TGM Classic | Riley Tejcek | How to Become an Olympic Hopeful

The Greatness Machine

Darius Mirshahzadeh

Entrepreneurship, Education, Business

5.0 • 135 Ratings

🗓️ 27 October 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Ever wondered what it takes to balance the adrenaline rush of hurtling down a bobsled track with the discipline of military service, all while aiming for Olympic gold? Riley Tejcek, a support specialist at Expeditionary Warfare School at the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia, exemplifies resilience, ambition, and unwavering dedication as she navigates the dual worlds of elite athletics and military service. While striving to become the first female Marine to compete in the Olympics, Riley navigates the challenges of training, competition, and the relentless pursuit of excellence, all while breaking barriers and shattering stereotypes. In this episode of The Greatness Machine, Darius is joined by Riley to talk about her journey as an athlete and a captain in the Marine Corps. This episode will also explore her path to becoming an Olympic hopeful, overcoming self-doubt, and achieving greatness in both sports and military service. Topics include: The importance of pushing boundaries, taking risks, and embracing challenges The most common challenges for athletes pursuing niche sports Riley provides a concise overview of bobsledding, the intense speeds, and danger Riley looks back at the adrenaline-filled experience of her first time in a bobsled The physical toll of bobsledding and the effects of G-Forces on the body Riley talks about the rigorous selection process to secure a spot on the Olympic team Riley discusses her unexpected path into the military Riley reflects on her experience participating in the Miss Military 2023 pageant The benefits of overcoming self-doubt by taking bold steps And other topics… Sponsored by: Brevo: Head over to brevo.com/greatness and use the code greatness to get 50% off Starter and Business Plans for the first 3 months of an annual subscription. Indeed: Get a $75 sponsored job credit to boost your job's visibility at Indeed.com/darius. Shopify: Start your $1/month trial at Shopify.com/greatness. Connect with Riley: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/riley-tejcek-b264902b9 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riley.tejcek/ Connect with Darius: Website: https://therealdarius.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dariusmirshahzadeh/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imthedarius/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Thegreatnessmachine Book: The Core Value Equation https://www.amazon.com/Core-Value-Equation-Framework-Limitless/dp/1544506708 Write a review for The Greatness Machine using this link: https://ratethispodcast.com/spreadinggreatness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:25.0	forward slash strategy at work.
0:29.7	Love gang, welcome to the greatness machine. I'm your host Darius from Shazday. I'm so pumped to have
0:33.8	you here with me. And listen, the greatness machine were about two things. Number one,
0:38.3	people were living their passions. And number two, those who are creating greatness in the world
0:42.1	and doing both of these things despite the odds against them. Each episode, we're going to feature
0:46.2	interviews with game changers, business leaders, telling us their origin stories, what made them
0:50.5	tick, what got them to where they are now. Why? So can help you step into your greatness within your life, your business, and your career. Occasionally, you might hear a few solo episodes for myself. More, as I say, as I leverage my 20 years of entrepreneurship as a CEO and founder to help you grow and level up in your journey to scale your life and your business. So come be a fly on the wall, enjoy the conversation, and I'm stoked to have you here with me. Guys, welcome to this episode of The Greatness for you. I'm your host, Darius Mishazza and boy, do we have a special guest. Riley, T-Jack is in the house. What's up, Riley. Hi, how you there's so pumped to have you here? So excited. What's today? What's today? Today's Wednesday, man. What a week? How's your Wednesday going?
1:32.7	It's going really well. I'm in Lake Placid at the Olympic Training Center. We just got done with sliding today. So I took a couple monobob trips down the hill. I'm still in my practice uniform and just ready to talk to you today. Oh my gosh. So
1:45.9	listeners, you guys don't know this, but Riley is an Olympic hopeful. We're going to be talking to all
1:49.6	things Olympic, Miss Military, and then some. I can't wait. Riley, do you mind if I do a little bit
1:56.4	of housekeeping and then we'll get started? Yeah, absolutely. So we're getting about 20 to 30,000 new listeners a month. And so for listeners, they're new to the show, greatness machine. We're about two things people who live in their passions and those creating greatness in the world and do it so despite the odds. And Riley is now the short of passion or greatness. That's why we asked you to be on the show. You know, a lot of times people are coming on the show. Maybe there's someone whose book I read. We have a couple of amazing authors coming on tomorrow that I've been hounding for like two years. And you guys will get to see who those are soon. And Riley, I had to hound her a little bit, but I saw her on social and I'm like, this is so interesting. And so you guys will know in a second.
2:35.3	She's, she's involved in our U.S. military, the United States military here in the Marine Corps.
2:41.4	And she's an Olympic hopeful, part of Team USA for the Bob Sled team.
2:46.3	So I was like, that is so fascinating.
2:48.7	I am so interested in talking to her and that she was so gracious to schedule to be on the show.
2:53.3	So welcome to show.
2:54.9	So good to have you here.
2:56.3	Yeah, I'm honored.
	...

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