Darwin's Theories of Awesomeness

My overall mission is to help people evolve their thinking to achieve extraordinary results and I aspire to do this by drawing leadership lessons from high level achievers - athletes, coaches, businessmen and women, in their domains. I am interested in exploring the traits, habits or behaviours that have contributed to the success of high performers. I explore and share leadership lessons about grit, perseverance, vision, goal-setting, teamwork, and character, for example, as lived out in real-life by elite performers. By doing so, I help people get promoted, get faster, and get better. Leadership Resources: www.evolutionofleaders.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darwinli25/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darwinevolutionofleaders LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darwin-li-5697581/

How to Rise Above Chaos - Speaker & Author Erick Rheam 07/21/2022

The Power of Confidence - 100 m Olympic Champion and Former World Record Holder Donovan Bailey 01/18/2022

Olympic Champion Glenroy Gilbert - From Disappointment to Triumph 10/14/2021

"Plan, Purpose and Passion" - 4x100m Olympic Gold Medallist Robert Esmie 07/23/2021

Overcoming Pain Through Planning - World Class Triathlete & Olympian TYLER MISLAWCHUK Interview 07/23/2021

"Focus Is On The Process Every Day" - Olympian & ITU World Triathlon Champion Katie Zaferes 07/19/2021

Write Your Own Story of Success - World C-2 Champion Katie Vincent Interview 07/14/2021

The Link Between Preparation and High Performance - 2x Olympian Kamini Jain Interview 07/07/2021

The Power of Visualization - Olympian & World Bronze Medallist in the 50m Freestyle - BRAD TANDY 06/22/2021

Repetition Repetition Repetition - There's no shortcut to Success - Larry Cain 1984 Olympic Gold C1 04/20/2021

Champion Mindset - 100% Goal Commitment - Glenn Mills - 1980 Olympic Team Interview - Ep. 14 04/13/2021

Champion Mindset - 100% Goal Commitment - Glenn Mills - 1980 Olympic Team Interview - Ep. 14 "And I had so over prepared for the high school state meet that I ended up making the Olympic team." An interview with Glenn Mills, making the 1980 Olympic team and now runs the wildly successful platform, GoSwim.TV. Website: YouTube Channel: Apple Podcasts: Spotify: Facebook: Instagram: LinkedIn: Twitter: I've also been accepted for a show on the membership platform "Millionaireflix". See exclusive content including Gavin's insights on how to get into the zone plus many courses on success & business! Check out Glenn @ --------------------- 4:08 - Glenn talks about how the death of his brother to cancer lit a fire inside of him to train hard and win the high school state championship in his brothers' honor. "I remember, Kyle died on a Thursday, and on Friday, I went to practice, I always swam in lane five, and the pool went from lane one to lane six, the slowest to the fastest. And at this point, I was in lane five. I showed up on Friday. And of course, everybody knew and everybody was quiet. And I stood behind lane six, nobody said anything. And so I just went right to the fastest lane in the pool. And from that day forward, I was committed to accomplishing that goal to honor that, that goal that I had set out for my brother." "I would go to the pool, and I would try to hurt myself as much as I could physically. Not in a bad way. Not not, it was it was I would train as hard as I could to induce as much pain because the more physical pain that I that I had, the less emotional pain that I had." "And I had so over prepared for the high school state meet that I ended up making the Olympic team. " "There's so much more inside of everyone that we don't, we don't know who we can be, until we've made the decision that we were going to put everything into this task for this goal. And if you completely 100% commit yourself to something, all aspects of your life to that specific goal, you're probably going to do better than then you thought you could." 9:04 - Glenn talks about what separates the truly elite from others. "There's a consistent and focus towards the end result. And each day is a piece of the process, that there's a patience about the process and a consistency to the process." "... If that's what your goal is, you have to have this all consuming." "it is the daily grind, as they say, and you have to be committed to the process. " "Jesse Owens said and reminded us all. It's not the Olympics that make the Olympian it's the preparation. So everything is about the preparation. It's not about that day. It's about the years before, and that's really great athletes understand." 11:56 - Glenn talks about the difference between process and outcome. He talks about the process of creating excellent swimmers and athletes. 14:21 - Glenn has coached numerous outstanding athletes, including Jeff Rouse and Aaron Peirsol, both world record holders who swim differently. What are the commonalities amongst greatness? 17:00 - The importance of self-awareness and how he helps others to learn effectively. 18:09 - Glenn has a fascinating approach to coaching top Olympians - the Power of Asking Questions. 19:12 - Coaching Allison Schmitt and Michael Phelps, and how he approaches giving advice to such legendary athletes. "I said, there is no way I'm telling you anything about your stroke. Because I would be the guy that messed her up by giving her advice" Allison's response: "No one has ever not given me advice before." 22:22 - Filming MICHAEL PHELPS! "And I would say, you know, this is what I noticed. They weren't asking me because oh, here's this, you know, this great guy, they they sought, they sought anything from anyone that could potentially make him a little faster. They were so open to suggestions, because they might have overlooked something that somebody else might see. And so it was it was one of the most fascinating things that he was the greatest swimmer in the history of the world, asking, What do you see? " 25:19 - Glenn talks about Goswim.tv and the amazing developments they're achieving. 29:32 - The disappointment of the US boycotting the Moscow Olympics. 37:01 - Excellence, values and focus - "There's integrity of work ... there's an honesty in work" 39:30 - Selected Pain vs. Forced Pain. 41:08 - "You have to stop feeling sorry for yourself at some point and just get back to work." 42:11 - How Glenn looks at helping athletes gain self-awareness. 46:15 - The amazing work at GoSwim.tv and the endless pool. /episode/index/show/evolutionofleaders/id/18702269

Developing a Champion Mindset - 4x100m World Champion Mechelle Lewis Freeman Interview - Ep. 13 03/11/2021

Developing a Champion Mindset - 4x100m World Champion Mechelle Lewis Freeman Interview - Ep. 13 An interview with 4x100m World Champion & Olympian Mechelle Lewis Freeman! Mechelle exemplifies a champion mindset. 3 years working in Corporate America living a sedentary lifestyle, she sets her sights on the Olympic team. Mechelle gives tangible lessons on how we all can integrate mind & faith to achieve the awesome. Website: https://www.EvolutionOfLeaders.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChXe7AGqkLRzpvm1yblIvjw Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/evolution-of-leaders/id1533928112 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2LbmTVDvZdw4aaKsrciT4U Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darwinevolutionofleaders Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darwinli25/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darwin-li-5697581/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DarwinLi6 I've also been accepted for a show on the membership platform "Millionaireflix". See exclusive content here & more! https://millionaireflix.com/affiliate/darwin Mechelle's Contact Information: https://trackgirlz.com/ https://www.instagram.com/mechellelewisfreeman/ AirBNB Experience: https://www.airbnb.ca/experiences/1669717?locale=en&_set_bev_on_new_domain=1615499671_OTBlNTA0Nzg5MWY3 -- 1:19 - 1-min autobiography 4:27 - Mechelle has been successful at whatever she does - 4 x 100m World Champion, Marketing Expert, Olympic Coach, and philanthropist. She was not only an accomplished athlete but also a very successful student with a 4.0 average. The movie Boomerang was her inspiration! She attends one of the top journalism schools in the world, and works at Y&R, one of the world’s top agencies. 7:28 - "I'm not pregnant, just fat" Mechelle works in the corporate world from 2002 to 2006, having missed the 2004 Athens Olympics due to injury. Despite not training for 3 years, she decides to try out for the Olympics. 10:28 - “It is God who arms me with strength … and makes my feet like the feet of a deer;“ “I can do everything… if I read what the Bible says and I believe it, then that means that nothing is impossible for God that means that I can quit my job and I’m going to make this Olympic team”. “I didn’t really have anyone, I was by myself and so it was a time of isolation in a time of where I really came into my own.” “The foundation that I had moving forward was rooted in that faith.” 14:02 - Mechelle describes how she moves past the injuries and when she’s losing races. “One of my mentors told me, do it afraid…. The fear doesn’t leave but you just have to keep moving forward…. You have to take that step. You have to bring that fear along for the ride. Once you take that first step your faith will be acknowledged and then the next step will be presented.” “You always want to put yourself in an environment that supports what you’re trying to achieve and you’re around people that are aligned to where you need to go” “It wasn’t easy. I was losing races, I was getting injured. I was facing top athletes in the world and I had to win against them. … What are you saying to yourself every day? You have to be consistent in your actions and your words and making you’re feeding the areas that nee to grow and develop.” "I used to have this Muhammad Ali posted on my wall. I used to take it down and fold it and take it with me to tall my track meets and put it up on the wall. But I would say that to myself every morning, in the car while I was driving, before I got to bed at night, when I’m writing my journals … impossible is nothing, impossible is nothing” 17:46 - Mechelle describes some of the things she had to starve out her life that held her back from her dreams. 20:05 - How she handles failure/setbacks. What does she do to take lessons and move forward? “As I’m losing … I’m feeding myself in those things then I always had content to defeat it, you know whether it was Scripture … ‘Nothing formed against me shall prosper’ if I was getting injured” "“If you felt like ‘oh my goodness” you look at your heat and you have the top 3 girls in the world in your heat and they’re only taking 4 … What are those things that you’re saying to yourself every day that when you’re in the heat of battle that when you tell yourself what you tell yourself every day, in that moment, that you trust it." 26:10 - What did she do to differentiate herself? “That mindset. It was my faith. 100% that was my biggest difference.” “I can remember lining up in college and run a fast time the week before and then somebody who was ranked top in the country is in the lane next to me and I would lose because I would let that get in my head.” 28:38 - Mechelle describes how she handled not knowing whether she'll run in the Olympics. 36:00 - The agony of the baton drop @ the Olympics and how she supported her teammate. 40:37 - On being a coach ... “Coaching has changed my life… in helping me in my role as a leader and how I can impact others and communities.” 42:44 - Trackgirlz.com and how to find Mechelle. “In order to be a leader, you have to be yourself.” /episode/index/show/evolutionofleaders/id/18289640

How to be a World Class Teammate 01/15/2021

Overcoming Cancer with World Mixed Relay Triathlete Medallist Kevin McDowell 12/19/2020

Overcoming Cancer with World Mixed Relay Triathlete Medallist Kevin McDowell An interview with World Triathlon Mixed Relax Silver and Bronze medallist who amazingly survived cancer through his life and career. Kevin shares the moment that he discovered cancer, and the lessons he takes from it. Kevin McDowell's Links - Follow him on his journey! Evolution of Leaders Links: Website: YouTube Channel: Apple Podcasts: Spotify: Facebook: Instagram: LinkedIn: Twitter: I've also been accepted for a show on the membership platform "Millionaireflix". See exclusive content! 1:50 - Kevin provides his brief. Autobiography. 2:47 - Setting sights on an Olympic goal at a young age. 4:10 - Cancer diagnosis. "Give me 6 months of your life, then you’ll be better." 9:18 - Wisdom from a fellow patient: “What can I do, not what can’t I do.” 12:04 - Kevin takes his athletic goal-setting skills towards battling cancer. 15:58 - Kevin recalls how he dealt with cancer treatment and how it impacted his life. He returns to training shortly after treatment is done, and notices changes to his body. Thoughts of survivor guilt. 19:50 - Kevin talks about the mental recovery after his physical treatment has finished. 21:02 - Kevin talks about what helped him to get through cancer and the role of faith and family. 24:32 - The role of coaching in his career. 26:21 - He talks about the positive traits he seems in his coaches. 28:56 - How small disciplines lead to the large disciplines. Make your bed everyday! 31:39 - The pivotal silver medal race in Chengdu, China. 34:34 - What separates the top elite athletes from others. 35:39 - What Kevin has changed from missing the 2016 Olympic team towards Tokyo 2021. “Going into this year I truly believed I was going to make that team this year.” 40:30 - How Kevin fuels training and competing through pain by remembering kids who are struggling with cancer. 45:11 - Learning adaptation and patience. 48:46 - The power of team. “How you much better you can be when you surround yourself with the greatest teammates”. 46:10 - “God moment” - The Prayer and the Coin. /episode/index/show/evolutionofleaders/id/17254484

Excellence is a Choice - 1996 Olympian Gavin Maxwell Interview, Ep. 10 12/12/2020

DEVELOPING A CHAMPIONSHIP MINDSET | Triathlon Canada Head Coach Jono Hall - Ep. 9 11/28/2020

DEVELOPING A CHAMPIONSHIP MINDSET | Triathlon Canada Head Coach Jono Hall - Ep. 9 Website: https://www.EvolutionOfLeaders.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChXe7AGqkLRzpvm1yblIvjw/ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/evolution-of-leaders/id1533928112 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2LbmTVDvZdw4aaKsrciT4U Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darwinevolutionofleaders Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darwinli25/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darwin-li-5697581/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DarwinLi6 SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE: http://bit.ly/SubscribeToLondonReal --------------------- Jono Hall is currently Head Coach of Triathlon Canada for the Tokyo 2021 Olympics. In his impressive career, he's coached athletes to medal at many international events, including at the Olympics. I had the privilege of interviewing Jono for his insights on the mindset of a world class coach and athlete. Aside from being a World Duathlon Champion himself, his athletes have medalled at numerous world competitions including the Olympic Games. 2016 Canadian Head Coach Triathlon, Rio Olympic Games 2012 USA Head Coach Triathlon, London Olympic Games. 2008 Australian Team Coach, Beijing Olympics 2004 Team Australia, Athens Olympics 1997 World Duathlon Champion --------------------- 1:36 - Jono describes his career. 2:47 - How to deal with major unknowns such as the pandemic pandemic. It's important to understand that unknowns are a reality. 5:01 - The role of adaptation to training athletes. Maintaining process while acknowledging the unknowns is important. Taking the time to develop strong processes beforehand are key to being able to move forward. 7:36 - How to deal with handling failure. Jono had so many amazing insights here. Check out these quotes: "I’m very honest about my experiences … I learned more from my failures than successes." “I’ve always been quite open about acknowledging where I’ve failed. They were the key learning moments” “I gravitate towards positivity. However you can create positivity from what you could describe as a failure” “It enables me to create a learning moment from whatever situation you’re in” “I’m setting my athletes to succeed but I’m conscious that I don’t make it so that they never fail.” “Taking those learning moments from whatever is going on - good, bad, indifferent … I think is a skillset.” “It’s less of a burden when you have the ability to rebound, learn something and be better.” 10:45 - What makes the elite truly elite? “The truly elite have clarity in their goal, which creates clarity in their purpose” “They Work out quickly and surround with people on the same pathway.” “They surround themselves with people on the same pathway, not necessarily people who agree with them but people willing to challenge them.” “They make that process simple.” “They have a clear goal in conjunction with very, very high ambition." He has a fascinating thought about the need for patience working towards the goal. It's like they're "hurrying slowly." 13:48 - Jono discusses balancing guiding and teaching athletes with allowing his team to become more independent. “Make sure the athletes don’t become dependent on you. When I’m guiding athletes I’m also teaching them”. “As a coach, I’m almost trying to make myself redundant to a point. So that they don’t *need* me.” “They’ve learned through that period when they could self-direct.” “The lessons we learn in sport set us up to be successful beyond life” By creating guiding directives, athletes then have the ability to create some autonomy. 17:18 - I've always been fascinated by the duality of independence vs. team. Jono gives an insight into the mindset of how team makes you stronger even when you are competing individually. “Individuals who receive an individual award need to operate with some of the concepts of team without the reward of team.” “You need to have a deeper understanding of where individuals operate .. and cut off any potential conflict before it happens.” “You want a champion team, not a team of champions.” 23:16- Jono describes the Multi Sport Brain. You can reach Jono at: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-hall-9804a83b https://twitter.com/multisportbrain?lang=en https://www.instagram.com/multisportbrain/?hl=en /episode/index/show/evolutionofleaders/id/16982615

Lessons on How to Build Great Organizations by Scot Rutherford- Ep. 7 - Evolution of Leaders 11/09/2020

Lessons on How to Build Great Organizations by Scot Rutherford- Ep. 7 - Evolution of Leaders It’s all about poking the status quo bear! 1:42 - Autobiography 2:22 - How does one create a great workplace culture and maintain it - The importance of values, beliefs and fit. 4:20 - How do you find the “it” in people? Scot talks about the tests and surveys that are available, and the vital importance of ongoing onboarding. 7:50 - The key traits of successful leaders - It’s really about the leaders growing their people! 9:34 - Scot talks about 2 critical characteristics of all leaders - Humility and empathy. 13:14 - Scot has a fascinating take on “Christmas Carol” from a leadership perspective. 14:27 - Scot mentions how important it is to have succession … EARLY! “Succession is about planning well enough so that you can leave on your terms and not worry as to the extent who’s going to replace me.” “You can’t have great succession without a great workplace and you can’t have a great workplace or a succession without great leadership.” 17:44 - The role of failure and its importance. 20:44 - What’s the best advice you ever received? 21:32 - What can someone who’s looking to get promoted or get noticed in their job do? Scot feels that teaching the importance of understanding people as a core building block to people improving. 23:16 - Scot talks about how he sees coaching and mentorship. 26:15 - How Scot challenges people outside their comfort zone. Scot talks about how leaders must ensure that women have opportunities in the workplace to move into leadership opportunities. They’re often already great leaders but lacking opportunity. “Leadership is about being comfortable seeing the people around you grow past you.” “As a leader your responsibility is to make those people around you … better at what they do and in so doing you create other leaders.” -- Scot drops some great wisdom from Julian Barling, Professor at Smith School of Business. 29:33 - POKING THE STATUS QUO BEAR. 33:11 - What Scot is doing now with Robert Scot Ltd. You can find Scot Rutherford online here! Check it out! https://www.linkedin.com/in/scot-rutherford-8a885426/ /episode/index/show/evolutionofleaders/id/16733243

6. Success Mindset from Donald Trump's right hand man - George Ross! Ep. 6 - Evolution of Leaders 11/02/2020

5. World Dragon Boat Champion Jordan Hulecki Interview 10/28/2020

4. Interview with World Dragon Boat Champion Johnny Chou 10/28/2020

3. Interview with World and Olympic 4x100m champion Bruny Surin 10/16/2020

3. Interview with World and Olympic 4x100m champion Bruny Surin 1:35 - Bruny describes his career in his own words 2:53 - Bruny shows his championship colors and saves his mother’s life at the tender age of 5! 5:13 - Coach Daniel Daniel St. Hilaire sees great potential in Bruny “The Me I See is the Me I’ll be”. Bruny talks about 15 years of “humiliation” but fights through it to clock 9.84 in the 100m, the 2nd fastest time at the time. 12:02. Coach Daniel tells Bruny that the long jump world record was 9.33m when actually it’s only 8.90m. “You can make your brain believe, it’s up to you”. Bruny reveals how he knew it was possible for a human to run 9.6 secs decades before Usain Bolt does so. 17:35 - Coach Dan Pfaff works with Bruny which results in massive speed gains. Bruny talks about the great traits of good coaches. A short 5 weeks later, Bruns wins the Canadian Championships in a blistering 9.89s. 20:47 - Bruny has to overcome tremendous criticism and adversity, including running out of groceries and publicly being called a “chicken” and a “tourist”. “Life is not easy. If you’re waiting at home waiting for things to come to you, it’s not going to happen.” 29:28 - Bruny talks about how he didn’t have a good personal 100m event at the 1996 Olympics when he was ranked 2nd in the world. “Why are you in this situation?” “What are you going to do about it ASAP?” 35:32 - The 4x100m Gold Medal race. “We’re going to win”. “In life there’s no shortcuts. Whatever you’re going to do, don’t cheat. Sooner or later you’re going to pay the price.” 42:00 - Bruny talks about the importance about making the choice to be positive. 43:15 - Bruny clocks the fastest time of his career with a phenomenal time. 9.84 secs. He talks about the importance of visualization, as well as why he was so happy to finish 2nd, fulfilling a life goal. /episode/index/show/evolutionofleaders/id/16435421

2. Interview with Olympic Skating Champion Jamie Sale - Leadership, Coaching and Transformation 10/09/2020

1. Interview with Dragon Boat World Champion and World Record Holder Marianne Tai! 09/30/2020

Darwin's Theories of Awesomeness

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