359: Sarah Robb O'Hagan: Step Up, Stand Out, and Kick Ass

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Executive, activist, and entrepreneur, Sarah Robb O’Hagan has been described by the media as everything from “Superwoman undercover” to the “Pied Piper of Potential.” She is a high-energy combination of disruptive business leader, fitness fanatic, and cheerleading mom, and has been named one of Forbes’ “Most Powerful Women in Sports” and one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business.”

As Chief Executive Officer of the fast growing indoor cycling company Flywheel Sports, she is currently leading the transformation of the business through digital content and services. Prior to this role, Sarah became an internationally recognized re-inventor of brands, having served as global president of the $5Bn sports brand Gatorade, where she successfully led the business through a major repositioning and business turnaround, and global president of the luxury fitness company Equinox, where she reinvented the offering through a significant technology transformation.

She recently released her new book, Extreme You: Step Up. Stand Out. Kick Ass. Repeat.

Favorite Success Quote

“Without risk does not come great reward.” Sarah’s Dad

Key Points

1. Learn to Focus on What You Are Doing Now

Tell me if this has ever happened to you before?

You are at work, hustling away on a project that is fun and exciting, but for some reason, you cannot stop thinking about what’s happening at home with your wife or girlfriend.

Or you are out on a date with your significant other and, instead of giving them your full attention, you are answering work emails when you are supposed to be connecting and sharing a special moment.

Why the hell is it that we are always thinking about, and focused on everything except for what we are doing right now?

Happiness and success are found when you are able to be completely present in whatever you are doing.

When you are 100% focused on your work, you will be able to solve problems, pivot, and accomplish your tasks with greater speed and efficiency.

Meaning that later in the day, you have the mental bandwidth to focus in on your family and friends 100%.

The more present and focused you can be in one area, the more focus and presence you will be able to bring to the other areas of your life.

2. The Foundation of Success is Self-Care

One of the most underrated and least talked about subjects in the world of entrepreneurship is self-care.

Everyone gets so focused in on the hustle, they get so focused in on grinding it out and being “obsessed” that they forget to take care of #1.

But let me ask you a question…

How much money are you going to make if you are constantly in and out of the hospital with stress-related illnesses?

How effective will you be if you are constantly drained, lethargic, and fatigued?

How successful do you think you will really be if you are not taking care of yourself?

You won’t!

Success without self-care is unsustainable and ultimately unfulfilling.

You must learn to take care of yourself, especially your mental and physical health first and focus on your business second.

Make time every single day to get some form of exercise.

Give yourself those extra 10-15 minutes to meditate and clear your headspace.

Give yourself permission to relax at the end of a long day with a hot bath and some calm music.

If you are not taking care of yourself and your body, you will eventually burn out and fail.

Period.

3. You Cannot Take Things too Seriously

Look…

Life is short.

So why the hell would you waste one second of your life in an unhappy or depressed state?

Have fun for God’s sake!

Learn to laugh at yourself, laugh at your work, laugh at your success, laugh at your failure, because, at the end of the day, we are all dead anyways, so we might as well enjoy the journey and have a few laughs along the way.

Life isn’t meant to be a constant stress-fest.

It’s meant to be enjoyed with people that you like, doing things that you love.

And guess what?

In every moment, you have the choice to enjoy your life, to have a great time, and to laugh through the hardships or to succumb to the pain and the suffering and allow outside circumstances to dictate your attitude.

You have a choice to enjoy life even when it’s hard.

You have a choice to let go of your ego, stop taking things so damn seriously, and enjoy the ride.

So will you?

4. Stop Going Half Way

Because of the pressure that many millennials feel from the older generations, a large majority of the young people in Western society are making the grave mistake of building “partial bridges” for the sake of their resume.

What do I mean?

Well, think about it.

Most 18-35-year-olds will change jobs every 2-4 years.

Instead of finding something that they are really passionate about, going all the way and becoming great, they go halfway.

They hop from position to position trying to build their resume and “experience” when all that they really accomplish is becoming ok at a bunch of unrelated crap.

If you really want to become great, then you need to go all the way.

Build your bridges fully.

Commit to one skill, one position, one person and don’t back out when things get tough.

Stick it out and become an expert at your craft.

Because when you do, the rewards will be great.

5. Passion is Made Not Found

One of the most “bass akwards” beliefs in the 21st century is that you need to find your passion.

In reality, you must make your passions.

Passions aren’t something that you find like a dollar bill on the street.

They are the result of commitment, persistence, and breakthroughs.

How many of you reading this are passionate about music?

Now…

How many of you picked up a guitar for the first time, tried to strum a C chord, sounded terrible and thought to yourself “Yes! I am passionate about this!”?

Not many.

Chances are, you picked up the guitar and you sucked for a long time.

But you stuck with it.

Maybe you wanted to impress that girl or show off that Pearl Jam song to your friends.

But for whatever reason, you stuck with it, and eventually, it became an addiction.

You loved the way that learning new songs and techniques made you feel, you loved the reaction on people’s faces when you started playing their favorite songs, and you loved the feeling of getting into flow while soloing.

And now… It’s a passion.

And that’s how most passions are born.

You don’t know what your passions are until you stick with something long enough to enjoy and understand it.

So realize that you make your passions.

And the better you become at a skill the more passionate you will be about it.