Ep 140 - Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson: How to inspire change.

It's about helping people think differently to help themselves.

In this episode, Tanni Grey-Thompson talks sport, politics, business, family inspiration and how we can make the most of opportunities in fitness post-COVID.

A global ambassador of sport, Tanni is most famous for her world records, London marathon wins and Paralympic gold medals. However, it's her work in UK government that's inspiring change at the highest level to improve lives and raise the bar of how good we can all become in business and every day life.

For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast

Video episode – https://youtu.be/nXoZianX7J4

Born with spina bifida and paralysed from a very young age of around six years old, Tanni grew up surrounded by a supportive family that always challenged her to try new things and explore the world. At 13, she found her love for wheelchair racing and went on to reap success after success in marathons, world record attempts, and multiple Paralympic Games.

Today' Tanni is an ex-athlete, proud Welsh woman, a mum, a wife, a Parliamentarian and an inspiration to many around the world.

Tanni has continued to be involved in sport and physical activity. She is chair of ukactive, and a board member of institutions including London Marathon, the Sportsaid Foundation, the Duke of Edinburgh Awards and Join In.

 

In 2010 Tanni became an Independent Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords, taking the title Baroness Grey-Thompson of Eaglescliffe in the County of Durham. As a working peer, Tanni uses her experience and knowledge during debates in the House and she has spoken on a range of issues including disability rights and welfare reform in addition to sport.

 

Episode highlights -

• How we can take the positive aspects of working from home in how we continue to work after the pandemic lockdowns are lifted.

• Why having an athletic mindset will enable to challenge yourself all the time and be better in other areas of life such as business.

• Why doing the boring stuff, whether it's training, working or writing speeches, will enable you to make the most of your time to make a difference, when competing, selling or speaking in public.

• What mindset you can take to appreciate the value of time in reaching your goals and working towards whatever your success metric for the future is.

• Why everyone should try new things before they decide if they want to pursue them or not, making decisions from an informed position.

• How even if you get stereotyped or stuck in one image from a previous success, there are more parts to what you can do and what you can achieve that people need to see instead of sticking with a single perception.

• What you can do to prepare your children for the world and inspire them to make a difference, even under challenging circumstances such as living with a disability.

• Why evaluation is key for any win, loss, success or failure. This will enable you to see where you made the most impact or where you may have missed an opportunity.

• What societal challenges Tanni Grey-Thompson has faced as a disabled women and how she's overcome these challenges, or changed attitudes to educate ignorance.

• Why fitness isn't taken seriously on a nationwide level and what the COVID-19 pandemic has done to highlight the need to embrace physical activity at all levels.

• Why we like to think we're a nation of sports lovers but we're actually a nation of people who like watching big sports events.

• How physical activity is more than just about gyms and leisure centres.

• What we can all do as industries and communities in changing the mindsets of people when it comes to fitness and physical activity.

Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Tanni Grey-Thompson…