Jiří Koleňák: My name is Jiří Koleňák and welcome to the Úspěšní (Successful) podcast, where my guests and I explore the principles and habits that drive their success. My guest today is Marián Jelínek. Marián is a renowned Czech hockey coach and mental coach, famous for his work with elite athletes, including the legendary Jaromír Jágr. He specializes in mental preparation, stress management, and personal development, combining psychology, philosophy, and sports. Marián has authored several books on motivation and overcoming challenges. Beyond sports, he is a sought-after executive coach helping business leaders build psychological resilience and personal growth. Hi Marián, welcome to the podcast.
Marián Jelínek: Hi, thank you very much for the invitation.
Jiří Koleňák: Marián, I always start by asking what brought my guests the greatest joy in recent days. What was it for you?
Marián Jelínek: The word "greatest" is tricky for me because I try to find joy every single day—it's a skill I actively practice. But if I had to choose, it would be my three-year-old granddaughter. I babysat her by myself all weekend. It was intense, but we enjoyed every minute together.
Jiří Koleňák: What path led you to mental coaching?
Marián Jelínek: A winding one. Originally, my ultimate dream was to become an elite hockey coach in the NHL or for the national team. But when I got behind the scenes in the NHL during the 1990s, expecting to discover revolutionary physical training methods, I was surprised. The physical drills and conditioning weren't fundamentally different from what we were doing at home. What truly stood out was the players' mental setup—their inner approach to practice and competition. I realized that a player can be physically, technically, and tactically flawless, but if fear, doubt, or unwanted thoughts dominate their mind, they won't perform. That realization led me from strength and conditioning to cognitive performance, psychology, and neuroscience.
Jiří Koleňák: You worked extensively with Jaromír Jágr. Were there specific techniques you used to maintain his motivation and world-class performance?
Marián Jelínek: Techniques naturally emerge when a person's inner setup is right. Elite performers I've met—whether Jaromír Jágr, Tiger Woods, Charles Barkley, Mario Lemieux, director Miloš Forman, or top business executives—share a distinct internal duality. They possess an extreme love for their craft while simultaneously demanding peak results from themselves. Jágr deeply loves the game of hockey itself. When you love the process, unwanted thoughts and fear of failure disappear automatically. Fear of losing money or missing goals arises when you love the results rather than the activity. Loving the process builds intrinsic resilience, discipline, and drive. Jágr would wake me up at 1:00 AM saying, "Let's go train!" because he genuinely loved it. Beyond that, we explored unconventional areas—nervous system recovery, acupuncture meridians, energy systems, and the power of faith. Crucially, elite athletes possess extraordinary body self-awareness; they know their physical and mental state intimately rather than blindly following generic advice.
Jiří Koleňák: What are the key differences between training the body and training the mind?
Marián Jelínek: The mind is a muscle that can be trained just like the physical body. Physical training uses physical resistance, like weights in a gym. Mental training uses emotional resistance—experiencing defeat, stepping far out of your comfort zone, and working through simulated emotional shocks in advance so that you don't freeze when facing high-pressure situations in reality.
Jiří Koleňák: What is the biggest challenge in mental training with athletes?
Marián Jelínek: Everyone has a personal "black box" containing different vulnerabilities. Just as one athlete struggles with physical endurance and another with agility, mental challenges vary—confidence, focus, anxiety, or motivation. However, the universal common denominator is fear. While humans are evolutionarily hardwired with fear for physical survival, modern athletes primarily struggle with fear regarding their ego—fear of judgment, failure, or public embarrassment. Around 80% of my coaching requests focus on managing ego-based fear.
Jiří Koleňák: How do you advise athletes to manage intense pressure and fear of expectations?
Marián Jelínek: First, by grounding themselves in reality: nobody is going to die, lose a limb, or suffer physical harm if a game is lost. Second, by mastering self-coaching techniques to handle unwanted thoughts. When an athlete steps up to take a critical penalty shot and their hands shake, it's not a lack of physical skill—it's unwanted thoughts disrupting their inner game and neuromuscular coordination. Self-coaching teaches individuals how to redirect those thoughts before anxiety causes physical paralysis.
Jiří Koleňák: What role does mindset play in achieving success?
Marián Jelínek: A massive role. Mindset acts as our internal filter and compass. However, mindset shouldn't be confused with superficial "toxic positivity." True mindset relies on accurate self-reflection—being fully aware of your strengths without arrogance, while remaining equally honest about your weaknesses. Modern culture often over-shelters individuals, lavishing praise for basic tasks while avoiding uncomfortable truths. This over-protection creates fragile individuals who lack psychological resilience when real pressure strikes.
Jiří Koleňák: Is mindset the final piece of the puzzle for success, or something foundational?
Marián Jelínek: It is the foundational ocean, not just the last drop. A growth mindset determines how much you absorb during preparation long before competition starts. Students or athletes with a growth mindset view learning as an opportunity and evolve rapidly. Those who merely go through the motions to get a degree or paycheck extract minimal value from the exact same environment.
Jiří Koleňák: How do you sustain long-term motivation?
Marián Jelínek: Motivation is over-hyped. The most powerful, sustainable energy source is genuine love for what you do. Instead of constantly trying to "motivate" people, educational systems, sports programs, and companies should focus on cultivating a lifelong passion for learning and growth. In a rapidly evolving world where technical knowledge becomes obsolete in a few years, fostering intrinsic curiosity and a love for continuous learning is far more valuable than short-term compliance or memorization.
Jiří Koleňák: Should educational and athletic systems teach people how to deal with failure?
Marián Jelínek: We don't need to invent artificial failures, but we must stop hiding real ones. Society often coddles children—handing out participation medals so nobody feels hurt. But failure is an inevitable part of life. Defeat provides essential feedback on where to improve. When a child or athlete loses, let them process the emotional pain, process their tears, and learn from it rather than immediately distracting them with treats or false praise. Experiencing and processing failure builds genuine emotional immunity.
Jiří Koleňák: How do you integrate philosophy into your mental coaching?
Marián Jelínek: Philosophy provides timeless principles tested over centuries. Quoting thinkers like Plato, Schopenhauer, or Hegel grounds modern psychological concepts in deep human truth. Schopenhauer observed that humans oscillate between need and boredom. In modern Western society, material need has largely been eliminated, leading to abundance, boredom, and lifestyle-related issues like physical decline and mental fragility. Hegel noted that the oldest evolutionary motivation is removing negative stimuli (like hunger), whereas actively seeking long-term positive habits requires higher conscious discipline.
Jiří Koleňák: Do you see differences when mental coaching athletes versus business executives?
Marián Jelínek: The core principles are identical. Success in both domains requires tenacity, defined by Carol Dweck as $\text{Tenacity} = \text{Passion} \times \text{Perseverance}$. In sports, the goal is straightforward: win the game or perform at your physical peak. In business, executives more frequently face an "existential vacuum"—achieving financial success yet feeling burnt out, unfulfilled, or uncertain about their next purpose.
Jiří Koleňák: What drives you personally in life?
Marián Jelínek: A genuine love for life. I go to sleep excited about what the next day will bring. I view every day as a distinct journey—waking up afresh each morning. Beyond my work, I am passionate about breeding rare Hyacinth Macaws. Being in the aviary with them offers quiet solitude. I am also obsessed with reading; if I don't read for at least 30 minutes a day, I feel incomplete.
Jiří Koleňák: How has the field of mental coaching evolved recently?
Marián Jelínek: It has matured, though clear boundaries between coaching, psychology, and clinical psychiatry remain important. Mental coaching operates in the preventive and performance domain. Self-coaching provides actionable tools to manage unwanted thoughts before they escalate into clinical anxiety or burnout.
Jiří Koleňák: You serve as the guarantor for Newton University's Mental Coaching in Sport and Business program. What do students gain from it?
Marián Jelínek: The program combines scientific insights from neurology and psychology with practical self-coaching techniques taught by top practitioners, equipping students to master their own minds and effectively guide others.
Jiří Koleňák: Thank you, Marián, for sharing your deep insights with us today.
Marián Jelínek: Thank you for the invitation, and I look forward to meeting our new students!
Jiří Koleňák: To our viewers, thank you for watching, and see you next time with more inspiring guests!
