Tim Gallwey is an author and coach best known for his international bestseller Inner Game of Tennis. After graduating from Harvard, Gallwey started coaching tennis as a gap between jobs. What his publisher thought was going to be a small niche book went on to sell millions of copies in 37 languages.

Gallwey is somewhat of a cult classic for Steve Kerr coach of the Warriors, Pete Carroll coach of USC/Seahawks, and Tom Brady of the Patriots. Even Al Gore bought the book for his whole office.

The Inner Game of Tennis was the best book I read last year, and I don’t play tennis. I immediately bought all his other books. I’ve applied his principles to writing, swimming, golf, and coaching. It’s connected me with a side of myself I didn’t know was available.

When I arrived at his Los Angeles home he had me outside hitting golf balls within 3 minutes of ringing the doorbell. In this interview, we dig into how he first learned his approach, how he applies it today and what he recommends people focus on. It is an honor and privilege to bring you this podcast.

Today, I have the rare opportunity to introduce you to my coach, Frank Busch. Frank was the Olympic Coach for USA swimming. Under his leadership, his teams won 31 medals at the London Games (2012) and 33 medals at the Rio Games (2016), representing 30% of the total medal count for Team USA.

For 18 years, he was the head coach for the University of Arizona Swim Team. I swam and managed under him from 1997-2001. He was named Coach of the Year: NCAA (6 times) and the Pac-10 (11 times). His swimmers won 49 NCAA individual titles, 31 NCAA relay titles, and 2 NCAA team championships.

When I called him to schedule this interview he was at the Olympic Training Center coaching Michael Phelps.

In this conversation, we talk about what separates good performers from world-class champions, the common thread found in the most coachable athletes, and to how to approach the mental game of competition plus so much more wisdom from his over 50 years of coaching!

Jeremy Kareken is a writer, researcher, and playwright, best known for his work on the Emmy Award Winning show Inside the Actors Studio.

For 14 years he’s helped interview 200+ guests including Dave Chappelle, Robin Williams, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Meryl Streep, and Tom Hanks. You know the stack of blue cards James Lipton reads? Jeremy gets him all the facts for those cards.

Inside the Actors Studio is broadcast in 125 countries and different from most shows because they don’t do a pre-interview. Jeremy is the show’s chief and only researcher.

Jeremy along with his writing partner David Murrell are successful playwrights. He’s consulted with The Clinton Foundation and was the writer for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson in his 2012 and 2016 presidential campaigns. He also helped Tim Ferriss with his award-winning podcasts.

I met Jeremy years ago after taking his NYU writing class. I wanted to introduce him because he is a master at telling stories and asking “better” questions.

In this episode, we talk about how he raised his hand as a student watching the show and immediately got offered a job in Inside The Actors Studio. He shares his process for research and what it takes to make a good interview show. We also talk about comedy and what makes something funny (you’ve got to hear his Gilbert Gottfried impression)

Mike Candrea is the head softball coach of the Arizona Wildcats (8 x NCAA Champion). He’s won 1,530 games to date, appeared in 22 of the last 23 College World Series, and medaled at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.

Coach Candrea is one of the few people to win national championships in both baseball and softball.

In this interview, we talk about his transition from baseball to women’s softball.

We discuss his recruiting and coaching process, and what it takes to win year-after-year. He shares why, even after multiple national championships, he wasn’t fulfilled and what he needed to change to find happiness.

Even if you don’t like sports, you will appreciate this episode.

Jeff Raider Co-Founded Warby Parker (eye-glasses) and Harry’s (shaving), two billion dollar companies before the age of forty. What’s Jeff’s secret, and why on earth did he leave a rocket ship like Warby Parker to create another company?

If you're not familiar with Harry’s, they have over a million customers (me included) and is competitors with Gillette and Dollar Shave Club, which was sold to Unilever in 2016 for a billion dollars.

But Jeff’s entrepreneurship journey didn’t begin in the board room. His mom started a company when he was 11,

which had many bad months with no sales leaving Jeff and the family on an entrepreneurial rollercoaster.

In this episode Jeff shares his story, what he learned and his favorite lessons for aspiring and seasoned entrepreneurs.

Enjoy!

Playboy Magazine called Herb Cohen “The World’s Best Negotiator.” During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan asked for his help to free 60 hostages from the U.S. Embassy (later popularized by the movie Argo).

Fifteen years ago I read his New York Times bestselling book, You Can Negotiate Anything, which has been translated into 37 languages. It’s been one of the most influential and applied books I’ve ever read. I’ve used his process for every sale, job, and car I’ve ever bought. He even helped me negotiate $100,000 off my NYC apartment. [New York Times Article]

In this episode, we talk about common mistakes people make in negotiations, how different cultures around the world negotiate differently and what it was like to be in the oval office during the Iran Hostage Crisis.

Anthony (Tony) Ervin is an Olympic Swimmer, writer, and tattoo enthusiast. I first swam against Tony in a dual meet between Arizona and Cal. Ervin won. Ervin is a seven-time NCAA National Champion, 4 x Olympic medalist, and former world record holder. In the 2000 Sydney Olympics, he tied Gary Hall Jr (his training partner) to win Olympic Gold in the 50m Free.

After Ervin competed in the Olympics, he renounced swimming and gave away his medal. He started sweeping the floors in a tattoo shop, racing motorcycles and he joined a band. He was chasing something, and it wasn’t in the pool.

Our paths crossed in New York City, when he taught swimming lessons at the same swim school where my 18-month-old was taking lessons. Then, I heard through the grapevine he was making a comeback.

This interview took place months before the Rio Olympics and Olympic Trials. Not only did Ervin qualify (as the oldest swimmer on the team) he won Olympic Gold, again.

I’ve often wondered what makes Ervin so fast, despite being a foot smaller than the rest of his competition. If you watch him, he slices through the water, while the other swimmers (including myself) fight it.

In this episode, we talk about his approach to mental training, what it takes to win, and what it feels like to compete in the Olympics.

Kym Gold is an entrepreneur and fashion icon, best known for her smash hit brand, True Religion. Kym had an untraditional childhood, growing up in Malibu with neighbors like the Penn’s, the Lowe’s, and the Sheen’s. She is a triplet who learned to set herself apart from her sisters with her eclectic style of clothing. She went from selling T-shirts on the Venice Boardwalk to creating one of the best-known denim companies in the world.

She met her first husband Mark Burnett when he was a nanny. He later became the creator of the hit series Survivor and Shark Tank.

In this interview, I sit down with Kym at her home in Los Angeles. We discuss how she deals with failure, the secret to True Religion’s success and why she says that listening to your intuition is the best and most important tool you can use to make decisions.