224: The Woman Who Jumps Toward Fear with Jenny Cova

Jenny Cova is a professional skydiver, BASE jumper, adventure athlete, author, speaker, and entrepreneur who has spent much of her life learning what fear can teach us when we stop running from it.   With thousands of jumps and more than a decade spent in high pressure environments—from the sky to the mountains—Jenny has learned that courage isn't the absence of fear. It's the relationship we build with it, and who we become when we stop letting fear choose our lives.   She is the author of Why Am I Here and the founder of The She Who Rises, a growing movement rooted in the belief that when women rise, humanity rises. Through her writing, speaking, and work, Jenny explores self-leadership, our relationship with fear, and what it means to live with greater courage, presence, purpose, and joy.   Swiss-Italian and based in the Swiss Alps, Jenny is most at home somewhere between earth and sky—whether she's skydancing, BASE jumping, climbing mountains, skiing, or asking the   Connect With Jenny: Website: www.jenny-cova.com LinkedIn: Jenny Cova Instagram: @jenjen.cova   Episode Summary: Thousands of skydives and BASE jumps taught Jenny Cova something most people never learn: courage isn't about running through fear, it's about understanding it. In this conversation with Lindsay, Jenny shares how a childhood spent staring at clouds led her to wingsuit BASE jumping, why skydiving was the first sport she wasn't naturally good at, and how her perfectionism nearly pushed her out of the sport she loved.   Key Takeaways: Courage isn't the absence of fear. Fear has a reason. Mistakes are how you learn. Swap pressure for love. Some fear is healthy.   Episode Chapters: 00:00 Cold open: put love on yourself instead of pressure 00:25 What you'll learn + welcome to the show 00:58 Meet Jenny Cova 01:52 Jenny's story: Switzerland, adventure sports, and her relationship with fear 02:39 Childhood dreams of the sky and discovering wingsuit BASE jumping 03:59 From first skydive to serious jumper 06:28 Learning to dance in the sky and taking five years off 07:43 Why mistakes matter and how Jenny coaches others through them 08:17 Self-love, self-worth, and patience 09:16 Leadership lessons: it's okay not to know everything 10:35 Courage, fear, and the "adrenaline junkie" myth 11:21 Fear of imperfection and healing the younger self 12:17 BASE jumping, healthy fear, and Jenny's pre-jump routine 13:22 Coping tools, breathwork, and the next generation 14:24 Who Jenny works with and her "midlife awakening" 15:42 Listener thank-you and show perks 16:32 What inspires Jenny 17:44 Jenny's legacy 18:46 Where to find Jenny and her book Why Am I Here? 20:04 Final message: act in spite of fear, then understand it 21:04 Jenny's Sneaks skydive campaign 21:32 Wrap-up and goodbye