Champion Conversations Podcast

Jesse K. Wright, founder of the Balance The Bar initiative, is a high performance consultant, Amazon bestselling author of The Intent is to Grow, coach, and public speaker. His career has spanned over two decades in the team sport culture, including working with organizations in the NBA, NFL, NCAA, and in private sports training. His passion lies in helping young professionals grow and advance in their careers and lives. Jesse most recently spent 14 years with the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA, first as the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach and then as the Director of Performance Science. During his time in professional basketball, he was named the NBA’s Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year in 2013, an award voted on by his contemporaries in the league. He also served as President of the National Basketball Strength & Conditioning Association from 2013-2015. In addition, he served as chair of the committee that oversees and coordinates the anthropometric and performance testing for the NBA Pre-Draft Combine for 6 years. In this episode, Jesse shares: · Why continual learning is essential to growing as a leader · How seeking out mentors will help you thrive in new challenges · What he learned about leadership from NBA players like Aaron McKie and Andre Iguodala · Why asking “How can I help you?” creates empathy and compassion within a team · How being fully present helps people feel valued Learn more about Jesse at https://www.balancethebar.com, check out his book The Intent is to Grow, and follow him on Instagram @jessekwright.

With over 30 years of coaching experience, Sean Waxman is one of the most highly regarded weightlifting coaches around. Since opening Waxman’s Gym in 2010, Sean has developed two World Championship team members, a Pan Am Championship silver medalist, three national champions, six national medalists, more than two dozen national-level weightlifters, and he has coached top CrossFit Regionals and Games athletes. When not developing competitive weightlifters and CrossFit athletes, Sean works with athletes of all skill levels from a wide range of sports to help them develop strength and power. Sean also has a great passion for helping other coaches learn to teach/coach weightlifting. His training methodologies and ability to make complex movement skills seem simple make him one of the most sought after coaches and lecturers in the country. In this episode, Sean shares: · What sports psychologist Ken Ravizza showed him about how to handle mistakes · Why establishing a daily habit of success sets you up to perform like a champion · Which self-talk techniques his friend Dr. Michael Gervais shared with him · How learning at the feet of legendary coach Bob Takano taught him the art of the coaching craft · Why looking at life with a childlike mind creates a lifelong love of learning · What real toughness means in the gym and in life Learn more about Sean at https://waxmansgym.com and follow him on Instagram.