In Episode 80, Cara Bradley, best-selling author of On the Verge, host of the On the Verge Podcast, Soccer Resilience Ambassador, Rollerblader extraordinaire, and one of the “12 Most Powerful Women of the Mindfulness Movement,”, talks with Phil about the gut-brain connection, mental fitness, performing in the “flow” and how we can get there, how we can reach optimal performance more often, and how she performed on Rollerblades in front of one of the world’s iconic buildings. Specifically, Cara discusses:

• Her story, how she developed his passion for mental fitness, the gut-brain connection, and optimal performance, and how she got to be where she is today (1:54)
• How we can intentionally create and recreate being in flow (or in the “Zone”) (9:17)
• The concept of STER and what it has to do with “flow” (11:10)
• Mental cross-training, including the importance of sleep, clean eating, breathing, and other critical aspects of mental health (16:36)
• Why it’s important for us and our kids to participate in unstructured play alongside the intense, structured training (20:21)
• Gut-Brain Health and what it has to do with optimal performance and mental health (23:49)
• Her personal why and how she is living it out every day (33:32)
• Her and her husband’s decision to go “house-free” and what she has learned from her journey (34:40)
• Cara’s various resources and how you can find them (38:11)
• Cara’s experience as a professional Rollerblader (40:40)
• How she has used lessons learned directly from sports in her marriage and parenting (41:56)
• Her recommendations for us (42:38)

Resources and Links from this Episode

• Cara’s Website
• On the Verge: Wake Up, Show Up, and Shine, by Cara Bradley
• On the Verge Podcast, by Cara Bradley
• Cara’s Mental Fitness Playbook and Grid
• Cara’s Recommended Gut-Brain Protocols
• Cara’s email address
• Uncut Video of the Episode
• HSEL Facebook Group
• Coaching the Bigger Game information
• Warrior Way information
• Phil Darke’s email address
• Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
• Ted Lasso (TV show on Apple TV+)
• Find a Way: The Inspiring Story of One Woman’s Pursuit of a Lifelong Dream, by Diana Nyad