Living The Red Life - Lolo Jones: World Champion Mindset for Reinvention and Resilience

Episode Date: November 18, 2025

Lolo Jones is world-renowned athlete famous for her tenacity and competitive spirit. She is a four-time world champion and three-time Olympian, having represented the United States in both the Summer and Winter Olympics. Despite adversities such as narrowly missing an Olympic medal, Jones shares her perspective on how failures are integral to success. She offers a vivid narration of her experiences, from the grueling path to the Olympics, coping with setbacks, and transcending into bobsledding inspired by the nostalgic movie Cool Runnings. This episode is a deep dive into the mindset of perseverance and the relentless pursuit of excellence.Lolo Jones shares her early struggles, including growing up in a challenging environment with limited resources, and how sports became her sanctuary. Highlighting the importance of failure in achieving greatness, she reveals insights gathered from her career in athletics and bobsledding. With a focus on discipline, motivation, and resilience, the conversation targets both athletes and entrepreneurs seeking inspiration. Rudy and Lolo discuss how the principles learned from sports seamlessly transition into successful businesses, emphasizing the notion of taking risks and learning from both wins and losses.Key Takeaways:Using Failure as Motivation: Lolo emphasizes that failure should be seen as a motivator rather than a deterrent. She argues that setbacks provide valuable lessons and possibilities for future success.The Importance of Discipline: Discipline is highlighted as a key factor that can surpass talent, helping individuals improve and excel in their respective fields.Resilience in the Face of Adversity: Lolo shares her story of transitioning from track and field to bobsledding, showcasing her adaptability and determination despite facing difficult circumstances.Setting and Achieving Goals: Continuous goal setting and perseverance are central themes, as Lolo discusses the necessity of a strong work ethic and diligence in reaching success.Inspiring Generational Change: By pushing boundaries and breaking records, Lolo hopes to inspire future generations to redefine what is possible, particularly in sports and personal achievements.Notable Quotes:"Failure is your greatest motivator because, like, you can't have a Rocky movie without a comeback.""I just fell to the track. Like, it felt like I just got gutted in the stomach.""Do I have enough protein in my system? Have I had enough protein shakes? Supplements.""You can't have these iconic moments if you don't have something that is, like, got you stuck.""The little things you can do to improve usually turn into huge gains."Connect with Lolo Jones:InstagramFacebookConnect with Rudy Mawer:LinkedInInstagramFacebookTwitter

I'm a four-time world champion, a three-time Olympic athlete, and also one of the few Americans that has competed in a summer and winter Olympics. You did end up getting a major shoe contract and contract and becoming ultra-successful, and arguably, you know, had an amazing performance in Beijing until you didn't. I hit the ninth hurdle that cost me an Olympic gold medal. I was on pace to break the Olympic record. I just fell to the track, like it felt like I just got gutted in the stomach. I was getting destroyed in the media. They were like, she's washed up.

She took all the sponsors and then she still got forth and like they were destroying me. You talk a lot about using failure and using it to motivate you. Can you talk about that for everyone listening? Whether it's failure in sport, business life. Well, I think a lot of people with failure, they see just the devastating impact of it. Oh, this was my goal and it got ripped away. It hurts your confidence. It hurts your, you know, your faith.

It just robs you of all like the momentum you had going into something. but for me I like to switch and I'm like My name's Rudy Moore host of Living the Red Life podcast and I'm here to change the way you see your life in your earpiece every single week if you're ready to start living the Red Life ditch the Blue Pill, take the Red Pill

join me in Wonderland and change your life Hello and welcome back to another episode of Living the Red Life joining me today a very famous athlete you'll probably recognize Lolo welcome to the show Oh thank you for having me probably because I have makeup but maybe not like normally I'm just Well, we'll put, if you're watching on video, we'll overlay some of the athletic highlights.

I can normally look like a prisoner, so they may not recognize me with hair and makeup. So, well, you look great. Thank you. You've been hit all day, filming about your life story. And, you know, as you know, and most of you know listening to, I'm from an athletic background. So I always, you know, love to interview athletes and speak to athletes about the mindset of success and how that applies to success in life and business. So if someone doesn't know who you are, do you mind just giving them the minute summary?

in the highlight. Of course. I'm a four-time world champion, a three-time Olympic athlete, and also one of the few Americans that has competed in a summer and winter Olympics. So I have some pretty stats, but I also don't have an Olympic medal. Well, and we can maybe get into a bit of that story, which I know has become an iconic part of your life. But let's start from the ground up,

because I think something that's really cool and fascinating to me is you didn't come from money. you weren't like born and into this, you know, family that hired, you know, these sports scientists as a kid and groomed you to become an Olympian, right? No. So do you mind telling that? Absolutely. Like I grew up, my childhood was rough.

We're homeless. I was in multiple schools. Like every year, different school, different school for like eight years in a row. My dad was in and out of prison my whole childhood. So my mom, single mother of five kids working multiple jobs. So yeah, just rough background and sports were my stability. Like that's where my kind of like one hour or two hour I could just clock out, be an athlete

and not worry that we didn't have food in the fridge or not worry that our electricity just got cut off. So yeah, no, I wasn't one of these athletes that was dominant. You know, like you look at some of these people's careers like, Yussein Bull, he was great at every stage of his career. Like he has world youth records, world records at a youth age. I didn't have any of that.

Like I did not become good as an athlete until like my third year pro. so I was definitely a late bloomer. Yeah, and I think it's really fascinating. We just interviewed an Olympic swimmer and almost the opposite story where she was like miles ahead as a kid, went to the Olympic super young, won a bunch of gold medals, right? And her parents would take her to all the meats and stuff and support her.

And, you know, I wouldn't say she had this perfect setup, but she had a very great setup for success. So for you, how did you, you know, you're battling through all this and a highlight that I want to touch on as you were basically an Olympian are about to be working at Home Depot and a gym too, right? Man, I was hustling.

Talk about that mindset. I was a hostess job working at Home Depot and not just like Home Depot inside with air conditioning. They put me in the outside gardening cashier. Like in Louisiana, do you know how hot is in Louisiana? It's like swamps, humidity. I think it was like 105 degrees and I'm out there just checking you out for if you want rock pavements.

like stuff like that so and yeah working in a gym that was wild working at a gym and i remember one of my races came on tv and they were like i'm wiping the counter and they're like wait isn't that you on ESPN like well bro don't get me started i'm not good enough for a shoe contract right now but but you did you know one thing i want to highlight is you you did push for all of this right you maybe didn't have most ideal setup but you push for all that and then you did end up getting a major shoe contract and contract and becoming ultra successful and arguably, you know, had an amazing performance in Beijing until you didn't. But, you know, I would argue one of the closest athletes in history to have a gold

stripped away, right? So bad. So an amazing career, though, right? And what was some of the, you know, tips and tricks you talk a lot about using failure and using it to motivate you? Can you talk about that for everyone listening, whether it's failure in sport, in us life. Well, I think a lot of people with failure, they see just the devastating impact of it. Oh, this was my goal and it got ripped away. It hurts your confidence. It hurts your, you know,

your faith. It just robs you of all like the momentum you had going into something. But for me, I was just switching. I'm like, failure is your greatest motivator because like you can't have a rocky movie without a comeback. You can't have, you can't have these iconic moments if there's not something that kind of trips you up i hate saying that word just because i tripped on the hurdle that cost me a gold medal PTSD coming in but like you can't have these iconic moments if you don't have something that is like got you stuck and so how to get unstuck is i it's like a enjoy the process of the rubics cube you know if the rubic cube is hard to figure out but yeah but when you finally do all the colors click together and it's just like amazing so that's why i try to look at it because

man your motivation is everything and you have to protect that and so the quickest way you can do that is okay how do I problem solve this problem you know yeah and one other thing like around you know the Beijing's the Beijing Olympics especially you kind of got dubbed as this person or at least I believe with like a really positive great attitude like most people if they'd gone through that right you got on the I remember you got on the post race interview which is always the worst when to look like that happens and they always grab you right i see it in triathlon all the time but but you say something i'll always remember where it's like well with hurdles it's your job to jump over all the hurdles and if you don't jump over it's not meant to be the

olympic champion yeah but but not i can't even believe i said that again take those words back but but not everyone would have said that some people would have walked off and not even done an interview so what's giving you that like modest down to earth but like such a positive mindset But it's the truth, though. I mean, that's our job, is to get over 10 hurdles. And at the time, I didn't think I was being ultra humble. I felt like I was honoring my teammate who had won the medal. I also felt like it is the truth.

By definition, we are to get over all the hurdles, no matter if it's ugly or not, you know. And so I just think you have to process those failures. And when you're bitter, it takes longer to process those failures. So to get over a failure, be light with it, crack jokes. I was the first person cracking jokes about me hitting that hurdle. So if you're not aware, like I hit the ninth hurdle that cost me an Olympic gold medal. I was on pace to break the Olympic record. So I was the first one, like I think within like hours.

I went back to the village and I'm like, you know what? I just think that they put my hurdle up three inches higher than everybody else's. Or like the next day I was like, you know, maybe it's time for me to get my eyes checked. make light of it because if you if something hurts you if it's it's something traumatic in business a setback it can make you tense up make you makes you make you make you make you make you make you make you not want to try again so we just got to like have a little humor with it or just you know not um you know just be realistic about it yeah I should have got over 10 hurdles and if you are you may hate me for this but if you are watching definitely pause and watch this clip on YouTube because I think it is one of the most in as at least because I'm from an athlete background, athletic background, crazy, inspiring and sad moments all in 12 seconds. In 12 seconds.

Because you were so far ahead. Yeah. So far ahead too, right? And what I, you know, want to follow up with is this all happened. You had this great positive attitude about it. And then you now, because of Olympics and how sport works, you have to look at the next four years. So what was your mindset going into the next four years?

Well, I thought I would. would just pick up where I left off. I'm like, okay, I was the number one hurdle in the world. I made a mistake. Man, you're going to be incredible for London Olympics. Well, that's just not the reality. I actually had to have spine surgery the year before London Olympics. I barely made the team. And then when I did make the Olympic team, I got fourth, fourth. And I was just in shambles after that. So unlike Beijing, where you said, you know, your interviews were humble, that one I was a little bit hurt that one I was not light with it

how I just suggested everybody be with there I was mad I was angry you could see it in my interviews like I'm you can see the tears and so and that that interview and that Olympics took me a very long time to process so

I didn't move on from it as quick because my heart was more bitter one you this was probably because it was a second time around too first time around you referenced that you had an anchor backwards about four years before you were watching it and a one can you tell that story yeah so in 2008 when I crossed the line after hitting the hurdle and like I looked up and I was like well maybe you squeaked out a

bronze and then I look at the big scoreboard and the names are going down and it said I got seventh and it was that's when I knew I was like man you hit this hurdle so bad you could not come back from the damage and I just fell to the track like it felt like I just got gutted in the stomach and then like I pounded the track tears are coming on my face and in that moment like that's when I felt like I'm a Christian I just felt like God whispered me but you're here you're on this track and four years ago you were mad watching the Olympics in your small apartment on TV and you were mad that you had made the Olympic team but now you're here on this track pounding a track and there's a hundred thousand people

in the stadium cheering on so for me it was just like we have to remember when we have breakthroughs and even though it's not like the goal goal we still have to remember the progress we've had because I think we we forget so quickly you know the things we overcame and they're because we everybody does it we want more we want more you know yeah yeah I think it's really hard as like a high performer because I battle with that a lot so like I'm worth tens of millions but in my head I also think oh great can I have alone I think I should be worth hundreds of millions. Oh, see? But then when you get hundreds of millions and you're like, of course. But I think that's also what makes you successful because I think a lot of successful

people have to, you have to believe you can achieve those things to do it. But do you ever feel like because you're still always trying to climb this mountain, then that when you do have a setback, it could maybe be paralyzing though. No, because what I was going to say is I use the same method as you. So I anchor back that I started in a gym at $6 an hour in England. Oh, see, so you do the tactic too. Yeah, I do the same thing, and it helps me a lot because any time I start to get maybe a little irritated and frustrated, I love to reflect on how far I've come.

And I think that's so useful for people, because you can, you know, what I was going to say is you can get so caught up in the moment, right? I think it will ground you. Yeah, but it's always good to reflect on how far you've achieved. And I think success, at least in business, it's unlike athletics, athletics, you do have a biological, you know, decade or two but in a in business it it compounds over time right and it takes longer than you often think uh so i think having that anchor so so so so important to yeah well i definitely needed that

after just getting gutted on the track so let's talk about you know you have these two olympics that are just you know these frustrating and that's athletics for you right and olympics that's so close but so far and then you a lot of people that would have retired probably right in that position what what made you go i'm going going to go into something new now and tell everyone that doesn't know what happened yeah so i was i was angry i was crushed and then my coach gave me this stat he goes just so you know that fourth place was the fast this was the fastest Olympic hurdle race in history and it would have got you a medal in any Olympics but this one and when he said that i was like it was great but then also like i was like

well i've done all i can to get a medal here you know and so i went back and i was super depressed and I was just sitting on my couch for like I'm not even going to lie it was like about two months I could not like I was super depressed I was getting destroyed in the media they're like she's washed up she took all the sponsors and then she still got forth and like they were destroying me and that's when I'd remembered you know because I was raised I'm you know I'm an 80s baby and I was raised on this great movie cool runnings and it was about how Jamaica made their first Olympic bobsled team and like obviously we know Jamaica has no snow. So that's an incredible feat. But what they did is they recruited track and field athletes who had messed up and had come close to their Olympic and they messed up. And I felt their pain. And I was like, I'm going to go try it. I'm going to. Yeah.

I remember that as a kid. I watched that. And it's pretty incredible. You watch this movie. Remember this movie. And then you're like, I'm going to do it. Yeah. Right.

And I always say successful people are bored. I call myself very delusional because I think you have to be to be successful to believe in yourself. Like to me, that's a pretty. delusional thing. It was. I'm going to, I watched this movie, which is a comedy based on true story. I thought it was going to be so easy. Yeah, but no. I didn't, how's, how's this next phase thing. I didn't realize how delusional it was until, like, I literally go to the Olympic Training Center. It's in Lake Placid, New York. And they're smart. They recruited other track and field Olympians. And so I'm like, they're not making this easy to make this team. Like, they had two Olympic medalists from

London literally Olympic medalist and I'm like okay great so yeah like it's not going to be easy and then I just remember the first time they they took me to the bobsled track I mean it's cold you know and they're helping me I can't I'm so nervous I can't even put my helmet on like they're buckling it for me and they're putting like helping me put a burn vest on what do I need a burn vest for because if you crash your skin can melt with the ice what your skin can they don't show that in cool running no they don't even they don't even they don't even tell you they're they're so smart on how they recruit they don't tell you any of this until you're at the top of the track what they do is they get you the olympic training center they give you some tests

let's do test you in the 30 let's test you in the power that all the stuff you're normal as a track athlete i know how to do so you're two weeks and like i could be a bobs letter they're just building you up and then they just get to the top of that track and then they're helping you with your helmet putting it on strapping on you're shaking and they're like look it's okay after this first run, if you go straight to the airport and you don't want to go back to the Olympic Training Center and get your backs, that's happened before. People just go straight home. They know it's not for them. I'm like, what did I get myself into? And they're like, here's another tip. Just, you know, when you're going down the mountain or the curves, just count the curves. There's 22 curves. Just count and it will all be over. It will help keep you calm. So I'm on the block. You know, I push off the bobslet with the pilot in front. She hops in. then I hop in and it's it seems pretty chill you know I'm like okay I don't know what they're talking about you know corner one I'm counting two well literally you know bobsled track starts at the top and it gets speed as it goes it goes down it doesn't go up it goes down so the more you go

down the more speed the more vital it gets and so two three corner three I get a huge hit like it's like sounds like a freaking car crash and then from there it's like I'm literally just back and forth getting tossed in this bobsled I'm trying to count corner I'm I can't count anymore I don't know where the hell I'm at I start praying Lord Jesus please help us get through this bobsled please don't let us cry I mean it feels like we're literally about to crash it felt like I was in a metal tin trash can and they threw me down a mountain like there's no seatbelts in a bobsled you hold on there's like a rail like this and that's how you hold on that's how you stay in the bobslet with your grip strength grip strength so i can't even open a pickle jar so i'm just fighting for

my life so we get to the bottom of the track the pilot she um you know the bobslet slows down and then she pats me on the back and she gets me out of the bobsled and she's like because i didn't know where we were we were done like i literally she's cruising to the bottom and then she goes how was it and i'm like i got tears streaming down my face there freeze into my face because like it's cold outside it's snowing and i was like oh my gosh i's like i am just so glad i was like we almost crashed so many times and you saved it i was like thank you for not crashing and she goes what are you talking about that was the most smoothest trip i've ever had on this track and i was like wow she was nowhere near clashing that's just how

bile it is like we experienced g forces in the bobsled more so than some of the aero uh dynamic planes and you know even f1 races like we have g forces that just slam you down um a bobslet can go up to 90 miles an hour and there's curves there's like it's insane yeah so so and then you go back and racing they were like well yeah they were like you got to go up again because there's two runs into practice. I was like, I thought I was going to quit. So again, I want to dive into the mindset of people listening. What made you even believe you could go into another Olympic sport, which has only happened a handful of times in history, right? It's pretty amazing. But there's got to be something in your brain, whether it's

the delusional thing I mentioned. What makes you believe in this? I just, I really have always loved a challenge, like if it's more odd stacked against me or if someone tells me I can't do it, Or like I said, if I experience a setback or a failure, for some reason, those things fire me up. Like, I mean, raise the hurdle height. Cool. Let's see if I get like a most kind of like a dare, like not a dare devil, but like kind of because you enjoy a challenge. I really enjoy a challenge. And there's no greater agenda you'll have than like standing on the top of a bobsled track.

Like you don't know the condition of your pilot. She might have just broken up with her boyfriend. You're trusting your life in this person's hand, you know? So I enjoy a good adrenaline rush, for sure. And what's the feeling like start of the track waiting for the gun versus top of the bop playing track? There's more control with track. So you do have high adrenaline in both.

Like, trust me. And in the Olympics, you're in a stadium, tens of thousands of people. 100%. So, like, that's more, you know, I would say, eye of the storm because there's a million things swirling around you like the crowd is going crazy you got long jumpers you got pole voters but like I'm so in my zone I feel like kind of protected in my bubble as we're on the start line for bobsled it's you know I mean you just never know like being a normal person I imagine they could maybe a roller coaster is the closest thing it's not a

roller coaster yeah no it's not it's like a violence It's like a vital car crash and you're not even crashing. So it's just like they sometimes they will hit a wall purposely just so that it can set them up for a different angle for just to have the right angle. So they're hitting it. So your body's going this way. Yeah. So it's, I mean, to feel breeze down your back knowing that you're only wearing spandex. And if that thing tips over like you could fly out of the bobsled.

you know i've had times where i'm in the bobsled and it's been so cold that like the frame we have is still so like even holding it i had times where i got out and honestly i could not feel my hand like it felt like ice burn on my hands and i'm like in tears trying to get my hands to get warmed up from just a minute of holding on to just this like it'd be like you know you go tell someone in like canada or russian it's there's a blizzard outside i'm like hey so take your hand and hold on to this for a minute you know like it's just it's a really just blue collar sport and what you know just to talk about is the last few minutes uh setting goals right and then also building up to the goals because i mean a lot of people that watch athletics or watch sport they see you on the track right

or playing the NBA games and whatever but most success in sport is the boring stuff all day every day getting up at 6 a.m. Then sleeping in the afternoon, training again. What tell us about that boring stuff and how you set goals and stay consistent? Tell us about the boring stuff. You have no life. Yeah, just none. I mean, what was my boring last time?

I'm like making sure, so like right now the boring things for me is I'm trying to gain weight for bobsled because in bobsled weight is a thing. The two athletes and the bobsled have to weigh a certain amount. You don't want to be too heavy or you're disqualified and you don't want to be too light because it's a disadvantage just like a heavy bowling ball could help you you just want that perfect right size so i'm trying to gain weight boring thing right now is okay do i have enough protein in my system have i had enough protein shakes supplements so i'm taking this supplement this supplement at this time you know also like sleep like checking my stupid fitness tracker all the time

oh my gosh my sleep was not enough rm like what it's it's like psycho little things about your body like even the other day someone was like hey do you want to go out and i'm like okay you guys are going out to dinner it's going to be like way too late for me to have a proper amount of sleep so it's just like diligence and attention to details you know but it's been like that for the last 20 years right like that's what professional is why i have like three friends but but there's other times when you're getting up to the gym at 5 a.m. 6m. whatever or you know trade doing all this boring stuff do you ever question if it's worth it how do you stay consistent well i think that's a misconception i don't i really wake up for five or six a m

most of the lands those are the swimmers i am uh we're 11 i rolled at the gym at 11 no uh bobsled competitions are at five or six though in the morning so that sucks but um yeah what makes it worth it is when you have those victories or when you can help your teammates out or you can have like these massive performance so like last year for example i came in because i'd I went back to track and field, broke history, was the first person in their 40s to qualify for the sprint hurdle events. It had never been done. And then someone text me and they go, dot, dot, dot, bobsled, basically saying, we know you said you were done with bobsled, but you clearly still have speed because you qualify for the Olympic trials, come back to bobsled. So I did.

And seven months later, because I went in as the lowest ranked breakmen, seven months later, I was USA1. I was the fastest breakman in America. I broke history again, being the oldest person to qualify for world championships for the female for bobsled. So why do I do it? To have moments like that, not just for my like own vanity, but it sets the bar higher for other generations because I remember when I used to be an athlete in my 20s and they're like, your career is over at 28. Hold on for Dear Life at 32. Now you have athletes who have examples of other athletes. Tom Brady went to his 45. Serena Williams. She was at a U.S. Open in our 40s. So like we're helping raise the standard so these athletes can have you know better careers longer careers but also

i like to show people on instagram regular people that you can do great things in their 40s because i have so many dms from people that are like lolo you have no clue like i i was waking up with back pain people are telling me this is just normal for like 40 year olds and then i watch your stories and i'm like if she can compete against 20 year olds and be topped ranked in the u.s like what is my excuse so like just trying to change the narrative on expectations of older expectations you know good so last couple of questions someone's listening they're inspired by your story your journey your resilience your mindset success what are some tips you'd give them if they're trying to have success in business or their own life um well that's the first one i mentioned earlier that like a failure can be your

greatest motivator if you use it if not it's going to break you um how do you do that if they're listening and they're like, yeah, failures always get me down and I question myself and take months off and it derails me. Do you have any tips for them? Yeah, I usually like if I have a bad razor competition, I try to write out three things that went good, three things that went bad so that I can encourage myself, okay, these are three things I did right? And then what are the three things that I could have fixed? And then that kind of gives you your power back, you know? So in business, for example, if their business sucks right now, it's not working, they could write three things that are still good about their business or great about their entrepreneurship. our journey because I think it's true for entrepreneurs too their business might suck but they're probably still earning you know suck to them but they're probably still aren't in double or triple they were in a job they hated six years ago right exactly for example like an Olympian might not get an Olympic medal but they're still an Olympian and they're still one of the

best athletes in the world does that mean that they give up just because they didn't get an Olympic medal yeah yeah that's good and then the second one I would tell them is discipline I feel like discipline has helped me be people that are more talented in me, have better genetics, or just have a better, like, opportunities. So when I first went pro, I didn't get a coveted Nike A6 or Adidas contract, and other people had resources so they could get better coaches. They could get better massages and treatments because they had the resources. And I feel like sometimes our excuses, oh, I don't have access.

I don't have this. And like, for me, what I just did have was discipline with what I had. So in the workouts, I was never lazy on the little things. So one of the things most athletes hate doing is a cool down. It's a five to ten minute thing after a very long workout. So no one wants to do another workout after a five-hour workout. So they usually just walk to their car, go home. Doing cool downs helping become more flexible,

and those things helped with becoming a better athlete for the next practice. So like the little things you can do to improve, usually turn into huge gains, but a lot of people overlook the little things, which is diligence. Like, what are the areas I'm being lazy on? Like, if you're talking about businesses, like, what is it like keeping an eye on your emails, your DMs, your opportunities, or maybe you're doing bad job about your relationships, following up on relationships, like, what are the little things that you can improve on and just, you don't have to be massively better, just diligent.

That's great. And my last question, and you actually led into it, what are the parallels or, you? you know, similarities between success in sport and business? I don't know. I don't have business. But like from my, okay, success, success, you know. Success in sport and success. Yeah, success in sport and success in life or business.

I was just messing with you. No, success in life and success in business. The reason why they are parallel is because a business person is just so heavily invested, not only just what their finances is also emotional. It's also like taking a task on their family. there's very few things in life that do like the whole ramification of if this fails i lose everything and that happens a lot to business people and it happens a lot to athletes where they are constantly have to face failure rebuild have confidence regather the resources you know instead

of taking the easy comfort nine to you know nine to five work for someone else it's a risk that is what we have in common with business people and athletes is they were will take a risk. And that's the hardest part is, you know, like right now, it's just like I'm having to decide right now. I'm in a pretty tricky situation. I'm fighting for my spot on the last Olympic team. I'm trying to be the oldest person to ever make a winner Olympics for Bob Sled. And it's like, but I have to risk it. I have to put myself out there. I have to put myself out there to criticism. So do business people. Oh, this business, it sounds stupid. This ideal seems crazy. Like, why would you do this? Like, stop, give up. Same thing athletes go through.

we have to enjoy a risk and we also have to make sure that we're counting and hedging our bets against it and properly working hard with work ethic and working more hours than a normal job just for it will pay off later. It's just there's a lot of parallels. But yeah, I think the main thing is just not giving up with failure or finding a different way after failure. And again, like not being afraid of risk because if someone would have told me on day one that I forget, I think you looked it up. What were the chances of being an Olympian? Was it less than 5%?

No, no, one in half a million. One and half a million chances. If you tell that to a business person, hey, you have this business. It has one chance out of half a million of succeeding. Are you the business person that's going to be like throw up their hand and just not try? Or are you the person that's going to be like, you know what? But if I do succeed, then I've now cornered the market. Yeah.

Well, good news here is we did it. discover earlier that there was less chance of being an astronaut. But I have a better fact for you. So there's five percent of businesses make a million. So it's much harder to be an Olympian than it is to become a million dollar business owner. Five percent. Wow. Five in a hundred versus one in five hundred thousand, much easier to be. So they say business people have no excuse then. Much easier than an Olympian, 100 percent. Still hard though. Still hard. But I, you know, I know a lot of Olympians because of my background. And with business, you can at least you fail and you next day you try again. Not always, though, because sometimes people invest their whole life savings.

Yeah. And then. But Olympians hard because, you know, obviously there's every year there's events, but like it's so focused on a four-year thing, right? So I do admire you and your mindset and all my other Olympian friends because everything's going on this four-year anchor point. And then your sponsorship's a link to everything. Well, I would turn the question on you. If you're asking what the parallels between athletes and business, what would you tell? I mean, you have a successful athlete over here. What would you say you're a successful business person?

What would you tell the athletes, the Olympians, those on the other side that you've learned from business that could help other people, not just athletes, achieve whatever goals? Yeah. It's a great question. I think the thing with athletes, I know a lot of ultra-successful athletes, but to be good in business, you have to switch when you're an athlete, everything's on you, right? your training's on you and you're the one. Whereas to get really good in business, especially past the first couple of million, you have to basically trust everyone else to do everything.

So you have to hire the right to be. That can be very hard because an athlete, you're doing your own training, right? And sure, you might have a nutritionist and a masseuse, but it's still all you, you know, you show up. Whereas in business, like, it almost flips the coin where it's like, now all my, you know, you've seen this today, right? I've just been floating around.

My staff run everything. She doesn't work. I don't work as much. You know, you do not. But it's because I, and I used to struggle with this, and my business wouldn't grow because I wanted to do everything. But eventually you have to learn to empower other people and hire other people. And you have to, I think like with athletes, you have to learn to like,

oh, I lost that race. It is a race, whatever, I'll move on. You have to do the same with money. So like now I lose money all the time. Failed projects, 20 grand here, 50 grand. You have to get just, okay, I just lost money, but I can make lots more money. Like, you can always go into another race. can win the next race well they say that kind of about the best coaches they say the best head

coaches usually aren't the best as a coach they're the best at hiring a team because most head coaches have like three assistant coaches a strength coach and if that head coach were to try to do it all micro no it breaks them so they have to like they have to learn how to micromanage and allow those coaches to step in and build up the team because they don't have enough capability to do it on their own. Yeah, one of my, just to finish, one of my friends was in, I think, pro MLB, and he said the head coach actually did very little. It was the assistant coach that ran the whole team. Yeah, yeah. So it's the same thing for business. Yeah. Okay, well, guys, that's a wrap right there. I hope you got a lot of amazing mindset lessons and just found that as fascinating as I did. Where, if people, you know, the book, I think is a great stall in point, right? They want to dive more into your mindset in life. Where can they learn more about you? Oh, yeah. My book is available everywhere. And actually, I in people the audio book is quite i think it's better because i personally read it and i add extra chapters in it bonus chapters uh but it's it's it's wherever it's it's it's not even that expensive either so yeah we'll put the link in the the show notes uh just tell them the book name

and your instagram if they want to follow you too lolo jones the book is called over it and i hope you guys get over whatever is really hard for you because we all have setbacks love it guys that's a wrap take care keep living the red life i'll see you soon You know, I'm sorry. Thank you.