S1E71 - How to be Champion-Minded with Allistair McCaw

Pursuit of Gold with Laura Wilkinson

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: The Pursuit of Gold The Confidence Journal Life at 10 Meters: Lessons from an Olympic Champion Laura Wilkinson Designs- Shop Buy Laura a Coffee

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Connect with Allistair: Allistair McCaw Website Allistair McCaw’s Books Allistair McCaw’s LinkedIn