Heather Moyse on How to Create a Gold Medal Mindset | EP 538

In this episode of Passion Struck, John R. Miles welcomes Heather Moyse, a four-time Olympian, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and World Rugby Hall of Fame Inductee, to discuss cultivating a resilient mindset. Heather shares her transformative shift from a "Can I?" approach to a "How can I?" approach, empowering individuals to focus on solutions and embrace challenges as opportunities for growth. Reflecting on her upbringing in Prince Edward Island and her unexpected leap into bobsledding at 27, Heather highlights the importance of setting ambitious goals, overcoming self-doubt, and redefining what’s realistic. Drawing from her book Redefining Realistic, she inspires listeners to confront self-limiting beliefs and take actionable steps toward their dreams. This episode is a powerful reminder of the potential within all of us to achieve more than we imagine. Link to the full show notes: https://passionstruck.com/heather-moyse-how-to-create-a-gold-medal-mindset/Call to Action: Don’t let self-doubt hold you back from your full potential. Resilience starts with shifting your mindset from "Can I?" to "How can I?" What’s one challenge you’re ready to tackle with this new perspective? Share it in the comments and take the first step toward turning obstacles into opportunities. Let’s inspire and empower each other to redefine what’s possible! Sponsors:Mint Mobile: Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at “MINT MOBILE dot com slash PASSION.”Hims: Start your journey to regrowing hair with Hims. Visit hims.com/PASSIONSTRUCK for your free online visit. Quince: Discover luxury at affordable prices with Quince. Enjoy free shipping and 365-day returns at quince.com/PASSION. In this episode, you will learn: Shift from "Can I?" to "How can I?": Changing the question from a binary "Can I?" to an open-ended "How can I?" encourages a focus on solutions and possibilities rather than limitations. Embrace Challenges: Viewing challenges as opportunities to learn and grow can foster resilience. Instead of fearing failure, approach goals with curiosity about how close you can achieve them. Visualization and Goal Breakdown: Breaking goals into smaller, manageable steps and visualizing the process can help maintain motivation and clarity on the path forward. Support Systems: A strong support system that values you for who you are rather than your performance can provide a safety net that encourages risk-taking and exploration. Gamify the Process: Treating goal achievement as a game—asking "How close can I get?"—can make the journey enjoyable and reduce the pressure associated with high-stakes outcomes. Resilience Through Experience: Learning from setbacks and understanding that highly unlikely outcomes do not equate to impossibility can strengthen mental fortitude. Connect with Heather Moyse: https://www.heathermoyse.com/For more information on advertisers and promo codes, visit Passion Struck Deals. Join the Passion Struck Community! Sign up for the Live Intentionally newsletter, where I share exclusive content, actionable advice, and insights to help you ignite your purpose and live your most intentional life. Get access to practical exercises, inspiring stories, and tools designed to help you grow.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00John R. Miles?

  Coming up next on Passion Struck.

• 0:02Speaker 01

  Sometimes it's just the tiniest little shift in our thinking that can help make big changes in our behavior, but also in our outcomes. One of the shifts I've been talking to people about is this how, live in the how, using this one word, this how word. And oftentimes, people aren't even pursuing the things they really want because they're asking the wrong question and they're asking, can I do this? For example, can I become the number one podcaster in the world? Whatever it is that goal might be, if it's a can I, that only leaves a binary option of answers yes or no. And if it's something that someone really wants and it just seems just so enormous, then they're probably going to be like, well, if my choices are yes or no, then if the answer is going to be probably not, so then why bother trying?

• 0:44Speaker 01

  Whereas if you don't even ask that question, can I, but you say, how can I? It immediately turns, shifts your focus into solutions. It immediately is, you're not even thinking about whether you can or not. You're just thinking, how would I be able to do this?

• 0:56John R. Miles?

  Welcome to Passion Struck. Hi, I'm your host, John R. Miles, and on the show, we decipher the secrets, tips, and guidance of the world's most inspiring people and turn their wisdom into practical advice for you and those around you. Our mission is to help you unlock the power of intentionality so that you can become the best version of yourself. If you're new to the show, I offer advice and answer listener questions on Fridays. We have long form interviews the rest of the week with guests ranging from astronauts to authors, CEOs, creators, innovators, scientists, military leaders, visionaries, and athletes. Now, let's go out there and become passion struck. Hey, Passion Struck fam.

• 1:40John R. Miles?

  Welcome to episode 538 of the Passion Struck Podcast. I want to kick things off with a huge thank you to all of you for being here, for the energy you bring and for your unwavering commitment to living more intentionally and passionately. You are the heart and soul of this community and your drive to make a difference fuels everything we do. If you're new here, welcome. You've just joined an amazing community focused on growth, purpose, and igniting passion in every aspect of life. For those wondering where to begin with our 530 plus episodes, we've It's simple. Check out our episode starter packs on Spotify or at passionstruck.com/starterpacks. Covering topics like leadership, mental health, and personal mastery. And if you're eager for inspiration between episodes, don't forget to sign up for my Live Intentionally newsletter

• 2:24John R. Miles?

  for exclusive insights, tools, challenges, and exercises to help put these lessons into action. Visit passionstruck.com to join. And remember, every episode is available on YouTube, where our thriving community of over 250,000 subscribers continues to grow. Find us on the John R. Miles YouTube channel and on our Passion Struck Clips channel for bite-sized insights. Last week, we had two phenomenal guests. First, Glenn Phillips, the lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket, shared his journey of embracing change, loss, and resilience, and the profound lessons he's gained through music and life. Then Adrian Brambilla joined us to discuss his path from humble beginnings to financial freedom, diving into the mindset shifts and intentional actions that can transform our financial futures.

• 3:08John R. Miles?

  And my solo episode last week was on the healing power of gratitude, a great episode to get us ready for the Thanksgiving holiday. Now, let's get into today's episode because it's one that promises to inspire and transform the way you look at your own potential. I'm thrilled to welcome Heather Moyse to the show. Heather is widely regarded as Canada's best-ever all-around female athlete, a four-time Olympian, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and a World Rugby Hall of Famer. She's not only the first Canadian woman, but the first Canadian to ever be inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Heather has excelled across multiple sports: bobsled, rugby, track, cycling, and more. And in every field, she's defied expectations and redefined what it means to be unstoppable.

• 3:52John R. Miles?

  But Heather's journey isn't just about the medals and records. It's about the mindset that drove her to break through barriers and achieve the seemingly impossible. In her book, Redefining Realistic, she challenges us to go beyond the limits we place on ourselves and to start questioning what we believe to be possible. Heather's philosophy is built on the idea that with the right mindset, each of us can tap into an unstoppable version of ourselves, one that's capable of achieving greatness in sport, business, and life. In our conversation- Today, we dive deep into the mindset that helped Heather thrive in high pressure situations, overcome significant setbacks and reach peak performance. We'll discuss how she went from living on autopilot, simply following the expected path, to a defining moment that set her on her path to Olympic gold.

• 4:35John R. Miles?

  She shares insights into the power of embracing challenges, navigating through self doubt, and harnessing the resilience needed to perform at an elite level time and time again. Heather Oso opens up about the core themes in Redefining Realistic, where she encourages us to shed our self limiting beliefs, push past the be realistic mindset and unlock the champion within. Her journey is a powerful reminder that we are all capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for. So whether you're facing a life transition, tackling a new goal, or simply looking for the extra push to reach your full potential, this episode will give you the tools and inspiration to redefine what's possible. So get ready to be inspired by Heather's wisdom, courage, and her call to action. What's stopping you? Thank you for choosing Passion Struck and choosing me to be your host and guide

• 5:20John R. Miles?

  on your journey to creating an intentional life. Now let that journey begin.

• 5:29John R. Miles?

  I am absolutely thrilled and honored today to have Heather Moyse on Passion Struck. Welcome Heather.

• 5:35Speaker 01

  Thanks. Thanks for having me.

• 5:37John R. Miles?

  Heather, you are one of, I think, only two or three rugby players I've had on the show. And it's a sport I love and an unlikely sport for me to get into because growing up, I was a cross country and track athlete. And I even got recruited for that to play division one sports, competed for my first couple of years until I kept getting stress fractures. And as this scrawny 140 pound kid, I tried out to be a winger, which is the same position that you played. I never was anywhere near the athlete you were in rugby, but for me, it was really a defining sport for me because it showed me that I could do something,

• 6:20John R. Miles?

  especially as scrawny as I was, that I never thought I had the potential to do. So. I love having rugby players on and so excited to do this conversation.

• 6:31Speaker 01

  Well, it makes me happy that you were part of that kind of community because I feel like rugby, I've played a lot of sports growing up and rugby is probably the only sport that I feel like has an entire culture around it and an entire community around it, anywhere you go in the world. I speak on stages all over the place and I always, without a doubt, have at least one or two rugby players who come up to me afterwards and they'll be like, oh, man, I played back in whatever day and they'll try and guess what position I was or they'll, there's always some kind of connection and I absolutely love that. I absolutely love it. I'm glad you're a part of that. It's also one of the most inclusive sports I've ever been a part of.

• 7:12Speaker 01

  When going, when I first started in high school, it was every body type, every body shape, every body size, every, there was no, there was a position for everybody. I mean, in high school and university or college and club teams, I always played fullback, but with the national team, I played a little bit of fullback, but mostly winger. But that back three combination, the power of the back threes, yeah, it's pretty great.

• 7:34John R. Miles?

  I remember earlier this year, I live in Tampa Bay and rugby isn't a huge sport here. And I happened to go visit one of our local breweries on a weekend and there's this whole table of women talking and they're talking rugby. And so I decided to sit down and just join them and it turned out to be the head coaches for Brown, Harvard, Princeton, and a couple of the other Ivy League schools who were in there because there was a tournament that was being played at a local school and they were recruiting. But even though they were opposing teams, just to see how spirited they were and collaborative

• 8:17John R. Miles?

  and spending their time together, it was really a cool thing to see.

• 8:21Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's pretty great. It really is great. They talk about how soccer is a game of, for, what is it, gentlemen who play like hooligans and then the other one is for hooligans who play like gentlemen or something, like with rugby and soccer having that. It's just, there's so much respect on the field and so much respect for the referees and a rugby player couldn't dream, I mean, I know there are going to be soccer fans listening to your podcast, a rugby player couldn't even dream about faking an injury or something. It would be their, their status points or their pride points would just be right down. It's pretty, it's a pretty cool sport to be part of, pretty cool community.

• 8:56John R. Miles?

  I know it absolutely is and and I'm gonna just use this to give a shout out to my I played at the Naval Academy. All my classmates who might be tuning into this because there are about 20 of us on a WhatsApp chat and we're talking with each other almost every single day. So it is something that transcends time like that.

• 9:16Speaker 01

  That's awesome. So good.

• 9:19John R. Miles?

  Well, Heather, I want to go back to the beginning with you. You grew up on Prince Edward Island, and I think that's where I'm talking to you from today.

• 9:28Speaker 01

  You are.

• 9:30John R. Miles?

  And I understand from my research that family was clearly a central part of your life. And you had early traditions like family Sundays where even though you were a top athlete, you your parents were pretty clear with the coaches that Heather can play on any day, but not Sundays. Those are reserved for family time. How did those early values and traditions shape your approach to who you are today?

• 10:02Speaker 01

  I think it worked in a in a few different ways. I might not be able to even identify them all right now. But I think that there were exceptions, of course, if there was a tournament that overlapped over the weekends because my family was most likely going to be there supporting me. But the fact that I grew up with parents who were unwavering in their values, they weren't raising an athlete. They were raising, hopefully, a successful contributor to society. And the most important thing to my parents was keeping the connection with our family and keeping our family as close as possible. And to them, they didn't like,

• 10:45Speaker 01

  not that they didn't care that I wasn't happy doing what I was doing, but sports was not a priority for them. Sports was not something that was going to dictate what the and this was not just sports. This was sports. This was dancing. This was music. This was whatever, anything that was going on on Sunday. This was me not being able to go to the local hockey games that were on Sundays with my friends because it was family day. Now, we could have friends come in and join us. We often hung out with another family who would come in and spend time with us. We'd all hang out together. But they just. As long as we work all together. And it's really powerful to know that, to have that example,

• 11:25Speaker 01

  that living example of what it actually means to live your values, to be uncompromising in those, but also, I guess, to grow up as an athlete and know that, for my parents, their love and support and wanting to spend time with me was not ever contingent on my performance in sport. Because they didn't care about that stuff. That's, that wasn't important to them. And I think that in and of itself made it easier

• 11:57Speaker 01

  to try new things, to all of a sudden, try bobsledding at the age of twenty seven with the Olympics only five months away. To people are like, well, how did, weren't you scared that you, like, how did you know? Weren't you gonna fail? Well, yeah, but my parents weren't gonna care if I was, if I didn't make it. My family didn't care about that stuff. So for me, knowing that they didn't care about those results or those outcomes, that was a safety net. That in and of itself was just knowing that that wasn't going anywhere. The fact that they loved me and wanted to spend time with me and my siblings, that was never gonna change. And that was all reinforced by their desire to wanna spend time with us no matter what, when we were kids. So it's something that's picked up quite a bit by people after they read my book,

• 12:39Speaker 01

  hearing about some of these lessons that I shared that my parents, I guess, instilled in me. But all of that led to me making more value-based decisions, even within my sports career. Not being swayed by what other people wanted and,

• 12:55Speaker 01

  but just choosing the decisions and making the choices that were, that aligned with me, what I wanted for my life, that aligned with my values and that sort of thing. And that's actually a lot of what I work with clients with now. Some of them feel lost, like they're extremely successful, but for whatever reason, aren't happy because they somehow lost their way along the way and started making the decisions and choices for their lives and their careers that were based on what other people thought was successful and other people's opinions and other people's values and expectations. And they got lost along the way.

• 13:27Speaker 01

  Forgot what they actually really truly wanted. So it's been a really remarkable, I feel very privileged that I had parents who were that solid in their values.

• 13:37John R. Miles?

  Well, I love what you just said at the tail end of that segment because you touched on things that we talk a lot about here on the podcast. And that starts with the power of choice. And you also brought up how so many people are living towards external validation. And I think it's the crisis of quiet desperation that Henry David Thoreau coined decades ago that people feel like they're stuck and they keep searching for meaning, but they're trying to search for it in the wrong places because they're not quieting their soul down enough to understand what they're truly looking for. So I know these are things that you talk about as well, and we're going to get into giving that as a hint to the audience that they want to stay tuned.

• 14:23John R. Miles?

  But I want to dive a little bit deeper into your upbringing because when you look back now, can you identify, were there any specific moments from your early years that hinted at your capacity for resilience, comeback, and the mental strength that you have now?

• 14:43Speaker 01

  I'm sure there are. I think that my parents, I talk a lot about mind shifts now and how like we're in a world of extremes these days. Everything is extreme fasting. Okay, you can't eat for 22 days. I like, I don't know, everything just seems so extreme and it's trying to make people feel like if they're not doing all of those things, then they're just not doing enough or they don't care enough. And sometimes it's just the tiniest little shift in our thinking that can help make big changes in our behavior, but also in our outcomes. So one of the shifts I've been talking to people about is this how, live in the how, using this one word, this how word. And oftentimes people aren't even pursuing the things they really want because they're asking the wrong question and they're asking,

• 15:27Speaker 01

  can I do this? Can I, for example, can I become the number one podcaster in the world? If some people started with that question, they might just say, or the number one business podcaster, or the number one motivational thought, whatever it is that goal might be. If it's a can I, that only leaves a binary option of answers yes or no. And if it's something that someone really wants and it's just seems so big and crazy, just so enormous, then they're probably gonna be like, well, if my choices are yes or no, then it's the answer's gonna be probably not. So then why bother trying? Whereas if you don't even ask that question, can I, but you say, how can I? It immediately turns shifts your focus into solutions. It immediately is, you're not even thinking about whether you can or not. You're just thinking, how would I be able to do this?

• 16:12Speaker 01

  What would be the steps that I could do? So you're automatically shifted over into solution mindset. So this how this word, this one word can make a massive difference in ultimately where, whether you choose to pursue something or not and how far you go. Now, I'm saying that, trying to tie that back into my parents because for them, the whole idea of whether we pursue something or not, whether we believe in the possibilities of achieving those things or not. Humans only take actions if they believe that the outcome is possible. So my parents, without even probably realizing it and without me realizing it at the time, taught me a couple of very important lessons growing up. And one was about visualization.

• 16:58Speaker 01

  And one was about breaking down your goal into small manageable pieces and focusing on the process. So focusing on that how piece. And the reason they would do that would be if I, when I was young, I probably changed what I wanted to be when I grew up every day. Every day was probably a different thing, possibly every hour, didn't, I don't know. But as soon as I said something like, oh, you know what? I'm gonna grow up to become an astronaut. My question, my parents would never, ever squash the possibilities of that. Instead, they would say, oh, my goodness, that would be so amazing. How do you think, what do you think it would take to get there? Or what are the, what do you think an astronaut would need to know? Or how do you think you could actually become an astronaut?

• 17:43Speaker 01

  And it starts getting you thinking at the age of four, five, six, seven, eight. You start thinking about how, what are the solutions to get there? How could this be possible? What are the different ways to get there? And so it automatically shifts that focus. If it's something like, my sister, for example, and I wrote this in my book with her restrained permission. My sister, when she was little, wanted to grow up to become a chickadee. Okay, so she's obviously not going to transform herself into a physical bird. But again, my parents, I mean, do they really need to tell her she's not going to do that? There's no point in doing that. There's no point in squashing that dream or that vision or that fantasy. And so all they said was, wow, that would be so cool.

• 18:25Speaker 01

  What's the first thing that you would do if you were to become a chickadee? All that's doing is filling out your imagination. All it's doing is visualization. All it's doing is creating these skills when you're young that you will automatically apply later when you're older. And so a lot of people didn't have that benefit. And I feel almost a huge sense of responsibility to help be that person for other people, to help show them different ways of thinking or different ways of looking at things. Because they didn't have the benefit of having that automatically growing up when they were younger. And of course, when you're young and you're playing sports all the time, injuries happen, like little injuries and whatever injuries and all that stuff. And so it's, from early on, it was like, well, what can I do in the meantime?

• 19:08Speaker 01

  What are the, like, how can I still keep up my strength or my power or my, how can I still do all of these things? How can I still work on this skill while I can't do these things? And so that stuff, I, it's hard to pinpoint because it just came naturally, I think, growing up. Or I wouldn't say naturally, but it came from the environment I grew up in. And that stuff has now, I feel lucky to be passing that on to other people. Different ways of looking at things or would, I mean, I started work, I worked with people with disabilities for years. And part of that was, well, I also have my master's degree in occupational therapy. So working with clients or with patients, it was, you've just had a stroke.

• 19:53Speaker 01

  So you can't do those things right now. What can we do in the meantime? Or what? Can we, if this is your ultimate goal, you might not be able to do it the same way you've always done it before. But how can we find a way for you to still get the enjoyment out of what used to bring you joy before? How can we still find that joy in that, just in a different way? I don't, John, that's not a very straightforward answer, but I hope I touched on it a little bit.

• 20:21John R. Miles?

  You did, and I want to go back to this whole thing that you were talking about can versus how. And it's interesting, I'm going to bring up a couple of past guests that I've had on the show to illustrate the point, especially since you brought up astronauts. I happen to be talking to, at the time, Vice Admiral Ted Carter, he's now retired. He was the superintendent of the Naval Academy. He's now the president of the Ohio State University. And while Ted was superintendent, his aide was a woman named Caleb Barron. And Caleb happened to meet some astronauts at one of the football events that was happening at the Naval Academy.

• 21:04John R. Miles?

  The Naval Academy has produced more astronauts than any other university. And she went to the soup and said, that looks really interesting. I wonder how I can ever pursue trying to do something like that. And he turned to her and said, Kayla, it's not can, it's how you do it. You just apply to join the pursuit of becoming one. And she did, and she was one of eight people out of 18,000 who were selected. What this really comes down to, and I know you love talking about perspective, and this is something I talked about in my own book.

• 21:43John R. Miles?

  It's, your perspective is completely different when you're focused on either or thinking, which to me is what can means compared to both and thinking, which is really what how means. And I think because so much of what we've studied in Western culture is the Stoics and that type of philosophy. It really is either or. But if you look at more Eastern teachings, they really focus on both and thinking. And both and thinking allows you so many more opportunities to realize your goals in life. I don't know if you want to talk to that at all, but that's what came up in my mind.

• 22:25Speaker 01

  I've never heard of the both end thinking, but it's exactly, that's basically exactly what it is. As soon as you, when you break something down, when you break down a seemingly insurmountable goal into the actual steps, a lot of people say, keep focused on your goal, keep focused on what you really want, whatever. But the problem with that is that it can seem so insurmountable that it just brings overwhelm and people just don't know where to start. And it seems so big that it just, why bother trying? It's so out there. But when you break something down into exactly what it would take, what resources might you need, what is this, what is the very starting point, like all of these steps, then it becomes

• 23:06Speaker 01

  like a checkbox. You're just checking off the boxes. And yes, for some people, it might be this, to achieve the same thing, it might require a longer list than other people because they may already have certain resources in place, or they may have certain things, or maybe they don't have, maybe they, maybe finances isn't a problem for someone else. Part of that checklist is how do I raise that money? Or how do I get enough money to do that application or to apply for the course that I need to get there? And all it is checking those things off. So it is, it almost simplifies things to the point where people can actually see the path. And then the key with that is that once they see the path, then they can decide if it is something that they really want to do

• 23:50Speaker 01

  or not. They can see actually the effort that's involved. They can see everything that's going to take. And then they can own their choices of saying, what? Yes, I'm going to do this. I can see how I can do it. Now, this is the, I can do it. Now it becomes a choice of do I want to do it? Or do I not want to do it? And I think part of that is understanding what it's going to take, so that they understand also what it's going to sacrifice and what sacrifices they're going to have to make to take that path. And then it becomes a choice, instead of just a default feeling like helpless, I can't. And I just think we're, I mean, my main thing right now is we are all capable of way more

• 24:31Speaker 01

  than we give ourselves credit for. And my question to most people is what's stopping you? Like, what's really stopping you? Because it's really not this external thing that's usually stopping us. It's usually the internal thing that's preventing us from even seeing if we can overcome that external thing. And I so I love that. I love the both in the end. I think that's really powerful.

• 24:54John R. Miles?

  If you want to learn more about it, there's a great book. I actually had him on the podcast. Two fantastic behavior scientists, Mary Ann Lewis and Wendy Smith, wrote a book called Both And Thinking. So it's a great book.

• 25:07Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 25:08John R. Miles?

  But I wanted to touch on that story because you highlighted breaking things down into smaller steps and trying to figure out how do you approach your goals? And Caleb Barron, that astronaut that I mentioned, when she was first approaching this, she had some huge doubts. And I think all of us have doubts. She didn't think that she was worthy of becoming an astronaut. And now I'm going to tell you her backstory. She competed in the national championships five or six times in multiple sports. She was the top of her class, ended up going to Oxford,

• 25:46John R. Miles?

  got a master's degree in clean nuclear energy, was one of the first five women to ever be on a submarine as an officer. The story goes on and on. And so if you look at that, you're going to have to be in space for months, if not years in the future, if because she's part of the Artemis missions. So she could go to the moon, she could go to Mars. What better atmosphere would you want someone to come from than the submarine community, where they're already used to living in a constrained space? And what are we going to need to get ourselves there? Nuclear power. Having a person who's got a master's degree from Oxford in nuclear propulsion.

• 26:30John R. Miles?

  We put these handcuffs on ourselves when we don't realize how amazing we truly are when we look in the mirror.

• 26:36Speaker 01

  Absolutely. The thing, here's another little mind shift, another little how, another little part of the how factor here is that.

• 26:45Speaker 01

  When we're actually setting our goals, often set our goals, I phrase this, we set smaller goals, the ones that we think are more likely to be achievable, instead of setting bigger goals, figuring out what you want, and actually stretching that further, and then just treating it as a challenge to see how close you can get. When you start asking the question, how close can I get, then you actually gamify the process. You're combining how can I and how close can I get, and you're combining those, and it gamifies it so that when you are confronted with an obstacle, it is the challenge of, okay, if I want to see how close I can get, like, how can I overcome this? It's the combination of the two that,

• 27:25Speaker 01

  how else can I do this? Like, how, I know I need to get this, how else can I achieve it? How else can I get around this? How can I get through this? How can... And it is extremely powerful when you're setting your goals as more of a challenge, but also that phrase, how close can I get? It also disempowers the naysayers. It also disempowers the naysayer, the doubt that's sometimes in your own brain, because every once in a while, whether it's yourself, or whether it's someone else, you're gonna have that person or that voice that says, why, do you really think that you can achieve that? Right? Sometimes it's even

• 28:07Speaker 01

  an eye roll from somebody else, or a body language, or, well, we all know those people, right, who just want to rant in our parade, or who want to try and pretend their realistic is the same as yours. And so, they just, that energy can immediately deflate your belief in the possibilities of achieving someone, something. And so, by saying, how close can I get, you have someone, even in your voice and your head, that says, do you really think you can achieve all that?

• 28:41Speaker 01

  It is very easy to say, you know what, I have no idea. I have no idea, but I just, I sure as hell want to see how close I can get. And that, there's nothing else you can say with that. If you were enjoying what you're doing, because there's nothing else that interests you as much, or there's nothing else that you're passionate about, or that you're so excited about this journey, or that you love, that you're excited about that outcome, then is there something else you would rather be doing in that moment? And if the answer is yes, go do it. If the answer is no, then by embracing the challenge, nothing else matters. And so you can say, yeah, I don't know if I'm going to make it. It was the same as when the press release went out the day after my hip surgery,

• 29:22Speaker 01

  announcing my intentions to represent my country in both rugby and bobsledding on the world stage within the next year. And I had seven interviews within a day. And the interviewers, they weren't, they weren't outright saying I was crazy, not to my face anyway, but they were just questioning, they were questioning whether or not I thought it was real, like whether I really thought I was going to be able to do that. And it's very, it's very empowering, disempowering to them, but empowering, it was very empowering for me to be able to say, you know what, I don't know. I just had hip surgery, so I might not make it.

• 30:04Speaker 01

  That's a, there's a high probability that might likely, or it's highly unlikely that I'll be able to get back in time. But what I've learned, one of my little quotes is highly unlikely does not mean impossible. And so I just want to challenge myself to see how close I can get. Can I actually get back on the national team? Can I qualify for the Olympic team? Can I, like, how close can I be to being the fastest breakman in the country again? Can I actually get back on the rugby pitch and contribute? And can I actually make a run? Can I score, can I actually be the leading try scorer again? Like, all of these things, sure, you can set these goals up. I just want to see how close I can get to all of those things.

• 30:48Speaker 01

  And so that puts you in the mindset where my rehab is not just. About getting pain free. My rehab is about is now a challenge. So my rehab, whether I made it or not, is I'm still going to be better off. Had I just tried to just overcome the surgery. You still are in a better place. You only can discover what you're truly capable of when you reach a point of not being able to go any further. So if you're not challenging yourself to see where you fail in that particular fail, can't go any further in that particular moment at that particular time. Then you'll never figure out what you're actually capable of in that moment in that particular time. And so it's a mindset that I've helped my clients adopt and it's liberating. It's a very liberating mindset.

• 31:35John R. Miles?

  So Heather, thank you so much for sharing that. I want to go back in time before all the injuries, before the Olympics were even a thought in your mind. You're on more of a conventional path. You want to help people. You want to be a service to others, which is why you were going down this path of studying occupational therapy. And you're 27 years old. You're in the middle of your master's degree program. When

• 32:06John R. Miles?

  for the second time, you are approached to train to become an Olympian. However, this time, when you're asked, there's only five months before the Olympics. So it's probably going through your mind. There's no way in heck that I'm going to be selected for this. There's no way I could possibly get ready for this, even if I did want to be selected. It's not even a goal of yours to go to the Olympics. What's going through your mind at the time? How did you even muster the desire or courage?

• 32:42John R. Miles?

  To try to pursue such a high stakes goal.

• 32:45Speaker 01

  Well, a couple of things. When I first was asked, well, not first, I guess when I was asked again, the recruiter was very, very persistent and very annoyed that I hadn't pursued it four years earlier when he had asked me the first time. I did not agree to do bobsledding. I simply said, "Fine, I will do the testing camp. I'll, I'll go to the testing camp and that's fine." Now, at 27, I still had never lifted weights before. And so fortunately Rugby Nationals overlapped that training camp, so I actually missed the first day of testing with their permission. So I missed that first day of testing and fortunately enough, I did because it was all weightlifting and I had never lifted weights before. But the second day of testing was all

• 33:30Speaker 01

  speed work and plyos and power testing and that sort of thing. And still tests I'd never done before, but at least I wasn't gonna, you know, crush myself with a bar pretending I knew what I was doing. So, um, I ended up doing this testing camp and then I ended up, I basically just did the testing camp to get this guy off my back, to, to get the recruiter to, to stop pestering me about all of these things. But when I did the camp, I actually broke one of their testing records, one of the main testing records with the weighted sled pull through timing lights. And all of a sudden I was standing there and I was like, "What do you mean? I broke a record? What? You mean to tell me I've broken a record amongst

• 34:15Speaker 01

  all of these athletes who've been training for years and who are supposed to be representing us in the next Olympic Games, which are in five months?"

• 34:26Speaker 01

  And then all of a sudden it was just this flip.

• 34:32Speaker 01

  Can I actually learn a new sport? Can I learn to do it well? And can I actually learn to do it well in time to represent my country at the next Olympic Games in five months? And so for me, I hadn't even seen a bobsled yet. I hadn't been down a track because there's no ice on the track in August. So there was no ice, gonna be ice on the track until October. So I didn't fall in love with the sport of bobsledding. I fell in love with this challenge of seeing if I could actually get to the Olympics and quali- like and qualify and compete for my country. So that is... That was the challenge that I embraced. Now, you did mention high stakes, like how did I take on this high stakes goal?

• 35:15Speaker 01

  And I think that I would flip that and say, I didn't even consider it to be high stakes. I considered it to be probably low stakes because nobody was expecting me to do well. Nobody was expecting me to be able to, you know, go to the Olympics and compete in five months. It just seemed like a very lofty, ambitious thing to strive for. And as I mentioned earlier, my parents, their love and support of me was not conditional on a performance outcome or anything like that. So I had, I didn't, I knew that they weren't going to be disappointed in me one way or another. So it was interesting. I didn't have the pressure to go and try and be the best.

• 35:59Speaker 01

  I just had embraced the challenge of seeing how close I could get. What are the chances? As if I'm really going to get to the Olympics in five months, but I wonder how close I can get. And as you go, you start realizing, as things progressed, I was like, wait a second. And that's the same with every goal. If you embrace that idea of how close I can get, as you go, you're like, wait a second. Maybe this is possible. Like what? Like the closer you get, you're like, wow, okay, well, I'm getting a lot closer than I thought. And maybe this is possible. What do I need to do to take it over the top? Or how can I make those extra few strides to actually get on the team? What are the things that I need to either learn or develop?

• 36:41Speaker 01

  Or it's just interesting how when you start off that mindset, embracing this challenge, and then you challenge yourself to see how close you can get, things open up along the way. And it's really remarkable. And like I said, I didn't feel like I was risking anything. It wasn't, I wasn't risking, I don't know, I wasn't risking a reputation in bobsledding. That comes later when you're defending Olympic champion and you go back to try and defend it. That's a different story. That's, that feels higher risk. But when you have a support system who's there, for example, for that, our very first World Cup race, that whole, that whole Olympic year happened to be in Canada. It was in Calgary. And

• 37:24Speaker 01

  My parents were like, oh, my goodness, the first race in the world for the World Cup is actually in Calgary. Well, I think we'll fly out and watch you. And I was like, I don't, Mom, I don't even know if I'm going to be racing. I will not even know until two or three, I'm probably not racing. I won't even know until two or three days before the race, whether I'm actually going to be racing or not. And my mom said, Heather, you should know by now, we're not coming to watch you. We're coming to support you.

• 37:53Speaker 01

  And that is a line that I've shared. That is a line that I've tried to share with a lot of people because that I think is what.

• 38:02Speaker 01

  And I mean, I was twenty seven. And hearing that at twenty seven was just as important as hearing that at seven or eight or twelve or fifteen. And I think that is what kids need. And I mean, I knew that growing up and I still apparently needed to hear it at twenty seven. But I think that's the most important thing for kids these days is knowing that their family is there to support them in what they're choosing to do. Not, and that doesn't mean throwing money at something and supporting them because they've spent thousands of dollars on a private tutor or private coach or private whatever. That is, that's a different kind of support.

• 38:43Speaker 01

  That's a support that actually can add pressure to someone. But yeah, that line was pretty powerful for me, even at the age of twenty seven.

• 38:54John R. Miles?

  So I just have to ask, I grew up watching the Olympics and I remember when I was like six, seven years old, I always wanted to do luge because it just seems so fricking cool, but so dangerous as well.

• 39:09Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 39:09John R. Miles?

  When you're doing bobsled, you're reaching speeds over a hundred miles per hour. When you first started getting in the sled and you started to go down the track, were you thinking to yourself, what am I thinking? This is such a crazy sport. Can you take us back? What's it like to be in the back of a sled? Like especially when you were just starting because it's got to be pretty intimidating.

• 39:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, first, we actually train and practice starts, like practice push starts in this, it's called the Ice House. It's a multimillion dollar indoor or push training facility that's refrigerated on the inside. So it's actually a track of ice, but just the start. So you can practice timing with your teammates and that sort of thing. So we were in there and I was practicing hitting the sled and running behind it and jumping in and that sort of thing. But when you actually get to the top of the track, it is a very different story. And I guess I was, oh my gosh, I was, I don't want to say naive. I was so ignorant. I didn't know anything really about the sport, except just what I like my job. I was just learning my job. And so we got to the top of the track in the very first day.

• 40:18Speaker 01

  And I remember a few, there are a few things, a few things I remember. So I remember that the media was going to be there at the bottom of the track because it was the first day of racing and it was Olympic season, not racing, first day of sliding. And the, and it was an Olympic season. So the media was all going to be there at the bottom. And I remember just getting into the sled and jumping in the very first day. Of course, the first day the drivers are driving, so we're not running full out anyway. We're just getting, jumping in this little bit and going so that the drivers can get a feel of the track. But I remember being told that since we're not going as fast, that I could keep my head up and look around if I wanted to. And so I'm looking up and then we go around the first corner and I was like, oh gee gosh,

• 41:03Speaker 01

  okay, okay, there's another, okay. There are no corners in this indoor facility we use. So we're doing corners and corners. And then all of a sudden we're on the third corner and I'm like, oh my gosh, okay, we're picking up speed. Okay, I just, okay, okay, we're not stopping now. Okay, oh, fourth corner. Okay, oh my gosh, okay. And my hands, you just see starting to white knuckle. They're just getting white knuckles and I'm holding on and you can't look. Anymore. You're the pressure of going around corners and the G-forces and the weight of your helmet and everything, it's all pushing you down. So it was all of a sudden, the third and fourth corner, you're like, there's no turning back. I'm in it. I'm in this right now. And then when you get to the bottom, I had to rip my helmet off really quickly because I honestly thought I was going to be sick.

• 41:44Speaker 01

  I was, I almost threw up in my helmet. It was not a good scene. But I found out from the doctor that I had a, I had an ear infection. And so there was fluid in my ear, which made any kind of bending over, all of a sudden I would just feel super nauseous. So of course, in the bobsled, you are bent over the whole time. So as soon as I get out there, of course, ripping off my helmet, ready to throw up, the media, all the cameras right there getting out of the sled. It wasn't, probably wasn't the smoothest of experiences. But to show you how ignorant I was with the sport, we were going down for the, I don't know if it was the second or third run we were doing.

• 42:25Speaker 01

  And while we're just waiting at the top of the track, um, my driver turned around and she said, oh, Heather, you forgot to do up your helmet. And I said, oh my gosh, we're supposed to do up our helmets? Like what? And she goes, what? So the first couple of runs I had done, I hadn't done up my helmet. And she was like, why would you think you don't have to do up your helmet? And I said, well, everything we had done indoors in the ice house, you just throw on a helmet because you're, it's just rules. But you're not going down a track or you're not picking up speeds. So I, I had no idea that crashes actually happen. I thought it was just about figuring out how fast you could go down. I, I really wasn't thinking about crashing. I wasn't thinking about, yeah, I mean, I'm very lucky that nothing happened on those first couple of runs.

• 43:08Speaker 01

  But I was, that's how, that's how green I was. That's how I knew nothing about the sport. And it's, yeah, that's a bit probably something I probably shouldn't admit to people that I didn't have my helmet done up, but I didn't.

• 43:22John R. Miles?

  Well, I have to ask you, as you look back, do you feel more accomplishment from the two gold medals? Or do you feel more accomplishment from finishing fourth when no one had any thought in their mind that you would even get that close to being on a podium?

• 43:47Speaker 01

  I feel a sense of accomplishment. I find a sense of accomplishment sometimes when I prove people wrong or prove that something can be done that people thought couldn't happen. But I also, I am proud of all of those. The problem with the fourth place finish is not that it was fourth. I was quite happy. I'm pleased with what we had done at fourth. But I was very confused because that's the first race that my driver and I had done that season that we did not medal in against the same people. So to me, that wasn't necessarily a sense of accomplishment. I mean, in the big picture, yes, five months of my life training and learning a new sport, fourth at the Olympics is not too shabby. And that's what I chalked it up as and whatever.

• 44:32Speaker 01

  But then three years later, leading into the Vancouver Olympics, like the summer before the Vancouver Olympics, they started airing these commercials, these about believe, because that was the theme of the Vancouver Olympics, believe. And so they were having all this, all these commercials around believe and getting different athletes and stuff on these commercials. And my driver, I just happened to be sitting in my sister's basement. We were watching a show and all of a sudden this commercial came on and it was my teammate from the last Olympics. And she was being asked about this thing, believe. And she said, yes, I believe, I now believe, I believe that I can win a medal at these Olympics. I didn't believe that in Torino. And I was like, what? What do you, why, why? Why did you not believe?

• 45:16Speaker 01

  We had beaten these same people every, like we had competed in four races, I, three, four, four, the rest of the season. And we had medaled in every single one of them, including a gold medal against the same people at the last track we were at, right before the Olympics. And when I talked to her after, she said she grew up watching the Olympics. I did not. She grew up watching and idolizing Olympians at the Olympics. So when she got there, all of a sudden she felt this sense of imposter syndrome, like she didn't deserve to be there. And her belief, like how much is belief worth? We missed, after four runs down the track, which is 5.7 kilometers, 3.54 miles,

• 45:59Speaker 01

  anyone out there who uses miles, 3.54 miles. And we missed standing on the Olympic podium by only 5 hundredths of a second. So how much is belief in the, how much is belief worth? Is it, does your belief, lack of belief, create a mild hesitation that, that maybe takes off a little bit of that oomph, that like, that it's, to me, it's not about, it's not about believing in the guarantees. It's about just believing in the possibilities of something happening and then challenging yourself to see if you can get there.

• 46:37Speaker 01

  But sometimes this, we have elevated the, we elevate the enormity of an event, or we aggrandize these events, or we aggrandize certain people, or we do these things in, which affects our adrenaline levels and therefore affects our performances. Whether that's doing a pitch to a client, a really huge client that your company needs, or whether it's just doing a presentation in front of your team, whether it's running in a race, a physical race, whatever it is. If there's a performance component to it, it, it affects that. So I have mixed emotions about that, that first Olympics. Yes, I'm proud that we got there. I'm proud of what we did. We broke the start record at the Games, broke it, and then we broke it again.

• 47:19Speaker 01

  So all of that's awesome, but it really taught me a lesson on the power of belief and almost the importance of downplaying the importance of events, or figuring out, figuring out each individual person, having to figure out how or what they need to think, or how they need to change their thinking, or their shift their perspective in order to get their adrenaline levels at the ideal level for the optimal level of performance. And that's individual for every person. And for her, she just didn't do that. So it's, I mean, I guess it's given me an anecdote to work with, to help people through, but the gold medals themselves. I mean, my goal was never just to say I was the best in the world. The goal was just to challenge myself to see what I was capable of. And I know there's a very,

• 48:04Speaker 01

  maybe a hair of a difference. Some people might not even see the difference there, but it is quite different. And so when I talk to people about accomplishments and achievements. And the things that they're most proud of, I actually shift it and ask them what choices they're most proud of. So, part of the things about my whole journey are actually, the things I'm most proud of are the choices that I made along the way that kept my integrity, that were aligned with my values, where I wasn't swayed by coach saying, "If you're serious about winning at the Olympics, you'll move to Calgary." And, or these different things. I'm probably the only athlete in all the sliding sports who never moved to Calgary. And, yes, sometimes taking risks, but realizing that risking that outcome,

• 48:49Speaker 01

  but being where I actually really wanted to be, I was okay with that. If I wasn't going to be good, like owning, I guess it's not about just owning our choices, it's owning our consequences, owning the consequences of those choices and being okay with those. So, I think that's what I try to get people to think about. What choices are you most proud of? And those are usually the ones that are the hardest to make.

• 49:08John R. Miles?

  I love it. There's two things I wanted to hit on that you talked about. One is this power of belief. And I recently had on performance psychologist, Michael Gervais, who worked extensively with Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks. And one of the things that they tried to instill in the players was this power of belief in one another, belief in what you collectively could accomplish. And that was a huge mindset component of the success that the Seahawks had, and a whole component of what Michael Gervais teaches. So I think that was extremely important. The other thing I wanted to hit on, have you ever heard

• 49:50John R. Miles?

  of a performance psychologist in Ireland named Jerry Hussey?

• 49:55Speaker 01

  I haven't. Performance psychologist?

• 49:58John R. Miles?

  Yes, he is. He's like Michael Gervais, but

• 50:01Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 50:02John R. Miles?

  I will make an introduction after this because he's the performance psychologist for Ireland's rugby team.

• 50:10Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 50:11John R. Miles?

  And not only that, he has done other Olympic athletes for them, but he and I got in this great conversation about medals. And he said, "When I meet an athlete and their whole concern is, 'Eve, a gold medal,' he realizes that person is never going to be satisfied with their accomplishments."

• 50:37John R. Miles?

  He said, "It's really about challenging yourself. What can you push yourself to achieve? That is the most important thing." And so it was so, really, what was pushing you forward was that belief in what you could do with your own talents, not what medal you won. And it's such an important lesson.

• 51:05Speaker 01

  And it's, for some people, it's very hard to tease that out, to tease that difference out. But it's very different. It's a different feeling. It's a different sense of fulfillment instead of success. It's all these different things. But yeah, that would be a great introduction. I would love that.

• 51:20John R. Miles?

  So one other thing I wanted to ask you before I get into just a couple of last questions is, I had Oksana Masters on the show. I'm not sure if you know who that is. She's a Paralympian and she's one of the only people I've interviewed who does very diverse sports. She competes both in the summer and winter Olympics in sports that really have not a lot of overlap in them. And when I look at your sports, cycling, rugby, and bobsled, they really are very disciplines. So how do you adapt your mindset and physical approach to excel across such varied sports?

• 52:00Speaker 01

  Well, the cycling, I need to just make a specification. It's track cycling and the velodrome. I'm not a distance. I probably can safely say I will most likely not excel at things that require a lot of endurance. And some people might think, "Well, rugby's endurance." But for me, it was just a whole bunch of sprint intervals, one after another. So it's a little bit different. My whole aerobic system, or anaerobic system, or alactic system, actually, is very different than most. But that being said, there is the thread that goes through them is my explosive power.

• 52:37Speaker 01

  So even in bob sledding, I might not have been the fastest in bob sledding and I might not have been the strongest, but I did have the ideal combination between strength and speed. And it was my nervous system, like my nervous system and how fast and firing it was probably the thing that translated over all three sports to help me excel in all of them. But all of them, it was just, I mean rugby, I just absolutely love rugby. Rugby was from high school, it's a community, like I said, and it's probably my, it's my true love for sports. And with bob sledding and with cycling, I only did for one winter and it was to rehab an ankle injury.

• 53:19Speaker 01

  And someone suggested cycling, track cycling as a way to still keep up my speed and power. So again, how can I keep up my speed and my power while I can't have any impact on my feet, on my ankles? So that's what I did, but instead of just using it as a rehab tool, I thought if I want to get the most out of this, if I want to get the most rehab and get everything back to where it can be, how can I challenge myself even more? And so I challenged myself to see if I could also represent Canada in cycling and track cycling, which I did at the Pan Am Track Cycling Championships. So just making that my third sport for Canada.

• 54:03Speaker 01

  So really it came down to bob sledding and cycling were similar in the sense of what can I do? How can I shave hundreds of a second off of my start time? Or off of my sprint time or off of my whatever? So how can I do that? How can I, okay, if it means getting stronger, how can I get myself stronger? How can I get myself more powerful? How can I get my nervous system firing as fast as I can get it before I'm stepping up for competition? So there was a lot of translatable, there were a lot of translatable things between bob sledding, my training for bob sledding and my training for track cycling.

• 54:46Speaker 01

  It's just the specific techniques that are very different, the specific technical things that you have to learn in each sport that makes the biggest difference. And you're right, bob's, like rugby is very different from those two. But the strength and the speed and power work for those ones for track cycling and for bobsledding, very helpful for rugby. The only difference is when I'm coming off the bobsled tour and I'm going to rugby, endurance, like we talked about earlier, is the biggest thing that I have to change and switch over. And it's never really endurance, it's shortening

• 55:27Speaker 01

  my recovery time is what that means. So that's the biggest transition when going over to the rugby pitch after a bobsled season. And but the in terms of the speed and the power, the training for those things are pretty transferable between those sports. And to me, the challenge just goes across all of them.

• 55:48John R. Miles?

  One last thing I wanted to dive into is, I know you like to talk about living on autopilot. I redefine this to, I call it, people aren't living on autopilot, they're living a pinball life. They're living as if they're a pinball that's just bouncing off all the distractions in life and they're not being intentional about the choices that they're making to learn how to play the game of pinball. So they're playing the game instead of it playing them. When you think about whether it's autopilot or this pinball analogy that I made, what's the most common limiting belief that you see when you're helping people? And how do you help them move past it?

• 56:33Speaker 01

  So I want to say, I don't know that it's necessarily always a limiting belief. I believe that we're limiting what we're seeing as possibilities for our lives. Basically, we want to believe that we're autonomous and that we can make our own choices and that we direct where our lives are. And we are. But we are making those choices and we are autonomous and making those choices within the boundaries that are set by, partly by society, but partly by our direct exposures and experiences. So whatever your parents are.

• 57:09Speaker 01

  As a career or whatever, you automatically know that's a possibility. Whatever your people in your neighborhood generally are, that's a possibility. What is happening in your community, generally you can believe whether that's a possibility for you or not. And that's where we make our decisions of what we choose to pursue or what we don't choose to pursue. So even for sports, for me, it's never that I ever thought I could never do go to the Olympics when I was growing up. I just never, I never dreamed about going to the Olympics because I just, it never occurred to me. Because Olympians were TV people. They weren't everyday, normal people like I considered myself to be. As athletically gifted as I can now look back and say that I was, I just never

• 57:56Speaker 01

  considered that as a possibility because it wasn't in my lane. There weren't people around me who were training to go to the Olympics or training to represent us at some big, represent our country at some big international event. So sometimes it's not overt limiting beliefs. Sometimes it is a limiting or limited exposure or limited vision of what those possibilities can be. And anytime we're thinking we do have a limiting belief or someone chat, any of those things where it becomes one of those can I questions? And the answer is no, it's, we just need to think about what those challenging questions are. Like, are you sure? We just need to learn to doubt our doubt.

• 58:40Speaker 01

  So doubt your doubt is another one of my mind shifts. Just doubt your doubt, the doubt of your colleagues, doubt the doubt of your teammates, doubt the doubt of your stepfather, doubt the doubt of your neighbor. If we can doubt, then we can certainly doubt our doubt. So why are we assuming our doubt is true? And the easiest way to do that is just by asking, are you sure? Now, the initial response is usually, yes, I'm sure. But have you checked? Are you really sure? Sure means one hundred percent certain. And can you do something? No, I can't do that. Are you sure? Have you even tried? Have you even thought about it? Like, why, who says who? Are you sure? And I think that we just need to get in the habit of doing that for the people around us, but also for ourselves. Or have people around us that can help challenge our own doubts and our own limiting beliefs and our own assumptions.

• 59:25Speaker 01

  Oh, my gosh, assumptions, that's another one. Assumptions is actually a really big one that stops us before we even get started. We assume way too many things. We assume we're not qualified enough. But how, maybe you don't even know what they're looking for. You assume it's something sold out. You assume that person's gonna say no. You assume the job's probably already filled. You assume, we assume way too many things. We stop ourselves before we even get started. So if we can actually start challenging ourselves and asking, are you sure? Look for the evidence to prove it, then we will get so much further if we just started questioning our assumptions.

• 1:00:01John R. Miles?

  And my final question for you Heather is if you could go back and speak to that 27-year-old self just before you decided to pursue the Olympics, looking back, what advice would you give to her now about life, resilience, and achieving her potential?

• 1:00:19Speaker 01

  I think it would be to tell her that she is capable of more than she thinks she is. I think it would be embrace the challenge. You're capable of way more than you think you are. And I think sometimes just instilling that belief and that, and almost that desire to figure out what you are capable of can help go a long way. So when I was in grade 11, 12, maybe grade 12, after our high school athletic banquet, I went into my coach's office and the athletic, he was the same, athletic director, coach, whatever. And I walked in there with an armful of trophies for all the sports that I was playing. And I thought, I was like, thought that he'd be impressed.

• 1:01:03Speaker 01

  And he just shook his head. And I was like, that's a weird thing to say. And he just said, Heather, you have so much potential. But not in a, like it wasn't in an uplifting way. It was like a, you have so much potential. I was like, okay, weird. I'm just gonna leave. So I turned around to leave and he said, but I just want you to remember that potential is just talent that you don't have yet. That didn't sink in with me then in that moment. But for whatever reason, that came flooding back to me when I was 27, starting bobsledding. And having broken that testing record and being asked by a couple of drivers if I would come and be part of their team that year and trying to figure out if I was going to put my master's degree on hold and do this challenge and all of these different things.

• 1:01:47Speaker 01

  It was those words that made me wonder what potential do I have? If I have so much, what am I really capable of? And I've never actually probably pushed that really before. I've never challenged myself to see what I'm capable of before. And that came back to me, like having potential is not necessarily a compliment unless you choose to dive in and see what you're capable of. It's like knowledge, knowledge is, people say knowledge is power, but it's the application of knowledge that's power. So it's, I think I would have to say it was probably that. And when, and something my sister told me, it's these little pieces of advice, something my sister told me that she says, when nothing is sure, everything is still possible.

• 1:02:33Speaker 01

  So when nothing, if it's not finished yet, if it's not done, the possibilities are still up for grabs, like the possibilities are still there. And so for me, that's the, yeah, those are a few of the things that have just kept me going and kept the desire to embrace challenges has been to see what, to just see what I'm actually capable of.

• 1:02:55John R. Miles?

  Yeah, it reminds me of NBA star Steph Curry. When he was coming out of high school, he had a lot of potential, but he didn't really get recruited to a lot of big programs. He went to Davidson and that's where he started training with a performance coach and started doing all these repetitions of drills and other things that, going back to this idea of belief, got him into believing that he could make the shot when he needed to. And so now today, even if he's having a bad game where he's maybe missed.

• 1:03:28John R. Miles?

  And three pointers in a row. When it comes down to the final seconds, he has the belief that he's still going to take that shot because he knows he can make it. And I think that's where you change that potential into actuation by having that belief and confidence that you have what it takes. My second last question I want to ask you. Heather, how do you define purpose in your life today? And has that definition of purpose changed since you stopped competing as a professional athlete?

• 1:04:02Speaker 01

  I think my purpose, I actually think that my athletic gifts were almost a means to an end, almost like a, I think they just afforded me a platform from which I can now empower other people. And I think that's what I was meant to do is help others see the possibilities in their lives, regardless of whatever challenges they're facing. And I think that is my purpose, helping other people see the possibilities and empowering them. And what's interesting is that that actually didn't just come after my sports. That actually came in the middle with bobsledding. I almost stopped competing because I was tired of the small P politics and the mind games and all of these things happening behind the scenes that I just didn't, I didn't agree

• 1:04:47Speaker 01

  with and I didn't enjoy. And it was just very frustrating to be in the middle of all of that stuff. And so I just, at one point I said, you know what? My dad had a meeting in Toronto and he was, we were going out for dinner, he picked me up and I was pretty emotional and I just received an email from someone, not a great email. And I just, I was just like, you know what? Winning a medal is not worth dealing with all this stuff. I don't care. It's not worth it. I'm done. Like I'm, it's not worth it. My dad, who would support me in any of my decisions at all with respect to sports, he just said, oh, well, I mean, if that's the best thing for you, then absolutely we'll support you 100%.

• 1:05:30Speaker 01

  But it's funny that you said it's, winning a medal is not worth it. I said, what do you mean? He goes, well, I guess I just never thought it was about winning a medal with you. I just always thought about the amount of people you'd be able to inspire and empower just by doing what you're doing, just by being part of this. And he right in that moment just switched my.

• 1:05:51Speaker 01

  He basically changed my why from winning a medal to further down the spectrum, which was empowering other people and inspiring other people. And so this is the importance of your why. Simon Sinek talks about your why mostly in business, but when you're talking about it for your personal self, in my book, I talk about your root why, and that's asking the question of why do you do it? Okay, well, why is that important? And why is that important? And why is that important? And it gets you further along. And the whole point of that is that the further down you can go to getting out what your actual reason is, the further along the spectrum you can go, your breaking point spectrum. So at first, winning a medal was not worth it. My breaking point was right here.

• 1:06:35Speaker 01

  But as soon as I realized what another why was and something which was much more profound for me, all of a sudden, my breaking point got further and further along. So I was able to handle all those other things. I was able to become a bit more resilient to that stuff because I knew what was waiting on the other end, or I knew what was possible on the other end. So I think that's where I discovered what my purpose was. Now, after sports was done, finding out for sure my means of delivering that purpose and continuing that on, that's, I mean, that was a different experience or a different adventure on its own. But empowering people from the stage, empowering people or organizations with coaching through my book, all of those things that can help people take things to the next level, whether

• 1:07:19Speaker 01

  it's their life or their business, that is what I truly feel like is my purpose.

• 1:07:24John R. Miles?

  I love ending there, and I think it's important for the listeners or viewers to understand, from someone who's been called by many, Canada's best all-around female athlete, and if I'm correct, the only Canadian athlete who's in the World Rugby Hall of Fame. So when you think about your legacy, it's you're called to serve. And I think that's a beautiful way to end this. If someone wants to learn more about you, Heather, hire you to speak, buy your book, go to you for coaching, what's the best place for them to go?

• 1:07:59Speaker 01

  The best place to do all of that stuff would just be on my website, heathermoyse.com. And they can always reach out. I mean, I do have a presence on LinkedIn and also on Instagram and Facebook, but sometimes if there's an influx of messages, it's hard to get something. If someone really wants to specifically work with me, the best place would be through my website.

• 1:08:17John R. Miles?

  Okay. Well, Heather, what an honor it was to have you today and an incredible interview. Thank you so much for joining us.

• 1:08:24Speaker 01

  Oh, John, thank you for having me. This has been lovely. It's been wonderful. Thank you.

• 1:08:27John R. Miles?

  What an incredible conversation with Heather Moyse. Her journey through multiple sports, overcoming serious injuries and redefining her own limits time and time again, is a powerful testament to resilience, adaptability, and the courage to pursue challenges that push beyond realistic. Heather's insights on embracing the process of growth, tapping into a champion's mindset, and challenging self-imposed limitations are a call to each of us to redefine what's possible. As you reflect on today's episode, ask yourself, what limits have you set on yourself that are ready to be redefined? How can you push past what you believe to be realistic and uncover the potential you're capable of? Remember, as Heather demonstrated, it's not just about winning or the end goal. It's about rising to the challenge, leaning into discomfort,

• 1:09:10John R. Miles?

  and finding joy in discovering your strength along the way. All links to Heather's work, including her coaching resources, will be in the show notes at passionstruck.com. Please use the links if you're interested in learning more. It helps support the show. You can also find our videos on YouTube and check out all our advertiser deals and discount codes at passionstruck.com/deals. Please consider supporting those who support the show. As for me, you can connect with me on Twitter and Instagram at JohnRMyles or on LinkedIn. I'd love to hear from you. To explore more on unlocking your potential, head over to passionstruck.com and check out the Passion Struck Quiz, where you can see how you're progressing and living your most intentional, purpose-driven life. And if you're looking for a weekly boost, join our Live Intentionally newsletter for exclusive insights, practical

• 1:09:51John R. Miles?

  exercises, and a new courage challenge each week to bring these lessons to life. And if you'd like me to bring these lessons and the podcast to your organization, then check out my speaking page at johnRMyles.com/speaking. If Heather's story resonated with you, please leave a five-star rating and review, and share this episode with someone who could benefit from her inspiring journey. Every share helps us grow this community and spread the mission of living a life full of purpose and intention. Now, here's a sneak peek at what's coming up next on Passion Struck. I'm joined by Dr. Josh Axe, renowned doctor of natural medicine, founder of Ancient Nutrition, and bestselling author. In our conversation, we dive deep. Into the power of nutrition, ancient remedies, and holistic health strategies to transform your well-being. Dr. Axe shares practical insights on how to heal your body naturally,

• 1:10:37John R. Miles?

  boost your energy, and live a more vibrant, intentional life. You won't want to miss this episode packed with actionable tips for taking your health and life to the next level.

• 1:10:45Speaker 02

  The best person to listen to and the best person to create your beliefs around are the people that have the greatest fruit in their life in the specific area that we're looking to model. And a lot of this goes back to modeling. I have learned the most in my life from humbly modeling other people that are ahead of where I currently am.

• 1:11:04John R. Miles?

  Thank you as always for being here and sharing your time with us. Remember, if you found value in today's episode, share it with someone who could benefit and keep applying what you learn here so you can live what you listen. Until next time, live life passion struck.