In this episode of With Winning in Mind, hosts Troy Bassham and Heather Sumlin sit down with Isaac Tauaefa, President and Co-Founder of Jesus & Jiu-Jitsu, for a powerful conversation on faith, leadership, mindset, and high-level performance.

Isaac shares his journey from Division I football to building a global ministry and community through jiu-jitsu, while discussing the mental discipline, resilience, and purpose required to succeed both on and off the mat.

Whether you're an athlete, coach, competitor, entrepreneur, or someone striving for personal growth, this episode delivers valuable insight into developing a championship mindset rooted in purpose and conviction.

To watch an extended discussion with Isaac and gain access to hundreds of additional videos and audios on Mental Management join the With Winning in Mind Patreon Channel at the Silver or Gold level: https://www.patreon.com/c/with_winning_in_mind

Learn more about Mental Management:

Websites:

• Troy Bassham - https://reachthepodium.com
• Heather Sumlin - https://heathersumlin.com
• Lanny - https://withwinninginmind.com
• Books/Journals - https://mentalmanagement.com
• Online Courses - https://mm-courses.thinkific.com
• Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/with_winning_in_mind

Instagram:

• Podcast- https://www.instagram.com/withwinninginmindpodcast/
• Troy Bassham - https://www.instagram.com/troyabassham/
• Heather Sumlin - https://www.instagram.com/heathersumlin/

FaceBook:

• Mental Management - https://www.facebook.com/MentalManagementSystems

Isaac Bio:

Isaac Tauaefa is the President and Co-Founder of Jesus & Jiu-Jitsu Ministry, a nonprofit that uses Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a platform for evangelism and discipleship. He played football at the Air Force Academy preparatory school and went on to play at the University of Texas at El Paso. After college, Isaac traveled the country as a motivational speaker with a group of collegiate football players and was also a finalist on season three of XFactor USA, Fox's competition singing show. He is a jiu-jitsu black belt under world-renowned competitor Rafael "Formiga" Barbosa. Isaac also leads business development for MBL Title, a Dallas-based real estate title company. A father of three children whom he and his wife Kim homeschool, Isaac is focused on reaching men unlikely to engage with traditional church settings through the intersection of faith, martial arts, and discipleship.

In this episode, Mental Management Coaches, Troy Bassham and Heather Sumlin, dive into one of the biggest mental traps in competition: prejudging your opponent. Whether it's thinking someone is unbeatable, assuming another competitor is struggling, or believing a player always folds under pressure, these assumptions pull your focus away from what truly matters — your own performance.

Using principles from the "Control What You Can Control" Mental Management worksheet by Troy Bassham and Podium Performance, we explore how elite competitors learn to respect everyone, fear no one, and stay committed to executing their process instead of reacting to others.

If you've ever found yourself intimidated by competition, distracted by another player's performance, or emotionally tied to outcomes, this conversation will help you refocus on the one thing you can always control: your game.

To see the full worksheet and watch an extended discussion join the With Winning in Mind Patreon Channel at the Silver or Gold level: https://www.patreon.com/c/with_winning_in_mind

Learn more about Mental Management:

Websites:

• Troy Bassham - https://reachthepodium.com
• Heather Sumlin - https://heathersumlin.com
• Lanny - https://withwinninginmind.com
• Books/Journals - https://mentalmanagement.com
• Online Courses - https://mm-courses.thinkific.com
• Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/with_winning_in_mind

Instagram:

• Podcast- https://www.instagram.com/withwinninginmindpodcast/
• Troy Bassham - https://www.instagram.com/troyabassham/
• Heather Sumlin - https://www.instagram.com/heathersumlin/

FaceBook:

• Mental Management - https://www.facebook.com/MentalManagementSystems

In this episode of the With Winning in Mind Podcast, Troy Bassham and Heather Sumlin break down a powerful mindset shift: why focusing on solutions is far more effective than focusing on problems.

Many competitors get stuck analyzing what went wrong—but the longer you stay focused on the problem, the harder it is to perform at your best. Instead, elite performers train themselves to quickly shift their attention to solutions.

Through the Mental Management® system, Troy and Heather explain how this shift leads to faster recovery, better focus, and more consistent performance.

The conversation also includes a candid look at baseball spring training, including what's going through a pitcher's mind after a wild pitch—and how staying solution-focused can prevent one mistake from turning into many.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why focusing on the problem holds you back
• How to quickly shift into a solution-focused mindset
• What great competitors think immediately after a mistake
• How to recover faster and stay locked in under pressure

If you've ever replayed mistakes in your mind during competition, this episode will give you a better way forward.

This is just the start—join us on Patreon for an extended conversation where we go deeper into how to apply solution-focused thinking in competition: https://www.patreon.com/with_winning_in_mind

Troy mentioned Scott Barlow during the interview, here is a With Winning in Mind interview with Scott from 2023: https://youtu.be/acNTEOAg3ck

Websites:

Troy Bassham - https://reachthepodium.com

Heather Sumlin - https://heathersumlin.com

Lanny - https://withwinninginmind.com

Books/Journals - https://mentalmanagement.com

Online Courses - https://mm-courses.thinkific.com

Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/with_winning_in_mind

Instagram:

Podcast- https://www.instagram.com/withwinninginmindpodcast/

Troy Bassham - https://www.instagram.com/troyabassham/

Heather Sumlin - https://www.instagram.com/heathersumlin/

FaceBook:

Mental Management - https://www.facebook.com/MentalManagementSystems