Pro Mindset® Podcast

Battlefield to Olympic Triumph with Josh Sweeney

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In this episode of Pro Mindset® Podcast, host Craig Domann delves into the incredible journey of Marine veteran and Paralympian, Josh Sweeney. Discover how resilience and adaptability can transform adversity into triumph. Josh shares his insights on overcoming challenges, emphasizing the power of creativity and community in achieving success.

Episode Takeaways:

💡 Creativity—Innovate Solutions
💡 Resilience—Transform Adversity into Triumph
💡 Community—Strength in Unity

Join us for an inspiring conversation on turning life's challenges into opportunities.

💬 “Find something you're passionate about and use it to help others.” — Josh Sweeney

📲Connect with Josh:
👋LinkedIn: @Josh Sweeney PLY
📸Instagram: @thejoshsweeney
📱Facebook: @Josh Sweeney PLY

🚀 Ready to Build a Mindset That Powers You Through Anything?
If Josh’s insights on resilience and creativity inspire you, the Pro Mindset® Coaching Program can help you align your potential with purpose and adaptability.

 👉 Learn more or apply at www.ProMindsetPodcast.com/coaching or reach out directly to Craig at Craig.ProMindset@gmail.com.

#ProMindset #Mindset #CraigDomann #ProMindsetPodcast #JoshSweeney #USMarines #Marines #Marine #MarineCorps #UnitedStatesMarines #UnitedStates #Paralympics #Olympics

PRO MINDSET (00:

01.506) Hey, welcome everybody to Pro Mindset Podcast. This is your host, Craig Domann. Today we have a very unique person on our show. He's one of three in the world, is my understanding, and doing ultra triathlons, Epicdecas, is that correct, JD?

JD Tremblay (00:

20.792) That's correct, I'm one of three people in the world to have completed the Epicdeca.

PRO MINDSET (00:

25.142) Holy smoke, so his name is JD Tremblay and JD's by way of Canada. And we all know he's crazy because not very many, he's only one of three crazy people in the world because most people can't complete a triathlete, just a normal one. And you're doing these alter ones. So when I say crazy, that means good. That means good. Okay, JD, welcome to Pro Mindset.

JD Tremblay (00:

52.108) I take it. take it. All right. Thank you very much for having me.

PRO MINDSET (00:

57.632) Okay, for the you can't speak for the other two people, but just for our audience, what do you what do you presuppose is the difference and the mental makeup? You know, you better athletes have born with more endurance. What is it between the three people in the world that have done what you've done? And why don't you describe for us the length of the event, you know, and each of the different the three different components. How long does it take you to do this? All those kinds of things.

JD Tremblay (01:

30.991) Sure. The Epic Deca consists of a 10 Ironman distances, which is part of triathlon. So you have the sport, which is swimming, biking and running. One Ironman is 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of cycling. And then you follow it up with a full marathon. With the branded Ironman events, you have to complete it under 17 hours. For us, we had 24 hours. However, we had to hop from one island to the next. so the epic deck is 10 Ironman distances in 10 consecutive days on all six Hawaiian islands. So that's 24 miles of swimming. And when thousand one hundred and twenty miles of cycling followed up with ten marathons.

PRO MINDSET (02:

32.078) 10 marathons in 10 days. Okay, so the issue is people just can't finish. Because their body breaks down. It's like they can, they're probably capable, you know, maybe this is 10 days in a row. Okay, so ladies and gentlemen, just in case you were like dozing off or not paying attention, we got to go through this one more time. This is doing a triathlon, an Ironman, 10 days in a row.

JD Tremblay (02:

50.404) That's correct.

PRO MINDSET (03:

08.362) I will bet you get great sleep in those nights because you're so tired, especially at the end. What is your secret for recovery?

JD Tremblay (03:

18.766) for recovery, definitely not digesting a lot of food. So that was a big factor for me. So I turned to easily digestible food and a lot of it had to do with just eating carbs because again, I was spending that amount of energy. And sleep was definitely an understanding of my system. So when we break down all of our systems of the Hungry Warrior Academy, recovery is huge because we look at sleep cycles and during the EPIC DECA, we use micro recovery. So we understood that the brain functions in cycles and also if I, if I slept at the same time in the same amount of minutes and it was around the number, then my brain would take it that at this exact time I would be sleepy. So to break that cycle, I was sleeping odd times. for example, 12 minutes or 17 minutes. or 11 minutes. So my brain was not functioning in a routine basis as compared to someone who wants to work in an office and has a set time and a routine. So this is, this was part of my, of my recovery. I was also with the inflatable boots and I was having massages while sleeping. So I was averaging about maybe an an hour and a half of sleep every single day. And during that hour of sleep, I would be in my underwear and my team would zip up those boobs and I would get a massage at the same time that I would be sleeping.

PRO MINDSET (05:

28.782) Okay, so why do you only get an hour sleep? Does it take you that long to... Do the competition every day.

JD Tremblay (05:

39.141) For me, did. I took my time. I did not want to rush everything and I was sleeping in the back of the car and I understood it that you have 24 hours to complete that portion of the race. You were still part of the race if you completed it and went to the other island to complete the or to compete in the next day. So all you have to do is just be on the start line for the next day and that's about it. So I slept in the back of a car. I slept at the airport. If I was tired, I would ask my team to pull over the car. We would push some items and I would sleep in the back of the car. all full of sweat and all burned from the sun and I would sleep odd times and then I would wake up and then go back again. Instead of pushing myself, which is a problem with a lot of individuals, what we do is we want to achieve that high performance. But that high performance, we look at it as guys who take in an excessive amount of stimulants to achieve that high performance when really recovery is the biggest driving factor of high performance. And I can prove it with data is that a lot of the athletes because of the COVID area or the COVID period, a lot of the athletes were pushed to not work out at their local gym or in the same place. So They had to recover a lot and they were unable to train for a lot of athletes. And what we found is that all the times for the athletes became much better in every single sport, regardless of the level of materials and engineering that has been improving over the years. We've seen a lot of changes and that has to do with recovery.

JD Tremblay (08:

03.608) so recovery is the biggest part. That's why I love this question.

PRO MINDSET (08:

08.716) No, I can see it. I can see where there may be some people that might even be listening that could do the triathlon one day. And then it might not be able to even think about running again for a month or a week. And you're doing it every day. So it seems to me this is a very strategic sport because you've got to plan everything out. You got to plan your travel. You have to plan your sleep. When you're cycling, you got no choice but to cycle. Swimming, obviously, if you don't swim, you drowned. But in the marathon, how much of it is a walk? Can you walk some of it to, you know, just to make sure you cover the 26.2 miles and not have to exert as much energy?

JD Tremblay (08:

58.518) I did. Like I know I did. I don't know about all the others, but I know that for me, I walked a lot and most of the time, because I understood that if I start running and I hurt myself, then it's much, then it's not conducive to the end of that race. I'm not going to finish if I'm starting to get injured.

PRO MINDSET (09:

27.32) Right. So really your focus was probably on the two events that, I mean, you can't, you got to be able to, you have to be a outstanding cyclist and you have to be a wonderful swimmer. and there's no, I mean, obviously you could take a break when you're riding a bike, but was the swimming done in the ocean?

JD Tremblay (09:

49.271) some of it was in the ocean. Some of it, was in a pool. there was a lot that has to do with the mindset and all of those variables. So I tried to control everything that I could and then everything that I couldn't, I tried to adjust my training to it. So for example, the swim I knew was in the ocean. What I could control was the type of wetsuit that I would wear. the level of fitness that I had, the technique, and then there were other variables that I was not able to control, like sharks. So what I did was prior to the race, I paid some people to drive me near a group of sharks and teach me how to interact with sharks. they threw me in the water with some sharks and then I learned the hierarchy of sharks and how to not panic and deal with the situation when there's sharks in the water so that if it would happen during the epic decca, which it did, then I would know how I react when I see a shark. So when I saw a shark during one of the leg of the epic decca, I just kept on swimming, understanding the hierarchy, understanding my training, all those variables that I wasn't able to control. And then I also understood that my training that sometimes the dolphins come and then they push those sharks away. And so that's exactly what happened for us. A dolphin came and pushed the shark away and the shark just left. without any form of injury. But again, these are sometimes factors that we don't take into account. And so I did during my training.

PRO MINDSET (11:

50.711) Okay, I wasn't, it would never occurred to me in my mind that we would be talking about sharks. Okay, I'm being serious here. I'm like, okay, that's a new element, that's a new variable that I didn't anticipate. What else would the audience and the people that have never tried something like this, would they be surprised? What other elements? mean,

JD Tremblay (11:

58.489) Yeah.

JD Tremblay (12:

08.132) Ha ha ha.

PRO MINDSET (12:

18.799) You know, how many pounds did you lose in 10 days? Things like that. mean, it's like you had to lose weight. Great, great weight management program if you do the Epideca. Okay. Cause you're, you're exerting so many calories. It's not even funny.

JD Tremblay (12:

35.48) Yeah. So I used an app to see how much I would be spending in terms of calories. was averaging a that's average around 10,000 calories per day. And what I discovered by data is that a human body, even at its peak is unable to function and also digest with more than 8,000 calories. And that's with bodybuilding, trying to eat a lot of calories. That's roughly 8,000, which again, just proves with science that we are always able to spend more energy than we are to outtake. So for example, For me, I was at 10,000, but even if I tried to ingest an excessive amount of food, I would always lose weight, which just proves that if you are overweight, then you are just not having the right diet or right lifestyle and you are not working out enough. That's just proving it with what I went through.

PRO MINDSET (14:

00.431) Yeah, you're making me feel bad now. You're making me feel bad.

JD Tremblay (14:

02.496) Okay, well...

PRO MINDSET (14:

06.191) Holy smokes. Okay, so how long did you train in anticipation of doing this Epideca and which sport was the most difficult?

JD Tremblay (14:

19.79) So I trained for, I trained for about two months.

PRO MINDSET (14:

25.199) That's it? Bro, you're blowing your cover!

JD Tremblay (14:

31.342) There's about, okay, so I was, okay, I finished a lot of Ironmen's and then I moved to Ultraman, but I was not trained for the Epic Deka. I was training for other world championship and I was registered for, I would say what? Like four world championship and over 20 races, but again, over the year. One guy got injured and posted online. He said, this race is only happening once. in the history, it's never been done before. They're only picking 10 people. I got hit by a car and now I can't do the race. So that was in January, end of January. There's a voice in my head that said, how about you just buy it for me? exactly. Go for it JD. So I did exactly that. Now I needed the money. So

PRO MINDSET (15:

16.419) Let's go.

JD Tremblay (15:

29.666) I sold my house and I bought it from him and I flew four people and me to Hawaii and did that race and I don't regret it. I sold my house. I did not burn the ships. I sold the house. And then.

PRO MINDSET (15:

50.191) So what did you, besides like self-satisfaction, did you have any financial gain through sponsorships or awards for finishing? Nothing.

JD Tremblay (15:

58.521) No, no, that's the hardest part of the Epic Decca. The hardest part wasn't finishing it because it was coming back home to a storage unit with a bunch of boxes, not knowing that all of this was going to turn out to put me in a comfortable financial situation and to all of this amazing journey where I had no followers. I had no money. I did not even know where all of this was going to lead me. just had faith that God is going to work it all out. I yeah, that's it. God can work out all of those variables. I'm just going to train and do it. And I did. And I don't regret it at all. Now we're doing very well. And I'm excited about what's going on and how we're able to impact other people's life because again, not everybody is taught to live in faith by selling their house and going to another country because they hear all these crazy stories from these missionaries or individuals that achieve great things. And sometimes people have difficulty going over to their neighbor and sharing a nice meal with them. that they have something nice to say to the neighbor and then they go and just knock on the door and say something nice to them. having a nice conversation and have faith that this is going to lead to maybe a job offer or we always, for anyway, I say always a lot of people are living in fear, fear of the unknown of everything that is not going to work out fear of. the government and the economy and fear about all of these things. Well, how about you start with a little bit of faith and make your decision based on just a little bit of faith. That's it. That it's all going to work out. And for me, I did not, again, I had no, my parents are not rich to be able to help me. Uh, there's, there's nobody that I can just go knock on their door and they're going to just spin it around.

JD Tremblay (18:

17.492) And I had to build all these systems. had to build all of these, this structure to achieve that level of success. And, again, I wouldn't change anything, but I'm encouraging people to start with a little step of faith to see how it can turn out with your life. You don't have to sell your house to have a great story. can have a great story by just starting with. little bit of faith.

PRO MINDSET (18:

49.921) Okay, so you're an author now. Did you write the book after or before?

JD Tremblay (18:

54.622) after because everybody was reaching out to me saying, well, how did you do this? And did you note every, any, everything down? said, well, everything's in my head, but I have no idea how I did it. have no structure. I have no system. I don't even know how I did it. just prayed and followed God and it all worked out. But then there are systems that I follow then. we created the Deca system with our Epic Foundation.

PRO MINDSET (19:

31.083) Okay, so I don't know where to go with this. I don't know whether to go into faith or the, you know, what your systems were or, know, like, faith to me is when you believe something that you can't see and when you have no guarantee of, you know, kind of like what's going to be next. You know, you just kind of make that leap without really knowing with no, you know, with nothing, with no certainty. Maybe no. It's almost like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute. You know, it's like you're just trusting that somehow you're going to make it. What is your, how has this strengthened your faith through this experience?

JD Tremblay (20:

16.44) Faith is well, something that we use in our foundation. The first letter is E, which is eternal restoration. And so that's understanding that there's a higher power somewhere, right? I'm a Christian guy. of course I use Christianity. And if you want to say that it's the universe and that those are your values, it's that physically. I can do everything that I can to achieve a goal mentally. I'm focused. I'm prepared. are still variables that I will not be able to prepare for, that might occur that prevent me from reaching that goal and understanding that to some people it's the universe preventing them or protecting them from that next stage, knowing that it's almost like an entity for me. It's God. that is knowing and all knowing to know that is not the next step I want for you. And I want you to learn something out of everything that you're going through. So you might not finish the race. might, there are certain things that might happen in this case, the epic deco, I did finish, but I had to do all of the steps. The P is physical temple. So we are the temple of that being. And so physically and mentally we are to do whatever it takes to be in line with what that being is asking of us, which is to live in faith. is the identity, which is how do you identify yourself? You can identify and then see his community, which is the community that you're building around that entire structure. And so these are the foundation and the pillars of what we are building with our DECA system.

PRO MINDSET (22:

15.855) Okay, so eternal was the... P was what? Process?

JD Tremblay (22:

23.064) for the epic DECA it's a E as eternal restoration. And so that's the relationship. That's the restoration of having a relationship with some form of being that is outside of you. Because again, let's look at it from the epic DECA. I would say that physically, if we're just looking at the physical, we put just the physical portion in a box.

PRO MINDSET (22:

29.614) Restoration.

JD Tremblay (22:

51.82) Okay, not the mental side, not the spiritual side, not all the variables that I can't control, but just the physical side. There's a lot more people than three that could do it. Just the physical. Then you add the mental component to it and it's less, but it's still more than three. But when you add the spiritual component, well, that race only happened one time in history and a lot of variables. could have happened that would have prevented us from finishing it. Weather, climate, sharks, we talked about it. There are lots of other variables that we can't control out there that would have prevented us from finishing. So that's why in the history right now, there are only three and the race is complicated to organize so it does not happen. And the organization is not looking to even brain that race again. And so that's why at the moment, I will only be one of three people in the world to have completed that race. And that's because there are variables that are controlled by that relationship essentially with you call it the divine. I call it a relationship with God knowing that this God placed me in this situation at that particular time. And And then I finished it. So that's having that relationship, knowing that I can't control these variables and understanding what are the lessons that I have to learn so that I can grow. And eventually you pivot that identity towards it.

PRO MINDSET (24:

40.111) Okay, let's go back to the 10 days of the race. What was the communication like between you and God when things got hard, when you were tired, when you were exhausted, when it wasn't going like how you'd planned it? Maybe there wasn't weather that stopped the event, but there might have been weather that made it more difficult, like extreme heat or whatever it was. What was your communication activity like with God during the race? during those 10 days.

JD Tremblay (25:

11.714) It was amazing. It was phenomenal. It was even closer than any other time in my life. And that's why we even advise the men at the Hungry Warrior Academy because a lot of them come to us and they're already in the storm. have bad relationships and, and then they're wondering why. Well, when you're in the storm, it's difficult to see clearly. And that's why you need to have people that are surrounding you with a soundboard or a community. But for me, I worked on this relationship with God throughout the years. And so if you have already a strong relationship with, say your wife for the last couple of years of your marriage, then when the storm comes, because it will come, Then it will just be tested. That's all. And when the storm comes, it's just showing how strong your foundation is. We can use you and your wife, or we can use you and your coworkers. And for me, it's that's where the conversation was going with me and God and the Epic Deca. So now that I had a strong relationship with God throughout the years, going through a storm or not, I knew that this is exactly what he put me through. Now, was I hating it? Not at all. It was just another moment where I understood I had to pass through a difficult part of, physically and mentally, had to go through a difficult moment. But I had made my decision, I sold my house. So what other choice did I have at that point? I could not even go back to a sound bed, so.

PRO MINDSET (27:

11.699) You burn the boats for sure. Okay. How did this experience impact your identity? How did your identity change? Who were you before and who are you? Who did you see yourself as after? As a consequence of going through that because we all have identity shifts. We all have different new versions of ourselves. What is the, what was the new version of you?

JD Tremblay (27:

13.367) Ha ha ha ha! 24.644) Hmm.

PRO MINDSET (27:

40.461) And what did you throw away during that race? Because, I mean, you obviously threw away your house, but it's like, what else did you put aside to focus on this goal?

JD Tremblay (27:

53.445) Pride, definitely pride. The hardest part, as I alluded earlier, it was coming back to a storage unit, having boxes, knowing that you completed the Epic Deca. You're one of three people in the world to complete it. You're the only Canadian in the history of mankind. I thought that I would have fame that I would be able to get money from. just sponsorships or other people would just be flocking to understand my systems. And, then it brought a lot of. Humbleness. So God essentially broke me to a level where my pride wasn't the driving factor. wasn't about the epic Deca through the identity. It was that. understand where you stand JD with your relationship with God. And, definitely now when someone came and said, JD, you're an alien because of everything that you've accomplished, all of these races and your schooling and everything that you've gone through in your life. And I said, there's nothing special about me. I just follow systems and a set structure. And then it leads to. achievements than a lot of people because they don't have the resilience. They don't have the mindset to just keep going. So again, I would say there's nothing special about JD is just that when you follow the systems in place for an extended period of time, which is this, it would be the same thing as someone who's trying to learn any type of skills like sales. If you studied sales and you only did this regularly, we're talking about 40 hours a week within, within a very short period, would become the best salesman quite rapidly. If that was your capacity, if God designed you to be a salesperson, but to me, he built me to be a speaker. He built me to be a triathlete. He built me to be an inspiration to others and to be encouraging others to.

JD Tremblay (30:

12.462) pursue that capacity that God has given them so that they can give the best of themselves to the world. And if you want to compete against me, then that's fine. But I'm in my own lane and if they should be in their own lane and we should be contributing to a better society by being in our own lane. So that's what I would recommend. But if they, if they want to, then that's fine. I just don't see myself as a, so that's what the Epic Decca brought me. It brought me back to my knees and knowing that I need to remain humble about it. And that's where a lot of the recovery came in because that's a huge part of it is understanding when to slow down, when to recover, not just push the needle to break my body. Because now, because I did this and I remain humble, I was able to take care of my son. and I was also able to continue racing where now in two weeks, like I'm pushing 40, right. In the next two, three weeks. And I'm racing the best in the world and the trail half marathon in two weeks. So again, I'm still competing. I am still going. I'm healthy. And that's because I remain humble. That's what the Epic Deca reminded me is that I am human. I bleed red and I still have to follow that system.

PRO MINDSET (31:

46.724) Okay, let's talk about, you've talked a lot about systems. What is a daily system that you use that you would share with listeners that would be beneficial to them?

JD Tremblay (32:

01.172) We are a DECA system, is Discipline, Energy Regulation, Capacity and Action. I'll speak about discipline. A lot of people think that because I was in the military, I have that discipline and that's wrong because a lot of military members are undisciplined. There are a lot of military members that are disciplined also, but the military gives you the structure to be disciplined. They don't just give you your boots and your uniform. And then you go to the stores and then they cut your brain and then they put a chip inside of it and they say, well, you are disciplined. No, what they give you is a structure. That structure must be followed. And if it's not followed, then there's a high, there's a high chance that you will not be disciplined because you're not following that structure. So. The way you can build discipline for your life. Now, many people use different ways to do it. Dr. Jordan Peterson says, to make your bed. And I would say, pick a non-negotiable, which that non-negotiable without even saying it or talking about it. And as funny as it is before this podcast, you asked me, said, JD, did you work out today? So you already know what my non-negotiable is going to be. You understand that it's going to be working out, but for someone who is not active and we have clients that when client came with to us and he said, I want to have a nice physique, not too muscular. I still want to be smoking cigars. I don't want to work out one minute, but I want that. That's, that was our client. And we said, yeah. We'll take on the challenge. We'll do it for sure. And we built this structure around. So our first target was building that discipline and that discipline must be fun at first, but it must trickle down to other parts of your life. So what is that non-negotiable? Well, some people say, well, wake up at four o'clock and build that discipline and eat the shake and it, no, do something fun that you enjoy that you

JD Tremblay (34:

20.932) would make it non-negotiable. Meaning you have a wife that yells at you, or a lovely wife, you would still do it. You have a dog barking or not, you still do it. You would be in jail, you would still do it. You would be anywhere in the world in whatever situation, you would still do it. So you know that I end up in jail, you know I'm going to be working out. That's it. There's going to be some level of workout. So. What would be a non-negotiable? Now that non-negotiable doesn't have to be running a 5k or physical, right? What about building a car? So that now your wife knows, you know what? I just want to work for half an hour on this car. I love working on cars and that's part of my non-negotiable. Every day I'm going to work on mechanic or read about mechanic or so that's building discipline over the year. And that's a topic that people, might misconstrued is discipline. So how do you build discipline? Well, one is build that, find that non-negotiable in your life. For some people it's a, my son, it's a shower. So for my son, every single day he goes in the shower. That's his, that's his area. He just likes to go in the shower, think about that. That's, that's his non-negotiable. Every day he loves having a shower. That's, that's, that's about it. It's very simple. It's very, very simple, but it's building discipline and it trickles down to other parts of your life where now you want to compete. You want to do other things that you already build that mental resilience. And so it doesn't have to be that complicated. And so that's what I would recommend everybody to learn. What is your non-negotiable?

PRO MINDSET (36:

11.981) And number two was energy management, energy regulation.

JD Tremblay (36:

15.394) Energy regulation, correct. Yeah. And that's because a lot of people are fed, some, I would say lies, through the social medias and, for example, like drinking a shake in the morning. Right. It's very healthy, but for a lot of people, they're gaining weight as a result of eating that shake in the morning. So, and they think they're doing themselves some great results. Here's the idea behind it. You wake up in the morning, everybody's cortisol level is high. So that's a hormone is your stress hormone. Okay. Then you have a shake. put some strawberry blueberries, and then you want to be healthy because your nutritionist says so. And then she, you put in some maple or maybe some honey instead. Well, that spikes your insulin level. now your insulin level is high. Your cortisol level is high. How do you think it will function? And you're standing at a computer having an anxiety crisis because you don't even know how to manage it. So you have a stress hormone high and then you have your insulin that is high. So now all of your systems are high because your digestive system is high and your cortisol level is high and you have difficulty managing it. instead a person that is going to on a computer or is not using that energy should eat more fat and protein. However, a guy like me, you know, I'm going to work out. So what do you think I eat in the morning? Why you get straight, which is again, is just a different way of looking at how to use carbs. So it's an energy regulation. So building a structure around how you are structuring your day. So the way I can put it very easily is If you're going to be working out, right. And that's for that particular one, which is the sugar or the carbs is if, if you work out, then you eat carbs. If not, then don't like eat other right. Like fat and protein. That's it. Like if you're going to go for a walk carbs, right. Right away, you just think like this and then your, your body is able as design already to use up these carbs. So

JD Tremblay (38:

42.52) That's just one idea. have an entire acronym for this, which is brain, which is the blood chemistry, the recovery, attention, inflammation, and the nervous system. And then we break it down even further. So for us, we analyze everything. So when we work with clients, this is not just a coaching program. This is more of a therapy session. because I'm a certified naturopathic practitioner. Like I studied nutrition and anatomy for years at an institution beside engineering at the universities.

PRO MINDSET (39:

20.975) How do you get your cortisone down?

JD Tremblay (39:

24.804) There are multiple ways. Recovery is the best, so sleeping is definitely one of those ways. I would recommend naps if you can during the day. Micro naps if possible. Meditation is a wonderful tool and you don't have to be Christian to start meditating and you don't have to be a particular faith or religion to meditate, meditation. There are several ways to meditate. So there are active meditation such as rock climbing. Rock climbing is a great way to meditate because you are still in different brain waves that are active. However, you are still able to decrease your cortisol level by not being as active as a cardiovascular endurance event. And the most important one of all is how you regulate it. So for example, you go from, like for me, wake up in the morning, it's high. But going from a high level to a lower level, I understand how to get it from a higher level to a lower level. For example, cold plunges, which would heighten it at first and then decrease it much faster, which your body would understand how to get from a high to low much faster. So it's the regulation of it that... makes a difference. And then the more you stress the body, the higher the cortisol level would go much higher. But if you don't know how to manage it, then that's the problem. It's like stress. Stress is good to a certain degree. It's anxiety that is bad because anxiety is how you react to that stress.

PRO MINDSET (41:

38.713) Okay. What is your recommendation on micro naps? Micro means how many minutes?

JD Tremblay (41:

48.245) so the study shows a minimum of 12 minutes and depending if you are, so again, it's custom made needs to be custom made. If you are on a regular schedule, pick a time that is matching for you and for your schedule. So, One of my clients, he goes to bed with his children at the same time, one o'clock every single day, for at least an hour. So I know that between one and two now, would that work for everybody? No, not at all, but instead of having a cookie cutter type of micro nap where I'm just feeding you a number. then I'm giving you the idea of how to think and be aware as to how to create it for yourself. For me during the Epic Deca, it was, I needed to be unstructured because I did not want to be, well, at two o'clock, I'm going to be sleeping for exactly that amount of time. So I picked random times at random minutes with a minimum of 12 minutes. because I understood that moving from one brainwave to the next takes approximately 12 minutes according to neuroscience studies. So that's why I would recommend a minimum of 12 minutes in terms of micro naps. But again, if you can have only two minutes or four minutes and you're able to still function, then have that two minutes, have that four minutes of nap, but look at what you are. removing instead of, what you're gaining out of it and removing. So where is your attention going? Because a lot of people, what they're doing, they think that high performance is about what is the next stimulant that will get me to that next contract and how am I going to make more money by functioning even more? That's not the case. The case is that

JD Tremblay (44:

02.174) AI is not creative at all whatsoever. And so the way to be creative is by playing in certain brainwaves. Those brainwaves are accessed through recovery. And if you are recovering more, then you are able to perform even more. Why? Because you are using AI to its full potential by being creative because AI is not creative. They're just regurgitating everything that you are giving. that AI in a more structured way. So you're even achieving more and being at a higher performance because by recovering and doing these naps and sleeping well, which should be at the top of the, of the chain, by the way, if you want to change anything out of all of your schedule, would be sleeping more. People should sleep a lot more. And if they did, It would perform even more. That's high performance because high performance is about quality, not necessarily about quantity.

PRO MINDSET (45:

10.979) Let's jump into, let's cold plunge. What is in your mind or in your experience or in your knowledge, what is the most important benefit of cold plunging?

JD Tremblay (45:

28.28) I'm always of the idea of doing everything for a purpose. And so if your purpose is testosterone and heightening it, then definitely this will help. If you are to change your cortisol level from high to low and regulating it, then it will help. Regulating all of your systems and even your hormones, if that's what you're into. The only thing it will not do is if you tell your wife your hormones are acting up and you need to try cold plunges, that doesn't work very well. Study shows you end up dead. I didn't do the study, but your hormones are acting up, honey. Cold plunges.

PRO MINDSET (46:

25.507) I think there's more men that cold plunge than women. Although my daughter cold plunges sometimes.

JD Tremblay (46:

29.188) Well, in Canada, there's more female that cold plunge than male. The female have in general more fat and so they are able because they're supposed to be carrying babies and so that helps with the thermal regulation of your systems. so if that's what you're into, Then again for us even because I'm the vice president of the International Ice Association in Canada and so I do swim in ice water which is five degrees Celsius or less. I'm unsure what it is in Fahrenheit but it's pretty cold to zero degree or 32. and we swim in ice, we have competitions with ice swimming and the study shows that it's It helps with even thermal regulation. It helps with cognitive levels. So again, it's what is your outcome that you are seeking? And then it also help with Instagram posts if you want to showcase that you are swimming in ice. So if that's what you are into, then it does help also because people again, call you crazy and it's all in good faith.

JD Tremblay (48:

15.204) Yeah.

PRO MINDSET (48:

17.689) Okay. So you've written a book titled, Hunger for More, Hunger for More in Life. You've got an academy, right? You've got all these things going on. A lot of things going on. Therapy, coach programs.

JD Tremblay (48:

24.738) Hunger for more in life.

PRO MINDSET (48:

42.275) You've got one minute and people don't have time to dig deep into everything that you do. What's the one thing that God created you uniquely for in this area?

JD Tremblay (48:

59.71) to encourage men and be that inspiration to understand that they can achieve a lot more. Like the saying that I always use is if your goals don't scare you, then set the bar higher. If that bar is JD, then be scared to achieve the level that JD achieved. That's fine to be scared. The Bible says to be men. and to be a man, the definition, the adjective that is attached to who a man should be is the word courage. And courage is standing in the face of fear, but still creating some form of action.

PRO MINDSET (49:

45.305) That was a mouthful right there, brother.

JD Tremblay (49:

47.938) Was it under a minute?

PRO MINDSET (49:

49.559) You you're an overachiever. You've got like a 30 second. Holy cow. And inspire, set your bar higher, face leader, be a man. Where is it at in the Bible?

JD Tremblay (50:

04.1) In the Bible, be a man, Corinthians.

PRO MINDSET (50:

07.663) Corinthians. Okay. 12.853) I am a Christian and I was just curious.

JD Tremblay (50:

15.842) Yeah, it's worded differently in different versions. I'll forward you the actual verse.

PRO MINDSET (50:

24.527) Okay. 30.639) I would say that a lot of women think, believe that most guys are boys and not men. And it's not anything about their age. They could be 50 and they could still be a boy. What is your definition? And you kind of already gave one, be courageous in the face of fear, but how does that show up in a relationship? How does that show up as a dad? How does that show up as a husband?

JD Tremblay (50:

53.572) Mm-hmm.

PRO MINDSET (50:

59.747) How does that show up in business for a boy, for a guy to be more of a man than a boy?

JD Tremblay (51:

13.388) It shows through actions and setting your values before your goals. So instead of just going on a date, for example, if you're just going on a date, hoping to get something out of it and you have no values, then you will stumble upon her beauty. Why? Because we're wired like that. And I would stumble. if I did not have any form of value or sounding board that is based on an absolute truth. So as a Christian man, I have to base my action on a sounding board, which is based on the true value, which is the Bible. Otherwise I base my actions based on a relative value, which is the law of relativity from Einstein, where you're just basing yourself on how I interacted or based on my own experience or based on the law completely, which the law is flawed in of itself because at the moment the law is not based on Christianity. Now at its core, was based on the founding fathers in America. was, however, nowadays Jesus was removed from it. So I would say pick your values before your goals. set them in stone and once now you have your values rooted and you understand where you're going. If I go on a date, you understand that I am a man on a mission. Now we might enjoy ourselves. I will pay for the date. have no problem financially to cover all of it, but you understand that my values will be rooted in how the Bible views. how the men should operate now for the men. How is it with a woman? Well, it's one man, one woman. And so you understand that I'm there for marriage. If you're not there for marriage, then it's not a date. Lady, it's going to be a fun entertainment. We're going to go do an activity. It's going to be fun. I'll drive you home and then you'll leave. And that's about it. So that's what being a man is. So being a man is not being driven.

JD Tremblay (53:

36.153) by emotions, which a lot of those retreats, that's what they're doing by the way. That's how we're different than the whole rest of the pack. All of those retreats are designed to get your emotional drive, your carnal desire out to outperform the next person doing cold plunges, yelling at you, throwing you in the mud and using profanity. That's not what a man is. That's not what we do in the military. have a cohort starting very soon led by a next Navy seal. And if you want, I'll give him a call right now and he'll tell you that tier one operators know after buds, they don't yell at each other. There is no yelling. It's about precision. They understand that it's about science, logic, facts. And so that's where we come in. Nobody's going to be yelled at in our retreats. No profanity is going to be used. That's what being a man is using decision based on facts and logic rather than emotions. So now you're not just saying, I feel like this girl is going to be the right one. You know, based on your values that you already predefined and that is you talked about your daughter. I would not even be surprised that this is exactly the type of man that you would want your daughter to have as a husband. Why? Because that is exactly the type of man that I would want as a husband for my daughter to be dating my daughter, that I would know that he's able to love her all the way to death. And then I would train my daughter to respect him to the same ways that these values are in place. And so that is what being a man is. It's not about sleeping with a lot of women, buying lots of cars. It's not even about being philanthropic around the world, like the hungry warrior. We're in five different countries providing for thousands of children. That's not what being a man is. It's about holding onto your values and following them.

JD Tremblay (55:

57.849) because now I don't even have to talk on this podcast. came in and before we even spoke, the first question was, did you work out JD? So I, I don't even have to speak. My action speaks for it. And you understand that my values, my non-negotiable, my discipline, everything speaks. Why? Because I don't even have to speak. My value speaks. And so now I can pick the goals that I want. This is the type of people I wanna hang out with. This is the type of business I want to have. This is where I want to go based on my values. So values before goals is the best advice I can give anyone.

PRO MINDSET (56:

45.039) Tell us about one of your retreats.

JD Tremblay (56:

48.386) One of our retreats is coming up soon in June. We're going to have a lot of men. They're going to come and, when they come, learn physically, mentally, and spiritually how to have more clarity, more discipline. we go more in depth because we have, machines. am a certified naturopathic practitioner. I am a guy that live by those values. So they will learn from man that have been in these physical, mental, and also spiritual battles that they are facing and guys that came out of it successful based on systems that they will be able to complete in their life so that when they're not in the retreat, they're able to continue not based on feelings and emotions and because they've been yelled at in a retreat, now they're going to recreate that. They're going to learn ways that are based on fact and logic and science. And then as a naturopathic practitioner, we have machines that test all your organs and how your, how's your attention level and, and they'll learn new ways on how to outperform everybody at another level.

PRO MINDSET (58:

13.173) Awesome. Is there anything you would like to add?

JD Tremblay (58:

18.148) Thank you for having me.

PRO MINDSET (58:

20.419) Thank you for being on. You're more than a crazy fitness guy. You are a doctor of life.

JD Tremblay (58:

29.196) Yes, it was a pleasure to be in this life and I know where I'm going when I die. So to me, I already won the race, the ultimate race. So now I just get to enjoy my life, whether it's good or bad, whether you are hated or loved to me, I enjoy it and that's fine. Yep.

PRO MINDSET (58:

54.755) There you have it. Jamie, thank you very much for being on Pro Mindset today. Thank you for your wisdom, your perspective. If anybody wants to find you, they can look in the show notes, but where else can they find you?

JD Tremblay (59:

07.95) hungrywhileyouareacademy.com.

PRO MINDSET (59:

11.171) HungryWarriorAcademy.com. I'm writing that down. All right, everybody go out and be a warrior today. Be courageous and be the best version of you today.