S4:E41 Breaking the Golden Cage – Leadership & Rediscovering Self with Jeroen Peters "JP"
Jeron Peters is a seasoned high-performance leader, known for his relentless drive to raise standards and evolve the systems behind elite sport. With nearly 20 years of experience across physiotherapy, performance, and management roles—including time with top clubs like Ajax and Club Brugge—JP knows the grind from the inside out.
But behind the impressive resume was a personal storm—burnout, identity loss, and the pressure of always needing to be “on.” From leading departments without formal management training, to balancing dual roles and battling internal guilt about rest, JP was stuck in what he calls “the golden cage” of high performance.
And this is why I’m excited to share this conversation. JP opens up about the emotional cost of chasing excellence, the shifts that helped him reclaim his voice, and how he's now building a life—and leadership style—aligned with who he truly is. This one’s a powerful listen for anyone navigating the tension between proving yourself and being yourself.
Talking Points:
- Burnout, breathlessness, and the hidden costs of 24/7 performance culture
- The moment JP realized he couldn’t keep saying, “I’m fine”
- What happens when your assumptions about success start to unravel
- Moving from self-protection to self-awareness in leadership
- Owning mistakes, letting go of perfectionism, and failing forward
- Bridging the gap between medical, coaching, and leadership “tribes”
- Culture as unwritten behavior—and how to shift it through small experiments
- Trusting your gut, even when it means walking away from the “dream”
- The power of sabbatical space: time to reflect, reset, and reclaim direction
- Redefining success from status to self-respect
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Resources:
- Men Behind Sport Support
- The High-Performance Coach’s Guide to Lasting Change
- Gaia Games Summit 2026: Join the Movement!
- The Telepathy Tapes
- Institute of Noetic Sciences
