Episode Outline
- [00:00] The ride that changed everything. Adrian sets the scene of October 8, 2016, a mountain bike ride in Marin County where his legs suddenly lost their strength, and he initially wrote it off as dehydration and bad sushi.
- [07:30] Denial on the trail. Adrian describes convincing himself he was fine while getting sick on the trail, and how his friends refused to let him keep riding even as he pleaded with them to continue.
- [12:00] Facing mortality in the ER. Adrian recounts the moment a cardiologist told him he was having a heart attack, a full blockage doctors call a widow maker, and what that news did to him in the moment.
- [18:15] Four months to heal, a lifetime to process. Adrian talks through cardiac rehab, the physical recovery, and the survivor guilt that came with learning how rare it is to survive a widow maker outside a hospital.
- [24:00] A voice, a question, and a search for his birth family. Adrian shares the moment he heard a voice telling him to find his birth parents, and how that search unfolded alongside his physical recovery.
- [30:45] Going back to a job that no longer fit. Adrian explains why returning to his old career felt like putting on a shoe that no longer fit, and the quiet dissonance that followed him back to work.
- [38:00] Roots in one place, branches growing toward another. Adrian uses the image of a tree to describe the internal split between the financial career that paid the bills and the calling he could feel pulling him elsewhere.
- [45:30] The second heart attack. Adrian describes the shower where his second widow maker heart attack hit in April 2024, just as he was finally building the company built around his mission.
- [52:00] What your body is trying to tell you. Adrian and Beth talk about the idea that our bodies keep score, and why so many people need a dramatic wake up call before they are willing to change course.
Best Quotes from the Podcast
“A doctor walked in and said, Mr. Jones, I’m the cardiologist on staff today. I’m here to tell you you’re having a heart attack. For me, that was like facing my mortality.”
– Adrian Jones
“I heard the words, use your story to help and inspire others. And for me, there was no going back.”
– Adrian Jones
“Our bodies keep score. Our body keeps the receipts, it keeps score, and these things can show up in our bodies and manifest in so many different ways.”
– Adrian Jones
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