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In today's episode, we dive deep into the real psychology behind career transitions, decision-making, and finding your true path after sport — and why it’s way less logical and way more emotional than you think.
We are joined by Gavin Freeman, a sports psychologist, MBA lecturer, and corporate strategist who shares fascinating stories from working with elite athletes, Olympic teams, and CEOs leading thousands. Together, we uncover why so many people struggle with change — and the surprising skills you already have to make smoother, smarter career moves.
Inside this conversation:
- Why it's not just what you’re good at — it's how it makes you feel that matters
- How to recognize when a chapter is closing (even if your emotions resist it)
- The "Superstar CV" exercise that helps you rebuild confidence and clarity after leaving sport or any major career
- Why hindsight makes everything look seamless (and why you shouldn't trust it too soon)
- What business leaders, athletes, and everyday professionals really have in common
- How to reframe failure, motivation, and risk so you thrive in your next career move
- A sneak peek into the next episode: Making life-changing decisions under pressure, with no time and incomplete information

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Ready to explore your own second act after sport? Connect with Ryan Gonsalves and the 2NDWind Academy to discover how your athletic experience can become your professional advantage here: www.2ndwind.io

Some more about Gavin

He is a fully registered psychologist with experience in the sporting and corporate worlds.

He has held a directorship within a large consulting company and was the head of HR internally. His 20 years of experience in human capital consulting have been with blue-chip Australian and International organisations across numerous industries, including banking, construction, mining, telecommunication and government.

Gavin consults across Australia and Asia to CEO, Executives, Managers and Elite Coaches delivering a variety of experiential Crisis Management Workshops, Change Leadership Consulting, Strategic workshop facilitation, Executive Coaching, and Team Building experiences. As a psychologist his insights bring an understanding of human behaviour, and how to best create a high performing culture.

His first book, “The Business Olympian” released in June 2008 captures the mental toughness lessons learned from elite athletes and how these skills can be easily transferred into the corporate world.

His second book, released in 2016 “Just stop Motivating Me” explores the complexity of motivation and examines how a motivational continuum explains not just our motivations but the behaviours associated with them. His third and possibly final book “Don’t let me die in economy class: how the ordinary become extraordinary” was released in Feb 2025, explores how ordinary people went onto to do extraordinary things.

He can usually be heard on one of the business radio and TV shows across Australia.

Gavin was the team psychologist for the Winter Olympic team in Turin 2006 and the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games. He was also the Team Psychologist for the Olympic Archery Team in Sydney 2000. At the professional level, he has worked with various athletes from the best sporting leagues around the world, including the NBA, WNBA, and PGA. Additionally, he was the Psychologist for a Team at the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

Website www.gavinfreeman.com.au

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