Your Greatest Wins Are Built on Failure with Jim Harshaw
Lead on Purpose with James Laughlin
Why failure is essential to success
Jim recounts repeated failures in college wrestling and how learning from them enabled his senior-year breakthrough.
Order my new book Habits of High Performers here - www.thehabitbook.com
In this episode of Lead On Purpose, I sit down with former All American wrestler and high performance coach Jim Harshaw Jr to unpack what it really takes to go from good to great without burning out.
From a blue collar upbringing to the NCAA podium and training as an Olympic hopeful, Jim shares how he rebuilt his entire life through structure, coaching and an environment of excellence.
What we cover:
- Jim’s journey from feeling out of his depth at a top university to becoming an All American, double graduate and Olympic hopeful
- The four part framework for high performance: radical vision, aligned goals, an environment of excellence and a long term follow through plan
- The “miracle day,” billion dollar and funeral exercises that unlock what you really want from life and work
- Why failure is a necessary ingredient for success and how to run a simple review so you actually learn from it instead of shrinking your goals
- The power of the “productive pause,” coaching and community, plus the daily habits and bookends Jim uses to keep performing at a high level
If we can reframe failure, choose our environment and protect time to think, high performance stops being a grind and starts becoming the natural result of how we live.
- Learn more about Jim here - https://jimharshawjr.com
- Listen to Jim’s podcast here - https://jimharshawjr.com/podcast/
- Apply for a free coaching call with Jim - https://jimharshawjr.net/call
- Action Plans + Success Through Failure Exercise - https://jimharshawjr.net/action-plan-landing-page1729264671370
- If you’re interested in having me deliver a keynote or workshop for your team contact Caroline at caroline@jjlaughlin.com
Website: https://www.jjlaughlin.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6GETJbxpgulYcYc6QAKLHA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JamesLaughlinOfficial Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jameslaughlinofficial/ Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/life-on-purpose-with-james-laughlin/id1547874035 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3WBElxcvhCHtJWBac3nOlF?si=hotcGzHVRACeAx4GvybVOQ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameslaughlincoaching/
James Laughlin is a High Performance Leadership Coach, Former 7-Time World Champion, Host of the Lead On Purpose Podcast and an Executive Coach to high performers and leaders. James is based in Christchurch, New Zealand.
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Join me at the 2026 Goal-setting Workshop here - jjlaughlin.com/2026goals
- If you're interested in booking me for a keynote or workshop, contact Caroline at caroline@jjlaughlin.com
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