Todd Lewis on Extreme Goal Setting, Mental Resilience, and Reinventing Life Beyond Comfort Zones

Many successful people reinvented themselves in a later period in their life. Jeff Bezos worked in Wall Street before he reinvented himself and started Amazon. Sara Blakely sold office supplies before she started Spanx. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was a WWE wrestler before he became a successful actor and filmmaker. Arnold Schwarzenegger went from a bodybuilder, to an actor to a Governor. McDonald’s founder Ray Croc was a milkshake-device salesman before starting the McDonalds franchise in his 50's.

How does one reinvent themselves? What hurdles have to be overcome to take life in a new direction? How do you overcome those challenges? How do you ignore the naysayers? How do you push through the paralyzing fear?

In this series called “Second Chapters; How I Reinvented Myself In The Second Chapter Of My Life “ we are interviewing successful people who reinvented themselves in a second chapter in life, to share their story and help empower others.

As a part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing

Todd Lewis is an adventurer, athlete, global traveler and motivational speaker. He credits his greatest inspiration to be Coach Lou Holtz, who is also an author and motivational speaker. Lewis was galvanized into action following a speech given by Holtz years ago as part of a work training. Afterwards he began writing a list of goals and has continued to do so yearly achieving impressive feats. He’s traveled to all 7 continents and has met the Lost Boys of Sudan as well as many other awe-inspiring people. As an avid mountaineer he’s summited 12 mountains, including Mt. Kilimanjaro and Base Camp on Mt. Everest. He’s also run with the bulls in Spain 9 times and finished 40 marathons before age 40. He’s currently writing a book about his experiences overcoming life’s obstacles and creating a well-intentioned life.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?

Well for starters I grew up surrounded by love. I could not have asked for better Grandparents/Parents. My Mother is a living saint. I made some wonderful friends at a young age and am blessed to still have them. I remember my Father telling me that if a person has one true friend he can count on when needed the most, you are a blessed man. At the time, I recall thinking that I had so many friends and that I disagreed with his statement. It was not until I lived a bit more, that I realized how wise his words were. Almost all of us go through an experience that rocks our soul, questions our faith, and brings us to our knees In my 20s when coming of age, I went through a lot of challenging times. The valuable lessons I learned during these times is that you can let these situations either break you or define you, or you can find your inner strength and decide to keep going. One thing that I learned at a young age is that a person’s life can change in 30 seconds, sometimes for the better, but unfortunately sometimes for the worse. A quote that I grew to embrace is “You don’t drown by falling in the water, you drown by staying in it” The choice is yours to make. Never forget the people that you have in your corner, and never underestimate the power of an encouraging word.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I would like to share two of my life lesson quotes: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” . Even when you think that everything is lost you still have a decision to make.

“We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.” -Charles Bukowski.

I have that quote engraved in my home. I get up every morning with a reminder that life is short. I strive to be the most positive person on Monday morning conference calls and have a goal to complete random acts of kindness whenever possible.

How would your best friend describe you?

Passionate, sometimes a risk taker, loyal, mentally strong, authentic, and inspiring.

You have been blessed with much success. In your opinion, what are the top three qualities that you possess that have helped you accomplish so much?

Positivity

Resourcefulness

Resilience

Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about ‘Second Chapters’. Can you tell our readers about your career experience before your Second Chapter?

After college I had the opportunity to run a large nightclub. I booked some big entertainers, worked long hours, and came to the realization that even though the money was good, this was not my purpose in life.

And how did you “reinvent yourself” in your Second Chapter?

I reached out to every organization that could put me in touch with Coach Holtz. I read books on survival, and people that had overcome immense obstacles. This inspired me to begin my quest to meet them.

After hearing Coach Holtz speak, I made a list of things that I had only dreamed of. The running of the bulls, marathons, climbing mountains, and meeting interesting people. I wanted to push myself further than I have ever been.

Can you tell us about the specific trigger that made you decide that you were going to “take the plunge” and make your huge transition?

A speech I heard years ago given by Coach Holtz. He didn’t have note cards or a teleprompter. He spoke from the heart. He encouraged the audience to make a list of goals. His words of wisdom were to be positive and to give back. He talked about his humble upbringing, some of his challenges and how his life changed once he and his wife made a list of goals.

What did you do to discover that you had a new skillset inside of you that you haven’t been maximizing? How did you find that and how did you ultimately overcome the barriers to help manifest those powers?

I discovered that I had the ability to reach others and set goals by getting so far out of my comfort zone that I could not see back. I stopped saying “I am going to try something” I replaced it with “I am going to do something”. I felt like when I said the word “try” that I was not 100% committed and this gave me an out. I stopped worrying about failing and always reminded myself what is the worst thing that could happen. I don’t think a person realizes their potential until they totally put it to the test.

How are things going with this new initiative?

It has truly been life changing. I have seen things and met people that I never dreamed would be possible. I wake up every morning inspired and make it a point to make each year better than the last.

Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Coach Holtz was my catalyst. I was required to attend a sales kickoff in Dallas TX years ago. To be honest I really was not looking forward to the trip. The kickoff lasted 3 days and to top off everything the airline lost my luggage. The last night of the event we were to have dinner followed by a guest speaker (Coach Holtz). All I could think about was eating my dinner, and I hoped the guest speaker would be quick.

He got in front of a podium, no note cards or teleprompter, he just spoke from the heart about his life, his family, and his goals. There was something very unique and inspiring about his speech. I honestly could feel his words opening up my mind and my heart. On the flight home I listed my goals on a manilla folder. I had always dreamed about running marathons, climbing mountains, running with the bulls in Pamplona, and meeting people that inspired me. I also added that I wanted to meet Coach Lou Holtz in person, shake his hand and say “Thank you for changing my life”

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started in this new direction?

I had started working down my list of goals, I had already climbed 11 mountains including Mt. Everest Base Camp, ran 40 marathons before age 40, and ran with the bulls 9 times, but I was having difficulty meeting Coach Holtz. There were people that said they could make it happen for me, but when I took them up on the offer it never panned out. One day I said I need to make this happen. A St. Louis paper had just done a story about some of my accomplishments, and I mentioned that Coach Holtz was the one that inspired me. I took that article and mailed/emailed it to every group that I thought might help me reach Coach Holtz. A few weeks later I got an email from Robin Webster (She was the Director of the upper Ohio Valley Hall of Fame). She said that she thought she could make it happen. A couple more weeks passed, and Robin said she had gotten me a VIP pass and that I would be able to speak with Coach Holtz briefly. I flew to Ohio to attend the speaking event and I was introduced to him. I still remember it like it was yesterday. He put his hand on my shoulder and said, “tell me about you son”. I was speechless. When I gained my composure, I handed him a rock from the base camp of Mt Everest, a rock from the top of Kilimanjaro, and sand from the running of the bulls in Pamplona. I told him I would have never done any of it if it was not for hearing his speech. I kept coming back to the event every year and was able to see Coach Holtz at least once a year. There are no words when your hero becomes your friend.

Did you ever struggle with believing in yourself? If so, how did you overcome that limiting belief about yourself? Can you share a story or example?

I would start to struggle when I looked at my list of goals that I had set for myself. One of the things on my list was to run a marathon every month for a year. So many people told me that I could not do it, that my body would give out or I would injure myself. When I could feel that I was starting to have my own doubts I put a scrapbook together. I listed out my favorite quotes, my favorite poems, and passages of books that helped inspired me. There was also a song that I would play when I was struggling. The beat was incredible, and the lyrics were deep and meaningful. I still listen to the song today when I’m in need of more strength or inspiration. The song is called Lateralus by the band Tool, and it has gotten me through some tough times.

In addition, I created a list of people that I thought would help me, and read about others such as: Og Mandino, Vicktor Frankl, Coach John Wooden,

In my own work I usually encourage my clients to ask for support before they embark on something new. How did you create your support system before you moved to your new chapter?

I started reaching out to people that I could learn from. I also made the decision to surround myself with positive people.

Starting a new chapter usually means getting out of your comfort zone, how did you do that? Can you share a story or example of that?

I wanted to meet Mark Cuban. I had read so much about his accomplishments and the way he has dealt with certain situations. I emailed him for almost 8 months before replied. One day he emailed and said if I could be in Indianapolis the next morning at 8:00 am he would meet with me. I left St. Louis around 2:00 am. I figured the worst thing he could say was no, but it turned out to be a wonderful experience.

Fantastic. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started leading my organization” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Never be afraid to ask, if you don’t ask they don’t know what you want.
2. You do not have to be the smartest person in the room, but make sure you give 100% to find others that can help you.
3. It is alright to say you were wrong or that you made a mistake. Co-Workers/customers can appreciate your honesty. Learn from it and do your best to make things right.
4. Go into any situation with one thing in mind, what is the worst thing that could happen. When I first went to Africa for a climb people were telling me all the issues that could arise. I broke it down by different scenarios. If I lost my wallet, If I lost my passport, if I got ill. I came up to solutions for each situation.
5. Learn to laugh at yourself. I have made so many mistakes. Don’t be too proud to laugh. Learn from it.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Kindness, even the simplest of gestures can make a huge difference., A smile, a wave, offering to help, and offering to listen.

What do you want to be remembered for the most?

As a man that wanted to breathe in all that life has to offer, to explore, to embrace and hopefully to encourage.

But most of all a man that had no regrets, and a son that always wanted to make his parents proud.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

My website www.irunwithbulls.com or you can find me on social media such as Facebook.

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!