176: How to Overcome Setbacks with Lauren Johnson
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And I loved talking them through the struggles of whether it was injury or setbacks or, you know, will I ever be the same? And when I started to learn the science behind the psychology of sport and performance and even injury and how I could apply it to my patients then, I just realized, oh my gosh, like who would I have been if I would have known these things?

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Awesome. Well, welcome to the B Word. Thank you. Okay, let's just go ahead and dive straight in. You have one of the coolest jobs I think I've ever encountered, or at least I think my husband is super jealous of it because you work with athletes. So tell me how you got into that. What was the pathway and what's it been like? My path was...

Not normal. That's like a nice way of putting it. So I was a soccer player since I was five years old.

fell in love with the game and I just knew I needed to be around pro sports. And so I decided after, you know, looking through all these careers that actually physical therapy was a really close, a way to still be a support to athletes. Um, if I couldn't, you know, be on the field and don't get me wrong, I worked really hard and I played at a high level, but I was not, you know, I was not going to be on any national team anytime soon. Um,

And so I got my undergrad in kinesiology and I was playing soccer at the collegiate level and it was third game into my senior year when I received my fifth concussion. Fifth? And I remember being taken off the field. I had to go get a brain scan and I'm sitting in my neurologist's office and he goes, Lauren, it's not safe for you to play anymore. And

I don't know, call it, you know, just being young and, you know, naive. But I was like, we just, no offense, Doc, but we just need like a second opinion. And he stopped me and he said, do you want to remember your name when you're 40? Oh, my gosh. And that question just immediately came.

reflected my reality in front of me. And I realized that this was more than just the sport I wanted to play. Like I, I, this is my health, right? It was so much bigger. And so I realized, well, it's not safe for me to continue. And so I decided, you know, I, I was still part of the team, even though my coach said like, Hey, we don't, we don't, uh, we won't hold it against you if you decide not to come back. But I was still part of the team. I just, my role changed instead of being on the field, I'm on the bench.

And I will never forget, it was our senior banquet. And our senior banquet, I stand up and I mean, all the seniors have to say just a little something. And I said, this was the best year of soccer. And I didn't score one goal. This was the best year of soccer. I didn't make one pass.

I didn't have any stats. And I realized in that moment it was the best year because it wasn't about me. And it forced me to look outside myself and support the people around me in a way that I hadn't before. And alongside that, I decided to take an elective course in sports psychology, not knowing what it was at all. I've never heard of this before.

And unbeknownst to me, what I realized was I found the field that married the thing that I loved about physical therapy, which was I could be close to the athlete and

But it took out the part I didn't like, which was the medical side of all that stuff. So I'm sure there's a lot of athletes thanking me for like, oh, I saved them for not being a part of that field. But it just took this part that I loved, which was my connection to my clients. And I loved talking them through the struggles of whether it was injury or setbacks or, you know, will I ever be the same? And when I started to learn the science behind the psychology of sport and performance and even injury and how I could apply it to my

patience then. And I just realized, oh my gosh, like who would I have been if I would have known these things? What kind of athlete would I have been? I feel like half the time you go into college and you think you know what you're going to do. So you start down this path and the reality is there's so many other things to do

that are still in the same realm and can marry everything you want together. And I think that's why a lot of people change careers so many times after college. And your injury, ironically, gave you the opportunity to pivot and find that new career before you even left college. Exactly. I...

You know, I think that the things that happen to us, you know, no matter how difficult they are, we can gain something from them if we're willing to look for the gifts. And sometimes they're just gift-wrapped and frustration and adversity and

struggle. And for me, it was that struggle that kind of gave me the strength to see this alternative path that ultimately to me is just this passion. And I genuinely believe that it's, you know, what I'm like on this earth to do. And you could have just, you know, curled up in a ball and like, what was me life so unfair? You know, we see a lot of athletes come off the field and it's obvious they're never going to play again. You know, you see that tibia broken or you see the arm broken or, or whatnot. I'm

I can't even imagine sitting in that doctor's office with the concussion and you're like, I've been through this before. Like old hat, right? And having to realize that, oh no, if we get one more,

You know, just all it would take would be, you know, just hit the wrong way. Right. And it could be permanent. And it's not something you can just look around and see. You know, they weren't putting a cast on you. Yeah, it was difficult. And I think there was honestly a period of me really not knowing, like, who am I? Who am I outside of Lauren, the soccer player? Like, who am I outside of that? And I didn't know the answer for a while. And so there was this period, this time period, of just having to figure out the answer to that question. And...

That is a really lonely moment. It's a really lonely period of time when you feel so lost and you see all these people that seemingly feel like they have a path and a purpose and you just feel so purposeless in that moment. And that's how I felt. And so when I found something that allowed me to take the view off of myself but put it into others, I then realized, oh my gosh, that's what gives me life. And I think whenever you get that feeling, especially inside yourself,

You should pay attention to that. So what was it like being on the sidelines and watching all of your besties on the soccer team? You know, they're on the field and you were still, you know, you're showing up being a member of the team. You never scored. You didn't do anything. Like what was that emotional moment like that first time? Do you remember? Honestly, I think I felt pretty sorry for myself. I think that's natural. Yeah. If I'm being totally honest, I don't think I had the perspective I do now. I think I was...

pretty upset. I, you know, I was still grieving the loss of this thing I loved so much. And I'd worked so hard. You know, you work so hard throughout the week for a game that it's really difficult when suddenly you just don't even have that to show for. So I

Yeah, it was hard. But at the same time, I thought, well, I'm not doing anybody much good sitting here and complaining. So I did my best to like, what can I see from the sidelines that maybe my teammates can't? Or what ear can I lend when really it shouldn't be, it's not appropriate for them to go to our coach or it's certainly not going to help their relationship with them.

And how can I be a sounding board or just listen when somebody might need it? Or how can I help even when I'm not needed? Like, can I bring somebody water? Can I pick up cones? Can I anticipate some things? And so I just tried to find ways that I could help in any way that I could. And don't get me wrong, it was hard and it wasn't like an overnight turn the page. But once I did, it's amazing how much fulfillment you get when you can just pour into others.

I think that is just a testament to who you are as a person. You know, like you were so mature at that point. You took your grieving. You took your like curl up in the ball moments, but you didn't quit. You kept going. You were there showing up for your teammates. That has now escalated into who you are today. So then what was the next steps after that? So I got really curious about the sports psychology stuff.

And one of my assignments actually in this course was to interview somebody in the field. And so I kid you not, I literally Googled mental performance code or sports psychology San Diego because I was going to school in San Diego at the time. And a woman by the name of Dr. Sarah Castillo popped up.

And she happened to be the director of this sports psychology program at National University in Carlsbad. And we were supposed to talk for like 30 minutes and we ended up talking for hours. Oh, wow. And by the end of it, she said, are you interested in joining our master's program? Yes, please. And I was like, yeah. And kind of the rest is history. So I went on. I got my master's degree in sport and performance psychology. And right out of grad school, I had two job offers on the line.

And as a grad student, that's like a dream. I was on cloud nine. And the only catch was one of the jobs, the one that I wanted, was going to take about six months for you to get placed in that role, which was very common for this role. So I took that job and I decided to say no to the other. Well, six months go by and I don't hear anything. So

I sent out an email. I said, hey, just checking to see, you know, when I should be expecting my placement. And that's when I get the email back that said, we're sorry. The job is no longer available. Oh, my gosh. Like, I wonder, would they have ever just told you? Had you not reached out? Or were they just going to hope you forgot about it? Or did they just forget about you? We will never know the answer to that question. Yeah.

But that's how it felt, right? That's the exact questions I was asking myself. Like, are you kidding me? Like, what? So you gave me the job and now you're taking it away. And six months ago, I had two jobs. Now I had none because the other job, they filled the position. So it's not like I could go back and be like, hey, yeah, I want to go with you guys. They're like, no. JK, guys. Yeah. I'm here. No, we filled the position. So here I am with nothing.

So I call everybody I know in the field and just start trying to use my resources to the best of my ability. And I kept hearing the same thing. Lauren, you just need experience, which is so frustrating.

Because I'm sitting here thinking like, what do you think I'm trying to do? Right. I'm trying to get experience. I had a similar experience after college. You know, I had the position. It was fantastic. But then you got deferred for six months. Now I went and attended bar and had a great time. But a lot of my friends were trying to get jobs. And it was that same thing. You need experience. Well, how can you get experience?

If all the jobs you need experience in order to get is that catch 22. So frustrating. Yeah. And that's where I found myself. Just so frustrated. And I had student loans coming up. You know, I like canceled the apartment. I had like put on hold because I thought that's where they were placing me. You know, my whole life was uprooted at this point. All the plans I had were gone. So now I'm here left picking up the pieces going, okay, what next? Right.

So student loans are coming up. I need to start paying those bills. And so I was like, I got to make money somehow. So I decide to get a job at Starbucks. And this one day at Starbucks, I was working the drive-thru and it completely changed my life. Okay. This I've got to hear. Yeah.

So when you're working the drive-thru, it's important first to know that when you're working the drive-thru, it is your job to entertain the customer while their drink is being made. So this gentleman's drink is being made and I'm chatting it up with him and we're having a great conversation when he asks me, so are you in school? Which was a fair question. There were a lot of people studying in school and I said, no, actually I just graduated. And he

He goes, great. What'd you get your degree in? And, you know, here I am. I'm a fresh new grad. I can't wait to tell you what I got my degree in. I'm so proud of myself. And so I proudly told him, oh, performance psychology. And he just starts laughing. And you know the difference between somebody that's laughing with you versus at you? And laughing at you. He's definitely laughing at me. And so I'm like, I'm so confused. But I allow him to catch his breath. And then I finally ask him, what's so funny?

And he said, oh, you got one of those degrees you'll never use. Oh. I was so upset. Did you want? Okay. Let's just take a second here. You know you kind of wanted to take that hot coffee and oops it in his lap, right? Oh, I wanted to call out. Like maybe you didn't. Yes.

Maybe you're a better person than some of us, but like I, and I wouldn't have done it, but I would have been very tempted to just, oops. I wanted to jump out of the window, but I'll have you know I did not. I had some self-control, but I couldn't actually hand him his drink. I was so frustrated. I was pissed. Yeah. I was offended. I mean, this guy that does not know you literally just shattered your world and made fun of you and...

You're already going through that frustration of, well, I'm working Starbucks because, oh, crap. Maybe he's right. Maybe that degree isn't going to come in handy because the job fell through. Like all the things. Yeah. And you know when somebody says something to you and then it plays like a broken record in your mind and you begin to ruminate on it? Mm-hmm.

Well, that was happening. Like it just kept repeating in my mind. And every single time I would hear it, I would re-experience all the frustration, all the emotions all over again. And then I got to the point where I was mad because I was mad because I thought to myself like, Lauren, you're better than this. Like this guy doesn't even know you.

Why are you giving him this much power over you? And that's when I had a light bulb moment. And I realized I wasn't mad because he was rude. I was mad because he was right. If you turn around at your first time of adversity, you're not going to get very far. Yeah. And here I was, didn't get the job I wanted. So I turned around and I wasn't trying to pursue any alternate direction. I was just waiting for something to fall in my lap. And so I think what

he said, actually held a mirror up to my reality. And that's why I was so mad.

And so that evening I actually Googled how to start your own consulting company. Wow. Started my own consulting company and I would work the morning shifts. I remember I would get up at 2.30 in the morning. I'd be at work at 3.30 at Starbucks. I'd work from 3.30 to 12.30. I'd get off and I'd work on my consulting business. I would cold call. I would email. I would look up people and try and connect with them on LinkedIn, as many people as I could.

to try and get my name out there. I would offer things for free just to get in front of people because I knew I had something really important and special to offer. I knew I could help. And so I got a lot of no's. Every once in a while, I'd get a yes. And after a year's time, I had built a resume worthy of a professional sports team to consider me. And I had the opportunity to

with the New York Yankees and I got the job. Okay, so I'm going to ask the question that I know everyone in the audience is thinking. Okay, lots of people start consulting jobs. How do you go from that to, and yes, you can build up a resume, but that next step of

of getting the interview with the Yankees? Like, were you pitching them? Did they come to you? Like, how does that magic happen? I think that one of my recipes for success is, number one, do good work. People want to work with you. So I didn't care so much about the money I was making. It wasn't like I was making a lot. I definitely wasn't making a lot. But I was making enough at Starbucks to sustain me. So I'm like, okay, I could take that off my plate. I can offer as many people

things for free as I needed to, to get in front of the right people. Because I knew once I got in front of them, they were going to be, they were going to gain something, or at least I was going to give my absolute best to hope that they did. Okay. And so I was like, okay, do really, really good work. People are going to want to work with you. Number one. Number two, always learn. Like learn, learn, learn, learn, learn. So I was constantly, I was a sponge. I was pulling in everything I could from everybody I knew. And

And then three was develop relationships. And three was probably, in my opinion, probably carried the most weight behind doing really good work. And so I reached out to everybody I knew in the field. And when I would reach out to them, these are busy people. Not everybody has time for me. And I get it. And I totally respected the people that didn't have time. But for the people that did...

I wanted to make sure not only I got the most out of it, but they got something out of it as well. So when I'd show up on the call, I was taking frivolous notes. But I wasn't just taking notes about the things that I could gain. I was also taking notes about them. So you took a genuine interest. I genuinely cared about these people on the other end. You showed up to serve. Yeah, I wanted to know about them, their family. I wanted to know what made them tick. What did they value? Yeah.

And so every three to six months, depending on the person, I would put a note in my phone to reach back out to them and do a couple things. One, I would share with them anything about their advice that I had worked on and where it had gotten me, how I was growing, where I was in my growth.

And then I would ask them something about themselves that they specifically told me, but they weren't sure. I guarantee you they didn't expect me to remember. Or they didn't remember that they told you. Yes. It was just part of the conversation. And so it kept me top of mind because every so many months they would hear from me, they would know that I was working my tail off. And they know I wasn't just there to listen and feel good. I was there to take their information and go apply it.

And so when a job came available, they thought of me. And so the Yankee job was never made public. It was only sent to people that were currently in the industry and the MLB. And I had three people send it to me. Wow. That I developed connections with in that way. So I would say that, yes, you're right. Consulting business alone, like that's an important first step because it helped them when they looked at my resume. They're like, oh, she's got experience here. Yeah, she's got the receipts. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

But that wasn't it. I also needed to have people vouch for me because while I did have some receipts, I only had a year's worth. And a lot of people had three to four, sometimes five years worth of experience. And so I needed people to be able to not only trust me, but put their name behind me. And I did that through building relationships. I love that so much. And ironically, it mirrors a lot of what I did in the real estate world. Yeah.

I always told the members of my team, if you're coachable, you'll do good. If you are there just for the commission, you will get the one deal done and no more. You will not get referrals because people can tell when you're there for the money versus when you're there to serve them. You know, and I would have all these agents and they would, you know, Joanne, how are you doing these deals? And I'm like, it's because I can look at you and smell you.

the desperation for a paycheck. And when you, you know, you don't worry about the price point you're selling. You don't worry about what the commission is. You just, you're there to serve the client. I'm like, I promise you, you'll get six more deals after that. Yeah. They'll just, it's just how it happens. Yeah. Well, when people, like you said, you can, it's interesting to me though, to see like that translates into, you know, even what you did or other industries that like, it's that same, same concept that I think a lot of entrepreneurs, especially, um,

Yeah, I think that, you know, success is, you can't make success in a microwave. Right.

You know, there's no like one minute button and suddenly you have like this amazing finished product. No, it's in a slow cooker. And so when you put in the reps and you do the right thing time and time and time again, people begin to develop trust and you provide them evidence that you're reliable, that you'll show up, that the stuff that you're going to bring is good stuff.

and that you genuinely care. And so when they see that over time, people are willing to put their name behind you. But a lot of, at least when I get reached out to by a lot of grad students and I give them that exercise and about 2% of them actually do it. Yeah. Because I'll get it. I'll get the emails or not three to six months later. And I'm always so impressed by the people that do. Wow. Okay. So you went to work for the MLB. What was that like the first couple of years?

Oh, overwhelming. Okay. Yeah. Yes. Overwhelming in a really, really great way. I came into a very well-oiled machine. Not everybody does. I was working under Chad Bowling and Chris Passarella. They have been an MLB for many years. They're amazing. And they had set up an incredible environment.

I was the only woman in performance or in player development at the time. And so there was a transition period for sure, but I think it was harder on the guys than it was me. More so because they were afraid to offend me. They didn't know what they could say and not say. So they'd like drop an F-bomb and they'd be like, sorry, I'm like, you can say that. We're good with that. We're okay. But once we got past the niceties and people got to know me, then it just became like,

I had all these, you know, extended, like adopted brothers, uncles and dads, you know, and they were just incredible humans. And so it was overwhelming because of the amount of people that are in a system and learning everybody's name, learning, keeping, you know, all your sessions on track. You know, there's 350 players in our system, or there was at the time. And so it was a lot to remember. Now, I certainly didn't work with every single one of them, but yeah.

But it was a lot at first. You got to be organized. Very organized. But one of the things that my director told me that gave me a lot of freedom was he said, I don't actually care if you do any mental performance work for your first year. I just want you to develop relationships because they're the foundation of what we do. If we don't have them. That's brilliant of him to recognize that. Yeah. And to give you that freedom. Yeah. So that's what I did.

And ironically, guess what happened as a result of that? Everything else. All the sessions started to happen on their own. My first session with a player was within two weeks of my being there without seeking it, without looking for it, just talking.

And it was incredible. So I grew more in those first two years than I did in like, you know, I feel like the past 10 years of my life because they put me in it and they were the most, they were so supportive. But I just learned so much about so many different people, cultures, positions. I mean, shoot, you name it.

I felt like I learned it there. Okay, I'm going to tell you something, and please don't be offended by this. I am sitting here mentally re-watching like season two or three of Ted Lasso in my head. Yes. And I don't remember what the sports therapist, you know, and I know that's not exactly what you did, but still, I don't remember exactly what her name was, but I am literally picturing like

And that's kind of like your role. You know, like she walked in, the players weren't sure what to do with her. Ted Lasso wasn't sure what to do. And then by the end, he's like sobbing on her couch, you know, like because she developed, you know, they all started to trust her. And I'm like, oh, I can totally see that. Yes, I know. Ted Lasso. This is where I'm going with this. I love Ted Lasso, by the way. Big fan. Big fan. But yeah, that's like it's it's.

Every environment's different for sure. But yeah, that and then some of my players would call me Wendy from Billions and kind of similar. But it's being there to be a support for our players and our staff in a different way than maybe they're used to. It's not technical. It's not tactical. I mean, sure, there's techniques and things that we can give within our sessions. But more than anything, I'm just listening.

helping to ask questions that help them to reveal to themselves what the answers are. That is so cool. So cool. What was your favorite, like, if you can disclose, like, do you have that favorite moment in your brain of like, I want to, you know, I never want to forget this right here. I feel like I had a lot of them, to be honest with you. Working in pro sports was my dream. I actually thought I would be there for my whole life. When I got that job, I was like, I'm never leaving. You're like, I've hit them.

I felt that way, genuinely. And my goals have evolved over time. However, there was one moment. It stands out to me because for many reasons. I have several, but this one sticks in my head right now because there was this player that – I'll start here.

I was at one of our affiliates and I'm in the dugout and I'm chatting it up with, I always just chat it up with the players. And half the time we're not even talking sports psychology. I'm like, how's your mom? Like, how's your girlfriend? How's the dog? Yeah. Like the amount of engagement rings I helped pick. Nice. Lots. But it's, it's just like, you know, you just become, you know, to some degree, like, you know, family members. You're the confidant. Yeah. You're the friend. Well, yes. And so we're, we're sitting in, we're chatting and there's this player and he's giving me like one word answers. Yeah.

And I thought it was odd, but I also, I'm smart enough to know that I'm not for everyone. So I wasn't offended if he didn't want to talk to me, but it struck me because I'd never had this experience with him before. So I'm like, I'm thinking to myself, shoot,

I hope I didn't say anything that I'm unaware of and that like maybe I offended him in some way, you know, whatever to make this shift or, you know, I just had never noticed this before. So I thought, well, maybe I just don't have a good enough relationship with him. Maybe I need to spend more time. So that's what I did. I was like this weekend, I'm going to spend time with him. And it was like no matter what I did, like he wanted nothing to do with me. So there was one day I'm walking into the batting cages early and

And there he is by himself. And I'm like thinking to myself, this poor kid probably thinks I'm following him. I swear this is a coincidence. A happy coincidence because it gave me a moment to kind of confront what was going on. But a coincidence nonetheless. So I go up to him and I said, hey, can I ask you a question? And he's like, yeah, sure. Like, what do you got? I said, yeah.

Is there something I've said to you that maybe I'm unaware of that's offended you in any way? I said, just, and I said, and I preface, I ask you this because I said, I just feel like every time I talk to you, you're giving me one word answers. And I said, shoot, if you don't want to talk to me, I can fully respect that. And I was like, you will not hurt my feelings. But I just want to make sure that there wasn't something I missed. And he like kind of chuckles. He's like, no.

No, that's not it at all. And we had a game, so that wasn't the appropriate time to dive into it, but he agreed to meet with me afterwards. So after the game, he sits in my office and we're chatting and I said, hey, so can you elaborate? And he's like, yeah, I'm not very good at speaking. He said, so when people ask me questions, I try to just give one word answers to kind of get out of the conversation as quick as possible. Yeah. And so I stopped and I said, where does that come from?

And he was like, I don't know. I said, no, I want you to stop and think. So what was the first time you ever thought to yourself, I'm not good at speaking? And it took him a little bit. And then finally he went, oh, I remember I was in second grade elementary school. And he said, I was asked to read something out loud. And I stuttered, a really bad stutter. And my teacher came up to me and said, it's okay, honey. You're just not very good at speaking. Oh my gosh.

And I was like in shock because I'm sitting here in front of this grown man, professional athlete who was terrified to speak because back in elementary school, I can't remember if it was exactly second grade or not, but in elementary school, he was told he wasn't good at speaking and he believed it. And so I looked at him and I said, who told you that then? He's like, well, my teacher. And I said, who's telling you that now? And he had like that epiphany. He's like, I am. And I said, is that who you want to be? And he's like, no, it's a burden.

He said, I want to talk to you. I want to talk to my coaches. I have good things to say. He's like, Lauren, when you come to our, to our, when you do these meetings with our team, he said, I want to contribute and I think they're good. And I said, great. Well, let's talk about it. And so essentially what we did is we had this, I have this belief formula, which is your identity equals your belief plus actions. So his belief was that I'm a bad, I'm not good at speaking. So every time he acted in support of it, he developed this identity of I'm not a good speaker. And so he,

He said, that's not who I want to be. I said, great. Well, good news is we can switch the equation. Your belief equals your identity plus action. So my question is, for your identity, who do you want to become? And he kind of sat up and he's like, I want to become somebody who raises their hand in your meetings. I want to become somebody that initiates conversation with coaches, staff, my teammates. And I said, that's amazing. So I

What actions do you have to do to support that? So we came up with a list. To this day, nobody at the Yankees knows we did this. But every time I'd come to this team in particular, he and I would sit and go over the questions I would ask in my meetings. And then we would go through his answer. Yes.

And so then when I'd ask, his hand would go straight up and I'd call on him. And it got to the point where he had given his brain so much evidence that he began to believe it, that he was a good speaker, that he was confident to speak in front of other people, that he had something important to say.

And so one day he just didn't show up before. And he still raised his hand because he no longer needed the preparation. Right. Because his belief caught up with who he wanted to become and the actions that he gave to support it. And so that stands out to me because the very next spring training, I remember we had this big auditorium and everyone's getting their physicals and whatnot. But everyone's like also saying, hi, like, it's good to see it's like your first day of school. Right. Everyone's reuniting. And he yells from the other side of the room.

Lauren, and like practically runs through the crowd. I've never seen a bigger smile and I've never seen this kind of body language from him. And it was just one of those moments where, and I think it also supports why I do what I do, is there's no better feeling than seeing somebody live into who they were meant to be and who they truly authentically are when they've been able to remove those barriers for themselves.

And so that was a really special standout moment to me. Oh, yeah. Like that's a good one. Yeah. Oh, I can't like the chills that that gives. Yeah. It was, it was pretty awesome. It was, he's a special, a special guy. All right. So, but you did eventually leave, shifted into other things. And now we're going to like fast forward a little bit here. You're writing a book. Yes. Am I allowed to talk about it? Yes, we can talk about it. Tell me about the book.

So the book is called – oh, shoot. I don't know if I've ever said this on a podcast before. We may have to time when this comes out. Yes. I get to get juicy details. Love it. So the book is called Mindset Plus You.

creating your unique formula for high performance. And the idea is actually all around this moment I had walking into a Yankees locker room with a coach. And I had this coach come up to me and we were just chatting it up. We were about to have a meeting with all the staff. And he said, man, Lauren, mindset is everything. And obviously I knew what he meant, but I had this like epiphany where I was like, there's something missing in that phrase.

Because if mindset is everything, like why am I not pitching in the major leagues? You know, like why am I not able to, you know, do some of these things that these amazing athletes and performers and executives and scientists and, you know, soldiers, like why am I not doing those things? And I had this moment where I'm like, okay, no, mindset is not everything, but it impacts everything. And that distinction is important because I can't trade places with you and do what you do because you have a special set of skills. Right.

And when we marry the uniqueness of us with a high-performing mindset, that's when we see some incredible things occur. That's when we can really level up. Everything we do rises as a result of that.

And so the book is aiming at taking your unique gifts of who you are and adding in all these different principles and strategies to find what uniquely works for you. Because what we also know is that what works for you may not work for somebody else. What really lights you up is not going to light the person next to you up. What motivates you is not necessarily going to motivate somebody else. And so to...

give something that's kind of a blanket piece of advice, I think is doing ourselves a disservice. And so my goal and my aim is to bring the reader in and allow them to figure out what their unique formula is for them while giving them the antidotes to try on for size and then be able to create their formula as a result of it. That is, I can't wait to get this book in my hands and also to give it to my son, quite frankly. You know, I've got a 15 year old

He's a baseball player and his dad and I, you know, Jeff, we're always telling him, we're like, Hunter, it's your mindset. You have now convinced yourself that you are not a good batter.

So now you're so nutted up over it when you step up to the plate. Like, I know you can bat better than that. Right. I see you at, you know, in the batting cage. But at the game, you've, you know, you've convinced yourself. And if he could figure out that mindset piece, I'm like, oh, I can tell you what book he's getting for Christmas. Sorry, Hunter. You may have to read it. I may force you to read it.

No, I think that it's – the whole goal is for it to be digestible and applicable. You know, theory is great, but not everyone fits into a theory. Yeah. You know, we don't live in a scientific study. And so –

It's important to understand the reasonings behind it, the science behind it, the frameworks, how our brain works, but also then be able to look at it through the lens of you. And that's really, really important because, for instance, I was working with a pitcher who he works really fast and he was struggling. Now, if I hadn't watched him before...

I might slow him down because the science says we probably need to slow him down. You know, he's speeding up too quick. But if I didn't observe his baseline and know that that was his baseline was fast, I could really have screwed him up. Slowing him down actually caused him to overthink and that overthinking began to get in the way. So instead, we didn't need to slow him down. We needed to reorient his focus.

And so that's why it's important to understand who you are. What are the things that make you you? Understanding what's also going to move the needle forward and be willing to try some things on because sometimes we don't know until we try them. And then being able to disseminate out, ah, this is unique to me and this is what works for me.

But sometimes we do have to try on some things for size. And sometimes we have to look to others to go, hey, Joanne, I like what you're doing. I'm going to try her routine, you know, and see what that works. And then you might go, oh, I like this. This didn't really do much for me. So I'm going to eliminate that. So the whole goal is to give a bunch of offerings and then be able to kind of put your pieces together yourself. That's so fascinating to me. I can't wait to like get some of the feedback from the book.

to, to hear from you along the journey, like what people are telling you, you know, that they got from the book. Cause I know that that's one of those books. I fully believe that once it's out, you're going to, you're going to start hitting, you know, getting all the DMS in, in your Instagram, you know, cause it'll hit all the fields and it'll hit all the things and people will feel like they know you and they'll be reaching out going, Hey Lauren, guess what? You know? Well, I certainly hope so. I tell quite a few stories I've never told in this book before. Yeah.

about myself, family, clients. So it should be also, you know, hopefully entertaining because there's real life examples that can back up a lot of these strategies. Okay. So you and I were talking before we went on air about, you know, you guys used to, when you were traveling for the MLB, like y'all would hunt the coffee places and the food places instead of like the bars to go to and stuff like that. I know you're not traveling as much now as you used to because you've got

a baby, a one and a half year old. How has that like impacted what you're doing in your, in your career? Oh boy. Oh, it's impacted me a lot, but like in the best way, in the best way, I'm still traveling quite a bit. Um, but the goal is to be able to travel less frequently. Um, and, but it's what I, the re one of the big reasons why I, like my goals had shifted and I decided, you know what, I think I, I want to, I want to try something outside of the Yankees.

is I wanted to be able to say no when I wanted to be home with my kid. And not to say there's ever a time I don't want to be home with my kid, but I also have another passion, which is a career and these things that I really absolutely love, which is working and giving back to my clients. And so with that, with my own business, I get to do both.

I get to pursue this piece that I love and I also get to spend time with my kid. But it's all on my terms, which is really ideally what I wanted. So a really cool piece. I actually had like a pinch me moment the other day. I walked you to the kitchen and was playing soccer with my little dude. And I'm like, this is the dream is still doing the thing that I absolutely love to do. But

It's like in between I get to be spending time with him and just – I just had this moment where I was like this is what I was dreaming of. That's really fun.

I remember when mine were little and occasionally I would just hire the babysitter to come in because I'm like, I just need to not forget who I am in the motherhood of it all. Yeah. You know, there's only so much Mickey Mouse Clubhouse you can do. Yeah. When you're used to running high level stuff before you're like, I just need to be able to step out for a little bit. But then when you come back, that makes you such a cooler mom and like more present. Yeah.

A hundred percent. I could not agree with this more. And I think that I'm so new to it. Like, that's why I was like earlier in the car. I was like, Joanne, I need you because you have older kids and you've experienced and I am like still a white belt in this and a beginner, but...

And I, my husband and I, we have a nanny and she is amazing. And I, it's freed us up to both pursue these passions that we have and yet still be able to be home with him, which is just such a gift. And we've, we just feel so lucky. You know, ironically, we traveled more when mine were little than we do now when they're, you know, teenagers and almost self-sufficient. Yeah.

And I didn't realize at the time what a gift that traveling really was because my husband and I got to just always have those moments to reconnect and remember who we were outside of being parents. You know, like there's a reason we're together. Oh, yeah, I kind of still like you. You know, I could dig it. But we were actually saying the other day because we're going to Italy this summer for the first time in a long time. And I'm like, do you know how long it's been since we've taken an us vacation? Like we traveled like maniacs when the babies were babies.

And now that they're older and like I've got one almost driving and we don't ever leave them, you know, and I'm like, how did we mess that scenario up? But yeah, no, it's time. So that would be my advice is like always take those date nights or those moments and just remember like there's a reason your parents, you know.

One of the things we have done and implemented is we do date night every Friday and it's the best day of the week. We have so much fun. We went bowling and go-karting the other day. We're very competitive. I like to say, though, I am in psychology, we call it negativity bias, right? Where you focus on like the one thing that you did wrong and ignoring all the positives. Right.

Well, I actually have positivity bias because I only think about the one game I won and beat my husband, but I forget about the five that he beat me. Oh, well, that's just called being a wife. Yeah.

He's so athletic and I hate it because he's good at everything. That's called wiping. And he doesn't care. I'm so competitive. Oh, no. Mine would definitely, like, remember the one that he lost and, like, we would never mention it again. He's so competitive. Like, we used to play cards all the time and, like, we can't do that anymore. Yeah, you're like, no, family game night is not happening in your household. No. Because now I've got the 15-year-old who is as competitive with stuff like that. So the other night we were actually playing a card game around the table and, like,

I had to just quit midway through. I was like, I'm getting beat up by the two men in my life. If I have any chance at maintaining any of my ego. Yeah. Like they had ganged up on me to make sure that mom went down. And I'm like, this is not fun. Screw this. I'm out of here. That's awesome.

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for being with us today. Cannot wait for the book to drop. We will make sure that everyone knows how to get it, where to get it, and when it's going to be released. We'll probably have you back on to do a post-release interview at that point. But in the meantime, where would you like our audience to connect with you the most?

I think the best place, honestly, is to go to my website because when I got married, my name is very – there's a lot of Lauren Johnsons in the world, I will tell you. I would imagine there are. I had a very unique name prior to getting married. So –

The best place because all my handles are different is go to laurenjohnsonandco.com. That's all spelled out, A-N-D-C-O.com. And you can find all the ways to connect with me. I would love to hear from you. Awesome. Okay. Well, as always, guys, it has been amazing. If you can take a little bit of nugget from this conversation today, tune in, implement it into your own life, into your own business so you can earn a lot of profit out there. I will see y'all in the same time, same place next week.

You just finished another episode of the B-Word Podcast. Cheers to you. If I were with you, I would literally pop a big old bottle of Prosecco and pour you a glass. Since I'm not, why don't you do the next best thing and share this episode with one of your besties? Because we all know you've got that one girlfriend that needs to hear it. Thanks, friends.

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