Paul Watkins

Paul Watkins, author and keynote speaker behind the Tao of Hard Things, joins Evan and Tony to dig into why chosen hard things matter and what separates the ones that build you from the ones that break you. Paul walks through his own recent years of racing, from winning the 6633 Arctic Ultra to a brutal DNF in the Namibian desert at 53-degree heat, and what each experience taught him about ego, purpose, and the difference between performing and exploring. The conversation gets honest about what's actually at stake for men who avoid hard things entirely, why physical challenge is the best gateway drug to every other kind of growth, and how those same lessons show up in marriage and fatherhood. Paul closes with the idea behind his next book: building an inner citadel, a stable philosophy of self, that lets you go out into the chaos without being consumed by it.