Dan Carter: The Autobiography of an All Blacks Legend

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They asked me if I wanted to continue and I was like, look, I’m in my 30s now, I’ve got a couple of children. There’s a time to move aside.”

I first thought seriously about retirement in 2013, at the age of 31. Suffering from constant injuries, I felt that my body was giving up on me, no longer able to cope with the demands of professional rugby. But retirement was a dirty word to me, conjuring up the kind of images no one needs in their head: Washed up. Has-been. No good anymore. I dreaded retirement, feared it, avoided it at all costs. You'll be on a little tender from the boat that we're staying on, and there’s Honor and I, Tom Brady and his team, and Bella Hadid and her team and you're just sitting there talking casually, like you're friends.My experiences held value not only in rugby, but beyond. My confidence grew when organisations like AstraZeneca, who were trying to develop a Covid vaccine at the time, and a team at the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, part of the University of Oxford, wanted to hear my thoughts on managing pressure. I also spoke in Paris with the general managers of Louis Vuitton, at the invitation of their CEO, Michael Burke, about the importance of humility in a team environment. My international career had ended, but I didn’t want to finish playing. Like anyone who devotes themselves completely to a discipline and becomes hooked on the buzz that success brings, I couldn’t imagine a life without rugby, and I had other things I wanted to achieve in the game. When I returned, I’d lost my place in the team and had to settle for a spot on the bench. But I learned to adapt to a new role within the squad rather than face up to the writing on the wall. And then I joined Kobe Steelers in Japan, on what I knew would be my final contract, where I was reunited with my coach and mentor Wayne Smith. We won the Japanese Top League in my first season, and I felt I was playing great rugby again. He asked himself, “What exactly is it that you love about this game and want to take into the next chapter of your life?”

So, instead of “retiring” he began a process of repurposing – where he established his own set of values and beliefs. Dan says that if “The Art of Winning” is about anything, it’s about being able to win those battles with your mind. It’s about being able to strive for something where success is never guaranteed, where pressure and doubt come with the territory. He says it’s about chasing victory when defeat is a very real risk. And, it’s about striving to get that little big better every day, without becoming overwhelmed by the outcome.There’s something poignant about this super-achiever’s search for purpose and passion. Beneath the smooth surface of the words Kevin Roberts has helped him find, you can still detect the tug of anxiety. I wanted to be vulnerable about the difficulty of finishing something that you love and you feel like you were put on this planet to do. It's quite a challenging process, and not just for sports people. I wanted to document it, and I talked to various people to help me navigate this change.” But along with the triumphs of his signature World Cup win, his performance against the Lions in 2005, and an unprecedented run of Bledisloe Cup successes, there was also the pain and doubt he felt during a prolonged period of injury and rehab following the 2011 World Cup. Leadership is a skill that can be learned and developed, and in any strong organisation you need leaders “all over the team.” Dan says that he had to practise and train to be a better communicator; clear, precise and direct. He also learned to demand excellence from others, and have the uncomfortable conversations that this entails. With the “no individual is bigger than the team” as a core value, he did this in the best interests of the team. He also stresses that it all starts with listening – really tuning into what’s being said.

In this book, I take you inside a journey that has forced me to look inwardly in a way I've never had to before. It's been challenging, frustrating, rewarding and left me full of gratitude.

All Black legend turns ambassador for the next generation of leaders

Having Growth Faculty membership grants your employees 12 months of unlimited access to masterclasses and interviews with world-class coaches and thought leaders, engaging events, networking opportunities and an on-demand library of leadership resources. (See our 2023 line-up of live virtual and in-person events ) At a time when many people are contemplating the next step in their career, working hard towards achieving their goals, those of us in sport are contemplating the end. Will it be a career-ending injury? The dreaded tap on the shoulder from the coach? Or will we get to choose the manner of our departure? Everyone wants a fairy-tale ending: only a privileged few achieve it. But it wasn’t easy to just stop when he had led such a structured life. In our Author Access interview and in his new book "The Art of Winning" Dan admitted he struggled with his identity, leading to anxiety, self-doubt, and feeling rudderless. Throughout my playing career I’d always known what my purpose was. When I got out of bed each day I was striving to improve upon the player I was yesterday, to be the best rugby player in the world. It meant setting relentless standards for myself. And it also demanded great sacrifice: at times putting my career and my pursuit of excellence first, and my family second. Suddenly, everything was put into perspective for me. Hearing this from my son, a 5-year-old whose only take is that he gets to have his dad around again, crystallised the thoughts that had been swirling around my head for years now. When is the right time to go? I was an aging athlete who had achieved everything I’d wanted to in the game. What exactly were my reasons for wanting to continue playing?