High Performance Mindset | Learn From World-class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches About Mindset

Dr. Justin Grunewald works at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in the heart of Minneapolis treating patients during their hospital stays. He works nights for seven to 10 days in a row, then he'll get about two weeks off. When Cindra caught up with Justin, he was in Colorado ready to go on a RV trip, running, camping and adventuring in the woods. On Episode #14 on the High Performance Mindset back in 2015, Cindra interviewed Justin’s wife, Gabe Grunewald. The fearless middle distance runner who was going after her dreams to make an Olympic team despite cancer. Gabe’s life was cut short at just 32 last year, but she still managed to make a huge impact on the running community and beyond. While battling a rare form of cancer and competing as one of the best middle-distance runners in the country, she inspired countless people to live bravely. For over 10 years, she fought adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare cancer of the salivary glands, which she was diagnosed with as a fifth-year senior running for the University of

In this episode, Cindra talks about given all the changes we are experiencing right now that it is important to remember that it is okay to feel whatever you are feeling. A key to being resilient is to remember there is no reason to judge your emotions as good or bad. Instead, use how you are feeling as information and data about what is important to you. There are so many things we cannot control right now but we can look ahead and create a new vision for our future and consider 1 thing we can do to move towards that vision each day. You can continue to adjust and adapt like you have been for the last 5 months!      “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” Victor Frankl     This week’s Power Phrase:  “I can adjust and adapt. I can handle anything that comes my way.” 

Cindra talks about embracing a “new better” which helps you move forward despite the things in our world that you cannot control. It is easy to live in fear right now given the uncertainty in the world. Today, Cindra talks about what to do when you “amygdala gets hijacked” due to fear and how we can move forward embracing a “new better” instead. One way to embrace a "new better" is to consider what your vision looks like and what is one thing you can do today to reach that vision. As Abraham Lincoln said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it!”     This week’s Power Phrase:  “I embrace the new better. I imagine the future in my mind and then create it.”   

Sue is a registered psychologist with a specialization in sport psychology, and is an expert in flow and its application to performance excellence. Sue has been involved in the psychology of flow since completing a PhD on flow state in elite athletes in the early 1990s. Sue’s work in flow has helped to make this optimal psychological state understandable and more accessible to all levels of performers, from weekend warriors to Olympic champions. Sue has extensively researched with her mentor and the founder of flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Sue has written the popular book on flow for athletes and coaches with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow in Sports: The Keys to Optimal Experiences and Performances. In addition, Sue has an extensive publication record on flow in sport, and has worked in academic positions in sport and exercise psychology for many years. Sue has developed a suite of Flow Scales, self-report instruments that have applicability across a diverse range of settings.   In addition to her work in the

Lauren is an athlete-turned-mental conditioning coach, who is highly motivating, and relatable with a passion for developing the minds of the elite. Lauren trains professional athletes, military personnel and business professionals through national speaking engagements, educational training workshops and consulting.   For the past four years Lauren has served as the Mental Conditioning Coordinator for the New York Yankees, where she is responsible for aiding in the development of athletes and staff through education, application, and support.   From the playing field to the boardroom, Lauren helps elite performers develop mental toughness so they can be their best regardless of circumstance. Her practical, straight-forward advice and performance strategies provide tangible results and skills that help individuals push through the inevitable challenges life throws at us.   In this podcast, Lauren and Cindra talk: · How a job at Starbucks led her to the work with the Yankees · Her definition of failure · How to

High performers see the upside of stress. They realize it is their interpretation of the stress that matters the most. Dr. Kamphoff shares in this episode how a moderate level of adversity can lower depression and increase greater satisfaction in life. Remember it’s our interpretation of the stress that matters most and we can learn to embrace stress by remembering how we have grown after adversity or setbacks.    Power Phrase this week: “I see the upside of stress. I view adversity as helping me grow and learn.”      “When you embrace stress, you can transform fear into courage, isolation into connection, and suffering into meaning.” Dr. Kelly McGonigal         

It’s easy to let your survival, fear-based part of your brain take over your daily actions and emotions. We can train our mind in two ways: 1) preventative mental skills and 2) daily present and presence skills. Training our mind in both ways helps your be your best every day and thrive. In this episode, Dr. Kamphoff talks about how to train both types of mental skills during times of uncertainty and change.   This week’s Power Phrase:  “I train my mind each day. I remember I can act independent of how I feel.”   “Being scared is part of being alive. Accept it. Walk through it.” Robin S. Sharma  

Shannon Huffman Polson has worked with leaders in industries across the country and around the world on managing change, building leadership and grit, and planning for diversity. Shannon is founder and CEO of The Grit Institute, a leadership development organization dedicated to the whole leader approach to ethical and people centered performance in times of change and challenge. Shannon is the author of The Grit Factor: Courage, Resilience and Leadership in the Most Male Dominated Organization in the World, forthcoming from Harvard Business Review Press in September 2020. Before writing her book and starting The Grit Institute, Shannon was one of the first women to fly Apache helicopters, serving on three continents and leading two flight platoons and a line company. As a keynote speaker at business and corporate events around the world her clients have included Microsoft, Amazon, New York Life, Bristol Myers Squibb, the FDIC, and T-Mobile. In this podcast, Shannon and Cindra talk about: · How to develop you

“You have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” Louise Hay Self-compassion, or the practice of being kind to yourself in times of failure, pain or when you notice something you don’t like about yourself, is key to practice right now. When we show self-compassion, we give ourselves the same kindness as we would to others recognizing that all humans suffer and we are not alone. We can then use tools to stop being so critical of ourselves remembering criticizing ourselves doesn’t help us get to where we want to go.   This week’s Power Phrase:  “I am kind to myself. I remind myself I am doing the best I can.”

Anne Grady is a bestselling author, two-time TEDx speaker and a truth-bomb dropper. Anne has a master’s degree in organizational communication and has spent the last twenty years working with some of the largest organizations around the globe. She has become known as a leading expert on communication, leadership, emotional intelligence, and resilience, contributing to Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Inc. Magazine, FOX Business and many more. Anne shares inspiring personal stories, cutting edge, research-based content, and implementation tools to transfer learning into real life to improve relationships, navigate change, and triumph over adversity. And she’ll make you laugh while she does it. In her most recent book, Strong Enough: Choosing Courage, Resilience and Triumph, Anne draws from her personal life experiences that touch the hearts and minds of audiences helping them use adversity as a catalyst to grow "strong enough". In this podcast, Anne and Cindra talk: · Why now is the time yo

Your “crucibles” are the moments of greatest adversity in your life. We have all experienced adversity and struggle. By connecting with your crucibles moments, you are able to reframe these adversities to consider how these moments led you to where you are today. This helps you see how these moments happened FOR you and not TO you. In fact, it’s not your experiences that have shaped your life, it is how you describe those experiences. It’s the story you tell yourself about yourself that matters the most!   This week’s Power Phrase:  “I own my story. I am in control of my perspective and my story creates my reality.”

Jack Canfield is the co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. He has developed 42 New York Times bestsellers, and holds a Guinness Book World Record for having seven books on the New York Times bestseller list simultaneously.   Known as “America’s #1 Success Coach,” Jack has studied and reported on what makes successful people different. Over the last 40 years, his compelling message, empowering energy and personable coaching style has helped hundreds of thousands of individuals achieve their dreams. He has been a featured guest on more than 1,000 radio and television programs in nearly every major market worldwide. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.   In this podcast, Jack and Cindra talk: · His mirror exercise to give yourself appreciation · How to keep score on your success · Ways to address your limiting beliefs · Way fail = fall · How he overcame rejections from 144 publishers · His Rule of 5 Strategy HIGH PERFORMANCE MINDSET SHOWNOTES FOR THIS EPISODE: www.cindrakamphoff.com/jack HOW TO E

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.” Marcus Aurelius We are not born happy or unhappy. In fact, up to 40% of our happiness can be changed by engaging in daily, intentional activities that impact how we act and think (see Sonya Lyubomirsky’s cool studies!). We can try to be happier which elevates our mood, and when we are happier, we are more productive, creative, engaged, live longer, and enjoy the relationships with our family and friends more. This week, choose happiness, my friends!   This week’s Power Phrase:  “I choose happiness. Happiness is inside of me at any time!”  

Zach’s passion is studying human excellence and guiding others in pursuit of their own personal excellence. He serves as the Mental Skills Coordinator for the Arizona Diamondbacks where he oversees mental performance services for players and staff across all levels of the organization. He is also the Founder/Director of MVP Mindset Consulting, a performance psychology business that consults with performers and leaders across disciplines. Prior to his current role in professional baseball, Zach served as a Mental Conditioning Coach at IMG Academy (FL).   Zach is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) with the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. He received his Master’s degree in Kinesiology from California State University, Fullerton and his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Linfield College (OR). He was a starting pitcher for four years on the Linfield College baseball team including their national championship squad in 2013.   In this podcast, Zach and Cindra talk: · Why your perspective m

Two Harvard psychologists recently found in a study that 47% of the time our mind is not in the present moment. The amount of time our mind is not in the present moment is connected to our unhappiness. Staying in the present is so important because the present moment is also the ONLY place high performance happens and the only place we can be great leaders and parents. The key is to give up on nursing those grudges, or recalling the past when things didn’t go well. We need to train ourselves not to live in the future focused on pressure, fear and anxiety. Remember that staying in the present moment more often is all about awareness first, and a choice second.   This week’s Power Phrase:  “I own the moment. I train my mind to be in the present, right here, right now.”

Deirdre Van Nest is the go-to expert on the topic of speaking to groups. She is the creator of the Crazy Good Talks® Blueprint, a system that teaches financial advisors, leaders and sales pros how to bring in business faster and impact more lives through the power of speaking. She is the host of Crazy Good Talks® TV and is called upon for interviews on podcasts and TV talk shows. Deirdre is an international speaker and trainer, a Certified World Class Speaking™ Coach, a Certified Fearless Living Coach, a contributing author of the Amazon bestseller World Class Speaking™ in Action and author of “Fire Your Fear™.” Deirdre is an Italian/Irish New Yorker living in Minneapolis where she tries hard not to scare people with her loud voice and enthusiastic hand gestures.   In this podcast, Deirdre and Cindra talk: · What is a “Crazy Good Talk” · How to stand out and own the room EVERY TIME you speak · The barriers to own the room · How to overcome fear and self-doubt when speaking · A formula for telling a good story

In this time of change and uncertainty, there are many uncontrollables including when we will get a vaccine for COVID-19 or the restrictions in place. But we are in control of our attitude. In this episode, Cindra shares how your attitude impacts how you perceive events in your life which impacts your actions and the outcome. It’s helpful to remember we do have a negativity bias, but we can counteract that negativity by choosing to not believe everything we think, talking to ourselves powerfully, and remembering to see the opportunity in every difficulty.   This week’s Power Phrase:  “I choose a good attitude regardless of what I cannot control. I talk to myself not listen.”

Dr. Jim Afremow is a much sought-after mental skills coach, licensed professional counselor, and the author of The Champion’s Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train and Thrive (Rodale, 2014), The Champion’s Comeback: How Great Athletes Recover, Reflect, and Reignite (Rodale, 2016) , and The Young Champion’s Mind: How to Think, Train, and Thrive Like an Elite Athlete (Rodale, 2018).  He is the founder of Good to Gold Medal, PLLC, a leading coaching and consulting practice. Dr. Afremow provides individual and team mental training services across the globe to athletes, teams, and coaches in all sports, as well as to parents, business professionals, and all others engaged in highly demanding endeavors. He is passionate about helping others achieve peak performance and personal excellence, and reach their true potential. For over 20 years, Dr. Afremow has assisted numerous high school, collegiate, recreational, and professional athletes. Major sports represented include MLB, NBA, WNBA,  PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, NHL,

In this time of uncertainty around the nation, we can show compassion with others by gifting others with kindness and understanding. As leaders, we can realize people are suffering and have an authentic desire to listen and understand. Showing compassion is essential for human survival. We can listen with an open mind without judgment, work to understand another person’s perspective, and show ourselves some self-compassion at the same time.    This week’s Power Phrase:  “I show myself and others compassion while listening with an open mind to understand their perspective.”  

Kirsten Peterson is a registered psychologist, endorsed sport and exercise psychologist and principal sole trader for Kirsten Peterson Consulting. Prior to her current role, Kirsten worked as a senior sport psychologist with the US Olympic Committee, and more recently headed up the performance psychology team for the Australian Institute of Sport. Kirsten’s current practice consists of performance psychology and executive coaching services for individuals and consulting to organizations in the areas of “happy, healthy, high performance,” culture, and team building, and education to groups in the areas of performance enhancement, mindfulness, neuroscience, and mental health. In this podcast, Cindra and Kirsten talk: Why embracing failure is key to high performance What is at the heart of mastering the mental game The separations of the world’s best from a mental perspective Why we need to become friends with our mind A free summit on thriving in uncertainty she is organizing   HIGH PERFORMANCE MINDSET SHOWNO