Intentional Performers

Nik Wallenda has 11 Guinness World Records and has completed a list of never-before-seen death defying feats. He has written his name in history as the king of the highwire. Additionally, Nik has performed live in every state in the US and all over the world. He has garnered the support from tens of millions of viewers on network television specials on ABC, The Discovery Channel, and others. Nik has completed such accomplishments as walking a highwire over both the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls with no safety net, as well as walking blindfolded across skyscrapers in Chicago. In this episode, we discuss Nik’s traumatic experience and his vulnerability (6:45), what he does to help people overcome their fear of high-wire walking (8:30), how he makes sure that both he and others are where they need to be before a performance (10:23), how he treats pressure (11:53), if there is ever a part of him that will relinquish his hands-on nature (13:43), the similarities and differences between what he does and selling a product (16:27), how his mindset differs and is similar when he’s doing a team vs. a solo act on the wire (19:39), if he prefers walking with a team or walking by himself (21:31), how his traumatic experience has impacted him (22:16), if he still believes it was the right thing to do to go out and perform the day after the accident (28:48), sweeping trauma under the rug (32:00), what he did to improve as a leader and to handle the shame (34:23), Brene Brown and vulnerability (37:21), the vast breadth of trauma in so many people (39:00), who he is an awe of/who inspires him (44:18), his messages to his kids about their future inspiring and entertaining people (51:01), how kids decide on their futures (55:32), and if there is a downside to always thinking about what’s next, as well as revitalizing the circus (58:02). Please check out Nik’s book “Facing Fear” as well! Thanks so much to Nik for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening. -Brian

Nicole Lynn Lewis is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Generation Hope, a nonprofit organization that surrounds motivated teen parents and their children with the mentors, emotional support, and financial resources that they need to thrive in college and kindergarten, thereby driving a two-generation solution to poverty. A former teen mother herself who put herself through the College of William & Mary with her three-month old daughter in tow, Nicole now works every day to change the statistic that less than 2% of teen mothers will earn their degrees before age 30. Generation Hope rallies around teen parents to help them earn college degrees and forge a path to economic opportunity and is now expanding its work with young parents beyond the D.C. region by sharing its best practices to help colleges and universities across the country better meet the needs of the nearly 4 million parenting students who are working toward their degrees. Nicole is a member of the board of trustees of Trinity Washington University and a National Advisory Board member of The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice. She has received various awards, including being honored as a CNN Hero and the national grand prize winner of the Roslyn S. Jaffe Award, and has been featured on major news outlets including “Good Morning America,” CNN, “NBC Nightly News,” and The Washington Post. Most recently, she was honored with the inaugural Black Voices for Black Justice Award, which “recognizes incredible leaders who have been on the frontlines working to dismantle the deep-rooted, racist systems that have plagued our country for centuries.” She is also a nationally known author and speaker with her next, highly-anticipated book, Pregnant Girl, to be released by Beacon Press in the spring of 2021. Nicole holds a Master’s degree in Social Policy and Communication from George Mason University and a Bachelor’s degree in English from the College of William & Mary. Nicole and her husband, Donté Lewis, live in Maryland with their four children. In this episode, we discuss the day Nicole found out she got into college and what that was like for her (5:26), why she was interested in journalism (6:38), where her drive to write came from (7:35), what her parents did for a living (8:05), getting her envelope from the University of Maryland (9:43), what it was like when she found out she was pregnant (10:31), how becoming pregnant impacted her identity as a high schooler, as well as some of the stigmas that came along with it (12:48), what emotions she would use to label what that experience was like for her (14:45), what her boyfriend’s reaction was (15:55), what her parents’ reaction was (17:12), who else influenced and impacted her decision, if anyone, to still go to college (18:52), why she decided to go to William & Mary (20:02), what the William & Mary experience was like for her (21:41), how she wound up homeless (24:00), who was supportive of her during this time (25:42), her tumultuous senior year of high school (26:40), receiving her William & Mary acceptance letter (27:38), what it was like on campus with a 3-month-old (28:49), what was driving her to get her college degree (31:27), if writing was something she did (i.e., journaling) at this time (32:38), what she thought she was going to do with her life after college (34:07), what her situation was like with regard to taking on debt and paying bills, and if that ever played a role in deciding whether or not to stay in college (36:00), how she was able to graduate as an Honor’s student (37:22), her first jobs after college and how she got started with Generation Hope (40:33), why she decided to pivot to non-profit work when she was doing very well for herself and her daughter in the for-profit world (44:06), what she has learned as she began running her own non-profit (47:40), how race plays a role in the work she does (53:29), why she is so passionate about fighting for pregnant teens to get a degree (57:14), what makes a great mentor, what makes a great mentee, and what she has learned about mentoring over the years (1:01:12), how she sees herself today (1:05:06), being a black CEO of a non-profit organization (1:09:55), and how she continues to lean into her gifts and her calling without intimidating people and instead fitting in and connecting with others (1:13:17). You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @NicoleLynnLewis, and you can also follow Generation Hope on those same platforms @SupportGenHope. Additionally, you can check out Generation hope on Facebook at facebook.com/SupportGenerationHope. Thanks so much to Nicole for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening. -Brian

Brendan Suhr is one of the most respected figures in basketball, as he has nearly 30 years of coach and executive experience in the NBA, as well as 13 seasons as a coach at the collegiate level. He has been part of some of the most historical basketball teams of all time, while winning back-to-back championships with the “Bad Boy” Detroit Pistons, also working as an assistant coach on the 1992 Dream Team. Brendan has also worked for hall of fame coaches such as Chuck Daly, Hubie Brown, and Lenny Wilkins. Today, Brendan works with people in the corporate world. Brendan is someone who cares deeply about relationships and pouring all of the wisdom he has learned over the years into coaches and, in turn, into the basketball community. In this episode, we discuss what life was like for Brendan growing up (5:55), the values he got from his parents (11:04), the value of education (14:13), range/specialization in education (19:07), why not to go too narrow in studying specialties (22:07), what it was like to have Hubie Brown as his high school head coach (24:50), how Brendan’s “presence” developed over time (28:28), what Hubie saw in Brendan that made it so Hubie wanted Brendan to help him just 10 years after coaching him (31:17), taking advantage of every opportunity that came his way (35:45), the commonalities Brendan found amongst the great coaches he’s played for and worked with (39:27), the differences between those coaches (41:05), how he stayed true to who he was while still “stealing” attributes from the other great coaches he was around (44:53), why he went in his own direction and considers himself a “softer” coach (48:57), serving others and serving oneself (53:21), how he and Chuck navigated working with the Pistons and the Dream Team differently (55:50), how Rick Mahorn navigated and changed who he was on and off the court (58:25), anger (59:50), what made the Pistons great (1:02:35), the expectations for the Dream Team and how that played into the coaches’ messaging to the players (1:07:08), what makes a great assistant coach (1:14:44), what it means to be coachable (1:16:56), Coaching U and MindVue (1:24:21), and what drives Brendan today. You can follow Brendan on Twitter @BrendanSuhr. Additionally, you check out Coaching U’s website here, as well as follow Coaching U on Twitter @Coaching_U. Lastly, you can visit MindVue’s website here. Thanks so much to Brendan for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening. -Brian

Lauren Johnson works as a mental performance coach. Additionally, she’s a keynote speaker, a writer, an entrepreneur, and she’s curious, obsessed, and interested with how the lessons in sports translate to the corporate world. She’s given keynotes to such notable organizations as the FBI, Johnson and Johnson, and Mass Mutual. Additionally, she’s worked for the New York Yankees as their mental conditioning coordinator. In this episode, we discuss her taking the leap to putting out video content despite being somewhat insecure and hesitant about it (6:07), if she received negative feedback on the videos early on (8:05), why she didn’t give up on it (9:15), the importance of learning how to fail (12:34), if there was a particular moment in one of her videos that made her proud and what she learned from that (13:57), how she is choosing to see the good during these tough times (18:52), empathy, anger, thoughts, and feelings (28:06), when she leans into empathy and when she chooses to focus on something else (30:52), handling difficult and uncomfortable situations (33:30), soccer and the influence it had on her, as well as why she decided to become a mental performance coach (36:51), what it felt like when people would laugh at her degree in performance psychology (42:59), how she thinks about motivation and inspiration as it relates to performance (46:07), aspiration (49:52), what inside Lauren allowed her to be confident in her work with the Yankees (54:31), what she does intentionally to show up as her best self (56:58), what she likes to read (59:45), how to best synthesize information to help it stick with you (1:01:19), what she has learned from working in baseball (1:03:42), and how she defines mental toughness (1:07:51). You can follow her on Instagram @laurennicolejohnson. Thanks so much to Lauren for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening. -Brian

Rachel Tipograph considered herself amongst the digerati since the moment she became an eBay power user at 13. Forbes listed Rachel as one of its “30 under 30 Who Are Changing The World,” Marie Claire named her one of “The 50 Most Influential Women in America,” Fast Company named her one of “The Most Creative People in Business,” AdAge named her one of “The Most Creative People of The Year,” Adweek named her one of “The Young Influentials Shaping Business and Culture,” Entrepreneur named her one of the “50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs,” Goldman Sachs named her one of “The 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs,” Business Insider named her one of “New York Tech’s Coolest People”, Refinery29 named her one of its “Rising Female Tech Stars,” The Wrap named her one of “The 11 Change Agents Disrupting Hollywood,” and LinkedIn named her one of its “Next Wave: Top Professionals 35 & Under.”   After being the Global Director of Digital and Social Media at Gap where she oversaw strategy, implementation and measurement, Rachel traveled the world solo and then founded MikMak, the enterprise marketing eCommerce platform that helps brands better understand consumers by connecting digital investments to online retailer insights. In this episode, we discuss what life was like For Rachel as a kid (5:16), her family’s relationship with Modell’s (6:12), her parents’ lessons on entrepreneurship (7:23), if there was a downside to having her parents work so hard and be so passionate about what they did (10:16), what she did as a kid and what she was like (12:45), why she was initially against IPO-ing (14:24), what it was like for her to come out of the closet to her friends and family (15:17), how she classifies her identity (17:17), if she was always a leader (18:27), how she thinks about leadership from a hiring and development standpoint (19:13), how she maintains a company where people are healthy with themselves, healthy with their organization, healthy with their team, and healthy with their customers (24:45), the values she looks for in people that will align with her organization (30:14), when it is appropriate to say “I” and focus on yourself as opposed to the team (34:14), if there are ever moments where she needs to step into and embrace ego (40:06), the biggest takeaways she’s gotten from therapy and executive coaching (41:20), what it was like for her to be innovative at a big company (GAP) when she was 24 years ole (45:03), if she’s able to take what she learned at GAP and apply it to MikMak or if she has to use new muscles now (50:43), what she says to people who are “young” for their job (52:46), why she enjoys public speaking (55:22), her advice to people who are forced into working remotely for the first time (58:43), what she does intentionally to make sure she’s taking care of herself (1:00:06), and what MikMak does (1:02:21). You can follow MikMak on Instagram @mikmaktv. Additionally, you can follow her on any social media platform @racheltipograph. You can also check out the company on LinkedIn here as well as Rachel’s personal LinkedIn here. Thanks so much to Rachel for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening. -Brian

Ryan Hawk is a keynote speaker, author, advisor, and the host of The Learning Leader Show, a podcast with millions of listeners in more than 150 countries. He is the author of Welcome to Management: How to Grow from Top Performer to Excellent Leader (McGraw-Hill, January 2020). A lifelong student of leadership, he rose to roles as a professional quarterback and VP of Sales at a multibillion-dollar company. Currently, as head of Brixey & Meyer’s leadership advisory practice, Ryan speaks regularly at Fortune 500 companies, works with teams and players in the NFL, NBA, and NCAA, and facilitates “Leadership Circles” that offers structured guidance and collaborative feedback to new and experienced leaders. In this episode, we discuss the transition from high performer to excellent leader and coach (5:33), what makes someone a great manager, what makes someone great at sales, and why are those considered “bad” words (8:14), where people struggle with helping people get to where they want to go (13:14), what helps people transition from focusing solely on their own success to focusing on the success of the team (18:57), his upbringing, what it was like in the Hawk household growing up, and the values that were instilled in him and his brothers (23:13), what it was like to be on campus with Ben Roethlisberger at Miami (OH) and to compete against him every day (30:15), how he defines competition (32:58), focusing on the process instead of the results (38:20), why some people prefer to stay in a sales role as opposed to a manager/leadership role (42:48), how he thinks about the process of getting some people to manage others (47:29), what people should do if they have a bad boss who doesn’t empower them (50:24), what it means to say “compliance can be commanded but commitment cannot” (52:24), what he thinks of the phrases “servant leadership” and “buy-in,” and if they suggest compliance as opposed to commitment  (56:13), what makes a good boss (57:47), what his days look like and what he does intentionally to make sure he’s at his best (1:00:05), and if there is a downside to his desire to be a learning machine that never stops (1:05:37). You can follow Ryan on Instagram and Twitter @RyanHawk12. Additionally, make sure to check out his podcast, the Learning Leader Show, and his website here. Thanks so much to Ryan for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening. -Brian

Haley Skarupa is a member of the 2018 United States Women’s Olympic ice hockey Team who took home a gold medal from the Winter Olympics this past February in Pyeongchang, South Korea. She is a three-time World Champion and also a Four Nations Cup Gold Medalist for Team USA as well. Haley graduated from Boston College in 2016, majoring in psychology. While at Boston College, she was named an All-American Collegiate Athlete and is currently the second highest points leader in Boston College hockey history, men or women, with 115 goals and 244 total points in her four years. Out of college, she was drafted 5th overall into the National Women’s Hockey League and was a unanimous All-Star Selection her rookie season for the Connecticut Whale. She is originally from Rockville, Maryland and graduated from Wootton High School in 2012. Most recently, she has joined the Washington Capitals organization as their Hockey Ambassador. She has brought her background and experience to help promote the growth of the game in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. She also works in Business Development for Klaviyo, a marketing automation software company in Boston, MA. In this episode, we discuss what Haley’s life was like as a kid (6:40), her experience as the only girl on a boy’s hockey team (8:35), where her courage and willingness to be brave came from (9:44), if there was ever a time her parents dissuaded her from playing hockey (13:07), the differences between playing on an all-boys vs all-girls team (16:57), would she have preferred to stand out or fit in when she was younger (23:07), if there are times in different hockey contexts where it was required for her to stand out or required for her to fit in (24:55), her experience at Nationals (28:57), what her experience was like at the Olympics and how she shifted her mind to be able to perform on the biggest stage (34:17), the mindsets of figure skaters (37:50), what it was like for her to get cut and how she handled it (42:04), role clarity (51:54), seizing opportunities (54:38), being able to change your role if necessary (57:01), what it was like winning a gold medal in 2018 (58:27), the response the community gave to winning the gold medal (1:00:30), the state of professional hockey for women and its goals (1:02:43), and promoting women’ sports in the US (1:05:11). You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter @Skrooops28. Thanks so much to Haley for coming on the Podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening. -Brian

Rahul Vohra is the CEO and Co-Founder of Superhuman, the fastest email experience ever made. He previously founded Rapportive, a popular Gmail plug-in that was acquired by LinkedIn. In this episode, we discuss what Rahul was like as a kid (7:15), how he began coding at the age of 8 (8:26), how his parents instilled a love of learning in Rahul and his brother (12:11), how he showed up emotionally and mentally during his educational journey (17:05), if there was ever a time his parents, who were doctors, pressured him to become a doctor (23:28), why he was built to be an entrepreneur (25:42), what he wishes he knew when he was younger that he knows now (27:49), where his love for psychology came from and when it came in (30:30), his experience with executive coaching (33:36), how he thinks about partnership and bringing on other people to help him (36:05), why his personal values are the same as his business’s core values (37:27), how he operates Superhuman and lives his life intentionally (39:59), adapting, or not adapting, to a set schedule (44:09), when he got into bodybuilding and how he thinks about it (47:44), why Superhuman is a referral-only and waitlist product (50:22), why Superhuman has an onboarding process to show customers how to use the product (53:48), how Rahul continues to lead as his company grows in size (57:00), what he does intentionally throughout every day to make sure he’s the best version of himself (1:02:58), how he thinks about empathy as a leader (1:05:27), and where he goes for inspiration and motivation (1:07:31). You can Learn more about Rahul and Superhuman at superhuman.com. Additionally, feel free to follow Superhuman on Twitter @superhuman, on Facebook, and on Instagram @SuperhumanCo. Thanks so much to Rahul for coming on the Podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening. -Brian

Rae Ringel is a certified executive coach and founding President of The Ringel Group. She is a faculty member at the Georgetown University Institute for Transformational Leadership and founding director of their certificate program in the Art of Facilitation and Design. She is also adjunct faculty at the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business. Rae is in high demand as an innovator in the areas of coaching, facilitation and training across sectors. She enables a growing list of executives in some of the most successful Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits and government agencies to become more effective managers and stronger communicators with a formidable leadership presence. In this episode, we discuss how Rae helped Brian to get involved with executive coaching (7:51), how she thinks about competing and competition (8:59), what her childhood was like (11:41), her thoughts on stopping things as opposed to staying with them (15:18), the first thing she fully committed to (17:29), why she values relationships and friendships so much (19:17), what she intentionally does to make sure the relationships in her life are strong (22:11), how she thinks about sabbatical and what that experience was like for her (24:05), how she maintained her relationships with people in the US while she was in Israel (26:33), fostering independence and agility in children (29:42), when she got started with facilitation and her professional journey (32:42), how she thinks about the differences between training, coaching, and facilitation (37:46), what she loves about facilitating (41:07), how she sets her mind for a performance (44:16), gratitude and vulnerability (48:18), what makes a successful virtual meeting or conversation (52:18), how she translates what she’s learned in virtual meetings to in-person keynotes (59:30), what possibilities lie ahead for Rae in 2021 that would make it a successful year for her (1:03:20), You can check out Rae’s website here! Thank you so much to Rae for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening. -Brian

Sue Enquist is a legendary softball coach who coached the UCLA softball team for 27 years. She has won 11 National Championships, 1 as a player and 10 as a coach. However, this conversation is not about anything related to her impressive resume. Sue is much more interested in talking about her failures, what she would have done differently, coaching today, and how coaching has evolved through the years. In this episode, we discuss why Sue doesn’t like talking about winning (5:00), how she thinks about her legacy (5:45), if she thinks winning can get in the way of growth or if there’s a downside to winning (8:32), how she has adapted in her ways of thinking (10:30), why she does what she does today and how that’s evolved over the years (14:02), how she saw polarity show up in other legendary coaches she was around at UCLA (17:52), how she thinks about expectations (24:52), how vulnerability plays a role in coaching (32:25), focusing more on the process than the results (38:06), coaching coaches (43:36), watershed moments in her life (47:07), what chasing excellence means to her (50:12), rest, recovery, and mental health (58:19), why she hates the word confidence (1:00:12), how she remains both curious and convicted (1:04:32), how she feels about being called a legend (1:10:20), and onesoftball (1:14:30). Thank you so much to Sue for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening. -Brian