Kaskade, Multi GRAMMY Award-Nominated Musician

Kaskade (0:00)

I've been in a lot of places and positions along the way, and along my journey here in life, whatever, and in positions that I didn't like, that I was like, this freaking sucks.

I can't stand what I'm doing right now, and I don't like this. But it's finding something in that moment or in that situation that you can find a victory that is yours, that you can, there's got to be a ray of light in there somewhere, and you need to find that and focus on that and make that your reality.

Dr. Michael Gervais (0:42)

All right, welcome back or welcome to the Finding Mastery Podcast. I'm Michael Gervais.

And usually I just pause here and move on to like what this conversation is about. But lately I've noticed a trend in my personal life where people have been asking me, they've listened to the podcast, they have enjoyed the insights from the conversation and the guests that we have on, and they ask about my training.

And I haven't done a good job. Some people obviously know what I do.

The inner circles, I guess, know what I do and what my training is.

But for those where I haven't made it clear, I just want to take a quick moment to talk about it. So by trade and training, I'm a sport and performance psychologist. So what does that mean? That means undergraduate degree in psychology, that means a master's degree in kinesiology a la sports science, the science of it, and then back to a PhD in psychology, licensed as a psychologist with a specialty in sport and performance. And if there were such a thing as a subspecialty, which there really isn't, it would be in rugged and hostile and high-consequence environments would be where I spend most of my time.

So that takes about, I don't know, 13, 14 years of training. And then at that point, still not knowing anything, really, really how the application of things works. So it took another 10, 15 years for me to sort out, making lots of mistakes along the way, unfortunately, we all do, to sort out how the mind works in hostile and rugged environments. So that's just a quick little snip of where my training comes from, which has allowed me to ask questions based on research, to based on framework, to based on, you know, standing on the shoulders of literal giants in the field of psychology. So that's why if when you hear these questions, they are coming from a place, not just, you know, like a random thought, like, oh, let me ask you about something. There's a hopefully purpose behind what we're doing. And the whole idea behind these conversations is to learn from people who are on the path of mastery, to better understand what they're searching for, to work, to understand their framework. Like, how do they make sense of the world? How do they make sense of people around that? What is their perspective and point of view and their worldview? And then we also want to dig and make sure we understand the mental skills that have helped them refine their craft.

I want to take a minute here to announce a really exciting event that we have coming up. As you continue to navigate the challenges and opportunities of 2024, I want to pose a question. What are you doing right now to be great with stress? How are you working with stress on your pursuit towards your most important ambitions and goals? And I just want to get right to the heart of the key elements, one in particular, for what it takes to excel in today's high heat, high stakes world. Because stress is not the problem that we think it is. Stress is a synonym for change. And our ability to be agile with change, that is the real opportunity at hand. So, if you're wanting to unlock extraordinary results and sustainable performance in your life, it's not about avoiding or reducing stress. And as simple as that sounds, it's very tricky to do, but it is about fundamentally changing your relationship with it.

And that's why I'm so thrilled to invite you to a special event. It's a free virtual event that we're offering, and it's called The Power of Embracing Stress. It's on Wednesday, March 6th at 2 p.m. Pacific. So to sign up, just head over to findingmastery.com/training. Whether it's advancing in your career or improving your health or cultivating stronger relationships, I think a new approach to stress can be one of the most powerful unlocks for you in your life. So join us for this free virtual training, The Power of Embracing Stress, on Wednesday, March 6th at 2 p.m. Pacific. Go to findingmastery.com/training to sign up. Once again, that's findingmastery.com/training. And I'm really excited to see you there.