The Playbook with Colin Jonov

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Julie Gurner and I weigh mortality against ambition and land on a clear thesis: courage is the keystone habit that lets you live on your terms. From chronic pain to scaling companies, we show how small wins, clear thinking, and the right kind of pressure build momentum and optionality over time. • courage as the core virtue enabling aligned choices • compounding small risks to...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Sean Drake and I challenge the grind-at-all-costs model and show why safety in the nervous system is the true unlock for speed, strength, and durability. Breath-work, emotional clearing, and smart routines turn chronic pain and burnout into sustainable capacity. • defining nervous system periodization and safety as performance multipliers • using breath, humming, PEMF, cold, s...

Send us Fan Mail St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Nick Raquet and I dig into the mindset that turns overthinking into action, why conviction beats a “perfect” plan, and how a three-year break from baseball led to a sharper return to the show. The call-up, the debut, and the plan to stay there all hinge on believing big and focusing small. • balancing aggression with calm on the mound • using thought in...

Send us Fan Mail We unpack how Coach Evan Burk without pedigree built his own path into the NFL by handwriting 450 letters, reverse-engineering relationships, and turning tiny moments at the Senior Bowl into real opportunities. The conversation blends tactics and mindset: self-awareness, delusional belief, deadlines, and the power of a curated inner circle. • building a decision-maker map across N...

Send us Fan Mail Yogi Roth and I dig into how clarity, confidence, and discipline help us choose family, protect mental health, and still compete at a high level. Yogi shares hard career calls, coaching frameworks, and why seekers—curious, coachable people—win over time. • choosing family as the true priority • turning feedback into growth through front loading • using precise coaching language, n...

Send us Fan Mail We trace the arc from unpaid reps to a trusted role in pro sports with Hannah Mears, then go deeper into grief, faith, and the boundaries that keep a public life humane. The heart of the conversation is perspective: preparing harder, saying no, and honoring the human behind every highlight. • early-career grind, unpaid reps, and freelancing • learning sports betting and proving co...

Send us Fan Mail We explore the mindset behind a 100K ultra, the joy of race day, and how flexible training beats rigid plans. The same approach fuels a move from corporate to entrepreneurship, where feedback, periodization and service define success. • Breaking big goals into aid‑station chunks • From college half to marathons to 100K • Race‑day energy vs everyday training grind • Weekly mileage...

Send us Fan Mail We map six sub-skills that make confidence, mental toughness, and leadership real: ownership, self-awareness, presence, character, intention, and growth. We share tools like meditation, journaling, and deliberate practice to build alignment, adaptability, and peace under pressure. • why radical ownership comes first • asking harder questions to build self-awareness • presence thro...

Send us Fan Mail What if anger isn’t a problem to erase but a resource to master? I sit down with Dr. Mitch Abrams, Author of "I'm Not F*cking Angry," for a candid, no‑evasion conversation about relationships, performance, and the messy middle where emotions live. It starts with alignment in marriage—knowing your non‑negotiables around faith, kids, money, schooling, and independence...

Send us Fan Mail Tim Cortazzo and I dig into raising daughters and sons with different instincts, why toughness is really confidence, and how to coach kids without breaking their spirit. The weight room becomes a tool, not a religion, as we push for specificity, rest, and joy that keeps kids in sport. • protect versus prepare as a parenting tension • firm language with positive reinforcement • pro...

Send us Fan Mail We unpack how to quiet the inner critic, channel ownership, and build confidence through controllables, forgiveness, and identity-driven habits. Luke Falk shares the exact tools that turned “not clutch” into Cool Hand Luke and how simple application beats complex theory. • control the controllables to lower anxiety and raise performance • person A vs person B mindset reframes and...

Send us Fan Mail Dave Kline Founder @ MGMT | CEO Coach | Advisor | Speaker | and I pull apart modern recruiting and leadership through the lens of college sports and business, weighing culture-building against transfer-portal efficiency and mapping a practical playbook for feedback, alignment, and sustainable performance. The throughline: define “good,” face reality, pick the right risks, and turn...

Send us Fan Mail Remember when a ball, a wall, and an hour in the basement could change your game? We dig into why that kind of free play—and the chaos that comes with it—still beats the most polished drills for building real skill, creativity, and confidence. With Terry Grossetti, we unpack how families can replace over-programming with simple, powerful habits at home, and how coaches can shift f...

Send us Fan Mail We explore the curse of competence, the quiet emptiness that creeps in when winning becomes the minimum, and map how elite performers reclaim joy through systems, identity work, and productive self-talk. We define process receipts, pre-mortems, and habit stacking so you can perform by design, not default. • redefining success to serve well-being and performance • building a perfor...

Send us Fan Mail Cal Adomitis shares an intimate look at NFL life through the eyes of a long snapper, revealing how faith and mental discipline guide his approach to football and life. • Joe Burrow operates on a different wavelength, showing laser focus even among professional athletes • Leaders who live their faith authentically, like Cal's high school coach, leave lasting impressions that s...

Send us Fan Mail This conversation with Sahil Bloom, author of The 5 Types of Wealth, reveals the paradox of success lies in the balance between delusional confidence and self-awareness, where one helps you excel at your unique game while the other prevents you from overreaching into areas where you don't belong. • Success requires both delusional confidence in your specific strengths and sel...

Send us Fan Mail Through authentic curiosity and selective perfectionism, Eric Jorgenson has built a unique career translating complex ideas into accessible wisdom. His journey from blogger to bestselling author to CEO demonstrates how following one's genuine interests creates distinctive value in a world that rewards uniqueness over conventional excellence. • Collecting ideas that resonate p...

Send us Fan Mail Max Murin shares powerful mental frameworks for athletes and anyone facing challenges, including his personal "M3 Method" - Man up, Make adjustments, Move forward. • Weight cutting for wrestling creates unique mental and physical challenges that require extreme discipline • The pre-competition routine is critical but varies significantly between sports like wrestling and...

Send us Fan Mail Cooper Neimand joins us to explore the unique mental health challenges coaches face and why their mental performance impacts winning more than most realize. He argues coaches face more complex mental challenges than players because they must worry about everyone's mindset while having minimal support systems. • Coaches face "decision overload" with responsibilities...

Send us Fan Mail Elite athletes emotionally regulate themselves by experiencing emotions fully, then strategically reframing setbacks as opportunities for growth rather than defining failures.  • Athletes who reach the highest levels face tremendous vulnerability during crucial moments • Rory McIlroy and LeBron James demonstrate how champions process devastating losses • True emotional processing...

Send us Fan Mail Alex Marinelli shares his journey as a collegiate wrestler at the University of Iowa, revealing how faith helped him navigate the immense pressure of competing at an elite program with expectations of national championships. He discusses the transformative power of understanding that identity transcends athletic performance, allowing him to compete with freedom rather than fear. •...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Dora Kurimay shares her journey from Hungarian national table tennis player to sports psychologist and mental performance coach, revealing powerful insights on developing self-awareness and mental toughness for competitive athletes. • Moving from Budapest to Berkeley at age 25 created a significant cultural and language adjustment despite prior English training • Competed with...

Send us Fan Mail Terry Grossetti shares his personal faith journey and coaching philosophy, exploring how spirituality transformed his approach to life and athletic development. He reveals powerful insights about building true buy-in with athletes through genuine care while balancing structured training with individual needs. • The battle between temptation and faith is a daily fight requiring con...

Send us Fan Mail Michael Krauza shares his extraordinary journey from being cut twice from his high school baseball team to pitching professionally in the New York Mets organization, highlighting how finding purpose beyond sport ultimately unlocked his greatest athletic performances. • Growing up smaller than peers, Michael went from being one of the best players at age 12 to getting cut from his...

Send us Fan Mail Real success in college football depends on finding players with both physical talent and mental fortitude - what recruiters call "the give a shit factor."  • 90% of college football success comes down to genetics - the measurables coaches obsess over • The grinding schedule of college athletics requires tremendous commitment - 6am to 10pm daily schedules are normal • NI...