Scaling Up Business with Bill Gallagher

How to Train Unshakable Self-Belief with Dr. Nate Zinsser

Mar 19, 2025

Join Dr. Nate Zinsser, a mental performance coach and author renowned for his work at West Point, as he shares his insights on building unshakable self-belief. Discover how confidence is a skill anyone can develop, illustrated through stories of NFL star Eli Manning and Olympic athletes. Zinsser emphasizes the role of mental resilience in high-pressure environments and the transformative power of reframing challenges. Learn how adopting a positive perspective can change your mindset and elevate your performance in both sports and business.

47:43

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Episode guests

Nate Zinsser

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Confidence is a skill nurtured through openness to coaching and personal growth, influencing performance regardless of one's background.

The journey to unshakable self-belief can be forged through overcoming adversity and focusing on small victories in personal development.

Deep dives

The Nature of Confidence and Coachability

Confidence is portrayed as a skill that can either be developed or allowed to erode over time. An essential aspect of coachability is curiosity, which allows individuals to seek improvement and stay open to learning, regardless of age or experience level. The speaker highlights the diverse reactions of young individuals and professional athletes towards coaching; while some are eager learners, others may exhibit resistance or complacency. This variability underscores the notion that openness to growth is a personal choice that can significantly influence performance.

Intro

2min

The Psychology of Coachability

12min

Building Confidence Through Experience

21min

The Journey of Self-Worth and Significance

3min

The Power of Acknowledgment and Self-Confidence

4min

Transforming Mindset: The Power of Perspective

3min

Reframing Challenges: Finding Beauty in Struggles

2min

How can anyone, regardless of their background, develop lasting confidence?

Confidence isn’t something you’re born with—it’s a skill you build, and Dr. Nate Zinsser has spent his career helping elite athletes, military leaders, and business professionals master it. In this episode, he shares lessons from his work with NFL star Eli Manning, Olympic athletes, and West Point cadets, revealing how anyone can develop unshakable self-belief.

Dr. Nate Zinsser is a mental performance coach, author The Confident Mind, and a longtime director at West Point’s Performance Psychology Program.

Topics explored in this episode:

(02:00) The Foundation of Confidence

- Why some people embrace coaching while others resist it.

(10:30) The Making of a Performance Psychologist

- How wrestling and martial arts shaped Nate’s approach to confidence.

(20:45) Training the Mind

- How the military and top athletes develop mental resilience.

- The story of Olympic bobsledder Jill Bakken and her confidence breakthrough.

(30:20) The Eli Manning Mindset Shift

- How Eli Manning transformed from an uncertain quarterback to a Super Bowl MVP.

- The specific mental habits that made him a clutch performer.

- Why reframing struggles can lead to a breakthrough.

- The bus driver lesson: Changing your mind to change your day.

Thanks to Dr. Nate Zinsser for being on the show!

Learn more about Nate on https://www.natezinsser.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/nate-zinsser-35349010/

Get Nate’s book, The Confident Mind: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1847942946/

Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the Scaling Up Business podcast, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth.

Join Bill in the Growth Navigator Coaching Program: https://ScalingCoach.com/workshop

Bill on LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/BillGall

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Visit https://ScalingUp.com to learn more about Verne Harnish, our team of Scaling Up Coaches, and the Scaling Up Performance Platform, which includes coaching, learning, software, and summit. We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around people, strategy, execution, and cash so that they can scale up successfully and beat the odds of business growth.

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