#159 5 lessons from failing Ninja Warrior with Brandon Clift

"Are you at least willing to push through the discomfort so that the team can win, so that your family can win, so that the mission can win and ultimately perhaps so that you can win?”

Have you ever had life slam a door in your face maybe even in the most public way possible? What if, in that moment, you could hit pause, dig into the mess, and come out the other side with fresh lessons (and maybe even a laugh or two)? In this episode, I talk to executive coach and all-around inspiring human, Brandon Clift. Brandon shares his spectacular "door closed" moment on national TV as a contestant on Australian Ninja Warrior, and the series of reflections and transformations that followed his Ninja splashdown.

This conversation dives (literally at some points) right into the messy reality of change, confidence, ego, failure, and finding humility when life doesn’t go to plan. Brandon gets honest about what happens when your head gets a little too big, and how embracing the true lessons in failure can completely shift your story. If you’ve ever been blindsided by an unexpected turn, questioned your own confidence, or wondered how to pick yourself up, this episode is for you. 

The Highlights:

04:24 From gymnastics to van life: when breakdowns lead to breakthroughs

08:40 Why extreme confidence can tip into arrogance 

13:03 Ninja Warrior: the inside story

19:28 When overconfidence means you miss the details right in front of you

23:16 Identifying personal blind spots and rewriting old stories

27:12 Shadow work, childhood beliefs, and facing your own truth

34:44 The power in detaching from outcomes (and why Buddhist wisdom beats business hype)

38:31 Supporting others, men’s circles, and getting out of your own head

41:57 From Ninja crash test to executive coach.

What helped Brandon navigate change:

Soundtrack: “It’s Nice To Be Alive” by Ball Park Music 

Book: Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink 

One piece of advice: “Take stock of the stories you’re telling yourself as to why you’re resisting the change and find a path through, with kindness, mentorship, and community. Change is inevitable, ask how it might be happening for you, not to you.”

After representing Australia as a competitive Gymnast, Brandon channeled his passion for performance and coaching into founding Zone, a fitness and wellness company that became #1 in its industry and earned him a nomination for Young Entrepreneur of the Year before its successful sale.

Brandon then moved to the U.S., where he expanded his coaching into sales, marketing, leadership, and emotional intelligence training where he has partnered with companies like AT&T, Volkswagen, Lulu Lemon, and United Healthcare.

Outside of work, Brandon is passionate about issues faced by boys and men, a passion that led him to host The Mankind Podcast, a Top 1% show that reaches thousands of men weekly. 

Website: brandonclift.com

Work with Eleanor:

Buy the Book - Another Door Opens out now. 5 steps for navigating change. Described as ‘Game changing’ ‘Brilliant’ ‘A must read’ ‘The best book on change’.

Eleanor supports individuals, teams and organisations through change. Whether it’s coaching or large scale organisational change through communications and training.

Work with Eleanor 121 as your coach, when you are starting something new, to develop the idea, to create the idea, to get it launched.

Book in a Change Mastery for a team session - when your team is navigating change.

Book in a 90 minute workshop - to think through change at work.

Join the Another Door Opens 5 Step Programme - a course and community to guide you through the mess of change to find calm, joy and opportunity.

Instagram:instagram/anotherdooruk

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-tweddell/ 

Website: www.another-door-opens.com

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk