Imagine training every day for a decade… and still losing. Then figuring out one question that changes everything.
Olympic gold medallist Ben Hunt-Davis didn’t win because he trained harder, he’d been doing that for years and kept losing. He won because he and his crew started asking one question before every decision: Will it make the boat go faster?
In this conversation, Ben shares the messy reality of chasing big dreams. We talk about missing teams by one place, eating 7,000 calories a day, and why sacrifice isn’t always sacrifice if you’re doing what you love.
Then we jump into how that gold medal shaped his career as a performance coach, why bounce-back ability matters more than talent, and how to apply “filters” to shut out distractions in business and life.
3 Actionable Takeaways:
Ask better questions to unlock better results - ruthlessly align your decisions with your real goal
Build resilience by treating failures as fuel - treat setbacks as data, not drama
Identify and repeat your successes consciously - Start every review by shining a light on what worked.
Listen in and steal the mental frameworks that took Ben from last place… to Olympic champion.
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Chapters
00:00 Sir Ben Hunt-Davis
02:20 How did he get to the Olympics?
04:18 Work and being an olympian
06:33 Training regime
10:17 Making sacrifices?
11:50 Working with your peak
13:45 10,000 hour rule
15:43 Losing before becoming the best
16:09 Continuous growth = common sense
17:37 Will it make the boat go faster?
18:09 Have you ever applied your philosophy to your relationships
19:34 Did Ben feel that they deserved to win?
21:53 What if Ben and his team did not win
24:01 What was next for Ben after rowing
27:57 Biggest lessons as a coach?
29:25 Future of coaching
32:14 Bullshit filters
34:29 Biggest mistakes
38:00 Take Homes
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