The School of Greatness - Lindsey Vonn: DISCOVER Your Potential, Destroy Self-Doubt & Develop Habits for SUCCESS EP 1132

Episode Date: July 5, 2021

Today Lewis sits down with Lindsey Vonn, the most decorated American ski racer in history and is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time, to talk about Lindsey's life after her career and how her injuries never stopped her from getting back up and trying again!She entered the international skiing scene in 1999 at the age of 14 and has captivated the world with her perseverance and superhuman abilities on the slopes ever since. She’s won four World Cup overall championships, the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the first one for an American woman, and many more incredible awards.In this episode Lewis and Lindsey discuss the most influential person in her life, how she’s dealt with self-doubt over the years, life after her incredible ski racing career, the key habits for success and happiness, and so much more!For more go to: www.lewishowes.com/1132Check out Lindsey's website: www.lindseyvonn.comRead her book: Strong Is the New Beautiful: Embrace Your Natural Beauty, Eat Clean, and Harness Your PowerFollow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindseyvonn/ Kobe Bryant on Mamba Mentality, NBA Titles, and Oscars: https://link.chtbl.com/691-podKevin Hart Breaks Down His Secrets to Success: https://link.chtbl.com/956-podKatherine Schwarzenegger Pratt on the Power of Forgiveness: https://link.chtbl.com/925-pod

This is episode number 1132 with Olympic gold medalist and world champion, Lindsey Vonn. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin. Amit Ray once said, everyone has the fire,

but the champions know when to ignite the spark. And Tim Fargo said, who you are tomorrow begins with what you do today. My guest today is Lindsey Vonn, who is the most decorated American ski racer in history and is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time. She entered the international skiing scene in 1999 at the age of 14 and has captivated the world with her perseverance and superhuman abilities on the slopes ever since. She's won four World Cup overall championships,

the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the first one for any American woman, and many more incredible awards. Lindsay is also a New York Times bestselling author of her 2016 debut novel, Strong is the New Beautiful, Embrace Your Natural Beauty, Eat Clean, and Harness Your Power, and has served as an international games ambassador in the 2018 Winter Olympics, and is also the founder of the Lindsay Vaughn Foundation, which supports girls through scholarships, education, and athletics. And in this episode, we discuss the most influential person in Lindsay's life, and how she's dealt with self-doubt over the years. Also, what life after her incredible ski racing career has been all about, how to bounce back from tragedy, the key habits for success and happiness, and so much more.

And if you're inspired by this episode at any moment, make sure to text a few friends the link or share it over on social media. Go to lewishouse.com slash 1132 for the full show notes as well. Okay, in just a moment, the one and only Lindsey Vaughn. Welcome back everyone to the School of Greatness. Very excited about our guest. We have the inspirational Lindsey Vaughn in the house. I'm so excited you're here. I was telling you before, it's always great having the greatest of all time in their field and you're the greatest downhill skier of all time. And it's exciting to have you here. We have some mutual friends which I'll share more afterwards but I'm excited to learn about your mindset because it's always

fascinating to me the way people think who get to the top and as a former professional football player and USA handball player I was never at your level. I never made the Olympics but I was able to... You're still professional so... But I was able to train hard and I was able to get to a certain level but not to the level you're at which is inspiring. So I'm curious. I'm always curious about the most influential person in your life growing up because I think that has a big influence in our life. So who was the most influential person and what was the greatest

lesson they taught you? Well I mean the person that really inspired me was Peekaboo Street because she was like the only person that we had really in skiing at that time that was like you know really in the spotlight yeah and I met her at an autograph signing in Minnesota you were 10 right nine and so like as soon as I met her I was like that's what I want to be really yeah because I mean I skied for fun before that and I mean, I trained and all this stuff, and I loved ski racing, but I never really had a concrete goal until I saw her, and then, you know, it was suddenly an attainable goal. And then, you know, I ended up being on the Olympic team with her in 2002, and she said the only thing that she didn't say much to me,

because, I mean, it kind of followed her like her shadow, and she was probably pretty annoyed because I was 16. But she said, I asked her when she was inspecting, I said, what are you looking at? And she said, I'm trying to find the fall line. I said, well, where is the fall line? She's like, you have to figure that out yourself. It's like an instinctual thing.

And so I always thought about that and um it stuck with me but yeah you mean when you're inspecting the course like you always look at the course and you find your line right and you know i was like i'm just like what are you you know i just want to pick her brain because she you know she was my idol i'm like what are you what are you doing she wouldn't really teach you that though she was kind of like she didn't really want to teach me that but i like you know try to force it out her, but it was a good piece of information nonetheless. When was the first time you beat her? I actually don't think I did because, oh no, I may have beaten her in some of the World Cups that year,

but she retired after the 2002 Olympics. So I didn't really get a chance to race against her very much. She went out on top, at least top of her game, I guess. Yeah, definitely above me. Right. Yeah. And she was like, this girl's coming for me. So I might as well get out, get out while I can. Yeah. I mean, she had, she'd had similar to me. She had a lot of injuries and she was kind of the same thing, like beaten, beaten up. So.

What do you think made you such an instinctual dominant athlete? What were, where did the mindset come from? Like needing to to or the desire to win all the time at the highest level? I don't know. I'm a really competitive person. And I'm always kind of like, I'm like a perpetual one-upper. Yeah. So, you know, it's like if I, and, you know, I think one of the things that most people said about me is when I started to succeed, they said, well, you know, now she's got this.

She's going to, you know, relax and it's not gonna happen again. And that's the exact opposite way that I think. I'm like, if I get this, I'm gonna get this. And if I get this, I need to get that. And then just kind of like, I always try to get better and better because that's the fun of a challenge. And I think as time went on too,

then I started to hit these marks of records and that then excited me and you know just like finding constant motivation in becoming better right did you ever doubt yourself oh there's only one time I doubted myself I was I was thinking I was right after the Olympics which one 2002 I was still young you know it says 17 17 18 and I just you know I kind of got demoted from the ski team i was on like the the you know europa cup team which is one level below and i was kind of crawling my way back and um yeah i just i kept crashing and i wasn't sure if i was going to make it and

then i just decided to double down on what i was doing i hired a trainer with money i didn't have i asked for an advance on my contract. And I spent the whole summer with a new trainer in Monaco. And I got my first podium the next winter. So when you doubted yourself, how did you get out of it, though? Was it just, let me find people to help me get out of it? I need, like, a reset, you know? Like, because you get stuck in a rut.

And it's like, what I'm doing is not working. So if I need to get to the next level, like what is there that I can change? You can't change everything, obviously, because then you can't figure out what was wrong. But I needed to find something that I could drastically improve on to get better. And fitness is one thing that I had obviously worked hard at, but not hard enough. Really? And so I made that change and it worked. Now, when you had all these, you had like what?

I don't know, so many crashes and injuries, right? Throughout so many years. A lot, yeah. Just a couple. I mean, you tore your knees like 50 times. I mean, everything is crazy. You have plates in your arm and your back. I mean, it's nuts. How do you have confidence after a crash and come back and say,

well, I'm going to go back and do this course or the next course? Better, faster, stronger. Short-term memory. Really? Yeah. I mean, it's part of the job the concussions I guess help because you forget yeah you know it's like that's crashing is part of the job description so if you're not ready to do

that then you know you should probably not do that but for me you know I always use it as a learning tool. What did I do wrong? What can I do better? I always analyze my crashes. A lot of people can't watch their crashes because they don't want to revisit that. It's painful to watch your crashes, especially when you're screaming. I kind of loved it. I was like, what's my style points?

Oh, my gosh. And every time my coaches, I would crash, they would stop videoing. Because they're like, oh, shoot. And they stop videoing. I'm like, you have to keep videoing. I want to see the whole thing. And so, i mean i just would analyze my crashes what i do wrong and and um you know i think for me you have to push the limits in order to find your limit and i always like wanted to be right up on the limit and then obviously you go past it sometimes

which you crash and you know but if you're not pushing yourself that hard and you're never crashing you're never going to find your limit that's how i think but some of these crashes they would take what three to six months to recover right yeah yeah so so how do you get to do you feel like you could have done it without crashing what do you feel like you'd need to crash i mean not not for me that's just kind of how I raced was always 110%. So I think that's the reason why I was able to be, you know, as successful as I was and downhill for as long as I was. But that's also the reason why I crashed a lot. So it's kind of a double-edged sword. But I don't know, I wouldn't change it because I think every injury taught me something.

You know, I think I became a stronger person, maybe not physically, something, you know, I think I became a stronger person Maybe not physically but you know mentally I definitely got a lot stronger and I think when you go through You know those kinds of setbacks you also have a different perspective, you know and appreciate what you have so much more So every time you know, I I crashed or I had injuries I became more hungry We come back because I I realized how much I miss it and how much I love it and you know just mmm I wouldn't change it yeah can you walk me through when you're going down right before you're about to go off what's it called the starting gate the starting game yeah right before you're about to go off what is that five minutes before look like in your mind I

mean hopefully it's really pretty empty really yeah I mean because up until that point you do all the preparation, right? You know, I'm I've analyzed the course. I've visualized it a thousand times in my head. I've done all the physical Preparation I can do I've warmed up in the morning I've warmed up right before I'm in the starting gate and at that moment You that's when you kind of automatize everything like everything should be automatic You should be in the starting gate calm and like ready to go because if you're thinking about you know certain things You could have done it You know you're screwed because you have to be so in the moment

You know when you're racing at 80 miles an hour you have to be only thinking about what's right here You know if you're thinking about this and that and the other thing then you know, that's a dangerous recipe Do you know what your fastest speed was ever? Um, the fastest I've ever been clocked at was 84. Oh my gosh. But I know, I don't know. That's so terrifying. The men have gone a hundred. That's nuts. Yeah. You crash on that. You're awesome. How do you survive that? I don't know. Good question. We have like back protect. I mean, they have airbags now. No way. You didn't have that when you were 17, did you?

No, I wish I did. Airbags? Yeah, airbags, and your back protector, and like if you are inverted in any way, it'll- Shut up. Yeah, it's great. That's amazing technology. Yeah, I know, it's awesome.

I really needed that like- 20 years, you think? Yeah. Now, you said you were nine when you met your hero, your idol, right? If your nine-year-old self was standing in front of you right now, what would you say in terms of advice to her? I wouldn't say anything.

Because, you know, like you can't correct the things you've done in the past. And I think that, you know, again, everything that you experience teaches you something, whether it's good or bad. And so I wouldn't be here if I had done things differently so I wouldn't go back and say you know do something differently I would maybe just say enjoy the ride yeah that's about it you feel you enjoyed it yeah I did I mean I definitely think sometimes I took myself a little too seriously you know I mean but that's also part of it you know when you want

to be you know the best you have to give up a lot of things. And, you know, you can't always enjoy everything as much as everybody else. But, you know, I think it was well worth it. Yeah. Yeah. For me, one of the hardest transitions in my life has been from when I was done playing football into what's next in my life. Yeah. And you've been transitioning for the last few years now.

Yeah. And you've been transitioning for the last few years now. Has it been hard for you or do you feel like you've set your brand up so well that it's been easy to kind of move past the sport in a sense? I mean, I tried as hard as I could to set myself up, you know, and I had plenty of work and plenty of things to do. But, you know, as you know, it's one day to the next. Your life is completely different no matter how prepared you are. your life is completely different no matter how prepared you are and it definitely took me until probably yeah a few months ago really yeah Kovan was a girl the best thing for me because I actually had time to slow down because what I do if you know I always overwork so if you know there's something going

on in my life what you know no matter matter what it was, I had skiing. I could always, like, really focus on skiing and kind of, you know, push the other stuff out. And so work is just a great way to band-aid everything as well. And so with COVID, I had to slow down. I had to, like, think about things, like, think about retirement, which was horrible. When did you officially retire? February 2019. Okay so the year before year before COVID. So two almost two and a half years. Yeah so it took me I mean the year after

you know before COVID was yeah it was really hard and then COVID was like okay slow down think about things process things and now I'm finally at like a really good place where I'm not you know working to you know forget that I used to ski race really yeah it's weird and weird right it's really weird now when your last race was was that in February then yeah last race uh-huh when was the last like big medal that you won because then you have like last race that was it didn't you have a big crash like five days before something or like two days before two days before you had a crash Yeah, now Brad Slater asked me ask you this question because it was a big crash. This was 2019. Yeah How did you decide to be like, okay, I'm gonna come back after demolishing your body. Uh, I mean, there's really no other option

Not race go big or go home. I you know, that's I didn't want to go home. Yeah I mean, I don't know I've always been the person that if if I can walk like if I can be out there I will be out there, you know, unless you have to like the doctor physically stops me, you know I'm we can't walk right like I'm gonna be out there I mean I was pretty close to like, you You know not being able to walk at that point say was I had torn my LCL so I was racing with no LCL I had braces on both knees. Shut up. No, I was it was definitely I felt like I was being held together by duct tape Okay, and so like my last race was literally I was like, well, this is it this meant this all I got

So I'm just gonna lay everything on the table and see what happens. And it was hard because I didn't want to crash in my last race. There's no do-overs. You knew this was going to be your last race. Oh, yeah. You're like, I'm done after this. My body is falling apart.

Literally. And so, you know, I was like, there's no do-overs. Is this your last chance? And yeah, I just literally, I threw down and gave it everything I had.'m, you know, third place. It's crushing it. So how did you get your mind right though? Like I know when your body you're like, okay, I'm just going to toughen it up and just make it happen.

But how'd you get your mind right? Well, I actually talked to my coach that I grew up with in Minnesota the night before my race. And he's like, what is 60 seconds in your whole life? Wow. Like what is 60 seconds? I'm like wow like what is 60 seconds i'm like wow it's a really good perspective i'm like it's nothing it's like exactly it's nothing so who cares just go like all right yeah i mean i i that was my mindset anyways but it just kind of like put everything in perspective in that moment and he made a great point he's 96 years old he made

a great point wow yeah that's a great point isn't it crazy that, I mean, how many Olympics did you do? Three? Four. Four Olympics. Yeah. That's nuts. Just Miss Sochi. That sucked.

Only four times the Olympics. Isn't it crazy that so many athletes, I'm sure you know as well, train decades for 60 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds. It's nuts. And especially,

you know, qualifying too. You have a cold. Right And especially, you know, qualifying too. You have a cold. You're a track and field athlete. Your competition is 60 seconds, 45 seconds. And you're a little bit off and you're done. Yeah, it's crazy. A decade, two decades of your life.

Yeah. Over. Over. Luckily, you never had to deal with that because you won a bunch of medals. But how do you think people could deal with that mindset, that mentality of I gave my whole life to something, whether it's a relationship, a career, a project, whatever, a business, and it doesn't work out? How do we bounce back from that? I mean, it's hard. I think everyone has their own process.

I always felt like if I worked hard enough, things would turn around. Whenever I had a really bad moment, I said, the good guy is not going to finish last. I'm going to come back. I just have to double down, you know Reinvest everything in myself and come back, you know, sometimes you just need a little bit of a reset sometimes You know, you need to take a break and come back to it. Sometimes, you know, it's more of just a mind over matter There's a lot of different ways to get from point A to point B But I think the biggest thing is just believing in yourself, which can be very difficult to do, obviously, especially if you have like multiple setbacks in a row. But that's why I always journal. Really? You know, I did a

lot of journaling from like a general day to day to when I was racing and training. I would write everything down. Really? Especially when things are going well. Because everyone thinks when things are going well, like, this is great, it's so easy, and they forget about what they're doing, and then all of a sudden, one day, things aren't going well. Like, how do I get back? So it's good to keep, like, I always kept notes of everything, like what runs felt

good, what skis felt good, what foods felt good, and then I always had a reference point to go back to. Was that daily or was that just most days? No no daily every time like I have stacks of books yeah when did you start probably 2005 so you were like 21 or 23 or something yeah okay so for like when I started 14 years yeah my 13 years you were like journaling yeah and I also I on and off, I journaled my workouts because that got a little bit excessive.

It was like, there's only so much journaling one can do, but I occasionally did do my workouts as well. Was it more like, here's what I did, here's the feeling I had, here's what worked, what didn't work though?

Yeah. Like every run, you know, I would write down, you know, I tried a different line, it didn't work, I felt good,

like this boot felt good, you good, this boot felt good, this setup felt good, this felt bad, I tried to do this line, it didn't work. As much detail as I could give myself, I felt like the better because it's only helping me. Where do you think you would have been if you never journaled? I think I would have lost my way a couple times

because looking back definitely gave me confidence. And thinking about remembering how it felt to have a good run and what I was doing in that moment, my own words helped me visualize that, which then translated into me finding my way again. So I don't know. I feel like. So you would read back your journals?

Yeah, mm-hmm. Okay. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. You talked about believing in yourself. How did you learn to believe in yourself consistently with all the setbacks though? Like how do you stay in belief when it's like, okay, crash, failure, didn't make the Olympics here,

whatever, I'm going through personal struggles in my life, whatever it might be, how do you stay in belief with yourself? I kind of always went back to, especially when I had multiple injuries, I always went back to, why am I doing this? I'm doing it because I love it. I'm passionate about it. And even if I have setbacks, I still am happy every time in the starting gate.

So it's kind of like always going back to the root of why I'm there. Yes, I love winning. And that's always what I wanted to do. Right, right. There's no, you know, qualms about that. Yeah, but, you know, at the end of the day, when I'm putting myself through everything that I did, you know, all the rehabs and everything,

I always remembered I loved it. And I wanted to go fast again. Whether I won or lost, I wanted to go fast again. So kind of keeping things in perspective. Yeah. Which, again, is like, you know, one of the reasons why I think being injured, you know, not so many times. But, you know, having injuries is just a good way to have a different perspective on things. Yeah, and reflect and see, do I still love this or not? Yeah.

Do I want to keep going? Yeah. And it sounded like you did so many times. Yeah. How important was mental health for you, you know, throughout your entire career? Because it wasn't really talked about until, like last five years, mental health and the importance of self-care and taking care of your mindset. How important was that for you? Did you ever feel like you lost it at times or overwhelmed or stressed or depressed at certain points?

Yeah, definitely. I mean, I definitely struggled with depression for a long time. And I, you know, was vocal about it not until 2012 maybe and at that time like you know no one was talking about it I hadn't told my parents like I didn't tell anybody and then I just was like this is something I really need to do and it definitely helped me kind of process everything and like feel more comfortable about it but I mean you know if being on the road is really hard you know you're always in a hotel room i'm always on myself and you know a lot of times you know people just see the athletes like

on the podium and happy and like in the media but you know when the cameras go off you go back to an empty hotel room and it can be really really hard um again especially because you're doing it for so long you know and at the end of my career thing thankfully, I got my dog Lucy. So she was like my companion and always was with me and definitely helped a lot. But it's like the loneliness really gets to you. It is lonely. If you're training that hard for something, I mean, your team is there and I'm sure your family are there, but at certain points you're just alone. It's isolating. It's very isolating very isolating. There's not many people that can probably relate to you. Not really. You have a couple peers.

There's a couple other athletes that you can talk to and kind of understand your coach maybe. Then also, if you want to talk to somebody about it, they're not really going to have any sympathy for you because you're doing well. Because you're making money and getting metal. Why are you complaining about something? Success doesn't equal happiness. I mean, everyone says that. Money doesn't you know, success doesn't equal happiness.

I mean, everyone says that. Like, money doesn't equal happiness. Success doesn't equal happiness. You have to find that, you know, on your own. But, yeah, it's just because you're successful doesn't mean you're happy. And there are definitely a lot of times where I was not happy. Really? Yeah.

Do you feel like you're happy now? Yeah, I'm actually the happiest I've ever been. I love that. You do have a great energy about you right now. Not that I I love that. You do have a great energy about you right now. Not that I knew you before, but you have a great energy about you right now. What brings you the most joy in your life? I think just waking up every day and being excited about, you know, something new, new challenges, new experiences, meeting new people.

I think, you know, I was so focused on skiing that I had, you know, blinders on and I didn't see, you know, a lot that was around me. And I mean, you have to do that if you want to, you know, be successful. But I just I get so excited every day because I'm like, what am I going to do today? You know, I'm going to wake surfing and mountain biking, you know, all these things that I haven't been able to do because of my sport. And like, B be I just have never Experienced so I just I'm excited. It's a very exciting time I'm very very happy So it sounds like it only took you two years to kind of transition from the sport to feeling at peace about

Moving past it now right? Yeah, kind of letting it go. Mm-hmm That's pretty quick though. Most athletes hold on to a sense of loneliness or depression or the glory days I mean don't get me wrong I miss it. Yeah, and it's it's easier in the summer because no one's racing, you know, like Asked me again in February when the Olympics are going. Oh, man Yeah, and this this past winter was the world championships in Cortina, which is literally one of my favorite places I was commentating for me. Oh, how is that watching and commentating? Yeah, I could only do

a couple of races and I preferred to only do, I preferred the men because, you know, it's, you know, like I could beat these girls right now.

Yeah, exactly. I don't put myself in that position. But, you know, it's like, I process it as a death, you know, like a death.

You know, like it's gone and it's never coming back because the second you think, oh, well, maybe I could do i could do a comeback oh man it'll really mess with your mind how important has rituals been in your life do you do a lot of rituals beyond journaling to when you said this is like a death have you ever like put your skis in a coffin and buried it till i like allow you to process or something like that yeah? Yeah, I actually did the opposite. I always had my Olympic medals in my sock drawer.

I never had them out. Like, I never, I mean, I had a nice trophy case for my other, you know, trophies, but I never. You probably had a whole room for all your trophies. There'd been so many of them. I had a nice display case in Colorado, but now I moved to Utah, so I don't have, literally everything is in storage

but you got your but i have my medals so my olympic medals i for the first time like got my my gold medal framed and i got all my world championship medals framed and it was like this is a big moment of course and it kind of was like this is what i did you know what i mean it's not what you're doing right oh because it was kind of like, it's put away now. You know what I mean? Yeah, right? There's a lot to celebrate, but my heart hurts. Right? Gosh.

So it was like, it was an interesting moment to do that. It seems weird and, you know, slightly vain, but I just felt like it was like, this is what I did, and it's done now. And I can look back and be happy about what I did, but it's not what I do. And it's not who I am, certainly. Who are you?

I'm just a nice girl from Minnesota. You're from the Twin Cities, right? You're a small town near there? Yeah, south of Minneapolis. I played football in Marshall, Minnesota for a season. Oh, no way. And I played in the Metro Dome like four or five times. Metro Dome.

Yeah, it's the old school. Crazy. The AstroTurf. Until I collapsed. Oh, man, I still have like turf toe from the AstroTurf, the Metro Dome. Yeah. It was a good time. I was The AstroTurf. Until I collapsed. Oh man, I still have like Turf Toe from the AstroTurf from the Metro Dome. Yeah. It was a good time. I was in Minnesota for three months. I came for my freshman year to play football at Southwest Minnesota State. And I left after the winter. I was just like underground tunnels to get the classroom. I was like, this is nuts.

I remember the first day I went to training camp in football in the summer. It must have been in August. I remember stepping on the field. And literally, I've never seen this in my life. The field moved with me every step. Millions of mosquitoes moving with me to the next step. I was like, what am I doing? For weeks, I'm just swatting mosquitoes. Yeah, Minnesota's mosquito is a state bird. It's crazy.

Yeah, it's gross. It's probably not as bad in the Twin Cities. But like in the farmland, it was nuts. Yeah, it's gross. It's probably not as bad in the Twin Cities, but like in the farmland, it was nuts. Yeah. I mean, actually, when I grew up racing, it would be so cold sometimes. They wouldn't let us take off our jacket and pants. We would have to race with everything that we had on. It was like my dad would have like the car sitting like ready, warmed up.

It would literally go straight to the finish and into the car. I'm curious about mental health now. Because you talked about when you were lonely and kind of had some depression during the traveling time. What is it like now that you've hung up the awards, that you've gone through different challenges in your personal life? And I'm sure you're having career stuff up and down. What are you doing to stay mentally strong post-career? I mean, similar things. I started working with a new psychologist,

which was really good. He kind of focused on more like athletes and had worked with other athletes that have retired, which was, I think, really helpful. What's his name? Dr. Armando. Dr. Armando. Yeah, he's awesome.

And again, we're with a lot of athletes. And he kind of also had a different technique of like processing things which is really good what's but what was the technique it's called brain spotting okay but it's also it's kind of hard to explain but basically you sit there and you really focus on the thing that really makes you emotional whatever that is like retirement or you know whatever and your brain has to actually process it to be able to unload it. Otherwise, it's just going to sit there because he has a theory that your body keeps score.

Absolutely. So any trauma. There's a great book called The Body Keeps the Score. Oh, really? It's amazing. Maybe he took it from there. I don't know. It's called The Body Keeps the Score.

Okay, but it's true. It's about physical, emotional trauma. It's like stored in the body until you process and heal it. But he't say that i don't store my trauma from my crashes which you don't no i don't you don't physically or emotionally i mean physically i do obviously right right but but you don't keep it emotionally no i don't know how'd you do that i don't know short-term memory memory concussions well i always watch my video i always like i processed it i was like this is what i did this is what I did. This is what I need to do better.

And I just moved on. The more you, like, you don't address it, the more it becomes a problem. Absolutely. So, yeah. So, he was, like, one of the best things that happened to me. Brain spotting. Yeah. So, you think about the moment of sadness or pain or frustration or...

Yeah. Like, the emotional trauma or whatever whatever it is that you know is really causing you yeah you know anxiety or emotional like you know uh frustration or sadness yeah so you think about it how long do you think about it for what's the process then um it could be a couple hours you know it's it's um he usually comes to my house for a few days like we have good you know sessions and kind of work when we have time, when we can. And it's really different, but it's really great. And, yeah, he's awesome.

You should look him up. I'm going to check him out. Yeah. So what happens at the end of the 30 to 60 minutes when you're thinking about, are you supposed to put your attention on the feeling, on the event? Everything. Like, visualizing what happened, how you feel. And the more you think about it, it's weird.

I start with something that's emotional and it's very triggering. And then by the end, it becomes less triggering and less triggering. And then by the end, it's like, okay. You let it go. Yeah. It's when we resist something where it continues to kind of fester and be suppressed inside of us. But the more we actually pay attention to it and go through different scenarios and process it, then we can let it go. It's not as scary anymore.

Right. So brain spotting. What's another strategy you've used to help? Surrounding myself with people that really support me and for me who I am. Like my sister and my family and really good friends. I have a very small group of friends. I travel all the time, I have a crazy lifestyle, but I have really, like a couple of friends

that I grew up with in Minnesota since I was seven years old and were solid. And it's just spending time with those quality people allowing yourself to be you and not having you know any fear of judgment I think that really helps you know I don't know be yourself and then be around other people is easier did you feel the fear of judgment when you were competing ever not really I think what I was competing, I had the most confidence. I felt like on any given day, if I was healthy, I could win. It was totally different than what

I am in real life. Really? Yeah. Kind of like the exact opposite. In competing mode, you were super confident. Yeah. I kind of like harnessed all of my confidence that I ever had, and I put it right in skiing. Okay. But you're saying you weren't as confident in your normal life outside of computing? No, not really. Yeah. What did that look like?

I'm like more shy. Like I'm not really, I'm like, I feel like I'm more right now this is like media mode. Yeah, yeah. You know, and which is still me, but I'm just, I don't know. I'm, it's different when I'm at home or like I'm at a dinner or I'm at a, you know, a function. I'm not the person that's like overly, you know, talking to people. You know, I'm like, I hang back. I wait for someone to come to me. Interesting.

I don't know. Well, the next time I'm at an event with you, I'll make sure to come up to you. I'll give you a hug. I'm not intimidating, I swear. I'm not like trying to be my, like, you know, some people think that I'm just, you know, they don't want to come say hi. And I just, I'm not trying to be, you know, negative. I just, you know, shy in my corner. Do you feel like you're, you've been able to translate that confidence into your life now?

Or do you feel like there are more times? It took me a while. Really? But yeah, I feel like finally I've kind of spread out the confidence. Really? So it's not, you know, solely in one place, but it's like, you know, sprinkled everywhere. What do you do on a daily basis to build confidence? Honestly, I think working out is one of the best things that's happened to me. It's the greatest.

Yeah. I thought for a while, you know, I don't want to work out. I'm retired. Really? I want to, you know, enjoy it because I've been working out my entire life. And I stopped working out. I'm like, wow, I really feel like shit. You know, like I felt miserable

and then I got back into it and the more I did it the better I felt and so now it's like I prioritize working out because it makes me feel so much better and I like working out first thing in the morning because then it sets my day up for success and I feel confident and you know better and clear-minded and it's just it's awesome it's the greatest feeling ever yeah and when you can look yourself in the mirror completely naked stripped down and be like at least I'm proud of the process maybe I'm not proud of the result right now but I'm proud of like showing up for myself today that feels good well I feel like no matter how you look as long as you like you're putting your best effort forward like when I work

out you know six days a week you know and like the scale says something other than what i feel like i put in like i i mean sometimes it still bothers me but you know i feel like that's not a testament to you know the effort that i felt like i gave and also like how that made me feel from a confidence perspective and so you always got to keep that in mind it's really more about i don't know i feel like it's more about mental absolutely mental confidence yeah than physical confidence what would you say are the non-negotiables you've been living this life for a while now at a top level 20 plus years you've been competing and now transitioning what would you say are the non-negotiables three to five things that have helped you become successful and that will help you to continue to be successful.

If you had three to five habits or things that you must do, non-negotiable in your life, to support your success, what would those be? I mean, work ethic in general, but at the same time, you know, if you want to succeed at anything that you're doing in life, you know, you have to be willing to put in the work. Yeah.

You know, and make those sacrifices. Because I honestly feel that the most successful people aren't the most talented. They're not the smartest. They're the people that are willing to go the extra mile that the other people are not. What else? I think rituals are habits that help you get to the place where you can work hard. So whether that's working out or again journaling or going on a walk or meeting your friend once a week

or whatever it is, finding habits, like healthy habits like that, that put you in a mental place that allows you to then work harder and again then be more successful. And then surround yourself by people that believe in the same things that you do. So that will help, you know, facilitate your success and not bring you down. You know, I think it is oftentimes really hard to actually find people that want you to succeed.

I think. Why is that, you think? That's just human nature, I think. Or jealous or... Yeah, I mean, and honestly, I haven't experienced that a lot, but sometimes it like creeps up on you and you're like, wow, you really didn't want me to succeed. Really? Yeah, so it's just kind of... Like people you've hired on your team

or friends or peers. No, my internal team, we're tight. You know, they've been with me since I was 16. I'm a very loyal person. Like we're a very tight knit group and I like to keep it that way But yeah, there's you know, there's a few people. Yeah coming in that, you know pretend to be one thing and they're not And so it's good to make sure you keep keep yourself

Surrounded by by people that want us to you succeed and will help you get there And you know if you have to make your sacrifice that they're gonna pick up the slack for you, right? You know because you you can't do everything alone. You know, that's the other thing. Right. What were your coaches and your team like when you were competing? Do you have, do you think you could have been as successful on your own? No.

Or without the team? You need a team. You absolutely need a team. And so it goes with everything that you're doing, whether it's in business or sports or whatever, you know, you can't do everything by yourself. So surround yourself by people that will help you. And, you know, my coaches were amazing. I had the best ski technician in the world, Heinz.

He literally was just as invested in my success as I was. I mean, if I, when I won, he would cry, you know. That's beautiful. It was great. And, you know. Did you cry too? I cried because he was crying. It was like a thing.

I'm like, Heinz, why are you crying? You're making me cry. And, you know, he would, he was so nervous when I crashed. And, you know, like it just feels really good to know that someone's that invested in what you're doing. And they're putting just as much effort into what they're doing to make you succeed as you are. It's just like me working in the gym. You know, he's in the ski room tuning my skis for hours on end. A lot of people don't know that about ski racing it's your equipment is a huge part of your success so if i

didn't have him if i didn't have my coaches i didn't have my physical therapist lindsay winninger who helped me get back from all my injuries you know if i didn't have like all those people i couldn't do what i did right Right. So. Team is everything. What's the greatest lesson your coach taught you? It was my coach from Minnesota, the 96-year-old. He said, I think it was like 10 or 11. He said, I'm fast the way I am, so don't change it. Because a lot of people at that time in my career tried to change my technique. And even my dad was like, you know, this isn't, she's not going to succeed

if she stays like this. And he's like, no, this is her natural talent. Stay with what you have. Don't try to be someone else. You know, you're fast the way you are. And so I kind of, you know, morphed that into life as well. You know, it's like you are who you are and that's what makes you special.

So stick with it. That's beautiful. That's a good lesson. Right? It's a beautiful lesson. And how do you deal now and how did you deal with negative thoughts did they fester for a while did you have a technique that allowed you to get out of it into more positivity what did you do i mean i think journaling helped you know um honestly skiing was the best outlet for me just therapy huh yeah And which was why it was so hard to retire, you know, which is why then, you know, COVID sitting there with your thoughts, not ideal,

but ended up being great. Yeah. I mean, I think social media was at times really difficult, you know, because other people would say negative things about me and that would kind of creep in and I wouldn't necessarily always believe it, but it's still kind of, it's like there, you know, it's like a little mosquito and it's like annoying people actually think that about me you know and it kind of adds a little bit of of doubt in there and um it's not always the easiest to get rid of those negative thoughts but um I try to focus on again like what makes me happy why am I doing this I'm not doing it for other people I'm doing doing it for myself And you know, everyone's gonna judge you everyone's gonna say there's always gonna be people that say bad things about you But you know when the lights are off and you go to bed, you know

It's just you and are you happy with yourself? And I think that's the ultimate question if you can be happy with that then you're good who cares when he lost things Amen to that. Um, there's a great who cares what anyone else thinks. Amen to that. There's a great speech by Matthew McConaughey where he talks about his hero is 10 years away from him. He's always chasing his hero. When he won the Oscar, I think it was,

he said, I'm always chasing my hero who's 10 years away from me. We've talked about your 10-year-old self. You've had a couple of years of transition now. I'm curious, in 10 years from now, where do you see yourself being and what advice do you wish your 10 year old your 10 year? Away self would give you right now. I have no idea

We'll be in 10 years like I don't know where we mean 10 days. I know it's crazy I and I I really like not knowing it, you know I used to really try to I'm a planner and I like Organizing and like knowing what's gonna happen and like planning as far out as I can. You're always scheduled. You got a badge, you got training. Yeah. It's always a schedule. Um, and I kind of really like not having as like, you know, um, as tight of a schedule as I used to have. And so I don't know, I have no idea. I mean, hopefully I'll have kids and you know,

10 years is a long time, you know, I'm 36 and that's, you know, I don't know, but I know that I have a long time. You know, I'm 36 and that's, you know, I don't know. But I know that I have a lot more to do and that's really exciting. What do you think advice you would want to hear from your 46-year-old self? I think the same as, you know, when you asked me what would I tell my 10-year-old or 16-year-old self, I wouldn't say anything because I have to have those experiences and I'm excited for them. You know, good or bad, I think, you know, it's just a part of the journey.

And so far it's been great. So I feel like... Just keep it one day at a time. Keep it one day at a time. Keep it simple. And when do you feel the most loved? When you're doing what? Hanging out with my dogs.

Yeah, they love me no matter what. That's the best feeling ever. Isn't that incredible? That's why I have three. I'm the crazy dog lady. Oh my God. It's not crazy. Well, I have one cat. So I'm the crazy cat dude. Oh, that's the best feeling ever isn't it incredible i have three i'm the crazy dog lady oh my god it's not crazy well i have one cat so i'm the crazy cat dude that's where i draw the line because i travel so much i travel so much and cut she's a good cat she just relaxes she's like a little dog she like lays next to me she's just like purrs on i think i'm scarred for

my mom's cats they're crazy cats no you need a cat. You need a cat that's like a dog. They're like, plays fetch. Yeah, no. No, no, no. No, it's not. Yeah, so my dogs are the best. Like, nothing like,

well, you know, having a Ben and Jerry's. Oh. My three dogs, watching Law and Order. Pizza. Ideal. Oh my gosh.

Yeah, that's when I feel the best. What is something about yourself that you're most proud of that most people don't know about? Um, I don't know. I feel like everyone knows everything about me, sometimes way too much.

That I'm most proud of? I don't know. I'm most proud of my family. Just like, you know, I think I'm really lucky to have siblings that are, you know, as great as they are. And, you know, I'm really proud of, you know, where everyone's, how far everyone's gone and I guess that has something to do with me but at the same time I don't know I feel like we're all

a unit so yeah I'm proud of them beautiful yeah what about your biggest fear right now I mean I had a lot more of them a couple months ago but I feel like what were they a couple months ago well you know I hadn't really processed like you know retirement know, retirement. So I guess now I'm, I don't know, I'm just kind of happy not knowing what's going to happen. You know, where I was a little bit nervous, you know, it was going to happen before. Like, you know, where's my career going? You know, what's life? What's going to, you know, just because, you know, as much as I have things planned, nothing's really planned. Right.

Right. So, I don't know. And your fears now? I don't know. I kind of, it's, I guess it's similar to skiing. Like I don't really,

I try not to think about any, like I don't, I never had fear when I was skiing. And I think I'm finally in a place where I am like very present in the moment. That's beautiful. Not thinking about, you know,

what could go wrong. I'm just thinking about what opportunities are there. That's beautiful. And what is the question you wish more people would ask you, but they don't ask you? How are you doing? How are you doing? Yeah, I'm great. Thank you. How are you wish more people would ask you, but they don't ask you? How are you doing?

How are you doing? Yeah, I'm great. Thank you. How are you? People don't ask you that enough? Like in a general way, like, you know, it's like, how are you feeling? Like, I don't know, people, it's like, there's greetings. We're like, hey, what's up? You know, how's it going? But it's like, actually, how are you feeling? Like, are you happy? You know what I mean? Like, I have a few people that say that, and those are my friends. Not many people ask you how are you feeling like are you happy you know what i mean like i have a few people that say that and those are my friends not many people ask you how you're feeling again

next time i'm at an event and you're by yourself i know what to do i know what to ask you i'm coming up to you i'm gonna ask you how you're feeling i'm pretty simple yeah yeah those are i think those are really important things who is the person in your family that has taught you the biggest lesson i'm sure they've all taught you something, but what's a lesson? I mean, everyone's taught me something. I think, you know, my my grandfather and my dad taught me, you know, about toughness and, you know, what it really means to sacrifice and work hard. And I think those are incredible traits that, you know, not a lot of people have. And I have a really good understanding of what it means to sacrifice

Because they had such a great example for me But I mean, I think my sister Karin really kind of has been she's just helped me be like a person Mm-hmm human being yeah, like that's been great not the athlete and not competitor or the personality, right? And that's the one thing I love about my family Which you know is why I talk about them so much, is just because I'm always me, you know? So, they always, it doesn't matter what I do, I'm always gonna be me and they always treat me like that. And it's just kinda nice to always have that to go back to.

What was that like coming from such a small, I guess, Midwest town, I guess Northwest town, but I think of Minnesota as a Midwest town. Midwest, yeah, yeah. I'm from Ohio, but I think of Minnesota as a Midwest. I'm from Ohio, so I think it was all. Ohio. Oh yeah. We had little bunny hills that I'd ski sometimes when I was a kid. What was it like transitioning from small town, you know, Midwest values into the spotlight and into the scene and into everything that comes with that? How did you stay grounded? I think there are moments where I kind of like, you know, especially when I was like 18, 19,

where I didn't really, 20 and kind of got into the hype a little bit. You did get into it a little bit. A little bit. And then, you know, my family was like, this isn't you. Chill out. Yeah. Like, what are you doing? Just because you went to two Olympics doesn't mean anything. Doesn't mean anything special. And so, again, family kind of always has been the equalizer and I always go back to Wisconsin and see my relatives

and it's like, and we just had a big celebration for my grandma's 90th birthday and everything's the same. We're in the garage celebrating. Playing cornhole, wake surfing. Exactly, right? Definitely cornhole yeah s'mores amazing the best yeah so it's just you know that's normal for me and so i don't ever get i don't know i don't that's a lot of hollywood takeover yeah that's something else yeah that's beautiful sounds like a good life this is a a question I ask people towards the end of the interviews.

It's called the three truths. This sounds really intimidating. I'm scared. It's a hypothetical question. I'd like you to imagine. How do you imagine your childhood, your older self? I'd like you to imagine that many years away from now, it's your last day on earth. And you get to live and accomplish and do everything you want to do all the ups and downs and the beauty

of life you get to live as old as you want to be but then eventually it's got to be your last yeah hypothetical okay this is your last day last day you've accomplished everything yeah but for whatever reason all of the words that you've said all the content this interview your books anything you create yeah goes away it goes to the next place So no one has access to your information anymore. Okay. So you're a blank slate. Blank slate.

Okay. No one's got your message to the world. Okay. If you could leave three lessons behind, and this is all we would have to remember you by, three lessons. Wow, this is really intense. You know, it's called the school of greatness, Lindsay. It's not school of average.

Oh, wow. If you had three lessons you could leave behind, I call it three truths. Yeah. Based on what's on your heart right now, what would be those three truths? I don't know, always stay true to yourself. Like, never give up on your dreams,

which is cheesy, but very true. And, I don't know, third one. I don't know third one I don't know I feel like maybe you can't make anyone else happy you can only make yourself happy that's so true you can't make anyone else happy did you have to learn that the hard way?

yes I did I've had many times I cannot make anyone else happy no matter what I do or how hard I try so I can only make myself happy and I can make anyone else happy no matter what I do or how hard I try. So I can only make myself happy. And I can make someone else happier.

But I can't make someone happy. I think I saw Will Smith share a quote about this recently. He was like, happiness, I think he was talking about his wife, happiness is her responsibility. Yeah. I can contribute to the happiness. I've seen that one. But it's not my responsibility to make someone happy.

Yes, exactly. It's my responsibility to make me happy. There's to make happiness. Correct. I've seen that one. But it's not my responsibility to make someone happy. Yes, exactly. It's my responsibility to make me happy. Theirs to make them. Yeah, which seems like really kind of narcissistic in a way. But it's true because if you don't know who you are and you don't know what makes you happy, how are you supposed to make someone else happy? It's like you have to focus on yourself.

And if everyone focuses on making themselves happy, we'll be a lot better. I feel like up until recently, I have been in the pattern my entire life of wanting to please and make others happy. Especially in intimate relationships and close dynamics. And it hasn't been up until recently when I've started to really not abandon myself in those settings,

make sure I stand up for what I want, say what I need to say, and not just give in and do something to make someone else happy. Yeah. Because I've done that my entire life up until recently. And I tell you what, it's exhausting trying to live that way. It's very exhausting. It's exhausting, right, Lindsay? Very exhausting. What made you realize that that's one of your truths when did

you realize like okay this is i mean trial and error yeah do you feel like you were that way you feel like you were like that with family or intimate relationships and business a lot of things really i think um you know personal stuff but also like you know with media stuff i had to learn to say no like I can't please everybody I can't do everything that everybody wants me to do I can't sign I can't physically sign every autograph even though it kills me I see little kids and I'm like, I literally physically have to go and start right now. I can't Literally have to raise I literally cannot sign your autograph

That's tough and that's really hard, but that's the reality. And I can't live my life upset that I didn't do something or I didn't make somebody happy or one person doesn't like me. I mean, you can't live your life that way. And sometimes it really ate at me. Really? Yeah, but now it's like I can only do what I can do.

Right. I can't do more than that, and I can't make other people happy, again, to point. Right. How have you learned how to disappoint people and be okay with it? Because I feel like I'm going to need to learn how to just be comfortable. If I'm not disappointed in myself, like if I can, again, turn the lights off, go to sleep by myself, and say, I did the best I could today, then that's what it is.

What if you disappoint millions of people? How do you feel? I mean, it sucks. Right. But that's, either you made a mistake and you gotta live with it and just own it, or people just don't like you. Right.

But if it's something that you really believe in, then that's what it is. Yeah. I mean, you can't change who you are, you can't change what you think, you know what I mean? It's like, some people, no matter how polarizing, have opinions, and as long as that's what you believe and you're true to it, then that's, you know,

who am I to judge someone else's opinion? That's the thing, I never judge anyone else. Like, no matter what it is, whatever you believe, that's you, I i'm not i have nothing to i'm not going to criticize that i've you know what would you say has been the biggest emotional challenge for you to overcome in your life from you talked about kind of depression and mental health is it people pleasing is it staying true to yourself emotionally is it trusting yourself what's what's been the biggest emotional challenge? I think people pleasing. Really?

Yeah. You've been like me your entire life too? Yeah, like working on myself. Yeah, because I'm selfish when it comes to skiing because you have to be focused on yourself in order to make gains and to be in that position. But I was very selfless when it came to, you know, other people around me and like wanting them to be happy. And that takes a lot of energy and it's like very, it's very draining. Exhausting. Exhausting. So what do you think people live in that way, in that space? Like,

why do you think me and you have done that and others tend to do that? I think that's a question for Dr. Mondo. What is the answer to this question? You know, I don't know. I've always been like that. You know, I'm the oldest of five. I always try to take care of my siblings. You know, change all their diapers. Like, you know, I just, I help when I can.

I, you know, try to make everybody happy. And I don't know. That's so tough. It's like something you got to ask Dr. Mondo. I'll ask it. Ask some psychologist because that's a deep question. I don't have Motha. I'll ask it. Ask some psychologist because that's a deep question I don't have the answer for. I will ask him.

I've got one final question for you and a statement. Before I share the statement and ask the question, I want people to follow you because I love your content around social media. So check out Lindsey Vaughn

with two N's around social media. You got LindseyVaughn.com as well, right? Or what's your website? I think so. I don't really use a.com anymore. Your website, yeah. It's there. Gotcha, but social media is your main thing.

Is it Instagram or Twitter or Facebook? Which one do you use most? Probably Instagram the most, but yeah, all those platforms. I'm not really on TikTok. We gotta get you on there. I feel like I'm too old. I don't know.

I'm 38 and I'm on TikTok. Oh, come on. The generation is getting older, you know? Yeah. Remember when Facebook was just for college kids? There's so many platforms. It's nuts. It's really overwhelming. But you got a great team, don't you?

I do it all myself. Oh, you gotta build your team. Everything I do. Just like you had in sports. That's not me. That's not authentic. This is me. This is everything that's on there.

That's all me. I don't. Of course. But you're gonna have team support you. Just like everything on there. I don't trust anybody. So is everything that's on there. That's all me I know worse, but you're gonna have team support you just like everything on the press anybody So everything is it up everything on this the slopes is all you but you had a team to support you with the tune the Skis and doing this and making your schedules good. Yeah, but What I have my team come in here and do an interview for me No, so you got to there See you guys go you can still post your content

and take the content you want to do and make sure they support you in other ways. That's actually an extra step. It's actually an extra step. Okay. It's easier for me to post it than to send it to somebody. I get it.

You know what I mean? I get it. It's like, also it's like, what's the point? I say what I want to say. It's very authentic. Yeah. It's very authentic. It's very inspiring.

It's just me. If you want to follow me, great. If not, I'm sure there's a lot of people out there. There's millions of say. It's very authentic. It's very authentic. It's very inspiring. It's just me. If you want to follow me, great. If not, I'm sure there's a lot of people out there. There's millions of people. It's great. And you've got a book coming out next year, early next year, which I'm excited to share out as well. So be on the lookout for that. People can preorder it hopefully soon.

I don't know if they can preorder it now. I don't think they can now. In a few months, I think you'll be able to. But pretty soon, yeah. It's called Rise. It's called Rise. It's going to be inspiring about all these lessons and more. Yes.

I really should have talked to you before all the book. But I'm assuming you're sharing a lot of these insights and more philosophies and stories and lessons, right? Yeah, it's kind of like all of the things

that I've experienced in my life and what it taught me and how I overcame it and more of the mental side of it. That's cool. It's meant to be, you know, inspiring because, you know, we all face obstacles and, you know, we all have to overcome certain things. And so, yeah, my life as a roller coaster written down. It's beautiful. Beautiful. It's exciting. So when that comes out, make sure you guys pre-order that. My statement,

Lindsay, is I want to acknowledge you for a moment for the incredible life you've had up until now, for the ups and downs, and for being so mentally and emotionally tough to continue to show up for your dreams, even when you had so many injuries. I've been surgeries and injuries myself, and I know how hard it is sometimes to come back after the first time. But then after 30 times, for you to keep showing up for your dreams and for your heart is so beautiful and inspiring. And also for you to know when it's time to transition. I think it's inspiring as well, even if you didn't maybe want to, but showing up authentically where you're at now, healing in the process of the transition, being a positive force for your fans, your followers, and your family, which is most important. It's really inspiring to meet you, to connect with you, and to hear about these stories and kind of know more about your life. So I acknowledge you for all this that you've created and accomplished. And I'm excited to

see what you create moving forward. And when I'm at an event that you're at, I know exactly what I'm going to do. Come right up. I'm going to ask you, how are you feeling? How are you feeling? Thank you. Yes, that'd be great. Yes. I'm looking forward to it. Very excited. My final question. What is your definition of greatness? My definition of greatness is like overcoming all obstacles. I mean, I think the greatness isn't just, you know, a perfect run on a perfect day.

You know, it's when you're at your absolute limit and you know you're scratching and clawing to get to the finish and you know you make it and you push yourself past where you you know think you could ever go um because you know like tom brady you know his best he always says like his best performance isn't you know winning this or that super bowl there's like certain moments where he felt like he overcame a lot and those are those are like really great moments And and again to each his own so not everyone has the same experience and everyone's greatness is different But yeah, it's beautiful. Were you in greatness code also? Yes, it was That's right. I remember so many greatness. Well, I remember that that story from that of Tom Brady talking about that

I was like, I think you were in that too. Yeah, it was a great series. I always watch stuff like that because I think it's really cool to see and hear. And again, everyone has their own experiences and it's interesting to learn from that. I think it's all very inspirational. Love it. Lindsay Vaughn, thank you for being here. Thank you.

Appreciate it. My friend, thank you so much for being here and for listening to this episode. I hope you found it inspiring. Lindsay's message, her lessons, her stories are inspiring to me. And it's so cool to see what she's been able to create in her career and also what she's doing now in the different stage of her career as well. And if you enjoyed this, make sure to share this with a few friends. You can text a few friends. You can post it on social media. You can post it wherever you like. Use the link lewishouse.com slash 1132

or just copy and paste the link on any platform that you're listening to this podcast. Also, if this is your first time here, then welcome to the School of Greatness. We've got over 1100 incredible episodes with some of the biggest names in the world. Make sure to click the subscribe button right now on Apple Podcasts so you can stay up to date on the latest and greatest right here on the School of Greatness and leave us a review over on Apple Podcasts. I'd love to hear your biggest takeaway from today's episode with Lindsey by leaving us a review over on Apple Podcast. And I want to leave you with this quote from Jeffrey Fry,

who said, The difference between champions and everyone else is that champions are never afraid of losing while everyone else is afraid of winning. Ooh, man, that's a good one. And I remember playing sports my entire life and you could feel it. The ones that were playing not to lose always did. The ones that played to win sometimes lost, but they gave it their all and they won most of the time.

So make sure you're going out there every single day playing to win. Don't be afraid if you fail because it's only just feedback helping you get more information to move forward the next day. I appreciate you and I want to remind you if no one has told you lately that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great.