Performance Intelligence Podcast #134 From Fire Fighter to Leadership Coach: Embracing Fear & Living a Truly Authentic Life - Rick Cooper
What does it take to turn your fears into fuel for success? This week's guest is Rick Cooper (also known as The Educational Athlete). Rick is a former London Fire Service officer, athlete, and educator turned Leadership & Performance Coach. Rick shares his incredible journey from a challenging upbringing to becoming a force for good, inspiring others to embrace authenticity and courage. With over 20 years of experience in his field of human behavior, performance, and leadership - Rick leaves you with practical strategies to transform your leadership style.
Rick is the creator of the Education Athlete Program which offers a series of workshops designed to equip 15 to 18-year-old young men and women in independent schools with essential skills including emotional intelligence, resilience, and leadership.
"Courage is the word. It takes absolute courage and bravery to want to sit in all your fear and accept it."
In this episode, Andrew and Rick discuss:
1:50 How Andrew and Rick met through JT at Manly, Rick's upbringing in a rough area of England, and the dysfunctional family dynamic Rick grew up with.
5:30 How Rick found his upbringing affected him later in life, how Rick channeled his anger into rugby and moving to a new area to leave all that behind him.
10:00 Why Rick thought he had to prove himself to everyone on the rugby pitch, his innate sense of empath,y and joining the fire service after recovering from a broken spine.
17:45 The flattened hierarchy of the fire service Rick witnessed, sport isn’t high performance when compared to emergency services or the military, and the reaction Rick gets when he says that to athletes and coaches.
23:30 Rick realising he was enough for himself after being invited to an international bodybuilding event, how Rick got into the speaking circuit by sharing his story and the story of Rick’s 47-year-old personal training client.
38:30 Feeling whole after a long journey of self-discovery, Rick’s client finds peace and how Rick defines fear.
45:48 Finding the courage to sit in the fear and move past it, authenticity creates genuine connections and Rick’s corporate client who struggled to be vulnerable with his team.
55:30 Past pain informs future fear, you can’t get to courage without feeling fear beforehand and being on purpose to become whole.
1:00:30 Rick is incapable of only having a surface-level conversation, leaving behind people in your life who drag you down, and resolving conflict with your partner.
1:09:20 The 3 questions you should ask yourself, are where you can find Rick and who Andrew would like to see through the eyes of for a day.
Rick's 3 questions are:
- Why am I doing what I'm doing?
- In my relationship, what are we doing well, and what is not working?
- What's my biggest obstacle right now and how do I overcome it?
You can find Rick at his website: https://www.rick-cooper.com/
Or at his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-cooper-theeducationathlete/
Listen to the podcast with Michael Bungay Stanier: https://performanceintelligence.transistor.fm/episodes/66-michael-bungay-stanier-the-power-of-coaching-tapping-into-curiosity-and-reinventing-yourself-to-stay-relevant-and-fresh
Buy a copy of his book mentioned in this podcast: https://www.mbs.works/coaching-habit-book/
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