Prime (noun)
the state or time of greatest vigour or success in a person’s life.

Hi, I’m Jason. This is where I share openly about the challenges, insights and lessons from my own journey. My hope is that these thoughts spark reflections that help you navigate your own path to living better and leading better. 

Jason Leavy
Founder

Prime Perspective:
Personal Reflections on Leadership and Growth

When Winning Isn't Enough - Lessons From Elite Champions

As you read this, Tadej Pogačar is about to win his fourth Tour de France, cementing his place as cycling's greatest ever rider in many eyes.

Just last week, Scottie Scheffler, the world’s best golfer, won the Open Championship - his fourth career major and his second in an absolutely dominant year.

Yet both champions have been wrestling with the same existential question: "What's the point?"

"This is not a fulfilling life," Scheffler said before The Open. "It's fulfilling from the sense of accomplishment but it's not fulfilling from the sense of the deepest places of your heart."

Pogačar echoes this: "There are a lot of people that make it to what they thought was going to fulfil them in life, [but] you get to No1 in the world and they're like, 'What's the point?' I really do believe that, because what is the point?"

These aren't the words of burnout. They're honest reflections from people who've reached the summit and discovered the view isn't what they expected.

There’s wisdom in their struggle...

The Narrow Identity Problem

What these elite athletes are grappling with is that their identity has become so narrowly defined around one thing that it can't sustain their deeper needs for meaning and fulfillment.

Psychologist Erik Erikson captured this perfectly: "In the social jungle of human existence, there is no feeling of being alive without a sense of identity." But that sense of identity can also be limiting.

For leaders, this looks like:

• Your title becoming the identity you ‘badge’ yourself on

• Your job defining your self-worth

• Your company performance becoming a direct reflection of your capabilities

In essence, you’ve slipped into the trap of allowing your role to disproportionately define you as a human.

My Own Narrow Identity Trap

During my last corporate role, I was ‘successful’ by most external measures - a global COO working with brands like Google and Apple. But internally, I was struggling.

The issue wasn't about company performance, I wanted to resign because I wasn't aligned with the values of the founder, but the ‘invisible cord’ holding me back was the fact that  my identity was wrapped up with being ‘Jason, the global COO, who works with some of the world’s leading brands’.

Starting off my career as a trainee reporter on a regional newspaper in England, I’d never dreamed it would be possible to end up in such a role, and so I took almost perverse pride in being that guy who was always willing to go stronger, harder, faster - the 7 AM calls to Singapore and 10 PM calls to Los Angeles acting like badges of honor, rather than indications of an unbalanced life

My identity had become so intrinsically linked to that role and external validation that the thought of leaving, even when deeply unhappy, felt impossible.

Many of you will know what this feels like, so I want to share some lessons from those who have climbed the mountain.

A Champion Mindset 

What's remarkable about these athletes is their courage to question the very thing that's brought them fame and fortune. Simone Biles captured this beautifully when she said: “I'm more than my accomplishments and gymnastics. I'm a human being first.”

Regular readers of Prime Perspective will know my passion for boxing and my favourite current fighter is Ukraine’s Alexander Usyk, who once again displayed his sublime skills last Saturday to reclaim the undisputed heavyweight boxing crown.

However, it was what Usyk said in victory that stayed with me - when asked if he was one of the greatest ever heavyweights, he simply replied. “I am Alex from Ukraine”. Don’t mistake that simply for a show of humility, it was also him showing a clear sense of his identity beyond his masterful achievements in the ring. 

Pogačar has found his own way through: "The point is you need to enjoy the moment. The little things, not just the victories... I think living in the moment is the right answer."

Scheffler hints at the path forward: "I'd much rather be a great father than a great golfer." He's not choosing one over the other - he's recognising that his identity as a father might be more enduring than his identity as a champion.

Expanding Your Identity

The way out isn't abandoning ambition. It's expanding your sense of self beyond any single role or achievement.

I want to share with you one of the tools I use with certain clients on The Prime Performance Program, which is the Odyssey Plan, from Stanford's Life Design Lab.

Their exercise asks you to design three different versions of your next five years:

• Plan 1: Your current path - where you are now, developed further on the same trajectory

• Plan 2: An alternative path - what you'd pursue if Plan 1 was no longer an option

• Plan 3: Your ‘wild card’ version - what you’d do if money, image or societal expectations weren't factors

I primarily deploy this with clients when exploring issues like purpose and legacy, but the Odyssey framework also naturally forces you to examine your true identity.

For each plan, you create a timeline with key milestones and explore:

• What you're doing day-to-day

• Where you're living

• Who you're spending time with

• What gives you energy

• How this version aligns with your values

The power isn't in the plans themselves - it's in the recognition that you have choices. That your identity doesn't have to be tied to one narrow definition. That there are multiple ways to live a meaningful life.

If you only remember 2 things, remember these:

1. Your achievements are what you've done. Your identity is who you are.

2. Don't let one story - no matter how successful - become your only story.

PS. If you want a copy of the plan framework then message me on jason@primeperformancelabs.com - I’d be happy to share it with you. We rise together.