Apolo Ohno has won 8 Olympic medals & 21 World Championship medals, which makes him the most decorated US Winter Olympian in history!

He was the state champion swimmer at age 13 & national speed skating champion at age 14, but it was short track speed skating that really caught his eye.

Because to him, they were like Superman!

After 6 months of training, Apolo won the 1997 US Championships. He was a shoo-in for the 1998 Winter Olympics but then...

Apolo grew complacent.

He self-sabotaged & threw away his training, finishing last in the Olympics trials.

His father was so upset, he sent Apolo to an isolated cabin at Copalis Beach and said: "You'll stay here for as long as it takes for you to figure out what you want to do with your life!"

That was traumatic.

Apolo decided he would give this sport a real shot & that's when everything changed.

But there was a price to pay for such "psychotic obsession".

He was ruthless to everyone, including himself.

In this STIMY Episode, we talked about how he finds FLOW, sports psychology, self-sabotage, the importance of recovery, and being obsessive without being "mindlessly handcuffed to it".

So if you want to live your life to the fullest the way an Olympic champion does, then this is the episode for you!

Highlights:
0:00 Dad as Apolo's bestfriend
4:05 Inherited survival instinct
9:28 Discovering the Superman sport
12:00 Not physically suited to short speed ice skating
13:51 The trauma of quitting
19:03 Giving an obscure sport a shot
21:41 Self-sabotage
26:20 How to stay self-motivated
27:59 Being mindlessly obsessive
36:34 Flow state
39:53 Power of introspection [Andrew Huberman]
42:27 Salt Lake City Olympics
46:23 Redemption at the Turin Olympics?
47:48 Saying no to Hollywood
49:32 Prepping for his last Olympics
53:13 Psychotic obsession - does Apolo miss it?
54:33 Michael Phelp's advice on coming out of retirement
55:54 The Great Divorce
59:39 Advice on exploring options
1:02:09 Life Board of Directors
1:03:21 Life advice
1:05:32 Who are you who are you who are you?
1:08:45 What's next?


🎙️Show notes/transcript for this episode: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/120

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WHO AM I:
I'm Ling Yah, a Malaysian lawyer & host/producer of the So This Is My Why, where I interview inspiring people about how they found their why, and their blueprint for turning that why into a reality. I’ve interviewed a former US Congressman, Olympians, Michelin-starred chefs, top entrepreneurs, VC founders, Hollywood actresses, and more.

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⌨️ I’d love to hear from you! Just leave a comment below or email me at sothisismywhy(at)gmail.com