Daily Inspiration: Meet Akshay Nanavati

Today we’d like to introduce you to Akshay Nanavati.

Akshay, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I have overcome a lifestyle of drug addiction that killed two of my friends in high school, PTSD from fighting the war in Iraq with the Marines (where I had to walk in front of vehicles to find bombs), debilitating depression, and severe alcoholism that pushed me to the brink of suicide.

By learning to fall in love with my demons, I have since built a global business, run ultramarathons, and explored some of the most hostile environments on the planet, from mountains to caves to polar icecaps.

Combining my life experience with years of research in neuroscience, psychology, and spirituality, I wrote the book “Fearvana: The Revolutionary Science of How to Turn Fear into Health, Wealth, and Happiness.” About the book, The Dalai Lama said “Fearvana inspires us to look beyond our own agonizing experiences and find the positive side of our lives.”

All the profits from the book are being donated to my nonprofit The Fearvana Foundation, which has supported people like former child soldiers in West Africa to survivors of sex trafficking in India.

Here is a short video about the philosophy of Fearvana:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2TYzSnmnpY

I am now an ultrarunner who has run many ultra-marathons, including a 24-hour run, a 50 miler around a 0.05-mile cul-de-sac when the pandemic first hit, and a 167 mile run across Liberia to help build the 1st sustainable school there. I am also not biologically suited to be a runner: I have a blood disorder that 2 doctors told me would kill me in Marine Corps boot camp, flat feet, scoliosis and my body is unable to absorb nutrients well. Yet, I am now a sponsored athlete and an explorer.

Among my many adventures on the edge, I have spent 10 days in darkness and isolation, skied 350 miles across the world’s 2nd largest icecap for 1 month in temperatures as low as -40 degrees, and I recently returned from Antarctica where I became 1 of only 26 human beings to ski up the remote, challenging and highly crevassed Axel Heiberg Glacier. I got frostbite on 3 of my fingers out there and will lose the tip on 1 of them. I am now planning my return to Antarctica later this year for a 50-day, 702 miles, solo expedition to the South Pole.

I have volunteered in leper colonies, worked with survivors of sex trafficking, taught Fearvana to former child soldiers, done humanitarian work in post-conflict zones, and worked with those in extreme poverty.

Me and my work have been featured on CNN, Fox, ABC, Forbes, entrepreneur.com, Fast Company, INC, Bloomberg, Washington Post, Runners World, Military Times, and podcasts like the Dr. Drew Podcast, The Jordan Harbinger Show, The Aubrey Marcus Podcast and many others.

Through my business, my nonprofit, my adventures, and as a public speaker, I am now on a mission to help our human family fall in love with fear, stress, anxiety, pain and suffering in order to create a life of greater meaning, bliss, and fulfillment.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been easy or smooth. I struggled with drug addiction in high school and lost two friends to that lifestyle.

I got out of that world and then had to fight my way into the Marines. Two doctors told me boot camp would kill me because of a blood disorder that transports 25-30% less oxygen through my body than a normal man, so I had to wait a year and a half to get the medical waivers I needed.

I not only survived but graduated infantry school as the honor graduate in my platoon. Life in Iraq as an infantry non-commissioned officer was not easy either. I then struggled with PTSD, depression, and alcoholism which drove me to the brink of suicide after the war. I found my way out of that darkness and then struggled to write a book, build a brand, grow a business, and become a sponsored adventurer.

Life as an ultrarunner and polar explorer is filled with struggles, but I choose them and am grateful for them. I also got frostbite on 3 fingers during my recent expedition to Antarctica and am about to lose the tip of 1 of my finger. That presented some challenges, but I’m ready to get back to Antarctica later this year.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a speaker and explorer. I run a business and a nonprofit as well. I am known for my brand and my book Fearvana, which was endorsed by the Dalai Lama.

I am also known for my adventures on the edge of the human condition. I am most proud of serving in the Marines and being a part of that tribe where the good of the group mattered more than our individual well-being.

What sets me apart from others is my willingness to seek out and endure a great deal of physical, mental, and spiritual suffering as a means for transcendence, bliss, and enlightenment.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Spending time with incredible people and exploring the limitlessness of human potential.

I love deep, human connection and playing on the edges, both within and without. These experiences bring me great joy because they unearth the infinite treasures that lie within the human soul.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://fearvana.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/fearvana
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nanavati03
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/fearvana