Athlete Maestro | The Ultimate Podcast For Young Athletes | Sports Education | Sport Psychology | Mental Toughness | Athlete Development | Mental Training with Tola Ogunlewe

"Everyone wants to win. But to truly succeed--whether it is at a sport or at your job or in life--you have to be willing to do the hard work, overcome the challenges, and make the sacrifices it takes to be the best at what you do." – Ronda Rousey If you enjoyed this episode, check out show notes and more at athletemaestro.com/61.html

"your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your habits become your destiny” – Mahatma Gandhi If you enjoyed this episode, check out show notes and more at athletemaestro.com/60.html

"I am not looking to escape the pressure. I am embracing it. Pressure is what builds up in the chamber behind a bullet before it explodes out of the gun." - Ronda Rousey If you enjoyed this episode, check out show notes and more at athletemaestro.com/59.html

"I’m proud of the way I have dealt with setbacks. Its hard when you feel down and you think, why is the world doing this to me? But you have to pick yourself up again. That’s what makes you a better athlete” – Jessica Ennis-Hill When you are the face of the Olympic games, the pressure is beyond comprehension. Now add the disappointment of missing the last Olympic games to the mix. Jessica Ennis is special in many ways. But what she has had to overcome in her career is more special. She missed the Beijing Olympics games through injury at the last minute and had to wait another four years to have another go at it. She found the strength to do so and won gold in London four years later. She also won silver at the just concluded Rio games. That the kind of mindset I talk about. In this episode you will learn many lessons from one of the most successful British athletes of all time. 3 KEY LESSONS - Have the resolve to overcome adversity in sports - Be willing to put in the work to succeed - Have a world class coach Episode 58 discusses the glamour girl of British athletics and her inspiring career. ACTION FOR TODAY What adversity have you gone through in sports? How resolved were you to come out stronger? Did you see it as a positive or a negative? The answers to these questions are the reason you are where you are in your career today. Find the positive in every situation. Be resolved to come out stronger. Get in touch with me. tola@athletemaestro.com P.S. Are you sharing Athlete Maestro with your teammates, friends and colleagues? Do so by clicking the share button in the audio above: If you love the Episode share it with your friends and teammates. Subscribe on itunes, stitcher radio and Tunein

"Success is not a stereotype. Success is not an automobile. Its not a house. Its not a plan. Its not money in the bank. That’s not success. Success is the continual unfolding of the design of our life and pulling it off” – Jim Rohn The power of choice is the determinant factor when it comes to success. You see whatever it is that you plan for your life, once you have it that is your success. We have become accustomed in life to have other people determine our success for us. We have become accustomed to handing over the reigns of our life to others. At the end of the day you are in control and it is your choice. I want you to grow to your truest potential but only on your own terms and only as you decide it to be. Episode 57 is fruitful Friday. Your success is your choice. ACTION FOR TODAY Start looking at the aspects of your life that you have let others determine for you. Start thinking about the success you want to enjoy in those areas. Now begin to map out a plan of how you want to achieve that success on your own terms. Slowly but surely you will begin to take back control of your life and determine your own success. Get in touch with me. tola@athletemaestro.com P.S. Are you sharing Athlete Maestro with your teammates, friends and colleagues? Do so by clicking the share button in the audio above: If you love the Episode share it with your friends and teammates. Subscribe on itunes, stitcher radio and Tunein

"We can all learn by standing on the shoulders of giants” – Unknown Performing at the Olympic games is something not all athletes get to experience. It a goal at the top of most athletes list. So when we get the chance to hear from an Olympian let alone an Olympic Champion, its one we should take with both hands. In this interview with Enee Udo-Obong, we would learn a lot about what makes athletes tick. We would learn from his struggles and his biggest achievements. This is an interview you should not miss because it just might be the opening you need to harness your full potential. Episode 56 is special because we get to hear directly from a great athlete who achieved so much in his career. ACTION FOR TODAY Simple. Listen, learn and apply. Get in touch with me. tola@athletemaestro.com P.S. Are you sharing Athlete Maestro with your teammates, friends and colleagues? Do so by clicking the share button in the audio above: If you love the Episode share it with your friends and teammates. Subscribe on itunes, stitcher radio and Tunein

"If you are afraid to fail then you’re probably going to fail” – Kobe Bryant When Kobe retired this past closed season the fan fair that surrounded his retirement was unheard of. There was a countdown, there were interviews, there were tears and many more. That does not happen unless you are a legend. That does not happen unless you are a role model. It is from this role model that we pick out the following lessons for you to learn. Anyone who follows sports knows who Kobe Bryant is but what is more important is what tools we can use from his career to aid our development. 3 KEY LESSONS - Have a driving force behind you - Develop an insane work ethic - Always learn from your mistakes Episode 55 dissects the lessons we can learn from one of the few legends we have in sports. The word legend is often thrown around but on this occasion it has a home in Kobe. ACTION FOR TODAY What is the driving force behind you? Do you have anything that pushes you? Why do you do what you do? What kind of work are you willing to put in to be the best athlete you can be? If you can answer the following questions you are one step closer to becoming a better athlete. Get in touch with me. tola@athletemaestro.com P.S. Are you sharing Athlete Maestro with your teammates, friends and colleagues? Do so by clicking the share button in the audio above: If you love the Episode share it with your friends and teammates. Subscribe on itunes, stitcher radio and Tunein

"I don’t know anything that builds the will to win better than competitive sports” – Richard Nixon Rivalry in sports in often underrated and seen as a means to self destruction. The only person you need to be better than is yourself, some might say. The only person you need to compete with is yourself others would say. When done the right way your rival can be your biggest inspiration. Take a look at the rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Episode 54 is all about using your rival as an inspiration. Enjoy ACTION FOR TODAY Rivals exist everywhere. You might say “I don’t have a rival”, you might also say “how do I find a rival”. Its easy. You see that superstar you adore? They can be your rival. The important thing is using them as a motivation to train and improve in your career. So it does mean that you don’t see them physically. So make them your rival today and be determined to do better than them. For those of you who have a rival, all the easier. Channel your motivation the same way Magic Johnson and Larry Bird did. You are already a maestro. Well done. Get in touch with me. tola@athletemaestro.com P.S. Are you sharing Athlete Maestro with your teammates, friends and colleagues? Do so by clicking the share button in the audio above: If you love the Episode share it with your friends and teammates. Subscribe on itunes, stitcher radio and Tunein

"We are repeatedly what we do excellence then is not an act but a habit” – Aristotle Some might say habits are overrated. Some might say it is unimportant. But one thing that is not deniable is that there is a routine to what we do in life and sports. So if there is a routine to what we do in life, why is it that we do not take our habits seriously? The most successful athletes have shown us over time that habits are the key to success. Episode 53 takes you through some of those habits. You need not incorporate everything but even one can be a life changer. ACTION FOR TODAY Start by incorporating one habit then improve to two or three. Find the one that is most easy to do. The key to habit is to start small. So start small and build. The most important thing is to get into that rhythm. Get in touch with me. tola@athletemaestro.com P.S. Are you sharing Athlete Maestro with your teammates, friends and colleagues? Do so by clicking the share button in the audio above: If you love the Episode share it with your friends and teammates. Subscribe on itunes, stitcher radio and Tunein

"I’m not for the flashes or the glitz and glamour. I just want to win, I want to be good at what I do. ” – Kevin Garnett KG was great no doubt. He might not have been the most talented or skillful but boy was he very effective. To stay at the top for 21 seasons means you must have been doing something right. It means something was going well. By the time you add that he won a championship ring and was a regular visitor to the All-Star game makes more meaning. But what made KG special? How did he compensate for his lack of talent. That’s what we discuss in today’s episode. 3 KEY LESSONS - Be intentional about your success - Bring the intensity to compete everytime - Change your circle of influence Episode 52 brings Kevin Garnett to you like you have never seen him before. This is not about the NBA Finals, this is not about the championships, this is about what we can learn from him. And there’s a ton to learn. ACTION FOR TODAY Look around you, is your team going to get you your desired result or success. At this point its not really about you or your talent. Its about whether you have all the right ingredients around you to bring that success. So take a breather and take stock of your coaches, teammates or anyone you constantly have around you and see if they are going to take you to the next level. Get in touch with me. tola@athletemaestro.com P.S. Are you sharing Athlete Maestro with your teammates, friends and colleagues? Do so by clicking the share button in the audio above: If you love the Episode share it with your friends and teammates. Subscribe on itunes, stitcher radio and Tunein

"I have failed over and over in my career and that is why I succeed” – Michael Jordan We all reach a point in life and in our careers where it feels like everything coming to an end. We have all been there. It seems like there is no way out. I have a message for you today, survive until you succeed. Do something everyday that buys you time. The greatest entrepreneurs in the world have reached this point in their business. How do they pay the mortgage or salaries? A difficult question we all know. Rather than quit what they do is to find a way to buy one more day. So, what I want you to do when you find yourself at this point is to do one thing, just one thing, that buys you one more day. You see that one day can be life changing, that one day can be massive. For every day you buy, you get closer to your success. Episode 51 urges you to survive until you succeed. Buy yourself time to reach the goal. To reach your goal and your dreams. ACTION FOR TODAY What is the one thing you can do today to buy you time? What is the one thing you know you can do that ensures you get called in tomorrow? It could be showing more commitment, or learning a new skill, or showing that you are a team player. Whatever is it, do it. Buy yourself the extra day and get closer to your success. I challenge you to stick it out. Get in touch with me. tola@athletemaestro.com P.S. Are you sharing Athlete Maestro with your teammates, friends and colleagues? Do so by clicking the share button in the audio above: If you love the Episode share it with your friends and teammates. Subscribe on itunes, stitcher radio and Tunein

"To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving the peace” – George Washington The devil is in the details as they say. You can never be over prepared in sports. Infact the more prepared you are the better your chances are of success. So what are some of those steps that you can adopt? What is ideal? What is not ideal? Truth is the list is not exhaustive and different strokes work for different folks. However the fundamentals remain the same. And that fundamental is that you have to be mentally prepared. It is the difference between the good and the great. It is the difference between a mistake and glory. Robert Baden-Powell said “be prepared….the meaning of the motto is that a scout must prepare himself by previous thinking out and practicing how to act on any accident or emergency so that he is never taken by surprise” You are the scout of your career, you need to be prepared for the mission and goal ahead. Your dream needs preparation. The essence is that nothing should take you by surprise. Episode 50 takes you through some steps you can adopt in mentally preparing for success in sports. ACTION FOR TODAY When you have a game or match coming up, how do you prepare? I want you to actually write it down. The entire process that you go through when preparing for a game. Try to remember every single detail. Then compare to some of the steps above and see if you are actually mentally preparing or just going through the motion. Everything begins in the mind guys. If you win in the mind, you win in life. Get in touch with me. tola@athletemaestro.com P.S. Are you sharing Athlete Maestro with your teammates, friends and colleagues? Do so by clicking the share button in the audio above: If you love the Episode share it with your friends and teammates. Subscribe on itunes, stitcher radio and Tunein

"I always give more than I gave yesterday” – Allyson Felix Allyson Felix is a great athlete. Perhaps one of the very best. Lets get that out of the way. But that doesn’t mean she is without fault. It is from those faults that we find our inspiration and lesson for today. Something profound happened at the Rio Olympics involving Allyson Felix and that is the reason for todays episode. Robin Sharma said “starting strong is good but finishing strong is epic”. 3 KEY LESSONS - Persevere to the very end - Finish - Always recover from your setbacks Episode 49 sums up all the lessons you can learn from Allyson Felix’s career into 20 minutes of wisdom ACTION FOR TODAY Ask yourself if you are finishing everything you are starting. If your answer is no, then take the lessons from Allyson’s career and make the necessary adjustment. I challenge you. Get in touch with me. tola@athletemaestro.com P.S. Are you sharing Athlete Maestro with your teammates, friends and colleagues? Do so by clicking the share button in the audio above: If you love the Episode share it with your friends and teammates. Subscribe on itunes, stitcher radio and Tunein

"Think deep down and ask yourself who do you want to be” – Arnold Schwarzenegger I was listening to the story of Arnold Schwarzenegger recently and it was so inspiring. I have heard the story so many times and followed his rise to success but something about this time made it different. He had an ordinary beginning and resolved after finding his inspiration to be great in life. His inspiration was Reg Park, a legendary bodybuilding champion. He wanted to be Mr. Olympia and also to be the greatest movie star in the world. Now there were many obstacles, many stumbling blocks and many setbacks along the way. He found his success because he found his inspiration. So I want you to find your inspiration today. Episode 48 is a message from the life of Arnold Schwarzenegger. ACTION FOR TODAY Find your inspiration. Ask yourself “what inspires me?” What gets me going? It is important you find this so you can channel it. When you face setbacks, you would remember your inspiration and it would motivate you to get back up. Like Arnold, anytime he faced a setback he would remember the struggles that Reg Park had to overcome and he would tell himself that he can do the same. That’s the power in finding your inspiration. Get in touch with me. tola@athletemaestro.com P.S. Are you sharing Athlete Maestro with your teammates, friends and colleagues? Do so by clicking the share button in the audio above: If you love the Episode share it with your friends and teammates. Subscribe on itunes, stitcher radio and Tunein

"Winners don’t lose even when they lose” – Unknown This quote might sound confusing. How do you win when you don’t win? Well its all in the mentality you have. With anything in life your approach is always key. What do you see? Do you see victory or defeat? Do you see failure or lessons? A winning mentality is all about doing anything to succeed and even when you don’t, you still see it as a positive. We all get into sports to win, but I’m not talking about that type of winning. I’m talking about wading through adversity and still staying strong and still believing you can win. Not so confusing right. It shouldn’t be. Episode 47 breaks down everything about creating a winning mentality and succeeding in sports. The key layers are layers 3 and 4. Confused? No need to be. This episode explains it all. You’ll learn a lot from this episode. Apply yourself. ACTION FOR TODAY Here are a few questions to ask yourself: 1. Which layer in Maslow’s theory have I scaled? What level am I on? What do I need to do to get to the next layer. 2. How do I begin to make the necessary changes to create my own winning mentality? Share your answers with me. Your mentality is already changing. Get in touch with me. tola@athletemaestro.com P.S. Are you sharing Athlete Maestro with your teammates, friends and colleagues? Do so by clicking the share button in the audio above: If you love the Episode share it with your friends and teammates. Subscribe on itunes, stitcher radio and Tunein