020: Harvey Galvin on change, transformation and adapting self

Harvey Galvin epitomises all that Supporting Champions represents, but he has no gold medal to show for his efforts, no affiliation with a top performer, in fact his story is one about not making it in his chosen field of sport. He tried and he tried again, he grafted, he applied entrepreneurial spirit, he made opportunities but it didn’t work out. During that time Harvey explored his purpose, what makes him happy, his drivers, the need to be adaptable and tenacious, the potential sacrifices and choices he’s willing and not willing to make along the way. Ultimately, Harvey switched career away from his initial intended choice of sport. But there was a particular reason that I got in touch with Harvey to ask him to come on the podcast, and that was because he was starting to share his story in support of others who might be in a similar situation and I thought that was a story worth sharing   Show notes Failing in sport, you always hear about working hard and the successes Not asking for help and support and therefore failing my dissertation – the best thing that ever happened to me Channelling and building resources in order to work at a voluntary based support sports groups Academic sport science courses require additional experience working with actual athletes rather than theoretical Having a purpose and a passion is all well and good however being flexible and agile allows acquired skills to be applied to a range of opportunities What is your life purpose? Focussing on purpose focusses on what you haven’t got and drives you backwards The players and the coaches will begin to see the value of sport scientist eventually Being strategic and finding a university with greater opportunities Gaining experience full time at the Lawn Tennis Association A lack of communication leads to a contract at the LTA not being renewed Applying for 100s of jobs and not getting an interview Making sacrifices, money, location and time understanding which sacrifices are worth making Re-evaluating life, trying to be the person you say you are and using actions to back those up You can let things happen to you, or you can say that chapters done and start something new Having a heart condition and the addition of stress is not a good combination ‘Hard work will get you what you want’ is a narrative that makes you feel good, in reality try to find skills that you are talented at hard work isn’t everything Habit making and failing to maintain a habit The benefits of journaling and writing, particularly when having a thought time unhelpful thoughts can be recalibrated against your previous experiences written down 45:25 Passion is not how you choose your career, it’s what you’re good at Key lesson from sales and influencing people: Learning to get out of your own narrative in order to frame you solution The skills and hard work required to be successful in sport science are easily transferable to other professions Have confidence that you will be able to do something else if the job disappears or changes and you will be ok Everything you do is selling, you’re selling your worth Ask the question, don’t be a mind reader be a sponge   If you can coach, or bring information and distil it making it useful you can do well in any industry Follow Harvey on Twitter https://twitter.com/HarveyGalvin  Supporting Champions on Twitter www.twitter.com/support_champs Steve Ingham on Twitter www.twitter.com/ingham_steve Supporting Champions on Linkedin, www.linkedin.com/company/supporting-champions Instagram https://www.instagram.com/supportingchampions/ A reminder if you’re keen to pre-register for the next wave of Graduate Membership enrolments then you can do so at https://supportingchampions.co.uk/membership/ If you’re looking for some coaching support or some virtual team development help to support you to get to the next level in work, life or sport then take a look at https://supportingchampions.co.uk/coaching-mentoring/ or drop us a note at enquirie