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When does “I got it” stop feeling like independence and start feeling like a limitation?

In Episode 4 of The Podium Life Podcast, Michelle Carter looks at the difference between being capable and believing you have to carry everything alone.

From her Olympic career to friendships, business, fitness, and everyday life, Michelle reflects on how being known as “the strong one” can make it hard to accept support. Sometimes it comes from independence. Sometimes it comes from control. And sometimes repeated disappointment teaches you that relying on yourself feels safer than trusting someone else to show up.

But there can be a cost.

Michelle shares that although shot put was an individual event, her preparation for Olympic success was never individual. Coaches, strength staff, medical professionals, family, teammates, agents, media trainers, and others all played a role.

The performance may be individual, but the preparation isn’t.

In This Episode

• When healthy independence becomes “I have to do everything myself”
• Why capability can make it difficult to receive help
• How disappointment and broken promises can affect your willingness to trust support
• The burden of always being considered “the strong one”
• What Michelle’s Olympic career taught her about having a team
• The hidden cost of doing everything yourself: time, energy, relationships, opportunities, rest, money, focus, and growth
• Why doing everything yourself can limit business growth
• Learning what actually requires you and what can be delegated
• Clearly communicating what support looks like
• What you may need to stop carrying to sustain the life you’re building

The Four Ps of a Podium Life

Prepare. Perform. Present. Preserve.

Michelle introduces these four areas as a framework for looking at the life you’re building and whether the way you’re carrying it is sustainable.

This Week’s Podium Challenge

Practice three things:

Ask. Delegate. Receive.

Ask for something you need.
Delegate something that doesn’t require you.
And when someone offers genuine help, practice receiving it instead of automatically saying, “I got it.”

Timestamps

00:00 — Birthday reflections and the “I got it” habit
03:28 — Why independence is not the problem
05:03 — Capability versus refusing support
06:34 — When disappointment makes help feel unsafe
08:27 — The lonely burden of being the strong friend
10:00 — Shot put success and the role of support staff
14:11 — Why receiving help does not diminish ownership
16:08 — When people assume the strong person doesn't need help
18:47 — The towel-folding story and control
21:10 — The real cost of doing everything yourself
23:27 — How business growth stops at personal capacity
25:42 — Doing everything alone can keep you small
26:51 — The Four Ps of a Podium Life
27:28 — Asking for support in fitness, business, and home life
30:49 — What requires Michelle vs. what can be delegated
32:10 — Communicating what help actually looks like
35:17 — Preserve: what to stop carrying
39:45 — Weekly challenge: Ask. Delegate. Receive.
42:53 — Living a Podium Life without carrying everything alone

From This Episode

“Just because you can doesn’t mean you have to do it alone.”

“Doing everything yourself can feel powerful while quietly keeping you small.”

“The performance may be individual, but the preparation isn’t.”

🎙️ The Podium Life Podcast with Michelle Carter

#ShotDiva #PodiumLife #ChampionsMindset #PersonalGrowth #Leadership

More ways to connect

• https://www.shotdiva.com/
• Email: Info@shotdiva.com
• https://www.instagram.com/shotdiva/

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What opportunities are you asking for, and are you actually preparing yourself to receive them?

In this episode of The Podium Life Podcast, Olympic gold medalist Michelle Carter talks about the difference between wanting something and actually being prepared for it.

Sometimes the opportunity isn't the problem. It's our preparation.

Michelle reflects on what preparation looked like during her Olympic career and how that same principle applies beyond sports. Training didn't start when the big opportunity arrived. The work had already been done through consistent training, nutrition, recovery, feedback, adjustments, and showing up over and over again.

The same question applies to the goals we have today.

In this episode:

• Why wanting an opportunity isn't the same as preparing for it
• What Olympic preparation taught Michelle about readiness
• Why opportunities reveal the preparation you've already done
• Looking honestly at what your goals require from you
• Preparing your finances, health, relationships, business, and life for growth
• Making sure your daily actions match what you're asking for

Your Podium Question

If the opportunity you've been asking for showed up tomorrow, would you actually be ready for it?

And if the answer is no, that's your starting point.

Ask yourself:

What does my goal actually require from me?

Then start preparing for it today.

🏆 The Podium Life Podcast with Michelle Carter

Subscribe and join me as we talk about what it takes to build a life you're proud to stand on the podium for.

#ShotDiva #PodiumLife #MichelleCarter #ChampionsMindset #Preparation #PersonalGrowth

More ways to connect

• https://www.shotdiva.com/
• Email: Info@shotdiva.com
• https://www.instagram.com/shotdiva/

Send us Fan Mail

What does your podium look like right now?

You don’t need an Olympic medal, a certain amount of money, a title, or somebody else’s definition of success to live a Podium Life.

In this episode, Michelle Carter breaks down what it really means to identify your podium—the life, goal, or next level you are intentionally working toward. Your podium may be better health, a stronger business, financial freedom, deeper relationships, greater confidence, peace, faith, or simply becoming the person you know you are capable of becoming.

Michelle reflects on how her own podium has changed since winning Olympic gold in 2016. The goals that once defined success for her aren't necessarily the goals that define success today—and that's not failure. Your podium is allowed to change as you change.

She also explores one of the biggest traps that keeps people from reaching their podium: training for somebody else's event. Comparison, family expectations, social media, and outside pressure can have you working incredibly hard toward a life you don't actually want.

Then Michelle introduces the framework behind The Podium Life:

PREPARE → PERFORM → PRESENT → PRESERVE

Prepare — Build the foundation before the opportunity arrives.
Perform — Execute when it's time.
Present — Show up with confidence, clarity, and the ability to advocate for yourself.
Preserve — Develop the habits and character necessary to keep what you've built.

And because wanting something isn't the same as preparing for it, Michelle ends the episode with a simple challenge you can put into action this week.

Your Podium Challenge

Ask yourself:

What is my podium right now?

Then choose your three most important priorities and write down:

START: What do I need to begin doing?
STOP: What do I need to stop doing?
CONTINUE: What is already working that I need to keep doing?

Finally, identify one concrete preparation step you can take this week toward the life you say you want.

In This Episode

Michelle talks about redefining success as life changes, why comparison can put you in the wrong race, prioritizing health and strength, letting go of things that no longer serve you, preparing long before anyone sees the result, confidence and self-advocacy, the lessons behind her famous final throws, and the difference between getting to the podium and being able to stay there.

Episode Chapters

00:00 — Showing up even when everything isn't perfect
02:55 — What does “your podium” actually mean?
03:54 — Michelle's podium today: health, mobility & strength
06:51 — Stop chasing somebody else's definition of success
09:26 — Your goals are allowed to change
10:23 — Redefining freedom and letting go
12:04 — You can't train for somebody else's event
13:42 — The work nobody sees: preparation
17:10 — Questions to ask before pursuing a goal
20:07 — The power of the last throw
21:30 — Confidence, presence & self-advocacy
24:52 — Can you preserve what you've built?
27:07 — Prepare. Perform. Present. Preserve.
28:12 — Prioritizing health, home, heart & money
31:29 — Start. Stop. Continue.
34:27 — Your Podium Life challenge

Question for you:
What is YOUR podium right now?

Share it and tell me one thing you're going to start, stop, or continue this week to move toward it.

More ways to connect

• https://www.shotdiva.com/
• Email: Info@shotdiva.com
• https://www.instagram.com/shotdiva/