Dianette Wells | Scaling New Heights: Journey from Mountaintops to Motherhood - Mick Unplugged [EP 33]
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Are you ready to change your habits, sculpt your destiny, and light up your path to greatness? Welcome to the epicenter of transformation. This is Mic Unplugged. We'll help you identify your because so you can create a routine that's not just productive, but powerful.

You'll embrace the art of evolution, adapt strategies to stay ahead of the game, and take a step toward the extraordinary. So let's unleash your potential. Now, here's Mick. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another inspiring episode of Mick Unplugged, where we go deeper than your why so that you can be fueled by your because, that reason that makes you the person that you are. And today, we have a very special guest who embodies the spirit of adventure and resilience.

She's conquered the seven summits, raced across many deserts, biked across America, and has faced unimaginable personal life with grace and strength. She's an elite mountaineer, adventure racer, a best-selling author, and a mother of three. It is my distinct honor and pleasure to introduce the world-famous Deannette Wells. Deannette, how are you doing today? I'm great after that intro, thanks.

It is all you and it is all true. So I'd love for you to just tell the listeners a little bit about you, especially those seven summits. Like that's amazing. And then I know you have a new book that was recently released this month. So I'd love to hear a little bit about you, your story and what drives D. Annette Wells.

Well, I'm a mom of three. Very, very fortunate to have been introduced to Mark Burnett 20-some years ago. And he said, would you like to try my race? Or you should try my race. And that with climbing, you know, knocking off the seven summits one at a time, kind of led me down this path of, you know, adventure. And same with my kids.

That's amazing. And for those that don't know, Dianette, can you tell everyone what the seven summits are? Because when you hear these summits, you're going to be very impressed with this accomplishment, I promise. Well, the seven summits constitute the highest peak on each continent. So for North America, we have Denali. There's Kilimanjaro in Africa. There is Aconcagua in Argentina, Mount Elbrus in Russia, Everest, which is in Nepal, and

Vincent, Antarctica. Oh, and Carson's Pyramid in Irian Jaya. There you go. So Vincent in Antarctica. How and why? I've always been afraid of heights. I used to have a lot of falling dreams as a kid. But after my very first climb, which was with 10 of my girlfriends, climbing Mount Whitney, which is the highest peak in the continental United States.

I was just hooked on summits. And then I did Kilimanjaro. Still no thought of doing the seven summits. But at some point on that climb of Keeley, I just said, I want to do the seven summits. Even though I was still afraid of heights and wasn't sure how that would work on Everest. But, you know, over the next, I think it was nine years, I just knocked them off one at a time. That's amazing. So on McUnplugged, you know, we do like to go deeper than everyone's blinders.

Because I feel like your why is somewhat superficial. It's your because that really drives you. And so for you, Deanna, like what would you say your because is or has been? Like what's been that fuel that's kept you going over and over again?

You know, we always, especially on a race course during an adventure race, we're always asking ourselves that. Why do we do this thing? And if I knew I would have it fixed for sure. But for me, it's the challenge. Just because you go somewhere to climb a mountain or show up on a start line, there's zero guarantee that you're going to summit it.

or cross the finish line. Nothing is guaranteed. It's how hard you're willing to work to get to that finish line and how strong you are mentally. And it's pretty interesting that it's kind of the same thing in life in general. We don't know what's going to happen every day. We get up, we put our shoes on and face the world. I mean, who knows if it's going to be a great day or an awful day, but you're still plugging towards the finish line at the end of the day. Absolutely.

One of the things that I've been very impressed with you, not just the summit, but knowing that with every challenge or obstacle that we face, there becomes a moment in time where we have to have some mental resiliency. And I think that you are the embodiment of mental resiliency. Can you share a time during a climb or a race where your mental resilience was truly tested? And then how did you overcome it?

It's every adventure race because, you know, after 24 hours, your body doesn't want to be doing whatever it's doing. It wants sleep. It wants food. It's laying there freezing. You're under a raft trying to stay warm. Your head is in mud and you're so cold you don't want to move. But you know you have to get up. That's a teammate standing just out of reach of you saying, give you a bite of my Snickers bar if you stand up or say the last eco challenge.

We were freezing all night. We're under this tarp. I had taken off all of my wet clothes the night before. So I'm under this space blanket. And I know that not only do I have to put those cold, wet clothes back on as I'm sitting here shivering, but then I have to get in cold water and go for miles. You just remove all of the pain and cold and you just say, okay, right leg, left leg.

And just kind of remove yourself a little bit and then just get on with it. And at some point you find something that's funny and realize, wait, how much did I pay to be here? And, you know, get on with it. Amazing.

I know a little bit about you, Danette, and I know that one of the things that you are most proud of is motherhood, right? The mom of three. How do you balance the demands of motherhood with your extreme adventures? And what lessons do you hope to impart your children with in these experiences? Well, I'm an empty nester now, but all of my sporting stuff happened when I had three kids.

It was not easy for sure. My kids didn't understand that they just wanted a normal mom who was home baking cookies. And I was like, I am so sorry you got stuck with me. But I saw that, you know, even though they would complain to my face, to their friends' moms, they'd say, oh, my mom's doing this or that. And so I knew on some level they were proud of me. And then I've seen them live their lives fearlessly. Like I look at my kids and I don't think they're afraid of anything.

My girls have far more courage than I ever had at their ages. And I don't know if it's their generation or just that they have never felt like they had limits. You know, I was just a housewife, not just, but, you know, stay at home, housewife, mom, and I climbed a mountain and it's led to this crazy stuff. So I think they saw if she can do it, we can do anything. Amazing. So your new book, Another Step Up the Mountain,

It details a lot of your experiences. I'd love to know what was the most challenging part of writing it? And then obviously, what do you hope the readers take away from the book? The most challenging part was writing. You know, they say, how do you write a book? Sit down and just start writing. So that. And then once you have this book and your chapter summaries and all of that, how do you get it out there?

I didn't want to self-publish. And then I realized it's scary to be vulnerable and tell people, oh, I've written a book, you know, because nobody cares. And a lot of people do not want to help you. They want to keep their sources to themselves. But I had a friend who just said, oh, you have to talk to my agent.

And I did. And within a year, give or take, the book was being published. It's the right people. It's, you know, wanting to uplift others and not hoarding your sources, which is I don't know why people do that. But yeah. And then what I hope people get from this book is whatever life throws at you, you can handle it.

That's awesome. You know, in some of the things that I do, you know, I have with my mentor, Les Brown, he's termed something the McFactor. And one of the letters in the McFactor I is imagination. And I have to believe that has to play a huge role in preparing for and engaging in your extreme sports, right? So how does imagination help you with

with what you do? Before any event, I always picture the finish line. I imagine what that's going to feel like. I imagine who's there. For a summit, I imagine stepping onto the summit. I imagine the summit photos. You know, different sections of the climb, I imagine...

going through them, doing it. But once I get there, I don't think about the finish line. I don't think about the summit. Once I'm there, it's what's in front of me. Just knock off today, get today done. Imagination is great because, you know, you need to be able to picture what you want. Absolutely.

And with someone like you that's deeply involved with extreme sports, like what innovations and outdoor products have you found the most transformative recently? Well, the weight of things. You know, when you're adventure racing or climbing, you want the lightest possible gear, but that has the most impact.

You know, and gear is not a place to cut corners, especially if you're at altitude or an extreme cold. You know, Arcteryx, I wear their Gore-Tex jackets because it will never fail me. And I know if, you know, things are hitting the fan, that jacket's not going to let me down. And gear is just...

so important. Don't skimp on gear. It is expensive, but I promise you, if you buy the right piece the first time, 20 years later, you will still be using that same piece. That's right. So for you, Deanna, what advice would you give the listeners on being the best version of themselves on a daily, weekly, monthly basis? Be true to yourself.

We're not here to live someone else's ideal version of ourselves. We're here to be our best versions for us as ourselves. When I was trying to be that perfect housewife and the perfect mom and, you know, being in that cookie cutter thing, I was not happy. And would I have chosen extreme sports as what I was good at in life? No, I would have chosen golf or something, but being really true to your authentic self and,

The more the merrier. We all shouldn't be alike. Whatever your passion is or your uniqueness in life, go for it and let others admire you for that, not because you're trying to fit someone else's ideal of who you should be. I love that. And then one more question for you, Deanna, because I know that we have a lot of listeners who maybe you've been knocked down.

or how do I do what Deanna is saying to become the best version of me? So for that person that's listening right now that maybe they've lost their way, what advice would you give to that person? - Well, that was me this past year. I was living in a place that I hated, not leaving the house. I could not leave the house for a week. Gained 20 pounds. It was a nightmare. So I moved, joined a gym and it's like, how do I start over? I'm so out of shape right now.

But how do I start over? You know what? I started going to Pilates. I'm not going to go hike for five hours, but it's getting back into where I feel strong. I mean, I've got a climb coming up. I have an altar coming up. But now I'll be in shape for those. You know, when you're really stuck and not knowing what should I be doing with my life, I fully believe in that saying, throw spaghetti at the wall. You know, go online, take some random courses. And just to get you thinking again and engaged again and...

One of my son's friends said to me, "What's one thing you do every day that makes you happy?" Maybe you only do it for a minute or two. Maybe it's walking your dog around the block and just getting some fresh air, filling up your bird feeders. Whatever it is that gives you a little joy for a minute or two a day, have a few more of those a day, and then try to string them together.

And it's just, you know, sometimes it's a big jump. You go sign up to go climb some mountain or do a 5K or something. And other times it's just baby steps. But as long as you're stepping forward, that's what matters. Amen. I love that, Deanna. I love that. So where can people follow you? Where can we buy the book? What's the next thing that Deanna's doing? Like, where can we find the latest, greatest about Deanna?

at dianettewells.com. The book comes out June 25th. You can buy it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, anywhere you buy books. It's coming out on audio on July 2nd. And yeah, upcoming, I have an Ultra in Jordan in September, June.

climbing Whitney for number 13 in October with 14 fun friends. Yeah. Just whatever anybody says, I usually say, sure, let's, let's go do it. So yeah, I'm looking, I'm just looking forward to getting in better and better shape and,

see what else is out there. That is amazing. Deanna, I appreciate you totally taking some time with us today. For everyone that's listening, make sure that you follow Deanna. Make sure that you're getting a copy of the book. It's going to be amazing. I promise you that. And just the spirit in person that you are, Deanna, I want to personally thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Absolutely. And for all the listeners, remember your because is your superpower. Go Lend-Me-Sing. Thanks for listening to Mick Unplugged. We hope this episode helps you take the next step toward the extraordinary and launches a revolution in your life. Don't forget to rate and review the podcast and be sure to check us out on YouTube at Mick Unplugged. Remember, stay empowered, stay inspired, and stay unplugged.