mindset edit
Sun, Jun 23, 2024 11:37AM • 30:04
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
coach, consistency, nick, paul, alistair, questions, mindset, adapt, people, talk, day, controllable, players, sports, eric, put, book, great, life, miami heat
SPEAKERS
Allistair McCaw, Paul Barnett, PB
PB 00:00
Good morning. Alistair McCourt, and welcome back to the great coaches podcast,
Allistair McCaw 00:06
Paul, it's great to be back. Thanks so much for having me. Well, Alistair, I always like to ask you this question, where are you in the world? Where have you been recently as well, and what do you been up to today? I am back at home in Florida, I just spent about four and a half weeks in Europe, which was a great trip. Really enjoyed it. Always enjoyed my time over there. More specifically, I was in France this time, and just spent a little bit of time in London on the way back. But yeah, back in Florida, good to be home
PB 00:38
the life of an elite level mindset coach. For those that are listening and who don't follow Alistair, I thoroughly recommend his social media feed. He travels to some great places and gets to meet some great people. But we're here to talk about the new book. Mindset is your superpower. It's a great read Alistair, I know it's number seven now that you've put out. I devoured it over the weekend a few months back, and I wanted to start actually with a quote in the book. You say, there will always be someone who can't see your worth. Just make sure that person isn't you, and you talk about how those words were the catalyst for you becoming a world champion in geothermal. But when I read that, I wondered if it was, in fact, where your journey with the idea of mindset started. Well,
Allistair McCaw 01:33
Paul, I'm going to have to correct you straight off the bat there that I didn't become a world champion. I was actually second. The world champion was seven seconds in front of me, so I saw it all unfold in front of me, but I was happy with second. It was the best I could, I could do on the day. Yeah, I would say it takes me back to my school days. I remember specifically being in the the cross country team, and there was this teacher that I didn't get particularly we didn't get particularly on we didn't see itI a lot of the times. And I remember us getting off the bus, and we were late for a meeting. I think the race was to start in five minutes, and we'd been sitting on the on the school bus for about an hour getting to this location. And she said, right, everybody, get off the bus and start stretching and then go up to to the start line. Now, already at a young age, I was always very curious and very, you know, reading about sports and sports science and the mental side and so on. So, you know, to answer your question, it started at a very, very young age. I don't know why, but it was just all about improving, improving myself. And of course, back then, we didn't have Google and we didn't have the internet, so you just have to just try and figure it out yourself. You'd go to the library, for example. And I said to this, this teacher, shouldn't we rather go for a jog first to warm up the body and then stretch? And she absolutely freaked out at me, and one of the things she said to me is, you know, McCourt, you're not going to amount to much in life. And that was like, I will never forget those words. And it was something that, you know, thank goodness. It could break somebody, or it could, in my case, which I was very fortunate, I thought, you know, I'm going to prove you wrong. And that was something that I held on to, and probably still do to this day, is that, you know, never underestimate your value. Never underestimate your worth, no matter what anybody says to you. And you know, writing that book, this is not just about sports. This is about life. Is, you know, never undervalue yourself. We all have the potential to do, to do great things, if we're willing to put in the work that is, I want to add that on. But yeah, that that's, that's where it's, that's where it started. For me, really,
PB 03:45
you talk also about the power of consistency in the book, and how you see it as being the difference between the good and the great. But Alice, the consistency is so hard to develop. For many of us, where do you start? Yeah,
Allistair McCaw 04:00
consistency for me is the secret sauce. Paul, it really is. You know, I like to say that the average do it sometimes. The good do it most of the time, the great do it all of the time. And that's why the great athletes or the great performers or the great people in business, for example, are where they are, is because they're able to stay consistent in their daily habits, their daily routines, the things they just do on a daily basis. And yes, it is difficult. That's why greatness is so hard to achieve. Is because the you know, we can do it sometimes or when we feel like it, but consistency is about doing it all the time, and you know, especially when we don't feel like it, for example. And I think with all the high performers that I've been able to work with or work alongside, Paul, that is definitely one of the key traits that they all had, was was consistency. And not just consistent, consistency in their behaviors and actions, but consistency in their word as well. [PB1]
And of course, we know consistency in your word is where. Is built so it's such a massive thing in life is that people know that you're reliable. People know that you're you're consistent in your actions, your behaviors, your words. And I'll be the first one to put my hand up, Paul, to say, it is very, very difficult to be in that, that mindset all the time. But that's really, really where it is. You know, without consistency, I don't think greatness is possible, whatever that greatness is to you. And I just want to make that clear is we all define success differently. We all define greatness differently. But to get to those to those levels, that's where consistency is. This the secret sauce, I think,
05:40
consistency and emotional regulation is very important with leaders. Many of the great coaches talk about it, and I think many of the great coaches in the past didn't have it. But equally back then, this undulating emotion, this ability to switch it on and switch it off, seem to be rewarded, looked up to, but I think that's that's definitely changed as time's gone on. Yeah,
Allistair McCaw 06:02
you know, if we look at sports, and I know, obviously, you know, majority of the listeners here will will be from a sports background, or coaches, for example, is, you know, the mastery of skills, the mastery of a craft requires consistency and set monotonous repetition, rep after rep, day after day that that's required to become great at something you know, Ronaldo, Federer, Serena, Michael Phelps, the list goes on. LeBron, James, these. These are athletes that have that have, you know, repetitively, you know, taken as many shots as as possible that we have no clue. You know, away from one story I actually mentioned, I think it was in this book, or maybe it wasn't habits to make a champion. Was, you know, arriving early at Stanford University one morning at, I think it was 630 in the morning to get an early practice in and parking the car. I heard balls getting thumped and a coach feeding balls. And I thought, Gosh, who's here so early in the morning? And this was at a tournament at Stanford University in California. And I got closer, and it was Serena Williams at 630 in the morning. Nobody else in sight except her and her coach at the time, and already drenched in sweat, I'd arrived there with my player thinking, wow, we're, you know, we're going to be the first here, and we're going to show the rest of the the tournament how focused and dedicated we are. But there's Serena. Serena. Serena had already finished her practice, probably by 830 and going back to the hotel for breakfast and so on, while other players were just getting out of bed. So there's an example of commitment and someone that that has consistency.
07:44
You worked for a long time alongside the great coach, Nick bulleter. You you speak about him in glowing terms in many of your books. What did you take away from that experience that's still with you today?
Allistair McCaw 07:59
Oh, so many things. I think one of the key things Paul was really just his his enthusiasm, his love for for what he did. So passion would be the first thing authenticity Nick was who he was. His people skills stand out for me. He was great with with people. It didn't matter who you were, what level you were. You know, a lot of people think that Nick only worked with, you know, the best of the best. And you know, number one players in the world, like Boris Becker and the Williams sisters and Mary Pierce and so on and so forth. But he worked with recreational players, families, etc, and he was brilliant with all of them. You know, I observed and was alongside him, many, many a day on the court in in Bradenton, Florida, and he was the same, you know, talk about consistency this. This is a great example. He was the same coach at 5pm in the afternoon than he was at 6am in the morning. You know, Nick. Nick was on the court 910, hours a day. Sometimes loved it, until he was 8687 where, unfortunately, he started to get a little bit ill and and he had to stop. But you know, Nick believed, and we talk about optimism. Nick believed he would, he would be coaching still at 100 he had that kind of mindset as well, and that rubbed off and others optimism. But yeah, I you know, Nick was the greatest motivator as well. You know, we talk about coaches that you can't have everything. It's impossible to be, you know, excellent and everything. But the thing that Nick had was he was the number one motivator. I saw Nick turn around players that were in massive slumps and couldn't, couldn't win a match, go on to win tournaments a week or two later just by spending an hour with him. It's almost like he had a magic wand. But you know, like, like many other great coaches, Nick could just make you feel special. And I think just one more thing, and like I said, Paul, I. Could go on and on about this and tell you all the qualities, but I never saw him have a bad day. I never saw him in a negative mood, which was, you know, even things were going on in his life. And we all have challenges and we all have problems. I've never met a human being that doesn't Nick was always upbeat, positive. You know, he could get strict, he, you know, he had his boundaries, and there was rules at the voluntary tennis academy, but he was always in a in a good mood and positive. And that's for me, you know, incredible.
Paul Barnett 10:36
I remember you saying in one of our other interviews that likeability is your best ability as a leader. And I think military often, from what I hear from many different people, you had that that skill as well. Well,
Allistair McCaw 10:49
if there's just one thing, sorry, I know I could add on and on, but, and this is a great lesson for coaches out there as well, is, you know, for example, if a junior player came along to the academy or and they were usually star juniors. You know, these were the best juniors in the world, in the country. Something Nick always did was made the rest of the siblings in the family feel special. So a lot of the times, you know, there's a, maybe a star athlete in the family, and they get most of the attention everywhere they go. So if they go to an event, or they go to a school event or church or whatever, everybody's asking that particular kid how they're doing, and they're the star player and and Nick always put the attention on the rest of the siblings, the brothers and sisters, and spent time with them. And that was that was another incredible standout of just his awareness of of a situation, and not just the star kid gets all the attention. Ah,
11:48
terrific story. My own brother actually was a somewhat of a childhood prodigy at Australian it was football. He was one of the youngest players, I think, to play in the senior level, and he he often found that when we would go out, he would get all the attention, but he hated it, so I had to sort of step in the middle and try to track a little bit to get it off him. So I think that's a great insight that Nick had. But back to the book for a minute. There's another quote in there that it resonated with me very strongly, because it took me, I didn't learn about this until I was in my early 30s. And the quote is, you may not be able to control every situation and its outcome, but you can control your attitude and how you respond to it. It's it's a theme that's central to the Viktor Frankl book, Man's Search for Meaning. And I can remember the moment that someone, that someone told me this. Can remember sitting on a bus, hearing it. It's such a simple idea, but again, Alistair, it's very hard to put into practice. Where can, where can we start if we want to move towards this idea?
Allistair McCaw 12:52
I think the simplest way Paul is controllables and uncontrollables is defining in your life, in your career, in your relationships, all these things that matter, what is controllable and what's not controllable, and to be more aware and cognizant of the things that you give your energy to and the things that you can't really give your energy to, that are uncontrollable. So I think that's, that's really where it starts. You know, working with athletes, it's really one of the first areas. I start with the discussion of, okay, you're going to write down what's controllable in your sport and what's uncontrollable in your sport. And so, for example, controllable would be my attitude. The thing that we mentioned, my game plan, how coachable I am. We can go down the list, for example, what's what's uncontrollable, or things like the weather, if you're playing outside, for example, or a referee's decision, or a cheating opponent, all these things. We can go down this list. So it's to identify what's controllable, what's not controllable, and then to to to really just be more aware of those things in your daily life and know where to put your energy and where where to let things go. [PB2]
Now, easier said than done. Absolutely I am still a project in that as well, but that's definitely helped when I'm having discussions or someone's asked me for advice, I'd usually say, Well, is it a controllable and, okay, good. What are you able to do about it? What are your steps? What are your steps forward? So, yeah, that's, that's an incredibly powerful quote that's that's really helped me on my journey as well to
14:42
continue on the theme of great quotes in the book, there's another one around self talk. Now I do some work as an executive coach, and this is a big topic that I engage with people on. And you provide some some good insight here, and I think some good advice. As you say, a positive person can still have negative thoughts. However, the biggest difference lies in how quickly the positive person recognizes and changes that negative thought into a positive one. And there's plenty of you know we're seeing research now on you know, it's it's not the voice itself, but how you respond to that voice that's important, and the speed with which you respond to it. But could I flip it around? Alistair, if it's not too personal, I'd ask you how you came to learn about this voice and how to do this. This a little better.
Allistair McCaw 15:32
Yeah, it definitely took some time. I wish I'd I'd grasped onto a little bit earlier in my life, Paul, it would have saved me a lot of a lot of energy, and it's still something I'm challenged with today, because the fact of the matter is, you cannot control your thoughts, but you can control what you do with your thoughts. So I don't know if you've heard of the five second rule, and it's something that I like to give athletes as well, and actually anybody can use this to be honest, is that you're allowed to entertain that thought for no longer than five seconds. So if it's a missed putt on the golf range on the golf course, sorry, if it's a missed shot in tennis or squash or badminton or whatever it may be, is that your first initial thought is, Oh, shucks, or Damn, you know, I missed that. I can't believe I missed it. And there's that negativity. However, in that five second window, you're able to realize, well, that's not very that's not a very helpful comment, and you change that straight away to something more positive, or you look forward. So there was two words I'd use with, with with people, called the FF, which was forget and focus. So forget the last shot, focus on the next. And it's a lesson for life as well, is that I've got to forget what happened there and focus on what, what's important next. So, um, yeah, it's, it's something that's, that's, it's a challenge every day. I mean, for anybody, nobody, nobody's arrived, and we're all attacked with negative thoughts on a daily basis. Unexpected, unexpectedly. But I think, again, it comes down to that word Paul of awareness, is being aware of your thoughts. You know you can be positive but still get negative thoughts. But again, like you said in that quote there, the difference is the positive people can move on quicker because they're a, they're more aware of it and B, they replace it with something that's more helpful and positive moving forward. So look, the mindset is a skill. It has to be trained like anything else. Nothing comes naturally. You know, you're not born a winner, you're not born a loser, you're born a chooser, and you're born or you you choose the mindset that you're going to have and that's every single day that is work, just like, you know, a professional golfer or a professional football player or whatever it goes to practice every day you don't, you don't just reach a certain level and you've arrived, you know, you're obviously going to start losing those skills. The mindset is the same thing as well as that. You have to purposefully and deliberately keep training the mind. You know, I played a sport called pickleball here in America. I don't know if it's reached Australia yet, but it's like a, almost like a version of pedal or or mini tennis, if you like. And I am challenged every morning on the court, you know, if I miss a bad shot. And you know, some of the guys that I play with in the morning tease me because, you know, they're saying, well, saying, Well, hey, you write all these books on positivity and and mindset, but we see you losing your cool. And then I like to remind them, well, well, it was only for five seconds, and then I moved on to the next the next shot. So yeah, even for somebody that writes books on positivity and so on, I also get negative. I'm like anybody else. But the question is, how quickly can you move on from it?
18:45
I think you one of our really conversations. You were telling me about Tiger Woods and his 10 step rule, where he takes 10 steps after a bad he counts them out, apparently, and then, and then just moves on, gives himself 10 steps, which I which I thought was very powerful. And I know I've spoken to a lot of people about the power of doorknobs. You know, sort of you can hold the thought until you touch a doorknob, and then that act of opening a door is a very symbolic one, and you have to move forward and close the door behind you. But enough of the pop psychology Coach K he comes up a lot in your writing. It comes up a lot in your social media posts. You talk about him a lot, probably as much, I think, as Nick boll Terry, I know that he's had a significant influence on you and your life, but what are the lessons that he's left you with that have resonated them the most?
Allistair McCaw 19:42
I wish I'd been able to spend more time with Coach K It was obviously a very, very busy man and and, you know, held down a very powerful position as well within Duke University and USA basketball. I think for me, it's, you know, and I've mentioned this before on. On one of our episodes, Paul was asking him that question, like, you know, you've achieved so much success. How have you been able to sustain that success over over 42 years? And you know, he mentioned that, you know, sometimes you only see from the outside the the trophies and, you know, the successful seasons, etc, but you know, you don't see all the other things that go on behind it. But he said, you know, Alistair, it's not just a lesson in sports, it's a lesson in life as well as it's your ability to adapt. He said, The best performers in the world, in their jobs, in their positions, in their fields, are able to adapt quicker to change. And you know, Paul this, this conversation took place about a month or two before covid started in March 2020. Was it? I think 20 so this was, this was, I think maybe, when was this? Maybe January of 29, of 2020 and those were words that really stuck by me When covid said, and for example, is your ability to adapt. Of you know, there's this again, getting back. There was controllables. There was uncontrollables. We couldn't control the, you know, the situation of what the government would choose, and all the, all the rules and restrictions that we had. But how were we going to adapt to those? We had to adapt to our everyday life. We had to adapt to our work, you know, things like zoom and Microsoft Windows and all these things that we had to adapt to, instead of having live conferences or live meetings with our teammates or colleagues, for example, so we had to adapt to so much. So that is definitely one of the main standout lessons that Coach K court taught. Also, just like Nick as well his people skills, he had this ability to make you feel special. You know, when I met him, he didn't know who I was, but he was asking me questions. He was very curious about me. And, you know, I was just really surprised by that, because I wanted to obviously ask him as much as I could in the limited time that I had that particular day, not knowing if I'd ever meet him again, and he was asking me questions, which just showed me the humility of the man, the curiosity of him to find out about what you do, what you think. And for me, that's probably what made him a standout coach. One of the best coaches in the world was his curiosity, his humility, and in other people.
22:30
I get a lot of people writing to me asking for if I could interview Coach K or Mike. I've got through to his PA, but, you know, Mike politely declined. So for those listening, I will keep trying. I think he's risen in prominence since, since he was featured in that TV show the bear. But I will keep trying. I think it would be lovely to get him on. He's He's spanned generations, which I think would be interesting. He lived through that period where coaches were this fire brand and were influenced by military leaders. And he's emerged as someone who's been to your point earlier in this interview, consistent through that whole journey. You know, the way he talks and engages with young young men is his area.
Allistair McCaw 23:19
Yeah. Sorry, Paul. He went to West Point, which was, you know, a very famous and popular military school here, here in America. But, you know, getting back to, you know, when, you know, Mike was 75 I think maybe when his last, last season at Duke, which was 2022, I think, and, you know, speaking to players as well is just his ability to adapt to the different generations and his ability to adapt to the game that was changing. You know, he, he, he never copied and paste a season from from the season before. So even if they had a winning season, he didn't, you know, say, well, oh, that worked. Let's just do the same as last season. You know, everything changed. The game. The game would change, the players would change, the opponents would change. So he had to change as a coach, and his strategy and his approach to the players, for example. And, you know, just like any other coach in the modern era, you know, you'd have to, like, Okay, what's our rules going to be about? Cell phones? What's our rules going to be about? You know, being late to meetings, for example. You know, to deal with the same things that like any other coach had to
24:30
Alistair, you talk in the book about, well, actually, you've talked about it in this interview too, the power of awareness. But in the book, you talk about the three questions you ask yourself at the end of each day?
Allistair McCaw 24:44
Yeah, these are three questions that have really helped me self reflect, and I believe that that self development and self improvement comes from self reflection. So there's three questions I had to ask myself at the end of each day. And you know, I used to journal. But I now actually just ask myself it, and it's become a habit that I've ingrained in myself that I don't forget it. It really when I put my head on the pillow, it just comes automatically to me. And those three questions is, what did I do well today, which is, it's important for us to to reflect on the things that we did do well. The second question is, what could I have done better today? And it could be absolutely anything. It could be a conversation that you had, or maybe you were a little bit snappy or rude, or whatever it may be. But it's good to reflect on that. And then the third question is, Who did I make better today? Which really aligns with part of my purpose and part of my my values as well as that, I want to make other people around me better. That's one of the things that gets me up every morning, is, who can I improve today? Who can I get better? [PB3]
So those three questions have been really, really powerful for me, because, you know, it's so easy for us just to remember the things that we haven't done well, or beat ourselves up about something that didn't go well today, for example, or a mistake we made in the game, or whatever it may be. But it's important to reflect on those three things. I believe, what did I do well today? What could I have done better today? And who did I make better today?
26:15
That's terrific. They're terrific questions. I particularly like that that third one, I think an element of selflessness every day helps build resilience. But Alistair maybe just one final question, if I could, and it's back to this idea of the power of mindset, and you use a story at the end about the basketball coach, Eric. Eric, I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly. I know he's a famous coach. I just never heard his name read out loud. Can you share with us that story and why you found it to be such a great example?
Allistair McCaw 26:50
Yeah, well, Eric, Eric Spoelstra, who's gone on to win, I think, three NBA titles with Miami Heat, and he's been been with the franchise for over 20 years, maybe a little bit longer, which in the modern era of of sports is just unheard of, because, you know, after maybe one or two seasons, you get let go. But he's been able to to stand the the test of time there in Miami, which is not a what, which is not an easy fan base either. They They demand results, and especially after winning the NBA titles in 2007 I think 2008 that was the era of LeBron, James and Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade, just an incredible, incredible team at that state at that time. But Eric started in the early 90s in the video as a as a video and assistant, and, you know, he was just one of the guys in the back office that would cut video record practices and then and then give it to coach, Pat Riley, who's now the the CEO of the Miami Heat. And Pat Riley was so impressed by this kid's attitude and his work ethic. And, you know, he'd always be working extra hours, never asking for extra money or extra time, but he was just always just engulfed in his work and the quality of his work. And there was one day when Pat asked Eric if he would give the breakdown of their practice to the team. Now, of course, Eric was just this guy. That was just the video guy at the Miami Heat now you've got all these six foot eight superstars standing in front of you waiting for this, this kid in the back room to now give the their their practice breakdown. Anyway, Eric, Eric went ahead. Did a great job. Pat was super impressed. And, you know, cut the long story short, Eric was eventually promoted to to be head coach of the Miami Heat, which was a lot of people were very skeptical about it because of his background, but just a lesson in terms of, you know, discipline, hard work, consistency, all these things that we've just spoken about in this podcast. Uh, Paul, his enthusiasm, his passion, and he's gone on to be become one of the most successful NBA basketball coaches. So that's just an example, and that those are the stories I love to talk about in in my books. You know about having, I'm not saying zero talent, but really just maximizing everything you have to become the best that you can be, and that's what Eric has done, and he's still to this day, the head coach at at Miami Heat. That's
29:27
a great, great story in tenacity, and I look forward to reading a little bit more about him. I wasn't as aware of his story until I read it. About it in your book, but Alastair, it's a great book. Mindset is your superpower. I'll put the link in the show notes. It's, I thoroughly recommend it to everyone. It's quick, it's easy to read, and you'll walk away with a couple of great nuggets that you can you can bring into your life straight away. So Alistair, great to connect with you again. I wish you all the best on wherever your travels are taking you next. You.
Allistair McCaw 29:59
Thanks, Paul, it's always a pleasure. Keep up the great work you.