119: How to Win even when you Lose! with Sam Weinman

Today I am very excited to announce our guest, Sam Weinman. Sam is the digital editor for golf digest, and is the author of the new book WIN AT LOSING: How Our Biggest Setbacks Can Lead To Our Greatest Gains.

Sam’s insights into the mental and emotional side of how we deal with losses shows us that in many cases, winning isn’t everything. In fact, it might be argued that we may learn and grow more from our losses and struggles than we do from our wins. In his book he interviews some very influential figures in sport, Hollywood, politics, and more all of whom have at one time or another, lost on the biggest stage.

From all of these experiences and conversations, Sam shares with us some of the lessons he has learned and how we can use these to make us even stronger on the golf course.

Sam Weinman’s Background

Sam is the digital editor for Golf Digest.
Prior to that he covered golf and the NHL for The Journal Newsin Westchester, N.Y., and wrote for publications that included Golf Digest, USA Today, Golf World, Yahoo Sports, ESPN the Magazine, and Sports Illustrated.
He gravitated towards golf journalism in college, after originally being interested in fiction writing.
Sam was very into hockey as a kid, and didn’t take up golf until college.
Sam has been honored with multiple first place award in the Associated Press Sports Editors and golf Writers Association of America writing contests.

Highlights from this Episode

What made Sam decide to write about losing, rather than winning. In a roundabout way, the book ties in to success by talking about how to respond to failure, which is a big part of winning.
We get into a number of examples of real people in sport or otherwise, who have failed and bounced back to become successful.
In golf, Greg Norman is a key example of someone who has handled losing extremely well. We talk about Sam’s conversations with Greg, and what was going through his head at the time.
Tiger Woods, and how he went from being the greatest golfer in the world, to falling off the pedestal, and how these experiences may shape his return to the game.
How golfers can take the lessons taught in Sam’s book, and apply them on the golf course. Sam writes regularly on the topic with Golf Digest, and backs up his finding with psychological research.
Where Sam stands on a ‘reward everything’ mentality, such as the one we see in most schools, where everyone gets a trophy. Without giving too much away, Sam believes it is crucial for kids to realize that they will lose at certain points in their lives, and they should learn how to adapt to that.
The biggest things Sam has learned in his research and writing of the book.