Brand Building: Living The Whole Picture with Jama Pantel
Brand Building: Living the Whole Picture is the go-to podcast for ambitious women ready to elevate their visibility, build authentic confidence, and become the face of their brand.
Hosted by luxury portrait photographer, author, educator, and former influencer Jama Pantel, this podcast delivers actionable strategies on personal branding, photography, and business growth—so you can step into the spotlight with clarity and purpose.
If you've ever felt unseen in your industry, struggled with confidence on camera, or hesitated to show up boldly, this is your roadmap to build a powerful presence that gets you noticed and respected.
Join Jama as she helps you build a brand that stands out, master your presence in photos and video, and turn your expertise into a magnetic business.
It’s time to stop playing small and start showing up like the leader you were meant to be.
Brand Building: Living The Whole Picture with Jama Pantel
How the Runner’s Mindset Builds Resilience in Life and Business
The Runner’s Mindset: How 35 Years of Running Built My Resilience in Life and Business
What if the secret to overcoming life’s toughest challenges is as simple as adopting a runner’s mindset? In this episode of Living the Whole Picture, I, Jama Pantel, share how over 35 years of running have not only shaped my journey as a photographer and entrepreneur but also helped me navigate life’s biggest hurdles.
From losing everything in a college fire to supporting my parents through cancer, running has instilled in me the power of resilience, consistency, and showing up—even on the hardest days. Just like in business and personal growth, progress starts with small steps, steady effort, and pushing through discomfort to achieve something bigger.
🎙 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✔️ How running has influenced my approach to business and life
✔️ The connection between physical endurance and mental toughness
✔️ How martial arts, entrepreneurship, and running all share a common mindset
✔️ Why embracing challenges can lead to personal and professional breakthroughs
✔️ Actionable ways to apply the runner’s mindset to your own goals
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, creative, or someone navigating a tough season, this episode will inspire you to shift your perspective on adversity and keep moving forward.
🔗 Let’s Connect!
For more insights and resources, visit www.jamapantel.com. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with a friend who needs encouragement! Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review to help more people discover these empowering lessons.
Tag me on Instagram [@jamapantel] and let me know how you’re embracing the runner’s mindset!
#MindsetMatters #Resilience #EntrepreneurMindset #PersonalGrowth #RunningInspiration #OvercomingObstacles #BusinessSuccess #SelfImprovement #JamaPantel #TheWholePicture
Hey y'all, welcome back to Living the Whole Picture, the podcast where photography, business and inspiration collide. I'm your host, Jama Pantel, a luxury portrait photographer turned educator, author, influencer and dream chaser. Each week, we tackle topics that help you shine in front of the camera, build confidence in your brand and take bold steps towards your biggest goals. Whether you're here to refine your photography skills, grow your business or simply find inspiration to keep going, you're in the right place. Today's topic is something that's shaped not just my life but also my business and the way I approach challenges. Altogether, it's called the runner's mindset. After running for over 35 years, I've learned that the lessons I approach challenges altogether it's called the runner's mindset. After running for over 35 years, I've learned that the lessons I've picked up on the track or road or trails or treadmill apply far beyond my fitness. They've helped me grow my photography business, transition into being an educator, author, podcaster and tackle some of life's hardest moments. So today I'm sharing what running has taught me about persistence, resilience and the power of showing up, whether it's for a race, a business goal or just another day in this crazy life. One of my favorite things to say is I'm not training for anything except life. So let's lace up and dive right in, starting slow and building momentum.
Jama Pantel:When I first started running, I was just a kid in my small Texas town and it wasn't about competition, it was about freedom. I remember running down those dirt roads and gravel roads, feeling like I could go anywhere and run forever. Of course, back then I wasn't breaking any records. My pace was always good, but my endurance back then was not great. And I records. My pace was always good, but my endurance back then was not great. And I definitely didn't have any fancy gear, running shoes or anything like that. Back then. I was always grateful that our high school actually let us pick out and keep our running shoes, but I loved running and it kept me going. What I didn't realize at the time was that running was teaching me a critical lesson you don't have to start fast or know everything to succeed. You just have to get started, and loving it doesn't hurt either. This applies to business and life in such a huge way. When I started my photography business, I didn't have the best equipment or a fancy studio and I didn't even know how to run a real business. Back then I had a camera, I had a passion, something I loved, and a willingness to learn. I started small. I took photos for friends and family and slowly built up my portfolio, one session at a time. Just like those first runs, my business slowly started to grow steady, steady, steady.
Jama Pantel:The key is to start where you are and let the momentum build over time. Small steps add up to big progress. One thing that every runner knows is that consistency is everything, and you'll hear it over and over again in the running world. You don't become a marathoner or an ultra by running one long distance one time and then quitting. It's about showing up on the good days, the bad days, the hot Texas days, and even in the rainy and cold days when you'd rather stay in bed, or, on occasion, the ice and snowy days. If you've run long enough, like me, you learn to push through all the conditions because you know it will make you stronger in the end.
Jama Pantel:For years, running has been my outlet. It helped me through some of the most challenging times of my life, like when I lost everything in college to a fire, or like when my parents were diagnosed with cancer. It was during those tough seasons. I didn't have the mental or emotional energy to do much of anything but running. It kept me going to do everything that needed to be done to just survive. I kept running through it all. It was my way of staying grounded, of showing up for myself when everything else felt out of control. Showing up for myself and running was something that I did feel I had control over, and the same principle applies to business.
Jama Pantel:You can't build a brand or a successful venture overnight. It's about consistently showing up, even when it gets hard, even when you're tired, even when progress feels slow or non-existent, because every step you take, no matter how small, gets you closer to your end goal. So I've been reading the book Becoming Bulletproof by and I'll probably butcher her name Evy Poumpouras, and one thing that she said that really resonated with me is this always expecting to feel happy all the time Y'all. That's just not realistic. We live in a world where we're often told to chase constant happiness. I need to be happy, I need to be happy, but the truth is that's not practical. There are days when life is hard, when runs are hard. There's days when the weather's gross and you don't want to get out of bed, or when your mood's just not ideal, and that's okay. You have to take time to sit in those feels and be okay with not being happy all the time. It builds mental strength and it makes you stronger on the back end.
Jama Pantel:I remember so many days in college when life was just lifing and I didn't want to do anything. I didn't want to get up out of bed or go to class or do any of the things I had to do. But guess what? I laced up and I had to keep going. I was tired, frustrated and not always in the mood. But I showed up for myself anyways, not because I was happy always, but because I knew that consistency wasn't about chasing a constant state of joy. It was about that commitment, that commitment to myself, the commitment to bettering myself. Not always being happy, it's about showing up for yourself even when you're not feeling great. I cannot state that enough. That commitment, even on the not-so-happy days, is what builds true resilience, and the same goes for life and business as well. The real strength is in persisting through the lows, knowing that every step forward, even on the bad days, is a step towards growth and success.
Jama Pantel:Now let's talk about the hills the hills in running and the hills in life. In running, it's those brutal, lung-burning climbs that make you question why you ever in running, and the hills in life. In running, it's those brutal, lung-burning climbs that make you question why you ever started running in the first place. Hills are tough, there's no doubt about it, but they're also what makes you stronger, and for me, hills has been part of my story since the very beginning.
Jama Pantel:So, as it relates to running, when I went to my college orientation, a guy from our football team came up to me and said hey, I heard you're a runner. A few of us athletes are going to go for a run later, want to join us? And of course I said yes. I mean, what runner wouldn't pass up a chance to run with new friends? So what I didn't know at the time was that my college town was all hills and my hometown was completely flat. I think we often joke that the pitcher's mound was the highest incline in our town. So I wasn't prepared for what they had planned for me, and as soon as we hit those inclines I struggled y'all and they were teasing me Good natured, of course, but they're teasing lit a fire in me. I made a vow that day to become a hill expert by the time we graduated. We remained friends the entire time throughout college. They were the ones giving me nicknames like best legs on campus and you can't keep up with her because I would power up those hills stronger than anybody.
Jama Pantel:But that meant something to me. I wasn't going to let anything stop me not those hills and not the struggles that present in itself, and I hold that true to every aspect in my life. So when we fast forward to actual adult life and the things that matter, hills never actually intimidated me again. So when I started running marathons, I was always prepared for those inclines because I'd learned how to prepare for them. I didn't slow down or shy away. I put my head down, I leaned into the effort and embraced the suck of what hills require. And I have carried that through through every aspect of my life Prepare for the unknown, do your best to prepare. Life's going to throw you curve balls and you're going to have to just face it head on, put your head down and do the work Again. You can't always be happy, so you have to find that mental resilience, that mental toughness to just power up those hills. So throughout the course of life and marathons and running very high elevation or high gains. You learn that those experiences reinforce something that you already know hills aren't obstacles. They're opportunities to prove yourself and prove how capable you truly are. Obstacles they're opportunities to prove yourself and prove how capable you truly are.
Jama Pantel:In business and in life, the hills are the challenges that push you out of your comfort zone. They're the tough clients, the failed launches, the unexpected setbacks, because we're all going to have them. But just like in running, those challenges build your strength and your resilience and your character, they teach you how to adopt and keep moving forward even when the path is hard. Another lesson I picked up from the book Becoming Bulletproof that really resonated with me when it comes to tackling hills, both on the road and in life. Evy talks about taking a hit at full force, deliberately subjecting yourself to that adversity so you can see how you react to it. And it might sound counterintuitive, but that controlled exposure to hardship helps you understand your true resilience. So I've come to see these brutal hills as my own hit test.
Jama Pantel:When I was a little girl, my parents put me in karate. I remember one match I got kicked so hard I got the wind knocked out of me. I'd never been that hard in life and I was hit full fours. I had to pause, or more like I was on the ground in pain, with the help of my karate instructor, of course, because I was too little and I didn't know what was going on at the time. I remember lying on the ground unable to catch my breath. I didn't cry, but I couldn't breathe. My instructor lifted me up by my karate belt and I was slowly able to breathe again. He told me to take a few deep breaths. I got back up on my feet and our match continued. And guess what I won? You better believe I made sure that that never happened again. However, I experienced it and I think that's actually helped prepare me for some experiences in my adult life that we may or may not get into one day, actually helped prepare me for some experiences in my adult life that we may or may not get into one day.
Jama Pantel:But learning how to take a hit maybe not always literally, but I do suggest that you try it will help you with so many things in life. When I'm pounding up a steep incline and my legs feel like they're about to give out, I remind myself that this struggle isn't a setback. It's an opportunity, embracing the suck of those hills and running teaches you exactly how tough you really are, as does taking a hit, and it's the same in business or life, whether you're dealing, like I said, with a difficult client or a project that just isn't going your way, or a bad boss or a bad work situation or any other uphill battle, because you will face them. Sometimes you need to face them full force, face them head on and just challenge them and go forward, taking that hit, feeling the burn and pushing through, even when every fiber of your being is screaming for you to stop. That builds the kind of resilience that prepares you for even greater challenges ahead, because you will face them. It shows you that you can handle more than you ever thought you could and that every tough moment is an opportunity to learn and grow stronger. So the next time you face a hill, literal or metaphorical, remember that those moments are just there. They're not there to break you, but to reveal how truly strong and resilient you are.
Jama Pantel:And, of course, the finish line. It is not everything. As runners, we're always chasing finish lines, whether it's a race, a distance or a personal best. But here's what I've learned after three decades of running the finish line is not everything. The real value lies in the journey. I remember finishing my first marathon almost two decades ago and I was proud, of course, but I quickly learned that the real joy came from the training process, those quiet early morning runs where I learned to trust my body and quiet my mind. That's what I really enjoyed. I don't think I appreciated the journey near as much until I started running more marathons and actually fell in love with the whole process not the actual race itself, but clearly I kept coming back for more, with 22 marathons under my belt and a couple ultras too.
Jama Pantel:The same is true in business. It's easy to get caught up in chasing goals and having the certain status like I own a business, or I did this, or I did that, or reaching a certain income level, landing a big client, launching a new product. But if that's your sole focus is on that end result, you're gonna miss the beauty in the process and the joy of helping so many others along the way. It is always about them, not about you. It's those relationships you build, the skills you learn and the personal growth you experience along the way. That's what really matters and makes a huge difference in all of this. So now I wanna share a few things that I call lessons from the runner's mindset and things that I've learned from running that apply to life and business and all the other aspects.
Jama Pantel:So, number one pace yourself. Life isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. Take breaks, rest when you have to, and remember that slow and steady wins the race. Number two celebrate the small wins. Don't wait for the finish line to celebrate. Every step forward is worth acknowledging. And also don't wait till after the race to get your first massage or pedicure. Get those massages and stay loose leading up to the race. That is part of the joy in the journey.
Jama Pantel:Number three adapt to the unexpected. Just like running in unpredictable weather, life and business will always throw you curveballs. Flexibility is your best tool and learning how to pivot and control what you can, because so much is going to be out of your control, so you've got to be prepared. Number four stay in your lane. Comparison is the thief of joy. I know you've heard that one before.
Jama Pantel:So focus on your journey, not someone else's. Focus on yourself and what you're doing. There's only one you. That's what you've got to focus on. Enjoy the journey. Don't forget to look around and appreciate the view along the way. The journey is just as important as the destination.
Jama Pantel:So, wrapping up now, running has taught me so much about life and business and what it means to keep going even when things get hard. I often joke that I can relate everything into a running meme, but it reminds me that progress isn't always linear, that challenges make us stronger and that the journey is just as meaningful as the destination. So thank you for joining me today on this episode of Living the Whole Picture. I hope some of these lessons from the runner's mindset resonate with you, whether you're chasing business goals, personal dreams, marathons or all of the above. If you've enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it with a friend or leave me a review. It helps more people discover the podcast and, as always, you can connect with me on Instagram or YouTube or LinkedIn or all the places and my website for more resources www. jamapantel. com. Until next time, keep chasing your dreams, lacing up and living the whole picture.
