Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais

This week’s conversation is with Michael Bennett, a defensive end in the National Football League.

Michael signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and was an instrumental member of the 2013 team that won the Super Bowl. He's also a 3x Pro-Bowler.

While Michael’s craft is football, there is so much more to Michael the human being.

He’s an advocate for social justice and after the events of the last week and the ongoing protests, I wanted to have him on the podcast to more than anything else just … listen.

Michael’s words are significant. He has much to share. But what I found even more powerful than his words was his tone.

He doesn’t once raise his voice, he doesn’t blame others, yet you can hear the pain in his voice. You can hear the yearning for change; for a different America.

We discuss the systemic issues that make everyday life difficult for African-Americans and what each of us can do to make a positive impact going forward.

This is an incredibly difficult, yet important time for our country.

I recognize that change requires action and solely talking about it will not suffice.

At the same time, I hope that we can use this platform to continue to learn, to better understand, and to empathize with those who have felt silenced for so long.

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This week’s conversation is with Dr. Melanie Joy, a Harvard-educated psychologist specializing in relationships, communication, and social change.

Melanie is best known for her groundbreaking theories on the psychology of violence, nonviolence, and building healthy relationships.

Her analyses have helped explain why people engage in “nonrelational” behaviors—behaviors that harm other people, animals, the planet, and themselves—as well as how to change this pattern

She is the eighth recipient of the Ahimsa Award—previously given to the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela—for her work on global nonviolence; and she also received both the Peter Singer Prize and the Empty Cages Prize for her work developing strategies to reduce the suffering of animals. 

Melanie’s mission is to raise awareness of the obstacles preventing people from interacting in ways that create a sense of mutual connection.

These obstacles are both internal (psychological) and external (social), and they are a key reason why we act against our own interests and the interests of others—often without realizing that we’re doing so.

With awareness, we are better able to think freely and act compassionately, to create healthier and more fulfilling relationships and a more equitable and sustainable world.

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This week’s conversation is with Deepak Chopra, a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation.

Deepak is the founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit entity for research on well-being and humanitarianism, and Chopra Global, a modern-day health company at the intersection of science and spirituality

TIME magazine has described Deepak as “one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century.”

He is the author of over 89 books translated into over forty-three languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers.

His 90th book and national bestseller, Metahuman: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential, unlocks the secrets to moving beyond our present limitations to access a field of infinite possibilities.

Deepak also has a new short form podcast called - Now for Tomorrow. I had the chance to be a guest and we stitched it onto the end of this conversation so I hope you enjoy it.

In this conversation, we explore big questions -- about the nature of reality and consciousness.

We discuss why it's so challenging to use language and sensory information to try to makes sense of the true nature of what is.

How can we understand reality when what we see and hear and feel is not complete?

My hope is that you'll leave this conversation with a different perspective on the way you think about what is real. 

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This week’s conversation is with Dr. David Fajgenbaum, a groundbreaking physician-scientist and disease hunter.

The timing of his insights is incredibly relevant for us right now.

David is best known as the ‘doctor who cured himself’ – he received his last rites while in medical school and nearly died four more times battling Castleman disease.

To try to save his own life, he spearheaded an innovative approach to research through the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network and discovered a treatment that has put him into his longest remission ever.

Now, he is spreading this approach to other diseases like COVID19.

David is also one of the youngest individuals ever appointed to the faculty at Penn Medicine and the top 1 percent youngest grant awardees of a highly-competitive National Institute’s of Health grant.

As someone who’s been on the verge of death multiple times, David has a unique perspective… he shares how it’s altered his approach to life.

David likes to refer to it as playing in “overtime.”

In his words:

I’ve been in overtime ever since I had my last rights read to me. Think about overtime in sports. In overtime, all of a sudden there's this incredible clarity and purpose that comes with every tick of the clock. You can make a mistake in the first quarter of a game and you can make up for it, but if you make one wrong move in overtime the game's over. And I think that's the perfect analogy for how I feel every day of life. It’s not that I'm afraid to make a mistake or a paralyzing feeling, but it actually gives me clarity. I can hear the clock ticking, I know that I have this awful disease, but it helps me to focus on what's important and what's not important.

And that really sets the tone for this conversation.

We discuss the preciousness of life and why it really comes down to having clarity of purpose and making sure you take the proper actions to back it up.

David also shares how his lab is approaching finding a cure for COVID-19.

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We are in a unique moment in world history. From the devastating loss of life to the financial fallout to the closing of borders, businesses, industries and schools, we are collectively confronted by a reality few of us could have ever imagined.

Decision-making leans on precedents and guiding principles, but how do leaders react when there are no precedents to follow?

I had a series of conversations with friends inside our community to better understand the approach of those who effectively lead during moments of great stress, strain and uncertainty. I wanted to distill insights about leadership while we are still in the middle of the crisis, while it’s raw.

During crisis, leaders are called upon to rely on their preparation, respond in the moment, and locate the opportunity in a future that has not yet arrived. And they have to do these all at once with limited information and the well-being of others hanging in the balance. 

I’m honored to be doing this project in partnership with Microsoft and Compete to Create. We hope you appreciate the applied insights of these leaders as much as we do.

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This week’s conversation is with George Karl, the 6th winningest coach in NBA basketball history.

George coached the Cavs, Warriors, Sonics, Bucks, Nuggets and Kings over the span of 1,999 NBA games.

He was also an All American player in college at the University of North Carolina and played in the ABA for the San Antonio Spurs.

At UNC, George had the fortune of being mentored by the late Dean Smith and was surrounded by other brilliant basketball minds who helped shape his coaching philosophy.

George has never been one to hold back and the same can be said for this conversation.

He has some amazing stories to share, including his experiences coaching future Hall of Famer’s Ray Allen and Carmelo Anthony and what it was like going up against Michael Jordan in the NBA Finals.

We talk success, we talk failure, and we discuss why finding purpose in his post-coaching life has been challenging.

Beyond basketball, George is a three-time cancer survivor so he’s a fighter, he’s resilient by nature.

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This week’s conversation is with Trent Dilfer, a 14 year NFL veteran and Super Bowl Champion.

Trent played for five teams during his career, including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baltimore Ravens, Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns, and San Francisco 49ers.

He led the Ravens to a 34-7 victory over the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV (35).

Trent has now made it his mission in life to “give back” and has become a positive role model, coach and mentor for upcoming High School Quarterbacks through Elite 11 where he’s had the opportunity to pass on his knowledge and wisdom of the quarterbacking position to the next generation of future College and NFL Players.

Trent and I met at Elite 11 and that’s where I got to learn about how special a human being he is.

In this conversation we discuss Trent’s journey to the NFL, what he’s learned about himself along the way, and how that ultimately led him to coaching high school football – where he’s currently the head football coach at the Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, Tennessee.

And while Trent is well known for his work on the football field, this conversation is really about who Trent is as a man off it.

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This week’s conversation is with Sage Steele, one of ESPN’s most popular and respected commentators.

Sage joined ESPN in 2007 and currently serves as the co-anchor for ESPN’s flagship show, SportsCenter, weekdays at 6 p.m. ET.

She has served as the lead host for SportsCenter on the Road, since 2016, a role that includes on-site, day-long and pre-event coverage for the biggest sports events of the year, such as the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the World Series, the Masters, the College Football National Championship and many more.

Sage also hosted NBA Countdown on ESPN and ABC from 2013-2017.

This is an incredibly powerful conversation.

I really wasn’t expecting to go to the places we went but I was so appreciative we did – Sage opens up about her personal life and the difficult yet necessary decisions she’s had to make.

As Sage puts it: the most important mental skill is having the courage to speak your truth… and for that matter live your truth.

The beautiful thing about this is when you can live this way, there’s amazing freedom that comes with it.

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This week’s conversation is with Marc Randolph, a veteran Silicon Valley entrepreneur, advisor and investor.

Marc is the co-founder of Netflix, served as their founding CEO, as the executive producer of their web site, and as a member of their board of directors.

Although best known for starting Netflix, Marc’s career as an entrepreneur spans more than four decades.

He's founded or co-founded more than half a dozen other successful start-ups, mentored rising entrepreneurs including the co-founders of Looker Data which recently sold to Google for $2.6B, and invested in numerous successful tech ventures.

He is a frequent speaker at industry events, works extensively with young entrepreneur programs, sits on the board of the environmental advocacy group 1% for the Planet, and chairs the National Outdoor Leadership School’s Board of Trustees.

In this conversation we discuss how he and co-founder Reed Hastings developed the idea for Netflix, how to create a strong organizational culture, and why focus is the key for any entrepreneur.

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This week’s conversation is with Dan Quinn, the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.

Dan became the head coach in 2015 and has compiled a 43-37 regular season record.

In 2016, he led the Falcons to an NFC title and its second Super Bowl appearance.

Entering 2020, Dan ranks second in the organization’s history among coaches with at least four seasons with a winning percentage of .538 and fourth in franchise history with 43 regular-season wins.

Dan earned his head coaching opportunity after becoming one of the NFL’s top defensive coordinators with the Seattle Seahawks, overseeing the top defensive unit in the NFL.

I had the pleasure of getting to know Dan in Seattle, he’s an amazing human.

In this conversation, we touch on how he got into coaching, his approach to overcoming difficult moments, and style of leadership.

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