Episode 38: Sarah Robb O’Hagan On Finding Your Extreme You

“The Struggle Is A Part Of Happiness” Sarah Robb O’Hagan

Sarah Robb O’Hagan is a leader’s leader. Everyone I know who has worked with Sarah talks about what a phenomenal role model she is. In this episode, Sarah talks about how she was motivated to write her new book Extreme YOU because she was tired of everyone only sharing their success and wanted the chance to share the truth behind success.

Sarah talks about how we learn about ourselves by getting into the action, and how many of us never start because we are so afraid of not finishing perfectly. We both discuss “The Tall Poppy Syndrome” that comes with growing up in New Zealand and England, where big things were never expected. In America, the opposite it true, and we talk about how to dream big, manage our expectations and risk failure in the opportunity to grow.

Sarah believes that struggle is an important part of happiness, and she talks about her ups, downs, and epic fails during her career. We chat about whether having a plan B is a good thing or if it is best to just jump in and go for it. We discuss the importance of keeping a mindset of appreciation while still striving for greatness, and how appreciation can help keep us remain both focused and grateful in a technology-charged world.

In this episode we talk about drive, what it is, whether it can be cultivated and how to keep it when times get tough and Sarah shares her thoughts on how to ask for help by viewing it through the lens of curiosity versus seeing it as a weakness.

We close the show talking about balance and how it is all about prioritizing what really matters to you. It is the importance of managing your own personal joy and the willingness to say “no” is one of the key lessons.

Sarah encourages us to live the most fulfilled life that we can and make the most of our unique talents and interests. This is an Extreme life.

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Mentioned In This Show

Sarah’s Interview With Simon Sinek

More About Sarah

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.
Sarah has also founded a movement she calls Extreme Living. Provoked by the cultural shift that gave us kids with shelves of participation trophies, unfounded expectations of success, and suppressed potential, she has created a manifesto for change. Her book, Extreme YOU: Step Up. Stand Out. Kick Ass. Repeat. was published by HarperCollins in April 2017, and provides people of all ages with the tools and support to discover their most exploitable traits, take big risks, deal with big failures and kick ass all the way to success. It is an inspiring and fiercely practical roadmap for individuals, teams, and businesses who want to get the most out of their own unique capabilities.
She has served on Hillary Clinton’s US State Department Council to Empower Women and Girls through Sports and as a trustee of Billie Jean King’s Women’s Sports Foundation. She also sits on the board of STRAVA – the social network for athletes. As a proud Kiwi America, Sarah is an active member of the World Class New Zealand Network, she remains committed to helping her birth country’s development, international competitiveness, and economic growth.
Throughout her career, Sarah has been recognized for her many achievements including being named to the top 40 Under 40 lists by the Sports Business Journal (2009, 2011, and 2012), Sports Goods Business (2010), and Crain’s Chicago Business (2010). and Ad Age magazine’s “Women to Watch” (2010). In 2014 Sarah was awarded the Sir Peter Blake Trust Award for outstanding leadership and in 2016 she was recognized in her native country with a “World Class New Zealand” award for leadership.
Sarah and her husband, Liam, and sons Sam and Joe and daughter Gabby live in New York. They have a chocolate Labrador named Edmund “Eddie” Hillary.

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