I recently went one on one with Reina-Flor Okori. Reina-Flor is a four-time Olympian with more than two decades on the track representing France and Equatorial Guinea.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your story and your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. What is something about you that would surprise people? 

Reina-Flor: Thank you for having me. Something that may surprise people is that I am also a mother and founder of Beauty of Sports, a podcast and agency through which I use my experiences in sports to inspire and coach international businesses, executives, and athletes to redefine the new psychology of winning and leading. 

Adam: Looking back, what is your sharpest or most significant memory from your Olympic experience? 

Reina-Flor: During the Olympics, when athletes were walking into the stadium for the closing ceremony: regardless of nationalities we walked side by side as one. This scene echoed the movie “the gladiator” when all the wrestlers overcame their differences to battle together. In the end, they understood that teamwork would break the painful circle of hate, which I believe to also be the Olympian's superpower.

Adam: What is something that would surprise people about the life of an Olympian? 

Reina-Flor: If you need more than talent to be the best Olympian,  what are the golden rules for peak performance, talent mastery and well-being?

In my opinion, they lie in the mastery of 5 pillars: 

• The core pillars being: mental, physical, and nutritional health 

• The secondary pillars being: personal marketing and financial literacy, to learn how to transform this talent into a vehicle for good, and legacy for the future generations to come. 

It is important to simultaneously nurture these pillars to reach full potential. 

Adam: How did you get here? What failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth? 

Reina-Flor: I quickly understood that I could fail at both what I love and don’t love. By extrapolating lessons learned in my 100m hurdles, I learned to pinpoint the hurdles outside of my sport. When challenged to seek alignment, I could express unlimited performance, enthusiasm, passion and joy. Thus, I see many of my failures as an expression of resilience, trained consciously or subconsciously.

Adam: What are the best lessons you learned from the achievement of becoming a four-time Olympian?

Reina-Flor: My greatest lesson learned as an Olympian is the understanding that I am human, and the world is mine. As a part of this ecosystem, I discovered that through practice, I can unlock my power. I came into this body to enjoy everything that I desire, not to struggle. Just like sports, my body is a vehicle to find answers, and  feel exhilaration to be who I am. Olympians come from all over the world, some are rich, some poor. It is a stage that helps you understand how to focus to make big moves in your life. I have participated several times in the same event (Olympics), yet will still focus on the different aspects to improve each time.

Adam: What are the best lessons you have learned from your experience serving on the IOC? 

Reina-Flor: Compromise. How far will you go in order to fit into the group or to be at the top of your game? The same is true for many other fields.

When the vision you carry is compromised by the weight of the establishment and you feel that you are compromising because you want to belong. There are some people who don’t let themselves dream bigger or “think outside the box” because of the fear of being rejected. There shouldn’t be such a pressure to be part of the national team or to serve the country at all costs. Or for example, for women going into motherhood. While there’s no need to play safe or to be afraid, athletes for instance are the creators of the Olympic movement. No athletes means no sports, no sports means no business. My passion is to help people practice the idea that focusing on our alignment is crucial to succeed, and just as important as not compromising for the wrong reasons.

Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level? 

Reina-Flor: There is a difference between being a high performer and an effective leader. An effective leader is someone who is both extremely talented and motivated but at their very core knows their work is not about them. It’s about becoming a champion in the mind and in the heart of people to help humanity move forward.  We all have different perspectives, but to me it is more of a mindset!

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders? 

Reina-Flor:

1. Only focus on your state of alignment. That kind of focus and training is the solution to performance. This is what we are all looking for at the end.

2. It’s not about you. The "fan's experience" means that people come to see the competition because of the emotions we awake in their soul. The ego is at the service of the performance.

3. It’s about becoming a champion in the heart of the people by following your heart. The rest is a practice to maintain the momentum, it all depends on how we’ve trained ourselves.  

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received? 

Reina-Flor: In the hurdle race, all of the hurdles are the same size, regardless of your height, fit, the last time you trained, or the last stadium you competed at. They simply are what you have to overcome, wherever you are. In life however, the challenges we face adapt to us particularly, almost as a form of trauma.  

The best advice I have received is that physical activity is a great way to explore that dimension of oneself. By learning how to master the laws of physics and the universe, we can respond with less resistance to everything that life throws as us.  We are emotional vibrational beings that should integrate mental, physical and nutritional health at the core of our reality.

Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Reina-Flor: I encourage readers to connect with me on social media: @reinaflorokori on LinkedIn, @reinaflor on Twitter, and @reinaflorokori Instagram.


Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.

Follow Adam on Instagram and Twitter at @adammendler and listen and subscribe to Thirty Minute Mentors on your favorite podcasting app.