How to change careers like an Olympian

Athletes are often forced to make career changes at some point in their lives. After all, it’s rare for an athlete to compete at a sustained level throughout their life. Apolo Ohno, who is the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian, made the decision to step away even though he was still competitive. He talks about his transition into the world of business and what he learned during the process in his new book Hard Pivot: Embrace Change. Find Purpose. Show Up Fully. He sat down with LinkedIn News editor Andrew Seaman to discuss what others can learn from his transition.

Professional athletes are incredible for so many reasons. They are disciplined, skilled and so much more. From a career perspective, they’re also fascinating because they will likely need to make a career change at some point during their lives. After all, most people can’t compete at the same level for decades.

Apolo Ohno, who needs almost no introduction, is the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian in history. He won eight Olympic medals for short-track speed skating during three winter games. Ohno chose to step away from the sports arena and transition into the world of business, including the rare earth mining industry.?

He uses his collective experiences to teach others to succeed. The New York Times bestselling author’s latest book is Hard Pivot: Embrace Change. Find Purpose. Show Up Fully and shares what he learned during from his career, roles and experiences.

Ohno recently sat down with me for my podcast, Get Hired with Andrew Seaman. His insights are so spot on that I want to share them with you. Below is an abridged and edited version of the interview. You can read the full unedited transcript by clicking here.

I know lots of athletes tend to get that second act, or even a third or fourth. Were you thinking about what your next steps would be when you retired?

Apolo: Well, I could have physically continued to compete all the way up into this past Olympic games in Beijing. I knew that that was actually the easier path. I know the Olympics are not easy, but because it was so familiar to me — I knew what the training looked like; I understood it. Now I knew that in order for me to truly grow, I needed to be thrown out of my nest. My nest was the Olympics. It was the ice rink. It was the grueling time meditating in the sauna, the extra third and fourth workouts per day after the rest of the team has decided to shut it down and just start resting. That was my nest. That was my comfort zone — in kind of a weird, obscure way. But … there was a whole world of exploration that I didn't have experience for and I needed to go turn that light switch on. Something was calling me to that adventure. It's not been an easy path, that's for sure, but I think everyone goes through it. What I want people to understand is that you can do the hard stuff. It is possible. We have adapted to all sorts of conditions and climates on this planet. Here we are today, still, after millions of years. You, too, have the ability to adapt, maneuver, and find a way throughout any situation.

How do you find what your purpose is?

Apolo: Finding your purpose is a critical piece to all of this… When people feel that they have no sense of purpose, or they're trying to struggle and find it, I think it first comes from a sense of self-acceptance. Have this intrinsic conversation with yourself to see yourself in all of your insecurities, shortcomings, and faults. Say to yourself, ‘I know that this is not perfect. I know that I want to be better. I know that I've made these mistakes. I know that some incident in my life has probably caused some semblance of microtrauma.’ Maybe someone stole your lunch at school, or whatever it was, and this can go to very acute to very large scale traumatic events. They show up and manifest themselves in your life in the way that you respond to challenges and perceptions of reality. That is a fact. Understanding oneself allows you to then lead in a different way with empathy towards yourself. Then also saying, ‘Now, I'm ready to make this transition from Apolo 1.0 to Apolo 2.0. I know the journey is never straight and it's never easy. However, I'm going to remain committed to this path.’ That purpose can be this path, this change, this reinvention, this desire to be and gain approval from others. I really try to get people to say what is the most important thing to you. What is a well-lived life? What do you believe that you are here for in this life? What do you want from this life? And what do you believe that life wants from you? Actually asking yourself these questions and thinking about it, and having that marinate on your brain stem for the next several months. I think what people will find is they will find some attraction towards something that sparks or lights the inner flame. Maybe it's something totally outside that's in a personal perspective and you say, ‘Look, I may not like what I'm doing here, and it sucks, but that's a part of the process sometimes. I have to do the hard stuff, and it's not supposed to be super easy. I can do it. I'm going to remain committed.’ And I can tell you, when you start to prove to yourself that you can do the hard stuff, even when you didn't want to, it is so gratifying.

For people who are hesitant about making a change in their professional lives, what would you suggest they do to start that change?

Apolo: To start the change is to start by creating lists. Then, also, why do you want to change? What's important to you? What can no longer stay the same? How will you improve on those things? Once you're able to kind of map that out, it's much easier to stick to. Do not give that voice a vote. The voice in your head that tells you that you can't, that you won't, and it'll never happen. That's a voice that keeps you in your comfort zone. As we know, you don't want to stay there, right? We need to be thrown out of the nest to be fully alive.

* The preceding quotes and questions are an excerpt from a larger discussion. The excerpt was edited for length and clarity.

What’s your advice for people considering making a change in their professional lives? Join the conversation.

By Gianna Prudente, associate news editor for job searches and careers:

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