Peter Scott IV “Fearless life Academy”
Interview with Peter Scott of the Fearless Academy.
Welcome to this week’s episode of Going Deeper with David Steel. Super stoked to be interviewing Peter Scott IV, a bestselling author of The Fearless Mindset and founder of The Fearless Life Academy. Today we’re going to be paddle boarding with sharks and seals and having an incredible interview. If you enjoy this interview as much as I do, please leave a comment. Thank you.
DS:
Hello. I’m here with Peter Scott. The board meeting. Super excited about today’s show, especially excited because Peter’s not only a great friend but I’ve actually gone through his programs. They are amazing. Peter wrote a book called The Fearless Mindset and he is a bestselling author, which is incredible. Teaches people how to deal with what comes up in all of our lives in fear.
We’re doing this podcast from our paddle boards here. When we paddled out we had to paddle over the leopard sharks in La Jolla Shores.
PS:
Literally leopard sharks. These aren’t little seals and dolphins. These are actual leopard sharks.
DS:
I think for a lot of people that would be their edge. You know? They’re actually harmless, but for a lot of people it would be their edge.
PS:
They weren’t small. They were like, 4, 5 feet. They’re [crosstalk 00:02:17]. 6 feet.
DS:
5 feet.
PS:
Exactly.
DS:
It’s absolutely beautiful out here and I’m super excited. I attended one of Peter’s 3 day workshops where it was super experiential. We actually did things like CrossFit and surfing. Just kind of got out with our bodies and did things that were edgy for a lot of the people that had never surfed before.
I hadn’t done CrossFit in a long time before that particular class. I brought a lot out of it and I think that overall we just end up having a better quality of life when we know, when we can recognize our fear and really know what to do with it and how to not let it take over us.
PS:
Totally. Yeah. I just want to first, David, acknowledge you brother because this podcast is amazing. It’s so unique in that it’s not a typical iTunes podcast that you listen to. It’s one where you get to see video of us on paddle boards in the ocean. How awesome is that? We shot a Facebook live video earlier. I just want to acknowledge you because there can be so many fears that come up in just doing what we’re doing, of putting yourself out there, sharing the message.
DS:
Yes.
PS:
How is it going to look? What will people think? All these fears of rejection and failure and all this stuff that is built up. I can’t wait to share and talk about this today because I feel like I honestly feel fear is the biggest thing that limits humanity at large from creating the impact that we really want to create. If I could shift peoples’ relationship with that to get into action and to take action in spite of those fears I can create a ripple effect, so thank you, brother.
DS:
I think if we could raise a generation of children free of fear and anger we would have a new world.
PS:
Yes. Yes. Oh, absolutely we would. The thing is this. I think I agree but I think it’s shift … The fear and the anger that they’re experiencing, that we experience, it never goes away. You know? I always say this when I’m interviewed is people say, “Do you really think it’s possible to be without fear?” I don’t. I think fear could be a good thing, but it’s having the courage, it’s having the commitment, the confidence to actually do those things that terrify you. That’s what separates I believe the strong from the weak, the wealthy from the poor, the lovers from the lonely.
DS:
Yep.
PS:
For those that don’t have love in their life a lot of it is because of fear.
DS:
Absolutely. I almost interrupted you a second ago as a seal popped up just a few feet away. If it happens again I’m going to grab the camera and turn it around so you could see what we see. You can hear the seals in the background.
PS:
Yep.
DS:
They’ve been coming around the boat as well.
PS:
We literally are paddling right around seals below us, leopard sharks.
DS:
Yeah, I’m going to show where we are.
PS:
That’s La Jolla Cove.
DS:
How cool is that?
PS:
There’s the shore.
DS:
A couple things I wanted to ask you. How did you get started down this crazy path that you’re on? How does anyone wake up and say, “Hey, I want to help people get through their fear?” How did it happen?
PS:
It was definitely a life journey. The reason why, David, I’m so passionate about helping people conquer fear is because honestly my entire life was consumed by fear. For those of you that don’t know me I’ll share a little background story. When I was 10 years old I had to sit down in a courtroom with my grandparents on my left and attorney on my right and my mother directly across from me. I had to look into my mom’s eyes and tell her that I no longer felt safe living with her because of her alcoholism.
DS:
Wow.
PS:
Yeah. That was the start of really feeling a lot of fear. I didn’t know what sort of impact that would have on me, but it led me to make a really powerful limiting belief in my life and that was telling the truth meant losing love. By me telling my mom the truth, I lost her love.
DS:
Wow.
PS:
I became this version of myself that I thought people wanted to see. I was never my authentic self growing up.
DS:
You believed that story for a long time?
PS:
I totally believed that story. I thought because my mother quote unquote didn’t love, even though she did, she just had her own challenges, because of that I sought love and approval and validation from everyone outside of me. Even so much so that it led me into a career that I wasn’t passionate about. I started my career in investment banking of all things.
DS:
Okay.
PS:
I learned a lot about business, but I was miserable. I was working 100 hours a week. I neglected my body. I neglected my relationships and relationships that I had then completely fell apart.
DS:
Wow. We’re going into 1 camera mode.
PS:
Okay. Okay, cool.
DS:
Yeah.
PS:
We’re going to this one?
DS:
We’re going to this one.
PS:
Okay, good. Good to know.
DS:
We have redundancy.
PS:
There were 2 pivotal moments that really shifted me on this path.
DS:
Okay.
PS:
One was working in the office really late around 11:00 PM on a Thursday night and looking at one of the managing directors in my investment bank and realizing that he was in the office not because he had a pitch due the next day or a big board meeting. Not nearly as important as the board meeting. He was in the office because he was afraid to go home to this family. He was afraid to face his wife and his kids because he had neglected them for so long, and this was the man that I aspired to become, right?
I just had a very … It was like, an awakening moment of like, why am I doing this? It’s not all about the material possessions, the cars, the houses. There’s so much more depth to our lives. Right after that happened my father went to the hospital. His health was deteriorating for about a 5 year period. He ended up literally drinking himself to death.
DS:
Wow.
PS:
He [crosstalk 00:08:24] himself to death because of, again, fear. He was afraid of not living up to his parents’ expectation. It was the perfect storm in my mid-20s of putting life in perspective and made me realize how fragile it is. It led me to attend seminars, hire mentors, read books, put myself in terrifying situations of jumping out of planes and hiking high mountains.
DS:
You’re one of the most committed people I know, too, like additional education, mentorship, coaching.
PS:
Yes. Yes.
DS:
Both in providing it and receiving it.
PS:
Yeah.
DS:
Which is really something.
PS:
It saved my life. If I didn’t invest in myself at a young age I could’ve easily followed the path that my mom and my dad did with alcohol and with drugs.
DS:
You were previously in finance, right?
PS:
I was, yeah. I started in investment banking. Because I didn’t have the best role models growing up I constantly would immerse myself in books.
DS:
Wow.
PS:
I was blessed to work for a personal development company for a few years after I left investment banking. I didn’t go from investment banking to launching my own business. I went through a program called Life Book. It had such a profound effect I approached them and convinced them to hire me. In that process I had met extraordinary entrepreneurs. Not just people successfully financial …
DS:
Nice. Nice.
PS:
Yeah.
DS:
I think so often we come across people like yourself, like really successful. You’re a [inaudible 00:09:57]. It’s like you’re doing your dream. You’re doing what you want. It just seems like it’s so easy. I mean, was it easy?
PS:
It was the furthest thing from easy, I would say, because number 1, just leaving the security of a paycheck to do something entrepreneurial is terrifying. I don’t care how great of an idea you have. For me it was terrifying. I fortunately, again, because I knew the value of investing in myself, there was a moment. The week that I lost my sole source of income, David, I invested $20,000 literally in a mentor.
DS:
Wow. Wow.
PS:
I cut a check for 20 grand. It was money that was basically all of my savings, it was money that I borrowed from family, and it was credit card debt simultaneously.
DS:
Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, are you?
PS:
Exactly, yeah. A lot of people would say that’s insane. I honestly believe it was the best decision I’ve [inaudible 00:10:52]. Could I have arrived here? I think absolutely. It would just taken me 10 more years.
DS:
Right.
PS:
When you have a mentor, when you’re a part of a [inaudible 00:10:59], when you’re doing what you’re doing, David, interviewing these amazing people, it collapses time. It shows you a shortcut. It’s not easier, but it is simpler. I’ve worked my tail off and I will continue to because I love what I do, but I believe that if someone’s not willing to do the work then there’s no easy path.
DS:
Right.
PS:
We get marketed that all the time on social media. Many of you know Gary Vaynerchuk, Gary V. He talks about hustle and all of that. There’s an absolute energy to be tapped into in the universe, but there’s also a lot of work that has to be done.
DS:
Come to think of it, as you say it I now remember how you tend to go dark before your workshops.
PS:
Yes.
DS:
Before your 3 day retreats.
PS:
Yep. Yep.
DS:
We just don’t see you.
PS:
No, for about … In fact, my next [inaudible 00:11:50]. I’ll be in my cave preparing.
DS:
Nice. Nice.
PS:
Yeah.
DS:
One of the things that’s interesting, and certainly the folks I was meeting with yesterday it’s the same, even though you’re busy and you’ve got this project up you definitely take time to take care of yourself. You’re one of my more fit friends.
PS:
Yeah.
DS:
I don’t know if you were always that way, but you’re like, that doesn’t go away in the next 2 weeks, does it?
PS:
No, not at all. I’m a big believer in rituals, what a mentor of mine actually, a man named John Butcher, calls unconscious structured rhythms. You don’t even have to rely on self-discipline or willpower. It’s just who you are. It’s your identity. You don’t start there, right? For someone who’s never worked out to tell them to just work out 6 days a week is not realistic. At first it take a tremendous amount of willpower and self-discipline, but I’ve created my life in a way that because I’m so committed to my mission I [inaudible 00:12:45].
DS:
I like it.
PS:
The busier I get, the more committed I get to those things. Absolutely accelerate the impact that you’re making and the income that you’re making by committing to these habits and creating these structures. I mean, Richard Branson was once interviewed and asked what was the key to his success. Many of you know Richard Branson, a billionaire. He said his secret to success was working out every single day.
DS:
Nice.
PS:
This is one of the busiest men on the planet, right?
DS:
Yep.
PS:
Hearing people like that made me understand and try and commit to that myself. In my coaching when I worked with entrepreneurs, I work a lot on daily habits and performance rituals. I’ve noticed their businesses doubling, tripling as a result of that. Where before they would say, “I’m just too busy. I don’t have enough time.” Time doesn’t exist, first of all.
DS:
Right.
PS:
You’ve got to make the time to do it.
DS:
Well, that’s why I think that we look at our life and quadrants of our life – our relationship, our health, our financial well being, the job, the purpose that we have – and if you’re deficient in one it’s going to bring out the others as well. You know?
PS:
Yeah.
DS:
If you don’t take the time to take care of your relationships, you’re not going to have the best health. If you don’t take care of your health, you’re not going to sleep well.
PS:
Everything is interconnected.
DS:
Everything is interconnected. Yeah, it’s one of the things I noticed about you, is that you’re one of the more balanced people I know. That’s just become a part of your life.
PS:
Yeah. That’s because I’ve lived enough years so imbalanced, right? Out of balance. Yeah. I think everyone goes through that.
DS:
I think we can all relate.
PS:
One of my favorite quotes is Oliver Wendell Holmes. It’s a very old quote, so there’s language in here that you probably don’t recognized, but he said, “I wouldn’t give a fig,” a fig of all things, “I wouldn’t give a fig for simplicity on this side of complexity, but I would give my life for simplicity on the other side.”
DS:
Wow.
PS:
I love that quote because …
DS:
It’s kind of deep.
PS:
Going back to your question of easy, is creative genius, is tapping into your creative genius easy? No, it’s not. It absolutely does require moments of complexity, right? You do it enough and you stay committed to the path enough it does become easy, right?
When I go on stage sharing a message in front of a audience or leading an event, it is become far more simple than it did when I started. I don’t think you can avoid the complexity. I think you’ve got to go through that. In those moments like you’ve experienced in your life, like I’ve experienced in mine, we’ve learned lessons to reach the simplicity on he other side.
DS:
I love it. How do people get a hold of you?
PS:
Number 1, I create a ton of content for free on social media, on Facebook in particular. If you search Peter Scott IV, as in the 4th, you can connect with me there. My website is designafearlesslife.com. I’d love for you to connect with me there and send me a message if this resonated with you.
For anyone watching this who would like to really commit to conquering their fears, and for those high achievers watching this, I want you to know that stress is just fear in disguise.
DS:
Yes.
PS:
I know you may be thinking that you don’t have fear, but if you follow your stress I will find your fear. I promise you.
DS:
It’s so true. Anger is fear is disguise.
PS:
Totally. Absolutely it is. If you want to actually really shift your relationship with it so that it doesn’t stop you anymore then consider coming to The Fearless Life Experience, which is my 3 day event. People can learn about that, David.
DS:
We’ll put that in that show notes.
PS:
Yeah.
DS:
It’ll all be right there.
PS:
Yeah, it’s just fearlesslifeexperience.com. That’s the best way to connect with me.
DS:
I love it. Thank you. Thank you so much for this day. I’m really ready to get back on the paddle board and cruise around. We hope it all went well with 1 camera.
PS:
I love it. I just want to say one thing, David. I love that you’re doing this because to interview people in this way, it’s a remarkable … Allow us to share how we’ve tapped into our creative geniuses. It’s just going to inspire people to do that in their own life.
DS:
I freaking love you.
PS:
You’re literally creating a ripple effect of impact in humanity by doing this.
DS:
Nice.
PS:
For those of you who watched this, please share it, like it. Share it with your loved ones because people need to hear this man right here.
DS:
That would be me.
PS:
And watch all of the amazing interviews that he’s going to be doing after this.
DS:
Thank you.
PS:
Thank you, brother.
DS:
Thank you.
PS:
I love you.
DS:
Ah, I love you, man. Let’s take one last look around. How awesome is that? It’s time for us to get back on our paddle board.
PS:
Yes.
DS:
You can hear the seals in the background. They’re right there. You can see some of them in the water. Have an amazing day and I look forward to our next show.
Find out more about Peter and the Fearless Academy on his website.
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