107. My Untold Journey Through Trials with Pursuit of Gold Host Laura Wilkinson

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Woodlands Diving

Laura Wilkinson 11/10/22 Laura Wilkinson 11/10/22

71. How to be Champion Minded with Allistair McCaw

In this week’s episode, Laura welcomes Allistair McCaw, a best-selling author and speaker who is recognized as one of the world's foremost figures in leadership, team culture, and mindset. Throughout his 30-year-long career, Allistair has worked with some of the most successful athletes and organizations in the world, from Olympians and Paralympians to World Champion Athletes and Grand Slam Champions. He’s also a 29-time marathon finisher and a former five-time world championship competitor in the sport of triathlon. Today, Allistair is committed to his lifelong purpose of teaching, inspiring, and motivating others to be champion minded and achieve their full potential.

In this episode of the Pursuit of Gold podcast, Laura and Allistair dive deep into the growth mindset of professional athletes. Allistair begins by discussing the biggest struggles that athletes face today and explains the key difference between choice and sacrifice. As he nicely puts it, when you’re passionate about something, it’s not a sacrifice; it’s a choice. Then, Allistair goes on to explain the importance of learning to deal with failure and overcoming perfectionism as an athlete. Being a perfectionist won’t get you far in sports, but embracing failure will. Next, Laura and Allistair talk about the power of vision, the importance of developing self-leadership, and the differences between excellence and success. If you want to learn more about being champion minded, make sure you tune into this episode to hear what Allistair has to say.

Episode Highlights:

Allistair’s background
The biggest struggles that athletes face today
Choice vs. sacrifice
Embracing failure and overcoming perfectionism
The inspiration behind Champion Minded
The importance of vision for professional athletes
The differences between team sports and individual sports
The importance of developing leadership skills
Why authenticity is key for coaches
Excellence vs. success
The power of the growth mindset

Quotes:

“We all know that progress is different for every single athlete. Sometimes you'll have spurts of growth, sometimes, you'll have spurts of confidence, which helps, and so on and so forth. But we're all on a different journey. ”

“Nobody can make you hungry. No one can give you a passion. No one can tell you to enjoy it more. That really comes from within.”

“You're not always going to feel like a million dollars. You're not always going to jump out of bed in the morning and can't wait to go to practice. It's impossible, no matter how dedicated or passionate you are. So for me, it was that vision or that purpose of wanting to be a champion one day, wanting to be the best I could be - that's what got me through those tougher days. ”

“It has to come from within. You can't make somebody passionate. You can't make somebody do something that they don't necessarily want to do.”

“You can't lead others if you're not leading yourself effectively.”

“I believe that great coaches, great leaders are more about excellence than about success.”

“Enjoy it; that's the most important thing. And I know that's very hard when you're in the middle of it, and especially when things aren't going well, but the journey is the most important thing about it.”

“All the hard work, no matter what level you get to, no matter what your destiny is, it will never go unused; it will always be worthwhile because these are qualities that you learn in sports that will help you afterward in your relationships and in business and corporate, whatever direction you go into.”

Links:

Grab the Black Friday Catalog!

Laura’s Social Media:

Allistair McCaw’s Instagram

Connect with Allistair:

Allistair McCaw Website

Allistair McCaw’s Books

Allistair McCaw’s LinkedIn

Laura Wilkinson 10/13/22 Laura Wilkinson 10/13/22

69. How to Effectively Implement Visualization with Our Host Laura Wilkinson

On today’s episode, Laura’s talking about one of the things she gets asked about most frequently: visualization. Laura credits this technique as a big part of why she was able to make the Olympic team and win gold when no one else expected her to. Having seen other athletes succeed with this approach, she adopted it as a way to continue training after shattering her foot three months before the Olympic Trials, making an opportunity out of that forced sidelining. Visualization has remained part of Laura’s personal toolset, and she uses that experience in this episode to explain what the technique is and walk us through how to get started visualizing in a way that will actually make a difference.

Visualization is defined as purposely rehearsing a skill, routine, or performance in your mind to program your body physically for success. Practicing it consistently becomes a fortifying competition strategy, rewiring your brain to prepare it to deal with all the different factors that come into play while competing. Laura explains that there are a few different ways to visualize, including first and third-person versions, which contribute different effects and should be used in conjunction with each other. She also points out the importance of engaging all your senses while visualizing to better immerse your brain and make changes more easily. Laura then shares some how-to basics for those wishing to start visualizing, from giving yourself a set amount of time to practice, to making sure you have a quiet place to visualize in, and starting with the approach that comes most naturally to you. And finally, Laura finishes the episode with some tips and tricks for beginners, including practicing frequently and consistently, mixing things up every day, and using video study to enhance your visualization.

Episode Highlights:

Laura’s personal experience with visualization
What visualization is
Types and elements of visualization
How-to visualizing basics
Tips and tricks for getting started with visualization

Quotes:

“When I burst onto the scene winning an unexpected Olympic victory—well, unexpected to everyone else—the story that was being told was centered around me having shattered my foot before the Olympic trials and being unable to physically train. So I visualized, and that not only helped me make the Olympic team, but I consider it a big part of the reason that I was able to stand atop the podium and listen to my national anthem play.”

“The more senses that you engage, the more your mind starts to believe that you’re really doing the activity. You’re actively rewiring your brain on how to fire and react when you’re doing specific movements and techniques. So the more real it is to you, the more real it is to your brain, and the more effective changes you can actually make.”

“People say practice makes perfect, but really, practice makes permanent. So if you’re practicing or thinking about or visualizing the wrong actions, that’s what you are making into concrete in your brain. So you really want to make sure, as you’re visualizing, that you take the time to think about doing all the things, all the tiny, little details, correct because that’s what you are programming in your brain.”

“These visualizations of the competition scenarios, it just allows you to put yourself in so many different situations that maybe you don’t have the actual time to be going out and doing the thirty different competitions against the same people to see how you would stack up in different scenarios. But you can do that in your mind.”

“Make sure that you’re keeping this positive. This is not a place to beat yourself up or to get frustrated. This is a place to learn, to experiment, and to see yourself doing all these awesome and amazing things that you’ve dreamed of doing.”

Pursuit of Gold Podcast is brought to you by Kaatsu Global

Links:

1-on-1 Coaching with Laura

The Confidence Journal

Life at 10 Meters: Lessons from an Olympic Champion

Laura’s Social Media:

Pursuit of Gold Podcast is brought to you by Kaatsu Global

Laura Wilkinson 9/15/22 Laura Wilkinson 9/15/22

66. Confidence is the Answer to Fear with High Performance Coach Rebecca Smith

Today, Laura welcomes Rebecca Smith, the Founder and CEO of Complete Performance Coaching and PerformHappy, who has been helping high achievers thrive under pressure for more than 20 years. A former gymnast herself and a fellow recovering perfectionist, Rebecca understands very well the mental health challenges that professional athletes have to go through. Having struggled with mental blocks for years, she eventually quit her gymnastics career and decided to move on. Now, she’s committed to helping young athletes nurture their mental health while still winning competitions. Her unique evidence-based approach helps fearful young athletes discover the confidence to stand up for themselves when faced with the notorious toxic culture of youth sport.

On this episode of the Pursuit of Gold podcast, Laura and Rebecca discuss mental blocks and how to overcome them. Rebecca shares her own story dealing with perfectionism, how mental blocks destroyed her gymnastics career yet helped her to uncover effective tactics for getting over them. She explains the two main parts of overcoming a mental block: the physical side and the mental side. Once you overcome the physical part, you need to work on maintaining a healthy relationship with yourself, meaning build your self-awareness and inner confidence. These two are fundamental to your self-growth. Rebecca goes on to share a few more useful tactics for overcoming mental blocks, such as turning nervousness into excitement, practicing mindfulness, and front-loading confidence. Finally, Laura and Rebecca wrap up the episode by touching upon the importance of having a supportive coach, emphasizing the fact that a positive environment sets the tone for success.

Episode Highlights:

Rebecca’s gymnastics background and moving past mental blocks
Winning the battle against perfectionism
The importance of praising effort versus talent
The incredible power of imagination and creativity for your competence
The two parts to overcoming a mental block
Increasing and front-loading confidence to avoid mental blocks
Turning nervousness into excitement
Practicing the mindful warmup and being present
Dealing with injuries as a professional athlete
Mental health and motivation during COVID
The importance of a supportive and positive environment for athletes
Supporting young athletes as a parent

Quotes:

“Their parents are like, ‘She’s the best tumbler anyone's ever seen, why can't she just go do it?’ And there's this because there's just such a combination of factors that lead to mental block. One of them is that it's the pressure of being amazing, being perfect.”

“Our brain only cares about keeping us safe. That's the only thing. It doesn't care about competitions. It doesn't care about scores, or metals or places, or deadlines, or any of that stuff It only cares about ‘keep the body alive.’”

“She was the kid who was a hard worker with heart. She was not the most talented kid on our team. But so, with that being said, if you want to move forward, you can't wait for your magic talent fairy to bless you with the ability to do your skill again, it just isn't going to work.”

“There is this huge kind of internal component that's all about connecting with your own joy and your own choice. Because if you don't, if you feel like you're doing it for anybody, but you, you're going to get burned out, it's just the way it goes.”

“Excitement and nerves are both high arousal, physical states. So, your heart's beating, you're a little more fidgety, you've got a little more energy, it is a lot easier to go from nervous to excited than it is to go from nervous to calm, especially when you only have moments before you compete.”

“Injuries, just like mental blocks, are part of the deal. For a lot of athletes, it's just a setback. And so, the worst thing you can do is compare yourself to where you should be or could be or where your friend is or where you would like to be because all that does is create self-pity.”

Links:

1-on-1 Coaching with Laura

The Confidence Journal

Life at 10 Meters: Lessons from an Olympic Champion

Laura’s Social Media:

Pursuit of Gold Podcast is brought to you by Kaatsu Global

Connect with Rebecca:

Rebecca’s Instagram

Rebecca’s LinkedIn

Laura Wilkinson 9/8/22 Laura Wilkinson 9/8/22

65. Getting Uncomfortable with Navy Seal John Doolittle

Today, Laura welcomes John Doolittle, a retired Navy SEAL Captain and currently a certified KAATSU Master Specialist who serves as the Chief Revenue Officer of KAATSU Global. Laura and John open the conversation by talking about John’s swimming background and introduction to the Air Force Academy. Supported by his trusted mentor Mike, John decided to join the BUD/S training and become a Navy SEAL. Although the training was one of the most challenging and hardest periods of his life, it served as a great introduction to Navy life.

From becoming a team player to developing mental toughness, John says this program taught him some of the most valuable lessons in life. He dives deep into the power of trust and how it can be applied in sports, too, not just in the military. He goes on to explain the importance of adopting the ‘never quit’ mindset, highlighting its very powerful and contagious nature. Laura and John also address mental health in sports and the military, pointing out the importance of having strong team support and adequate resources. Finally, John shares an inspiring story about his solo swim across the English Channel to raise money for the Navy SEAL Foundation. He offers an inspiring conclusion to this extraordinary episode by stressing that you can accomplish anything in life if you do it for a reason greater than yourself.

Episode Highlights:

John’s swimming background and introduction to the Air Force Academy
Going from the Air Force Academy to the Navy
The challenging journey of getting into the BUD/S class
The three phases of BUD/S training
Mental toughness vs. physical toughness
Learning to be a team player
Adopt a ‘never give up’ mentality
The importance of trust in teamwork and relationships
The power of little things
Protecting the homeland after 9/11
Pushing yourself without hitting the breaking point
John’s solo swim across the English Channel to raise money for the Navy SEAL Foundation

Quotes:

“One of my biggest takeaways from my time in the teams was about relationships based on trust. And you know why - that starts with our parents, but it also starts with mentors.”

“Everyone fails physically pretty quick. That first night, you go to failure on just about everything you do. But the mental piece is so important. And you learn very quickly, that when you thought your body was done, you actually do have more to give.”

“You quickly learn at BUD/S training that if you're trying to do something as an individual, you will fail. There are very few things, even this swimming in BUD/S, you can't do it by yourself. Everybody has a swim buddy. And if the two of you fail, don't make the time, you both failed the swim.”

“Part of the goal with that type of training is to identify those that when they get really uncomfortable, when they get really tired, they end up making decisions that maybe are not the best. And whether or not somebody is going to quit, you want to identify that pretty early on.”

“'Never quit mindset' is very, very powerful and contagious to others on the team.”

“When you're doing something really hard in life, try and find a way to do it for something that's bigger than yourself, it's bigger than you, to do it for a reason greater than yourself and you can do damn near anything.”

Links:

1-on-1 Coaching with Laura

Laura’s Social Media:

Pursuit of Gold Podcast is brought to you by Kaatsu Global

Connect with John:

John’s LinkedIn

Laura Wilkinson 5/12/22 Laura Wilkinson 5/12/22

63. Talking Injuries, Underdogs and Epic Advice with Olympic Gold Medalist Laura Wilkinson

We’re changing things up this week with a slightly different episode from usual, in which our host, Laura Wilkinson, answers some questions gathered from our Instagram followers. The questions cover topics including starting sports at an older age, dealing with injuries and mental blocks, epic advice that Laura’s received, being an underdog versus a favorite, and having purpose.

Episode Highlights:

How Laura got into diving at an older age
Is it ever too late to start diving and compete?
The best advice Laura’s ever received
Being the underdog vs. the favorite
Moving forward from a loss
Laura’s favorite and least favorite dives
How Laura feels watching her kids play sports
Using injury time as an opportunity
Dealing with mental blocks
Setting goals and having purpose

Quotes:

“I wanted to continue learning and pushing boundaries and trying things, and I just kind of realized it was time to move on. But that dream of the Olympics was still in the back of my mind. I just recognized at that point I needed to find a new sport.”

“I’m not sure if it was ever that I recognized my own potential. I just wanted this thing so badly that I was going to pursue it. Whether it was switching sports or, you know, I was just going to pursue it no matter what. I was going to find a sport that I could go to the Olympics, and I was going to find a way to the Olympic Games.”

“If you are interested in diving and competing at any age, give it a whirl. I think, at the very least, you’re going to try something new, you’re going to learn something, and you’re gonna have a blast.”

“Soak it in. You’re at the Olympics, you’re in your dream, you’re getting to do all these things, just live it up. But when it’s your time to dive, when it’s your time to compete, that’s when you just let all that go. And at that point, you’re just at another diving meet against competitors you’ve competed against so many times, doing dives you’ve done a thousand times, you know exactly what you’re doing.”

“When I was kicked off my high school diving team for being a waste of space, yes, obviously, it still gets under my skin today, but I am so glad I was told that because it lit a fire. And sometimes, we need that kind of fire lit under us.”

“We want adversity, we want obstacles because that’s when we rise to the occasion. So I don’t think being labeled an underdog is a bad thing. I think fighting for something, it gives you that fuel—it’s just such a perfect description—that fuel to push forward and to overcome. Because you want this thing, and you’re fighting for it.”

“It’s okay to be sad, it’s okay to be angry, it’s okay to just lose it, and just kind of want to cry or vent or whatever, like, make sure you are allowing yourself to experience that emotion. If you are stuffing it in and trying to avoid the emotion of what happened, it will come out later in a much uglier way.”

“Don’t sit in the grief for, like, forever, you know, but give yourself a few days, a few weeks, whatever the timeline is, a little bit of time to process it. Then begin to create a new game plan and analyze and work on what happened and what is going to come next.”

“My other kids are still kind of figuring out what it is that they’re going to do. One has said she is not an athlete, she is an artist, and I respect that, although she will run sprints with me, and so that’s really cool, maybe one day she’ll go for track. But you know, I love, I love, absolutely love watching them find the thing that lights them up the way that I feel like diving lights me up.”

“Don’t be afraid to get more than one opinion on what your injury is. You know, one doctor doesn’t always have the answers or may not pick up everything, like, it’s okay to get two or three opinions on things to make sure you’re making the right choice.”

“When you have injuries, this is the number one thing I will tell people to do: take care of your injury and then train mentally. Everybody says sports is 90% mental, but no one trains that way. Not one. I can pretty much guarantee you that.”

“When you close your eyes as you start implementing all of your senses, you’re not just seeing it with your eyes, you can actually feel what you’re doing. You’re actually firing muscles, like, from the neurons in your brain, you’re starting to react with the right muscles that are going to be doing all of these skills. You’ll be blown away by what you can do if you do this consistently in that time.”

“A lot of times, the issue is not starting in the pool or in the gym. Sometimes, the issue is starting at home or in your personal life. We have this way of carrying stress and anxiety, and it begins to burden us so badly that it comes out in our sport, looking like mental blocks and things like that, or this ultimate fear that is overwhelming. And it’s actually not coming from your sport.”

“A lot of times, our sport, even if you’re a sprinter, the whole process is a marathon, not a sprint. So have that long-term vision and hang on to that.”

“I’m very, very goal-oriented. And so, even when I’ve done really awesome things, I’ve always wanted more. I’ve always strived for more, like, my whole goal wasn’t… I mean, I wanted to win the Olympics, but I also wanted to find out what I was capable of, how good can I be, how hard of dives can I do and do them really, really well, for like nines and tens.”

“I love training as much as I love competing. Competing is exciting and it’s fun. But the hunt to get there is almost better. Like sometimes, when you get to the meet, you’re like, man, I kind of wish it wasn’t here because I love that process. And that hunt. And that work. There’s just something so fulfilling about that to me.”

“My purpose doesn’t just lie in having goals. And it’s not just in what I’m doing. I know that I have worth and value because God created me, and he told me that. And, you know, for me, diving has always been a beautiful way to feel really connected with God. Because that is a gift I know he gave me, and when I do it with everything that I am, it feels like worship. And it feels beautiful and completely fulfilling to me.”

“I’m still learning how to not just juggle all these things, but how to, you know, shift my priorities to where diving isn’t my number one priority, my family is, and then diving will come after that. And learning that I don’t have to be so intense all the time, but I can actually just fully embrace it and enjoy every step of the way.”

Links:

The Confidence Journal

Life at 10 Meters: Lessons from an Olympic Champion

Laura Wilkinson Designs- Shop

Buy Laura a Coffee

Laura’s Social Media:

Life at 10 Meters: Lessons from an Olympic Champion

Laura Wilkinson 8/3/21 Laura Wilkinson 8/3/21

51. Connecting sport, faith and life with Dr. Chad Carlson & Dr. Brian Bolt

Joining Laura on the podcast this week are Dr. Chad Carlson and Dr. Brian Bolt, two guys from rival schools who came together with a common purpose: to think deeply about sport and faith. They both grew up as competitive athletes and are now coaches and sports scholars, Brian as the Dean of Education at Calvin University, and Chad as a Professor and Director of General Education at Hope College. They have also teamed up to create the ‘Sport. Faith. Life.’ podcast which they describe as ‘a conversation that meets at the intersection of sport and faith’. After hosting the 2nd Global Congress on Sport and Christianity at Calvin University in October 2019, our two guests made a commitment to continue to explore the athletic world through the lens of Christianity, and that is precisely what they do hear today.

In today’s episode, Chad and Brian discuss the connection between sports and faith., concepts like forgiveness, and how sports can become a part of one’s identity. Together, they also delve into viewing sports as a form of play, how not everybody is drawn to the idea of competition, and how sports must be enjoyed at the moment. They conclude by exploring athletes’ mental health and the sense of loss they feel after certain events such as the Olympics, and by discussing how to view sports as a separate space from other things in life. Filled with ideas regarding how to lead with grace, call for truth, and be a light on a very diverse team. Today’s conversation is enlightening, informative, and, above all, one you do not want to miss.

Episode Highlights:

- Competition in sports: the good side and the bad side

- Comparisons that people make while playing sports

- Sports and their impact on one’s identity

- How human beings are meant to be playful

- Forgiveness and the concept of a community

- Selfishness in sports and attributions people make for their successes or failures

- Mental health and sports

- Redemption in sports

Quotes:

‘‘And we see this, especially those who are in Olympic sports, where, you know, it’s not like you play Major League Baseball, where if you don’t do well, one day, you get a chance to the next day, right?”

“And what’s so interesting about athletes or successful people in some ways is that they attribute failure to things outside themselves.’’

“And so, from a faith perspective, I think it’s a reminder to us that when we watch our heroes, we’re watching real people with skin and flesh and people who are dealing with real everyday issues. That’s important for us to remember in the midst of our heroism - the way in which we worship athletes at times, for sure.’’

“And then we also need to take a step back with someone we trust - a coach, a teammate, somebody - and logically look at what happened without the emotion and learn from it instead of just blaming all the time. Because I’ve had teammates who blame judges, who blame this, that, and the other all the time.’’

“If you use your energy to fix what you're doing wrong, instead of blaming other people, you might actually be a better athlete.”

“There are experiences that we have on Earth, that may be glimpses of Heaven, and when we're at play, we're doing something because the joy of it is in the doing. We're experiencing that Kingdom at hand.”

“I have parents that ask me all the time, like, ‘How can I make my kid more passionate?’ and, like, you’ve just got to let them fail. Like, if he fails and he wants to keep going, like, he’ll find the passion.’’

Show Links

Laura’s Social Media:

Sport. Faith. Life. Website

Laura's Facebook

Connect with Brian and Chad:

Laura Wilkinson 6/23/21 Laura Wilkinson 6/23/21

48. How to Have a Championship Mindset with Chad Busick

Joining Laura on the podcast this week is Chad Busick, owner of Championship Mindset, an organization that works with both corporate and athletic teams. Chad is a Master Facilitator with Advance Sports Technology, working with college teams at the DI, DII, DIII and NAIA levels as well as high school and competitive teams across various sports. In addition, he is a certified trainer for The Power of Positive Leadership training with The Jon Gordon Companies. Chad is also the host of ‘The Championship Mindset Podcast’ as well as the author of his new book, The Rock Tumbler.

Laura begins by sharing some exciting information about her own new book, and then Chad details his background and his journey to the work he does now, including some of the principles and techniques he employs in that work. Along the way, he shares a number of excellent resources and examples of his philosophy in action, offers valuable advice to athletes and parents alike, and provides a glimpse into his new book. As you will hear, Laura resonates with so much of Chad’s work, and you will undoubtedly do the same with the many lessons revealed here today regarding the world of sport, and, indeed, life in general.

Episode Highlights:

· Laura’s new book

· Chad’s background and his journey to the work he does now

· The Ten Principles of Entelechy and sports mindset

· His Championship Mindset brand and company

· The hardest part of achieving the championship mindset

· Emotional safety

· ‘Taking change by the hand’ during the pandemic

· Jon Gordon’s The Power of Positive Leadership

· Mark Batterson’s Win the Day

· Chad’s Championship Mindset chart and how to apply it

· Working with a team vs. working with an individual

· Chad’s The Rock Tumbler and his favorite lessons from it

· His advice regarding parental involvement

· Jessica Lahey’s The Gift of Failure

Quotes:

“It's the seven fundamentals of mental fitness. I've been a master facilitator with that for the last six or seven years, which has led me now to start my own company called Championship Mindset, and a lot of other things.”

“Whether we're working with corporate clients, whether we're working with athletes, coaches, teams, it's really just focusing on helping them be the best that they can be.”

“This championship mindset is the formula for success in all areas of our lives.”

“At the end of the day, it really comes down to our talent, our hard work, our attitude, our mental toughness, our teamwork, and our passion into everything that we do.”

“The things that I've learned through diving are the very things that helped me in my life outside of the pool.”

“I would say everything for me starts with culture, we have to have the right culture.”

“The first thing that we have to build is we have to build emotional safety.”

“Players don't care about how much you know, until they know about how much you care about them.”

“When we really think about what we've gone through this last 14 to 16 months, what we've really been doing is, we've been grieving.”

“Just be there for your students be there for your players in this moment.”

“It's okay to grieve the dream, but don't stay there.”

“Regardless of those tough events that we go through, we still get to choose how we respond.”

“How you do anything is how you do everything - and to me, that's the core of the championship mindset.”

“How we view the world and more importantly, how we interact with the world, greatly affects what you get out of the world.”

“If you have to go through it, you might as well grow through it.”

“Own your journey, it's your journey, own it to the best that you can.”

“We need to let our kids fail.”

“The most powerful thing that you can say to your athlete when they're done competing is, ‘I love watching you compete. I love watching you play.’ ”

Links:

Life at 10 Meters: Lessons from an Olympic Champion

Laura’s Social Media:

Championship Mindset Linktree

Laura's Facebook page

Connect with Chad:

Champion Mindset Website

The Rock Tumbler

Championship Mindset Podcast

Championship Mindset Twitter

Championship Mindset Facebook

Championship Mindset Instagram

Resources:

The Power of Positive Leadership

The Gift of Failure

Win the Day

Laura Wilkinson 6/8/21 Laura Wilkinson 6/8/21

47. An unstoppable drive with our host Laura Wilkinson on the Jedburgh Podcast

Once again this week, things are a little bit different as today’s episode features Laura being interviewed by former Special Forces Green Beret, Fran Racioppi, on ‘The Jedburgh Podcast’. Touted as ‘a conversation with prominent visionaries, drivers of change, and those dedicated to winning’, this podcast is a natural and timely fit for Laura, as she participates in the Olympic Trials this week and next in her bid to compete in her fourth Olympic Games. Be sure to tune into the Olympic Channel and NBC and join Fran in cheering her on in her attempt, and enjoy this interview here today which outlines precisely just what it takes to reach similar success in your own life.

Laura and Fran begin by looking at what it takes to reach elite levels, and then discuss Laura’s career from her start in high school to present day. Along the way, they explore her perspective on failure and fear, the need to take ownership of your performance, her Sydney Olympics experience, and her Dream Chaser philosophy. They also delve into Laura’s neck surgery and recovery, her preparation for the Tokyo Olympics, and her take on finding balance in life and achieving longevity in sports. The interview concludes with her thoughts on channeling the pressure of the moment, ‘The Pursuit of Gold’, the 3 things she does every day, and the elite performance characteristic that Laura most exemplifies – drive. As Laura heads into the Trials which will determine her immediate Olympic future, today’s sweeping examination of the many components which have brought her to this moment could not be more relevant – listen in and prepare to be inspired.

Episode Highlights:

· What it takes to reach elite levels

· Laura’s high school diving experience and her ‘call to action’

· Her perspective on failure

· Taking ownership of your performance

· Laura’s performance at the Sydney Olympics, the events leading up to it, and the pep talk she gave herself

· Dream Chaser

· Her neck surgery and recovery

· Laura’s thoughts on fear and moving past it

· Preparing to qualify for Tokyo

· Dealing with the ‘uncontrollables’

· Her thought on finding balance in her life

· Achieving longevity in sports

· Channeling the pressure of the moment

· Her ‘Pursuit of Gold’ podcast

· Laura’s next couple months

· The 3 things Laura does every day to be successful

· The elite performance characteristic that Laura most exemplifies

Quotes:

“Faith and determination separate the good from the great.”

“Just because somebody tells you you can't, doesn't mean it's true.”

“Failure is part of success. And the concrete actions that you take from the moment you accept that you failed are what defines you as a leader and as an elite performer.”

“I'm not afraid to look like a fool.”

“When we talk about the development of elite talent, there's a requirement to be humble and show humility.”

“How can I become better? How can I fix that? How can I move forward?”

“It doesn't matter how old you are, doesn't matter what station you have in life, you can really make a difference for somebody just by being there for them.”

“This pressure that you felt became a power.”

“I realized that there were so many people that probably would never have the opportunity that I was in at that moment.”

“The task ahead of you is never greater than the power behind you.”

“I absolutely loved it, because it wasn't about me in that moment...it was about something so much bigger.”

“So it's about the pursuit, it's about the hunt. It's about who you become. And I think that's what I really mean by Dream Chaser.”

“You have to have this done just to be a mom because if you trip down the stairs, if you have a small car accident, like, that could lead to a quadriplegic.”

“A lot of times we're scared of the unknown…fear is a lot of times a liar.”

“To wholly stay in the moment is really the biggest key…and you have to practice that in practice.”

“I think really breaking my foot back then was such a gift because it gave me that opportunity to focus on visualization, to go through so many competition scenarios in my mind with so many different athletes.”

“Adversity makes you stronger.”

“The challenge in front of you sometimes becomes the blessing that you needed.”

“I have learned this last year is that I can just tear my plans up, throw them out the window, because I’ve got to roll with it. And I'm not good at that.”

“I think one of the best things COVID taught me was that I need to have my kids be part of what I'm doing.”

“They saw the sweat, they saw the tears, they saw the frustration, they saw how many times a day I was having to do this stuff and how hard I was working, all just hoping to get back in the pool. So it provided a lot of really good conversations for us.”

“The best people you see doing this are beginners at some point, like, you have to start somewhere.”

“I've had a lot of times where I'm like, you know, God, I'd be okay, if He closed the door, and we're done with this. But He's made it very clear, this is where I need to be, and He's made a way, and then that fire is back, and that fuel is back.”

“I've learned not to be scared of my emotions. I've learned how to use them and how to direct them.”

“And it's not about the pressure, or the expectations, or all these other things, just let that go. And it's just about me enjoying the moment.”

“This is actually my way of finding the resources and giving them to other athletes.”

“Learning those lessons from people and taking that with me, I think makes me not just stronger mentally, but emotionally and spiritually.”

“There's this need for achievement and growth mindset - be better today than you were yesterday, continuous self improvement - that you display that has set you apart from all of your competition.”

“For all the people who maybe think they're too old to do something they love to do, don't let society or culture decide that for you. If you love something, do it.”

Links:

Laura’s Social Media:

The Jedburgh Podcast Website

Laura's Facebook page

The Jedburgh Podcast:

The Jedburgh Podcast on iTunes

The Jedburgh Podcast Instagram

The Jedburgh Podcast LinkedIn

Laura Wilkinson 5/21/21 Laura Wilkinson 5/21/21

44. How to start taking action on your biggest goals with our host Laura Wilkinson

The inspiration for today’s episode can be found in a team meeting that Laura’s coaches called recently. The meeting was all about goals, and included an exercise where each member shared their own goals with the others. Even with her years of experience, Laura still found this a little uncomfortable and even a bit intimidating, but also incredibly powerful and beneficial for herself and her teammates, and definitely important enough to share with listeners today.

She starts this solo episode by highlighting the need to set big goals, and the value of writing down and sharing them. She recounts the role that healthy competitiveness plays in making teammates better, emphasizes the importance of being specific about goals, creating a plan involving both short and long term goals, and explaining the difference between goals and expectations. She finishes up by looking at the importance of having and knowing your ‘why’ and by reviewing today’s main takeaways for listeners. Blessed with wisdom gained through experience and reflection, Laura expands upon a key coaching strategy for elite athletes and eloquently translates it for athletes and non-athletes alike in this relatively brief but hugely impactful episode.

Episode Highlights:

· Setting a goal out of your reach

· Writing down and sharing your goals

· Employing healthy competitiveness to get better

· Being specific with goals and creating a plan to get there

· Setting short and long term goals

· The difference between goals and expectations

· Avoiding the ‘expectation trap’

· The importance of your ‘why’

· Takeaways from today

Quotes:

“If you’re setting a goal that you know you can already achieve, it’s not a goal.”

“If you share it with someone, you are 77% more likely to accomplish it.”

“It’s now real because somebody else knows about it, and they can hold you accountable in a number of different ways.”

“The better your teammate’s getting, that’s just going to push you to get better.”

“It’s important to recognize that expectations tend to have very emotional roots and responses.”

“At some point you’re not going to be able to keep up with that growing expectation because it’s not a tangible result.”

“When you have purpose, you can become capable of so much more than you ever thought possible.”

“You’ve got to start acting like you are the person who is going to achieve that goal.”

“I grew as a person. I grew as an athlete.”

“You are capable of doing great things.”

Links:

The Pursuit of Gold Instagram

Laura’s Social Media:

Instagram

Facebook page

Laura Wilkinson 3/23/21 Laura Wilkinson 3/23/21

38. Paralyzed to Powerful with Rugby Player Robert Paylor

Laura has been looking forward to today’s interview for a while, and the reason will become very clear, very quickly. On May 6, 2017, Robert Paylor was playing for the number one college rugby team in the country as they competed in the National Championship, a dream come true for any young athlete. Mere moments into that game, Robert broke his neck and was subsequently told that he would never walk or move his hands again. His life was changed forever in that instant, but if you think that’s where Robert’s story ends, you couldn’t be more wrong. That fateful day not only impacted his physical life, but his mindset, his faith, and his outlook on life, and he shares the whole story with us all today.

He begins by describing how he got involved in rugby in the first place, his experience at Cal, and then he shares, in chilling detail, the events of that day in May, 2017, as well as the immediate and long-term decisions and treatments involved in his rehabilitation, which continues to this very day. Along the way he touches upon the need for mental toughness, working through the daily grind toward his vision, the role that neuroplasticity plays in his rehabilitation, and the power of forgiveness. Throughout his story are woven Robert’s feelings of gratitude, the incredible support from family, friends, doctors, teammates, and coaches, and, especially, his discovery of the greatest purpose and commitment of his life. What happened to Robert truly changed his life on so many levels, and by listening in to his heartfelt and moving conversation with Laura today you’ll find out why he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Episode Highlights:

· How Robert got involved with rugby

· His experience at Cal

· The day Robert’s life changed forever

· The advice he received and the decision he made in his darkest hour

· Accessing mental toughness to make treatment decisions

· Robert’s post-surgery experience

· Support of family and friends

· Robert’s rehabilitation at Craig Hospital in Colorado

· False hope and false hopelessness

· Working through the grind toward his ironclad vision

· The first flicker of movement

· Accessing perspective to be more grateful

· The three ways to achieve recovery form spinal cord injury

· The role that neuroplasticity plays in his recovery

· Robert’s rehabilitation since he left the hospital

· The support from Robert’s rugby team and especially Coach Billups

· Graduating from Cal

· The power of asking yourself, “Compared to what?”

· The impact that Robert can have on the lives of others

· Talon’s story

· The biggest commitment that Robert has ever made

· The power of forgiveness

· Counting the days and appreciating the daily grind

Quotes:

“It was a day of legacy.”

“My face slams against my chest, I feel this crunch in my neck, and I immediately can’t feel or move anything below my neck.”

“The reality is, you will never walk again. You will never move your hands.”

“The one thing you have control over is your mindset. Your positivity, your ambition, your willingness to wake up every single day and fight is up to you.”

“I was going to give everything I had to get absolutely everything I can get.”

“I knew I couldn’t live with the regret of not going into this surgery.”

“It was like Death was sitting with me in that hospital room, waiting for me to quit.”

“If I don’t do this, I might die!”

“They look at me and they see potential, not some broken body.”

“The one thing we do know is that we are going to give you everything that modern science and medicine has to offer.”

“I came here to walk out of these hospital doors.”

“Appreciate every victory we have no matter how small they are.”

“There was just so much that I had lost that I had taken for granted in my life.”

“I couldn’t have graduated if it weren’t for this team.”

“Just being a quadriplegic is a job in itself.”

“It was my perspective that really fueled me.”

“Remind me not to complain about anything ever again.”

“I think that’s very unhealthy when we dismiss our challenges.”

“There are so many positives in our lives that we can be focusing on right now.”

“If I could go back and change what happened to me on May 6 of 2017, I wouldn’t and I couldn’t, because…it has given me now the greatest purpose that I have in my life.”

“I forgive him whether he is sorry or not.”

“I’m either going to get out of this wheelchair one day or I’m going to die trying.”

Links:

Laura’s Social Media:

Laura's Facebook page

Connect with Robert:

Laura Wilkinson 3/2/21 Laura Wilkinson 3/2/21

35. How to Face and Overcome Fear with Our Host, Laura Wilkinson

Due to the winter storm that hit Texas recently, and the ensuing power outage, Laura has had to postpone some of the fantastic interviews she had lined up for the podcast. However, today’s episode proves equally fascinating as she delves into something which we all experience, and about which she is asked all the time: fear. While no one is immune from it, there are ways to manage it rather than let it spiral out of control, and today, Laura breaks it all down for you.

She begins by defining what fear actually is, how healthy fear works and can help, the relationship between fear and control, and the only way to overcome fear. She also discusses the need to change the way we talk and think about fear through refocusing and reframing, the gift of gaining courage through fear and commitment, and then finishes with an offer to participate in her ‘Free 5 Day Fear Challenge’. This is a topic with which Laura possesses a vast amount of experience, and her insights and advice here today, once again, go far beyond the world of sports and into each of our daily lives, making this yet another ‘must listen’ episode of ‘The Pursuit of Gold’.

Episode Highlights:

· Defining what fear actually is

· Healthy fear

· Fear and control

· Overcoming fear

· Changing the way we talk and think about fear

· Refocusing and reframing

· Gaining courage

· Commitment

· Laura’s Free 5 Day Fear Challenge

Quotes:

“Fear is huge in my sport…I am no stranger to fear.”

“Fear basically boils down to a strong feeling.”

“A healthy fear should not be absolutely paralyzing.”

Copy of The Pursuit of Gold Podcast Promo (1).png

“However big your fears are, you are not powerless against these fears.”

“Fear has no actual control over you, it’s only making you feel a certain way.”

“When we ignore our fears, they don’t get smaller, they begin to grow.”

“When we’re trying to push our fears away, we’re actively interacting with them.”

“The only way to overcome fear is to face it.”

“We have to begin trusting ourselves and our knowledge and what we know will help us.”

“You cannot have courage or be brave unless you are first afraid.”

“The most important ingredient to becoming courageous is commitment.”

“It’s normal to freeze up and get scared just before a big, important moment. That just let’s you know how important it is to you.”

“You can’t dip your toe in from the 10m to see if the water feels nice.”

“The thing on the other side of fear is more important to me than the fear itself.”

Links: