How Champions Think with CFL Wide Receiver Natey Adjei

We often compare the mindset of professional traders to that of professional athletes on this podcast so we are very excited for today's special guest, Natey Adjei, who is a professional wide receiver for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Natey has been playing football since the fourth grade and has been playing as a professional in the big leagues for the last seven years. He was originally drafted by the Toronto Argonauts in the 2013 CFL Draft where he played for two seasons before joining the Edmonton Eskimos prior to the 2016 season. Natey enjoyed four seasons playing as a receiver for the Eskimos before rejoining the Argonauts as a free agent in February 2020.   Making it to the highest level of a sport is one thing, but to perform as consistently as Natey has, for as long as he has, takes a different type of mindset - the mind of a champion. What does it take to make it to the top? How do champions bounce back from setbacks? How do professionals stay motivated? What do winners focus on? The answer to these questions and more is a short listen away! Here is a summary of what we discussed: 

• Who is Natey and what does he do? 01:35
• Synergies between trading and athletic performance 04:09
• What drove Natey to become a professional athlete 04:51
• How self-accountability is what makes the difference between being good versus being great 07:51
• Good days and bad days will happen - what matters is how you respond 10:07
• Dealing with discouragement and gaining confidence through hard work 14:02
• Focusing on the present and winning one day at a time 16:52
• Using daily routines to track and understand your performance 20.35
• Building mental strength by putting in work when you don't feel like it 25:02
• Analyzing your mistakes and correcting your course 31:43
• Not all mistakes are created equal 34:30
• Why checking the scoreboard in-game is a loser's mentality - it's always a zero-zero game 39:30
• How professional athletes self-reflect on their individual performance after a game  43:30
• Using visualization to win the battle in your head and improve performance 46:32
• Situational awareness and its role in real-time risk management 51:00
• If you're going to make a mistake, make it at full speed - no matter what you do 54:45
• You can't reach the top without thinking and believing that you are the best 61:32
• Self-worth and dealing with the negative pressure and expectations from fans on social media 64:35
• When it's really close margins it's the mental game that defines the best 68:00
• Finding motivation by striving to get better every day 71:11

Resources

• Enjoying this podcast? We'd appreciate it if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here 
• Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy
• Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast

How to Find Natey Adjei? 

• Love sports? Listen to Natey's All Ball Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Youtube
• Follow Natey on Twitter and Instagram