How Richard Wright is Surviving Cancer with Endurance and Purpose

What does it take to not only survive but thrive against impossible odds? Imagine being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer—not once, but four times. Now, imagine taking on the world’s toughest endurance races in the middle of that battle. That’s exactly what today’s guest, Richard Wright, has done. Richard is more than an endurance athlete; he’s a radical optimist, bestselling author of The Power of Purpose, and a man who refuses to be defined by his diagnosis. In this conversation, he reveals the mindset shifts that separate survivors from victims, the power of endurance in life and business, and the deeply personal story behind his “I Am” tattoo. This episode will change how you see adversity. Whether you're an athlete, entrepreneur, or someone fighting your own battles, Richard’s wisdom will leave you with practical strategies to redefine resilience, rediscover purpose, and push your own limits. Let’s dive in.

Highlights:
 - Competing in Ironmans While Battling Cancer
 - The Power of Purpose: Endurance Sport and Cancer Treatment
 - The Gifts of Cancer: Mental Resilience and Endurance
 - The Importance of Physical Activity During Cancer
 - Overcoming Personal Challenges and Discovering Ironman
 - A Life-Changing Diagnosis: Survivor vs Victim Mentality
 - Facing a Terminal Diagnosis vs The Power of Mindset
 - Balancing Parenthood and Treatment: Overcoming Obstacles
 - The Ironman Challenge and A New Perspective on Survival
 - The Return of Cancer vs The Power of 'I Am'
 - Questioning Beliefs and Identity: Conditioning and Expectations
 - The Gift of Authenticity: Embracing Vulnerability Power
 - Books That Shaped the Journey and The Importance of Purpose
 - Lessons from Bonsai Trees: Endurance and Reinvention

Links:
Connect with Richard Wright through his website.

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Chapters

• 0:06 Overcoming Challenges With Radical Optimism
• 8:19 Endurance Training and Cancer Survival
• 20:18 Ironman Journey Through Cancer
• 27:35 Journey Through Divorce and Self-Discovery
• 34:45 The Survivor Mindset
• 42:02 Survivor Mentality Amid Adversity
• 50:37 Medical Hurdles for Ironman Race
• 56:00 Evolving Identity Through Adversity
• 1:04:31 Embracing Fluid Identity and Vulnerability
• 1:08:49 Books That Transform Thinking and Behavior
• 1:13:35 Lessons From Bonsai and Family
• 1:20:25 The Power of Endurance and Reinvention
• 1:23:48 Inspiration and Resilience in Endurance
• 1:32:38 Starting With Why and Vulnerability

Transcript

Richard Wright: 0:06

Today, you have a 100% survival rate of every single thing that you ever survived, and what on earth would make you think that this next challenge, this thing that is facing you, is going to be something you can't get to the other side of?

Charlie Reading: 0:22

What does it take to not only survive but thrive against the impossible odds? Well, imagine being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, not once, but four times. Now imagine taking on the world's toughest endurance races in the middle of that battle. That's exactly what today's guest, richard Wright, has done. Richard is more than an endurance athlete. He's a radical optimist, best-selling author of the book the Power of Purpose, and a man who refuses to be defined by his diagnosis. In this conversation, he reveals the mindset shifts that separate survivors from victims, the power of endurance, sport in both life and business, and the deeply personal story behind his I am tattoo.

Charlie Reading: 1:09

This episode will change how you see adversity. Whether you're an athlete, an entrepreneur or someone fighting your own battles, richard's wisdom will leave you with practical strategies to redefine resilience, rediscover purpose and push your own limits. So let's dive in with what is an unbelievable and inspirational episode with the amazing Richard Wright. So, richard, welcome to the Business of Endurance podcast. Really looking forward to having this conversation with you, because I know there is going to be like inspiration, wisdom, all sorts that we're going to get into on this discussion. But I really like to.

Charlie Reading: 2:02

I like to start with kind of normally. I like to start with kind of more of a linear, tell me your story of what it was like growing up. But for you, I want to. I want to dive into one question really first off, and that is, um, you know, complete competing in multiple Ironmans while you're battling um like a really aggressive cancer, um, it's just like extraordinary. And you know, claire and I both race Ironman. We understand what it's all about, but most people, just people, struggle to train through an Ironman when they're fit and healthy, um, let alone somebody you know training for one through like really aggressive treatment and um an illness. So what drove you to keep racing, even when your body was under attack?

Richard Wright: 2:50

Sure. So firstly, charlie, thank you so much for having me. What an absolute privilege it is for me. Thank you very, very much, and I actually wish you had started with the linear tennis story where it came from, because it's all part and parcel of the same thing and it's something I'm probably going to come back to a couple of times, and that is and you'll know this, any chasing, any finish line, um, and for both of you, chasing an ironman finish line, and all the finish lines that you had to chase to get to that one, um, it's all about why you're doing it. It's your reason for wanting to do this thing, um, and it's never actually about the finish line. We think it's about the finish line, but it's not.

Richard Wright: 3:27

It's actually about how we're going to feel when we cross the finish line, it's what it's going to do for us. It's that why that purpose and purpose. Funnily enough, I wrote a book called the Power of Purpose. Throughout the journey and when I wrote that first book, I still used to think that the purpose was the finish line. The purpose was finishing an Ironman or something like that, or whatever goal it is that you are aspiring to. And what I realized in research for the second book, Path to Purpose, I spoke to some really amazingly smart people who are experts on purpose or have accomplished phenomenal things through a purpose is that those things are just goals, they're just targets, and purpose really is a collection of all the little things that you do in a day that make you feel happy, feel excited and give you a sense of meaning. And the more of those things you do and the more you recognize them and the more they accumulate, the more likely you are to accomplish purpose in chasing that goal. And so for me, in a nutshell, before I get to the story, your childhood story, which is quite important for me, it was a case of if I can do this extraordinarily tough thing, if I can do this thing that everybody is telling me is impossible, this thing that is supposedly going to make me weaker and give cancer an upper hand. If I can do this thing, I can beat cancer again. If I can do this thing, I can beat cancer again. If I can do this thing, I can prove to my two little girls, who are my reason and my why, that their dad is going to be okay and that fire is an incredibly powerful thing. And that's what gets you out the front door. And we all know that the hardest step of any session is the first step out of the front door. And once you get that right and it was choosing not to be a victim sitting on a couch, being a victim of cancer and to try and take my future into my own hands so that really is that.

Richard Wright: 5:15

It's the why and, as you know, people often say that you know, motivation is really important. If you're not really motivated, you're not going to get your goal, you're not going to get your finish line, whatever, and specifically with endurance sport and that's actually rubbish. Motivation really comes from discipline, and discipline is a lot more important than motivation, whilst motivation something might inspire you or motivate you to start or to aim at something that's going to wane. It's going to disappear in a very short space of time. But something that's going to wane, it's going to disappear in a very short space of time. But when you're putting a streak together, when you're hitting all the sessions that your coach is giving you, when you're doing all the things, the hard things, and you and you're recording them, all that motivates you to do more. So so for me it was. It was a case of having to change my thinking and become an endurance athlete again, rather than my entire life being cancer and surviving cancer. So that, in a nutshell, is pretty much it and I suppose that kind of makes me.

Charlie Reading: 6:12

I mean, we hear a lot about the importance of purpose and why on the podcast, and I think I mean it. It's it's very, you know, obviously simon sinek starts, we start with why, which is kind of why I wanted to start here, really, because I thought that's where you might go, um, and it is unbelievably powerful, um, how, um, and I think we we're going to dive into that subject more and more as the podcast goes on. But but it also makes me think how did you apply this approach to dealing with the cancer? You know what? What did you? What did you um learn from endurance sport that helped you fight the cancer?

Richard Wright: 6:52

um, I love that question. So, so that's one of the gifts of cancer and it's strange to say gifts of cancer. I guess it's easy for me, you know, um, I'm in remission at the moment for about a year and a half now, and I guess it's easier for me to talk about the gifts now than when you're in the thick of it. But cancer really does come with gifts, and I actually strongly believe not even just believe, I know that the reason I'm still here is, to a very, very large part, the fact that I've been an endurance athlete since I was at school, because it's that it's hours and hours and hours on a bike, and so much of my brand, the Mission Project, is about cycling and about that repetitive thing. You're turning the cranks on your, your bike and you can be on exactly the same route, but you'll never. And turning the same movement on exactly the same route, same time of the day, but you're not the same person. You can never have the same ride twice, you're not having the same thoughts, it's never the same, um, but but all those hours on a bike and running, and I've done all my training Well, primarily my training has been on my own Um, it's. It's, I think, from from a mental resilience, a hardcore um belief in your ability to get to where you need to get to. Uh, that's massive. So, so endurance, every single thing that we do. You, starting from a zero, and you're building. You're building a run, you're building a cycle, you're building a race. You start and at the beginning you think, wow, I've got a 21K run today and I'm killing me to one. I'm not feeling less than fantastic, I'm not in showroom condition, I wonder if I'm going to get to 21. And then you start slowly building and then play those mind games. I'm now at you know three and a half k's. So that is, you know half of seven, which is a third of 21, and then I'm at halfway. Those are the games we play because we're building and a lot of that carried through to um. I just need to focus on this next thing, on this part of whatever this exercise is um, this treatment today that forms part of um. You know how many treatments 35 treatments. It's so that number one um and number two.

Richard Wright: 9:07

I think one of the biggest gifts is, as an endurance athlete, you, you, you, your body is your best friend um and has to be. You make friends with it and you, you know intimately when something is wrong. You know what you, how far you can push, how far you can't push. Uh, you know where the lines are, you know what your heart rate feels like, you know what your resting heart rate should feel like and all of that stuff comes through into a physical battle with any kind of illness or any kind of disease. So I was really lucky to be accepted, um, in the first diagnosis, uh, john hopkins study on the the effects of vigorous exercise on cancer. But vigorous exercise, and most of us on the program, in fact almost all of us, I think were people who were endurance athletes before cancer came along and it was fascinating. So this you're going to love.

Richard Wright: 9:58

So you know when you're pushing really hard and you know training is all about how far you can push yourself before you have to recover so that you can do the next session.

Richard Wright: 10:06

And you gradually build up and you can't break down too much and you've got to go through the phases. And then what happens is you hit that wonderful taper phase before a major race and that's the worst time because your body starts to sweat up. You maintain water, you retain water, you're eating more than you feel like you should because you can't exercise it away. Um, our bodies, when we train and we're going through rigorous exercise, um are in defense mode, so so they literally are in the biggest. Everything that you're doing, they're trying to repair as fast as possible and and when you're in in defense mode, your hair grows faster, your nails are thick and healthier, your skin is better, everything's better, because your body is working so hard to repair what you are damaging. Right.

Richard Wright: 10:46

And the minute you go into a I don't know, I'm preaching to the converted here, you know all this stuff but you go into a taper, your body says, oh okay, so now we don't need to defend ourselves so much, we don't have to fight these battles of all these things that you were hurting um, and immediately you become a little bit run down and you are now, because, because you're in this state, susceptible to any kind of illness. And that same theory was put into practice from a cancer point of view. So how can we put your body into fight mode? It has to be vigorous exercise, we have to get your heart rate up as high as possible without damaging your ability to fight the cancer cells. And if your body is that good at being able to repair itself through the exercise, logic dictates that it should also be better at being able to fight alien cells like cancer cells, and it turns out that that is 100% true.

Richard Wright: 11:37

And so that was a fascinating exercise of recording everything, sending it all through, sending the exercise files, through going in for testing regularly, making sure I was monitoring heart rate, um. So back to the original question, I've absolutely no doubt that the fact that I've always been an endurance athlete, um is a very, very big contributor um to to where I am right now and surviving cancer, both from the mental side and also from the physical side.

Claire Fudge: 12:02

Um, huge, huge I think it's it's hear that you know you talk about that idea of training and those long hours that you spend on the bike and building it up and actually how you saw that you know first part of your cancer treatment actually doing the same thing in that sort of way. And I'm also really interested to hear about the study as well that you've just been talking about, and I'm also really interested to hear about the study as well that you've just been talking about. So I like to have a lot of evidence behind what I'm speaking about and so that that talks to me. So I'd be interested to read a bit more about it. Maybe you can, you can share that link with us afterwards to have a have a read.

Richard Wright: 12:37

So there's lots out there. Actually, australia has the one that's probably the best known at the moment. I'll try and find that link for you. But there's a lot of that. I mean, science is putting your body in a state and the unfortunate part is somebody will approach me and say my sister, my brother, my uncle or somebody has just been diagnosed with cancer and you know what is the advice, what worked for you? And that's really hard because each one of us have an individual journey and we know that from a racing training point of view, none of us, you know it's never the same for us. Uh, for you know, for everyone, um, and how we respond to various training, various um diets, nutrition we all respond differently and it's the same thing with cancer. But what I'd really like to say is get this person off the couch and get them, whether it's walking vigorously, whether it's doing something that gets heart rate up. But the problem is, if you're not used to doing it already, if your body isn't accustomed and attuned to doing it, to now become an endurance athlete while you're fighting cancer for the first time is impossible. It literally is impossible.

Richard Wright: 13:36

But that movement and getting out and getting out of your head is really the most important and we've all been through it. So I think that's the thing is that, um, a lot of people after I speak will come up to me and say, richard, I listened to you and I sat there thinking how, how ridiculous are my um challenges and my obstacles, how how, yeah, I feel silly, I feel stupid. Um, when I listen to you and everything you've been through, and I always stop um each. You know every person who says that, and I say, actually, I need you to stop doing that, because there are two things. Number one there's no hierarchy of stuff that we go through in our lives. There's no. There's no hierarchy of oh, okay, I've got stage four brain cancer, I'm counting down my days, but you know what? I've got two arms, so I should actually be grateful for the fact that I've got two arms. Isn't that hierarchy? And every single thing that you're going through, or any of us go through, is relevant to us and relative to us, and so my job is to try and help people to deal with the stuff that they are going through in a way that helps you to be able to get forward to where you want to get through, and, as athletes.

Richard Wright: 14:46

We all resonate with being injured or being ill or something that prevents us from getting out there.

Richard Wright: 14:48

And you know, the hardest part is how we become victims in our own head and immediately and I've coached athletes often in my life they'll get someone who's been on the couch for a week and say, oh, my fitness is gone and I'm never going to get back.

Richard Wright: 15:00

It was all wasted and I've got a race coming back, and for me it's so easy as it is for anybody on the outside to say, but hold on, this race is actually going to be the best thing for your body and you're probably going to come faster than before and you're probably training on the cusp anyway and you've lost nothing. But when you're in it, you can't see that it's this, you've got this, but no, no, you know I'm not doing what I should be doing, um, and so how can I help people to change their thinking or to think a little differently? Uh, enriching people's thinking, um, but yeah, there's lots of evidence and there's lots of science that backs up, um, your body being in a fight in in a fight space, and how good it is at anything, overcoming anything, how we keep it there, um, and and where that line is, because the minute you go on the other side obviously it's then detrimental.

Claire Fudge: 15:46

I think we're going to come back probably to that, that resilience part, actually as well. But I want to explore a little bit about your um growing up and and sport as well, because you, you talk now, um, I say you talk of being an endurance athlete, you are an endurance athlete and that mindset. But but where did that? Where did that come from, like as as a as an athlete? I believe you did sports, um and swimming.

Richard Wright: 16:09

So tell us a little bit about, kind of where your kind of love of sport came from and how that developed into becoming an endurance athlete growing up, I used to think that I, um, I'd been adopted because, um, nobody in my family was sporty at all um and various challenges and I was the only one who was really interested in sport. And it was a bit of a fight. We were in a very conservative, very religious home and, as an example, I was a great tennis player, a really good tennis player, and I was ranked when I was young in South Africa something I was really good at and I wanted to play club tennis and the matches were on Sundays and I wasn't allowed to play matches on a Sunday because, you know, we don't play sport on a Sunday. It was like that. It felt like this real fight.

Richard Wright: 16:53

And then I was blessed with horrible eyesight. So as a kid I had these glasses that looked like the bottom of a Coca-Cola bottle. They were that thick. I used to say to people you know how good my eyes have to be to see through the lenses this thick, but it was like that. And then I had braces as a kid and I had this thick, wavy hair. People think I'm bald. No, I just shave that stuff off because it's ugly, um, and I had these bigger thighs than normal, so pants were always tight on me and I got teased a lot and I was this nerdy kid and I looked like a nerdy kid and um, and so I grew up with this real feeling of I'm not good enough, I'm not worthy, um, and some real childhood struggles and childhood traumas.

Richard Wright: 17:34

We all have them, and and the messaging to myself was you're not really good enough, you're not sporty. I had to pick up everything late because it wasn't really encouraged when I was young, um, so it was always playing catch up and not feeling good enough. But the part that I didn't realize was having these big, powerful quads was going to help me to do a 445, 180k Ironman bike ride. You know, but you don't think of that back then when you're a kid, right. And so I got into triathlon and I immediately excelled. I'm not, I'm not the best swimmer. I'm, I'm good in the water, but I'm not I was never good.

Richard Wright: 18:11

I actually had to work really hard at the swimming out of all of them. I'm not the best cyclist and I'm not the best runner, but somehow when I put them together, um, I was good, um, so, even racing age group iron man and I'll get to that in a second um, I'll be sort of top three, top four in my age group, with the swim, also the cycle, maybe the cycle a little bit further back, and then the run, but put them all together and I was on top of the podium, um, and and and part of. So I actually only discovered iron man. Um, funny enough, I was in England in 1999 for the British Olympic trials and I did the race, um, and I was in good neck and I jumped into the Thames river and my polar heart rate monitor jumped off my my wrist into the Thames. I still haven't found it. Um, and so that that's how my race started and I had a horrible bike leg and I finished that race and I thought you know, I'm actually done with triathlon for a while, I just don't want to do it anymore. And I came back and I hung up my bike and for six years I didn't cycle at all. I carried on running a little bit and I was a swimming coach at a swim school and I swam three times a week with an endurance squad. That's all I did.

Richard Wright: 19:23

And I was coaching some athletes for Ironman and it was November that year, 2006. And I sat down and I looked at what I was giving them and I thought you know, I really miss being out on a bike and I'm sure I can. Actually, you know, I've got a bit of a gap coming up December, january holidays, I'll have some time. Why don't I just start riding a little bit? And they roped me into entering what was South African long course champs at the end of January the following year. So I had literally five, six weeks to train for it, did a bit of training and I came 23rd overall or something, and it was, oh my goodness, I actually remember being good at this and I've missed it. And then that convinced me to enter Ironman, which was in March, end of March. So I literally had two months to train and I finished that one 51st overall with a 10-20. So it was very little training from the beginning of December.

Richard Wright: 20:18

And what that did for me is I'm not this nerd, I'm not this kid who isn't good enough, this kid who's been teased, and this is something I'm actually this nerd. I'm not this kid who isn't good enough, this kid who's been teased, and this is something I'm actually really, really good at. And when I do this thing again, this is our why when I do this thing, it makes me feel empowered, it makes me feel better about myself, it makes me feel like I'm worthy, that I'm good at something like really good at something physical, and so that's what that did for me. And then the year after that, I, in fact I moved down to Port Elizabeth in um, south Africa, which is where um Ironman South Africa is held, and um, because we just loved it there, I wanted to get out of Johannesburg and I needed a new direction in my life and things were kind of falling apart in my life a little bit and um and Ironman became the thing that made me feel like again, if I can do this thing, everything else, everything else is going to be okay. Um.

Richard Wright: 21:10

I was never a pro athlete but as an amateur I finished um 16th overall in the race. There were about 30 40 pros that year, so beating most of the pro field. I was the first amateur athlete home won the age group qualified for Kona. Um, the first of a couple of times to do that, and it was really. This is my thing. This is something that I'm really good at, and what I'm best at is not the physical stuff. Yes, I'm a proficient swimmer, cyclist and runner. I can do, I'm good, but I'm not brilliant. But the thing I'm really good at is this not racing against other people, racing against myself, about pacing myself, about building a race I'm really good at that. I'm good at holding a pace. I'm good at suffering and again, that links back to the cancer. I'm really good at suffering through stuff to get to where I want to get to, if it means enough to me.

Richard Wright: 21:59

And so my job changed and I was unable to really race or train for a number of years.

Richard Wright: 22:06

Um and uh, before the year. Um, in fact, that's how I found out that I had cancer. So the end of 2015 and I was trying to come back, I wanted to just enter 2016 it was the beginning of 10th of April that year, I think it was and I wanted to try and see if I could be competitive again and literally towards the end of 2015, I would go for an eight or ten kilometer run and come back and I was like that was it for a week. I was, I was just smashed. I was unable to do anything and I recognized the symptoms because I'd been diagnosed all the way back in 2005 with a tiny little tumor on my pituitary gland called a prolactinoma secreting prolactin. But it was non-cancerous, it was benign and it was responsive to medication. But the good thing is that at that time, 2015, I recognized the symptoms and, although they were out of whack, I knew what it was, went straight to the neurosurgeon, did the MRI and that was the first time I heard the words brain cancer and Richard Wright in the same sentence.

Richard Wright: 23:06

But I'm sure you can relate when you're an endurance athlete, you're an Ironman athlete, you're titanium, nothing attached to you. You somehow in fact going through divorce in 2010, which was a really tough time in my life and financial ruin. I cancelled everything I didn't need to have, and one of the things I thought I didn't need to have was life insurance, because who needs to have life insurance when you titanium, ironman athlete, right?

Claire Fudge: 23:33

So it was, it was denial.

Richard Wright: 23:34

It was like there's no ways I can have this thing and like anything and I think we as athletes are particularly good at doing this Whenever we have symptoms or little twitches or something that we're not sure what it is, where do we go? We go to dr google and we type in the symptoms into dr google. What do we have? What do we have? You know, diagnose, self-diagnosis, um, and dr google always tells us the worst thing. In fact, dr google normally leans closer and sort of whispers, you've got death. You know, it's always the worst case scenario and in in this case, pituitary cancer, I couldn't even find it.

Richard Wright: 24:06

I had to go to medical search engines. It's so freely rare and there's no treatment for it. There are no trial groups, there's nothing. In fact, if you've got this, you have got death. And there was no ways that this was going to be in my life. There's no ways it could be me.

Richard Wright: 24:20

So I continued to try and train, but it was useless. I was unable to do much, but I was determined if I could just get to the start line and finish this thing. In fact, I even signed up for a charity Ironman for the Kids because I wanted to be able to focus on something outside of myself. I wanted this to be about other people. I wanted a reason beyond myself to get to a finish line because, if I can do this thing and yeah, I finished the race. It was the worst time I'd ever done, slowest time, I think about 11, 20, um, but it didn't matter. I crossed that finish line in a Ironman for the kids shirt and um, there's no way I've got cancer. Um, and I was booked in five days after the event for a lumbar puncture.

Richard Wright: 25:00

I didn't want to have one before the race. It's the only way to determine a brain cancer or at that time anyway. No dna sequencing, um, because of the blood brain barrier. There's no blood test. Um and um, yeah, that was. It went in but I didn't even tell my parents I was going in because I was so determined. There's no ways I've got there's something wrong, sure, but there's no ways that I have this form of cancer.

Richard Wright: 25:21

Um and again, I think that that's that, that stubborn resistance, resilience, tenacity of an endurance athlete. But don't tell me I can't train. Don't tell me I can't do this. Don't tell me, uh, you know, um, I'll show you. Uh, there's real stubborn streak and um, yeah, the rest, unfortunately, history. They found out that they rushed results through a lab and my surgeon called in a favor from a friend. He'd done his research, he'd never seen that cancer before. He couldn't find a neurosurgeon in South Africa who had, and he consulted with some fellows overseas. All said the same thing we highly doubt that is this form of cancer because it's so rare and he doesn't fit the demographic. And secondly, but if it does, hopefully you've got it early and you need to operate as soon as possible. So literally six days after nine man, I found myself on in theater having a brain op, um and um, and and there it was, and my entire world turned upside down I mean, I can't, I can't even imagine what that you know, what that must, must feel like.

Claire Fudge: 26:22

Um, I think we're going to come back to many parts actually of that story in a second as well. Um is there. Is there a point, like prior to your um, your diagnosis, was there a point in your Ironman journey where you had some sort of defining moment that really helped to shape how you could defy all odds, how you were able to deal with what you didn't know but what was coming coming next?

Richard Wright: 26:49

almost every single race had one of those or a number of those. Um, and I almost don't want to put myself out there in this category because I started iron man before that happened, but still I have to. We all know a lot of people who start Ironman because they hit that late 30s, 40s, midlife crisis, find this thing and, unfortunately, is that you, charlie. But please tell me, the next part of the story is not you, because a lot of them, unfortunately, they find Ironman and then they find somebody who's also racing and a very good nick and very healthy and everything who isn't their significant other, and then suddenly they're like thank you, I'm very glad it didn't happen to you and there's a lot of that, so.

Richard Wright: 27:35

I got divorced. It was third year of iron um, 2004th year of iron man um, and iron man, um, and iron man was actually the thing, it was the glue that held me together throughout a divorce. Um, it was the thing that made me feel I was okay, um, and now I'm gonna be really vulnerable. So, um, I mean, it's easy to look back now, but, um, I was very unhappy in a marriage before. I man, uh, first, I man, um, and I tried to to get my ex-wife to go to marital counseling and we went for a couple of sessions and she was like, no, we're great. And I was kind of no, we're not. And I just feel that, you know, and I couldn't put my finger on it, and I was seeing a life coach at that time from a career point of view and really trying to grow and move, and she was happy where she was and we were just two completely different people who probably should never, who never really should, have got married.

Richard Wright: 28:31

Um, lance Armstrong said something, um, and and there's a lot about Lance I don't like. There's a lot about Lance that I do like, um, and one of the things he said, um, and he was talking about his divorce. He said um, many people say that our you know our marriage was a failure. And he said I always say that it actually wasn't. We've got two amazing, three, three amazing children to show for it.

Richard Wright: 28:51

Um, in fact, it was a spectacular success from that point of view, um, and if it hadn't been for the marriage, I wouldn't have my two girls, um, who are the most incredible human beings. Um, so I guess everything it happens the way it should happen, but it was. It was a bad decision at the time, but we were two completely different people and for years I felt that again tapped into the feelings I'm not good enough, I'm not worthy enough, and and part of the reason I'd chosen my ex-wife was that I didn't think that I was good enough to really attract the kind of woman that I really wanted to be with, the woman that I aspired towards, and um, and I settled and I didn't realize it at the time and we were best friends, um, but I was never really in love.

Claire Fudge: 29:29

I grew to love her, but I was never in love with her.

Richard Wright: 29:31

I never looked at her could say you're the most beautiful woman and um, it it really was a. Maybe the grass isn't green on the other side, um, and we, we just dropped it apart. Um, and one of the people that I'd coached many years before got in touch with me to ask if I would coach her again, and I distinctly remember, for the first time in so many years, feeling like a woman looked at me, like I mattered, like I was, that I was worth something, that I was more than a husband who was a provider, and nobody ever wakes up one day and looks outside and says well, you know, this looks like a great day to have an affair. That's not how it happens. Um, and I landed up having an affair, and it wasn't with somebody that I was in love with and it wasn't somebody I wanted to be with, but it was somebody who just ignited this thing inside me and made me feel, for the first time in a long time, really good about myself. So obviously a very big mistake and something I now regret, and it caused a lot of hurt and pain, but we continued for another three years after that. I think Ironman helped me a lot. The endurance of it helped me in many hours to get into my head and trying to figure out.

Richard Wright: 30:40

And one of the questions I had to ask myself is are you a bad person? And that's a really tough question to have to ask yourself. And it's very hard to come up with that answer when you're sitting in the situation. And I was seeing a psychologist and trying to figure this out and week after week I would go in there and say, please tell me. I mean, you're a professional, you know me, you know my story. Surely you can tell me. Am I a bad person? And she said I can't tell you that. You need to figure that out for yourself. And finally one day I was in tears and she said listen, do you know? What I can tell you is is you wouldn't be here if you were a bad person. You wouldn't be asking this question if you were a bad person. But but the real question we need to ask is why do good people do bad things, or is it really a bad thing? Or those are the questions we need to answer.

Richard Wright: 31:20

But it was a really tough time and again it was that feeling of getting back to that very insecure um young boy who felt like this wimp and nerd and didn't fit in and wasn't good enough and wasn't sporty enough and an iron man was the one place I could go. That made me feel like I was good enough. Um, and if I put in the work and, and, and I think part of it, part of it was also beating myself up a little bit. Um, those very long sessions where you are, you're bonking badly and you still have another 50k to get home and you don't know how you're going to get home and there's the thunder clouds looming and um, and it's like, suck it up, suck it up cupcake. Um, you know, harden the flip up that stuff. You know, drink a cup of cement and harden up. Um, and, and, and. So that's a very important part of it. Actually, in fact, this is the first time I've actually put this, you know, those thoughts together.

Richard Wright: 32:16

But it wasn't. It was. It was there was quite a lot of that beating myself up, um, but seeing the result of that, that and building on that, and then through the divorce, those hours and hours of training and going through financial ruin, literally, I started in a world that I had to start again from scratch, struggling with work, struggling with everything, struggling with depression, not living with my girls really battling, but yet this was the place I could go. That made me okay. This was the place that I've actually never I've never expressed that um, written a book and some of it's in there, but not quite like this um. So so I think now you can understand how, when cancer came in, it was was uh, that's the place.

Charlie Reading: 33:07

I think it's, um, it's. It's really brilliant that you can share that and actually kind of maybe process it in a slightly different way, but it's, yeah, I mean, I can't imagine how tough that is to go through, um, you know it's like and I think, from what I understand of your story, you've been through this cancer piece multiple times, so that's probably a good what. Can you tell us how that cancer journey has evolved, um, and also, whilst doing so, kind of tell us what you think the difference is between the surviving mentality and the victim mentality?

Richard Wright: 33:44

Sure, big breath. Okay, so the first part of that question.

Richard Wright: 33:51

So let me answer the second part. First, the difference between a survivor mentality and a victim mentality. So yeah, um, it's such a cool question because the survivor mentality we, we we've been conditioned to believe that we are only a survivor once we have actually survived this thing, right? So if either of you have a house that has got a mortgage on it, if either of you've got a financed car, if either of you have got any kind of debt anywhere where you're not a survivor of debt once you've paid off the debt, um, you're a survivor of debt right now. There it is. You didn't have to survive, you didn't have to get to the end of it to be a survivor of it, right? Um, anything if you, if you've been divorced, you're a survivor of divorce. If you, if you currently married, you're a magnificent survivor of marriage. If you got through covid and you're still married, amazing, you know, that was the hardest time to be married.

Richard Wright: 34:45

And essentially, it's that thinking of not having to get to a finish line to be a survivor of something. And in fact and this is something I use in keynotes from time to time and it's so cheesy, but it's so true I say to people I want to share something with you. It's a brand new record, a brand new personal record that I set today. Today, I set a brand new record for the most number of consecutive days that I've ever been alive. And people are like they're kind of looking at that and they're clapping for you and you're like what are you clapping for me for? It's the same for you. You set the same record today. In other words, you're a magnificent survivor of every single thing that has ever happened to you. Today you have a hundred percent survival rate of every single thing that you've ever survived.

Richard Wright: 35:26

And what on earth would make you think that this next challenge, this thing that is facing you, is going to be something you can't get to the other side of? That's a mindset that can only be a survivor once, and for me it was a case of despite counting down days, I was given a six-month prognosis that first time, literally, and I'll never forget the surgeon's words by my best guess, you have six months to live, by my best guess, and I responded. The first thing was I couldn't remember the date and I got irritated and frustrated with myself because I need to know how long have I got? How long, richard, you made this appointment. You're here in this day, how can you not know? And then, finally, it dawned on me. I did the mental arithmetic and I realized that the 6th of December that year was going to be my checkout time. And then my next thought was wow, I probably won't see another Christmas. And then my next thought was of my two little girls waking up on Christmas morning without a dad.

Richard Wright: 36:27

And then I got angry. There was this ventriolic boiling rage that just came bubbling out of me and it was directed at the only other person in the room, the surgeon. I know he didn't give me cancer, but he was the person telling me that, by his best guess it was how dare you, how dare you think you can tell me how I'm going to respond? Do you know who I am? Do you know what I'm capable of? Do you know what I've done in my life? Do you, do you realize what it takes to have done the things I've done? And you think, who are these people that you're comparing me to, these non-athletes, these non-indigenous athletes, these, these, these other people, who? Who are they? How old are they? What do they look like? How dare you think?

Richard Wright: 37:03

And it's impossible in that moment not to feel like you are a victim a legitimate victim of this thing that's come into your life and turned it upside down. And in that moment you cannot not think like you're a victim and you are. And Naomi Judd says something quite poignant. She said you can only ever be a victim once. Thereafter you are a volunteer, and I love that quote. And I especially love it because, very sadly, naomi took her own life and there was that whole struggle between I refuse to be a victim and I don't want to be a volunteer.

Richard Wright: 37:41

And when something happens to us, no matter how bad it is or no matter how insignificant it is in that moment to be a volunteer, and when something happens to us, no matter how bad it is or no matter how insignificant it is, in that moment you're a victim. But thereafter it's what you do with that, it's how you think about that, what comes next? And it took a while in the beginning to get my head around that. But one of the most powerful things for me was Richard, if something kills you now and I did some research and clear you're like this this is stats. It's like 40. It might even be higher, but it's it's somewhere around 50%, somewhere around there, of all, people with a terminal illness or disease or something die from some other cause, but your entire life becomes overcoming this thing. Because you told that this thing is going to come and get you and I thought, well, hold on, if anything else gets me, I can walk into the street and the bus hits me and I die. I die a brain cancer survivor. Look at that. It didn't get me and then it was. And if it does, well, now I'm dead and it actually doesn't matter. Do I choose to live my life with this thing? This thing defines who I am as a human being, the fact that I am dying of brain cancer or am I living of all these other things? And I'll never forget the moment.

Richard Wright: 38:56

And we probably don't have time for the story now, but there was such a poignant moment where I picked up my two girls from aftercare and I was in the middle of. It was after the brain op and I was non-invasive brain up through the nose, endoscopic and a transphenoidal surgery and once everything had healed enough, six weeks later I had to go for radiation and literally that was 35 treatments, seven weeks of having your brain nuked and, um, I had my girls one week and their mom had them one week and the weeks when I had my girls were were the best weeks for me, because I didn't want them to know about the cancer. Um, you know, our job as parents is to try and protect our kids from as much as we possibly can and we need to, just, you know, butch up and put a big boy jocks on and pretend that everything's fine. So I'd leave them in aftercare for as long as I could. I'd go for the radiation treatment, try and sleep in the afternoon, pull myself together, pick them up, and my eldest got into the car, mckinnon, and she didn't even say hello. She said Dad, I'm really sorry, I've got this project and it's due for tomorrow. And I'm like dad, you know a whole long story. I said, okay, hold on, we're a solutions-oriented family. What is this project? You know how bad can it be. And we had to build a solar system. We had to go to a craft shop, pick out traffic, find this bag of polystyrene balls. All the polystyrene balls are different sizes. We had to identify each as the different planets. We had to paint notice. We put it all together, line up and tomorrow morning hand in the solar system. You know it's. It's that project that you kind of do for your kids, because at 10 years of age there's no way they're going to do that on their own, specifically overnight, um, and I thought, oh my goodness.

Richard Wright: 40:33

And I was stumped over the steering wheel of my car waiting for a traffic light to turn green major intersection, and I'm really struggling. This little voice pops out. It was mac and she said you okay. And I said to her you're bugging and battling, but you know what? I've never let you down before. I'm probably not cooking dinner tonight. We'll have takeaways delivery something, but I will get this thing done. I'm silenced for a bit.

Richard Wright: 40:54

And then the voice popped up and she said daddy, nobody said it would be easy and I will drown. It's like where did that come from? You've never heard that. I've never said that to you before. Who told you that? Where did that come from?

Richard Wright: 41:05

And she got a podgetic as if she said something wrong and she said dad, I'm really sorry, but I don't know what else to say. And it's exactly what I needed to hear in that moment, because I had become and this is really important, I had unwittingly become a victim of brain cancer, even though I do not believe that I've got a victim bone in my body. I don't believe that I'm a victim, but my entire life had become cancer. I was so focused on this obstacle, on this thing that was preventing me from living the rest of my life, that my entire life became that and I became a victim of cancer. Because the more we focus on the things that are in the way of where we want to get to, the more we focus on the things that are in the way of where we want to get to, the more we focus on the obstacles, the injuries, the impediments, the more we focus on those things, the more we become a victim of those things. The more we focus on the finish line, where we want to get to, the more we become a problem solver as how we're going to get there, because we're focusing on that thing. So I was focusing on the treatments. My entire life became cancer.

Richard Wright: 42:02

I was on two different types of chemotherapy. I was undergoing radiation treatment. I was on a really strict keto diet. I was taking four different types of cannabis oil. One of them was a suppository. That's really not great, but it's the highest dose of cannabis that you can take and not be permanently high. You should try that sometime.

Richard Wright: 42:18

Just don't tell many people, but everything came about. Every single one of my social media posts ended with two hashtags hashtag cancer warrior. Hashtag fuck cancer. You know, it was just taking the fight to cancer. And because my entire focus was cancer, I became a victim of cancer. And it took my little 10 year old daughter to, to. To just that one little sentence, I realized hold on, which, no, nobody's ever told you would be easy. And and what about the rest of your life? Is this really how you're going to survive cancer? Um, and I realized that I needed to aim at something on the other side of cancer.

Richard Wright: 42:55

So the very next day, I entered full iron man state for brain cancer. I entered this thing that was three months after my checkout time, this thing that everybody told me it was absolutely impossible. It's the worst thing you could do to your body. Don't tell me. I know my body better than anybody else. I'm not stupid. I know how far I can push myself. I know what I can do. I know what I can't do. I need to be here for my girls. There's no way that I'm going to jeopardize myself. I know what I'm doing. I need this thing because I'm not Richard. This cancer won't define me. I'm still an endurance athlete, I'm still a father, I'm still a creative person, I'm still a coach, I'm still a facilitator, I'm still all of these things. And oh, by the way, I also have terminal brain cancer.

Richard Wright: 43:36

So that mind shift in terms of how I chose to think was incredibly instrumental in getting me to the other side, um, and a lot of that is endurance athlete thinking, um and so. So you know, back to that place, I strongly believe that that all those years prepared me for this incredibly tough, prepared me for this incredibly tough time in my life. And so I entered the Ironman later that year and I was really struggling to train, but it didn't matter If I could just leave my front door and even if I walked around the block, that's all I could do. I was not sitting on my couch in my house being a cancer victim. I was an athlete outside doing whatever I could to try and get to my finish line, and that was really important for me. And in october that year I went into remission for the first time and at that point in time I was only the 118th recorded instance of somebody who'd survived the primary pituitary carcinoma. It was that rare, that freaky rare, being part of this elite um group of people who'd survived this thing and I celebrated big.

Richard Wright: 44:46

But it was tough after that, because now your life can never be the same. You can never go back to being the person you were before cancer never. Everything has changed. And then there's the depression of counting down the months, counting down the days. At that point in time I couldn't afford to die, which sounds kind of weird, but it was 100% true. I'd cancelled my life insurance when I got divorced and I hadn't reinstated it. And although I was mostly out of debt and back on my feet, I certainly wasn't in a position to leave my two girls with what they needed to move forward with their lives without their dad, without, without their primary income earner. And what do you do? How much longer do I have? Am I going to be able to work? How much can I work? And I tried to get rid of absolutely everything I possibly could that I didn't need. I even cancelled my short-term insurance policy, because you know who needs short-term insurance when you're dying, right.

Richard Wright: 45:42

And it was a really tough time of trying to rebuild my life and deal with depression, um, of fighting a terminal illness and, uh, and still trying to do with the training and still trying to aim for this iron man, um, and I went away for a long weekend on my own. I knew I needed to process this and I went into one of south Africa's most amazing places, the Kruger National Park Wildlife Reserve and it's massive. And I was on my own. I drove in my VW Kombi and parked in a beautiful spot every day for three days and I just wept. It was just this very cathartic thing of dealing with what I've been through. And on a Monday I drove home and I parked in my driveway at about half past six quarter to seven that evening. I was on a Monday, I drove home and I parked in my driveway at about half past six quarter to seven.

Richard Wright: 46:25

That evening I was on my own, made supper, watched some TV, went to bed and the next morning, at about half past two quarter to three, I was woken by this really loud sort of bang noise and immediately I'm like what was that? What was it? Did I hear something? It was a dreaming. It was a very weird sound. Did something drop? I don't recognize that sound. And the next minute, there it was again. It was the same sound. I was like I don't understand what that is and I heard this metallic jingling of keys and I realized that they were the keys in my front door, on the inside of my front door. And in that moment I realized that I was being broken into and I reached out for the panic button on my bedside table and it wasn't there. I'd forgotten. I'd left it on the kitchen counter. When I came in and I thought, okay, where's the key for the sliding door to get out of our bedroom and run across the lawn and jump into the next one neighbor's garden? And I realized that the key was with the remote control kitchen counter at the front door.

Richard Wright: 47:14

I was trapped in my bedroom and I don't believe in guns or anything and I don't know what I do. What do I do? And it was just so fast. And I don't know what I do. What do I do? And, um, it was just so fast and I thought, okay, I got down on the floor. I thought, just slide under your bed. And as I got down, I looked up and there was a gun at my bedroom and torchlight and I realized, richard is stupid, just get up and I looked down. I said just leave me, just leave me, it's okay, it's okay.

Richard Wright: 47:36

And three armed men came into my room that morning and shoved me onto the bed and pushed a gun in my head and pushed me into the mattress like this, and that they were angry and and frenetic and put my thumb on my phone and who's coming?

Richard Wright: 47:48

And they systematically went through whatsapp messages, phone, who's in the house, where's the money where? And in that moment I honestly thought I was going to be killed my own in my, in my own home. And they were brazen, put the lights on when they realized nobody was there and they were in my house for two and a half hours, um, and they're everything of value. I slid on the bed or sat there on the bed in a pool of sweat, realizing that I'd forgotten to reinstate my short-term insurance, um, and, and I had a shortfall with medical aid on so many things and the treatments and I was struggling to pay for that and I thought I can't even replace anything. They tried on you'll love this. They tried on my running shoes in my bedroom in front of me, like looking at each other. Hey, you know what do you think? I looked at that thinking you guys have got no idea how fast your getaway is going to be tomorrow night because those shoes, those are fast shoes, just like that. And they loaded everything into my iron man bags and you know how personal and sentimental those bags are and they loaded everything into the iron man bags and literally everything of

Richard Wright: 48:44

value. I can't replace any of it. I went all my shoes and the one pair of Converse sneakers that they left me because they had a hole in the back. That was it, the only pair of shoes in my cupboard.

Richard Wright: 48:54

Um, and and as I sat there that evening, again that survivor mentality was like I'm 118th person. I'm part of this elite bunch of people to ever have existed. I've I've spent my entire existence has been fighting this thing to get to this point where I'm a survivor and I'm going to be killed in my own home, like so many other people that cross this planet so often. What is the point, um? And that was powerful for me, it was richard. You need to live your life as if you're a magnificent survivor of every single thing that's ever happened to you. You don't have to wait to be a survivor. You are already a survivor, no matter what. You're a survivor. You need to figure out what you need to do today to get to where you want to get to. That's the only thing that counts.

Richard Wright: 49:35

And people were amazing. They got around me and supported me, and, and and helped to fund me, and that's the sponsors that I still have now came about at that time People were really amazing. And then cancer came back and it was harder the second time. Because you think of everything you went through the first time and you just think I'm so depleted. How do I, how on earth do I, how do I do it all again? It's like you just finish an Ironman. Somebody says, okay, you're not done.

Richard Wright: 50:06

Here's another one and you're like, uh, okay, uh, you know, I don't know that I can do that Um, and it took longer to get my head around it Um, but I still had that Ironman um and I was still determined that I was going to get there and I did what little training I could do and you'll appreciate this. This isn't something I normally share because people don't get it Between Christmas Day and race day which I think that was the 6th or 10th of April, but it was the first or second week of April Between Christmas Day and that I swam once. Literally just got to the gym. I did 1,500 meters just to make sure that my arms still remembered how to swim. I had 10 cycles. The longest cycle was 110 k's, that was it, and when I finished that I got off the bike. I couldn't even run off the bike. I was like I just can't do this and my longest run was 12 k's. I still have all the going files.

Richard Wright: 50:55

That was my training for an ironman um and I got down um ironman weekend. I got to there on thursday went registration, got through the whole registration process and those days they used to give you a timing chip at the last table at registration. You got it at registration and there was a note next to my name, no timing chip for Richard and I had to phone the race organiser, paul Wolf, and they couldn't tell me why. But I wasn't allowed to get a timing chip. So I knew Paul well, done many events with him and I lived in Port Elizabeth. I was now back in Johannesburg and because to do a divorce, my ex-wife wanted to move back with the girls and I had to give permission and for a year I was flying up once a month to see my girls. It was horrible and I moved up as soon as I could and I phoned Paul and I said hey and um, I phoned.

Richard Wright: 51:44

Paul. And I said hey, paul, you know what's up? And he said, richard, um, you know, race organizer, I'm responsible for every athlete that toes the line and I take the responsibility very seriously. And when something happens, I'm responsible and I know your story and I can't take responsibility for you. I'm really sorry, I can't let you race.

Richard Wright: 51:57

So I was red carded before the race and it was a horrible, horrible feeling. I was like I haven't come this far, just to come this far. This is so important to me, this race is so important. My wife, I can do this thing. I can beat brain cancer again. If I can do this thing, you know I'm gonna be okay. It is so important to me. I cannot not do this thing.

Richard Wright: 52:15

And I got really angry and I said but you know me, you know I'm not stupid. I've got two girls, I'm. If somebody, I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll. I just need to start this thing. If I'm struggling, I put my hand up. Somebody can pull me out of the water, I'll, you know, I just need to start. He said, richard, I can't let you do that. I don't have the enough information. Um, so I got that angry. I said to him I was going to race alongside everybody. I'm gonna. I'll turn around on the beach along, you know, away from everybody else. I'm going to do the race on my own. And he said, richard, please don't do that. I said I'm going to do that. You've given me no choice. There's no reason that you have to stop me from doing this race. And he said, please don't do that. We will pull you from the race, please don't do that.

Richard Wright: 52:56

And I was so dejected and I went to where I was staying and I in the goodie bag, and I looked through all the rules and I couldn't find anything. And finally got to the medical section and race medical director. It was my GP from Port Elizabeth where I used to stay, conrad van Hagen. I thought no ways, if anybody, because what Paul had said to me if you can find any one of your specialists that's willing to write a letter that says that they give you their blessing to do the race, we'll let you race. And at that moment I laughed hysterically. There was no way anybody was going to sign a letter. There would always be yes, thank goodness, we actually don't want him to race. It was like that. So what on earth am I going to do? And there was Conrad.

Richard Wright: 53:34

They got a hold of Conrad and he said yeah, he's the race director he's at the they're setting up the medical tent and it's apparently going to be really hot on race day and it's always the worst thing for them. Uh, it's a tough day. And I told him what I needed. I said please, can I ask you just for a letter that says and I guess what he said. He said, uh, richard, I'm really sorry but I can't do that. Um, he said I signed an oath and it's I'd have to take responsibility. I'm not part of your medical team. Uh, with the cancer and I, I don't know enough. I I said, connor, there has to be a way. And he said to me okay, we've got three days if you're willing to undergo any test procedure that I'm deemed necessary, so I can be in a position where I'm happy to sign that you can do this thing. If you're willing to do that, no problem. I said, fantastic, where do I sign? So, for three days went under when any medical tests, and we did lung function, we did heart, we did you name it, we did it.

Richard Wright: 54:27

And I was the story of Ironman that year, the feel good story. And I was interviewed by a sports crew the Saturday before the event and I still didn't know if I was going to race. And we did two interviews. The one interview was Richard doesn't race and the other interview was Richard races. We still didn't know and on on race morning at quarter to six I've got little videos and everything. Um, it's part of what I use in some of my talks. There's a video crew following me into the medical tent, my two little girls holding my hands.

Richard Wright: 54:55

I go in there to find conrad. I holds up a piece of paper. He says here all the results. I've had a good look, he said. Right before I say anything, all I want to ask you is, richard, how important is this race to you? I said Conrad, this race is really important to me. He held it up. He said I've got no medical reason to withhold you from racing, but I'm asking you as your friend, are you sure it's that important? Because I don't know that you should. I said Conrad, hold up that piece of paper again. And he phoned paul from the medical tent, um, that morning and said to paul I'm giving richard the go ahead. So I got. I got a um, a um timing chip on table and that blow up banner on the beach left hand side as I went into the water. That it was that touch and go amazing.

Richard Wright: 55:40

I remember standing on on the beach thinking I shouldn't be here, thinking of all the reasons and that's what we do right Thinking of all the reasons why I shouldn't be there, all the things that could go wrong on race day, and it was a really, really tough day. It was hard. But the whole time is why are you here? Why are you here If you can do this thing? If you can do this thing?

Richard Wright: 56:00

And getting into my head and and and and I use mantra a lot in times of my mood I'll say I'm strong, feeling good, strong, powerful, strong. But you have to say it, um, because when you say something, when you speak something, you cannot hold another thought in your brain, right? You cannot, so it's impossible, but you so I mean the pictures of me walking and I looked terrible. But I'm saying I'm strong, feeling good, strong, feeling good, and your body will look for the evidence to prove what you're saying, because the thoughts that you put in your head are your thoughts. Your brain can't think for itself. Your brain runs on what you put in there and whatever you put in there, your brain tries to find evidence to prove it and it filters out the evidence that disproves it. And it can go both ways. I can say I'm at kilometer 17, yay, I'm at kilometer 17, or I'm only at kilometer 17. Um, I'm not taking nutrition. Well, I'm not throwing up either. You know, it can go either way.

Richard Wright: 56:50

And so kilometer 91 I remember distinctly. My body was just, that's it, we're done. From that moment on. Still have the garment file, I couldn't get my heart rate above 127 beats per minute. For the rest of the race, from 91Ks on the bike, my body we haven't trained it went into protection mode and we need to shut down because you're pushing us but you're not happening. That's where the mind takes over and says forget it, we're moving forward. So I got to the finish line that year 187th out of 2,000-, 2000 odd people, 10, 20. Um, and obviously stopped competing for age group, but I'm pretty confident.

Richard Wright: 57:28

I won the cancer category and that's all that mattered at that point in time. And so that was the first one Um, and it was kind of if I can do this extraordinarily hard thing, um, I can beat brain cancer. So that was the first five full Ironman races with with cancer. So that was the first five full Ironman races with cancer, almost ten and a half, a couple of multi-stage mountain bike races and I chased finish lines because, if I can do this thing, this endurance athlete, this is my identity. It's part of what defines me as a human being and if I can do this thing, it became that important for me. I'm not this insecure, unworthy, not good enough. This is the thing that gives me that, my locus of control, my feelings of I am good, I am powerful, I can do this thing. Um, you can't take that away from me.

Claire Fudge: 58:17

Um, it became that a lot of people listening to that story will have thought why I did. I did some training, but not enough, and it still felt awful. And yet you did very little training and literally got a medical doctor to sign you off. I think is awesome. And, as you say, you know the power of your psychology to get you know, to get you through. You talk, then, just about I am. My understanding is you've got a tattoo of I am, um, tell us, there it is.

Richard Wright: 58:47

I don't even see the. I am there, we go. There's the. I am the. I am over there.

Claire Fudge: 58:50

I see all the words so tell us a little bit about that tattoo what? What does it mean where? When did you decide to have it? What does it give you? Still every day?

Richard Wright: 59:00

you're, you're touching on all, you're touching on all the feely parts so that first diagnosis um and as an athlete as anybody as any human being and funny um.

Richard Wright: 59:11

So I come from sort of a training background and one of the things I've spoken about a lot is identity, and that's really important and I used to train salespeople and I talk about your identity and who you are and your why, and you've got to. You've got to relate that back, because what you do is a world of rejection. There's so much rejection as a salesperson before you actually, you know, make money at the end of the day and you've got to know who you are. But that's true for all of us, right? And so much of who we are is conditioning. You know, why are you Catholic? Well, my parents are Catholic. Why are your parents Catholic? You're Catholic. Well, my parents are Catholic. Why are their parents? Why are your parents Catholic? Well, their parents are Catholic.

Richard Wright: 59:44

Why do you believe this thing? Well, my parents believe that thing. Why do they believe? Well, because they believe. You know, it's all of that you know, and at any stage you can say well, actually I don't want to believe that anymore, or maybe that isn't true, or maybe I want to believe something else.

Richard Wright: 59:54

And we also believe that we are who we are. You know, I might say I'm a Leo. Because I'm a Leo, I like to have my ego stroked and I like to, you know, be on stage and I like attention. And because actually we're quite insecure people and we've got this big, brave friend. That's who I am. No, it's. It's a story you've made yourself. And, yeah, how much of that is actually really true and how much of that is what you choose to believe? Right, but we become, um, especially when we're, we become all the things we want, our parents want us to be. It's good girl, claire. Good girl, we like it. When we do that, we love you. When we do that, bad girl, claire, go to your bedroom, we don't want to see you. And so we get conditioned to doing and becoming a certain thing. We go to school and our teachers say A is for amazing and F is for failure, and we need more of this and less of this. And Einstein said you can't judge a frog by its ability to climb a tree.

Richard Wright: 1:00:45

We're the same education system, but we don't all fit in, and so some of us feel we're not good enough and others feel we're brilliant. And then, who are the friends that you had, and what did that say to you? And who are the friends you didn't have, and what did that say to you? And who did you have to become now to attract the current partner that you've got? And who do you have to come to drive the car that you drive, to stay where you stay, to have the job that you stay? You know all those things to find who we are.

Richard Wright: 1:01:08

And all of a sudden, when somebody says to you your time on this planet is limited, you realize, okay, hold on, I don't have to be anything for anybody anymore, and that was the gift. One of the biggest gifts was the gift of authenticity. I and that was the gift. One of the biggest gifts was the gift of authenticity. I spent a lifetime of people pleasing, a lifetime of trying to be all the things that other people wanted me to be, who I needed to be, to be liked or loved or respected, and a lot of that stuff is legitimate and it is. You know, it becomes identity. But but or is it, and at that point in time it's like, okay, I don't have to be anything for any anybody anymore, and you won't.

Richard Wright: 1:01:45

At that time, when you're counting down days, you won't do anything that you don't want to do. You won't spend time with anybody you don't want to spend time with. You become precious with absolutely everything. Even look at your friends and and who are my friends? Are these my friends because we went to school together? Are they be friends because facebook tells me I said they were friends? Are we friends because my went to school together? Are they my friends because Facebook tells me? Are they my friends because my parents are friends with their parents? Is this my tribe? I've got so little time left. Who do I want to spend that time with?

Claire Fudge: 1:02:12

And looking at myself, thinking, okay, hold on, I don't have to be anything for anybody anymore.

Richard Wright: 1:02:17

Then suddenly you realize, well, who the hell am I? Who am I actually? And I went through a real identity crisis of trying to struggle with who, who, who am I? And that's when I started the tattoo. In fact, all of my tattoos are cancer related one way or another, although there's no cancer anything on my body, um, and something that defines you to the point where I can't. I. Am I strong? Okay? Well, what if I don't feel strong today? I can't, let me rub that one out. I don't feel that one today. It doesn't come off.

Richard Wright: 1:02:49

So it's got to be a sense of permanence, and it was a real. Each one of them. I either designed or found the word somewhere. But who am I? And the first words were easy I'm authentic, I'm strong, I'm brave, I'm unique, I'm now change, I'm formidable. And then you think, okay, but hold on, um, that's not only who you are. And that was the best and most powerful thing was the realization that I could own things that are less than things that we deem to be negative trays. And the minute you do that, you actually you don't relinquish power, you assume power, because when I say, here's a good one, here's a good one, right.

Richard Wright: 1:03:36

So I might say that I've been so vulnerable on this podcast to whoever is watching and listening, and I've told people that I am a lying, cheating bastard. I cheated on my wife. Do you think less of me or not? Well, that's up to you, but the fact that I'm willing to put that out there means that it no longer has power on me. I've had to confront those things, admit them to myself, heal from them and put them out there and say that is who I am. That is it. But do I choose to keep on being that or do I choose not to? And we are a glorious conglomeration of every single human trait that's out there. We are the good, the bad and ugly. Trust me, I am an axe murderer. You come in here and you make advances on my daughter and you threaten her, and I promise you that that axe will come out. All of us have that right. But who do we choose to be? Because we can change that at any time.

Richard Wright: 1:04:31

Identity is in flux. Identity isn't a finite thing. You can become, with identity, whomever you want to become. Physically it's a little bit different, but identity isn't, and so I started putting words up that are less than I've got.

Richard Wright: 1:04:46

Obsessive, excuse me. And obsessive is part of what got me to the finished line of Ironman with stage four brain cancer. But it's also what got me to the finished line of iron man with stage four brain cancer. But it's also what got me into trouble with, you know, after a girlfriend, after divorce, where I was obsessed that this is the right person in my life and this and no, you're not looking clearly it's wrong, it's not for you I've got. You know, damaged is is all the levels damaged up. This is a great one. I don't know if I can say this, but anyway, that is the international cinema for fucked up. Because there it is. You know, aren't we all a little bit fucked up? And when you put that out there, you don't lose anything of yourself. In fact, you become more accessible to other people, and other people look at you and resonate with that, you know, and me even saying I made a mistake and and and so so here's the interesting thing every relationship ends in a third party.

Richard Wright: 1:05:36

Every significant relationship ends in a third party. That third party could be alcohol, it could be addiction to some sort of abuse, it could be work, it could be money, it could be sport, it could be another person.

Richard Wright: 1:05:47

Um, for me it was another person, but every I'm still cheating on this person with any of those other things it just we, just we just don't like to admit it that way or see it that way, and when we're vulnerable and put ourselves out there, this is who I am, this is who I am. Um, people resonate and they don't necessarily resonate the way we want them to, but they'll take something from that and say it's okay that I'm also that, or okay, so I can admit that, or it doesn't take anything away from who Richard is. That's just part of who he is, and that was an incredibly, incredibly powerful thing for me and a bunch of words that need to come up here, that still needs to be there. Um, but intense, impulsive, needy, um. I told my wife she wasn't my wife at the time my second wife, deborah, my current wife she's amazing. Um, I said to my girls I put up words and she wasn't my wife at the time. My second wife, deborah, my current wife she's amazing. I said to her my girls had put up words and they didn't know that it was going to be on my arm when they were little and I said if you could think of your dad in one word, what would you say? And my eldest daughter, mckinnon, said amazing. And my youngest said hero.

Richard Wright: 1:06:49

And about three weeks later I asked them again and my eldest said I've changed my word. So I said okay, no problem, I want you to write them, I want you to write them. So they wrote their words down. I said I'm actually going to put those, give it to the tattoo artist. They're going to put them on. And no, no, no, we can do it better. I said no, no, no, it's exactly the way it should up. And my eldest had changed the word to superman, but she wrote it with two words super man, um, I love that. It was just who my dad is. And I gave them another shot, because it's quite that I am, um. And I said who, you know, who's your dad. And so they had another shot and my youngest was happy place and my eldest was rock, um, my dad, my rock. And then I said to deborah, you also get a turn. And she wouldn't tell me what the word is. The tattoo artist just put it on.

Richard Wright: 1:07:35

And when they finished, I looked and it was needy. But here's the amazing thing no issue. So I'm needy. And now when she tells me, yes, you really are needy, I'm like, yeah, sure I am. So I'm like, oh, look there, it is there, it is. It says needy, says nearly. You know you can't stop. So that's what I am and it's okay. It's okay. I can choose whether I want to be more of it or less of it. Um, but when we, when we figure out that identity, it's um, it's it's empowering.

Charlie Reading: 1:08:04

That's absolutely brilliant and actually, funnily enough so I was as I. We were chatting before we hit record and I was saying I did a a whole morning's workshop yesterday on goal setting and I was talking about you know, it's very easy to kind of which. I use some of the examples of the amazing people we've had on this podcast and I have no doubt that you'll be featuring in those examples going forward and some business examples, like Elon Musk. But you know, people have these amazing goals and I was like well, actually it's about being your own hero and the and a hero to the people you care most about. That doesn't mean you have to make us into a multi-planetary species and solve global warming by eliminating the petrol car. It's what makes you brilliant and the best that you can be.

Charlie Reading: 1:08:44

So I absolutely love that. I think it's really, really powerful. So we always ask you've obviously written two books yourself, um and uh, and obviously we'll put the links in the in the show notes. But I always ask guests what books have helped them on their journey or what books they find themselves recommending to others. So what books have you found that have really helped you?

Richard Wright: 1:09:08

so so before, before I go there just to reiterate what you've said.

Richard Wright: 1:09:11

There is purpose, which is what I said right in the beginning that purpose isn't this big thing, isn't this massive thing. Purpose is purely a collection of the little things that you do in a day that make you feel happy, excite you and give you a sense of meaning. That is it, and that could be being a hero to your kids that makes you feel happy, it excites me, gives me a sense of meaning. I don't have to be anybody else's hero, but what? What I need to be to be their hero, and one day they're going to become old enough to realize that that actually isn't a hero, but still my hero. So it's that stuff, and the more of that you identify, the more of that stuff you accumulate and recognize and celebrate, the more purpose you will have and the more it grows, and that's an incredible thing.

Richard Wright: 1:09:52

So to get back to books, um, so, yeah, there are a bunch that I really really love um, and I'm terrible at remembering um books and and authors, but there are three that help me um, a hell of a lot. Um, and the one that I enjoy is you're not so smart. It's all to do with what I do, which is human behavior. It's all to do with thinking and essentially for me, and it's endurance, exactly it's how do we get to the finish line. I can put in the same hours, I can do the same training, I can eat the same things, I can be in the same nutrition plan, the coaching plan, and I do absolutely everything to the best of my ability, but surely I can do better, you can and mental part. So so it's the mental and training and cement, and we all know this right, and you've had some much smarter people than me on your podcast that have explained all of that.

Richard Wright: 1:10:41

But the books that have helped me, um, tons, and the first one is been on the best thing list for like 383 weeks or something like that. Uh, mark manson, um, um, the first, first book, but that's not the one. Um, I struggled a bit with that book because just that kind of why are you using?

Claire Fudge: 1:10:54

that word so much.

Richard Wright: 1:10:55

You're just using that word because you and and it was a, it was, it was, it was good, but it was an easy read. But his second one, everything is fucked. That I love because he actually got into some science and he got into a little bit deeper beneath the giving a fuck um. So I don't know if you can say that or not say that, but you can say that yeah, and, and it's called a book about hope and I hate the concept hope.

Richard Wright: 1:11:18

Hate it because hope is overrated and hope is a useless concept. Um, it's like you know, I get, I get diagnosed with state-of-the-art brain cancer and, um, I just sit there and do nothing and people say what are you doing? I'm hoping. I believe that stuff works. You know, aren't you gonna go and do anything? No, no, I'm hoping, surely. I believe that stuff works.

Charlie Reading: 1:11:33

Aren't you going to go and do anything? No, I'm hoping.

Richard Wright: 1:11:35

Surely that's the way it works, or I'm praying or whatever it is, because that's kind of what we do.

Claire Fudge: 1:11:41

None of it works unless you actually do something about it and then you hope.

Richard Wright: 1:11:44

Hope is something you give people actually. Anyway, love Malcolm Gladwell, blink, love, love, love. This book. There we go, you're nodding your head, your head, and again, it's how we think. But probably my ultimate favorite is david adam the genius within and the way it's written. What he puts in his own human experiment and trying to figure out how to make yourself smarter essentially, um, but it's all about all of these books altogether are how can you change the way you think, or if you understand how bad you think, how can you get a better outcome? Or how can you best deal with that?

Richard Wright: 1:12:24

And I think the basis for all of these books are our brain is the most incredibly powerful thing that can help us to do the most incredible things. But it works exactly the same way in reverse. It is our biggest obstacle, our absolute biggest obstacle, and unfortunately, we, we. So something I often ask people is um, are you more of the thinking brain or the feeling brain? Which one are you more? And we wish we were more of the thinking brain or the feeling brain? Which one are you more? And we wish we were more of the thinking brain, because if we could just, we could just access this more man, we can get so much more done, but the problem is we don't realize that we're actually controlled by the feeling brain and we understand how that ties in. Uh, and that's been a very, very big part of my journey. So, yeah, those are the books brilliant, they are amazing.

Charlie Reading: 1:13:11

So there's two there that I've never even heard of before, so they're definitely going on the reading list. Malcolm Gladwell, one of my favorite authors Just brilliant. That is fantastic. But Mark Manson I like. Like you, I didn't really rate the subtle, subtle art of not giving a fuck, so I then didn't read his second book, but I'm interested in that, so I will go back to that.

Charlie Reading: 1:13:32

So, yeah, brilliant one, excellent. I shall do that. We also have a closing tradition on the podcast where we get the last guest to ask the next guest a question without knowing who that guest is going to be. Our last guest was colin cook, and colin cook, um, was, uh, living a life of alcohol and drugs and then ended up becoming a very good ironman athlete, for reasons that you'll completely understand as well as as us. Um, the addictive personality works very good well in endurance sport, and I think Claire's got Colin's question for you so Colin asked if you had one day left, how would you use it?

Richard Wright: 1:14:11

um, if I had one day left, how would I use it? I would turn off my phone. I would sit down with Debra and our three girls and ask them how they would want to spend the day with me. What would you like to do with me before I turned off the phone? I'm hoping this moment comes to pass next year. This year, nowil the 30th, I would pop up a little video, just a massive, massive gratitude of thanks to every single person who has been behind me and supported me and believed in me and held me in their thoughts and their um and carried me um, because that has been absolutely, absolutely incredible over the last eight years of my life. Then I would turn it off and I would spend the time with my family Brilliant, I wouldn't even go for a ride. I wouldn't go for a run. None of that stuff's significant and none of that stuff means anything anymore, just the people.

Charlie Reading: 1:15:11

That question is an amazing question. I'm really pleased that that question came to you, because so that's a question that I used to. I used to run a financial planning business and we used to ask every client that question in their first meeting, because it doesn't, you know, all of the lovely fluffy stuff suddenly falls away, even the stuff that you like, but that is not essential, not that you know. It boils everything down to the most important thing, and clearly, that family and gratitude for, for, for, what you've received, which is which is absolutely amazing. Um, I'd like to wrap this, uh, unbelievable interview up with um with one final question, and that is what what you're. You're very passionate about, bonsai trees. Um, what have you learned from the world of bonsai that you bring to the rest of your life?

Charlie Reading: 1:16:00

yeah um, that's a great question so so I have.

Richard Wright: 1:16:04

I got interested in bonsai when I was, when I was really little and I was struggling, um, as a kid and I was going to therapy because I was an angry kid and the therapist gave me a bonsai. Before that I landed up with my parents and we just happened to be in some botanical gardens and I saw a bonsai exhibition and I just fell in love with these trees and I asked for some money and they thought it was for some crystal, some coke or something. And I came back with this little tree, these trees, and I asked for some money and they thought it was for some crystal, some Coke or something. And I came back with this little tree and, um, it became a real something to energy and that was positive. It was growing, it was nature and loved that. And the therapist actually gave me a couple of trees as well and loved that and then kind of put that to bed for many years because we moved around and um sort of picked it up again when I was 21 and became a real passion and became something I was really good at.

Richard Wright: 1:16:51

I've traveled a bit, demonstrating became something I was really good at and I had a fantastic collection and when cancer came along, unfortunately I lost about 70% of my trees and just watching them die and I didn't want to sell them, I didn't want to get rid of them at that point in time, because they represented the essence of an investment of me and and something that was growing and living and and um, it was necessary and I'd lost so much.

Richard Wright: 1:17:16

I moved down from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth with a wife, a daughter, um, a cat, five dogs, an entire bonsai collection Amazing and I moved back with what was left of a collection and two goldfish. It was, it was a massive loss and the trees represented this thing that had kind of stayed around with me and they were still there and they were hanging on and and and they'd been through a bunch of moves and cancer came and had an automatic sprinkler system to try and water them, because I'm so focused on trying to fight the cancer and I was so tired, I was slept so much at the time and it was impossible to look after the trees and literally I just watched them die and about 70% of the trees died and in 2021, I had kind of given up a little bit, I just kept them alive.

Richard Wright: 1:18:03

What was left? I kind of thought, okay, hold on two seconds. Covid left. I kind of thought, okay, hold on two seconds, covid, you're not able to get to the races they've postponed. You're trying to train. It's not working. Kansas, come back again for the third time During COVID I beat it the third time came back for the fourth time. I've kind of given up on exercising and Ironman and all of those things.

Richard Wright: 1:18:24

Maybe you're never going to do this again, but I still have to believe in something that is the future, and Bonsai really is the idea of creating this thing that can outlive you, outlast you for a future generation, this ancient old tree that represents something growing in nature that you can hand down or somebody else can take on and become a custodian. And it was a real sense of trying to leave something, create something. And because I couldn't get life insurance anymore, it also became an investment and I threw myself into that. And what was interesting is that some of the trees that had survived everything, I had to cut all the branches off and start again and create something new from this thing that had somehow survived the catastrophic life that I'd been through, and the lessons there, I'm sure, are quite obvious. It's you can reinvent yourself, don't know how many times. It doesn't matter how many times life has scarred you, how many times this cut off limbs. Whatever's happened, there's no reason with with nurture, care, time, patience, but it's daily, it's a, it's a, a daily execution of you can't miss a day of watering. It's doing these little things every single day that you're going to be rewarded for later down the line. It's having a 30-year-old tree that you haven't missed water, enough water for it to have died. You've kept it and we, each of us, have that ability, that spirit, um, and and I think that's a very big part of it. And then it's the creative, and it's nature and it's being outside and it's been in the sun, but it really is that rebirth and regeneration and being able to style something and you cut it back and it's actually the best thing for it. Um, cut it hard back, it grows better, um, and life does that to us, you know, and but when we get cuts and bruises, we, we kind of focus on the cuts and bruises and we don't understand that actually that's part of what makes us better down the line, um, and so what's interesting in that journey is that I, um, I started helping somebody to his first iron man.

Richard Wright: 1:20:25

He didn't ever think he was going to. A captain of industry got a big name in this country and he had five and a half months to Ironman. He'd given up on Ironman he hadn't even entered. He'd entered a couple of half Ironman races and just hadn't got there. And he had a big dream of getting to the finish line by the time he turned 50.

Richard Wright: 1:20:51

And he said Richard, I'm a marathon, I'm not a swimmer. I've never cycled more than 75 kilometers. I said you've got five and a half months. He said but I'm, I'm 111 kilograms. I said you've got five and a half months. Um, you don't have to win the thing, you can come last. In fact, I think that this should be a competition for who comes last, because the person who comes last gets gets more recognition on the highlights package than the person who wins the race. In fact, the tradition with ironman south africa is that the winners come back at 12 o'clock to welcome the last person across the line and then you get a confetti cannon. There are three people in the race to get a confetti cannon those two people and you.

Richard Wright: 1:21:21

Why would you not want to be that person. And all you needed was this person to believe in him. And he said do you really believe I can do that? I said for sure, and he said but will you coach me? I said for sure, with the greatest pleasure, in fact, I'll do one better. I'll do it with you. I just I just need to start this thing again. I believe I can. I'm in remission now and I will do it with you. I'll hold your hand and that means that I don't have to worry about, you know, having to train too much. I can do it with you because I've done two Ironman races with another person captain of industry before, many years before, and they were two of my best Ironman races because they were 15 hours, 54 and 14 hours and a half. And I love the race because people talk to each other, people like, interact People. You know, it's actually really amazing.

Richard Wright: 1:22:03

Anyway, so this guy, rudy, he didn't miss a single session. I gave him not one single session. In fact, I had to hold him back. It was every single thing. But my reason, mine, was enriching his life by getting him to his finish line. We trained together. I spoke to him every single day. He was on planes to London, getting off an overnight flight, getting to a gym and training. He lost 14 kilograms. We got to Ironman and I stood on the beach, uh, last year, and all of a sudden I burst into tears. It was just this overwhelming feeling of it had been about him, the whole thing it had been about really, and I suddenly realized this is the first time in eight years I've got my feet in the sand of an unmanned beach and I've done a brain cancer. It was the most overwhelming thing.

Claire Fudge: 1:22:48

And then after that I thought, maybe I can be competitive again.

Richard Wright: 1:22:52

You never know, Maybe I can. I had seven weeks to get into shape for Durban 70.3. I came second in my age group and qualified for world champs. Taupo Unfortunately didn't get there. Finances Came third overall in my age group for 70.3 muscle bay and I really would love to podium for the first time in an Ironman event for years and years and years on March the 30th. So that's the endurance athlete and the bonsai. It doesn't matter what you've been through, how much you might give up. You've just got to start watering and feeding and flipping back and realizing that at any stage in your life you can reinvent, reimagine.

Charlie Reading: 1:23:36

You've got to start somewhere I think that is an unbelievable way of finishing what has been a, an inspirational and incredible conversation with you. Richard, I think so. So you live in a an amazing part of the world. Both Claire and I have done Ironman South Africa, in fact, where I got my Kona slot um, I sorry, I got engaged in South Africa, so I've I've been back many, many times. It's an amazing part of the world. So you, you race in a beautiful place, but, but thank you for sharing the story. Thank you, thank you for being vulnerable and thank you for being just absolutely inspirational, because I know that no, certainly, I kept speaking for myself that I found that to be truly inspirational and I know listeners will have done the same. So, um, I look forward to following the journey. Hopefully, we'll be sharing a stage together at some point. Um and uh, I won't meet in person, but, um, for now, thank you very much for for being truly amazing thank you both.

Richard Wright: 1:24:32

Um, it's been absolute privilege. Thank you so so much. Um. So I'm just putting this out there um, it's the 20th year anniversary of iron man, south africa, charlie, um. So it's a very, very special event and there are still entries I.

Charlie Reading: 1:24:46

But you know and I so I raced there last year and uh, and I was kind of like, oh, maybe I should have deferred for a year, but then I wouldn't have had a Kona slot. It would have been a Nice slot and I won't be there this time round, but I actually would do that race again. I think I'd never really spent much time around Port Elizabeth. I'd spent a lot of time around Cape Town Game Reserves. The spent much time around Port Elizabeth. I'd spent a lot of time around Cape Town Game Reserves, the Garden Route, but not much time around Port Elizabeth. And that side, that west side of PE, is absolutely beautiful. I can't recommend that race highly enough. I loved it. So yeah, for those people who haven't raced it Except for wind last year, oh, the wind, jesus, yes, the wind is something else. And I think also the locals were telling me that if the swim had started 15 minutes later than it did, they'd have cut it short again because it was the wind.

Richard Wright: 1:25:34

The swim was quite challenging, but but I've done it in polar conditions, um, and bad conditions like. Anyways, it's an incredible race.

Charlie Reading: 1:25:44

Yeah, it's an incredible race yeah, but to steal your daughter's words, nobody said it was going to be easy, brilliant, amazing, thank you so much, so much, thank you best place to find richard is at his website, which is iamrichardwrightcom, and that's right with a w. You'll find there his social media links, uh, details about his keynote talks and about how to buy his book. So go check out. I am richardwrightcom. So what did you make of the conversation with Richard Wright?

Claire Fudge: 1:26:16

well, I think it makes you believe that actually you can pretty much achieve anything. You know, the power of your literally with him, the power of your mind or your brain yeah, just, I think, just unreal. I think it really made me think, not just during the conversation but also afterwards, how it's very easy to you know make excuses for not doing something, whether that's in business, whether it's in sport, whether it's with your family, making time for yourself, because he really has made the most of what he can out of this cancer diagnosis, and I just yeah, the story is well, not just the story like what it actually means and what he's teaching other people is is just amazing it is.

Charlie Reading: 1:26:58

It's brilliant. Funny enough, I was chatting to somebody just just now who's a, like world champion cyclist uh, actually a future guest for the podcast, but we'll come back to that and we were just I was just saying you know it actually, just I shared the story of Richard with him because, um, it is an incredible story but what it is is incredible determination, and I think what I took from it was that our endurance sport has given him an incredible opportunity to survive against, like, a terminal cancer four times, terminal diagnosis four times. He's beaten that and it's both his mindset that he's gained from endurance sport and his physiology. So I think that's fascinating and it's just.

Charlie Reading: 1:27:44

I mean, if ever, if there's anyone listening to this going should I or shouldn't I go into endurance sport? I hope that that has just been tested. I mean, it's just helped him in so many ways, isn't it? It's, it's unbelievable. So I thought it was and there was a lot of stuff that I thought we were, you know, very much on the same page as um, you know, like the goal setting and and um, and the power of that and um, yeah, yeah, just just really brilliant.

Claire Fudge: 1:28:10

I think I think also for me you know I'm very much evidence-based research backs and I think you know there isn't a lot of research around athletes in illness. So you know he was talking about actually, you know how that anger that came across of, like how dare you tell me that I've just got six months to live? Like, do you know what my physical shape, like body, I'm in and how I can be resilient? And I think it's just really interesting that that power of your you know resilience about getting through things and also the how, how your body responds. Because, as an athlete, how does your body respond during cancer treatment?

Claire Fudge: 1:28:47

You know how does your body respond during cancer treatment. You know how does your body respond in all these different illnesses, um, and there just isn't that research and I think you know him describing his journey and what he's been able to get through. Um, and also I hope it really encourages people that actually, although you know doing an endurance sport is really hard work, you know some of these other factors. Actually, if you do get an illness, how much you're kind of future-proofing your body potentially um as well.

Charlie Reading: 1:29:14

Yeah, no, I agree and I love the fact that when he was, when he's in the in the run part of the well, he probably does it on the bike as well, but when he's on the run of the iron man and you know he's struggling he keeps saying I'm feeling good at feeling strong, feeling good, I'm feeling strong. Well, that was really brilliant in terms of race strategy, but also strategy for life, just kind of like yeah, I'm feeling and yeah, and I love. I love the fact that he kept reiterating the fact that his daughter said it was never meant to be easy. I thought that was beautiful. That's really really lovely. Um and um, yeah, so I think.

Charlie Reading: 1:29:50

And the other thing that, the other piece of advice that he gave that I thought was brilliant was you can only be a victim once. After that, you're a volunteer. Yeah, that's god, that's really, it's really powerful, isn't it? Yes, you can be a victim when you're told you've got cancer and the shit's hit the fan and everything's bad, but after that it's up to then you how you deal with it, um, mentally and physically. So I think that's you know, and ultimately, cancer beats some of the strongest people on the planet, but what you're trying to do is you're trying to stack your odds in your favor so that you're in the best shape possible to deal with something, whatever life throws at you. So I think that's that's really powerful.

Claire Fudge: 1:30:32

I think that's you know. One thing that I always try and get across to clients is you know people talk about having medical insurance. I know he's obviously not based in the UK but where medical insurance a lot of people in other countries have. But you know medical insurance helps you when you're ill. Actually, if you can future proof your body by doing everything you can right now that actually potentially in the future you're in a much better position to be able to to deal with that. Put endurance sport on top of that and you've got this amazing resilient mindset. And I think he talked about, um, you know that actually he looked at treatment like he looked at training, you know, looking at that kind of plan of when he had to be in, what that was going to involve and just getting through like each treatment session. Um, yeah, I just thought it was a great way to approach it yeah, I agree, and I think that's exactly.

Charlie Reading: 1:31:20

if you read lance armstrong's book uh, his first book um, now, I know part of that would be have to be classed as being in the fiction section, um, but but actually the cancer part of the journey is unbelievable and it is, and I used to recommend that book so much. It's difficult now because you just don't know what to believe. But, like, that guy was given a tiny chance of living but he, he went about his cancer treatment in the same way as he went about, you know, the marginal gains on the bike. It was like, right, okay, I'm going to do everything I can to beat this. Um, so I think it's um, it's incredible.

Charlie Reading: 1:31:56

Um, I mentioned in I love the thing that we were talking about in terms of goal setting and being somebody's hero, and actually I mentioned in when we were interviewing Richard that I'd just finished delivering a workshop where we talked about being somebody's hero. If anyone wants to get that to watch that workshop, it's called the Limitless Life Workshop. It's on the Trusted Team's website. So if you go to thetrustedteam you can just watch that as an evergreen workshop. It's a proper three-hour workshop that will take you through the goal-setting process, but it's, it's.

Claire Fudge: 1:32:27

you know, we get amazing feedback for that workshop it's a great one to dive into as well in terms of you know how, how to goal set, especially this this time of the year as well, and you know also around purpose. He brought up purpose and I know that is something that you often speak about when you're talking about you know meeting goals and making goals well, ultimately it goes back to simon sinek, isn't it?

Charlie Reading: 1:32:48

you've got to start with why. If you don't know why it's important, you'll never bother to achieve it. So, yeah, and it's the same same whether it's your marketing in business or whether it's your goal setting it's. It's an incredibly important principle and I think I think richard summed that up brilliantly, but I also thought it was lovely that he was willing to be as vulnerable as he was and share as much as he did. So, um, I think it's just just a great, great interview, inspiring guy and, uh, hopefully I'll we'll get to meet him in person at some point, but, um, yeah, for great, great interview and for everyone at home, keep on training if you want us to keep getting amazing guests onto the Business of Endurance podcast.

Charlie Reading: 1:33:31

We don't ask for you to pay for us. We don't ask for patronage. All we ask for is that you subscribe to the podcast, ideally on Apple. Give us a five-star rating because it shows us you care and if you've got time, leave us a comment. One word is fine, something like inspiring or amazing or something like that, but we really do appreciate it and it will help us to continue to deliver amazing guests on what we hope you find to be an amazing podcast. Thanks very much.