Jake Clark on OCR and Life

Welcome to the Primal AF Podcast.  We've got Jacob Clark today!  In this episode, we'll be exploring  and the pursuit of success.  In this podcast you'll hear about:

1. Real-Life Inspiration: The podcast is driven by the Jimmy' s real-life experiences and the desire to help others facing similar challenges.
2. Helping Others: motivation for starting the podcast is to assist those who have faced adversity and guide them toward a better path.
3. Success and Fear: Jake expresses a strong desire for success and a lack of fear in pursuing it.
4. Self-Awareness: The importance of self-awareness and recognizing one's actions and motivations is discussed.
5. Guests and Insights: Jake on howto overcome difficulties to achieve success.
6. Commonality in Success Stories: challenging backgrounds.
7. The Concept of Failure: A discussion on the concept of failure and its role in personal growth and improvement.
8. Gratitude: Gratitude is emphasized as a key element in maintaining a positive outlook on life, even in challenging situations.
9. Lessons from Adversity: Adversity can teach valuable lessons and help individuals appreciate their progress.
10. Future Goals: Jake shares  future goals, including personal and professional achievements, with an emphasis on setting an example for their child.

If you can, share this with someone and give us 5 stars!  Also find Jacob on IG: jakeaclark1223

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Transcript

jimmy: 0:03

Yo, what's going on? It's your boy, Jimmy Knapp. Another episode of Primal AF. Did you dig that intro music? I know it's pretty new, a couple episodes with it. This is the man that created it. My boy Jake Clark. I met him up in Palmerton. We had a nice primal retreat. This dude is cool as shit. He's up here and on next. Just as always, tell somebody about the show. Grab you one of these primal hats. Throw me a DM. We're about to get poppin with my boy, Jake.

jake: 0:39

My man, Jake! What's up, dawg? How we been? Dude, you shaved! Yeah, I did! Yeah, so, um, I woke up and my beard was literally fully in my mouth. And it was time to go. Dude, look at that metal wall behind you. Ah, man, cheers. That's great, man. How you been? Been good, man. How about you?

jimmy: 0:59

Not bad. Just kind of taking it easy. Yeah.

jake: 1:01

Congrats on, um, congrats on your big day, dude. That was awesome. Yeah. A couple of good

jimmy: 1:06

weeks in a row. Yeah, dude.

jake: 1:09

Yeah. I mean, that's no joke,

jimmy: 1:11

dude. That was a fun one, man. That was probably the most fun, competitive. competitive race that I've run. I mean, I've, I'm, I used to not be that fast. And, um, this was the first time I'm like, Oh my God, I'm doing

jake: 1:27

it. Yeah. No, that's awesome. No, I loved, um, so at Palmerton where, um, we were, uh, we were kind of hanging out at the top of that, um, the top of that big peak. And, um, I just remember I was, I think it was coming out of the sandbag carry, and that was a particular sandbag carry at Palmerton. Um, and I remember just kind of yelling at you. I was like, well, it's a bag heavy. And you're like, nah, man, light, light. It was light. It'd be running light as a feather, man. Light. It was like, ah, talking shit, but I was talking out of my ass.

jimmy: 2:02

I don't know.

jake: 2:03

No, that's good. That's good though, man. Um, yeah, it was also funny because we told Matt that, uh, um, when Matt came up, he was behind you and we were like, Jimmy's, um, uh, you know, Jimmy, Jimmy's up ahead because Matt was all kind of jolly and smiling. And then as soon as he heard that, like his face turned and he just kicked it in over dry. It was really funny. He did. He

jimmy: 2:27

called me, he called me, God damn it. Oh, what are you going to

jake: 2:33

do? Well, it was funny because Jody and, um. Mitch beat us to the mountain. And we took the gondola. So that was like, that was funny. Like we didn't think we could catch him. He's

jimmy: 2:46

a gazelle, man. He's he's legit. He's a fast dude. Yeah, dude. Well, I feel like I'm first of all, thanks for coming on, man. Oh, man, thanks for having me. And I feel like, you know, we've been talking for a while. And I kind of want to get a gauge on How you started, like the whole o c r journey? Oh yeah. Like what? Like what interested you, what interested you? My mouth is ugh. What got you interested in the sport initially. Yeah.

jake: 3:20

So, um, so, so not to, not to go back too far, but, um, back as far as you want. So, so what born So I did, um, I did eight years in the Navy. I was, um, I was a support. I was in a support, um, kind of faculty. I was a supply, uh, but I won the Navy lottery right out of, um, our trade school. I got assigned to the, um, uh, special warfare teams and I ended up spending my entire eight year career there, um, literally in the same parking lot, just bouncing from team to team to team. Um. And so we were in a base in Virginia and they had all kinds of just cool things like that. And there was actually two obstacle courses on this base. There was the big O and the little O. Um, and then as a matter of fact, there was a combat pool. Um, and when I describe a combat pool, we're talking about a pool that's big and deep enough for divers to actually get their recalls in. So this is a gigantic pool. And they had built an obstacle course on the roof of this thing. And, you know, it was just kind of, you know, at the time, it was just kind of this thing that, you know, every once in a while for Friday PT, we're going to do an O course day and, you know, you do it and it was fun. But it just, I think, I think I took it for granted. Um, just how much fun it was. So, you know, as I'm kind of getting used to, um, life outside of that, um, I was just talking to my, uh, my trainer at the gym I went to and just said, man, I really wish there was an obstacle course. And he was like, well, there, there is, you know, and kind of got me, um, in, in the, um, uh, you know, introduced the concept to me. Um, this was in 2019, right at the tail end of it. And so I was full fledged ready to, um, to start doing this. And, uh, then we went through 2020. So I sat on my tickets for, you know, over a year, uh, just, just waiting, like, waiting for the day. Um, as a matter of fact, I, I, I got so, um, excited because right at the end of 2020, right in, in December, 2020. Spartan decided in Austin to do a hurricane heat, which I had no idea what it was. None of my friends knew what it was. No one could tell me what it was. And all I could kind of suss from it was it was four hours of just grinder PT. Um, So that was my introduction into Spartan. Was that exactly what

jimmy: 6:14

it was? Because I still don't know what a hurricane

jake: 6:15

heat is. So I mean, I, so I don't want to, I don't want to spoil it because it's, they're, they're super fun. And, and I couldn't anyways, because they constantly change it. Okay. So, um, yeah, imagine just showing up, basically just showing up, they're going to give you a gear list. Um, that's going to make absolutely no sense at the time. And, um, no, no timekeeping devices, no, no, nothing. Um, they own you for as long as they really want to. And, um, the name of the game is you just, you really want to do what they say. Um, because as bad as it is. Um, and I mean, like it was pretty, it was some pretty rough stuff. It was fun though. I mean, it was all doable, but it was, um, you know, it was some pretty rough stuff, but as bad as that is, you did not want to get punished for doing the wrong thing. So if anything, it was, it's kind of like a, a very mini, I don't even, I don't want to say death race. Cause I haven't done one of those and I don't want to speak out, but. That's kind of what it felt like. So that was my first experience. And then, um, then yeah, 2021, uh, they started to open up again and, um, yeah, that's when I kind of got, got started and just kind of, kind of, you know, uh, I remember when I, when I went to my first race and I went alone, um, my dad was kind enough to come. Um, so it was, it was me and him and, uh, when I'm at the, uh, at the, you know, getting my, getting signed in, getting registered and everything, uh, the volunteer was like, oh, is this your first one? And I was like, yeah, she goes, be careful. They're really addictive. And man, was she right. Um, I'll never forget that because, uh, yeah, that just kind of after that race, that feeling, um, was like, okay, I, I, I need this like every weekend, you know, this

jimmy: 8:18

is what they're doing with, like, Matt and Liam over the pond and. It's almost like every weekend they're, they're doing one and it's addictive and it's just a fun lifestyle.

jake: 8:29

Yeah. Yeah. No, it's super cool. I mean, I think what attracts me about obstacle course racing is that when I got into that, that was also very much like a turning point for me in my life. Um, so when I, when I got out of the military, um, you know, it wasn't a really good scene for me. I didn't get out in any kind of bad way. Right. You know, it was all, it was all, it was all good there. But, um, uh, you really, you know, the, the, the, the overindulgence that I experienced. Um, and that I kind of, uh, allowed myself to, to do, um, was, was way more than, than, you know, any reasonable person. I, I really shouldn't have.

jimmy: 9:18

I feel like you're teasing us with the information. What are you

jake: 9:21

talking about? So, um, so really, really alcoholism. Okay. Alcoholism and, and food. Um, and just video games and just, you know, all these things I went to the, you know, when I, when I went in the Navy, I was pretty young. I was right out of high school. Um, hadn't really learned to, you know, never really had a chance to really like kind of sow my wild oats. I went right, boom, boom. And so when I came out, um, yeah, I just, I just really kind of went crazy there. The thing was, was that, um, you know, drinking was always kind of, uh, a thing, um, in the military, um, but you had so many responsibilities that, you know, even if you drink as much as you really wanted to, you, you couldn't. Um, at least I, I'll speak from my own experience. I couldn't go too far over the deep end because you had to be at work. Um, kind of like that hurricane heat is, but whatever bad you think it is, you don't want to get the punishment. It'll be worse. They'll find a way. So yeah, um, and then, you know, right, this is around the time when, um, when, uh, Alice shows up my daughter. I remember when, when we found out we were pregnant, me and my now ex wife. Um, I kind of decided, like, at some point I was like, okay, I really need to not drink right now. Um, and I did a couple of times while, um, while this was going on and, and the last time was, you know, kind of, it was, it ended up being the last time because once the day came and she was born, um, I actually count my sobriety on her birthday. I, I don't. Like talk about it or try to take anything away from her day or make any kind of a deal about it it's just kind of how I keep track of it and it's because Even though I hadn't had anything to drink for a little while leading up to that point That was the day. I was like, that's it Like you just put your foot down this child can she needs a dad who's going to be present? And when i'm drunk, I am awful like i'm not violent or mean i'm just very sloppy And just no kid needs to see, you know, no kid needs to see that. Um, I can't have that. So that was. That was when it kind of, you know, got etched in stone. Um, and I was very overweight at this point. I mean, I was pushing 325 pounds. God

jimmy: 12:07

damn. How much do we

jake: 12:09

know? Uh, 220. And you're a tall dude. Yeah. Oh, 325 didn't, I didn't wear it very well. Some people can. Um. But, uh, not, not this guy. It was, um, it was, it was, it was clear. I mean, you know, I'd struggled to go upstairs. It was, it was really bad. Um, so, you know, that kind of turning point where like, okay, now I have some real life responsibilities I've got to shape up, um, kind of couple that with nutrition, um, therapy, you know, that's actually when I kind of recognized that I had some, some issues that I needed to work out. Um, and then, yeah, OCR kind of came in there and, um, really, uh, you know, really dotted that eye for me. Um, it was, it was just a good fit. And, and I think what I, what I love about it is, um, it celebrates problem solving. It, it celebrates your ability to, to overcome something. Um, and, you know, the problem can be as simple, you know, I always kind of joke the first park, the first problem, the first obstacle at any Spartan race is finding parking. Um, but yeah, um, the, the fact of the matter is, is that you go out there and you invite problems, um, and you, you know, you, you, you put on the hat of I'm a problem solver, um, and I'm going to find a way through this. And what's really cool is when you kind of take that back into your life outside of the festival, outside of the course. Um, and you, you know, I've, I have found that, um, by not saying no and, and just find, you know, and asking why and trying to find out how, um, it's, it's really paid, um, dividends to me just in my professional life. Um, and even in my family life and how I'm, trying to raise my kiddo to, um, You know, just that, that whole problem solving aspect is something that I think a lot of people, um, you know, can always improve, uh, because it's, it's challenging. It's challenging and I think that that's where a lot of people have fear is that, um, you know, what happens if I can't climb this wall or I can't, uh, do this thing. And yeah, that's, that's thinking about your day on the course, your, your race. Um, but what you find is you go home, um, after taking your lumps and you, you, you optimize, you, you get in the gym and it's like, okay, if I can't climb, I'm going to work on that. Um, if I don't have monkey bars, I do have a pull up bar or I've got something, um, and you kind of end up optimizing yourself to become a better problem solver the next time you go out there. And, um, some obstacles you kind of, once you get it, you've got them, they're kind of yours and there are some where just, man, today I had it tomorrow. I don't the next day. I don't the next day I do. Um, they'll just, uh, they'll just kind of continue to challenge you. And I think that that's what makes it so exciting. Isn't

jimmy: 15:32

that the biggest euphemism for life and how you, how you address challenges?

jake: 15:40

I, you know, I, I thought about that. It was like, this is really, you know, this is really it. Like, um, you know, I'm so, so coming off of Palmerton to, um, you know, take a, take a dose of my own medicine. Um, I don't know if we've had a chance to talk about this. You know, that I, that I had an injury on day one of racing, um, that ended up being a torn abductor. Um, so, well, I mean, pretty, pretty, not an uncommon injury for a runner to have. You know, this is, I think, you know, what's funny is that it wasn't. Um, yeah, it was, luckily it wasn't super severe tear, um, but it was severe enough to, you know, kind of put me out. Um, but what in, in, in getting treatment for that, what was discovered was that, um, I've actually got an issue, uh, far kind of grander than that, that has just up till this point in my life, never been discovered. So, um, I have what's called femoral torsion in both of my legs, which means. my legs don't align with my hips the way they're supposed to do. Okay. What that means is that, um, I have almost zero external rotation in either of my legs. And so I've been rotating this whole time, basically at my knees. And kind of pivoting and not, not really, you know, noticing this, um, what that's doing is that's actually destroying my hips and my knees. Um, kind of grinding my, my hip socket into a paste. So Jesus, yeah, yeah. It's what, and what's worse is that it doesn't hurt. And, uh, the orthopedic surgeon that I spoke with and other PTs that I've talked to and, and, and, and things, they, they're all, they always kind of, they, they look at my x rays and they're like, I don't understand, like, this should hurt like hell. It's like, well, it doesn't. Is that, is that bad? And they're like, you know, it's not good because, you know, my surgeon basically, you know, he said, Hey, look at, if you were an x ray, I would say, we need to, we need to cut you today, but you're a patient. Who came in for something completely different and you don't have any pain. So I don't really know what to do at this stage. Um, and so, you know, I've been working very closely with, um, Chen to try to slowly build back into this and really pay attention because hips are weird. Um, they're fine until they're not.

jimmy: 18:24

Yeah, I mean, it could be anything. It could be, you know, how is your running gate? It could be, you know, what are you, what are you doing or not doing strength wise to make sure that everything is alignment and one little thing. It's like, it's out of whack and it's like hurting for no reason. Then it goes away and it comes back. Yeah, it's

jake: 18:46

it's weird. But, but, but when you kind of take that problem solving mentality to it, Um, and the first thing you have to do, um, at least the way that I kind of approach problem solving, the way that it's been taught to me is, um, you have to kind of remove emotion from it first, because that'll create too much of a bias. Um, and so let's look at the facts. Let's look at, you know, let's try to get to root cause and figure out. how we can actually solve for this. Um, and so, you know, to, to your point, that's my current obstacle. And, um, you know, it'll, it'll, some days I'll have it and other days I won't. But, um, you know, it's, it's not going to solve itself. So the wall's not going to climb itself. The, you know, the barbed wire isn't going to crawl underneath itself. It's, you know, you have to do something. So, um,

jimmy: 19:41

that's the same thing. It's like your daughter, Alice, isn't going to raise herself, right? The correlation is, so you attack the wall. And you work on it, or you attack the barbed wire, and you get the skills necessary to do that, but you do the same thing in life, I mean, especially as guys, we have to show up for kids, because they don't owe a shit, we owe them everything, so it's more like, we have to do the work, just like we, we go into the gym, and we work on nutrition, we gotta be our best self for them, but we also have to do the same thing emotionally, For our kids and we have to be sober, you know, when they need us the most. So,

jake: 20:23

and, and, you know, kind of, um, and I, I actually, um, really love, um, the, the, the things that you kind of share about, um, your family really is very informative that, um, um, you're, you're on the same kind of level with, um, how you approach. Raising your kids. It's, it's the, it seems very similar, if not the exact same way that I'm trying to do with mine. Um, I got a

jimmy: 20:53

lot of help, man. Yeah.

jake: 20:55

Well, and, and, um, you know, I really take, um, I take a lot of lessons from, um, like Fred Rogers, like to this day, like Mr. Rogers, like he knew that kids emotions were so important. Back when I was growing up and the line was, you know, why are you crying? I'll give you a reason to cry. Exactly. Like, no, that, that's, that, that doesn't happen in my house. Like, we, we figured it out and, um, You know, if she's crying, that's, that's okay. You know, like, maybe you're just sad.

jimmy: 21:28

And I just learned how to cry. Yeah,

jake: 21:31

I mean, it's real. It's really beautiful. Yeah. No, it's, it's really, I think it's really important. I think that, um, a lot of, um, there's this There's this kind of expectation of, um, just like unbreaking rigidity that, that some people need to have, that, that, that we can just take the full burden of everything on our backs. And man, that's just, it's just not true. Um, it's just not how it works. Um, I think that, you know, we're still trying to understand this and, and, and, and find, um, what's going to make the most sense, but. At the same time, you know, why I love Primal so much is because, um, it gives me that community where, where I can be vulnerable, um, and, and, and have somebody to, uh, to, to just share with and talk about these things with. I mean, it's, it's just like therapy. Um, and because they're all kind of in the same. Um, mental, you know, we're all of like minds on many things. Um, you know, it's, it's, it's just really, I find it's just really helpful. It's just really helpful in my day to day because yeah, sometimes I do feel like I've got to be the one. Um, and I don't know if, if, if that's truth or if that's just how I feel in that moment, but, um, the, the, the truth of the matter is, is that maybe on this front. you know, when I'm facing these people, when I'm facing my boss or when I'm facing friends and family, Um, I have to kind of stand tall and do those things, but then I can just turn into a hot mess, um, uh, when I'm talking to Chin and just let him, you know, let him hear all this and, and, uh, without any real fear of, um, uh, you know, being looked at. Looked poorly upon like he you know, it's it's very much encouraged What's the

jimmy: 23:39

biggest fear with that though? Like what you just said? I mean, it's almost like there's a safety because I think one of our greatest needs is a community and Feeling a part of it and there's no there's no real fear of being outcasted because you're with a bunch of like minded people. There's safety there. Yeah. Mindset wise and nutrition wise and whatever, but everybody is, is so helpful in, in pretty much the house that Matt Roberts built, right? Yeah. Such like an encompass, and at the same time, it's, it's small, but it's large. He's reaching a whole lot of people. And, like, take, take me for instance, I love, this is like a lifestyle for me now and, you know, it's, I'm glad because it's like, it's trickled down from him and what he's taught me and I get to, I get to reach out and say like, hey, this is, this is how we live and this is how we are and this is how we treat each other, but it's very, it's very basic. It's very

jake: 24:43

basic. It is. It, well, you're, I mean, I think that a lot of these, a lot of these concepts can be really challenging. Um, your last episode was, uh, you know, success. Well, I think you just explained it in a way that anybody can kind of understand. Um, you know what it is, what it is you're trying to talk about, and it was just very relatable. I think that you explained it in a way that, um, takes what can be kind of a challenging concept, um, that many people would probably deny having and say, well, no, you know, it's, it's a, you know, that just like you said, you know, my first, um, my first goal when doing a Spartan race was to finish. What the fuck kind of goal is that? I mean that, like I had to almost pull over the car when I was listening to it. Cause I was like, bro, bro, you just, you just hit me in the guts. Well,

jimmy: 25:44

where does this come from? It's really, it's real life. It's what I'm going through. And I mean, that's how I just really started this, this whole thing, this whole podcast with him, because, you know, if there was one person that could gain something from, The depths of the shit that I've been into, and I could help them come out. And if I could find other people that have been in bad places and found ways to do that, I mean, that's what people look for, especially when they're listening to podcasts. Like, dude, help me out. Or like, let me get something insightful. So, oh, absolutely, I was thinking of that. But if you were gonna ask me, Hey dude, are you scared of success? Fuck no, gimme all the success. But these actions are saying, You know, they can say another thing if we're not aware.

jake: 26:33

Yeah, no, you, and you managed to get some really, um, incredible people on your, um, on your podcast. I'm here to bring that curve down. No, dude.

jimmy: 26:43

No, that's why I

jake: 26:44

invited. No, you get some, you get some, I mean, I, it's, it's, it's very cool to, to hear. I mean, one, it's this, this kind of commonality. With these, um, with people that, that find success and achieve these, uh, you know, they managed to just achieve, um, is that, um, they had to come from somewhere and, and no, not everybody was necessarily like, um, a functioning alcoholic. Uh, not everybody got tied into, um, a lot were though, if you like, bad things, but it tends to be well, but, but, but yeah, I mean, many were me included. Yeah. Oh, yeah. It's, um, you know, I think it's a, it's a very easy thing to, to, to fall into, but when you, when you hear all these different stories of all these different success stories, it just kind of, um, it really hammers home, um, these, you know, that, that, that, uh, not, that, not the analogy, but. Um, you know, if you're just when you measure yourself against someone else, which is something I've never encouraged, I always discourage that, um, you're measuring against somebody's success, um, without the context of their failure. And, uh, I always loved the concept of failure because when I, when I talk about that amongst my friends and people, um, who, who express some sort of fear of failing, um, You know, I try to, I try to put it into these contexts as like, I fail every day, like, when I go to the gym, um, I'm failing, like, that's kind of the point of it, because I'm trying to get stronger, um, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna maintain progressive overload on this bench press until my arms just give out, until my chest gives out, um, and that's, that's failing, but that's good. Because that's where growth begins. It depends on how you

jimmy: 28:50

define it too. Yeah. I mean, I, I love that. And I, I congratulated my son on like failing the other day. He got a, he got a C on a math test and he was destroyed because he's used to getting A's I'm like, dude, this is so good because now, you know, where you can't. Get better at anything unless you know where to start. So yeah, that's one definition But i've also spoken with people like one of my friends ken will fight we'll we'll go back and forth on on the definition of failing because You you will go back to the gym tomorrow and do bench press, right? so did you really fail because failing is when you just Stop altogether

jake: 29:36

You know, I think that's an interesting way. I call that quitting. Okay. Um, I call that quitting. I think that Failing is a very positive thing. I think that failing, well, it can be. I mean, you could call it a failure when I was riffed from my last job, but, um, because I just refused to not have a job. Um, I had, I, I've gotten into a much better one now and it was one of the best firings I've ever had in my life, um, because it wasn't a failure, you know,

jimmy: 30:13

because also thinking about this, you're also exactly where you are and exactly where you need to be based on every choice that you've made. Right. Um, there's a reason why you're, you're on this trend. Right. Yeah. Not

jake: 30:29

going down here. Well, and, and, and that's, you know, and I think that that's interesting too, but um, but yeah, you know, when I think of failure, I think of, um, basically no longer able to perform whatever X, whatever the objective was. In the math test, um, just, you know, I'm really good at, you know, at, at, at, at, you know, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division. Um, but man, I, I, I, algebra really kicked my ass this time. There's some letters in there

jimmy: 31:10

that throws everything out the window. Yeah, that

jake: 31:11

really confused me. Like, how do you expect me to find the length of these triangles when you give me an angle? You know, I mean, and there's a way to do it, um, of course. But, um, some of those concepts can be, can be harder for people to, to grasp onto without a little extra work that they've put in. Um, I mean, and, and, and just like anything else, just like when, when I show up on race day. And, uh, I'm in the pit ready to go. And then there's a guy in a wheelchair next to me. And I know, uh, without, I know more so than, than with my own, like he's going to finish, um, you know, active son, he's going to do the facts that he showed up. You know, I can't imagine, but they'll, he'll finish, you know, without a doubt. Um,

jimmy: 32:01

he, he got there, he signed up, he paid his money there. There's a big congratulations there. I love, that's why I love that community so much is seeing people like that. I mean, there are people that I've talked to on here that have. You know, cheated death three times and, you know, they, you know, are just out of a wheelchair and, you know, five or 10 K and I'm just like, God, I fucking complain when I get a sore foot. And this girl is just like, she's happy as hell to be out there. She's like, I,

jake: 32:37

I'll never forget this interaction. Um, I was, uh, so, so I'm in Phoenix last year doing the sandbag carry. Um, this race is going to close out my, uh, I want to say my fourth trifecta for the year. And I ended up with, with five that year. Um, and I'm on the sandbag carry. And, um, I see this lady, uh, kind of, um, ahead of me and I kind of catch up to her. And, um, I just, you know, she's, she's huffing and puffing and I was just like, hey, you're doing great. Like, man, this is, yeah, this is tough, but you got this. And she said in a very raspy voice, she was like, thank you. Um, I'm going to get my trifecta today. And I was like, that's awesome. Like congrats, like go get it. And she said, um, yeah, I've, um, I've got stage three lung cancer. And, um, you know, This is, this is it. Like I, I want this and um, you know, we, we, we, we kind of chit chatted a little bit, kind of trail talk, but I'll, I'll never forget that interaction because, um, when she said she wanted it, man, she meant it. Like, um, and I, and I think back to those things, like when I have a rough day because I'm bummed out about my leg or, or really anything. Um, I'm like, man, she was out there and. As hard as that sandbag carry was for me, I can't imagine how hard it was for her, and there's no doubt in my mind that she finished. Um, man, I hope that she's, uh, you know, found recovery since then. I have no idea. Um, I'll probably wonder that for the rest of my life, but what I do know is that On that day, she was my hero. She just, I mean, I was just so impressed.

jimmy: 34:31

I mean, that's probably one of the biggest lessons all of this, this journey so far has taught me is, you know, we can, like you said, compare ourselves to like the people that are up there. And we don't have much perspective because we only see the good shit. We don't see, you know, what happens after they cross the finish line and you know, what happens, they could be dealing with way bigger shit and that's their piece. Yeah, that's the only thing. And then also we forget about those that. You know, are like, you know, this lady that you were talking about, way different perspective and sometimes we just lose gratitude for, you know, how far we've come in our own journey to get to where we are. So if there's nothing else, that's what I've gotten. What do you think that you've learned, you know, through,

jake: 35:27

through this? That's so gratitude is a huge one. I love that you brought that up. Um, you hear about that story. About, um, you know, when, when Jim Carrey was in Hawaii and the false bomb alert came on and, uh, he couldn't get off the island. He didn't know what to do. So he just sat on the beach and just thought of all the things he was grateful for and kind of made peace with it. Um, and, uh, you know, you know, regardless of how anybody thinks about him. That's the attitude to have. I mean, he was faced, as far as he knew there were missiles inbound and he was done, um, along with everybody else. And he chose to just. live out his last few moments, just thinking of all the things he was, uh, he was grateful for. Um, it's a very sobering thing for me. So, you know, with, with my diagnosis, I've had good days. I've had bad days. Um, and, um, you know, Chin kind of, you know, was, was, was kind of helping rally me back up when, when I was having some of those bad days. And, um, I remember off of one call, he, he basically came back and he goes, do your voice like. I don't like your voice is different. Um, I need you to, you know, we always have action items following our meetings. Right? Um, and he was like, I need you to send me 3 gratitudes. And I, my 1st thought was like, Oh, what the hell? Like, I'm mad at the world right now. Like, I'm so upset. Um, and then, like. And then I just, I, and then it just stopped and I thought about it and I was like, well, you know, I am super grateful for this and that, and then three came very quickly, um, so it wasn't a matter of having things to be grateful for, it was a matter of, of stopping, um, where I was kind of spiraling down in my mind, um, and, and, and remembering these things and, and just, Having that, um, having that clarity and that reflection. So, um, being grateful for, for life and for events and for people, um, I think is, I think is, is tremendous. Um, there's been, I mean, there's, there's been, I can't count on, on two hands, um, what I've learned from Primal. Um, impactful, I think, I think that's exactly it. Um, and I'll give you kind of a funny real life example. I was at the gym three weeks ago after work, gonna pick up my kiddo afterwards and have a great weekend with her. Um, and as I'm leaving the gym, I see cops in the parking lot. And they're very close to where my car is. Oh, and, um, I was like, okay, like I'm going through the things in my head. Like, no, my registration's up to date. No, I mean, I was really yellow. Like, you know, I was kind of going through those things in my head. Um, and, uh, turns out my car got broken into. Um, and I remember my first instinct was, um, like, Oh good. Like nobody got hurt like this. Like, okay, so that's just a window. Um, no big deal. And then I was like, you know, I was like, okay, I gotta call my, you know, call Alice's mom and let her know that I'm going to be a little late and, um, figure this out. But then, you know, whoever this person or persons were that, you know, interrupted my day, Uh, there was four police officers came out to help me. Um, my dad drove over with his big shop vac to help me. Two people from the gym staff came out and helped me. And, um, you know, everybody came out, like, like, for, for, for a couple of bad, bad actors. Um, so many people who I didn't, you know, I didn't necessarily ask for, um, stops what they were doing, completely disrupted their day just to help me out. And, um, that made it so that during that entire interaction and kind of afterwards, I never really got upset about it. And when I talk to people about that, they're like, Oh man, I'd have been so pissed. I want to find that guy and blah, blah, blah. I was like, I don't really mind all that bad. Like, yeah, it was a hundred bucks for a new window, which sucks. Um, and it made me a little late and I had to go out and deal with some stuff, but. On the whole, it wasn't that bad, like, and a couple of years ago, I would, I would have been furious and just so offended that someone just have the audacity to do anything, to, to, to interfere with my day. I've got things to do. Um, and that was a, that was a, you know, It was just, you know, yeah, looking at the helpers and, and, and just being grateful that, um, it was only what it was, a broken window. That's awesome.

jimmy: 41:01

It's awesome that you really just have the awareness to kind of, to just chill there. Um, well, what do you think? I mean, because I feel like you're, you're writing your story right now. What do you take, like, take me into a glimpse of your future. What do you have coming up? What kind of goals or what are you trying to accomplish?

jake: 41:22

Yeah. So. You know, it's, I, I, I definitely have several, um, I have professional goals that I'm working on every day, um, and physical, you know, things that I want to do, um, you know, if you, if you, if you take it back to the end, if you start at the end, um, I want, I want to be fondly remembered. And I don't want to have to be cared for. Um, you know, I, I, I, I, I want to, to, to be a positive influence in, in, in the people around me is life. And, um, and I, and I just, I got this terrible thing about, I don't want to end up. Where I'm, and it's not that I can, you know, completely control that, but I can do what I can do. Um, I, I just, I don't want to end up having my loved ones, having my daughter have to look after me in my older years. Um, there is an 86 year old that is at every single Spartan race I go to, and that's what I want my future to look like and not even necessarily doing the races, but to be able to that is amazing. Um, I mean, it's, it's just, I mean, what an inspiration just to be able to just crush it. Um, now, how do I want to get there? Um, and kind of what are those milestones look like towards that goal? Thank you. Um, yes, advancing my professional career. I'm not, um, I'm not an entrepreneur. Uh, my brother is, and he, um, uh, is very inspiring with his, um, with his business, with his, um, he, he, he machined he's a machinist and he machines pens and there are some of the most beautiful objects you can get in your hands. Um, I'll, uh, I'll just, I'll just send you one for people who just like pens. Like, this is like. I mean, all right, cool. You know, this YouTuber over there has a Lambo and this TikToker has a Ferrari. That guy has, he, he has a Rolls Royce. That's what I want. You know, that's, that's where it's at. And these are definitely the Rolls Royces of pens. Um,

jimmy: 43:48

There's nothing, I'm in sales, so there's nothing like a great pen. I went, and I saved a deal the other day, and I was like, cool, cool. I was about to cancel the whole thing because the motherfucker stole my pen. I was like, you know, I was,

jake: 44:02

I will. Alright, well, you like a deal, you like a slim pen or kind of a chunky boy? Like

jimmy: 44:08

medium size. Medium size pen? Flemsy, right? Because, you know, I got big hands. Alright. I, I, I got lean and muscular is what I'm looking for on a pen.

jake: 44:19

I love it. I love it. So you want the, you want the, you want the Jimmy of Pens? Yeah. Gimme the Jimmy of Pens. But yeah, you know, I mean, I, you know, there are, there are some like milestones, like I definitely wanna stand on that podium one day. Um, and that's for, you know, several reasons. One, um, you know, I just want that for me. But these are also fantastic lessons. You know, when I was walking around 325, I wanted to run a marathon. And, uh, the only person who honestly said, um, you'll do it. Was my mom. She was the only person who like really thought that I had it in me. And luckily before, before she passed, I ran three. Um, and that was awesome. Uh, that was very validating. And, um, when, um, you know, when I look at my kid, uh, and I tell her, you know, if you want something, you can, you can have it, like you can do it. Um, here's how to do it. You know, that's the, that's the next part. Like that's, that's where I want to step in. Like, here's how to do that. Um, so, you know, I want to stand on that podium. I've been working at it since 2020. I haven't done it yet. Um, doesn't, but, but that's okay. It's hard. You know, hard shit's hard. So, let's just keep chopping at it and going for it. And yeah, there's setbacks and there's things. You know, this leg thing I'm going to have to deal with. But, that's not going to stop me. Um, it might. I thought I was closer in, in, in kind of the, the grand scheme of things than, than where I'm actually at, but that's okay. Um, you have to accept that and then just keep chugging away, keep working at it. Cause it's, you know, if you want it that bad, you, and you're willing to put in the effort and work, um, you can have it, you know, you just, you just finished second. That's But, um, I can't wait to see what's, what's coming up next for you. And you had a first place finish in Savage, didn't you? I did. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's sick. That's sick, right? Um, and so if I was comparing myself to you, I'd be pretty bummed out. Um, but fortunately I'm not. But what I can do is I can listen and, and learn and, and hear what you have to say. Um, and apply those things in my life and how to, and how to, how to better optimize myself for, for, for my goals. And I think that's kind of the point. Um, that's how you do it. That's how you ended up, that's how you, that's how you managed to end up having very successful friends. Mm-hmm. is by first not being jealous of them. Um, and instead of being inspired by them, um, poor man. That's, that's, that's, that's huge. But, um, yeah. You know, I, I. You know, there's, um, there's, there's, there's all kinds of, of things that I want to do, um, you know, as it relates to travel and, and, and, and being, you know, financially in a place here or there. Um, but, you know, most of my goals route back to, um, my kiddo. And what I mean by that is not necessarily, I'm not making goals for her, um, I just want to set her up for, for the most, um, you know, to be as successful as she can possibly be, um, and, and try to, and try to provide a, uh, an environment where she can thrive. Um, and, and teach her that undoable things are actually very doable. I mean, um, people in my little corner of the world, um, you know, I get all kinds of fun nicknames. Like, masochist. They see the wall and they're like, you are insane. I'm like, this is actually nothing. Like, you should meet some of my bros. Um, this is like a quarter. Um, this is just my thing. Um, but we're, you know, the, the, the community, you know, the, the OCR community is a pretty awesome place. It's a very positive, welcoming place. The primal community is like, we're going to go a few levels deeper, you know. Now we're, now we're, now we're, now we're on a very different thing. Like, um, know, when, when, when it came out on the message boards, they're like, Hey, check out Jimmy's podcast. He's starting it up. And I was like, well, yeah. Okay. And I listened to it and I was like, that's sick. Um, I wonder if I could do something like, what could I do? Like, I want to, I want to be like, my first instinct was like, how can I be supportive of this? And that's why I ended up reaching out to you about the intro. So I was like, that's something I can do. I can, I can make guitar go grr. It's the best, man. No, I appreciate that. I appreciate that. Me and, me and my buddy John worked, um, It went through a lot of iterations, but we had so much fun doing it. And, um, what's also really cool about that was, That was the catalyst. So my buddy John lives, um, um, Oh, where does he live? He used to live in Texas with me. Um, but, uh, now he's in, um, Oklahoma. And so being able to make music together has been a bit of a challenge since we're not in the same room anymore. Um, but that was really the catalyst. And then that was also during a time in Primal where I had basically unlocked my schedule, you know? Um, so, so I had time to record music. Um, not as much time as I'd like, but more time than I had. So, it was just, it was just this really... It was just as much for you as it was for me. I'll put it to you that way. I don't know, man. I'm pretty

jimmy: 50:36

freaking grateful. That shit was legit. Thanks man. That was, I mean, I had no idea what to expect, but I was like, what the fuck, man, this is, this is exactly

jake: 50:45

what I need. I love that, man. This is great. I love that. Yeah. No, I love that. Yeah, I'm actually, I'm not even done with it. I'm still working on some things and if I get them, I'll, I'll, I'll drop you a, I'll drop you a wave. And, uh, I already got them in there. That's awesome. Yeah. Oh, that's all right.

jimmy: 51:02

I think last episode I was able to, I was able to

jake: 51:05

put it in. Yeah, that was sick.

jimmy: 51:09

But, um, hey man, where, where can people find you when they, when they want to follow you? I

jake: 51:14

appreciate it. So, um, so I, I, my, my Insta is kind of a, a, a, a, not great. I can shoot you a link for my Facebook. Um, Uh, I guess just search Jacob Clark and of the 500 of us out there or whatever, um, but, um, my band Raising Kaiju, me and, um, John, who did the, did the theme song, we're actually working on a social media presence. Oh, that's good. Um, I will, um, I will definitely be sharing that on everything once we have it out there. Um, we're trying to load it up with some, some work and, uh. Uh, one thing that I had as kind of a fun idea for this was, um, not just show kind of completed songs and projects, but also kind of, um, take people through the process, our, our creative process, which is very free flow and organic, um, and, um, even like showing like work in progress and whip and things like that and trying to be a, um, Uh, just kind of a cool avenue to see in the, in the minds of, of a couple of goobers trying to, trying to make some music happen and, uh, what, what kind of inspires us. So, um, once we have those platforms kind of live, I'll, I'll definitely, um, share them with you and, uh, they'll be all over my social media as well.

jimmy: 52:38

Well, this will come out in like two weeks. I don't know if y'all have it before then, but I'll definitely put it in the show notes. Oh, cool. Yeah, no, we should. Yeah, sick. All right, Jake. Well, I gotta get going, man. But dude, thank you so much for jumping on here, dude. Hey,

jake: 52:51

man. Thanks for having me. It was really awesome. I mean, it's just, uh, just like any other conversation you and I can carry.

jimmy: 52:57

It was, I mean, it was good catching up, especially after meeting you at Palmerton.

jake: 53:00

Yeah, dude, that was sick. And thank you for, dude, I use that rope every day. Oh, yeah. That was huge. Now, I'm not as, uh, I, I, I, I'm not, I'm not the Tony Hawk of frickin Rope Flow like you are. Oh, no, no.

jimmy: 53:15

It's helpful though, man. It's

jake: 53:16

helpful. It's cool. It's very cool. And, and I love, um, introducing it to people because they're looking at me like, what are you doing? And then they get their hands on it and they're like, Oh, like, that's kind of cool.

jimmy: 53:28

My sons call it rope dancing. I'm like, I love that. Thank you. Thank you for that. Now I am primal ballet.

jake: 53:37

All right, Jake, take it easy, brother. Cheers, man. Thank you.