Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais

Ali Smith co-founded the Holistic Life Foundation in 2001, where he currently serves as Executive Director.He has over 15 years of experience teaching yoga and mindfulness to diverse populations.Through his work at the Holistic Life Foundation he has helped develop and pilot yoga and mindfulness programs at public and private schools, drug treatment centers, juvenile detention centers, mental crisis facilities, and retreat centers, nationally and internationally.In this conversation we discuss how they got schools to buy into their mission, the way in which they’ve made a big impact in many kids lives, and Ali provides some concrete examples of what his mindfulness practice entails._________________Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMasteryGet exclusive discounts and support our amazing sponsors! Go to: https://findingmastery.com/sponsors/Subscribe to the Finding Mastery newsletter for weekly high performance insights: https://www.findingmastery.com/newsletter Download Dr. Mike's Morning Mindset Routine! https://www.findingmastery.com/morningmindsetFollow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week’s conversation is with Cassidy Lichtman, a former member of the United States women’s national volleyball team.At the age of nine, Cassidy developed a chronic pain disorder in one of her legs and was told that she might never walk again.Imagine waking up one day with pain. Pain you didn’t understand. Pain that had no cure, no matter how many doctors you visited.On one side of the spectrum there is the physical pain.Over a short period of time, that is usually more manageable.Observe it, notice it, choose not to respond to it and focus on something else.But what about when you have to wake up with it again the next day and the next day and the day after that.Therein lies the mental pain.How would you respond when it feels like you’ve lost control over everything that once seemed to be such a certainty?Cassidy is a fighter and has persevered her whole life.Despite unsuccessful efforts to treat the pain she re-learned how to walk and then began playing volleyball. She went on to be a two-time All-American for Stanford and spent five years competing with the United States National Team.In this conversation, Cassidy shares her experiences overcoming this pain, making the best of the opportunities given to her, and choosing to live her life doing what she loves, not letting her life be dictated by her suffering.There is so much to learn from Cassidy. She has an incredible spirit, she has perspective on what matters most, and she’s competed at the highest level of her sport._________________Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMasteryGet exclusive discounts and support our amazing sponsors! Go to: https://findingmastery.com/sponsors/Subscribe to the Finding Mastery newsletter for weekly high performance insights: https://www.findingmastery.com/newsletter Download Dr. Mike's Morning Mindset Routine! https://www.findingmastery.com/morningmindsetFollow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week’s conversation is with American Swimmer and Olympic Gold Medalist Conor Dwyer.You wouldn’t know it looking at him now, with his 6’5”, athletic frame, three Olympic medals and four World Championships titles to his name, but success in the pool didn’t come easily to Conor. He was a multi-sport athlete throughout his youth, settling into swimming as his main focus late in high school. He was good but never quite great and the self described ‘very late bloomer’ struggled to get any collegiate coach to look his way as graduation approached. Unlike most of his teammates now on the U.S. National Swim Team there were no red carpet swim scholarships rolled out in his direction. But what Conor may have lacked in head-turning results early in his career he made up for with a gut- wrenching work ethic. What changed for Conor? His mindset. His environment. His training.In this conversation, we discuss how Conor transformed his swimming career: from unrecruited to winning multiple gold medals  at the Olympic Games, I hope this conversation reminds you that success doesn’t come early to everyone.Conor is a great example of what happens to those who build up the capacity to persevere until they get where they want._________________Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMasteryGet exclusive discounts and support our amazing sponsors! Go to: https://findingmastery.com/sponsors/Subscribe to the Finding Mastery newsletter for weekly high performance insights: https://www.findingmastery.com/newsletter Download Dr. Mike's Morning Mindset Routine! https://www.findingmastery.com/morningmindsetFollow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week’s conversation is with Admiral Bill Owens on leadership, courage, and relationships.Bill is currently the executive chairman and co-founder of Red Bison Advisory Group, a company which identifies opportunities with proven enterprises in China, the Middle East, and the United States and creates dynamic partnerships focusing on: natural resources (oil, gas and fertilizer plants), real estate, and information, communication and technology.He was previously chairman the board of CenturyLink Telecom, the third largest telecommunications company in the United States and was also on the advisory board at SAP USA.The list goes on and on of important businesses that Bill has been involved with.Bill began his career as a nuclear submariner. He served on four strategic nuclear-powered submarines and three nuclear attack submarines, including tours as commanding officer aboard the USS Sam Houston and USS City of Corpus Christi. Owens spent a total of 4,000 days (more than 10 years) aboard submarines, including duty in Vietnam.He was appointed to vice chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, the second-ranking military office in the United States, by Bill Clinton in March 1994.It’s through these experiences – serving both in combat and in Washington that has given Bill a unique perspective on the world.What’s become a common theme in these conversations is the guests have clarity. They know where they came from and what they stand for.Bill sees himself as a utilitarian. A person who seeks the greatest good for the greatest number.In this conversation, Bill discusses how he came to live by those principles and shares some incredible stories from serving abroad and beyond.It takes courage and conviction to make many of the decisions Bill has been faced with and we dive into what being courageous comes down to.We also discuss what it will take for companies to be successful in the rapidly evolving digital world and why having a mindset that embraces change will be vital going forward.It was truly a treat getting to spend time with Bill._________________Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMasteryGet exclusive discounts and support our amazing sponsors! Go to: https://findingmastery.com/sponsors/Subscribe to the Finding Mastery newsletter for weekly high performance insights: https://www.findingmastery.com/newsletter Download Dr. Mike's Morning Mindset Routine! https://www.findingmastery.com/morningmindsetFollow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to “The Process” a new audio series from Dr. Michael Gervais and Finding Mastery.In this series, we’re going to learn about The Process: What really goes on “in the thick of it,” for those on the pursuit of mastery?In this first season, we’re going to follow Kairos and their CEO Alex Fiance.Kairos is a global community of fellows, founders & advisors that work together to identify society’s most pressing challenges and then build and fund new solutions to address them.They focus on areas where outdated industries and governments are failing to meet our communities’ needs.Over the course of the next 6 months, we’re going to learn about young entrepreneurs tackling the worlds biggest problems – what are some of the biggest problems? How do they find the entrepreneurs they believe can solve them?  How do they determine which companies to invest in? And we’ll dig into the mindset of these entrepreneurs.Young people have the ability to make a big difference and we’re going to learn from some of the brightest minds of the next generation.Episode 1 focuses on how Kairos was formed and what to expect over the next 6 months._________________Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMasteryGet exclusive discounts and support our amazing sponsors! Go to: https://findingmastery.com/sponsors/Subscribe to the Finding Mastery newsletter for weekly high performance insights: https://www.findingmastery.com/newsletter Download Dr. Mike's Morning Mindset Routine! https://www.findingmastery.com/morningmindsetFollow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week’s conversation is with Valorie Kondos Field, often referred to as “Miss Val.”She’s the head coach of the six-time NCAA Champion, 21 NCAA Regional Champion and 17-time PAC 12 Champion UCLA Women’s Gymnastics team.Valorie was recently named the Pac-12 “Coach of the Century,” and in 2010, she became one of only two active coaches to be inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame.She considers the late John Wooden, the legendary and most successful collegiate basketball coach of all time, as one of her inspirations, and closest mentor and friend.Countless student-athletes praise Valorie for her guidance during their athletic careers, and after they’ve graduated from UCLA and have entered the next chapter in their lives. Included in the hundreds of athletes she has coached or mentored are Olympic champions Simone Biles, Jordan Wieber, Kyla Ross, Madison Kocian, Laurie Hernandez and Nastia Liukin.For Valorie, life is a grand adventure that all comes down to choices.The moment she found out she had breast cancer is a prime example of the way she chooses to live her life.In essence, she became grateful that her form of cancer was treatable. Grateful that she could go get chemotherapy for it and she’s continued to live her life that way ever since.In this conversation, we discuss why she doesn’t believe in failure, why being a pessimist is the easy way out, and why gratitude is the most important habit to train.Valerie has an infectious personality and this incredible mindset that, “I get to…” rather than “I have to…” and I think it’s something we can all apply to our own lives.I think you’re really going to love learning from her._________________Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMasteryGet exclusive discounts and support our amazing sponsors! Go to: https://findingmastery.com/sponsors/Subscribe to the Finding Mastery newsletter for weekly high performance insights: https://www.findingmastery.com/newsletter Download Dr. Mike's Morning Mindset Routine! https://www.findingmastery.com/morningmindsetFollow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week's conversation is with entrepreneur Daymond John on the power of clarity, vision, and imagery.From street hustle -- to Shark Tank to being a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship, he has become globally recognized for his relentless commitment to promoting and supporting entrepreneurs. Daymond initially made his mark as the entrepreneur and branding expert behind the groundbreaking lifestyle brand, FUBU (which eclipsed more than $6 billion in global retail sales).He started a global brand from the basement of his mother’s house.Today, the streetwear market that FUBU pioneered is a $20 billion dollar industry.In this conversation we discuss what has been the driving force behind Daymond’s success, his process for setting goals, and why having clarity is so important to him.In every single of these conversations I ask the guest if they have a guiding philosophy that shapes their life. Daymond likes to ask people if they can describe themselves in 2-5 words. When you’re able to be that concise, it leads to some serious clarity.In Daymond’s words: “If you don’t know what you stand for, when you walk into a room, you leave it up to us to interpret who you are.”_________________Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMasteryGet exclusive discounts and support our amazing sponsors! Go to: https://findingmastery.com/sponsors/Subscribe to the Finding Mastery newsletter for weekly high performance insights: https://www.findingmastery.com/newsletter Download Dr. Mike's Morning Mindset Routine! https://www.findingmastery.com/morningmindsetFollow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week’s conversation is with Hall of Fame swimming coach Bob Bowman, the maestro behind the illustrious career of Michael Phelps.He’s now the Head Coach for the Men’s and Women’s programs at Arizona State University.He is a four-time member of the U.S. Olympic Team staff, including Head Coach of the Men’s team at Rio 2016.He has guided swimmers to 38 Olympic medals, including 21 individual medals and 19 individual gold medals, and 43 World Records over the course of his illustrious career.Bob comes from a family of teachers and that’s how he views himself: a teacher.He has experienced an incredible amount of success, but it is all about the process for him.When it comes to the process, Bob has four phases to his model: discovery, imagination, challenge, and high performance.This conversation has it all.We cover the common traits of high performers, how he gets the most out of his swimmers, and Bob shares some fantastic stories about his experiences coaching Olympians Michael Phelps, Allison Schmitt, and others.Bob has been by the side of the greatest swimmer to ever do it for 20 years. I can’t wait for you to learn from him in this conversation._________________Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMasteryGet exclusive discounts and support our amazing sponsors! Go to: https://findingmastery.com/sponsors/Subscribe to the Finding Mastery newsletter for weekly high performance insights: https://www.findingmastery.com/newsletter Download Dr. Mike's Morning Mindset Routine! https://www.findingmastery.com/morningmindsetFollow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jeremy Bailenson is the founding director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab and a professor at Stanford University.Jeremy studies the psychology of Virtual Reality (VR), in particular how virtual experiences lead to changes in perceptions of self and others.When I was up at his lab, he ran me through a fear-inducing protocol that completely hijacked my thinking brain. Right up my alley!In this conversation we discuss Jeremy’s path – why he was almost too early to VR over 20 years ago - and how he dealt with early rejection because of it.Jeremy shares how he prevailed to run a lab at Stanford that is leading the way for technological advancements in virtual reality.He is also the co-founder of STRIVR, a company that has integrated virtual reality into the way sports teams train their players.This is a thought provoking discussion – Jeremy was able to see the future before many of his peers and was able to do the work to carve that path.For those that are intrigued by the applications of VR, check out his new book, Experience on Demand: What Virtual Reality Is, How It Works, and What It Can Do._________________Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMasteryGet exclusive discounts and support our amazing sponsors! Go to: https://findingmastery.com/sponsors/Subscribe to the Finding Mastery newsletter for weekly high performance insights: https://www.findingmastery.com/newsletter Download Dr. Mike's Morning Mindset Routine! https://www.findingmastery.com/morningmindsetFollow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week’s episode is special. It’s from our first Finding Mastery “Live” recorded at the USC Performance Science Institute.Seattle Seahawks head coach, Pete Carroll, USC Executive Director for Entrepreneurial Studies, David Belasco, and I created the institute to teach, train, and research the science, best practices, and applied processes for a high performing mindset in any domain.That’s our mission.I can't tell you how excited I am for what we're building - it's got all the makings for something very special for the next generation of doers and thinkers.The guest for this first Finding Mastery Live is Alex Honnold, someone I’ve wanted to talk to for a very long time.Alex, in my mind, is one of the most compelling athletes in sport right now.Alex is a professional adventure rock climber whose audacious free-solo ascents of America’s biggest cliffs have made him one of the most recognized and followed climbers in the world.If you're not familiar with free solo climbing, it's literally climbing without using any ropes and harnesses or any protective equipment, relying entirely on the climbers ability, which is just his or her mind, their hands, their feet, and their connection with the mountain.That's it.Alex’s mind is extraordinary. His depth of presence, his curiosity, his confidence, his ability to be calm and to think clearly - they all just jumped out in this conversation.All of those are likely hallmarks of why he's so different than so many other physically talented climbers.Alex recently became the first person to free solo climb El Capitan in Yosemite, the most iconic wall in the world.To Alex, this project was just a little bit bigger, a little bit harder, than he's attempted in the past and in his words, it was attainable.That’s something to consider for when people are pushing the boundaries of human performance and human limits.Although it looks crazy or reckless to many of us, it is just an incremental step in the direction of growth for them.You've likely heard me talking about ways to dissolve pressure and not just perform with it.One way Alex has done that is by having this incredible balance between being mission minded (meaning why and what he's doing in his life) without compromising his ability to lock in and be present with whatever he’s doing.Alex is a world-class talent and I hope this conversation gives you some perspective on why he’s able to do what he does._________________Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMasteryGet exclusive discounts and support our amazing sponsors! Go to: https://findingmastery.com/sponsors/Subscribe to the Finding Mastery newsletter for weekly high performance insights: https://www.findingmastery.com/newsletter Download Dr. Mike's Morning Mindset Routine! https://www.findingmastery.com/morningmindsetFollow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.