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The world\u2019s greatest athlete, Trey Hardee, is Laura\u2019s special guest on the podcast today.\nTrey\u2019s many accomplishments as a decathlete include being the 2005 NCAA Outdoor champion, the 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Year, and the 2010 World Indoor heptathlon silver medalist. He is also a two-time Olympian, winning silver in London, and is only the third decathlete to ever win back-to-back World Championships.

Today, Trey shares his journey all the way from his beginnings in sport to what he is busy with these days in retirement, detailing the many highs and lows along the way. In addition to discussing mentors, injuries, and coming up short in competition, he offers his thoughts on encouraging children in sports, his Olympic competitions, adopting a professional mindset, and being a commentator at the Rio Olympics. Woven throughout is his strongly held belief in having no regrets in sport or in life. If you are in need of a \u2018kick in the butt\u2019 to pursue your dreams, Trey\u2019s inspirational story and sage advice, combined with the humility and humor with which he shares them, are precisely what you need to listen to here today.

Episode Highlights:

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• Trey\u2019s start in sports and athletics
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• His motivation to start pole vaulting
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• Children and sports
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• A walk through of a jump and what it feels like
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• His college experience and his start in the decathlon
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• Trey\u2019s transition from college to pro
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• His first Olympic experience and its impact on him
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• The power of a professional mindset
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• Training for the decathlon
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• His second Olympics
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• The injuries he suffered in the years after the London Olympics
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• Being a commentator at the Rio Games
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• Having no regrets and being personally accountable
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• His comeback in 2017
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• Trey\u2019s retirement and what he\u2019s up to these days
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Quotes:

\u201cSports became this after school daycare for me\u2026it just became this way of life.\u201d

\u201cBasketball was the thing that I loved.\u201d

\u201cI\u2019m going to show this idiot coach, like, how good of a pole vaulter I can be, and be the best doggone pole vaulter that\u2019s ever been at this school.\u201d

\u201cIt is a hard hurdle to get over to transition into internal motivation, the real \u2018why\u2019 of why you\u2019re out there.\u201d

\u201cDo you want your kid to be good at sports, or do you want them to be happy and full of joy and contentment.\u201d

\u201cGenuinely, it\u2019s one of the most deadly sports in the world in terms of participation and catastrophic incidents\u2026people do pass away, have permanent brain injury.\u201d

\u201cThere\u2019s no feeling quite like it really in any other sport that I\u2019ve tried or done.\u201d

\u201cReally good in a lot of things, but not great at anything, that\u2019s kind of where decathletes fall.\u201d

\u201cThe moment and everything that went along with it, I was, mentally, so unprepared for, that it just swallowed me up.\u201d

\u201cIf I really wanted to be good, and take the next step, kind of, stand on the medal stand, I needed to professionalize this, both from the preparation side, but the mental side as well.\u201d

\u201cComing up short when you\u2019re giving your best can make you feel terrible.\u201d

\u201cIt is far worse to live with regret than it is to put yourself out there and fail.\u201d

\u201cIt became a beautiful thing for me to fail, and fail gloriously, because you learn so much from it.\u201d

\u201cRegret nothing, let\u2019s go for it.\u201d

\u201cIt was time to start being a dad and being, you know, a real family.\u201d

\u201cI\u2019m still\u2026trying as many hats on as I can to find that next thing that I\u2019m passionate about.\u201d

\u201cIt\u2019s really important to me that I\u2019m around and I\u2019m available and, kind of, flexible to be a dad, all day, 24/7, and not out of commission too much.\u201d

\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid to put it all out there. There\u2019s worse things in the world but non more difficult to deal with than living with regret.\u201d

Links:\nThe Pursuit of Gold homepage: http://thepursuitofgold.com/\nMental Training: https://www.laurawilkinson.com/learn\nLaura\u2019s Social Media:\nInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lala_the_diver\nFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLauraWilkinson

Connect with Trey:\nHomepage: http://www.treyhardee.com/\nYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/hardeetrey\nInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/treyhardee/\nTwitter: https://twitter.com/treyhardee\nFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/treyhardee