Mindful Warrior Radio

On Episode 44 of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Daryl Nelson. Daryl has spent a decade in the NFL with the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders, working inside some of the most demanding high-performance environments in professional sports. He began his career in athletic training with the New England Patriots, where he was part of two Super Bowl winning championship teams, before moving into senior leadership roles focused on how organizations can more intentionally develop and support their people—on and off the field. As Director of Organizational Development with the Patriots and later Director of Team Growth & Development with the Raiders, Daryl’s work centered on the ecosystem that influences performance: players, coaches, staff, personnel, and support systems. His focus was on personal growth and professional development at every level of the organization, intentionally connecting mental health, performance psychology, leadership, and culture. Rather than treating these areas as separate, he helped build integrated systems that aligned people, communication, and structure so individuals and teams could grow together. Today, Daryl works as a consultant in human performance and organizational development, partnering with leaders to align people, systems, and strategy. His work is rooted in a simple belief: when individuals feel supported, communication is clear, and strong work is reinforced by sound structure, sustainable performance follows. Drawing from his experience inside high-performance systems, Daryl shares reflections that bring leadership back to what matters most: people, clarity, and the daily choices that sustain performance. Daryl offers his perspective on leadership, “Leadership is a people position. It’s not a role you take because it pays more money—that’s management. Leadership is a call to action to serve people, guide them, and put them in the best position to succeed. You win with people.” Daryl explains what truly sustains performance over time, “When people know what the goal is, what the intent is, and what the expectations are on the front end, it empowers them to take the right steps forward. Sustaining high performance is actually boring—it’s built on mundane details. Clear vision allows people to stay focused on the process, day in and day out, getting one percent better every day.” Daryl shares how leadership directly shapes impact and culture, “The greatest leaders realize you win with people. That means celebrating individual wins, allowing people to feel seen, being vulnerable, and holding people accountable. Leadership requires emotional intelligence—it’s knowing how to lead different people in different ways.” Daryl reflects on a simple shift leaders can make that creates immediate impact, “Say good morning. It’s something so basic, but it signals something greater—that you are choosing people before tasks. Even on a bad day, you’re choosing presence. That small pause becomes a seed that grows into trust, culture, and performance beyond what you could imagine.” To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and visit www.mindfulwarrior.com.

On Episode 43 of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Prime Hall— former Marine Raider, entrepreneur, master trainer, and founder of Deep End Fitness and the Underwater Torpedo League. Prime has trained and empowered thousands — from service members in Iraq and Afghanistan, to Olympic athletes, professional teams, and high-level executives. A human performance enthusiast, Prime helps people unlock results, turn obstacles into opportunities, and access flow under pressure. Prime has also authored the book, F.R.E.E. Your Mind and Unlocking Flow, sharing his journey from pain to purpose. Prime co-founded Operation Resilience, supporting veterans, Special Operations Forces, and professional athletes with mental health, transitions from military careers to civilian life, and securing community resources. Prime’s goal is to empower leaders and warriors at the top of their fields to create ripple effects of impact across the world. In this episode, Prime shares his personal story and the experiences that have shaped his work today. We explore the power of influence without authority, the role of breath in peak performance, and the mindset required to access flow under pressure. On leadership and influence without rank, Prime reflects on his time in the military, “I was a private for my first three years with no rank—I lost it every year. What I learned from that experience is that I didn’t have rank, but I still needed to get things done and work well with others. You don’t need rank to lead. You just need to find an in, a common ground, and a mutual respect so you can line up shoulder to shoulder with anyone and complete the mission.” Reflecting on moments of chaos, Prime shares how critical it is to unlock performance quickly and intentionally, “Whether we were on a mission and suddenly got attacked, or we were inside our compound and got attacked, we would need to go from just going through your day on autopilot to, like, Boom! Now we need to really unlock performance fast. How do we do that? Focus, relaxation, economy of motion, flow versus drag, and efficient breathing. But what I noticed is that whenever chaos would break loose, like in Afghanistan for example, the first instinct is to move and do whatever you think is most important first. What I learned over time is that the most important thing under chaos is finding some cover, getting behind a wall where you’re protected for a second, taking a deep breath, and then prioritizing your thoughts: what’s most important now, what really needs to happen first, and what’s the most optimal way to do that?” On the concept of “drag,” Prime expands beyond the physical to the mental, “We talk about physical drag, but there’s also mental drag—the stories we attach to ourselves: ‘I’m not a good swimmer,’ or ‘I failed at dive school.’ The first step is awareness. When we can notice and acknowledge that mental drag, we can start partnering with the mind instead of fighting against it. The mind’s job is to keep us alive and assign meaning to everything. When we become aware of that, we can begin to work with our mind, not against it.” To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and visit www.mindfulwarrior.com.

On Episode 42 of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Gary Hall Jr.—a three-time Olympian, ten-time Olympic medalist, and one of the most iconic figures in the history of U.S. swimming. Known for his electric speed, bold personality, and trailblazing spirit, Gary brought showmanship and passion to the world stage, forever changing the culture of the sport.Beyond his achievements in the pool, Gary is also a powerful advocate for health and resilience. After being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes just one year before the 2000 Olympics, he defied expectations and returned to win multiple gold medals—becoming a beacon of hope for athletes and individuals living with chronic illness.Today, Gary continues to inspire as a speaker, mentor, and champion for wellness and performance, encouraging others to push past limits and lead with authenticity.In this powerful conversation, Gary gives us a window into navigating competitive environments, challenging traditional systems, and embracing his own unique way of being and doing.On his unconventional approach to training, Gary is proud of his novel contributions to what has now become the new standard. “You seemed completely off your rocker if you weren’t going to try to do 20,000 meters a day. Like, you could never be good if you didn’t do that volume of training. If you had suggested what some top-level swimmers are doing now—training three times a week, 1,500 meters—it would have sounded crazy. It’s interesting to see how the sport has grown, and I’m happy to have been a brick in the wall of the evolution in the sport.”On artistry versus science in swimming, Gary says he’s “always felt like an artist in a math class. You could oversimplify it to right brain vs. left brain—I was a creative type. I didn’t care about the formula. I tried the formula, the scientific method approach, and I was miserable. I hated it. I hated the sport. I wanted to quit. And it wasn’t until I started just tuning into wavelengths underwater—the way the water moves, feeling that, and learning how to channel and move through the element of water—that it was so much more interesting. That’s more art than science. And I always felt like the artist could win.”About the advantages of being a right-brain thinker, Gary notes, “The people that need that structure also may be apprehensive of art, but they also don’t handle chaos well. And we know in this life; there’s chaos and there are agents of chaos. If you are rigid, if you are inflexible in your mind and how you accept and process chaos when it arises (you struggle). And so, I think that being able to pivot quickly, that was an advantage in the art department, not the science department.”To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and visit www.mindfulwarrior.com.

On Episode 41 of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Dr. Lisa Firestone — Clinical Psychologist, Director of Research and Education at the Glendon Association, and Senior Editor at PsychAlive.org. Dr. Firestone is the coauthor of numerous articles and book chapters and has written several books with her father, Robert Firestone, including The Self Under Siege, Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice, Creating a Life of Meaning and Compassion, and Sex and Love in Intimate Relationships. Her extensive clinical training and research in the areas of suicide and violence have led to the development of several widely used assessments, including the Firestone Assessment of Self-Destructive Thoughts (FAST), the Firestone Assessment of Suicide Intent (FASI), and the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts (FAVT), applied with both adults and adolescents. In this insightful conversation, Dr. Firestone explores how reframing our relationship with stress can transform our quality of life, presence, and performance. If you’ve ever wanted to transform the way you think about stress—and learn how to make it work for you instead of against you—this episode is a must-listen. She explains that “we’re all going to experience stress in our lives, but when we shift our mindset about it, our entire experience changes. Stress isn’t just one thing—it’s how we perceive it. If we see it as exciting and challenging, our bodies respond very differently than if we see it as overwhelming or life-threatening.” Dr. Firestone challenges the common misconception that mindset work is simply about “thinking positively.” She notes that “mindset isn’t about tricking ourselves into thinking positively—it’s about changing how our nervous system responds. If you interpret a situation as dangerous, your body goes into fight-or-flight or even shutdown mode. But if you see it as a challenge, you can overcome it. It can be motivating, energizing, and even improve your performance.” One of her favorite techniques for reframing stress is surprisingly simple. “Replacing the word ‘stress’ with ‘challenge’ can be powerful. A challenge is something you can choose to take on, approach with curiosity, and even decide to walk away from. That simple reframe reminds us that we have agency, and that we can choose how we respond.” She also shares practical wisdom for building resilience over time. “We can train ourselves to respond differently to stress. That means growing our ability to handle it with self-compassion, preparing where we can, and letting go of what we can’t control. The more flexible and adaptable we are, the more we expand our boundaries—and the better we perform in all areas of life.” You can learn more about Dr. Lisa Firestone’s work at www.drlisafirestone.com, www.psychalive.org, and www.glendon.org. To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and visit www.mindfulwarrior.com.

On Episode 40 of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Dr. Lisa Firestone — Clinical Psychologist, Director of Research and Education at the Glendon Association, and Senior Editor at PsychAlive.org. Dr. Firestone is the coauthor of numerous articles and book chapters and has written several books with her father, Robert Firestone, including The Self Under Siege, Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice, Creating a Life of Meaning and Compassion, and Sex and Love in Intimate Relationships. Her extensive clinical training and research in the areas of suicide and violence have led to the development of several assessments, including the Firestone Assessment of Self-Destructive Thoughts (FAST), the Firestone Assessment of Suicide Intent (FASI), and the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts (FAVT), which are used with both adults and adolescents. In this insightful conversation, Dr. Firestone explores the impact of attachment styles on leadership and working relationships. She outlines the characteristics of each attachment style and offers tools for managing and understanding our own patterns. She also emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, mindfulness, and compassion in the process of personal and professional growth. Dr. Firestone explains, “We didn’t develop [our attachment style] as a choice. What we did was make the best adaptation we could to what was there, and that happened as our nervous system was still forming. So it is in our brain, it’s in our bones—it’s part of us. But we need to be kind to ourselves about it. We came by it honestly. We might even disapprove of a behavior, like being too harsh on people, but beating ourselves up doesn’t help. It really helps to have what a dear friend and colleague of mine calls a ‘COAL’ attitude—Curious, Open, Accepting, and Loving. That’s what people might call self-compassion.” Dr. Firestone adds, “We all get triggered at times. It doesn’t matter what type of attachment we have—even if it’s secure. Something can bring up a feeling that dysregulates us. But the healthier our attachment is, the more we can say, ‘Oh, okay—I got dysregulated,’ and then do something to regulate ourselves and repair.” On healing and transformation, she shares, “Everything in life will go better if you start to resolve some of that unresolved trauma. People want a quick fix or a way around it, but we really have to walk through it. And I think that’s true for all of us. Again—with a kind attitude. This didn’t happen for no reason. It doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. It means you had a rough beginning.” You can learn more about Dr. Lisa Firestone’s work at www.drlisafirestone.com, www.psychalive.org, and www.glendon.org. To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and visit www.mindfulwarrior.com.

On episode thirty-nine of Mindful Warrior Radio, I host Aleca Hughes McPherson, Head of Portfolio and Platform at Highland. Aleca brings deep experience in strategy, operations, and leadership—supporting founders and scaling early-stage companies. She began her career at Catalant Technologies, rising from sales to a key role in strategic operations. A former captain of Yale’s Women’s Ice Hockey team, Aleca also founded the Mandy Schwartz Foundation, honoring her late teammate, and serves on the board of the Hockey Humanitarian Award—an honor she once received. In this episode, we dive into how Aleca helps build strong leaders, winning teams, and healthy, high-growth companies.In our interview, Aleca shares the impact of sport on her career today. “Through sport, my parents taught us so many foundational life lessons. It’s such a big part of who I am—and who my brothers are. I imagine it’s the same for you with water polo. Within 10 seconds of being on the field, the ice, or in the pool, you know who someone is. Do they pass the puck? Do they backcheck? Are they excited when their teammate scores? I learned those lessons playing pickup hockey with my brothers, often with a bit of a chip on my shoulder—no one passed me the puck, so I had to go get it and make a name for myself. That mindset really propelled me forward.”Aleca explains what Highland looks for in a founder. “At Highland, when we’re evaluating a founder, I think about how I show up to those conversations and what we’re really looking for. One of the key things we look for is strong founder–market fit. You often hear about product–market fit, which is of course important. But for us, founder–market fit is equally critical. Who is this individual? Why are they pursuing this particular problem or opportunity? What makes them so deeply passionate about it that they’re willing to go all in?”Aleca shares one of Highland’s most frequently asked questions when evaluating a founder. “One of the first questions we ask ourselves when evaluating an opportunity is: Is this a founder I would work for? It’s really a question of ‘work with’ or ‘work for.’ Like—would you leave your current role to go work for this founder? I ask myself that, and so do our general partners, some of whom have been in the business for 25 or 30 years. We have a concentrated portfolio and make a very limited number of investments per fund, so this isn’t just a throwaway question—we take it very seriously.”To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior or visit www.mindfulwarrior.com.

On episode thirty-eight of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Dr. Lisa Firestone — Clinical Psychologist, Director of Research and Education at the Glendon Association, and Senior Editor at PsychAlive.org. Dr. Firestone is the coauthor of numerous articles and book chapters and has written several books with her father, Robert Firestone, including The Self Under Siege, Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice, Creating a Life of Meaning and Compassion, and Sex and Love in Intimate Relationships. Her clinical training and research in the areas of suicide and violence have led to the development of several assessments, including the Firestone Assessment of Self-Destructive Thoughts (FAST), the Firestone Assessment of Suicide Intent (FASI), and the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts (FAVT) for adults and adolescents. In this insightful conversation, Dr. Firestone explores how trauma and emotional triggers can show up in the workplace, how to navigate difficult conversations, and how to recover afterward. Dr. Firestone explains how unresolved trauma often surfaces in unexpected ways, “When we have unresolved trauma — which most of us likely do in one way or another — it tends to get triggered. When you find yourself getting really emotional as an adult about something, almost as if it’s life or death, it’s often a sign of unresolved trauma. In most cases, things in the workplace or daily life are not truly life or death, nor are we in physical danger. But when our emotional response feels that intense and powerful, it’s likely because it’s touching on an unresolved trauma from the past.” Dr. Firestone reminds us of the personal power we have as adults, "As an adult, you have a level of personal power that you didn’t have as a child — and it’s important to recognize that. You’re no longer that child. It may not be an ideal situation, but you have the power to navigate it as an adult.” She encourages us to allow difficult emotions to move through us, “If we’re willing to sit with the feeling, it will pass. When we try to avoid the feeling, it tends to get stuck. But if we allow ourselves to feel it and let it move through us, it will eventually pass. While we may not have control over the feeling itself, we can choose to do things that help us get centered again.” You can learn more about Dr. Lisa Firestone’s work at www.drlisafirestone.com, www.psychalive.org, and www.glendon.org.To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com.

On episode thirty-seven of Mindful Warrior Radio, I host Marina Mayer, Co-CEO & Founder of SWAY, a firm dedicated to building resilience in organizations with bodies in mind. With 18 years of experience in multidisciplinary environments, Marina is an Organizational Development and Leadership Psychologist specializing in talent strategy, executive coaching, and scaling cohesive organizations. Her award-winning research, How Movement Moves Us, explores the untapped potential of the body in facilitating the cognitive, emotional, and social processes of leadership and high performance. When asked why the body plays a critical role in leadership performance, Marina explains, “Before our brain has a chance to form a thought or generate a behavioral response, all input first enters through the body—processed by our sensory perceptions and neurons—traveling up to the brain, where it first reaches the emotional center before moving to the thinking center and finally emerging as behaviors and actions. To create true transformation and meaningful intervention, we can’t separate what is inherently connected.” She further addresses the interconnection between the body, mind, and performance, “But by only talking about bodies in the space of wellness, we’re essentially saying, ‘Use your brain to perform and your body to unwind.’ And I think that’s false. We can either try to perform by shutting down our bodies and ignoring what they need, or we can recognize our bodies as partners in performance.” Marina highlights the impact of bodily engagement in daily life, “When we sit at a computer all day without engaging the body, we miss opportunities to enhance our performance, sharpen our cognition, and enhance our connections with others.” To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior or visit www.mindfulwarrior.com.

On episode thirty-six of Mindful Warrior Radio, I host Susan Leger Ferraro, a visionary social entrepreneur and the founder of five multimillion-dollar organizations. Her groundbreaking work is dedicated to transforming workforce education and driving meaningful social impact. With over 45 years of experience and an unwavering commitment to youth activism, Susan offers invaluable insights into addressing today’s global challenges. Her pioneering ideas continue to inspire innovation, growth, and positive change across industries. In her latest book, SuperLoop, Susan presents a transformative roadmap for revolutionizing work, leadership, and personal growth. By seamlessly integrating self-awareness with organizational success, she equips individuals and teams with actionable tools to thrive. During the interview, Susan reflects on our collective desire to make an impact. She says, “I believe there is a deep yearning within humanity to be fully self-expressed—each and every one of us. And I think that is exactly what the world is being called to embrace right now.” Explaining the philosophy behind SuperLoop, she elaborates, “Beliefs shape our biology, which in turn influences our behavior, creating a self-reinforcing cycle. If we don’t interrupt this process, it continues endlessly, perpetuating itself.” Regarding the dynamics of SuperLoop, she adds,“What SuperLoop does is help us recognize that, by default or design, these elements are either happening to us, or we are taking the lead and making them happen. In other words, you’re either actively using your SuperLoop, or it’s using you.” Susan also addresses the stigma surrounding feedback in organizational settings, “When humans—especially those working in organizations—hear the term ‘feedback,’ they often experience a cortisol rush because we’ve been conditioned to associate it with something negative. While many of us have experienced feedback that elevated us to a new level, the majority of our relationship with feedback is negative. To shift this perspective, we coined a new term: ‘Feedforward.’” Download a free chapter of SuperLoop at Superloopststems.com. To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior or visit www.mindfulwarrior.com.

Maggie Steffens: Captaining Olympic TeamsOn episode thirty-five of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Maggie Steffens. Maggie is a professional water polo player and four-time Olympian on Team USA. Named to the Women’s National Team at 16, Maggie has continued to represent her country at every major international championship since. At 19, she was a member of the 2012 gold-winning squad at the London Olympics, where she played alongside her older sister, making them a truly dynamic duo! Not only did the Steffens sisters bring home gold, but Maggie tied the Olympic record with 21 goals and earned the title of team MVP.Four years later, Maggie led Team USA to a second consecutive gold medal as the captain of the U.S. Women’s Water Polo team at the Rio Olympics. In 2019, she made history by leading the team to their first-ever three consecutive FINA World Championship titles. A year later, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she helped the team secure yet another gold medal.Maggie won three National Championships (2014, 2015, and 2017) at Stanford University where she graduated with a degree in science, technology, and society in 2017. She also earned NCAA Tournament MVP honors, and received multiple accolades, including MPSF (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) Player of the Year.Maggie continued her studies at Stanford, completing a master’s degree in management, science, and engineering and then went on to play professionally in Budapest and Barcelona before returning to Long Beach, CA in the summer of 2019 to train for her third Olympic games.On Mindful Warrior Radio, Maggie tells us that the goal of leadership as a team captain is to “trust yourself enough to let go and trust your preparation.” She explains that the advantages of doing so are being able “to be yourself, not only out of the water but also in it, whether it’s taking a risk, going for the shot, or swimming a bit faster when it matters. It’s about building trust in yourself, and in turn, trusting others—your teammates, your coaches, and the shared mission of the team. Reaching that level of trust is hard, but it’s a big part of what allows your light to shine. After all, it’s hard to let that light shine if you don’t have trust in yourself, others, and a common purpose.”About the leadership challenges of being a team captain, she says, ‘I’m constantly thinking about the team, even as I’m going to bed. Of course, I’m focused on how I can improve, but I also ask, what does the team need? What does each player need? How can I approach each situation? Being captain has really emphasized that responsibility. I’m always thinking about the team; that’s just who I am. And it can be challenging to balance fostering team development and harmony while still putting in the effort to become the person I want to be.”To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com

Maude Quinn: An Introduction to Family Constellations TherapyOn episode thirty-four of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Maude Quinn. Maude is a massage therapist, bodyworker, and constellations facilitator. With a background in spiritual care and chaplaincy, Maude integrates theological training from Harvard Divinity School with a range of alternative healing modalities. Her work helps clients integrate the wisdom of the body, mind, and soul to access the wellsprings of belonging in their heart, understand their wholeness, and fulfill their soulful purpose. I am honored and thrilled to tap into the insights of Maude Quinn on today’s episode of Mindful Warrior Radio.To define systems, Maude shares the following, “One of the most basic ways that I understand a system is as a network of elements connected to one another in a constantly evolving manner. So, systems are dynamic; they're alive. They evolve!"She introduces Family Constellations therapy as “a modality that helps us map the often unseen, invisible dynamics within a system. Every system has unconscious roles, emotional patterns, and other dynamics that we unknowingly replicate. Constellations enable us to visualize these dynamics clearly and address the issues that hinder our deepest desires, intentions, and goals in life—whether personal or professional. It helps us understand how these blocks or entanglements might trace back to older systemic patterns."Maude describes how family systems impact our lives and relationships outside of our families. She says, "We carry learned behaviors, beliefs, and patterns from our family system into other systems we belong to—whether partnerships, work, or organizations. Unconsciously, we may recruit others to fill unmet roles or needs from our family system, or we may try to fulfill others' unmet needs, replicating learned behaviors. By becoming aware of these patterns and transforming them, we feel deeply resourced and understand authentically what we have to offer in our world."To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com

Jay Glazer: Relentless HealingOn episode thirty-three of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Jay Glazer, NFL Insider for FOX Sports’ FOX NFL SUNDAY and part of FOX FOOTBALL THURSDAY. Jay is renowned for breaking major NFL stories year-round, prides himself on hard work, and strives to deliver accurate reporting. He also hosts Bellator MMA fights on the Paramount Network. Jay brings a unique perspective from his background in UFC hosting and analysis. A natural on Podcasts and in front of the camera, he is fun, authentic, and outgoing. Jay’s unique personality always shines through in intimate conversations as well as on the biggest of stages.Jay initiated the first MMA training program for professional athletes which is now used by over 1,000 athletes. Recently, he and his team trained All-Pro athletes including Von Miller, Aaron Rodgers, Odell Beckham, Bobby Wagner, Andrew Whitworth, Jadeveon Clowney, Lane Johnson, Cam Jordan, and the entire New Orleans Saints team at Unbreakable, his elite performance training center in West Hollywood. Each spring, Jay directs NFL training camps to prepare players physically and psychologically for their team camps.With all his accomplishments, Jay is most proud of launching MVP (Merging Vets & Players) in 2015, a charitable organization that supports veterans and former athletes in transitioning to civilian life. MVP hosts workouts and counseling sessions both in person and virtually across several cities. (You can learn more about MVP at vetsandplayers.org.)On this episode of Mindful Warrior Radio, Jay talks openly about how his healing journey taught him to love himself from the inside out.He shares this insight from a recent healing retreat:"This monk told me, 'I need you to sit in your pain.'”I said, “I am with my pain every day.”He said, “No. You experience your pain every day; I need you to sit in it.”And I was like, “I've never heard it put like that before.'"He also unpacks the healing power of moving through pain. "A lot of times, you don't want to do it because it's painful. But to get to anything good, you've got to go through something bad. Everything I have experienced has made me unbreakable: push your breaking point, come through the other side of that tunnel, and nothing else can break or hurt you."And ultimately, what surprised him the most from his healing journey was “how many people have been hiding this and how many have expressed gratitude.” He says, “I've had a bunch of people tell me I saved their lives. They were contemplating suicide until they read Unbreakable or heard me on my podcast. Something resonated; they felt they were not alone, and they changed their minds. That's the coolest thing."To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com.

On episode thirty-two of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Georges Niang. Georges was selected by the Indiana Pacers as the No. 50 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. Since then, he has worked his way into the league being a force both on and off the court. Georges played 23 games with the Pacers during his rookie season before signing a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz in January 2018. He appeared in 59 games for the Utah Jazz during the 2018-19 season, where he scored in double figures five times and capped off the regular season with a career-high 24 points against the LA Clippers. Georges averaged 22.0 points in 15 games with the SLC Stars and was named First Team All-NBA G League for the 2017-18 season. He signed a standard contract with the Jazz before the 2018-19 season and played with the Jazz until 2021. He currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers (2023–present). With the Cavaliers, Georges scored a new career-high of 33 points, making 13 of 14 shot attempts.Known for a joyous, uplifting spirit and a great sense of humor, Georges skillfully brings teammates together, fosters healthy and playful bonds, and is a key contributor to building high trust, high performance team cultures. His strengths and gifts extend outward and into his local communities. Through camps and clinics, Georges mentors and inspires the next generation of youth basketball players.If you’re inspired by Georges’ energy and generosity of spirit on this episode, you can continue to connect with him on The Bench Seat, his weekly podcast, or watch him do his thing on the court with the Cleveland Cavaliers.On this episode Georges answers questions about all things culture.When asked how he builds culture, Georges says, “Culture is something that is not easily built, but when you're starting to build culture, you need to have a foundation, core values, and a routine that you're going to do every single day.”Reflecting on how one person can impact the broader culture, he offers sage advice: “The best ability in sports is self-awareness: know who you are, what you bring to the table, and how you can add value.”About his own contributions to team culture, Georges says, “I know myself and I'm more happy-go-lucky and joyous. I'm trying to instill energy constantly. And that's who I am!”When asked how he stays committed to culture, Georges explains, “The kicker of every culture is when I sit down and commit to a decision, I have to ask myself, ‘Is this decision going to help our team win or is it not going to help our team win?’ And you always have to choose the one that's going to help your team win because if you don't, you may miss greatness by .1 second.”To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com

On episode thirty–one of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Dr. Lisa Firestone. Dr. Firestone is a Clinical Psychologist and the Director of Research and Education at the Glendon Association and Senior Editor at PsychAlive.org. She is the coauthor of numerous articles and book chapters and a coauthor with her father Robert Firestone on several books including The Self Under Siege, Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice, Creating a Life of Meaning and Compassion, and Sex and Love in Intimate Relationships.Her involvement in clinical training and research in the areas of suicide and violence resulted in the following assessments: Firestone Assessment of Self-destructive Thoughts (FAST) and (FASI) and the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts (FAVT) for adults and adolescents.A national and international trainer and presenter, Dr. Firestone speaks on topics including couple relations, parenting, and suicide and violence prevention, assessment, and treatment. She continues to serve as a clinical psychologist in private practice and a consultant on the management of high-risk clients.Dr. Firestone joined me for an informative and insightful conversation on how the critical inner voice presents and behaves.Here is how she describes the negative impact of the critical inner voice. “In our adult lives, the critical inner voice holds us back a lot. It encourages us to engage in behavior like self-sabotaging. It tries to talk us out of taking risks that are positive and in our own self-interest that would open our world or expand our abilities.” And she normalizes the feelings that accompany change. “There's no change without anxiety,” she tells me.Dr. Firestone highlights the importance of identifying the critical inner voice. She says, “The biggest thing is we need to identify it. We need to understand what's our critical inner voice and what's us. And recognize when we're not on our own side because we cannot do anything to move on from it when we're still just believing it. If you're still just believing all the ways it's defining you, you're not going to make it.”You can learn more about Dr. Lisa Firestone’s work at www.drlisafirestone.com, www.psychalive.org, and www.glendon.org.To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com.

On episode thirty of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Simon Timm. Simon is a mindfulness and meditation teacher and the author of the book An Introduction to the Self Salutation: How to Resolve Negative Emotions Through Mindfulness Meditation.Simon spent most of his college years battling depression. Unwilling to spend the rest of his life on Prozac, he searched for another way of living with himself. What he found was meditation. After college, Simon moved into a Hindu ashram and spent sixteen years as monk.When Simon left the monastic life in 2011, he recognized the need for a meditation practice to help resolve the negative feelings within him—rather than just help lift himself above them. This prompted Simon to explore different modalities of personal transformation and ultimately to develop the Self Salutation.Simon has a master’s in religion from Yale. He currently lives with his spouse, Allyson, in the Washington, DC metro area.Simon joined me for an authentic and deep conversation about meditation and the experience of nirvana.When asking Simon what compelled him to stay throughout his early days at the ashram he says, “Sitting in meditation for a couple of hours at a time was intense. It would feel like sometimes I was going crazy. But at other times it worked. And I lifted myself up and I experienced nirvana. It was like a state of freedom from my mind and from my psyche. I experienced a place of joy and happiness, and I would come back down into myself, but that taste of the potential was enough to keep me going.”When asked to share about his experience with meditation Simon shares, “The experiences I had in meditation are not so rare for people to have. It's not so difficult and it doesn't have to be a lot. I think a lot of people experience meditation and suddenly, it’s quiet and the mind becomes quiet. It might be just for a moment. But in that moment, you experience what that freedom can be like.”To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com

On episode twenty-nine of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Alex Krongard. Alex served in the U.S. Navy for over 30 years, primarily in joint special operations commands and the Navy SEAL Teams. He was a member of SEAL Teams 1, 2, and 7, as well as the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. Alex was the first commanding officer of SEAL Team 7, which he commanded in Iraq from the late fall of 2003 to the spring of 2004. Later he commanded Naval Special Warfare Group 1 with responsibility for the training and readiness of the four West coast SEAL Teams and associated logistics and support units.Alex’s final military jobs were as a counterterrorism director on the National Security Council staff in Washington, D.C., deputy commander of Combined Joint Task Force—Horn of Africa in Djibouti—and Deputy Operations Officer for the U.S. Africa Command. Alex retired in September 2016, as a Rear Admiral, Lower Half.Following retirement, Alex worked as an investment banker with DC Advisory in their San Francisco office, predominately in the cybersecurity and government security services sectors before serving as CEO to The COMMIT Foundation for two years. COMMIT assists military service members with their transitions to post-service life.Alex grew up outside Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from Princeton University with a degree in English Literature and from the National War College with a Masters in National Security Strategy.Alex joined me for an honest, humble, and real conversation about his time in the military. When asked about enacting change through culture, Alex shares, “The scary ones I've run into are cultures that won't change…No matter what you do, you cannot change the culture. And sometimes you're not in the right place. Or you're not in the right job to do it. Sometimes it's a type of work where the traditions are so set in stone that you cannot do anything about it. I think you must know when to say, I can't do this. For elite performers I think that's almost impossible. A lot of elite performers have not just struggled but failed and ruined their reputations because they weren't willing to say, look, I just can't do it.”When asked how you cultivate trust within teams Alex talks about shared knowledge. “Buster Howe, a two-star Royal Marine from the UK, gave us this great talk on trust. And he said trust is adding reliability. Meaning, I can be relied on to get something done. Ability: I'm able to do it. And intimacy. Intimacy being—we can have a conversation about this and not pull any punches and divide it by the perception of self-interest. So, if someone can get nothing from something and they're going to do it for you anyway and they're reliable, capable, and they're intimate with you, that's high trust.” To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com

On episode twenty-eight of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Yuri Hauswald. Yuri is an icon of the gravel cycling world. As a professional endurance cyclist for Giant Bicycles and the Elite Athlete and Community Development Manager for GU Energy Labs, Yuri is also an innovator, storyteller, and mentor to many. He is probably best known for winning the world’s premier gravel bike racing event, Unbound, formerly Dirty Kanza, in 2015 at age 44. No stranger to adversity, Yuri talks about his mindset and motivation for facing challenges head on.When asked what has sustained his healthy and extended athletic career Yuri tells us, “I’ve always enjoyed pushing my physical limits. If I had to put my finger on something—and I don't understand the chemistry of it—it’s the endorphins. The chemicals that are triggered in our bodies and in our brains when we go into those states…when you're pushing yourself physically…I've always found some sort of pleasure and joy from doing that.” When asked how he finds the discipline to keep going Yuri says, “I trust my training around certain power zones. My coach and I figured that my diesel engine could run at a high efficiency for long periods of time. Not super-fast. I wasn’t fast but I had the ability to hold good power numbers for long periods of time. So, sticking to that and having the discipline to know that.” For the rest of us, he says a simple practice to get through hard times is to “take a deep breath. Take that pause. Have the tantrum. Figure out the next steps. Keep moving forward and you're going to be super proud of yourself when you get through those conditions.” About finding joy in challenging times Yuri says, “Sometimes things just suck. And you have to deal with that suck. You have to figure out a way through. Life is not always joyous, but I do think that when you get through that mud pit of suck—or whatever you want to call it—that the joy you do find on the other side is possibly more powerful and more meaningful because you did go through the suck. The most important thing in all of that is just continuing to move forward, whether it's baby steps or long strides. If you can find little ways to continue moving forward through that suck, you're eventually going to get through it.” To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com

On episode twenty-seven of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Dr. Lou Cozolino. Dr. Cozolino practices psychotherapy and consulting psychology in Beverly Hills, California. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from UCLA and an M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity School. Lou has been a professor at Pepperdine since 1986 and lectures around the world on psychotherapy, neuroscience, trauma, and attachment. With more than 30 years of experience as a psychotherapist and coach, Dr. Cozolino connects, attunes, and interacts with adults, adolescents, and families as they face a wide variety of life’s challenges. Working primarily from a psychodynamic model of treatment, Lou also employs strategies and techniques from other forms of therapy, including CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), family systems, and humanistic/existential therapeutic interventions. In our recent interview Dr. Cozolino unpacks his theory of and approach to executive functioning. He says, “I was doing psychotherapy, and I thought, well, you can't really talk about executive functioning as a cognitive process alone because the cognitive and emotional networks are all interwoven in the brain.” Dr. Cozolino also tells us that vulnerability is the best place to start when developing executive function. He says we all need “to equate vulnerability with strength. To move forward, you can't hold on too rigidly to the ideas and beliefs that got you to where you are. So, those things got you here, but they're not going to get you to the next step. But people tend to continue to repeat the things that have gotten them to success because it's hard to imagine that they could change and get even more successful.” He also describes the haunting feeling that can lurk inside even the most successful people. He says, “If you're a CEO, you're already successful, but you're not as successful as perhaps you feel you could be. You have this instinct that you have a kind of dark passenger: Like there's something inside of you that's keeping you from moving forward. And I've had some CEOs tell me that they've even personified it like it's a dark man that visits them at night...and that's just the projection of something inside. So, one of the greatest joys in life is finding someone who's successful but is haunted. And figuring out what else is going on inside of them so that they can free themselves from that. So, they can be done with that and move forward and not just work for a living, but really love working.” Dr. Cozolino explains what happens to executive functioning when we are in a state of fear. “I try to teach everyone that if you are afraid—or if you're highly aroused or activated—that the first executive system inhibits the other two executive systems. When you're scared, there's no real learning.” To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com

On episode twenty-six of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Ann Betz, CPCC, PCC, MNTC, the co-founder of BEabove Leadership and an international speaker and trainer at the intersection of neuroscience, coaching, and human transformation. A certified professional coach with more than twenty years in the industry, a published author and poet, and a researcher, Ann integrates her passion for the brain and consciousness with her interest in spirituality. Clients and students alike laud her for making the complexities of the brain come to life with depth, humor, and clarity. In our recent interview Ann describes how to identify a work environment that lacks psychological safety. She says, “What is the pattern? The pattern will tell you a lot, and then your body will tell you a lot. But you’ve got to map it to the pattern.” Ann talks about the negative impact of a psychologically unsafe work environment on performance. She says, “We're not designed to think carefully when we're in a fight-or-flight and/or freeze situation. We're designed to move. We’re designed to do what is necessary to survive. So, by design, our brains get blocked a bit so that we can do what's critically necessary for survival and not higher-level thinking. You lose the ability to think abstractly, and so you get less creativity. You get less empathic. You get less of the ability to make good decisions. That's the brain impact. In the body, you're draining your adrenal glands. Cortisol is shutting down your immune function. There are all sorts of things like that that basically say you're making yourself sick. And so, in organizations that have a high level of stress and a toxic culture what you will find is 1) more absenteeism, 2) more presenteeism—because when people can't think they don't work as effectively—and 3) higher healthcare costs.” Ann describes how to identify narcissistic behaviors by using the acronym CRAVED. She says that one way to assess if someone has those characteristics is by asking yourself the following questions: “Are they typically and habitually (C)onflictual. Are they (R)igid? Are they (A)ntagonistic? Do they pick fights? Are they (V)indictive? Do they act like a victim? Are they (E)ntitled? Are they (D)ysregulated? So, can they not regulate their own emotions?”Ann closes by giving us one way to positively impact a work culture. She says, “Really celebrate the integrated leader. Celebrate the leader that understands both how to get results, but also how to care for their people and really celebrate both and really keep focusing on that.” To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com