The Unbreakable Spirit of the first Wheelchair Ironman with John Maclean, Speaker and Author

(Intro Narrator at 00:00:00) Today, we're talking to John Maclean, the first wheelchair athlete to finish the Ironman Triathlon, about the accident that derailed his path and how he's still overcoming obstacles. You're listening to Joel Beasley, Modern CTO.

(Joel Beasley at 00:00:20) Good morning, John.

(John Maclean at 00:00:21) Hey, Joel. How you doing, buddy?

(Joel Beasley at 00:00:23) Good. I would like to start, I guess, by understanding what it is you do today. Are you a professional athlete? Are you a motivational speaker?

(John Maclean at 00:00:33) I would say that I still enjoy participation in sport, not at the levels that I had done previously. As a business, I talk to companies globally on change or transformation, depending on the organization and the language that they like to use. But essentially, it's assisting their teams to think differently. The conversations are on a choice change versus a forced change. Example of forced change: a global pandemic, global financial crisis, getting hit by a truck. That's forced change. No one chose those, versus choice change. I choose to have this interview. I choose to look forward to an event that's coming up. I choose to have an impact for companies to open up the thought that there's always more.

(Joel Beasley at 00:01:23) One of the things that I thought was interesting was, so I've been doing this show for about seven years. So a lot of people have heard the story, but I credit the majority of my success to when I was 11, getting hit by a car. I was in a wheelchair for about a year and a half, two years, and then I was walking again and pretty much back to normal. But what I had to learn as far as the mindset and the discipline to continue and to persist through the therapies and all of that, that taught me from a young age those key skills. And so when I look back on it, I think that that's one of the greatest blessings that ever happened to me, right? It gave me a completely unique experience. And as I was reading through yours, obviously yours was a much more severe injury in a much longer situation. But as I read through how you describe it, you completely owned it and turned it into something powerful in your life. Is that correct?

(John Maclean at 00:02:25) I think that's a good assessment, Joel. If I was to look back, I mean, clearly no one would choose to get hit by a truck. That's not something that anyone would want to go through. I don't know any other person that survived getting hit by a truck of that size and at that speed riding a bicycle. But that's the cards that were dealt to me. My father had said to me after my accident, you know, son, you got hit by a truck. This is like 12 months after my accident, and I was broken and I'd lost and I had no idea what the future might hold. And he said, "Son, how far can you go?" That really resonated, Joel, because that planted a thought or a seed that maybe there could be something or maybe there could be more. So you reflected back on your time in the spinal unit. I remember looking out the window in intensive care and just thinking, you know, one day I'm getting a little bit closer to getting outside instead of that clinical environment, to smell the fresh air, to see the blue sky, you know, to look at the green grass. So you're right. The challenge was set to me. That was my hand to play, if you will, if you're using a card analogy. That's the hand that I was dealt. And therefore, the question to, I guess, everybody, because I always like to include people along the way, and what they would have done in that same situation. I guess the mindset is, pre those types of horrific accidents, you would say, "I can't," and "I won't," and "I wouldn't," versus if you're pushed up against the wall and therefore it's a choice to make, you know, live or die, which was my case. I chose to live, and therefore I chose to take on the challenges that presented themselves. When Dad said, "How far can you go?" I thought, you know, I wonder how far I could go. And then as I started to look and listen for opportunities, they presented themselves, which again I believe is there for all of us. It's just often we don't have the time to look or listen for those opportunities. So as I look back, it's I've come a long way thanks to those words that my dad posed.

(Joel Beasley at 00:04:42) So that moment that you decided that you weren't just gonna, you know, not try, the moment you decided that you were gonna try, how far into your accident was that? And then what followed?

(John Maclean at 00:05:00) So just taking a step back, I used to play professional rugby league here, or rugby, the ball that you could catch with your hands and pass. And that's a dream I had as a little boy, to be a professional rugby league player. So that's where I was pre-accident, and I wanted to be a fireman as a career choice to help the community. And then I had my accident, and then everything stopped. It went from a beautiful bright day to a very dark day very quickly. I have no recollection from getting hit by the truck from behind, but I do recall coming out of the coma briefly, and my first words to my dad, as I can recall, was, "How's my bike?" Because the bubble that I was in at the time was being an athlete. You know, you think about what you're into. And Dad said, "Well, we don't need to worry about the bike, son." And he was relieved because he was initially told from the surgeon that they didn't expect me to live due to the extent of injury. So that must be tough for a parent to hear that about a child. So then I passed out, and there was a helicopter trip from one hospital to a specialized spinal unit, which initially I thought was exciting because I'd never been in a helicopter before. And then I passed out, so I didn't record the experience. So when I did come out of the coma again for the first time in the spinal unit in ICU, they mentioned that I'd been involved in a serious accident, had damaged my spinal cord, and I was in a tremendous amount of pain, Joel, from, you know, breaking 12 bones, my back in three, pelvis in four, arm in two, et cetera. But it was very difficult to try and make sense of the new reality, and, you know, whether you sit in, and number one, did you want to get out of the pain? And being conscious that you have been through a similar experience, that's the first thing. And then we all have this internal conversation. You know, what is the future going to look like? Will I be in a relationship? What does a job look like? I mean, all those kinds of things. And then I thought, you know, I wanted to survive. A couple of key things happened in hospital. One was my dad saying, "Son, you know, I'll give you my legs if I could." That's—my dad has left us. He passed away some years ago, so it's still hard, that connection between, you know, a father and a son. My older brother Mark said, "John, this is gonna be a marathon, not a sprint. It's gonna take a long time." So my family doctor, a family doctor who knew me as a little boy, he planted some beautiful seeds, and they were, you know, "Don't worry, you're gonna be bigger, stronger, and faster." And he left the room, and that crowded in my mind that, you know, there will be a time I get outside, and there will be a time for me to do more. So I guess that was that transition from playing football to having my accident and starting to come to terms with life's not going to be the same.

(Joel Beasley at 00:07:59) And then how did you get into the Ironman Triathlon? It says you were the first wheelchair athlete to finish the Ironman Triathlon. How did that come to be?

(John Maclean at 00:08:10) Well, that opportunity presented. I gotta take a step back. I said to my best buddy—is buddy the right kind of, right friend? What's the right terminology with your friends? Is buddy okay?

(Joel Beasley at 00:08:23) All of those.

(John Maclean at 00:08:24) Does that work? Okay, good. Mate.

(Joel Beasley at 00:08:27) Yeah.

(John Maclean at 00:08:27) Mate, thanks. Thank you. My best mate, he came to visit me in hospital once a week for four months. We played footy together. And when I got out of hospital, it took about, you know, 12 months to start to build ourselves up again and build a level of confidence and get comfortable in my skin. And I said to him, "I wouldn't mind doing the triathlon I was training for, but only with you." And he said to me, he said, "No, you're gonna do it with me and everybody else, and that's it." So I was uncomfortable, but he stretched me, and I'm glad he did. And I crossed the finish line as Australia's first wheelchair triathlete back then. And then I was looking for this opportunity, which we touched on at the start, Joel. I did another triathlon, and then I was watching a program here called Wide World of Sports, which I'm pretty sure is in the U.S. as well. And NBC focused on the Hawaiian Ironman, and a wheelchair athlete was participating. He didn't finish or didn't make all the cutoffs, and therefore that opportunity presented to me to say, "Maybe I could be the first in the world to do the Hawaiian event." So I raced against that gentleman. I beat him, and that's how I got into race Hawaii in 1995.

(Joel Beasley at 00:09:43) And then what? You were just like, "Now that I have proven I can do that, I'm gonna swim the English Channel and do every crazy sports thing I can think of?"

(John Maclean at 00:09:52) Well, I'll give you a couple of examples. So for me at the time, I thought if I could do the Hawaii Ironman event, arguably, you know, one of the toughest endurance events, one-day events on the planet, I would see myself as being equal. That was my challenge to myself. And I'd made the swim cutoff. I also missed the bike cutoff, but I was asked to continue, which I did in 14 hours and 52 minutes. I went back the next year as the only wheelchair athlete, again as a demonstration event, again. And I did the swim, and I think it was about 20 miles to go, I got a flat on the bike, which we changed at the next aid station. I also missed the cutoff by 15 minutes that year, 15 minutes, after a 112-mile bike ride. But again, they said, "Go on," which I finished in 14:39. Went back the next year, and now I was living in Florida because that's where the hand cycles were designed and racing wheelchairs. And in that particular year, Ironman opened up the door, and there was now the first official wheelchair category. So happy to share with you that I won that first official category, finishing in 12:21, to be the first in the field. So now that's open to any wheelchair athlete on the planet, male or female, who wishes to participate in the sport. The door's open. So I needed a new challenge, Joel. And the next opportunity, I met a gentleman at the local pool. He'd just come back from swimming the English Channel. He simply said, "If I can do it, so can you." As simple as that. And now I'm sponsored by amazing companies, and I needed to justify the sponsorship. So I thought, "Okay, let's look at this. Let's explore this." And this is a non-swimmer. I didn't swim as a little guy. I used to run and do athletics. That was kind of my go-to. So this whole piece about changing and transforming, if we use a methodology, then it is possible to explore and cross the line or succeed. So I found out as well that no athlete had ever done both an Ironman and the Channel, because they're diametrically opposed. They're as opposite as black is to white. But I thought, "Maybe I could be the first in the world to do both Ironman and Channel." So, you know, we built a team, we set a task, we worked towards it. And on the second attempt—the first attempt was challenging with Mother Nature and waves and tides and swells. So no one got across on that particular day. But 13 days later, another opportunity, and we got across—I say "we," the collective team—we got across in 12 hours and 55 minutes, and it was nice to cross the line. Gatorade funded a documentary, and that was shown around the world. So hopefully, you know, one of the things I love to do, Joel, is to inspire kids, you know, in wheelchairs around the world to allow them to chase their dreams. So that was the English Channel, which then led on to a few other bits and pieces.

(Joel Beasley at 00:13:00) That is amazing. What's the name of that documentary?

(John Maclean at 00:13:03) Against Wind and Tide. I'll send that to you. And if the listeners are interested, please pay it forward to them.

(Joel Beasley at 00:13:12) Absolutely, we will. We'll put links and all of that good stuff in the show notes. For now, technology, right? We're a huge tech podcast. We're all big nerds. How did technology—well, first of all, has technology helped you at all? And if so, how?

(John Maclean at 00:13:30) Let me share my tech story. I've talked about opportunities, and there was some years ago one of the CEOs of a tech company. He said, "What do you want to do in the next five years? Where do you see yourself?" And I said, "It'd be nice to work with teams and to be able to share with them the importance of having balance and making the most of life." And he said, "Would you be interested in speaking to my team or my company?" And I said, "Yes." So there was a company called Dimension Data or Dimension Data. They had a distribution site called Express Data. So that was the CEO of that group. The CEO of Dimension Data Australia said, "Could you come and talk to our team?" And in the audience was the global CEO based out of South Africa. And he said, "Could you come and talk to my team?" And that opened up that door to the data space. And then eventually having this opportunity to learn to walk again, kind of fast-forwarding time, the chairman of Dimension Data had seen that piece, and he said, "You know, we're looking for a global brand ambassador." So I then became the global brand ambassador for Dimension Data, which is where Christine Wolff was working, and that's how we got connected, and very grateful for our friendship. And then she opened up doors to many other companies, and it just kept on going and going. So from a presenting standpoint, you know, Microsoft, I have a very dear friend who runs Microsoft here. We have an interest in paddling and water sports. So it just keeps on opening up into this transformational story that is relevant in that IT space because it keeps on transforming and keeps on changing all the time. So in terms of tech to help me, I learned to walk again using a carbon fiber leg brace. So I'm a T12, thoracic vertebrae T12, incomplete paraplegic. My spinal cord was damaged, but not completely bruised or severed. So fast-forward time, out of the U.S. military, they designed some carbon fiber leg brace technology, which allows me to get back on my feet again after all those years and walk and ride a bike and take on more challenges. So I guess that's how the tech from a presenting standpoint, and also the tech which allows me to walk, I'm very grateful for.

(Joel Beasley at 00:15:50) So just so I'm 100% clear here, you were hit by a truck, you were in a wheelchair for 25 years, and now you're not in a wheelchair anymore?

(John Maclean at 00:15:59) So I still use the wheelchair for longer distances or if I get fatigued, then I've always, you know, the wheelchair is not too far away. But with this technology, paralysis, really from my side, is on my right side. So this technology supports and makes me feel more—not massively sure—it supports me more to be able to take some steps. So not to the point of, you know, it'd be nice to say that I'm doing a Forrest Gump. I'm, you know, running everywhere and, you know, I'm making the most of that. But each day creates this next step. There's some more technology I've explored recently, you know, robotic technology. So at the moment, yes, I can stand up. I can take some steps, and, you know, very grateful for the technology that's allowed me to do that.

(Joel Beasley at 00:16:52) But when you get out of bed in the morning, do you jump in the wheelchair, or do you walk?

(John Maclean at 00:16:56) So "jump out of bed" is a good analogy. My leg brace is to the side. So, you know, I'll put my leg brace on with my shoes, and that allows me to have that balance again. Without the leg brace, it's very unstable. So, you know, I could use crutches to support myself.

(John Maclean at 00:17:16) So I put on the leg brace, and then it's not too long before I take the dog for a stroll, which I'll jump in the wheelchair, take him across the road. So it's that balance between energy-wise, making the most of the energy that I've got. So it's a combination of both.

(Joel Beasley at 00:17:34) Where is the technology at today as far as your brace? Is it clunky, or is it sleek? What is it like?

(John Maclean at 00:17:42) I'm trying to think how old you are. I'm guessing, Joel, but there was a movie...

(Joel Beasley at 00:17:47) Thirty-five?

(John Maclean at 00:17:48) Thirty-five. Okay. You might have seen it. There was a movie called Forrest Gump. Does that...

(Joel Beasley at 00:17:52) Oh, yeah. Yeah.

(John Maclean at 00:17:53) Does that resonate? Awesome. Tom Hanks.

(Joel Beasley at 00:17:56) Oh, 100%. Yeah.

(John Maclean at 00:17:57) Yep. So there's a nice piece in terms of looking at the technology then versus today. So if you looked at that type of brace, it was often made of steel. It would have buckles, leather—clunky. Where today, you think about carbon fiber, light. It has Velcro, no longer buckles, and the tech is very supportive and light. So that brace is there to do that. I've just explored something last week that came in from Taiwan. It's one of the only products in the world that has what's known as posterior support. Think about your hamstring, hamstring on the back of your leg—that has that technology, which appears to be good for me. It looks like it's something that would support me to improve my walking.

(John Maclean at 00:18:46) So my orthotist—which is often the prosthetist, if you've lost your leg, they'll get a prosthetic leg. So those types of specialized people had indicated to me that he thought that it would be something to look forward to. So when it becomes available in Australia, certainly I look forward to trying it. And it's always that piece around, you know, is there something else to look forward to? And I also like that idea, Joel, that if you can get out of bed—you mentioned jumping out of bed—but if you can get out of bed and you've got somewhere to look forward to, that's an exciting opportunity. So I now have something to look forward to when it becomes available that hopefully will improve my walking, and that's something that I'm excited about.

(Joel Beasley at 00:19:27) And so what today is driving you? You've accomplished all of these things. How do you stay in a state where you're continually motivated to overcome and achieve new things?

(John Maclean at 00:19:45) It would appear on the outside that all I ever do is set goals and chase them, and sometimes I tear them and sometimes not. That's not the case. There's always that balance between having energy and not having energy. I love to sit on the couch with my wife and watch a good documentary or so, have a chocolate, which we did last night, or I love ice cream. Häagen-Dazs is my favorite, rum raisin. So there's that—there's the switching on, the switching off is what I'm trying to share there. But I have found with experiences that I have explored, at the time, success looks different to different people. And my definition of success is having something to look forward to. For me, when I recall back—and I'm conscious of your accident—when I look back at my accident, when I first saw myself in the mirror for the first time, there wasn't anyone else in the mirror. Wasn't my dad, wasn't my girlfriend, wasn't my—it was me. So that then made me realize the important piece is always to pour into your cup first. Okay? So if you're able to pour into your first cup first or having something to look forward to, I think that's probably apt.

(John Maclean at 00:20:59) That gets us a sense of contentment or fulfillment for the individual, and then the next most important thing in my opinion is family. So that's where you start and finish. I saw my son come into the world. I saw my father go out of the world. I get it. The next one is a job, and hopefully that job is something that you're passionate about because you go there to generate an income. Correct me if I'm wrong here. When you get the income, you spend it on the first two. And the last one, back to successful definition of, is having that opportunity to give back. And I have a foundation here in Australia helping kids in wheelchairs.

(John Maclean at 00:21:35) So that's a nice thing, and I feel good about making a contribution for the next little Joel or the next little John or whoever we'll see, that they could help them go on and chase their dreams because many people have helped me chase mine. So circling back, there continues to be opportunities for me to look forward to. And remembering my dad said, "How far can you go?" That wasn't a question for a day, I don't think. I think that was a question for life.

(John Maclean at 00:22:05) I also think that he wanted me to ask that question of others. And my life is now full because I have that approach to life, and I feel like I'm the luckiest man in the world because I have a second chance to life. That's very clear. I still have things that I look forward to. Hopefully, I'm someone that my son says, "We'll spend time together that he looks up to," and, you know, "See, Dad is doing stuff." And therefore I do a lot of stuff with him, which I love to do. So that way of thinking, Joel, continues to—and I know my time is coming. You know, we all age through the process. We all start to slow down. I mean, I get all that. But I'm trying to suck the marrow out of life for as long as I can.

(John Maclean at 00:22:52) Dead Poets Society, great movie, until I can't. So that's the way that I approach it.

(Joel Beasley at 00:22:58) How do you know when your cup is running low?

(John Maclean at 00:23:03) Well, that's an energy thing, and I think we all can work out pretty quickly when we don't have it, and therefore, you know, you don't jump out of bed. You struggle to get out of bed, and maybe you want to stay in bed. So those times when the energy's low, I'm conscious, and therefore that's a day to recharge, recoup, re-energize, whatever the appropriate word is, just to give your body that opportunity to recharge. Because as you know, we all have cell phones. If you're not going to charge them, they don't work. So not dissimilar to the body—in part, the body needs to be, you know, hydration's very important. So I drink a lot of water.

(John Maclean at 00:23:45) I'm conscious about what I eat most of the time. Every day I get a chocolate or an ice cream, as I mentioned, but most of the time. So I give myself—if you're looking at a high-performance vehicle, you're not going to put average fuel in there or average content. You're going to make sure you put the best in there to get the best out of that car. So I try and look at the right ways that give me energy.

(John Maclean at 00:24:09) And when I do that, generally most days I'm getting out and I'm really looking forward to taking on the day. But today's an example. I felt a little bit flat, and that's okay because I can take a rest day. And I know tomorrow I'm having a bit of paddling at the moment, ocean paddling. So I'm having a paddle tomorrow with my buddy, and really looking forward to it. It's having that opportunity to regulate where you're at. And if it's time to recharge, stop, pause. If you're feeling great, go.

(Joel Beasley at 00:24:38) What medium to long-term goal do you have now? In your list, one of the things was you have something to look forward to for me. What is that thing for you right now? Ice cream?

(John Maclean at 00:24:50) Well, when I get back to the U.S., which I'm heading back to shortly, I will make my way to the local Häagen-Dazs and get rum raisin. Guaranteed that's going to happen. But sport-wise, there's a race here in Australia. It's called the Doctor. It's in Western Australia on the west coast.

(John Maclean at 00:25:07) In and around November, that part of the year, the winds start to pick up. So you're on a surf ski. Surf ski is something that you're paddling on water. If you fall off, you can get back on again. It's from an island called Rottnest, and it finishes at a beach called Sorrento, which is 27 kilometers.

(John Maclean at 00:25:26) Trying to translate that into miles. We reckon it might be—let's call it 20 kilometers. Maybe? So it won't tell—

(John Maclean at 00:25:37) What have we got that? I don't know. Fifteen, 15 miles, something like that.

(Joel Beasley at 00:25:42) Sixteen miles. Yeah, 15, 16. Yeah.

(Joel Beasley at 00:25:44) Okay.

(John Maclean at 00:25:45) So that's probably the number two race in the world in terms of ocean paddling. Number one is Molokai. You might have heard of that in Hawaii, from Molokai to Oahu. That's the biggest one because it has massive waves, and you're trying to stay upright and try and surf waves. So that's the sport I'm into at the moment.

(John Maclean at 00:26:04) I love it. There are a group of people who help support me participate in the sport. I'm very grateful for the opportunity for them to, you know, pick up the craft and help me get it to the water and all those kinds of things. But it's a new bubble to move in. Quickly explain bubbles.

(John Maclean at 00:26:21) When I was playing football, I was in the bubble of football. When I was in the bubble of Ironman, channel, et cetera, et cetera. We're all in different bubbles. And it's nice to get out every now and again to explore others. Not to say—what's an ice cream, Joel, when you think of Ben & Jerry's or you think of Häagen-Dazs? There's lots of flavors, right? Lots of flavors. So I'm trying to taste as many as I can. I've gotten through a few. My favorite's still rum raisin.

(Joel Beasley at 00:26:46) I like how you describe bubbles. I haven't heard that before.

(John Maclean at 00:26:50) Yeah. So when you think about it, if you—let me give you an example. When I was into Ironman, or anyone in that bubble of Ironman, what they would talk about was Ironman. So it's kind of like attracting like, and, you know, what's your swim time? Where—what are you training? What are your squads? What's your sets? You know, all those kinds of things. And what kind of bike do you got? You know, what kind of shoes do you run? How many miles do you run? Like, what kind of terrain? It's the bubble of the sport. When I got out of that sport into marathon swimming, no one's talking about Ironman, no one. They're talking about marathon swimming.

(John Maclean at 00:27:27) Okay, so what's the mecca? English Channel. Okay, you know, what does that look like? What have you done? Are you working towards it? Are you coaches or swimmers? And all that just builds and builds, but it's all still in that same bubble of marathon swimming, which is different than pool swimming, you know, kind of Olympic distance swimming. But it's the bubble, and you start to open up here. We all move in different bubbles, but there are bubbles. So sometimes you stay in that bubble, you never get out of it.

(John Maclean at 00:27:58) And I guess that's okay. For me, I became aware there are many bubbles. And the other thing, Joel, was after I had finished Ironman, I needed a new challenge. I needed to move into a new bubble, and that opportunity was presented, as I mentioned, at the pool to swim the channel. And the next one was, you know, the Olympic Games were coming to Sydney way back in 2000.

(John Maclean at 00:28:21) And after the channel, I thought I needed a new opportunity because I love the idea of being an athlete, and I dreamed about doing it as a kid, and now I was actually doing it. And I thought maybe I could be—I'd love to represent my country. That would be a huge honor. And I thought maybe the Paralympics would be the opportunity to do that. I chose wheelchair racing because that's the most competitive sport. They're all competitive, but a lot of athletes have taken up athletics. And I was fortunate enough to participate at the Olympic Games in the sport of wheelchair racing under the umbrella of athletics, and that was the bubble that I was in. So whereby I traveled around the world with it against marathon wheelchair races, that's what we would talk about. That was our bubble. So you can start to understand—like painting, for example, photography, or whatever it is that you're into.

(John Maclean at 00:29:12) I've had the very good fortune of coming in and out of bubbles. And while I've spent a lot of time—because I've made some amazing friends—but once I've done something, I like to challenge myself to do something that I haven't done.

(Joel Beasley at 00:29:25) Yes. I completely understand that. We just had a big conversation about the direction of the show because we've done north of 700 episodes. And they have a similar format, and we're going to be releasing some new formats, some things that we're calling features, where I'll specifically study a subject for several weeks and do interviews and then collect them all and then make that a feature and then release it all at once. Yeah.

(Joel Beasley at 00:29:55) I'm actually in a bubble transition right now.

(John Maclean at 00:29:59) And it's a good space because for a lot of people, it's nervousness. You're uncomfortable. You're not sure what it could look like. And but each time I've done it, I use—if it's like, I'll just quickly share the methodology that's kind of taken me from the hospital bed to the end and beyond under the umbrella of, you know, change or transform or challenge. So when you think about, you know, all of us on the planet, who's not going through a change or transformation or a challenge?

(John Maclean at 00:30:28) So the methodology is number one, map out where it is you want to go. Be very clear on that. Example, after doing the Ironman, the English Channel was the next goal challenge. So it's the English Channel. Okay. Where's the English Channel? It's in England, the body of water between England and France. So that's how specific you need to be. So therefore, you need to build a team to support that—coach, support crew, physios, masseurs. That's number one. So map it out.

(John Maclean at 00:30:59) Number two, mindset. People often ask, "What is mindset?" Well, mindset in my opinion is your ability to talk yourself into something or talk yourself out of something. Example, sometimes I would say to people in an audience, "Hands up if you're ready to run a marathon in the next five minutes." No hands go up.

(John Maclean at 00:31:23) Then you say, "Hands up if you're ready to run a marathon in the next five minutes if your life depends on it." Guess what? Every single hand in the room goes up. So that's a mindset, right? Very quickly, they would say, "I don't want to die. I don't want to die, so I'm ready to go." So imagine if you could have that switch, you could switch that on when you're in your bubble, Joel, to chase the next challenge. So that's a mindset. Number three is a mentor. Ask someone that has more knowledge and insights than you. My mentor for the English Channel, the gentleman had swum the channel 19 times. He was very familiar with the English Channel. So he became my mentor. I asked him questions that I didn't have answers to, which he was able to fill that cup, if you will, to give me the insights to apply for my own swim. Next one is the motivation.

(John Maclean at 00:32:12) And the motivation is we all need motivation to get through our challenges and our goals and our transformations. So what does that look like for the individual? For me, music. I used to listen to the Blues Brothers during that whole bubble exercise, and it would motivate me to get out of a beautiful warm bed into very cold water. And that was the motivation that I needed to keep on going. The last one is momentum. So you can see there's five M's here. And momentum is get to the pool, get in the water, take the first stroke. You can measure that over time. So that's helped me, that methodology, to continue to go forward.

(John Maclean at 00:32:51) So now this ocean paddling that I'm currently doing, I know exactly where it is in terms of mapping it out. It's in Perth, Western Australia on November 25th, so I have an exact date and time, 11:00 when it starts. My mindset is that I believe it's possible for me to get to the finish line. That's my mindset. My first race I fell in many times. My second race, not as much. So you can start to see the mindset is engaged. The mentor, I've got a guy who won the world championships nine times, and I went to him. He didn't come to me. So, you know, I reached out, and everyone needs to do that.

(John Maclean at 00:33:29) The motivation is to continue to inspire kids in wheelchairs and for me to believe in myself. And back to my dad saying, "How far can you go?" Hey, Dad, we're still going. That's my motivation. And the momentum is I started getting on a ski. I fell in, but then, you know, I didn't fall in as much.

(John Maclean at 00:33:44) And granted, over time I have covered a lot of distance in training and leading up to the next race. So again, that model, if you will, continues to support. Also get that to you and links and stuff to share with the audience if that's of interest. So that's what I'm currently looking forward to.

(Joel Beasley at 00:34:02) So when you mentioned the music, that was a tactical way to adjust your behavior in the motivation area?

(John Maclean at 00:34:09) Exactly. Because at that time, the water temperature, you won't be able to help me out with this translation. The water temperature here was nine degrees. Nine degrees. I'm not sure what that is in Fahrenheit, but it was very cold.

(Joel Beasley at 00:34:25) Let's see. 48 degrees Fahrenheit.

(John Maclean at 00:34:29) Yep. So with my team, and there are so many great memories. So that's cold, right? I think that's safe to say in anyone's language. You know, just with your swimmers getting into the water, that's kind of cold.

(John Maclean at 00:34:45) So you need to be motivated to get into that water. So, you know, I knew the picture as in I want to swim in the English Channel, and that's what I need to do in order to be a part of open water cold chewing. But I would put on the Blues Brothers, there's my music, and I'd crank it up, right? And, you know, I would get motivated to go, "Let's go. Like, I'm seeing the glass is half full. I'm pumped, excited." So that was the motivation to help me continue to train and push myself to get the job done. And the good news is we did get the job done, and I'm really proud of the team that we managed to set ourselves a challenge, a very big challenge, English Channel, and we succeeded. Each member of the team succeeded in their roles to allow me to have that experience.

(John Maclean at 00:35:43) So as I look back on that, Joel, I don't need to jump into that water temp journey more. That's behind me not in Sydney. And, you know, there's new goals to chase.

(Joel Beasley at 00:35:52) There's new cold water somewhere.

(John Maclean at 00:35:54) Well, yeah. I mean, if someone said to, "Do you want to swim in cold water?" No, I don't. I'd rather paddle on my surf ski with my buddies. If I had to do it because my life depends on it, guess what?

(John Maclean at 00:36:04) I'm ready to go. Like, it's always that, you know, I know how to dig into those areas if I need to, which we all can. It's just kind of often changing those conversations.

(Joel Beasley at 00:36:15) What is, let's do a little work here. What is the number one reason why companies bring you in to speak to their teams?

(John Maclean at 00:36:23) Number one. Okay, let me, can I give you two? Is that okay? Because two comes to mind.

(John Maclean at 00:36:28) Number one would be if it's a SKO, for example, you know, sales kickoff. I would say it's helping their teams, their sales teams in general, to believe that they can hit that number. That would have been my answer to that question. Number two would be, so he's trying to inspire the sales team, the sales kickoff. Number two, if it's a global partner summit, which is a different piece, then it's showing an example of tech, which is the tech I shared with you in terms of the lead-based.

(John Maclean at 00:37:05) But it's also this will to continue to explore. And it's not to be trapped in time because tech comes and tech goes. Like, there's always something new that's unfolding. And so I think it's that piece around a mindset because often with organizations we need to help shift the mindset, and they bring me in to help transition for the leadership teams. Couple of examples to share. Paul Appleby was running a company called BMC.

(John Maclean at 00:37:33) He's an Australian guy now based in the U.S. And so we just kind of need you to kind of lift the team. So that was the first opportunity. Then there was another opportunity of doing a triathlon. He said, "Can we have the team over there to support you and to participate?"

(John Maclean at 00:37:47) Yes, great opportunity. Said, "I want you to talk to the one percenters to continue to drive them to this elite level in sales." Next opportunity was a book launch. Can you come back over?

(John Maclean at 00:37:59) So it's very rare that you get an opportunity from a large organization like BMC three years in a row in Vegas. I mean, because there are so many other presenters. So because I was often bringing new content to the table, he wanted to have that ongoing relationship. That's Paul Appleby, who was from BMC. Dan Streetman was from TIBCO.

(John Maclean at 00:38:18) TIBCO, you might know that organization in terms of data analytics. There was just this wonderful opportunity to kind of connect into his team. So with TIBCO, again, Vegas, had that opportunity to kind of open and explore, and then we moved to another offsite the following year. They said, "You know, I just need you to be with my leadership team. I just need them to understand how you operate."

(John Maclean at 00:38:41) And if we can get some of those lessons across to those leaders, they can then implant some of those messages within their own change. So that's probably the two reasons for why organizations choose me to go and share content, but also now having three parts. One was a story. Yes, we have a story on change.

(John Maclean at 00:39:02) Number two is we now have a leadership program. I've linked up with a psychologist. It's always good in terms of taking the science and the story back to the organization on change or transformation. I love doing those. And the last one's now an online version.

(John Maclean at 00:39:15) So Microsoft have been kind enough to support that process. So that's coming online shortly. So that's why these companies engage with me to help the leadership team as well as all of the employees go from where they are to hopefully reaching more of their potential.

(Joel Beasley at 00:39:31) And if people are listening and they want to have you come to their company and speak, how do they reach out?

(John Maclean at 00:39:36) I think the best way, Joel, is to go to the website, johnmaclean.com.au. Maclean, M-A-C-L-E-A-N. I think there's a connection back. I don't want a good movie, so Die Hard, Bruce Willis back in the day. You know, John McClane.

(John Maclean at 00:39:50) Sometimes there's a funny one, right? So sometimes I travel in Vegas as a song of John McClane, and I think some of the people are waiting to see whether Bruce Willis is going to come around the corner. But that's the way they can reach out, and happy to engage.

(Joel Beasley at 00:40:07) Thank you so much for listening. And if you found this episode useful, please share it with a friend or colleague who you think would get value from it. And if you have topics that you'd like to hear discussed on the podcast, either add me on LinkedIn or send me an email, [email protected]. Every time I get an email or LinkedIn message, it absolutely makes my day and inspires me to keep going.