David Beckham on thriving under pressure and learning from mistakes

David Beckham on thriving under pressure and learning from mistakes

From ReThinking by TED

March 31, 2026 · 27 min

About this episode

David Beckham discusses thriving under pressure and learning from mistakes in sports.

In 1998, soccer star David Beckham made international news at his first World Cup when he lost his cool and got a critical red card. But he went on to lead his teams to numerous titles, become runner up for World Player of the Year, and even be knighted for his contributions to the game. In this episode, David joins Adam at the World Economic Forum in Davos to talk about the thrill of performing under pressure, strategies for managing strong emotions, and the unifying power of sport. Adam also grills David about his competitive drive and his unwavering commitment to showing up early. Featured guest Follow David Beckham on Instagram and at davidbeckham.com/ Connect with the team Follow Adam on Instagram , LinkedIn , and at adamgrant.net/ Subscribe to Adam’s Substack Watch ReThinking videos on YouTube at TEDAudioCollective Follow TED on X , Instagram , Facebook , LinkedIn , and TikTok ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard . Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith. For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts Learn more about…

People in this episode

Host: Adam Grant

Guest: David Beckham

Topics covered

  • pressure
  • sports
  • emotions
  • competition
  • leadership

Keywords

  • David Beckham
  • World Cup
  • red card
  • pressure
  • sports
  • competition
  • emotions
  • leadership

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: World Economic Forum, TED, Cosmic Standard, Acast, TEDAudioCollective

Places: Davos

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