Finding Mastery: Conversations With Michael Gervais

This week’s conversation is with Andrew Zimmern, a four-time James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, writer and teacher.Andrew is regarded as one of the most versatile and knowledgeable personalities in the food world. As the creator, executive producer and host of the Bizarre Foods franchise on Travel Channel, The Zimmern List and Andrew Zimmern’s Driven by Food, he has explored culture through food in more than 170 countries.He has built a multi-faceted empire that promotes impactful ways to think about, create and live with food.On the surface Andrew is wildly successful – he’s highly ambitious and has an insatiable curiosity for life but in this conversation he pulls back the curtain and we get to learn about a different side of him.Andrew’s affinity for risk taking led him down a path that almost cost him his life.And that is at the heart of what this conversation is all about.Andrew holds nothing back.The pain he endured, what he ultimately learned about himself, and how it’s impacted the work h

This week’s conversation is with Reid Priddy, a 4 time Olympian for the USA Men’s indoor volleyball team, winning Gold in 2008 and Bronze in 2016.Over the past 16 years, Reid has competed at the highest level in indoor volleyball - both on the US National Team as well as on foreign Pro teams in domestic leagues all across the globe.In 2014, Reid suffered a torn ACL during competition, which required double knee surgery.In his late thirties, he defied the odds and worked his way all the way back to the top and helped the US Olympic Team win a Bronze Medal in RioReid is looking to defy the odds once more by switching surfaces to the sand – he’s working towards representing the US in the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020.As someone who has had the fortune of being involved with multiple Olympic Games, most recently with the 2016 women’s indoor and beach volleyball teams I've seen just how challenging the Olympic quad process is... the rigorous hours and dedication required over a 4 year period to even have a shot at m

This week’s podcast is with Des Linden, a 2x Olympian, running the marathon for the U.S. in both the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.Her most significant achievement to date happened this year (2018) when she became the first American woman in 33 years to win the Boston Marathon.Prior to winning, she came in 4th last year (2017) and finished second by only two seconds in 2011 (a personal record at the time).Two seconds!Think about how crushing that could be. Everything you’ve worked so hard for is in striking distance only to miss by two seconds—if external outcomes are the primary measurement of success.Imagine the persistence and the mental fortitude required just to complete a marathon, then on top of that fight back and win the Boston Marathon seven years after having a PR but coming up just short of first place…That right there sets the tone for what this conversation is all about.We discuss everything from being comfortable with getting vulnerable, why she doesn’t get ner

This week’s conversation is with Peter Park, founder of the Platinum brand and co-owner of the Platinum Fitness Summerland facility in Santa Barbara, California.He brings to this conversation a history rich of stories from the frontier. A blend of his own limit pushing achievements and 23 years of experience training elite athletes, big-screen celebrities, top touring musicians, and recreation folks that are serious about their fitness, mobility, and longevity.Peter has trained the best of the best -- Lance Armstrong, Kelly Slater (11x World Champion surfer), Lakey Peterson (currently #1 in the world right now for professional surfing), 2017 Major League Baseball MVP Giancarlo Stanton, and motocross game changers Chad Reed and Ken Roczen are among the athletes that Peter has nurtured through various stages of their careers.Peter recently authored a book called “Rebound” on Foundation Training, which lengthens and strengthens the back body, equaling out one’s total body strength, postu

On the 4th episode of The Process, Alex Fiance updates us on the latest happenings with Kairos and discuses the challenges they are currently facing: having to make investment decisions at a faster rate than ever before and the pressure that comes with it. We then get to learn from Andres Blumer and Bruno Ocampo-González, co-founders of Mi Águila, a company that is rethinking workforce transportation in Colombia and Latin America. Andres and Bruno believe their technology platform can help solve the transportation issues that plague their local market. They share what they believe are the most important qualities for any entrepreneur: persistence, emotional intelligence and self awareness and also discuss the challenges of building a company in Colombia.Listen to past episodes of The Process here: https://findingmastery.net/kairos/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 David (leaving his last name out for security purposes.)He's been a top special operations sniper for more than 10 years. David has four combat tours in support of Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan and one tour in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.During the last 21 years he has served in a variety of leadership roles that include; Fire Team Leader, Senior Weapons Sergeant, Tactics and Weapons instructor, Team Sergeant Air Operations NCOIC.David’s won countless awards along the way and just won the USASOC Sniper competition (top completion for snipers in all branches of special ops).He’s been asked multiple times how he won and he attributes it to his mental game!This conversation is a treat.We get to learn from someone truly on the razor’s edge; putting his life on the line. We talk about what goes through his mind in the most pivotal moments, where everything is at stake, including his and others’ lives around him.We discuss the difficulties that come with transit

This week’s conversation is with Rebecca Rothstein, a private wealth advisor focused on helping high-net-worth individuals, families and institutions pursue their financial goals through wealth management, tax minimization strategies and legacy planning services.In 2017, Forbes named Rebecca one of “America's Top Wealth Advisors" and this year recognized her as the #1 “Top Women’s Wealth Advisor.”What stands out in this conversation is while Rebecca’s area of expertise may appear on the surface to be wealth management, her true gift is her ability to build relationships with her clients, her team, and her family.One of Rebecca's key indicators for success is maintaining a high retention rate -- which she has.When I asked her why her client retention was so high, it of course came down to quality relationships: her ability to listen, communicate, and develop trust with her clients.In Rebecca’s words, “The most important thing that you learn when you’re taking on someone’s money, is that you have

This week’s conversation is with Brett Campbell, a serial entrepreneur.He’s currently the CEO of Harvey Partners, focused on assisting new innovative businesses move from startup to business ready.Brett knew he wanted to run his own business from an early age and this conversation sheds light on his experiences along the way: from learning the ropes working for his uncle, going out on his own, selling his first business, and mentoring others, Brett has seen it all. Today, Brett has a reached a level of financial security where he need not work another day, but he loves what he does and can’t envision himself waking up without heading into the office.At one point in the conversation I asked Brett what advice he would give someone considering starting their own business.He said: “I get a lot of people coming to me saying, ‘Hey look I’ve got this really good idea and hey here’s an MVP but would you invest in this? I’ve only got part time because I’m still working. I don’t really want to…’ That’s when I turn

This week’s podcast is with Kaskade, a Multi GRAMMY Award-nominated musician who has been a groundbreaking innovator in the dance music world, and a titan in the music industry as a whole.While bridging the gap between old school music purists and a new generation of music lovers, he marries genres and twists labels to stay true to his roots while pushing the boundaries of what’s next.Relentlessly touring the world and playing to millions of people around the globe, Kaskade has been in the trenches for over a decade.His handwriting can be read all over the history of electronic music while his influence maintains an all-time high.Over the past few years I’ve had the fortune of getting to have so many incredible conversations on this podcast.What stands out in this conversation is the challenges of being an artist.The challenge of creating work that comes from a place of authenticity, that is true to who you are, while at the same time wanting to reach as many people as possible and make a living.We talk about

This week’s podcast is unique. It’s a follow up with Rich Roll but it’s more of a casual conversation between friends than an interview. I also speak quite a bit more than a typical Finding Mastery podcast. Rich is a friend and each time we have one of these conversations we always seem to end up taking the discussion somewhere new.For those of you unfamiliar with Rich, he’s a plantpowered wellness advocate, bestselling author, ulltra-athlete & podcast host.Rich inspired me to start my own podcast a few years ago after I had such an enjoyable experience being a guest on his podcast. He was a previous guest on Finding Mastery – episode #018 – where we predominantly discussed how pain was the main catalyst for the positive changes he’s made in his life.In this conversation we share some of our takeaways from guests we’ve both had a chance to interview, discuss how to combat perfectionism and the three pillars of a psychological framework that are really important to pay attention to: optimism

In Episode 3 of The Process, Alex Fiance updates us on the recent public launch of one of their companies, CERA, who offer a personalized home-care solution to the aging population, allowing elderly people to live where they are most comfortable and happy.We then get to learn from Tim Hwang, the founder of FiscalNote, a Kairos company.Tim shares why he cares about making societal impact and how his merging interest in technology and politics was the impetus for Fiscal Note. We discuss his company's values, the biggest mistake he's ever made, and why entrepreneurship is about the intersection of risk and passion.You can find episodes 1 and 2 here: https://findingmastery.net/kairos/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Satya Nadella needs no introduction. He and his team are guiding one the world's most significant high-tech companies. He's the Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, and one of only three in their history.    The first time I met him (in 2014, when he was just a handful of weeks in as CEO) I was struck by how deeply he listened, his authentic curiosity to learn, and the clarity of how he organized his thoughts. It was apparent that he deeply valued, and was going to thoughtfully design, a culture at Microsoft for people to find and connect to their purpose — to experience their life efforts with deep meaning — while at the same time, holding true to their mission of empowering every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.That is so rich. It's what we all want. To live a life of purpose and meaning — and to really make a difference with what we do, and how we do it.This conversation explores where that comes from for him.As this conver

This week’s conversation is with quarterback Sam Darnold on leadership, trust, and confidence.Sam was just selected by the New York Jets with the 3rd pick in this year's NFL Draft.Over the last two years, Sam has been one of the top college quarterbacks in the nation, playing at the University of Southern California.I’ve known Sam since he participated in the Elite 11 quarterback camp - which features the best of the best quarterbacks coming out of high school. It’s been incredible to see how far he’s come since then.You might know him as one of the best rookie quarterbacks, but this conversation shows a different side of him: insight, integrity, humility, and honesty.We discuss everything from his leadership style, why building strong relationships and trusting himself have been fundamental to his success, and how he’s managed the distractions that have come with his quick rise to fame.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-in

This week’s podcast is with Chris Ashenden, the co-founder of Athletic Greens.Now I want to be totally transparent here – Athletic Greens is a partner of the podcast but I wouldn’t be comfortable having Chris on unless I fully believed in the product and their mission.In this conversation, we touch on Chris’ upbringing and how his experiences traveling around the world with his family shaped him -- and ultimately was the impetus for the creation of Athletic Greens.There were times where Chris was close to broke – living on a diet of rice and beans just to get by - but Chris never gave up.He refused to alter the quality of the product or the mission of the company even if it meant potentially losing everything.Chris is grateful he stuck to what he believed in and it becomes clear how his philosophy has rubbed off on the company.We discuss how to create a culture that stands for honesty and integrity and how to best develop trust with others.I hope this conversation inspires you – that it’s possible to do thing

This week’s podcast is with Jim DiMatteo.After graduating from the University of California Berkeley in 1986, Jim followed in his father’s and brother’s footsteps and joined the US Navy where he began an unprecedented Naval Aviation career.He retired as a Captain and has amassed nearly 5,000 hours in 5 different fighter aircraft (F/A-18, F-16, F-14, F-5, A-4) in over twenty-five years of service.After extensive combat flight time in Desert Storm, Jim was recruited into the prestigious TOPGUN Adversary squadron. It was there that he accumulated more TOPGUN Adversary flight time than anyone in the history of the US Navy and Marine Corps.He was awarded numerous accolades, including US Navy Fighter Pilot of the Year and US Navy Adversary Pilot of the Year.After retiring, he became the first Race Director in America for Red Bull and the U.S. Director of Aviation for Brietling.Jim was recently inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame for his lifetime achievements in aviation.In this conversation, we discuss how he p

Kairos Managing Partner Alex Fiance shares they’ve made a new investment in a company called iBeat, a smartwatch that continually monitors your heart rate, oxygen levels, and blood flow for life-threatening emergencies. Topics discussed include why they chose to invest, their process for determining if a company is the right fit, what Alex believes are the most important traits for an entrepreneur to have and answers a few questions from the Finding Mastery Tribe.All episodes of "The Process" are available here: https://findingmastery.net/kairos/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ali Smith co-founded the Holistic Life Foundation in 2001, where he currently serves as Executive Director.He has over 15 years of experience teaching yoga and mindfulness to diverse populations.Through his work at the Holistic Life Foundation he has helped develop and pilot yoga and mindfulness programs at public and private schools, drug treatment centers, juvenile detention centers, mental crisis facilities, and retreat centers, nationally and internationally.In this conversation we discuss how they got schools to buy into their mission, the way in which they’ve made a big impact in many kids lives, and Ali provides some concrete examples of what his mindfulness practice entails.This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens.Receive a free 20-count travel pack of Athletic Greens (valued at $99) with any purchase!Claim here: athleticgreens.com/findingmasterySupport for Finding Mastery also brought to you by Health IQ:Health IQ uses science & data to secure lower rates on life insurance for healt

This week’s conversation is with Cassidy Lichtman, a former member of the United States women’s national volleyball team.At the age of nine, Cassidy developed a chronic pain disorder in one of her legs and was told that she might never walk again.Imagine waking up one day with pain. Pain you didn’t understand. Pain that had no cure, no matter how many doctors you visited.On one side of the spectrum there is the physical pain.Over a short period of time, that is usually more manageable.Observe it, notice it, choose not to respond to it and focus on something else.But what about when you have to wake up with it again the next day and the next day and the day after that.Therein lies the mental pain.How would you respond when it feels like you’ve lost control over everything that once seemed to be such a certainty?Cassidy is a fighter and has persevered her whole life.Despite unsuccessful efforts to treat the pain she re-learned how to walk and then began playing volleyball. She went on to be a two-time All-Ameri

This week’s conversation is with American Swimmer and Olympic Gold Medalist Conor Dwyer.You wouldn’t know it looking at him now, with his 6’5”, athletic frame, three Olympic medals and four World Championships titles to his name, but success in the pool didn’t come easily to Conor. He was a multi-sport athlete throughout his youth, settling into swimming as his main focus late in high school. He was good but never quite great and the self described ‘very late bloomer’ struggled to get any collegiate coach to look his way as graduation approached. Unlike most of his teammates now on the U.S. National Swim Team there were no red carpet swim scholarships rolled out in his direction. But what Conor may have lacked in head-turning results early in his career he made up for with a gut- wrenching work ethic. What changed for Conor? His mindset. His environment. His training.In this conversation, we discuss how Conor transformed his swimming career: from unrecruited to winning multiple gold medals 

This week’s conversation is with Admiral Bill Owens on leadership, courage, and relationships.Bill is currently the executive chairman and co-founder of Red Bison Advisory Group, a company which identifies opportunities with proven enterprises in China, the Middle East, and the United States and creates dynamic partnerships focusing on: natural resources (oil, gas and fertilizer plants), real estate, and information, communication and technology.He was previously chairman the board of CenturyLink Telecom, the third largest telecommunications company in the United States and was also on the advisory board at SAP USA.The list goes on and on of important businesses that Bill has been involved with.Bill began his career as a nuclear submariner. He served on four strategic nuclear-powered submarines and three nuclear attack submarines, including tours as commanding officer aboard the USS Sam Houston and USS City of Corpus Christi. Owens spent a total of 4,000 days (more than 10 y