In our latest podcast, It's the Climb, we spoke with Todd Carmichael. Todd is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, author, television host, and adventure traveler.
He is the co-founder of La Colombe, a now $2 billion coffee company, and just launched a completely new beverage category, creating non-carbonated sparkling drink, Loftiwater.
I do my best to do a lot of homework to prepare for these esteemed guests. Todd is so dynamic, there was a lot of (fun) work to do. My wife, the psychotherapist, helped me craft a great opening question that only a therapist could think of. As Mike Tyson famously said, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."
Well, my planned got punched in the mouth, in a good way. After basically saying hello, Todd launched into a soliloquy that was both hilarious and educational. I managed to get a few of my many questions in lamely trying to steer the conversation ever so slightly, but as quickly as Todd started, 90 minutes later, he said he had to go.
Then the tough part. my co-host Jonas Cain's job is to pull out the best quotes from the conversation and create a powerful intro out of them. Well, the conversation was a 90-minute highlight reel with humorous stories that oozed pearls of wisdom. From his harrowing tales of his record-breaking solo trek to the South Pole to starting his multiple beverage companies.
To learn how you can create a mindset that helps you accomplish what you'd think would be unattainable goals give a listen to this podcast episode. Warning: prepare to laugh.
More about Todd because I call myself Todd Carmichael-lite.
I started a little beverage company. He started the $2b coffee company, La Colombe Coffee Roasters.
I do a little adventuring. Todd was the 1st American to solo to the South Pole.
We adopted 2 Ethiopian Children; Todd adopted 4.
We needed a little help from a local politician to get our kids out of that country. Todd called President Clinton.
In 2008, Todd became the first United States citizen to complete an unassisted solo expedition across Antarctica, reaching the South Pole in a record-breaking 39 days, 7 hours, and 49 minutes. Footage from this expedition was used in an award-winning documentary on the National Geographic Channel entitled Race to the Bottom of the Earth.