About Jenn Drummond: A car accident in 2018 left Jenn Drummond awestruck and emboldened. Rescue workers couldn’t imagine any scenario where she came out of it alive, but she did. That’s when she realized you don’t get to choose when you leave this life…but you sure can choose how you live it. Strengthened by this awareness, she set out to live more authentically and adventurously. Inspired to climb a mountain for her birthday, her son raised the stakes by suggesting Mount Everest. Not one to back down from a challenge, she accepted the pursuit. During her training, her coach upped the ante and proposed she go for a Guinness World Record and become the first woman to climb the 7-second summits. The pursuit matched her desire to live a life of significance, not just success. Today, Jenn is a world record holder who elevates others to master their summit in life. She’s a successful business owner and Mom of 7 remarkable kids who, as you have heard, boldly inspire and brazenly challenge her. She’s also an international speaker, author, and Host of the Seek Your Next Summit podcast, focused on inspiring others to go beyond success to a life of significance. Check out the latest episode of our Conversational Selling podcast to learn more about Jenn.
In this episode, Nancy and Jenn discuss the following:
- The concept of the seven-second summits.
- Jenn’s journey of reevaluating life and setting ambitious goals.
- Jenn’s training routine and creative training methods.
- The euphoria of setting a world record.
- Lessons from mountain experiences.
- The “What’s your Everest?” concept.
- Jenn’s Bold, Brave, and Beautiful Philosophy.
- The importance of checking in with oneself.
Key Takeaways:
- That woke me up to the concept that I don’t get to choose when I die, but I sure get to choose how I live.
- It hasn’t been done by a female, harder than the first seven continents, seven mountains, seven children: I think it sounds like a jackpot.
- I took the mountain experiences and extracted lessons that apply to the metaphorical mountains we climb every day.
- So do you because doing you gives others the courage to do themselves, and everybody benefits.
- I want the audience to own who they are and step into that as much as possible.
“ So, when I started everything, I had no social media whatsoever because I just thought it was all racket and that wasn’t necessary, and why would I share all this? This is my private life. And one of my friends convinced me, she’s like: “Listen, we rarely get to see the environments that you’re going to. We’re not going to take on these mountains like you are. The closest that I get to having this experience is through you. So, it would be amazing if you would be willing to share this because it gives me a chance to be involved”. I was like: “Okay, sure.” So, I started the site as Bold. Brave. Beautiful. And those words came together because you have to be bold enough to say YES to what sets your heart on fire. Then, you have to be brave enough to put action behind it and be willing to be a beginner in whatever you’re doing. And by doing those two things, being bold and being brave, whatever unfolds is beautiful because it’s your story.” – JENN.
“ I’m checking in. You know, I think we need to just check in with ourselves and say: “Hey, is this working? Is this what I want my life to look like? Does this feel good? Is this getting me closer to my goals, or what am I doing right now? And is that hurting my progress?”. So, I feel, you know, the book’s called Break-Proof, and I feel we either break or take a break. So, taking a break is the proactive piece of that. Breaking is the reactive piece to it. And so, if we can plug in breaks and take those and just reflect and say: “Yeah, this is where I want to go, or this is what I want it to look like, or all this stuff’s coming together.” Then you’re taking a proactive approach to your life and living with intention.” – JENN.
“No one agrees with me on this. You know, I have a grump dump. So, I think the whole world has a gratitude journal, right? And everybody’s like, listen to, list your gratitude, and do your gratitude journal and all these different things. I am grateful, 100%. But I also have grumpy things that go on, things that don’t go my way, or things that I get frustrated with. And I have a journal, and I call it the grump dump. And I dump all those. I put terrible thoughts or feelings or unheard pieces of me into that journal to get it out of me instead of just pretending I’m happy all the time. And that grump dump journal helps me be authentic and lean into gratitude, but I need to get that yuck out and not pretend it’s not there.” – JENN.
Connect with Jenn Drummond:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-drummond/
- Website:https://jenndrummond.com/
Try Our Proven, 3-Step System, Guaranteeing Accountability and Transparency that Drives RESULTS by clicking on this link: https://oneofakindsales.com/call-center-in-a-box/
Connect with Nancy Calabrese:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/oneofakindsales
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/One-Of-A-Kind-Sales-304978633264832/
- Website: https://oneofakindsales.com
- Phone: 908-879-2911
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ncalabrese/
- Email: leads@oneofakindsales.com
Voiceover: You’re listening to The Conversational Selling Podcast with Nancy Calabrese.
Nancy Calabrese: Hi everyone, it’s Nancy Calabrese and it’s time again for Conversational Selling, the podcast where sales leaders and business experts share what’s going on in sales and marketing today and it always starts with a human conversation. Today we’re speaking with Jenn Drummond, a mom of seven, successful business owner, and a world record holder on each of the seven continents, she now spends her time inspiring others to create a thriving business and lasting legacy of their own. She shares her story and strategies for success through her book, Quit Proof, Seven Strategies to Build Resilience and Achieve Your Life Goals. She has a podcast entitled, Seek Your Summit, and does public speaking. Jen is the founder of Bold Brave Beautiful, a blog and community where she invites people to become more conscious of their life purpose and act toward achieving what seems impossible. Welcome to the show, Jenn. You achieved something that seems impossible to most of us.
Jenn Drummond: Hello, hello, thanks for having me. [1:31]
Nancy Calabrese: Oh, my goodness. I got to understand. Now I know that you were the first female world record holder to climb the second highest summits on each of the contents. So, what are the seven-second summits?
Jenn Drummond: Yes. So that’s the question I had when my coach gave me the idea. Um, so it’s the second highest point of each of the seven continents in North America, that mountain would be called Mount Logan, located in Canada. South America. We have Ojos del Salado. That’s located in Chile and the Atacama Desert and Arctica. We have Mount Tyree Africa. We have Mount Kenya Australia. We have Mount Townsend. In Asia, we have K2. And then in Europe, we have Dictal, which is in Russia. [2:22]
Nancy Calabrese: Well, why the second and not the first?
Jenn Drummond: Yeah, you know, the first have been done by maybe 500 or so people. The second has only been completed by one male. I’m the first female to take that attempt on and or to complete it. And so, I was interested in it because it hadn’t been done by a woman. It had only been done by one person before they were harder than the first seven. Um, so I thought it’d just be more challenging if I was going to take it on. And I really wanted to do it as a like mother empowerment, female empowerment, we got this ladies. [3:00]
Nancy Calabrese: Well, so why are they harder than the first?
Jenn Drummond: No, just the topography and the location and the less commercialization. So, for example, in Africa, a lot of people climb Kilimanjaro, which is referred to as the roof of Africa, because it’s the highest point, you can modify a wheelchair to get to the top of Kilimanjaro. Mount Kenya is a 20-pitch rock climb. And so, you have to have a harness on and rock-climbing shoes and You climb up to a point with your climbing partner and then you’ll do like another stretch of rope and we even needed crampons and an ice axe when we climbed it. So just a lot more complex of a climb than a traditional hike. [3:50]
Nancy Calabrese: So, when did you get involved in all of this?
Jenn Drummond: Yeah, so I started in 2020. 2018, I was in a horrific car crash. Sorry.
Nancy Calabrese: No, I heard. I mean, tell us your story.
Jenn Drummond: Yeah, yeah. So, 2018, I was in a horrific car crash that should have taken my life and didn’t. That woke me up to the concept, I don’t get to choose when I die, but I sure get to choose how I live. And I thought, you know what? I need to start living. I was putting my life on hold until my kids went to college. And that was kind of the story that I sold myself. And after that car accident, I’m like, nope, I’m doing life in parallel. We’re going to start doing this thing together. So, 2019 was a big year of reflection and I started to make a master bucket list of all the things I wanted to do, experience, explore, all that fun. And on that list was climbing a mountain. So 2020, I was turning 40. I thought, you know what? I’m going to climb a mountain to launch this next decade of life. And so, I asked some mountain-hearing friends, what would be a good mountain to climb? And they came back with a mountain named Amma de Blom. I’m like, okay. And they’re like, you know, it’s the Paramount Pictures logo. It means the mother’s necklace. It’s located in Nepal and the Himalayas on the way to Everest. I’m like, hey, that sounds perfect. I’ll do Alma De Blom. So here I am training for this mountain and COVID strikes. And so, I’m not going anywhere. And instead, I’m becoming a homeschool teacher to seven beautiful children. What am I? Yes, exactly. Wow. [5:35]
Nancy Calabrese: Wow.
Jenn Drummond: One of my kids was struggling with his math homework. I’m like, listen, buddy, we do hard things. You’ve got this. You know, I’m giving him the parent pep talk. And he looks at me and he goes, if we do hard things, why you climb in a mountain called I’m a dumb blonde instead of a real mountain like Mount Everest? I’m like, I’m a de Blom, honey, not I’m a dumb blonde. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You know what, you finish your homework, we’ll look at Everest. So, he did and we did and then he went to bed and I thought about it and I was like, you know what? If Everest is the biggest, hardest mountain he can think of in the world, I’m going to climb it. And I’m going to show him that whatever Everest is, we can sum it. And so, I called a coach, the coach sent me a book about becoming an uphill athlete. And then when I started reading this book, there was a lady in the front who got a Guinness World Record for doing something in the Alps. And all I remember is a phone call with my coach and I was saying, you know what? I could have done that. I can suffer. And my kids would think I’m the coolest mom in the whole world because they learned how to read and Guinness World Record books. And right now, homeschooling mom here is not cool. I am not winning any points with my children. And so, my coach is like, I’ll come back with something. I’m like, okay, fine, but I’m not growing pumpkins or speed-eating hot dogs or any of that crazy stuff that goes in that record book. He’s like, don’t worry. And then he came back with the seven-second summit idea and said, hey, let’s think about this. Hasn’t been done by a female, harder than the first seven, seven continents, seven mountains, seven children. I think it sounds like a jackpot. And I said, you know what? It kind of does. So., I said yes, I hadn’t slept in a tent before, but you know, those are details. [7:33]
Nancy Calabrese: Right. So, but I have a question. How do you train for something like this?
Jenn Drummond: You know, lucky for me, I live at altitude. So, living at altitude in Park City helps. I’m in Park City, Utah, so we have lots of mountains here that turn into ski resorts in the winter. So, I would do a lot of hiking outdoors. And then, you know, I have seven children. So, a lot of my training looked like my son would have a soccer game and I would show up to the soccer game with a 12-inch step and a backpack full of water bottles. While he was playing his game, I was going up and down that step to get, I’m on my feet and start training. [8:15]
Nancy Calabrese: Wow. So, what is it like setting a world record? I mean, what was the feeling you had?
Jenn Drummond: Yeah, you know, it was very euphoric at the moment. I remember at the beginning of the quest, it just felt like it was forever. Like, would this even happen? It’s forever, I can’t believe I signed up for this. And then you’re halfway through, you’re like, oh wow, like this is coming together. And then I had one mountain left, that was this past spring, Mount Logan in Canada, which took me two tries. And so, when I was back this spring, I’m like, oh my goodness, this could be it. For the last two and a half years of my life have been dedicated to this quest and it could be done after this adventure. So, I remember getting to the top and I took in the deepest breath I could take in. When I brought that breath into my lungs, everything disappeared. There was no time, there was no distance, there was no cold, there was no warmth. It was like I was one with the world. [9:18]
Nancy Calabrese: Right.
Jenn Drummond: And yeah, and then I started exhaling and things started separating again. And I realized there’s not a lot of oxygen up there. So, we need to start coming down. When I came home it felt surreal. And almost there was a tinge of disappointment. Like it was done because it was so much fun to pursue and take on. And then I came home and landed at the airport and one of my sons met me there and he hugged me. And he’s like, congrats. I’m like, thanks so much, honey. He goes, Mom, you have bad breath. I’m like, and there you go, there’s life. Back in your face, just living the dream. [9:56]
Nancy Calabrese: Right. Getting you down to reality, right? You’re home.
Jenn Drummond: Oh, instantly. Mom, you’re still a mom.
Nancy Calabrese: Wow. So how do you help people climb their own mountains?
Jenn Drummond: Um, you know, I wrote a book, Breakproof, Seven Strategies to Build Resilience and Achieve Your Life Goals. And what I did was I took the mountain experiences, and I extracted lessons that apply to the metaphorical mountains that we climb every day. And so I take you on those expeditions and I give you some tips and tricks that worked for me to summit my mountains to help you summit yours. And I think there’s just a lot of little things that add up to success. [10:44]
Nancy Calabrese: Yeah. Well, what could be people’s mountains? Give me some examples.
Jenn Drummond: You know, we use the term in our house, what’s your Everest? And when I climbed Everest, I did a goal-setting campaign with my kids’ school and helped all the kids set what their Everest goal was. And just using that language allows me and each other and our family to know, okay, this is the big thing you’re working on, right? So, my son is trying out for the lacrosse team. That’s his Everest right now. So we’re looking at that, what do you need to do? What do you need to train? How do you need to sleep? How do you need to eat? What can we do to get you ready for those tryouts? A friend of mine is launching a new beauty line and that’s her Everest right now. So we’re looking at the end, what she hopes to achieve and we’re backing it into today and we’re helping her build a calendar out of, okay, should we be here by this timeframe? What should this look like at this point? And we’re starting to just put the pieces in motion and get the people on the team to bring all of it to fruition. [11:52]
Nancy Calabrese: Right. Yeah. What would you like me to spotlight? I know that you have, I think, another book coming out, don’t you?
Jenn Drummond: Well, the book was originally called Quit Proof and we changed the name to Break Proof because I feel breaking has a more positive connotation than quitting. So yeah.
Nancy Calabrese: Okay, got it. Yeah, well, I would agree with you, Dad. And tell us more about Bold, Brave, and Beautiful.
Jenn Drummond: Yes. So, when I started everything, I had no social media whatsoever because I just, thought it was all racket and that wasn’t necessary and why would I share all this? This is my private life. And one of my friends convinced me, she’s like, listen, we rarely get to see the environments that you’re going to. We’re not going to take on these mountains like you are. The closest that I get to having this experience is through you. So, it would be amazing if you would be willing to share this because then it gives me a chance to kind of be involved. I was like, okay, sure. So, I started the site as Bold, Brave, and Beautiful. And those words came together in the standpoint of you have to be bold enough to say yes to what sets your heart on fire. Then you have to be brave enough to put action behind it and be willing to be a beginner in whatever you’re doing. And by doing those two things, being bold and being brave, whatever unfolds is beautiful because it’s your story. [13:23]
Nancy Calabrese: I love it. I love it. So, when you’re working with a client, how long is the transformation? How long does it take for people to find their own Everest or feel bold, brave, and beautiful?
Jenn Drummond: Yes. You know, it’s an individual journey. I wish there was this exact timeframe. I do run through a seven-week course with people that covers different topics, but then some people hire me on for a longer period to just get into more of the nitty-gritty detail. Some just want the framework and it just is a very individualized approach to the system that worked for me. [14:06]
Nancy Calabrese: Yeah. Yeah, going back to the mountains, which one was your favorite?
Jenn Drummond: Da! It’s like asking what your favorite kid on each mountain had such a unique story and a unique experience. And I’m grateful for all of them. I will say that spending time in Antarctica was magical because I don’t think I’d go to Antarctica for any other reason. So having a reason to go there, brought me there. And just, I don’t know, being in the southernmost part of the world being in an area that’s sunny the entire time because we went during like the winter for us as the summer for Antarctica, being in an environment that didn’t have any plants or animals or bugs or color, right? There are no green leaves, there’s no red trees, there’s no purple. It’s just, it was a very interesting experience and I’m very grateful I had the opportunity to go there. [15:06]
Nancy Calabrese: Right. Wow. So, seven kids, I can’t imagine. I have one and that’s enough for me. So, what advice do you give others when you’re balancing your life?
Jenn Drummond: I’m checking in. You know, I think we need to just check in with ourselves and say, hey, is this working? Is this what I want my life to look like? Does this feel good? Is this getting me closer to my goals or what am I doing right now? And is that hurting my progress? So, I really feel, you know, the book’s called break-proof and I feel we either break or we take a break. So, taking a break is the proactive piece of that. Breaking is the reactive piece to it. And so, if we can plug in breaks and take those and just reflect and say, yeah, this is where I want to go, or this is what I want it to look like, or all this stuff’s coming together. Then you’re taking a proactive approach to your life and living with intention. [16:00]
Nancy Calabrese: Yeah. Wow. Tell me something true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
Jenn Drummond: No one agrees with me on this. You know, I have a grump dump. So, I think the whole world has a gratitude journal, right? And everybody’s like, listen to, list your gratitude, and do your gratitude journal and all these different things. I am grateful, 100%. But I also have grumpy things that go on things that don’t go my way or things that I get frustrated with. And I have a journal and I call it the grump dump. And I dump all those. terrible thoughts or feelings or unheard pieces of me into that journal so that I can get it out of me instead of just pretending I’m happy all the time. And that grump dump journal helps me be authentic and lean into gratitude, but I need to get that yuck out and not pretend it’s not there. [16:58]
Nancy Calabrese: Yeah. I love it. What a great idea. You know, I just left a meeting, and somebody threw out, how many times do people complain each day on average? Do you have any idea? Isn’t that interesting? 26 times. Yep. Yeah. And then somebody chimed in, and he said, yeah, I do that before 10 o’clock every morning.
Jenn Drummond: Really? Oh jeez!
Nancy Calabrese: Well, you don’t think about it, you know, it really kind of makes you sit back and say, what about the positive things, right? It’s harder to be positive than it is to be negative.
Jenn Drummond: It is. It’s, definitely. [17:40]
Nancy Calabrese: Harder. We are almost out of time. What is the one takeaway you want to leave the audience with?
Jenn Drummond: I want the audience to just own who they are and step into that as much as possible. I had put my life on hold because I thought it was the noble thing to do. I got into a horrific car crash that should have taken my life and didn’t. And I look back on the last five years of my life since that accident and think about how much I filled my cup. And by doing that, how much of a ripple effect it had on the people around me in such a positive way that I know each one of us, wherever we are in the world, is making a difference to those around us. So do you, because doing you gives others the courage to do themselves and everybody benefits. [18:41]
Nancy Calabrese: Yeah. Wow. How can my audience find you?
Jenn Drummond: Yes, so please check out my website, www.jenndrummond.com. You can find my book, you can learn about some challenges, my speaking events, and I have all my social media accounts there, so reach out on whatever your favorite platform is and say hello.
Nancy Calabrese: Say hello, everyone. Thanks so much for being on the show, Jen. You’re inspiring. And I can’t wait to get this out to the audience. And everyone who’s listening, really take a moment, read about Jenn’s story, reach out to her. Certainly, you know what I’m thinking, Jenn? If they’re having a bad day, they need to talk to you for sure. You’re full of inspiration, right? [19:30]
Jenn Drummond: I’m in, I’m in. Please call me. Good days, and bad days in between. I’m here to support you.
Nancy Calabrese: Yep. You got it. And you’re allowed to have what’s that journal that you keep? The Grump Dump. Love it. Love it. Everyone, make it a great sales day and we’ll see you next time. [19:47]
