242: Updates from Heather + Searching for—and Finding—Ease and Flow in Life with Jem Fuller

“I practice gratitude every single day. I am super grateful for my life. But 10 years ago, I was in a world of pain.” 

Jem Fuller has lived a colorful, global life—from barefoot backpacker to corporate leader, fire-dancer and traditional tattooist, kindergarten teacher to motorcycle courier, masseuse and reflexology to labourer and travel consultant. Now his time is as partner and father, coach, facilitator and retreat leader. Jem, who lives on a sheep farm in Australia with his partner Talia, is the author of the recently published book, The Art of Conscious Communication for Thoughtful Men, and can be seen delivering his TEDx talk on YouTube.

Jem recently found a groove with running, which he acknowledged felt “arduous” initially. “I used to force myself to do it for the exercise. Then, for the 'feel-good' afterwards... and only recently — I'm 50 — with some new high-quality runners, I'm actually starting to enjoy the run itself! I never thought I would say that.”

Heather’s conversation with Jem follows a few life updates from her — she shares reflections from this year’s 40th anniversary of the Bayshore Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K over Memorial Day weekend, thoughts on her IRONMAN 70.3 Michigan in September, a girls trip to Grand Rapids, what she’s reading right now, and more.

Heather and Jem talk about searching—and finding—ease and flow in life. It’s been a long and interesting journey for Jem, and he shares honestly and with vulnerability how the path has unfolded for him so far, to include his “midlife awakening.” They talk about:

What it means to take a ‘red-hot crack’ at finding your best life (Heather tells Jem she’s going to have to start using this awesome Aussie phrase)

Radical self-acceptance of the past and present 

Abundance as a mindset

Connection with and immersion in nature

Energy as a life force, cross-cultural connection

Quality of relationships: “I believe that relationships are at the core of our quality of life—the quality of your relationships directly correlates to the quality of your life. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, or how big your house is … you know, none of that matters. If your relationships aren’t great, your experiences in life aren’t great.” -Jem

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For more (including mentions/links during the episode):

Bayshore Special: Ali Feller of Ali on the Run Show and Heather talk about the 40th anniversary of the Memorial Day race event

Heather and Emma talk about life transitions on the podcast

Heather shares her IRONMAN 70.3 Traverse City race experience - 2019

Training updates for the 2019 IRONMAN 70.3 Traverse City

Joe joins Heather on the MRG podcast

Connect with Jem: https://jemfuller.com 

Follow and connect with Heather:

www.michiganrunnergirl.com  

@michiganrunnergirl on Instagram

@michiganrunnergirl on Instagram

Facebook.com/michigan-runner-girl

[email protected]