58.Unleashing The Champion Within You With Kyle Sullivan
Making a couple of bad decisions as we traverse through life is normal. However, some decisions can be too heavy to the point of finding ourselves at rock bottom. You might even feel hopeless and just choose to run away. Being held accountable for the consequences of your bad decision may be terrifying. But if we look at it as an opportunity, it may be the stepping stone you need to set yourself up for success.
In this episode, Kyle Sullivan, culture coach and the host of the “Unleash The Champ” podcast, shares his journey. He talks about his path to becoming a successful champion's coach and what it takes to get there. When he was finally confronted with the consequences of his actions, he decided to start over. He began his new life as a pastor with this determination. After a few years, he moved into coaching and is now sharing his knowledge to help others become the champion[1] they were born to be.
Listen to this episode to discover Kyle’s journey and learn how to become the champion you’ve always aspired to be!
Three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:
Be inspired by Kyle’s journey as a coach, D1 athlete, drug dealer, pastor, father, and husband.
Discover how both good and bad life experiences can shape up your successful future.
Set yourself up for success by learning about a coach’s mindset for high performers.
Work with Simon
● Connect with Simon: https://www.simonosamoh.com/
● Join Simon's Tribe: http://bit.ly/CommunitySimonOsamoh
● Subscribe to the YouTube Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribeSimonOsamoh
Episode Highlights
[6:57] Kyle’s Curveballs In Life
● Kyle’s life was a series of curveballs.
● He spent much of his youth playing American football and baseball, while he turned to powerlifting in high school. When he entered college, Kyle tried going back to football and baseball.
● Although Kyle was good in both football and baseball, he was not exceptional.
● Though not exceptionally fast or tall, he had the passion and energy as an athlete.
● Using his innate energy, Kyle decided on doing competitive cheerleading and even becoming a D1 athlete on the field.
Kyle: “I believe that everything we do, that everything we experience in life takes us to who we became.”
[8:53] Breaking The Stereotype
● By becoming a cheerleader in college, Kyle broke the stereotype of the sport being female-only.
● Becoming a cheerleader was like a dream come true for Kyle.
● Kyle did not have any prior cheerleading experience. He had to learn the basics in a month, which he successfully did.
● Passion and motivation drove Kyle to master cheerleading in such a short period.
[11:00] Road To Validation
● Like most of us, Kyle also strived hard to feel validated. He felt more pressured to do so since he did not know who his biological mom was.
● In his early school days, he acted as the class clown to be perceived as likeable. He was surrounded by peers, and he relished in it.
● As he grew up, his search for acceptance continued. He wanted attention; he wanted to be known.
● Kyle participated in damaging activities with his friends, because he felt the need to belong.
Kyle: “If they like me, then I'm accepted. If I'm accepted, that's what I desire. So I'm gonna keep doing that. And so I think that's where it stemmed from. And then, you know, just over time, it just was reinforced, it was reinforced, it was reinforced to where it ultimately led me in a pretty destructive place.”
[15:14] Taking The Wrong Turn
● At the age of 21, Kyle was dealing with drugs. He only stopped when he, for the first time in his life, got caught.
● Kyle realized he needed to change things when his "Superman" complex faded. He knew that he had to face the consequences of his actions.
● He knew he needed Jesus back in his life.
[16:03] From Drugs To God
● Kyle devoted around 11 years of his life to Jesus as a pastor.
● Over this course of time, he was fortunate to become part of many organizations that helped build him as a person.
● Through connecting with others, he was able to forge his path as a consultant and coach.
[18:01] Sacrifices While Climbing To The Top
● In seeking out a purpose, there will always be pruning. To advance, Kyle lets go of his past burdens.
● We must acknowledge that we need to remove the things weighing us down to move forward.
● As much as we should be grateful to the people who were with us along the way, it does not mean that they will necessarily reach the top with us.
[21:55] Going Back To The Past
● Given all the ups and downs in Kyle’s life, he would still choose to change nothing in his past.
● To Kyle, everything that has happened to him is what makes him the person he is today.
● If anything changes in the past, everything also changes in the present.
[22:58] Unleashing The Champion Within You
● Being a champion is calling one’s heart out to the mindset and performance.
● Unleashing the champion within you is aligning the things you genuinely want with how you take care of yourself, the things important to you, and your behavior.
● Kyle coaches by building action instead of talking theory.
● Keeping a consistent behavior in the right direction will yield one’s expected results.
Kyle: “When your personal culture meets your professional performance, and those get in alignment, you truly unleash the champ within you by working on calling heart out attitude, mindset performance, which creates your personal or professional culture.”
[25:27] His Clients
● His program is participated by men and women, and his oldest client is 53.
● Most of his clients are high-performing individuals who either run a successful business or work in lucrative jobs.
● Kyle somehow realized that the participants place a gap between their personal culture and professional performance, which could hinder their success.
Simon: “...but quite often we see these material things, we see these treasures. But even when you find the people that have those treasures, they are still searching.”
[32:46] Talking To Kyle’s 2021 Self
● Kyle wishes he could tell himself or anyone else going through a difficult moment in the past to just "breathe."
● He used to be very irritable in the past. But he’s learned to filter himself by analyzing if these experiences are something he could share on his deathbed.
● He wants to encourage young people in their twenties to focus on the process rather than the end result. The minor actions we do as we grow up lead to results in the long run.
● Finally, we must simply trust the process and learn from people as if it were our job.
About Kyle
Kyle Sullivan is a champion’s coach lending a hand to high-performance athletes to find their dreams and own significance. He has lived through different phases of his life as an athlete, a drug dealer, a husband, a father, a pastor, and now as a champion’s coach. The experiences he’s had in his life journey finally led him to start “Unleash The Champ”. In “Unleash The Champ”, he shares insights on preparing you for success in personal, relational, emotional, and professional aspects of your life.
Go listen to Kyle’s “Unleash The Champ” through Apple Podcast. You may also learn more about Kyle through his website or Instagram.
Enjoyed this Episode?
If you did, be sure to subscribe and share it with your friends!
Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning in, then leave us a review. You can also share this with your friends and family. This episode will inspire them to find new meaning in their lives despite life-changing obstacles.
Have any questions? You can connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Thank you for tuning in! For more updates, you can visit my website or join the community. You can also tune in on Apple Podcasts or YouTube.
