In this special podcast, Commander Divine talks to Governor Gary Johnson about how he’s managed to successfully combine a political career, personal life and his dedication to fitness.
You will learn about the challenges of being a third party candidate. Governor Johnson demonstrates how his mental toughness has allowed him to survive near death events, climbing the seven highest peaks in the world with a broken leg and excel in politics all by putting one foot in front of the other.
Gary is one our most wickedly accomplished guests. He served as the 29th Gov of New Mexico for eight years, the libertarian nominee for president in 2012 and is back to run again for president in 2016. More importantly to us, he’s an accomplished athlete and adventurer. In fact, when Gary announced his presidency for the 2012 election, GQ wrote: “Is This the Sanest Man Running for President?”
2:55
In 1987, Gary made a personal commitment to be as fit as he can possibly be, every day of his life. Not that he wasn’t already in shape, it was simply a personal goal. His passion for rock climbing even contributed to his decision to stop drinking alcohol. Essentially, Gary was on a mission to be as healthy as humanly possible for the rest of his life and that’s exactly what he’s done since that day. He calls it his “Fit For Life” mission. Now at the tender age of 63, Gary maintains that very same athletic lifestyle he set course for in 1987. Gary’s lifestyle fits perfectly with the SealFit lifestyle that Mark Divine promotes. In fact, we at SealFit invite Gary to the SealFit Kokoro Camp after the election.
5:00
Next summer, (as long as he’s not the president) Gary plans on riding The Grand Tour Of MTB. A 3000-mile mountain bike race across the continental divide called the Tour Divide which is an ultra-cycling challenge to pedal solo and self-supported the length of Great Divide Mountain Bike Route…as fast as possible! It runs from Banff Alberta Canada to Antelope Wells New Mexico. By route’s end, a thru-rider (Gary) will climb nearly 200,000 feet of vertical (equivalent to summiting Mount Everest from sea-level 7 times).
Gary is definitely a well-accomplished athlete. Growing up he essentially did every sport imaginable from skiing at the University of New Mexico (later in life), Football, Basketball, Baseball, and more. “Jack of all, master of none” as Gary puts it.
7:05
Gary has completed:
(4) Ironmans
(20+) Competitive Marathons
(50+) 10k Races
(150) Triathlons
(8) 100 Mile Mountain Bike Races in Colorado
(1) 100 mi run in Leadville CO
(2) Trans Alps
(2) Trans Portugal
(7) Climbed the highest mountain on each continent
8:08
The most challenging about the summits. Everest is unquestionably at the top because of the amount of lore surrounding that summit and because it’s the highness point in the world. It’s interesting that the people in Nepal don’t have much of anything and that they seem happier than people back home who we could argue have everything. Let’s be clear, Gary doesn’t feel that he “conquered” any of those mountains. It was a combination of good grace and simply, “putting one foot in front of the other” as the “key” to getting to the top. Much like life. Whatever can go wrong will go wrong and just plan on that. When things go wrong you have two choices; Curl up and call it quits or recognize that this is life and it happens to everyone so deal with it!
10:00
Just before Gary left to make the journey to Everest, he broke his leg. So that same mantra entered his mind to “deal with it”. Frostbite settled into his healing broken leg because of the lack of circulation and swelling. The frostbite was a complete surprise. Upon taking his boot off at camp, Gary discovered that his toes were completely “sheet white” and 20 minutes later, pitch black. Gary ended up with his big toe being trimmed off which is fairly common with diabetics.
13:08
Mark asks, “What got you interested in politics and running for governor”? Gary has always had a calling to politics. He always wanted to run and prior to running for governor of New Mexico, Gary had never run for any prior political office before that time. He ran as a republican in a state that is 2:1 democrat. Now he’s running as a libertarian because he believes that government is getting to big. It’s really important to have liberties and freedoms.
15:10
Gary has been an entrepreneur all of his life as well and started a one-man handyman business in Albuquerque New Mexico in 1974 and grew that business to employ over 1,000 people. He sold that business in 1999.
17:35
“What is the day to day life of governor like?” – It was being plugged in 24/7 and deal with the front line. It’s extremely exciting. Gary believes that term limits are the “silver bullet” and helps to push public policy and get things done. Averaged a wake-up call at 4am for a few hours of training and didn’t miss a beat. While governor sill competed in events.
By the way, don’t forget to check out Mark Divine’s Kokoro Yoga book at warrioryoga.com for a FREE chapter of the book and a recovery regimen. With the course, every day you will get a short 4-6 minute video training module. Check this book out and maximize your human potential and develop the spirit of a warrior!
22:45
Mark asks, “Why make the leap to President and not congress or senate?” – The root of all of our evil is by spending money that we don’t have because of congress and the senate. There are going to be some severe consequences of those actions. Mark continues by asking about our countries debt and what does our future look like? Gary argues that if we balance the budget along with growth and keep it balanced and ultimately spend less! Be prudent, use common sense and simply don’t spend more than what we bring in. Horrible inflation is on the way.
25:50
New York Times article about Gary titled “Live Free or Trump” which talks about Gary accomplishments in New Mexico, budgeting, and personal accomplishments. Last week Gary was also in the poles for the first time. Gary will be joining a debate in the very near future. The only 3rd party on the ballot will be a libertarian.
29:40
Mark asks, “How are you getting exposure and your name out there?” – There is no way that a 3rd party gets elected unless they are in a debate and in the polls. Gary is at 11% in the polls. Gary is just one of 25 of individuals seeking the libertarian nomination. Back in 2012, Gary didn’t show up on the polls. That would’ve made a big difference in 2012.
If you are enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to listen to a recent podcast that Mark did with Jesse Ventura here – https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/unbeatable-mind-podcast-mark/id955637330
33:00
Mark and Gary talk about war & ISIS
35:00
In 2005, while paragliding, Gary flew into the trees, caught part of his harness, dropped 50 feet onto his back, fractured vertebrae, lost and inch and a half in height, six broken ribs, torn ACL, and virtually everything was pretty screwed up. Doctors said that this was it and life as he knew it was going to drastically change. Six months later, Gary was riding 1,500 miles from Santa Fe to Napa Valley. In 2008, Gary felt fully recovered. Part of Gary’s recovery didn’t involve pain killers, instead, he opted for a much more natural approach and used marijuana for pain. Doctors said that he would be “laying on the floor for 8 weeks” and with the help of marijuana, that certainly wasn’t the case.
For more links to Governor Gary Johnson:
