#012 – From Rugby to Rowing: Lessons in Resilience and Marginal Gains with Martin Muller
Welcome to another episode of Speaking to Stacy. I have always loved getting to know people and speaking about their life experiences. In this episode of the podcast, my guest shared some unique insights into his journey as a professional rugby player and his adventure across the Atlantic Ocean. He has learned how to leverage the lessons he learned from sports into the other areas of his life.
My Guest:
Martin Muller is a retired professional rugby player who has played for the Stormers, the Cheetahs, and the Lions. Martin now plays rugby for Valley RFC in Hong Kong and has successfully transitioned into corporate life.
In this conversation, Martin and I discuss how he got his start in professional rugby. I found it interesting that he was not intentional about becoming a professional athlete. We also discussed what he described as the most arduous physical challenge he has endured, the Talisker Atlantic Rowing Challenge. If you want to hear how his experience as a sportsperson prepared him for that grueling adventure, please listen through to the end of this week’s episode.
Martin’s experiences, as a professional rugby player and his recent experience rowing the Atlantic, make him part of a small cohort of people that can share some unique insights with the listeners.
Key Takeaways for the listeners:
1) why it’s really stressful to be a professional sportsperson,
2) how to prepare for long-distance rowing,
3) how to implement the power of marginal gains in sports and in business.
Reflecting on how to leverage the lessons you learn in rugby and life:
I think it’s important to reflect on the experiences we have had in our lives and to try and search for lessons that can be learned. Very often the lessons we learn in one sphere of our lives cross over into other domains. Sometimes it is obvious how a lesson learned on the sports field may apply to your corporate life and other times the lesson is implicit.
For more information about ChildFund Rugby please visit their website:
https://www.childfundrugby.org/
Podcast mentioned:
Stu Morton – Rowing the Atlantic Solo
Book mentioned:
If you enjoyed this week’s episode I urge you to listen to the episodes I did with Kyle Brown, Nic Groom, and Nick Köster.
