Performance Intelligence Podcast

Grounding has a powerful impact on mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing and we're seeing this reflected in research and practice amongst high performers in the sporting and corporate world. As interest in grounding continues to grow, it’s becoming a key wellness trend, alongside an area of significant scientific study.This week on the Performance Intelligence Podcast, Dr Tom Buckley is back with Andrew May to dive into the latest research, effective techniques, and popular products that you can incorporate into your routine for maximum benefit.In this episode Andrew and Dr Tom discuss:2:00 Andrew’s executive client started using grounding and the impact of nature on the mind and body.6:00 Dr Tom’s experience growing up grounding and racing cross country barefoot.9:15 Negative Ionisation from water colliding and using nature as a type of therapy.11:40 The difference between earthing and grounding.16:00 Using grounding in palliative care with terminal patients.18:30 Different high-performing teams integrate grounding into their daily routines.21:15 Habit stacking and double dipping on grounding protocols.23:55 Dr Tom’s use of a grounding blanket and the benefits he gets from it. 28:50 The mental health benefits of grounding.30:40 The physical health benefits of grounding.32:30 getting emotional benefits from grounding on top of everything else.37:05 10 practical tips for grounding.43:30 Limiting your electronics exposure when grounding.46:30 Avoid using wireless headphones whenever possible.49:30 Dr Tom’s change from being sceptical to all-in on grounding.53:25 PQ & You with Lucy Masters. Looking to streamline your financial goals? Connect with Zack Raad at Fruition Financial. 📅 Book a meeting with Zack: Calendly Link📞 Call: 0478 622 281📧 Email: zack@fruitionfinancial.com.au🌐 Website: www.fruitionfinancial.com.auZack Raad (Credit Representative 555450) is authorised under Australian Credit Licence 389328. Your full financial situation will need to be reviewed prior to acceptance of any offer or product. This podcast is intended as a guide only. No loan approval can be assumed on this basis. All applications remain subject to the specific lenders credit approval criteria.Use Code "PIPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Matt Comyn, the CEO of Commonwealth Bank, dives into the metrics vital for achieving peak performance. He discusses the role of wearable tech in tracking these metrics and shares his strategies for energy management and task switching to prevent burnout. Comyn emphasizes the importance of sleep, challenging conventional beliefs, and highlights how financial health parallels athletic training. He also addresses the impact of alcohol on performance and promotes personalized wellness approaches to optimize health and stress management.

Ultra-marathon runner Sean Bell is breaking down the raw and powerful mindset it took to keep moving forward when it was just him against the distance. Sean has become the fastest person to circumnavigate Australia on foot, finishing 13,383km in 158 days, 14 hours and 52 minutes. He averaged 84km per day and broke the existing record by 11 days.Sean pushed past mental and physical limits daily, not just to make history but to make a difference. Fueled by a mission to chase his audacious dreams and inspire others to do the same, Sean’s journey speaks to what’s possible when you commit entirely to a purpose."Life is all about stages...initially, I never thought I'm going to run around Australia...but hearing [Stu Middleman] story made me believe that maybe I can run a marathon..and so once I achieved that, well then you think what's next?" In this episode Andrew and Sean discuss:1:50 Sean’s recent move to Sydney, growing up wanting to be an AFL player and the moment that all changed after he ran his first marathon.6:15 Working hard to achieve your goals, realising that nobody is coming to save you and you should only get a ribbon if you earn it.10:50 Sean’s mate Joey unexpectedly passing away and the impact that had on Sean’s life, what Sean got out of seeing Tony Robbins live in America and starting to look at what is possible in ultra endurance running.16:30 Why Sean is so optimistic, pushing past people telling you you’re not good enough and when Sean realised he would have to have a deliberate training plan to be able to run long distances.22:45 Learning psychological skills through experience, Sean’s purpose and meeting his coach Jase while preparing for a big run.28:30 The masterclass in goal setting that Sean has gone through, some of the inspirational figures in Sean’s life and running 50 marathons in 50 days to get ready for the run around Australia.36:15 Some of the training Sean had to do to prepare his body for the run, how he was able to break it down into achievable goals and putting on excess muscle knowing you are going to lose it while running.41:45 Looking at the requirements for being able to run around Australia and building up to that, the 33% split between physical, psychological and support staff needed to do the run and not wanting to tap out after starting the run.47:30 Getting a stress fracture 8 weeks out from the run, breaking the run down into 8km segments and the best day of running that Sean had on his journey.56:30 Running a double marathon every day as a goal, coach Jase’s unfortunate passing just before the run and the wizard’s take outs from the episode so far.1:04:30 Sean still processing the fact that he was able to achieve his goal, getting support from previous record holders and the challenge of running across Tasmania after running around the mainland.1:12:30 Sean’s unusual diet on the run, building up mental toughness on the run and the importance of visualisation for Sean’s problem solving on the run.1:21:55 What Sean is planning to do next, how you can find Sean and Andrew and Shannon’s reflections.You can find Sean at his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanbellruns/?hl=enAt his Website: https://seanbellruns.com/Or at his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanbellruns/?originalSubdomain=auSend Sean an email at: sean@seanbellruns.com Looking to streamline your financial goals? Connect with Zack Raad at Fruition Financial. 📅 Book a meeting with Zack: Calendly Link📞 Call: 0478 622 281📧 Email: zack@fruitionfinancial.com.au🌐 Website: www.fruitionfinancial.com.auZack Raad (Credit Representative 555450) is authorised under Australian Credit Licence 389328. Your full financial situation will need to be reviewed prior to acceptance of any offer or product. This podcast is intended as a guide only. No loan approval can be assumed on this basis. All applications remain subject to the specific lenders credit approval criteria.Use Code "PIPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

In this Bite Size from episode #106 Warrant Officer Ken Robertson shares his story of growth from putting up a tough front that started on the sports field and leaked into his personal and professional life. Ken also talks about how it took him going to someone who didn’t like him to get some honest and direct feedback on what he should change about himself.  You can find Ken at his Twitter: https://x.com/seac_adfOr at the Defence Website: https://www.defence.gov.au/about/who-we-are/leaders/senior-enlisted-advisor-cdf Looking to streamline your financial goals? Connect with Zack Raad at Fruition Financial. 📅 Book a meeting with Zack: Calendly Link📞 Call: 0478 622 281📧 Email: zack@fruitionfinancial.com.au🌐 Website: www.fruitionfinancial.com.auZack Raad (Credit Representative 555450) is authorised under Australian Credit Licence 389328. Your full financial situation will need to be reviewed prior to acceptance of any offer or product. This podcast is intended as a guide only. No loan approval can be assumed on this basis. All applications remain subject to the specific lenders credit approval criteria.Use Code "PIPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Reini Otter, CEO of Frasers Property Industrial, is renowned for his innovative leadership and commitment to health. He shares how his cancer diagnosis reshaped his views on wellbeing and leadership. Reini emphasizes the critical link between mental health and physical wellbeing, advocating for personalized wellness strategies. He explores the meaning of performance intelligence and the balance between resilience and vulnerability in leadership. Reini also highlights the importance of creating a supportive environment to enhance employee health and performance.

This week’s Bite-Size episode highlights Andrew May’s appearance on the Master Your Market podcast with Chris Ashmore, where they dive into the mindset of elite athletes and how it parallels success in business and life.In this episode Andrew and Chris discuss:- Is there a common thread in the success of elite athletes?- The parallels between athletes and top business leaders- Andrew's take on Arnold Schwarzenegger's views on success- Andrew’s role as a performance coach to elite athletes and CEOs- Why the Performance Intelligence podcast is so important to him- Andrew's advice on improving health, fitness, and wellbeing.Find Master Your Market Podcast here: https://chrisashmore.media/master-your-market/knowing-is-not-doing-unlocking-peak-performance   Use Code "PIPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Ever wondered what it's really like to be a firefighter? Station Officer Sam Monaghan is here talking about Firefighting Tactics for High-Stakes Moments, The Art of State Management, and Upregulating Under Pressure."A chaotic incident will control you until you can take some kind of decisive steps to control it...and calm sounds like you're being passive...but to me being calm is a very proactive state, to me being calm means I'm going to do what I want when I want..."Sam is a dedicated firefighter and Station Officer with Fire and Rescue NSW, known for his leadership in both daily operations and high-stakes emergencies. Sam was part of the Australian Taskforce deployed to Türkiye in 2023, where his focus on process and resilience was key.  In this episode Andrew and Sam discuss:3:30 How Sam moved from a career in finance to firefighting, dealing with risks in finance compared to risks in firefighting and how similar real world firefighting is to the movie backdraft.8:15 Shifting your state in a matter of minutes from sleep to fighting a fire, how Sam downregulates and trains real skills with practiced rehearsals.16:40 How widespread mental skills training is in the fire brigade, the importance of triaging information and how people deal with their own issues their own way.21:30 Frontloading mental skills in the fire brigade, how Sam trains his imagery and visualisation, and the importance of understanding your team in a high-pressure environment.30:40 Learning from post-fire reviews, practicing imagery after a fire while it’s still fresh and shifting back to a normal state after stress.36:20 Journalling or reviewing your day however works best for you, using breathwork in the fire truck to and from a fire and the average day for a firefighter.42:40 Mark Dobson changing the landscape for first responders, being intentional in switching modes after work and the role of the organisation in helping their workers.50:30 Being open about seeing a psychologist, the culture change in first responders over the decades, and the shift to more brain training.56:40 Sam’s experience working rescue in Lebanon after the earthquake, how Sam dealt with the mental strain of a tough environment, and the importance of having a mental support network.1:07:15 Firefighting being more than just a job to Sam, what a world-class firefighter would look like, and how you recruit for a firefighting job.1:12:45 how firefighters educate themselves, dealing with imposter syndrome, and Sam’s moment of realising how far he had come in his skills.1:19:00 Andrew and Dr Tom's reflections.Follow Sam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-monaghan-1a68b1207/?originalSubdomain=auFind the resources mentioned in this podcast: https://shorturl.at/j0BFH Use Code "PIPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

In this Bite Size from episode #105 former gold medal winning Olympian Michael Klim talks about how his CIPD diagnosis shook him to his core and why he had to do a lot of work to rebuild his identity. Michael shares how his old identity had been built around his physicality and achievements and how the people around him were the ones who had to help bring him out of his depression.  You can find Michael at his TGI Sport Profile: https://tgisport.com.au/talent/michael-klim/At his Website: https://www.michaelklim.com/Or on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelklim1/?hl=en  Use Code "PIPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Surviving a Heli Crash, The Power of Tapping the Dark Side, and the 1st Paraplegic to Scale Everest Base CampIn 2018, Jay Stevens life took a dramatic turn after a helicopter crash in Uluru left him paralyzed, with doctors telling him he’d never walk again. Despite a severe spinal cord injury and a bleak prognosis, Jay refused to accept his fate.Through sheer grit and an unbreakable mindset, Jay rebuilt his body and life, becoming the first paraplegic to walk to Everest Base Camp without the aid of a wheelchair. His journey is a testament to defying the odds and pushing past life’s toughest barriers. Jay’s story isn’t just about survival; it’s about embracing challenges, harnessing the “dark side” for strength, and proving that limits are meant to be broken.In this episode Andrew and Jay discuss:2:45 Andrew and Jay’s shared run club, how Jay is doing 6.5 years after his accident and how Jay sees his life as an evolution.7:15 The story of Jay’s helicopter accident and how he is able to remove the emotion when talking about it, hitting pause on the grief immediately after the accident and throwing himself into the recovery process.10:15 Jay recovering in a spinal hospital and learning to use his legs again, teaching himself a rehabilitation routine when the experts wouldn’t help and using his hard work mindset to push through the rehab.16:00 Jay using his sales experience and learning mental resilience from ultra marathon runners, the crushing weight of being away from his family for 7 months and Jay’s kids being the reason he does everything.20:00 learning to accept some of the darker thoughts around the helicopter crash, how everyone else in the helicopter survived and not being rocked by the smaller things now.25:00 Jay’s wonderful marriage of 10 years, being part of a generation that is showing more emotions and Jay’s use of EMDR therapy to overcome his PTSD.35:00 Jay retraining his nervous system to be able to move his legs again, the impact of visualising running around Lake Narrabeen and re learning how to “run” on an exercise bike.41:30 Being unable to feel your left leg or tell where it is in space, working on the hips to make up for lack of glute muscles and how Jay came up with a method of walking.46:15 Using fatherhood as a main motivator to recover as well as possible, what fatherhood means to Jay and being able to tap into the dark side to overcome obstacles.55:00 Growing up in a violent household, using some of the trauma in his past as motivation and travelling over 4 hours a day to get acupuncture during recovery.1:03:15 Getting off opioids to confront the mental trauma of the helicopter accident, inviting his dad on the Everest trek and getting some positive feedback from him.1:10:45 Climbing over 5km up to get to Everest base camp, what Jay felt when he got to Everest base camp and where the idea to do the trek came from1:19:15 Jay’s systems based approach to doing things in life, having a spiritual connection to water and looking back on previous journals from before the helicopter accident.1:29:45 Getting back into surfing as a method of downregulating, working on becoming a disability surfer similar to Matt Formston and Jay’s favourite NRL team.1:34:30 Jay’s keynote on tapping in to the dark side, where Jay sees himself in 3 years and the biggest challenges communicating to younger generations.  You can find Jay at his Website: https://jaystevenskeynote.org/or at his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jay-stevens-a1634028/Listen to the Matt Formston Podcast Episode: https://shorturl.at/8LOhx Use Code "PIPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

In this Bite Size from episode #99 grey area drinking expert Sarah Rusbatch explains what exactly grey area drinking is and how you can find out if you might be a grey area drinker or a take it or leave it drinker. Sarah also talks about how some of her clients who were heavy drinkers were unable to have sex with their partners sober, even after decades of marriage. You can find Sarah at her Website: https://sarahrusbatch.com/add Sarah on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-rusbatch-4b189128Follow Sarah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahrusbatch  Use Code "PIPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.