5 Reasons Why I Ask Better Athletes Questions! by RJO

MY TOP FIVE REASONS I ASK QUESTIONS...

#1 I DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING! 

18 years I have been a volleyball player! After 13 years playing professionally.. 10 years off & on with the USA national team... Living as a pro in over 15 countries & playing in over 30 countries... I STILL CAN LEARN SO MUCH!

#2 I DON'T WANT TO MAKE MORE MISTAKES THAN I HAVE TO!

I want to learn new things to be the best I can be as quickly as possible. Other athletes that have done something I haven't done can help me see what problems they had achieving that goal and how the overcame or solved the problem to learn that thing or skill! 

#3 I CAN HAVE A SUPPORT NETWORK OF MENTORS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY!

Whenever something goes wrong if I already have mentors that have helped me learn something new or solve a problem I can reach out to them for some help because we already know each other and solve my problem IMMEDIATELY rather than letting the problem get TOO BIG!

#4 IT KEEPS ME INSPIRED!

When I see players & athletes doing things I still have done or better than I do them I am so inspired. I know I have to raise my level to achieve my goals BUT also to have MORE FUN!

#5 BECAUSE I CANNOT & NO ATHLETE CAN BECOME GREAT ALONE!

In my life EVERY SINGLE GREAT.. not good.... GREAT! athlete has had other mentors whether athletes, friends, coaches, teachers, etc surrounding them to improve in every area of life... because in order to be great.. I must be sure I am EMOTIONALLY.. PSYCHOLOGICALLY... PHYSICALLY & SPIRITUALLY healthy... If I don't have balance and positive sources of energy surrounding me from all sides it will LIMIT ME FROM ACHIEVING GREATNESS! That's not acceptable.

You are the average of the FIVE people you spend the most time with!
— Jim ROHN


Ryan Jay Owens

I was born in Greeley, Colorado USA. I grew up in Chicago/Evanston, IL. I began playing volleyball at the age of 16 @Evanston Township High School. When I graduated high school at age 17, I went on to play for two different NAIA colleges... Dominican University and Kendall College. I also played 2 years for a junior college (JC) in southern California, Orange Coast College. I had offers after my JUCO from the universities of Hawaii, USC, Pepperdine, Long Beach and UC-Irvine... I played PRO volleyball in several different countries all come with their own unique stories and time periods that I cover in my personal site: www.RyanJayOwens.com The countries include: EUROPE: Finland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece 3x, Germany ASIA/MIDDLE EAST: Qatar NORTH AMERICA: Puerto Rico 2x SOUTH AMERICA: Brazil My interests outside of volleyball: Art, Design, Architecture, Cinema, Music, Wine, Traveling, Motorcycles (I miss my R1 Raven back home...), Computers, Drawing and Fashion. I have owned and run an agency for pro & college players called EliteVolley.com since 2006. "We work with women, mostly, including top exclusive players like Jennifer Tamas (Olympic Silver Medalist)." Check out the official fanpage on FB www.facebook.com/EliteVolley