I Am... With Jonny Wilkinson

Olympic champion and three-time world champion heptathlete, Jessica Ennis-Hill is one of Great Britain’s most successful athletes. Jess set some high bars for herself and cleared them all. Her Super Saturday gold medal winning show stopper during the 2012 London Olympics will live on in the minds of those whom saw it unfold. It was a moment that transcends sport and became a defining detail in the story of this immensely gifted heptathlete. But there is so much more to her and her success and I was privileged to be granted access to a lot of it.In today’s episode, Jess lets us in on her driving forces, her focused mindset, and her desire for balance. It’s an open, warm, and fascinating conversation. 

It is never actually about everything going perfectly. It is more to do with shaking loose everything that stands in the way of our self-worth and finding that feeling place.In today’s Tuesday episode Jonny remarks on how we often seem to find it so much easier and more comfortable to focus upon what we do not want to happen than it is to visualise our ideal outcomes. Taking on positive perspectives has almost become a means of distracting ourselves from the more justifiable, conventionally agreed (and therefore apparently more real) negative version.But what happens when we emotionally, mentally and physically align with what we want? What does it take? Can it be the secret to unlocking a totally different type of performance potential?Big questions in today's episode: - What does it mean to step out of our own way? - What are the different forces that drive us forward? - What happens when we are courageous enough to choose positive outcomes over old beliefs, fear, anger, and desperation? - How do we connect to our higher selves? - How do I do this when stuff is not happening as I want it to?

Australian Union rugby player, James O'Connor joins Jonny this week to walk us through his learnings from his phenomenal and at times misunderstood career so far. One of the most talented players of his generation, he gives us an incredible insight into the highs and lows of his career. Having played stints in London, Manchester and Toulon before returning to Australia he has encountered challenging moments on and off the pitch to go with the amazing ones and is happy to open up about them. James talks about the immense importance of listening to his body and constantly seeking for his truth. Absolute willingness to accept and relax and the courage to stay true to passion and excitement plays a big part in this episode.

Throughout every one of the previous 3 podcast series, we have been pointing to how our power and our potential is not something we possess but it is actually just what we are. It is our source, not our goal. This is why the things we earn and win, that we are so convinced will make everything ok and resolve our deeper sense of insufficiency, never do. Jonny expands on this in today's Tuesday episode and what this looked like in his own life.Big Questions explored by Jonny today:- Can we find our highest passion and excitement even in the things we have to do that we don’t want to do?- If what we are after is already in what we are then why are we looking for it? Why don’t we already know it?- How can we be more receptive, and loosen fixed ideas?- How can we find fulfilment by liberating and expressing our creativity? 

James Nestor is a journalist and author whose personal quest and discoveries into the world of breath work have the potential to transform our lives. His most recent book ‘Breathe’ looks deeply into this skill that we all possess and has been met with success all around the world.For Jonny, James’ personal quest and discoveries possess the power to change our lives if we are willing to remain open-minded about who we are and champion an indefatigable curiosity about life.

A worthy saying in performance is to focus on the basics and not to get bored of them. After all, it’s generally accepted that the team that has the basics locked down tends to come out on top - and those that skip the basics tend to find themselves coming unstuck and reactive further down the line.At the core of everything in life, according to Jonny, is how we are on the inside - here lies our worth, our gift and our potential. Without connecting to this source and consciously grounding ourselves in who we are, everything we do will feel like effort. It will lead to stress, fatigue and plateauing.How do we find our way inwards?Big questions in today’s episode include:- Why is breathing so important?- How can we work with our breathing to consciously return to relaxation in the presence of the fear?- How can harnessing our breathing help us grow?- How do we focus upon breathing? Can we become more aware of it?

TW - this episode contains personal stories from life on the frontlines that some listeners might be sensitive to.Jason Fox has spent a large part of his life serving in the armed forces. Today, Jason opens up about his journey, and what it was like being involved in matters of life and death everyday. With over 20 years’ experience in the marines and the SAS, his experiences have taken him to some of the most challenging conditions imaginable - and you may recognise him from the hit television programme ‘SAS: Who Dares Wins’. 

It is perhaps the biggest task anyone can take on – to stand and face our own unique challenges rather than go around blaming everything and taking it out on everyone else. Acceptance leads to responsibility, whereas resistance leads to reactivity. This path towards taking greater responsibility for ourselves forms the basis of this episode.Big questions in todays episode:- How can we be fully present and embrace the now?- What does it take to see through our knee jerk reactions and overcome our conditioning?- Can we say yes to this moment? Work with it rather than fight it? Can we explore the possibility of what it can be rather than attempt to control it back to what we believe it should have been?- Can I say yes to the unknown?- Can I surrender my fear and doubt, and in its place choose trust?*these questions are based off the question sent into our email hello@iampodcast.co.ukJonny can’t reply to them all, but they always inform his questions and own learning in the show. 

Julia Samuel MBE is an award-winning psychotherapist and best selling author who devotes her time and energy to helping people find their way in the most unimaginably tough circumstances; losing loved ones of all ages. In today's episode, Julia elaborates upon the grieving process, the importance of it and the forms it can take. She also provides some beautiful pointers for how we can engage with it and harness the life-affirming force of it for our performance and growth. Together, Jonny and Julia explore some of the proactive ways in which we can confront our own mortality and the limiting beliefs we hold around it whilst we are fit and able in the here and now.To Keep Up with Jonny:Email in on: Hello@Iampodcast.co.ukInstagram: @jonnywilkinsonofficialTwitter: @jonnywilkinsonTo keep up with Julia grab her on any of the following:Instagram: @juliasamuelmbeWebsite www.juliasamuel.co.ukand her Grief Works app https://griefworks.onelink.me/3iEA/gw

Loss, fear of loss, mortality it can hold such power over us, shifting our entire world view and shaping the way we relate to ourselves, our lives and the opportunities presented to us.Big questions in today’s episode include:- Are we just living to die or are we willing to die so that we may truly live?- How do we transcend the physically dominated concept of “life getting harder as we get older” and our glory days being behind us?- Are we really products of our environment or do we hold our potential?- Who is the I in I am?- What is original to who we are and what is acquired?- Why is awareness so important?*these questions are based off the question sent into our email hello@iampodcast.co.ukJonny can’t reply to them all, but they always inform his questions and own learning in the show.