101. Learning to be in the Moment with 5 time World Medalist Diver Katrina Young
Welcome to the latest exciting episode of the Pursuit of Gold podcast, where Laura is joined by the remarkable Katrina Young, a two-time Olympian and five-time world medalist in diving for an inspiring journey through Katrina's life and career. Starting with her outstanding achievements in both gymnastics and diving during her formative years, Katrina's story reflects her steadfast ambition throughout as, despite the fact that her college dreams in sports didn't come to fruition, she persevered, ultimately propelling herself towards Olympic greatness. As she now prepares for the 2024 World Aquatic Championships in Doha and aims for her third Olympic appearance in Paris, Katrina's path is filled with highs, lows, and a focus on authentic competition.
Laura and Katrina embark upon this remarkable voyage of ambition, self-discovery, and the relentless pursuit of Olympic gold by delving into Katrina's gymnastics-to-diving transition, her familial inspiration from her Olympian grandmother, her transformative mindset shift, and her candid discussion on handling performance anxiety. This inspiring conversation provides invaluable insights into the trials of Olympic competition, the post-Olympic challenges athletes face, the pursuit of a music career alongside diving, life-altering decisions, and the significance of trust and authenticity in the competitive arena. Katrina Young's captivating journey, balancing both diving and music careers, reminds us that the pursuit of passion and authenticity is the true path to greatness. Don't miss out on this engaging episode, as it resonates with ambition, offers inspiration, and underscores the relentless pursuit of one's dreams.
Episode Highlights:
Katrina's dual background in gymnastics and diving
The profound influence of her grandmother, an Olympian in track and field, on Katrina's ambition and determination
The challenges Katrina faced during her college years and the pivotal shift in her mindset
The significant transition to coach John Proctor and the crucial moments leading up to the 2016 Olympics
The importance of authenticity and staying true to oneself in the competitive world
Dealing with the pressures of nerves and performance anxiety as a competitive athlete
Katrina's ongoing journey of self-discovery and personal growth in pursuit of Olympic success
Exploring post-Olympic challenges, including the phenomenon of "post-Olympic blues," and how music played a healing role
Quote:
"When you're going after your dreams, you don't feel like you have a choice."
"No matter what great things our coach says or our friends say, it's our voice in our head 24/7."
"It felt a little bit scary to have that much time to think about the possibilities."
"I felt like I had to change who I was to become an Olympian, and that's not the truth."
"For me, it's more of a performance than anything."
"It's a very ironic mix of emotions for me. Every time going into it, I'm like, “I'm going to throw up.””
"Fear is totally normal. It's a totally human thing. But that is also the only time that you can be courageous."
Links:
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77. How To Be a Gold Medal Mom with Linda Wilkinson
In this latest episode of The Pursuit of Gold podcast, Laura welcomes her most special guest ever - her mom Linda Wilkinson. With Mother's Day approaching, Laura wanted to explore the topic of parents' roles in their children's athletic lives, and, given that Linda raised a successful athlete in guiding Laura on her journey, she definitely has plenty of wisdom and advice for parents raising passionate young athletes. Among the many topics discussed are Linda’s reasons for not wanting Laura to join a large gym, her encouragement of Laura's dreams, and the importance of structure and fun while pursuing one's passion.
She and Laura also cover a number of themes such as handling difficult situations, rising above negativity, and the importance of being an example for others. They provide personal anecdotes and insights into their own experiences of dealing with negative comments and unfair judgments in sports, and emphasize that the value of an athlete is not determined by their place on the podium. The importance of perseverance, family support, and the power of prayer are also highlighted, and the role of parents in supporting their children's passions, but allowing them to navigate their own journeys is also examined. Filled with sage advice drawn from first hand experience, today’s episode offers a unique perspective on the hard work, dedication, and support necessary for achieving one's dreams, rendering it an invaluable resource for parents seeking to raise successful and well-adjusted young athletes.
Episode Highlights:
The important role parents play in their children's athletic lives
Supporting and encouraging children's passions and dreams
Valuing perseverance, concentration, and skill set
Choosing the right gym for your child's needs
Striving for a good home life, structure, and fun
Letting children make their own decisions and navigate their own journeys in sports
Importance of trying new things to find the sport that "lights you up"
Dealing with challenges and negativity, and rising above it
Quotes:
"Life doesn't come with a manual. It comes with a mom."
"I wasn't in it for all the competitions, just for you to learn some skills and to have fun and to make friends."
"You may not make it to the Olympics, but you would be good at whatever you did."
"Listen to your child's frustration... respect their opinions."
"You let me fall, you let me get back up."
"Part of that is when you get knocked down, if you are fighting to get back up, you're learning real quick how important this thing is to you."
"Just give it a try for a season."
"Your value is not in your place on the podium...your value is because you are you."
"Just be there to support them...let your athlete and coach do their thing."
Links:
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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:
Connect with Allistair:
67. Unlocking Your Potential with High Diver Ellie Smart
Joining Laura on today’s episode is professional high diver, CEO of the International High Diving Institute—America’s first high-diving facility, and founder of the Clean Cliffs project, Ellie Smart. Their conversation begins with Ellie’s journey from childhood dreams of diving at the Olympics to the tough realization that she wouldn’t reach that standard and her decision to retire from diving during college. She shares the challenges of walking away from the sport that defined her, finding her worth outside of diving, and finally discovering her purpose in cliff diving. Ellie then discusses how she made the move into professional high diving, started competing, and eventually made it onto the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series as a permanent diver.
Next, Ellie talks about her desire to keep challenging herself and working on new dives—including one partly inspired by Laura—so that she can continue unlocking her potential to the highest degree. She also speaks to how she and other cliff divers manage their fear, pointing out that fear can be a good thing physiologically, but only if we learn how to control it and use it in a healthy way. Ellie takes a moment to discuss the impact of social media and how she uses it as a tool while enforcing personal boundaries to ensure she avoids the urge to compare herself with others. Closing out the episode, Ellie reveals some of her pursuits when she’s not diving herself, including creating the High Diving Institute at the Utah Olympic Park and co-founding Clean Cliffs, a project with the mission to prevent plastic pollution in the world’s bodies of water.
Episode Highlights:
Walking away from and coming back to diving
Learning to cliff dive and starting to compete
Unlocking potential and managing fear
Creating the International High Diving Institute
Giving back with Clean Cliffs
Quotes:
“I wanted to represent Team USA, I wanted to go to the Olympics, and I would practice my gold medals speech in the shower every single night as a kid and my autograph. In class, I used to get in trouble all the time for practicing my autograph.”
“The answer is always ‘no’ if you never ask, so I would rather ask and get the answer ‘no’ than not ask at all and maybe miss out on a really cool, incredible opportunity. So I definitely get embarrassed or shy or self-conscious sometimes when I have things that I really want to do, like, it’s definitely not just easy. But I know that the reward of asking and what could come of it is so much better than not asking.”
“It was also very humbling to realize that if I was going to keep diving, I needed to dive for me and not for the results or what it looked like from the outside to other people. Because there’s always going to be something bigger and better and different that you can do if you’re basing your life on decisions or opinions of other people.”
“I really think comparison is just the absolute worst thing that you can do. And so, I try to eliminate that as much as possible from my everyday life. So you know, if any of my friends are listening to this, I love you, but I’m not going to watch your Instagram stories. You can tell me all about it in person.”
“I think that that’s the most exciting thing about life is we don’t know, we get to figure it out as we go. And, you know, I used to have a different approach of, ‘I want to know the answer now. I want to know what I’m supposed to do.’ And now I have this whole new mindset of, ‘I’m so excited to see what I can do versus what I’m supposed to do.’”
Pursuit of Gold Podcast is brought to you by Kaatsu Global
Links:
Life at 10 Meters: Lessons from an Olympic Champion
Laura’s Social Media:
Ellie’s Social Media:
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
Life at 10 Meters: Lessons from an Olympic Champion
5 Smart Strategies to Confidence
Laura’s Social Media:
Connect with Brian and Chad: