In this episode

With the World Cup on the horizon, three depth psychologists and one of them a former World Cup player sit down to explore one of the most universal human questions: what does it mean to strive for gold? On the pitch, and also in your career, your relationships, and your daily life.

John O'Brien, who played in two World Cups, opens by saying that striving for gold requires, paradoxically, a kind of non-striving. A letting go. A trust in yourself that no amount of external pressure can replace.

From there the conversation moves into territory that goes far beyond sport.

What you will hear:

The difference between external gold and internal gold. And why confusing the two can quietly undermine everything you are working toward.

The myth of King Midas: what happens when the hunger for status and recognition becomes the thing that poisons the very life you were trying to build.

The story of a high-potential athlete turned finance professional who kept getting promoted, until one day the promotion arrived and the fulfilment did not.

Why fear is not the enemy of peak performance. It is the entrance ticket. And what a healthy relationship with fear actually looks like on the pitch and off it.

The three strategies we all use to avoid the vulnerability that gold requires: avoidance, control, and compliance. How to spot them in players, coaches, journalists, and yourself.

How to watch the World Cup differently and learn about your own psychology. 

And finally, where each of the three hosts finds their own gold. In creativity, in presence, in the moments when time disappears.

The image that stays:

A princess plays with her golden ball at the edge of a well. It slips. It falls into the water. A frog appears and offers to retrieve it, for a price. The gold was never lost. It was always there. The question is only what you are willing to do to get back in touch with it.

A key insight from this episode:

The gold is already present. It is not something you have to create or earn or prove. The talent, the spontaneous inclination to express yourself, is already in you. The inner work is not about becoming someone different. It is about trusting what is already there enough to let it show.

The question we leave you with: Do you show up for what truly matters to you?

We answered it in this episode. We would love to hear yours. Share your answer with us: hello@thegoldenball.fm 

About the hosts

John O'Brien is a former World Cup soccer player and sports psychologist who combines performance tools with symbol, sand, and imagination to help athletes understand themselves more deeply. johnobriensportpsych.com

Machiel Klerk is a psychotherapist, founder of Jung Platform, and lifelong lover of the game. machielklerk.com

Akke-Jeanne Klerk is a personal development coach, teacher, and co-founder of Jung Platform. akkejeanneklerk.com

The Golden Ball — where depth psychology and the beautiful game help us play life better.

In this introduction, three depth psychologists and one of them a former world cup soccer player, explain why this podcast exists, and answer the question that will run through every episode to come: when did you fall in love with the game? And what were you really falling in love with?

What this podcast is about

The Golden Ball works on three levels. First, the game itself: what psychological attitudes make you a better player? How do you handle pressure, lead, lose, and recover? Then the same questions turn toward daily life. Everything that happens on the pitch also happens at home, at work, and in the quiet moments in between. And then through a depth psychological lens, the big questions emerge. What is winning really about? What are the values that secretly drive the way we play the game of life? And what does it mean to step onto any field, in sport or in life, with full courage and full presence?

This podcast is an invitation to look at the game differently. Not just as a sport, but as a metaphor for life.

In this episode

Three personal stories about falling in love with the game. Each one different, each one pointing at the same thing underneath.

Akke-Jeanne remembers standing outside the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam in 1994, AJAX about to face AC Milan, the reigning European champions. The atmosphere was electric before a ball had even been kicked. What she took away that night had nothing to do with the result. It had everything to do with a question she still carries: when I face something that feels much larger than me, do I step in with courage? or do I shrink?

John describes the feeling that starts before the game even begins. Looking out at a big open green field, white lines, colorful uniforms, and feeling his skin begin to tingle. For him, soccer has always been a language, one that travels across cultures, backgrounds, and borders. A language of the feet.

Machiel traces his love back to the streets of the Netherlands, to his father's stories about heroic players, to the dreams in which Johan Cruyff still appears. Two great loves, depth psychology and soccer, that have always, for him, been the same thing in different clothes.

Why they said yes to creating this podcast

Sometimes an idea arrives that feels less like a decision and more like an invitation. All three said yes to play, to explore, to sit together with two things they love and see what they have to teach each other and anyone willing to listen.

The question we leave you with: When did you fall in love with the game? And what were you really falling in love with? We answered it. We would love to hear yours. Share your answer with us at helllo@thegoldenball.fm 

About the hosts

John O'Brien is a former World Cup soccer player and sports psychologist who combines performance tools with symbol, sand, and imagination to help athletes understand themselves more deeply. johnobriensportpsych.com

Machiel Klerk is a psychotherapist, founder of Jung Platform, and lifelong lover of the game. machielklerk.com 

Akke-Jeanne Klerk is a personal development coach, psychology teacher and co-founder of Jung Platform. akkejeanneklerk.com 

The Golden Ball is a podcast sponsored by Jung Platform; the largest global platform for depth psychology. Jung Platform offers courses and certificate programs. Website: jungplatform.com

The Golden Ball, where depth psychology and the beautiful game help us play life better.