Episode 140 The GOLD Standard with Leah Amico

John talks with Leah Amico — 3x Olympic Gold Medalist with USA Softball, 2x World Champion, National Softball Hall of Fame Inductee, 3x National Champion at The University of Arizona, professional speaker, author, college softball analyst with ESPN and Westwood One Sports, host of The GOLD Standard Podcast, wife, and mom. Listen to this episode to learn more: [00:00] - Welcome notes and Leah's intro [03:20] - How Leah got into softball [11:32] - Leah's progression in softball  [15:00] - The core components of the GOLD standard [19:04] - The importance of learning from failures [21:02] - Leah's experience with teammates who were not trying to improve [22:19] - About Leah's podcast, The Gold Standard Podcast [27:16] - Leah's transition from being a professional athlete to the next stage [31:48] - The impact of faith on Leah's softball career and her life after softball [34:51] - Books Leah has written [40:57] - How to get a free signed copy of Leah's book [41:46] - The time when Leah failed BIG [45:48] - How Leah invests in herself [47:11] - Leah's top daily habit [52:48] - Books that help Leah grow [58:04] - Podcasts that Leah frequents NOTABLE QUOTES: "Failure does not stop you if you will learn from it and grow but it stops a lot of people. So you already have an advantage if you can use it to move forward and to grow." "It's one thing not to know what to do and it's another not to receive advice on what to do."  "It is very important to think how we respond, how we receive things and are we willing to learn from our mistakes." "There are core characteristics that we carry and it can just impact us in a positive way." "The actual definition of happiness is happenstance. It's dependent upon the situation. So if things are good, then I'm happy. If they're bad, I'm not. Joy, on the other hand, is an active choice. You can be in the midst of the worst stuff that's happening in your entire life and still have joy." "Failure prepared me because it opened more opportunities." "We really need coaches in all different aspects of our lives. And even if it's not a paid coach, we need those people that are leading us and guiding us." BOOKS MENTIONED: The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact by Chip Heath and Dan Heath (https://tinyurl.com/PowerOfMomentsBook) The Power of Positive Leadership: How and Why Positive Leaders Transform Teams and Organizations and Change the World by Jon Gordon (https://tinyurl.com/PowerOfPositiveLeadershipBook) PODCASTS MENTIONED:  Entrepreneurs on Fire with John Lee Dumas (https://tinyurl.com/EntrepreneursOnFirePodcast) Positive University Podcast with Jon Gordon (https://tinyurl.com/PositiveUniversityPodcast) The Ed Mylett Show (https://tinyurl.com/TheEdMylettShow) USEFUL RESOURCES: https://www.leahamico.com https://www.instagram.com/leah20usa/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/leah20usa https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-amico-oly-7734531a6/ https://twitter.com/leah20usa?lang=en https://tinyurl.com/TheGoldStandardPodcast https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkcom9aDF5HYjxdrFhuMRbw/featured https://tinyurl.com/SoftballGloryGodsStoryBook https://tinyurl.com/VictoriousDevotional CONNECT WITH JOHN Website - https://thejohnhulen.com     Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnhulen     Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/johnhulen     Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/johnhulen     LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhulen     YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLX_NchE8lisC4NL2GciIWA     EPISODE CREDITS Intro and Outro music provided by Jeff Scheetz - https://jeffscheetz.com/