EVERY SPOKEN WORD
150 min read · 30,026 words- 0:00 – 15:00
(door closes) Four, three, two,…
- JRJoe Rogan
(door closes) Four, three, two, one. Boom. So what -- um, Hundred Mile Man or Hundred Man- (glasses clink) What is it?
- JIJesse Itzler
The 100 Mile Man.
- JRJoe Rogan
What is that?
- JIJesse Itzler
Uh, I ran a 100-mile race-
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh.
- JIJesse Itzler
... uh, years ago, and that's like-
- JRJoe Rogan
You're like, "I'm the fucking man." (laughs)
- JIJesse Itzler
Let me, let me grab it if it's available. (laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs) That's cool that you got it, man, 'cause that's a very popular thing now.
- JIJesse Itzler
(smacks lips) Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Did you run this before or after you did the book with David Goggins?
- JIJesse Itzler
I ran it before.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, okay.
- JIJesse Itzler
Yeah. I think at the time when I did it, there were like 400 Americans that ran 100 miles or something.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, really?
- JIJesse Itzler
It wasn't a lot, so that's why it was available.
- JRJoe Rogan
Isn't it crazy how many people do it now?
- JIJesse Itzler
(smacks lips) Yeah, I think... I was trying to figure out in my head how many do it a year and like how many races, 100-mile races there are there a month and then multiply it out. So probably 5,000 or 6,000 I'm guessing.
- JRJoe Rogan
5,000 or 6,000 people who have done it?
- JIJesse Itzler
I think probably, I think so.
- JRJoe Rogan
Wow.
- JIJesse Itzler
Americans, yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
(sighs)
- JIJesse Itzler
It's a long way.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's a long fucking way. We were just about talking right before the podcast about how Miss America yanked off, uh, all of... Uh, there's, they're no longer judged by their beauty. And I post this 'cause I thought it was silly.
- JIJesse Itzler
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
And there's just these fights online, man. There's fucking fights in the comments and fights and... People are tense.
- JIJesse Itzler
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
People need to go out and run those 100 miles, man. (laughs)
- JIJesse Itzler
Yeah, they'd loosen up fast. Fast.
- 15:00 – 30:00
Oh. …
- JIJesse Itzler
But the monks were using the ... Were teaching me various lessons, almost like Karate Kid style-
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh.
- JIJesse Itzler
... through the dogs. So, like, the first day I got there, every day I was assigned a different role with m- ... I would shadow one of the monks. And there were eight, and they had different responsibilities around the monastery. The first day, I was in the training center with one of the monks that was training the dog. And my job was to be the distractor. So Rainbow, this dog, would walk around, and I would fucking go at him and jump and run and, like, try to, you know, whatever, get him to break f- his goal of going ... They were kind of simulating a park scene or a city scene-
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- JIJesse Itzler
... and making this dog not get distracted.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh.
- JIJesse Itzler
So I would go nuts with a pork chop and this, and throw ... Whatever. The dog would just go, unwavering, from point A to point B. And the monk said to me at the end, he was like, "It's just like life, man." He's like, "If you have a goal, just like Rainbow's goal is to get from A to B, you can't be distracted in your goal." And I was like, "That makes sense. Some Karate Kid stuff." (laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. (laughs) And I got like-
- JIJesse Itzler
Like, wax on.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, like wax on. And, but all these different lessons started to emerge, and it was pretty interesting.
- JIJesse Itzler
Wow. So, that, that is inter- it's, it's interesting, too, that they're doing it with German Shepherds, who are really, really smart dogs. I wonder-
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- JIJesse Itzler
Like, what's a dumb dog? Uh ...
- JRJoe Rogan
What's like generally thought of as a dumb dog?
- JIJesse Itzler
(laughs) Let's-
- JRJoe Rogan
I'm trying to think. Some mutt. Yeah. I'm trying to think. Like, what would generally be thought of as a dumb dog? There's no, like, prejudices for dogs, right?
- JIJesse Itzler
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
Is there? Is there, like, like one breed where you're like, "This dumb fucking breed." I don't think of ... Like, when, if you say like a dumb dog, there's dumb individual dogs. But I don't ever think of like, oh, that ... There's some dogs that are, like, spastic, right? Like, Jack Russell Terriers are kind of spastic. But that's 'cause they were raised to kill rats and they just, like, they have high kill drive and they're super hyper.
- JIJesse Itzler
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
But, like, I can't think of a dog that's supposed to be stupid. But German Shepherds are generally supposed to be smart. This list says, uh, English Bulldogs, but I don't know if that's necessarily true. Really? I think they're just lazy, man. Yeah.
- JIJesse Itzler
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
My dog, um, Brutus is half English Bulldog and half Shibu Inu. He just has bad joints and he's just lazy. He's just ... I don't think he's stupid.
- JIJesse Itzler
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
He's, he's kind of a dick.
- JIJesse Itzler
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
He's a dick to other dogs. But I just think that's 'cause he's in pain a lot.
- JIJesse Itzler
These dogs are super smart. Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
They're so smart, man. Those dogs look at you and they're l- they're sizing you up, checking you out, seeing what the fuck you're up to, making sure you're cool. But there's like this feeling like they know they could kill you. Like, they're looking at you like, "I could kill you, but I'm just checking you out."
- JIJesse Itzler
I had that feeling that they could kill me, too.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, it's a real feeling.
- 30:00 – 45:00
Correct. …
- JRJoe Rogan
Facebook, all that jazz, you're, you have more resources.
- JIJesse Itzler
Correct.
- JRJoe Rogan
And you feel better.
- JIJesse Itzler
That's ex- I feel, that's exactly right. And I experienced that. You know, I think the average American makes like 35,000 to 50,000 decisions a day. And there's a real thing called decision defeat- fatigue.
- JRJoe Rogan
Really?
- JIJesse Itzler
Yeah. And when you eliminate all... Like I remember when I came home, I came home and the day I got home my wife is like, "Sweetie, I'm gonna take the kids to, you know, school and I'm gonna take the blue car."I was like, "Cool, take the blue car." And she came back a minute later, she's like, "You know what? I think I'm gonna take the other car because I wanna park and the blue car's too big." And I was like, "All right, cool. Take the other car." And then she came back in and she goes, "You know what? I'm gonna take the blue car bec-" I'm like, "Sarah, you're using so much energy already, it's 7:45 AM, on what car to drive?" And I realized, like, that happens all the time. You know, it's like exhausting, man.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JIJesse Itzler
And-
- JRJoe Rogan
Did you... I'm sorry, go on.
- JIJesse Itzler
No, no, I'm just saying, like, when, you know, I didn't have any of that. So it freed up all this energy. I was making, like, massive life lists, what I wanna do. I became very aware of my relationship with time. I mean, when we think of relationships, we think of our relationships with our mom or our dad or our kids or this and that. But like, no one thinks of a relationship with time. And I'm turning 50. The average American lives to be 78 years old. So if I'm average, I hope I'm not, but that means I got 28 years of life left. If you reverse engineer that, if you reverse engineer it, and like, I just climbed Mount Washington, there were no 70-year-olds climbing Mount Washington. The act- the actual years that you have left to be active and do the shit that we wanna do, they shrink significantly as a percentage as you get older. So once you get aware of your relationship with time, everything shifts. And I had a fundamental shift when I came home with- as it relates to my relationship with time, and who I want to spend it with and w- and what I want to do. And I want to put more on my plate of the stuff that I love to do, with the people I love to do it with. And I started getting, like, a lot of clarity around that when I wasn't getting bombarded with everything else. Like, I don't spend any time alone. The only time I spend alone is if I go for a run. Everything else is I'm getting influenced by everybody else and everything else. So I'm losing my main superpower, my instinct-
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- JIJesse Itzler
... which I survive. I got a 980 on my SAT, man. I survive on instinct and gut. And I was losing that because I was so distracted. So once I started to get that alone time, you don't have to go to a monastery to do it. You just gotta, you know, carving out a little bit of time for myself every day, I just started to think a lot clearer on like, you know, how do I wanna live, reverse engineer the rest of my life?
- JRJoe Rogan
Wow. Do you think this is something you would do on a regular basis?
- JIJesse Itzler
No, but I'm, it's something that I have, and I feel like, you know, like I said, like, going into the unknown, it gives you an edge, you know? It gives you, you come out of it a little bit different than you go in it. Doesn't have to be a monastery. It could be a race, it could be business experience, it could be whatever.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right. But just doing something different.
- JIJesse Itzler
Doing it different because, you know, um, so yeah, I feel like i- it's, I want, I don't think I would do it again, but I don't think I have to. Because I already have, I can tap into that when I need it.
- JRJoe Rogan
Do you think that'll wear off, though? 'Cause l- a lot of times inspiration for people, it's, it, it's fleeting.
- JIJesse Itzler
The takeaways won't, won't wear off. Like I'm already back on my phone, I'm back in modern day life, I'm, you know, I'm all fucked up again. But the main things, like my relationship with time and certain things of, you know, who I wanna spend it with and what I wanna do and continuing to build what I call my life resume, doing these things that build up my, not my business resume, but my life resume. That's things that I know I wanna do more of, and that will never go away. So, you know, um, there's, there's things that came out of it that will last forever.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like what kind of adjustments did you make when you came back?
- JIJesse Itzler
Started saying no, started prio- like I just, I reversed engineered my life. So let me give you an example.
- JRJoe Rogan
Okay.
- JIJesse Itzler
My parents are (clears throat) 88, okay?
- JRJoe Rogan
(clears throat)
- JIJesse Itzler
I have a good relationship with my parents. My parents are 88, they live in Florida. I see my parent... Let's say my parents live to be 92. I hope they live longer, but let's say they live, let's say they live five years.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- JIJesse Itzler
I don't have five years left with my parents. I see my parents twice a year. That means I have 10 visits with my parents.
- JRJoe Rogan
Hmm.
- JIJesse Itzler
So when I started to look at shit like that, I made significant changes. Like, okay, I'm gonna get on a plane to see my parents. And when I'm in those moments, my feet are on the ground. That's where I am. Because I only have a limited amount of time with them. You understand?
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- JIJesse Itzler
It's like, it's not five years. People are like, "Oh, I got five more." No, you don't. How many times do you see 'em, man? You see 'em two times a year. You got 10 visits. So I re- I just started looking at stuff like that and became really aware when I'm in moments that are big moments, to take it in and take note of it so it has an impact on me and I appreciate it.
- 45:00 – 1:00:00
Mm, I know what…
- JIJesse Itzler
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm, I know what you mean.
- JIJesse Itzler
You know what I mean.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- JIJesse Itzler
To get deals, to get stuff, I had to la- laugh, and I'm sick of laughing at jokes that aren't funny.
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs) That's actually very funny. Like, you saying that is very funny. It's a smart thing to do. But in the beginning, it's very hard, right, because you're trying to get momentum, you're trying-
- JIJesse Itzler
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
... to establish relationships. You're... you want people to like you, you don't wanna dead face a stupid joke-
- JIJesse Itzler
Exactly.
- JRJoe Rogan
... and then have people go, "Fuck that Jesse guy. That guy's a dick."
- JIJesse Itzler
Yeah, "I'm not doing anything with him."
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. Yeah.
- JIJesse Itzler
So, you laugh.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. Hmm. So do you organize your time, like very specifically now, and did you do that in the past?
- JIJesse Itzler
I do now. I didn't in the past 'cause, uh, you know, in the past, I do... I'ma do anything... I say yes to- to action things-
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- JIJesse Itzler
... without really thinking them through very often.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- JIJesse Itzler
Um, now what I do is I have a third grade... a- a three-year-old system. I have two notebooks. I'm o- kind of old school, I- I don't really operate well keeping stuff in phones. I just take everything that comes into my head and I put it in a... I dump it outta my head to free up space in my head. So I have one journal that has everything I need to do. And I just do that to get it outta my head, so I don't have to remember that I have to get my son's friend's eight-year-old birthday present for Saturday.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- JIJesse Itzler
I just write it down.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- JIJesse Itzler
It doesn't mean it goes away, but it's outta my head.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- JIJesse Itzler
And then I have my daily... from that list, I pick the most important things that have to get done, and then, uh, you know, the night before, I write them down or- or the beginning of the week, and I just knock them out, man.
- JRJoe Rogan
And how long ago was it that you went to this monastery and did this 15-day-
- JIJesse Itzler
A year, a year ago.
- JRJoe Rogan
... one year ago? And has this enthusiasm or this feeling waned at all?
- JIJesse Itzler
No.
- JRJoe Rogan
Wow. That's really interesting. Do you think... do you convey that in the book?
- 1:00:00 – 1:12:30
Mm. …
- JIJesse Itzler
time a year that it has an impact the other 364 days of the year on you.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm.
- JIJesse Itzler
That you go so far beyond. You know, for me, that was my 100 mile run. I mean, I, I can look back since 2008, I've had moments like that every year. But, um, the, and I believe in that. I believe in that. And, um, I don't know why I just brought that up, but, but it's true. And, um, so I, it's just kind of one of the themes around this urgency and, and, you know, creating memories, et cetera.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, I think there's things like that sort of highlight that urgency, that if you just live your life, like at the same steady static pace, may- maybe sometimes you don't feel it as much. Like, like I'm sure after you did your 100 mile run, like when it was over, you probably, it probably felt so good to relax.
- JIJesse Itzler
Oh. Well, first of all, for me, the, the pressure...... around completing the run. When I did the run, I, I raised millions of dollars for charity. And everyone in my world knew I was doing it. I gave myself 90 days to train for it. 'Cause-
- JRJoe Rogan
How ... What's normal?
- JIJesse Itzler
I would say, like, for the people in the shape that I was in going into it, probably a year, eight months, six months. I mean-
- JRJoe Rogan
Whoa.
- JIJesse Itzler
I mean, I gave myself 90 days. I started in August and the, the race was 90 days later. And, uh, everyone in my world was donating or involved or knew about it. So, if I didn't finish it, so much can go wrong in 100-mile run. You know? Like, if something goes wrong in a marathon at mile 19, you gut it out, you got seven more miles left.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- JIJesse Itzler
You know? If something goes wrong at mile 19, you have 81 miles left. You can't gut... Most people can't gut that out. I don't think I could. I felt so relieved when it was done 'cause I was just like, "Man, I did it and no one can take it away from me."
- JRJoe Rogan
What was the longest you had writ- ro- not ridden ... uh, ran before that?
- JIJesse Itzler
I ran two 50s.
- JRJoe Rogan
Two 50s?
- JIJesse Itzler
Two 50-milers. I mean-
- JRJoe Rogan
H-
- JIJesse Itzler
... I never did miles, I did time. So I did two 10-hour ... about 10-hour runs twice.
- JRJoe Rogan
And 50 miles in those 10 hours?
- JIJesse Itzler
P- probably around there. Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Somewhere around there? So, but you knew that you were at the halfway mark roughly and you could push through the rest?
- JIJesse Itzler
I knew that if I got to 50-mile ... if I could get to, um, 50 miles in 10 hours, I could basically, even injured, walk the rest-
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- JIJesse Itzler
... in the allocated time.
- JRJoe Rogan
Now, after that was over and after you did do that 100 miles, how much of a shift did that make in the way you thought about time and effort?
- JIJesse Itzler
Totally changed my life. Completely, completely ... Talking about this Misogi.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- JIJesse Itzler
It completely changed my life. That was in 2006, I think, that I did the run. And it's completely changed my life because when I started running, my goal was to run two miles. If I could run two miles in 18 minutes, nine-minute pace, I considered myself a runner. And I worked towards that goal. Like, outta college, I was like ... Just got outta college, I'm like, "I'm gonna try to run two miles." You know? Like, it took me a little to get there-
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- JIJesse Itzler
... in, in, in nine-minute pace. You know? And, um, fast-forward, I ran this ... Nothing in my body changed. This is the same legs God gave me, same lugs God gave me. I'm not very strong. Nothing's changed. But I took that two-mile body and ran a hundred miles. And I bet almost ... a lot of people that are listening to this could run two miles and ... with a gun to their head. They could run two miles if they had to. And the only thing that changed was the way I perceived what I thought I could do in this run. And I realized after the race that, holy shit, I did 50X what my initial goal was. Like, I was under-indexing 50X in this category of my life.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm.
Episode duration: 1:47:10
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