How Do You Optimize Your Performance When Everything Sucks? | Pete Carroll & Michael Gervais | Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris Transcripts

As you know, we're in the middle of a big series on work here on the pod cast, which was a good time to point out that, even if you love your job, you will experience stress. However, stress does not necessarily have to be a bad thing can actually be something you harness to your own advantage to help you navigate stress this fall. We ve taken one of our most popular courses from the ten percent happier a course called stress better and we turn it into a meditation challenge. You will learn from a renowned stress researcher, at columbia, university, professor majuba, economic and the amazing meditation teacher, seven selassie, but teach you how to use stress to your advantage. It's a seven day, stress better challenge and kicks on Monday September eleventh and you can join over on the ten percent happier app right now. Every day, you'll get a short video, followed by a free, guided meditation to help you establish or reestablish your meditation habit to join the stress, better challenge, just download the ten percent happier app wherever you get

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ten percent happier podcast dan harris, hey guys before we dive in just a reminder: About the summer sanity challenge, which is the free twenty one day, meditation challenge that were launching coming on July, twenty seventh, the whole goal here is to help you boot up or reestablish, establish order. the great you're meditation habit. So you can be better equipped to deal with a tumultuous, to say the least period human history: every day you get a short video, followed by free, guided meditation. We spent a lot of time working on curing the right meditations and putting them in the right order- and as I said, the challenge starts on joy, twenty seventh to join it visit. Ten percent dotcom slash challenge.

at ten percent one word all spelled out dot com, slash challenge. There will of course be a link in the shown us are at, let's diamond to today's episode. How do you have to make your performance when life is utterly disrupted by a pandemic? Are optimum? and confidence tradable skills can we get over our fear of other people's opinions. Those are just some of the queen. we're gonna tackle in this episode. We have two guests: pete carol is our first Have you ye? I believe who has a super bowl ring he's been the coach of the seattle seahawks for ten seasons, he's the co author and co founder of compete to create, which is many things. It's affirm that works with companies to create high performing too

james- it's an online course that anybody can take, and it's also a new, audible, original audio book coach beats partner. In this whole thing is our other guessed. His name is Michael. You re he's a high performance psychologist who has worked with envy peace from every major sport as well as fortune, one hundred ceos andy's, the host of upon cast called fine in the mastery. We had a great chat. My son bombs it in the middle, so you'll hear that as well. The brief mention of avocado toast, which is embarrassing so here we go Coach, pete, carroll and michael dry, gentlemen really call to be connected. You coach to where we haven't met before, but it's great to meet you and michael great to see you again good to be here. There's your happiness. So, since I've had the pleasure of grilling MR gerais. Before let me pick on, you alluded coach, you- and I say this as somebody I told you,

before we start rolling here. I know nothing about sports, but I do know you because I've been reading about you and following you for years, given What an unusual approach you have you use terms was like a human centred culture. You talk about compassion, meditation training, the mind to it outsider Is that all seems potentially at odds with the bridge world of the great iron. So how did you come to this approach and in what way yeah I'll, leave it there. How did you come to this approach? Well, when you talk about meditation, you bring up other concepts that fall eastern philosophy or whatever it doesnt compute. Very well, as always People in your position always gotta catch on that one away with the schooner what words

we're trying to be the best we can possibly be we're working at helping people find their ultimate best and in doing so, there's a process involved with with that we have our interpretation of, and we have worked through, where we have come to totally understand the value of of mindfulness in the value of being centred and that they have acquired in my renewed perform the value of being able to focus in a canopy and in such a manner that that you can the exhibit everything that you have to offer you sport, and so I found the clash with doktor travail years ago that we spoke

I have the same language, but yet the language he was speaking. I didn't understand at the time he had to bring the science to me. He had to bring bring me updated so that I could make sense of things that I was instinctively doing it and it kind of came naturally, and so I understand that people question that's been questioned over the years, but it can also be very misleading to all performances called for. If you want to be at your best call for this kind of ability. Enter your focus and ass mindfulness, and so we're just try and worked really hard to make sense of it. A share with our people and players and bring a sense of trust to the challenges of our again, wouldn't be fair to say that my witnesses appeal this, the ability to be in the moment, while your executing and to be at your best of some people, call that flow or being in the zone. That's a part of it, but also you have an approach to leadership and

in building both on the field and off that, from what I've read about, you seems to emphasise the sort of softer side, compassion. I believe I view or those around you have used the term love and so talk a little bit about that. Well, let me put it this way for it I have found over the years and I've been coaching for a real long time now that the best way for me to communicate with the people that I'm dealing with is to care for the and to learn who they are and what their all about, and to cherish that you need qualities that an individual brings. It really calls for me, be mindfully focused in centred on that individual and in doing so now's me the avenues to communicate to the deepest little deaths that are available between in a relationship, so we're relationship based organisation

If that sounds off to you, then you don't understand what I'm talking about it for caring for people sound soften than you don't understand. We were talking about. Because what we are trying to do is generate just the absolute maximum that people have top of the world and to show them that they house extraordinary power. An extraordinary command of what they do and how they can act and in doing so to get their skill development and, like doktor talk about that for a speaker said how we approach it for its hard work, it's difficult and challenging. It takes great. It takes the guy politics, the perseverance and the passion. to reach and to uncover here. What is there lying? Maybe quietly in your soul and in a solar is about

poor motivation and drive it in all its competing, striving to find the very best way about herself. I dont think if you watch this practice, city was just before me with. It is anything but the egg argos given everything they possibly can maastricht to the effort of women in being the best we can be in there. So I'm real try to talk to about it, and I really cherish now that the misinterpretation of that- because I like talking about it, I'd like to share that with people. If you really care for people to really care for them, let's say: if you really do love them, you'll do anything you can possibly do to help them be the best they can be. I look at it like I'm parenting. I look I like them and coach. My own kids and my coaches are a part of my family and the brotherhood that exists in organization is so that we can reach those depths and those vulnerabilities so that we can find the best that we have to offer in the end, so we're all about Karen Levin and all that cast darkness red? I mean look, I'm in this sense very much on your team. If that sounds

Do you want me to make you feel like you this itself? kind of channeling a critic. But look I mean yes, people think it soft, but look at the science also look at your superbowl written. So there's plenty of evidence to suggest that this approach, which I believe you when you say it, harder to do it. Probably is easier to just treat people in as if their disposable and to rule or run up an organization through fear, as opposed to through love yeah. I think you're in the dock has been so good. To help me understand why I was doing what I was doing and what made sense and where the science backed it up and really just brought up a commitment conviction to me in the things I was doing, because he made sense of it. For me and, and so we've been a good team and in all that the aforementioned doc is here. Maybe it's work

talking about how this relationship got started, and it sounds to me, like you, took some of coaches instincts, which are quite were more bull and added a lot of evidence on top of them and then tied it up and operational ized. All of it. I would start with saying that coach has been pushing for a long time, and so his insights and practices were well grooves, evidenced by what he had done in previously in college and privacy before in the pros and so there was already an ecosystem, those already principles in place and those already a system in place, and The combination of his approach and then my approach right. It was like how do you create the container in the culture and the right relationships for people to experience the extraordinary together and the extraordinary can be concrete, like winning the whole thing, but its a bit more purposeful for us, which is,

extraordinary, is exploring the untapped, exploring potential together and having that shared cause and shared mission together, and so I would say you know to answer your question concretely, is that we met through a mutual friend. That was a bit surprised. We didn't know each other. We had a great dinner great conversation and we saw things in similar ways and we both interested coaches advanced degree and understanding of psychology and we're interested in like ok, what does the frontier of human performance? What is it about like out? What are the ideas, principles and practices to help people flourish? and this game of football is a beautiful place to figure that out, and so that's how it started, and that was about a decade ago. Can you describe a little bit what you do with and for the team so by trade and training, I'm a sports psychologist

and what I'm helping- or at least I hope, I'm helping do- is to create systems to really support the relationships that people have with themselves that they have with their feet, that they have with each other, that they have with mother nature in some respects, but it really is an approach to support coach, karel de support, the coaches and to understand the systems and the practices to train ones, mind to become you're very best and then to hopefully support the self discover process. That is right at the centre of cultural approach, and so, really is morphed systems thinking than in visual. What you might imagine is a trend professional like it's, not an individual as much. It is a systems approach. So coach you bring in this guy who look, Tom cruise and you haven't, talked to your claire's about mother nature and love and meditation? How does that girl? I say this with love.

Mike, I'm I'm just come on dad busting or that I gotta do well it's a relationship that we're in and there's like, no topic that we don't address, there's no concern that we don't take seriously we're competing. You know that's the whole philosophy of a program and my personal philosophy is always compete, and that means I'm always looking to find a way to get coached up and so MIKE's ability to make sense of things to help me see things more clearly to give me conviction to whatever, What I believe is is proper and right now we should do things his ability to help share the information that ran this whole world of performance to our coaches, so that they can teach better so that they can help and they can operate better for themselves. Personally, I mean it just kind of just in old twins in in wines,

in all things that were doing and this kind of how we lock raided, it's been a tremendous relationship that we do what we found too, as it might have been able to help us take our teachings and our principles to the outside world and end when we have a company compete to create that is really designed to help people. And how to apply the philosophies in the in the things we believe it in their own world, their personal world, the family. Well then, in the business world as well, the careers- and we found a really citing following and in the morning We were able to extend our stuff to the outside world. The more followers were fighting and really excited about this. As what the honourable member knows all about, it gives us the chance to give other people inciting. what we how we live and how we operate and the way we think and do in hopes that it will help them live a better life and it'll help them be stronger and more committed to the person that they are in the family that they are in the organization that they are, and so it's been a really fruitful relationship and we're excited about. What's coming, I do

talk at length at great length about compete, to create not only organisation but also this autumn original that you're out with right now, but I do want to make sure I pursue this line of inquiry coach. I suspect you do occasionally. players who are like this is not what I signed up for. I want to win and I want to make a tunnel. I want to accolades. I want the money you know whatever it is, I'm motivated I want to historically motivated athletes. What do you do we then, when you encounter scepticism but then he started off by saying that europe must have a fan, but we certainly are because you're interested in is the stuff is so important is about reaching people understanding how to communicate a really high level and to find the trusted it takes to go deep concerns in the issues to help people develop their best allison and all that.

This is an ongoing process that I've had to find ways to communicate with all players. If I can only communicate with certain guys that I wouldn't be worth a hoot, you know, and so What's that, may help you with it. all our gas, all of the guys come to us want to be. They want to be really so special. They want to be really good at what they're doing Some of them have a much better way get there than others. Some I don't know how to gather onward. They'll have different opinions we'll have different outlooks, will have different experiences that we have to find a way to make sense to them and so that they can come along with us and take advantage of the teachings in the the culture that we in the environment that we create, and so I don't have people butt heads with me on what we're doing- and I say that, because I, I think we're eclectic enough in our approach in our language, in in our understanding of their issues, that we can make sense, thereby in well again, then the removal of

they don't excel. They don't do enough. They don't stay with us, but for the most part been, I am pretty camps I have a better. I don't want to leave anybody out, so I'm trying to find a way to communicate with everybody that we have a chance. Sydney wanted to touch base with Hayden to pull on that thread. Just a little bit. Is that one of the core elements is to know your personal philosophy and that's asked of coaches and athletes, and that starts with you, if the guiding principles, the unwavering principles that you stand for, and those principles to help line up your thoughts, words and actions. Okay, so just think about that, for a moment and coach carroll is very clear about his- principles and its evidence to the culture. So when it actually comes into the seattle seahawks the cannon, no because its consistent, it's been evident what, he stands for the organization stands for, and you just have a sense, its different here, and so that being said, I want to double click, one more level, which is there's only three things that you can train as a human. You can train your craft, you can train

d! You can change your mind and so, when you operationally eyes at normalize it in that type of frame, it's like well. Ok, Why do all three of those at max to my best stability and this something that's left for later. This is something that coach, carroll and coaches have integrated in the daily rhythm of prayer. This is a value of the mind. It's a value of cultivating and optimize mine That's nimble that is strong. They can adjust theirs. flexible. That is also principle based, and so it is the way that you presented and if you presented the old that was happening? Kind of nineteen? Eighty. Eighteen, seventy or even the nineties, like hey, there's this kind of weird sex. Ology thing happening in the back room with a poorly lit. You know, couch like go over there and got problems like sorted out. It doesn't work. You know, that's not part of the

if the system of rapid accelerated potential seeking environments and so framing is really important, I would say I would to identify, if that's what it took, though we'd go. This is our poultry of fear and waving it that's. What I'd like to get it is to make sense somebody and go wherever I gotta go and that's will take it as far as we can as long as the principles are intact and the approach, the philosophy and the buy in from the players that don't give us everything they got. They know we're gonna give them every day. We get theirs waste away, a unique extraordinary person who may not look like you ever been in has awaited cylinder our system. That's one of the things I am most thrilled by his to uncover the unique special videos, Proceeds of an individual did make them who they are find a way to sell. Great that incorporate that into our play. If it works, it works it does it doesn't, but that openness, I think is, is what is so important in that willie.

is to accept the understanding and in the patience that it takes to not judge somebody too quickly and miss out on this magnificent, unique aspect that they bring. That's what drives us and and so there's room for everybody in our place. End, it was built on primo in a room, you're tired when you're hungry humphrey bring your weary masses. You know whatever it is. You know that, and will awaiting corporate? If you got a ship on his shoulder and you won't be great, then solar, there's a window This is extraordinary. Actually, this is squarely in human psychology as an approach is one of the disciplines in psychology intact Coral rogers. This call for sharing therapy that is grounded in this thought that humans have everything they need inside them and if you can hold an unconditional positive regard for that person at all

as best as you possibly can, because that's a skill to do that then you're going to create a relationship where that person is able to figure out like oh, I met I matter more than what I just do. I matter, because I matter to this other human in my life and its an incredible way to help know that they are far more than what they just do. that being said, is that there's a subtlety that I want to add the coach curl just eloquently said That is a celebration it's not a letting, and if you look to the media. Sometimes your here, oh coach, carol, you let people be themselves It's so wrong. It's a celebration, its let listen, uncommon commitment to understand, what's unique and special about another person- and this is why They sell seahawks our relationship based organisation. It's a relentless commitment today. And then celebrated in the most up. Why therefore way celebrate that and then put people

the positions, so they can be their very best. That's very front than many other approaches that your number fit in or forget it, and so it as a fundamental approach towards celebrating the uniqueness of a person the thing that we really believe in this. If you took the approach in the corporate world, that is to say, you got a hundred thousand people working accompany the magnitude of the power that lies leaned in those people, because they have not been recognised for who they really are and their personal ticket in it. The governor in and in in the clock, and get now there sit in a covey or whatever they do as opposed and taken they approached it everybody in that organization has this extraordinary unique power and quality. They are what they're all about, and if you can unleash that within your organization and just

capitalize on the human capital that is already part of organization. The outcome, the outgrowth, the result of that that processing will be so extraordinary. This, your company will be in place that you never dreamed it would That's just the way that we look at the world and an end. It is by really caring and loving for the people that that you're sharing this experience with to help them be the fullest. They can possibly be- and that's not be as truth in Israel and when you, when you act like that, and you treat people like that, they give you everything they got. They don't hold anything back once they trust and they understand that you care much form. What more could you asked for in the world the unconditional carrying in this. This love for them, the jugular helped him except. This is why, while the time you together, it is extraordinarily, as you can

It's kind of behind? All of this and in media does that sound different? Is that some airy fairy to somebody? I don't give a hoot. I don't care, you know, that's just the way it is is what we're doing and- and I see it as a really competitive, aggressive way. To attack the world around you, you know, and it will have a lot of fun doing it yeah. I really appreciate the combination of that. hold quote airy fairy with the very hard nosed desire to win, which is kind of summed up in a refrain eve. Come back you witches. If they'll give you and you're talkin about the players in the staff here, everything they ve got when they know you will give them everything you ve got and that's a very interesting, I think, attractive approach to a lot of people. Well, we found a common value to it. That allows us to really be consists in really be authentic. Really be true- and you know you when you re

I care though it's it's it's powerful and in it's meaningful and in it it does really allow you to create a culture and an environment that can really be fun and really hopefully take as far as you can go. Hey dan. Where skill comes in mental skills, psychological skill is that, let's say over, a cup of tea or glass of wine were sitting around were saying yeah, you know Protests, amazing environment that we're just talk about then, as soon as something start going wrong, whether some real stress and pressure, maybe your jobs on the line, maybe there's something else that is not quite working. According to plan there's some inspection and the heat is on right. You know what happens for most people is I don't have the psychological skill, so they rely on their brain and what the brain does says. Hey survive That survival mechanism is a tightening up and part of that. Tightening up is, let's call it justness or anxiety or frustration, and so, if the

somebody in front of you and you ve got a tense tight, anxious frustrated, intolerance, scratchy state, you can't really be there for them. Kind of a mass, and so this is where mindfulness place dividends is so far, for us, has two main pillars right, which is aware: Listen, this ability to focus and be in the present moment and site and wisdom that, when you're able to be the present moment with somebody because you Have your life has done so to speak and you're, not in this internal scratchy place, you can get to the truth with the other person, you're spending time in the present with them, and then that leads to insights about what is and what could be and then that leads to a sense of wisdom where, when you get to that places, recognize with your research, it's different, and so that's word. One place that mind from this can pay dividends is that it allows us to spend more time.

in the present moment. So if we need our life s on in order to be available and useful to other people in and then to run an organisation that its thriving and winning coach, I'm just curious. What are the cycle google skills that you personally spend time working on. Are you do you have an active meditation practice? What are the things that you do to keep yourself up to this task you set for yourself yeah. I have practiced my ways meditation over the years. I'm not actively. I've never been totally committed, like the guys that really do a great job with it. I practice my it's about mindfulness to me, it's about being in the moment it's about seeing the extraordinary value of all of the things around it in that that is my way of practicing the way I would be mindful and in essence the closest thing I would get the meditation have tried to have an appreciation. This is a silly phrase that I have about. You know maximizing the spaces between the

is and in being there you know when you have the opportunity to buy whatever triggers it in august one says calico located times. You know that bike can get immersed in stuff. You know from moment to moment I look like I'm all over the lot, sometimes women and dumb digging in so I find that it's one, a practice. The discipline that it takes to be there in the moment, and so that to me is- is a daily challenge and motion of challenge to with the people around you to be there for them at all times, and that to me, as his computer can bring my best every moment is one of the mouse or so of different way of looking at it. I think then, maybe a classic meditator might, but I do that through my sports. I do that to the games I like playing. I do that to my relationships and and just try to be as actively involved with the moments every chance I get there. I think if the pillow for many people is the place that they do, there

Station for coach is conversations, and so it's observing, and so you know that's where he practices and he's in conversations a lot and the thing behind them. Relations to be a great listener, and so that is one of the places I in practice and then watching, whether it some on the field or film or whatever, it's a full commitment to coming back. Now, coming back to now relentlessly coming back to now and so much so that I don't think I've ever shared this with you, people folks would say on a regular basis that just meet you that will say to me something like while, like he really listens, and so its evident, based on the way that he holds his attention a gaze and intensity and a conversation, it's different whatever their, what I'd ever but what I like about its practice. I think that's. What

I always think I dunno this is my interpretation from years ago that that's what meditation is for meditation is so you'll be really good. Meditator has it all to me so that you can learn to be focused in the moments that lets you experience on a regular basis, so I totally love the whole thought of of practicing mindfulness, and I think I understand the purpose of that. But the purpose personally is to find my way to the moments as they present themselves on a regular basis. Some people understand- and I don't know your mind, but based on what you're saying I, it seems directly that what I am about to say is probably accurate that something actually come to have a molecular understanding of being awake and others and appointed to myself here need a ton of meditation practice in order not to be stuck and there you go so you may be one of these people who can just do it through

alive and paying attention. Other people and others of us needed a lot of time on the cushion to wake up out of the automaten whatever I dunno, I dunno it's just living life, I dunno, but this is just the way that, but I'm I'm very grateful for understanding and having an appreciation for the practices. You know. I'm really and I respected the heck out of it and and so where is in your life, where it helps you know, we were well different. Many different things dick to keep us go on in this marvellous to be in the practice of being in a moment, and then we can't do it. no dan, here's a fun way to think about the applied nature. Another away to think about the applied nature of mine from this is that there's two variables that collide with each her coincide. If you want to say that that way in its optimism and mindfulness, so part of mindfulness is about working with judgment and critique right, and so

the coach. You can walk us through like why we're so hard to be in the fourth quarter and as an incredible statistic that will support this, but one of the gems here is that he is helping and the organization is helping people not judge to not give in to the evidence external to the plan that you set out, so it in some respects ignored gore gets to the signal and the signals the present moment stay one more rep, one more rep, one more breath, one more thought whatever it might be game day and you match that with optimism, this fundamental belief and its skill. This is a skill that the future is gonna work Optimism versus pessimism up as far as we can were not born that way, and so we were a training optimism and we're training my us to reserve the critique, and the judgment based on external permission and stay true that a this could work out. Now it's right around the corner,

So those two, I think, are two of the variables of why the team is very difficult to beat in the fourth quarter yeah. I would say that the most important pursuit we have is his discipline. It's the discipline, it's the discipline in all different areas that we have command of and we control. We really want to focus on the things that we can control and if we have if the discipline to do that, then will be there more consistently than maybe the other guys. And if we're not we're going to work our tail off to outlast him as basically how it works and so to develop discipline, you have to consistently rep it out. So I have to find all of the ways that I can to get our guys to focus on the very instant that it's right, handrail, the very next step we're going to take and the better we do that. We win we developers skill to do that, the more accountable we will be in a moment when it comes out so microsoft about finishing finishes is stingers, it's a huge costs

and we have ways that we talk about it and we, then we practice it and I try to consistent, it constantly sure gets hey you're in a moment of finishing right now. What do you care? What we do? They're very right thing right now and take the next step properly and then know that if I do it the next time, the next time, the next time that other guy isn't going to be able to him with us, and so that all is about discipline in it's all about capturing the opportunities and seizing the moments to practice in It goes in every direction and everything that we're doing, but I do find it that's why they take so much responsibility personally. To make sure I see the opportunities to preserve them to awaken them. To this moment. Oh look, here's another chance. We can get better at it, and so after awhile. This is like my talks about training confidence. We train confidence to our continued successes and the more We are in line with that and understand that an own, that's the better we perform when the time comes. You know an answer, but it's too thousands of things that we are doing this for this

Well, if we're gonna be and that's kind of what our towns in that order. Is all about much more. My conversation with Putin mike read after this you I've heard about master class for years, but I never actually checked it out, which is now making me feel a little bit stupid. The good news is the folks at master class are now during this show and they gave me a subscription- and as I look at this as I realise that this is a great place to feel a lot less stupid. The lineup on this is incredible: the people there recruited to teach it just kind of blows. My mind: they've got aaron sorkin on in writing, gordon ramsay on cooking, also, Thomas Keller. They ve got anna win, tore on creativity, Jon kabat Zinn on mindfulness and meditation, which is probably interesting and attractive.

people who listened to the show? No, I'm chomsky on independent thinking, staff, curry, basketball. I could go on. I can't believe I've been sleeping on this happened as I look many of these videos there so well produced so informative and really really type so that you're not wasting a minute you're just get. these learning in a very attractive and interesting and entertaining way with master class. You can learn from the best to become your best anytime anywhere and at your own pace, annual membership started. ten dollars a month and you get unlimited access to every instructor. Thousands of online lessons exclusive content, insights and much more get unlimited access to every class and right now, as a ten percent happier listener, you can get fifteen percent off when you got a master class dotcom flash ten percent, that's master class dot com, slash ten percent for fifteen percent off an annual membership master class dot com, slash ten percent.

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flee on wondering plus mike stupid question our key it's an optimism, the same thing kind of in your mind or are they related, and the second part is how do you train optimism without lapsing into the power of positive thinking and all that malarkey? I love that thought. Your first confidence in muslim are related but separate their different psychological contracts, and I love the thought about the malarkey you know like hey, let's hold our combined. Then let's go see, I could think of no more. Just like you know, there's this garbage book, the secret that says you can solve all of your problems to the power of positive thinking. Demonstrably untrue not gonna happen like how do you train people in august without getting them is a place where they think they're gonna win just because they ve got vision board in their room. That says, they're gonna win what way

Michael mirror. This is the you haven't benefited from manifesting your intentions, actually you have intentions are really powerful, but I don't believe that just because I think it enough haiti's going happened because I can manipulate sub subatomic part. It was through my mind that I think is not true. I know it's true, then don't you think that there's a chance that, in that science of the secret and all of that that there are levels of it where really is about intention? It really is about intending to create what you can measure it isn't about the vision board. That's how is many accident marketed and all the rest, and it loses all the meaning of your eye. I couldn't agree with you more, but there is extraordinary power in in following your vision and following your intention and fall without any of the great creations ever occur, but so

there was a guy years ago, I'm gonna. Take you way back to a guy named maxwell, malts wrote a book called the power of positive thinking. My high school coach under his arm and he thought it was. It was everything well that was way back when I was fifteen years old or something like that, but I still obviously remember it, and I I think that that is a bunch of malarkey. If that's all, it is, but the power of intention, the power of manifesting to your commitment to what you want to have what you want to create. Is there I dunno, if there's any more powerful than that, and so we have to harness that we have to learn what that's all about lifting understand, what it takes in the committing in the discipline the consistency in the dogged perseverance to stick with what you're trying to create that really makes it happen in the us. As we talk about this kind of stuff for others I brought up the yeah yeah? I mean I just want to be clear. I mean I think, there's seemed to be a quite a bit of evidence around intention mode. evasion, there is a lot of juice there, where

insidious seriousness of stuff like the secret is that it takes some I think that has legitimacy and then adds magic into it and says you can cure your breast cancer through just thinking about it. You don't need to go to the doctor or whatever that's a problem. That's one! well love interpreting it but haven't you known people- and I can give cite examples of people who contacted cancer and doctors told them that three months now you've got three months to live and they die to the day and there's other people that say ain't no way, that's happening live their life for years on and it goes in remission and they never see. We know that there is a power that, if you give in to that, you can become it's the same thing you create the same visually regions. Will work for you negatively as well give you another site if we talk about the power of vision by now, I don't know how you get on this matter. we're doing it. When I was in los angeles, I met a bunch of kids in the streets. I was introduced to a bunch of kids that were that were living in and around the streets and constantly remind me that

I know I'm either going to die or I'm going to jail. So you know what the f, what difference does it make? And I used to hear that- and I felt sorry for him feel so sad and I thought holy cow, that's the vision that they hold for themselves. And they're absolutely going to manufacture manifest that is going to happen. They're either going to jail they're going to die because they know that's what the truth is. Well, this It can work in other aspects of our. If you can work negatively and positively as well. It isn't just all airy fairy, everything's gonna work out for you and that's why it's so important To have the mindfulness to be in command of the things that you vision, but this should be a grim say: wait to self talk in the power of self talk and how we leave ourselves with our thoughts sources. oh powerful, and have a look at Russell wilson. Then you don't know who else was in it? Maybe the idea of quarterback, okay, so there's

when this ever, whereby more powerful guidance of personal belief in his ability to create an he he's a living example of it against on many eyes in some circumstances, and then he's such a gift. It mean the visual because of know his power of his belief in at those we ve seen the summit, many great of that so anyway limit. Let me double click on this look at it now in the audible we ve done in the original and in the online course. We think we hit the sweet spot between science and story needs like tangible. that you can do in your talk. What optimism and confidence so like confidence is appraisal. There's a fancy word, but it's there. Inventory, taking experience where your measuring up what you think that demand is asked of you, that's outside of you, you're imagining or your measuring it in some way and then your matching that up against what you believe you

Internal skills and capabilities are so. If those worked together, then you get to say something like yeah. Let's go, and I think I have. I think I could do this now. Right where arrogance is something like ok, I can do whatever, but you haven't really done the appraisal you're just trying to get favor from other people, like that's an external validation mechanism. So confidence is a sophisticated of knowing your inner inventory, matched up against what the perceived demands and that's a tradable skill and then only comes from one place. Just what you say to yourself, but that self talk has to be credible. Had he been credible self talk, you say: well, there is at least two ways, but the key hole for that is that you have to do difficult things. You have to test yourself, you have to get to then heard to the places that you were quite sure that you knew how to operate and realized come back from those experiences say I did that it. Maybe it wasn't

You know. Maybe it was a mistake. You know. Maybe I mistake made mistaken there, but, like I can do hard things. And when you earn that right to say I can do difficult things, there's incredible freedom on the other side of it. and then optimism, though, from a scientific lens, is a fundamental belief that the future will work out. Pessimism is the opposite of that, and so as a tradable skill as well? Martin seligman had some braden since some science around that practicing threeg things, as I know, you're familiar with, say more about that, actually just for the listener. Why would we practice three good things? Are the research was really pretty amazing that, after seven days, people that set an intention to become a researcher of good and I'm here, some of my language in their on this, but the mechanisms are consistent So in the morning, if you set your mind, intention is we're talk about to become

researcher of amazing is the way I like to think about it that you go out throughout the day, and you find you experience three things that are amazing you can put in beautiful, you could put in good. You could be interesting, you know posit you could put whatever words you want in there and then, at the end of the day, you write those three things down that over seven days of training this there is a noticeable mark in an increase of people that came into that study after x number of days that were depressed. They stabilized their depression, people that were not depressed, had upward left in other experts alive. So that's a simple practice and we believe that option It might just be at the centre of metal toughness, because when you are in a difficult moment that is calling upon the discipline to stay in that moment, but it's hard, it's difficult, your brain.

Hey get out. This isn't right. This isn't safe that optimism, but you have the front load optimism if the frontline yet to get ahead of it, because it won't be. Therefore you, the signals are the brain or strong to try to override them. If you have, condition your mind to say: wait, stay in it. Staying at something good's, going to break it's going to break up and stay in it. Now that that loading of a mental skill is essentially what mental skills training is the power of belief. You notice that the believing you know that allows for the optimism is so sobering, sure to own it. It's ok to use it in all we know is when you are, if you could do- the choice. We are certain well macrobian and I'm going to go with what I know as powerful gonna. I normally get this done, there's a I'm, a figure that Well, I've figured a lot of them and that believe that allows for the optimism to sustain is what he keeps you in longer in. If you have the guts to persevere,

he had taken on the tough challenges, because you know you have that knowing then you can become a very resilient personal in a person that will overcome obstacles and others in a word would rebel at an end. So this is tradable to a certain extent, the unlawful tolerable there's going to be some people that will never be able to get there, but we think it's definitely something that you can nurture yes and just to be clear. I agree with all of that that you can train optimism, that intentions and vision can be incredibly powerful and I believe in the fundamental laws of science. As I understand them, I'm about to turn forty nine, I'm five seven and a half, maybe five. Eight. When I use my wife's volume icing shit HU, I'm not going to be your next quarterback I understand that and no amount of vision is going to change that, and so that's what I'm talking about like and that's where I think the power

That of thinking, gets a little dicey. So I think we're all saying the same thing. think I'm not in my head and I think what you put coach would say with? Well, if you please yourself, and that was remained purpose. You ve, never grow and his eyes. I think he can tell it even five: seven spud web fives. george Myra, while also forty nine, so I mean that's the other. He is a problem. Here is a real world out there do there's some physics involve the terminus for sure and so on, but I loved the hardening aspect of what we're talking about. It's like this is school values stuff, they do the right, discipline stuff- and this is like hey, we're down by fifty points, it's going to be. Okay, hey we've lost eight in a row. This is going to be great guys, we're going to learn it's not that that's not what we're talking about this.

like a hard nosed grindy like hey, find the good yeah. That's what the truth is. One of the truth about the truth to it, you have to be able to connect with the truth and the truth. Isn't that a five seven guys going to be a center in it and it'll be a it'll mess. That's the truth, and so you have to be realistic. And always you know stuff. But the truth it in sometimes we get started on that and willing to work at it. But there is no doubt that a real holes truth always in command, but that's where you can benefit the most and you know it's cool. Is If there are limits to human potential, we don't what they are yet we're out there, and so let's leave a lot of space. Science doesn't have the answers, it's got a lotta answers. We ve understood some stuff, but there is no scientific, formal about what you're potential is and there's no road map on how to get there. So

leave space open for science to inform us for innovation to happen in the frontier in the most informed way and for thoughts, words and actions to line up consistently against the principles and the purpose in your life. That's me Ok, but that is, I would say, a foundational approach, thoughts, words and actions lining up based on principles that map of against your purpose. Let's talk about a few of the other skills that you guys talk about the audible original and in your online course, or another concept that just jumped out of me in looking at the materials was foe, PO or F, o p, o fear of other people's opinions. your concept, my yeah, let's limit them we take are under that. I think that is one of the most constructive, Fears for modern day humans is long ago, hundreds of years ago,

It was maybe the sabre tooth tiger. We don't have them anymore. There are real dangers in our world, but for most people the number one constrictor of their potential is what other people think of them. And that's as simple, I can't imagine somebody not really understanding that unless truly have a narcissistic person. I did a sworder unless they truly have a man. disorder that is not allowing them to understand what and other experiences, and so this maps actually well that theory that we just talk about photo maps well to the default mode network. It maps well to the theory of mind and Using very concrete terms here, and so that, as you recognize the default mode network as that part of the brain that is self referencing, am I okay am I okay? Does he think? How does she think? I'm? Okay? Am I okay?

and it's what's happening most of the time, and so, if left unchecked, you're gonna self reference, alot am I ok. And then you're gonna, look outside say well. What does he or she think about my experience right now, and we It might be one of the seeds of suffering the self referencing internal. Critical analysis. Evaluation. Am I ok enough right now and if your stage or you're. Thinking about what could happen if it goes wrong, that's photo that's an expert approach to life as opposed to beginners approach to life, and so the beauty is once you decouple who you are What you do is incredible freedom on the other side, and so that's the essence of the work. Recognisable. if it's an issue for you call how do you deal with it separate decouple who you are from what you do? Facebook, Yes, everybody's on stage everybody's also highlight ray

army is not just the guy that is performing broadway with everybody every day you walk out the front door, jan stage. You know it if you see it that way, and in the sooner that you can gain control of that you're, okay and you've got your world in order, the more consistently you can perform be into, and that's that's a great challenge. It's a great shout, not the you that you think other people want you to be, but the you that you truly are and that's why the authenticity thing is so crucial and then we cherish the pursuit, because it's so important and ender of the people

and can benefit from from that understanding coach. Another skill that I see, jumping out from the materials that I was able to review, is the power of having a purpose. How would you describe yours? Well, my purpose is pretty clear. Then I'm trying to help people be the best it can be. I'm really committed to that. That is my purpose in it, whether it's my family, my kids, my grandkids with the relationship with my wife, the coaches, that I coach with the guys that that administer me, the players that we coach, the people that serve the players. You know in all different aspects. That's the focus and and if I can can with that, then I'm doing the right stuff for me and that's just how it turned out. I didn't intended my life to be that way, but I've found my way to that and I I found my way most consistently in directing my

in that matter and in when I realized that it really make a difference to me. It made a more clear what my intention was on a regular moment to moment basis and so purpose mission. Have somebody find the best, and if I can do that, and there was a good moments might can you fill in the science on this surrender the power of having a purpose in and maybe give us a sense of? How can we figure this out for ourselves for sure so? There's three components: according to research, three poland's developing or that are components to purpose, and the first is nobody can give you a purpose. It has the matter to you, so somebody could say your purposes, but if it doesn't really matter to you, if it doesn't a personal meeting, it's not going to pay dividends, it's not going to play out so prefer element. One is it personally matters to you. It has meaning. The second is that it's got something to do. That's bigger than you

So what does that normally mean it's not just about your benefit, but it's about the benefit of others. And other could be mother nature or other people, so one meaning to its bigger than you and three. It's down the road So it's not something that is solvable now and it becomes a life arc as opposed to an end position in life. So purpose is really about a path and the goal is to be on the path and it needs to. According to research, have those three components as best we can so how can we figure this out for ourselves? I think a lot of us I mean speaking personally, I didn't think about what my purpose was for many many years. I don't think it occurs to many people to craft this, and then And what do you do once you ve identified a? How do you keep a top a mine, so you're always hadn't toward that? You ve got it in your head and guiding your actions and important where that's a good question

So do I want to talk about three ways to explore purpose and and I want to give a maybe a framework to do it so there's three ways: sport that I know right in its. Mindfulness Allah, meditation of fuel and so that exploring within the second is journaling writing some stuff down external rising it and if you dont, like those to which I find both for those to be viable, the third conversations with wise men and women and exploring that way, and then, if that oftentimes, life purpose seem so big and overwhelming that this is the isn't that might help is you can thin slice it? You can say my purpose during covert. During this corona buyers pandemic is we'll, be you know, and so you could thin slices and so since slicing allows us to maybe digestive just a bit more easily, and I think that we do need to

memorialize it in some way that it is concrete. We can get our arms around it, it's saleable in a sentence or two, and then we need some the mechanisms to stay aligned with it and so whether that go back to a vision board just as a joke there's something outside of you or people around you that are helping you. be accountable to the thing that you say matters most to you and that's the discipline and practice of psychology at play, and so maybe that helps some of the defining practice of it. So much of our focus- and I emphasis in the things that we believe it is so obviously reliant on self discovery, then the willingness to go inside and ended uncover the uniqueness of you, the identity of you. You know so important, because how can you find your purpose if you do not have? If you have a purpose it you have to keep reminding yourself about

there might not be a purpose in life. You can't put your wish. You know with a purpose. You become a flown out here, cause that's who you are which all about, but but that doesn't mean that you're not seeking in in the seeking is really is where the joy is it's in the seeking you know and that the processor of it on the growth and all of that, but anyway, so it a heart, and that too, because that's a super important note is that when you Well, your purpose was powerful. Nobody can take it away from you and when purpose you're going to find some pain in life- and I want to tell you a fun story- carter cry with a great volleyball players: athletes, slash coaches in the world, competitor, oh true competitor. He has won gold medals in beach, volleyball the olympics, any one of on in indoor he's coached, both in one gold medals there he want mortal championships as a professional, both in beecher volleyball. Any one entity doubling in college like this is one of the great ever.

and so had the fortune of working with him going until ask quad the olympic quad into rio. It was almost like day, two or three in this four year journey that we're on, and I said, okay, what are you saying coach and he says well, I know this for sure. Nobody gets on the podium at the olympics without staring down a double barrel, loaded shaka, so ok, It was only one. What do we have any goes? So let us create that type of cauldron every day and let our purpose be to help them deal with difficult environments, difficult situations so that they can play and get free say, k. So it's so clear it so clear to him that nobody, I had to remind him that hey this is your thing and so like. If it's not real, it's going to fade away and that's why you gotta get to the real truth about like what is your purpose? Is there evidence in the literature suggesting that identifying and operational icing a purpose can be beneficial when it comes to performance the little

is a little wanting there. We can say that p have clarity of purpose that there's a seventy five year, harvard study that there's a thin line here. They wanted to understand fulfilment, so they took a look at a seventy five year. Longitudinal study, those that were most fulfilled in those that were not in one of the key differences between those that were fulfilled is a cracked with a difficult challenge in questions of light. Ok, so guess what a difficult challenge in question of life is. What is my purpose? What am I doing here so, though that were more fulfilled, had done. That work doesn't mean that they have knew it, but they wrestled with it, and so then, if we extract from that, as they will, what are the benefits are being fulfilled? Well with there's some good science there. There's some other science. It's coming online that saying that those that our purpose they actually make more money. You have an interesting piece of data as well

So there is some science, but it some I'd, say it's beginning to unfold itself, just a bit better coach were, I know. You're waiting to find out when or if, hopefully, when not, if you're going to be able to launch into practice mode here with your team and and then into actual games, when the he gets back together. Europe operating and have operated in for a long time in both. Rachel environment, the I'm not telling you something you too

no. There is an enormous amount of pain in black community right now. How do you plan to address that with your folks when you get everybody back together? How do you work with this difficult emotional landscape, which I think is an enormous amount of pain in the community of man? That's just in a black community, because there is an enormous price has been paid by the african americans culture and is obviously spilling over. Finally, and at some point here to an openness were there's a lot of people that are sharing the willingness to recognize it in endured. An insult to our recent events that have occurred. Have

elevated conversation and awareness in commitment and and soul searching and in so much we have what we did through this time Dennis is over. We met with our players and we we shared the stories next in the illustrations of what they were experiencing in and have experienced in their lives, as we generally do, but it is taken on every more impact and meaning than ever before and that we must go We need to do that. We must continue to share the human experience that everybody has in that were connected to so that we can better relate better understand that identify better care about love them for their for they ve gone through in it, and in that do everything within our power to help them because we care so much and so are. We has, alas, said the issues, but we have to work at it forever.

It's been an ongoing issue. This is it didn't just start. This is something that the big events that had happened in history to give us markers where we could have made it at the positive turn to recognize and respect a cultural and existence it needed to love at the time we missed out when we took false steps and were mistaken and all that we can't do that now. This can happen any more. We're too aware to walk to ready. We have to make this happen and we can't let anybody get in the way of it either, and so sorry, my son, is invading the closet, where I'm going to do your podcast, yes buddy, I gotta I'm gonna. Ok, thank you for telling me that appreciate it. Can you close the door love? You

sorry, yeah! Ok, we got more, oh, why did you have I'm I'm it's for the make sure the sound is good. You wanna say hello to these guys before we go: okay, Zac, alexander, hey, what's up coach carroll and that's MIKE this guy won a super bowl after dinner when we him for dinner I've gotta turn around you ok pace. Thank you. At the service of ourselves it anyway. The ideas that we got a big job ain't got much time we gotta get after and we have to win this time for all of the people, so everybody can be respected the way they deserve to be respected and back natural,

as a deserve to be recognized, so it's just an ongoing process for us. There's no, like one thing that you do, there's no exercise in it. It's respect. It's caring, loving, it's listening, listening and responding to responding well, and hopefully we can do a good job of that for somebody. Who's been It's a relationship based culture. It sounds like this is on your mind, and I know it's not new to you, because you've been working in the areas of social justice for a long time, but it sounds like as you head into the season. This is on your mind. Yes, absolutely it is I'm going to compete my way through to not letting this ever been anywhere from, not on my mind right. Imagine we're talking about a relationship, approach and a positive regard for the other, and imagine if you could the type of conversations that

This container allows for ends a tab and part of many teams, and the work that happens inside the seahawks during this phase has been ordinary. The listening has been beautiful. The sharing has been on point. The ability to X, us anger and get underneath of it and work from that place is advanced. I couldn't be more pleased to be connected with work that the seahawks as an organisation coach, Carl's doing for many at scale, and certainly it starts with The relationship that we spend near and dear time with me, we're just gonna wonder there is so much more to be done. Germany, this been a pleasure, did commit malpractice in any way by failing to bring us into any subject after that, you were hoping or expecting that I would like to talk about that then you're. So special,

Thank you very well put on my vision board that I'm gonna be the next quarterback elsie hawk, so that look out for me. Let me know if you are using accounts. They thought that that vision, border of your attention. Guy do if you, if you don't mind, I appreciate that. Well is a pleasure to meet you cogent. See you again MIKE. I really really appreciate your time. They send appreciate. Thank you, big thanks to peat and MIKE really appreciate their time and be sure to check out their audio original, which is called compete to create develop. Right now from audible. They also. I have an online course under the same name, compete to create, and also don't forget that mikes pike it's called finding mastery and he talks to people at the tipp of the spear in their fields, understand their psychological framework and philosophies towards.

life. It is available wherever you get your bike ass before I want to thank the team, the folks who worked incredibly hard to make this progress to realities era, The weak samuel johns is our senior producer moorish, nitrogen is our producer arson designers are met point and on your sheikh of ultra, audio maria we're tell us our prussian coordinator. We also want to thank the other folks tpa, true way in with a lot of wisdom and insight, Ben revenge and point. Toby lives, Levin and, of course my guys remain news ryan, kessler, Josh, go hand will see on friday. For bonus a prime members. You can listen to ten percent happier early and ad free on amazon, music, downloading, amazon, music app today or you can listen early and ad free with one repurpose in apple podcasts. Before you go. Do us a solid

tell us all about yourself by completing a short survey at wondering dot com, slash servant they promised, I could go to the left from prime video's, the lord of the rings, the rings of power and I'm narrating a special episode of whose amazing life it's a podcast for kids. That lets you experience. Life the eyes of someone who changed the world and you'll have to guess who it is: here's a hint. He has been say: musical talent is music has travelled all around the world and his story is tat. You do that to me his story in english or and this by your play. Listening to peruse amazing light on amazon or wherever you get, your podcast.