Intentional Performers

This episode is a little different. For the first time, Brian has someone interviewing him about his new book, Shift Your Mind, which was released today! Chick Hernandez, a DC sports media professional, asked Brian all about the writing process, the different shifts, and what he learned along the way. You can follow Chick on Twitter: @MrChickSports Brian's new book is available everywhere books are sold including the following places: Amazon: https://amzn.to/2I6YFaB Barnes and Noble: https://bit.ly/2SwYk2J IndieBound: https://bit.ly/3noBFnp You can also follow Brian on Twitter: @brianlevenson If you enjoy today's conversation please write us a review on iTunes and if you like the book please write us a review on Amazon.  With Gratitude, The Intentional Performers Team

Jay Triano is a Canadian basketball coach and former professional player, who is currently the lead assistant coach of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as the head coach of the NBA's Toronto Raptors and the interim head coach of the Phoenix Suns. A former Canadian national team player who competed in two Olympics, he has also had two stints as head coach of the national team. In this episode, we discuss the mental part of the game (6:45), things that helped Jay perform as a player from a sport psychology standpoint (8:45), what his childhood was like growing up with his dad as a basketball coach (10:55), the relationship between coaching and sport psychology (13:45), what made Steve Nash special (17:13), where Steve’s belief that he belonged in the NBA came from (22:55), why Jay didn’t wind up being a hockey player (24:00), why he thinks Canada has fallen in love with basketball (25:06), his own basketball journey (26:54), how he went from being a towel-waver to the Canadian National Team’s leading scorer in one year (32:20), if there’s anything he would do on gameday to make sure he had a fearless mind (38:20), the difference between preparation and performance (41:50), what he and his brother had in common playing sports at the professional level (43:34), when he knew he wanted to become a coach (44:55), his transition from college basketball to the pros (46:20), the differences between being an assistant with the US national team and the head coach of the Canadian national team (48:35), what attributes make up a hall-of-fame head coach (50:48) and if those differ from the attributes that make up a hall-of-fame player (51:45), what it was like going from an assistant coach to a head coach in the NBA (52:45), what it was like playing football for a year (54:43), what his basketball coach’s reaction to him going to play football was (56:30), what his tattoos represent and mean to him (59:36), favorite songs (1:04:28), why he wrote his book “Open Look” (1:07:00), and why he thinks Canadians are so proud to be Canadian (1:08:17). I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that will be coming out in October 2020, and you can pre-order 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

Tori Huster is a professional soccer player for the Washington Spirit in the NWSL, where she served as a captain last season. She is also currently the Players Association president. Tori has been a pro athlete since 2012 after graduating from Florida State University. Tori is extremely competitive and has also leveraged mindfulness to develop herself on and off the field. She is honored to be the St. Jude Champion (ambassador) in the DC area as well. In this episode, we discuss what life was like for her growing up (5:50), if it ever felt like she was an only child since she has a 7-year age gap with her sister (9:40), what other sports she played in the past (12:07), if faith was a big part of her upbringing (14:18), what some of the values she has taken from Catholicism are (15:45), her relationship with her mother (17:00), what she has communicated to her father about his relationship with her as a kid (18:50), how she would approach being a mom to a 12-year-old knowing what she now does (24:30), when it became apparent she would play soccer at the Division I level (29:42), what she loved, and continues to love, about soccer (33:05), how she created an internal drive (36:38), if she ever has had thoughts of quitting soccer or burning out (39:30), why she plays soccer (41:55), how close she’s been to the national-team level (45:21), what she does to prepare on gameday to make sure she’s at her best (52:35), what her mindset is before and during a training and how it compares to her gameday mindset (55:45), mental health (57:29), and if soccer coaching is in her future (1:06:43). You can follow her on Twitter @ToriHuster  I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that will be coming out in October 2020, and you can pre-order 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

After guiding Memphis to five post-season berths in seven seasons as the Tigers’ head coach, Josh Pastner became Georgia Tech’s 14th head basketball coach on April 8, 2016. Implementing a high-energy style of play and creative offensive and defensive schemes, and building the Jackets’ talent base for the future, Pastner has established the Yellow Jackets as one of the top defensive teams in the nation, while he and his staff have steadily improved the team’s offense to be ranked in the top half of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Pastner has tirelessly promoted the program on campus and throughout the city of Atlanta in an effort to re-create the major homecourt atmosphere that surrounded the Yellow Jackets throughout the 1980s, 1990s and into the middle of the 2000s. The result has been numerous wins, high excitement and 13 sellouts in four seasons at McCamish Pavilion. Five of his players – guards Josh Okogie, Jose Alvarado and Michael Devoe, as well as centers Ben Lammers and James Banks III – have earned Atlantic Conference honors during his tenure. Okogie, in particular, developed from an under-the-radar high school prospect into a highly regarded NBA prospect, having been selected 20th in the 2018 NBA Draft, while Lammers has had a successful first two years as a pro in Europe. In this episode, we discuss how he got into basketball (6:43), his relationship with his dad (8:30), whether or not he was pushed to pursue a career in playing basketball as opposed to coaching (14:30), the difference between inspiration and motivation (19:10), what his drive was, and is, to be a coach (20:30), how to be present (25:56), how he leverages discipline in his life (28:50), if he’s perfectionistic (31:30), why he’s never tried alcohol, soda, or coffee (37:15), if he struggled to connect with his teammates in college because of that (40:46), the relationship between eating and discipline (45:30), when he developed his 3 principles (47:50), what he would’ve done differently at Memphis (50:40), what he learned from John Calipari (53:00), and why he doesn’t allow his players to curse and if he’s experimented with meditation (58:38). You can follow Josh on Twitter @GTJoshPastner and feel free to send him an email at jpastner@athletics.gatech.edu    I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that will be coming out in October 2020, and you can pre-order 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

Matt Long has been a competitive athlete his entire life. As a member of his high school basketball team, he was required to run in the Brooklyn/Queens X-country Championships. With no prior running experience, he finished fifth for his school, completing the race in uncomfortable high top sneakers. At Iona College, he competed in their Division I basketball program for which a high level of fitness was mandatory. Strength and endurance became especially paramount in his life after college when he became a New York City Firefighter. It was around this time he took up distance running and began competing in Ironman triathlons, finishing his first Ironman race in 2005. He then set his sights on qualifying for the Boston marathon by running the ING NYC marathon later that year. With hard work, dedication and persistence, he trimmed 30 minutes off his personal best to run a 3:13, qualifying for the 2006 Boston event. On the morning of December 22, 2005, Matt Long’s life changed in an instant. He was cycling to work in the early morning when he was struck and run over by a 20-ton bus making an illegal turn. The injuries he sustained pushed him to the brink of death. He received 68 units of blood in the first 40 hours after the accident and spent 5 months in the hospital. More than 40 operations later, he finally began a grueling rehabilitation regime. Matt found the psychological consequences of the accident nearly as hard to process as the physical severities. His doctor had told him he’d be lucky to ever walk again without a cane. Matt fought through months of fear, despair, loneliness, and intense physical and psychological pain to regain the life he once had. His recovery was a miraculous one which included everything from learning to walk again and, a mere three years later, running in the 2008 New York City Marathon. “Running saved my life,” Matt says, and his determination and perseverance has turned him into a symbol of hope and recovery for countless others. Matt’s story was covered in a wildly popular article in the March 2009 edition of Runner’s World magazine. Matt has since chronicled his life and journey both before and after the accident in his book The Long Run, released in October 2010. Matt has also started the I WILL Foundation which provides coaching, training and financial support to help people overcome adversity and challenges caused by illness or traumatic injury.   In this episode, we discuss what his life was like as a kid (7:22), how he thinks having 8 other siblings has impacted him throughout his life (10:15), what values were passed on to him from his parents (11:05), what his mom was like when he was growing up (12:20), how going to Catholic school shaped him (13:05), why he gravitated towards basketball as a kid (14:30), what it was like getting cut from his college team three straight years before making the team his senior year (16:00), why he thinks he got an opportunity to be on the team his senior year (18:41), what if felt like when he heard he’d made the team (20:15), what he gained from playing basketball in comparison to playing rugby (21:49), what his vision for his career was in college (24:30), whether or not he felt a draw to go into the military (26:05), why he decided to become a firefighter (26:50), why he was originally drawn to Wall Street (28:59), what it was like being a bar owner at 25 (30:00), if he had any fear in being a firefighter (33:10), how his preparation and performance mindsets differed as a firefighter (34:45), if there was a debrief process after fighting a fire (36:40), what it was like for him on 9/11 (39:15) and how it’s shaped his life (41:00), what his dreams were prior to 9/11 (42:22), if there was a watershed moment that led him to seeking help (45:20), what training and competing in triathlons is like (47:15),  what he was doing when he got hit (49:20), what it was like living with adversity in his recovery (51:15), what’s different about his mindset today than 20 years ago (53:15), if his mindset changed on his relationship with life and death after his accident (55:30), and what he does to make sure he’s at his best on a daily basis (1:00:20). You can learn more about Matt at www.mattlongspeaker.com, and give him a follow on Twitter and Instagram @443Long_Matt. I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that will be coming out in October 2020, and you can pre-order 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

Danny Manning is known for his passion, honesty, character, positivity and work ethic in helping young people succeed on the court in the game of basketball and off the court in the game of life. He is one of the premier names in the world of basketball. Danny is an American college/professional basketball coach in transition and retired National Basketball Association (NBA) player who spent 15 years in the league. Most recently, Danny served as the men's head coach at Wake Forest University. After being born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and attending high school at Page High School (Greensboro, NC), and later Lawrence High School (Lawrence, KS), Danny went on to play basketball at the University of Kansas, where has was a part of four final four teams. At Kansas, he won an NCAA national championship with the Jayhawks in 1988 as a player, and again as an assistant in 2008. Additionally, Danny is the all-time leading scorer in Kansas basketball history with 2,951 points. He was inducted to the college basketball hall of fame in 2008. As a college head basketball coach, Danny took two different programs to the NCAA Tournament in four years (2014 - Tulsa, 2017 - Wake Forest). He was the 2014 Conference USA Coach of the Year and 2017 Skip Prosser Man of the Year. He has coached 15 NBA draft picks, including 10 first-round selections and nine current NBA players. NBA draft picks who played for Danny include big men Wayne Simien, Julian Wright, Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson, Sasha Kaun, Cole Aldrich, twins Marcus and Markieff Morris, Jeff Withey and Thomas Robinson at Kansas, in addition to John Collins at Wake Forest.  In this episode, we discuss Danny’s life and upbringing as a kid in a basketball town with a basketball family (4:59), whether or not moving around a lot in his childhood helped him to better navigate the world (6:15), the values his parents passed down to him and his sister (7:40), what he loved about basketball growing up (9:27), his other hobbies outside of basketball (10:30), where he considers “home” to be (11:10), if he knew he wanted to play college basketball at Kansas (12:10), what it was like playing in an intense and pressure-filled environment at Kansas (17:19), the similarities between the championship teams he was a part of in 1988 and 2008 (20:07), his thoughts and feelings during both of those championship runs (21:33), how he was able to interpret the pressure he faced during his career in a positive light (24:30), his mindset as a coach before, during, and after the 2008 championship (26:50), coaching with joy (30:40), how coaching is like parenting (33:25), why he chose to coach in college as opposed to the NBA (36:13), what it’s like navigating Lawrence, Kansas as such a recognizable figure (38:58), the mindset of sticking out as an all-star vs. being a role-player off the bench (41:00), whether he faced pressure to become more “selfish” as a player in the NBA (44:00),  how he navigated recovering from 3 torn ACLs (45:57), what he learned from being coached by legends (49:56), what his coaching philosophy is and the importance of education (52:30), his thoughts on the one-and-done era (55:39), how he would get his mind set on game day as a player (58:00) vs. as a coach (59:50), what it was like for him emotionally to have his jersey retired at Kansas (1:02:20), and the importance of being kind, understanding, and empathetic during these times (1:05:50). Thank you to Danny for coming on the podcast. We encourage you to follow him on twitter @CoachDManning I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that will be coming out in October 2020, and you can pre-order 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

Dr. Meeta Singh joins us on this week’s episode of the podcast. Dr. Meeta Singh is a board-certified physician focused on the applied science of sleep. Her approach concentrates on improving sleep health with the aim of enhancing physical and mental performance, health, and quality of life. She has a clinical practice where she is a service chief of sleep medicine and section head and medical director at the Henry Ford Sleep Center in Michigan. She is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She also serves as a Consultant for multiple NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB teams. She has worked with college sports teams, large organizations and CEO’s aiming for success in this world. In this episode, we discuss setting yourself up for success from a sleep perspective (6:00), how she thinks about sleep (9:00), how everything relates to sleep (12:30), sleep and the medical field (17:00), circadian rhythms (21:20), NBA schedule and sleep (23:50), her life as a kid (25:10), why psychiatry (28:50), what the art of what she does looks like (33:30), how to be an effective sleeper on the road (37:40), setting your schedule (43:00), what she does when working with a sports team (47:20), exposing yourself to light (50:00), darkness at night and brightness in the morning (51:30), what to do if you’re having difficulty sleeping (54:30), working smarter and not harder (58:40), working with sports coaches (1:01:10), why we sometimes feel better when waking up earlier (1:08:30), and what she does to be her best (1:09:30). Thank you to Meeta for coming on the podcast. We encourage you to check out her website https://meetasinghmd.com/, and find her on social media on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that will be coming out in October 2020, and you can pre-order 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

John Sipher joins us on this week’s episode of the podcast. John is the Co-Founder of Spy Craft Entertainment which is a production firm providing content and talent to the entertainment industry. John is also a foreign policy and intelligence expert and social media influencer. His articles have been published in the NY Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Politico, and pretty much everywhere you get your news. He retired in 2014 after a 28-year career in the CIA, and served many overseas tours. He also served as a lead instructor in the CIA’s Training School and was a regular lecturer in the CIA’s Leadership Development Program. He also has a sports background as he was a Captain of the Lacrosse Team at Hobart College. In this episode, we discuss how he thinks about pressure (6:10), shifting against your country vs. government (11:30), his upbringing (13:15), education and his parents (19:15), why they were so successful at Hobart Lacrosse (21:30), what he learned as a captain (23:10), the different ways of leadership (27:00), advice he’d give to himself as a captain his senior year (33:40), how you build trust (36:10), what a good mentor does (41:30), level 5 leadership (46:30), what led him to his career (50:30), why the CIA (52:50), what surprised him about being in the CIA (55:30), what it’s like to be undercover (1:01:40), being undercover vs being out front (1:08:00), what he misses about being in the action (1:14:20), what he doesn’t miss about the CIA (1:18:40), what he does to make sure he’s at his best (1:20:00), and what he’s up to now (1:25:10) Thank you to John for coming on the podcast. We encourage you to check him out on Twitter @john_sipher and go to his company’s website https://spycraftentertainment.com/. I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that will be coming out in October 2020, and you can pre-order 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

Andrew Hawkins joins us on this week’s episode of the podcast. Andrew, who goes by Hawk, is a former NFL Wide Receiver, sports executive, Emmy award winner, Oscar award winner, and he’s somebody who is a life long learner. He’s a former NFL team captain, he got his master’s degree from Columbia University, and he has become synonymous with creating cultural content and digital media that goes well beyond the playing field. After his playing career, he began his media career with ESPN and is incredibly thoughtful and bright when it comes technology. He is currently an on-air talent for NFL Network and Uninterrupted. He has written and produced award winning comedy sketches and was the Executive Producer of Hair Love which won the 2020 Academy Award for best animated short. For the past three years, he has simultaneously served as the Director of Business Development for the media marketing companies of LeBron James and Maverick Carter. In this episode, we discuss his upbringing (5:40), where he’d be without his brother and grandpa (10:15), his athleticism and self-talk growing up (14:30), his experience at Toledo playing both ways (18:20), how he thinks about adding value (20:10), his mindset in preparation vs. performance (24:30), specialization vs. generalist (30:00), if he’s mentally quick (32:40), his story after graduation (34:10), if he loves football (38:00), his rookie minicamp in Cleveland (45:50), getting on Michael Irvin’s show (48:20), what it was like to not be the underdog (54:30), his desire to go back to school for his masters (56:50), and why he likes entertainment (1:01:40). Thank you to Andrew for coming on the podcast. We encourage you to check him out on all social media @Hawk. I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that will be coming out in October 2020, and you can pre-order 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

David Epstein joins us on this week’s episode of the podcast. He is the author of 2 books: Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, a #1 NY Times best seller, and The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athlete Performance, another NY Times best seller. He was previously a science and investigative reporter at ProPublica, and prior to that, he was a senior writer at Sports Illustrated. He has done amazing work, and has a TedTalk that has been viewed over 8.5 million times.   In this episode, we discuss where his curiosity comes from (5:40), his brother (11:40), why he combined his sports and science interest (13:00), how pain predicates behavioral change (14:30), the power of feeling all emotions (17:40), how he thinks about his audience (19:30), how he got over the fear of putting his book out (23:40), if he ever gets imposter syndrome (27:30), preparation vs. performance mindset (29:40), what he does to prepare for speaking (32:40), how he thinks about grit and agility (36:30), the importance of curiosity (44:30), what has allowed him to have conversations with Gladwell and Duckworth (47:00), the value in drilling and playing (53:30), nature vs. nurture in his books (57:10), how we nurture the nature (1:01:20), and what he learned from the Girls Scout CEO (1:04:30).   Thank you to David for coming on the podcast. We encourage you to check out his newsletter which you can find at https://davidepstein.com/, and also follow him on Twitter @DavidEpstein.   I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that will be coming out in October 2020, and you can pre-order 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