Mayo Clinic On Human Optimization

Everyone loves a good leader. But they’re often held up as these singular examples of success, vision, inspiration, and perseverance. And we struggle to learn from their stories and distill them into a practical, repeatable blueprint for good leadership.   This episode, we’re joined by Dr. James Hebl, Medical Director for Leadership and Talent Development at Mayo Clinic and a certified executive c...

Self-care is one of the most commonly used, but poorly understood concepts today. For some, it brings to mind indulgence, luxury, or performative wellness culture. For others, it feels selfish, soft, or unrealistic. However, self-care, when done properly, helps fuel us to be our best selves and will maximize performance gains and achievement.   Our expert guest for this episode is Dr. Amy Oxentenk...

Life offers plenty of nice, concrete, mostly attainable goals for us to chase and boxes to check – good job, life partner, maybe a house, maybe kids. But that’s also the classic recipe for a midlife crisis: you work your butt off to get a bunch of those boxes checked only to find yourself exhausted and unfulfilled. Or wondering, “Now what?”  So, how do we ground our goals to make sure we’re puttin...

Imagine: you get yourself a sweet new sports car, hop in for your first drive, only to realize you have no idea how to drive stick. So you drive around town in first gear, going super slow, making tons of noise, stalling out at every stop sign. You finally make it home, hop out and proclaim, “This car’s a piece of junk!” Well, that’s the challenge we face with talent development, where the ceiling...

 Why is it that the more we think about falling asleep, the harder it becomes? Our mindset around sleep plays a huge role in our ability to fall asleep, the amount of sleep we get and the quality of that sleep. So how can we use our mindset to our advantage? This episode, we speak with Bhanu Kolla, M.B.B.S., M.D., the co-author of the Mayo Clinic Guide to Better Sleep. He’s also a professor of psy...

Just having a title that sounds authoritative doesn’t make someone a leader. And you don’t have to be a CEO to lead, either. So what actually inspires people to take action? In this episode, we’re joined by Thom Mayer, M.D., to explore how to stop waiting for authority and start leading. Dr. Mayer is medical director for the NFL Players Association and author of the book Leadership Is Worthless, b...

Hopefully, you’ve experienced getting so absorbed in work or an activity you enjoy that you lose track of time. We tend to be most productive in what is often called a “state of flow.” When harnessed effectively, flow can act like a superpower for personal fulfillment and progress. To help us better understand and maximize moments of flow, we’re joined by Biju Samkutty, chief operating officer of...

Today, we are sharing an episode from our sister podcast Tomorrow’s Cure. Produced by our Mayo Clinic colleagues, this chart-topping and Ambie Award-finalist podcast explores the future of medicine – from the rise of chronic disease and autoimmune disorders to innovations in AI, 3D bioprinting, and cancer research. In this specific episode, you’ll hear from Mayo Clinic physician leader Dr. Anjali...

How often do you feel that your brain is functioning at its highest level? If you are like most of us, it’s not as often as you would like. Given the high-pressure world we live in, it’s critical for us to ensure our brain is firing on all cylinders, as often as possible. To make that happen, we need to help our brains be more efficient. Just like mileage on a car, we want to optimize the mileage...

Today, we are sharing an episode from our sister podcast Tomorrow’s Cure. Produced by our Mayo Clinic colleagues, this chart-topping and Ambie Award-finalist podcast explores the future of medicine – from the rise of chronic disease and autoimmune disorders to new research revealing how early immune changes can develop into certain types of leukemia. In this particular episode, you’ll hear from de...

If you’ve ever experienced self-doubt, felt like you didn’t have what it takes, or were fearful of being “found out”, this episode is for you. We have all had the unfortunate experience of improperly doubting ourselves and our abilities to the extent that they had a negative impact on how we feel about ourselves and diminished our performance. Self-doubt and imposter syndrome can be paralyzing, bu...

Can you easily and clearly answer the following question...WHAT do you want to achieve with your life? The question is simple, but it’s challenging for most of us to answer in a clear, concise, and convincing way. While we may have a rough or general idea of what we want to accomplish as human beings, very few of us can clearly articulate that in a way that is at the forefront of our minds and dri...

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project  Guest: Katherine A. Meese, PhD, Researcher | Author | CEO - HuMargin Group – Nashville, TN    If you are someone over the age of 22, you’ve likely noticed that it’s harder to make friends than it was when you were younger. Some of this is due to societal changes, but much of it is because life starts to pull...

Your skin is the largest organ in your body, and it does a lot more than just make you look good! It is our primary defense against the outside world and regulates many of our body's internal functions. Given the major role it plays in our health and overall performance, it is important that we take care of our skin to keep it healthy for as long as possible.   Dr. Saryna Wyles is our expert guest...

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project  Guest: Amy Morin, LCSW, Psychotherapist / Mental Strength Coach / International Bestselling Author | Mentally Strong    One of the biggest limiters of our mental strength is our very common (usually unintentional) struggle with self-sabotaging behaviors. Since we all feel too busy to do more, maybe the answe...

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project  Guest: Cal Aurand, Creative Director – Communications | Mayo Clinic – Rochester, MN    "I wish I could be more creative” is a common trope that many of us say to ourselves. Unfortunately, that wish comes with the assumption that we aren’t creative, and we're here to disprove that notion to you today. What if...

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project  Guest: Charanjit S. Rihal, M.D., MBA  William S. and Ann Atherton Professor of Cardiology - Department of Cardiovascular Medicine | Chair, Mayo Clinic People and Culture Committee, Member Board of Trustees - Mayo Clinic – Rochester, MN    We are all a product of our environment, and this includes the people...

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project  Guest: Andrea A. Tooley, MD, FACS, Associate Professor, Oculofacial Plastic Surgery | Mayo Clinic – Rochester, MN (2020-2025)  Innovative Ophthalmology | Paducah, Kentucky (2026-Present)    “Work Life Balance” is a term we hear almost daily. Although the phrase is intended to help us successfully juggle our...

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project  Guest: Chelsey Hoffmann, PA-C, MS, RD, Physician Assistant | Department of Anesthesiology, Division of Pain Medicine - Mayo Clinic - Rochester, MN    It’s been said that "we are what we eat," and we all sort of understand what that means. At the same time, most understand what it's like to intermittently exp...

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project Guest: Stephen L. Kopecky MD, FACC, FAHA, MASPC, Professor of Medicine, Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Division of Preventive Cardiology | Mayo Clinic – Rochester, MN   Straightforward question…are you healthy? Sounds like a simple question, but how in the world are we supposed to answer that? In the...

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project Guest: Graeme Rosenberg, MD., Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery | Director of Performance & Wellness for the Department of Surgery | Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA   We define “human optimization” as the ability to do “more” while simultaneously improving our well-being. One of the keys...

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project Guest: John C. Benson, MD, Neuroradiologist | Associate Professor, Radiology | Mayo Clinic – Rochester, MN     Regardless of your official role or job title, you are a leader. Leadership takes on so many different forms, and this is true both inside and outside of the workplace. Any time you are interacting w...

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project Guest: Shawn M. Ehler, M.B.A., Vice Chair – Human Resources | Mayo Clinic – Arizona     We live in a society that requires us to effectively live amongst and interact with other humans. If we can navigate those interactions well, we tend to be more successful. A large part of living amongst others, is feeling...

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project Guest: Cathy Winter, President | Executive Leadership Advisor - Premier Performance Advising | Premier Sport Psychology   Confidence is something that lives on a spectrum, and we can all find ourselves at different points on that spectrum on any given day. Sometimes we can be overconfident, and at other times...

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project Guest: Lisa R. Hardesty, Ph. D., ABPP, PCC, Board Certified Clinical Health Psychologist | Certified Executive Coach at PCC Level | Mayo Clinic   In our hyperpaced and active world, we are constantly bombarded by external noise, signals, and messaging. Unfortunately, these external stimuli often distract us f...