Find Your Edges, Engage Your Fear – A Radical Approach to Wisdom | Akshay Nanavati

Akshay Nanavati (0:01)

You have to go into the arena. The arena is where the wisdom lies. So what I'll be doing next November, this is November 2024, I will be attempting to be the first person ever to do a coast-to-coast ski crossing of Antarctica. I'll be dragging a 400-pound sled for 1,700 miles.

110 days completely alone.

Michael Gervais (0:30)

Okay, welcome back, or welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast. I am your host, Dr. Michael Gervais, by trade in trading, a high-performance psychologist. Returning to the podcast today is extreme athlete, entrepreneur and author Akshay Nanavati. And he's back to once again redefine the boundaries of fear and personal achievement.

In his first appearance, Akshay took us through the harrowing experiences of dodging IEDs in Iraq, battling PTSD, alcoholism and depression. He also shared how these trials laid the groundwork for Fearvana, his revolutionary book and approach to transforming fear, suffering and adversity into health, wealth and happiness. This time around, Akshay is setting his sights even higher, preparing for a solo 110 day ski journey across the blinding nothingness of Antarctica. As Akshay gears up for his most daring adventure yet, we'll dive deep into the mindset of a man who's made a life out of pushing limits. From the battlefield to frostbite, Akshay's story is a testament to the power of embracing the dark to find the light. As we know, no one does it alone. And Akshay is no exception. As we discuss in the conversation, he needs support to get across the finish line.

So if this conversation resonates with you in any way, I would love for you to consider supporting him by donating to this project. To do that, just head to his website, fearvana.com, and you spell that F-E-A-R-V-A-N-A, fearvana.com, where you'll find a link to be able to donate to his Antarctica expedition. And of course, any contribution is deeply appreciated. So with that, let's dive right into this conversation with Akshay.

Akshay, I am so stoked to have you back and to have this conversation with you. It's really exciting what you've been up to. And I just want to check in, like, how are you?

Akshay Nanavati (2:36)

All is going great. Couldn't be better. Life is magnificent right now. And I feel very blessed and grateful.

Michael Gervais (2:42)

Is that a normal state for you?

Akshay Nanavati (2:44)

It is. I mean, I always feel like that, I would say for the most part, but right now things are just even better. You know, I'm now about to get married in six days, got engaged a few months ago. So I feel very blessed getting ready for Antarctica. I love the suffering, obviously, that it entails.

The most stressful part is the fundraising. But other than that, life is going really good.

Michael Gervais (3:05)

Awesome. Okay, so let's jump into it.

Akshay Nanavati (3:07)

Actually, before we do, before we get into what I'm up to, I'd love to ask you a question, if you don't mind.

Michael Gervais (3:11)

I'm down. Yeah. Yeah. Very cool. Like it sounds like you've been thinking about this a little bit.

Akshay Nanavati (3:17)

I love your work, studied you tremendously for a long time. And, you know, we've been in touch, obviously, for a long time. And you work with the best of the best in the world.

And what I'm super curious about is people who are the absolute best of the craft, you know, like, let's say the NBA, you have to be a legend to even be in the NBA. You're talking top 1%. But then there's the likes of the Kobe Bryant's and Michael Jordan's of the world, who even among the best are superior. They're at a different level. They're legends among legends, right?

What is it about people like that? What are they doing differently? How are they thinking differently? Because you work with people in that level. So I'm very curious to know what makes them the way they are in terms of not just their physical behaviors, but their patterns of thinking that everybody else is not doing.

Michael Gervais (4:03)

That's a very cool question. Early, like, let's go 20, 25 years ago, I was obsessed with that question. And I set out to understand what's the golden thread that ties those legends of legends to use your language together. And I couldn't find anything. I couldn't find a commonality amongst them. So I'm going to answer this three ways. One is, I'm equally as much as about what I'm about to how I'm about to answer this. I'm equally as interested in how you've been thinking about it and why that is important to you. So let's pause that one for a minute.