Pat Wetzel

I tell stories about how people navigate life's bumps. What fascinates me most is that any major bump in the road is ultimately a journey within, to find your best qualities and dare to explore them. Bumps can send your life careening off on an unanticipated path. They can also be a portal into a more conscious and meaningful life.

My podcast Bump In The Road (BumpInTheRoad.us) is a weekly podcast that is in its fourth year. I have a newly released book shortly Bump In The Road: Stories of Courage, Perseverance and Resilience (https://amzn.to/3ZiAHwd) that highlights some of the stories of the podcast. It also includes a few of my own stories.

My background: I am something of a jack of all trades. I graduated from Wharton Business School and worked in the bond market and in international finance. Serious health problems, followed by a divorce, left me frustrated and feeling worthless. Through a series of serendipitous happenings, I was introduced to the sport of soaring.

(If you're curious about soaring, here is a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AswliDLhKnY

Soaring provided me with not just adventure, but wisdom. Wisdom which I would later need.

Fast forward and I find myself dealing with "incurable" cancer. I started a website that had over 20m impressions on twitter alone in 2016. (That site is not currently up, but I can make it available to you if you wish to see dozens of interviews and conversations as a reference.) The site was to be monetized through an app that addressed the issues with isolation that comes from long term medical issues. But alas, a business partner took all my intellectual property, registered it with the US Patent office as his own, and essential said "sue me".

Which, according to my very expensive lawyers, would cost in increments of $500k, take at least 3 year of my life, with no guaranteed outcome.

Seriously?

My answer: to hit the road and write. Those global adventures led me back to my love of writing, incorporated my love of adventure and eventually led me to my podcast.

Bump In The Road is about adventure and inspiration. It's about the wisdom that comes from stepping outside your comfort zone. Most of all it's about the struggles that connect us as we all navigate life's bumps.

Right now, in the summer of 2023, I am focused on talking about my book and the incredible stories of my guests. Because each one of them has navigated a bump in the road, gaining wisdom applicable to all of us.