Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais

Latest Episodes:

Competition, Olympic Greatness, and Transitions | Apolo Ohno Oct 02, 2019

Show notes

This week’s conversation is with Apolo Anton-Ohno, an eight time Winter Olympics Medalist and a flat out legend in short track speed skating. .

With two gold, two silver, and four bronze medals, Apolo is the most decorated American Olympian at the Winter Olympics.

Apolo remains involved in the Olympic movement as an ambassador to the Olympic Games, the Special Olympics, and also serves as a broadcaster for NBC.

In addition, he is on the 2026/2030 Winter Olympic bid committee for Salt Lake City, Utah & involved with the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Apolo is also a New York Times best-selling author.

He’s currently writing a new book on his transition from the Olympic spotlight into “real life,” covering his challenges, failures, and triumphs.

And we definitely touch on transition in this conversation.

Apolo is a dominant competitor and we unpack where that came from, how it played a role in his Olympic success, and how he’s had to adjust in his post-speed skating life.

This is a candid conversation – I think you’ll really appreciate Apolo’s willingness to explore intimate topics and hold nothing back.

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The Essence of Becoming | Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon Sep 25, 2019

Show notes

This week’s conversation is with Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon, a former university professor and researcher who now designs curriculum for Precision Nutrition.

She focuses on helping people make meaningful change through the Precision Nutrition Coaching and coaching Certification programs.

Krista is also the author or co-author of several books, with the latest being Why Me Want Eat: Fixing Your Food Fuckedupitude.

Krista likes to think of nutrition coaching as this pathway into a larger life project of being a human being, so while her expertise may lie in nutrition, this conversation is about so much more than that.

It’s about the essence of becoming… how she came to better understand herself through her own journey and why she now is focused on helping others do the same.

Krista believes it all centers around the stories we tell ourselves.

In her words, “The mind is a jail built out of bullshit. I’ve seen the pain that stories can cause. If you look around you and you think about the people in your life or even the things that happen in the world, you can see that so many things occur because people are deep in their stories, and don't realize that they are stories.”

I couldn’t agree more and I think you’ll be amazed at Krista’s insights and perspective on what really matters in life.

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Slowing Down the Aging Process | Dr. David Sinclair Sep 19, 2019

Show notes

This week’s conversation is with Dr. David Sinclair, a professor in the Department of Genetics and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging at Harvard Medical School, where he and his colleagues study longevity, aging and how to slow its effects.

More specifically, their focus is on studying sirtuins—protein-modifying enzymes that respond to changing NAD+ levels and to caloric restriction—as well as metabolism, neurodegeneration, cancer, cellular reprogramming, and more.

David is the co-creator and co-chief editor of the journal Aging, has co-founded several biotechnology companies, and is an inventor on 35 patents.

Among the honors and awards he’s received are his inclusion in Time Magazine’s list of the “100 Most Influential People in the World” and Time's “Top 50 in Healthcare”.

In addition, David is the author of the new book, Lifespan: The Revolutionary Science of Why We Age — and Why We Don’t Have To.

I wanted to speak with David because he’s pushing the boundaries of what we understand to be possible for humans – and if he’s successful it will change the world as we know it.

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Katie Zaferes, #1 Triathlete in The World Sep 11, 2019

Show notes

This week’s conversation is with 2016 Olympian Katie Zaferes, the #1 ranked triathlete in the world.

Katie recently captured her first ITU World Triathlon Series title.

The world title is years in the making for Katie, who finished fifth in the ITU World Triathlon Series in 2015, fourth in 2016, third in 2017 and second in 2018.

A native of Hampstead, Maryland, Katie began her career as a cross country and track and field athlete in high school.

Katie competed in track and field and cross country at Syracuse University, where she qualified for the NCAA Division 1 Championships in the 3,000 meter steeplechase.

Upon graduation in 2012, she entered USA Triathlon’s Collegiate Recruitment Program, which became the start of her professional triathlon career.

In recognition of Katie’s ascent, USA Triathlon named her its 2017 and 2018 "Women's Triathlete of the Year."

Katie now has her sights set on qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Games.

In this conversation we discuss how she’s approaching the upcoming Games differently than her first appearance in 2016 – getting the results she covets while still finding joy in what she’s doing.

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Tero Isokauppila, Four Sigmatic Founder Sep 04, 2019

Show notes

This week’s conversation is with Tero Isokauppila, the founder of Four Sigmatic, a wellness company helping people nourish their bodies inside and out.

Tero grew up in Finland working on his family’s farm.

He earned a degree in Chemistry, Business, and a Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition at Cornell.

I’m stoked to be partnered with Tero and Four Sigmatic and I think you’ll see why in this podcast-- I can honestly say this was one of the more unique conversations I’ve had since we fired up Finding Mastery.

I wanted to learn more about the impact mushrooms have on overall wellness but this conversation ended up being so much more than that.

This conversation is about the process of self-discovery: how Tero invested countless years of his life working to better understand who he is and what he values most – and how you can apply those same lessons to your own life.

Tero’s core values are: wisdom, connection, purpose, and time, but he didn’t know them right away.

He did the hard work and is still working on it today.

I hope this conversation inspires you to do the same.

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Meb Keflezighi, Long Distance Runner Aug 28, 2019

Show notes

This week’s conversation is with Meb Keflezighi, the only runner in history to win the Boston Marathon, the New York City Marathon and an Olympic medal.

Known all over the world by his first name, Meb is a four-time Olympian and history’s oldest marathoner to qualify for the US Olympic team.

Meb was born in the East African nation of Eritrea, a beautiful land torn by war at the time of his birth.

He arrived in Southern California at age 12 without knowing a word of English.

Through running, Meb attracted national attention and earned a scholarship to UCLA, where he won four NCAA titles.

The crowning moment of Meb’s career came on April 21, 2014 at the Boston Marathon.

One year after bombs detonated at the finish line, Meb won the race in a stunning and unexpected fashion.

His patriotic victory - the first for an American man since 1983 - sparked an avalanche of media and celebration. President Barack Obama placed a phone call to Meb hours after the race.

Today, Meb is Runner’s World Magazine’s“Most Influential Person In Running.”

What becomes apparent in this conversation is how clear Meb is – both the way he organizes his thoughts and his framework for living.

We touch on the importance of gratitude, hard work, clear goals, embracing challenges, and his spiritual framework.

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Jemele Hill, Senior Staff Writer for The Atlantic Aug 21, 2019

Show notes

This week’s conversation is with Emmy Award winning journalist, Jemele Hill.

Jemele is the co-founder of Lodge Freeway Media and a Senior Staff writer for The Atlantic.

She was previously the chief correspondent and senior columnist for The Undefeated, ESPN’s content initiative exploring the intersections of sports, race and culture.

Prior to joining The Undefeated, Jemele co-anchored SportsCenter with Michael Smith.

In August 2018, the National Association of Black Journalist awarded Jemele with Journalist of the Year Award and in July 2016, Jemele participated in The President and the People: A National Conversation – a one-hour town hall with President Barack Obama on race relations, justice, policing and equality.

Jemele also recently debuted a new podcast on Spotify, called Jemele Hill is Unbothered.

Unbothered explores the news of the day and the intersectionality between the worlds of sports, politics, music, identity and culture.

In this conversation we touched on so many important topics – everything from courage, vulnerability, and honesty to why this world could use more empathy.

I loved getting a chance to sit down with Jemele and think you’ll feel the same way after hearing her story.

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Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMastery

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Nolan Bushnell, Creator of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese Aug 14, 2019

Show notes

This week’s conversation is with inventor and entrepreneur Nolan Bushnell.

In 1972 Nolan Bushnell created an industry when he founded Atari and gave the world Pong, the first blockbuster video game.

Today his design credo—that games should be “easy to learn and difficult to master”—is inspiring a new generation of developers.

A prolific entrepreneur, Bushnell has started more than 20 companies, including Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theater, Catalyst Technologies, the first Silicon Valley incubator, and Etak, the first in-car navigation system.

In the process, he pioneered many of the workplace innovations that have made Silicon Valley a long- standing magnet for creative talent.

Bushnell was the first and only person ever to hire Steve Jobs, which he details in his 2013 book, Finding the Next Steve Jobs.

His latest startups are ModalVR, which offers wireless, multiplayer VR entertainment systems for turn-key commercial use, and X2 Games, an independent game publisher focused on Blockchain Technology.

A true icon of the digital revolution, Bushnell was named one of “50 People Who Changed America” by Newsweek.

Currently a biopic about Bushnell, tentatively titled “Atari”, was acquired by Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company and is in pre- production.

Nolan is an absolute legend and I can’t wait for you to learn from him.

_________________

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMastery

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DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love, NBA Stars on Mental Health Aug 07, 2019

Show notes

This week’s conversation is with NBA stars DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love and it’s unique.

It comes from a live panel we did at Aspen Ideas Festival a few weeks back.

Presented by the Aspen Institute in partnership with The Atlantic, the Aspen Ideas Festival is the nation’s premier, public gathering place for leaders from around the globe and across many disciplines to present and discuss the ideas and issues that both shape our lives and challenge our times.

I was invited to host a panel on mental health in sports.

Earlier this year, Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers and DeMar DeRozan of the San Antonio Spurs, each publicly discussed their challenges with mental and emotional well-being.

Their honesty started a national conversation about breaking through the stigma and fear of openly discussing mental health issues in professional sports.

In this very personal conversation, the superstar athletes share their experiences with anxiety, depression, and loneliness.

What they reveal about mental health actually reveals much about their mental strength.

I hope this is only the beginning of an era where athletes and for that matter anyone – across any walk of life – has the courage to be vulnerable and have those difficult conversations.

_________________

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMastery

Get 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

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Vicki Golden, Nitro Circus Freestyle Motocross Athlete Jul 31, 2019

Show notes

This week’s conversation is with Vicki Golden, a professional freestyle motocross rider and four-time X Games gold medalist.

Vicki is the first female member of the SoCal freestyle motocross team Metal Mulisha and also performs in Travis Pastrana's Nitro Circus Tour.

In 2008, at age 16, she became the Loretta Lynn's AMA Women's Amateur Champion.

Three years later, she earned her first gold medal at the Women's Moto X Racing in the Summer X Games and collected her second and third gold medals in 2012.

In addition to becoming the first female competitor in a Moto X freestyle competition, (which resulted in a bronze medal win in the best whip category in 2012), Vicki was nominated for the ESPY's Best Female Action Sports Athlete award in 2014.

In March of this year, Vicki laid it down again in Auckland, New Zealand when she landed her first ever FMX backflip off the 15-foot Next Level ramp, ranking her as the only woman who has flipped one of the largest FMX ramps in the world.

I had the fortune of speaking with Vicki only a few days before she performed a record-breaking stunt on HISTORY's Evel Live 2 where she sped through a series of flaming wooden boards.

She was the first female to break the record which was set back in 2006.

You’ll get a chance to hear how Vicki prepared for this stunt and what was going through her mind in the days leading up to it.

I’ve always had a deep appreciation for those who perform in the world of extreme sports, pushing at the edges of their capacity, where there are real consequences when things go wrong.

We touch on that in this conversation as well.

_________________

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMastery

Get 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/morningmindset

Follow 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.

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