Intentional Performers with Brian Levenson

Tanya Vogel has had quite a career in athletics and she's kind of just getting started with her impact and influence in not just athletics, but beyond it as well. She's been a distinguished leader in collegiate athletics for nearly 3 decades. Recently, she concluded her tenure as the Director of Athletics at George Washington University; she served in that position for 7 years. Her journey at GW began in 1992 as a student and All-American soccer player. She's in GW's hall of fame and she earned multiple degrees at GW including a BS, and MS, and an MBA. So, Tanya is a learner, which is going to be the core of today's conversation; she loves to learn, she loves to grow. Additionally, she was recognized for her playing career becoming the first women's soccer player to be inducted into the GW athletic hall of fame in 2002. She became their head coach at the age of 25. So, Tanya at GW is certainly an icon and somebody that the Athletic Department for a long time has looked to for leadership as a player, as a coach, and as an athletic director. In that athletic director capacity, she cultivated a culture of excellence resulting in 19 conference championships and a cumulative GPA of 3.62 among student athletes. One of the things that's going to be abundantly clear in today's conversation is that Tanya is a competitor; she loves to win, and she cares deeply about human beings and developing them and cultivating them and pouring into student athletes. She's a recognized national figure; she's served on key NCAA committees and chaired the Atlantic 10 Athletic Director's Council. She's also a graduate of the Georgetown Transformational Leadership Coaching Program and she's an ICF certified coach. We'll talk a little bit about her journey to becoming an executive coach, and I may have actually played a small part in that journey and maybe a spark to have her explore that journey. In addition to her coaching practice, she serves as a consultant for the Pictor Group, which helps her continue her commitment to leadership and organizational development, specifically within the athletic world. So, Tanya is a competitor, she's a leader, she's a coach, she's been essentially the CEO of an athletic department (that's what the role of an athletic director is), and she has seen just about everything when it comes to collegiate athletics. So, this is a conversation about culture, this is a conversation about leadership, this is a conversation about mindset, and most of all it's a conversation of two friends chopping it up and chatting about what they're passionate about, which is people. Tanya had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “I don't make too many decisions without processing, without thinking through things” (8:05). “I felt like I took [George Washington athletics] about as far as I could take it” (10:00). “I feel like comfort and discomfort overlap” (12:35). “I'm comfortable in discomfort, and I can be uncomfortable in comfort” (13:35). “Our competitive advantage is going to be seen in how we treat one another” (14:55). “Culture is people” (22:30). “It can't just be high fives and I love you” (25:30). “Confidence and motivation come from within” (27:30). “Just be insanely curious” (28:05). “I work really hard to gather the data and do the research” (32:10). “When you're a head coach, you're not going to be liked” (34:20). “Leadership is not about being liked” (34:40). “Every job I've gotten is by somebody that's known me” (40:30). “Be great where you're at” (42:05). “Mentors play a huge role in our growth and development, but advocates are key [too]” (47:15). “Genuinely, most people want to feel useful” (55:55). “I have this burning desire to go into the grave still learning; I just want to do that forever” (1:01:45). “94% of women in the C-Suite have competed in athletics” (1:08:55). Additionally, you can find the Ripple Impact website here and connect with Tanya on LinkedIn. Thank you so much to Tanya for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Joe Quitoni is the Founder and CEO of Unify Align. Unify Align collaborates with clients to reimagine the people and customer experience, delivering real-world solutions that supercharge business growth. Joe knows a thing or two about collaborating with clients, specifically around people and customer experience. Throughout his career, he has used his skills in organizational transformation to create game-changing advantages for some of the world's biggest brands. Before starting Unify Align, he put in over 20 years at the Ritz Carlton hotel company, where he served as the Director of Human Resources before jumping over to the brand's consulting firm, The Ritz Carlton Leadership Center, where he led the team as Global Head of Delivery. For those unfamiliar with what they do at The Ritz Carlton when it comes to the leadership center, think of it similarly to what Disney does; both of these organizations are known for customer service, so they actually train other businesses and other organizations on how they can serve. So, certainly if you've ever been to a Ritz Carlton, you have a sense of what the vibe is there. We're going to talk about vibe quite a bit in today's conversation. When he was working at Ritz Carlton, he transformed and evolved their approach and methodology, which created dramatic positive impact to the clients and businesses that they served. But Joe isn't your typical corporate suit; he is someone who is unique in the way he thinks and how he delivers information. He brings a modern twist to the world of consulting; he's armed with a Master of Science in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and applies an innovative methodology to his work, where he delivers successful outcomes for a diverse portfolio of companies and clients. We've talked offline about some of those; they are truly remarkable. He works with startups, he works with Fortune 500 giants, he's even worked with sports organizations, and he is someone who cares deeply about leadership, connection, inspiration, motivation, and really thinks about how an environment, how a vibe, how a culture, can drive not just customer experience, but employee experience as well. He's known for his keynote speeches, which is actually how I found him, and also working alongside all kinds of different leaders inside organizations to ultimately help them develop what he calls “a very intentional vibe.” Joe had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “This word culture has been around for decades, but we have evolved tremendously as a society” (6:55). “The simplest way you can define culture is it's everything in the environment” (7:20). “This word ‘vibe' is… the energy, the attitudes, the beliefs that influence shared motivation, productivity, and engagement in an environment” (8:15). “This feeling of empowerment certainly allows for that authenticity to come through” (12:20). “A purpose statement creates a sense of pride, it's inspirational, it's motivational, and it shifts the headspace of an employee” (13:55). “You can't just have the words; you as an organization need to clearly define what your perspective is of that belief and then you have to take it one step further; you have to attach specific behaviors” (15:15). “I like to center the vibe around the employee” (17:10). “When we're talking about the word experience, consistency is the most important word in that” (18:25). “Far too often, people mistake customer service and customer experience as the same thing” (18:50). “Every single interaction… should have a beginning, should have a middle, and should have an end” (19:25). “I don't want people to fit the mold; I'm a huge fan of diversity of thought and challenging the status quo” (26:05). “Accountability is one of the biggest reasons as to why something sticks or why it doesn't” (28:15). “When you're practicing accountability, I think it's a coaching moment” (31:45). “Any time we engage in work, it's always a co-created process” (38:00). “No consulting job should have a one-size-fits-all” (38:30). “Reach far and then go one step further” (42:10). “I equate loyalty and being a brand ambassador as being very similar” (50:20). “Brand ambassador is what we should all be shooting for” (50:55). “Every day is a new challenge” (54:30). “I continue to learn every single day and I think that's the thing I love most about what I'm doing today” (54:35). “Success is at the heart of everything that we do” (56:20). “I want to transform the headspace and the mindset of your employees” (56:30). Additionally, you can connect with Joe on LinkedIn and check out the Unify Align website here. Thank you so much to Joe for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Harris Fanaroff is the Founder of Linked Revenue. Linked Revenue is a company that helps Executives and sales and marketing teams utilize LinkedIn to generate new business. They focus on 3 areas: Helping executives generate thought leadership content Growing and nurturing their network Creating a business development strategy and executing on it Harris has over 28,000 followers on LinkedIn and has spent the last 4 years understanding how to best use the platform. He lives right outside Washington DC with his 1-year-old son and wife. He was a former MLB draft pick and Division 1 college baseball player. Harris had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “I had always wanted to be an entrepreneur” (7:35). “I didn't know how to deal with those failures as an athlete” (15:45). “If one person will find value from what you're going to share, it's success” (18:50). “Getting laid off was the best thing that ever happened to me” (21:40). “Find out what they care about, and then do it for them” (23:15). “If AI can write it, then don't put it on LinkedIn because nobody cares what AI says a leader should do” (25:10). “Give me the raw version, let me understand that person, because at the end of the day, people buy from people” (27:35). “I want your personality to come through in your content” (27:45). “I'm terrible at delegation, like most founders are” (29:00). “I have to be relatively relentless with what I spend my time on” (29:50). “When I leave this planet, I want to help give other people jobs” (33:35). “The more I can do to build relationships, for myself and for my clients, the higher probability for success when it comes to the game of business” (36:05). “You shouldn't sell on LinkedIn” (40:15). “If you wouldn't do it in person, don't do it on LinkedIn” (40:45). “Sharing thoughtful content consistently increases your ability to get lucky from a business development perspective” (1:03:25). “If you have better, stronger relationships with more people, your business is going to be easier” (1:03:45). Additionally, you can connect with Harris on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also subscribe to Harris's newsletter here. Thank you so much to Harris for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Dr. Diane Hamilton is one of those people that came on my radar and just didn't stay off of it. She is one of the leading experts when it comes to studying curiosity in the world. She's written multiple books about curiosity, she's the creator of the curiosity code index which tries to help us understand what actually gets in the way of our ability to stay curious, and for that I am extremely grateful. I took the curiosity code index, and actually the focus of a lot of our conversation today is us unpacking my scores and her explaining the different factors that cause us to perhaps retreat from curiosity. She's a thought leader in other fields, including leadership, sales, marketing, management, engagement, personality, and, as I mentioned, curiosity. She has spent time with some of the best leaders in the world. So, today's conversation certainly focuses on what she's learned, what she's studied, what she's researched, and how we can apply it to our lives. She's a keynote speaker that's also been featured in a multitude of publications that you've heard of, such as Ink and Harvard Business Review. If you are someone who's interested in curiosity, perhaps you've seen her speak at a company or at a conference or on other podcasts. Diane had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “I spent years researching and studying what happens to curiosity [over the lifespan].” “Both curiosity and creativity tend to peak at age 5 and then diminish.” “This fixed mindset is something that will shut you down completely.” “It's challenging to meet everyone in the way they want to be met.” “You can't teach all kids the same way.” “You rely on the foundational aspects of what you know, but you need to continue to grow.” “A lot of people are afraid of the ramifications of stepping outside of what's comfortable.” “We don't want to be the one not doing what everybody else is doing.” “There's no better way to learn something than to teach it.” “For a culture to be curious, it has to come from the top down.” “[Personality assessments] bring up all of these ideas to think about.” “Each year, you meet people that open up new ideas for you.” “You just don't know who you're going to meet that might change your whole trajectory.” “You don't know what you don't know until you try something.” “Nobody wants to look like they didn't prepare.” “If you're the smartest person in the room, it's a pretty boring room.” “With technology, information overload is a real thing for people.” “It's easier to get along with the group.” Additionally, you can follow Diane across social media @drdianehamilton and purchase her books, Cracking the Curiosity Code and Curiosity Unleashed, anywhere books are sold. You can also find everything you need to know about Diane on her website. Thank you so much to Diane for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Jason LaRose has built quite a reputation for himself throughout his career in his desire to help companies scale and grow. He worked for companies like Under Armour, where he became their President of the North America Region. He then went onto Equinox Media, where he served as the CEO, helping them build out their technologies and their content. From there, he co-founded and became President of a company called The Post, which is actually how we got connected; The Post has created a community for former athletes, and some current athletes, to come together to learn together and support each other. It is an amazing networking group that continues to grow. Most recently, he became the President of Bombas. If you're unfamiliar with Bombas, it is an incredible, mission-driven apparel company (and as I said to Jason, I am currently wearing their socks, their socks are really what put them on the map). They created a company that not just created comfortable and quality socks, but also with a mission behind it where they give away apparel for every apparel that's bought, and they support homeless shelters all throughout the country. So, Jason is somebody who's been at the ground level of companies, he's helped companies scale and grow from $1 billion to $5 billion, and at his core he's someone who considers himself to be an operator, he considers himself to be someone who can create strategy and execute by using amazing systems, and I think that's going to come across in today's conversation. And he's someone who clearly values culture; he values mission, he values doing good while also doing well. I think he has great clarity and it's going to come across in our conversation as far as what he sees a successful business is and his own growth as he's developed himself through the years. Jason had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “The mission at Bombas is just too hard to pass up” (5:55). “The mission [at Bombas] is who we are; it's why the company was founded in the first place” (7:25). “At Bombas, we give [the consumer] a way to be a part of the solution” (8:10). “Brand is a promise” (12:00). “At Bombas, we talk about three words all the time: comfort, quality, and mission” (12:25). “Everything contributes to mission” (13:35), “Mission only matters [at Bombas] if you sell” (14:00). “I probably hate to lose more than I love to win” (19:05). “I love to look out and see the potential conditions for success being there” (19:15). “More than anything, what I love is growth” (19:30). “I'm not very good at [being] content” (23:20). “Over time, I've learned to be more appreciative and take those moments to reflect” (26:55). “Founders are special people” (28:50). “I'm enamored with people who know things that I don't know” (29:25). “Really great founders are maniacal about their brands” (32:15). “Scale doesn't come just because you have a great idea” (33:40). “What athletes are most amazing at is watching the film” (39:35). “Great athletes and great coaches don't only have one solution” (43:20). “Once you get people aligned around the mission, you can do almost anything” (44:15). Additionally, you can follow Bombas on all social media platforms and connect with Jason on LinkedIn. Thank you so much to Jason for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Mitch Warner is a managing partner of the Arbinger Institute, which is a global leadership development firm. He directs the development of Arbinger's leadership development programs and highly customized large-scale organizational culture change initiatives. Mitch has been instrumental in Arbinger's rapid growth, including its expanding international presence in over 20 countries. He's also a heck of a writer; he's the co-author of Arbinger's bestselling books Leadership and Self Deception (which we get into at length in today's conversation), The Anatomy of Peace (which we actually don't really dive into in today's conversation), and The Outward Mindset (which is really the precursor for a lot of our conversation today). Mitch is obsessed with mindset and how mindset can impact how we show up not just for ourselves, but for the people around us. Mitch has delivered training and consulting internationally to leaders and organizations across a broad range of industries. He's a sought-after teacher, speaker, and advisor to leaders of corporations, governments, and organizations of all kinds around the world on the topics of leadership, collaboration, mindset, and culture change. He also is at the forefront of conflict resolution, alignment, and strategy. This conversation gets deeply into mindset, really into leadership, and we're going to talk about how mindset impacts leadership at great length. Lastly, I bring myself into today's conversation and I hope you appreciate it; I try to make these conversations as real as possible and bring in current challenges that I am dealing with, so I hope you find your own place and space in today's conversation and think about how you can increase your own self-awareness and maybe some of the things you're struggling with on a day-to-day basis, whether it's personally or professionally. Mitch had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “Art is a communication between the artist and the viewer” (6:05). “The most interesting thing about art to me is that it's not just self-expression” (7:05). “Everybody has the capacity for creativity” (10:45). “The purpose of art is not photography” (12:20). “The point is not to see the reality in the same way, the point is to realize we're going to see that thing differently based on our experiences, based on what we're bringing to it” (14:10). “When I approach a person with a lens of judgment, I fail to recognize that I'm seeing myself as already different than they are” (16:25). “No matter what form it takes, whatever I'm trying to project keeps me cut off from the people in my life” (25:10). “The challenge with a word like ‘authenticity' is it's so easily misunderstood” (28:45). “At the end of the day, all of us are the same in a key, fundamental way: we all know what's underneath behavior, and what's underneath behavior is how we see” (31:05). “It's not like our experiences are neutral; they're all charged, and we live in an environment that has all sorts of social expectations” (46:10). “The work is to become free of self-deception, of the lies that we tell ourselves that get in the way of us just being with other people” (52:30). “There's different ways to go toward a problem” (54:45). “People have a broad spectrum of possibility” (55:40). “If I'm self-deceived, I can't lead” (57:10). “People don't respond to our behaviors… What people respond to is how they're being seen” (58:05). “The problem with self-deception is the fact that not only can I not see that I'm the problem, but I resist the very possibility that I'm the problem” (1:05:50). Additionally, you can find the Arbinger Institute website here. I'd also highly encourage you to purchase Mitch's books wherever books are sold. You can also connect with Mitch on LinkedIn and Instagram. Thank you so much to Mitch for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Doug Stitt most recently served as the Chief People Officer for the United States Army where he was the lead HR officer for the Army's 1 million uniform and civilian personnel. He graduated from Norwich University and served around the globe in a variety of formations. He is married to Beth and has two daughters, Laura and Anna. Doug had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “[Soldiers] all have a story and it's unique to them” (7:40). “Connect with the people that are making the connections” (8:30). “[When I hear the word soldier] I think of service, I think of selflessness, I think of being a servant, I think of physical and emotional courage” (10:35). “I wish more people knew a soldier” (16:55). “Just because it's a tradition doesn't mean it's good” (19:00). “Innovation for tomorrow is better than the tradition of today” (19:25). “Friction isn't always bad” (22:00). “People want to be wanted” (24:10). “Culture is a long-term ebb and flow in an organization” (26:50). “What brought somebody into the army might not be why they're sticking around” (40:20). “I see opportunities to go try and do something different” (41:45). “I became a better listener than when I first joined [the Army]” (42:35). “People don't care about what you know until they know how much you care” (47:40). “Coaching trees are very evident within the military as well” (54:10). “Every soldier is a leader… that's what it means to be in this organization” (1:01:35). “Leader development is hard, it takes time” (1:03:20). “I cared about [my soldiers] first and foremost as people” (1:10:30). Additionally, you can connect with Doug on LinkedIn. Thank you so much to Doug for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Ashley Zaslav is the founder of Integrative Complexity, which is a high-performance coaching firm that works with made career high achievers ready to bet on themselves and test their potential. She's also on our coaching bench at Strong Skills, and I've been fortunate to refer some amazing people to Ashley and hear firsthand about the work that she does with them. Some of her clients include founders of investment firms, newly promoted partners, high potential investment professionals, search fund CEOs, first time CEOs, C-suite leaders, and executive directors. Ashley is an athlete, and she was a two-time captain of the Duke Women's Soccer Team that was a national finalist in 2011. She was the number five recruit in the nation coming out of high school. So, Ashley is absolutely a competitor, but we talk about her mindset and how it's shifted over the years from just competing and maximizing and being the best that she can be to blending that mindset with one of wisdom, one of slowing down, one of thinking and being a little more intentional with how she shows up, while still being her competitive self. She competed globally with the US Youth National Team until she finished her career due to injuries. Injuries are a big part of Ashley's journey; she tore her ACL three times when she was in college, and she'll talk about her resilient mind and how she thought about injuries, and I think it's something for all of us to take away from today's conversation. Her approach to coaching is informed by her experience and expertise in high performance that she developed competing as an elite athlete at the highest levels, as well as working within the finance world. She worked at places like Bridgewater (if you're unfamiliar with Bridgewater, perhaps you're familiar with their founder, Ray Dalio, who's got a TedTalk and has written a bestselling book and is really at the forefront of people and culture as it relates to the finance world), TPG, Brooklyn's Capital Strategies, and at Spencer Stewart where she worked with all kinds of different elements of people practices within organizations. She received her MBA from NYU Stern and she got her bachelor's from Duke University. She's also very proud of being the mother to 3 kids under 5. Ashley had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “On the outside someone can look one way and then have so many challenges on the inside” (8:45). “Everybody has a story” (9:00). “I do think that knowing I had faced these really hard things and gotten through them gave me this inner confidence when things would come my way” (14:20). “I have to learn how to be when things are good” (18:20). “I love making patterns of information” (22:45). “It's harder to speak up when you don't have conviction about what you're saying” (25:35). “I'm very open and flexible about who I need to be to get better” (28:30). “For me, what's felt more organic is to be fluid” (37:45). “There's nothing more honest than sitting in a film room watching yourself blow a play that leads to the other team scoring. There's no hiding from that” (41:40). “The best companies are always balancing short term and long term” (48:15). “One of my favorite things about succession planning is to do it well it requires almost going against all of the strong, natural impulses” (50:50). “That ability to integrate those two realities changed my world so much” (53:55). “[For me], success [looks] like doing work really well, doing work that I love, being present for the kids, having marriage and partnership, really enjoying life” (1:05:45). “I do think success 3 to 5 years from now is looking back on these last 3 years and feeling like I wasn't just striving” (1:12:15). Additionally, you can connect with Ashley on LinkedIn. Thank you so much to Ashley for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Gretchen Rubin is one of today's most influential and thought-provoking observers of happiness and human nature. We discuss happiness at length in today's conversation, but we also discuss frameworks, and I think you're going to find right off the bat that Gretchen sees things in terms of frameworks, in terms of theory. But she's also known for her ability to convey complex ideas from science, to literature, to stories from her own life, with levity and clarity. So, we bring her into this conversation and we actually bring myself in to today's conversation, and I think that will make it really come to life. She's a writer, and she's going to articulate how much she loves writing and how big of an impact writing has made on her life and how she sees the world. She's the author of many bestselling books, such as The Happiness Project, Better than Before, and The Four Tendencies, which has sold millions of copies in more than 30 languages. Her most recent book, which we reference in today's conversation, is Life in 5 Senses. She's also the host of the popular podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin and the founder of the award-winning “Happier” app, which helps people track their happiness-boosting habits. She's been interviewed by Oprah, she's spent time with Daniel Kahneman, she's walked arm-in-arm with the Dalai Lama, and her work has been reported on in a medical journal (which eventually got written up in The New Yorker). So, she's been in all kinds of interesting spaces; she's also been an answer on Jeopardy, which is a claim to fame for her. I think this conversation will give you a sense of yourself, which is what I really appreciate about it; it'll make you think about yourself and hopefully make you a little more aware of how you show up for you and for others. Gretchen had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “If we want to make our lives happier, healthier, more productive, more creative, one of the things we need to figure out is how to make habits” (6:00). “Depending on whether we meet or resist outer and inner expectations, that's what makes us an upholder, a questioner, an obliger, or a rebel” (7:50). “Upholders are people who readily meet both outer and inner expectations” (8:00). “Questioners question all expectations; they'll do something if they think it makes sense” (10:25). “Obliger is the biggest tendency, for both men and women” (16:00). “Obligers are people who readily meet outer accountability, but they struggle to meet inner accountability” (16:10). “If you want to meet an inner expectation as an obliger, you need to create a system of outer accountability” (16:25). “The way to keep a promise to yourself is to make a promise to someone else” (16:55). “Rebels resist all expectations, outer and inner alike” (17:35). “From the practical comes the transcendent” (19:55). “My behavior follows from my identity” (22:10). “Allow rebel children to face the consequences of their actions; that is how a rebel learns” (23:20). “Sometimes these little adjustments in communication can have massive consequences in behavior” (25:05). “Once you understand the mechanism of what's going on, it's a lot easier to address it” (28:10). “For many people, there's a sense that they kind of neglect” (30:50). “Whatever you want to achieve in your life, even if they're contradictory, the five senses can help you” (35:50). “I really get tremendous satisfaction out of just being able to explore ideas in all these different ways and exercise my creativity in a lot of different ways” (40:40). “We want to accept ourselves and also expect more from ourselves” (44:25). “I think the word motivation is very complicated” (46:25). “You can't expect to be motivated by motivation” (47:30). “I never define happiness” (1:04:45). “We all can decide for ourselves what it means to be happy” (1:05:00). “Negative emotions have a very important part to play” (1:06:05). “If you get interested in something, really try to become a minor expert” (1:15:30). “The more you know, the more questions you have” (1:16:05). Additionally, you can find everything you need to know about Gretchen and connect with her on her website, as well as following her on all social media platforms @GretchenRubin. I'd also highly encourage you to check out Gretchen's podcast, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, wherever you consume your podcasts. Thank you so much to Gretchen for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Tiffany Thompson is a unique human being. She's driven by curiosity, and that's going to come shining through in our conversation today. Tiffany weaves the analytic rigor of her early career as a CIA analyst with the explorative creativity of her recording artist career. So, to say she wears multiples hats or weaves multiple identities is probably an understatement. She is the founder and CEO of Artistic Leadership, which is a creative consultancy that uses the power of art to unlock creativity and connection. Creativity and connection are really what today's conversation is all about. How can you use a spark of curiosity to improve your ability to innovate, to create, to build something? That is really at the core of Tiffany's positioning, of her communication, of everything that she stands for. Tiffany had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “I would consider the CIA to be a very creative and artistic place” (6:50). “People choose to work [at the CIA] because they're driven by mission” (7:10). “As an artist [at the CIA], I felt encouraged to explore the things I was curious about” (7:20). “I have always been somebody who loved creating with my friends” (13:40). “To have a lifelong friendship, you have to let it change” (20:10). “I'm never afraid of being the friend who leads the friendship. I actually find that to be an honor” (22:50). “Let's not hide the broken fractures, let's actually accentuate them” (28:40). “When we're in fix it mode, it's about speed and getting something done” (30:55). “When you shift into mending, curiosity really becomes that tool for understanding what it is you're trying to create” (31:10). “Binaries are rarely helpful, or perhaps real” (35:10). “At its core, [art] is a process” (36:25). “Novelty is such a powerful stimulant for our brain” (50:15). “We're not going to succeed alone. We're going to have to work together” (53:25). “Part of being an artist is being a steward of your art form” (57:55). “Discipline, to me, has two parts: it has commitment, and it has craft” (1:00:40). “Craft is a word heavy with intention” (1:01:40). Additionally, click here to learn more about Tiffany's various offerings. For more information specifically about Tiffany's music, you can find that website here. Thank you so much to Tiffany for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

James Lawrence is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for cultivating great workplaces and empowering people. You will be able to tell right off the jump that James is extremely passionate about developing people in the workforce and doing so with intentional leadership. With more than 25 years of being a CEO and founder, James loves to share his insights, not just on leadership, but also on organizational culture and the intersection of technology and the workplace. His mission is to help people love their work and get connected with their teams, because in his words, when people work better, we all win together. He's the founder of a company called “Happy,” which is dedicated to empowering people and improving how every team works together. He is someone who is passionate about the power of technology to change how we operate, how we develop people, and ultimately, how we perform. So, this conversation dives into what currently he's doing at “Happy,” but also backs up to some of his journey and what he's intentionally done to better himself so that he ultimately can serve others as well. James had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “When you have a really high performing organization, that starts with intentionality” (4:55). “If you're trying to lead people, that's an entire skill that you have to develop” (5:40). “I've made every mistake in the book as a leader” (7:15). “It takes time to become a leader” (7:15). “You can be very skilled at knowing how to do things and not be very good at teaching them” (7:50). “People that actually tell you the current state and are willing to be honest even when it hurts, those are people you want in your corner” (10:35). “Being a good listener is a really important part of being a leader” (11:20). “Listening and discarding something is totally different from not listening” (11:40). “Today, I think true leadership is about making sure that I fully heard someone, that I fully processed everything, and then for me at least it's now just making sure I build enough time in there to when I do talk to them, I've gotten the chance to really think through with some intention what my response is” (16:00). “Entrepreneurship comes in a lot of flavors” (17:45). “The manager-employee relationship is the number one driving force in an organization” (24:05). “We believe in full transparency” (28:00). “We're just at the beginning of being able to maximize humans' happiness” (32:40). “I love the word happy” (36:50). “[Happy's mission] is to make the world at work better” (37:20). “Happiness is a complex thing… but I like it as a north star” (39:00). “Your hiring process is incredibly important” (40:00). “You better be really discerning with who you let in the building” (41:50). “You're effective when you combine motivation, capability, and experience” (42:45). “You have to develop a lot of patience to be a good parent” (46:00). “I like challenges and I don't think about risk in the way that some others might” (57:40). “I have always liked challenges; I like pushing myself” (59:10). “All we have is time, so where do we want to spend our time?” (59:50). “I love building things. I've always been a builder and that's where I thrive” (1:02:30). Additionally, you can find everything about “Happy” here and connect with James on LinkedIn as well. Thank you so much to James for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Before I get to Micah Hendler's bio, I want to acknowledge there are things in this conversation, there are themes in this conversation, there are ideas in this conversation, that I don't agree with. And if you look back to our podcast guests in the past, we have tried to bring a variety of people to the podcast for dialogue and to learn other people's perspectives. And just because you're learning it doesn't mean you have to agree with it. So, as you're listening to today's conversation, I would hope that there are elements that you disagree with me on or disagree with Micah on. And that's okay. We need to continue to have dialogue with people that we may disagree with and we need to find where we do agree. Human beings are meant to find a sense of belonging and often we seek out people that are just like us and we create tribes that then may cause us to be ignorant toward another group. And so, if there are things that are said in this conversation that make you think, great. If there are things in this conversation that you disagree with, great. Listen. And I did my best to do the same. There are times where maybe I'll push back or maybe I'll ask questions, but I'll tell you after this conversation that Micah and I agreed to go get a cup of coffee together and I think that's the point. And that is really what Micah is all about.   Micah Hendler is someone that believes in the power of using our voices, and specifically around music, to change how we see other people. He's a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient for his work in the music industry. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Jerusalem Youth Chorus, which is and Israeli-Palestinian music and dialogue project that he started years ago. Obviously, October 7th of this past year of 2023 impacted their chorus in a variety of ways and he's going to talk about that in today's conversation. The chorus has been featured on programs such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and PBS, and they've also been featured in media outlets like The New York Times. Through the co-creation of music and the sharing of stories, the chorus empowers young singers from East and West Jerusalem to speak and sing their truths. And that is a big piece of what Micah is trying to create. He wants to create a space where people can authentically show up as themselves and share their perspective. It doesn't necessarily mean that they're always going to agree, but he wants to create spaces where people can share their perspective and create dialogue that hopefully will lead to peace, justice, inclusion, and ultimately equality. In addition to his ongoing bridge building work in Jerusalem, Micah has brought some of his Jerusalem Youth Chorus experience back home and serves as a co-director of music for Braver Angels, which is America's largest grassroots movement working on political depolarization. And that's a big piece of today's conversation. Certainly Israel gets headlines for divides and war and fighting and hate that does exist in that region, but if we look inward and we hold a mirror up to our country, we certainly have our own challenges that we are dealing with on a daily basis. Micah's work using music to help people see each other as people is essential for the entire world and not just for Israel. During the pandemic, Micah co-founded Raise Your Voice Labs which is a creative culture change company that helps organizations, companies, and communities realign and reengage around a shared vision and builds cultures of resilience, adaptability, inclusive leadership, and supportive accountability. In this time of profound change, Raise Your Voice Labs has helped dozens of groups rediscover themselves, reconnect to one another, and find their musical north star. Micah writes for Forbes, he talks about music, society, and social change, and he actually currently lives in my neck of the woods in Washington, DC, and I'm excited to get to know him better as we continue to learn from each other . Micah had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “[It's vital to make] sure that whatever we're doing, people feel seen and heard and represented properly in the music that we sing” (14:55). “Maybe there's something beyond just fighting about who's justified or who's right or who's suffered more… there's this other plane of existence where actually all can be” (18:30). “Maybe my music can do some good” (19:40). “Balancing [curiosity and conviction] is the key challenge in all of the work that I do” (29:15). “We do the movement a disservice by basically alienating anyone who hasn't already arrived at our conclusions” (30:40). “We're trying to thread the needle on moving the needle” (32:00). “One of the things we've done to try and navigate this paradigm is to really focus on values” (35:25). “Everybody is looking for belonging and they find it in different ways” (36:20). “What the chorus is trying to do, and is doing, is ultimately just creating a space where people can come and be fully themselves and come to really own the space” (37:15). “Music naturally creates more trust” (38:55). “Peace, justice, inclusion, and equality: when we sing, we sing for those values” (44:25). “For me, extremism is not defined by a set of positions but by a way of approaching the world” (49:40). “People have experienced so much trauma, or reactivated trauma… that it's so easy for people to become weaponized against each other by these extremist leaders” (57:00). “We are trying to show that there is an alternative [to extremism]” (1:05:35). Additionally, you can find the website for the Jerusalem Youth Chorus here and Micah's personal website here. You can also follow the Jerusalem Youth Chorus across social media platforms @JerusalemYouthChorus. Thank you so much to Micah for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Melissa Urban is a badass. And we talk about that term badass and why she likes and why she appreciates the label and explains why we may attach that label to women who are doing big things, but we don't necessarily attach it to men. So, who is Melissa beyond being a badass and what has that baddass-ery led to? It led to her co-founding and becoming the CEO of the Whole 30 brand. She's also a recovered addict, a New York Times Bestselling Author, a mother, a podcast host, a nature churchgoer (those are her terms), and she also talks about boundaries quite a bit and wrote a book all about boundaries, which is called The Book of Boundaries. If you are in the health space, you've probably heard of Melissa and her Whole 30 brand and blog and books. She's really created quite an empire around that concept. But today's conversation is not just about all of Melissa's successes; it's also about some of the challenges and failures she's had when it comes to partnership and relationship and her own journey and experience and learning to be vulnerable and learning to share that sometimes she's not okay and sometimes she struggles just like the rest of us and how she's thought deeply about what she presents to the world and her willingness to share some of the more vulnerable pieces of herself. So, this conversation hopefully will light you up, will hopefully make you realize that there often are no real gurus out there and we're all just trying to do the best we can, and even if we're having some success, we still may be having challenges that we're dealing with on a moment-to-moment basis that may not be presented on social media. Speaking of social media, she has certainly built quite a following on Instagram, and so we talk about some of the downsides that come with social media and how she's learned to create some boundaries for herself. Melissa had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “I am always thinking of boundaries… as protecting future me, setting future me up for success” (7:30). “People don't like confrontation. People don't like saying no” (8:50). “We have this habit of automatically saying yes… because we want to meet other people's expectations” (9:20). “We have to create that pause” (12:50). “In the absence of a plan, the brain is going to do what is easy and what is rewarding” (15:45). “I love the idea of a 30-day commitment” (18:55). “Black and white rules are actually easier for the brain to follow” (19:20). “I like structure. I like routine. They're very comforting to me” (24:10). “Over the years, I've lost that dogmatism; I've lost that [idea that] there is only one right way” (27:45). “There is no one size fits all. There is no one best way. And my job is to figure out the path that works best for you” (28:25). “I discovered I loved hanging out with myself” (34:25). “[Women] are often told that our needs and feelings and comforts don't matter as much as men's” (38:50). “I think I know myself really well and I'm really confident in who I am and what I'm not” (42:00). “I think there's an element of badass-ery in any woman who claws her way up to the C-suite, because it's harder for us than it is for a guy, especially a white guy” (43:10). “I'm really good at empowering people and helping them make changes that stick” (47:35). “I think often we extend others a grace and an understanding and a compassion that we are not willing to extend ourselves” (50:50). “I don't say things just to be nice” (53:30). “We are not a weight loss diet” (56:15). “Social media is such a blessing and a curse” (59:35). “Social media is a pull, not a push. You always control what comes into your feed” (59:40). “I have really strong boundaries and I hold them, and that's how I make social media a place that works for me” (1:01:05). Additionally, you can find everything Whole 30 related on their website and follow Whole 30 on all social media platforms @Whole30. You can also follow and connect directly with Melissa on Instagram. Thank you so much to Melissa for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Lauren Sisler is an Emmy Award winning sports broadcaster, a former collegiate gymnast, an ESPN sideline reporter, an author, and a keynote speaker. While those accolades are super impressive and certainly her resume is impressive, this conversation gets into some of the challenges Lauren has faced personally. She lost both of her parents with their hidden battle with prescription drug addiction within hours of each other. I'm going to let her share what that was like for her. This conversation is as much about that watershed moment and tragedy as it is about her talent and her success. She's vulnerable in this conversation; she's willing to share her full self with all of us, and that's what really makes this a really unique conversation. I think you're going to find Lauren to be joyful, she is upbeat, but she is also not going to sugarcoat some of the things that she has struggled with and some of the challenges she's faced in her life. And so, this is a conversation about joy, about adversity, about emotion and how we handle emotion and our relationship with our emotions, so it covers the full range of the life experience. Lauren had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “That was one of the hardest things for me: the milestones that had been missed over the years” (10:00). “I had this indescribable love for my parents. And that love has continued to grow since they passed” (10:40). “I feel very fortunate for 18 years of my life to have parents that loved so deeply, unconditional love” (15:00). “I want to be so transparent with my son because I do believe that transparency and vulnerability is huge” (16:25). “Lessons can be learned in the way that we navigate life, navigate our experiences” (17:35). “While I can take some things from my parents, it doesn't have to be all-or-nothing” (18:10). “Time is fleeting. Time is non-refundable” (21:50). “I've been given this gift of perspective and realizing that, literally, we have this moment in time, and we have to lean into it and grab it and embrace it” (23:10). “Now those milestones aren't so much of [my parents] not being here, it's celebrating all the memories of them and also the new memories that have been created since they've left us” (24:35). “No matter how hard you work to make someone happy, it's not your responsibility to determine what the end result will be and their response to it” (27:35). “The healing process and everything we go through is not linear” (31:45). “I will make it my job to make sure [my son] understands what addiction is and how it can literally get its claws inside of you and never let go” (36:05). “The shackles of shame were so tight around my wrist” (40:00). “My parents aren't defined by how they died, but by how they lived their lives” (40:20). “I could not face the truth of what was inside those toxicology reports. I was so fearful of what I would see and what I would learn” (41:40). “We are going to continue to experience loss, we are going to continue to experience those struggles” (43:15). “Shame is 1000% going to be woven throughout your life” (44:40). “Fall in love with your story” (45:20). “Instead of running from adversity, you attack it” (46:55). “When I started leaning in, I found purpose in what I do” (47:50). “A lot of times, I was so afraid to speak about how I really felt” (54:50). “We sometimes have to be more of advocates for ourselves” (57:20). Additionally, you can find Lauren's website here where you can find out everything you need to know about her, her new book, and sign up for her newsletter. You can also connect with her on all social media platforms @laurensisler. Thank you so much to Lauren for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Ruben Gonzalez is going to inspire you with our conversation today. He is 61 years old and he is still attempting to make it to the next Olympics in the sport of luge. If you know anything about luge, you'll know that it is a difficult sport that's hard on the body that comes with danger. And Ruben knows a lot about the sport of luge. He's competed in 4 different Olympics in the 3 different decades. He's currently attempting to become the oldest Olympian to ever compete. He has experienced a lot in the sport of luge, but he's also run with the bulls in Spain, he's climbed Mount Kilimanjaro (the highest mountain in Africa), he was a torch bearer at the Salt Lake City Olympic Games, he has written books, he's a keynote speaker, he is really a unique soul who is passionate. He really reminded me a lot of the people that I studied and wrote about in my book, Shift your Mind. A lot of today's conversation is going to focus on Ruben's mindset; what he's done to create a mindset to help him in preparation and in performance. I think even more so than those two places and spaces, you're going to learn about how Ruben sees life, then lens through which he sees it, and how much he always wants to continue learning and growing and reading and studying and researching. He is someone who is not going to stop developing himself in order to be the best version of him. Ruben had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “I was always looking for my adventure” (6:00). “What drew me to the Olympians, it wasn't their athleticism, it was their spirit, their heart” (7:00). “If you study the lives of great people, you'll figure out what works and doesn't work in life” (7:40). “Belief gets you started… [and] desire keeps you going” (10:05). “The harder it is, the easier it is for me. Because I'm not a quitter; I'm a bulldog” (14:25). “The luge is my vehicle, and it's probably the only vehicle that's going to get me to that destination: [the Olympics]” (20:00). “I had a different motivation for each [Olympics]” (25:05). “I can live with not making it, but I can't live with not trying” (25:10). “If I make it [to the Winter Olympics and set the record as the oldest athlete to compete ever], I actually hope someone will break it at the next Olympics because that means I got old guys out of the woodwork and got them working out (27:00). “I'm 61 years old. I'm sliding better and more consistently than ever before” (32:45). “You've got to have perseverance, but you've got to be coachable. You've got to be humble” (33:15). “[Legacy] means a lot [to me]” (49:20). “On the sled, you've got to be calm, cool, and collected” (52:55). “If you change your focus, the fear will disappear” (56:10). “I don't want the fame. I want to be under the radar” (1:11:35). “Keep on keeping on and hopefully things will work out” (1:14:25). Additionally, you can find Ruben's website here and connect with him on Facebook as well. Thank you so much to Ruben for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

If you live in the Washington DC area, Lindsay Czarniak is a name that you're probably familiar with. She's an Emmy Award winning broadcaster who spent several years as the sports anchor and reporter for NBC Washington. Also, if you're familiar with NBC Washington, you'll know that they have become somewhat of a factory for talent in the sports broadcasting world. That really traces back to the days of legendary broadcaster and sportscaster George Michael, who started the George Michael Sports Machine, and it really was one of the first pioneer sports shows. George Michael called Lindsay the best hire he ever made, which is pretty high praise coming from a legend. After NBC, she decided to move to Connecticut, where she worked at ESPN from 2011-2017. She anchored SportsCenter, Sports Nation, and NASCAR Now. We'll talk about NASCAR in today's conversation and how it impacted her journey and how she really loves the sport and all that comes with travelling and also being a mom and having a career. So, this conversation gets into Lindsay's background, her personal life, she's married to Craig Melvin who hosts The Today Show so we're going to talk about his perspective and Lindsay's perspective and how they're a bit different, and how Lindsay has had what she calls a zigzag career. She said it's zigzag, but from my perspective, Lindsay is someone who has range. She loves to look at new things and new ideas and new concepts and create. She's very creative and very curious as to how she can continue learning and growing and developing. She's also worked for the NFL on FOX and as a NASCAR reporter. A lot of her roots and her history involve NASCAR. She talks in today's conversation about working at the Belmont. Currently, she's a freelancer, so she bounces around from different sporting events. You may be familiar with Lindsay, but if you're not, this is just a real genuine conversation that gets into interviewing, that gets into growth, that gets into mindset, and I think you're going to love learning with Lindsay on the podcast today. Lindsay had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “I've become obsessed with interviewing two people at the same time because I find it such a challenge and there's such an art to trying to do it well” (7:55). “I do think I have a certain amount of shyness. I know I do. And I worry about what people think” (13:25). “[When you're interviewing someone], you are setting [them] up to have this internal video of what they're talking about” (15:45). “It's a special thing if you can give someone the opportunity to do something and talk about something that they don't normally get the opportunity to do” (19:55). “More often than not I never even look down at my paper [during an interview] because you're just in it” (23:15). “If I'm holding it lightly, it's usually because it is something I really want to ask” (26:25). “[I try to think a lot about] who is my audience, who is really listening to this?” (29:40). “It's a complicated place to be all of a sudden freelancing” (42:30). “I really think there's other stuff within this sports broadcasting thing that I would love trying” (43:25). “At some point, freelance is scary” (44:20). “You have to give stuff up if you want to be there with your kids” (46:15). “You can't do it all, but you also have to say yes to some stuff you might not want to do if you want to follow that trajectory” (46:20). “Loyalty is valued” (46:40). “The work I'm doing now is some of the most fulfilling stuff I've ever done” (50:40). “I love live TV. I love interactions with co-hosts” (56:45). “It's so important in those jobs (like sideline reporting and broadcasting) that you're taking your time to get to know the players, to get to know the coaches” (1:03:25). “Sometimes it's okay to just love what it is that you're doing” (1:05:05). “You can't fake the amount of work you put into it” (1:10:55). “Things change for no reason” (1:11:45). “If you see it, go be it” (1:12:20). “One word to define success: camaraderie” (1:13:25). “Camaraderie and human connection to me are so big” (1:17:10). Additionally, you can connect with Lindsay on Instagram and Facebook. Also, when you tune into the Olympics, make sure to watch Lindsay's broadcast on USA Network. Thank you so much to Lindsay for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Dr. James Doty, or as he wanted me to call him, Jim, is a Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford University. He's also the Founder and Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, which is an affiliate of the Stanford Neurosciences Institute. So, you're going to learn pretty quickly in today's conversation that Dr. Doty has been on the neurosurgery side and on the neuroscience side of studying the brain. He is obsessed with research and science, and he also blends in this sort of artistic way of thinking about how we can show up in the world. He's the author of a self-help book called Into the Magic Shop, which is a neurosurgeon's quest to discover the mysteries of the brain and the secrets of the heart. I think that best describes how Jim shows up. He very much values the brain, but he also values the heart. His most recent book, which is a big part of our conversation today, is called Mind Magic, which is all about the neuroscience of manifestation and how it changes us and helps us evolve and impacts how we show up in the world. He has been very philanthropic with Stanford University's School of Medicine. He's one of the largest donators of any graduate or faculty member at the school. He endowed the Chair of the Dean of the School of Medicine at Tulane University as well following Hurricane Katrina and helped refurbish its library, in addition to setting up a scholarship for socioeconomically disadvantaged students to commit to a career of service. He cares deeply about giving back, helping people, and being part of something bigger than himself. The other word that is really important to remember when you listen to Dr. Jim Doty talk is disadvantaged. He came from a disadvantaged upbringing; he's going to reference that in today's conversation. And so, you're going to hear him talk a little bit about capitalism and some of the downsides that may come with that structure and that system, and how he struggled in his early days as well. He's also a CEO; he's the founder of Happi AI, which is a new mental health app which uses emotion detection with AI to really help people on their journey and be able to regulate their emotions. He's served as a CEO for many different bio companies through his career, including Accuray, which ended up IPOing for $1.3 billion in 2007. He served in the 90's as their CEO. So, he's got this leadership background, but he's also been in surgery centers and has been operating on people, and on the research side. So, he has these intersections that make him a really fascinating human being and I loved my conversation with him. It's about much more about simply his successes, it's also about the challenges and the failures Dr. Doty has had along the way. So, I think you're going to find him to be vulnerable, open, and he also knows who he is. He's very comfortable in his own skin and doesn't mince words and is convicted on a lot of his beliefs based on the curiosity that he's had previously. Dr. Doty had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “So many people are so afraid of being judged, or accepting themselves, or being authentic” (7:25). “[We have] programs that are training people to be more compassionate towards themselves” (7:55). “In the modern world, many people feel uncomfortable talking to another human” (9:20). “Nowadays we've created a narrative of a minimum wage, not a living wage” (15:40). “Massive economic inequalities is a fundamental aspect of [the growing need for mental health treatment]” (19:35). “That's what many of us need in this world: an empathic listener” (23:15). “When children grow up in an environment [where they face many adverse childhood experiences], it's like a warzone; it's traumatizing” (23:50). “Post-traumatic stress disorder doesn't have to be from war” (24:05). “I no longer had anger and hostility towards my parents, because they did not have the toolset to take care of themselves” (25:40). “When I changed how I interacted with the world, it changed how the world interacted with me” (26:05). “Manifestation is the ability to embed an intention into your subconscious so that, by doing so, it increases the likelihood of whatever it is you wish to happen to occur” (27:45). “I was seeking to get external affirmation to tell me I was worthy, to deal with my shame. And of course, it did none of those things” (31:50). “As a species, we are not wired to have complete self-focus” (32:30). “We have a genetic imperative to care” (32:45). “What people don't realize is that many of the thoughts they have don't actually have to do with them” (44:50). “All of us are manifesting all the time. It's just what are we manifesting?” (46:00). “We create the limiting beliefs that stop us from believing in the unlimited possibilities that each of us have” (48:35). “The greatest way for you to imbed an intention is through defining your goals or your intent” (51:35). “Our purpose in life is to care for others” (52:10). “Let go of outcomes” (53:05). “You need to choose a path that is respectful towards yourself” (54:50). “Your subconscious is always listening” (1:01:15). “Medical school beats your empathy and compassion out of you” (1:04:15). “Many people get so attuned to helping others that they don't do self-care, nor are they compassionate to themselves to create boundaries, that allow them to be their best selves and then they burn out” (1:08:10). “Every one of us, every day, has the ability to improve the life of at least one person” (1:15:30). Additionally, you can find Dr. Doty's website here, where you can learn more about him and also purchase both of his books. You can also find the website for Happi AI here. You can also reach out to Dr. Doty via email at jrdoty@stanford.edu. Thank you so much to Dr. Doty for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Allison Shapira, MPA, CSP, is a former opera singer turned entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and international expert in leadership communication. She is the Founder/CEO of Global Public Speaking LLC, a certified woman-owned small business that teaches speaking skills to leaders so that they can build better client relationships, inspire their teams, and confidently lead their organizations into the future. She teaches a graduate-level course at the Harvard Kennedy School and has spent 20 years developing leadership communication programs for Fortune 50 companies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. She has worked with prime ministers and their cabinets and CEOs and their leadership teams, teaching them authentic leadership as a way to inspire their constituents and teams. She also travels around the world with the nonprofit Vital Voices Global Partnership, teaching leadership communication to help women leaders grow their business, run for office, or launch a nonprofit. Allison is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and a Certified Virtual Presenter. She holds a master's degree in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School and is an internationally-renowned singer/songwriter who uses music as a way to help others find their voice and their courage to speak. As an avid tech enthusiast, Allison has incorporated artificial intelligence into her keynotes, workshops and coaching to help people improve their speaking skills. More broadly, she is researching the intersection of AI and authenticity and what that means for the future of human connection. Allison is the author of Speak with Impact: How to Command the Room and Influence Others (HarperCollins Leadership), which was a Washington Post best-seller, and the new companion e-guide Speak with Impact VIRTUALLY. She has spoken at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit, the Most Powerful Women in Banking LEAD Conference, and was a finalist for 2017 Woman Business Owner of the Year by the National Association of Women Business Owners, San Diego Chapter. A lifelong learner and world traveler who has taught public speaking on nearly every continent, Allison can ask for directions in ten languages but can only understand the responses in four. One of the proudest moments of her life was singing the National Anthem for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Allison had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “[There is so much value in public speaking in] not reading every single person's body language” (8:05). “[Our perceptions of] body language expressions can be accurate, but they're not necessarily related to us or what we're saying” (9:05). “What I'm doing is co-creating a reality between me and each member of the audience” (10:30). “I'm always very intentional about the energy I'm creating with myself so that I can perform at my best” (12:20). “'It depends' is one of my favorite answers because very few issues are binary” (15:45). “I'm always someone who's loved to learn new things. I love going from not knowing to knowing” (16:10). “Why you?” (24:35). “You're not the center of attention. Your message is the center of attention” (26:00). “I do [need validation]” (29:05). “I don't just do this work as a job. The work that I do is an extension of who I am and what I believe and how I want to show up in this world” (29:35). “It's hard to balance the strategy of running the company with the creativity of making new content” (31:30). “AI is going to affect every part of our lives in ways we can control and ways we can't control” (34:20). “When you're speaking, you're actually engaging the audience in conversation” (41:10). “[Executive presence is] a way of speaking and acting that makes others take notice and listen” (41:30). “Confidence comes from a belief in our ability to affect a positive outcome” (43:05). “The amount of time you spend preparing for a presentation is based on two key factors: how well you know the material and how important the occasion is” (45:50). “Opera music is so rigid and folk music is so make it up as you go” (52:05). “Public speaking is closer to folk music than to opera” (52:45). “We are sometimes too close to who we are to really tap into what drives us the most” (57:05). “I am a super empowered, growth-oriented citizen of the world” (57:55). “When we tap into our own emotions, we actually tap into the emotions of our audience” (1:01:25). “The more personal I am in my songwriting, the more the audience relates to my journey” (1:02:25). “Clarity is a muscle, and we learn how to build that muscle” (1:05:15). “Your energy affects the energy of all the other people in the room” (1:05:25). Additionally, you can connect with Allison on LinkedIn. I'd also encourage you to purchase Allison's book, Speak with Impact: How to Command the Room and Influence Others, anywhere books are sold. You can also subscribe to her newsletter here, find her personal website here, and find the Global Public Speaking website here. Thank you so much to Allison for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Bill Kraus is on a mission. And I use that word intentionally. He is the co-founder and owner of Mission Barbeque, which opened its doors for business on September 11th, 2011. And of course, that date is not a coincidence. Bill and his co-founder Steve “Newt” Newton, who came from Outback Steakhouse, were very intentional from the beginning to make sure that they built a business that was purpose-based. They cared deeply about serving their employees, their customers, their community, and they're unapologetically patriotic. They believe in serving our first responders and our military, and that's going to come across tried and true in today's conversation. Before starting Mission Barbeque, Bill had spent a lot of his career working in the sports industry. He worked for the NFL, he worked for the brand Champion, and he also was one of the first employees for Under Armour. He helped Under Armour grow and expand at an amazingly rapid pace. He helped that company grow its revenues from $20 million to an excess of $800 million. He oversaw the following functional areas: he helped them with brand marketing, sports marketing, product merchandising, business development, licensing, and team sales. And yet, it wasn't until he got with Mission Barbeque that he really became this purpose driven leader and wanted to create something bigger than himself. He really cares deeply about service and that's what today's conversation is about. What I love about Bill, regardless of what you think of him or Mission Barbeque, he is clear on who they serve. He constantly is trying to challenge us to think intentionally about how we can serve people, and he is obsessed with serving the constituents that exist at Mission Barbeque. They show and share their love for soldiers, firefighters, police officers, first responders, and they don't hold back in calling those people heroes. So, you know as soon as you enter Mission Barbeque that they are purpose driven, that they are clear on what they value, and also, their barbeque is really really good. If you're in the Mid-Atlantic region like me, you've probably been to one of their restaurants. And if you're outside of this area, you're probably going to start to see their restaurants pop up. They've already gone as far west as Colorado and they have big plans to continue to grow and make an impact. So, today's conversation is certainly about Mission, it's certainly about impact, and I think at its core it is about service. Bill had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “I just don't think we'd feel right about doing business on [Memorial Day]” (7:05). “[Calling our employees teammates] creates more of a bond and a unity” (8:15). “I was going to find my own way to serve and give back and make a difference in a more meaningful way” (10:10). “The gifts we have we are given to share” (11:40). “There's that fine line between confidence and cockiness that you have to have a certain level of commitment, especially when you take that risk to start your own business” (12:10). “This is a lot more than just a pulled pork sandwich as much as the experience we're trying to create for our consumer” (19:10). “The consumer feels like they are appreciated at Mission Barbeque” (20:20). “If for some reason we do make too much [food], there's probably a firehouse or a police station that would gladly take some of that food at the end of the day” (26:55). “You have to embrace the data, but that can't be your full factor in making decisions” (28:20). “Every day is Veteran's Day at Mission Barbeque” (33:10). “Your life doesn't need to fit into your job” (37:25). “We welcome and encourage leaning into [gratitude over entitlement]” (44:50). “If you want to go fast, you go alone. If you want to go far, you go together” (46:55). “At the end of the day, if [Newt and I] aren't in agreement, we're probably not going to do it” (47:15). “[A hero is] somebody that is much more than just themselves and realizes the role that they played on a team” (53:00). “As hard as the walk was, thank god that it led to this” (55:50). “The numbers are what the numbers are, but how are people feeling?” (1:00:00). “If you do it right, no matter what business, and you align yourself and find the right people, and there is a purpose to it, success can be found” (1:03:25). Thank you so much to Bill for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Dr. Charles Camarda has a resume that scares the heck out of me because there are so many technical elements of his background in research engineering that I know that I can butcher a lot of these words because it's basically like speaking Chinese to me. I love this conversation because it's actually not about a lot of the technical background that Dr. Camarda brings to it. You have Dr. Camarda, and you have Charlie. And I think this conversation was really with Charlie. He will seem down to earth the entire time, but just know the background is pretty wild. He has over 45 years of experience at NASA as a researcher, he worked at the Langley Research Center, and worked on numerous teams to develop and analyze and test advanced thermal structure systems for hypersonic vehicles such as the space shuttle. This is someone who is highly technical. He holds 9 patents over 20 national and international awards for his research. He is someone who is a scientist and cares deeply about creating culture and people around research. A lot of today is his challenging of NASA and their inability to bring a research culture forward and his concerns about that. A lot of those concerns stem from him witnessing the Columbia disaster, which happened in the early 2000s, that killed 7 people on board. The space shuttle disintegrated on its way back to Earth. At the time, Charlie was planning, prepping, and training to be an astronaut, which he ended up doing. He was part of the first mission to leave earth and go into space after the Columbia disaster. He has such a unique perspective having been in the lab and researching and spending time as a research engineer to try to understand how space shuttles need to work and how they need to properly prepare and test and make sure that things are the way that they should be, and then he's also had the view of being in space. He's going to talk about some of the mistrust that the astronauts had with their mission control and what that led to from a team functioning dynamic. He calls out some of the lack of strong culture that existed at NASA while he was there, and it is a good reminder for all of us to think deeply about our culture, with whatever organization we are in, and what are we doing to try to allow people to have the psychological safety to raise their hand and voice concerns. You are going to love Charlie, he cares deeply about culture, we talk a lot about organizational culture in today's conversation, so much so that you're going to hear me try to bring him back to his astronaut experience because I just think it's so unique and it's an experience that so few of us have. But, I do think the culture element that he discusses is so critical for all of us to think about and think about how we can intentionally positively impact the environments that we are in. Dr. Camarda had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “The same people that made these bad decisions were extremely arrogant” (9:00). “As a crew, we came together and said we can handle this” (12:25). “We're ready to fly. We will accept the risk” (15:00). “There's a big difference between researchers, research engineers, and engineers” (17:20). “If something didn't look right, they would ask probing questions” (24:05). “The primary cause of [the Columbia disaster] was NASA's culture” (26:25). “I could sit at a meeting and I could tell the people in the room that were afraid to raise their hand. I could see the fear on their faces” (27:50). “If we don't correct these problems and go back to our past culture, our research-type culture, we are going to lose the race to the moon” (31:20). “The entire senior management at NASA is we are going to do the bare minimum to meet the requirements” (36:50). “NASA had no intention of fixing its culture” (37:40). “Culture is very difficult to change” (49:40). “More than 80% of companies that try to transform their culture fail” (49:45) “I always wanted to be an astronaut” (53:05). “If you have a fear, the way Charlie Camarda gets over that fear… [is to] face it head on” (1:03:20). “I was not nervous at all [on launch day] because we were totally prepared” (1:04:50). “The thing that I got the most joy from was working together with our team on the ground and our team on orbit” (1:07:15). “The most rewarding aspect of flying into space is the amazing people you get to share the experience with” (1:10:10). “If we don't fix this culture, NASA and the United States will not be the number one country in space” (1:12:15). “Let's bring the data to the table and let's learn together” (1:17:55). “If it can happen to NASA, it can happen to any place” (1:21:35). Additionally, you can check out Charlie's podcast, Leading Edge Discovery, on any podcast platform. You can also find his website here and connect with him on LinkedIn. Thank you so much to Dr. Camarda for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Mickey Bergman is one of the most fascinating, interesting people that I've met (and certainly that we've had on this podcast). He's currently the Vice President and Senior Advisor at the Governor Richardson Center for Global Engagement. We are going to talk about Governor Richardson, who's also known as “The Gov” to Mickey, and the impact that he's had on Mickey's life. The Center for Global Engagement really was at the forefront of what Mickey calls “fringe diplomacy,” which is a field that he is forming, which is an innovative discipline exploring the space in international relations that are actually beyond the boundaries of states' and governments' capacity and authority. So, Mickey and his team, they try to negotiate and help represent families of hostages, people whose loved ones are imprisoned and in awful situations and places like North Korea, Cuba, Lebanon, and the Middle East. We talk a lot about Mickey's work in Gaza and trying to help a lot of Israelis who are currently hostages of Hamas. So, he has been in some of our most challenging areas of the world. We talk about Russia in today's conversation. Mickey and his people go in and they try to help families get their loved ones back; that is really what they do, that is his job, and he represents families, not governments. He was the Executive Director of the Global Alliances Program at The Aspen Institute, and he's a professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service where he teaches about emotional intelligence and international relations. Emotional Intelligence is something that Mickey references often in today's conversation and the importance of being able to manage emotions and find ways to understand people they are talking to and try to create what he calls symmetry and common ground and try to really get to know people even if they represent some of the atrocities that exist in our world. Mickey talks a lot about evil and good and bad and how that bad people can do good things and good people can do bad things and how he tries to keep that the forefront of his brain when he is representing hostages and personally trying to get them back to their families. He's published numerous articles, he's been interviewed, and he's done opinion pieces in The New York Times, Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune, and The Boston Globe just to name a few. He's appeared on TV on places like CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX News, etc. So, Mickey is an expert when it comes to trying to understand what it takes to bring people home. And just to give people an idea of the scale and the scope of Mickey and his colleagues' work, in 2019 he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work at the Richardson Center, where he led a team to facilitate the release of more political prisoners than any other organization. And Mickey is from Israel and he talks a lot about his work in today's conversation to try to bring hostages home from Gaza. And remember, Mickey represents the families that have members that are still in hostage situations in Gaza. And so, this conversation goes deep and gets vulnerable pretty quickly. Mickey still has family in Israel, he cares about the country, we both talk about how we are proud to call ourselves Zionists in today's conversation, and still there are challenges that exist with governments at play and his ability to get people home, and that is what Mickey is most focused on is trying to help families reunite with prisoners that are held hostage, oftentimes in an unjust way. And so, I found this conversation to be extremely inspiring, I find Mickey to be someone to be thoughtful, to be caring, to make you think, and I know and I hope that he does that with all of you today. He has a wonderful book which we talk about quite a bit which is called In the Shadows and I highly recommend you check that out, it is a wonderful read as I share in today's conversation. And so, as you listen, I hope you listen with an open mind, I hope you learn from Mickey today, I know I did. Mickey had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “I don't go into panic modes” (12:00). “Governor Richardson was a father figure for me because not only was he a mentor, he was in my life day and night” (16:25). “[During that highly stressful time] I was missing my grounding power, which was Governor Richardson” (19:35). “We knew that we had to make it an American issue” (28:50). “It's about the sheer level of devastation here and trying to explain why people do what they do” (32:05). “The heart of my work is around emotional intelligence” (34:30). “In reality, when you first hear those shots, you have no idea where they're coming from” (36:25). “If you can't take care of yourself, you're not going to be able to take care of anybody else” (38:20). “My blinders were removed from the side and I could actually digest what I was hearing” (41:30). “You try to cling to any straws of humanity in order to do this [work]” (45:20). “Even people who are responsible for absolutely terrible things, they are not born evil, they are not all evil” (45:30). “The dichotomy of good and evil is not as absolute as we like to think” (45:55). “I try not to compare” (50:05). “Our brains, especially under trauma, look for shortcuts” (52:50). “You need to scratch really deep beneath the surface of a human in order to find the humanity sometimes. But you have to do it, because otherwise we're in an all-out war: (54:45). “We actually need to process this as a society. We need to figure out who we are as a society” (1:01:30). “95% of the time when you actually pay the ransom the victim comes back alive and well” (1:19:40). “Until it's a loved one or a friend of yours who is in that situation [of being kidnapped], you really can't judge those who do everything in their power to bring them home” (1::20:35). “Empathy is a must within our society” (1:24:15). “Empathy is not sympathy” (1:24:40). “In my line of work, empathy is a must, sympathy is a trap” (1:24:55). “When you remove resistance movements but don't remove the source of the resistance, the next resistance movement is not going to be more moderate, they're going to be more radical” (1:29:30). Additionally, you can purchase Mickey's book, In the Shadows, here. You can also find the Global Reach website here. Additionally, you can connect with Mickey on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Thank you so much to Mickey for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Andy Lopata is all about building quality, strategic, and intentional relationships, and trying to teach others how they can do so as well. He's written 6 books on networking and professional relationships, with his latest being all about aentoring; it's called The Financial Times Guide to Mentoring, and it was co-written by Ruth Gotian who is a past podcast guest. He also writes a regular blog for Psychology Today and has been quoted in the media multiple times, including The Sunday Times, The Financial Times, and Ink. He is someone who not just thinks about networking from a transactional standpoint, but really from an intentional place, which is why he made for such a quality guest on the podcast today. He started working in networking in 1999 with his father, and he's going to talk about his relationship with his father and what he learned from him as a mentor along the way as well. He spent 8 years as a Managing Director of a UK networking organization that had over 2000 member companies. His approach to building professional relationships is all about being authentic, being genuine, and being thoughtful about the political nature that we might find ourselves in. At the end of the day, it's just as important that people know who you are as it is to know who you know. At his core, I think Andy is someone who cares a lot about people, cares a lot about being intentional and thoughtful with how we're connecting with each other, and, as I said, I think he is someone who will come off as being genuine and authentic, but also extremely thoughtful in his own expertise, in his own knowledge, around how we connect. The last point I'll make is a lot of today's conversation revolves around vulnerability and the power of asking for help. So, I am grateful to all of you who continue to support this podcast and I hope that you can continue to support us in sharing this conversation with the world. Andy had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “You don't want to wait for someone's life [to end] before you tell them what they mean [to you]” (6:25). “I came from an aspirational family, so I always wanted to impress and make them proud” (10:40). “I got to that point where I needed to hear [feedback]” (11:35). “It is good to like your mentor, but I always think it is more important to respect them” (12:05). “I need a combination of someone I respect that I'm working with that I allow to challenge me… but also the sense they are listening to me” (16:20). “It's not what you know or who you know, it's who knows you” (19:50). “Opportunity knocks when you don't even know there's a conversation taking place” (20:00). “We can see how dangerous it gets when people start believing their own publicity and they think that every idea they have is brilliant” (21:55). “There are a number of reasons why it's important for a mentor to be vulnerable” (26:50). “Ego needs to be left at the door before you go into the room to mentor” (27:25). “Your message is going to resonate more with the other person if you're not perfect” (27:45). “We learn from people who say I succeeded but I had challenges along the way and I made mistakes along the way” (32:30). “Performance only accounts for 10% of any promotion, image is 30%, and exposure is 60%” (36:40). “What I do is I take things that should be natural and authentic and then I break them down into their component parts” (41:20). “You need to be able to separate the strategic thinking from the way you engage with people” (41:35). “You need the strategy, you need to understand what you're trying to achieve, and recognize when people can help you so you can ask the question but then focus on the relationship” (44:40). “Most people will get a lot more joy from helping other people than from receiving help” (49:05). “We assume people know what's going on in our lives” (54:10). “Vulnerability is not a weakness; vulnerability is a strength” (55:30) “It takes strength to say I could do with some help” (55:35). “I have countless informal mentors” (1:00:55). “I'm teaching myself to not take it personally when I'm [not getting exactly what I want from my mentee” (1:08:30). Additionally, you can find the website for Andy's new book here, you can check out The Connected Leadership Podcast on any podcast platform, and you can find Andy's monthly Psychology Today blog here. Lastly, you can find Andy's linktree here. Thank you so much to Andy for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

I've been really fortunate to spend time with some of the best athletes in the world, whether it's through my podcast or whether it's through other relationships I've had in my life, I've gotten to be inside certain circles that put me in spaces with professional athletes. I also had a sport psychology practice where I worked with a number of professional athletes. One of my favorite athletes that I've ever interacted with is today's guest. Zaza Pachulia is just an amazing human. He's likeable, he's thoughtful, he's curious, he's caring; he is the type of person that you just want to be around. He was an amazing teammate; I think if you asked players that played with Zaza, that's how they would describe him: a great teammate who would do whatever it took to help the team win, including some of the not so glamorous aspects like playing defense and setting screens and helping out on the boards; he was an amazing offensive rebounder. As I think about today's conversation, it actually has less to do with Zaza's 16 years and over 1000 games that he played in the NBA, and more to do with his mindset and his curiosity and his desire to learn, grow, develop, be vulnerable, be willing to change, be willing to evolve, be willing to grow. At the core, that's as much who Zaza is as winning 2 championship rings with the Golden State Warriors. And make no mistake, he's also a competitor. He cares deeply about winning and being the best version of him that he can be when it comes to parenting, when it comes to mentoring, and when it comes to playing a game.   Zaza had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “Every human being has a turning point in their lives” (6:15). “Every day is a battle” (9:20). “[Your kids] have to have goals, have to have dreams, and how can we, as parents, make sure that every day they wake up they're inspired” (11:15). “Give your best, give 100% every single day” (13:35). “We all have different journeys. Every successful person has different paths to success” (15:35). “When I retired from basketball, I had to work on myself because I was preparing to live a different kind of life” (21:45). “It's not only about what I tell [my kids]. It's not authentic if I tell them to be happy but I'm miserable” (22:55). “Kids observe everything” (25:55). “Lead [your kids] by example” (26:35). “I was lucky to have coaches who cared a lot” (27:40). “It's not about what outsiders think. It's about what we think as a group, as a family” (31:30). “Control whatever is in your hands” (36:25). “I believe in consistency and I believe in authenticity. You have to be who you are” (38:50). “I am who I am, but I am the same person every day” (39:05). “In everybody's journey, decisions are such an important part” (46:45). “Basketball helped me bring [my curiosity] into my real life” (53:15). “You're never going to get time back” (1:00:45). “Curiosity led me to reading and hearing the stories of amazing people” (1:01:00). “Basketball has always been priority number one” (1:02:40). “I gave everything to basketball and basketball gave lots of things back to me” (1:02:55). Additionally, you can find out more about the Zaza Pachulia Basketball Academy here. Thank you so much to Zaza for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

When I was first introduced to Chris Waddell for this podcast, I was super excited. His bio is absolutely inspiring. He was Dalai Lama's Unsung Hero for Compassion. He's won 13 Paralympic medals. He's in the Paralympic Hall of Fame. He's in the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. NPR credited him with one of the best graduation speeches ever for his keynote at Middlebury College in 2011. He has won more medals than any male monoskier in Paralympic history. He is somebody who has been recognized for being one of the 50 most beautiful people by People Magazine, which we talk about in today's conversation. The accolades are endless, they're inspiring, they're impressive, they're almost outer worldly. In our conversation, we talk about the downside that comes with people who view Chris as a hero. I watched a documentary that he was featured in, and the documentary was beautiful, it was all about his ascent to Mount Kilimanjaro as an unassisted paraplegic. That documentary was a fascinating watch and it is the focal point of a lot of our conversation today, as Chris challenges the notion that others sometimes think that he's outer worldly and that he's some sort of hero because of some of the challenges he's faced as far as with his ability to walk. That is what makes this conversation so real, so unique, so vulnerable: even though Chris is paralyzed and doing things that most able-bodied people would think is beyond the realm of possibility for them, Chris is a human and you're going to love him in today's conversation because he's open, honest, and vulnerable. Chris had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “If you don't tell the story, it didn't happen” (6:25). “In climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, I wanted to confirm I was a superhero” (7:50). “I wanted to free myself of this burden of being the superhero” (8:00). “If you're a human being, you're part of the team” (8:30). “The victim thing is the thing that I want to avoid at all costs” (12:20). “If I continued to be a victim of circumstance, then my life ended at 20 years old effectively” (12:40). “We often see our greatest strength in crisis” (16:25). “The vulnerability is where we ultimately connect as human beings” (18:05). “The only way that we really connect with other people is through being honest” (18:50). “I wanted to stretch people's imaginations and do things that were never possible” (24:25). “I want to create and be able to convey whatever is in me” (26:05). “I find heroes everywhere I go” (28:00). “We're always capable of more than we think we're capable of” (28:25). “Simplicity is the ultimate goal, but it takes a lot of work to actually get to the point where we achieve simplicity” (32:35). “Ease can be the real root of our genius, too” (33:40). “[Busyness] draws us away from efficiency” (38:25). “If we're occupied, then we have no time for thought” (38:50). “I don't get there on my own” (45:55). “If we're not aware of what other people are doing, we're doing ourselves a huge disservice” (46:10). “The key to communication… is ultimately about being direct” (47:05). “The biggest struggle for me is conflict” (51:15). “There's the way I see myself, the way that people see me, and then there's the way I think that people see me” (54:10). “You don't want to be seen for that surface level stuff” (57:45). “The struggle is where we connect as human beings” (58:00). “If we're perfecting our craft, we're never growing old” (58:20). “It's the getting better part that's the most addictive part of being a human being” (58:55). “Fear is my greatest motivator” (1:01:50). Additionally, you can find the website for the One Revolution Foundation here and Chris's personal website here, where you can find his books and much more. I'd also highly encourage you to check out the One Revolution documentary on Amazon Prime. Thank you so much to Chris for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Devon Harris is an original member of the 1988 Jamaican bobsled team and captain of the 1992 and 1998 teams. He's a 3-time Olympian, and he achieved something that he could only have dreamed of having been brought up in Kingston, Jamaica. And yes, Devon and his teammates were the inspiration for the movie Cool Runnings, which if you're like me, you probably grew up watching on loop over and over and over again. We talk about that a little bit in today's conversation. Most of today's conversation is about Devon's perspective on the culture in Jamaica and how that leads to great performers and great athletes. We talk about Devon's own perspective and how he had naivete, and his teammates probably had naivete, to achieve something that they could have only dreamt of where they were going to compete in the Olympics. He is someone who is philosophical, he is thoughtful, and he has a military background which he's going to share greatly served him and helped him when it came time for the Olympics. And so, this is conversation that gets deep into themes like confidence and themes like greatness. Devon is a motivational speaker, he thinks deeply and thinks in ways that might be new to you and I think will be helpful to you. Devon had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “There is nothing glamorous about a bobsled” (5:35). “Other people have done it before so I should be able to figure out how to do it” (6:00). “If I die, I die. But I'm going” (7:25). “Every time we set out to do something amazing, great, different, there is a certain amount of fear with it” (7:40). “Courage is being scared to death but doing the thing anyway” (8:15). “I could not allow that fear to stop me, so I went for it” (9:05). “Anyone who has achieved something great and out of the box experiences some level of delusion” (13:15). “There's a certain level of delusion, but it's founded on the experience and the knowledge and the work that you did before” (14:55). “You can always learn new skills” (16:10). “You have to be willing to acknowledge that you don't know so you can learn” (17:50). “We [Jamaicans] feed off the success of our compatriots” (23:20). “There's a kind of defiance that's embedded in us as Jamaicans” (26:25). “No task is too difficult; no obstacle is too great” (29:35). “It was the army experience that I relied on to get through those early days” (31:50). “Adversity allows you to grow. Adversity allows you to be inventive and be creative” (35:05). “Once you learn to deal with adversity in one area of your life, it translates into another area” (35:50). “I never could have imagined, coming from where I'm coming from, that you could have a movie made about a part of my life” (42:35). “I don't know if they really captured the hardships we experienced trying to get to the Olympic games” (44:05). Additionally, you can find everything you need to know about Devon on his website. You can also find the link to his foundation, Keep on Pushing, here. Thank you so much to Devon for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Dhani Jones is someone who I did not grow up with, I think he's about 6 years older than me, but we went to the same high school and his name was a name that we heard over and over again growing up. He helped our high school get to the state championship, he went on to play football at the University of Michigan where he earned All-Big Ten Honors. You're going to hear him mention the University of Michigan experience quite a bit in today's conversation; he is quite proud of his time at the University of Michigan and being an alum is something that he likes to talk quite a bit about. He was selected in the 6th round of the NFL draft and he ended up playing 11 seasons, playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, the New York Giants, and finally for the Cincinnati Bengals where he really had a transformative experience in his own career and he really took off in some of his later years and performed some of his best ball at the end of his career, which is not necessarily typically the case in professional football. But I think what makes Dhani so unique and why I was so excited to have him on the podcast is that he has range. He's not just a football player, he's actually more of an artist; he's an explorer, he has been a tv host with VH1 and with The Travel Channel and with CNBC, he is a venture capitalist and loves to make investments, he's an entrepreneur, he loves to tinker and try new things. He is a unique guy, he is an N of 1, and I hope that comes across in today's conversation. So certainly we talk about mindset, we talk about his experience playing football, leadership, we talk about strategy and exploration, and really this conversation is about philosophy and about life as much as it is about performance. Dhani had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “You're taught that if you're a jack of all trades you're a master of none” (6:00). “It's okay to have a range of beliefs, it's okay to have a range of curiosity, as a matter of fact it's even been proven that it's better; it creates a better level of elasticity and it creates a better level of understanding where you are in this world” (7:30). “It's always important to ask more people more questions, to ask them what they see in you” (8:55). “In the end, I loved the game (football) that gave me the tools necessary to move into the real world” (10:20). “I see how things align through the chaos” (11:40). “A lot of times what might look like confusion is just a misunderstanding” (12:20). “Conviction is sometimes more of an easy route [than curiosity]” (16:45). “On Sunday I would turn it all off because I had reached my conviction, and I would go play” (21:35). “What I needed to survive was actually how to better control some of the curiosity and the questions that I had” (26:30). “My real passion is art. I always wanted to be an artist… The waves of creativity have always struck me in so many different ways” (28:45). “The last 4 years of my career, I came to love and appreciate the game because those that were around me appreciated me” (38:20). “[Golf] is the ultimate lesson” (42:00). “You want to learn about yourself, you want to learn about other people, you want to learn about life, you go to the golf course” (42:25). “I go into a different frame of mind when I'm cycling” (45:30). “No one should be given permission to learn. Everybody should be given an opportunity to learn as much as possible” (51:35). “The world of curiosity gets narrower and narrower as you get older” (52:25). “How do you arrive at your greatest gift if you didn't even know that it existed?” (52:50). “I'm curious about what people really care about” (54:00). “I would go to outer space tomorrow” (56:20). “We should never limit our curiosity. We should never limit our brain's opportunity to see and to experience more light” (57:50). “The game of football has provided me the opportunity to be creative and to learn this world of discipline” (58:50). Thank you so much to Dhani for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Dr. Bob Lefkowitz is currently the Chancellor's Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry at the Duke University Medical Center. He's been an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute since 1976, and he began his research career in the late 1960s and early 1970s when there was not a clear consensus that specific receptors for drugs and hormones even existed. He's a trailblazer. He's a ground breaker. He's a Nobel Prize winner. He's an author; his memoir, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Stockholm, recounts his early career as a cardiologist and his transition to biochemistry. He is a researcher, he's a teacher, and he's just very very wise. And sometimes you meet knowledgeable people, smart people, who lack wisdom and emotional intelligence; that's not what you're going to find in this conversation. We talk as much about philosophy as we do about his groundbreaking research. This conversation was inspiring, it made me think, and it made me question how I think, which is the sign of a great conversation. He has won numerous awards as well; he's been acknowledged by his field in a multitude of ways and at Duke University. The work that he's done finding these receptors and working on proteins has led to a discovery that impacts 30-50% of all medications that we take. He is someone who cares deeply about making an impact and influencing our society for the better. Bob had several amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “Tell me your strongest asset and it will also be your biggest deficiency” (6:30). “The most important characteristic necessary for success at anything is focus” (7:05). “A totally fulfilling life needs to be one that embraces not just whatever your passion and obsession is, but a host of other things” (7:30). “I'll continue to be a work in progress” (9:00). “I have found as I'm aging that friendships have become more and more important to me” (13:10). “Life is so filled with surprises and twists and turns” (16:20). “Nobody's smart enough to make truly amazing discoveries because they're so far outside the frame of how we currently understand things that nobody's that smart” (19:50). “What I loved the most when I was younger and was at the peak of my power was making discoveries” (25:50). “The more you know, the less able you are to make discoveries” (29:30). “Each of us has a unique personality which is shaped in varying extents by the nature and the nurture” (30:50). “Education is a double-edged sword. On one hand we need education to get certain facts and ways of thinking, but also it constrains us” (31:25). “This inherent skepticism I've always had led to burning curiosity” (34:10). “What drives me the most and gives me the most satisfaction is mentoring young people” (34:50). “It is an interesting and a life-changing experience to win the Nobel Prize” (40:55). “Winning awards was not a factor. I was just driven because I was driven [to discover]” (41:15). “The whole nature of science is that whatever it is, you have to do it first. You don't get any credit for doing something second” (46:45). “Questions are a reflection of curiosity” (56:35). “Every experiment is a question. The better framed the experiment, the more likely you are to get an informative answer” (56:45). “The best outcomes in medicine are when the patient and doctor form an alliance” (57:40). “I thought [when I was younger] the most heroic thing you could do was become a physician because you could alleviate human suffering” (1:04:40). “I'm so focused in what I'm doing or who I'm interacting with that the time just disappears” (1:16:45). Additionally, you can learn more about Bob and his work here. Thank you so much to Bob for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Dr. Emma Seppala is a bestselling author, she's a Yale lecturer, and international keynote speaker. She teaches executives at the Yale School of Management and is Faculty Director of the Yale School of Management's Women's Leadership Program. She's a psychologist, she's a researcher, she is somebody who is constantly thinking and wondering about the science of happiness, emotional intelligence, and social connection. She is also an author, as I mentioned earlier, and her books are what we focus on in today's conversation. The two we focus on are The Happiness Track, which has been translated into dozens of languages and was published in 2016, and her new book which we really dive into in today's conversation which is called Sovereign. Dr. Seppala is also the Science Director of Stanford University's Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. Emma has been featured in just about every publication you can imagine, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and NPR, and she also has done TED Talks all over the country. Her contributions and writings have been featured in places like The Harvard Business Review, The Washington Post, Psychology Today, and Time. She's been fortunate to also consult and speak to organizations like Google and Facebook/Meta. Her research on breathing is also something that we talk about today. She has done amazing work with our military and their experience with trauma, so we bring that into today's conversation. Emma had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “It really doesn't make any sense to sweat the small stuff” (7:10). “There is an inner wealth that is more precious than any external wealth you can have and any material good you can have” (8:00). “This idea of the ability that we have to have sovereignty over our mind; it is there, it is something we can have, but we forget about it” (10:20). “Through the breath you can actually shift which emotions you're experiencing” (11:25). “Suppression [of our emotions] actually makes them stronger” (12:25). “Emotion is energy in motion. You need to learn how to move it” (14:35). “Vulnerability and authority can coexist. Vulnerability and strength can coexist” (21:50). “When you suppress the negative, you're also suppressing the positive” (26:15). “We've bought into this idea of high stress all the time, and all it's doing is burning us out” (31:00). “It's good to question how we always do things, even if everyone's doing it, because it may not always be the best thing we can be doing with ourselves” (33:25). “Self-criticism is different from self-awareness” (37:00). “It doesn't make sense to have an antagonistic relationship with yourself” (38:10). “Our mind is like a mirror; it's going to reflect whatever we put in it” (40:15). “For sovereignty, the key is discernment” (42:35). “Having the attitude of kindness is one of the greatest secrets to happiness and fulfillment over the length of your life” (46:20). “The happiest people, who also live the longest most fulfilled lives, are the ones who live lives characterized by compassion, balanced with compassion for themselves” (47:40). “The most successful leaders out there are leaders that are compassionate” (50:35). “Happiness is a very individual experience” (52:20). “Everybody, to some extent, has an addiction” (56:50). “We can get stronger and better at everything if we just force ourselves to do it over and over” (1:07:25). Additionally, you can purchase Emma's new book Sovereign anywhere you buy books. You can also check out her website and connect with her on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.   Thank you so much to Emma for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Simon Mundie is on a mission to have discussions that reveal something important about life and how best to live it. He's the host of the Life Lessons Podcast, and that's where he uses that vehicle to learn from some of the best performers in the world about how they are not just successful at their craft, but what they've learned along the way, and even some of the dark sides that come with high achievement. And he really is someone who has used sport as a metaphor for life. His podcast doesn't just interview some of the best athletes in the world, but it also is a platform where he gets to sit with some of the best thinkers, philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists to try to unpack and discover what living a truly meaningful, successful life is all about. He has spent time in the sports world as a journalist. He worked for BBC Radio, where he covered sporting events like the World Cup and the Olympics. So, he's been around some of the highest achievers in the world, and he often found that our obsession and focus on results was actually quite shallow. His interest in sport as he became older was actually around the metaphors that exist within the games. So, this conversation gets into a lot of wisdom, a lot of ideas around enlightenment, a lot of ideas around meaning and purpose and what will cause us to truly feel like we're living our best lives. So, it's a deep conversation, it's a rich conversation. Simon had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “I am actually not a big fan of the word [champion]” (4:55). “I think it becomes problematic when we look at people who are described as champions and consider them to be special or different, and therefore consider ourselves or others to be less than” (6:10). “We are all unique with our own skills and value” (6:45). “We are not better or no worse than anyone else” (7:00). “So often people are incredibly identified with their thoughts, the voice in their head, they think that's who they are” (9:30). “Thoughts and thinking are coming and going, but this ‘aware' mind is always there and is aware of any thoughts that come and go” (10:10). “A thought… has a beginning and an end” (10:35). “I've always been interested in the deeper questions” (18:10). “There's nothing that anyone needs to fix. It's just the belief that there is” (19:15). “Sport is a metaphor for life” (21:00). “Sport is just a way to illustrate these deeper truths and deeper implications” (21:40). “We are not separate. We are connected” (22:45). “On the human level we are individual, unique, and discrete, but on the being level we are one and the same” (24:50). “We are different expressions of one life” (25:40). “Spirituality is the recognition that at the deepest level we are not actually separate” (25:45). “Anytime [“problematic”] feelings come up, it's an opportunity to allow them to be there and then they lose their strength” (31:30). “A lot of trauma can stay in the body” (41:20). “That capacity to be able to cry is a really important way of actually releasing stress and tension from the body” (42:55). “Attention is like the stretching of awareness towards an object” (45:55). “What we all really want is peace of mind, is contentment, is fulfillment” (49:25). “Peace and fulfillment and contentment are not things that come from outside ourselves; they are already at our source and then they can be revealed by, for example, being in flow when your sense of self disappears” (49:40). “Culturally, we tend to think of success as achievement” (50:15). “Don't be too quick to judge other people” (1:02:45). “We have to take responsibility for ourselves and our actions” (1:07:40). “I'm going to take risks. I'm going to put myself in situations that are uncomfortable. I'm going to ask people for stuff until they say no” (1:12:20). “I'm going to put myself out there and really try and create opportunities, and then see what life throws my way” (1:13:30). Additionally, I'd encourage you to check out Simon's podcast, The Life Lessons Podcast, on any platform. I'd also highly encourage you to purchase Simon's book, Champion Thinking. Lastly, you can find Simon's website here and connect with him on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and LinkedIn. Thank you so much to Simon for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Dr. Gloria Mark is Chancellor's Professor Emerita at the University of California, Irvine, and has spent ten years as a visiting senior researcher at Microsoft Research. She received her PhD from Columbia University in psychology. For over two decades, she has researched the impact of digital media on people's lives, studying how using our devices affects our multitasking, distractions, mood, and behavior. She has published over 200 papers in the top journals and conferences in the field of human-computer interaction, has received numerous paper awards, and was inducted into the ACM SIGCHI Academy in 2017 in recognition of her contribution to the field. She has also been a Fulbright scholar and has received the prestigious NSF Career Grant. Her work has been widely recognized outside of academia: she has appeared on The Ezra Klein show, NPR's Hidden Brain, Sanjay Gupta's CNN Chasing Life, CBS Sunday Morning, Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert, among many others. Her work has been featured in the popular media, e.g. New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Atlantic, BBC, and others. She has been invited to present her work at SXSW and the Aspen Ideas Festival. Her recent book Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity, was named by The Globe and Mail as the #1 Best Business and Management book of 2023, and chosen as the Season 20 selection of the Next Big Idea Book Club. Gloria had several amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “You have to be agile to put your attention to where it's important” (6:50). “Multitasking is not possible for us humans unless one of those tasks is automatic” (7:50). “It's not humanly possible to do 2 challenging, difficult things in parallel” (8:25). “It takes longer to do 2 or more tasks when we multitask compared to if we do the tasks sequentially one after the other” (11:20). “[Multitasking] creates stress” (12:35). “There's a myth that when people multitask, they'll be more productive” (14:15). “There's a blurriness between our work and personal lives” (18:20). “Our motivation changes when we work from home” (19:30). “So often we might be with other people, but we have this lure of the internet still there” (25:30). “When something becomes a habit, it really prevents us from using our conscious attention” (28:30). “It's really about becoming more intentional and conscious about what we're doing when we're on our devices” (32:15). “Distractions are natural. It's part of our human experience” (33:30). “People mind-wander about 47% of the time” (33:40). “Attention spans have declined [over the last 20 years]” (39:05). “[New technology] has created a lot of pressure to think about performance at the expense of our wellbeing” (43:00). “60% of global respondents reported some symptoms of burnout” (44:15). “When people have positive wellbeing, they actually perform better” (44:55). “Being an artist taught me that I could think out of the box” (46:30). “The way I talk with scientists is very different from the way I talk with artists” (48:05). “Boredom is associated with negative affect. When people are bored, they tend to be in a bad mood” (56:45). “20 minutes in nature can help people destress” (58:40). “We can practice forethought” (1:04:00). “Goals are very powerful but they're very slippery” (1:05:00). Additionally, you can connect with Gloria on Twitter and LinkedIn, check out her website (where you can purchase her book, Attention Span, and find much more), and also subscribe to her Substack. Thank you so much to Gloria for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Steve Clagett is the Director of Learning and Development with the Baltimore Ravens. Prior to arriving with the Ravens, he's had quite a journey and quite an experience and a pretty incredible resume, which includes serving as a White House Fellow, where he got to interact with the President of the United States and a lot of other dignitaries and people that are making decisions that influence our daily lives. He also worked within the US Navy, rising to becoming a Lieutenant Commander where he also worked with the Navy SEAL Teams. We talk about mission, we talk about values in today's conversation, and we talk about what is applicable and what may not be when it comes from the military to the sports world. We also talk about politics in today's conversation. He also was a Pat Tillman Scholar. He is someone who cares about the work that he's doing and is looking to make an impact certainly within the NFL, but beyond the NFL and in the community that he helps serve in Baltimore as well. So, this is a rich conversation where we really zoom in and think about character and how you assess for character and how you think about putting together the best possible team to compete, to contend, and ultimately to win. Steve had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “The power of the year [2020] means more now than it did then” (8:00). “We don't say he's a [Navy} SEAL. We say he's a team guy” (11:50). “Part of the competition is who you are as a teammate” (12:20). “I believe in having a hypercompetitive organization” (12:30). “You have to make sure that competition reinforces selflessness” (12:40). “For me, accountability comes in phases” (14:15). “Both [the military and the NFL] exist in some ways to inspire others” (16:40). “When I look back at my career, I think of times I could have been more of a glue guy” (19:15). “As a leader, there's that constant balance between the mission and the man” (19:25). “You need people [on the team] who get people out of their comfort zones and push the team in different directions” (21:05). “I really enjoyed leading teams and solving complex problems” (22:10). “I would define effective leadership as working with the team on establishing a vision, giving them clear roles and responsibilities, the resources they need to get the job done, and then getting out of the way” (27:50). “Ideally you want a culture of disagree and commit” (30:50). “What I've learned over the years is the value of diverse perspectives” (36:20). “When you can improve the morale, when you can improve the culture of an organization, it just makes coming to work every day better” (39:05). “The toughest decision I ever made was leaving the SEAL teams” (41:35). “Sometimes loyalty is just [to] your teammates” (44:35). “I think intrinsic motivation isn't as important as external motivation” (52:50). “I wonder sometimes if we're too hard on people for their honesty” (53:20). “One of our biggest reasons for success is we know who we are” (58:50). Additionally, I'd encourage you to check out Farming 4 Hunger and The Taylor Anne Foundation. You can also connect with Steve on LinkedIn. Thank you so much to Steve for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Dr. Ruth Gotian has studied extensively what it takes to be successful. That is, at the end of the day, what she's obsessed with, interested in, and curious about. She also has spent a lot of time thinking about mentorship and mentoring. She is currently the Chief Learning Officer, Associate Professor of Education in Anesthesiology, and former Assistant Dean of Mentoring and Executive Director of The Mentoring Academy at Cornell Medicine. And so, today we focus more on her focus on success and less on mentoring. She has a book coming up in the future about mentoring, but today this conversation is really about her research and dedication and, to be honest, an obsession with success. In 2021, she was one of 30 people worldwide to be named to the Thinkers50 Radar List, which is dubbed the Oscars of Management Thinking, and is a semi-finalist for the Forbes 50 over 50 list. During her extensive career, she's personally coached and mentored thousands of people, ranging from faculty members to undergraduates, and as an Assistant Dean for mentoring, she oversaw the success of nearly 1800 faculty members at Cornell. Currently, she researches the most successful people of our generation, including Nobel Laureates, astronauts, CEOs, Olympic champions, and more. We get into that in today's conversation. Dr. Gotian received her BS and an MS in Business Management from The University at Stony Brook in New York, and certificates in Executive Leadership and Managing for Execution from Cornell. She earned her doctorate at teacher's college at Columbia University. So, she's well educated, she plays in the lab, but she also plays in the field. She works with athletes, she works as an executive coach, and she regularly publishes in journals such as Nature, Scientific American, Academic Medicines, Psychology Today, Forbes, and The Harvard Business Review. So, this conversation really focuses on her book, The Success Factor, which is all about developing the mindset and skillset for peak performance, and if you know anything about me you know that is a topic I am quite interested in. Ruth had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “If I want to be better, I need to know what the best of the best are doing and then I reverse engineer their path” (7:50). “I knew if I leverage my peak performance hours I will write better and I will be more effective” (12:40). “I need to be able to rest” (15:25). “I work really hard to be around people who jazz me up and don't drain me” (15:30). “Very often people get overlooked, misunderstood, because they're different” (20:00). “Sometimes it's the people who carve out a different path that have the greatest learning journey” (20:15). “[Success] is very personal” (21:55). “I have interviewed hundreds of people who are at the top of their game. Not one has gotten there alone” (25:15). “Any person who has achieved anything has done it with the support of other people” (25:50). “The extrinsic motivation is fleeting” (28:55). “If you really want to maximize everything that's going forward, take a break” (34:00). “Having a positive impact and leaving this world better than I found it, to me, that's my way of doing something important and not just interesting” (39:15). “Do something important and not just interesting” (42:05). “When our situations change, our passions can change” (43:25). “Mindsets trump habits because we can take the idea of the habit but customize it to our life” (46:10). “Just because you're moving up doesn't mean you know more. You actually know less” (53:25). “A leader is someone who can inspire other people to be the best versions of themselves” (55:00). Additionally, you can find all of Ruth's information and connect with her via her website. Thank you so much to Ruth for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Stephen Panus is somebody that my path may have crossed with, and at some point led him to coming on this podcast professionally. He's worked in the sports world, he's worked as a marketer, as a lawyer, and as an agent. So, it would make sense that at some point he would be someone that I would interview. But the real reason and the impetus for today's conversation is based, in part, off of adversity, tragedy, and trauma. Stephen's son, Jake, was killed in a drunk driving accident when Jake was 16 years old. Jake's girlfriend at the time was actually the one driving the car. We don't get into the specifics as far as how Stephen feels about Jake's girlfriend, and we really don't get into all of the details around the accident per se. But this conversation gives us a window into the grief, the trauma, and also some of the inspiring work that Stephen has done since then. Make no mistake, this is an experience that Stephen went through that was a watershed moment for him in the worst of ways. He doesn't mince words about how much he misses his son and how much he dreads the day that he was taken from their family. And this is also a story about what Stephen has done since, his perspective on life since the accident, his thoughts on his son and around what it means to be a father, what it means to be a husband, what it means to be a professional, and Stephen also wrote a wonderful book called Walk On which we feature in today's conversation. I think you're going to find Stephen to be a philosopher, a spiritual animal, somebody who thinks deeply about psychology and how we can show up as our best. So, this is a difficult conversation, this is a tough conversation, but it's also an inspiring one. Stephen had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “It sometimes is hard to remember what I was like before August 9th. My life was split into a two-act play” (6:25). “[I define success as] happiness” (9:00). “Happiness comes from within. If you can be happy with who you are and what you're doing, then I think you'll be a success at whatever that is that you're doing” (9:10). “When you become a parent, it's so similar to being on a [sports] team; you take on a responsibility much greater than yourself and your own interests” (11:40). “Being spiritual is just being open. Being open to things you feel, things you see… and I think in being open you experience a lot more” (14:00). “Everyone's quest is their own” (17:10). “I think it's super important to have faith in something” (17:15). “We're all carrying invisible backpacks with some form of suffering or hardship or grief” (21:20). “Our vulnerability is our strength” (21:50). “All of the answers reside right within ourselves, we just have to source them. They're all there” (22:10). “Practice vigilant mercy... Be easy on yourself, be easy on others, set healthy boundaries, know what you're capable of and what you're not capable of” (22:45). “There's something about nature that brings some peace” (23:40). “You need to lean into the sharp point if you want to be able to get through it” (25:10). “Grief is your shadow now. It is always there. You have to deal with it” (25:35). “The closer you stand to death the more it makes you want to feel alive” (33:00). “Grief is love with nowhere to go” (37:10). “There's so few things we control on this planet, but what we do control… is what we feel and what we do about what happens to us” (44:50). “We discipline our children to teach them” (47:10). “I don't make a big deal about so many little things now” (50:00). “I connect with people's pain. That's a good thing because it connects us as human beings” (52:10). “Grace is really just the inner light within all of us” (57:30). “The most important relationship you'll have on this planet is with yourself. And if you can learn to love yourself, accept yourself, agree to work on yourself, then the world opens up to you” (58:00). “Grief isn't linear” (1:05:40). Additionally, you can check out Stephen's website here, where you can pre-order his book, read about his scholarships, make a donation, book him as a speaker, and more. Thank you so much to Stephen for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Mosheh Oinounou is an Emmy, Murrow, and Webby Award-winning Executive Producer. He worked in traditional news for quite some time. He was actually the youngest ever executive producer of the CBS Evening News in 2018 and 2019, where he led more than 150 people and covered everything from the war on Isis to natural disasters to mass shootings to presidential interviews. It seemed as though Mosheh was heading in the traditional media place where he was becoming a rock star and working on his craft and earning a title, something he had dreamt about when he was a little kid. And then some things changed. He went in a completely different direction. And so, this conversation is going to be about identity, it's going to be about entrepreneurship, and it's going to be about the future of our media and the way we consume information. He currently is the President of both Mo Digital and Mo News, where they provide a variety of outlets for us to digest content. One of the places where he plays a lot is on Instagram, where they share stories in the stories side of Instagram. They constantly are sharing interesting information and trying to give a true experience, a trustworthy experience, in a landscape where many of us have lost our faith in the news. Mo also has a wonderful newsletter, he's a great follow on social media, and I think anywhere that our media is going and trending towards in the future generations, Mo is going to be there delivering us the news. One thing to bring up before we get into today's conversation: we do talk about politics in today's conversation, I share some of my questions and hesitancies, and I do want to make it clear that I will be voting in the election and I think it's something that all of us should take seriously and we talk about that in today's conversation. And whoever you decide to vote for, hopefully you take advantage of that democratic right. Mosheh had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “It's an incredible challenge to try to fit the world into 20 minutes each night at 6:00 pm” (6:45). “I wanted some semblance of control over what I did” (8:05). “It was my identity [at the time]. Who am I if I'm not the CBS Executive Producer?” (8:55). “Running the evening news was the most stressful, least happy, I'd ever been” (9:15). “My career was my relationship for most of my 20s and my 30s” (14:45). “I had imposter syndrome very quickly as I tried to do my own thing” (18:20). “It took me a while post-CBS to navigate the wilderness and figure out what value I bring, what I learned, and why I, as Mosheh, even independent of an organization, brought value to various companies and clients” (19:05). “I'm in a unique situation because I'm the owner, the General Manager, the coach, and the player” (20:00). “I like being the player because I'm the owner” (20:30). “One of my frustrations was our lack of transparency with the consumer” (28:10). “Projecting that you're human is so incredibly important” (30:40). “The only profession mentioned in the Bill of Rights here in this country is the press” (32:30). “Some people in the media have sort of gotten high on their own power” (33:15). “We try to be transparent about our biases” (37:50). “I want to present the news to you like a friend talking to you at lunch” (40:45). “[I'm] using the data to inform what I'm doing, not necessarily as a bible so to speak, but more of like a modern bible; let's interpret it as opposed to using it in a declarative way” (46:50). “As humans, we struggle dealing with crises that aren't acute” (50:40). “If we take for granted what we have, when we lose it it's hard to get back” (54:50). “You want to feel more engaged in the process? Get more engaged in the process” (56:40). “You're only able to digest a certain amount of information” (1:01:20). Additionally, you can find the Mo News website here where you can also find access to them on all platforms (YouTube, Newsletter, Podcast, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram). Thank you so much to Mosheh for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

I was first introduced to Craig Wiley a number of years ago when I was starting my journey in executive coaching. The people that told me about Craig spoke about his integrity, his ability to think strategically, and help them as their executive coach. When we connected years ago, he was awesome, he was authentic, he was genuine, he had a clear vision for where he wanted to take his company, and it's really cool to reconnect with him today and check in with him on where he's at and where the company has gone. So, a bit about Craig: He is the CEO and Founder of Transcend, a company that helps to transform C-Suite leaders and their businesses. He's been doing this for over 2 decades as an executive coaching expert and business strategy thought leader, two spaces in which he really does live. He lives in almost this consultant, strategy, thought leader space, which we get into in today's conversation along with this executive coaching space. Ultimately, he's really passionate about driving continual innovation through what they have determined to be the best practice and the best solutions necessary to advance leadership within organizations. One of the key themes of today, and one of the things that we talk about quite a bit and Craig really brings to today's conversation, is this ability for an organization to focus on their enterprise first rather than last (and a lot of organizations focus on their enterprise last). When he works with organizations, he helps them align their values, their purpose, their mission, to whatever it is they're doing at the enterprise level. Then, they go from there to the team and then it filters down to the individual. Craig had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “Every single day when we're working with executives, they are being pushed and pulled in unbelievably dynamic ways” (6:05). “If you're a CEO, you really don't have a community in your business” (6:25). “The notion of resilience looks different to different people” (6:55). “We think about individual performance, we think about team performance, but then we also think about how [an enterprise performs]” (8:50). “We think about resilience through the lens of a community that is resilient in unison” (9:05). “People love in engaging in things that are difficult when it's meeting a bigger purpose” (11:15). “The highest functioning organizations are enterprise first, team second, individual third” (11:50). “We know that people are driven by impact and connection” (14:05). “We invest a ton of time and energy in being an enterprise-first company” (18:10). “As a coach or a leader, we have to be talking about the bigger meaning and the bigger purpose than this week's game or this quarter's deliverables” (23:05). “It's the CEO's sole job to ensure that they have a dynamic, innovative enterprise” (29:05). “Progressive business engages robust dialogue across all levels of the organization to build the future of the organization” (32:30). “People want to have a meaningful existence and they want to have impact and they want to feel good about what they do every single day” (35:10). “If [a private equity firm has] operating partners that understand how to take a company and make it enterprise first, team second, individual third, and understand how to create the highest performing ecosystems for people to flourish, the private equity firm wins” (46:45). “Business dynamics are the most dynamic they've ever been” (51:05). “You have to agility and resilience and innovation in organization” (51:20). “When people are operating from one playbook, they perform better” (59:10). “People came to America because they saw opportunity through equality” (1:08:50). “Success is not purpose” (1:09:00). Additionally, you can find the Transcend website here and connect with Transcend on LinkedIn. You can also connect directly with Craig on LinkedIn. Thank you so much to Craig for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Topaz Adizes is an Emmy Award winning writer, director, and experience design architect. Topaz is currently the founder and executive director of an experience design studio called “The Skin Deep,” which produces incredible, heartwarming, thoughtful, emotional videos that you can find on YouTube. They have over 1200 videos online, some of which are referenced in today's conversation. I mention that experience design architect piece because at the beginning of this conversation, we talk about this concept that he created called “The And.” “The And” is a series of cards that you can purchase, and there are 199 questions in these boxes. These cards contain powerful questions that are meant to help build connections amongst human beings. In the beginning of this conversation, we reference the cards and how I might use them people with people in my life. He has also played in this writer/director space. His works have been selected to Cannes, Sundance, IDFA, South by Southwest, and featured in New Yorker Magazine, Vanity Fair, and The New York Times. So, he is certainly an artist at heart. He is someone who loves to document life, and he has gone towards this space of bringing people together for connection. So, at his core, Topaz is a deep thinker, a thoughtful guy, who wants to make this world a little bit better than he found it. Topaz had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “Giving people the freedom to walk away, to not answer, to not respond, is really imperative so that you create this space for people to explore” (7:55). “There's a lot said in the space between. We don't have to articulate everything to feel everything” (8:15). “Two things are required to have a cathartic conversation: creating the space and well-constructed questions” (10:45). “Don't ask a binary question” (17:20). “Ask a question as a gift” (17:50). “It's much easier to shake a hand than a finger that's pointing at you” (17:55). “Be aware of the questions you're asking” (22:05). “The answer is shaped by the question you ask” (24:10). “Good relationships lead to a more vital life” (29:25). “Try to connect two things that are not usually connected” (29:35). “I traverse this journey (of life), I learn from it, and then hopefully I can convert these sources of pain that have created hunger in me to then offer a gift” (38:10). “The energy I put out did not come back to me in excess” (43:30). “Why not just change one person's life profoundly?” (29:50). “What could I do today that would make my grandkid's life better?” (51:50). “I don't think about my legacy, I just think about the future” (53:55). “Big changes come from micro changes consistently” (54:30). “What we do now does echo into the future to people that you will never meet” (56:30). “I'm going to do my best to put the effort out. And then whatever happens, happens” (1:06:40). Additionally, you can find “The Skin Deep” website here and follow them on all social media platforms at @TheSkinDeep. Lastly, you can find Topaz's personal website here. Thank you so much to Topaz for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Jared Freid is a comedian, he's a podcaster, he's a writer, he's a TV host, and perhaps he may be best known at this point for his Netflix comedy special “Jared Freid: 37 and Single.” I watched it over the holidays and loved it, I watched it with my family. I've been watching Jared really since he got started in comedy; we have a mutual friend who we reference quite a bit in today's show, and he brought me to see Jared and he just has the humor that I love. We talk about Jared's journey and how he developed his style and really learned the mechanics of stand-up comedy. So, he's going to give you the behind the scenes look at what it takes to be a comedian and his approach and what he's done to build his brand. We do talk about branding, marketing, media, and the future of media and what he's done to try to build his platform; I think there's a lot to learn there. He's also performed on TV; he's been on The Today Show and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, so certainly he's been on some big stages and arenas around the country. Jared is authentic and he's genuine (so there are going to be a lot of f-bombs in today's conversation; if you have kids, this is your warning: maybe this isn't the episode for them to listen to). Whatever you are as you listen to today's conversation, I think you're going to love Jared's approach, I think his mindset is really interesting when he talks about how he sets his mind for preparation and for performance, so hopefully there is something to learn for all of us. Jared had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “I spent most of my days [back then] writing funny emails to friends” (10:30). “I made my own performing arts school” (13:25). “Really, what matters is the work” (14:40). “Becoming a stand-up comedian, which is what I want, which is what really makes everything I do funnier than most, takes a lot of footwork” (15:25). “My goal was to be funny for money” (17:35). “You can literally do any show you want with podcasting” (18:25). “Success [in stand-up comedy] is always did you kill or not kill?” (23:50). “I like that I like what I'm talking about [in my set]” (27:05). “You have to make fun of yourself… you have to be present” (36:45). “I've had shows for 50 people that are the best of my life” (40:25). “A comedy club is like a small boat that's easier to steer, a big theater is like a cruise ship” (41:20). “If I did a new minute a week, and 22 of the 52 are really good… I would've never gotten to 22 if I didn't try for 52” (42:50). “In comedy, you [now] have to do these extreme things to get people to pay attention to you” (56:15). “My power is in how normal and relatable I am” (56:35). “I need to be better at being more discerning on what I'm doing” (1:01:10). “It's easier for me to look at sports from a macro level living in Manhattan” (1:08:15). “Stand-up is the most athletic art form” (1:15:05). “[Stand-up comedy] is tennis. It's you vs. the audience” (1:15:25). “It's hard to be able to move forward without credibility” (1:19:10). Additionally, you can check out Jared's website, where you can find all his tour dates, and podcast. You can also find all of Jared's information on his Instagram, as well as following him on Twitter. Thank you so much to Jared for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Kyle Stark spent several seasons in Major League Baseball. He started his career with the Cleveland Indians (now the Cleveland Guardians). Then he went to the Pittsburgh Pirates for an amazing run, and he's going to talk about that run and that experience working with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He started in 2007 and ended his run with the Pirates in 2019. And what's pretty cool about Kyle is he's vulnerable, open, honest, real, and genuine in today's conversation about being fired. If you work in sports, you know that most teams, organizations, and people have a shelf life regarding the amount of time they work at an organization. So, we talk about that in today's conversation. But he had an amazing run with the Pirates. In his 12 years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he became the Assistant General Manager, worked as the Vice President, and started off in player development as a director. Today's conversation is really about both player development and organizational development. I think Kyle is uniquely positioned and has had a front-row seat to what a baseball team does to try to create an environment that can help its people thrive, and he was integral in trying to help the Pittsburgh Pirates find ways to thrive, while also thinking about the individual. And so, this is a conversation about mindset, it's about leadership, and I think mostly it's about culture and how we can create an intentional culture to help our people be the very best that they can be. Kyle had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “[One] key to being a great communicator is recognizing that communication is as much about heart as opposed to your head” (5:50). “It's ultimately not about the message that I'm trying to deliver; it's about the message that's received” (6:10). “Unless your God, it isn't truth; it's your perspective” (7:55). “Know yourself, like yourself, be yourself, and grow yourself” (10:50). “As a leader, it doesn't matter what I do; it matters what my people do. The people who are performing and producing is how you're measured” (11:00). “At the end of the day… people want the truth” (11:25). “The best leaders think beyond the task” (19:25). “Vision leads to systems; process leads to systems” (20:05). “I think [baseball] replicates life better than any sport” (21:40). “At the end of the day, I'm someone who's obsessed with excellence” (22:35). “That's why sports exist: for teams to accomplish something together” (28:50). “I identify more as a change agent than a sustainer or a maintainer” (38:15). “The principles of being a great leader can show up in any situation if I understand those principles and stay true to those principles” (41:55). “Sometimes I think our expertise can actually be a trap for us as a leader” (42:35). “I believe every problem is a leadership problem” (44:10). “When I talk about culture, I see it as who you are and how you do things” (44:40). “Everybody has a culture, it's just a matter of how intentional you are with it and whether it works for you to bring the best out in people or not” (44:50). “We have to build alignment” (52:10). “We've got to continue to refine” (55:10). “Success is a matter of consistency” (56:00). “The interplay between selection and development is absolutely critical” (1:02:45). Additionally, you can connect with Kyle on LinkedIn. Thank you so much to Kyle for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Doug Lemov is the author of the International Bestseller Teach Like a Champion. That title really does speak to Doug and his background in the education system, but also that idea of a champion. “Play like a champion” is a line that Notre Dame Football uses in their locker room (and perhaps you know of the sign they hit before they enter the field), so “teach like a champion” is a nice play on that concept. Doug really does live at the intersection of sport and education, teaching and coaching, and that book, Teach Like a Champion, is now in its 3rd version and has had wild success, especially in the world of education and teaching and coaching. He also has written The Coach's Guide to Teaching and is the co-author of many books. He's a writer, he's someone who likes to be with his computer and create theories, ideas, competencies, and concepts that can serve other people. In addition to his work studying teachers, he also is somebody who is obsessed with coaching in the sports world. He writes his books by studying what high performing teachers do, which then can help us better understand how we learn and how we educate in and outside of the classroom. So, he definitely has his roots in education, but has expanded his range to include the sports world. This is a conversation about sport, about education, and more importantly, about learning (and Doug is an elite thinker when it comes to learning and teaching). Doug had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “My goal was to find high performing schools in underprivileged communities. And it turns out they're there” (6:50). “Coaching is a form of teaching” (8:05). “I think schools are the most important institutions in society. And when they don't work, it's morally untenable” (9:40). “You can really only think of one thing at a time. If you try to think about too many things at a time, things leave you're working memory; you can't remember them” (13:45). “When you plan a session, don't just plan what you want to have happen. Write out notes on what A+ execution looks like… and what are the mistakes that students are likely to make so that I'm more likely to see them” (16:10). “They don't care what you say until they know that you care” (17:00). “Really the way to show people that you value them and care, especially in an endeavor where people want to get better, is to make them better and to be an effective teacher” (17:35). “Teaching well is one of the primary ways that teachers show that they care” (17:45). “One of the most overlooked moments in coaching is a player gets it right and doesn't know they got it right because no one's watching carefully and no one says that's exactly it, do it again” (20:50). “The most motivating thing is your own success” (21:50). “I'm not saying I don't believe in transformational leadership, but I think it starts with the transaction in most cases” (22:35). “There's a danger in skipping the transaction and going right for the transformation” (22:45). “There's a risk of wanting to be loved as a teacher” (23:10). “One of the biggest challenges of the teaching profession is it's an incredibly lonely, isolating job” (29:45). “If everybody's looking for everything, then nobody is looking for anything” (31:05). “Watching is so underrated as a teaching and coaching skill” (32:05). “Experts and novices learn differently” (33:40). “I think the world of schools has to be a lot more serious about understanding what the cognitive science tells us (and doesn't) and how it shapes learning” (37:25). “It's so easy to underestimate the amount of discipline it takes [to change a habit]” (44:30). “One of the reasons that people don't build off of other people's ideas in meetings is because they don't remember who said what” (53:35). “The purpose of discussion is to change your ideas based on what people in the room said” (54:25). “Social science researchers find that gratitude is one of the most beneficial emotions that you can feel” (59:50). “For me, equity is about helping every young person, or every learner, have the option, have the ability, to be the person that they aspire to be” (1:04:50). “The way to honor people is to invest in them and to teach them well and to hold them to high expectations and to say, ‘That's not your best work'” (1:05:40). “I think people mistake authority for authoritarianism” (1:06:55). “Your job [as parents] is not to make [your kids] happy in every interaction” (1:11:20). Additionally, you can follow Doug on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also find the Teach Like a Champion website here, where you can check out Doug's blog along with much more. Thank you so much to Doug for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Morag Barrett is a sought-out executive coach and leadership expert who helps leaders achieve outstanding results through the power of their professional relationships. At last count Morag and her company SkyeTeam have supported the development of more than 10,000 leaders from 20 countries and on 6 continents. She's the award-winning author of three books: Cultivate: The Power of Winning Relationships; The Future-Proof Workplace; and her latest book You, Me, We: Why we all need a friend at work (and how to show up as one!) which has received NINE book awards! She's recognized by Thinkers360 and PeopleHum as an HR Thought Leader to Watch and a member of the Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches organization.   Morag had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “When it comes to SkyeTeam, our values and why we do it is to have fun, to do great work, to have fun, to work with great clients, and to have fun” (8:00). “The game of work is a team sport” (9:15). “Our ability to be better together, that's our mantra at SkyeTeam, comes through the courage and vulnerability to do this with others” (9:40). “It's all about the relationships that we have at work and in life that determine our health, happiness, and success” (10:25). “The world of work is the biggest team sport you can participate in” (13:10). “Nobody gets to the pinnacle of fame and success on their own” (15:05). “The work we do is all about how do we help others make their life and work lighter and easier” (17:15). “Life is short, and if it's like a millstone we're doing it wrong” (19:20). “Everything that people remember is heart-led, the way they made me feel” (29:55). “I am a master at asking questions and turning the focus from me to you” (36:40). “What did I learn from that moment of burnout? That I can only run so fast for so long and I need to be prioritizing myself and self-care so that I can be stronger and better positioned to help others” (39:40). “Can I be a friend and ally for you even if I don't like you?” (57:00). “How do we work respectfully together in spite of our differences to enable us to be better together because of our differences?” (57:15). “What I am learning at the moment is how to better articulate my boundaries” (1:00:35). “10 years from now I want to be inspiring others… firing up the individual and collective mindset in a way that just leaves a legacy and ripple effects across the world” (1:03:15).   Additionally, you can find the SkyeTeam website here and connect with Morag on LinkedIn. You can all purchase all of Morag's books wherever books are sold. Thank you so much to Morag for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Jack Green is a Double Olympian, a formal global wellbeing lead, and a performance coach. He has this unique perspective on what it takes to achieve high performance, and he also knows about the dark side of sport, elite sport, and high performance. He knows how some of the mindsets that he cultivated for himself professionally to get to some of the highest levels in his sport were also some of the mindsets that really led to him living an unhealthy life and getting into some mental health challenges that really did derail not only his career, but his life in general. His philosophy has become simple: if you are thriving personally, you will no doubt thrive professionally. He's on a mission to help as many people as possible to be the best version of themselves. He retired from elite sport at the age of 28 after winning World and European medals. We talk about medals in today's conversation, and also why finishing 4th were some of the proudest races and competitions that Jack had. He has a passion for high performance and he has continued to step into that world as a coach, as a speaker, as a mentor, and he really does believe in the power of the mind to drive performance and to drive wellness. You're going to love my conversation with Jack; he's thoughtful with his words, he's wise beyond his years, and it's a conversation that we all need to hear. Jack had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “Luck doesn't have any ownership over it, and so I don't think it's repeatable” (6:35). “I'm very big on let's get repeatable success” (6:40). “I could outwork anyone” (8:05). “Athletics became my kind of escape and the thing that was going to give me opportunities in life” (8:20). “I was fueled by insecurity. I was fueled by a fear of failure” (9:10). “No one ever took the time to find out who I was” (10:45). “Let me learn about you as a human being” (11:25). “I believe I'm a very good coach” (17:30). “I really enjoy doing it. It doesn't feel like a chore coaching. Sometimes running did” (17:40). “I like seeing people develop and grow” (18:10). “I'm really passionate about trying to win the right way” (19:10). “Sport is not healthy. Let's stop trying to make it healthy; let's try to make it healthier” (24:00). “Anyone can get to high performance, but elite performance is different” (24:30). “Be aware, don't compare” (27:00). “When I retired, the only thing I dropped was running” (33:00). “I'm going to expect that bad things might happen, but I'm going to help you in getting through that” (40:35). “If an athlete leaves me and isn't a better person, what am I doing with my time?” (41:20). “To understand what it takes to keep winning is absolutely incredible” (42:40). “I retired at 28 because I wasn't willing to pay what was required” (46:20). “We like shiny, we like new, we like easier” (55:35). “Be efficient” (56:05). “Wellbeing is very basic and not very exciting” (59:15). “I'm trying to give something practical, I'm trying to help people” (1:02:40). “I think people should share because they want to help other people” (1:02:50). Additionally, you can connect with Jack on LinkedIn. Thank you so much to Jack for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Pablo Torre is thoughtful. He's smart, he's intelligent, and he's funny. Today's conversation we get into all of that; we get into his personality, how he approaches media, how he approaches storytelling. At his core, he is someone who deeply wants to tell stories that range in emotions, that make you laugh, that may make you cry, that may make you cringe, but mostly will make you think a little bit differently than you thought before digesting the story that Pablo is sharing. His background involves deep journalism at Sports Illustrated as a staff writer and a fact checker. His work there won awards. He then went on to work at ESPN as a senior writer for both its website and its magazine. He will say in today's conversation that he got his start really in the magazine space and that shapes a lot of how he thinks about storytelling. But you will probably recognize Pablo if you're interested in sports because he has appeared on air quite a bit, whether it's on the show Around the Horn as a regular contributor, or The Sports Reporters (which is what I grew up watching), or Pardon the Interruption with Tony Kornheiser, or even Outside the Lines or The Dan LeBatard Show. So, he's made his bones on air in a lot of ways, and in audio. He's going to talk about his current podcast and how they use video and audio to storytell with Meadowlark Media. It is a company that was founded by his former colleague Dan LeBatard, where they try to blend humor with wisdom and thoughtfulness, try to go deep but also live on the surface, and really at their core they're trying to entertain you but also make you smarter when you listen to them and when you digest their information and their content. Pablo is great, I really loved this conversation because it's about polarity, it's about range, it's about things that I really care a lot about, and Pablo embodies all of that and more.   Pablo had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “If I find something authentically interesting, maybe you do too” (7:15). “Sports Illustrated taught me that the world of magazines is, in retrospect, at its best, an un-algorithmic world” (8:40). “Sports is the biggest tent in American life” (9:20). “You can do smart and funny. Those two things are key” (12:50). “I'm going to melt some cheese on your broccoli. You'll learn something, you'll get nourishment, but you'll enjoy it” (13:15). “I want to make sure the stories I do have some element of humor” (15:20). “I believe fundamentally that we all contain multitudes” (19:15). “I love complicated things” (19:55). “I want someone who doesn't find this topic interesting to keep listening to the end” (20:55). “If I find the right angle on a story, that can be a skeleton key into something that no one presumed they wanted to get into” (22:40). “I value my curiosity even more than my conviction” (28:45). “The product that I'm making is many different products in one” (39:35). “I'm here to tell you a story” (43:35). “We have forgotten how good it feels to be around people who make you better in person” (53:45). “So much of my show is about human nature” (56:20). “So often, nostalgia is a lie” (1:10:25). “The NFL is selling you gladiators” (1:14:30).   Additionally, you can check out Pablo's podcast, Pablo Torre Finds Out, on any podcast platform. You can also subscribe to Pablo's newsletter here. Thank you so much to Pablo for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Steve Shenbaum is the Founder and President of Game On Nation. For over 27 years, we've been helping sports teams, high performance organizations, government, and military personnel improve overall communication and relationship building by combining game-based exercises with practical techniques. Our end goal is to simplify the process and put words into action - moving from good to know to good to do - to enhance workplace behaviors, develop authentic connection, and improve overall team success. Steve had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “Are we practicing what we're sharing out into the world?” (9:25). “We always say know your audience, but we rarely put our most important audience first: [our family]” (14:20). “Tone is key” (16:50). “Laugh with, not at” (17:10). “Tone is the most important thing that I'm aware of when I'm talking with my children” (17:55). “I know my children's learning styles” (19:30). “Everyone is a presenter” (23:40). “All speeds are very valuable, it's just a matter of knowing and having discernment as to which speed you want to bring into the situation” (25:30). “Change speeds” (26:40). “We have to make sure we don't go to extremes” (28:00). “Every interaction we have is an opportunity to naturally develop these muscles” (28:30). “We try our best to always have a sense of common sense, critical thinking, and emotional control… when you're teaching improv” (33:00). “No one in their right mind is like ‘I cannot wait to get negative feedback.” We're not wired that way” (40:10). “You cannot take someone's feedback as a personal attack” (40:25). “Say what you saw and say it with grace” (42:25). “We have to make sure we don't chase what I call the statistical anomaly” (44:25). “We always go to the negative” (45:00). “Surround yourself with a good advisory team” (48:40). “The most important feedback is from the people that have earned the right, that know you well, that actually speak true life into you” (49:15). “We have to be aware that when you're on stage there is that high, and there's nothing wrong with that, but we have to protect ourselves and make sure there's a nice combination of empathy and authority on stage” (54:05). “You're presenting with the audience” (56:35). “We need to humble ourselves as presenters and make sure we're not just going in and high-kicking” (58:45). “When we present, what's one positive word that we're trying to make the audience feel?” (1:02:55). “If we only stay in the feelings, we're going to be in a really difficult place” (1:11:35). “We very rarely argue good behaviors” (1:14:05). “Relationships are key. You have to build that trust. And there's no quick fix” (1:16:50). “Do not rush relationships” (1:17:15). Additionally, you can find the Game On Nation website here, as well as their program guide here. You can also follow Game On Nation on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook @gameonnation, and you can follow Steve directly on those same platforms (plus Twitter) @steveshenbaum. Thank you so much to Steve for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Founder & CEO of Triple P Consulting LLC also a member of the Strong Skills team! Jon Tuteur is an Executive Coach, Facilitator, Speaker, Author, and Management Consultant with over 20 years of experience working across numerous industries including the U.S. Federal Government, State & Local Government, Nonprofit, Higher Education, Financial Services, Hospitality, Retail, Healthcare, Real Estate, High Tech, and Consulting. Jon had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “We're not connecting in the ways that we used to” (9:40). “It's so important for me in the work that I do to create that safe space for people to open up about whatever it is that's going on” (11:55). “A lot of what drives disconnection is assumptions” (12:55). “When we're just judging people based on behavior, there's a lot of assumptions that go along with that” (13:20). “There's a way to go deep and be vulnerable at work that isn't inappropriate” (16:50). “Vulnerability is power. There is strength in vulnerability. It is not a weakness at all” (21:00). “It's been an incredible journey, but writing a book is not for the faint of heart” (26:00). “For me, so much of [decision making] centers around emotion” (31:30). “What is my heart saying? What is my head saying? What is my gut saying?” (32:00). “Our body tells us so much that we aren't even aware of” (32:20). “Having gone through this has given me a new sense of being able to put myself in other people's shoes that are struggling” (39:20). “Having 3 brain surgeries was the hard option, it was the hard road, and it was starting over” (44:20). “My focus this year is leaning into the spotlight because I've spent so much of my life shying away from it, trying to let other people take that spotlight. But no one wins who's afraid of losing” (45:20). “I don't allow myself to go down rabbit holes very often” (50:15). “One of the reasons I'm drawn to emotional intelligence is it comes naturally to me” (50:25). “Adversity is much more comfortable than it was when I was 29” (52:35). “[My book, Starting Over: From Seizures to Seizing Life] is a firsthand vulnerable account of how a completely unexpected life change impacts someone” (1:00:25) Additionally, I'd encourage you to check out the website for Triple P Consulting here, a replay of Jon's ABC 7 Good Morning Washington interview here, and to pre-order Jon's upcoming book, Starting Over: From Seizures to Seizing Life, here. You can also follow Jon on Facebook and LinkedIn. Lastly, you can find the website for the Federal Executive Institute here, where Jon teaches a class about EQ. Thank you so much to Jon for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Amy Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, which is a Chair established to support the study of human interactions that lead to the creation of successful enterprises that contribute to the betterment of society. And in today's conversation we certainly talk about Harvard, what it's like to work on a college campus, and what it's like to be specifically at that college campus during this time in 2023 as we record today's conversation. Amy has been recognized by the Biannual Thinkers50 Global Ranking of Management Thinkers since 2011, and recently was ranked #1 in 2021. She's received that organization's Breakthrough Idea Award in 2019 and Talent Award in 2017. She studies teaming, psychological safety (which is going to be a core concept and competency that you've probably heard about at some point if you study environments and teams and groups), and we're going to talk about the famous Aristotle study that Google did that found that psychological safety was the #1 factor in determining team success, so this is definitely a deep dive into that concept and something that hopefully you can take with your teams and organizations. She also studies organizational learning and her articles have been published in numerous academic and management outlets, including Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Harvard Business Review, and California Management Review. She's written many books, so we're going to talk about The Fearless Organization, which she wrote in 2019, we're going to talk about her latest book, The Right Kind of Wrong, so a lot of this conversation is about mistakes and failures, and I highly recommend you check out that book. She's also written books around this concept of teaming, including Teaming to Innovate and Extreme Teaming. At her core, you're going to find Amy to be humble but brilliant, you're going to find her to be nuanced and thoughtful when it comes to psychology and the science of humans, and she is someone that I feel as though, even though she's got all these accolades, I feel like I could've talked to forever.  Amy had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “A mindset is something that happens inside your head. It's an approach. It's an orientation” (6:35). “A psychologically safe environment in the classroom is mission-critical for learning and learners” (9:30). “Safe spaces and psychological safety are almost at odds, almost two opposing ideas rather than compatible ideas [in an educational space]” (12:20). “Classrooms can be environments where people can take risks and occasionally failures will happen… and through those we will learn and grow and get to be better versions of ourselves” (14:40). “Psychological safety for me has always been about helping people take their foot off the brakes” (15:05). “The day you decide you don't need to learn anymore, and your mind is made up and your opinions about various people and groups is made up, is the day you cease to grow (16:35). “It starts with a recognition that other human beings are just as important as you are” (21:10). “We all want to feel that we matter” (23:15). “The meaningful memories [on our death beds] have to do with other humans” (29:10). “There's an asymmetry [to psychological safety]” (30:35). “Vulnerability is a fact” (33:00). “If I'm unwilling to confront my vulnerability, then I'm at risk for unhappy surprises” (33:30). “Neuroscience research suggests that some of the same neurons are firing when we get a psychological assault or harm, like being rejected by a group of friends…, as for a physical harm” (36:20). “Emotions are incredibly important, incredibly powerful in shaping our human experiences (45:20). “Probably the most important capacity people can learn, in sports and in life, is how to tame their emotions” (45:55). “Your emotions can simply be data” (46:40). “The more expert we get in any given field or domain, the more we can effortlessly process context and take it into consideration” (56:25). “The best students, the unusually good students, are curious” (59:40). “To cultivate curiosity and collaboration, you have to truly believe that it's in your interest to do so” (1:00:35). “A mistake is an unintended deviation from a known process… A failure is an undesired outcome” (1:03:15). “There's no such thing as a mistake in new territory” (1:03:55). “It's about creating the safe conditions in which [your kids] can fail” (1:14:30). Additionally, you can find all of Amy's information on her website, and also follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.  Thank you so much to Amy for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.  

Today's episode is going to be a little bit different than our past episodes: I'm actually going to interview two friends of mine, two colleagues, that are going to share their perspective on collaboration. Miranda Holder is an Executive Coach (and my own personal coach) that has a background in sport. She was a three-sport athlete in High School and then she found Rowing in College where she competed at an elite, high level. She then became a Rowing Coach and ended up becoming the Head Rowing Coach at Georgetown University. That journey of becoming a Rowing Coach ended up leading her to become an Executive Coach. Today, she spends a lot of time working with people in all walks of life in the corporate space, and she considers herself to be an insight wizard. She helps people see themselves in their situation more clearly, and for the people brave enough to do the work, there's an incredible leader, person, and idea ready to surface. She loves to work with people on being the best leader or CEO that they can be while also taking risk to start a company or refusing to settle into a career path that doesn't elicit joy and excitement. She loves helping people unlock their potential and at her core, she loves coaching. Grace Aduroja Kolker is a friend of mine, someone I look up to, and someone who I consider to be a mentor. Grace is a coach and someone who is extremely wise when it comes to things like communication, emotional intelligence, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and decision making. She is someone who I personally have sent many friends to to get coached. She is someone who facilitates dialogue with me on a regular basis and helps me be the best version of myself. Grace is a lawyer by trade, but she also has a journalism background. She is somebody who has had to ask questions for legal purposes, had to ask questions as a journalist, and as somebody who is just ridiculously curious. Grace is amazingly inquisitive and is a leadership coach. She is someone who holds space for people, develops people, and also facilitates conversations in group experiences. Grace is someone who I look up to, someone who makes me wiser and better at my job, and we often co-facilitate together. Additionally, she has a high-potential accelerator where she will work with individuals one-on-one.   Here's a quick summary and some key takeaways from this conversation: In today's episode, Brian, Grace, and Miranda discussed the paradox of autonomy and collaboration, the importance of collaboration, and its challenges and benefits. Additionally, they emphasized the importance of vulnerability, fulfillment, and clear communication in collaboration. Brian acknowledged his struggle with receiving help and understanding others' strengths. The group also discussed the need to work on aspects of collaboration to enhance teamwork and productivity. More specifically, Grace and Miranda had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together” (12:00) – Grace “The question of ‘Why?' is less important to me than ‘Where do we go from here?'” (17:20) – Miranda “I work on my own because I don't like working for other people” (18:10) – Miranda “Being in that energy of receiving can be really difficult” (22:45) – Miranda “One of my weaknesses is I don't allow people to contribute to me” (25:15) – Grace “There is a vulnerability [to collaboration]” (26:40) – Grace “I love being accountable and there's a lot I'm accountable for. But I don't want to be responsible for it all” (29:10) – Grace “People who deliver excellence deliver excellence across the board” (32:50) – Grace “The body [has] the ability to sense and be with the complexity of multiple experiences and multiple feelings and sensations” (48:215) – Miranda “I want to be tested and see if I'm good enough more than I want to avoid the discomfort of the challenge” (49:40) – Miranda “As you mature, you start from a place of dependence” (1:02:55) – Grace “That ability to sink into interdependence is so powerful” (1:05:35) – Miranda “The relationship matters to me more than anything else” (1:17:40) – Grace “You've got to do you own work first” (1:18:10) – Grace Thank you so much to Grace and Miranda for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Coach Anson Dorrance is the Head Coach of the University of North Carolina's Women's Soccer Team. He's the only Head Coach in program history, having coached 45 seasons as the Women's Head Coach. He graduated from North Carolina, he spent his time there, he actually coached the Men's team and the Women's team when he first got there. He's won over 1000 games and he's won 22 National Championships. He has coached some of the best soccer players of all time and won a World Cup with the Women's Soccer Team. So, in women's soccer coaching history from a legacy standpoint, Coach Dorrance is the cream of the crop. He's on the Mount Rushmore of coaching in general, but especially in women's soccer. He's in the Soccer Hall of Fame, he's been named Coach of the Year seven times, the resume just goes on and on and on. He is someone who obviously knows a lot about what it takes to build a team, to build a roster, to develop character, and to develop a competitive spirit. We're going to talk a lot about collaboration and competitive spirit in this conversation, we're going to discuss leadership ad nauseam and at length, and you're going to find really quickly that Coach Dorrance has intentional values that he uses and leverages with his team that are constantly evolving. So, this is someone who has built a program and he will continue to lead that program for the next 5 years, as we get into in today's conversation. At the end of the day, this is someone who loves to develop humans and he cares deeply about developing humans and he thinks about developing humans all the time. He is truly a lifelong learner. It was a pleasure, it was an honor to learn from him; I hope you pull out a pad of paper and a pen and start taking notes because there are just a ton of gems throughout today's conversation.   Coach Dorrance had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “It's not really a sports season unless there's some sort of crisis you're dealing with” (7:20). “I just like to play sports and read books” (16:50). “The truly extraordinary business leaders construct a business that can basically last forever” (18:40). “My main job is human development” (23:10). “The key is to be falling forward” (34:40). “What's critical is the way you construct your own narrative” (35:25). “We still want to be responsible for our failures” (35:50). “There's nothing wrong with failing” (36:25). “What's critical for the leaders is to embrace their role” (37:10). “The ideal form of leadership is someone who will lead verbally” (39:25). “[The most critical element for success in all of the team's I've had] is good leadership” (40:15). “If you don't have the capacity to lead yourself, you're not going to be in position to lead anyone else” (40:40). “I treasure the leaders I'm given, but I don't take any credit for them” (46:15). “We all live on a leadership continuum” (50:15). “The kids I'm recruiting know where they're coming” (57:20). “The truly elite players want to know where they stand” (57:45). “I love the accountability of data for your performance” (1:05:05). “The truly great competitors have to understand that if you truly want to win it's not about you winning in a team sport, it's about the team winning” (1:06:25). “Self-belief is something I'm not going to touch” (1:20:50). “Energizing is a form of collaboration” (1:21:20). “I believe in leading a principle-centered life” (1:25:05). “I believe in governing without rules” (1:27:25). “I believe in trying to get everyone's personal narrative to the truth as fast as possible. And how do we do that? With data” (1:27:30).   Additionally, you can purchase Coach Dorrance's books, Training Soccer Champions and The Vision of a Champion, anywhere books are sold. You can also find Coach Dorrance's website here. Thank you so much to Coach Dorrance for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Jack Easterby is a respected figure in sports management and leadership. Currently, he is a consultant based out of Charlotte, NC.  Throughout his career, Easterby has contributed to various organizations, including the National Football League, the Kansas City Chiefs, the New England Patriots, the Houston Texans, the Southeastern Conference, the University of South Carolina, Clemson University, and the United States Olympic Teams. He has also been involved in head coaching searches for different sports at universities. Most recently he held the title of Executive Vice President of Football Operations for the Texans.  Easterby is known as a trusted advisor to players and coaches and has experience as a speaker at universities, graduations, and charity events. Apart from his professional life, Jack Easterby is a family man, married to Holly, and has two daughters, Houston and Harriet. He is also passionate about his community and has established The Greatest Champion Foundation, focusing on curriculums, team-building strategies, and sports ministries nationwide. His approach to leadership emphasizes "Kingdom Ethics," incorporating faith into different aspects of life, leaving an impact on sports and leadership ethics.   Jack had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “Sports franchises have evolutions” (8:10). “Every franchise is not going to evolve at the same rate” (8:35). “No organization is one thing away” (9:10). “We've got to be able to create a culture where everything is examined; everything matters” (9:30). “Any good system, any good program, has evaluated all of the downsides. Evaluate the risk” (12:45). “There's a lot of fake deadlines out there now where people feel the need to answer things or do things in an expedient fashion where maybe they could delay a little bit and make time for themselves to get all of the facts on the table” (15:40). “People feel a need for speed, and that's not always a good thing” (16:50). “If you want the empathy of those around you, if you want the empathy to be pervading emotion if you will, I think you need to be able to admit you mess up” (19:45). “Sometimes a leader has to fall on a sword even though it may not be directly their fault” (21:50). “One of the things that is absolutely cornerstone to good leadership is creating emotional stability in your group” (24:55). “I have always looked at organizations as a team of teams” (31:45). “It all matters” (32:50). “Anyone in leadership can fall prey to mantras and phrases that have emptiness in them” (36:35). “When I've looked back on the really good decisions I've made, they've been the ones I've vetted on every level” (39:10). “The best decisions are made with multi-factorial inputs” (44:55). “Sometimes a step forward is a step back” (49:00). “Most organizations right now are realizing the need for a comprehensive database” (57:15). “There is no greater action in the current climate, with sports or with business, than creating a unified database” (58:05). “Our country in general is in the greatest need in the history of our country of high character people to be in leadership” (1:02:55). “The most sustainable, long-term attribute of great leaders is they have consistent character” (1:04:05). “We have to think about what we think about” (1:15:30).   Additionally, you can follow Jack on Twitter and find The Greatest Champion Website here. Thank you so much to Jack for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Dusty May is the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Florida Atlantic University. You may have heard of Dusty and his program based on last season's success in college basketball. They won 35 games and they became a darling during the NCAA tournament when they made it to the Final Four in an incredible run. What's interesting about that run is Dusty took over the program 5 years ago, and since taking over they have not had a losing season. But Florida Atlantic has had plenty of losing in their past; they actually have only been around since the 90's as a program. So, Dusty is really in the process of building something and there are high expectations for this upcoming season as well. So, we'll talk about expectations in this conversation. We'll also talk about why he decided to stay at Florida Atlantic. He obviously had other opportunities to go elsewhere, to go to bigger programs with bigger budgets and more opportunities to recruit, and Dusty decided to stay at Florida Atlantic, he loves it there and he really is in the process of trying to build something special at that campus, and I wouldn't put it past him to be able to do so. In this conversation, we talk about the culture that he builds, the staff that he wants to surround his players with, we talk about things like loyalty and teamwork, and what it takes to build a consistent winner. Dusty is an enthusiastic guy. He's going to talk about likability in this conversation, and he's one of the most likable people I've had the good fortune of having on this podcast.    Dusty had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “At different times of our life and stages of our career, we all want something different” (7:50). “Growing up in this business, loyalty becomes something that's almost ingrained in you” (10:50). “We didn't expect our guys to come back out of loyalty, we expected them to make the best decisions for them, their families, and their futures” (11:10). “Imposter syndrome is much more common than people realize” (13:25). “I'm very comfortable in my own skin” (15:30). “Sometimes doing too much can actually backfire and take you in reverse” (17:40). “I love being a coach, it's a big part of my identity because I have so much respect not only for the profession, but for the impact my coaches had on me” (18:50). “Any time you see your parents do something that they absolutely love to do, you're probably inclined to at least give it a shot” (22:45). “As long as we're surrounded with a great staff who's committed to helping our players, and as long as our players are committed to being the best they can be… then it'd be very difficult for me to be unhappy” (25:45). “We spend a lot of time trying to read the room and tailoring our messaging to what the team needs” (34:45). “I got most of my satisfaction, personally, during the [Final Four] run from seeing our players and their families and the joy it brought so many people together” (36:10). “I'm process-oriented; the outcome is not what drives me” (36:15). “I would be very disappointed if our players didn't think practice was enjoyable most of the time” (41:30). “There is joy in the work” (41:50). “I know how difficult it is to be the coach's son” (48:50). “What I love to do doesn't have to be what [my kids] love to do” (50:20). “It's not basketball. You're coaching life; you're coaching people” (52:20). “A big part of my job is teaching” (59:50). “It's the joy of competing, it's the joy of the work, it's the joy of doing it together; those are the things I love much more than being the only one standing at the end of the season” (1:02:55).   Additionally, you can follow Dusty on Twitter. Thank you so much to Dusty for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Matthew Dicks is a bestselling author of fiction and non-fiction books. His fiction books are Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend; Something Missing; Unexpectedly Milo; The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs; 21 Truths About Love; and The Other Mother. And he also has non-fiction books which is how I came to really find out about him through his work around storytelling. His book Storyworthy, which is about engaging, teaching, and persuading to change your life through the power of storytelling, and Someday is Today: 22 Simple, Actionable Ways to Propel your Creative Life. So, at his core, Matthew is a storyteller and he's going to tell great stories in today's conversation. He uses storytelling to really create and leverage philosophical beliefs and wisdom and ideas to help us live a better life. He's also a teacher. He's won awards as a teacher, he has won awards as a storyteller, he is the author of a rock opera called The Clowns and the musicals Caught in the Middle, Sticks and Stones, and Summertime. He's also a wedding DJ. His content has been featured and published in Reader's Digest, The Huffington Post, Parent's Magazine, and more places. He is someone who is multi-faceted, as you're going to find out in today's conversation. But once again, he is a storyteller and a storytelling champion. He's won a record 56 times from The Moth Story Slam Championship. We're going to talk about competing in this conversation, we'll talk about parenting and teaching. He teaches fifth grade and it's interesting to get his perspective on his mindset when he's teaching, when he's doing TED Talks, when he's writing, as he's podcasting in today's conversation. You can tell that Matthew, I think, shows up very similarly in all of those spaces because he believes in storytelling as a thing and a tool and a skill that we can use in our daily lives. He's also the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Speak Up, which is a Hartford-based storytelling organization that produces shows throughout New England. Matthew's also a Yankee fan, so we'll talk about sports in today's conversation. And, once again, I think you're just going to love Matthew's approach to life, his desire to continue to make conversations and interactions more intentional, more thoughtful, and with storytelling in mind.   Matthew had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “I want to have the story” (6:25). “Storytelling, for me, is a way of making sense of my life” (6:50). “The most important audience for any story you tell in your entire life is yourself” (6:55). “When I tell stories about my life, my life gets better both in the moment and in reflection” (7:10). “I'm so deeply curious about why I am who I am” (8:00). “Everything that's happened in the past is essentially who we are now” (10:05). “I try to bring in every possible element of life to my classroom that I can” (10:55). “What you have now does not define your future” (11:45). “When I'm writing fiction, it's a little scarier because I don't know what the end is, and I don't know if there is an end” (16:20). “One of the things I love to do is talk to kids about unsung heroes” (19:50). “I seek to ensure that kids know how much I care about them as quickly as possible” (22:35). “As a teacher, I give positive feedback relentlessly” (28:35). “Everyone wants some validation, everyone wants some appreciation, everyone wants to know that some of the stuff I did was good” (29:35). “Every time you're going to say something critical to someone, there should be 6 positive things that are accompanying it” (29:50). “Statistics collapse when fear arrives” (39:25). “Every single day, the third slide I show my kids is a message that says, ‘mistakes are valuable.' We celebrate mistakes” (42:00). “I want to see [my students'] mistakes. I love their mistakes. We'll learn from them” (43:00). “Schools should be fun. The number one thing should be that schools are fun” (45:25). “Choice is a way to entertain kids” (46:15). “Every single day, every lesson I teach, there has to be a reason why kids are excited to do it. And that is the only reason I have been successful as a teacher” (46:30). “I make kids love coming to school and it solves all my problems” (46:50). “In my mind, there is always a competition” (52:00). “My competition in the classroom, and there is a lot of it, is almost always centered around effort and kindness” (53:55). “Constantly look to expand rather than contract” (58:10). “Whenever someone invites me to do something new, I always say yes even if it sounds terrible because it's an opportunity to expand my life, and if I don't like it, I'll just close that door and move on to something else” (58:15). “I'm shameless” (1:02:55).   Additionally, you can find all of Matthew's info, including links to purchase all of his books, on his website. You can also go to storyworthymd.com to find courses and other free materials to learn how to become a better storyteller. Thank you so much to Matthew for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.