Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais

Some people think about adventure — and others make their life a living adventure. Nate graduated high school unsure about his path in life. Looking for a challenge and to make a difference, he made his way to the Darfur region of Sudan to help in the refugee camps. The experience, coupled with his memories of 9/11, inspired him to enlist in the U.S. Army as a Special Forces candidate, and he beca...

John Donahoe served as president and chief executive officer of eBay Inc. from 2008-2015. In this role, he was responsible for growing each of the company's business units, which included eBay Marketplaces, PayPal and Skype. In this episode: -Notion of servant leadership -Being a purpose driven leader -Growing from adversity -Figuring out what’s right for you -The right fit – team ethos -Facing do...

Liz Wiseman shares her insights and research on the art and science of leadership. She walks us through her journey that has allowed her to understand how leaders can diminish or multiply the genius in others. In this episode: -How her childhood and relationship with her father shaped her -Observing the different types of leadership in the workplace -Creating an environment where people excel vs....

What allows one man to move from elite sport (NFL) to elite special forces (Navy SEALs) to serial entrepreneurship? Clint Bruce shares his approach toward life and performance, and his search for elite. In this episode: -Transitioning from SEAL team to business -The importance of performance from the neck up -Business as a delayed gratification -The difference between a profitable and provisional...

Imagine there was a global award for what you do, whatever you are most passionate about: parenting, marketing, coaching, law, giving to others, teaching, etc. Imagine being recognized as being THE BEST in the world at that endeavor- the single best. In this conversation we learn from Carli Lloyd. She is just that person. In this Episode: -Significance of winning the FIFA Player of the Year award...

If you've ever thought, “If I would have known then, what I know now, I’d shift gears in a heartbeat” — or — If you've ever wanted to shift gears and blaze a new path, but quickly stepped on the excitement by saying," It's just too late now, I've got too many responsibilities” -- or — if you've ever wanted to make a radical shift in your business, but were afraid of what others might think -- you'...

Steven Kotler, a New York Times best-selling author and award-winning journalist, teaches us about "going for it" -- and the path through chronic pain that has led him to explore the neurobiology of flow. Kotler is the cofounder and Director of Research for the Flow Genome Project, an international organization, dedicated to putting flow state research onto a hard science footing. In this episode:...

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering if you’ve made the mistake of trading your deepest talents — for the security of a good-paying-gig — I think you’ll appreciate the shift that Jon Gordon made mid-stride on his career path. Gordon's best-selling books and talks have inspired readers and audiences around the world. His principles have been put to the test by numerous NFL, NBA, MLB coaches and...

Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey is the first female and first Polynesian to become an explorer for the National Geographic Society. She has made it her mission to find, preserve and share the knowledge and traditions of indigenous populations before they disappear. Show Notes: 8:43: Where she found her passion for understanding ancient traditions and ancient wisdoms "True masters have nothing to prove to an...

The path toward mastery requires honoring what is true. Often times what is true can be intensely painful. Kevin Levrone walks us through his journey of loss, grief, turmoil, love, commitment, and risk -- which eventually lead to being inducted into the hall of fame for his craft. Kevin has much to teach. His humility, honesty, and courage to be vulnerable in this conversation is as refreshing and...

The origin of the word "compete" emphasizes the notion of striving together (as compared to striving against). Author Ashley Merryman takes a deep dive into the science of competition - and reveals practical strategies people can use to "become better." There's an art to bringing the mechanics of science to life, and Ashley uses storytelling to illuminate the application of good science. Show Note...

As the fable goes — there are three paths for each us, to become: The Old Fool: the person who chased external rewards and pleasures. The Bitter Old Fool: the person who chased external rewards, but didn’t get enough. The Wise: the person who searched for insight and wisdom. Likewise, the path of mastery captures deep understanding and insight -- it's not a path that is laying a bet now, by invest...

One of the accelerants to growth is surrounding ourselves with people that have insight…..another accelerant is going down the path of developing insight within yourself. Dave Phillips has done, and is doing, both of those. He has devoted the past 25 years to becoming a world-class coach. He is one of the most sought after golf instructors in the country and is rated one of the Top 100 Teachers in...

In this conversation we learn from Ariana Kukors, who is a USA Olympic Swimmer, current American Record holder and former World Record holder in the 200-meter individual medley (long course). A 2-Time World Champion, Kukors has won a total of seven medals in major international competition- two golds, three silvers, and two bronze spanning a 10-year national team career. After barely missing the 2...

Luke Tyburski has designed the past three years of his life to push the limits of what “we” think to be possible. He’s designed an event to test his mental and physical skills over the course of 12 days, which has been named the Ultimate Triathlon. He’s trained for it for 3 and half years. On October 20, Luke will be taking on a never before attempted challenge- a 1250 miles in 12 day swim, cycle,...

Imagine working to optimize the human performance strategies and outcomes for an entire nation’s elite sport efforts. It’s challenging enough to do so for an elite sport franchise, let alone an entire country. In this conversation with Keith Power, he shares with us how he’s structuring his efforts on high performance for Malaysia. He provides insights on how to align groups of people to pull in o...

Shownotes: 4:30: Reasoning behind not choreographing his dancing 7:15: Trusting your instincts and creating an organic experience for the audience 11:05: Why instincts are the necessary choices 15:20: Type of legacy he wants to leave 18:00: How dancing is like playing a game and you're trying to get the highest score possible 20:48: Manipulating the crowd and controlling their emotions 25:54: Why...

Sport is a way to learn more about who we are — how we handle success, failure, pain, loss, friendships, challenges and opportunities. In this upcoming conversation, sport becomes the initial “handshake” that has allowed us to talk about the deeper experiences in life — freedom, love, risk, and family. Popularly known as Baggio, Adis Husidić was born in Velika Kladuša, SFR Yugoslavia (present-day...

While in graduate school, a psychology professor asked the class to draw a line across the middle of the paper. He asked us to write down, above the line, three people that have helped shape who we are — that have helped us feel good about who we are. He also asked to list three names below the line, that have negatively contributed to how we see ourselves. The purpose of the exercise was to refle...

Some conversations will be with those who summit the pinnacle of their profession —or break molds attempting to scale untold peaks. In this conversation, I was fortunate to sit down with a contemporary composer & innovator, Kai Kight. His background is anything but typical. Sports, Design, Stanford, Violin, Composing. He holds an engineering degree from Stanford University’s d. school where he...

Volleyball legend and three-time Gold Medalist, Karch Kiraly joins the show to discuss his path to Finding Mastery. The ‘winningest’ player in the history of the sport, Karch Kiraly is considered the “Michael Jordan” of pro beach volleyball as he is the oldest player to compete in the sport and continues to perform at the highest level — beating competitors literally half his age. He has won at le...

Dr. Michael Gervais is fascinated by the psychology of high performance. Throughout the past 25 years, Michael has been in the trenches with some of the best performers in the world – some who shift how we conceive what’s possible — others who have pushed their own boundaries — ranging from hall of fame athletes to action sport game-changers, entrepreneurs, Mixed Martial Artists, to musicians who...