ICYMI: The Evolution of Mastery, with Abby Wambach

Abby Wambach (0:00)

I think that understanding yourself is the biggest game that we're all actually playing. Some people focus on it more than others, which is fine. Everybody gets to choose. That's the beauty of being a human being.

I find that the more time I focus on myself and my internal self, the better outside external self I live.

Michael Gervais (0:31)

Okay, welcome back or welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Michael Gervais, by trade and training a high performance psychologist. And today we are going to be doing something a little different. We are re-releasing a fresh version of our 2019 conversation with the US World Cup and Olympic soccer legend, Abby Wambach. So why are we re-releasing an episode and why this conversation in particular? Because transitions are an increasingly prominent part of modern life. As the pace of change accelerates, so does our need to be able to eloquently adapt and adjust.

And Abby has demonstrated mastery here. She is an emblem for doing the inner work. She moved from the sport world to the business world with grace while living aligned to her values throughout. So I'm really excited to bring back Abby to the forefront of our community. If you heard this conversation when it first came out a few years ago, it's definitely worth revisiting. If you haven't, you're in for a real treat.

We'd also love to hear your feedback on this episode re-release. Hit us on social or send a note to info at findingmastery.net. If it resonates, we'd be stoked to bring back some more gems from the Finding Mastery Archive. So with that, let's revisit this conversation with the legend, Abby Wambach.

Abby, how are you?

Abby Wambach (1:58)

I'm so good. How are you, man?

Michael Gervais (2:00)

Great. So thank you for this conversation.

Abby Wambach (2:05)

Same to you. You know, I think that especially with people who, you know, we don't do the same thing, but I think we admire very similar parts of the things that we do. And so much of it, there's so much overlap. And I love the fact that you come at it from a totally different perspective.

And there's so much to learn. There's so much to gain from conversations like this. So thanks for having me.

Michael Gervais (2:29)

Great. I'm stoked on it. And your body of work speaks for itself. Like you have changed the game. You've influenced generation of people.

You have demonstrated courage through vulnerability. And so not only are you extraordinary on the field, but your life speaks to that same extraordinary ways off the field. So like before we get going, legitimate congratulations on a life well lived. And you're only halfway through or one quarter of the way through.

So yeah, before we go backwards, what is next for you?

Abby Wambach (3:06)

I think that that's been the question I have been asking myself since I left the game. That's the hardest question to answer for athletes who've dedicated their whole lives to this thing, this one pursuit.

I started a leadership company that I'm really proud of, really excited about signing clients right now in the corporate world to help women achieve high levels of success in the corporate world. My belief system is so bizarre because I'm very fascinated with corporate culture and how that needs to change in a lot of ways for us to really achieve any kind of level of equality that we really dream of.

People don't think about it, but the amount of products that get put out into the world, the amount of ideas that you even have about the world are created through the corporations that you support, that you buy, that you participate in. If not enough women or marginalized folks are sitting on those boards, sitting in levels of leadership to make decisions about what kind of products and what kind of things you're putting out into the world, then there's going to be a skewed vision and a skewed product and a skewed culture that's going to enable this inequality that we see. So that's kind of the way in which I figured out how I want to try to change the world in the best way that I possibly can in my own small way. So that's kind of long term, like big dream that I have. In the short term, I have a family. I have three kids. I'm almost two years married now. So I've just been kind of settling in the family life. I just put out a book called Wolf Pack, which has been really great and fun. And just trying to explore the things that I never had the chance at doing because I was so singularly focused on playing soccer for so many years. And there's a terrifying realization when you retire about that, like, what am I going to do now? But I think I'm past the terror of it. And I think I'm into this kind of child's mind of exploring the world and trying to figure out what it is that moves me and things that challenge me, things that will make me the best person I possibly can become.