185: Chris Lawrence - How to Build Businesses & Skills While Still Playing

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Chris Lawrence went from debuting in the NRL at 17 while still in high school to building a business that now helps athletes keep learning during and after their playing careers. But his path was not a smooth one.

In this episode, Chris shares what it was really like to be thrown into professional sport so young, the pressure of balancing school with first grade football, and the injuries that forced him to confront the reality that his career could end at any moment. He also opens up about the frustration of trying to study in systems that were never designed for athletes and how that experience shaped the business he runs today.

What You’ll Hear

• What it felt like to debut in the NRL at 17 while still in Year 12
• The moment Tim Sheens told him, “Looks like you’re playing, kid”
• How he scored on debut at Suncorp after one simple piece of advice
• Why trying to balance university and professional sport became so frustrating
• The experience that made him realise traditional education systems were not built for athletes
• How a dislocated hip left him in limbo and facing the possibility of career-ending surgery
• What helped him mentally get through serious injury
• Why he started building a business while still playing
• The reason he believes learning is a skill athletes need to keep developing
• How sport taught him lessons about resilience, clarity, sales, leadership, and performance
• Why building skills early gives athletes more options later
• The mindset shift that helped him know when it was time to stop playing and go all in on business

Golden Nugget

“Everything you do is an accumulation of skills. The earlier you build them, the more options you have later. Opportunities come because you’ve built the reps, not because you suddenly decided it’s time.”

Want to Go Deeper?

This episode is not just about retirement from rugby league. It is about what happens when an athlete starts asking bigger questions while they are still in the game.

If you are looking for career clarity for your next step, visit www.2ndwind.io
to learn more or book a consult.