Creating Opportunities, Resiliency, and Confidence | WNBA MVP, Nneka Ogwumike

Nneka Ogwumike (0:00)

One of the mental skills that I practice every day is certainly quieting my mind. I don't know if anyone has ever truly mastered it because we're all human beings, but practice makes practice.

I think that every opportunity that I have to quiet my mind is a learning opportunity, and it's not the last one, and it's not the worst one, it's not the best one. It's always something that I know it's gonna have to be worked on, and it's something that I have to hone constantly. Thank you.

Michael Gervais (0:44)

Okay, welcome back, or welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast. I'm Michael Gervais, and by trade and training, I am a sport and performance psychologist. And the whole idea behind these conversations is to learn from people who have committed their life efforts towards mastery, to better understand what they're searching for, to understand how they use their mind, how they've built their psychological framework, to make sense of themselves and the world around them. We also wanna dig and understand how did they build the mental skills that carry them, that support them, that allow them to deal with the difficult, high stress, high pressured environments that they tend to run toward.

I wanna take a minute here to announce a really exciting event that we have coming up. As you continue to navigate the challenges and opportunities of 2024, I wanna pose a question. What are you doing right now to be great with stress? How are you working with stress on your pursuit towards your most important ambitions and goals? And I just wanna get right to the heart of the key elements, one in particular, for what it takes to excel in today's high heat, high stakes world. Because stress is not the problem that we think it is. Stress is a synonym for change. And our ability to be agile with change, that is the real opportunity at hand. So if you're wanting to unlock extraordinary results and sustainable performance in your life, it's not about avoiding or reducing stress. And as simple as that sounds, it's very tricky to do, but it is about fundamentally changing your relationship with it. And that's why I'm so thrilled to invite you to a special event. It's a free virtual event that we're offering and it's called The Power of Embracing Stress. It's on Wednesday, March 6th at 2 p.m. Pacific. So to sign up, just head over to findingmastery.com/training. Whether it's advancing in your career or improving your health or cultivating stronger relationships, I think a new approach to stress can be one of the most powerful unlocks for you in your life. So join us for this free virtual training, The Power of Embracing Stress, on Wednesday, March 6th at 2 p.m. Pacific. Go to findingmastery.com/training to sign up once again, that's findingmastery.com/training. And I'm really excited to see you there.

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Now, this week's conversation is with Nneka Ogwumike.

In 2016, she was the WNBA MVP, she was the WNBA champion, and the first overall number one pick of the Los Angeles Sparks back in 2012 How about it?

So as a professional athlete, those are important milestones. To win a championship, to be the MVP, and certainly to be first out of a selection is really pretty special. So Nneka though, underneath the surface, she's on a mission.

It's really clear in this conversation, and it is about helping others. You'll see how many times she points to others in a way that has just grace and eloquence, but it comes from a place of strength and authenticity. And she's really on a mission to help people with this open heart and this vibrant enthusiasm, but there's a grounded integrity and not only a tolerance for risk, but like this inviting nature to express courage with compassion. I mean, she's got it now. And so she's currently serving as the president of the WNBA Players Association. That's a tough job to do. You're representing the players and the players interests and trying to sort out how to have that right, healthy tension with ownership. And so it is a tough job. I've seen some athletes take it in the NFL. It's a really tough job. And so there's a diplomacy that is required. There's an intelligence that's required. And so that too comes through in this conversation. And she is also a six time WNBA All-Star, three time All-WNBA selection and a three time all defensive WNBA selection. And also was the 2012 Rookie of the Year.