Grand Slam Journey

Don Tirsell and I reminisce on our athletic college years. Don talks about his basketball journey, what his sport taught him, and how his Basketball journey evolved from being a competitive collegiate basketball player to using his sport as something that allows him to create new friends and support groups at work. Don also talks about him being a father, his journey of supporting his kids to choose their sport, and letting them find their passion. Last but not least, Don was also a Basketball coach, and we discuss his coaching principles and the mindset he has learned playing and coaching basketball, and how he applies it in his everyday life and at the workplace.

Don is currently the Head of Alliance Partnerships and Business Development at Google Cloud. I had the pleasure to meet and work with Don in my previous job when I worked for Ericsson. From my experience, Don has a genuine partnership approach to business, which I find is very rare to find nowadays.

Some key topics we explore in this episode:

• Competitiveness and goal setting
• Simplification, structure, and accountability
• The transition from being a college athlete to the next chapter of our lives
• Mindfulness, valuing the present moment, facing adversity, and the importance of celebrating the mini-wins along the way.
• High-performing teams in sports and at the workplace
• The value of diversity and appreciating our differences

Some of my favorite quotes:
On the transition from basketball to real life: "The six months were tough for me too, in terms of a transition. Realizing that I was at the end of one journey and then had to figure out what's the foundation for the next path."

On parenting: "Finding those areas that you have in common that you can share and make sure you are not trying to push too much. You are supporting. You are not pushing."

What sport taught us: "Set audacious goals, with a timeframe for completing them, but that you actually believe you can complete, and create space to form the plan to get to that end destination."

"Holding each other accountable on that journey and celeb

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Today's episode is with my friend, a former colleague, and a professional racquetball player, Mitch Williams.

Mitch and I started at Ericsson at the same time and on the same team. Much of our telecom journey to date has been very similar as we seemed to make similar moves at almost the same time and in a similar direction. I had a lot of fun speaking with Mitch about many topics related to sports, cross-pollination of sports, how sports shaped us, including the joy and pain we get from winning and losing. We discuss the painful transition from the sport we loved into what I call the normal civilian life and the mindset we have learned by playing the sport, and how we are now applying it in the next chapter of our lives.

Mitch shares many fun stories from his upbringing, racquetball journey, and his current life of being a dad to three young daughters and the only male in his house - living in Arizona with his wife, three young daughters, and two female dogs.

Other topics covered in this podcast:

• Mitch gave great examples of strategic alliances and having a network of people who helped him get to different positions.
• The importance of timing in life, measuring what matters, and focusing on the things that make a difference.
• The importance of knowing yourself, knowing what drives you, and being self-aware of where one finds purpose, fulfillment, and career/ job-fit.

Article about Mitch and his racquetball retirement

Some of my favorite quotes from this episode:

Winning and losing:

• "I learned in racquetball; there is a lot of different ways to win. You don't have to win just by doing this one thing."

On the transience of a loss or a win:

• "That's the hardest thing to tell a kid that you coach: It doesn't matter how you win the game today. You win. You are going to play tomorrow. And tomorrow, you can wake up and have the worst game of your life, or the next hour or the next match, it all disappears."
• "I love sports. I love the immediate response of a

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This content is also available in a video version on YouTube.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone who may enjoy it as well, and consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. You can also submit your feedback directly on my website.
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Today's discussion is with my former UTA tennis coach, Christian Wassmer. I had so much fun speaking and re-connecting with Christian that we ended up running over our reserved time, and I still had many questions left.
Christian and I talk a lot about tennis, our college tennis journeys, and different coaching styles - things we could have done better and things we have implemented to maximize our athletic potential. We dive into sports mindset, confidence, the importance of goal setting, injuries, sports in general, ethics in sports, anti-doping, and the meaning of sportsmanship. We also discuss creative problem solving, teamwork, collaboration, commitment, and cultural awareness needed when organizing Olympics, as Christian worked for the International Olympic Committee.
Christian and I dive into all parts of his journey and career change decisions. I find Christian's journey fascinating, and I am amazed how he has been able to make career choices that aligned with his passion and talents and, at the same time, pushed him to learn more and grow. What also stood out to me were his transitions. The way I hear Christian narrate his journey, it appears that he has a strong sense of inner wisdom where at specific points of time, he has decided to slow down, or outside circumstances forced him to slow down and re-examine his passion, growth, and what he wants to put his energy into next.
Christian Wassmer is currently the CEO of betheone-sports in Germany, where he does sports consulting and management with different clients. His primary operations focus is on institutional consultancy, including governance, strategic planning, development, project management, and GAISF/IOC recognition.
Link to a story that Christian shares in the latter part of the podcast from Wall Street Journal on how they saved the Men's Alpine Skiing Olympic Championship in Sochi, Russia is

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This content is also available in a video version on YouTube.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone who may enjoy it as well, and consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. You can also submit your feedback directly on my website.
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Today's conversation is with Liz Goldman. Liz is my personal life coach. Liz has been assisting individuals and groups in accessing their unique gifts and wisdom for over 20 years.
Link to Liz's website.
Liz and I discuss her diverse and cultural upbringing in New York City, family dynamics, the importance of support systems, communication and challenges, coaching, the benefits of coaching, trust, and Liz’s journey to becoming a life and business coach. Liz also shared several tips and important skills that might be useful for your journey and self-reflection.
Key topics:

1. What does it mean to be a coach, the value of a coach, and how coaching fits into a support system
2. Leadership, building your leadership and its relation to inspiration
3. Benefits of slowing down and connecting to your inner wisdom
4. Being more courageous and be willing to be messy, clucky, and awkward
5. The importance of cultivating greater trust and self-trust, starting from us first, changing our conversation or starting a new conversation with ourselves that allows us to change how we see our reality and move into a space of possibilities

Some of my favorite quotes:
"I believe we all come into our lives with certain lessons to learn and opportunities to grow."
"It was difficult as a kid to feel so much and not know where to go with it or how to understand it. That was a very clunky experience when I was young, and I know it let me to where I have gone professionally."
"Anything is possible for people, regardless of where they came from."
"It's important to give people the space to be real and to have people hear them and all that in service to where do they want to go."
"If we don't know what's happening right where we are, we don't have a very good shot at creating much that is of value in the world, much that is satisfying or fulfilling for every one of us."
"One of the most productive skills I have seen people take into their lives is to be willing to be messy, to be willing to be clunky, and to be willing to be awkward."
"If we st

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This content is also available in a video version on YouTube.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone who may enjoy it as well, and consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. You can also submit your feedback directly on my website.
Follow @GrandSlamJourney on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and join the LinkedIn community.

Are you ready to redefine your perception of leadership, relationships, and holistic health? We prepared a power-packed conversation with fitness and nutrition coach, army veteran, and entrepreneur Ben Smith. Having transitioned from a decorated military life to becoming an Integrated Wellness Coach, Ben brings a wealth of knowledge and an inspiring personal journey that encapsulates the essence of health, both mental and physical.
Ben opens up about his identity crisis and how he found solace in fitness and nutrition. He explains how he uses physical health as a stepping stone to mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness. Plus, Ben shares with us the secrets of his coaching philosophy, which is rooted in building long-term relationships and fostering a safe space for clients to explore new horizons. Get ready to redefine your understanding of leadership and holistic health as we dive into the unknown depths of therapy, breathwork, and even psychedelic therapy.
This episode doesn't stop at offering fitness advice. As we traverse the path of Ben's journey, we encounter the challenges he faced in transitioning from military to civilian life. He shares his struggles with identity crisis and how he emerged more robust. We also delve into the importance of rituals in managing life effectively, from journaling to cold plunging, and how they can help in personal growth and development. We conclude with a heartwarming conversation about authenticity, connection, and appreciation, making this episode a treasure trove of insights. So, join us for this riveting exploration, and let's redefine leadership, relationships, and holistic health together. Be prepared to be inspired, informed, and invigorated!
Resources:
https://www.instagram.com/benveesmith/
https://trainwithben.app/
https://linktr.ee/benveesmith

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This content is also available in a video version on YouTube.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone who may enjoy it as well, and consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. You can also submit your feedback directly on my website.
Follow @GrandSlamJourney on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and join the LinkedIn community.