S1E41 - Chess on Bikes with Olympic Cyclist Giddeon Massie

04/20/21 • 58 min

1 Listener

Joining Laura on the podcast today is Olympic cyclist Giddeon Massie. Among his many accomplishments are more than 20 U.S. Elite National Titles, Pan American Games Gold and Silver Medals, competing at two Olympic Games, and being selected by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to participate in a series of public service announcements that promoted clean, honest, and fair competition. Giddeon has also been the Program Manager for an International Education and Mentorship Non-profit organization, called ‘Classroom Champions’, and he remains committed to community outreach. In today’s conversation, Giddeon shares how he first became involved in cycling, his training experience at the Velodrome, his breakout moment, and his time at the Olympic Training Centre. He goes on to review and compare his Olympic experiences, his perspective on doping in sport, the various cycling events in which he competed, the impact of not qualifying for the 2012 Games, and his transition from his cycling career to his current career in real estate. Giddeon finishes up by offering his sincere and deeply thoughtful advice to athletes in setting and achieving their goals in their sport. Uniquely experienced in the joys and challenges of a life both within the world of an elite athlete and beyond, Giddeon takes this opportunity to share his measured and contemplative insights and advice for the benefit of all listeners here today.

Episode Highlights:

How he found his way into cycling
The Velodrome
Giddeon’s breakout moment
His time at the Olympic Training Centre
Comparing his Olympic experiences
His perspective on doping in sport
The various cycling events in which he raced
Failing to qualify for the 2012 Games
Transitioning from cycling to real estate
Giddeon’s advice for athletes coming up with dreams and goals

Quotes:

“The sprint disciplines were more intriguing and just looked more fun and appealing to me.”
“It was a gradual progression and I learned from some of the best.”
“You know sometimes you go years without something, and other times you have a year where you have two or three or four falls.”
“We lived that together, and we supported one another, and that was a great, great thing about that space.”
“The whole experience... is pretty overwhelming and special that first time.”
“I feel bad for those people that choose to go that route, but it doesn't impact what I do and how I approach what I do. I sleep comfortably at night.”
“If you don't have a purpose it's kind of like not having a destination.”
“I'm very comfortable in uncertainty because I know that my preparation is such that, if given the opportunity, I'm going to be where I need to be.”
“The individual stuff, it's like, you know, it's chess on bikes.”
“I think every Games has its own lifeblood to it.”
“Watching from the outside... that was very hard.”
“I wasn't ready to be done.”
“Sometimes I tell people I'm a recovering Olympic athlete.”
“You lose some of yourself when you step away from that because not everybody cares about the Olympics and not everybody cares about, you know, what you’ve spent most of your life doing.”
“Okay, what have I learned that I can actually apply here?”
“It starts with having a healthy respect for the sport that you're participating in, for the people that are devoting the time to invest in you, to being willing to accept the critique and the criticism.”

Links: The Pursuit of Gold homepage 5 Smart Strategies to Confidence Conquer Your Fear in 5 Days Laura’s Social Media: Laura's Instagram Laura's Facebook page Connect with Giddeon: Instagram: @giddeon Giddeon's Real Estate homepage

Episode Highlights:

How he found his way into cycling
The Velodrome
Giddeon’s breakout moment
His time at the Olympic Training Centre
Comparing his Olympic experiences
His perspective on doping in sport
The various cycling events in which he raced
Failing to qualify for the 2012 Games
Transitioning from cycling to real estate
Giddeon’s advice for athletes coming up with dreams and goals

Quotes:

“The sprint disciplines were more intriguing and just looked more fun and appealing to me.”
“It was a gradual progression and I learned from some of the best.”
“You know sometimes you go years without something, and other times you have a year where you have two or three or four falls.”
“We lived that together, and we supported one another, and that was a great, great thing about that space.”
“The whole experience... is pretty overwhelming and special that first time.”
“I feel bad for those people that choose to go that route, but it doesn't impact what I do and how I approach what I do. I sleep comfortably at night.”
“If you don't have a purpose it's kind of like not having a destination.”
“I'm very comfortable in uncertainty because I know that my preparation is such that, if given the opportunity, I'm going to be where I need to be.”
“The individual stuff, it's like, you know, it's chess on bikes.”
“I think every Games has its own lifeblood to it.”
“Watching from the outside... that was very hard.”
“I wasn't ready to be done.”
“Sometimes I tell people I'm a recovering Olympic athlete.”
“You lose some of yourself when you step away from that because not everybody cares about the Olympics and not everybody cares about, you know, what you’ve spent most of your life doing.”
“Okay, what have I learned that I can actually apply here?”
“It starts with having a healthy respect for the sport that you're participating in, for the people that are devoting the time to invest in you, to being willing to accept the critique and the criticism.”

Previous Episode

S1E40 - Coming Back from Injuries Stronger than Before with Our Host Laura Wilkinson

One topic that Laura has been receiving a lot of messages about lately is that of dealing with injuries. There seems to be some worry, frustration, and uncertainty expressed by more and more athletes when it comes to feeling productive while they’re sidelined for weeks, months, and even longer during their recovery. Definitely no stranger to the world of injuries, Laura draws upon her own experiences, and those of previous podcast guests, to address all of these concerns and share some valuable advice. Laura begins by recounting some of the injuries she has sustained during her career and how she and her coach responded to them. Throughout these stories, she highlights the importance of being ‘all in’ on your recovery plan, learning from these injuries and carrying those lessons forward, the power of mind, mindset, and perspective, as well as working through the many resulting emotions. Laura also reviews the stories of some past guests of the podcast whose journeys through injury and illness are both inspiring and enlightening, and she concludes the episode with her advice on ways to deal with injuries, how to use the time while on the sidelines, and just how critical it is to really take the time to assess your injury and recovery before choosing wisely on how to move forward. As you will hear, today’s topic is one with which Laura is greatly familiar, and the knowledge and wisdom she shares here is drawn not only from her own experience but from others in the world of high level sports. This is, truly, an important listen for all athletes, and really, for anyone who may suffer perceived setbacks in achieving their goals in life.

Episode Highlights:

Some of the injuries that Laura has sustained throughout her career and how she and her coach responded to them
Believing in what you’re doing when coming back from injury
Learning from injuries and recovery and carrying those lessons forward
The importance of our mind, mindset, and perspective
Working through your emotions
Inspiration to be drawn from past podcast guests
Laura’s advice on ways to deal with injuries and what you can do while sidelined
The power of nutrition, video study, visualization, mindfulness, coaching others, and restructuring goals
Choosing your response to injuries wisely

Quotes:

“Obviously, hindsight, I wish we would have pressed for X-rays anyway, but my coach and I were just hoping that, you know, it wasn’t a big deal.”
“That first week, I still had all those mix of emotions that you get when you feel like your world is caving in on you.”
“We’re not going to look back and say, ‘What if?” and ‘Could I have?’, we are only going to look forward with a new plan.”
“I have to tell you that believing in what you’re doing - as crazy as it might appear to anyone watching - if you believe in what you are doing, you’ve got to be all in.”
“I would not have stood on that podium if I had not broken my foot.”
“They basically took two of the discs out in my neck and fused the bones together.”
“You can come out the other side even stronger.”
“If your goals have changed and you don’t want to be in your sport anymore, you don’t always have to use the injury as an excuse.”
“Sometimes these injuries turn into something more beautiful.”
“These injuries, they can break you if you let them, or they are something that can turn you into an entirely new athlete with a new purpose.”
“I encourage you to even check out the small injuries.”
“Take your physical therapy seriously.”
“Be smart. Know when to go slow. Know when to push forward.”
“There is so much you can do while you’re sidelined.”
“The mind is powerful. You need to learn how to use it.”
“Don’t underestimate the power of coaching. Even if it’s some younger kids that are around you, it can be really, really beneficial.”
“It all truly comes down to how you chose to look at it...choose wisely, friends.”

Links: The Pursuit of Gold homepage 5 Smart Strategies to Confidence Conquer Your Fear in 5 Days Laura’s Social Media: Laura's Instagram Laura's Facebook page Previous episode links: Robert Paylor, episode 38

Next Episode

S1E42 - Redefining Success with Olympic Hurdler Sarah Wells

This week, Laura welcomes Olympic hurdler, Sarah Wells, to the podcast. Once an athlete who was cut from every high school team she tried out for, Sarah discovered track and field and went on to become an Olympic semi-finalist and Pan Am Games silver medallist in the 400m hurdles, building a reputation for overcoming challenges and achieving the ‘impossible’ along the way. She is also the Founder of the Believe Initiative, where she now uses her story to help youth understand the importance of being resilient and the power of believing in themselves, and to help corporations build more resilient teams. Sarah begins by recounting how she got her unique start in sports, the support networks which have sustained her throughout, her rapid development in the hurdles, and both working and learning through her injuries. She also shares her discovery of ‘her word’, her Olympics Trials and Games experience, managing her stress fractures, and preparing to qualify for Rio 2016. Sarah concludes the conversation by discussing her Believe Initiative, how to get involved in it, her retirement from sports, and her perspective and guide to redefining success. A gifted speaker with a truly inspiring story, Sarah Wells has learned so much from her journey which is so very pertinent to life both within and beyond the sporting arena, and she shares it all here today. Episode Highlights:

Sarah’s start in sports
Her support networks
Sarah’s rapid development in hurdles
Working and learning through her femur injury
Finding her word ‘Believe’
Returning from her injury
Her Olympics Trials and Games experience
Managing her recurring stress fractures
Preparing to qualify for Rio 2016
The Believe Initiative and how to get involved
Retiring from sport
Sarah’s perspective and exercise regarding redefining success

Quotes:

“At that point I hadn't defined myself by sport and I also had some really amazing siblings.”
“You go from zero to competing internationally in, like, eight months.”
“When someone else says it, you know, you're instantly a bit more likely to believe it.”
“I would almost, like, live and die by how my leg felt that morning.”
“I just would get so mentally defeated and, like, halfway through an interval I would just start walking.”
“In the most important races in my life, when the gun goes off, I hear nothing. I just lock into completing what I need to do.”
“It hurts so much that I'm scared, tomorrow when I run, it could break in half.”
“It's a hard line to figure out when to push and when to ease off.”
“Success isn't linear, it’s this roller coaster ride of emotions.”
“Rest would have been very productive in that moment.”
“I miss qualifying by half a second.”
“Clearly you don't build self-belief through achievements, you build it through action.”
“It helps people everywhere take a passion they have with a problem they want solve, and they use that passion to solve that problem, and they build self-belief through action.”
“While hard work doesn't always lead to success, being resilient will always lead to another opportunity for it.”
“Far more people are inspired by the time where I didn't make the Olympics over the time where I did.”
“If you're able to continuously embody and act from a place of those powerful character traits that lead to success, well then, even in a moment where things don't work out, you're going to be able to rely on those things and find your next opportunity for success.”