Feb 03 2025 29 mins 1
In this week’s episode, McKay discusses the importance of an abundance mindset. He opens the podcast by discussing Britney Bowe’s Olympic history and her decision to give up her spot in the 2022 Olympic trials to Erin Jackson. This selfless act hardly granted Bowe a medal, but it led Jackson to win gold in the women’s 500 m speed skating event. Christensen argues that this is a prime example of abundance thinking and grace. Because humans tend to resent and envy the success of others, especially those in close proximity, Christensen urges the audience to replace envy and resentment with grace. He then goes on to detail another Olympic tale between Mikaela Shiffrin and Sophia Goggia. After Shiffrin practiced with Goggia’s skis and got her fastest time, Goggia gave Shiffrin her skis before an event in the hopes that she might be as successful in the competition as she was in practice. The story exemplifies how abundance and grace can transform our attitudes and help others in a positive way.
In contrast, McKay then tells the audience about the tense relationship between Thomas Edison and his once student, Nikola Tesla. When Edison dismissed and admonished Tesla for one of his suggestions, Tesla quit and decided to patent his own ideas. He eventually received the notoriety he deserved and was tasked with engineering Chicago’s famous World Fair instead of Thomas Edison. McKay segues into the episode’s conclusion where he discusses the inherent value of personal worth and security that comes from an abundant mindset. He closes out the podcast with a quick anecdote about Jesse Owens and Luz Long’s friendship that blossomed from the 1936 Olympic Games. Long is rumored to have given Owens advice before his gold medal run, despite being Owens' opposition. While Owens came out on top, the pair developed a lifelong friendship in the face of a disapproving Nazi Germany. Long story short, McKay advises that if we truly believe that there is enough success and happiness to go round, prosperity will come.
The Finer Details of This Episode:
- The story of Britney Bowe giving up her spot so that Erin Jackson could win Gold
- The importance of rejoicing in others’ victories
- What abundant thinking is
- Why we resent others’ success
- Men envy occupational success; women envy physical attractiveness
- Why we envy close friends more
- How to replace envy with grace
- Sophia Goggia gifting Mikaela Shiffrin her skis for an event
- Edison’s scarcity mentality and how he devalued Tesla’s ideas
- The inherent value of personal worth and security
- The friendship between Jesse Owens and Luz Long
Quotes:
“Every day, in most things we do, we have a choice. We can see things as scarce, like the chances to win a race at the Olympics and decide not to help or cheer others on, or we can see things as abundant—that there is more than enough for everyone.”
“I believe one of the most powerful characteristics you can develop in life, one that will reward you for years to come, is to rejoice in the other person’s victory.”
“It’s common that our reaction to other people’s success isn’t always positive. We tend to draw comparisons between what we have and what we perceive others are having—our thoughts get distorted and what they have grows in our minds and what we have shrinks at the same time.”
“In one survey, more than 74% of respondents reported experiencing major envy recently in their lives. Surprisingly, researchers found that we most often envy others of our own gender.”
“When you take envy out of your heart, it needs to be replaced with something, otherwise the void will be filled with envy again. So what do you fill it with? Grace.”
“Most people are deeply scripted in what I call the scarcity mentality. They see life as having only so much as though there is only one pie out there. And if someone were to get a big piece of the pie, it would mean less for everyone else. People with a scarcity mentality have a very difficult time sharing recognition and credit, power or profit.”
“The abundance mindset, on the other hand, flows out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security. It is the paradigm that there’s plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody. It results in sharing of prestige, recognition of profits, of decision making, and it opens up possibilities, options, alternatives, and creativity.”
“Trust me. Give your grace away, and soon you’ll know that when you truly rejoice in another person’s victory, you get more in return.”
“When you give grace, you grow.”
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