I was greatly inspired by Episode 1 of Luke Storey’s fantastic Life Stylist podcast as he took his listeners through his craaaazy life story with great honesty and vulnerability, and it made for such a riveting show right out of the gate. You know this dude is for real as he really goes there and holds nothing back, and he’s really been bringing his A game to the airwaves.I think Luke’s kickoff show has really helped form a connection and an understanding of the person from a distance that carries over into all his other interview shows and all the comments and observations he makes on his podcast. Abel James also did a great job on his website giving rich details about his background and life experience that made him who he is today.I aspire to do the same. Especially since I occasionally get feedback from readers/listeners who wonder about a comment and ask whether I’m either kidding or a cocky obnoxious jerk. So the answer is, if I offend you, I’m definitely kidding.You can see this written message at bradkearns.com/meet-brad and this podcast might be an added bonus value since I get to editorialize about my own life story whenever possible. You’ll learn about my childhood in Los Angeles and immersion into the world of endurance running and then triathlon, and my brief foray into the accounting profession that ended after 11.5 weeks in favor of the pursuit of a crazy dream of becoming a professional triathlete. Then I cover my time as a parent coaching little kids, how I got into speedgolf and high jumping, all while continuing my pursuit of peak performance goals, and finally, the meaning behind the name of the Get Over Yourself podcast.One of the things I am most grateful for as I look back on my life is that I grew up before the digital age. It fostered a love for spending time outdoors, going on adventures, and generally just engaging in non-stop physical activity. Sports were always the centerpiece of my life, and I had the good fortune of not being in an overpressurized environment or having to deal with intense helicopter parenting. My school’s coaching system was hardly strict and regimented, but this actually worked out for the best, as I was able to go on my own path and nurture my passion for sports and competitive intensity.High school days were packed with training. Workouts started super early, and while there was that undeniable intensity that comes with the commitment to training, life was good, and the social aspect of it all made it seem not as rigorous, but something that was really fun. By the time I turned 16, I had qualified for the National Junior Olympics finals in the 1,500 meter category, and by my senior year, I was ninth place in the California State High School Championships in the 1,600 meter category. Yes, I had big dreams of becoming a collegiate Olympic runner then, and off I went to college in Santa Barbara to pursue my passion.It probably comes as no surprise that after years of intense focus on athletic track, I found that a fair amount of my self-esteem and happiness was tied to the results of my workouts and competitive efforts. But being forced to the sidelines in college really changed my perspective. It opened my eyes and allowed me to see that my greatest strengths - focus, discipline, and competitive toughness - could also easily lead to my downfall! But it is so important to see every you go through as an opportunity for learning and personal growth - especially struggles and setbacks. Realizing that I needed to switch gears at the tail end of my college experience could have been a real feeling sorry for myself moment. But I didn’t want to waste time feeling sorry for myself, so I got back on that bike - literally and figuratively.Soon after graduating from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in business and economics, I found myself sitting in rush hour traffic, heading to downtown Los Angeles, where I was working for (at the time) the world’s largest accounting firm. I lasted 11.5 w