meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Rich Roll Podcast

It’s An Inside Job: Olaniyi Sobomehin On How To Maximize Potential In Sport & Life

The Rich Roll Podcast

Rich Roll

Society & Culture, Health & Fitness, Education, Self-improvement

4.713.3K Ratings

🗓️ 3 December 2015

⏱️ 126 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We tend to assume the successful are simply gifted. Or perhaps just lucky — at the right place at the right time. Olaniyi Sobomehin is not one of those people. But he does have one thing most lack: vision and self-belief. A middle child with a life long dream to play in the NFL, Niyi lacked the natural gifts required to even earn a college football scholarship. Friends and family repeated the refrain: be realistic. Niyi ignored the advice, invested in himself and walked on the Oregon State program with little to no chance of seeing game time. But sheer determination, exceptional mental toughness, and an unparalleled ability to out work everyone on the field turned this no name walk on into a running back for The New Orleans Saints, where he finally realized his childhood dream playing alongside NFL greats like Drew Brees. A voracious reader able to translate wisdom into actionable practices, Niyi understood that the tools he relied upon for athletic success would apply equally to life after football. So upon retirement he turned his professional focus to I'm Not You– a platform to help young athletes develop the habits, strategies, systems and techniques required to maximize potential in sport and life. Niyi's approach has little to do with physical training. It's about overcoming mental limitations. It's about mindset. Because the relationship one has with one's self is what ultimately dictates outcomes. In other words, it's an inside job. Today we talk about the strategies Niyi distilled from playing at the highest level of sport and how these tools can be applied to unlock your own inner potential. Specifics include: * how to overcome a talent deficit * developing confidence through facing fear * techniques for developing a mental edge * what holds most athletes (and people) back * the common habits of the most successful athletes * the benefits of affirmation & visualization techniques * morning routines to optimize your day * why he surveys his family weekly; and * why getting uncomfortable is the key to success I love this guy's passion. Niyi's enthusiasm for life and devotion to service is infectious, buttressed by a perspective germane well beyond the boundaries of sport. So even if you’re not an athlete, this conversation delivers. Chocked with copious gems applicable to every facet of personal and professional development, it's a natural bookend to echo and complement my preceding conversation with Jesse Itzler and the principles he learned living with Navy SEAL David Goggins. Question: What Belief About Yourself Is Holding You Back? I'd love to hear all about it in the comments section below. I sincerely hope you enjoy this walk in Niyi's cleats as much as I did. Peace + Plants, Rich

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

I focus on athletes that want to do big things.

0:04.5

So if you want to reach that goal, there's going to be challenges, there's going to be obstacles,

0:09.2

there's going to be injuries, there's going to be setbacks, there's going to be hurdles.

0:12.0

But how do you deal with them?

0:13.0

Because that's ultimately what separates the guys at the top from everybody else.

0:17.6

That's Ola Niihi Shabomahin and this is the Retro-Podcast.

0:30.0

Hey, what's up everybody?

0:36.5

My name is Rich Roll.

0:37.5

I am your host.

0:39.0

Welcome to the show.

0:40.0

This is the show where I do my best, my very best.

0:43.2

I try.

0:44.2

I really, really do to have meaningful conversations with compelling individuals about things that

0:50.7

matter.

0:51.7

All is a means to help all of us unlock and unleash our best, most authentic cells.

0:56.7

So thank you so much for tuning into the show today for subscribing to the show on iTunes

1:00.9

for taking a moment to leave us a review on iTunes.

1:04.3

That helps us out a lot.

1:05.3

And of course, for always using the Amazon banner at Rich Roll.com for all your Amazon purchases,

1:10.5

the holiday season is upon us like it or not.

1:13.3

You might find yourself on Amazon purchasing a gift.

1:15.9

Well, it would mean so much to us if you would take that extra millisecond and click

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Rich Roll, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Rich Roll and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.