The Mark Divine Show

Today Mark is talking with Dr. Rahul Jandial. He is a brain surgeon, neuroscientist, and author. His newest book is Life on a Knife's Edge: A Brain Surgeon's Reflections on Life, Loss and Survival. Dr. Jandial speaks about many insights and revelations about life from his career in cancer surgery.  Hear how: Being "hot" with your mental energy all the time is counterproductive-...

Ashley Stahl is a counterterrorism professional turned career coach, spokesperson, and author of You Turn: Get Unstuck, Discover Your Direction, Design Your Dream Career. She is also a podcaster, hosting her "You Turn" podcast. Today she is talking with Mark about what skills are necessary to manage your career. Hear how: Your career is an experiment and your purpose doesn't have to...

Today Mark is responding to listeners' demand for more insight on developing mental toughness. He breaks down his approach and goes over his top strategies for strengthening the unbeatable mind. Hear about: How mentally tough people control their emotions PBOODA - Pause, Breath, Observe, Orient, Decide, Act The sniper (content mind) and spotter (contextual mind) and how to actively train them...

Today Mark is talking to Mike Hayes-former Commander of SEAL Team TWO. Mike had a 20-year military career, was a White House Fellow for both the Bush and Obama administrations, and is currently working as the Chief Digital Transformation Officer at VMware. He is also a speaker on leadership and author of the book Never Enough: A Navy SEAL Commander on Living a Life of Excellence, Agility, and Mean...

In the second part of Mark's interview with Lisa Tamati, Lisa talks about her mother's story and the incredible lengths that she went to save her after a massive stroke. This is all detailed in her book Relentless: How a Mother and Daughter Defied the Odds. Lisa and Mark also discuss longevity and how relying on the traditional medical system may not be enough. Listen to this episode to...

Today Mark is talking to Lisa Tamati. She is a professional adventure athlete, author, motivational speaker, and mindset coach who goes beyond human limits. Lisa's taken on and conquered the world's toughest endurance events and expeditions, including the Sahara and Gobi deserts, Niger, and the Himalayas.  Her most recent book is Relentless: How a Mother and Daughter Defied the Odds. In...

In this episode, Commander Divine reads the final chapter of his newest upcoming book. It is an adaptation of a speech he gave to his alma mater at Colgate University early during the pandemic. He focuses primarily on how to manage and thrive in the VUCA world we are living in. Hear about: Leadership and how its main focus is on the well-being of the team Thriving in crisis and how it's the o...

Many listeners are probably familiar with Dr. Kirk Parsley and his work on sleep. He is a former Navy SEAL who is now an MD who specializes in sleep. In the second part of this interview with Doc Parsley, he and Mark talk more about sleep and longevity. Hear how: Laying in bed unconscious with your eyes closed doesn't mean you're actually sleeping Your sleep will be different based on wh...

In this two-part interview, Mark is talking to his old friend Dr. Kirk Parsley. Doc Parsley is a former SEAL who is now an MD who specializes in sleep. He realized that most of us are getting less sleep than we need and are kind of seeing sleep as "the enemy" or a waste of time. As a result, he developed his "sleep cocktail" for SEAL patients and has now developed it for all of...

Tim Grover is the founder of ATTACK Athletics. He has trained Michael Jordan, among other professional athletes, and is the author of Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable and his most recent book Winning: The Unforgiving Race to Greatness. He talks with Mark about his experience training both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant and how you can become a true winner every day.   Hear how: Your p...

Greg McKeown is famous for simplifying his life and calling on others to do the same in his book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. His newest book is called Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most. He is also the host of the podcast "What's Essential." Greg and Mark talk today about his journey and learning that the best choice doesn't always have to be...

Today Mark talks about the five developmental plateaus for you to traverse on your hero's journey as a leader. Listen in as Mark explains all Five Plateaus and how our overall goal is to reach the Fifth Plateau-so we can become fully connected and inclusive. Hear about the Five Plateaus: Survivor Instinctual and very centered on the individual Protector Extends concern to a tribe or small gro...

Mark talks with his old friend Carmine Di Sibio who was part of Mark's class at Colgate University and went to work for Arthur Young, which became a part of Ernst & Young. He's worked at EY for over 35 years and is the current CEO and Global Chairman of the company. Today he talks with Mark about his career and business leadership. Hear about: Business accountability and how companie...

Tom Jones is a former Marine combat veteran and a well-known extreme athlete in the Muay Thai and ultra-endurance communities. Tom talks to Mark about his childhood traumas and how he overcame all that to become the exceptional athlete and individual that he is. Hear about: Tom's experiences with Chuck Norris and being his sparring partner How he survived his childhood traumas and pushed hims...

Today Mark talks with Katy Milkman, professor at the Wharton School and host of Charles Schwab's "Choiceology with Katy Milkman" podcast. She's a frequent writer of behavioral science for The Washington Post and Scientific American. Her newest book is How to Change. In this episode, she discusses temptations and improving our chances for change. Hear about: Temptation Bundling...

John Foley is a former lead solo pilot of the Blue Angels and is now a keynote speaker and consultant at John Foley, Inc. He talks with Mark today about how you can use military communication methods and team building in business. Hear how: The Blue Angels and the Navy SEALs have more in common than you think The debrief is the single most important element for high performance Just being "gl...

Today Mark talks with Steven Pressfield, an acclaimed author of historical fiction and non-fiction. Among numerous other books, Steven wrote The War of Art, The Legend of Bagger Vance, and Gates of Fire, about the Battle of Thermopylae. His most recent book is A Man at Arms, about the Roman empire and the letter to the Corinthians. Steven explains his creative process when writing and how he overc...

In today's solocast, Commander Divine talks about the virtues necessary to become an unbeatable leader. He uses his personal experience, along with the wisdom of other leaders, to explain the virtues so you can take the next step and have the courage to apply them every day. Hear how: It's not about what you think or say, it's your actions that are important-especially when no one e...

Mark knows Kimberly from the yoga and meditation community. She is a somatic experiencing practitioner and a sexological bodyworker. She is also the author of The Fourth Trimester: A Postpartum Guide to Healing Your Body, Balancing Your Emotions, and Restoring Your Vitality and her newest book Call of the Wild: How We Heal Trauma, Awaken Our Own Power, and Use It For Good. Today she is talking wit...

Rich Diviney is a former SEAL and an expert and consultant on leadership. He is also the author of The Attributes: 25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance. Rich talks with Mark about his Mind Gym for performance and the many attributes necessary for leadership in the military and business.   Hear how: There is a difference between peak and optimal performance-and why you should aim for one over t...

Commander Divine is talking with Dr. Jennifer Ashton, chief medical correspondent for ABC News and author of The New Normal: A Roadmap to Resilience in the Pandemic Era. They discuss the value of vaccination and the terrible consequences that we've paid by being caught flat-footed regarding COVID-19. Hear about: The most important factors when it comes to experiencing COVID severity  The four...

Today Mark is talking to Cal Newport about his new book A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload. Cal is a well-known digital minimalist and has been known to the Unbeatable Mind tribe since his first appearance on the show talking about his book Deep Work (Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World). Today he is talking about how email can be managed and ho...

Today Mark is talking to Dr. Lara Pence, who is the Chief Mind Doc for the Spartan Race organization. She is also the owner and founder of LIGHFBOX-a tool dedicated to exercise your mind and spark your curiosity. She and the Commander discuss mental health and how you can ask better questions. Learn how: There is an often-overlooked connection between movement and mental health We must ask ourselv...

Patrick Sweeney is a well-known expert on how to manage fear so that you can use it. He is known as "The Fear Guru" and is the author of the book Fear is Fuel. After a near-death experience, he decided that he needed to get past the fears that had always ruled his life. Hear how: There's always a crisis to deal with, but you can choose to be a mouse or a leopard-let fear freeze you...

In today's solo episode, Mark talks to us about the Sheepdog mindset and how to always be prepared. You need to be able to win in your mind before the fight even happens, and learn how to find victory where it's really at. Hear about: Making yourself an undesirable target Developing your single point focus How uncommon resolve is required for any worthy goal. Listen to this episode to ge...