86: Taking on Challenges and Achieving Your Goals with Ironman World Champion Derk de Korver
Derk de Korver joins The Mindful Fire podcast to share his journey to becoming a professional Ironman Triathlete, reaching the World Championships several times.
He recalls his time in Dublin, where he and Adam Coelho, the host, bonded over side hustling and partying.
Derk talks about his transformation to becoming a healthier person, and how his goals shifted from just wanting to finish his first marathon, to wanting to qualify for Kona, and eventually winning his age group overall.
He also shares his decision to stop racing professionally and focus on his family and business.
Guest Bio
Derk de Korver was born in the Netherlands and moved around a lot in his youth due to his dad's work. He went to college in the Netherlands, and started working for Cargill, trading orange juice concentrate.
He moved to Dublin to work for Google and discovered a new part of himself -- training for a marathon. He eventually signed up for his first Ironman, and after three years of training, he qualified for Kona, the world championships.
He has done it four times and finished 8th overall and 4th in his age group in 2019. He has also won several Ironman races overall. He recently decided to stop racing professionally and focus on his family and business.
Guest Contact Information
- LinkedIn: Derk de Korver
Key Takeaways
- Derk de Korver is an entrepreneur, triathlete and Google employee.
- I met Derk in 2012 when we worked on the same global team at Google's Dublin office.
- Derk started his journey to achieve his goals by signing up for a marathon.
- He trained for an Ironman event and stopped drinking for the year because of his focus.
- After three years of Ironman, Derk managed to qualify for the Ironman World Championships In Kona, Hawaii.
- He achieved multiple successes in Ironman races and placed 8th overall in the world at Kona and 4th in his age group in his last race in Kona.
- Inspired by his success, Derk decided to go pro, and raced professionally for the next two years.
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Welcome to the Mindful Fire Podcast, a show about crafting a life you love and making work optional using the tools of mindfulness, envisioning and financial independence. I'm your host, Adam Koyo, and I'm so glad you're here. Each episode of the Mindful Fire Podcast explores these three tools through teachings, guided meditations, and inspiring interviews with people actually living them to craft a life they love.
At its core, mindful Fire is about creating more awareness and choice in. Mindfulness helps you develop self-awareness to know yourself better and what's most important to you by practicing a kind, curious awareness. Envisioning is all about choosing to think big about your life and putting the power of your predicting brain to work to create the life you dream of.
And financial independence brings awareness and choice to your financial. Empowering you to make your vision a reality by getting your money sorted out and ultimately making work optional. And here's the best part, you don't have to wait until you reach financial independence to live out your vision.
Mindful fires about using these tools to craft that life. Now on the path to financial independence and. If you're ready to start your Mindful Fire journey, go to mindful fire.org/start and download my free envisioning guide in just 10 minutes. This guide will help you craft a clear and inspiring vision for your life.
Again, you can download it for free@mindfulfire.org slash start. Let's jump into today's guided meditation
Adam Coelho: so ,let's begin. I invite you to find a position that allows you to be both alert and relaxed at the same time, sitting upright, but not rigid and resting your hands, wherever it's comfortable, channeling closing your eyes. That's.
Adam Coelho: And let's begin with three deep breaths in and out, allowing ourselves to fully arrive here.
Adam Coelho: And as we begin this practice, I invite you to check in with yourself, noticing what it feels like in your body right now, noticing any sensations. Areas that feel good areas that feel not so good and just meeting, whatever you find with kindness and curiosity, allowing whatever you find to be just as it is, and to be in enough.
Adam Coelho: Right now in my body, it's like this.
Adam Coelho: And now expanding your awareness to include the mind as well. Checking in with your mind. Notice. How it is right now
Adam Coelho: with kindness and curiosity, noticing if it's busy or calm, tense, or relaxed,
Adam Coelho: finding whatever you find be enough just as it is. Right.
Adam Coelho: And whenever you're ready, finding your way now to the breath and continuing, cultivating this feeling of enough right here. And right now
Adam Coelho: truly. Tuning into each in breath
Adam Coelho: and each out breath and letting each one be enough.
Adam Coelho: This in-breath has enough in this oppress.
Adam Coelho: No need to strive to feel any particular way,
Adam Coelho: but to simply arrest in this feeling of sufficiency meeting each in breath and each out breath just as it is and letting whatever you feel,be enough.
Adam Coelho: And any time that you notice your mind has drifted away into the past or the future.
Adam Coelho: Just notice with that same kind, curious attitude, meaning whatever's arisen. And then just choosing to come back to the breath and to arrest in the simplicity of just having to pay attention to this in breath. And this out-breath.
Adam Coelho: Letting awareness of just one in breath, be enough. And just one hour prep be enough
Adam Coelho: right now. There's nothing that you need to do or figure out just resting and the awareness of this and breath. And this out-breath moment by moment by moment. And breath by breath.
Adam Coelho: Whenever your mind trumps forward into planning, strategizing, or thinking of any kind, just notice meeting it with kindness, and then just choosing to step back into this feeling of enough, this feeling. Right now it's enough to just feel this one, AMED breath letting go of even the last out-breath
Adam Coelho: and then the next out-breath
Adam Coelho: simply arresting.
Adam Coelho: And observing this in-breath
Adam Coelho: and this out-breath and letting that be enough for right now.
Adam Coelho: And as we sit and breathe, let us extend this feeling of enough, this experience up enough to our whole body sitting and breathing and resting in the Alliance. Of
Adam Coelho: ourselves to be fully and completely enough just as we are right now, as we sit and breathe in
Adam Coelho: and then breathe out,
Adam Coelho: letting go of all that has come before. And all that is yet to come then that we hope to achieve in our lives. And recognizing that right here. Right now, you are enough
Adam Coelho: perhaps saying silently in your mind right now I am enough trust as I am. I am enough.
Adam Coelho: Just resting in this awareness of being enough,
Adam Coelho: just as you are right now. Resting in that feeling for a few minutes.
Adam Coelho: And in these last few moments of our practice together today, I invite you to bring to mind some thing about yourself that you are extremely grateful for perhaps a. Personality trade or a skill that you've developed, or the way that you show up for your friends and family, whatever comes to mind, just resting in a feeling of gratitude for this aspect of yourself and the way you show up in your life.
Adam Coelho: And again, of course, allowing whatever arises and however you feel it to be enough for even just right now.
Adam Coelho: And now let us finish this practice with three deep breaths.
Adam Coelho: Yeah,
Adam Coelho: the opening your eyes stretching in any way. It feels good.
Adam Coelho: Thank you very much for your attention.
Adam Coelho: Thanks for joining me for today's guided meditation. If you enjoyed today's episode, I invite you to hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this. This just lets the platforms know you're getting value from the episodes and you want to be here when I release additional content. If you're ready to start your Mindful Fire journey, go to mindful fire.org/start and download my free envisioning guide in just 10 minutes.
Adam Coelho: This guide will help you craft a clear and inspiring vision for your life. Again, you can download it for free@mindfulfire.org slash start. Thanks again, and I'll catch you next time on the. Fire podcast.
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