My Mental Edge

Stephen Henric received an education in Music Business and has since built a career in representing the commercial interests and brand experience needs of marquee clients in the sports and entertainment industries. Over the course of Stephen's tenure, he has held roles in sales leadership and strategic business development, as well as account and project management. It was in these roles that Stephen sat at the crossroads of inspired creative thinking and technical innovation, allowing for a more holistic and informed understanding of how to maximize the human experience.

Tyler Blake is a project manager at Sport-centric digital creative agency, Sports On Screen, a co-founder of the Project 14 Agency, that’s 14 written in roman numerals, and of The KitLab. Tyler’s a great friend of mine, and since day one, what I resonated with is the breadth of Tyler’s interests and where his inspiration comes from. Movies, sport, business, philosophy, he’s got an incredibly keen eye for detail and an infectious drive to learn, to grow and to contribute in an intensely and authentically meaningful way. To put any kind of time-cap on conversations with Tyler is to do them a massive disservice, so I’ve no doubt this will be the first of many episodes we record together. This was a lot of fun and I hope you enjoy it.

Episode 14 - The Attributes of Optimal Performance with Rich Diviney by The Edge Podcast

Caroline Burckle is an Olympic Medalist, artist and co-founder of RISE Athletes. Caroline was born and raised in Louisville, KY. She attended University of Florida on swimming scholarship, made the 2008 Olympics for Team USA in Swimming, and then went on to obtain both her Associate of Arts in Product Development and Masters in Sport Psychology. She is an athlete-turned-artist, and has used her pre-and-post Olympic experiences to transform her life. She is Co-Founder of RISE Athletes alongside Olympic Medalist Rebecca Soni. RISE is a Mindset Development Program where Professional & Olympic athletes mentor the next generation of teen athletes on the power of cultivating a positive mindset in sport. Caroline believes in the power of mind+body connection, and has used her physical setbacks as blessings to learn more deeply about the power of the nervous system in all that we create. She is deeply into the arts, and freehand sketches her unconventional “human form figures” as a form of mental-movement. She lives for her open water ocean swims and free-spirited nature travels when she isn’t at home building RISE.

Dr. Karen MacNeill is Principle at MacNeill Performance Consulting, a speaker, a performance psychologist and consultant with over 20 years of experience helping Olympians, business leaders and organizations unleash potential and consistently bring their best in high pressure situations. Karen has the unique experience of having competed and consulted on the World Stage. She’s worked with athletes at the last 4 Olympic Winter Games, and competed herself at the international level for over a decade. At the 2018 Olympic Games, Dr. MacNeill was the Lead Mental Performance Consultant for the Canadian Olympic Committee and will perform the same role in the upcoming 2021 Olympics in Japan and the 2022 Winter Olympics In China. Karen thrives from a broad scope of practice, taking lessons learned from elite performers, to her work with leaders and organizations as a keynote speaker, consultant and strategic advisor. Karen is also a founding Partner at headversity, a mental wellness tech company that measures, tracks and trains resilience in the workplace. Her passion and drive for helping others be their best also translates into her life as a mother, wife, and outdoor enthusiast. Karen’s career achievements and volunteer efforts have been recognized by Avenue Calgary’s Top 40 under 40 award, Women of Inspiration- Game Changer Award, and Canada’s Most Powerful Women- Top 100 Award. Bearing all of that in mind, it’s no wonder that this episode is a true treasure trove of information about how to get to and stay at the top of your own performance, whatever that might be. So get your notepads out and enjoy this episode of the edge podcast, with the wonderful Dr. Karen MacNeill.

Taylor Somerville is an XPT Master Coach, and founded his company, Symmetry, after working in the investment business for 15 years. Going through a divorce in 2014, Taylor discovered breath work as a means to deal with the stress and anxiety in his personal and professional lives. Through breath-work, Taylor was able to learn how to respond to stressful situations in a productive rather than a reactive manner. In 2017, after seeing the positive changes in himself, Taylor felt a calling to help others take back control of their lives so they could have more time, more energy, and less stress. We’re all faced with stresses at some point in our lives, and Taylor has made it his mission to teach the empowering tools we can all be using to better prepare ourselves for the challenges of life. This was a really fun chat, Taylor’s clearly so committed to what he does and the people he works with, and he’s also a bit of an adventurer, and I always love getting into it with people who just want to test themselves and see how much they can push their boundaries. We’d love to hear your thoughts, feedback, and what you got out of this episode, thanks so much for listening! Enjoy!

Caroline Williams is a science writer, author and editor. She originally planned to be a PE teacher, but ended up studying biology because she found the science aspects of physical education far more interesting than the actual sports. The author of Move!: The New Science of Body over mind and of Override, she’s also a consultant and writer for New Scientist and her work has appeared in the Guardian, BBC Future, BBC Earth and the Boston Globe, among others.

Dr. Mindy Pelz, D.C is a best selling author, keynote speaker, nutrition and functional medicine expert who has spent over two decades helping thousands of people successfully reclaim their health. She is a recognized leader in the alternative health field and a pioneer in the fasting movement, teaching the principles of a fasting lifestyle, diet variation, detox, hormones, and more. Her popular YouTube channel combines the latest science with practical lifestyle tools every person can use to reset their health. She is the host of one of the leading science podcasts, The Resetter Podcast, and the author of three best-selling books; The Menopause Reset, The Reset Factor, and The Reset Kitchen.

Pete leads the team of around 40 coaches and practitioners within the Hintsa Sports Business. His background is as a Strength and Conditioning Coach and Head of Performance with professional and Olympic athletes for nearly 2 decades. During his career, Pete has worked with Formula 1 drivers, alpine skiers in France, track & field athletes, rowers, swimmers, cricketers and footballers across Europe, as well as athletes in India and other parts of Asia, just to name a few. Pete’s educational background is in Physics and Sports Science, with a research focus in the physiological and psychological characteristics of motorsports drivers. Pete was previously the Chairman of the UKSCA and has sat on different boards of directors and leadership teams. His interests lie in combining his passion for sport with business, performance leadership and public speaking.

Matt Comand is the founder and director of performance for Emergent. He works with organisations and individuals to discover and implement the fundamental principles of high performance in the office and in high-pressure situations. Matt and I discuss many topics related to organisational performance including leadership, developing effective teams, taking risks and the concept of flow.

Addie Bracy is a Nike sponsored trail runner, and has run multiple ultra-marathons of 50 and 100 miles. She's an ultra running coach and certified mental performance consultant. In this episode, Addie and I dive into all things distance running performance, from mindset, to training distances, to nutrition. Addie's book, 'Mental Training for Ultra Running' is out in June and is available for pre-release sale on Amazon right now!

Tom is a strength coach, personal trainer and former world drug-free powerlifting champion. Tom's also the owner of 'Lift Strong - Look Strong', and the head of education for the IFBA, the International Fitness Business Association. Tom and I discuss what it takes to get really, fundamentally strong, at any age and fitness level. We also get into what it means to be an effective coach, guiding people to enduring health and wellness.

Emily Hightower started out as a Wilderness EMT and River Guide. Since then, for 20 years, she has combined her love of outdoor risk and medicine with advanced breath training, adaptive yoga, somatics, nutrition, and archery to help people use life's discomfort as the resistance needed for self-mastery. Emily is an educator at SH//FT where she hosts her Skill of Stress online course and teaches monthly webinars on the physiology of performance and healing. She coaches combat veterans year-round in the USA and the U.K. and works with recovery groups, athletes, coaches, and EMS crews. As an avid bowhunter, she also uses archery and outdoor adventures to train self-regulation skills and embodied presence. We also had a guest appearance from Emily’s husband Brian Hightower. Brian captained the US rugby 7’s team and played 15’s for the US at the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales. There’s so much great stuff in this episode, tools, techniques and perspectives that have the potential to transform your life and performance in some very cool and enduring ways.

Matt Gardner is a Nutritional Therapist specialising in Sports Nutrition, and host of the Big Feed Up HQ Podcast. Matt has a wealth of experience working in performance nutrition with professional athletes in rugby and endurance events such as ultra-marathons and triathlons. Matt also works in a nutritional therapy capacity with pre-diabetic and diabetic clients. Personally, Matt's passionate about endurance, having himself completed a number of marathons and ultra-marathons.

Harvey Martin is the founder of The MindStrong Project. The MindStrong Project helps athletes and entrepreneurs raise their performance, reduce stress, and become better problem solvers by implementing natural breath and movement exercises in their daily routine. We've helped hundreds of athletes increase endurance, better manage in-game stress, and recover faster by helping them build a greater ownership over their own physiology. For entrepreneurs, we help them structure their day while providing concrete tools and techniques to be optimized during meetings or in times of creative thinking. Harvey himself specializes in training professional athletes within Major League Baseball, the NHL, and NFL and has consulted at every level of US College Athletics. Harvey also hosts The MindStrong Project podcast where he interviews everyone from Olympians to extreme sports athletes. Harvey’s unique approach to coaching follows the laws of nature. Creating adaptation through the basic necessities of breathing, nutrition, movement, and sleep. His work involves the use of environmental stressors such as heat and cold exposure with breathing techniques that teach performers how to shift their mental and physical state in the moment.

Dr Mustafa Sarkar is an Associate Professor of Sport and Performance Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. His research focuses on individual, team, and organisational resilience in elite sport and other high performance domains. As well as publishing research in this area, Dr Sarkar works closely with various teams and organisations to develop resilience, including the Premier League and the United States and Netherlands Olympic Committees

In this episode, professional cyclist Adam Roberge and I discuss his use of; - Anchoring in the present moment - Mindfulness techniques - Meditation - Breath-work and cold water immersion - Gratitude - Breaking through pain

In this solo episode, I pick three common themes from the interviews thus far (Self-awareness, approaching discomfort, and consistency) and delve into them in greater depth, offering practical suggestions and personal experiences.

In this episode, mental health therapist and executive coach, Megan Bruneau and I discuss; - Perfectionism - The psychology of entrepreneurship - Dealing with uncertainty - The pursuit of happiness

In this episode, Mental Performance Coach for the Cleveland Browns (NFL) and Tampa Bay Rays (MLB), Justin Su'a, and I discuss: - Defining your journey - Cognitive defusion and confidence - Paving your own path - Consistency

In this episode, ultra-distance train runner and Nike sponsored athlete, Addie Bracy, and I, discuss: - Working through discomfort - Self-awareness - Developing mental strength - Seeking out adaptation - Keeping things fun

This information/podcast is not intended to treat or diagnose any medical or psychological conditions. In this solo episode, I discuss my personal experiences with pre-performance anxiety and detail the steps I went through in order to improve my performance with public speaking. Topics discussed include: - Growth mindset - Cognitive Reframing - Preparation - Breathing - Connection - Identity - Focus

In this episode, Mental Performance Coach, Stephanie Hale, and I, discuss; - Understanding Self-Compassion - The role of mental skills in youth sport - Resilience

In this episode, Ceci Clark, Mental Performance Coach for the Cleveland Indians Major League Baseball Team, and I discuss; - Fear and how to use it to your advantage - The importance of self-exploration for building confidence - Doing the basics and being consistent - Working through obstacles

In this episode, health and fitness coach, Tom Eastham, and I discuss: - Shifting identities after sport - Dealing with sporting injuries - The power of gratitude - The benefits of creating connection and community for mental health - Persistence through struggles

In this episode, professional MMA fighter George Tokkos and I discuss: - Consistency and accountability - The relationship between philosophy and fighting - Testing your commitment - Investing in your mind - Exposing yourself to high-performance environments

In this episode, Performance Nutritionist, Matt Gardner (Mattgardnernutrition.com, @mattgardnernutrition) and I discuss: - The role of nutrition in improving cognitive performance - Fats vs Carbs - Inflammatory foods and links with cognitive conditions - Easy wins for fueling your brain! Research links: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30223263 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28242200 http://www.isnpr.org/isnpr2019/ From Matt: "For some simple foody tips my mate Joe has a company called Motion Nutrition and their blog is mega:" https://www.motionnutrition.com/brain-food-12-foods-optimal-brain-health/ Matts details: https://soundcloud.com/user-188029167 - Big Feed Up HQ podcast @mattgardnernutrition Instagram Mattgardnernutrition.com

In this episode, Jones Haynes, Master Resilience Trainer for the US Military, and I discuss: - Redefining success - Dealing with uncertainty - Effective communication - Taking ownership And much more! If you have follow-up questions for Jon, you can find him on Instagram @jhaynes5 and Twitter @J_Haynes5 Or via email at jhaynes8@hotmail.com

In this episode, guest Wes Christensen and I answer questions related to the topics of resilience, motivation and subsequent goal attainment.