Season 2 Episode 24: The Iron Cowboy – James Lawrence

Tis' the season of serving, but there is so much more to service than what you're giving. Research has shown that you come away a happier, more fulfilled person when you serve. It has a positive effect on our health and wellbeing. We also view those we see serve others as a leader.  So let's remember that as we have opportunities to help out, service serves the server. 

There is a mindset within the idea of adaptability that is crucial to high performance and that is "everything is figureoutable".  When you believe that everything is figureoutable you shift from frustration to curiosity, you don't retreat, you regroup, you don't stall, you strategize.  In this episode Ty tells the story of the ultimate example of this mindset, treasure hunter Mel Fischer and how he faced challenges with the mindset of "you may not have all the answers but you do have what it takes."

What happens when you interview a man who's redefined what the human body and mind can endure? This week on Redefining High Performance, I talk with my friend James Lawrence, the Iron Cowboy, about the mindset behind doing the impossible.  We dig into mental toughness, resilience, grit, identity, and the psychology of high performers.  This conversation is gold.

Let's attack the myth of "more" and how that mentality is wrong. What takes you to the top is working "deeper" not just harder.  At some point effort alone stops producing results.  So how do we work deeper?  Ty lays out the foundation for working deeper in this short episode.  The real measure of success isn't how much you do but how deeply you do it.  Let's step back and reflect on how we are showing up and focus on the depth.

This is the last part of a three-part series on High Performance Mindsets. Let's look at not just look at what high performers do but what they think about while they do it.  Today, Ty dives into the mindset of empathetic drive. Drive is powerful but without balance you can become selfish. You're finding the balance behind pursuing results without losing the sight of relationships – ambition with understanding. When you combine the two – individual success can become collective impact. All three of these mindsets, when used together, will take you to the top.

This episode is part one of a two-part series on High Performance Mindsets. Ty explores the concept of the mindset of a Confident Curiosity – belief without certainty.  Confidence is essential to performance, but confidence without curiosity leads to arrogance and getting in your own way.  Are you able to have a surety to move forward while staying open to new possibility? This mindset keeps experts from becoming obsolete and innovators from becoming irrelevant.  Let's work on being certain enough to act but humble enough to adapt.

This is the third and final part in a series on building connection.  Ty discusses mastering conversational leadership to create more meaningful connection. He breaks it down into the "3 A's" to give you tangible tools to better your conversation skills. Let's honestly assess our skills and see where we can improve to increase connection.

Our second week of focusing on the importance of connection.  Today, Ty discusses the importance of Investing In People, an investment with the greatest return. How do we invest in those we lead?  These are the little things that change the nature of relationships and create real connection.  Let's start doing those little things and creating influence.

For the next three weeks we will be focusing on the importance of connection. Connection is crucial to win in the people business – and we are all in the people business. In this episode, Ty breaks down the concept of being interested, rather than interesting and how that can fundamentally change how we connect with people.  Ty gives tangible ideas how to implement this into our lives, our businesses, our interactions to grow and deepen our connections.