Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais

Anne Devereux-Mills is an incredibly accomplished human. She was the chairman and CEO of a number of ad agencies in New York City – which is a massive undertaking. She then transitioned from the corporate world to non-profit programs such as helping start a school in Uganda. She’s had a phenomenal life journey and faced many obstacles -- including being a single mom of two while battling cancer. A...

This conversation is with Mark Divine. Mark and I first met a number of years ago at a high performance camp (Elite11). Mark served 20 years in the Navy SEALs, retiring in 2011 -- and has taken his insights and best practices from the SEAL's candidate mentoring program to create a warrior-leader training model that involves physical, mental, and emotional, and intuition training -- the idea was to...

This conversation is with Peter McLoughlin - the president of the Seattle Seahawks. When most people think of professional franchises, they think of the athletes, coaches, or general managers. I wanted to better understand what goes into running the business of an elite sport franchise and to better understand how someone switches careers after 21 years of success in one industry to another. Curre...

Nic Lamb surfs very large waves. He’s a professional surfer on the Big Wave Tour, and was ranked number 4 in the world last year. A native to the Santa Cruz area in California, Nic is no stranger to a wave called Mavericks. It’s legendary for how heavy the conditions are. At 14 years old, Nic Lamb became one of the youngest surfers to ever charge Mavericks and was one of the youngest competitors i...

George Raveling, referred to by many as “Coach”, is Nike’s Director of International Basketball and has been inducted into numerous hall of fames, including the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. In This Episode -Parents both passing away at a young age and heading to Catholic boarding school -Surrounding yourself with the right...

Lieutenant Colonel Jannell MacAulay is currently the Commander of the 305th Operations Support Squadron at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. She leads a joint team responsible for supporting rapid global mobility to missions ranging from in-flight refueling to combat operations to humanitarian relief. In This Episode: -Why she chose to go to the Air Force academy -Parents instilling...

Karan Bajaj is a #1 bestselling Indian novelist with more than 200,000 copies of his novels in print, both optioned into major films. Karan has also worked in senior executive roles at companies like Procter & Gamble and the Boston Consulting Group and was named among Ad Age's "Top 40 Under 40 executives" in the US. This Episode: -Growing up in foothills of the Himalayas -Value of an individua...

Dacher Keltner is a social psychologist who focuses on the prosocial emotions, such as love, sympathy and gratitude, and processes such as teasing and flirtation that enhance bonds. He is Co-Director of The Greater Good Science Center and the author of Born to Be Good. In This Episode: -Parents enabling to him search for what he loved -The cost of a passionate life -Utilizing your imagination to t...

Michealene Risley is an award-winning writer, director and human rights activist. In This Episode: -Being a “master” of empathy -Why she’s hesitant to include dominance in the definition of mastery -Growing up with dark secrets that she wasn’t initially prepared to face -How slamming her hand in a car door proved to be a life altering moment -Why her childhood experiences have given her a keen eye...

Max Baumann is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of The Chill Group, Inc., makers of JUST CHILL® beverages as well as the Founder & President of BASEMAKERS, LLC, an outsourced sales management company in the food and beverage industry. In This Episode: - Philosophy behind his company Just Chill - Why he dropped out of college - The moment when he realized he needed to give up a dream -...

Drew Bledsoe was a star quarterback at Washington State University before he skipped his senior year to go professional. In 1993, he was the No. 1 NFL draft pick and joined the New England Patriots. After nearly eight years he was traded to the Buffalo Bills, then moved to the Dallas Cowboys, before retiring in 2007. Post NFL, Bledsoe pursued a longtime aspiration of owning a winery, which would a...

Vern Gambetta is recognized internationally as an expert in training and conditioning for sport having worked with world-class athletes and teams in a wide variety of sports. In This Episode: -Learning to control his temper growing up -Being impacted by his dad’s strong worth ethic and mom’s appetite for learning -Not wanting to be labeled anything but “a coach” -Being fascinated by what it takes...

Lee Clow has been making this thing called “advertising” for more than 40 years. He started at Chiat Day in Los Angeles when there were 10 people and 2 accounts and has been there ever since. In This Episode: -Growing up adopted post WWII -Identifying his passion for art early on -The meaning of “applied art” -How the advertising agency shifted to mavericks leading the way -Looking for the things...

Paul Assaiante, current coach of the Men's Squash team at Trinity College, is known for his unique achievement as the “winningest coach in college sports history”, winner of 15 NCAA Championships titles, and 22-year dedication as squash coach. In This Episode: -Obsessing over the outcome at an early age -Identifying his calling.. to be a college coach -Why he’s more fascinated by losing than winni...

Dr. Caroline Leaf is a cognitive neuroscientist with a PhD in Communication Pathology specializing in Neuropsychology. Since the early 1980‘s she has studied and researched the Mind-Brain connection. In This Episode: -The difference between the mind and the brain -Why it mattered that people believed in her growing up -How to increase awareness of thoughts -The mind as an iceberg: explaining the c...

Anders Ericsson is a Swedish psychologist and Conradi Eminent Scholar and Professor of Psychology at Florida State University who is internationally recognized as a researcher in the psychological nature of expertise and human performance. In This Episode: -His early yearning to understand how knowledge was generated -Seeking a deeper context for learning beyond retaining information -The key to m...

Kai Lenny is one of the world’s most complete watermen. Be it kiteboarding, windsurfing, stand-up paddleboarding, big-wave surfing, or anything else in the water, Kai does it, and does it well. In This Episode: -His parents leading by example rather than telling him what to do -Learning to rise to the occasion from an early age -Not being afraid to stand out -Fighting perfectionism -The difference...

Ryan Holiday is a media strategist and prominent writer on strategy and business. After dropping out of college at nineteen to apprentice under Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power, he went on to advise many bestselling authors and multiplatinum musicians. In This Episode: -The concept of parent-child fit and why it was missing for him -Finding the people who understood him in college -Le...

This conversation is with Dan Harris, who most of you know as a co-anchor of “Nightline” and the weekend edition of “Good Morning America” on ABC News -- or 20/20 -- or -- from his New York Times best selling book: 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress without Losing My Edge and Found Self-Help That Actually Works. Dan has faced the public tension, in a panic attack that ha...

Michael Gervais gives his initial thoughts from the last three weeks spent at the Olympics in Rio De Janeiro. _________________ Subscribe  to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning:  https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMastery Get exclusive  discounts and support our amazing sponsors! Go to:  https:...

James Bond, co-founder of Undefeated, is one of the most recognized and well-curated sneaker boutiques in the world. In This Episode: -Growing up mixed race in a tough Philadelphia neighborhood -The impact his grandpa had on his sense of style -Abusing alcohol & drugs from the early age of 11 -Dealing with anger growing up -Wanting to be someone he wasn’t -Moving from Philadelphia to LA and hi...

Anthony Ervin is a U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist, former world record holder in the 50 freestyle, and former World Champion in the 50 and 100 freestyle. In This Episode: -His relationships with others and the water -Family structure growing up and why he wanted to stand out as the middle child -Suffering from turrets and struggling to control his own body -Channeling his anxiety into swimming -What a...

Stephanie Labbe is the goalkeeper for the Canadian Women's National Soccer Team and is headed to Rio for the Olympics. In This Episode: -Picking between sports growing up -Why she supports children playing multiple sports -Striving to be a positive influence and avoiding being an “energy vampire” -What it feels like to be her best -Confronting her coach after being left off the national team -The...

David Yeung is a noted environmental advocate and founder of Green Monday, an innovative social venture that takes on on climate change, food insecurity, health issues and animal welfare with a diverse platform that shifts individuals, communities, and corporations towards sustainable, healthy, and mindful living. In This Episode: -Learning the cost of success from his father at an early age -Figu...

On May 27th, 2016, Colin broke two mountaineering world records; he claimed the speed records for both the Seven Summits (132 days) and the Explorers Grand Slam (139 days), climbing the tallest mountain on each continent and skiing the last degree of latitude to the North and South Poles. In This Episode: -Embracing growing up in a mixed family -Putting in just enough effort to get by in his early...