James Haskell has spent most of his life performing under pressure.
He won 77 caps for England, toured with the British & Irish Lions, played professional rugby around the world and then had to figure out who he was when the game stopped.
Today, James is an entrepreneur, broadcaster, author, DJ and co-host of The Good, The Bad & The Rugby. He’s also building Blackeye Spirits alongside Mike Tindall and Alex Payne.
But this isn’t really an episode about rugby.
It’s about building a better founder, not just a better business.
We talk about why self-awareness may be the ultimate competitive advantage, how elite sport teaches you to handle brutal feedback, why ambitious people struggle to recognise when enough is enough, and how James rebuilt his identity after rugby.
We also get into focus, saying no, buying back your time, therapy, accountability, personal branding, choosing business opportunities, the creator economy, why information is becoming free and why implementation is becoming more valuable.
James is candid, funny and completely unfiltered throughout.
If you’re ambitious, stretched across too many things, or trying to work out what success actually means to you, there’s a lot in this one.
In This Episode
We cover:
What professional sport teaches you about business
Why “you can lie to everyone else, but you can’t lie to yourself”
How to receive feedback without letting your ego get in the way
The four things James believes you can actually control
Why achievement can leave high performers permanently unfulfilled
The difference between chasing outcomes and mastering process
What Eddie Jones taught him about excellence
Reinventing yourself when your first career ends
Why James started preparing for life after rugby at 20
Learning to say no to opportunities
How he decides which businesses and projects deserve his time
Why he refuses most equity-only deals
Authenticity, personal branding and protecting audience trust
Why information is becoming free but implementation will remain valuable
Therapy, mental performance and changing your emotional state
His approach to focus, batching and avoiding distraction
Why even a former professional athlete pays someone to keep him accountable
Buying back your time
Defining how much money is actually “enough”
Turning The Good, The Bad & The Rugby from a podcast into a media business
Why modern podcasts need to think beyond audio
Building Blackeye Spirits and the mission behind the Blackeye Rugby Fund
Links & Resources
James Haskell: official site covering his rugby, books, music and other projects. James Haskell official website (https://jameshaskell.com/)
The Good, The Bad & The Rugby: James hosts alongside Mike Tindall and Alex Payne; the show describes itself as the world’s biggest rugby podcast. The Good, The Bad & The Rugby (https://goodbadrugby.com/)
Blackeye Spirits: James, Mike Tindall and Alex Payne’s spirits business. The brand says its Rugby Fund aims to eventually invest £1 million annually supporting injured players, research, risk reduction and recovery.
Blackeye Spirits (https://blackeyespirits.com/
James’s books: What A Flanker, Ruck Me and Approach (With)out Caution are all featured on his official site.
