lot of focus that's happening. And so I find it to be exciting too, just like, oh, you never know what's

• 18:03Speaker 01

  gonna happen. And yeah, it could change. I mean, within a hundred mile race, you can feel like, oh, I could do this forever. And then you could also feel like, I don't want to take another step. And so it's usually such a roller coaster that you just wait a little bit and know that it, it won't last forever.

• 18:23Lewis Howes?

  So what was the longest time you were by yourself? Was this in the row, in the Atlantic?

• 18:26Speaker 01

  Rowing the Atlantic, I was alone at sea for 70 days.

• 18:31Lewis Howes?

  70 days, so a little over two months, two and a half months or something. You didn't see another person during that time. You had a couple of phone calls, obviously, but you didn't see anyone? Or maybe?

• 18:40Speaker 01

  There was a Venezuelan fishing boat that came and said hello around day like 64.

• 18:48Lewis Howes?

  Wow. So 64 days, no human contact. Just the fish and salt water and the heat.

• 18:55Speaker 01

  Some sharks, yeah.

• 18:57Lewis Howes?

  Wow. How did you keep yourself sane?

• 19:00Speaker 01

  Uh, audiobooks helped.

• 19:01Lewis Howes?

  Okay, so you were listening to books, you were reading, you were, you had downtime, right? You were.

• 19:06Speaker 01

  I mean, I would row about ten to twelve hours and there's not really much else to do out there.

• 19:12Lewis Howes?

  So. Sleep.

• 19:13Speaker 01

  I would scrub the barnacles off the side of my boat sometimes, just because it would slow down the boat, but I did watch a couple of movies, but.

• 19:23Lewis Howes?

  But how do you keep yourself not calling in for the coast guard to come pick you up and take you? How do you just keep going?

• 19:30Speaker 01

  So what was unique about the row is I wanted to put myself in a situation where the only option was to overcome. That's why I didn't want a teammate, that's why I didn't want a follow boat. If I had a follow boat, I probably would have quit.

• 19:47Lewis Howes?

  You would have tapped out.

• 19:48Speaker 01

  Realistically, even if I wanted to quit, in a day, I probably would have changed my mind. And so it you, it could take up to two days for help to get there.

• 19:58Lewis Howes?

  You said, I got this.

• 19:59Speaker 01

  Well, by the time they came, I'd be like, no, I changed my mind. So I think that helped. For whatever reason, I did have a lot of, you know, doubt, doubters and people saying things that I couldn't do it. So some people get motivation from different places. For me, I, that's very motivating when someone's like, you can't do that. And I'm like, okay, thank you.

• 20:21Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 20:22Speaker 01

  Um, those all helped, yeah, for me to keep going.

• 20:26Lewis Howes?

  Wow. What happens when you feel an extreme amount of pain in one of these challenges? And you feel like, okay, my body's telling me it's shutting down. My mind is now getting in this negative loop of pain and frustration and maybe I just need to stop. How do you flip the thought into something more? Do you have a mantra? Do you have a, a story you tell yourself? Do you go back to your why? What do you do?

• 20:50Speaker 01

  I'm huge into problem solving. Like, there are people who spend months out at sea, they'll come back with salt sores all over their body, and that's a lot of pain that's, could be easily prevented by just taking solar showers and using baby wipes to wipe down all the salt off your body. So if I do have pain, it's usually what can be done to minimize this pain and. A lot of times in endurance is just having the restraint and patience to slow your pace down. But there's so many things, like swapping out shoes will alleviate a lot of pain, just because in these endurance runs, your feet can swell to sizes larger.

• 21:32Speaker 01

  And so you could do a lot with your shoes, you could do a lot with whatever you're wearing, you could do a lot with your pacing and your nutrition. And so it's a good signal and it's important to listen to. So I use pain as a teaching moment, a listen moment, a change something moment. And I do think there is a rush of overcoming it when your mind decides that it's stronger than that feeling. And so, yeah.

• 22:05Lewis Howes?

  How do you get your mind to believe that it's stronger than the extreme pain that you're feeling in a momentary experience? Is it training? Is it just practice? Is it just... Because this wasn't something you did when you were growing up. You were like, "I don't want to do any physical activity, it sounds like, and barely pass a gym class that's walking, and I can't do one mile." So when there's this 100 miles of pain, how do you constantly overcome it?

• 22:32Speaker 01

  Every mile that you've done gives you confidence to go another further. And so I think, looking back at how far you've come and how many times you've said, "I couldn't do it," and all of us carry a long list of things we thought we couldn't do that we did. And so I think checking ourselves, and that's helpful.

• 22:53Lewis Howes?

  Where does speed come into play for you?

• 22:55Speaker 01

  I think for the row, there was obviously a lot of highs and breaking that world record and... Raising a bunch of money for charity and there was a whirlwind after that particular event and it wasn't immediate but about six months a year later, I was really in this low and sometimes we think the achievement is the high, but for me, I felt like that was the low because I reached my goal, but I lost my purpose. I lost the reason I wanted to jump out of bed every morning, the thing I was working towards and once I had lost

• 23:36Speaker 01

  that, it really made me hungry to seek and hungry to know what is a purpose and what that is beyond a goal achievement, striving for the next thing and the next thing and we could continue to do that. For me, the only place that I've been able to find that rest from finding my identity and my worth and achievement is faith. And so, I started to have a relationship with God as a Christian and that has shifted everything for me as an athlete and I don't think I would have been able to go back to endurance in a healthy

• 24:20Speaker 01

  way because it's really hard to enjoy something if you think your worth depends on it because it's like, what if you lose, then you lose everything. And so, that was kind of the mentality, very fear-based and so, it's given me a lot of freedom in that. I know there's like a lot of talk of like self-confidence and it's freed me from really needing that because I have confidence in God and so, I have more confidence in God than...

• 24:49Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 24:50Speaker 01

  So, it's not a need that I have anymore and...

• 24:52Lewis Howes?

  So, you don't put the pressure to build your self-confidence, you just eliminate that weight is what it sounds like. You put your confidence and faith in God to give you what you need.

• 25:03Speaker 01

  Absolutely.

• 25:04Lewis Howes?

  To overcome challenges, to take on...

• 25:06Speaker 01

  I mean, one of the biggest things about these challenges is facing... Failure and who are you when you fail? And so there's been a lot of rest in that space. And a lot of the tips, the lessons can help people achieve and strive and continue to go through that. But I think what people need most is that place to rest and place to feel like they don't need to earn their worth.

• 25:35Lewis Howes?

  Interesting.

• 25:36Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 25:37Lewis Howes?

  So how do you, how should we define our worth? By what?

• 25:41Speaker 01

  So for me, as a Christian, it's really about what Jesus did and what he enabled us to have access to through his acts.

• 25:50Lewis Howes?

  You don't divide your worth by, on your achievements or by how far you can go or whether you accomplish something or not? You don't put your worth on that?

• 25:58Speaker 01

  No.

• 25:59Lewis Howes?

  What would happen if you put your worth on these big challenges, do you think? Of either accomplishing them or failing at them?

• 26:08Speaker 01

  I think what happens when your worth or my worth would be tied to it is it would just suck out the joy of it. I think there could be a lot of ego involved because I was given everything that I have. So I can't really take credit. And even being a hard worker, that is also a gift. Being determined is also a gift. I mean, I could not use it, but it was still a gift given. So even to take ownership and say, well, I worked hard and I'm so determined. Well, those are also gifts. And so it's humility, really.

• 26:47Lewis Howes?

  What about identity? How do you think about identity, build your identity? Is it tied to these acts or is it more about something else in your life? And if you're not able to do these things anymore, how would that affect your identity?

• 27:00Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, it's very basic, but as a Christian, it's a child of God. And yeah, it's just kind of mind boggling to think that.

• 27:11Speaker 01

  Everything is going to wash away just to have our moment with the Maker. And everything is going to be determined for eternity on what we do in this and what decision we make about faith. And so that's a, it's a big, it's a big decision.

• 27:29Lewis Howes?

  Sure. So why is this, uh, do you look at your, do you identify as part of your identity as someone who takes on these, these challenges? Or is that not part of your identity?

• 27:40Speaker 01

  I feel like, yes. I mean, I think God's called me to do this for sure. Yeah.

• 27:48Lewis Howes?

  How do you know that's part of your calling, at least for this season of your life? Was there something you were hearing when you were younger that brought you to that first mile? And then said, okay, I want to try more. How come that didn't happen soon in your life?

• 28:01Speaker 01

  I think some lessons, you know, are always available. It's are we willing to listen and are we ready to listen? And so my own stubborn nature can be helpful in certain situations, but in other situations, it could prevent me from learning those lessons. So I wasn't ready to learn any of those lessons.

• 28:23Lewis Howes?

  Until that moment, yeah, until those times. How do you set goals for yourself so that they're scary enough for you to be excited to do them, but also not too crazy to say, okay, I'm just going to double my distance and shorten the time this time because it's scary. But how do you set goals accurately, I would say?

• 28:43Speaker 01

  There's definitely been like even before rowing the Atlantic, that was part of a bigger vision of going around the whole world by human power. And I was like, well, what's the hardest part? It was the row. And so that's why I did that mainland to mainland. That's why I did that part first, because I wanted to do the hardest part first. So that I feel like has been with me as an idea or a dream for a really long time.

• 29:11Lewis Howes?

  To go around the world?

• 29:12Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 29:13Lewis Howes?

  So you row part of it, you swim part of it, you run part of it, you bike part of it?

• 29:17Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 29:18Lewis Howes?

  And just go around?

• 29:19Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 29:20Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 29:21Speaker 01

  I think, you know, it's a timing thing and for my twenties, I was more focused on, you know, career type things and so after I'm out of the Coast Guard, that could be one dream or goal.

• 29:35Lewis Howes?

  That's crazy. That's cool.

• 29:37Speaker 01

  With the vision of helping a hundred thousand people get clean water. So, right now.

• 29:41Lewis Howes?

  That's really cool. How long would that take, do you think?

• 29:44Speaker 01

  It really depends. I mean, with COVID and with getting in and out of countries and political things and so it could take two or three years.

• 29:55Lewis Howes?

  Wow. Has anyone ever done that?

• 29:57Speaker 01

  Uh, no woman has.

• 29:59Lewis Howes?

  That's pretty cool.

• 30:00Speaker 01

  Yeah. I probably would want to do it in legs anyways because I think you can get a little weird going on these adventures.

• 30:08Lewis Howes?

  Two, three years like that, you're like just isolated, like, yeah.

• 30:11Speaker 01

  I think like three to six months is as long as I would want to do that to myself. Yeah. But that's been one with me for over a decade now.

• 30:22Lewis Howes?

  That's pretty cool.

• 30:23Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 30:23Lewis Howes?

  What's your, what's your biggest fear?

• 30:25Speaker 01

  Well, I was reading about some areas and they're like, you should get kidnapping insurance. And I'm like, whoa, okay. Um, so I am looking at certain sections to have protection and have a guide and, and like pay for that service. But I haven't really done many adventures in different countries. And if I did, it was Australia or New Zealand. So, and even doing the row, I mean, the scariest moments being in the middle of the ocean were other boats either crashing into me or there, there's pirates. Anywhere you adventure, I think my biggest fear is what other people could do as a.

• 31:06Speaker 01

  Solo traveler. So that's my biggest fear and I'm glad I do have that fear because I will use it.

• 31:12Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 31:12Speaker 01

  To do. Yeah.

• 31:14Lewis Howes?

  What do you feel like is the biggest challenge in your life? You've finished so many of these challenges so far. What's the biggest internal challenge you've faced?

• 31:22Speaker 01

  I think it was after the row and really figuring out what is my identity.

• 31:28Lewis Howes?

  Because what's next? Okay, I just accomplished this big thing and now I'm kind of depressed. You hear about this with like Olympians, they've been training their whole life for something. They do this crazy feat. Amazing high and like the next days or weeks, they go into a depression because there's no more routine, there's no more goal, there's no more collaboration or, you know, challenge to face. Do you feel like we should always have some type of challenge we're taking on?

• 31:55Speaker 01

  Life definitely is meant for us to be growing constantly. I think there's definitely a balance with that and if you're going from one to the next and not really cherishing it and enjoying it, it's doing a disservice to what you're doing and this is good for us.

• 32:12Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. And one of the things that you're always doing in these challenges, it's towards a greater cause than you. It's all about providing access to clean water to people around the world, right? And I think the number is you've helped close to 45,000 people, right, gain access to clean water. How important is it for us to have something beyond ourselves? Whether we're an athlete on a team sport or endurance athlete, but taking on these physical, mental demanding challenges, how important do you feel like it is for for all of us to have something bigger than us as a part of our why? And do you think you'd be able to finish these things without having that vision in your mind?

• 32:53Speaker 01

  Yeah, I don't even know if I'd want to start.

• 32:56Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 32:56Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean if.

• 32:57Lewis Howes?

  Like what's the point?

• 32:58Speaker 01

  Yeah. If you have something you're so passionate about, there's gotta be a way to use it. And so, I mean, that is somewhat of how I do define greatness is finding the thing you're most passionate about and figuring out how to serve it and use it of service. Use it, great passion meets a great need and. I just think that we're wired to do that. I mean, we're meant to be in community. And we all have gifts. We all have talents. We all have something to bring to the table.

• 33:33Lewis Howes?

  So when things get really challenging in your mind, is that something you think about? It's like, okay, I'm gonna keep doing this for the people that need water. Is that?

• 33:40Speaker 01

  Well, with water, the good thing is, I mean, we can disagree about a lot of things in the world. I mean, we could all agree that everyone deserves clean water. And clean water, similar to endurance challenges, I think clean water is almost like a metaphor because all these challenges seem impossible. And the big numbers, right? And clean water is the same way. It just seems impossible because 785 million people don't have clean water. But it's the same approach of endurance, of taking it one step at a time, taking it one mile at a time, taking it one person at a time. And that's how, I believe, the water crisis will be solved.

• 34:24Speaker 01

  And it just fires me up about clean water because there's a lot of problems we don't have answers to. There's a lot of, you know, whether it's research or technology. But with clean water, we already have the tools. And some wells will fail and you'll need to maintain it. And environments will change and there'll be flooding or droughts. And so, yes, there are always challenges with everything. But we do have proven solutions that work. And so, when you see a huge problem, and aside from air, what more do we, you know, what's our basic need? And we have, after air, it's water.

• 35:06Speaker 01

  And so, when you see how much potential there is with technology and the fact that, you know, driving and flying and all of this, it's, I just get so fired up about, wow, this is a problem we can actually solve. And it could change our world.

• 35:23Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 35:24Speaker 01

  One in eight people. This is our daily struggle. And we have the potential to end a crisis that has been on our planet. I mean, that's exciting.

• 35:32Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, that's very exciting. What do you feel like this is all done for your mental health?

• 35:37Speaker 01

  So what happens when you're doing these challenges is I get a lot of adrenaline.

• 35:42Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 35:43Speaker 01

  So much adrenaline.

• 35:44Lewis Howes?

  Before, during, after?

• 35:45Speaker 01

  Yeah, just... Even the day before a race, like not being able to sleep.

• 35:51Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 35:51Speaker 01

  And there's so many endorphins and then once it's over, it's like, oh, the party's over. And so I've done this so much that I know that that's will probably happen. And that's kind of part of the process. And that's my body's way of going from one high to recalibrate, you know? And so if I want from that high to another, it just, my body needs to regulate. And that's kind of part of it is just feeling depleted and feeling now that I understand it and don't take it personally, that's definitely helped so that it's not like, oh no, why am I feeling, oh, this is because my body just used all of that and now I have to rest and recuperate.

• 36:36Speaker 01

  But it's also enabled me, like it's been a positive impact on my mental health in that, um, building community, meeting new people, exploring, traveling the community. Like there's definitely a strong community within ultra running and every sport has has their own community. And so I've definitely been able to meet others and share that.

• 37:00Lewis Howes?

  That's cool.

• 37:01Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 37:02Lewis Howes?

  What advice would you give someone who's taking on a big challenge in their life where they don't feel prepared, i.e. myself getting ready for a marathon? What if they don't feel like they're physically prepared for some challenge, whether it's two miles they're about to run or a marathon or something? They're like, I'm gonna do this thing, but I don't feel fully ready or prepared. What advice would you have for someone to take on the challenge and complete the challenge?

• 37:28Speaker 01

  Well, there's a lot of people who have done it, who have felt like you felt right now.

• 37:33Lewis Howes?

  Right. Who've done marathons, who haven't been prepared. Yeah, lots of people.

• 37:35Speaker 01

  Yeah. A lot of people have felt what you feel right now and have been able to do a marathon. So.

• 37:42Lewis Howes?

  Just remember that or is there any other, is there any other wisdom? Any other advice?

• 37:46Speaker 01

  Um.

• 37:47Lewis Howes?

  I think you mentioned before going to it like with just each moment at a time.

• 37:51Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 37:52Lewis Howes?

  Bringing a sense of joy to the experience. Don't dread the the end of it or the how long it's gonna take, but just enjoy each moment, right?

• 37:59Speaker 01

  Yeah, for sure. I mean, if I do any kind of event, if I already think about the end, it's kind of it's over. I mean, it it does definitely suck out the joy. And so just, yeah, embracing it and not taking it personally when those feelings come up. Like, it's I think most people who ever run marathons, who ever do these things, go through some kind of like, oh, I don't know if I can. And that's that's just part of the process. And so focusing just on that one mile and every mile ahead will be dictated on how you pace and how

• 38:39Speaker 01

  you focus on that one mile. So, yeah, just focusing one mile at a time. One thing that, you know, through these endurance challenges, like rowing the Atlantic, it's 3,000 miles. And halfway through, I was like, I want to give up. This is ridiculous. And so I'm like, I give up on 3,000, but I give in to one mile. And that was my shift. I'm rowing one mile 3,000 times. And that's really, you know, one mile, just.

• 39:12Lewis Howes?

  One mile at a time, not 3,000 miles.

• 39:14Speaker 01

  Yes. No, I couldn't do that. And I mean, most endurance challenges, the halfway point is like, oh, I'm closer to the end than the start. For the row, I had this opposite thing happen where I'm like, I gave everything to get to the halfway point. I don't think I could do that again.

• 39:31Lewis Howes?

  I'm exhausted.

• 39:32Speaker 01

  It feels bigger.

• 39:33Lewis Howes?

  Oh, no.

• 39:34Speaker 01

  And now I'm like, in this place where I'm the farthest away from land on any like, so I.

• 39:40Lewis Howes?

  I'm in the middle of nowhere. Get me out.

• 39:43Speaker 01

  And so it just felt a lot bigger. And so that's why I just, I said, I can't do this 3,000 stuff. I could do one mile. And the one mile is, is the way to go.

• 39:54Lewis Howes?

  Focus on one mile at a time.

• 39:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 39:57Lewis Howes?

  Okay, I got this.

• 39:59Speaker 01

  You got it.

• 39:59Lewis Howes?

  One mile at a time. We can follow you at katiespotz.com, S-P-O-T-Z. Stay in touch with you there. You're over on Instagram and social media as well, Facebook, Twitter. And you'll be sharing more of these adventures in the future, I'm assuming, on social media. You're posting about it when you're doing them. And people can, can learn more. They can be a part of the causes to help clean water by following you over there as well. What else can we do to support you right now?

• 40:25Speaker 01

  So, clean water is, is my, my thing. And so if you'd like to donate, all the proceeds go directly to supporting clean water projects. So on my website, there's a place to donate. And that would be greatly appreciated.

• 40:40Lewis Howes?

  Awesome. Love it. Love it. We'll make sure to send people over there. This is a question I ask everyone at the end of the interviews called the three truths. So imagine it's your last day on earth, many years away from now. And you get to live as long as you want to live. But for whatever reason, it's the last day. And you accomplish everything you want to accomplish. You have a great life. But you've got to take all of your accomplishments, your, your message, it's got to go with you to the next place. So no one has a memory of you or your information anymore. But you get to write down three things you know to be true from your life. Three lessons that you would share with the rest of us. And this is all we would have to kind of remember from your information. What would you say are those three lessons or three truths for you?

• 41:23Speaker 01

  Yeah, I'd say the first one is that just because you think you can't do something doesn't mean you're right. And that we're more capable than we think. And I think we do this thing sometimes where we project that other people are more talented, more gifted, they have something more and are superhuman and it may seem like humility, but what it actually could be is avoiding taking responsibility for us to do our very best with what we have, or even laziness, like to be projecting that other people are bigger or better. So, yeah, we're just, we have more than we think we do.

• 42:05Speaker 01

  Yeah, I would say that motivation is overrated, that you can do things when you don't feel like it, and there's something that's even more empowering, and that motivation shows up when you do. Motivation is like momentum. When you begin, it'll start, and so it'll keep continuing. So I think showing up and trying is really important, and that you can kind of trust the process that motivation will come. I mean, one step makes it easier to take the next one, so.

• 42:38Lewis Howes?

  I like that. Okay, and the third truth?

• 42:41Speaker 01

  Okay, so a lot of what I've done is like, you know, facing and dealing with failure and the potential for failure. And the biggest tragedy is not failing, but not having something worth failing for.

• 42:56Lewis Howes?

  Ooh.

• 42:57Speaker 01

  So, it's just finding something that is bigger than your fears and insecurities and is worth failing for.

• 43:06Lewis Howes?

  Say that one more time, not failing but not having something worth failing for?

• 43:10Speaker 01

  Failing for, yeah. It's not failing, but not having something worth failing for. That's sad, when you're just like, fail big, fail big.

• 43:20Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. So how do we find something worth failing for?

• 43:24Speaker 01

  I think we all have a call.

• 43:26Lewis Howes?

  Is that insecurity, that fear, it's kind of like leaning into that is what you're saying?

• 43:32Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, I mean, I think everyone here on planet Earth has a mission, has a call, and it's not meant to be a mystery and just to really listen to it like intuitively.

• 43:47Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, I love that. Those are good three truths. I want to acknowledge you Katie for, I mean, just taking on the fears in your life and taking on the challenges that seem super scary to yourself and resistant, but also saying, I'm gonna take them on even though you could fail or you could succeed at them and you keep showing up. I think it's really inspiring. And you do it not for the recognition for yourself, but for a greater cause, which I think is really inspiring as well. And obviously, you're getting rewarded and acknowledged for this effort as well. But I think having something deeper, more meaningful behind this vision is really inspiring, to serve other people as well as supporting yourself on this journey of life and creating more opportunities

• 44:31Lewis Howes?

  for yourself. So I really acknowledge you for the journey, the accomplishments, the success, and the service underneath all of it, which is really inspiring. My final question for you is what is your definition of greatness?

• 44:43Speaker 01

  Well, that was a great lead in because I feel like when kids are young, it's like, what do you want to be? A doctor, a lawyer, or this or that? And who says humanitarian? Not many people. Or a saint. But greatness is being of service and serving something bigger than yourself.

• 45:01Lewis Howes?

  I love it. Katie, thank you so much for being here. I appreciate it.

• 45:04Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 45:06Lewis Howes?

  Thank you so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and it inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a full rundown of today's show with all the important links. And also make sure to share this with a friend and subscribe over on Apple Podcasts as well. I really love hearing feedback from you guys, so share a review over on Apple and let me know what part of this episode resonated with you the most. And if no one's told you lately, I want to remind you that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And now it's time to go out there and do something great.