Finding Mastery: Conversations With Michael Gervais

This week’s conversation is with Zak Williams, the son of the late Robin Williams and co-founder and CEO of PYM, a mental wellness company rooted in the belief that there is a world where someone can be the best version of themselves simply by establishing easy daily rituals that help support their mind and overall wellbeing. Zak is a US trustee of the international advocacy organization, United for Global Mental Health, a board member of mental health awareness non-profit Bring Change 2 Mind, an advisor to national policy organization Inseparable, and the mental health tech platform Project Healthy Minds. September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, so it’s an important time to honor those who have been impacted and help others who might be struggling realize there’s alternative options.I’ve personally been affected by suicide and Zak opens up about the impact it had on him in this conversation, too. We discuss his experience growing up with an incredibly successful parent – the

This week’s conversation is with Dr. Philip Zimbardo, a professor emeritus in psychology at Stanford University, and creator of The Stanford Prison Experiment.Philip has spent over 50 years teaching psychology - he’s an absolute legend in the field. He’s written more than 60 books and has over 600 publications (professional and popular articles, and chapters). Among his books are: Psychology and Life textbook, Shyness, The Lucifer Effect, The Time Paradox, The Time Cure, and most recently, Man Interrupted. His current research looks at the Psychology of Heroism, asking: “What forces push some people to become perpetrators of evil, while others act heroically on behalf of people in need.” As founder and president of the nonprofit foundation, Heroic Imagination Project (HIP), he does trainings globally in schools, institutions, and businesses. It would be impossible to cover all his work over the course of an hour conversation, but we discuss

This week’s conversation is with Katrina Adams, the first African American to lead the United States Tennis Association (USTA), the first two-term Chairman and President of said organization and the first former player to hold that honor. Under her guidance, the USTA achieved a number of major milestones, including the opening of the 100 court USTA National Campus in Orlando, the strategic transformation of the $600 million USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. and an unprecedented outreach effort into underserved communities in an effort to share the sport of tennis with more people. Prior to this role, Katrina competed for 12 years on the WTA Tour, winning 20 career doubles titles and reaching the quarterfinals or better in doubles at all four Grand Slam events. Katrina’s hard work in tennis, leadership and philanthropy has earned her many accolades including: being named on Adweek magazine’s “Most Powerful Women in Sports” list twice (2016 and 2017), Forbes m

This week’s conversation is with Aaron Kirman, a prominent figure in the luxury real estate market for the past 20 years.Aaron is the President of the International Estates Division at Compass and founder, CEO and techpreneur of the eponymously named Aaron Kirman Group, which includes a team of nearly 100. With over $7 billion in luxury home sales, Aaron represents the finest estates across the globe and is sought after by the most discerning clients, including titans of industry, celebrities, royal families, major lending institutions and foreign investors.Aaron was ranked among the top five luxury real estate agents in the U.S. by the Wall Street Journal and is the star of TV's newest hit real estate show, Listing Impossible on CNBC.What makes this conversation so compelling isn’t necessarily Aaron’s status today, but the challenges he faced from day one - this conversation is about what it feels like to not fit in.Aaron discusses everything from overcoming dyslexia to hiding he was gay - and - the cha

This week’s conversation is with Dr. Stephen Porges, a distinguished university scientist at Indiana University, where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. He is also a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina and professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. Stephen more than 350 peer‐reviewed scientific papers, published across several disciplines, have been cited in approximately 40,000 peer-reviewed papers. He holds several patents involved in monitoring and regulating autonomic state and originated the polyvagal theory, which emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral, mental, and health problems related to traumatic experiences. So at its core, this conversation is about the triggers that either prompt us to feel threatened or safe… and why social connection or lack thereof plays such an integral role in which state we gravitate towards.Stephen is

This week’s conversation is with Anne Morriss and Frances Frei.Anne has spent the last twenty years building and leading mission-driven enterprises, serving most recently as CEO and Co-Founder of GenePeeks, a computational genomics company developing breakthrough ways to identify genetic risk. She has worked with entrepreneurs, companies and governments throughout the United States and Latin America on strategy, leadership and organizational change. Frances is a Professor of Technology and Operations Management at Harvard Business School. Her research investigates how leaders create the conditions for organizations and individuals to thrive by designing for excellence in strategy, operations, and culture.Frances regularly advises senior executives embarking on large-scale change initiatives and organizational transformation, including embracing diversity and inclusion as a lever for improved performance.   She is considered a culture consultant - helped makeover Riot Games, Uber

This week’s conversation is with Chris Bosh, an 11-time NBA All-Star, 2-time Champion and the NBA’s first Global Ambassador of Basketball.Chris fell in love with basketball at an early age and earned the prestigious “Mr. Basketball” title while still at Lincoln High School in Dallas, Texas. A McDonald’s All-American, Chris was selected fourth overall by the Toronto Raptors after one year attending Georgia Tech. Chris would eventually leave the Raptors to team up Lebron James and Dwyane Wade with the Miami Heat, where he would win two NBA championships, yet had his playing days cut short during his prime by a freak medical condition. His extraordinary career ended not at a time of his choosing but “in a doctor’s office in the middle of the afternoon.” Chris was forced to reckon with how to find meaning to carry forward, and that really sets the tone for this conversation.We discuss what led to his success during his time in the league and how he found meaning in his life post-basketball - s

This week’s conversation is with Steve Smith, one of America’s most experienced astronauts and spacewalkers, with 4 spaceflights and 7 spacewalks to repair the Hubble Space Telescope and build the Space Station.Steve dreamed of being an astronaut at age 7. Then he made his dream come true through sheer determination and intelligent risk taking. During the 3-decade pursuit of his dream he became a Stanford electrical engineer and MBA, General Motors Fellow, pilot, elite collegiate athlete, and IBM Product Manager.  At NASA, Steve held multiple senior leadership positions and served as a Diplomat.   He now uses this one-of-a-kind experience base as a board director, venture capital advisor, and keynote speaker.   I was so excited to have this conversation - for all the years we’ve been at it with Finding Mastery, we’ve never had an astronaut as a guest so this was such a treat.We discuss his experience going to space, how it changed his perspective of life on ea

This week’s conversation is with Dawn Staley, the University of South Carolina Women’s Basketball Head Coach and Team USA Olympic Head Basketball coach for the Tokyo Olympics.Catapulting South Carolina into the national spotlight, Dawn has made the Gamecocks a mainstay in the battle for SEC and national championships. Under her leadership, the Gamecocks have reached many firsts – National Championship, NCAA Final Fours, No. 1 rankings, SEC regular-season and tournament titles, SEC Player of the Year, National Player of the Year, WNBA No. 1 Draft pick and No. 1 recruiting classes – to name the most notable.While her coaching career is in full bloom, Dawn is still recognized for her body of work as a one of the most decorated participants in United States women’s basketball history. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame solidified that legacy with her enshrinement as part of the Class of 2013.I wanted to speak with Dawn to understand her leadership style and learn how we can all apply tho

This week’s conversation is with Dr. Jud Brewer, a New York Times best-selling author, neuroscientist, addiction psychiatrist, and thought leader in the field of habit change. He is the Director of Research and Innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center, the executive medical director of behavioral health at Sharecare Inc., and a research affiliate at MIT. Dr. Jud has developed and tested novel mindfulness programs for habit change, including treatments for smoking, emotional eating, and anxiety. You may be familiar with him from his first appearance on Finding Mastery a few years ago - episode #66.I wanted to have Jud back on to discuss his new book titled, “Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind.”You can probably imagine where this conversation is headed - we discuss some of his new findings around working with anxiety, in any walk of life.-----Please support our partners!We're able to keep growing and creating content for&nbs

This week’s conversation is with Adeline Gray, one of the top professional freestyle wrestlers in the world, male or female. She is a 2016 Olympian, five-time World Champion (2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019), seven-time World Championship medalist and went undefeated in international competition from 2014-2016.  Adeline’s 2019 World title and fifth World Championship win gave her the title of the most decorated female American wrestler in history. I wanted to speak with Adeline to understand how she became a trailblazer for her sport - how did she stay the course when there wasn’t one, when there were few role models to look up to?Adeline’s story isn’t all roses - after going undefeated from 2014-2016 in international competition, she wasn’t able to get it done at the 2016 Rio Olympics, finishing in 7th place.We discuss what went wrong at those Games and how’s she’s adjusted her mindset heading into the Tokyo Olympics.I think this is a perfect conversation with the Games only a few weeks out...&n

This week’s conversation is with Matteo Franceschetti, the CEO of Eight Sleep.Matteo has always been obsessed with performance. Athletic performance, business performance, and now sleep performance.His drive to succeed propelled him from sports podiums to the top tier of the international legal world and to start starting up two clean-tech companies on two different continents, all before age 30.Not surprisingly, sleepless nights were a way of life.It was Matteo’s quest for more restorative sleep, in fact, that led him down the path to launch Eight Sleep, a company dedicated to fueling human potential through optimal sleep, and to turning the bed into a seamless health platform for improved health, performance, and longevity. Eight Sleep has been an amazing partner to us for a few years now and I wanted to speak to Matteo to understand both his entrepreneurship journey and his insights on sleep. What’s the key to getting a great night’s sleep? I think you’ll be surprised to learn about some common s

This week’s conversation is with Jordyn Wieber, a member of the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame and the “Fierce Five” United States gymnastics squad that won team gold at the 2012 Olympics.Jordyn was a two-time U.S. all-around champion (2011 and 2012) and the 2011 World all-around champion. Her illustrious Elite Career included three medals at the 2011 World Championships (all-around and team : gold, and a bronze on beam), and four U.S. senior national titles (all-around, bars and floor in 2011 and all-around in 2012). She officially retired from competitive gymnastics in 2015.In 2019, Jordyn was introduced as the head coach of the Arkansas Women’s Gymnastics program making her the youngest NCAA head-coach in history. Jordan has been a vocal advocate for safe sport, has won several awards in the past year, including the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs, the Rising Star Award by the Los Angeles Business Journal, and the Giant Steps A Hero Among Us Award.In this conversation we cover so much -

This week’s conversation is with Darin Olien, who you might be familiar with as the co-host of the widely popular Netflix docu-series “Down to Earth with Zac Efron”. Darin is a highly recognized exotic superfoods hunter, supplement formulator, and author of the New York Times bestselling book, “SuperLife: The five fixes that will keep you healthy, fit and eternally awesome.He’s worked with the fitness-company Beachbody to formulate one of the top superfood shakes in the USA a whole-food supplement called, “Shakeology”, as well as the plant-based, “Ultimate Reset 21-day” detoxification program. Darin is also one of the founders of Barukas™, a new super nut from the Savannah “Cerrado” of Brazil.  So you can probably imagine what this conversation is about - we dive into Darin’s passion for nutrition - what makes a great superfood, the importance of proper hydration, and so much more. -----Please support our partners!We're able to keep growing and creating content for YOU becau

This week’s conversation is with Dr. Richard “Harry” Harris, an Australian anesthetist and cave diver who played a crucial role in the Tham Luang cave rescue. For those of you unfamiliar, it’s an incredible story… In June 2018, Harry was about to depart on a cave diving holiday to the Nullarbor Plain.He and dive partner Craig were requested by the Thai government, on the advice of British cave diving experts attempting to rescue twelve Thai children and their soccer coach who were trapped in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system… to provide assistance with the rescue efforts.They were jointly awarded 2019 Australian of the Year as a result of that rescue.I wanted to speak with Harry to understand how he did it… what gave him the courage to put his life on the line on a whim for strangers?I think you’ll be fascinated to not only hear about Dr. Harry’s first hand experience but also the mental skills he utilized – imagery, calm, confidence, focus… it’s all there.-

This week’s conversation is with Dr. Marissa King, a Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Yale School of Management, where she developed and teaches a popular course entitled Managing Strategic Networks. Over the past fifteen years, Marissa has studied how people’s social networks evolve, what they look like, and why that’s significant. Her research has been featured in outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Atlantic, and on National Public Radio.Marissa is also the author of a new book, titled Social Chemistry. I wanted to speak with Marissa to learn more about her framework for strategic networks…How do the nature of our relationships differ in our personal lives from the work setting, what can we do to improve them, and how has the pandemic impacted the nature of how these relationships will evolve in the future?-----Please support our partners!We're able to keep growin

This week’s conversation is with Per Lundstam, the Director of Alpine Sport Science for the US. Ski & Snowboard team.He rejoined the organization after an 11-year stint with Red Bull, where he served as the Director of Performance, supporting athletes in their pursuit of improving athletic performance as well as building a platform for optimization within sport sciences.Prior to Red Bull, Per worked with U.S. Ski & Snowboard from 1994 to 2010 as Head Strength Coach, working with the likes of Olympic champions Tommy Moe, Bode Miller, Ted Ligety, Lindsey Vonn, and Julia Mancuso.I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Per as both a colleague at Red Bull and as a dear friend… When it comes to high performance, Per is one the most respected people in the field.We discuss how to get the most out of individuals and teams - both inside and outside the world of sport.-----Please support our partners!We're able to keep growing and creating content for YOU because of their support. We believe in their mi

This week’s conversation is with Dean Karnazes, an acclaimed endurance athlete and NY Times bestselling author, who has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits. TIME magazine named him one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in the World.” Men’s Fitness hailed him as one of the fittest men on the planet. Stan Lee, of Marvel Comics fame, called him, “A real superhuman.”Among his many accomplishments, he has run 50 marathons, in all 50 US states, in 50 consecutive days and he’s run 350 continuous miles, foregoing sleep for three nights. He’s run across the Sahara Desert in 120-degree temperatures, and he’s run a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees. On ten separate occasions he’s run a 200-mile relay race solo, racing alongside teams of twelve. He has raced and competed on all seven continents of the planet, twice over.So you might be thinking, how I could possibly relate to Dean? And that’s what makes this conversation beauti

This week’s conversation is with Dr. Katy Milkman, a behavioral scientist and professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Over the course of her career, she has worked with or advised dozens of organizations on how to encourage positive change, including Google, the U.S. Department of Defense, the American Red Cross, and Morningstar. Her research is regularly featured by major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and NPR. She currently codirects the Behavior Change for Good Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania and has a new book out titled, How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.And that’s why I wanted to speak with Katy… to better understand the research around behavior change.How do people change, what are some things that get in the way, and what are some ways to amplify the rate of change?-----Please support our partners!We're able to keep growing and creating content for YOU&nbs

This week’s conversation is with Joe de Sena, the founder and CEO of Spartan, the world’s leading endurance sports and wellness brand.Throughout his lifetime, Joe has competed in any extreme sports adventure he could find, testing his mental and physical endurance against nature. His racing resume is the stuff of legend – over 50 ultra-events overall and 14 Ironman events in one year alone.And that led to Spartan – a global experiential sport and wellness brand with a 10 million+ strong community. It creates transformational experiences, products, and content to help people, companies and teams tear down boundaries and expand what they believe to be possible. I wanted to have this conversation with Joe to better understand what drove him to create Spartan.We discuss purpose, sacrifice, work/life balance, habits for living healthier and so much more.-----Please support our partners!We're able to keep growing and creating content for YOU because of their support. We believe in their mis