Ruben Gonzalez on Olympic Mindset

Intentional Performers

Ruben Gonzalez is going to inspire you with our conversation today. He is 61 years old and he is still attempting to make it to the next Olympics in the sport of luge. If you know anything about luge, you’ll know that it is a difficult sport that’s hard on the body that comes with danger. And Ruben knows a lot about the sport of luge. He’s competed in 4 different Olympics in the 3 different decades. He’s currently attempting to become the oldest Olympian to ever compete. He has experienced a lot in the sport of luge, but he’s also run with the bulls in Spain, he’s climbed Mount Kilimanjaro (the highest mountain in Africa), he was a torch bearer at the Salt Lake City Olympic Games, he has written books, he’s a keynote speaker, he is really a unique soul who is passionate. He really reminded me a lot of the people that I studied and wrote about in my book, Shift your Mind. A lot of today’s conversation is going to focus on Ruben’s mindset; what he’s done to create a mindset to help him in preparation and in performance. I think even more so than those two places and spaces, you’re going to learn about how Ruben sees life, then lens through which he sees it, and how much he always wants to continue learning and growing and reading and studying and researching. He is someone who is not going to stop developing himself in order to be the best version of him.

Ruben had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:

“I was always looking for my adventure” (6:00).

“What drew me to the Olympians, it wasn’t their athleticism, it was their spirit, their heart” (7:00).

“If you study the lives of great people, you’ll figure out what works and doesn’t work in life” (7:40).

“Belief gets you started… [and] desire keeps you going” (10:05).

“The harder it is, the easier it is for me. Because I’m not a quitter; I’m a bulldog” (14:25).

“The luge is my vehicle, and it’s probably the only vehicle that’s going to get me to that destination: [the Olympics]” (20:00).

“I had a different motivation for each [Olympics]” (25:05).

“I can live with not making it, but I can’t live with not trying” (25:10).

“If I make it [to the Winter Olympics and set the record as the oldest athlete to compete ever], I actually hope someone will break it at the next Olympics because that means I got old guys out of the woodwork and got them working out (27:00).

“I’m 61 years old. I’m sliding better and more consistently than ever before” (32:45).

“You’ve got to have perseverance, but you’ve got to be coachable. You’ve got to be humble” (33:15).

“[Legacy] means a lot [to me]” (49:20).

“On the sled, you’ve got to be calm, cool, and collected” (52:55).

“If you change your focus, the fear will disappear” (56:10).

“I don’t want the fame. I want to be under the radar” (1:11:35).

“Keep on keeping on and hopefully things will work out” (1:14:25).

Additionally, you can find Ruben’s website here and connect with him on Facebook as well.

Thank you so much to Ruben for coming on the podcast!

I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.

Thanks for listening.