Peak Performance Principles

In this Profile, I got to sit down one of the most resilient people I've ever met, Angelina Joyce. She is a soccer star from Braintree, MA where she was a Captain of her HS Soccer team and received multiple leadership and excellence awards. She went on to achieve her dream of playing D1 soccer at UMass-Lowell. She was well on her way of achieving her next dream of trying to make the US National Team and playing Professionally, until her extensive list of injuries caught up to her. If you play sports, you know injuries are commonplace, but for AJ her specific injuries were anything but commonplace. Injuries are a part of every athletes journey, unfortunately many athletes are not prepared for the mental stress that comes with physical injury, and that stress causes a significant toll on their mental health. In this episode, AJ opened up about her mental health and gave us an insight into the toll injuries can take on an athletes mental health. She shared with us some great strategies for mentally handling rehab and specific actions we can take to continue progressing in our sport even though we cannot physically play. If your an injured athlete or know an injured athlete, please share this episode with them. If you yourself are having concerns about your mental health or know someone who is, please reach out to a therapist or counselor near you. Just like going to the gym and getting a trainer boosts your physical abilities, working on your mental health with a therapist or counselor will boost your mental abilities as well. In order to succeed at sports and life we need to maximize both our physical and mental abilities. So if you or someone you know need help with their mental health, reach out to a therapist or counselor today.

In this episode I got interview Justin Su’a. He is the Head of Mental Performance for the Tampa Bay Rays. He’s worked for the MLB and NFL for many years and shares some strategies for personal and team success. I hope you enjoy this episode!

In this episode I got to interview Pete Naschak. He is a former Navy SEAL for over 20 years as well as the founder and principal of Senaptec, which is what originally got me interested in interviewing Pete. Senaptec produces equipment and expertise around human sensory performance (aka vision training).  Vision training is a huge area of improvement for all performers. Think about it, you use your eyes for pretty much everything when performing. So how do you target training your eyes? Enter Senaptec! They create specialized strobe goggles and sensory stations that improve your visual acuity and directly improve performance. They are utilized by dozens of MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, NCAA, Military, and many other organizations to enhance vision training and improve performance.  Pete Naschak Bio: Pete retired from the U.S. Navy SEAL Teams after a 21 year career, where he held various operational and leadership positions, lived overseas, and participated in military contingency operations throughout the world. Throughout his military and post-military careers, Pete has had direct experience and involvement with strategic planning, specialized training, and individual and team development in high performance, high demand, and austere environments. After retirement, Pete finished a Master’s of Science degree in Global Leadership, a qualification as a Project Management Professional (PMP), and a certificate in Global Business Management and Strategy. Pete provides specialized consulting services including product development, individual and team performance initiatives, and organizational development for top tier companies, teams, and individuals. Pete is the co-founder and principal of Senaptec, a human sensory performance technology company focused on delivering assessment and training tools for sport, military, medical, and educational entities. He currently volunteers as President of the Board of Directors for the Lone Survivor Foundation, which supports injured military personnel and their families suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Military Sexual Trauma (MST), and serious combat injury. (bio taken from http://www.performanceactivation.com/who)

I got to interview one of the best motivational and insightful speakers in the sport and corporate arena! Alan is an incredibly passionate and inspiring speaker! His book “Raise Your Game” is a Top 15 all-time book in productivity and mindset. In this interview we talked about the power of SELF-AWARENESS, importance of the fundamentals, parenting/youth sports, and we played a Bracket Challenge game that will not disappoint! Enjoy this amazing interview with Alan Stein Jr!

In this episode I’ll break down the two most important techniques you can simply and easily implement in your daily mental training routine. I’ll share some interesting research that shows the importance of these techniques from a psychological and neuroscience perspective.

In this episode I talk about a question I get asked all the time, “what is most important when doing mental training?” Also I broke my personal record for a plank while discussing the world record plank holder George Hood and how his story applies to these two words.

In this episode I got to interview Brad, Monnica, and Sasha. They run mindfulness programs for individuals and teams all across the country. The program they specialize in is called mPEAK - Mindful Performance Enhancement, Acceptance, and Knowledge. In this interview we talked about what mPEAK is, strategies to bring our mind back to focus and how to enter a flow state, as well as tips on how to create a successful pre-performance routine. What is mPEAK? mPEAK "is an intensive course in mindfulness training for those who seek to draw upon this proven practice to achieve their goals, both personal and professional, as well as attain new levels of performance and success. This cutting-edge training program is built around the latest brain research related to peak performance, resilience, focus, and flow. The mPEAK program enhances the human capacity of mindfulness through established and empirically supported practices and exercises, tailored to fit the needs and desires of the team, organization or individual." Reference: https://mbpti.org/programs/mpeak/mpeak-3day-intensive/ Want to learn more about mPEAK? Check out the upcoming workshop Brad, Monica, and Sasha will be doing. Learn more here: https://www.rsgperformance.com/product-page/ready-set-go-mindfulness-workshop?fbclid=IwAR2u7YPi3ugZjUcxS-XeIUUbIaiVdWzyZWa0Td9gV46PBLTh6k-uDvdoyXo

In this episode I’ll highlight the difference between playing your game with fear and playing it with love. I’ll go over some physiological facts about fear and love. Also a few questions for you to consider to help you play with love.

In this interview I got to interview Matt Mounier. He is a former college basketball star and now is a successful entrepreneur and salesman. In this interview , we discussed: - Developing skills in sport you can use in your life/career -Effective strategies for transitioning out of sport - Athlete mentality - Succeeding post athletic career

This episode is about how much better we are when we are working together. Times like these make it difficult to be together but it’s even more important to be together any way we can. In this episode I’ll share with you some interesting facts about birds drafting and I’ll share with you a great technique from Brene Brown on improving our relationships and building a true squad!

This episode is for anyone that is in a slump or plateauing. With a lot of the world being on hold, it can be easy to find yourself slumping or plateauing in your performance. This episode highlights two strategies to overcome these moments. Combining these strategies can create an effective plan to not only push past slumps or plateaus but to grow and become better than the plateau.

This episode is about reconnecting with those moments in your life that ignited the path your on now. You are writing your story every day, it is incredibly powerful to reflect on where that story began. I'll share with you a strategy to help you get to know your story in a way that can build self-awareness and improve performance going forward. Sometimes the beginning of your story is difficult and lonely, but the present and future do not need to be difficult and lonely. "You cannot go back and change the beginning but you can start where you are and change the ending" - C.S. Lewis

This episode is about the importance of developing and reminding yourself of WHY you do what you do. All of us can clearly articulate what we do, “I sell cars” or “I play baseball”. Many of us can even explain how we do well at those things, “I find customers needs and fill them with a great car” or “I see the ball, I hit the ball and run as fast as I can”. However, very few of us can tell us clearly WHY they do what they do. This is your purpose, your meaning, your deep down reason for doing it. When times get tough, we try to forgive out what is wrong and how to fix it. I recommend starting with WHY first, why did this happen? Why do I care about it? Why do I want to fix it? Then proceed to figuring out HOW to fix it, improve it, change it. And then finally do WHAT it takes to get it done. No matter what, you must start with WHY!

In this episode I'll share with you one of the most motivating speeches of all time! This episode is for all of you who are trying to be better, who are trying to do something hard, trying to accomplish your dreams. No matter what, dare to try!

Question of the day: Do you think that you perform at your best if your mind and body are on the same page? Like most people I work with, the answer is YES! This episode explores more about what causes our minds to get away from being present-minded and I'll share 2 strategies to help you get back to the present moment.

This episode is all about being fearless during adversity. I'll tell you about the worlds most fearless animal and share a few insights we can learn from this animal to be more fearless in overcoming adversity.

In our last episdoe we explored overcoming adversity like a buffalo. This episode is about overcoming adversity like a donkey. I’ll share with a great story about a clever donkey that overcame its eminent demise by focusing and repeating on what was working. Sometimes we need to charge like a buffalo and run into the storm to get through it, other times we need to be like this donkey and shake the struggle off and step up.

In this episode I’ll share with how buffalo handle their storms and challenges. We can learn a lot from these majestic beasts! If your going through a challenge this kind of attitude is for you! Be the buffalo!

In this episode I interviewed my good friend Joe Scola. He is a former professional gamer and now works as an advisor to gamers and individuals looking to improve their life. Joe shares his awesome story from being a quiet introverted gamer spending most of his free time playing games in his dorm to completely changing his mindset and life to be an incredible social butterfly and now spends his time performing magic for hundreds of people, advising gamers on strategies to win games and life advice as well. He graduated from one of the top Engineering programs and currently works in Boston. Joe talks about a lot of great topics surrounding HOW TO transform your life and developing a successful routine for positive change. He is so energetic and has a magnetic personality! I hope you enjoy this interview and go follow him on social media @joemajin

In this episode the main focus is HOW TO create a personal mission statement. I'll share a few excerpts from my personal mission statement as well as a few examples of other well known individuals personal mission statements. Also I'll share with you 3 tips on HOW TO begin creating your own personal mission statement today. Here are few helpful links and resources I used in creating my personal mission statement. Most impactful resource is the book "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey, highly recommend it! https://www.amazon.com/s?k=stephen+covey%27s+7+habits+of+highly+effective+people&hvadid=78615145526044&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&tag=mh0b-20&ref=pd_sl_2m1rfkiwm6_e https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_7_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_People https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/habits-of-highly-effective-people-summary https://www.customwritingservice.org/blog/stephen-covey-personal-mission-statement/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/11/07/13-ways-you-can-craft-a-strong-personal-mission-statement/#38270c5b2dee https://brandyourself.com/blog/guide/how-to-write-a-personal-mission-statement/ https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/mission-statement-101/

In this episodes we talked about how to use Mental Rehearsal to build self confidence and become the best version of yourself. I also share 4 tips on utilizing and incorporating mental rehearsal into your daily life.

In this profile I spoke with Tanner Mangum. He is the former QB at BYU for 4 years. You might remember the back to back hail mary game-winners in 2015 against Nebraska and then Boise State! In this episode we profiled his playing career where he experienced some incredible highs and devastating lows. He shared with us some amazing stories of HOW he overcame struggles with anxiety, depression, and serious injury. He is an amazing man and continues to spread his message of breaking the stigma between sports and mental health. Check out Tanner on all social media @tannermangum and his website tannermangum.org for more awesome content from Tanner! Videos about Tanner: SportsCenter video after the Nebraska hail mary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHLIGe9CJhE Tanner recapping his career at BYU: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJIRDDEB6dk "Unashamed" Episode 1: I am not Invincible - Episode 1 of 4 in Football Matters' digital series on mental health throughout college football. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLvG7QnvfTQ

In this this episode we dive into how you've probably been looking at your goals all wrong. We are all really good goal setters but we need to start putting our attention on actually achieving our goals... here is HOW you do that!

In this episode we nerd out on some incredible neuroscience! Peak performers focus on behaviors and actions. Peak behavior and peak action is developed by mastering your neural network. We will talk about 2 techniques to strengthen your neural network and help you perform at your peak faster and more efficiently.

In this episode we talk about being resilient by "hunting the good stuff". This is an incredibly simple and powerful technique I learned while working with the US Army. It is used to build positive thinking and optimism as well as counter the evil negativity bias. Also I'll share with you the incredible story of Team Hoyt, a truly inspiring story of what resilience and hunting the good stuff is all about!

In this episode I talk about how peak performers use self-talk positively. I'll share two monumental research studies on self-talk and a self-talk tip to help you perform at your peak.

In this episode I talk about how peak performers don't just talk the talk, they walk the talk. Are your actions mapped by your words? If you say your are going to be the best are you actually taking the daily actions necessary to be the best? To be a peak performer, you walk your talk.

In this episode I talk about the importance of self-awareness and how to properly measure your progress and success toward peak performance.

In this episode I talk about how peak performers use adversity as an opportunity to increase performance.

In this episode I talk about what the 4 Pillars of Peak Performance are and how each one can help you reach and sustain your peak performance.

In this episode, we talk about the 3 questions to ask yourself everyday if you want to perform at your peak.

In this episode, we will share 2 amazing stories about the importance of doing the little things and extend to you the 1% Challenge! 

In this episode I introduce you to this podcast and the main focus of future episodes.