#12: It Takes What It Takes – Mastering Mindset, Pressure, and Purpose

In this episode, Kobie Fuller invites us into his home gym — and into the mindset that’s driven him through elite athletics, startup investing, fatherhood, and personal growth. From sprint workouts to 24-hour fasts, Kobie shares how he uses physical discipline to sharpen mental clarity and lead with purpose.

He breaks down two core ideas that changed his life: “It takes what it takes” and neutral thinking — frameworks he learned from late mentor Trevor Moawad to overcome self-doubt, pressure, and negativity.

We explore how Kobie handles failure, centers his faith, coaches his kids, balances ambition with presence, and defines what it truly means to win. This is a masterclass in mindset, emotional leadership, and how to build a life that actually matters.

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Timestamps:
0:00 – Introduction
1:40 – Inside Kobie’s gym: how fitness drives clarity
2:00 – Track workouts, aging, and athletic self-awareness
5:16 – Why the 800 is the most brutal race
6:13 – Coaching his kids, and what youth sports reveal
8:20 – “It takes what it takes” – the mindset behind greatness
11:25 – Neutral thinking vs. toxic positivity
14:18 – Road rage, emotional discipline, and living by the Golden Rule
20:47 – Teaching neutral mindset to his kids
22:11 – Preemptive emotional mapping with Trevor Moawad
25:18 – Balancing work, presence, and guilt as a founder & father
28:00 – Monday fasts, spiritual resets, and weekly discipline
31:10 – Building long-term investor-founder relationships
32:30 – Having a spouse who helps you stay grounded
33:17 – Trusting God’s plan when life doesn’t go your way
35:37 – Accomplishing hard things: track, leadership, and family
40:45 – Privilege, pressure, and staying grateful
42:49 – The person he admires most: Jim Lowry
43:44 – What he’s most proud of (it’s not Harvard)
44:30 – Meeting God and leaving the world better
45:05 – How he will measure his life

Episode Partners:
Salesforce
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#DivotPodcast #MindsetMatters #ItTakesWhatItTakes #NeutralThinking #EmotionalDiscipline #Fatherhood #Faith #Leadership #KobieFuller

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#13: AI, Work, and the Future of Life: Lessons on Success, Resilience, and Reinvention

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#11: 50 Years in Silicon Valley; Surviving Vietnam, and How to Stay Married