Jack Green on Wellbeing and High Performance

Jack Green is a Double Olympian, a formal global wellbeing lead, and a performance coach. He has this unique perspective on what it takes to achieve high performance, and he also knows about the dark side of sport, elite sport, and high performance. He knows how some of the mindsets that he cultivated for himself professionally to get to some of the highest levels in his sport were also some of the mindsets that really led to him living an unhealthy life and getting into some mental health challenges that really did derail not only his career, but his life in general. His philosophy has become simple: if you are thriving personally, you will no doubt thrive professionally. He’s on a mission to help as many people as possible to be the best version of themselves. He retired from elite sport at the age of 28 after winning World and European medals. We talk about medals in today’s conversation, and also why finishing 4th were some of the proudest races and competitions that Jack had. He has a passion for high performance and he has continued to step into that world as a coach, as a speaker, as a mentor, and he really does believe in the power of the mind to drive performance and to drive wellness. You’re going to love my conversation with Jack; he’s thoughtful with his words, he’s wise beyond his years, and it’s a conversation that we all need to hear. Jack had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “Luck doesn’t have any ownership over it, and so I don’t think it’s repeatable” (6:35). “I’m very big on let’s get repeatable success” (6:40). “I could outwork anyone” (8:05). “Athletics became my kind of escape and the thing that was going to give me opportunities in life” (8:20). “I was fueled by insecurity. I was fueled by a fear of failure” (9:10). “No one ever took the time to find out who I was” (10:45). “Let me learn about you as a human being” (11:25). “I believe I’m a very good coach” (17:30). “I really enjoy doing it. It doesn’t feel like a chore coaching. Sometimes running did” (17:40). “I like seeing people develop and grow” (18:10). “I’m really passionate about trying to win the right way” (19:10). “Sport is not healthy. Let’s stop trying to make it healthy; let’s try to make it healthier” (24:00). “Anyone can get to high performance, but elite performance is different” (24:30). “Be aware, don’t compare” (27:00). “When I retired, the only thing I dropped was running” (33:00). “I’m going to expect that bad things might happen, but I’m going to help you in getting through that” (40:35). “If an athlete leaves me and isn’t a better person, what am I doing with my time?” (41:20). “To understand what it takes to keep winning is absolutely incredible” (42:40). “I retired at 28 because I wasn’t willing to pay what was required” (46:20). “We like shiny, we like new, we like easier” (55:35). “Be efficient” (56:05). “Wellbeing is very basic and not very exciting” (59:15). “I’m trying to give something practical, I’m trying to help people” (1:02:40). “I think people should share because they want to help other people” (1:02:50). Additionally, you can connect with Jack on LinkedIn. Thank you so much to Jack for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.