Sport

I earn my living from coaching people how to fight… it may come as a surprise, therefore, to learn that until I was in my early twenties, I was terrified of fighting. I hated arguing, shouting, violence – all forms of conflict, basically. That's not unusual, of course, but to be honest, I was a bit of a wimp – or, as some of the kids in school liked to tell me, a pussy.

Boxing coach of Conor McGregor at Straight Blast Gym Dublin

I wish I had known that Football is the most important part of the least important parts of my life. A bad result or losing in a final of the champions League is hard to take, but there are worse things to endure in life.

Legendary football manager with multiple Champions League titles

You can have athletes that are at their physical peak but without the right mental resilience and approach, their performance will not be where it needs to. I've focused on that a lot through my career- learning through experiences and trying to keep a perspective on what I'd achieved previously.

British Olympic heptathlon champion and gold medalist

I couldn't believe you could spend so much time working for something, without knowing it would happen, and then it happened. I came off track and remember looking around thinking someone was about to tell me that I'd been disqualified or that it was an error- I just couldn't believe that everything had come together, and I'd won that medal.

British Olympic heptathlon champion and gold medalist

Mixed martial arts aren't like boxing. In boxing, if you lose on your way up? It's pretty much career over. In mixed martial arts, there are so many ways to win and lose... When that happens, you say, 'OK, what did I do wrong?' – you have to be honest with yourself.

Former UFC Middleweight Champion & MMA fighter turned commentator

I knew I could still fight, and some of the people close to me said, 'not with one eye you can't' so I continued anyway... I lied, I cheated and scammed the system... I did whatever I could. It was highly stressful, but I believed in myself.

Former UFC Middleweight Champion & MMA fighter turned commentator

You're not going to be a warrior in battle unless you are a warrior in preparation. You have to be single-minded, you can't just show-up on the night... That's where the warrior mindset turns on – it's when you prepare so can do whatever it takes to win that fight.

Former UFC Middleweight Champion & MMA fighter turned commentator

When you're getting defeated in training, you're getting better. You've got to get tested in life if you're going to improve. When you're training in the martial arts, you always want to be getting beaten in the practice room. That signifies you're fighting good people.

Former UFC Middleweight Champion & MMA fighter turned commentator

It's ironic. You would assume that when you go in to compete in a sport like mixed martial arts, you'd want to wind yourself up, get angry, get mad, and get fired up... When you're angry, you're in a frantic state of mind, you are not the best version of yourself. When you're fighting the very best martial artists on the planet, you cannot react out of emotion. You have to be cool, calm, collected and in the moment.

Former UFC Middleweight Champion & MMA fighter turned commentator

Everyone has a little bit of warrior in them. We all grow up and have a little piece of us which wants to be a superhero, who goes and fights the bad guys. In real life, fighting is tough, you have to overcome your fears – nobody really wants to get into a fight! Escaping that fear is the reason so many people who get into combat sports.

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion & Mixed Martial Arts Pioneer

Working with the world's best athletes forced us to build the most accurate technology, and not to cut any accuracy or performance corners. Pro athletes helped to remove the stigma around health monitoring and make it something aspirational instead. Technology that's on your body 24/7, it starts to play a role in your identity!

If I finish a marathon at 4.02 (which is the fastest I've ever ran a marathon in my life), what is the first thing that occurs to me? Oh that was so close to 3.59, I wonder if I could do it. Then as soon as you imagine yourself crossing the line at 3.59 boom, you're in wonderhell because everything that you do, every time that you run you're like 'if I could just keep that up for 25 more miles that could be 3.59'. So as soon as you see it, you can't unsee it.

My dad always said you can't win until you don't care. That's how I approached it. My goal was to ski the best I could, as fast as I could, and I didn't care. I would rather crash than come to the finish line knowing I could have done better.

Olympic Alpine Skier with Most World Cup Wins by Female Athlete

This might sound strange, but I've never been 'afraid.' I've certainly been nervous- very nervous- but I've never been afraid. That's what has allowed me to come back from injuries- I'm not afraid of the consequences. I know the risks, I accept the risks, but I'm not afraid of the risks.

Olympic Alpine Skier with Most World Cup Wins by Female Athlete

It's only a failure if you don't learn from your mistakes, right? I was always able to find some way of making every adversity into something positive, even if I was physically no longer the athlete I was, I became mentally stronger. I used every adversity and changed it into something positive.

Olympic Alpine Skier with Most World Cup Wins by Female Athlete

I was only 9 years old, but I loved ski racing. I loved skiing in general, and was lucky enough to meet my idol, Picabo Street. I met her at an autograph signing at a ski shop in Minnesota, and I said that's it… that's what I want to do… and this is who I want to be like. From then on, I made ski racing my focus, and my dad helped me create a ten-year plan to make the next Olympics.

Olympic Alpine Skier with Most World Cup Wins by Female Athlete