Inspired By A Champion Jockey

“I’ve never bothered about records. I’ve never performed well if I’m going for stuff like that. I like to win, but it’s not the be-all and end-all. I just try to enjoy the game, compete, enjoy being on the circuit, try to enjoy what I do and work hard at my game. Then you just let the snooker gods decide what they are going to decide. These 17 days, they were on my side.”

– Ronnie O’Sullivan after winning his 7th World Snooker Championship

I heard the above from great snooker player O’Sullivan last week after he had just become the oldest ever world champion at 46 years of age.

The next day I had the opportunity to interview another sporting legend, champion jockey Rachael Blackmore.

Just in case you haven’t heard of her, Rachael became the first female jockey to win the British Grand National in the 182-year history of the race. She also became the first woman to be leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival with six victories, including the Champion Hurdle, in 2021. The following year she became the first female jockey to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

A client of mine, Core Building Providers, had asked me to interview Rachael in front of a private crowd at the launch of their new branding. Afterwards, it struck me that she would probably say something similar to Ronnie O’Sullivan because it seemed to encapsulate her approach to her sport also.

Here are some of the things I picked up from Rachael:

• Winning is great but don’t be attached to it.
• Work at your craft daily.
• Strive to be better all the time.
• No matter what, enjoy what you do.
• Be in it to win it. But realise that you lose more than you win.
• When you do win, really savour it.
• Learn from the fails and from the falls. They make you stronger.

Which one of these strikes a chord with you?

What will you do about it this week?

Shane

PS – My podcast this week shares other insights from my conversation with Rachael. Link below.

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Latest Episode on The Inner Edge Podcast: Learning From Champion Jockey, Rachael Blackmore. All episodes are between 10-15 minutes in length and the podcast is available on all major podcasting platforms including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can listen on my website also.

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