The WithBeth Podcast · Host: Beth Levers · Guest: John Novak · 37:46

Who is this Episode For?

This one reaches beyond sport. If you’re a parent trying to raise resilient kids in the age of TikTok and instant gratification, a professional wanting to bring elite mindset principles into everyday life, or anyone who’s ever read all the right books but struggled to actually do the work – this conversation is for you. Host Beth Levers brings a refreshingly personal lens, asking the questions any parent or non-athlete would actually want answered.

Episode Summary

In this episode of the WithBeth Podcast, host Beth Levers – entrepreneur, mum, and creator of edible collagen brand ByBeth – sits down with John Novak for a conversation that starts in the elite sporting arena and ends firmly at the kitchen table. John unpacks the three core pillars of the Boomerang Effect, explains why motivation is the wrong word entirely, shares why Melissa Wu had nothing to say when asked what she was proud of, and makes a compelling case that the most important thing a parent can do for their child’s mindset is simply become the thing they want their kids to be.

In This Episode

Why ‘motivation’ is the wrong word

One of John’s first moves is to push back on the idea that what he does is motivational coaching. ‘Motivation means you want something,’ he says. ‘So why would you be doing something and not want something?’ For John, the more important word is love – a high-vibrational energy capable of sustaining athletes through the inevitable adversity ahead.

He applied this lens to a 16-year-old Formula One prospect whose father had built an entire business around his son’s racing career. The teenager said it felt like a job. John’s response was blunt: ‘You don’t make money from this. This isn’t a job. Tell me what you love about it – because if you don’t love it, you won’t be here for the long haul.’

The three pillars of the Boomerang Effect

The first pillar is the golden rule: your words, thoughts and actions are always positive – no exceptions, every day and every way, 24/7. John is quick to add that this is the ideal, not the demand. Get it to 80% and you’re already in a different league.

The second pillar is the Boomerang Effect itself: what you put out is what you get back. The third pillar is best choice: in every breath, ask whether what you’re doing in your mind, body, emotion, spirit, preparation and environment is helping or hindering you.

Melissa Wu and the zero problem

John describes a breakthrough session with 5x Olympian Melissa Wu. He asked her: what have you done in your career that you’re really proud of? She had zero answers. Not because she’d achieved nothing – she’d won a Commonwealth Gold Medal at 14, multiple Commonwealth Games golds, and an Olympic silver – but because she was a perfectionist. In her mind, nothing had ever been good enough.

The breakthrough wasn’t more training or better technique – it was being walked through her own record until she could acknowledge what she had actually achieved. Acknowledgement, John argues, is not arrogance. It’s the foundation of trust and faith in what you already know how to do.

Knowledge without action is just noise

John quotes a book he read in 1991: ‘After you’ve read and read and shared the gospel, forget about sharing – become the thing that you know works.’ The problem he sees everywhere is the gap between knowing and being. Most people have listened to the podcasts, read the books, collected the insights – and then changed nothing. Structure, scheduling, and systematising are what turn strategies into results.

Raising resilient kids in the age of TikTok

Beth puts on her ‘mother’s hat’ for the second half of the conversation, and John doesn’t soften the reality. Kids today have up to 40 hours of content hitting them every week through devices and social media, making it harder than ever to imprint anything that requires 21 to 30 days of repetition. His honest assessment: you won’t get there by lecturing them. You’ll get there by being it yourself.

‘All parents listening right now must understand – you must be the mirror of what you want of them.’ Stop coaching from the sideline. Start being the version of the person you want them to become. John admits he faces the same challenges at home with his three kids. ‘Focus on the best values they’re projecting. And on the other stuff, chill.’

5 Key Takeaways

1. Love is a performance variable

The word ‘love’ – not motivation, not desire, is John’s first filter for any new client. Love is a high-vibrational energy that sustains athletes through adversity. The first question any coach, parent or athlete should ask is not ‘how good are you?’ but ‘how much do you love this?’

2. The three pillars: golden rule, boomerang effect, best choice

Words, thoughts and actions always positive (aim for 80%). What you put out is what you get back. And in every moment, ask: is what I’m doing right now helping or hindering me? These three questions, applied consistently, are the structure everything else hangs on.

3. Acknowledgement unlocks performance

Preparation, mental (dominant positive thought), verbal (what you say to yourself), physical (body language), emotional (gratitude and readiness), and strategic (knowing the exact requirement of the next moment). Miss one and the reset is incomplete.

4. The top 1% have self-actualisation, not just talent

The greatest athletes know precisely what their best self looks and feels like, how to reproduce it, and how to review and refine it after every performance. They have systems. They debrief. They watch footage. They are accountable at a level most athletes never reach.

5. Your positivity-to-negativity ratio is a measurable performance variable

John’s target is 80% positive in words, thoughts, actions and emotions across the full week. Get there consistently and he says your life changes in seven days. It’s about making the distinction between helpful and hindering thoughts a daily habit, not a game-day scramble.

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