Finding Mastery: Conversations With Michael Gervais

This week’s conversation is with Suzy Whaley, the PGA of America's first female President.Prior to being elected President last November, Suzy served for two years as PGA Secretary, and two years as Vice President.She is also the PGA Owner of Suzy Whaley Golf in Cromwell, Connecticut and the PGA Director of Instruction at the Country Club at Mirasol in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.Suzy is recognized as one of the country’s top golf instructors and has won numerous teaching awards including: Golf Digest Top 50 Instructor, LPGA Top 50 Instructor, Connecticut PGA Two-Time Teacher of the Year, Golf Digest State Teacher of the Year 10 times, and she’s instructed more than 300 children to collegiate golf.A dual member of the PGA of America and LPGA Teaching & Club Professional division, Suzy was a LPGA Tour member in 1990 and 1993.She famously qualified and participated in the 2003 Greater Hartford Open, becoming the first woman since Babe Zaharias in 1945 to qualify for a PGA Tour event.We discuss what that exp

This week’s conversation is with Steve Kerr, head coach of the Golden State Warriors.Currently in his fifth season as head coach, Steve has guided the club through four of the most prolific seasons in NBA history with a list of accomplishments that includes:Three NBA championshipsFour-straight NBA Finals appearancesThe NBA’s single-season wins record (73)An NBA Coach of the Year award (2015-16)Four of the five winningest seasons in franchise historySteve, who won five NBA championships during a 15-year playing career, now owns eight championships as either a player or coach, becoming the first to win three NBA titles as a player and three as a coach.So I think it’s clear – Steve understands winning but he’s searching for something beyond that.He has made it a point to revolve the Warriors’ culture around joy.In this conversation, we discuss how Steve went about building the Warriors’ culture, what he’s most hungry for, and his biggest challenge at the moment – finding a way to keep the Warriors motivated

This week’s conversation is with Kevin Carroll, an author, speaker and creative catalyst.It is Kevin’s job to inspire businesses, organizations and individuals - from CEOs and employees of Fortune 500 companies to schoolchildren - to embrace their spirit of play and creativity to maximize their human potential and sustain more meaningful business and personal growth.He has helped turn creative ideas into reality for organizations such as Nike, Starbucks, Adidas, Walt Disney, Target, Proctor & Gamble, Under Armour, Mattel, the NBA and many others.The focus of this conversation is much more about how Kevin became the man he is today rather than the “what” of his accomplishments so I want to give a quick rundown of Kevin’s stops along the way.Raised by his grandparents in Philadelphia, Kevin spent endless hours at the neighborhood playground where he found his calling: a red rubber ball.His subsequent pursuit of play and his ‘red rubber ball’ took him overseas with the Air Force, where he served as a languag

This week’s conversation is with Herbert Wigwe, a Nigerian banker, entrepreneur, and the Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank.He is an Alumnus of Harvard Business School’s Executive Management Programme.From his early 20’s, Herbert began what would become a successful career in banking and finance, and his first entrepreneurial venture, would be his most successful.In 2002, Herbert and his long-time partner were presented with the prospect of acquiring a small-scale commercial bank, Access Bank.Herbert had spent over a decade at Guaranty Trust Bank and was in-line to becoming the Executive Director in charge of institutional banking.To have even considered such a decision of obtaining what was then ranked the 65th largest bank in Nigeria seemed like career suicide but Herbert seized the opportunity.In 2016, The Banker Database ranked Access Bank in the top 1,000 banks in the world.Today, Access Bank is one of the largest Banks in Africa, a feat which is attributable to his ingenuity and ex

This week’s conversation is with Scott Kriens, chairman and former CEO of Juniper Networks.Scott has been in the technology industry for more than 35 years.Holding early roles at Burroughs Corp and Tandem, Scott moved to EVP of Sales and Operations at StrataCom before helping found Juniper Networks in 1996.During his tenure, he served as chairman and CEO, growing the company to more than 10,000 employees in over 100 countries worldwide and $4 billion in revenue, and remains chairman today.In 2010, Scott and his wife Joanie founded 1440 Foundation and recently completed 1440 Multiversity, a state-of-the-art immersive learning destination set on a 75-acre redwood forest near Santa Cruz County, CA.What really stands out in this conversation is Scott’s authenticity, his willingness to be vulnerable, and how much he genuinely cares about getting to the center of what’s real.While Scott appears wildly successful on the surface, the passing of his father made him rethink how he was living his life.He

This week’s conversation is with Annabel Anderson, the world #1 female SUP athlete from 2012-2017.Annabel has won the biggest titles in the sport of stand up paddling multiple times – She’s a 5x world champion, has beaten the best men in the sport, and orchestrated the campaign that resulted for equal pay and opportunities for female athletes globally.She is also an elite cyclist & mountain biker, skier, sailor, and surfer.If there was ever anyone who lived up to the moniker of versatile – Annabel Anderson is it.Career ending injuries curtailed a promising ski racing and triathlon career as a young athlete resulting in 11 major surgeries by the age of 24.Versatility, adaptability, and a relentless pursuit for marginal gains became common themes.But maybe the greatest challenge lies yet. This past year, she's had multiple freak accidents resulting in an extremely broken body. The challenge is now to return to normal function and to face what ever the next chapter holds.This conversation cuts right to the c

This week’s conversation is with Brian Mackenzie, an expert in the development and application of custom protocols to optimize human health and performance.His work harnesses and integrates respiratory, movement, strength and endurance-based training approaches to elicit positive results.His protocols have been used to accelerate and raise both mental and physical performance in world-class Olympic and professional athletes, top executives, and elite military operators, as well as to improve the health for everyday people to those suffering from various chronic illnesses.Along with innovating the endurance, strength and conditioning paradigm, he has studied altitude, heat & cold exposure and breath work.Brian co-founded and created Power Speed Endurance (PSE), an online programming, coaching and educational platform that specializes in movement & skill development in sport.He also co-authored the books Power Speed Endurance, NYTimes Best Seller UnBreakable Runner, and most recently UnPlugged.This epis

This week’s conversation is with bestselling author, Dr. John Ratey, an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and an internationally recognized expert in Neuropsychiatry.He has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles, and 11 books published in 17 languages, including the groundbreaking ADD-ADHD “Driven to Distraction” series with Ned Hallowell.With the publication of "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain," Dr. Ratey has established himself as one of the world's foremost authorities on the brain-fitness connection.His most recent book, “Go Wild” explores how we can achieve optimal physical and mental health by getting in touch with our caveman roots, and how we can “re-wild” our lives.Recognized by his peers as one of the Best Doctors in America since 1997, Dr. Ratey was recently honored by the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society as "Outstanding Psychiatrist of the Year" for advancing the field.John is an expert in human focus and especially in this

This week’s conversation is with Bobbi Brown, a beauty industry titan, world-renowned makeup artist, best-selling author and serial entrepreneur.As a professional makeup artist, Bobbi created 10 simple lipsticks that evolved into a global beauty empire.At a time when stark contours and shiny red lips were in fashion, Bobbi designed cosmetics to highlight a woman’s natural look, and introduced Bobbi Brown Essentials in 1991.This line of color cosmetics revolutionized the industry.In 1995, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics was acquired by The Estée Lauder Companies, where Bobbi served as Chief Creative Officer, building a billion-dollar brand.Unwilling to rest on her laurels, Bobbi has returned to her roots as an entrepreneur.Her latest endeavor is EVOLUTION_18, a line of lifestyle-inspired wellness products that launched in the Spring of 2018.What’s been the key to her success?Bobbi just goes for it. She has an optimistic framework and isn’t worried about things not working out.You don’t need to have the slightest bit of

This week’s conversation is with Forrest Griffin, a retired mixed martial artist and a UFC Hall of Famer.A former Georgia Police Officer, Forrest got his shot at UFC Stardom on the first season of the Ultimate Fighter.He won the first season in a fight against Stephan Bonnar that helped put MMA on the map.The Ultimate Fighter Finale was a wild success and brought a lot of new attention to the UFC at a time when the sport was at a make or break point.Forrest went on to become a UFC Light Heavyweight World Champion and eventually was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.I had the pleasure of meeting Forrest for the first time at an event this past July - “Evel Live,” where motorsports icon Travis Pastrana honored legendary daredevil Evel Knievel by attempting three of his most dangerous feats in Las Vegas.We had a great conversation around what it takes to be mentally prepared inside the Octagon and I knew we needed to follow up with a podcast.Fighting can be a great metaphor for life.You get hit, you g

On the 6th episode of "The Process," Alex shares how Mike's interview on the last episode shaped their investment decision and why creating the right culture at a company is vital to its longterm success.Alex and Mike also discuss Kairos' upcoming K50 event and what to look for when assessing if an entrepreneur has the right mindset to go the distance.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week’s conversation is with Brendan Kane, a business and digital growth strategist for Fortune 500 corporations, brands, and celebrities.Brendan’s greatest strength is unlocking value. He transforms complexity into simplicity with tools and methods that amplify growth and enable execution.He thrives on helping his clients systematically find and engage new audiences.Brendan's success stories include massive global brands like Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Jason Statham, Katie Couric, MTV, Vice, Lionsgate, and Yahoo.This conversation has something for everyone: whether you own a business, are considering starting one or are just thinking about your personal brand.The power of social media allows you or your organization to impact many, to get your message in front of the right people, but in today’s world capturing someone’s attention is not an easy feat.More than 60 billion online messages are sent into the world every day, and only a select few companies can succeed in the mad scramble for customer attention.T

This week’s conversation is with Marty Callner, an award winning Producer and Director.His diverse resume includes specials starring Chris Rock, The Rolling Stones, Justin Timberlake, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Bette Midler, Jerry Seinfeld, Will Ferrell, Garth Brooks, Diana Ross, Britney Spears, and Robin Williams, to name a few.He is also the creator of the immensely popular and Emmy award winning HBO series, Hard Knocks, which gives viewers a look into the inner workings of NFL training camp.Marty has directed over 200 music videos, including such classics as Aerosmith’s ‘Crazy’ starring Alicia Silverstone and Cher’s ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’ filmed aboard the historic USS Missouri.He’s earned five MTV Music Awards including ‘Video of the Year’ and forty-three Emmy nominations including Callner’s back-to-back directorial nods for “Bette Midler: Diva Las Vegas” and “Garth Brooks: Live From Central Park”.For Marty it all started with his learning to “dream big.”His mom taught him that, “A man who doesn’t bui

This week’s conversation is with Dr. Brené Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston where she holds the Huffington Foundation – Brené Brown Endowed Chair at The Graduate College of Social Work.She has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy and is the author of five #1 New York Times bestsellers: The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, Rising Strong, Braving the Wilderness and her latest book Dare to Lead, which is the culmination of a seven-year study on courage and leadershipBrené’s TED talk – The Power of Vulnerability – is one of the top five most viewed TED talks in the world with over 35 million views.The relationship between vulnerability and courage is a focal point of our conversation.In Brené’s words: “You cannot get to courage without walking right through vulnerability.”So what is courage all about and when is it the right time to be vulnerable?Whether it be with a loved one or in the corporate world, do you have the courage to say or do th

This week’s conversation is with John Brenkus, who has spent the last decade studying and popularizing the unique characteristics of the world’s greatest athletes.A co-founder of BASE Productions, he is best known as the on-air host, co-creator and executive producer of ESPN’s Emmy Award-winning show Sport Science, appearing in and producing over 1500 segments that have been featured on ABC and ESPN's enormous sports platform.John has been featured in coverage of The Super Bowl, Monday Night Football, the NBA Finals, Sunday Night Baseball, and The Masters just to name a few.Through Sport Science, John has appeared before 80 million people annually for the last decade, has won 6 Emmys, and has written a New York Times Best Seller "The Perfection Point."When John has an idea he goes for it.It makes sense then, that his philosophy is to: “Make something out of nothing.”In this conversation we discuss what gives him the confidence to go for it and not let a fear of failure get in the way of pursuing his dreams.&n

This week’s conversation is with Dr. Daniel Chao, co-founder of Halo Neuroscience.Dr. Chao’s whole life has been dedicated to understanding the brain and its function — specifically, how electrical stimulation can help the brain more rapidly improve performance, cognitive function, and overall happiness.As some of you are already probably aware, we recently partnered with Halo Neuroscience because I’m bullish on their technology, Halo Sport, which accelerates movement based learning through transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS).I wanted to have an in-depth conversation with Daniel to learn more about how scientists are using brain stimulation to optimize neurological function and go deeper into what’s possible with this technology.I think this technology is right on the frontier, backed by about 15 years of research and currently used by the best athletes in the world – US Olympic teams, players in the NFL, MLB, NBA, PGA Tour, and more.In a previous Finding Mastery podcast (#045), psychologist Anders

This week’s conversation is with John Donovan, CEO of AT&T Communications.He’s responsible for the bulk of AT&T’s global telecommunications and video services businesses, including AT&T’s Business, Entertainment, and Technology & Operations groups.AT&T is a global leader in telecommunications with 100 million U.S. consumer connections and millions of businesses, from the smallest companies to nearly all of the Fortune 1000.John manages over 250,000 people. Think about that for a second.What’s the key to running an organization this large?For John, it starts with knowing his values and what he stands for.This creates a certain space that allows him to be grounded and present more often.In this conversation, John shares how he got so clear on who he is and what he’s striving for.It took some difficult, lonely work to sort it out and I hope you are currently embracing that same process.This episode is brought to you by:Athletic Greens: The most complete supplement for a better you. With 75 in

This week’s conversation is with Matt Jacobson, Head of Market Development at Facebook.In this role, he focuses on strategic partnerships that connect people to some of the world's most recognized brands.Facebook may be one of the world’s largest companies today, but it wasn’t when Matt joined as employee number 8 over 13 years ago.He took a leap of faith at the time – he believed in their mission and their founder, Mark Zuckerberg, and began working for no salary, only equity.You could say that bet paid off.What gave Matt the confidence to join Facebook?His intellectual curiosity has been a driving force for him for since he was young. In this conversation, we discuss how that intellectual curiosity has allowed him to stay ahead of the curve, take risks and opened up new opportunities.Matt understands, values, and invests deeply in relationships so it’s no surprise that his philosophy is: “To be the best part of another person’s day.”What a cool thought.This episode is brought to you by:Athletic Greens: The

This week’s conversation is with Michael Murphy, co-founder and chairman emeritus of the board of the world famous Esalen Institute, tucked away on the coast of Big Sur, in California.Michael and Esalen have been ground zero for the human potential movement: exploring everything from consciousness, Eastern philosophies meeting Western frameworks, the birth place of Gestalt therapy, to generating scores of mind body interventions.In 1950, Michael was a premed student at Stanford and wandered into a class discussing Eastern and Western philosophies and religions.The miscue changed his life.Soon he was meditating and, after earning a bachelor of arts in psychology and serving in the U.S. Army, he lived on an ashram in India for 18 months.Upon returning to the United States, he and the late Richard Price started Esalen on property the Murphy family owned. Over its 50-plus years of existence, it has been described as a “personal growth think tank.”The organization is focused on personal growth, meditation, ma

This week’s conversation is with Javier Gómez, a Spanish triathlete.Since 2006, Javier has accumulated one of the best records in triathlon history.Javier is a 5x International Triathlete Union (ITU) World Champion, 2x Ironman 70.3 World Champion, a 9 time world ITU number 1, and won a Silver medal for Spain at the 2012 Summer Olympics in men's triathlon.Simply put, he is a legend in the sport.Javier is currently in the final stages of training for the Ironman World Championship, which will take place on October 13 in Kona, Hawaii. You can learn more about Javi's pursuit to win Kona here.For those unfamiliar with the Ironman, it consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and 26.2 mile marathon run.No matter how you slice it, this endurance event is rugged, and that’s why I was so excited to talk with Javier about his experience preparing and training for it.Last year’s winner completed the race in just over 8 hours.That’s a lot of time for your mind to wander if you aren’t disciplined - a