Nastia Liukin: Finish What You Start | Insights from a 5x Olympic Medalist

Nastia Liukin (0:01)

The defining moment of my career was not when I won the Olympics. We will never be defined by a gold medal.

Michael Gervais (0:07)

There's so much strength in what you just said.

Nastia Liukin (0:10)

I like to live my life without fear. The one fear that I have is the fear of what if.

Michael Gervais (0:17)

You haven't talked about this before, have you?

Nastia Liukin (0:19)

No, everybody's gonna fall on their face. It's about how do you pick yourself up and how do you keep going?

Michael Gervais (0:23)

Your best or the best? What was your primary focus?

Nastia Liukin (0:26)

If I was my best, I was the best in the world.

Michael Gervais (0:38)

Welcome back or welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast. I am your host, Dr. Michael Gervais, by trade and training a high-performance psychologist. Take a moment to consider, what are the moments that have influenced your life?

What parts of you did you bring forward? What parts of you did you hold back? How did these experiences shape the contours of your life?

These questions lie at the heart of our conversation today with Nastia Liukin, a gold medal gymnast whose name is etched in the history for winning the all-around title at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Beyond her monumental achievements, including tying the record for the most gymnastics medals won by an American in a single Olympic Games, Nastia's journey is one of relentless pursuit, resilience, and the courage to redefine success. In this episode, Nastia reveals the significant moments of her career, from a pivotal conversation with Kobe Bryant that reshaped her self-perception to the standing ovation that followed what she considers to be her worst performance ever. Imagine that. Nastia's lived experience shows us all how to find meaning and success beyond external achievements. And she continues to walk her talk. In this conversation, we dive deep into the dynamics of perfection and control, vulnerability, and the power of being present. Nastia's insights offer a practical guide for embracing the profound impact we have when we can be at home with ourselves, wherever we are. I'm excited for you to discover new ways to define your own success, to respond with courage and meet the moment. So with that, let's jump right into this week's conversation with the incredible Nastia Liukin. I'm so excited to have this conversation with you.

Nastia Liukin (2:41)

Thank you so much for having me.

Michael Gervais (2:42)

Thank you for coming to the Mastery Lab and doing this in person. And one, flat out, congratulations on a massive body of work that represents a full commitment to mastery.

And so you have a lot to teach.

Nastia Liukin (2:58)

Thank you.

Michael Gervais (2:59)

Yeah. OK, cool. Let's start with one legend with another legend, a conversation that you had with Kobe.

Can you take us into that moment?

Nastia Liukin (3:09)

You know, there's moments in life that just kind of feel like there's two types, that it feels like it was just yesterday or just an hour ago, and you remember every single moment. And then there's others that you kind of remember the experience and you don't remember details. But that one specifically with Kobe, it was just like, I remember the exact room. I remember everything about it because it's kind of how it always was with Kobe. Like, any time he said something, whether it was like serious or funny or just being himself, like he had a presence and like just an energy about him that made you want to listen. Whether it was just him talking about his girls, whether it was giving advice, like truly, no matter what it was, like you just would pause and actually listen and not just try to like be in a conversation, but you tried to listen to him.

And that one specifically, like I remember it so clearly because he was nominated for the Oscar and he looked at me and he was like, you need to stop putting yourself in a box. And I was like, what do you mean? Like kind of out of nowhere, you know, we were just like kind of talking about, oh, how's it going, blah, blah, blah, whatever. And he goes, let me guess, you walk into a room and I'm like, mm-hmm, and he's like, and you yourself see yourself as the gymnast in the pink leotard, don't you? And I was like, mm-hmm, I was like, how does he know this? And he was like, you need to stop doing that because you are way more than just the gymnast in the pink leotard. That is something that you did. Sure, you wore that pink leotard, but that's not who you are.