How to Develop a Gold Medal Mindset

How to Develop a Gold Medal Mindset with Jake Herbert

Episode Overview on How to Develop a Gold Medal Mindset:

Larry and Shawn interview Olympic wrestler, co-founder of Base Wrestling and Double Leg Ninja, Jake Herbert. Jake’s unique background and rise to the top of wrestling are wonderful guides to help you teach your own kids to learn from their failures and rise beyond their expectations. His endearing story will inspire and challenge you to be the best possible parent you can be.

Key Takeaways:

In a world demanding perfection, it’s refreshing to hear someone say that it’s ok to fail. Not only is it ok, it’s necessary to be able to grow and become a better person. Olympic wrestler, Jake Herbert, knows exactly what it means to fail and come out of that failure with a grateful mindset.

After dealing with the pressures of drug and alcohol use in his early high school years, wrestling literally saved Jake from a potential downward spiral. During his junior year, Jake realized that he had strong potential in wrestling and decided to direct all of his energies toward this end. The more wins he got under his belt (or in his case, singlet), the more confidence he gained. He decided to aim high. Very high. Olympic high. Drafted by the elite Northwestern University, Jake enjoyed a $250, 000 scholarship, allowing him to continue his passion of wrestling while furthering his education. Eventually, Jake’s success on the mat led him to his dream: the 2012 Olympic stage. His quest for gold, silver, bronze, even fourth place did not, however, come to fruition. When it was all said and done, he finished 7th-in the world.

Seventh in the world. Let that sink in for a moment. Out of the over 7 billion people in the world, Jake ranks 7th in wrestling. That is astounding in itself. He aimed very high, and even though he did not medal, he still reached a level in his field that not many will ever achieve. Because of his success, Jake was able to meet world leaders and have a wealth of other opportunities that would not have been afforded to him had he not aimed as high as he did originally. Some would say, that’s a win in itself.

Jake states this idea of dreaming big needs to be cultivated early with kids. In other words, kids need to have fun in whatever they are doing and parents need to allow their kids to fail. This means allowing your kids to go outside of their comfort zones and letting them struggle just enough for growth.

In Jake’s own words, “If they don’t learn to like it when they are younger, they won’t want to bleed for it or suffer for it later.” By helping kids to train their minds to enjoy the activity even though it may have its struggles, they will learn resiliency. How do you, as a parent, make this happen? Try making it a game. Kids love games. Even if something is challenging, kids are more apt to want to stick with an activity in a game-like setting.

Of course, there are those times when continuing to push your child when they don’t want to continue can result in a negative outcome. So how do you know when enough is enough? Know your child. Your child has limits and you know what they are when you pay attention to the unique signs. But knowing that fine line between struggle for growth and when it’s too much is key.
So maybe your child isn’t a wrestler, or even in a sport, but the lessons of being present for your kids and knowing when to push and when to hold back can be used in every area of their lives. You, as the parent, are their example and their guide.

Free Resources:

Check out a free chapter from: THE DAD’S EDGE on UNLIMITED PATIENCE HERE

The Dads Edge Book

Check out this free resource on: CONNECTION WITH YOUR SPOUSE

Check out this free resource on:  CONNECTION WITH YOUR KIDS

Links

Jake Herbert Links:

Websites:

Facebook Links:

Twitter Links:

Instagram Links:

If you enjoyed this episode How to Develop a Gold Medal Mindset with Jake Herbert let us know. Leave your comments below as we would love to hear your thoughts so we can continue to provide you with content you enjoy.

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *