Steve Mesler: Decisions, Depression & the Downside of Determination

Feb 1

**Steve Mesler**

**Co-founder, President, and CEO - Classroom Champions**

In this episode, I interview my friend Steve Mesler about the critical lessons he has learned from failure, his battle with depression, and the lessons he used from sport that translated to his leadership today. Steve's journey is inspiring, his experience insightful, and words full of wisdom.

In this second part of the three-part episode, Steve and I talked about the critical lessons he learned from failure, his battle with depression, as well as the lessons he used from sport that have shaped his life and translated into his leadership.

In this third and final part of my interview with Steve Mesler, we continue our discussion and explore Steve's hopes and concerns for the future.

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The Executive Commute Podcast with Jayson Krause: Show Notes

Decisions, Depression & the Downside of Determination

Bio: Steve Mesler

Steve Mesler is the co-founder and CEO of the international award-winning ed-tech non-profit, Classroom Champions. Steve is a three-time Olympian, World Champion, and Olympic Gold Medalist in the sport of 4-man bobsled, where his team broke a 62-year gold medal drought for Team USA at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games.

Along with his sporting and philanthropic accomplishments, Steve currently sits on the Board of Directors of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee where he serves on the Finance and Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee, and co-chairs the US International Relations Task Force. Formerly a management consultant between his bobsled and sport-for-good careers, Steve focused on people development and organizational culture. Steve was recently inducted into the USA Bobsled Hall of Fame.

Part 1: The Early Days

Quotes

The first lesson I learned as a kid was, “Failure is okay.”
“Almost everything in this world is from a decision humans made.”
“I’m just too stupid to quit.”
“I had zero interest in being a bobsledder but I had a lot of interest in being an Olympian.”
“Being able to pay attention to the right details at the right time as a leader is probably the number one thing I learned in sport.”

Summary

We started with a brief introduction of Classroom Champions, Steve’s unique nonprofit ed-tech organization. It connects underserved students with world-class mentors and support teachers in order to improve engagement, build a growth mindset, and inspire a positive classroom culture. It has been operating for the past 10 years and has helped countless children understand the ups and downs of everyday life with the help of direct interaction with pro athletes.

Steve recalled the lessons he learned from his parents that helped shape his life during his formative years and what inspired him. His parents inoculated a strong sense of dedication, sacrifice, and clear decision-making. These qualities later helped Steve stand out from the rest of the students. While his school sports career was a huge success, college brought injuries and a tough 5-year phase in his life. Steve also revealed how he got into bobsledding after a bad surgery.

Many things transfer from sport into business and leadership. As a pro Olympian and an entrepreneur himself, Steve dove into the details of these qualities and unpacked how some of them can prove very constructive while others can in fact prove detrimental to the personal growth on an individual level and business growth on a collective level.

Steve has a strong belief in mentorship. A mentor can be anyone who is on the same path as you. Because athletes are coachable, Steve believes bringing the same mindset into the business world helps them become more successful. However, constant feedback in the business world (unlike sport) is not really a sustainable model.

Part 2: Hitting Rock Bottom

Quotes

“Having depression was like stepping over the line of the top of the bobsleigh track with a torn hamstring and still being required to race every single day.”
Having the courage to just say that what we are doing isn’t working, we should do it another way, is sometimes the first step.
“Early on [in depression] it doesn’t matter if you trust them or not, you just have to find somebody you can talk to.”
“If you’re scared, say you are scared.” – Mike Hallway University of Florida Steve’s Track Coach
“I wanted to enable students to live the journey with me.”

Summary

Steve continued where we left off and went into the details of the three periods of his life when he hit rock bottom. Depression is very common among entrepreneurs, with almost 80 percent of them suffering from one or another form. Steve discussed how he utilized these opportunities to change and improve both as a person and as a leader.

Next, we dove further into the topic of depression and tried to understand it from Steve's perspective. He compared depression with a physical injury and explained how depression, in fact, has a more adverse effect on a person's everyday life. It impacts the decision-making process, rendering an entrepreneur nearly useless. It's also harder to talk about compared to a physical injury.

The path to recovery from depression can be different for everyone. However, according to Steve, the very first step is talking about it. You don't have to find someone trustworthy to share your secret. They can be anyone. Steve was lucky enough to find that person in his wife. Being a psychiatrist, she helped Steve get through this phase and to start counseling. That's what turned things around and made him realize several other things about life and personal growth.

Steve explained how he co-founded Classroom Champions along with his sister Dr. Leigh Mesler Parise. He had a passion for utilizing technology to improve the education system. Similarly, Leigh, being an educationist, was interested in creating better relationships with children. It was the search for a better way to communicate with children that brought them together in the form of Classroom Champions.

It’s no secret that our education system is really bad at teaching ‘soft skills’. Maybe because it's really hard to measure these skills. Classroom Champions aims to plug in the features of soft skills into the school environment to help students develop leadership and character qualities. According to research, the social and emotional skills of children are predictable. Predicting and overcoming any negative traits early on in children can improve the schooling system, ultimately translating into a better society.

Finally, Steve explained the three ways humans learn. These are:

Teaching (either from a book or a person)
Experience (trial and error)
Role modeling (watch someone else do it)

Classroom Champions focuses on the first and third ways to make a positive change in society.

Part 3: Today and What’s Next + a Rapid Fire Question Session

Quotes

“10 years from now I’d like to see Classroom Champions all around the world.”
“Wealth inequality is not the billionaire’s fault, it’s the system’s.”
“I’m optimistic that the next generation won’t accept today’s answers.”
“If you need a routine to keep you focused, you probably should find some better ways to focus because routines are too easy to be thrown off.”
“Take whatever comes at you.”

Summary

Steve explained the three problems that keep him up at night. Two of these are related to the rapidly evolving world, while the third is a very common problem faced by all major non-profit organizations. He also revealed where he would like to see Classroom Champions 10 years from now. His answer is unexpected, to say the least.

Steve’s journey as a leader is just starting. He believes he has several areas to improve on in order to become a more effective leader. Interestingly, he has three sticky notes on his work desk to constantly remind him of his areas to improve.

He shared his hopes and concerns for the future. These are indeed difficult times. For example, Steve talked about wealth and income inequality and how the system has been rigged to benefit a few. So, millennials will have to fix several systems that are inherently broken before they can pass the leadership torch to Gen Z. At the same time, he’s hopeful that the new generation can make the right decisions.

In the end, Steve faced my rapid-fire questions. During this segment, I ask quick questions in rapid succession, and my guest has to answer in one sentence. Steve handled my questions like a pro. While some of his answers are very surprising, he’s as honest, quick, witty, and straightforward as you would expect him to be.

Thanks for listening!