#90 Apolo Ohno: Process Versus Prize
Apolo Ohno, 8x Olympic medalist and New York Times best-selling author, discusses his journey from self-sabotage to success. He shares insights on mental training, work ethic, environmental influence, and finding fulfillment beyond external validation.
Deep Dive Analysis
19 Topic Outline
Apolo Ohno's Father's Influence and Work Ethic
Nature vs. Nurture of Work Ethic
Understanding Short Track Speed Skating
Apolo's Entry into Speed Skating
Early Success and Self-Sabotage Patterns
The Appeal of Near-Failure and Comebacks
Father's Intervention and Life-Altering Decision
Recommitment and Solitary Training After Failure
The Impact of Environment on Personal Growth
Obsession vs. Balanced Life for Extreme Success
Discovering Sports Psychology and Mental Training
The Power of Self-Talk and Recalibration
Mental vs. Physical Edge in Elite Sports
Apolo's Philosophy on Pain and Pushing Limits
Shifting Focus: Winning vs. Personal Growth
Internal Battles and Intrinsic Motivation
The Experience of Winning Olympic Gold
Transitioning Identity from Athlete to Entrepreneur
Apolo Ohno's Definition of a Fulfilled Life
5 Key Concepts
Self-Sabotage (Apolo Ohno's context)
A pattern where an athlete, despite having natural talent and early success, subconsciously creates obstacles or underperforms. This is often driven by a desire to thrive from rock bottom or to make victories feel more spectacular against stacked odds.
Flow State (Apolo Ohno's context)
An exhilarating, hyper-focused mental state achieved during competition, often triggered by high-stakes situations where an athlete feels all odds are against them. This state allows for peak performance and deep concentration.
Recalibration (Mental)
The process of quickly resetting one's focus and emotional state after making a mistake or experiencing a setback. It involves treating each new moment or race as a fresh opportunity, rather than dwelling on past errors.
Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic motivation comes from internal satisfaction and the process itself, while extrinsic motivation is driven by external rewards or validation, such as winning medals or societal recognition. Apolo found greater fulfillment by shifting towards intrinsic motivation.
Obsession (for extreme success)
A deep, singular focus on a goal, often at the expense of a balanced life. Apolo believes this is a common trait among those who achieve extreme success, driven by factors like narcissism, insecurity, fear of failure, or past trauma.
11 Questions Answered
Apolo's father, an immigrant from Japan with limited financial resources, instilled a strong work ethic and belief in unlimited potential, emphasizing persistence and learning from mistakes.
It's likely a combination of both; some innate hardwiring may exist, but work ethic can also be trained and developed through consistent effort and mindset.
It's ice speed skating on an Olympic-sized hockey rink, involving multiple competitors racing around blocks in an oval pattern, with significant strategy, passing, jostling, and speeds of 35-40 miles per hour on one leg.
Apolo Ohno describes a subconscious pattern where he would strategically place himself at the back of the pack until the last moment, seeking the exhilarating flow state and feeling of achieving the impossible against stacked odds.
Apolo believes the environment is a great indicator of outcome; cutting off unproductive friends allowed him to become obsessively dedicated to his sport and grow as a true student of it.
Apolo believes it's generally not possible, as extreme success often requires an obsessive focus driven by deep psychological traits like insecurity, fear of failure, or trauma.
Short track speed skating provides instantaneous feedback, allowing athletes to recognize when they are 'punching themselves out' by trying too hard. The key is to step back, recalibrate focus, and treat each new race or point as a fresh opportunity, disregarding past errors unless they offer insight.
While physical fitness is a prerequisite, the last one percent often comes down to mental fortitude, belief, confidence, and the ability to perform under immense pressure when the physical differences between competitors are minimal.
Pain can be an opportunity to recognize and push beyond previously perceived limits, providing gratification in understanding one's boundaries and then slowly expanding them.
Apolo learned to focus on the process and journey rather than just the prize, aiming to exhaust all options and have zero regrets, which became his personal victory regardless of the outcome.
For Apolo, it means engaging in work that impacts other humans, helping them unlock their inner potential, and contributing positively to family, friends, and society by sharing learned insights.
30 Actionable Insights
1. Take Control of Your Life’s Steering Wheel
Take back control of your life’s direction, owning your choices and perceptions, rather than passively letting life happen to you, as this active stance allows you to shape your personal experience.
2. Focus on What You Control
Improve your outcomes by believing you control them and focusing your energy on the aspects of your life and goals that are within your direct influence.
3. Relentlessly Unlock Dormant Potential
Recognize that the dormant power within you is yours to unlock; this requires relentlessly finding what works for you through your own experiences and applying it consistently, rather than seeking a single ‘golden ticket’ solution.
4. Recognize & Confront Internal Battles
Understand that your primary battles are internal; to achieve true change and fulfillment, take a radically transparent look at yourself, removing your ‘armor’ to examine your weaknesses and strengths as if competing against yourself.
5. Cultivate Unshakeable Belief
Cultivate an unshakeable belief in your unlimited potential, your ability to withstand pain, and your desire to win, as this deep conviction can yield powerful returns over time.
6. Focus on Process, Not Prize
Shift your focus from the prize or outcome to the process itself to find happiness and fulfillment, especially in volatile environments where winning isn’t guaranteed, thereby avoiding bitterness from unmet expectations.
7. Prioritize Fulfillment Over Success
In new endeavors, recalibrate your focus to concentrate on outcomes that yield the greatest fulfillment and happiness, rather than solely external measures of success.
8. Give Your All to Avoid Regret
Commit every ounce of your being to a pursuit, controlling all controllables, so that even if you lose, you will not be haunted by regrets, having done everything within your power.
9. Focus on Carrying the Struggle Further
Adopt the mindset that winning or losing is not your primary concern; instead, focus on your ability to carry the struggle further, as this dedication to persistence is what truly matters.
10. Continuously Get Back Up & Learn
Continuously get back up and keep attacking after setbacks, learning from mistakes, as this was a constant theme communicated by Apollo’s father.
11. Embrace Obsession for Extreme Success
Recognize that extreme success often requires obsession rather than a balanced life; while balance can yield happiness, sheer performance in sport or other tasks often stems from deep, singular focus.
12. Optimize Your Social Environment
Evaluate your social circle and consider limiting contact with friends who do not support or align with your ambitious goals, as your environment is a strong indicator of your potential outcome.
13. Become a Deep, Obsessive Student
To achieve extreme growth, become a deep, obsessive student of your chosen field, studying related subjects like biochemistry, nutrition, and psychology, and focus intensely on what you are doing in the moment.
14. Integrate Mental Training Practices
Actively integrate mental training practices such as meditation, visualization, and self-talk into your routine, as these can fundamentally change your career and life trajectory.
15. Practice Mental Reset & Recalibration
Recognize patterns of downward spirals after mistakes and actively practice resetting and recalibrating your focus to treat each new moment as a fresh opportunity, rather than dwelling on past errors.
16. Utilize Positive Self-Talk
Consciously use specific words, language, or statements in your self-talk that elicit a positive response or increase beneficial biochemical responses, as the mind is a powerful tool for performance.
17. Identify Propelling Self-Talk
Reflect on past peak performances to identify what specific self-talk or internal cues helped you achieve them, then consciously use those same patterns to propel yourself towards duplicating desired actions.
18. Know Your Potential
Shift from merely thinking you are capable to knowing your inherent potential, using it as a powerful reminder to tap into your inner capabilities.
19. “Jump Onto The Balcony” to Recalibrate
When in a downward spiral, metaphorically ‘jump onto the balcony’ to gain a quick, transparent view of your current situation, assess the importance of ongoing battles, identify your ultimate goal, then recalibrate focus and re-engage.
20. Disregard Past Irrelevant Information
After a mistake or setback, recalibrate by treating the current moment as a new opportunity, disregarding past events unless they offer a specific insight, learning lesson, or actionable information for moving forward.
21. Achieve Peak Performance Through Calm
Identify your optimal emotional state for peak performance, which for some, like Apollo, is being most relaxed and calm with a low heart rate, allowing for the removal of emotion from the task at hand.
22. Derive Confidence from Preparation
Build immense confidence and satisfaction by focusing on thorough training and preparation, as this process provides a reliable source of self-assurance, especially when outcomes are not guaranteed.
23. Transform Loss into Intense Training
When experiencing a deeply scarring loss, channel that psychological damage and personal feeling into training with such intensity that you push beyond previous limits.
24. Embrace Physical Pain as a Limit-Pusher
Become accustomed to physical pain, viewing it as a signal to dig deeper and push past perceived limits, finding gratification in reaching and extending your physical boundaries.
25. Incrementally Push Your Limits
Find gratification in identifying your physical and mental limits, then consistently and incrementally push those boundaries a little further each time you encounter them.
26. Master “Table Stakes” & Respond to Pressure
Recognize that being in peak physical or intellectual shape is merely the ’table stakes’ at elite levels; true differentiation comes from how you respond to immense pressure and rise to clutch challenges.
27. Design & Commit to Self-Training
Create a personalized, rigorous training program focused on specific skills, commit to it consistently, and minimize distractions from non-supportive social circles.
28. Train Your Work Ethic
Believe that work ethic can be trained, even if not naturally innate, as a combination of innate ability and training yields the greatest output.
29. Leverage Life Skills in New Paths
When transitioning from a primary passion, recognize that it’s natural if a direct replacement isn’t immediately found; instead, focus on leveraging the life skills and attributes gained from past experiences as powerful levers for new endeavors.
30. Maintain Front Position in Races
In multi-lap races, strive to be in first or second place with several laps remaining, as this significantly increases the likelihood of winning.
5 Key Quotes
You are unlimited in your potential. Nothing can ever stop you from achieving anything regardless of whether you win, lose, or fall short. Your job is to continuously get back up and keep attacking and learn from those mistakes.
Apolo Ohno's Father
I would have rather cut my own hand off than it would would be to lose. Like I was willing to go when I lost races, it was so deeply scarring and psychologically damaging to me that I took it so personally that the next time we trained, I did it with so so much intensity that I was willing to go beyond the point of coming back.
Apolo Ohno
Don't think you are, know you are.
Apolo Ohno
Do not ask whether you will win or lose... what you should focus on is your struggle to carry it further. Carry it further. That is what concerns you. Whether you win or lose is not of your concern. It's your ability to carry the struggle further is what you should be concerned with.
Nikos Kazantzakis (quoted by Apolo Ohno)
I can't control whether I win in Vancouver, my final Olympic Games, but what I can do is I can control this process and experience to by the time that I arrive, I'm able to exhaust any and all options at the present time to say that I could have done more. And that was my personal win.
Apolo Ohno
1 Protocols
Apolo Ohno's Self-Recommitment Protocol (after 1998 Olympic Trials failure)
Apolo Ohno- Engage in solitary reflection: Be dropped off alone at a remote cabin with food and clothes, but no distractions (cell phone, video games).
- Conduct introspective questioning: Engage in deep internal dialogue about personal motivations, asking: 'Why are you here? What do you want to do? Is that even important to you? Are you making this decision because of your dad or yourself?'
- Make a firm decision and communicate it: Decide on the chosen path (e.g., Olympic pursuit) and explain it to a trusted figure.
- Implement environmental change: Cut off contact with old friends and social circles that were not conducive to the new goals.
- Design and follow a rigorous training program: Create and follow a self-directed training regimen (e.g., biking while watching skating tapes, inline skating, running on a high school track alone).
- Become a deep student of the sport: Study related fields like biochemistry, nutrition, sports psychology, and eastern philosophy.
- Maintain relentless focus: Care about nothing else except the immediate goal, maintaining intense focus and consistency.