A New Way of Being

The Life Lessons podcast has a simple mission: to have discussions that reveal something important about life and how best to live it. My guests range from the biggest sporting names on the planet, as well as neuroscientists, world-renowned philosophers, and psychologists – right through to Buddhist monks. With the World Cup in full flow, over the next few weeks I am going to use the opportunity t...

We can’t all be better than average – there just isn’t room at the top for everyone. Striving for the top is a nice idea, but the other side of it is: if we become anything other than ordinary, we feel that we have failed somehow. This goal-orientated outlook is widespread. But, is it really important to be remembered as a high achiever or 'Champion'? Isn't it more important to be a kind, caring i...

The Life Lessons podcast has a simple mission: to have discussions that reveal something important about life and how best to live it. My guests range from the biggest sporting names on the planet, as well as neuroscientists, world-renowned philosophers, and psychologists – right through to Buddhist monks. All Black legend and World Cup winner Sir John Kirwan. JK was knighted for services to menta...

"Don't just do something, sit there!" Forget ice baths, HIIT workouts and marathons - if you really want to develop resilience, then sit down and do nothing. For the first time in human history, we never have to be bored and sit with our thoughts and feelings. But we are missing a trick - because doing nothing is something very few people embrace, but those who do can enjoy a multitude of benefits...

The Life Lessons podcast has a simple mission: to have discussions that reveal something important about life and how best to live it. My guests range from the biggest sporting names on the planet, as well as neuroscientists, world-renowned philosophers, and psychologists – right through to Buddhist monks. With the World Cup in full flow, over the next few weeks I am going to use the opportunity t...

The Life Lessons podcast has a simple mission: to have discussions that reveal something important about life and how best to live it. My guests range from the biggest sporting names on the planet, as well as neuroscientists, world-renowned philosophers, and psychologists – right through to Buddhist monks. We all have psychological defence mechanisms - including the often deep-seated pattern of pr...

'Resistance is something we do, acceptance is what we are' With the World Cup in full flow, over the next few weeks I am going to use the opportunity to revisit some of my favorite conversations with World Cup winners and legends. Today's episode is with Jonny Wilkinson, 20 years ago from his World Cup winning drop goal - and below are some of the topics we reference during our conversation. I hav...

The Life Lessons podcast has a simple mission: to have discussions that reveal something important about life and how best to live it. My guests range from the biggest sporting names on the planet, as well as neuroscientists, world-renowned philosophers, and psychologists – right through to Buddhist monks. The importance of constructive feedback & developing the skill of efficiency. David Coul...

The general consensus in society tends to be that to have success in any field requires early specialisation and many hours of deliberate practice - aka the 'Tiger Woods model'. And if you dabble or delay, you'll never catch up with those who got a head start. In this episode, David Epstein dispels this widely-held myth. He explains that the best way to succeed is by sampling widely, gaining a bre...

The Life Lessons podcast has a simple mission: to have discussions that reveal something important about life and how best to live it. My guests range from the biggest sporting names on the planet, as well as neuroscientists, world-renowned philosophers, and psychologists – right through to Buddhist monks. Do not underestimate the importance of posture when you feel under pressure. Dave Alred - th...

"We are always striving for the top - but sometimes it's better to embrace being in the middle". Konnie Huq is a TV & Radio presenter, a screenwriter and a children's author, who holds the record for being the longest-serving presenter of the iconic British children's TV programme Blue Peter. The essence of what Konnie speaks about in this episode is that our continual striving for more, bigge...

The Life Lessons podcast has a simple mission: to have discussions that reveal something important about life and how best to live it. My guests range from the biggest sporting names on the planet, as well as neuroscientists, world-renowned philosophers, and psychologists – right through to Buddhist monks. One of the key skills anyone can develop is to do what needs to be done, even when you don't...

How to go from all-rounder to outstanding. Nick Matthew is the greatest squash player in English history - a genuine legend of the game who reached world number one and won both the World Championships and the British open (the Wimbledon of squash) on three occasions. To reach the top, Nick had to pivot and adapt on several occasions, eventually working out his 'super strengths' to be able to take...

We are all aware of 'competitive sports parent' syndrome. It is a phenomenon I discussed with Gary Lineker - speaking about football specifically. Fair to say he's not a fan! YouTube : https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundie Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/ For the ' Mundie on Monday ' newsletter - head to simonmundie.com Please do share this episode - it makes a big difference in...

How can you get what you really want? You may think it is the job, the relationship, the house or the substance you want - but fundamentally we all desire to be happy and feel fulfilled, and to avoid suffering. How we believe we will get those will differ for all of us. How then do we give ourselves the best chance of getting what we want, in any area of life? This week's conversation is with Ben...

Thinking Correctly under Pressure. Who doesn’t want – or need – to be able to do that? TCUP – as Clive calls it – was fundamental in helping England win the rugby World Cup twenty years ago. Clive shares a couple of recent examples of how this works from sport and his own life. Really it’s about envisaging how things might go – so that when challenges arise, as they always do in life, you have con...

Want to know how to get your nervous system back into a state of relaxation and calm? TRE is a powerful, simple and effective way to release stress and tension from your body. My guest is the its creator, David Berceli. Both humans and animals alike are born with a biological stress response known as “fight or flight”. We are also born with a natural trembling capacity that enables us to discharge...

It is easy to take credit for our successes, and look down on others for their 'failings', without acknowledging the huge number of interrelated factors and events that first had to happen for them to come into being. We don’t choose our parents, our genetics, our personality traits, our talents, the time and place where we are born, or the experiences that shape us. If we really consider all of t...

"Neuroscience research shows that the only way we can change the way we feel is by becoming aware of our inner experience and learning to befriend what is going on inside us" Dr Bessel van der Kolk is a titan in the world of trauma research. He’s the author of the seminal best-selling book about trauma -  The Body Keeps the Score - which has been published in 38 languages and read by millions of p...

If you are not open to new experiences, and stepping out of your comfort zone, you may miss out on some of your own discovering deep-seated passions and talents. One person who illustrates this brilliantly is the triathlon legend Chrissie Wellington, who was crowned Ironman world Champion on four occasions – despite only turning pro at the relatively ripe age of 30. She took a meandering route to...

This episode is all about the importance of diverse thinking. Matthew Syed explains how the FA embraced diversity off the pitch, which contributed to success on it, and how the tragedy of 9/11 could have been avoided had the CIA been less collectively blind because of a lack of cultural diversity. It's to do with 'homophily', which is our tendency to bond with people who are socially similar. And...

Do you feel a subtle sense of lack? If you do, you are not alone. It’s part of the human condition – or at least it is when we are identified with the mind. But the truth is, there is a space in all of us that is always fulfilled and content. Our task is to recognise that – and rest there. Grayson Hart is the CEO and founder of Puresport, and is a former Scotland international rugby player, having...

'There is nothing either good or bad – only thinking makes it so'. Stoicism is described as the most practical of all philosophies – according to Ryan Holiday, best-selling author of classics including the Obstacle is the Way. I spoke to Ryan Holiday during the COVID pandemic – with a view to helping people not get overwhelmed by what was a very challenging time. Clearly things have now moved on,...

Why 'winning' can be overrated. Let's start with a quote from Jamie Carragher – 'it’s all about winning trophies really'. Well is that actually true? To dive into our cultural obsession with 'winners' and 'winning at all costs', I was joined by the silver medal winning Olympic rower and former diplomat turned business coach and author of the excellent book ‘the Long Win’ Cath Bishop. MyTwitter: ht...

This week I am joined by one of the greatest British athletes of all time, Seb Coe – a double Olympic gold medalist during the golden era of middle-distance running, the President of World Athletics, the driving force behind London’s winning Olympic bid in 2012, and much more besides. There’s so much we cover in this episode, from using early setbacks as fuel later in life, through to his epic Oly...