093: "Coaching Is More About Revealing Than Perspective" (lessons from Ann Rivera)
🧠Erik’s Take
This episode is Erik’s reflection on the electric, vulnerable, and revealing conversation with performance coach Ann Rivera—a woman whose origin story as a rebellious underdog athlete reads like a masterclass in bootstrapped entrepreneurship. Erik connects Ann’s volleyball hustle to the startup journey: making yourself visible in a market that doesn’t know it needs you, adapting your offer mid-flight, and staying grounded in the uncomfortable yet exhilarating reality of growth.
At its core, this review is about how sports, grit, and flow are not metaphors for business—they are business when done right.
🎯 Top Insights from the Interview
- Her story is a startup. Ann's journey from overlooked 5'9" volleyball player to European pro is the perfect entrepreneurial parable—scrappy outreach, market rejection, product pivot, and relentless execution.
- Flow state is not an accident. Ann’s self-designed rituals—journaling, music, visualization—weren’t indulgences; they were systems. A blueprint.
- Sports reveal what business forgets. Things like preparation, internal competition, and honest feedback are baked into athletics—but go missing in most professional environments.
- Coaches see what you can’t. The best leaders in business should take cues from athletic coaching: notice patterns, provide feedback loops, and challenge people to show up sharper.
- Your flow might surprise you. For Erik, the conversation helped reveal that his flow lives in real-time problem-solving with others—not in isolation or over-prep.
🧩 The Personal Layer
Erik reflects on the discomfort and clarity of being asked about his own flow state live in the moment. It prompted a deeper recognition that he's at his best when he's “thinking out loud alongside someone”—not when he’s locked away in solo prep. That moment of unexpected self-awareness becomes a model of how coaching actually works: not prescriptive, but revealing.
🧰 From Insight to Action
- Revisit your pre-performance rituals. Are they accidental… or are they engineered to get you into your best zone?
- Ask yourself: What’s my position on the team? And are you playing the right one… or one you settled for?
- Audit your leadership like a coach. Can you see what your team can’t? Do you help them train with feedback and rigor?
- Build a “flow formula.” What sound, space, movement, or dialogue helps you tap in? Then reverse-engineer it.
- Stop expecting excellence from people who don’t have feedback loops. Add one. Even if it’s simple.
🗣️ Notable Quotes from Erik
“She had to pivot her product in real time just to stay in the game. That is entrepreneurship.”
“We admire athletes because they have what we hope for in our teams—grit, feedback, and stakes.”
“There’s no benching someone in business. But there is spotlighting where they’re not bringing it.”
“Flow isn’t magic. It’s math. Figure out your formula.”
“The best leaders are watching the film. You’re not in the play. You’re seeing the pattern.”
đź”— Links & Resources
