Mental Toughness for Mavericks

Today’s guest is Sean Iddings, a micro-cap investor, co-founder of the Intelligent Fanatics brand and a fellow musician. Sean is fascinated by the world’s great business builders — entrepreneurs who may not be household names like Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos but who have built sustainable, long lasting organizations while treating their employees well. They did it through a focus on “win win” and attention to detail and, if we’re aiming for mastery, we need to become “fanatics” too.

Rich Diviney is a former Navy SEAL commanding officer with more than 20 years of experience, including 11 deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He shared with me what he loved most about being a SEAL, and this led into a discussion about how the SEAL teams create such incredible trust and lifelong bonds, how he uses micro-recovery to stay resilient and his take on why leaders have to show vulnerability.

Today’s guest is Greg Kuhn, a professional educator and futurist who has a knack for translating the laws of quantum physics into simple and practical techniques that are easy to apply in everyday life. He's written seven books in his "Why Quantum Physi

Jiro Taylor is a fellow flow junkie and founder of the Flowstate Collective. Jiro splits his time between Bali and Australia, truly living a life in pursuit of flow, whether it’s surfing, snowboarding, practicing Qi Gong or leading adventure retreats. We talked about the different phases of flow and what keeps us from accessing it, how to use nature to get out of survival mode, and a cool breathing technique to access flow when there’s a crisis at the office.

As an international brand strategist Andrea Shillington built brands for Fortune 500 companies, seven star hotels and governments including the United Arab Emirates. She then pivoted, launching Brands for the Heart to help visionary entrepreneurs develop authentic brands. We talked about her journey to living a more authentic life after she achieved all the markers of success early in her career and found they weren’t satisfying, how it takes courage to show up authentically and, how being authentic — whether with clients, investors or your team — actually helps you be more productive and build your business more quickly.

In 1972, when Lanny Bassham failed in his attempt to win the Gold Medal in International Rifle Shooting at the Munich Germany Olympic Games, he started searching for a course on controlling the mind under pressure. When he couldn’t find one, he began to interview Olympic Gold Medalists to discover what they were doing to win and went on to create a system of mental control he called Mental Management®. Within six years, Lanny Bassham dominated his sport, winning 22 world individual and team titles, setting 4 world records and winning the Olympic Gold Medal in Montreal in 1976. For the past 34 years, Lanny has been teaching Mental Management® to the elite of sport and business, including Olympians, Fortune 500 corporations and the Navy SEALS. We talk about how winners never try to win (and what they do instead), what it takes to change your self image and how to see everything that happens to your advantage.

This episode takes a cross-cultural approach to the mental game of entrepreneurship. My guest is Tim Romero, an innovator, author and entrepreneur whou2019s lived in Japan for 20 years. He believes in the potential of its startup community, which is partly informed by his experience in the big earthquake in 2011 and observing how resilient the Japanese were. Tim gives us an inside view of recent examples of disruption in Japan (and his opinion of where potential innovation lies), the surprising trend of female entrepreneurship and how he sees entrepreneurs managing failure in a culture that has traditionally been very risk averse.

Today's guest is John P Morgan, a deep thinker and coach of leaders and entrepreneurs, who has a vision for a more connected and loving world. Among his many talents and adventures, he's travelled the world and lived nomadically for three years, recorded and toured as a band musician, competed as a black belt and triathlete, and performed as a professional magician. He’s interested in creating miracles, acting on what is seemingly impossible and we talked about the dangers of focusing on probability to achieve success. Like me, John is interested in bringing clarity through distinctions — is vision a path or a destination? — and the difference between taking action to create what you want and doing things to make things happen.

Jennifer Love is a serial entrepreneur and advisor who has been been involved in raising $100M+ and helping her clients get high-profile exposure on shows like Shark Tank and Biz Fix with Marcus Lemonis. Her latest initiative, and what she sees as her life calling, is One More Woman, and her vision is to help 10 million female entrepreneurs build $1M+ businesses by the year 2030. We talk about what it means to be a maverick and what makes it challenging in todayu2019s society, how to develop a tolerance for uncertainty and risk u2014 and her very practical approach to learning from failure. Jennifer Love is a serial entrepreneur and advisor who has been been involved in raising $100M+ and helping her clients get high-profile exposure on shows like Shark Tank and Biz Fix with Marcus Lemonis. Her latest initiative, and what she sees as her life calling, is One More Woman, and her vision is to help 10 million female entrepreneurs build $1M+ businesses by the year 2030. We talk about what it means to be a maverick and what makes it challenging in today’s society, how to develop a tolerance for uncertainty and risk — and her very practical approach to learning from failure.

An entrepreneur who has cofounded and built billion dollar businesses like Hotjobs and TheLadders, Dave Carvajal now advises the leadership of some of the most transformative, disruptive companies in the tech space. We talk about how doing an Ironman race is like building a startup, what it takes to build a team of A players and what many CEOs get wrong about building for culture.

Dr. JP Pawliw-Fry, performance coach and co-author of Performing under Pressure: The Science of Doing Your Best When It Matters Most, explains We some of the common misconceptions about performing under pressure, why you need to understand the difference between pressure and stress, and how women and men handle pressure differently.

Art Turock, author of Competent is Not an Option: Build an Elite Leadership Team Following the Talent Development Game Plan of Sports Champions and world class masters pentathlete explains what teams can do to gain a competitive advantage, how to "Practice While Real Work Gets Done," and how he maintained mental toughness to go on and win a silver medal in the pentathlon after his performance unraveled days earlier.

eff Spencer, an Olympian and advisor to Lance Armstrong, Bono and Tiger Woods, says that much of the conventional advice around success doesn't work. He shares insights into the champion's blueprint and why we can't let human nature run the show.

Psychology professor and coauthor of the book Peak: Secrets from the Science of Expertise, Anders Ericsson explains the real difference between experts and everyone else. Highlights: Why talent is much less of a factor than we think and what experts do to practice better.

Veteran jazz pianist Kenny Werner explains the mindset of mastery, why we need to get over our addition to "getting better" and how we can be more improvisational in our daily lives.

Career coach, recruiter and extreme career changer Caroline Ceniza-Levine shares why evidence of resilience is increasingly important to employers, how to handle both the short and long term pressure of negotiation, interviews and prolonged job search.

Paralympian and member of the United States wheelchair basketball team, Matt Scott shares his personal story: how he thinks about goals, the importance of humor and responding to adversity.

Jason Selk, performance coach and mental training director for the St. Louis Cardinals, breaks down his 10-minute training plan for mental toughness. Highlights: Use a performance statement to stay focused and build confidence What is channel capacity and why three is the magic number for focus Why you need both process and product goals The importance of self-assessment and why you’re not doing it

Former US Army Captain and founder of Mind Fitness Training Institute, Dr. Stanley shares how to train for greater mindfulness. Highlights: How mental toughness also means being agile and flexible The incredible results a group of Marines experienced from mindfulness practice before deployment to Iraq Why mindfulness helps increase working memory and regulate emotions

Rock star pianist and arts entrepreneur Jade Simmons talks about her evolution as a maverick. Highlights: What it really means to hustle Why experiencing a failure doesn't mean you’re a failure How to handle the pressure of competition and on-stage performance

Author of Do You QuantumThink®, Dianne Collins presents a new twist to “thought creates reality,” taking it from New Age “woo woo” to intelligent modern necessity. Highlights: How to integrate intuition into decision-making The limits of linear thinking and how to leverage quantum principles What you need to know about the true nature of time to relieve pressure and develop a possibility mindset

Performance psychologist and Juilliard-trained violinist, Dr. Kageyama  talks about how to deal with nerves and perform at your best when the stakes are high. Highlights: How mental toughness is like pizza How to move from an outcome focus and assume success The tiny shift you can make when you feel like giving up How to prepare for a performance and what to do when you trip up

Retired Navy SEAL turned Inc 500 entrepreneur, Brent Gleeson translates the leadership and decision-making skills he learned in the SEAL teams to building a business. Highlights: Why great leaders never stop learning How to keep moving when your plan hits a snag How to win the battle with ego and maintain emotional control regardless of circumstances

Author of the book by the same name, Paul Sullivan shares diverse examples from sports, business and military of what it means to be “clutch” and the art of operating in high- stress situations as if they were everyday conditions. Highlights: The five key traits of clutch performers What it means to “fight the fight, not the plan” The role of overconfidence in not being clutch

Psychologist, peak performance coach and Harvard Medical School faculty Pamela Enders explains how to manage pressure so you perform at your best. Highlights: The three components of pressure and why it’s personal The one question that will help you cut through the fog of panic Why a task doesn’t have to be hard or easy How to visualize success in a situation where you have no experience

One of America’s leading mountaineers – with over 175 international expeditions, including K2 and Mt. Everest -- Chris shares insights on how to create and lead high performance teams. Highlights: Why you need to build a team based on partnership, not accomplishment (it’s not just about getting to the top) The key differences of high-performance teams different and the disproportionate impact of building trust Why behaviors, not tools, are the “killer app” The secret to getting used to failure

Entrepreneur coach Pamela Slim shares deep wisdom on how to handle self-doubt and stay motivated. Highlights: The two-part equation for developing “grit” “Full-contact living” and the danger of instant success How to use humor as a pressure valve A strong work ethic isn’t enough for success

Scientist and professor of psychology at George Mason University, Dr. Kashdan says curiosity is a skill that we can cultivate and explains why it’s so powerful. Highlights: How to become comfortable with risk in an unstable, unpredictable world How great leaders use curiosity to their advantage How curiosity can transform difficult relationships and reinforce good ones

Social psychologist and associate director of the Motivation Science Center at Columbia Business School, Heidi Halvorson speaks about what successful people do differently. Highlights: How to embrace risk when it doesn't come naturally What mentally tough people do (and don't) focus on in achieving their goals The one word leaders can use with their team (and themselves) to encourage grit What is realistic optimism and how to use it

Former Institutional Investor-ranked sell-side analyst on Wall Street and author of "Disrupt Yourself” (ranked a top management thought-leader in 2015 by Thinkers50), translates the concepts of disruptive innovation in business to personal disruption in your career and life. Highlights: how conventionally successfully people have taken the personal path of self-disruption how to manage the S-curve waves of learning and mastery the power of constraints

A leading adviser on accelerated business growth who has started more than 40 companies, Les McKeown explains that different kinds of mental toughness are needed for a successful transition through the three growth stages of a business. Highlights:• The one habit that every great leader keeps inviolate (and why)• The three destructive tendencies of wanna-be leaders• How "strategy yankers" kill motivation and why consistent discipline rules

A psychology professor at The University of Chicago and one of the world’s leading experts on the brain science behind “choking under pressure,” Dr. Beilock explains how to perform better in every arena, from taking exams and giving presentations to playing golf. Working memory and how it’s affected by emotions under stress When less is more and why being too smart gets in the way How stereotypes affect performance, for better or worse How you think about yourself trumps ability when you’re under stress Specific techniques to prevent choking under pressure

Paralympian gold medalist skier Josh Dueck shares the story of how he faced adversity after being paralyzed from the waist down and went on to become the first person to do a back flip on snow in a sit-ski.

New York Times best-selling author of The Talent Code and Lance Armstrong’s War, Daniel Coyle delves into deliberate practice and how to cultivate greatness. Highlights: Think of talent not as an innate gift but as a construction project How passionate curiosity fuels irrational obsession The secret to high-velocity learning A counterintuitive approach to breaking through plateaus The paradox of mental toughness: why the pudgy guy becomes a SEAL and the tri-athlete quits

Coauthors of “The Art of Doing: How Superachievers Do What They Do and How They Do It Well,” Camille Sweeney and Josh Gosfield share exactly that. Highlights: The difference in mindset that sets super-achievers like Martina Navratilova, Yogi Berra and Guy Kawasaki apart from everyone else What super-achievers say about persistence and how to know if you’re on the right track The power of active listening in changing beliefs and biases How super-achievers leverage the power of emotion to work for, not against, them

Retired Navy SEAL Mark Divine explains the mindset necessary to consistently rise to the occasion in high-pressure situations. Highlights: A key indicator that you’re not mentally tough How to integrate training and habituation into any aspect of life The OODA loop mental model and how it helps make decisions under pressure How to “win in your mind” first before taking action

Leadership expert Simon Sinek explains how a powerful “why” highlights the path through adversity. Highlights:• The difference between mental toughness and hard work• How to use your “why” as a compass and how to let go of being perfect• Use mental toughness to trust your intuition• Why discipline alone is not mental toughness and how do you find your “why” anyway