EP24: Joe Jacobi - Leadership Lessons from a Gold Medal Winner!

"It's all about the start line. It does you no good to be thinking of what may happen at the finish line. That is just energy that is taking away from what you could use in your moment in which you have the opportunity to be good. Start lines are these magical moments in the space of being present, aware, humble, and being grounded and overall grateful."   Speaking with Olympians as part of my Make Your Mark podcast is always an honor, as they exemplify sportsmanship and the competitive spirit. It can be hard to imagine how four years of preparation will decide whether you end up on the podium or not, but getting there is such an achievement. My guest today, Joe Jacobi, not only won the first ever gold medal for the USA in his sport, but has taken that victory and turned it into a mindset that has helped countless people move forward in their pursuits.   "What whitewater does: so often we think of what we are doing in terms of roles. I am the chief executive officer or I'm the janitor - I've never met a force of nature like a river that wipes those roles out of the way.  We have to get in the boat, figure out ways to work together, work with the water, and figure out how to handle the obstacles in front of us."   Joe has been coaching and inspiring professionals and entrepreneurs to become not only better leaders, but more importantly, better colleagues, honing their skills at collaboration in order to get to the finish line with the best results. I'm really impressed with his ability to level the playing field by bringing co-workers out on the river and letting them learn how to work best as a team.   "At the end of the day we didn't race against each other. We competed against the river, a wild, fierce force that doesn't know how to stop. That was the bond of the relationships."   As you will hear, Joe is so easy-going, and our episode flowed so well, with tons of leadership and networking advice from both of us throughout, definitely an hour worth your time, you will learn so much! Thanks Joe!   "When I talk about culture, I'm not focused on what people are doing between the time they arrive at work and when they leave work. I am really interested in the time they leave work and when they come the next day. I am very big on simplification, traction, less is more, not just in words but what that looks like in practice."   Happy listening! Some Topics we talk about in this episode:   Intro- 2:04 Start your Canoes - 4:25 Training with the Champions- 7:40 International competing- 9:30 "I just wanted to keep getting better" -14:30 Qualifying for the Olympics/ More Than Just a River- 17:30 THE Olympics - 21:00 Two Race Runs and Done -23:30 Crossing the finish line- 27:00 The Competitors- 29:00 Medal Mentality - 30:40 Incredible Lessons Learned carrying on into being a Performance Coach- 34:35 Bringing Business execs to the river-  36:00 Correcting Mistakes- 39:00 The Point of it all- 40:00 The Transition from Athlete to Business- 45:00 Hit your Mark- 49:25 How to get involved Be sure to connect with me on Social Media @MarkMoyerCoach and go to my website, www.markmoyer.com to get access to the tips and strategies that my coaching clients get directly. If you're looking for ways to Make Your Mark, send me an email [email protected] and I'll get you going right away.   If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave me a quick review on iTunes. Your reviews and ratings will help me reach more people with ways to make their mark in life!