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

Self-compassion is a practice; it is not a switch we can just flip on. Self-compassion is a habit we form by practicing kindness in the moment many times throughout our day. When you are kind to yourself, then you can be kind with others. As the Dalai Lama said, “One must be compassionate to one’s self before external compassion.”     Quote of the Week: “A moment of self-compassion can change your entire day. A string of such moments can change the course of your life.” —Christopher K. Germer This Week's Power Phrase: “I am kind to myself. I am doing the best I can. I got it next time!”   

Jake Thompson is a keynote speaker and Chief Encouragement Officer at Compete Every Day, a brand he started in 2011 by first selling t-shirts out of the trunk of his car.  Jake works with organizations and individuals around the country, teaching how they can develop the focus, habits, and culture in order to grow their businesses and their individual lives.    It’s through his entrepreneurial sales experience, client work, and research that he’s built a proven CE³ Model to help people build their grit, better block out distractions, and create more influence as an impactful leader.  Jake is a third-generation entrepreneur, the youngest strategic advisory board member at the University of Dallas’ College of Business, and a graduate of both Texas Christian University (B.S.) and University of Dallas (M.B.A.). He lives in Dallas/Fort Worth with his wife, Elena and their three dogs, Sugar, Biscuit & Donut.    In this episode, Jake and Cindra talk about:  What it means to Compete Every Day 

Erik Westrum is a former professional hockey player, author, motivational speaker, leadership coach, and entrepreneur at heart.     During his hockey playing years, he faced daily challenges to make it to the top. By implementing the tools and strategies discussed in his book, Becoming Elite, he was able to consistently perform at the top of his game.     After retiring from hockey and trying to figure out the next step in life, Erik struggled with finding out what success looked like being off the ice. He shortly realized the steps and tools he used as a high-performing athlete could transfer to many other areas of life. And once again, his life changed dramatically.    After coaching hundreds of people over the past 22 years, Erik has helped people break through the obstacles that seem to be holding them back. Through this process, he has established the principles and processes of Becoming Elite and what it takes to transform your life using 4 proven pillars of performance. Life’s too short

We all experience automatic negative thoughts because our brain’s role is to keep us safe, not to help us perform well or be happy. To reduce our automatic negative thinking, we first must notice our thoughts. An important part of reaching your greater potential is recognizing that you shouldn’t believe everything you hear—you want to recognize the ANT, label the ANTs, and then question your ANT.  Quote of the Week: Rick Hanson, PhD said: "Our brain is like Velcro for bad experiences and like Teflon for good ones.”  This Week's Power Phrase:  "I am not my thoughts. I will not believe everything I think!”    

We are meaning making machines and we create stories around events all day long. The important point for today is that we can intentionally choose the stories we create. When we do that, we have more energy, creativity, and passion to keep going.   Power Phrase of the Week: “I intentionally choose the story I am creating today.”     Quote of the Week: “Changing your story is as simple as choosing better stories to tell yourself.” Kindra Hall 

We all experience automatic negative thoughts because our brain’s role is to keep us safe, not to help us perform well or be happy. To reduce our automatic negative thinking, we first must notice our thoughts. Question those thoughts you have and ask yourself, "What data do you have to support your interpretation?"  Power Phrase of the Week: "I am not my thoughts. I will not believe everything I think!”  Quote of the Week: “You are not your thoughts. You are the OBSERVER of your thoughts.” Amit Ray 

In 2015, Joe Ehrmann and Jody Redman, with a grant from the NFL Foundation, implemented a statewide pilot program in partnership with high school athletic associations, educational leadership associations, and the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. Since that time, the InSideOut Initiative has partnered with 20 NFL teams in 17 states. With the support of the NFL Foundation, the InSideOut Initiative is creating a national movement to transform interscholastic athletics.    Joe Ehrmann, All-American football player played professional football for 13 years and was the NFL’s first Ed Block Courage Award Recipient. Joe is the author of the highly influential and popular InSideOut Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives which provides the basis for purpose-based athletics: connecting student-athletes to transformational coaches, in a nurturing community for their social, emotional and character development.    Jody Redman is a nationally recognized speaker, facilitator, author, and thought leader on s

Your inner critic is your disempowering inner voice that can sound scared, angry, or judgmental. We want to be aware of our inner critic to reduce it. We all have an inner critic inside of us. Remember our inner critic tends to lie to us. We want to respond to our inner critic by challenging it, and choose a more empowering and truthful statement to tell ourselves instead.  This Week's Power Phrase: “I talk to myself powerful instead of listening to my inner critic.”  This Week's Quote of the Week: “It is not what you say out of your mouth that determines your life, it is what you whisper to yourself that has the most power.” Robert Kiyosoki    

You’ll have more energy to sustain you and your goals over years and decades when you cultivate your grit. Success is about sustained performance over time, and cultivating your grit each day is necessary to do so.  Power Phrase this Week: “I am gritty. I am passionate and have a clear vision of the life I am building.”  Quote of the Week: “Grit is sticking with your future day in, day out and not just for a week, not just for the month, but for years.” Angela Duckworth, Professor at University of Pennsylvania 

This week on the podcast, we talk about various ways to adopt a growth mindset vs. a fixed mindset. When we adopt a growth mindset, we see challenges as exciting and find optimistic ways of explaining adversity. A growth mindset has been linked to achievement, more happiness, healthier relationships, and a higher motivation.   “Quote of the Week: "I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”  Michael Jordan   Power Phrase of the Week: "When I get frustrated with my progress, I will remind myself I just haven’t done it yet.”

In this episode, we encourage you to think about what you really want in 2023. High performers set goals because it gives them direction and focus. They write their goals down. They follow through with their goals and keep them in mind during the year. They write down the steps to reach their goals, and then are flexible along the way.  Power Phrase of the Week: “I am focused on my goals in 2023.”   Quote of the Week: “Your goals are the road maps that guide you and show you what is possible for your life.” Les Brown 

Angie Bastian, along with her husband, Dan, are the founders of Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP, one of the most successful homegrown snack food stories in the 21st century.    Angie and Dan Bastian were looking to put aside some money for their kids’ college fund when they started a small kettle corn business out of the family’s garage. They sold the popcorn at festivals and sporting events, eventually becoming the official popcorn of the Minnesota Vikings after delivering several free bags of popcorn to the players to eat while they watched film during training camp. Eventually, Angie retired from her work as a nurse practitioner and Dan from teaching history to run their company full-time.    The ultimate game changer took place when Angie’s Kettle Corn became BOOMCHICKAPOP, and the rebranding took place. Several years later, Dan and Angie, sold the business in the fall of 2017 as a part of a $250 million dollar buyout by Conagra Brands.   In this episode, Angie shares with us: How the popcorn company started, The

Our negativity bias keeps us safe, yet it can prevent us from leading ourselves and others, forming relationships, and taking risks in the pursuit of our dreams. In this episode, we talk about why we have the negativity bias, and how we can handle negativity from others.   Power Phrase of the Week: “ I level up my thoughts to level up my life.”  Quote of the Week: Willie Nelson said: “We create our own unhappiness. The purpose of suffering is to help us understand we are the ones who cause it.”  

Gratitude is connected to better health, more optimism, and an increased in resiliency. This week you could start using a scientifically proven tool to increase your gratitude. Three tools we discussed are starting your day with gratitude, using gratitude language, or trying the Grateful Flow exercise.    This Week's Power Phrase: “I choose to intentionally practice gratitude daily. I focus on what I am grateful for to stay fueled and excited for my life.”    This Week's Quote of the Week: “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” Eckhart Tolle   

Your mindset drives everything – how you live, the stress you feel, and how you lead. Remember all of your emotions are valuable –emotions are not good or bad. By labeling your emotions, you can understand what led to that feeling with curiosity and openness.  Power Phrase of the Week: “I respond with purpose and intention. I master my emotions.”  Quote of the Week:  “Life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.” John Maxwell     

Today we are talking about 4 mental strategies that allow you to remain optimistic and see life with a clear lens. Why is this important? Because the future of your career and life is directly tied to your expectations and the ability to see the opportunity in the difficulty.  This Week's Power Phrase: “I level up my self-talk to level up my life.”   Quote of the Week - “Work harder on yourself than you do your job.” —Jim Rohn   

Dale Carnegie said it best, “Fear doesn’t exist anywhere except in the mind.”  The World’s Best choose courage instead of fear. They feel the fear, but don’t let it keep them from doing what they want to, have to, or were designed to do. High performers know that when they feel fear, it means they are doing something important and meaningful.  This week’s power phrase:  “I embrace my fear and choose courage.”

In this episode, Cindra shares how high performers choose positive energy because it makes them and others around them better. They do this by focusing on what they have, not what is missing. They choose to develop a positive culture at work and with their team. And they prime themselves with powerful emotions to start your day.      Power Phrase of the Week: “I generate energy and positivity. I bring energy in each situation. I am full of enthusiasm, energy, purpose, and happiness.”    Quote of the Week: Dalai Lama – “Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.” 

Cy Wakeman is a drama researcher, international leadership speaker, and consultant. In 2001 she founded Reality-Based Leadership. She is the author of three books: Reality-Based Leadership: Ditch the Drama, Restore Sanity to the Workplace and Turn Excuses Into Results (2010), NY Times Bestseller, The Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace: Know What Boosts Your Value, Kills Your Chances, and Will Make You Happier (2013), and her new release No Ego: How Leaders Can Cut the Cost of Workplace Drama, End Entitlement, and Drive Big Results (2017). In 2017 and 2018, she was named as one of the Top Global Leadership Gurus by Global Gurus, a Top 100 Leadership Expert to Follow on Twitter, and was deemed “the secret weapon to restoring sanity to the workplace.” In this interview, Cy and Cindra discuss: What it means to operate with “no ego” How our stress comes from our stories How suffering is optional Ways to question your thinking Tools for Reality-Based Leadership The actual time we waste in work-place drama…and it

“When your brain says that you’re done, you’re only 40 percent done.” —David Goggins, Navy SEAL and ultramarathoner    Remember the following this week: when I feel like giving in or giving up, I’ll remember the 40 percent rule and how much more I have to give—perhaps up to 60 percent more! When I feel emotional or physical discomfort this week, I’ll remember that discomfort is an ally, not an enemy. To embrace my discomfort, I will write out a discomfort plan so I am ready and can stay gritty.     Power Phrase this Week: “I have a reserve tank that hasn’t even been tapped. I work hard, stay the course, and remain gritty.”