#78 Corey Vaughn: Adapting to Challenging Conditions

Creative Spirits Unleashed

After a brief hiatus, the podcast is back with guest water skier Corey Vaughn. You may remember that we spoke in the Spring, where Corey described his 1000-day plan to see how far he could take his water ski goals if he chose to really go for it. In that conversation, he laid out some specific goals for the season, and promised to return in the Fall to review the season, regardless of the outcome.

In this conversation, we review Corey’s season, diving into some of the high and low points. I won’t spoil the outcomes of his goals; however, I will say he ended the season ranked 3rd in the World rankings, up from 9th at the beginning of the season and 28th at the beginning of the 2023 season.

However, Corey isn’t skiing only to gain in the rankings, or even to win tournaments. As he said in our conversation in the Spring, he said “I’m deeply curious to find that edge,” meaning to see what happens if he approaches the sport with the intention to see how far he take can it.

Corey takes us behind the scenes of several of the highlights from this season, including the heartbreaking moment in the Master’s qualifier where the handle slipped from his grip at the juncture that would have qualified him for the prestigious tournament. It was the kind of event that gets stuck in your mind, and Corey describes how he walked himself out of the disappointment so that this “mistake” did not poison his thinking for the rest of the year. He also gives us a window into the ingredients he has found that have improved both his outcomes and the process towards achieving those goals.

We devoted a good bit of this conversation to the subtle mindset distinctions that make a difference when operating at the tip of the spear. He was very generous in revealing what he has found the ingredients that matter most to improve his performance.