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Eileenn Gu - You Control Your Mind · Stronger With Sophie

• 0:05
  Speaker A: Did you know that you can control the way you think? Check out this interview with Eileen Gu.
• 0:10
  Speaker B: This isn't supposed to be a rude question, but do you think before you speak? Because you answer questions so quickly and so comprehensively, whether it's about geopolitics or your sport or aerodynamics, like, can you take us into your brain?
• 0:31
  Speaker C: Thank you, Charlotte. That's very kind. Oh, man, do I think. I think, overall, I'm just a pensive person. Like, I'm a very introspective. I'm an introspective young woman. Like, I spend a lot of time in my head, and it's not a bad place to be. I journal a lot. I break down all of my thought processes. I think I apply a very analytical lens to my own thinking, and I kind of modify it because it's so interesting. You can control what you think. Like, you can control how you think, and therefore, you can control who you are. And especially as a young person, like, I'm 22, so with neuroplasticity on my side, I can literally become exactly who I want to be. How cool is that? Like, how empowering is that? Right? And so the fact is, I get to become every day the kind of person that me at age 8, would revere. Like, I would be obsessed with me today. Are you kidding? I would love me. And I think that's the biggest flex of all time that you can have. Like, little younger, you. Be proud of you today. And so I guess for me, it's like, yes, I spend a lot of time in my own head. Yes, I think a lot, but it's not really, like, in an egotistical kind of way. It's in, like, a tinkering, like a scientist kind of way. I'm always, like, trying to modify. I'm trying to think, how can I be better? How can I approach my own brain the way that I approach my craft of free skiing so that I can be better tomorrow than I was today?
• 1:50
  Speaker A: Isn't she awesome?
• 1:51
  Speaker D: Oh, my God.
• 1:52
  Speaker A: I know. She's so inspirational.
• 1:54
  Speaker D: Well, here's what I want to know. Soph, what were your big takeaways from Eileen Gu's
• 1:58
  Speaker A: interview? Well, I feel like. I mean, she just applies, like, a super interesting and unique lens to the way that she thinks. And I think that's. That's super impressive because she talks about how she thinks more like a scientist and how she applies a super analytical lens to the way she thinks, and she talks about how she has neuroplasticity on her side and so therefore, she can control who she is. And I think that's kind of something that we almost bypass or look past whenever we're thinking about who we are or who we want to be. We don't realize that we can actually control that.
• 2:35
  Speaker D: This is exactly what I want you to take away from this. And that is that character determines destiny. And so the biggest decision that you're going to make in your life is who am I, who do I want to be? And you know what I loved about her? What she had to say was how she loved the idea that her 8 year old self would look up to her and say, I love that person.
• 3:07
  Speaker A: Yeah, no, definitely. And I think what makes it even more impressive is she won an Olympic gold medal at the age of 18. Right. And you know, after that, like after winning the Olympics once, it becomes, her words, exponentially harder to win it again. And I think this is like kind of where her like, mindset sort of came in. Because after winning once, you know, the pressure to win it again, people think you're going to win it again if you already won it once and therefore, like, you know,
• 3:41
  Speaker D: a lot of pressure there.
• 3:43
  Speaker A: So I think another thing that makes this super interesting is the fact that she's already won the Olympics once. And you know, at the age of 18, if you've already won, there's no real like, place to go, but just stay where you are. Right. And I think that adds a lot of pressure, you know, from a public perspective, because if you've already won the Olympics, it's, you know, expected for you, not expected, but it's still, the standards rise. You know, if you've won it once, you should surely do it again. Right. But she talks about this in another interview where it becomes exponentially harder every single time you win the Olympics. Which I think I can't stop thinking about that because it's so true. It's, you know, winning the Olympics twice is just as hard as winning it once.
• 4:29
  Speaker D: Absolutely. But
• 4:30
  Speaker A: doing it again, you know, it's even harder than that because who, I mean, who in your life can say that they've won the Olympics twice?
• 4:39
  Speaker D: Who
• 4:39
  Speaker A: can even say they've won it once
• 4:42
  Speaker D: in the history of the world?
• 4:43
  Speaker A: Right. And I think the fact that she's able to apply this kind of scope or this way of thinking to her life, you know, the fact that she can control the way she thinks and she can keep this positive mindset and, you know, keep considering herself, you know, successful. I mean, she's defined, she's defined her own version of success. Her 8 year old self would look at her today and you know, be like, wow, this is an amazing person I've become. And so the fact that she's able to think that way, I think that's, that's valuable lesson for us to learn.
• 5:17
  Speaker D: So think about this. When you are an Olympic competitor and you are skiing, which is one of the most dangerous ones, sports that people do, controlling your thoughts is everything. If your thoughts stray off one way or the other, that could be the difference between life and death. It could be a catastrophic injury. So for her, controlling her thoughts is not even optional, right? But the fact that she's reached such a high level, it's a big lesson for all of us as we go through our day and we're not having to deal with this dangers of Olympic skiing. It's the same principle in the sense that if we want to be successful, we can. First of all, we need to acknowledge that we can control our thoughts and then actually practice day in and day out, controlling our thoughts and being the person that we most want to be.
• 6:23
  Speaker A: Right. And this actually reminds me of, you know, when I was younger and I was in gymnastics. I remember I hated the beam, I despised the beam, which is like an event if you're not familiar with the sport, it's an event in gymnastics and it's basically this pole, it's super hard to balance and you know, you have to learn a whole new technique in tumbling. You have to learn to, you know, replace your hands on, I guess differently than how you do things on the floor and so that you can, you know, balance on the beam. And I remember I would always tell myself not to fall. And you asked me, you asked me what I would like tell myself when I was performing on the beam and I would just be like, don't fall, you know, remind yourself, hey, don't fall off this beam. And you told me to completely scratch that. Yes,
• 7:13
  Speaker D: scratch that,
• 7:14
  Speaker A: scratch that. And instead say, stay up.
• 7:17
  Speaker D: Yeah, that's right. Because. Because if you think in the negative, if you think in the negative, you're actually attracting that into your life. Right. If you, if you're constant, whatever you. All right. This is a, this is one of the keys to life. This is fascinating. Is that what, wherever your attention goes, that's where energy flows. And so if your attention is on the negative, am I scared of. I'm afraid that I'm going to crash my car. I'm afraid that something bad is going to happen. The chance energy is going in that direction. And it actually increases the chances of the bad thing happening.
• 7:54
  Speaker A: It does. And I've. I've actually, like, seen articles online where they talk about how the, like, if the more scared you are of something happening increases its probability and its chances of happening. Which is. Which is kind of crazy to think about because, you know, you think, how. How can that possibly happen? It was just a thought in my head. But, you know, you're channeling these. You know, you're putting it into the universe. You don't realize that you're doing it, which is. Which is kind of insane. But I also want to add, I think since then, and since you taught me that lesson in gymnastics, I've applied that to. Through cheer, through my academics, through all these different things that I do in life. And I don't even realize, like, I subconsciously do it where I love it. I don't say, I don't tell myself, don't fail this science exam. I just say, okay, you got this. You can get an A on the science exam. And I think that's really significantly improved my likeliness of getting that A or not failing the science exam. Because I'm thinking in a way more positive way,
• 8:57
  Speaker D: 100%. I remember when I was preparing for the bar exam, and your mom would literally. It was almost like she'd slide food under the door. That didn't actually happen, but she was basically, I would lock myself into a room and day and night and study for that thing. And my mentality was, not, I'm not going to fail. My mentality was, I am going to crush this exam. I am crushing this exam. And guess what? I crushed, rushed the bar exam. I got in the top 10% on all three sections of the bar exam. Going against people that went to Yale and Harvard and all the other Ivy League schools. I was still at the top of the top. So it's pretty exciting.
• 9:43
  Speaker A: Yeah, that's super impressive. And I think that really ties well into what Eileen's doing because she talks about how she journals a lot, right? And so she talks about how she's always in her own head. And like you said earlier, it's not optional for her as a free skier, as an Olympic free skier. And I think it's really cool that she's able to shape that mindset, because look at who she is now. Look at what she has become. She is a golden master. She's
• 10:12
  Speaker D: at the top of the top. She is the creme de la creme, the top of the top. And you brought up something very interesting and that is journaling. Because journaling can actually help you in developing the way you think. One of the things that makes her so successful is that she actually thinks about the way she thinks.
• 10:36
  Speaker A: Right,
• 10:37
  Speaker D: right. And so that's taking it to a different level. Right. If you're going to manifest, if you're going to succeed and you start thinking about the way you think, then you're at, you're all of a sudden now you're at a different level. You're analyzing things from a level that most people will never ever get to.
• 10:54
  Speaker A: Yeah, definitely. And so, dad, I feel like, you know, since you were younger, you participated in these sports. You participated in
• 11:03
  Speaker D: taekwondo, right? Yes, I was, I was second in the state black belt.
• 11:07
  Speaker A: Right. That's what, so
• 11:08
  Speaker D: that's what I
• 11:08
  Speaker A: was actually going to add to. You were really successful in, you know, choosing to pursue that. And I wanted to ask, like, what were you kind of thinking? What was your mindset like when you were kind of performing?
• 11:21
  Speaker D: World champion.
• 11:22
  Speaker A: Yeah,
• 11:22
  Speaker D: world champion. We used to chant world champion as we're running down.
• 11:27
  Speaker A: Hey, that's, that's a real thing that teams do. Like all these athletic teams, they're all like, we're gonna win. They have like these chants. Yeah. That, you know, they really get them fired up. And I know I'm a sideline cheerleader and so I'm listening to, you know, the way that these football players talk on the sidelines or before the games because I have to hold this sign up that they have to break through right before the game. And I'm listening to all them pump each other and all I'm hearing is just like, we got these guys, we're gonna do this and we're gonna win. I'm not hearing any, like, don't
• 12:02
  Speaker D: embarrass us. Yeah, don't, you know,
• 12:04
  Speaker A: I'm not hearing that. And you know, if you're. I think that's really smart that they're able to do that because I mean, McLay football is undefeated this season in fact. And I think, you know, the team culture has altogether built really well.
• 12:19
  Speaker D: Yeah. So let me ask you this. She talks about how she is proud of the person that she's become, that the 18 year old or the 8 year old version of her would look at her and say, I love her. Right. So she's excited about that. How do you think your 8 year old version of yourself would look at you right now?
• 12:43
  Speaker A: I mean, I'm proud of the person that I am and who I'm becoming. I know I'm doing a lot of development and I don't think development like as a human and actually stops at any point in life. Like you're almost 57 years old, your birthday's coming right up. Everyone wish Jimmy a happy birthday. But you know, you're almost 57 years old and you're still learning things. Absolutely. As a father, you know, in life. And so I don't want to like look at, or I guess my 8 year old self would look at myself the way I am now and just be proud of who she's becoming. And I think that's going to last for a while, you know that that's going to last until I
• 13:21
  Speaker D: probably, let me tell you this right now, she would be so proud. No, and the reason why I say that is because I see these little cheerleaders coming up to you and they, they, you're their hero. These are the cheerleaders that you coached and you're their hero for good reason because you've got, you've got so such a kind heart. You're such an incredibly incredible person. Super smart, super athletic, super talented. So, but, but what I want, what I want you to think about moving forward in your life is every, every day we become a new person.
• 13:59
  Speaker A: Right.
• 14:00
  Speaker D: You, the person that's sitting here today is not the same person that was sitting here yesterday.
• 14:05
  Speaker A: Right.
• 14:06
  Speaker D: You've got new experiences, new thoughts, new ideas, new things. I want you to constantly be aware of who you are in the moment.
• 14:14
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 14:15
  Speaker D: And am I being the person that I really want to be?
• 14:19
  Speaker A: Right. And I'd also like to add, I think it's really common for people to like lose sight of that almost. I think they kind of look at themselves in the present and they just think, oh man, I'm a letdown, I'm a failure.
• 14:34
  Speaker D: Yeah.
• 14:35
  Speaker A: But they don't look at it from the lens of an 8 year old or you know, somebody younger who's looking up to them, I think, I mean. And okay, so actually it's funny, I had an assembly in school today and they brought a bunch of kindergarteners out,
• 14:52
  Speaker D: right?
• 14:53
  Speaker A: And you know, had them do like a dance for us and whatever. But they, they had a lesson, the lower school dean, she had a lesson for us and it, it was kind of like you lose sight of like the fun in life when you get older and you lose sight of like you've actually accomplished a lot by at this point in your life at 18 years old or as a freshman in high school, all the way up to senior year. Like you, you tend to lose sight of, like, what you're actually working towards and what you've actually accomplished because you're so worried about what's coming next. And I think, you know, having the visual representation of all, like, these kindergartners looking at us, it was. It kind of really made a strong impact on me because that kindergartner is looking up to me.
• 15:44
  Speaker D: Yeah.
• 15:45
  Speaker A: And, you know, that little cheerleader who's standing in front of the football sidelines, like, she's also looking up to me. And I may have, like, dropped a cheer stunt or something like that, or, you know, busted a tumbling skill, but that little girl standing in front of the stands, she is looking at me like, I have just. You're the hero. Hung the
• 16:05
  Speaker D: moon. You're absolutely a hero to the
• 16:08
  Speaker A: girl. And so how do you think, like, you know, I guess owning a law firm and having, you know, all these employees and all these interns like myself, like, how do you think you're making an impact on them? How do you think they can view you? Or how does your younger self view you?
• 16:25
  Speaker D: Oh, well, my younger self would be, like, thrilled.
• 16:29
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 16:29
  Speaker D: Yeah. I mean, be so proud and almost not even believe how good I've turned out. Well, but. And I'm not saying that to brag, but it's every day I try to be better. And that's exactly what she said. That's exactly what Eileen goo said, is that every day she is trying to become a better version of herself. And that if. Look, if there's going to be any kind of takeaway from this, it is this. You control your thoughts. There's no reason to let negativity come in and affect your day, to ruin your day, because you are the one that is in control of how you think. And specifically, most importantly, what do you think about yourself? And I think that's the key. The key takeaway from today is, is that when you feel good about yourself, first of all, it's about being the person that you would be proud of, be proud to be, and then when you do that, rest in the happiness and the knowledge that you are that person. Yeah, I think that's a great lesson.
• 17:35
  Speaker A: I think that is an amazing lesson to take away from this. And I think Eileen executes that very well, just like
• 17:41
  Speaker D: in
• 17:42
  Speaker A: her craft, in her free skiing, I think. I mean, it's just, you know, it's like I said earlier a few times, it's so hard to look past, you know, all of or. It's so easy. Sorry. It's so easy. To look past all the things that you've done that are good. And I think that's something that, as people, we should work harder to. We should work harder to restore that. And so I think that's a great note to end this on. So thank you guys so much for watching. I hope that you took away some valuable lessons. I mean, you guys can control who you are. You can control the way you think, and you can control the person you are becoming. Yeah. And I think that's super powerful. And so thank you, guys. Make sure to tune in for future episodes. Make sure to, like, comment and subscribe. We're on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all your other podcast streaming platforms. So we'll see you next time.
• 18:37
  Speaker D: Bye.