[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:11] Speaker B: Welcome to the Comeback, your podcast for relief, recovery and restoration.
I'm Dr. Peter Abaci And I'm Dr. Sarah Guzet.
[00:00:21] Speaker C: As doctors, we know healing isn't just about treatment. It's about having the right tools, mindset and support to move you forward.
[00:00:29] Speaker B: You can have pain, you might be injured or even hurting on the inside, but with all that you got going on, you can still have a really great life. And that is what we are here for. This is the Comeback. Let's get started.
[00:00:44] Speaker C: Excited about today's guest. So welcome. We have today with us Michael Yang, published author, and so much more. Peter, tell us a little bit about Michael.
[00:00:57] Speaker B: So, Michael, welcome.
[00:01:00] Speaker A: Michael Yang.
[00:01:02] Speaker B: Yes.
Former high tech aficionado, founder of Simon.com, mysimon.com, and which was an online price comparison platform and then was acquired by CNET in 2000 and after that formed Michael Yang Capital Partners, which was a hedge fund and private investment firm and has been a board member on banks and financial institutions and a really successful tech career.
And then what happened? Michael got a little older, a little bit of change, turned his focus from boardrooms to back roads and started to embark on this sort of epic journey of solo motorcycle rides. And started from Los Angeles, got to the Arctic, Alaska, across America, Canada, South America, Patagonia, you name it. And these adventures sort of started to become a process of life purpose, faith, learning, meaning of life, you name it. And I think the impact of that has led Michael to, to write a brand new book which has just come out that we're really excited about. It's called Coming Alive on the A Memoir of Motorcycle Travel, Self Discovery and Korean Heritage. Michael Yang, welcome to the podcast.
[00:02:36] Speaker A: Thank you, Peter, Great to be here.
[00:02:40] Speaker C: We're excited to have you. Can you tell us a little bit in your own words about the book?
[00:02:46] Speaker A: Yes, It's a book that I wrote over the last four years, just got published last month and it won the Amazon number one bestseller in the solo travel category. But it's a story of a Korean American Silicon Valley tech founder who finds himself on the road while he's riding motorcycle across North American continent.
And so it's a story of resilience, struggles, renewal, and finding sort of my true identity and purpose in life.
[00:03:27] Speaker C: Fantastic.
[00:03:29] Speaker B: So you just want to talk a little bit about your growing up, you know, in Korea and what it was like coming to the United States and how that process maybe got us to where, where you are today?
[00:03:42] Speaker A: Yes. So, yeah, I was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1961.
Soon after the Korean War.
And so the country was pretty impoverished at that time because there just wasn't a lot of resources or food left after the war.
But my, my family emigrated to United States when I was 14 years old in 1976 and my family settled in San Jose, California that later became Silicon Valley. And I was very fortunate to have gone to high school there. I went to UC Berkeley and studied electrical engineering and computer science and spent most of my career in Silicon Valley tech industry from 1979 to 1970, 2013, almost 40 years before moving down to Southern California and raising a family, pivoting to doing investing work.
And now I'm semi retired. And I love motorcycle riding because something that I did when I was a 15 year old, out of place teenager in San Jose and I love that experience.
And when I was going through a bit of a midlife crisis in my late 40s, I felt, is this it? I mean, I was very happy with my family, my financial sort of security and my faith, but my body was itching to ride again after not riding motorcycle for like 35 years. And I think it was my body telling me that I should have some fun for myself.
And I started riding and before I knew it, I was riding from LA to San Diego to San Francisco to Seattle and Yellowstone National Park. Before I knew it, I was riding all over the country and all over the world and I just love it. And that led me to writing a book to share my story and my adventures. And so that's kind of my story in a nutshell. But there is a story of friendship, renewal and sort of finding purpose in who I am and what I do going forward.
[00:06:05] Speaker C: Tell us a little bit about.
You know, you mentioned moving from Seoul, Korea to the US. 14 years old, pivotal age.
I'm so curious about how you feel that shaped you.
[00:06:19] Speaker A: Yeah. So, you know, when I came to America, I didn't speak English very well and we didn't have any money and we were just typical immigrants having to adjust to a brand new country, adapt to a new culture, language, completely new world.
But I was very excited to come to America because America was a land of freedom, land of opportunity, land of you know, just, just great country if you are willing to get, get yourself a good education and work hard and, and, and you know, give your best shot. And so yeah, it was a, it was a very challenging experience in some ways because I couldn't speak, I, I couldn't understand what other students were teachers were saying in the classroom for the first couple of years. Which was a frustrating experience. But after a while, I started to adjust and sort of thrive in a new country and sort of became a American while maintaining my Korean heritage and the Korean roots.
[00:07:35] Speaker B: MICHAEL When I was in college, two of my freshman year roommates were Korean. One was a Korean immigrant and the other parents were Korean immigrants.
And really, one of them actually turned out to be a really good friend of mine for a long time. And we used to go to a Korean restaurant all the time. This was, we went to UC San Diego. It was called Cheese.
And I got to think I probably went there at least once a week all through college and loved it. And I remember the first, you know, Christmas break that I came home, I brought a big jar of kimchi home to my mom and dad's house and put it in the fridge.
And the next day my mom was like, wow, what is in the refrigerator? It was pretty powerful.
But I have such great memories of that time and the culture and their parents who would have me over for Thanksgiving and things like that.
So great. So I'm glad, I'm glad the transition. I hope we treated you as well as my Korean friends, family treated me.
[00:08:49] Speaker A: Yeah. So, you know, speaking of Korean food, I met some great friends through in high school, and we enjoyed Korean food. And one of my best friends from high school, his name was Jim Richardson, and we still keep in touch after 50 years of being a friend.
And he also loved Korean food, whether it's kimchi or bulgogi, which is Korean barbecue beef, and mandu, which is like this meat dumpling, pot sticker and japchae. And there's so many other interesting Korean dishes that are hot and spicy and very different.
And so, yeah, it's still my favorite food, although I love all ethnic foods. But, yeah, I think Korean food creates a lot of good connection among friends and communities.
[00:09:45] Speaker C: So I'm curious, it sounds like you've always been.
You don't shy away from adventure and whether that be, you know, as a young teenager, you know, excited to move to another country, but also professionally. Tell us a little bit about some of the risks and the stressors that you face in your career.
[00:10:09] Speaker A: Yeah. So, you know, when I was growing up in Korea, my mother told me that even when I was 2, 3, 4 years old, she said I would always just go outside and play, even though it might be freezing cold outside or raining or really hot and humid in the summertime.
And I remember just going to the hills behind my house to go hiking when I was young and even when I was 13 years old. There was a bicycle shop in my neighborhood that rented bicycle and I didn't have my own bicycle. And so I just rent for a few hours and I would ride, you know, 10 miles across town, which, you know, was quite an adventure. And I love seeing new parts of town that I had never seen. And I was pedaling this bicycle to see it and that was quite an adventure. I think those early childhood and early sort of teenage experience sort of made me become kind of curious and adventurous and that kind of carried on through my career in Silicon Valley as a tech entrepreneur because we have to take risk. Because a lot of tech startups go out of business as you know, and some make it. And also going on this long motorcycle travels is risky. There is some elements of risk involved. So I realized that I'm an adventurer and an explorer, not just an entrepreneur or a businessman.
That was one of the realizations about discovering my true identity, that I'm an adventurer, that I like to take risks and gain some new success or insights that I wouldn't have if I didn't take that risk, whether it's starting a company or going on a cross continental motorcycle trips.
[00:12:02] Speaker B: Michael, I'm curious, with your tech career and when you were wearing that hat, what about that was fulfilling and what about that wasn't and led to some life changes.
[00:12:16] Speaker A: Yeah. So I love the idea of using the latest information technology, whether it's computers, personal computers, Internet, the web, browsers and the world wide web. And today it's AI.
But I love the idea of creating useful products and services that benefits people using this technology. And that was really the thing that was most exciting and rewarding to me, especially when we founded a company, MySimon.com, which was the first comparison shopping site online.
And we got millions of users and we raised 30 million in venture capital. And the company was acquired by CNET in 2000 at $700 million valuation. So that was a great exit, great timing, but great experience because again, I was able to use technology to create very useful service working with a team of very talented engineers and professionals.
Now I think what made me move away from tech startup was really not so much that I didn't like some aspect of it, just that I was in my early 50s, my wife and I had four children by then, and I started a couple more startups that didn't work out as well. And so it was stressful when things don't grow and things don't go succeed and a lot of times it doesn't and so I think that was at the time that I wanted to ride motorcycle, to treat myself a little bit rather than keep working.
And then I decided that tech startup was just too risky for someone who was in his 50s with family.
And so I pivoted to doing more investing work that utilizes my knowledge of the tech industry and investing in promising tech companies when they're pretty young. So whether it's Amazon or Google or. Or, you know, other. Other tech companies. So that's been my journey through the tech industry as an entrepreneur, later pivoting to investor and then ultimately becoming an adventurer on a motorcycle.
[00:14:34] Speaker C: So was there a specific moment or a series of moments that were kind of like your aha moment, and you decided you wanted something different for the next chapter of your life?
Because I heard you. It sounds like, you know, writing for you was one of your coping skills and kind of one of your outlets. But I'm curious, when was it, you know, or was there a moment that defined it and you thought, this is my time to gracefully exit and go take care of myself?
[00:14:59] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a great question. So actually, that's the reason that's the sort of the experience that made me want to write my book. Coming Alive on the Ride. This was in 2022, four years ago.
I was really enjoying traveling on a motorcycle. And in summer of 2022, I left LA on my way to Newfoundland, Canada, which is the easternmost point of North America.
And I was riding through Colorado, through the Rocky Mountains, and it was such a beautiful day.
I was just so happy. I was having a natural high, and I was very, very thankful for being able to enjoy that experience. And then I asked myself, like, how did I become so lucky? How did I become so blessed to be able to enjoy this experience?
And I started asking questions about, who am I? How did I get here?
And I was writing up this travel on the Facebook because I like to share my experience with others through photos and video and some write up on the travel. And I got a lot of people following me on my Facebook post and encouraging me, appreciating me for sharing my journey and what I'm learning on the road.
And a couple of people suggested that I write a book to share my story because some of them knew about my Silicon Valley founder experience and Korean American kind of immigrant experience. So that was the trip that made me decide to write a book and share my experience, share my story in a way that could be encouraging to other people, motivating to other people to seek out their own adventures. In life, in whatever activities it might be.
[00:16:57] Speaker B: You know, Michael, I've had a lot of patients who are passionate motorcycle riders, very passionate. And I think when you connect to the bike, it is a strong connection, a strong passion.
And so many times, so many of them have told me all I want to do is get better so I can ride my motorcycle again. I've, I've heard this, you know, throughout my, my whole career.
And can you speak to, you know, that connection?
And, and I'll add that, you know, I think it's interesting, the concept of walking meditation that we do with some patients that I do for myself sometimes.
And maybe, you know, is, is this, you know, trip that when you go on a trip or journey, is it dopamine? Is it meditation?
Is it soulful? Is it spiritual? What are you going through? What's it like?
[00:17:53] Speaker A: Yes, it's all of them.
[00:17:55] Speaker B: And I'm too chicken to ride a motorcycle, so I need to know.
[00:17:58] Speaker A: Well, I think that's the part that's there's a element of danger.
So, you know, for me, riding a motorcycle is, it's like another level of riding a bicycle. You know how when you first ride your bicycle for the very first time, you feel this excitement because you don't want to fall down, you have to balance and you have to pedal so that you don't like lose momentum. And there's an excitement to like riding bicycle, right? Well, riding a motorcycle is that excitement multiplied by 10 times or a hundred times. Because it's not your legs that is powering your bicycle, it's the engine and you have to control it. So there's an element of like fear and excitement at the same time. Right? Because you know, with the engine you could go much faster, right? And so you have to balance and you know, if you, if you crash, you're gonna, you know, you could get injured or killed, right?
You don't have protection around you like you have in a car.
So I think it's that element of excitement and fear that makes it so much more engaging. It's a whole body experience.
And when I ride motorcycle, I feel like I'm flying at three feet above the ground. And so it's very much like a liberating feeling. And you know, 99% of the time I'm riding out in the country road, there are no traffic, just a beautiful scenery all around you with smell of flowers and trees and whatever the smell. So it's an entire multi sensory experience coupled with element of danger. And then you have, you know, beautiful scenery you could smell, you could hear the sound of everything around you. So it's a, it's a quite an amazing experience. And you know, I debated whether I want to teach my kids how to ride motorcycle for a long time because it is dangerous, you could crash and hurt yourself and damage the bike, which could be very costly. But I decided recently, just last year, that I'm going to teach all my kids how to ride motorcycle because I think the benefit and the joy of motorcycle riding and traveling is so much bigger than the potential risk. And so, yeah, I think motorcycle, it's a very special kind of activity.
I like it 10 times more than downhill skiing that I used to enjoy or any other activity. So to me, it's been the most passionate hobby or activity or thing that I enjoy doing. And I plan to do it for the rest of my life as long as I'm able. Into my 70s and 80s.
[00:20:49] Speaker C: Oh, wow, that's impressive. And the way you talk about it, we can see your passion for writing. That's abundantly clear. And is that right? I read that you've completed over 40,000 miles solo.
[00:21:05] Speaker A: Yes. So over the last six years, since 2018 when I was 57 years old and now I'm 64, I wrote now over 50,000 miles all over North America.
So I rode my motorcycle from LA to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, which is about 5,000 miles away.
So I made that trip in the summer of 2023 and it was over 37 days, about 11,200 miles round trip.
That was an amazing trip. I rode from LA to Newfoundland, Canada and there was a 40 day trip and I rode for about two weeks together with my best friend Carl, who was living in Seattle. And, and so we met up in, near Niagara Falls in New York and we kept going east to end up at the Saint John, Newfoundland, which is the easternmost point of North America. And then, and then we came back separately.
So yeah, it's, it's been a just a lot of, you know, motorcycle travels throughout North America. And two years ago I went down to South America and rode down to Ushuaia, Argentina, which is southern tip of South America in this area of Patagonia, which was just another beautiful region. So it's just an amazing experience traveling on motorcycle to these remote lands and remote continents.
[00:22:34] Speaker B: So you're spending a lot of time alone on your motorcycle, but I imagine you meet interesting people. There's maybe a community of other motorcycle riders that you're connected with.
Talk about the social connection side of doing something that's such a solo activity? For the most part, yes.
[00:22:56] Speaker A: So I didn't touch up on that meditative part, but when I'm riding motorcycle on a long distance trip, I'm riding like 300, 400 miles a day. So it'd be like riding from LA to San Francisco every day for long stretches of time.
So you have a lot of time to think on the road. I mean, sometimes I've been listening to music through the Bluetooth speakers in my helmet, or occasionally I'm talking to my wife or children while I'm riding through the iPhone and Bluetooth headset connection. But a lot of times I'm just out there thinking about issues or things, remembering things, asking questions.
So it's very reflective and meditative at the same time. But also there is a community aspect because I write up my travel post on Facebook and I share that post to all the motorcycle groups on the Facebook, of which there are like 20 or 30 of them. There are hundreds of thousands of people who are on these groups.
And some of them, if I'm traveling through their town, they're amazed at my long distance trips and they invite me to their house for a coffee break or to stay overnight. And they would cook me a dinner or breakfast and have a conversation about my trip, my life journey. And so it's just a great connection that I would never have if I just stayed home and did not do this. And it promotes better understanding of, you know, I'm Asian, I'm Korean, so people don't know much about Koreans or Asians. So through my interaction with them, when I'm visiting them or when I'm communicating with them, they get to understand more about my ethnicity, my culture, and realize, wow, that's so. And also talk about Silicon Valley experience as a, as an entrepreneur. So they're fascinated by my sort of, you know, work and experience working in the tech industry and how I was able to sell my company.
And so, yeah, it's a, it's a, it's a great experience connecting with other people while I'm traveling solo on the road.
[00:25:03] Speaker C: And not just connecting with other people, but also.
Let me rephrase that. It's not that you just got to travel and meet other Americans, but you also traveled internationally. Tell us a little bit about that. Because I am so curious about how does one travel as much as you did internationally? And were there any experiences that kind of changed how you saw the world?
[00:25:29] Speaker A: Yes. So I travel through countries in North America, like Mexico, down to Baja California to Sonora Desert, and also in Canada, through Vancouver, all the way to Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec, those regions. But I would say that people are extremely kind and generous.
They, they want to help travelers or people who are in need of help. And so one of the examples is I was traveling down in South America through Chile and Argentina, on my way down to Ushuaia, which is the southernmost point of South America.
And I stayed in this one cabin in this national park in Chile, Torres del Painez.
And I had to leave, but I couldn't find my glasses.
I left my glasses. Sometimes I misplaced my glasses because of age or, you know, sometimes I forget.
And I had to leave because I was riding with two other friends.
And later the host texted me through WhatsApp that the cleaner found my glasses. But, you know, by then I was like 600 miles away from that host, so I couldn't go back.
But amazingly they found a way to ship that glass to me so I could pick it up at a post office, at a bus terminal and in like, you know, another town thousand miles away. And so it was, I was so touched by that. And the cost of shipping through those, like local transportation by bus system only cost like a dollar.
I could not believe how cheap it was. But they managed to get this, you know, lost glasses because I needed it for my travel by using this local shipping service, using local buses system.
And so I was just really touched by how caring these people are in foreign countries. And that's just one of many amazing experiences. And I hear this from other motorcycle travelers. People are just really genuinely nice and they don't expect anything in return. They just want to help you.
[00:28:01] Speaker B: That's so great.
We spend so much of our lives online where we see a lot of ugliness and we forget it's when we go out and actually interact with people.
What a great world we live in. And the human spirit always, you know, the friendship and connection, love always wins out. And so those are great stories.
I was wondering if we kind of pivot to your book a little bit, Coming Alive on the Ride.
And you've kind of described it as a philosophical memoir.
What are some of your core values, core truths in the book that you want your readers to understand and connect with?
[00:28:47] Speaker A: Okay, sure. Yeah. So I ask questions like, what's the purpose of life?
Why do I live? What is the meaning of life? And that's something that I've been asking myself since I was a 20 year old college graduate.
And so during the motorcycle travels, I discovered that I love the adventure, though it involves elements of Risk. But as an entrepreneur, there's a risk of failing too. And so it's a similar kind of situation being an entrepreneur or adventurer or a general.
But one truth that I realized is that taking calculated risk, as long as what you're about to undertake is not fatal.
The benefit or the reward of that risk taking adventure is so much greater than the risk, the downside risk. That I realized people should take that extra risk and go do some adventurous activity because they'll grow as a person and they'll learn more about themselves and they'll find better versions of themselves. So that's one sort of truth that I. And that's the one message that I want to share with the readers that embrace the risk in whatever activity. It could be just going on your solo hike for half a day, or riding a bicycle across town, or going on overnight trips by yourself somewhere, or challenge yourself to run a marathon if you haven't done that. So just do something that stretches you a little bit because you'll find greater version of yourself by taking that extra bit of risk and take on that adventure.
[00:30:52] Speaker C: Fantastic words of wisdom there.
I am curious about how you define a purposeful life for yourself today as opposed to right when you were busy at the peak of the startup and working those long hours in the Silicon Valley. What does it look like now?
[00:31:14] Speaker A: Yeah, so that's a good question. So, you know, I used to have a.
Have a. I used to think that I could help other people with my financial resources to help those people who are homeless or who are in need of money for their education or, you know, supporting a missionary who is trying to share a love of God with other people in other countries.
But what I realized now is that I could expand that sort of portfolio of what I could bless other people with is by encouraging people and motivating and inspiring people to go seek out adventures.
And so it's a sort of additional dimension to how I can help others and bless other people and basically love others by encouraging them so that they will be encouraged to take that extra step and take on that extra adventure and find greater meaning in their own lives.
[00:32:20] Speaker B: You know, Michael, motivating people is also really important to Sarah and myself. You know, in our clinical lives, in our practices.
And a lot of our patients have dealt with really challenging, sometimes traumatic episodes in their lives. Maybe physical injury, traumatic, maybe the psychological consequences of it, traumatic, you know, the social aspects, the economic aspects. They're dealing with so much. And we want to do what we can to help people overcome those challenges. You Know, resilience, building resilience and finding, you know, the power, the superpower inside.
It comes natural to you, I think, you know, to do that for people who are trying to find that superpower.
What sort of tips or things have you learned or found in your own journeys on the bike and outside of the bike that can help lift some folks like that up that, you know, we see trying to make that happen every day?
[00:33:29] Speaker A: Sure, yeah, that's a good question. You know, I myself had excruciating pain experience for about two weeks about six, seven years ago.
It turns out I had a herniated disc that was causing so much pain, so I had to get epidural shots and I couldn't even take MRI because sitting laying down to take MRI is so painful.
So, you know, I was taking pain medications and it wouldn't go away. And I thought about getting a surgery, but I was told that that's very highly risky. Avoid it. So, and I reached out to Facebook groups for people suffering from the pain and I realized there are literally thousands of people who are suffering and I feel so bad for them. My heart goes out to them.
I would say two things. One is, you know, my faith in God has always been very important to me.
And you know, I became a Christian when I came to America in San Jose, California.
And over time my faith grew. So I believe that having a personal relationship with all loving God and his son Christ has been a huge blessing for me to have that security, knowing that I'm in good hands regardless of my physical conditions or economic or other difficulty that I might be with.
And the second thing is just based on my experience, I got healed through acupuncture and that was amazing. And so I would encourage people to try low cost treatment options, even though it may not be what you're comfortable with or you used to.
So just try various different low cost options for getting healed. Because human body is so complex, we still even the best sort of medical and other science, we are still learning. And so to me, trying other low cost options, whether it's chiropractic or homeopathic medicine or acupuncture or improved circulation, all of those could help to alleviate the pain and make you healthier and better. And so that would be my second advice.
[00:35:59] Speaker C: Appreciate that. And you know, we agree with you, it's when you treat chronic pain or even acute pain, it's not a one size fits all and always big fans of a more conservative approach. But I think also your mindset, your healthy optimism and resilience also helped you in that journey as to not to get stuck in despair and challenges of pain.
[00:36:25] Speaker A: Absolutely. Yeah. My father would tell us when he was alive that always be positive and always be thankful, because there is a lot that you could be thankful for. Even just waking up in the morning. You should be thankful that you could still wake up in the morning and you could always be positive instead of being negative and critical.
And I think that that positivity and that gratitude in itself is not only a source of encouragement, but also a source of healing. And so I think staying positive and being thankful in all circumstances is another very important sort of posture to have.
[00:37:12] Speaker C: You're definitely no stranger to pain.
I understand that you also have a 4th degree black belt on top of being an endurance traveler.
So that requires one, a lot of pain tolerance, but also a lot of discipline.
And I know that, you know, your mindset, the power of the meditation that's also interwoven into all of that. How has that played a role for you personally, whether it be in your career, your adventures, your family, whatever it might be?
[00:37:43] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a good question.
I write about this in my book Coming Alive on the Ride, but I studied my Taekwondo martial art when I was 12 years old in Korea.
My father had come to America by himself first, and he saw that the kids in America were big and strong. So he wrote a postcard to me and my brother to go to Taekwondo school and learn Taekwondo and get black belt before you come to America, because he didn't want us to be pushed around, right, just because we're smaller.
And so that was beginning of my journey with Taekwondo martial art. And I continued and I got my first degree black belt in Korea. And then when I came to us, I continued. And while I was going to UC Berkeley, I continued my Taekwondo training. I got my second and third degree black belt. And then when I started working, I got busy and I didn't do Taekwondo for a long time. But when I was around 50 years old, my son, who I encouraged to, you know, practice Taekwondo, and he, he was kind of annoyed that I was kind of pushing him. And so he said, dad, why don't you like, why don't you get your fourth degree back black belt and I'll get my first degree. So I said, okay, that's a deal. So he and I worked out and I tested for fourth degree black belt and I got my fourth degree certification from Kukewan, which is the World Taekwondo Federation in Korea, that, that sanctions the official certification of these belts. But I think that martial art, including Taekwondo, is a tremendous skill or practice to know because it teaches not only physical training but mental training to have self control, self respect, self defense, to be able to defend yourself and maybe others when there's sort of danger from others. And so to me, that mental aspect of the martial art and being able to defend yourself and you know, you could get killed while you're defending yourself or your family or your neighbors against evil force. But if you have sort of balanced view as a martial artist about the potential downside, then you no longer have fear and you could be more effective in defending yourself and others. So that applies to my long distance travel because I could get into an accident and die, but as long as I do my best in planning my travels and doing all the research and wearing all the safety equipments and gears to minimize the chance, then I'm much better off. And so to me, the mental discipline of martial arts has been incredibly helpful for me in dealing with fear. And fear is one of the biggest things that we need to manage or deal with because a lot of times we let fear make the decision for us to our detriment.
And I think we need to overcome that fear by doing the research and planning in case of long distance travels like I do, or through training in martial arts like Taekwondo or having faith, because then you're ultimately leaving the destiny to the hands of God's hand, not sort of your own. And so, you know, whether it's my faith in God or martial art training in Taekwondo or my motorcycle traveling and the preparation that I do, I think all help me dealing with fear, which is something that even I still get scared when I'm planning my next trip to Norway this summer because it's unknown territory and it's very cold up there and the weather is pretty bad. So, yeah, all of these things come into play, but I'm able to manage that fear and still go through with it because I know the upside is so much greater.
[00:42:07] Speaker B: Fear is a big topic for Sarah and I. We talk to our patients about that.
It's a huge barrier to recovery in many cases. And I like to say fear is kind of your evil, wicked stepmother in your, you know, your journey to recovery and overcoming, you know, whatever you're battling. In our patient's case, sometimes chronic pain.
Um, so that's, that's awesome. Looking ahead, you know, you're going to be going on, I hear, a 45 day motorcycle journey through Europe and sounds like part of that's going to be in Norway, which I hear Is, is just gorgeous.
And so what, what's going on? What's, what's the future looking like?
[00:42:53] Speaker A: Yeah. So next adventure trip for me is to go on a 40 day trip to Northern Europe. So I'm flying this summer to, to Heidelberg, Germany. Start from there. I'm going to rent a BMW GS motorcycle which is the, my, my sort of go to motorcycle when I travel. And I want to ride up to Denmark, Sweden, Norway and all the way up to the Norcap which is the northernmost point of Norway. It's very cold and remote. It's kind of like the Alaska of Europe, Europe area.
And I want to come down through the Finland, Russia border and kind of experience the military tension that's being built up there because of the Ukrainian war. And I want to come down through Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia.
I may enter Ukraine depending on sort of the situation.
I'll kind of measure the danger as well as potential issues before I decide whether I want to ride through Ukraine and back to Poland and then back to Germany and come back. So yeah, that's my adventure and so I want to. I, I'm, I'm planning to ride my motorcycle all over the world in all six different continents around the world. I've done North America and South America so far and the next is Europe. Europe and then I want to go to Asia, Africa and other parts of the world. And because world is so big and there's so many beautiful places to see, I'm gonna, I'm gonna just continue to do this until I just physically cannot do it anymore.
[00:44:26] Speaker C: Fantastic. And for those who are curious about your journey, where can they follow along?
[00:44:32] Speaker A: So I have a
[email protected] and I also have a Facebook page and I recently opened a YouTube channel called Alive on the Ride.
So you could. I just started that and I started to create some new YouTube videos to share my motorcycle travels on it. So.
And I have an Instagram, I am also LinkedIn and X Twitter. So yeah, you could find me on various social media, but Facebook is my go to social media to share my travels and you could find me on my
[email protected] and my book is available on Amazon or anywhere where the books are sold.
[00:45:13] Speaker B: Michael, thank you so much for sharing your time, your stories, your energy, your sense of adventure with us and best of luck with your next trip. Best of luck with your book and whatever else comes your way.
[00:45:33] Speaker A: Thank you so much. I really enjoyed your great questions, enjoyed this conversation. So I wish you the best and to everybody as well.
[00:45:42] Speaker C: Thank you. Thank you so much for being here and thank you for everyone who is listening and tuned in for joining us today on the Comeback with Boomerang Healthcare. We're grateful to have you here. If you've enjoyed today's episode, be sure to subscribe so you never miss an update. You can always follow us on social media for more tips, information and inspiration. Until next time, keep moving forward. Your comeback is just getting started.
