The Freedom Project

S3E32: How To Plan Your Dream Adventure w/ Oli France

What kind of person is compelled to travel from the lowest point in every continent to the highest through human power alone?

Well, the same kind of person who is willing to walk the length of the world’s largest freshwater lake whilst it’s frozen over.

And the same person who ends up in the hands of Uzbek interrogators accused of narcotic smuggling.

This person is adventurer, explorer and expedition leader, Oli France. Through his journeys, Oli has learned a tonne.

He’s learned the components of a great adventure, how to plan for success, and how to avoid failure.

In this episode of The Freedom Project with Oli France, we discuss how to plan the expedition of a lifetime and how to give yourself the best chance of success.

You will leave this with a thorough understanding of the planning process and how to execute successfully.

Including…

• The stages of planning a life changing adventure.
• How to build a team that thrives in hardship.
• How to prepare your body and mind for robustness and performance.
• How to make the most of all these experiences.
• And how to get over post expedition blues`.

S3E31: Are You Really in the Game or Just Pretending?

Why do you fail to commit to your goals?

With my clients, I’m looking for four signs they’re actually committed to their goals. Not just engaging in mental masturbation…

…a lot of people are doing the latter

Here’s another way to put it (crass language upcoming):

A client once said to me, “you know what’s different about your coaching compared to the rest of what’s available, Tom? It’s the difference between having a wank and the real thing.”

And you can translate that analogy to committing/pretending that you’re committed too.

Actually being committed to your growth has 4 distinct characteristics that I’ll show you today.

Pleasuring yourself by pretending to be committed just won’t cut it.

 

Are you truly committed? Or just bullshitting yourself? Let’s find out…

 

S3E30: What A Life Changing Amputation Teaches You About Living Fully w/Bernt Marius Rørsatd

In a life of adventure, you’re going to have injuries. Some will be minor scrapes. Hopefully, you’ll avoid the life changing ones.

But, in doing difficult things, life changing injuries are a real possibility. How do you cope with the initial injury? How do you adapt your life on the other side? And how do you maintain your identity when you have injuries such as these?

These are all questions today’s guest, Bernt Marius Rørstad provides an illuminating answer to.

After a speedriding accident where he fell 30-40m, Bernt Marius had his right foot amputated, and has been adapting to life with a prosthetic ever since.

Despite this, he is still an adventurer and mountain sports enthusiast. He still shreds on skis, climbs mountains, and just as impressively, maintains an outlook on life that is admirable.

Today, on this episode of the Freedom Project with Bernt Marius Rørstad, we cover…

• The camaraderie of being in the mountains
• The events that led up to Bernt Marius’ crash and what he learned from it
• Finding gratitude in the things you’d rather not have
• Managing risk and danger
• Finding the opportunities within terribly difficult circumstances
• How the psychological part of challenge is always harder than the physical component & how to master that psychological challenge

 

And much more...

S3E29: Stop Leaving Untapped Potential On The Table: Louis’ Journey from Sub-Par Performance To Freedom

In this podcast, I'm excited to take you through the incredible transformation of one of my clients, Louis, who went from feeling trapped and unfulfilled to achieving resilience, emotional stability, massive productivity, and total freedom.

Louis' journey is a testament to the power of science-based high-performance coaching.

Today, I'll walk you through the exact step-by-step process we followed to help Louis discover his full potential.

By the end of this post, you'll have a roadmap to create your own definition of freedom and high performance.

S3E28: Harnessing Your Fear Of Failure To Maximise Adventure & Freedom w/ Alex Staniforth

Alex Staniforth is an adventurer, endurance athlete and speaker.

He survived the two biggest disasters to have struck Mount Everest including the 2015 Nepal earthquake.

He also has endured epilepsy, a stammer and bullying since childhood but has turned this adversity into an opportunity.

 

Today on the freedom project podcast, Alex and I discuss:

• Cultivating that drive to achieve excellence in everything you do
• How to use adventure days to refocus the mind
• How one question changed alex’s life
• What people get wrong about everest
• How to begin to enjoy the pain of endurance sports
• And how to thrive in the face of adversity

 

S3E27: The Crushing Beliefs That Stunt an Adventurepreneur

Psychologists and counsellors aren’t supposed to look like this.

Brian’s thick beard hangs halfway down his chest. He’s jacked too. A heavy set bodyguard turned powerlifter with thighs the size of my waist.

Brian turns to his wife: petite, pretty, with an intense wisdom. Carrie also lifts - it shows - and her tattoos cover the majority of her skin.

Mental health professionals are meant to be plain types who say little. Not … whatever these two were.

“Beliefs,” Brian says. “Beliefs are the reason we have the lives we have. Beliefs are the reason we are the people we are. Beliefs are the reason we’re successful, unsuccessful, happy, sad, conservative, liberal. Beliefs make you, you, Tom.”

Sitting 4000 miles away from the husband and wife power couple, I didn’t even know what question to ask them next.

I stammered.

The software continued recording the podcast.

Little did I know that conversation would be my life’s major inflection point.

S3E26: The Paradox of Resilience: Becoming The 0.1% w/ Gareth Timmins

Gareth Timmins is a former Royal Marines Commando, emerging behavioural/cognitive scientist turned published author of: Becoming the 0.1%: Thirty-four Lessons from the Diary of a Royal Marines Commando Recruit.

Having previously completed a BSc (Hons) in Forensic Psychology, Gareth is currently exploring PhD Research – focusing on how humans Gauge Atmospheres in life-threatening situations, and the link between Rapid Decision-making under pressure and the application of effectiveness in Corporate Environments.

In this episode, we cover: 

• Gareth’s professional rugby career and the mental health effects of that.
• Best journaling practises & the value of keeping a journal.
• Overcoming judgement around writing a diary/journal.
• How life-threatening situations change how we act.
• The value of rest and recuperation.
• The paradox of resilience.

 

S3E25: 4 keys To Balancing Adventure & Business I Learned Through 9 Years of Trying & Failing

I spent years attempting to balance adventure & business.

 

I thought that more business skills would create the freedom I sought.

 

I was wrong.

 

Business skills need to be combined with personal skills in order to be effective.

 

Today, I’m going to teach you the 4 most important concepts which help me personally strike that balance and help my adventurepreneur clients do exactly the same.

 

We’re going to cover:

 

• The feature on your smartwatch you need to know how to use to perform better
• Why you can be so busy yet do so little
• What the world record holder for the fastest row across The Atlantic taught me about my need for adventure
• Which exact fear I teach all my clients to harness.

S3E24: Knowledge dispels fear: Lessons From 1000+ BASE Jumps w/ Tim Howell

Tim Howell is a Base Jumper, Alpinist and former Royal Marines Commando.

Tim was the first person in the world to climb and then base jump all six of the great north faces of the Alps and the first Brit to ski-base jump. 

In this podcast, we discuss : 

• Tim’s key lessons from over 1000 base jumps. 
  
• How to dispel fear.
• Why luck doesn’t play a role in his safety. 
  
• Tim’s best failure.
• The highs and lows of base-jumping 
  
• Pursuing freedom and lots more…

 

S3E23: 39 Lessons From Commando Training: My Adventure & Business Blueprint

9 years ago, I completed the toughest basic military training in the world.

 

I changed a lot during the two years it took me to become a Royal Marines Commando. I learned lessons I still find invaluable today.

 

I rely on them in the mountains as much as I do running my business. I think they’re now a part of who I am and what I teach to my clients.

 

My hope is that you will be able to use these to move closer to the life of freedom you seek.

 

1. You’re not the end product. Be better.
2. Take a breath. What needs to happen now?
3. ....