Finding Mastery: Conversations With Michael Gervais

Shownotes: 4:30: Reasoning behind not choreographing his dancing 7:15: Trusting your instincts and creating an organic experience for the audience 11:05: Why instincts are the necessary choices 15:20: Type of legacy he wants to leave 18:00: How dancing is like playing a game and you're trying to get the highest score possible 20:48: Manipulating the crowd and controlling their emotions 25:54: Why true perfection doesn't exist 29:20: Living in his head in his early life 34:00: Competitiveness fueling growth 40:15: How to take inspiration from those who are better and worse than you 49:40: Defining doubt 58:29: How to learn from different outlooks 1:03:40: How he'll know when he's truly made it See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sport is a way to learn more about who we are — how we handle success, failure, pain, loss, friendships, challenges and opportunities. In this upcoming conversation, sport becomes the initial “handshake” that has allowed us to talk about the deeper experiences in life — freedom, love, risk, and family. Popularly known as Baggio, Adis Husidić was born in Velika Kladuša, SFR Yugoslavia (present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina). Baggio and his family fled Bosnia in the mid-1990s to escape the Bosnian War, spending time in a refugee camp in southern Croatia, and living in Hamburg, Germany for several years, before eventually settling in Libertyville, Illinois in 1997. Husidić was drafted in the second round (20th overall) of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft by the Chicago Fire, and signed a Generation Adidas contract. He is currently a member of the Los Angeles Galaxy, In this conversion he shares his love for life, his unique path, and his search for meaning and mastery. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Ca

While in graduate school, a psychology professor asked the class to draw a line across the middle of the paper. He asked us to write down, above the line, three people that have helped shape who we are — that have helped us feel good about who we are. He also asked to list three names below the line, that have negatively contributed to how we see ourselves. The purpose of the exercise was to reflect on the way that people “coached” us from an “above the line” perspective. Coach Tom Osborne is an above the line coach — for tens-of-thousands of men and women. His deep care for others is apparent in the way he conducts his life — and his life efforts. Thomas William “Tom” Osborne (born February 23, 1937) is a former American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and politician from Nebraska. He served as the head football coach at the University of Nebraska football team for 25 years, from 1973 to 1997. Osborne was one of the most successful coaches in American college football history, with a

Some conversations will be with those who summit the pinnacle of their profession —or break molds attempting to scale untold peaks. In this conversation, I was fortunate to sit down with a contemporary composer & innovator, Kai Kight. His background is anything but typical. Sports, Design, Stanford, Violin, Composing. He holds an engineering degree from Stanford University’s d. school where he was introduced to the innovative culture of Silicon Valley. As a Kleiner Perkins Design Fellow and Mayfield Fellow, Kai got an early start in entrepreneurship. Kai began playing the violin when he was 3 years old, was classically trained, and studied under the concertmaster of Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. His music has brought him to perform in venues such as the White House and the Great Wall of China. Today Kai composes his own music using an innovative style on the violin which blends classical technique with rhythms and textures from popular genres such as hip hop and jazz. His favorite composer is Bach

Volleyball legend and three-time Gold Medalist, Karch Kiraly joins the show to discuss his path to Finding Mastery. The ‘winningest’ player in the history of the sport, Karch Kiraly is considered the “Michael Jordan” of pro beach volleyball as he is the oldest player to compete in the sport and continues to perform at the highest level — beating competitors literally half his age. He has won at least one tournament in 24 of the 28 seasons he has played, spanning four different decades. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Michael Gervais is fascinated by the psychology of high performance, in rugged environments. Throughout the past 15 years, Michael has been in the trenches with some of the best performers in the world – some who shift how we conceive what’s possible — others who have pushed their own boundaries — ranging from hall of fame athletes to action sport game-changers, entrepreneurs, Mixed Martial Artists, to musicians who influence the rhythm of the world. He’s excited to share the many paths toward mastery and provide very applied practices that we can all use to be and do more in our time together. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.