Become the Author of Your Own Story—with Sam Cunliffe - EP001

Most of us see ourselves as the main character in our story, and we react to our circumstances based on subconscious programming. But what if we have the power to become the author of our own story as well? What if we can create our own reality and make the choice to be happy in any situation? Sam Cunliffe is a world-class athlete, setting the world record in the long jump at the age of 11 and then becoming one of the top 30 basketball players in the country by his senior year of high school. Sam graduated from Rainier Beach High in Seattle in 2015, where his team won the state championship and he was named State Player of the Year. He went on to play college ball at Arizona State, Kansas and the University of Evansville. On this episode of Holistic High Performance, Sam joins Daniel to share his experience growing up in an athletic family and describe the challenges he faced as a standout high school basketball player. He walks us through his college career, describing how he was influenced by other’s opinions and temporarily lost his joy for the game—until he learned to let go of expectations and be grateful for what IS right now. Listen in for Sam’s insight on taking responsibility for your emotions and learn how YOU can write a story of peace and self-acceptance, no matter what’s going on in the outside world. What You Will Learn Sam’s experience growing up as the only boy in a big, athletic family What inspired Sam’s transition from track to basketball at the age of 11 The challenges Sam faced as a standout high school basketball player How being influenced by other’s expectations led Sam to leave Arizona State for Kansas Why Sam lost the joy of playing basketball at Kansas and started partying to escape What Sam learned at Evansville about being happy in any situation and how that translated to the court How losing his identity as a basketball player during COVID inspired Sam’s awakening How working with a holistic coach is helping Sam become the author of his own story How to let go of expectations and accept and be grateful for what IS right now Sam’s decision not to return to Evansville for his senior year and what he is growing into now How we can take responsibility for our emotions and respond rather than react to our circumstances How Sam thinks about applying what he has learned in an NBA setting Connect with Sam Cunliffe Sam on Instagram Sam on Twitter Connect with Daniel Christofferson Holistic High Performance Daniel on LinkedIn