Elite Mindset Secrets from the WWE, the MLB, and the Marines - Lacey Evans and Justin Su’a

From combat boots to combat sports. From the chaos of addiction to the discipline of the Marine Corps. From poverty to prime time.

Lacey Evans has lived more lives than most people dare dream of. And in this episode, she joins forces with elite mental performance coach Justin Su’a (Tampa Bay Rays, WWE) to break down what mental toughness really means in the face of pressure, trauma, and high performance.

What’s the one question Lacey asks when everything feels too heavy?

What do elite performers do differently when they want to tap out—but know they can’t?

And what can YOU take from pro sports and the military to lead under pressure in your own life?

They break it all down here.

Connect with Lacey:
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/limitlessmacey/
🎥 YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/@LimitlessLady

Connect with Justin:
💼LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinsua/
✖️X (Twitter): https://x.com/Justinsua
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinsua/
🎧 Increase Your Impact with Justin Su'a | A Podcast For Leaders: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/increase-your-impact-with-justin-sua-a-podcast-for-leaders/id1058589696

Follow Paddy for more:
🌐 Website: www.toughness.com
📸 Instagram: @paddysgram
💼 LinkedIn: Paddy Steinfort
✖️ X (Twitter): @paddysx

 

 

TRANSCRIPT:

[00:00:00] Lacey Evans: You don't really have an option in life. You know, sometimes they just knocks you down over and over and over. 

[00:00:06] Justin Su'a: When you see the people who are the best in the world, they just focus on what they can control. 

[00:00:11] Lacey Evans: What is impacting my mental health? What is impacting my why? 

[00:00:15] Justin Su'a: It comes down to asking yourself, am I willing to put in the work every single day, even though I'm not seeing the result?

[00:00:30] Paddy Steinfort: Welcome to the Toughness Podcast. My name is Paddy Steinfort, your host, and today we're joined by a couple of amazing, like world's best people in their own right. Firstly, we have Lacey Evans, currently a superstar on WWE. Fantastic to have you here, Lacey. Thanks for joining us. And we also have Justin Su’a, who is a mental performance coach. For many different teams in many different industries. Justin, maybe you can list through the most recent ones for us. 

[00:00:56] Justin Su'a: We would just say what the Tampa Bay is right now. 

[00:00:58] Paddy Steinfort: All right. And also does some consulting work for different groups, and that's how I've managed to convince the both of you to get on this episode, because Justin has worked with WWE before where Lacey also works. So tell me a little bit, Lacey, this is a really interesting chat with you for a reason. Number one, you. Number two in particular, given that a lot of the people that listen to this are from a military background, you yourself are a veteran. Can you tell us about how you first got into, you were in the Marines right? For five years, right? Is that correct? Yep. Right? 

[00:01:32] Lacey Evans: Yes sir. 

[00:01:33] Paddy Steinfort: What did you decide to go into the military? 

[00:01:36] Lacey Evans: Starting at a young age. I had a pretty rough upbringing. My parents suffered with addiction and depression, and my life growing up was just terrible. I mean, I like to say I didn't have the role models. I didn't know what I wanted to be, but I definitely, without a shadow of it out, knew what I didn't wanna be because it surrounded me all the time.

And so when I was 19 years old, I found myself enabling the addiction, enabling the depression, enabling this lifestyle of. Just not only negativity, but they're just, they were not motivated, and they just continued to choose terrible things, and I was stuck in the middle of it, and I loved them so much that I found myself enabling them, almost supporting.

Their decisions and their habits, and I knew that I needed to do something not only to help people, because I've always had a passion for that, but I needed to make a decision that would allow me to grow and to learn what that was that I wanted to be, because I didn't know, I didn't have the role models that I needed growing up. So at 19 years old, I went to the recruiting in my town. I was working two full jobs. I gonna.

I just went and looked what they had to offer from Air Force to the Marine Corps, to the Navy, and across the board. And the Marine Corps was the finest fighting force. And that stuck out to me because I go from the lowest to the low and the most depressed and the, you know, drug driven. And it was all just so negative.

And to tell me that you're the finest fighting force, the most motivated, the most driven. Well, that's what I wanna be. And that was the first time in my life that I honestly looked at someone in something and thought. That is the life that I want that because it was just so opposite of what I knew. So then, as I sat down and I said, well, what could I do?

What could I do while in the military, in the Marine Corps, and military police? So I mean, I saw the military police and it immediately struck a chord because growing up in that rough childhood, that rough upbringing, one thing that I. Of the good guys, of the people that are supposed to come in and do something good and right, was the police.

And so I was like, that's even better. Not only could I be a part of the finest fighting force, but I could actually be there for people that are going through hell on a personal level, on a family level, and everything of. So I chose the United States Marine Corps. I chose military police officer and before I know it, I was wanted to be not one of, but the only female on a SWAT team as part of the Marine Corps in Beaufort, South Carolina. Parris Island.

[00:04:08] Paddy Steinfort: Being a trailblazer in a number of ways. Well, also there are, there are a couple of things further down your storyline that I'm gonna circle back to, and that seems like it's a theme. I wanna quickly grab something you mentioned there in your story, and it made me immediately think of you, Justin, because we've known each other for a number of years, crossed before.

And Lacey just mentioned that she was doing, you know, that life was a bit of a jumble and then she saw something that really resonated because she wanted to help people and be there for them in a time they really needed, in a way that many other people can't do. Right. And I know that's part of why you ended up being a mental performance coach. Can you tell us a little more about that? 'cause you were doing journalism school, right? Or something like that. 

[00:04:47] Justin Su'a: Yeah, I was, I went into sports broadcasting. 

[00:04:50] Paddy Steinfort: There you go. 

[00:04:51] Justin Su'a: Now I went into being a teacher, high school teacher, and then from there went into wanting to work with the best athletes and performers in the world because those like Lacey, who are at the tip of the spear who wanna be the best in the world, it's inspiring the way to attack their days, the way their approach to, they have to control their attention.

So many people clamoring for their attention, and people like Lacey and these elite performers, they fail on the big stage. The pressure that these elite performers have to experience day in and day out. The people sliding into their DMs, the things that people say to them without even knowing them, that's the group I wanna work with.

And also, they have such tremendous impact. It's a scene Lacey and these other elite athletes when they respond to somebody on Instagram or on social media, an autograph. The simple hello to have that kind of impact. That's what inspires me as well. So it's. It is mutually, uh, edifying to not only be surrounded by people who are of that calendar, but to even, to be able to talk with them and to help them on their own journey is such an honor.

[00:05:55] Paddy Steinfort: Part of that there that really resonates to me. I do similar work with NBA players, Major League baseball players, some other industries, but really, one of the biggest things with people who are at your level. It's just amazing the amount of people who. Some of the skills and some of the incidents we're gonna touch on in today's show.

Some of the learnings and the growth that you've had, it actually applies to anyone in any walk of life that, that you learn these skills, they can really improve their own lives, to your point, they can help support their own family who may be struggling with their own stuff. So, really looking forward to digging into that.

And you mentioned, when we just jumped out to Justin a second ago that you went into the police because it was gonna help people, and you ended up being the only female on a SWAT team. Now you're not only being the only female on a SWAT team. Just looking into your background a little bit, there was a little period between the military and WWE where you started your own construction business, right? Which is not necessarily the most feminine environment. You found being a trailblazer in those areas? 

[00:06:56] Lacey Evans: I mean, it's empowering. I mean, as a mother of a little girl myself, she's seven years old, and having the childhood that I did, you don't really have an option in life. You know, sometimes it just knocks you down over and over, and it's hard.

And so being well-rounded and confident, to me it's so important because. And I do thank God every day that my childhood wasn't perfect because it has made me the woman that I am. My father did construction my whole life, so I was raised in it. I've been around it, and I actually started a construction company while I was active duty as a corporal in the Marine Corps.

[00:07:29] Lacey Evans: And this was before WWE. My husband is a general contractor and he's a builder, so it only made sense to me and him both start the company and, and it took off, and I'm a hard worker. And I was like, oh, my dad taught me quite a lot in lif,e from good to bad and everything in between. And I said, this is something that I know it's normal to me. And so even my daughter goes out on job sites, grabs a hammer, grabs a grill at seven years old and starts, she gets in there and, uh, she puts in the work. So it's multitasking and then, uh, juggling. 

[00:08:00] Paddy Steinfort: Super cute. I want to, uh, dig into the, you know, two parallels there where you were on a construction site. As a female, both growing up, but also running your own construction business when you're in the Marines and being the only female in a SWAT team, like, tell us a lesson, the first lesson you learned being the only female or being a rare female in those environments. Like, how was that tough for you? What, what was the toughest part of that?

[00:08:24] Lacey Evans: Every time they're gonna underestimate you, they are going to assume that you are only capable of so much. And it is our jobs as women to prove them wrong. And that doesn't mean go out there and say that you can do what? The men can do that, no, because you know what? We're women there. We should be proud of that.

I love being a beautiful, feminine, strong mother. I love being a wife. I love being a woman. But it's not so much proving that we could do what the men can do. It's proving that we could do our job. Okay. And it all depends on what job you have. And I'm a firm believer in that. It just so happened that I was on the SRT, which is special reactions team.

It just, so I don't look at it like I say that I was the only woman because that's empowering. That sounds empowering, and it is. And it should be. But it was, I was in a male dominated, it just so happened to be mostly men. It happened to be all men. What's my job description? And I prove I had what? Do that job and then before, you know.

The only female in that work field, you tell me what needs to be done and watch as I get the job done. And that's something I instilled in my kid all the time is don't focus so much on, I'm the only female. Focus on this. What? I can do the job that is at hand. And I feel like, and if you look at it that way, then it just, it empowers more and more.

It's where it's not so taboo. It's eventually one day it won't be looked at. Like, wow, you know, which, and it should, you should be proud. But I feel like a lot of times women are looked at like, oh, can she do that? And it shouldn't be that way because just watch. And we as women should prove that we can do.

Not that we could be the only female, no. That we could do the job because it goes different ways, not only just in sports. What is your athletic position? What is your job? And then go as it as the jobs that we could do. Yeah. And see what we're capable of. It's 

[00:10:12] Paddy Steinfort: A great way of looking at it, and it really is one of the great levelers of sport in general or of any other competitive industry also in the military, is like, are you able to do this job or not? It doesn't matter what you look like. It doesn't matter where you come from, can you do the job that we need or not? And if you're able to, you should be able to build a career around it. Justin, I can throw to you here in one of two ways and you can take whichever one you want. One is you work with professional athletes, and there is meritocracy.

It's not a matter of like, you know, your dad played in the big leagues, so you get to play, it's, can you get the numbers or not? That's one way, and there are some parallels there for you to play with. But there's also the other one of you have a daughter who is incredibly talented. Who is an actress at the highest level.

She was on a Blockbuster with the Rock, Dwayne The Rock Johnson. So she's a big league player herself. So she's doing amazing things. And you are hearing Lacey talk about that in terms of being able to do the job, pick one of those to go with, whether you want to draw the parallel with the athletes or with your daughter.

[00:11:10] Justin Su'a: Well, what's interesting is do you hear the passion of Lacey? Like do you just see that love about it? You can just hear it's palpable, it's visceral, it creates this, and that is. When you see the people who are the best in the world, they just focus on what they can control and their ability to choose where they're gonna put their attention.

They can choose to focus on the probability; the odds don't favor people like Lacey. If you were to say, what are the odds that she's gonna accomplish what she accomplish this, what are the odds that these NBA players, the NFL players, these, my daughter, the odds are not stacked against them. It's not for them, but.

The people who are passionate about what they do they know their why. They know who they are. They don't care about the odds. They're just focused on the task in front of them, and they just attack an attack and the fail and they learn. And another thing as well is what I see in hearing Lacey's story.

And a lot of the stories that I hear with these athletes I work with, they have a very tight circle of family members and friends who they love. Take all WWE Superstar away for these athletes. Take the World Series away for my daughter. Take all of her stuff away. She knows these people know they have a circle of people who love them no matter what. And that's one of the things that I learned as well, is these people, not only are they passionate and focus, but they have a very close circle of people who they know they love them no matter what.

[00:12:35] Paddy Steinfort: Yeah. Great, great example. And that also helps, you've mentioned attention a couple of times there, Justin. Lacey, you've kind of mentioned it in a roundabout way, but that's one of the biggest predictors of whether someone can focus on what they're supposed to be doing as opposed to, like you said, the dms on Twitter or what the press wants to say about you. Or the could the drill sergeant is yelling in your face and there's little bits of spit landing on your cheek, like there are so many things you can pay attention to, but when you have a tight crew that you know who they love you, you don't have to go searching for that love elsewhere, right?

You can trust in that group, and then you can focus on the job at hand. I'm curious, Lacey, your ability, lik,e did that form for you? Like, when did you start to feel that compared to your childhood, which sounds like it was really horrible and you did amazing just to get through that. When did you feel like things had changed for you in that, and you had a circle of people that you loved and trusted and you felt like they could support you in what you're doing?

[00:13:29] Lacey Evans: This job and this position I'm in with my life of being a superstar, being a mother, being a wife, being a. Motivator, you know, that it can get very heavy and it's a lot to carry mentally, you know? Uh, so the moment that mentally when it came to mental health is when I realized that, uh, I've got a lot going on and I come from a lot and I've got some skeletons in my closet.

I've got a lot of stuff that I deal with every day, and I'm expected to be this superstar and this amazing, incredibly healthy. Smart, you know, everything and in between and like I said with the DMs. And so it, it's heavy and every day I gotta wake up and put my best foot forward. The first time I met Justin was when we were at the pc and he came in to teach us about a motivational class and how we juggle all this stuff.

But at the end of the day, no matter what happens, what is your why? And they always stuck out to me. And every now and I'll do a little post, a little caption about.

And like I said, all those things I just named, and it was, I couldn't breathe. I literally couldn't breath,e and I was dealing with a lot of family stuff that superstars don't deal wit,h and it was just all, just at one time. And I literally physically couldn't breathe. It was like something was on my chest and I needed to realize my why, because I can't be the mom that man, it's my daughter.

It's my husband. I can't be the mom that she deserves and the HU and the wife that my husband deserves. And they're my why with my mental health and everything that I'm dealing with. So it was at that moment that I realized that my, that circle you're talking about, I needed to evaluate it, and it quickly went from a handful to even less.

Because it's very important that you take that into consideration. You take your mental health and the way that you're breathing and the way that you're looking at life, and even it's something that I still have to evaluate every day, almost. You know, I have to look back and realize what is impacting my mental health.

What is impact my why? Because little things could seep in people, friends, family, and you gotta cut it out, especially in the platform that I've got in this position of my wife, because it's just so much and I had to dial it back. But it was when I found myself on the floor barely breathing because it just hit me all one day and it was just too much to carr,y and it was my why that woke me up and I realized that I need to. I push back and close my gates, and in order to be the woman that I am and the people that people need, that my daughter, my husband needs. 

[00:16:01] Paddy Steinfort: Yeah. It's such a common theme with a lot of people who we interview on this, who we work through at the same level, where a lot of the why isn't necessarily about all the glitter and the glitz and the glamor.

It's much more about people. It's less about things. It's more about like, who do you really want to get closer to? And you spoke there about something that can be summed up as. You can't look after other people unless you're looking after yourself first. You're gonna run yourself into the ground. For those of us who don't have the blessing of being able to watch you as you speak here so passionately, Lacey, you did say something there where you used air quotes, you put your fingers up near the little air quotes around superstars.

Don't deal with that. That's a, that's a common mis misperception, right? Would you say, Justin, how many athletes, pro athletes you work with that have significant issues that perhaps the kids who look after them, or even the adults who wear their jerseys around, just have no idea that they're dealing with that.

[00:16:52] Justin Su'a: It is so funny you mention that because when she said that, my antenna went up too, and people don't realize that the average person do not realize the weights on the shoulders of people at the highest level. They think that, oh, they're just. These superstars, these athletes, they have all this money, they have all this fame, and don't realize the human nature that we're, they're humans with families, with feelings, with schedules, with priorities, with their own whys, with their own dreams.

And it's amazing to see how people don't even take that in consideration. And yeah, Patty, you, even with the, these elite athletes and soldiers as well, at the highest level, these elite soldiers, they do get frustrated. They. Do have panic attacks and they do have insecurities. And to hear Lacey say what she said and be vulnerable, and just to say that and to share, that's eye-opening for people or even other athletes because they think, oh, I shouldn't feel this way.

And we have people like Lacey saying, no, it's okay to feel this way, and we're human and I'm gonna still do my job feeling this way. And, uh, and I need to make some changes. But that's, that was awesome. I love that part. 

[00:17:59] Paddy Steinfort: You said a key word there too. Human, that this isn't just a, because I'm a superstar and I have extra weight, and there is a lot more going on for a superstar in terms of demands on their time and attention, and what stress they're under.

In some instances, that is, but also if I can't make rent and I've just lost my job, like there's a fair bit of weight on that person too. And you're not a superstar. You're just human. And humans have wants and needs and dream,s and they fail and they get up. This is a really important point that I think starts to link some of the lessons that we learned from superstars that everyone of us can apply.

And I think there, you've mentioned one of them, Justin, is the ability to, you mentioned shrinking your circle, but Lacey, you also, you've gone on from doing the military and specifically breaking down some barriers there. You've set up your own construction business. Talk to us about how when you decided into wrestling.

This is a human thing too. Humans wanna climb mountains. There's always this innate need of like, I'm gonna get that job, or I'm gonna get that promotion, or I'm gonna get that girlfriend or boyfriend. Like people wanna do things. They set goals. You've done a number of them and crushed them all. Lacey, tell us about you. The one that everyone knows you formed. Now you're a WWE superstar, but at one stage you weren't. Tell us about that. 

[00:19:14] Lacey Evans: I never imagined that I would be in WWE. I, I didn't even watch WWE. It happened literally overnight, and it's something that just God put in my lap literally because my staff sergeant did what I thought was backyard wrestling and there was like this little promotion and we went to watch him, me and my husband, my daughter, we went to watch my staff sergeant and I just, I fell in love with it.

I was like, man, I would love to get in there because it was. You know, the little kids around the ring, you know, you could tell they didn't have a pot to piss in. Their parents literally would bring them to watch these in-ring performers. And I'm like, man, on Monday through Friday, I'm a freaking swat, like kicking indoors training.

I want to be, I want the little kids to like see me and just for once in their life, for one day a week to forget about their trouble. And that stuck out to me. And because I looked at the babies and I saw myself, you know, you could tell they didn't have much. And, but here they were. Their parents were paying these five bucks to let 'em come and watch us on Saturday.

And within two weeks, I kid you not, I got a phone call and they wanted to offer me a tryout with WWE. So I'm Googling WWE, like, what is this? Like, what is this even gonna, you know? And um, I was very, didn't wanna, at first, I never to be famous. I'm the Marine Corps was great. I was kick ass at my job. I was a great mother.

I was a great wife. I was taking care of my siblings, who struggled with addiction and their mental health. And so I was like, you know what? I'm gonna try it. I'm gonna go out there. I don't got nothing to lose my master gun. Said, go ahead. Go kill it. Marine. Marine, be back at three days. And I went out and, uh, believe it or not, I got a phone call a few months later and they wanted off me a contract.

I could not turn down because I realized how many people I could actually impact while having this platform. And that is my main goal, and it has been since day one. 

[00:21:04] Paddy Steinfort: Very cool. You tell me more about, like you said, backyard wrestling and immediately in my head I'm picturing like, I don't even know what the scene is that's coming up in my mind, but I'm like, I'm literally You know, there's people drinking in the garage. I go out the back, there's a yard little, a basketball hoop on one side there's grass and someone's just roped off a thing, right? And people are jumping in the mud like tell like what happens in backyard wrestling? 

[00:21:27] Lacey Evans: It's called Indy wrestling, and some promotions are bigger, some are smaller.

The one that I particularly went to in Georgia was called a PW Run by Tom Coio, and he's actually an incredible man. He got me all the connections that I needed, and he's the one who put my name in. You know, he called some contacts and said, Hey, there's this freaking crazy blonde-haired marine that just came in. I think that she might have what it takes. So yeah, I mean, it was, there was a ring outside in a parking lot, and we hit each other and flopping and flying, but I just do it professionally now. 

[00:21:59] Paddy Steinfort: That's fantastic. In a parking lot. That's brilliant. And it's a great similarity to the life of minor league baseball players. So Justin, you work with them, Tampa Bay Rays, Lacey, I'm assuming that first contract that you signed was not for mega bucks ,and you weren't immediately made a superstar. You had to do some sort of like road to the majors. Right. And Justin, the guys you work with sometimes can take six, maybe even longer years of schlepping around the baseball equivalent of car parks in shitty minor league stadiums.

14-hour bus rides sleeping in like flea infested motels getting paid. Shit like I'm not even gonna watch my words there. The wages of minor league baseball players are less than minimum wage, so that is a shit life to live until they get to their dream. Lacey, we're gonna dig into that journey for you, but Justin, tell us about the mental hurdles that your guys have to deal with before they even get close to their.

[00:22:57] Justin Su'a: It is when you get to a certain point in the MA [00:23:00] in the minor leagues, you start wondering, is this worth it? Do I really wanna do this for the rest of my life? And then you start looking at people to your left and to your right, who you don't think are as good as you. You don't think they work as hard as you.

You don't think that they can hold a candle to you yet they're getting promoted. And you're looking and you're looking at people ahead of you, behind you, and you end up realizing, do I wanna keep doing this? And like you said, it's uh, it comes down to asking yourself, okay, what's my why? Like Lacey said, and then am I willing to embrace the boredom of consistency?

Am I willing to put in the work every single day? Even though I'm not seeing the results, and even if I think I'm doing good ,May, what if the person who's making the decision doesn't think I'm doing good? And so you start questioning yourself and wait, do I need to change myself and change who I am? Okay, so that's a minor league baseball.

Then I meet Lacey with WWE. And the thing about baseball in sports, it is a meritocracy. Like if you're the best little rice of the crop. That is not the case with the WWE. You can be amazing and it might be a look, it might be something completely outside of your control. You have no control over, you have no control over, and all of a sudden moves are being made.

And so when Lacey and her contemporaries explained to me what they had to go through, I came in with this mentality, oh, it's like sports and Lacey's like, uh, it's nothing like sports. I was like, oh my goodness.

[00:24:31] Paddy Steinfort: Similarities there between those two, but obviously the differences, and you mentioned things there that it wouldn't matter if you're playing baseball, WWE, or you were working at the local post office, right? There are so many humans who are striving for something and they're going through shit and they watch other people get ahead who either are working as hard or aren't as talented or just it's not fair said before.

The world's not fair, it's down. Such a strong element of whether people can get through or not is willingness. You use the word willing, like what are you willing to put up with in order to get that thing that you're trying to get? Like this shit is uncomfortable and how uncomfortable you're gonna allow it to be.

Because at one point, you can always tap out. I use a wrestling example, right? You can always reach for the rope, or you can tap, I'm done. Right? Tell me about the first time you, I mean, I'm gonna use that tapout example there, Lacey. Have you ever tapped out in a match and have you ever got to the point of tapping out and going, nah, fuck it, I can do another 20 seconds.

[00:25:35] Lacey Evans: It depends on who I'm in there with, but I mean, it's like life. I'm not really much of a tapout person. I, I mean, obviously in WWE I've had before, but it just depends on the circumstance. It depends on what you're put out there to do. But like you said, life is hard, and you don't get to choose. What comes to you?

The only thing you could choose is how you react to it. And like he said, this is nothing like sports. You know, athletically, you have to be capable of doing a lot of stuff, but it doesn't matter at the end of the day, it's what they want. So you have to have a mentality. And I'm gonna go back to what he said, because if you know your why, you know it.

It'll keep pushing you, it'll keep, you know, right when you wanna tap out, no matter what situation you're in, in life, whether it's a career, whether it's financial, it's goal-oriented. Wanting to so bad, but if you honestly, without a shadow of doubt, know what your why is. That's all, in my opinion, I found myself in mindset.

That's all. Because there, you can't tell me there's not a match. I've been in, not a physical pain, not a mental, not emotional, that I've ever been in, that I've ever given up. Because when it hurts the most, when I'm the most tired, when I'm second-guessing the most, that's when I remind myself, what am I here for? What am I doing this for? And every time it lifts me back up, it moves the pain and I keep on trucking forward. 

[00:26:59] Paddy Steinfort: Really cool example there of being able to like dig in you, you said it, it moves the pain. It doesn't re remove the pain. It doesn't get rid of the pain, it just shifts it from the center of your attention to the periphery, right?

If something more important, you're sitting in the middle. I love the way you worded that. And you also, like you mentioned, without any fear or embarrassment, like occasionally, depending on the context, you might tap out. It might be a, in this situation, I need to be flexible. This isn't as important as this other thing.

And that's a really, I mean, how many times, Justin, have you worked with an athlete who's been so fixated on this is how it has to be that you're almost like, yeah, but dude, look, there's a door over there. You're trying to squeeze through this little two-inch window. There's a whole door open over there.

[00:27:44] Justin Su'a: That is so true. A lot of times people look at a WW wrestler with their arm being raised at the end of a match or a belt or a World Series Championship or a Super Bowl championship, and they see the end result. They see the byproduct, but they what they don't see. Is all of the turmoil and adversity behind the scenes?

They don't see the hours of sacrifice. They don't see the lack of sleep. They don't see the financial problems. They don't see the skeletons that, like Lacey mentioned earlier, they don't see any of that. They just see this quote-unquote unquote superhuman hero. Who is the best in the world at what they do, and they don't even consider even all of the Ls that this person took up to this point, all of the times they lost all of the times.

They failed. All of the times where people who they love, even the people who they love. Have not supported them, have put turned against them. Like people don't see that and people don't see all the lessons that these athletes and these performers have learned along the way. They're willing to admit, yep, I took an L there.

I lost there. I tapped out there. But this is the lesson I learned from that L where the average person. They just run and hide and they don't even wanna learn from it. They don't wanna get better from it. They wanna avoid it, know it didn't happen. They wanna put their head in the sand. But the elite, they learn from it.

They embrace it, they admit it. They say, yeah, I took that l I'm gonna take some more, but I'm gonna use it as a stepping stone and not a stumbling board. 

[00:29:13] Paddy Steinfort: Right. And that's a really important point there that I think you notice a lot of people at the top, you mentioned that they learn, they review. They're self-critical, but not in a defeatist way. They're just like, where was that wrong? What could I do better? Right now, some very rare few are born with the Michael Jordan gene of just being absolutely obsessed. Kobe Bryant, like they, that they can't think of anything else. Now, that's not very normal, and for the rest of us who are more normal, none of us are, there's no such thing as normal, but we're more towards the middle of the curve.

Often, you'll find that people have to actually put in like, here's a trick that I do to make sure that happens. Here's a routine that I use, or a process or a ritual that I make sure helps me get better rather than just hoping that I'm consistently evolving and learning. Lacey, is there anything that, particularly as you got into wrestling, right, you said it wasn't a dream.

It wasn't like you've been jumping off the top rope since you were 10 and hell. As well as from a performance standpoint, like from what period when you signed that first contract to you being a superstar, like how long was that length of time? 

[00:30:21] Lacey Evans: The first day I knew I was in trouble because I was not an actress. I was not, I mean, I wasn't really even like technically an athlete. I mean, I was a Marine. I could shoot a pie just as good as I can or shoot a weapon just as good as I could bake a pie, you know? But what is that? Like I can kick some doors down and stop a threat, but now here I am about to have to, you know, get into a character and tell a story, and I'm like, Ugh, okay.

But I just, same thing. I took it just like I took everything the rest of my life, I have this opportunity. No matter how big or small, you look at what you've got, what opportunity that you have, and then you kind of dissect it briefly of what it's gonna take to actually accomplish this. Right? And that's what I do.

I just one thing at a time. I don't care if it's the acting, I don't care if it's interviews like this. I break it down, okay, here's an opportunity to, and I'm gonna use this as an example when I got this phone call, okay? I'm gonna be able to get on and express mental health and motivation, and I, that's my passion.

That's what I love. Okay, so now what am I gonna talk about? You know, obviously it's based on what we all come through together, but I take a moment to realize for one, the opportunity, and then the little steps that it's gonna take to get there. And I use that in everything in my life from WWE to when I wrestling in high school to every job that I've had.

Because if you look at anything further, you're, you know, that weight, you make the weight heavier if you just focus on what it's gonna take to get to where you wanna go in your why it makes it so much easier because it's just like little baby steps down is one of the most important parts of achieving particularly large goals.

[00:31:55] Paddy Steinfort: There's this, the famous saying of how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Right. And it's not necessarily thinking about the next four bites, it's I have this thing on my fork and I'm gonna eat that one and swallow it before I move on to the next. Right. Justin? Justin, is there anything else from a process point of view you would add to that you find helpful with your cohort? I guess the people you are working with who are trying to achieve big things to help them stay in that moment or chunk it now? 

[00:32:20] Justin Su'a: Well, what I love is just how Lacey went through her process. I think both you could agree with this. People always say, what do you teach Elite A. Athletes, what do you teach? I don't, honestly, I might teach, but for the most thing I do, I just ask questions.

They're elites. They've got to this point by themselves, doing what they do. And I ask 'em questions like you just did, Lacey, what do you do? What? How do you do it? And they're able to articulate, and they'll give you their framework, and then you notice it, and you kind of articulate i,t and you highlight i,t and they'll be like, oh, that's what I do.

And it's 'cause sometimes they don't even realize they do it because it's been so. Organic and to hear Lacey constantly talk about her why and talk about how she chunks it. And I think that's so important to focus on the right here, right now. And I think the best in the world, they do things on purpose.

It's funny, I've never told Lacey this, but one of the things that I remember when I was watching, I love to observe athletes, observe other athletes, and you just kind of could watch it. And one thing I remember. And ww it's called bumping. They're bumping and you see Lacey, like she studies, like when she watches something, you have the average person who's kind of, but then you have people who just kind of like stare and study that don't just look at it to look at it.

They're literally watching to learn. And that's one of the things when at, in our roles, we kind of flies on the walls and we could watch. And I remember Lacey really, it was a tryout. I dunno if you remember this, Lacey, but it. Well, looking at a tryout and uh, you're just learning, and you can see your things are going on in your mind. And that's what I see a lot of great athletes do. It's even when they're not in there, they're constantly learning. Constantly learning. And 

[00:33:57] Paddy Steinfort: you made the point there, I actually have this [00:34:00] saying, usually when I'm starting with the performing, whether it's an athlete, whether it's a a, CEO, a trader, whatever it might be, a surgeon, if they wanna sit down and get better at their performance, and they're like, okay, what are you gonna teach me?

Like how, what does this involve? I'm like, I gotta be honest. I'm gonna teach you like a couple of things. There's not gonna be much that I teach you, but you are gonna learn a shit load. You are gonna learn so much because this is more about you learning about yourself than it is about me teaching you anything.

I can teach you a couple of things about how attention works and the brain, blah, blah, blah. I can tell you stories today about some of the people I've worked with, but this is much more, getting better is much more a process of you understanding yourself than it is about. Understanding anything else, and I want like, that might be a great way to wrap up with the final question here.

Lacey, I wanna give you an opportunity, like if you could go back to the 19-year-old, 20-year-old who got into the Marines, and obviously you've learned a lot in the time since you've crushed that challenge. You've built a business, you've become a world superstar in a sport you didn't even know existed when that started. I'd be curious to know what you've learned about yourself that you would go back and tell that Marine. 

[00:35:09] Lacey Evans: I mean, just live in the moment because coming from the rough upbringing that I did, I always find myself striving so much to never become what I was surrounded with. And I work so hard every day in order to create a life that is so far from that to what I call, and I use a hashtag, break the cycle.

And if I could go back, I would tell myself to just. Breathe and enjoy the moment that I'm an athlete. I'm an elite for a reason because I never stop. I give a hundred percent in everything that I do. It doesn't matter if it's WWE e here on the set with military makeover as a mother, my daughter is literally right next to me in the camper.

I've got a little walkie-talkie to make sure he's okay. My husband is. Fed, he's hydrated, he's out there working. And I take pride in that. But a lot of times I find myself, you know, at the end of the day, just that that didn't, feeling like I kind of can't breathe and that I just need to realize that we have one life to live.

And it is very important to stay motivated, stay driven, but also to realize. How beautiful and amazing life is and these opportunities and 'cause I just go so fast and I work so hard and then I find myself thinking, man, I might have enjoyed it a little bit more if I could have just relaxed and actually taken it in instead of pushing so hard at everything that I do.

Honestly, that would be it because I believe like mental health is so important. And I find myself at a breaking point a lot of times with everything that I deal with and I struggle with and that I juggle. And I think that that would be what I would call myself. 

[00:36:41] Paddy Steinfort: It's a fantastic lesson, and this is no, no word of a joke. Before this interview, I was on another Zoom call, but with a major league baseball team I worked with, with some players, and we ran a little exercise where I asked him to just settle in. Close your eyes, imagine something, you're in the room, and a 10-year-old you walks in and sits down next to you. And they look at you and they're like, oh my God, it's so amazing.

You're doing this thing that I always wanted to do. And I, and ask them what they would tell you. What advice would they give you? And vice versa. 40-year-old you's finished, his career's finished, but he looks back and he says he would give you some advice. And what would they both say about how you are handling this current thing right now?

And to a man, every single one of them, when they shared with the grou,p was saying, just be here and stop complaining because it is what it is. And 10-year-old me would've given his left, you know what to be able to be here. And 40-year-old me would be looking at me, saying, please don't lose a month. Just feeling sorry for yourself.

Make everything count. And you just nailed it there. And it's so, such a common theme when you ask someone to talk about what advice they would give that it often comes down to that. And for listeners, maybe try that yourself. Just think about what advice you would give to younger you, or more importantly, what would they say to you?

Lacey, I wanna thank you very much for getting on. Your energy is infectious. I don't normally talk this loudly or with this much energy, so you've really, you got me well done and it makes sense also 'cause sewer is that person. Uh, Justin, I wanna thank you for coming on as well. For anyone who wants to follow up and find either of you.

Lacey, what's the best way for someone to, to follow you or watch your stuff? 

[00:38:14] Lacey Evans: All my social media is Lacey Evans. 

[00:38:16] Paddy Steinfort: All right, great. And Justin Su’a. Easy. Thank you very much guys. I hope you have a great rest of the day, and again, thank you for supporting this.