Life Off the Map
Life Off the Map is a podcast about choosing a different path—when the default route stops working. Hosted by Chad Missildine, the show explores how people find rhythm, meaning, and forward motion when life moves off the paved road. Some episodes are recorded on unpaved trails or in the middle of real life. Others are conversations with people who've taken risks, changed direction, and learned to live with both intention and mystery. This isn't about hacks or formulas. It's about paying attention, finding your rhythm, and making the next honest move—especially when the path isn't clear. If you've done...
Too Many Paths - Why More Options Are Making Your Life Worse (And What to Do About It)
You likely don't have a motivation problem. And you don't have an opportunity problem either. You have too many paths… and no clear way to choose between them.
When life becomes self-directed, everything opens up. More options. More freedom. More pressure. And strangely, the more possible everything feels, the harder it becomes to move. In this episode, Chad breaks down why clarity tends to disappear the moment life opens up—and what to do when you don't have a full plan. This is not about waiting for the perfect answer. It's about learning how to move forward when the...
You Don't Grow Alone - But You've Been Trying To - Crew Convo with Steven Van Cauwenbergh
Most people say they want to grow—but very few stay in conversations that actually challenge them. In this episode of Life Off the Map, Chad shares a real coaching conversation that challenged how he sees himself, how he relates to others, and how he's showing up in his life and work.
He invited his friend Steven Van Cauwenbergh - someone he trusts for honest, direct feedback, to speak into what he was building with this podcast. What followed was an unfiltered conversation. Steven names the gap between who Chad is and how he's actually showing up in t...
The Three Seasons of Life: From Success to Significance - Crew Convo with Boe Parrish
Most people spend years climbing the ladder… only to realize it was leaning against the wrong wall.
In this episode of Life Off the Map, Chad sits down with business leader, mentor, and Corporate Care founder Boe Parrish to explore a framework that hits harder the older you get: the three seasons of life — learning, earning, and yearning.
A lot of people know how to learn. A lot of people know how to earn. Far fewer know how to move into a life that actually means something.
Drawing from decades of leadership, mentorship, and wa...
Renew Your Mind. Change Your Path: Overcoming What's Holding You Back
What's the obstacle that keeps showing up in your life? Fear. Self-doubt. Health challenges. Distraction. A difficult relationship. A limiting belief you can't seem to shake.
In this more personal and reflective episode of Life Off the Map, Chad walks you through a simple but powerful exercise to help you identify what's really holding you back—and begin moving past it.
Instead of trying to push through life's challenges with sheer willpower, Chad shares a different approach: learning how to change your perspective, renew your thinking, and move forward with greater clarity and freedom. In this...
Why You Keep Starting Over: When Your Plan Can't Survive Real Life
If you've ever started strong on something that mattered to you… and then quietly watched it fade… you're not alone. Perhaps the issue isn't your discipline. Perhaps it's the kind of plan you're trying to live inside.
In this episode, Chad reflects on the sprint–crash cycle many ambitious people fall into — surge, push, overcommit… then pull back to recover. Through personal stories, endurance training lessons, ancient wisdom, and practical insight, he explores what might be underneath that pattern. In this conversation, you'll hear:
Why extreme effort isn't always the same as commitment
How unrealis...
The Pace Problem: Why Your Life Looks Right But Feels Off - Crew Convo with Rachel McKinzie
You can build the life you dreamed of… and still feel slightly off.
In this Crew Convo, Chad sits down with Dr. Rachel McKinzie — anesthesiologist, entrepreneur, wife, and mom — to talk about what happens when your calendar is full, your career is strong, and yet something underneath feels rushed.
This isn't about quitting your job or blowing up your life. It's about checking your pace.
Rachel shares the moment that forced her to reassess her rhythm — and the drastic decision that followed, including moving her family to the lake and restructuring her work to fit t...
What an '80s Outdoor Movie Shows Us About Adventure and Finding Yourself
Why are you a better version of yourself on vacation — and what does an 80s outdoor movie have to do with family, dopamine, intentional living, and personal growth? In this episode of Life Off the Map, we unpack how a classic comedy about a chaotic lake vacation reveals deeper truths about identity, distraction, and becoming the version of yourself you actually want to bring home.
More patient. More playful. More present. And then Monday hits… and that version fades.
Chad uses a nostalgic 80s outdoor movie as a mirror — not a review, but a lens into i...
The Way Out of the Mud: Let Your Values Lead You Forward - A Crew Convo with Erin Engelke
What if the reason you feel stuck isn't that you're doing life wrong—but that you've lost your bearings?
In this Crew Convo, Chad sits down with Erin Engelke, CEO of ReMerge, to talk about values as a compass, releasing control, and how clarity often comes not from thinking harder—but from getting back in alignment with who you really are.
Erin shares her story of loss, leadership, and big transitions—and why adventure, service, and small acts of courage can help you find your way forward again.
If your life looks fine on the...
Move First - How to Stop Overthinking, Shift Your State & Get Clear
Most people don't have a clarity problem — they have a state problem.
When life feels off, we tend to sit longer, think harder, and analyze more, hoping clarity will eventually click. But what if the fog isn't in your thinking at all? What if it's your body asking to be let back into the conversation?
In this episode of Life Off the Map, Chad explores why movement — especially getting outside — often brings clarity faster than effort, discipline, or overthinking ever does. This isn't about fitness, hustle, or optimizing your life. It's about shifting your state so cla...
Stuck in the In-Between - Crew Convo with Kevin Penry
What do you do when life doesn't fall apart—but it also just doesn't feel right anymore?
In this Crew Convo, Chad sits down with longtime leader and mentor Kevin Penry to talk about the "In-Between" —the moment when the old path no longer fits, the next one isn't clear yet, and success starts to feel strangely empty. In this episode, you'll hear:
Why predictable lives quietly drain us—and why we're wired for surprise anbd adventure. How "the tension you can't avoid" becomes the doorway to growth (Kevin calls it optimal conflict) What to do when you...What to Do When Your Plan Falls Apart (The Trail Reset)
You know the feeling. Everything looks perfect on paper—and then, almost immediately, things start to unravel. Your body doesn't cooperate. Boom. The plan breaks. The day goes sideways. Something unexpected blocks the trail.
In this Off The Map episode, Chad shares a real story from a Saturday morning run that didn't go as planned—and reflects on what he's learned about responding when challenges show up that you didn't choose. Along the way, he names what he calls the Trail Reset—a simple way of pausing, reorienting, and choosing your next step when things fall apart.
...
The Fastest Way Out of a Rut & Into Momentum - Crew Convo with Jill Donovan
Feeling stuck lately? Jill Donovan (Rustic Cuff founder) will get you moving again.
In this crew convo, Jill (CEO of Rustic Cuff: 300+ retail partners in the U.S.) gives you a simple, practical way to get out of a rut and into momentum—without waiting for motivation, confidence, or the perfect plan.
You'll hear why motion creates options, how to start with small steps (even 10 minutes a day), and why curiosity + joy might be the most underrated fuel you've got when life feels heavy.
In this episode:
How to move before you "fe...What If You've Already Won? For High Achievers & Big Thinkers
What if the pressure you've been carrying—the constant feeling of being behind, not enough, or falling short—is all based on a scoreboard that doesn't even exist?
In this episode, Chad shares a story from a Tuesday morning entrepreneur group that completely flipped his perspective. One sentence from a friend changed everything. (You'll want to hear this one.)
This episode is for the high-achiever who's never satisfied. The parent convinced they're screwing it all up. The leader white-knuckling their way through success. The entrepreneur who's crushing it on the outside, but numb on the insi...
Why Comfort Is Costing You More Than You Think - Crew Convo with Donnie Van Curen
Comfort doesn't usually blow up our lives—it slowly puts it to sleep.
In this Crew Convo, Chad and Donnie Van Curen talk about the subtle ways comfort steals momentum and why waiting to "feel ready" is often the thing holding people back. This is an honest, grounded conversation about discipline, community, and choosing movement when staying still feels easier—and safer.
In this episode:
The quiet ways comfort keeps capable people stuck
Why movement builds confidence long before motivation shows up
How choosing ease today can cost you the...
Why This Show Exists - And What It Means To Live Off the Map
Some people follow the map. Others feel a quiet restlessness they can't shake—like the path they're on isn't wrong, but it isn't quite right either.
This episode is about why Life Off the Map exists and the kind of conversations this show is here to hold. Chad shares the heart behind the podcast, the questions that led to it, and why this space is for people who are done with platitudes and ready to think honestly about direction, purpose, and choosing their own path.
In this episode:
Who this show is for—and...
Zion Traverse: What Happens When You Stop Following Someone Else's Path
What if the reason you feel stuck isn't discipline or clarity—but the fact that you've been following the wrong path?
Recorded live with five friends from the trail in Zion National Park, Chad explores what happens when you stop chasing someone else's definition of success and start listening for your own direction. No script. No studio. Just honest reflection about movement, uncertainty, and choosing your own way before the path is clear.
In this episode:
Why comparison slowly pulls you off course
What the trail reveals when the map runs ou...
Trailer: Life Off The Map
Welcome to Life Off the Map. This trailer introduces the heart behind the show- stories, reflections, and honest conversations about living with meaning and joy, beyond the familiar.
