The Inner Workings of Motivation, Optimism, and Leadership | AMA Vol. 17 w/ Dr. Michael Gervais

Michael Gervais (0:01)

Like, what do you really believe about your future? Get down with that. Get your arms around that. Get real with what do you really believe is possible. If you put together the right type of work, the right type of team, the right type of resources, what could happen?

Welcome back, or welcome to another Ask Me Anything on Finding Mastery. I am your host, Dr. Michael Gervais, by trade and training a high-performance psychologist. And the purpose behind these conversations, behind these AMAs, is to hear from you, to explore the topics and questions that you've been wrestling with on your path to becoming. Becoming who? Becoming your very best.

So, joining us as always is our insightful co-host, O'Neill Sespedes, and we are ready. We're ready to unravel another set of really rich topics and profound questions that you've presented to us. So, in today's conversation, we explore the inner workings of motivation. How to foster environments of growth that come from a place of competence, autonomy, and rich relationships. The nuanced art of leadership.

The power that sits right behind optimism and how to train it in the face of adversity. Navigating the delicate balance between image and individuality. And of course, so much more. And our hope here is that this dialogue is more than just an exchange of ideas, that it can create unlocks for you, inspire you to become just a little bit more of who you're working on becoming, and maybe even provide some guideposts for you as you look to lead with integrity and embrace your true self and lean into a life of exploring your potential and ultimately flourishing.

So with that, let's dive right into Vol. 17 of Finding Mastery's Ask Me Anything.

O'Neil Cespedes (2:01)

Dr. Mike, we're back again.

Michael Gervais (2:03)

I'm so stoked to be here with you. This is one of, I wouldn't say it's like a favorite, but I just relish the time that I get to do this with you. It feels really fun for me.

And I just love the engagement with our community members and how you and I go through some very complex ideas. And so I love this part of our podcast. So thank you for being here again.

O'Neil Cespedes (2:27)

Thank you for having me. I feel the same way. I look forward to these days. I really do.

Michael Gervais (2:32)

And you've got something to celebrate.

O'Neil Cespedes (2:34)

Yes, I do. Yes, I do.

I'll be launching a new podcast myself called Keep Me Different.

Michael Gervais (2:39)

How about it?

O'Neil Cespedes (2:40)

Looking forward to that.

Michael Gervais (2:41)

Yeah, and so Keep Me Different. Tell me more about it.

O'Neil Cespedes (2:44)

Keep Me Different. Keep Me Different is geared towards that underrepresented group of, I like to call them black nerds, right? They're not athletes. They're not super cool people. They love anime, right? Their interests lie in things that you wouldn't think. Their interests would lie. So I think that group is so underrepresented. I'm part of that group. So I give them a voice.

Michael Gervais (3:07)

And so is it gonna be interview based?

Is it more scripted? And you're gonna tell some stories? Are you gonna?

O'Neil Cespedes (3:13)

At times, it'll be interview based, but it's just gonna be me and my co-hosts. So.

Michael Gervais (3:17)

Who's your co-host?

O'Neil Cespedes (3:18)

His name is Garen Strong and Michelle Marquez. So two brilliant, brilliant people that I'm looking so forward to working with.

Michael Gervais (3:27)

It's cool when you're like doing things with people that you respect and they bring an energy. And like, it's really fun to be able to do that. So.

O'Neil Cespedes (3:35)

100%.

Michael Gervais (3:36)

So finding wherever podcast, you can find it wherever podcast.

O'Neil Cespedes (3:41)

Yeah, it will be on iTunes, YouTube. So yeah, anywhere you can find podcasts, you'll find Keep Me Different.

Michael Gervais (3:46)

Why that name? It's really cool.

O'Neil Cespedes (3:48)

You know, a friend of mine, we were working out in the gym, and you know, we cracked jokes. It's early in the morning, we busted each other up. And I said something to him because he had some shoes on. He actually had some, gosh, I forgot, they're popular shoes, the hokas. When, before hokas became popular, he had a pair of hokas on. And I was like, what are you wearing? Why is this guy always coming to Jim and dressed weird? What are those? And he was like, man, whatever, man, I pray God keep me different.

And when he said that, I was like, there's something to it. I love that.