Thrive Global: One On One With Four-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Lenny Krayzelburg
I spoke to legendary swimmer Lenny Krayzelburg about his journey and his best advice. Here are some excerpts:
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Lenny: Well I got here through a lot of different life circumstances and experiences. First of all, being an immigrant and coming to this country old enough to understand the sacrifices my parents made a for better life has definitely shaped me and my character. Being someone who grew up in the Soviet Union and in a completely different culture has taught me to never underestimate opportunities that come my way. One of my earlier challenges was during the first few years in America not knowing the language and trying to assimilate into America culture.
Certainly not being a good enough of a swimmer out of high school and not getting any interest from colleges was an eye-opening setback. However, this experience taught me to look within myself and evaluate what I need to do better in order to become a better swimmer and get noticed.
A number of injuries that I experienced between 2000 and 2004 was really challenging for me. After winning three gold medals in the Sydney Olympics, I felt that I was only getting started and my best years and performances were ahead of me, but unfortunately I kept getting injuries that required surgeries. After every surgery I felt that I was going back to square one and needed to start all over. Through these injury experiences I really came to value patience, looking for positives within negative situations, and most importantly, to continue to believe in myself no matter what the circumstances are.
I am a very trusted person and I try to see good in everyone, but unfortunately, I had some setbacks in my business because of it. Some people that have worked for me took advantage of my trust for their benefit only. Although it’s hard for me to lead a company and not be myself, I am certainly more cautious with the people I hire and the trust I put in them.
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?
Lenny: In my mind, the defining qualities of a leader are being a great communicator, passionate, leading by example and always being open to learn from the people that you lead. Taking leadership to the next level requires constant learning, risk taking, patience and confidence.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Lenny: The best single piece of advice I received was to be true to yourself. When you wake up in the morning and go brush your teeth, the person that’s looking back at you in the mirror is the only person that truly knows you.
Adam: What are your hobbies and how have they shaped you?
Lenny: I consider working out to be a hobby for me. It is such a big part of my life and my daily routine that everything I do is directly and indirectly affected by it. I really believe in the quote: “a healthy body leads to a health mind.” I definitely feel that having a healthy mind allows me to make better thought-out decisions and better decisions in every aspect of my life.
Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?
Lenny: Always be grateful and thankful for what you have. Most importantly, if you have your health, you have everything you need to fulfill your dreams and goals.
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.
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