The High Performance Zone

In this week's Best of Episode, we welcome  Clint Pulver. Clint is an Emmy Award-winning, motivational keynote speaker, author, musician, and workforce expert. Clint was known for years as “The Undercover Millennial”, a project that had him doing years of direct research on employee engagement and retention. Clint is a fun, dynamic, entertaining, no-stress speaker. A Professional Drummer for over 20 years, he's played with top headlining fellow musicians in venues like the Vivint Arena, the Stadium of Fire, and the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. 

Known as the Leading Authority on Employee Retention, Clint helps organizations retain, engage, and inspire their team members from the front desk to the board rooms and everyone in between. He expertly helps audiences navigate generational complexities, communication challenges, leadership missteps, and cultural cues.

Topics covered in this episode: 

• Becoming the “Undercover Millennial”
• What Millennials really think about leadership
• Creating a lens into the workplace 
• Good leadership from the employees eyes
• The 5 qualities of a great mentor 
• The difference between leaders, managers, and mentors
• What are happy employees most grateful for
• Why leaders should create a “to-don’t” list
• How the best leaders “create moments” for others
• Playing the bongos on Howie Mandel’s bald head
• The “cleanest” form of music
• The power of speaking to kids
• Receiving a suicide note after a high school speech
• Changing young people’s lives
• Being part of a human surgical trial that cures blindness

In today's Best of Episode, we feature Geshe Michael Roach.  Geshe is the first American to have been awarded the degree of Geshe, or Master of Buddhism, after more than 20 years of study in Tibetan monasteries. He has used this training to become a prominent international teacher, businessman, philanthropist, author, educator, public speaker, textual scholar, and musician. Geshe Michael graduated with honors from Princeton University and has received the Presidential Scholar Medal from the President of the United States at the White House. 

Geshe Michael helped build the largest manufacturing company in NYC history, building the Diamond Company Andin to a huge corporation which was sold to Warren Buffett for 250 Million Dollars.

Stephen Sacks is the founder of Funding Nav, an organization that helps ambitious businesses raise funds, scale, and become more profitable. As well as being the author of Reboot Your Business and The Intelligent Investor’s Handbook, Stephen is also the host and organizer of FuckUp Nights London, an event that gives business owners a platform to share their stories of entrepreneurial failure with an empathetic audience.

In this episode, you’ll hear from Stephen Sacks on:

• (00:02:07) The FuckUp philosophy. Stephen emphasizes the importance of learning from failure. Plus, he encourages business owners to talk openly about their professional ‘fuck ups’ to help prevent other entrepreneurs from making similar mistakes. 

• (00:16:07) His business journey. As a serial entrepreneur, Stephen describes how he set up Funding Nav after Brexit negatively impacted his furniture business. Moreover, he explains how his decades of entrepreneurial experience enable him to advise other business owners on accessing funding and making their companies more profitable, efficient, and successful.

• (00:32:59) The pursuit of fitness. At the age of 57, Stephen believes in staying super-fit and energized, and he highlights the benefits of cycling 100 miles per week, playing tennis, and lifting heavy weights at the gym.

• (00:50:59) The secret to successful investing. According to Stephen, making an effort to understand the seller’s motivation is the key to acquiring assets at a reasonable price. Interestingly, he believes 2023 will be an excellent year to buy unloved businesses and inject new life and direction into them.

• (01:03:44) His attitude to ageing. Instead of thinking about retiring or slowing down, Stephen doubles down on his intention to acquire and sell businesses, experience new things, and have more adventures. 

Dr. Carmen Terzic is a former Olympic fencer and the Director of Cardiovascular Rehabilitation at the Mayo Clinic. Carmen’s mission is to help people recover from heart attacks and surgery by encouraging them to exercise and adopt healthier lifestyles. She is also a respected academic who has carried out pioneering research into regenerative medicine and stem cell science.

In this episode, you’ll hear from Dr. Carmen on;

• (00:08:54) Her top health tip. Carmen firmly believes that exercise is the best medicine, and she makes it clear that you don’t need to go to the gym to get fit. Instead, she advises incorporating movement into your everyday activities and switching to walking meetings and dancing while you cook.

• (00:24:38) Talking to strangers. We discuss the psychological benefits of starting random conversations with strangers. Plus, Carmen reveals how making small talk and engaging in face-to-face social connections can increase our overall happiness and well-being.

• (00:35:46) Stress control. Carmen suggests setting aside 20-30 minutes every day to disconnect from your working life and clear your mind. She also recommends tai chi as a gentle,  low-impact exercise that improves balance, builds strength, reduces stress, and lowers blood pressure. 

• (00:51:46) The future of stem cell technology. We talk about some of the recent breakthroughs in stem cell science, and Carmen explains how stem cells might one day be used to heal damaged hearts. 

• (01:08:34) Irrational optimism. Carmen shares her ‘Don’t worry, be happy’ mantra and emphasizes the advantages of adopting the ‘irrationally optimistic’ Venezuelan approach to life. 

In today's Best of Episode, we feature Errol Doebler.  Errol is a former Navy SEAL, an entrepreneur and an expert in what it takes to become a next level leader. Errol is one of the few people in the world who has had the distinction of serving as a Surface Warfare Officer, a Navy SEAL and as an FBI Special Agent. Now, with the founding of his consulting firm, Leader 193, Errol is sharing his wisdom with companies around the world. 

Topics discovered in this episode: 

• What the Navy SEALS and the Blue Angels have in common
• Emotional awareness as an essential leadership quality
• The Process, Art, and Science of leadership
• How to bring your best self to the table in business and life
• Learnings from the Naval Academy
• Wim Hof training for business and life
• How to leverage  “a common leadership language”
• What accountability means to a SEAL and an FBI Agent
• An inside look at Navy SEAL culture
• Cultivating Intention as a Leader
• Company culture as a collection of controllable behaviors
• The impact of brief and debrief in the business world
• “Sea Stories” and “Fly Overs” 

In today's Best of Episode, we feature Steve Leder. Steve is a husband, father, and the Senior Rabbi of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles. He’s also a respected scholar and religious commentator and the author of several bestselling books, including The Extraordinary Nature of Ordinary Things and More Beautiful Than Before; How Suffering Transforms Us. His latest book, The Beauty of What Remains; How Our Greatest Fears Become Our Greatest Gifts, shows us how our fear of death can help us define what’s truly meaningful and bring more gratitude, value, and purpose to our lives.

In this episode, you’ll hear from Rabbi Leder on:

(00:15:10) The joy of hugs. As enthusiastic huggers, we talk about the power of human touch and its ability to connect and console people in a way that words can’t. Also, Rabbi Leder explains how hugs help us demonstrate trust, express empathy, and affirm each other’s humanity.

(00:31:18) Death as a teacher. Despite Rabbi Leder’s long experience of dealing with the dying and their grieving relatives, he admits that only the experience of looking at his own father’s body made him finally realize that he, too, was going to die. As a mourner rather than a rabbi, he reveals how his experience of bereavement changed his life for the better and helped make him a better husband, father, and human being.

(00:38:57) The transmigration of the soul. Rabbi Leder shares his stories of witnessing the sense of peace that comes over the dying as the energy of the soul leaves the body and is transformed into an unknown but continuing force.

(00:53:01) The indefinable nature of God. We discuss the meaning of God’s ‘ I Will Be Who I Will Be’ statement to Moses, and Rabbi Leder points out that the phrase is deliberately vague since the true nature of divinity and cosmic justice is just too powerful and complex for human beings to understand. 

(01:04:38) Gratitude. Rabbi Leder encourages us to count our blessings and keep going until we reach a hundred! In particular, he reminds us to be grateful for even the smallest of things and celebrate all the abundance and beauty in our lives.

In today's Best of Episode, we feature Greg “Boss” Wooldridge. Greg is a true high-performer and the former flight leader of the Blue Angels. He is the only commanding officer to have led the Blue Angels on three separate tours. He’s an accomplished aviator and an exceptional leader who knows how to bring out the best in others and build a culture based on trust, camaraderie, and gratitude. 

Steve Rozenberg is an International airline pilot, business coach, and public speaker. He’s also a successful real estate investor who founded, grew, and sold the fastest-growing property management company in Texas. Today, Steve shares his knowledge and experience with others through his business training masterminds, which he designed to accelerate growth and create strong entrepreneurial mindsets.

In this episode, you’ll hear from Steve Rozenberg on:

• (00:04:21) His approach to business. Steve explains how applying the systems, structures, checklists, and standard operating procedures he learned as a pilot helped to make his property management business more efficient and successful. 

• (00:17:06) His ‘I am’ statements. We discuss the power of affirmations, and Steve describes how the reticular activating system in our brains helps us filter information, focus on what matters, and achieve our goals.

• (00:18:53) Writing a letter to your future self. Steve shares one of the exercises he uses to help his coaching clients become the people they want to be. 

• (00:27:01) Finding your why. We talk about the importance of purpose and why your reason for starting a business needs to be strong enough to carry you through the inevitable difficulties you’ll face as an entrepreneur. 

• (01:00:28) Time management. Steve explains how learning to say no can help you set boundaries and focus on your priorities.

In today's Best of Episode, we feature Bret Griess. Bret enlisted in the Air Force and served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He went on to serve as CEO of a CSG with 4,000 employees. Bret was known for expanding the revenue and scope of CSG exponentially. He was responsible for negotiating billions of dollars of deals. 

Topics covered in this episode:

• How to treat and execute billion dollar deals
• Preserving company culture while scaling and expanding
• How five minute goals tie into 5 year goals
• Entrepreneurship with compassion
• Humility and The practice of Debrief
• Cleaning up internally reflects externally 
• Growth Accelerators 
• The process of integrity and climbing up the corporate ladder
• Keeping a birds eye view on every situation 
• Tying in the micro to the macro for big results and gains 
• Work life Balance

Show Live With: “I don’t know what the next chapter is going to be, but I've known the author for a long time, so I know its going to be good." 

Dr. Michael Breus is a clinical psychologist who specializes in helping people improve the quality of their sleep and achieve peak performance during their waking hours. He’s also an author, a keynote speaker, and the owner of The Sleep Doctor, a company that researches all aspects of sleep health and tests mattresses, pillows, beds, and other bedroom essentials.

In this episode, you’ll hear from Dr. Michael Breus on:

• (00:13:53) His 5-step process for better sleep. Dr. Michael sets out the steps he takes to ensure a good night’s sleep. Plus, he shares details of the morning routine that sets him up for the day and stabilizes his circadian rhythm.

• (00:29:33) Identifying your genetic chronotype. Michael invites listeners to take the Sleep Doctor chronotype quiz to determine whether they’re early birds or night owls and work out the best time of the day for them to have sex.

• (00:34:10) How to stop snoring. He discusses the distinction between snoring and sleep apnea and gives some helpful advice on the best sleeping positions and sleep products for snorers.

• (00:53:36) Figuring out how much sleep you need. Michael reveals that the average sleep cycle is seven and a half hours long and describes the simple technique he used to find out how many hours of sleep he needed.  

• (00:55:25) Healthy habits. We talk about starting and ending the day with gratitude and how compiling a mental gratitude list before going to sleep at night helps you fall asleep more quickly and gives you more positive dreams.

Make sure to check out:
The Chronotype Quiz: thesleepdoctor.com/sleep-quizzes/chronotype-quiz
The Sleep Doctor's Website: thesleepdoctor.com
Dr Michael's Mattress Recommendations: thesleepdoctor.com/best-mattress