This is an excerpt from Finding Mastery #085 with Texas Men's Basketball Head Coach Shaka Smart in which he explains why being open to feedback is imperativ...
This is a volunteer army where these young people stand up when a nation calls. They don't get into debates about the politics, how we are going to pay for it, who’s right or who’s wrong.
They simply say, “send me, send me.”
So I understand...
When I met Steve Jobs, he was 23 years old. He was making the Apple II. He and Wozniak just thought computers could be important someday.
We started wit...
When I’m on a plane, if things are running well, I don't listen to music, I don't watch any movies. I'm pretty ok just staring into space.
I've had a 20 ...
One day, one life.
I love this saying.
The notion is that every day is a lifetime of learning. It’s like the Buddha says, that you can find enlightenment in a single breath, if you're aware, if you're present.
If you're present, then your da...
How do I manage ego when it doesn't go my way? When it doesn’t go the right way for an engineer or a teammate?
I don't think that there is a single answe...
Before I started my journey on trying to become hard and all this bullshit about David Goggins, I first had to master one thing, the fact that I had to bec...
If you are going to change a person's behavior and their performance, the first thing you have to do is change the way they think.
We've got to inspire them, we've got to enhance their vision of themselves, we've got to get them to reach for h...
World leading athletes are well aware of the importance of sleep as it relates to high performance. Most of us would agree that elite athletes are required to c...
Any of these skills or techniques to reach ecstasies can be regressed so that there's an infinitely progressive on-ramp, no matter , no matter where you are...
When I started to travel I was about 23 or 24.
I would go to these train stations and buy a ticket to the next destination. I had very little money at the time - certainly didn't have enough to spend night after night in a hotel room.
“When I...
The very first sentence on my nerdy notepad under the words finding mastery is “work on your weaknesses.”
I think it is the hardest thing to do. I think ...
How you develop mental toughness is becoming hard. How you become hard is doing shit that you don't want to do.
"Most people live in this nice comfortable pla...
I had a decent ability to stay in my body and I'm feeling anxious even if I didn't know the cause of it.
I would listen to my body cues and when I got anxious it was like having a neon sign saying, “Something's up, pay attention.”
I would ...
When I talk about self-love, mindfulness is important but it goes a step further for me.
“It includes nutrition – 80% of how you feel on a day-to-day basis...
My older daughter is a bit of a perfectionist not unlike her mother was at that age.
I still am but less hard on myself about it.
You have a choice.
...
I think a lot about Zen Buddhism because I meditate every day.
I get up every morning and before I eat or do anything I meditate for 35 minutes. It's a very intense 35 minutes because you're emptying the mind. I've been doing it religiously ev...
The first thing I think people overlook when it comes to writing is the distinction between the research and the thinking and then the writing.
A lot of ...
From a young age, I found that I was pretty good at memorizing but it was just seemingly not related to anything that I felt was actually accumulating any ...
I’ve been studying how people get power.
How do you get power in the U.S. Senate or on the basketball court or in social groups?
At the same time my lab was looking at what happens if you randomly give people power or people feel like they'...
What was it about my youth that set up a way for me to be able to capture the opportunity to become a CEO of an international firm, deal with single motherh...
I think the totality of what I do is storytelling. It's the ability to tell a brand story in a way that people will love it, trust it, and be interested in ...
On my computer, I always have “light bulbs.” Stuff that is written on there that doesn't mean anything at that particular time, but I’ll have an idea and think “yeah that could be something’ so I put it in the “light bulb folder.”
"In the light ...
Up until maybe a couple of weeks ago my whole mantra was “Run To The Roar,” which is the title of my book.
It essentially meant go at the problem, deal w...
What’s helped me tremendously is this 4-1-4 model, in which I work for four years and then take a year off.
It's not about working for four years and the...
There is an environmental impact that comes with consuming an animal-based diet. The United Nations said over ten years ago that climate change is from carbon footprints.
When we think of a carbon footprint we think about the energy sector - f...
During his Finding Mastery conversation, social psychologist Dr. Dacher Keltner shared a few specific signals that indicate power has corrupted someone.
...
National Geographic explorer Elizabeth Lindsey explains the value in finding stillness on an everyday basis.
Over the years she’s had the fortunate oppor...
Author Steven Kotler shares a strategy he recommends for entering the flow state. Kotler insists that it’s not necessary to build your life around flow.
The first step is to understand that flow only happens during moments of uninterrupted con...
Psychologist Anders Ericsson explains that the heart of deliberate practice starts with having an awareness of which activities are catalysts for improvemen...
Social psychologist Dacher Keltner explains why he believes breathing is the most important things people can do for wellbeing.
“I believe is just as impo...
John Donahoe discusses how he balances talent and culture within an organization. He believes it's possible to get key people to "buy in" and align the team's goals with their own, even if they haven't shown that ability in the past.
"My experie...
Pete Carroll explains why creating a relationship based culture in Seattle is vital to their success. He believes his job is to help others become their best ...
During his Finding Mastery conversation, ABC’s Dan Harris described how to best surrender to the process of meditation.
Dan explained that you can get into t...
Neuroscientist Caroline Leaf describes the process for atomizing one’s thoughts and building successful habits.
As our mind responds to the incoming and outgoing, we are going to now start thinking about the new information. That new informati...
On Saturday, September 17, the U.S. Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team completed its historic Paralympic Games with the team’s first-ever gold medal on Sat...
Congressman Tim Ryan describes his mindset during the early campaigning days and how it took grit that he learned from playing sports.
He remembered one day where it was raining really hard and his guys said we can’t go out today but he said:
...
Ryan Holiday explains why the cost of mastery for him is not being able to “turn it off." He thinks it extends to many successful people in their respective...
Classical violinist Kai Kight believes mastery comes down to two concepts: curiosity and intention. In Kai’s Finding Mastery conversation, he explained the ...
Pete Carroll discusses how he helps others take a shot.
He believes great performers dwell in the moment of risk. They look for it because they have become comfortable with it and they trust and have confidence that they can function. A big pa...
Welcome to Minutes on Mastery -- simple and applied insights from those on the path to Mastery. This has been designed to be an adjunct to the full Find...
In Dan Harris’ Finding Mastery conversation, he discussed how it’s easy to take for granted all the good things we have in our respective lives.
This is why ...
James Bond believes in sharing his philosophy up front with his colleagues. The key is both communication and trust.
“This is how I need it to be. I’m going to give you my piece. I’m going to give you my thoughts. And from that I want yo...
I am obsessed with watching the Olympics right now – there are so many lessons to learn. It’s funny, I used to watch the Olympics when I was a kid with admirati...
Legendary volleyball player Karch Kiraly discusses how he was able to focus deeply and perform in uncomfortable environments.
Challenging practices w...
The Summer Olympics kick off in Rio De Janeiro today and Finding Mastery plans on celebrating past and present Olympians over the next two weeks.
This week's guest, Canadian soccer goalkeeper, Stephanie Labbé, helped the Canadians get off to a gre...
Green Monday founder David Yeung believes failure is a very useful and positive thing. He experienced failures and setbacks with the first company he founde...
In the conversation with Katie Holloway, she discussed how she's been able to turn the pain of being bullied throughout her childhood into a positive.
She believes protecting your heart doesn't get you anywhere. Rather, only when you have an o...
Former Navy SEAL Clint Bruce made it clear in his Finding Mastery conversation that there are two things he cares deeply about: relationships and having a p...
NHL great Pat LaFontaine speaks to incoming NHL rookies on how to consistently perform at a high level and maintain success in the league. He believes it co...
Advertising legend Jimmy Smith shared a story on the podcast about Nike passing on the Space Jam movie and how it applies to risk taking.
Nike had run a Space Jam commercial during the Super Bowl that had blown up.
Warner Brothers went to P...
Elizabeth Lindsey has traveled around the world and learned from some of the wisest elders from indigenous societies.
She has gained priceless insights a...
In the conversation with advertising legend Jimmy Smith, he discussed why embracing the concept of "stresswood" helped him endure tough times with his busin...
In the conversation with Nicole Davis, she discussed where confidence comes from. She believes confidence doesn't come from preparation, but rather from the things that you say to yourself.
“You can shoot a shot 10,000 times in a row, but when ...
Liz Wiseman explains how she helps leaders bring out the best in other people.
The "diminisher mindset" is nobody is going to figure it out without m...
Being where your feet are at is a skill. Pete Carroll talks about why being present is vital to the success of the Seattle Seahawks.
“When we’re at our best, t...
Pete Carroll describes the first time he noticed he had a unique approach to coaching football.
It was one precise moment.
He was an assistant coach at the University of Pacific. He had just finished a night meeting with the...
Kayt Sukel explains how to help a child become a better risk taker. A key is to let them explore and experiment.
"We need to let them mess up, which is som...
In Part 2 of the conversation with Nate Boyer, he discussed his latest endeavor -"MVP"- in which he teamed up with NFL Insider Jay Glazer to create a program th...
Pete Carroll and Michael Gervais recently spoke at the Wisdom 2.0 Conference about "Mastering the Mental Game."
"You can't be at your best if you're not totally in the moment." - Pete Carroll
In the video, some topics discussed include:
Why th...
Nate Boyer talks about the importance of controlling one's thoughts - while there may be limitations on physical ability, the same cannot be said for the mi...
Nate Boyer wanted to make a difference.
He decided he wanted to go help people in Darfur, yet getting over there wasn't as easy as he initially imagined....
In the conversation with John Donahoe, he discussed why facing adversity is imperative to growth...
That's when you learn, that's when you grow. That's when you develop character as a person, as a leader, as a team, as an organization."
He also...
In this week's edition of "Ask Mike," previous guest of the show, Jon Gordon, had a question for Mike...
Jon Gordon:
What did you learn most from our podc...
Clint Bruce has no place for shame in his life. He measures shame in time- there's the event and then the period of time after where you're unwilling to do ...
Each week going forward, Michael will be answering questions on Facebook and Twitter. In the debut session, there were some great questions asked.
One question came from Scott Enyeart.
Scott Enyeart:
What tips do you have for letting go of t...
Since Finding Mastery launched in September, a common theme among guests has been a willingness to become uncomfortable in order to grow.
Carli Lloyd echoed ...
Rich Roll discusses how quitting his corporate law job was one of the most frightening moments in his life...
(click for audio)
"I knew in my heart of h...
In the conversation with Steven Kotler, he talks about the value that comes with making lists for both what you've been successful at and what's caused you trouble.
"I have a list on a piece of paper that says, shit to understand when everything...
In my conversation with Steven Kotler, we got right into strategies to enhance both flow (one of the most optimal states a human can be in) and creativity. Belo...
Today the next generation of game-changing technology is being launched at CES2016 Las Vegas.
One of our former guests, Sean Hutchison, and founder of IKKOS,...
Finding Mastery guest, Fik-Shun, recently took the stage at World of Dance in Las Vegas and his performance was powerful, yet again.
He understands music and movement.
Watch for the deep understanding and deconstruction of the relationship be...
Pressure comes from…
The outside world, from the expectations of others.
It all comes down to…
Me
What do you do to cultivate the ability to be present?
Wh...
A major theme of the conversation with Kevin Levrone, was how he channeled the pain of losing those closest to him- his father, mother, and aunt - to become an ...
Ashley Merryman on what separates the elite from the rest of the pack..
"Shouldn't everyone perform at the same level if they already have the skills?"
Catch the full podcast here
...
The Huffington Post recently published a video featuring Dr. Michael Gervais and Coach Pete Carroll discussing the importance of sleep for recovery.
"The scien...
Ashley Merryman on the differences between how men and women approach competition..
"Women are really good at calculating their odds of success and men are...
Recent guest, Luke Tyburski, completed the Ultimate Triathlon journey from Morocco to Monaco. Every day Luke shared video footage from his adventurers via the app, Periscope.
If you click the arrows above, you can scroll through photos he's taken ...
Dr. Gervais discusses the value in creating practice environments that welcome "progressively made mistakes." Rather than avoiding failure, it's important to st...
What do people do who are interested in learning? They search for people and experiences that offer different perspectives, sometimes unconventionally so. On Ju...
Coaching is such a powerful role in people's lives. It takes up so much space. And the things that go into making a great coach are first being a really compassionate caring person that has a real interest in people growing. That's kind of the center...
Michael Gervais, PhD High Performance Psychologist for the Seattle Seahawks, NBA Players, Olympians, and more, shares advice on the best method for building sel...
Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll sits down with WinForever's high performance psychologist Dr. Michael Gervais to discuss some of the behind the scenes ...
