I Won 11 World Titles Because They Said I Couldn't: Anna Hemmings MBE | E65

Anna’s early club was explicitly focused on producing Olympians and world champions, and she trained alongside athletes going to Seoul and Barcelona. Seeing “normal people” from her club reach the Olympics collapsed the perceived distance between herself and elite sport. For anyone, deliberately choosing environments where high achievement is normal (teams, peers, mentors, workplaces) can profoundly shift what you believe is realistic for you.

A national coach told Anna she was too small and not strong enough to become a great kayaker, especially in team boats. She accepted she couldn’t change her height but became obsessed with becoming indisputably strong, eventually being the strongest woman in the GB squad and bench-pressing 100kg. Criticism becomes powerful fuel when you translate it into a controllable focus (“I will become strong enough that no one can question it”) rather than a fixed verdict on your potential.

We all carry a bank of past experiences. Under pressure, most people instinctively recall failures, replaying images of mistakes and associated emotions, which undermines performance and creates self-fulfilling spirals. Anna teaches clients to consciously mine their history for successes (or similar wins), identify the personal attributes behind them, and use those as evidence to support self-belief. Even if there’s no direct prior success, you can transfer strengths from other domains into a new challenge.

You only get honest debate and challenge when people believe they won’t be punished or ridiculed for disagreeing. That trust is built when leaders and team members show vulnerability—admitting mistakes, limits, and not knowing—so others feel safe to contribute dissenting views. Without this, meetings end in artificial agreement and covert resistance; with it, people can argue ideas hard, then fully commit to whichever path is chosen.

Anna long self-identified as “an athlete, not a business person,” even while successfully running a company for over a decade; Steven identified as a “social media CEO.” These identities feel safe and coherent but can trap you into repeating the same path. The way out is to notice the label, ask if it still serves your goals, then deliberately focus on transferable strengths (e.g., resilience, leadership, relationship-building) that can underpin new careers or roles.