"You Are Stronger Than You Think" — How An Olympian Runner Went Up Against One of the World's Biggest Brands | Kara Goucher

What defines a true champion? Is it winning? Or… is it a way of living?While winning games and striving to be the best are parts of it, there's so much more beneath the surface. It’s not just about the technical skills honed through relentless practice—rep after rep, day after day. Exceptional athletes are forged through a deeper, more holistic approach.In this episode of the Finding Mastery podcast, we dive into the essence of becoming your best self with Dr. Jerry Lynch – a renowned author, guide, coach, and sport psychologist who has mentored athletes and teams across a variety of sports including basketball, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, and golf.With an impressive portfolio of 17 books (yes, 17!), including The Way of the Champion - one that I’ve handed out to more athletes and parents than any other - Jerry’s philosophy goes beyond physical training and into… you guessed it… the inner game.He emphasizes daily spiritual and emotional development, cultivating qualities like courage, resilience, integrity, and selflessness—the true hallmarks of a champion.Join us for an enlightening conversation filled with Jerry’s profound insights and practical tools. This episode is a treasure trove of wisdom for athletes, coaches, parents, and anyone aspiring to greatness. I hope you find it as inspiring and enjoyable as I did.With Fire,MG-----WATCH this episode on our YouTube channel.Connect with us on our Instagram.Order my book, "The First Rule of Mastery" HERE!For more information and shownotes from every episode, head to findingmastery.com.To check out our exclusive sponsor deals and discounts CLICK HERESee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Happy Monday! Today we’re excited to share Volume 20 of Finding Mastery’s Ask Me Anything. As always, we have so much fun during these AMAs – we love these conversations because we get to wrestle with the questions that matter most to you… and they inspire personal introspection in us as well. They’re incredible. We’re back with our co-host – O’Neil Cespedes – and in today’s we explore:The roses - and thorns - of vulnerability and opennessHow to use the power of your imaginationNavigating change in professional relationshipsControlling the controllables (and what those controllables are)Flow StateThe art and impact of great storytellingAnd so much more…Keep those questions coming in! Kindly email [email protected] to submit!With Fire,MG and the FM Team-----WATCH this episode on our YouTube channel.Connect with us on our Instagram.Order my book, "The First Rule of Mastery" HERE!For more information and shownotes from every episode, head to findingmastery.com.To check out our exclusive sponsor deals and discounts CLICK HERESee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What does it mean to have power, courage and integrity? We throw those words around a lot when talking about athletes or people we admire. Many times it’s justified – but how many truly possess these traits even when the chips are down? Today on the podcast is a human that embodies those three words fully. Her name is Kara Goucher. You might recognize her as an Olympic runner, the third place finisher in the Boston and New York Marathons, and ranked as one of the fastest female distance runners in American history. That’s power.And, there's something even more notable to recognize her for – in 2019 and 2023 Kara was instrumental in exposing doping and sexual abuse at the Nike Oregon Project. She put her career and reputation on the line to go up against one of the biggest corporations in the world. That’s courage. And integrity. Full stop.  Kara put it all in writing in her newest book: The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, and Deception on Nike's Elite Running Team. Today we celebrate her career in endurance running and dive into the pain and controversy she experienced, the aftermath, and why she is an emblem for those three words: power, courage, and integrity. This is an emotional conversation, and we get into some pretty heavy topics -- but the light Kara represents is so much greater than the darkness she experienced. I hope you'll leave with the knowing that you too have the power to make a difference.I’ve been looking forward to talking to Kara for a very long time, and I’m excited to share her brilliance with you.With Fire,MG-----WATCH this episode on our YouTube channel.Connect with us on our Instagram.Order my book, "The First Rule of Mastery" HERE!For more information and shownotes from every episode, head to findingmastery.com.To check out our exclusive sponsor deals and discounts CLICK HERESee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Movement—however you do it—is an essential part of being human. And I believe being able to move well, for as long as possible, is a staple of living “the good life.”That’s why I am excited to introduce a guest today who is committed to helping people do just that – Scott Perkins. Scott is the Founder & CEO of pliability – a company that is helping people move better ________ through their yin yoga inspired mobility training. However, Scott was not always known as the “fitness guy” – in fact, far from it. In this conversation, we explore his journey from taking college classes at age 12 to starting his first business at 18 to acquiring what is now pliability by the age of 25. However, for the first six years at its helm, Scott was 60 pounds overweight and he was sacrificing his health for what he thought was “success.”Then… he made a change.In this conversation, you’ll hear from a person who was grinding, burnt out, overwhelmed, but eventually found a better way – and now, Scott is on a mission to share that way with others. I love what Scott and the team at pliability are building – it’s an incredibly important tool that can help a lot of people enable movement for better health and longevity (both physical and mental). And – I can’t wait for you to hear the story of a founder whose windy path eventually led him to working from a place of meaning and purpose.With Fire,MG-----WATCH this episode on our YouTube channel.Connect with us on our Instagram.Order my book, "The First Rule of Mastery" HERE!For more information and shownotes from every episode, head to findingmastery.com.To check out our exclusive sponsor deals and discounts CLICK HERESee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We all know about FOMO, or the Fear Of Missing Out. We’re scrolling through our social media feeds, and there it is: post after post of a friend who’s somewhere exotic, having a great time, or at an exciting new job… and we’re not. We can’t help but compare our lives with people who seem to be doing so much more.The result can be an uptick in anxiousness, distress, grinding to “keep up” and sometimes FOMO can even stop us from taking action…that feeling of being overwhelmed. FOMO – the acronym and the idea – really struck a nerve in the social media age. Not only is it now in the Merriam Webster dictionary, but it’s spawned a whole slew of related acronyms: FOBO (Fear of Better Options), JOMO (Joy of Missing Out) and even inspired me to coin the term FOPO, the Fear Of People’s Opinions.Today on the podcast is writer and entrepreneur Patrick McGinnis, who invented the term FOMO back in the early 2000s. He did it flippantly, but then the idea took off, and he’s been owning it and studying it ever since.Patrick has come up with a way of looking at our fear of missing out, how to train ourselves to work with it, and even use it – in positive ways – to really go after the things we want and elevate our lives. It’s a fascinating story, a unique perspective on modern culture, and a great way of using this “negative” idea and turning it into a tool for better living.In the spirit of FOMO... you DO NOT want to miss this one :)With Fire,MG-----WATCH this episode on our YouTube channel.Connect with us on our Instagram.Order my book, "The First Rule of Mastery" HERE!For more information and shownotes from every episode, head to findingmastery.com.To check out our exclusive sponsor deals and discounts CLICK HERESee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Can profitable businesses change the world for good?John Mackey, co-founder of Whole Foods Market, has proven the answer is a resounding YES… for the last four decades. John grew a single ‘hippy grocery store’ in Austin, Texas, into a global chain with $22 billion in annual sales and 540 locations worldwide.And he did it all with an unwavering commitment to sustainability and ethical practices, showing us all what’s possible when entrepreneurs embrace positive values and transformative leadership.His pioneering and widely influential books, Conscious Capitalism and Conscious Leadership, serve as blueprints for integrating ethical values into successful businesses.And his most recent book, The Whole Story: Adventures in Love, Life, and Capitalism, gives us an intimate look inside the personal and spiritual journeys that fueled his groundbreaking approach.In this conversation, John shares insights from his personal transformation—from spirituality to psychedelics – along with the milestones of his experience with Whole Foods. We dig into the ethos that drove the company’s growth while he was at its helm, and his ongoing passionate advocacy for a corporate model that benefits both people and the planet.Get ready to be inspired by a visionary who continues to help us all think differently about our responsibility towards each other and the world.With Fire,MG-----WATCH this episode on our YouTube channel.Connect with us on our Instagram.Order my book, "The First Rule of Mastery" HERE!For more information and shownotes from every episode, head to findingmastery.com.To check out our exclusive sponsor deals and discounts CLICK HERESee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this 19th installment of our Ask Me Anything with high performance psychologist Dr, Michael Gervais, we explore topics like:- How to re-define failure- Why facing your deepest pains can be transformative- How to overcome defensiveness in order to establish meaningful connections- Why parents need to focus on more than their child's academic achievementsAnd so much more…We love these conversations and it’s because we get to wrestle with the questions that matter most to you. They’re incredible. Thank you for challenging us with great questions…. and keep them coming.We hope you enjoy Volume 19 of Finding Mastery's "Ask Me Anything."With Fire,MG-----WATCH this episode on our YouTube channel.Connect with us on our Instagram.Order my book, "The First Rule of Mastery" HERE!For more information and shownotes from every episode, head to findingmastery.com.To check out our exclusive sponsor deals and discounts CLICK HERESee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Imagine what it takes to land an $80 million fighter jet on a moving target — in the middle of the ocean — at night.The extreme precision, split-second timing, and unwavering focus required for such a feat are beyond the grasp of ordinary experience.Our guest today, Commander Kristen Findlay (née Hansen), knows precisely what it takes to land an F/A-18 Super Hornet on an aircraft carrier – in rough seas and in the dark, where every decision can have monumental consequences.Kristen is a distinguished Naval aviator whose career spans two decades of sustained high performance in military service. She’s accumulated over 2,700 hours of flight time, 66 combat sorties over Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, and just under 500 carrier landings. As a prior TOPGUN instructor  - yes, just like the movie - and current Commanding Officer of Strike Fighter Squadron 122 (The “Flying Eagles”) she leads and trains some of the Navy’s most elite pilots.Kristen's career experience now extends to Hollywood, where she served as a technical consultant and pilot for the hit film, "Top Gun: Maverick.” Epic.Kristen offers a unique perspective on leadership, teamwork, and mental toughness. In this conversation you’ll hear valuable insights into high-stakes decision-making and the lessons we can all learn from a life lived at full throttle.With Fire,MG-----WATCH this episode on our YouTube channel.Connect with us on our Instagram.Order my book, "The First Rule of Mastery" HERE!For more information and shownotes from every episode, head to findingmastery.com.To check out our exclusive sponsor deals and discounts CLICK HERESee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Does hypnosis really work? That word has become a bit taboo in scientific circles. It brings to mind magicians, black and white spinning spirals, and traveling sideshows and cheap tricks. “You are getting very sleepy” does not have a strong scientific foundation.Or… does it? In truth and practice, hypnosis can be so much more.That’s why I’m thrilled to share this conversation with Dr. David Spiegel, professor of Psychiatry at the Stanford School of Medicine and researcher in psycho-oncology and the neurobiology of therapeutic hypnosis.Dr. Spiegel is a pioneer in the research on hypnosis. His work over the past several decades is foundational - helping patients overcome deep-seated trauma, work through fears and anxieties, build new habits, break existing ones, and even guide cancer patients through the pain of treatment and recovery using hypnosis.Now, this isn’t the hypnosis that you see on daytime television, with swinging pocket watches and heavy eyelids. It’s a science of the mind-body connection, and a way of looking at how the subconscious can be trained to influence, guide, and heal our bodies.We’ll also talk about how all of this doesn’t require a physician or therapist or even a hypnotist, but is available to everyone with Dr. Spiegel’s game-changing app, Reveri.I hope this conversation opens your mind to a new tool that just might be able to change your life. With Fire,MG-----WATCH this episode on our YouTube channel.Connect with us on our Instagram.Order my book, "The First Rule of Mastery" HERE!For more information and shownotes from every episode, head to findingmastery.com.To check out our exclusive sponsor deals and discounts CLICK HERESee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today we have a very special conversation.As we chart our path through life, there are those rare anchors that help to hold us steady and also point us to new horizons. In this special conversation, I have the privilege of introducing you to my mentor and someone who has been a guiding force in the lives of countless individuals across a spectrum of industries for over forty years. Gary DeBlasio has this incredible knack for unlocking potential in people. It’s incredible how he does it. And he’s been doing it with leaders in aerospace, healthcare, elite sports and academia for decades. Gary's wisdom is earnestly earned. I’ve had an upfront seat on how he works – the alone, internal work that he’s done for himself, is one of the greatest investments he’s provided to his larger community. He is a bellwether for me. His approach to mentorship—being both a teacher and a student, listening deeply to one's inner voice, and fostering a connection with something greater—has profoundly shaped my own path.Today, we dive deep into the heart of our relationship, exploring the transformative power of being seen and nurtured. Gary opens up about his philosophy on life transitions, the challenges of the next generation, and the critical role of recovery and creating safe spaces for oneself and for others.This conversation has so much emotion in it – for both Gary and me….I love you Gary. Thank you for what you’ve done for me, and for the Finding Mastery community.With fire, gratitude and love,MG-----WATCH this episode on our YouTube channel.Connect with us on our Instagram.Order my book, "The First Rule of Mastery" HERE!For more information and shownotes from every episode, head to findingmastery.com.To check out our exclusive sponsor deals and discounts CLICK HERESee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.