The Alter Ego Effect: The Power of Secret Identities to Transform Your Coaching Life

If you’re not familiar with Todd Herman, he’s a high-performance coach who works with top athletes and entrepreneurs (and he is going to be a guest expert on Recruiting Made Simple on July 31^st working with the coaches in that group). He swears by the power of creating an alter ego, and in this book, he breaks down exactly how to use this strategy to unlock your full potential. 

The concept is simple but profound: by tapping into your inner Wonder Woman, Oprah, Superman, or MacGyver, you can bring out the best version of yourself. 

A few examples of the alter ego in action:  

• Kobe Bryant’s alter ego was the “Black Mamba.”  
• Beyone’s alter ego was “Sasha Fierce.” 
• Did you know that Martin Luther King actually didn’t need glasses to see – he had perfect vision – he used his glasses to activate his heroic self. 

You probably have done something similar with your athletes or even for yourself back in your playing days.  

As a young athlete myself, my 2 primary sports were soccer and basketball (I also played softball and Ringette). 

When I was on my game, I was pretty successful. 

But, I also had my fair share of games when I was off.   

I realized very early on the importance of my mental game.  

I read every book I could get my hands on.  

I don’t remember which book I got it from, but as an athlete trying to reach higher levels of performance, it encouraged me to think of the athlete who I would like to model my game after to help me get back on track and reach my potential.   

On the soccer field, it was this girl I played with Kristen Nokleby. I would just say her name over and over in my head and it got me out of my head and simplified my focus as to what I needed to do to be successful.  

On the basketball court, I would think of Magic Johnson.    

What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was creating an Alter Ego. 

I had created different alter ego’s as an athlete, and looking back, I wish I had done this for myself as a coach and a recruiter.    

Honestly, it never even occurred to me to do it when I became a coach.  I knew I wasn’t reaching my potential, but I had no idea of how to close the gap.   

The alter ego concept certainly would have been a tremendous help.  

The idea of an alter ego isn’t new. Even the philosopher Cicero talked about it centuries ago, calling it a “trusted friend” and a “second self”.  

What Todd Herman has done is provide a practical system for building your alter ego and a framework for unleashing its power. 

Here is one of my favorite quotes from the book- 

“At the end of your life, you won’t remember the thoughts or intentions you had. You’ll remember the actions you took. You’ll judge yourself by how you showed up, by what you did, what you said, how you acted and whether you performed the way you know you could in any of the stages of life. 

Just like any coach, when you hear the buzzer sound, I want you to look back and say, ‘I left nothing behind. I gave it my all. I did everything I wanted to do, and more important, I showed up as my Heroic Self with all my capabilities, skills, and intentions. And it toppled dominos, which changed my life in extraordinary, unpredictable ways. And because I did this, I lived a full life.” 

If you’re ready to break free from your own limitations and become the best version of yourself, “The Alter Ego” is the book for you.  

Dive in and unleash your superpowers! 

If you would like to meet Todd in person, join us this month on Monday July 31st at 1pm for Recruiting Made Simple.  He will share with us how you can create an alter ego to reach your potential this year as a coach and a recruiter.   

To your success, 

Mandy Green