Achieve More: Recent Episodes

Michael Schiel

The Achieve More podcast focuses on using neuroscience, psychology, and high-performance skills, tools, and approaches to help people and teams overcome their challenges, reach peak performance and live a thriving life while maintaining balance and positive relationships

The podcast is hosted by Michael Schiel a high-performance coach and transformation consultant with over 23 years of experience in coaching and consulting people, teams, and organizations to improve and achieve more with what they have.

In each episode, he tackles a topic that will help improve the decision-making, performance, or well-being of individuals, teams, or organizations. He uses evidence-based concepts from the worlds of high performance, neuroscience, and psychology research as well as his experiences as a high-performance coach for teams and individuals, finding ways to provide tactical, easy-to-use frameworks and tools that you can apply in your life right away.

Still thinking about work, even when you’re on vacation? You’re not alone — but it doesn’t have to be that way!

In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, we dive deep into how to truly unplug, reset, and come back from time off actually feeling restored — not just relieved.

Whether you're a high-performing professional, a leader, or someone who just can’t seem to switch off, this episode gives you a powerful, science-backed roadmap to make your time off actually count.

Why Listen:

If you’ve ever:

Sat on a dock or beach but couldn’t stop thinking about your inbox,
Returned from a break still feeling tense or tired,
Wondered how to actually relax without guilt or distraction…

…then this episode is for you.

You’ll learn:
✅ Why vacations often fail to restore us — and what to do about it
✅ How your brain resists switching out of “work mode” — and how to retrain it
✅ Simple yet powerful rituals that signal your nervous system it’s safe to rest
✅ Five high-impact habits that make your time off more emotionally and physically restorative
✅ A step-by-step Vacation Entry Protocol to help you cross the threshold into deep rest
✅ A 3-step Exit Ramp so you return focused, calm, and ready to re-engage — without burnout

This isn’t about dropping everything and going off the grid (unless you want to). It’s about using neuroscience, sport psychology, and high-performance recovery strategies to flip the switch from doing to being.

You’ve earned your time off — now learn how to make it actually work for you.

Listen in and build the skill of rest — because thriving isn’t just about how hard you work… it’s also about how well you recover.

Instantly Unlock More Performance, Well-Being and Balance NowThe "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

Most people think recharging means doing less. But neuroscience tells us: it’s not just stepping away from work that resets your brain — it’s what you do with that time that matters.

In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, I reveal why so many high-achievers finish vacations or breaks still feeling drained — and what to do instead.

You’ll learn:

Why passive “escapes” like Netflix or scrolling don’t actually recharge your brain.
The science behind true recovery — including NSDR, green time, awe, play, and slow-wave sleep.
What happens in your brain when you really rest — from glymphatic system detox to DMN activation.
Four evidence-based shifts to help you design recovery that actually works.

Whether you're heading into summer or just need a reset, this episode will help you recharge in a way that fuels performance, creativity, and well-being.

Instantly Unlock More Performance, Well-Being and Balance NowThe "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

Ever feel like you hold it together all day, only to crash the moment you get home? You’re not alone — and it’s not a sign of weakness. It’s a signal from your nervous system that you need to reset.

In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, I explore the neuroscience and psychology behind end-of-day emotional overwhelm — why it happens, what it really means, and how to respond in a way that restores calm, clarity, and connection.

We’ll dive into:

The four science-backed reasons emotional overwhelm hits hardest at night (including emotional labor, decision fatigue, and nervous system dysregulation)
How micro-stressors and unspoken emotions build up silently throughout your day
Five evidence-based strategies to reset and recover, so you don’t carry the weight of the day into your evening

You’ll walk away with simple, powerful tools — like nervous system resets, emotional labeling, and nightly rituals — that help you let go of the emotional load and finish your day feeling grounded and well.

If you’ve been ending your days drained, reactive, or just “done,” this episode offers a new way forward — one rooted in compassion, not criticism.

Instantly Unlock More Performance, Well-Being and Balance NowThe "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

Are you constantly juggling everything — crushing goals at work but feeling like your personal life is on the backburner? You’re not alone.

In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, we’re diving deep into a topic that busy people wrestle with daily: How do you live a high-performance life that actually feels balanced, fulfilling, and sustainable?

How do you find balance in a busy life, while trying to get it all done?

Because here’s the truth: balance isn’t about perfection or doing everything equally. It’s about building a rhythm that aligns with your values, fuels your energy, and helps you stay present where it matters most — without burning out.

In this episode, I explore:

The 5 most common myths that keep people stuck in the pursuit of balance — and what real balance actually looks and feels like.
Why trying to “have it all” is a fast track to burnout — and how to shift toward intentional, values-aligned living.
A neuroscience-backed definition of balance that re-centers your focus and calms your nervous system.
The four essential ingredients of a balanced life — Clarity, Boundaries, Recovery, and Alignment — and how to integrate them without adding more to your to-do list.
A quick, science-based “balance reset” you can use any time you feel overwhelmed or off-track.

Instantly Unlock More Performance, Well-Being and Balance NowThe "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

Ever feel like you’re drowning in tasks, spinning your wheels, and struggling to keep up?

You’re not alone. Overwhelm is a modern epidemic, but here’s the truth: feeling overwhelmed doesn’t mean you’re failing—it’s your brain’s way of signaling that something needs to change.

In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, I explain why overwhelm happens, how it impacts your mind and body, and—most importantly—how to take back control.

You’ll learn:

What overwhelm actually is—so you can recognize it before it takes over.
The neuroscience behind it—how your brain processes stress and why it reacts this way.
The hidden triggers fueling your overwhelm—and how to manage them.
Practical, science-backed strategies to reduce overwhelm and regain focus.
A simple framework to help you shift from feeling overloaded to empowered.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, exhausted, or pulled in too many directions, this episode will give you the clarity and tools to move forward with confidence.

Resources & Next Steps:
🔹 Get my free Overwhelm Checklist & Action Plan at Invictus.coach/resources
🔹 Join my Thrive Hive membership for deeper insights and coaching at Invictus.coach/thrive

Instantly Unlock More Performance, Well-Being and Balance NowThe "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

Have you ever felt like your life is on autopilot?

You wake up, go through the motions, and by the end of the day, you wonder—did any of it really matter? You’re not alone. Many high-achievers feel pulled in too many directions, chasing goals that don’t align with their true priorities. But what if you could take control, gain clarity, and start living intentionally?

In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, we dive into the neuroscience and psychology of how to take control of your life and focus on what’s truly important.

What You’ll Learn:

✅ Why so many people struggle to take control of their lives
✅ The hidden psychological and neurological barriers keeping you stuck
✅ 7 powerful, science-backed strategies to get clear on your vision, priorities, and next steps
✅ How to set boundaries, say no with confidence, and align your actions with what matters most
✅ A simple 3-step method if you're short on time but ready for meaningful change

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed or directionless, this episode will give you the clarity and tools to take back control and thrive.

Special Bonus:

I’ve created a free “Take Control of Your Life” Worksheet to help you apply these strategies immediately. Download it here: Invictus.coach/resources

Upcoming Events:

📅 Feb 19 Livecast – How to Get Unstuck from Survival Mode and Proactively Focus on What Matters
📅 Feb 26 Workshop – Creating a Clear Vision to Guide Your Actions and Improve Performance

If you head on over to invictus.coach/events you will find links to register for these. If you are listening to this podcast after those events, DM me and I can tell you where and how you can access the recordings!

Instantly Unlock More Performance, Well-Being and Balance NowThe "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

Do you ever feel stuck, unsure of what truly matters, or overwhelmed by endless tasks pulling you in different directions? You’re not alone. Lack of clarity can lead to mental clutter, stress, and decision fatigue, making it harder to focus and thrive. But what if the solution is simpler than you think?

In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, I break down a powerful framework to help you:

✅ Find true clarity—so you know exactly what you want and why it matters
✅ Cut through distractions and focus on what moves the needle in your life
✅ Align your actions with your purpose, vision, and values to achieve sustainable success
✅ Reduce overwhelm by filtering out what doesn’t serve you
✅ Boost well-being and performance by creating a meaningful, purpose-driven path

I also introduce two practical frameworks to help you gain clarity:
1️⃣ The Purpose-Driven Alignment Framework—a step-by-step process to define your vision, purpose, and values and align them with your goals.
2️⃣ The 3x3 Goal Creation Framework—a simplified method to help you focus on three key life areas and set clear, actionable goals.

By the end of this episode, you’ll have the tools to clear your mental clutter, sharpen your focus, and start thriving with confidence and purpose.

Plus, I’ve created a free Clarity & Focus Worksheet to help you put these frameworks into action. Download it at Invictus.coach/resources.

If this episode resonated with you, don’t forget to subscribe and share it with someone who needs more clarity in their life. Let’s thrive together!

Instantly Unlock More Performance, Well-Being and Balance NowThe "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

Do you feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of goals pulling at your attention? You’re not alone! In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, I’ll show you how to cut through the noise and focus on what truly matters.

Many people set out to achieve their goals but struggle to make meaningful progress.

Why? Because if everything is a priority, nothing is. Without clear prioritization, you’re left feeling stressed, scattered, and stuck.

In this episode, I dive into:

The five most common reasons people fail to achieve their goals, including lacking a clear "why" and setting unrealistic targets.
Five science-backed principles to help you prioritize your goals, like aligning them with your core values and focusing on those that spark positive emotions.
A powerful, easy-to-use prioritization framework to help you focus on what truly matters and make real progress.

Plus, I’ve created a free prioritization worksheet you can download from Invictus.coach/resources. Use it to work through your goals step-by-step and start prioritizing effectively.

Special Announcements:In this episode, I mentioned a couple of other ways that you can dive deeper into goal planning:

Recorded Livecast: On January 16th, I held a free livecast on "The 3 Biggest Mistakes People Make in Goal Planning" You should be able to download a recording of it at invictus.coach/events
Workshop: On January 30th 2025, I am hosting a mini-workshop on "How to Plan and Achieve Your Goals for 2025" tohelp you create, plan and acheive your goals. Click here to find out more and register to create a detailed, evidence-based action plan for your year!

And if you are ready to go even deeper, or need more help, don't forget to check out my Thrive Hive membership. You get access to tools, frameworks, training videos, and a community of like-minded people to help you plan and achieve your goals, achieve peak performance, and find wellbeing and fulfillment.

If you’re ready to feel clear, focused, and in control, this episode is for you. Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and check out my Thrive Hive membership for ongoing support and resources. Let’s thrive together!

Instantly Unlock More Performance, Well-Being and Balance NowThe "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, I tackle one of the biggest challenges we all face: planning and achieving meaningful goals without burning out.

I share the most common mistakes people make when setting goals—like taking on too much, neglecting brain health, and failing to pace themselves—and explain how these missteps can lead to overwhelm and fatigue. I’ll also walk you through five key principles for sustainable goal achievement, including how to connect your goals to your "why," focus on just 2-3 priorities, and break goals into manageable chunks.

Plus, I’ve included a practical, evidence-based 4-step goal-planning template that you can start using right away to set yourself up for success in 2025.

Whether you're juggling work and personal responsibilities or striving to grow in your career, I’ve packed this episode with strategies to help you thrive.

Special Announcements: I’m hosting two upcoming events to help you dive deeper into goal planning:

A free Livecast on The 3 Biggest Mistakes People Make in Goal Planning (on Thursday, January 16th, 2025). Click here to find out more and register.
A hands-on Workshop, How to Plan and Achieve Your Goals for 2025 (January 22). I walk you through the steps to help you create, plan, and begin to achieve your most important goals this year, without feeling overwhelmed or burning out. You will walk away with prioritized goals, and maybe even a game plan for your most important goal. Click here to find out more and to register.

Finally, if you need more help or guidance - or really need more help with planning out your goals in detail - check out my Thrive Hive monthly membership. It is a monthly membership to help teach, coach, and support individuals, organizational teams, and their leaders in reaching their full potential and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being

Instantly Unlock More Performance, Well-Being and Balance NowThe "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

Are you striving for success in your career and personal life but constantly battling exhaustion, overwhelm, or a sense of misalignment?

This episode of the Achieve More podcast is your roadmap to thriving—not just surviving.

I unpack five transformative, evidence-based strategies to help you perform at your best while staying balanced, fulfilled, and aligned with your purpose.

Drawing on neuroscience, psychology, and high-performance research, I reveal why so many of us feel overwhelmed in our pursuit of success—and how shifting from doing more to doing better is the key to sustainable growth.

But it is also how you shift to doing things better that matters.

You'll learn how to:

Why and how aligning your actions with your vision, values, and purpose will improve your performance by over 15%
Why balancing high performance with well-being improves both your performance and your balance of life
Think just like Beyonce (Adopt the mindset and identity of a balanced high performer!)
Prioritize what truly matters to maximize impact
Focus on the process rather than the outcome to find joy in the journey while still achieving your goals

If you're ready to break free from the cycle of overwhelm and redefine success on your terms, tune in now and take the first step toward a thriving, fulfilling life.

Instantly Unlock More Performance, Well-Being and Balance NowThe "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

In this episode of the "Achieve More" podcast, I dive into a critical but often overlooked strategy for creating high-performing teams: improving well-being. Many leaders focus on performance, collaboration, or retention in isolation—but the secret to truly excelling in all three areas lies in prioritizing your team's well-being.

Drawing from neuroscience, psychology, and high-performance research, I’ll explain how fostering well-being can lead to:

Better performance: Well-being practices boost mental clarity, sharpen decision-making, and sustain high energy throughout the day, leading to consistently higher productivity.
Stronger collaboration: Teams that prioritize well-being experience more trust, open communication, and better conflict resolution, driving innovation and teamwork.
Reduced turnover: When employees feel valued and supported through well-being initiatives, they are more likely to stay with your organization, reducing costly turnover.

You'll also hear about actionable strategies to improve well-being in your team, from developing supportive leadership to implementing resilience and stress-management programs. Whether you're looking to improve team performance, foster stronger collaboration, or retain your top talent, this episode provides the evidence and tools you need to make well-being a priority in your organization.

Join the Thrive Hive Monthly Membership to Improve Performance, Wellbeing and Life BalanceThe "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

In this episode, I am diving into a topic near and dear to me: your optimal exercise protocol to help you improve performance in all areas of your life, achieve well-being, and healthy aging.

We all know that staying active is essential for improving performance, maintaining well-being, and aging healthily. But with so many exercise types, it can feel overwhelming to figure out where to start or how to balance them all.

That’s why today, I’ll break down the seven key exercise types that offer the greatest benefits, based on scientific research. Whether you’re focused on boosting energy, enhancing mental clarity, or ensuring a healthy, functional aging process, this episode covers it all.

From cardio and strength training to walking and flexibility, I’ll explain the importance of each type of exercise and how they impact both your body and mind. You’ll also get a practical exercise protocol designed for those with limited time—perfect for fitting into a busy schedule.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

The top three exercise types for maximizing benefits across performance and longevity.
A time-efficient routine to help you reap the rewards even if you only exercise three days a week.
Which is the best exercise to choose if you can only do one thing for your health.

Whether you’re a high-performer looking to optimize your fitness or someone trying to build healthy habits, this episode offers actionable advice for everyone.

Download the “Optimal Exercise Protocol Cheat Sheet” at Invictus.coach/resources to follow along and help apply it to your life.

Tune in to discover how to make exercise a sustainable and powerful tool for achieving your best performance, well-being, and longevity.

Join the Thrive Hive Monthly Membership to Improve Performance, Wellbeing and Life BalanceThe "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

**Did you know that 65% of employees say they'd be more productive in a company with a strong culture fit?

Yet, one in four feels they don't belong in their workplace. This sense of misfit can lead to disengagement, decreased productivity, and higher turnover rates, which are detrimental to any organization's success.

If you're a leader facing the challenge of an employee who doesn't fit, or you're someone feeling out of place, this podcast is for you.**

In this episode of the "Achieve More" Podcast, I dive deep into the crucial topic of cultural fit within organizations. Drawing on neuroscience, psychology, and my 25 years of coaching experience, I explore why culture is vital for organizational success, why some employees may not align, and the significant impact this misalignment can have.

specifically, in this podcast I discuss:

Why culture is so important to an organization
Why it is vital that your employees fit that culture
Why some employees don’t align with the company culture.
What happens when an employee doesn’t fit
What to do about it
Principles for approaching this problem.
4 or 5 actions you can take right now to address it.
Steps you can take afterward to try to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

Whether you're looking to enhance team cohesion, improve job satisfaction, or reduce turnover, this episode offers valuable insights and practical tools to help you create a strong, cohesive culture.

And just to make it easier for you to apply the lessons from this podcast, if you head over to invictus.coach/resources, you can download a free cheatsheet and worksheet to help you think through the main ideas and apply them to your own organizational situation.

Join the Thrive Hive Monthly Membership, to Improve Performance, Wellbeing and Life BalanceThe "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

In this podcast, we're diving into a crucial topic: how to successfully unplug, detach, and switch off from work.

According to evidence-based research and global surveys, anywhere from 60% to 77% of people continue to do work while they are supposed to be on vacation, on a break, or away and unplugged from work.

It can have disastrous impacts on your performance, the quality of your work, your mental health, and even your physical health. And after you come back from your "vacation", studies show that your work performance and productivity will continue to decline.

In today's podcast, we'll explore the compelling neuroscience and psychology behind why it’s essential to shut off during vacations and weekends, and how chronic work stress can lead to burnout and other health issues. I'll share evidence-based strategies to help you disconnect effectively, ensuring you can fully relax and rejuvenate.

To do this, I will:

Talk about the neuroscience and psychology of why many people can’t turn off
Look at the psychology and neuroscience view of what happens when you don’t
Introduce some principles for actually shutting off and taking time off
Give you a protocol you can use when you want to shut off on your next vacation, so you know you will rest

Join the Thrive Hive Monthly Membership, to Improve Performance, Wellbeing and Life BalanceThe "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

There are a lot of fads, gimmicks, and just plain wrong ideas out there about how to achieve High Performance or mastery in something.

You can't just "flow" all the time on command to perfection, or use gummies, and the "10,000 hours" concept is a gross misunderstanding (although it is a helluva lot closer than gummies!).

I have studied high performance across many modalities - from the world's largest and longest study on high performance, to applied neuroscience, to sports psychology of elite athletes, you name it.

In this podcast, I give you 5 evidence-backed, tried-and-true methods, approaches, or skills at the core of achieving high performance.

I explain each one succinctly, tell you why it works, and then give you a protocol to apply it in your life.

Warning: these concepts only work if you are serious about improving your skills. They take focus, diligence, and time. But If you use them, you will indeed succeed at driving towards high performance...and with a little more time ...mastery!

If You Want to Dive Deeper into This Topic...
In this episode, I point out a few times you can dive deeper into this topic, and these skills, tools and protocols in a couple of ways.

My "Learn to Thrive" course is a dive into the deep end of the pool of high performance and thriving. You can learn more by clicking here.

A more approachable and accountable approach for many is the Thrive Hive monthly community membership: A monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being. You can find out more by clicking here.

Links to other Achieve More Podcast Episodes Mentioned in this EpisodeI mention the following Achieve More Episodes in this one:

Episode #16: Why and How to Set a Positive Mindset to Achieve More and Be Happier
Episode #31: How to Build and Use Courage to Face Your Fears and Chase Your Dreams
Episode #34: How to Change Your Mindset to Improve Your Performance
Episode #38: 3 Steps to Create Habits to Improve Your Life
Episode #57: How to Max Your Brain Health to Improve Your Performance or Well-Being

Join the Thrive Hive Monthly Membership, to Improve Performance, Wellbeing and Life BalanceThe "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

In this podcast, I am going to talk about how to maximize your employee's potential.

This means creating an environment and providing resources that enable your staff to perform at their best, develop their skills, and reach their full professional potential.

While the podcast is focused on maximizing your staff potential, I think you can use it for yourself too!

Although there are undoubtedly lots of factors that you could think of that would improve your potential and performance, in this podcast I focus on five that have been proven in multiple massive evidence-based studies or global surveys.

I am giving you elements that are found in notable large studies in the fields of organizational design, applied neuroscience, and behavioral science.

In this podcast, I:

Show you how this topic relates to the High Performing Team framework outlined in Achieve More podcast #64
Outline the benefits - the reasons why- you would want to focus on this
And then for each of the five elements:
- Define that element
- Why it is important
- What the research and my experience in implementing it shows us is important to consider for your staff
- Considerations for implementation

Join the Thrive Hive Monthly Membership, to Improve Performance, Wellbeing and Life BalanceThe "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

In this podcast, I am focusing on a topic that impacts anyone in their 30s and 40s and older. I am looking at how we can age successfully.

“Successful Aging” refers to the process of maintaining a high quality of life as we grow older, characterized by physical health, mental sharpness, emotional well-being, and social engagement.

Why is this important to look at?

Numerous reputable well-done evidence-based studies have found that focusing on how we approach living our life in our 40s and 50s has a huge impact on the quality of our life in our later years.

For instance, research has shown that the quality of your relationships in your 50s is a significant indicator of whether you will feel fulfilled in your 80s. Which to me, as someone in their early 50s, is eye-opening!

On this topic, Dr. Daniel Levitin is a renowned author, researcher, and neuroscientist who has recently released an excellent book on the topic. The book is extremely well-researched and evidence-based. At the end of the book, he summarizes a top ten list of evidence-based recommendations on how we can approach our lives now, that will have a lasting impact on our lives for decades to come.

In this podcast, I introduce his top ten list and bring in other research and ideas.

Grab the Top Ten Cheat SheetIf this topic is important to you, click here or head over to invictus.coach/resources and you will find my Top Ten Tips for Aging Successfully cheat sheet. I summarize his top ten list and give you some high performance coaching prompts on applying them to your own life.

Learn to ThriveAs I mentioned in the podcast, much of the science and recommendations discussed in this podcast align and support the science and recommendations I teach in my Learn to Thrive course. If you want to learn how to live your best life in your 40s,50s, and for the rest of your life, check it out by clicking here or going to invictus.coach/thrivecourse

Join the Thrive Hive Monthly Membership, to Improve Performance, Wellbeing and Life BalanceThe "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

In this podcast, I am diving into the empirical evidence behind the impact of a virtual setting on employee performance and productivity.

Post-pandemic, many companies are struggling with whether and how to bring employees back into office settings. There are what turn out to be unfounded preconceptions and myths about how employees perform at home or virtually versus in the office.

In this podcast, we cover:

What the most relevant evidence-based studies and surveys have found in terms of employee performance and productivity (i.e. what is happening)
What are the causes underlying the improvement of employee performance and productivity in virtual/home settings (i.e. why it happened)
Why the findings aren't surprising if you understand the "Thriving at Work" model
I walk through that model and explain what experience and evidence show us are the factors that maximize employee performance and productivity, and whether and how they are apparent in virtual settings versus office settings
What this means for you if you are an employer
What this all means for you if you are an employee

You will walk away from this podcast understanding what impacts employee performance and productivity, and the factors that support it in a work setting. This is important for both employees and employers to understand!

In this podcast I mention a few resources that can be super helpful to you:

The "Thrive Hive" monthly membership, a monthly membership to help teach, coach, and support individuals, organizational teams, and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being
Achieve More Podcast Episode #66:How to Thrive at Work: Feel Vital and Engaged, Improve Performance
Achieve More Podcast Episode 56: How to Select, Plan, Start and Achieve the Goals that Matter the Most to You
"How to Set and Maintain Your Boundaries" free resource
"Goal Planning Checklist" free resource
Thriving at Work model, also a free resource

Join the Thrive Hive Monthly Membership, to Improve Performance, Wellbeing and Life BalanceThe "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

It is safe to say that many people feel stressed, overwhelmed and even burned out.

Up to 85% of us feel overwhelmed at times in our lives, and 76% of employees feel burned out at least sometimes in a given year. And international surveys show it is getting worse each year.

These results persist across age, gender, socioeconomic and geographic differences.

In this episode, I show you how 3 particular aspects of the Thrive model can help you to address overwhelm in your life.

The Thrive model is an evidence-based approach to improving performance in your life, while achieving balance and well-being. You learn to flourish, feel more fulfillment, and become more resilient to deal with life's challenges.

In this episode, I review:

The science of what is happening in your brain and body when you get overwhelmed - so you can understand what we are up against
5 of the most common causes of overwhelm
A summary of the Thrive model
How 3 particular parts of the Thrive model help you address the causes and symptoms of overwhelm
I also direct you to evidence-based worksheets, podcasts and coaching tools to help you apply each of the 3 parts of the model to your own life.

And if you hear this podcast before April 21, and you want to know more, head over to invictus.coach/thrivemembership for a discounted code to join the Thrive Hive membership, a monthly community membership to help you learn more about this and apply it directly to your own life.

Some of the other links I mention in this podcast:

"The Art and Science of Thriving Livecast: How to overcome your challenges, achieve your meaningful goals, and build a flourishing life" - a livecast being held on April 16, 2024. Click here to find out more or to register to attend for free.
Learn to Thrive Course: a guided, supported virtual course Where I teach you neuroscience, psychology and high-performance based approaches and skills, and give you tools to help you clarify your goals, improve your performance, achieve well-being and live the balanced life you want. Click here to find out more or to register your name on the wait list.
Create your Vision and the Create Your Purpose mini-workshops - Shorter, more focused workshops to teach you how to create your vision for a thriving life, or to create your purpose for a meaningful life. Each workshop has a video lesson and coaching worksheets to help you apply it to your own life. Click here to find out more.
Achieve More Podcast Episode #49: Why and How You Can Thrive
Achieve More Podcast Episode 56: How to Select, Plan, Start and Achieve the Goals that Matter the Most to You

Join the Thrive Hive as a Founding Member until April 21, 2024!Until April 21, I am signing up founding members for the Thrive Hive. It is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up on the waitlist by clicking here!

"Thriving at work" refers to an individual's ability to not only perform their job duties effectively but also to experience a high level of satisfaction, engagement, and well-being in the workplace.

It goes beyond mere job satisfaction or meeting basic job requirements and encompasses factors such as personal growth, meaningful contribution, positive relationships with colleagues, a sense of purpose, and overall psychological well-being.

Why would you want to listen to this podcast?

Well, there is ample evidence that organizations that introduce a "Thrive at Work" environment have found increased job satisfaction from employees, higher productivity, greater creativity, improved mental health and wellbeing, increased employee engagement and retention and better physical health.

There is a lot of research in this area. I have waded through it all and created an evidence-based framework you can use to implement this in your workplace. IN today’s podcast, I will:

Define Thriving at Work
Explain some of the benefits you will get from trying it
Outline the model
Give you some evidence and experience based implementation principles

In the podcast, I mention three ways you can find out more:

Download the Framework - Head on over to invictus.coach/resources, and you can download the framework for free
Join the Thrive Membership - I am rolling out a monthly community membership to help people and teams learn how to thrive. You get access to monthly livecasts, recorded webinars, frameworks, templates, a private community of like minded thrivers, and so much more. I will be covering this in much more detail in the membership. Head over to invictus.coach/thrivemembership to find out more
Take the Mini-Workshop - I will soon be rolling out a mini-workshop on the model and how to implement it at your workplace. Keeps your eyes and ears peeled to find out more.

Join the Thrive Hive as a Founding Member until April 21, 2024!Until April 21, I am signing up founding members for the Thrive Hive. It is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up on the waitlist by clicking here!

Today I am diving into a topic that almost all of my coaching clients struggle with, and I am betting you do to.

And that is how to have energy all day. How do you have energy at the end of the day? How do you bring your “A” game with energy and engagement to your evening activities? Come back to your spouse, partner, friends, family, whoever with a full battery and energy to spare?

My coaching clients often point out they would love to achieve more of their goals, or get more done in their day, or at least not drag their butt around at the end of the day…but how do you do that?

There is no one silver bullet that will do the trick. However, I have found through a lot of research and personal practice six key things you can do to help create that energy so that at the end of the day you feel energized, vial and engaged - even if you have been going strong all day.

In this podcast I introduce those 6 factors, tell you why they work, and how to use them.

You can use them individually, or stack em up, or mix and match as you see fit!

Join the Thrive Hive as a Founding Member until April 21, 2024!Until April 21, I am signing up founding members for the Thrive Hive. It is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up on the waitlist by clicking here!

Today’s topic should be useful to you if you lead a team, or are part of a team at work. And many of the concepts I mention are useful for organizational units too. So, really, if you work with people at work, this one is for you.

Today I answer the question “How do I help my team thrive?”, or another way to look at it “How can my team perform better, without burning out?”.

This topic comes up often in my work. In my role as a transformation consultant, I work with a lot of community organizations that face some challenges in terms of culture, team unity and thriving, safety and trust, and performance.

Many organizations face culture and performance challenges at the same time. In a semi-virtual post-pandemic work setting more than ever they need to perform at a higher level and be more efficient and effective just to stay alive, but they have an employee base that is split, face a lack of trust or safety with each other, and it is harder to feel engaged and motivated.

In this podcast I introduce a framework I have created called the High Performing Team Framework – to help answer these questions: what does it take to create a thriving team situation? Why is my team not performing well? Why can’t we work together better? What can I do to improve my own work in a team?

In today’s podcast, I:

Remind you why it is so important to think about this (the gulf between high performing organizations and ones that don’t can have a big impact)
Introduce the High Performing Team model to you at a high level
Describe each component of it, and why that is important
Talk about the top areas where I see teams struggle
Give you some ideas on how you can use this model to improve your own team

If you want to see more of the model to consider how it would work for your own team, head on over to "High Performing Team Framework" in the free resources section of the invictus.coach website: https://www.invictus.coach/resources

There you can download the framework, so you can talk about it with your team and see whether you need to apply any aspect of it.

You can listen to today's podcast on Apple Podcasts by clicking hereYou can listen to today's podcast on Spotify by clicking here

Join the Thrive Hive as a Founding Member until April 21, 2024!Until April 21, I am signing up founding members for the Thrive Hive. It is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up on the waitlist by clicking here!

This podcast is super important if you are managing a team, or are part of a team at work.

In this podcast I introduce a simple but powerful model based on significant neuroscience research that will help you and your team improve your collaboration at work. I show you how the brain works in ways to support collaboration, how to take advantage of that, and introduce a simple model to help you implement this at your workplace.

There is a growing emphasis on collaboration at work these days - so much so that the term loses its meaning and significance. Most organizational methods of "collaboration" - email, chat platforms, video meetings - do little to improve collaboration, and as one major Harvard Business Review study points out, are more likely to lead to burnout as employees are forced to work longer hours to complete tasks.

On the other hand, Neuroscience studies have come a long way in helping us understand just how social our brain really is, how best to take advantage of it, and how to actually apply it your own life.

I am most interested in how our brains do and don’t support collaboration, and what factors help support it the most, and then frankly how can you use that in your own life.

So this podcast is structured like this:

I start by talking about why not all collaboration is good for teams, even if the amount of time spent on it has risen significantly in the past 20 years
I dive into 4 principles from social neuroscience that underlie effective collaboration in general, but particularly the SCARF model
I then introduce the SCARF model – a framework that explores social neuroscience and identifies five core social domains that influence human behavior and reactions in social situations.
I finish by providing a simple but effective tool for helping you apply these ideas to your team

I use high-performance coaching prompts throughout the podcast to help you really get the most out of the content, and think about what it means for you and your team.

I have also created a cheatsheet/worksheet that you can download for free from invictus.coach/podcast that highlights the main points of the SCARF model, provides you some coaching prompts, and gives you a working shell of a tool to help you apply it.

Really, you can get everything you need from this podcast to help diagnose and improve your team's collaboration efforts - and in the end improve your workplace well-being, performance and productivity.

Join the Thrive Hive as a Founding Member until April 21, 2024!Until April 21, I am signing up founding members for the Thrive Hive. It is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up on the waitlist by clicking here!

In this episode, I delve into the simple but powerful science behind effectively planning your best year using evidence-based principles and a comprehensive 4-step protocol.

I stress the significance of personal reflection in defining what a "best year" entails for each of us individually. Instead of a universal definition, I introduce six principles that tap into positive psychology, organizational psychology, and well-being research, offering a holistic approach to planning major achievements for the upcoming year. These principles encompass aligning goals with your life vision, reflecting on the past, prioritizing well-being, cultivating a growth mindset, building a supportive network, and fostering flexibility.

I also give you an evidence-based 4-step protocol grounded in neuroscience, psychology, and high-performance studies that I've crafted to guide you on this transformative journey. It starts with clarifying your goals using the SMART criteria, aligning them with your purpose, specifying actionable steps, and implementing a system for tracking and adjusting.

Additionally, I share four evidence-based success strategies, urging you to limit major goals to three for cognitive optimization, ensure each goal has a compelling "why" rooted in your personal values, articulate specific actions to engage your prefrontal cortex, and make goals short-term and just easy enough, aligning with goal-setting theory and the concept of "flow."

By incorporating these evidence-backed approaches, you can navigate your aspirations with purpose, fostering fulfillment and meaningful success throughout the year.

To support you further, I've prepared a downloadable worksheet for the 4-step protocol, available on Invictus.coach/resources. Scroll down and find the "Plan Your Best Year" cheat-sheet!

Join the Thrive Hive as a Founding Member until April 21, 2024!Until April 21, I am signing up founding members for the Thrive Hive. It is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up on the waitlist by clicking here!

In this podcast, I explore the crucial aspects of organizational safety and trust that underpin collaboration, creativity, and overall performance.

Drawing on my experience with community sector organizations, I'll discuss common workplace challenges, and how and why they occur.

I will give you some principles -based on research and experience – to help you tackle this in your team or organization. I also give you a strategic five-step framework to enhance safety and trust. This framework, emphasizing joint participation, root cause acknowledgment, shared vision development, collaborative pathways, and clear communication, aims to foster a transparent and collaborative culture.

Finally, I give you some ideas on some approaches or themes you can use if you try to tackle this challenge in your own workplace.

Join the Thrive Hive as a Founding Member until April 21, 2024!Until April 21, I am signing up founding members for the Thrive Hive. It is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up on the waitlist by clicking here!

In this podcast, I am focusing on giving you some simple but powerful tools to help you assess and address feeling overwhelmed.

I am focusing on providing you with the protocols, tools, and approaches that you can use right away.

You know I love neuroscience and psychology background data to help you understand things. But I have already done soooo many podcasts on different aspects of overwhelm and stress that I thought with this episode I would focus on the tools and leave most of the science in those podcasts.

In this podcast, I start off with a clear definition of overwhelm, highlighting only the most critical neuroscience facts behind this state, and explaining how it affects the brain and body. This helps in understanding why and how we can address both the short-term symptoms and the root causes of overwhelm.

But then I dive straight into 3 key tools, approaches, or protocols to help you out:

A simple but powerful 5-step framework for assessing and addressing overwhelm. This framework involves acknowledging the situation, deciding to take action, identifying the causes and symptoms, assessing control over these factors, and creating a personalized action plan.
The second framework is all about maintaining brain health by focusing on essential pillars such as sleep, nutrition, mindfulness, regular physical activity, and nurturing good relationships. These pillars are crucial for maintaining the brain and body in an optimal state, enhancing one's ability to deal with stressful situations.
The third concept is a powerful but very simple protocol. It is an evidence-backed model for helping you deal with the symptoms of stress, right here and right now. It literally takes you 30 seconds, but this simple yet powerful breathing exercise works to swiftly switch the brain from a stress response to a calmer state, aiding in moments of high tension or overwhelm.

You can find out more about these tools and the podcasts I mentioned in the resources section of my website. If you head on over to Invictus.coach/resources you can access them for free.

I have resources there on how to set personal boundaries and on when and how to say no, both of which help tremendously in shutting down the opportunities to expand on sources of overwhelm. I also have a resource on how to institute mindful breaks into your day, to help deal with symptoms of stress and keep you focused and calm.

So, if you want the best evidence-backed approaches to help you understand and deal with feeling overwhelmed, check out this podcast!

Join the Thrive Hive as a Founding Member until April 21, 2024!Until April 21, I am signing up founding members for the Thrive Hive. It is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up on the waitlist by clicking here!

In this podcast, I take a coaching approach to help you create a more balanced life.

Many people may like the idea of achieving a balanced life, but it's common for many of us to feel that achieving balance is an outrageously difficult task, especially when our lives are already full of various roles and responsibilities. We might be tired, stuck, or feel like we're overwhelmed, making the idea of balance seem unattainable.

In this episode, I address fundamental questions related to work-life balance:

What does it really mean to balance your life?
How can you actually achieve it?
Can you reach your full potential while living a balanced life?
How do you create balance when you're already busy, tired, or uncertain about where to start?
Is it even worth trying, and will it positively impact your performance in life?

I aim to make this podcast practical and hands-on, drawing from psychology, neuroscience, and high-performance research. I provide coaching prompts to encourage you to think about what balance means to you and how you can implement it in your life.

To make it even more accessible, I've created a coaching prompt worksheet to help you figure out what living a balanced life means to you, available for free download at invictus.coach/resources.I also mentioned a number of previous Achieve More podcasts in this one. You can find the Achieve More podcast at Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, anywhere you find podcasts, or at invictus.coach/podcast.

The episodes we mentioned include:

Episode #24: A Framework to Address the Major Causes of Burnout And Turn Yourself Around”
Episode #28: How to Use Short Term Stress To Your Advantage
Episode#29: One Thing You Can Start Today to Overcome Overwhelm
Episode #40: Why Creating A Personal Vision Makes You More Productive, Engaged and Happier
Episode #42: How Clear Personal Boundaries Can Address Overwhelm”,
Episode #51: Create Your Personal Values to Improve Performance and Achieve Profound Well-Being;
Episode #52: How to Create Well-being in Your Life”,
Episode #57: Do This Before You Try to Improve Your Performance or Well-Being

Join the Thrive Hive as a Founding Member until April 21, 2024!Until April 21, I am signing up founding members for the Thrive Hive. It is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up on the waitlist by clicking here!

Today we're diving deep into the topic of reaching our full potential.

In this podcast we give you psychology, neuroscience, and high performance research-backed evidence to understand that it's not only possible, but absolutely worth striving for.

We talk about how reaching your full potential is something you can do in a very focused way ( a paticular skill), for a particular part of your life (say, your career or maybe your education), or for reaching a fulfilling life. We point out the mounting evidence that you can do this at any age and stage of life (so yes, anyone can do this).

In this episode, we'll explore the key components of reaching your full potential for a specific skill, your performance, or even your whole life. We give you the main principles for achieiving full potential, and give you some tips on how to apply them to your life.
We'll also provide practical tools and a four-step protocol to help you plan and apply these concepts to your own life, whether it's in specific areas like work or personal skills, or in a broader sense of creating a thriving and fulfilling life overall.
Free Resource Links
In this podcast, we refer to a couple of free resources on the Invictus website that are related to the content. One is a tool that includes 5 tools to help you supercharge your improvement. The other is a "cheatsheet" that summarizes the main evidence-backed ways to plan, start and achieve your goals.

You can access each of these resources at invictus.coach/resources.

Podcast Links
In this episode, we refer you to a number of previous Achieve More episodes that have science-backed approaches, protocols and tools that can be helpful in your journey. Here is a link to each of them:

Episode #16: Why and How to Set a Positive Mindset to Achieve More and Be Happier
Episode #30: Neuroscience-Based Ways to Improve Planning and Achieving Goals
Episode #32: 3-Part Tactical Framework to Build Courage
Episode #34: How to Change Your Mindset to Improve Your Performance
Episode #40: Why Creating A Personal Vision Makes You More Productive, Engaged and Happier
Episode #48: Why Striving For Excellence is Worth It, Even if You Don't Reach It

Join the Thrive Hive as a Founding Member until April 21, 2024!Until April 21, I am signing up founding members for the Thrive Hive. It is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up on the waitlist by clicking here!

This podcast is about one of the most important things you can do to set yourself up for success with improving performance, your mental health, or achieving well-being.

And chances are you have never heard of this.

Until my first applied neuroscience course, I hadn't either. But it turns out to be monumentally important for your health and cognitive capabilities.

Today we are talking about Homeostasis, and it's impact on your ability to improve your performance, improve your mental health, or achieve well-being.

What the heck is homeostasis you might ask?

Homeostasis is a fundamental concept in neuroscience (as well as in biology in general) that refers to the brain’s (and body's) ability to maintain a stable internal environment despite external changes.

From a neuroscience perspective, homeostasis plays a crucial role in maintaining the optimal conditions for the brain and nervous system to function.

From a human performance and well-being perspective, it is an absolutely critical ground-floor, foundational concept. If you cannot maintain a decent homeostasis for your brain and body, you will not be able to maintain any kind of performance improvement or well-being in your life.

Thankfully, as you will find from listening to this podcast, you won't have to change much in your life to implement some protocols that will help you to maintain your homeostasis.

In this podcast, we talk about homeostasis:

What is it?
What is the science behind it?
Why is it so darn important for performance and wellbeing
How do you maintain and optimize it
How you can apply these concepts to your life today

Join the Thrive Hive as a Founding Member until April 21, 2024!Until April 21, I am signing up founding members for the Thrive Hive. It is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up on the waitlist by clicking here!

In this podcast, we are looking at the science behind how to choose what goals to focus on, how to most effectively plan them, and how to achieve them.

I focus on helping people and teams overcome challenges, improve, transform and achieve their life (or their team's) goals. A large part of that is figuring out goals you want to achieve, and then working towards achieving them.

But a whole lot of people either pick the wrong goals, get started and stopped, or never even get started.

Today’s podcast is all about tactical steps you can take to set and achieve goals, based on the science of what actually works. That means all of the tools and approaches today will be based on evidence-backed studies of how the mind actually works when making and achieving goals, and on studies that show us how to plan your goals and successfully achieve them.

In this podcast, I used evidence-backed studies to answer 4 questions:

What are the best kinds of goals to set? What kind of goals are you most likely going to succeed?
How do I use that information to figure out the most important goals for me specifically?
How do I actually set it up so I can achieve those goals?
How can I be successful in the long term?

I have created a "Cheat Sheet" checklist that can help you use the protocols on how to select, plan, and achieve your goals. You can use this checklist to help you plan and achieve your own goals. You can click on this link to be brought to it, or head on over to invictus.coach/resources to grab a copy of the checklist.

Join the Thrive Hive as a Founding Member until April 21, 2024!Until April 21, I am signing up founding members for the Thrive Hive. It is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.

You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.

You can find out more or sign up on the waitlist by clicking here!

I have spent over 23 years helping people and teams improve: their skills, their wellbeing, their organization's services, their organization's structure and workflow, their teamwork...you name it, I have helped them improve it.

Through all of those hundreds of projects and coaching clients, I realized I have consistently relied on some tools that seem to help each and every time I help people improve.

Long before I studied the neuroscience of human behavior I found these tools, approaches, and methods to be useful in supercharging your improvement efforts. It was only later on that I found out there is a ton of science backing each of these approaches.

In today's podcast I am going to describe those tools for you, so you can use them to help your own improvement projects or personal transformation journeys.

In this podcast, I am going to walk through:

The neuroscience of what actually happens in your brain and body when you learn or improve a skill. Because when it comes down to it, improvement is all about what is happening in your brain to learn that new skill set, or to build on the one you have.
Some principles or concepts behind improving, that will set the context for what, how, and when we can improve.
The 4 main ways that most people improve. When we talk about improvement, most of us hit at least one of these 4 main methods.
5 of the most important tools you can use to super charge your improvement.

As a bonus, I have also created a workbook to help you apply all of this to your own self. I outline the main concepts from the podcast and walk you through some coaching-style questions to get you to think about how you can use these approaches to improve your own life. You can find that workbook at invictus.coach/resources

Today we are diving into something that most people disregard at least once a day, don't think much about, and don't understand how much impact it has on their performance, health and well-being.

In this insightful podcast, we dive into the compelling reasons behind the crucial need for people to incorporate regular breaks into their work days.

Based on surveys, and oodles of articles you can find anywhere on the web, it appears most people think that if they skip breaks and/or lunch they can get more work done.

It turns out that is a completely false assumption - in fact by skipping breaks in your work day, you get less work done, you produce poorer quality work, your performance declines and your productivity declines. And if that is not bad enough, your health and well-being decline too.

Fueled by neuroscience research, we uncover the profound impact of breaks on both the brain and the body, exploring the detrimental effects of neglecting breaks and the cognitive advantages of embracing them.

In this podcast we touch on:

The 6 biggest ways NOT taking a break impacts your performance and health, based on the neuroscience of what happens in your brain when you do and don't take breaks
The 4 biggest ways taking breaks helps your brain out
The 8 most important elements to consider when taking a break, based on the science of what your brain needs from a break

We also answer the biggest questions that are asked about this topic:

So what should my breaks include?
When do I take a break in my work day? (hint: a lot more often than you would think, based on consistent results from different studies)
How long should my break last?
What do I do if I am in back-to-back meetings all day?

In the middle of this podcast I give you two different simple but powerful frameworks:

4 steps to figuring out what your break should look like for you (based on what you do, and what your body needs)
3 steps for figuring out your personal work time limit before you need a break because your performance is about to crash (whether you know it or not)

In this podcast we dive into the research-rich world of creating well-being at work.

Well-being at work refers to the overall state of an individual's physical, mental, and emotional health and satisfaction within the context of their work environment. It is a topic that some might consider "soft" or "fluffy", but there is so much research out there that shows how beneficial it is for both the employer and the employee.

The content from this episode is based on research from the fields of business, psychology, neuroscience and organizational design. I also bring into play the results from Gallups massive 30-year survey on the topic, where they have interviewed 43 million employees on 5 million teams in more than 5000 organizations in 212 countries. Like I said, this is a data-rich topic.

In this podcast, we:

Define what we mean by well-being at the workplace,
Talk about the opportunity cost and benefits
Look at some principles for creating it at your workplace
Summarize 5 of the best practices for it

Drawing on neuroscience, positive psychology, and the longest-running survey on wellbeing, today we touch on how you can build well-being in your life.

As the statistics will show, fairly consistently over the last 30 years about 60% of the population is struggling with achieving wellbeing in their lives. And yet, it has so many benefits for our mental, physical, and social lives.

Today we:

Defined well-being
Touched on why it is so important, even if it is undervalued
Talked about some of the neuroscience behind well-being so you can apply it more effectively to your own life
Dove deep into the PERMA model. I described each element, give you 5 or so science-backed ways it helps you out, and give you two evidence-backed ways you can build that element
Introduced a tactical way you can apply that PERMA model to your life today to start improving and achieving more wellbeing in your life.

In the end, the goal here is to understand what it is, why it is important, and how to apply it to your life.

I have also created a short workbook you can use to help assess well-being in your life, so you can figure out what is important to you, what to focus on, and what you can do next to improve well-being in your life.

If you go to invictus.coach/resources, you can choose to download the document. You also get access to a few other free resources that can be very helpful in helping you to improve your life.

As a coach, I get most of my clients to start with their personal vision, purpose, and values. There is just a ton of science around how and why using vision and values helps you improve productivity and performance, find more profound well-being, and live a more fulfilling life.

And, really who doesn't want that?

In this episode, I explore the significance of personal values in decision-making, performance, and overall well-being. We touch on the psychology and neuroscience of why it works, so you understand their power.

We also give you 8 specific principles you can use to create your values and a simple evidence-based 4-step framework for creating your values.

Some key ideas from this podcast include:

Personal values are enduring beliefs and principles that guide attitudes, behaviors, and decision-making processes.
The neuroscience of values provides insights into how values influence thoughts, emotions, and decision-making.
Key aspects of the neuroscience of personal values include neural representation, emotional and motivational significance, formation and development, cognitive and emotional processing, value conflict and decision-making, and the brain's plasticity.
Personal values impact performance by providing motivation, guiding goal setting, aiding decision-making, fostering resilience and persistence, and enhancing overall satisfaction.
Empirical studies show that aligning personal and organizational values leads to positive outcomes such as higher employee satisfaction, lower attrition rates, and willingness to take pay cuts for better value alignment.
Principles for creating personal values involve self-reflection, identifying key areas where values play a role, prioritizing values, defining each value, aligning values with actions, seeking inspiration, and regularly reviewing and reassessing values.
The five-step framework for creating values includes self-reflection, identifying important values, narrowing down to core values, defining each value, and applying values in decision-making and actions.
Applying personal values in daily life and adjusting them based on experience and alignment with personal goals is crucial for personal growth and transformation.

In this episode, we explore the reasons why people often struggle to say no and the potential positive impact of embracing this powerful word.

Drawing from psychological research and personal experiences working with professionals in the community and public sectors, we uncover the three primary reasons behind the hesitation to decline requests for additional responsibilities.

We also delve into the benefits of saying no more often, including improved focus, reduced overwhelm, enhanced time management, increased quality of work, opportunities for growth, and improved work-life balance.

Moreover, we provide practical factors to consider when deciding whether to say no and offer strategies for effectively declining requests while maintaining relationships and personal boundaries. Join us as we empower you to prioritize your own well-being and productivity by harnessing the power of saying no!

Some highlights from this episode include:

Understanding the fear of disappointing others and career setbacks as reasons for hesitation to say no
Uncovering the guilt and desire to help others as a barrier to setting boundaries
Exploring the potential positive impact of saying no on productivity and well-being
Examining the benefits of saying no including improved focus, reduced overwhelm, enhanced time management, increased quality of work, and opportunities for growth
Establishing work-life balance through selective commitment
Factors to consider when deciding whether to say no
A simple step-by-step guide to saying no

Note:If you liked the content from this podcast, and want it on to refer to, so you can make even more of an impact on your life, then I have something special for you!

I have created a short but powerful summary of the ideas from this podcast into a free resource. If you head on over to invictus.coach/resources you can access the free download.

Warning: the contents of this podcast will help you live a better life.

Its true. You will learn some of the secret sauce ingredients in today's podcast on how to feel a profound sense of well-being while excelling at life.

So let me ask you this: If you had a choice as to whether you could live a thriving life, would you choose it?

If you knew there were specific steps or actions, based on science and experience, to help you create a thriving life, to help you bounce back from difficulty, to help you overcome the hurdles in your life and enjoy a sense of profound well-being – would you take it?

In this podcast, we dive deep into why and how you can create a thriving life.

Recently, a sports pscyhologist completed a well-reviewed meta-study to find all the common scientific supports for what it takes to achieve a thriving life.

He was able to develop a common definition, set us up with several pre-conditions necessary to acheive a thriving life, 7 personal enablers and 3 situational context enablers.

In this podcast I walk you through:

Why living a thriving life is so important and how it can benefit you
How anyone can thrive
What the pre-conditions are for thriving
The 7 personal enablers for living a thriving life
the 3 situational or context enablers

This podcast focuses on the many benefits of striving for excellence or a thriving life, even if you don't make it. It is not actually about reaching excellence, but rather the journey to get there.

One large obstacle many people feel exists in reaching for a thriving life is that it isn't possible to achieve it. There are too many daily struggles, obstacles or challenges to possibly reach it.

I hear a similar logic around why one shouldn't reach for excellence since it is apparently impossible to reach.

But it turns out there are so many benefits to yourself, how you manage projects, and your teamwork from trying to achieve a thriving life or striving for excellence.

I have pulled together evidence and practice-based benefits of reaching for a thriving life or striving for excellence, for:

Yourself
For how you manage your projects (yes, it has a positive impact on your project management skills)
Your teamwork

In this podcast, we:

Start by explaining what I mean by excellence, thriving, and a fulfilled life
Give you 5 ways that striving for excellence, even if you don’t reach it, helps you out on a personal level
Give you 6 more ways that from a neuroscience perspective, it will help you out on a personal level
6 ways that it will help you manage projects
5 ways that striving for excellence or a thriving life will help your team at work
3 Reasons why it works
Give you tactical ways you can apply it to your life

New Membership to Plan and Manage Projects, Transformation, and Achieve High PerformanceIn this episode, I talked a few times about planning and managing projects. I have created a monthly program to teach, coach, and support you to learn how to plan and manage projects and learn how to plan the transformation of your unit, team, or organization, and learn how to achieve higher performance for your team or organization.

You can check out more by clicking here.

In this monthly membership (which you can leave anytime), you will get:

Regular short, tactical "how to" videos,
Access to the tools and templates I use to manage everything from small to massive projects
Monthly access to "office hours", where you can ask me anything about your work - basically you get coaching and consulting all rolled into one!
A monthly deep-dive webinar into the topics that matter most to you
Access to a community of like-minded professionals to share the journey, support each other and ...yes, hold each other accountable!

This membership is right for you if you:

Need to plan, implement or manage projects of any size or kind
Want to be better at your job and help improve your workplace
Have little to no project management training or background
Want to learn best practices for reducing costs, improving services or planning and managing transformation projects
Want to learn about achieving high performance community organizations or high performance teams

Click here to find out more

Have you ever wondered what really makes a difference for improving your performance, achieving more, or reaching a thriving life?

Do I need to be happier to achieve higher performance? Stronger? Be a girl? Or a boy? More outgoing?

There are a LOT of myths out there about what positively impacts performance - say, the 10,000 hour rule, or being outgoing - that science has shown us is just pure poppycock.

In this podcast I look to bust some of the more popular myths on some things that impact performance, and why they don't matter.

I then go into 4 of the most powerful tools, approaches, or factors for improving performance, acheiving more or for living a thriving life. There are many peer-reviewed studies behind these concepts and even better I have seen them work time and again in real life with my clients.

I end the podcast with 3 steps on how you can apply these lessons to your life right here, right now.

New Membership to Plan and Manage Projects, Transformation and Achieve High PerformanceIn June 2023 I am starting up a monthly program to teach, coach and support you to learn how to plan and manage projects and learn how to plan the transformation of your unit, team or organization and learn how to acheive higher performance for your team or organization.

You can check out more by clicking here.

In this monthly membership (which you can leave anytime), you will get:

Regular short, tactical "how to" videos,
Access to the tools and templates I use to manage everything from small to massive projects
Monthly access to "office hours", where you can ask me anything about your work - basically you get coaching and consulting all rolled into one!
A monthly deep-dive webinar into the topics that matter most to you
Access to a community of like minded professionals to share the journey, support each other and ...yes, hold each other accountable!

This membership is right for you if you:

Need to plan, implement or manage projects of any size or kind
Want to be better at your job and help improve your workplace
Have little to no project management training or background
Want to learn best practices for reducing costs, improving services or planning and managing transformation projects
Want to learn about achieving high performance community organizations or high performance teams

Click here to find out and get in on the waitlist. Anyone who signs up before June will get the lowest price possible.

Why are some people and teams able to consistently achieve their goals and improve their performance?

Even when their goals are a long way out, or hard to attain?

One difference maker is accountability: their ability to hold themselves accountable, even through difficult times, to achieve what they said they were going to achieve.

I have seen several clients lose their pace for improvement or their ability to achieve their goals as they "let themselves off the hook", or lost sight of the importance of their goals, or even lost steam...all because they didn't persist in holding themselves accountable.

There are many excellent studies across many fields (healthcare, education, etc.) that show that consistent high performance is supported by accountability.

So today, we dive into personal accountability. (Note: we will look at team accountability in a future podcast!). In this episode, we look at:

What I mean by accountability
Why specifically it works
7 key success components of accountability
A 5-step framework to hold yourself accountable
4 of the most successful accountability models

Some of my earlier podcasts that I mentioned in this one:

Episode #30: Neuroscience Based Ways to Improve Planning and Achieving Goals
Episode #26: How to Motivate Yourself When You Are Unmotivated
Episode #25: How to Motivate Yourself Anytime, Anywhere, for Anything

Episode #3: 5 Steps to Creating a Project Plan for Anything
New Membership to Plan and Manage Projects, Transformation and Achieve High PerformanceIn June 2023 I am starting up a monthly program to teach, coach and support you to learn how to plan and manage projects and learn how to plan the transformation of your unit, team or organization and learn how to acheive higher performance for your team or organization.

You can check out more by clicking here.

In this monthly membership (which you can leave anytime), you will get:

Regular short, tactical "how to" videos,
Access to the tools and templates I use to manage everything from small to massive projects
Monthly access to "office hours", where you can ask me anything about your work - basically you get coaching and consulting all rolled into one!
A monthly deep-dive webinar into the topics that matter most to you
Access to a community of like minded professionals to share the journey, support each other and ...yes, hold each other accountable!

This membership is right for you if you:

Need to plan, implement or manage projects of any size or kind
Want to be better at your job and help improve your workplace
Have little to no project management training or background
Want to learn best practices for reducing costs, improving services or planning and managing transformation projects
Want to learn about achieving high performance community organizations or high performance teams

Click here to find out and get in on the waitlist. Anyone who signs up before June will get the lowest price possible.

This week's podcast sits squarely in the awkward space between desire and achievement.

Fairly consistently, large reputable surveys will find that a large proportion of the populace is looking to improve themselves, achieve more, or reach a fulfilling life. Yet we also know from other research that people generally are going about it the wrong way, and they are not overcoming their obstacles and achieving their goals.

Today's podcast is focused on the top 4 reasons why people or teams do not achieve their improvement goals, and what you can do about it.

I started writing this podcast focused on individuals but quickly realized it has relevance for the transformation work I do with teams and organizations.

In this podcast, I immediately go straight to the heart of the matter. We look at the four top reasons based on surveys, research, and mainly my experience. For each of these four reasons, I give you the top ways you can overcome or address that challenge.

In most of the cases I outline here, I have already recorded podcasts that outline frameworks and solutions to these challenges.

Links to Previous Podcasts Mentioned in This RecordingIn this week's podcast, I mentioned several other previous podcasts. Here are some links to them:

Episode #44: Powerful Framework for Addressing Feeling Overwhelmed
Episode #42: How Setting Clear Personal Boundaries Can Help Address Feeling Overwhelmed
Episode #29: The One Thing You Can Do Right Now To Address Feeling Overwhelmed
Episode #18: 7 Ways to Overcome Feeling Overwhelmed
Episode #40: Why Creating a Personal Vision Makes you More Productive
Episode #30:Neuroscience Based Ways to Improve Planning and Achieving Goals
Episode #31: How to Build and Use Courage to Face Your Fears
Episode #32: 3-Part Tactical Framework to Build Courage

Free Resources to Help You Improve and Achieve MoreI have developed some free resources to help people achieve their improvement goals and get more out of life. The first one is the one thing you can do right now to address feeling overwhelmed. Post-pandemic, many people feel overworked, overwhelmed, and maybe on the road to burnout. When you are overwhelmed, you don’t feel you have the time or space to slow down and figure out how to reduce the complexity of your life. In this resource, I provide one very powerful, simple, and easy-to-implement evidence-backed tool that you can use to start reclaiming your life.

Have you ever been in back-to-back Zoom meetings, with dozens of unread emails, and people knocking on your door, and you suddenly realize you can’t focus or think straight?

Or maybe someone close to you has died, and you spend so much time in grief, mourning, and dealing with your emotions that you don’t seem to have the energy or ability to think straight and make decisions.

In this podcast, we are providing a simple but powerful 5 step framework for helping you handle feeling overwhelmed with life.

Statistics from just about anywhere in the world show that anywhere from 30% to 45% of the population felt overwhelmed at least once in the past year.

Yet we know from so many studies and our own experiences why we get overwhelmed, what happens to your brain and body, and what you can do about it.

What you will learn in today’s podcast:

Some common definitions of what we mean by "feeling overwhelmed"
We will delve a little into the science behind what is happening in your brain and body when you are feeling overwhelmed. This is important because it holds clues to some powerful tools you can use to address feeling overwhelmed
We will briefly outline 7 main causes of feeling overwhelmed
7 principles for dealing effectively with feeling overwhelmed
A simple but powerful 5-step framework for dealing with it

Free Resources to Help You Improve and Achieve MoreI love helping people overcome their personal challenges and achieve more in their days, and these resources were created to address some of the most important challenges my clients and listeners face.

The first one is the one thing you can do right now to address feeling overwhelmed with work or life in general. Post-pandemic, many people feel overworked, overwhelmed and maybe on the road to burnout.

When you are overwhelmed, you don’t feel you have the time or space to slow down and figure out how to reduce the complexity of your life. In this resource, I provide one very powerful, simple, and easy-to-implement evidence-backed tool that you can use to start reclaiming your life. It will fairly quickly help you reduce stress, and increase your ability to focus and engage with your day.

I also have created another tool that lays out an evidence-based framework for how to set and maintain your personal boundaries so you don't get so overwhelmed with life. Many of my clients talk about how their personal boundaries are repeatedly broken at work (either willingly or unwittingly) by supervisors and colleagues and this leads to stress, overwork, and feeling overwhelmed. This resource lays out evidence-backed principles and approaches you can use for thinking about, creating, and managing your personal boundaries.

You can find both of these resources on the resources page of the Invictus website. Head on over to Invictus.coach/resources and you can download either or both for free.

Most of my podcasts focus on helping individuals so they can improve, achieve more, and live a thriving life while maintaining balance and feeling less overwhelmed.

Today our focus will help you thrive at work. Most people work on teams, and studies show that most teams suffer in reaching their goals and doing the kind of work they are set out to do.

This podcast is helping you thrive at work by helping you create high performing teams!

In this podcast I will introduce to you my High Performing Community Organization Framework. I built this Framework for teams within the community sector, as they have specific constraints that private sector ones don’t have. But if you don't work in a Community Organization, don't fret - you will see that most if not all of these will apply to private sector organizations too!

The framework is based on my 23 years of experience working on literally hundreds of community sector transformation projects. I have also talked to many performance experts and completed a review of a large amount of peer-reviewed studies on the topic.

And finally, I have incorporated factors and ideas based on my high-performance coaching and applied neuroscience training.

So in today’s podcast, I will present a summary of what I have found that helps teams out the most. In the podcast, we will review:

Foundational principles or concepts underlying the framework
The 8 characteristics of High-Performing Community Organization Teams
- For each of those characteristics, I will provide you with tactical ideas on how you can action it, often based on my own experiences with my clients
3 ways you can start to implement this Framework with your teams

One of the top reasons people are feeling overwhelmed at work and even in their personal lives is from not setting, or not having people respect your personal boundaries.

A recent survey found that 59% of managers in the United States feel pressured to work through lunch. This means their boundary for non-work personal time on a break is not being respected.

You might experience this as something like "Hey Mike, I know you are super busy but we really need this report done today. Please find some time to squeeze it in". Sure it is important, and I am sure your manager who asked for this isn't trying to break you. But it has an impact on your ability to get your other work done, your ability to do high quality work, and your mental health.

Today's podcast is all about how to set and maintain your personal boundaries.

In this podcast we cover:

What boundaries and the main types
Some principles to help you set your boundaries
5 Steps to setting your boundaries
What to do when someone breaks your boundaries
The benefits of setting boundaries
The science behind why it works

Want to Be Even More Productive and Achieve More in Your Day?
Join us for a Live Event: on Friday, April 21 (2023), I will be hosting a live online event related to this topic. In the session, "How to Use Your Personal Vision to Improve Your Productivity and Be Happier ", you will learn learn why and how to use your personal vision for a more engaging, thriving life can help you to prioritize your work so you can get more of the right stuff done, set your mindset, and be happier at the end of the day.

You can find out more and register for free on our website (invictus.coach) or by clicking on this link.

Free Resources to Help You Improve and Achieve MoreI love helping people overcome their personal challenges and achieve more in their days, and these resources were created to address some of the most important challenges my clients and listeners face.

The first one is the one thing you can do right now to address feeling overwhelmed with work or life in general. Post-pandemic, many people feel overworked, overwhelmed, and maybe on the road to burnout.

When you are overwhelmed, you don’t feel you have the time or space to slow down and figure out how to reduce the complexity of your life. In this resource, I provide one very powerful, simple, and easy-to-implement evidence-backed tool that you can use to start reclaiming your life. It will fairly quickly help you reduce stress, and increase your ability to focus and engage with your day.

You can find this - and other - resources on the resources page of the Invictus website. Head over to Invictus.coach/resources and download them for free.

A big challenge I hear a lot about from my clients and listeners is how can they achieve their goals, or get more work if they are stuck in meetings all day?

If you are feeling overworked and under-rested at work, how do you find the time and space to focus on the important things? The things that you want to work on?

Does it sometimes feel like you are on an unending treadmill of meetings, emails, and reports, and you can never figure out where and how to make space and time to relax or do more of the things that you really want to get to?

So to help with this, in today's podcast, we are looking at 5 uncommon ways you get more of your important work done.

In some previous podcasts, I looked at some of the more conventional ways to get more of your important, high-priority stuff done - using your mindset, how to be more productive, how to set up your best day - so today I am focusing on some tactics that most people don't do, don't want to do, don't think about, or want to avoid.

But these tactics work. I use many if not all of them every day.

In today's podcast we:

Talk about what productivity actually means
Introduce 3 important questions to ask yourself, to set yourself up to be more productive
Talk about 5 unconventional ways to rest, achieve balance in your day, and to be more productive

Want to Be Even More Productive and Achieve More in Your Day?
Join us for a Live Event: on Friday, April 21 (2023), I will be hosting a live online event related to this topic. In the session, "How to Use Your Personal Vision to Improve Your Productivity and Be Happier ", you will learn learn why and how to use your personal vision for a more engaging, thriving life can help you to prioritize your work so you can get more of the right stuff done, set your mindset, and be happier at the end of the day.

You can find out more and register for free on our website (invictus.coach) or by clicking on this link.

Free Resources to Help You Improve and Achieve MoreI love helping people overcome their personal challenges and achieve more in their days, and these resources were created to address some of the most important challenges my clients and listeners face.

The first one is the one thing you can do right now to address feeling overwhelmed with work or life in general. Post-pandemic, many people feel overworked, overwhelmed and maybe on the road to burnout.

When you are overwhelmed, you don’t feel you have the time or space to slow down and figure out how to reduce the complexity of your life. In this resource, I provide one very powerful, simple, and easy-to-implement evidence-backed tool that you can use to start reclaiming your life. It will fairly quickly help you reduce stress, and increase your ability to focus and engage with your day.

I also have created another tool that lays out an evidence-based framework for how to set and maintain your personal boundaries so you don't get so overwhelmed with life. Many of my clients talk about how their personal boundaries are repeatedly broken at work (either willingly or unwittingly) by supervisors and colleagues and this leads to stress, overwork, and feeling overwhelmed. This resource lays out evidence-backed principles and approaches you can use for thinking about, creating, and managing your personal boundaries.

You can find both of these resources on the resources page of the Invictus website. Head on over to Invictus.coach/resources and you can download either or both for free.

Have you ever found yourself feeling unmotivated or uninspired in your daily life?

Did you ever wish you could be as engaged, motivated, and thriving as some of the superstars you see around you?

There is a magic sauce I teach my coaching students that can make them more productive, engaged, thriving, and happy. It is one of the first steps in any of my coaching programs, and any kind of improvement in life that sticks is due to having this.

In this podcast, we are discussing creating a personal vision for a thriving, engaging life and how and why it can make you more productive, engaged and overall happier.

Today’s podcast helps you out whether you are looking for an engaging, productive life; whether you are looking to improve in just one area of your life, or if you want to be more productive. It helps you be successful in any of those pursuits.

what you will learn in today’s podcast:

What a personal vision is
I will also give you the main elements you can use to create a powerful personal vision that works for you
Why it is so important for achieving more in your life, by being more productive and focused on what matters
The evidence behind why it helps you be happier and more engaged

Live Event: on Friday April 21 (2023), I will be hosting a live online event related to this topic. In the session, "How to Use Your Personal Vision to Improve Your Productivity and Be Happier ", you will learn learn why and how to use your personal vision for a more engaging, thriving life can help you to prioritize your work so you can get more of the right stuff done, set your mindset, and be happier at the end of the day.

You can find out more and register for free on our website (invictus.coach) or by clicking on this link.

Free Resources to Help You Improve and Achieve MoreI love helping people overcome their personal challenges and achieve more in their days, and these resources were created to address some of the most important challenges my clients and listeners face.

The first one is the one thing you can do right now to address feeling overwhelmed with work or life in general. Post-pandemic, many people feel overworked, overwhelmed and maybe on the road to burnout.

When you are overwhelmed, you don’t feel you have the time or space to slow down and figure out how to reduce the complexity of your life. In this resource, I provide one very powerful, simple, and easy-to-implement evidence-backed tool that you can use to start reclaiming your life. It will fairly quickly help you reduce stress, and increase your ability to focus and engage with your day.

I also have created another tool that lays out an evidence-based framework for how to set and maintain your personal boundaries so you don't get so overwhelmed with life. Many of my clients talk about how their personal boundaries are repeatedly broken at work (either willingly or unwittingly) by supervisors and colleagues and this leads to stress, overwork, and feeling overwhelmed. This resource lays out evidence-backed principles and approaches you can use for thinking about, creating, and managing your personal boundaries.

You can find both of these resources on the resources page of the Invictus website. Head on over to Invictus.coach/resources and you can download either or both for free.

A large part of what I do daily is to help people to learn how to live an engaging, productive, and fulfilling life while building positive relationships, maintaining life satisfaction, and feeling less overwhelmed.

I also work with many people who feel like their life is a little stuck, and they aren’t getting as much out of their career or personal life as they thought.

Today’s podcast fits squarely in the zone of helping people achieve more of their life goals while feeling balanced. The #1 challenge my coaching clients face is that they can’t seem to find time in their days to either work on their priority goals or to take breaks and reduce the strain and stress of the day.

People who are overly busy and feeling overwhelmed feel like they have little to no time to take a more thoughtful approach to reduce their busyness, to help them get out of feeling overwhelmed and burned out.

what you will learn in today’s podcast

5 reasons why being busy isn’t useful for achieving your goals
Top reasons why you are too busy
Top 8 ways to reduce the busyness in your life

**Summary of Key Points

5 Reasons Why Being Busy Isn't Useful**

You get less done
It leads to missing things, dropping balls, and reduced quality
You become less productive
It negatively impacts your health
Most importantly, you never get to your priorities

Top 8 Reasons You Are Too Busy

Being overcommitted
Lack of time management skills
Difficulty saying no
Being a pleaser
Perfectionism
Fear of missing out
Need for control
Lack of boundaries

Top 8 Ways To Reduce Being Overly Busy

Prioritize your tasks, and then only choose the top 3
Say "no" more often
Delegate tasks
Turn off your email and phone
Take breaks
Set boundaries
Practice self-care
Stop talking about being overly busy

Your ChallengeIf you are someone who identifies as feeling too busy to get to the priorities you want to or being too busy to achieve a thriving yet balanced life, some actions you can take:

Consider your reasons for why you are overbusy
Which of these 8 methods discussed today could you use to address why you are over busy
Will you try these methods one by one, or super-stack them and try a couple at the same time?

If You Want to Learn MoreWe have some free resources you can download at Invictus.coach/resources. You can download several free resources to help you reduce feeling overwhelmed and achieve more in your life:

The #1 Way To Reduce Overwhelm - if you are feeling overworked, overwhelmed and maybe even burned out, but feel like you are too busy to deal with it...this resource is for you. It is an evidence-based recommendation on something you can do today, right now, to help reduce feeling overwhelmed.

How to Set and Maintain Your Boundaries - This resource lays out an evidence-based framework for how to set and maintain your personal boundaries so you don't get so overwhelmed with life.

The largest study completed on how high performers became so good at their skills, regardless of what it is, and how they maintain their peak performance, found that high performance habits were key to achieving their success.

Similarly, various studies have found that up to 45% of your daily activities are actually habits. Really strong habits occur automatically in your subconscious, whether you realize it or not. Those habits, along with your beliefs and mindsets, are part of the reason why up to 80% of your thinking and decision-making occurs in your subconscious yet also impact almost every decision you make.

So creating strong new habits that are beneficial to your performance are so critical to learning a new skill, achieving peak performance at something, or even achieving a thriving, fulfilling life.

In this podcast we dive into:

What habits are
Why habits are so important
How habits can benefit us
8 principles for successfully creating habits
A simple but powerful 3 step process to create habits
How long it takes to create a new habit

Summary of Key Points

A habit is a learned behavior that has become automatic through repeated exposure to a particular situation or cue.

When we encounter a cue or situation that triggers a habit, the brain quickly retrieves the relevant information and executes the associated behavior without requiring conscious attention or effort. This frees up our conscious mind to focus on other things, allowing us to multitask and perform complex tasks more effectively.

The Neuroscience research suggests that building habits is important because our brains are wired to conserve energy by automating repetitive behaviors. When we repeatedly perform the same action in a consistent context, our brains form neural pathways that make it easier and more efficient for us to perform that action in the future.

There are some great benefits to building habits including:

Increased productivity and efficiency
Reduced decision fatigue
Increased self-control
Improved mood and emotional well-being
Increased confidence

Some principles to effectively creating new habits include:

Have a clear outcome or intention
Starting small
Make it easy
Be consistent
Reward yourself
Make the habit meaningful to you
Don't give up
Make the habit attractive

The simple but powerful 3-step process to creating new habits includes:

Create a cue
Establish the routine
Reward yourself

Research suggests that it can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days to establish a new habit, with an average of around 66 days. The variance will depend on a lot of different factors such as how important it is, how much you practice the habit, your environmental factors and many more.

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You can subscribe to our site at Invictus.coach/register and get regular updates on how we are using Neuroscience and High Performance skills tools, and approaches to help people, teams and organizations reach peak performance and achieve more.

Are you happy with your life? Do you wish you could find ways to be happier?

Or, like many people, do you feel happiness is something out of reach, or maybe something you will work on once you get through some other important stuff?

A large part of what I do daily is to help people learn how to live an engaging, productive, and fulfilling life while building positive relationships, maintaining life satisfaction, and feeling less overwhelmed. Happiness is a big part of living a fulfilling life.

I also work with many people who feel like their life is a little stuck, and they aren’t getting as much out of their career or personal life as they thought. One of the presenting symptoms for someone in that position is that they just aren’t as happy with life as they used to be or thought they would be.

And, as you will find out from today’s podcast, a main ingredient as well as an outcome of living an engaging, productive, and fulfilling life is the ability to create and feel happiness.

What you will learn in today’s podcast

Definition of Happiness
Whether happiness is important, and more importantly how it is important to your brain, body, and life
We work a little bit on the science of happiness
The top 5 ways you can increase happiness in your life

Summary of the Key Points

There are many definitions of happiness. Most have common themes in them. A good one we use in this podcast is "the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one's life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile"
What we can discern from these carefully crafted definitions of happiness (usually coming from researchers who focus on what happiness is and how to create it) is:
- There is something subjective about happiness - it is unique to each individual
- There is no common recipe for happiness even for the same person
- Happiness is both an emotion and a feeling
- Happiness is related to a sense of life fulfillment
It is important to think about happiness because:
- It is super hard to live a fulfilling life without some happiness
- There are many evidence-based health benefits to happiness
- There are productivity and work-quality benefits to being happy. It enables improvements in your work environment that will lead to overall improvements in your life
5 evidence-based ways to increase happiness in your life, that we discuss in more detail in the podcast include:
- Practicing gratitude
- Practicing acts of kindness
- Cultivating positive relationships
- Exercise regularly
- Practice mindfulness

In this episode, I am going to get a little personal.

I think one of the most important lessons we can learn is that we will all fail. And throughout life, we will all fail repeatedly. One of my favorite quotes is "it's not whether you get knocked down. It's whether you get back up".

In this episode I share a personal tale of how I failed repeatedly - and I mean repeatedly - at school and really at figuring myself out before finally figuring out me, myself, and the universe and getting into a super tough program at one of the top schools in the world.

I summarize 6 lessons that in hindsight - with the benefit of all of my training and experience in coaching and transformation - what went right and what went wrong.

I hope to show you that it is ok to fail; it is what we do after failing that matters.

As a performance coach, I often coach and teach people and teams about how you can achieve a thriving life, achieve more in your day, or achieve higher performance in your job.

One of the most important pillars for achieving those things is creating and maintaining energy. You want to get things done at work, but also have the energy to enjoy your family at the end of the day and find balance in your day.

The largest study on high performers, and what it takes to maintain high levels of quality consistently each day has found that the highest performers are very good at creating and maintaining energy all day each day.

Today’s podcast is about creating and maintaining energy, specifically:

Defining the 3 different kinds of energy that matter when it comes to performance
Giving you 5 tips, tricks, or approaches to maintaining your energy throughout the day
Giving you 3 tips for how you can make these ideas stick for the long run

Summary of Key Points:“Energy”, particularly for performance, is a holistic combination of three kinds of energy:

Physical
Emotional/Social
Mental/psychological

The 5 approaches we talk about are based on a mix of the following concepts:

From High Performance research, we know that high performers proactively structure their day to achieve consistent energy
From psychology research, we know that energy is a mix of physical aspects, but also mindset, desire, and motivation. Having a growth and positive mindset is critical.
From Neuroscience research we know that productivity and consistency is based on how you structure your day, how and when you take breaks, and how you manage your attention throughout the day

In the podcast, we go into more detail on the following 5 approaches that help you to create and maintain energy:

Maintain your Homeostasis
Work in short sprints
Mindful breaks between work sessions
Set your mindset
Focus on one or two other energy sources if your main one isn’t working

What would you say if I told you that you could literally change your mind and have a direct impact on your attitude, motivation, energy, and more specifically your performance?

That you could proactively do something that would increase your level of performance at sports, education, and really any activity?

And that there is a rather straightforward way to do this?

This podcast is all about how you can harness your mindset to improve your performance.

In this podcast we will cover:

What a mindset is
How it is set
Why it is so powerful for performance
How you can use it to improve your performance
Provide you with a simple 4-step framework for changing or setting your mindset

Summary of Key Points
A mindset is a core belief or assumption we have about something that leads us to a set of expectations, explanations, and goals.

There are 12 specific ways that different research projects have shown to be positively impacted by changing your mindset:

It can improve your focus and productivity, so you get more work done
Your motivation and attitude
Achieve higher quality work
Achieve that higher quality with fewer resources (i.e. they are more efficient)
Can handle more tasks
Handle challenges more effectively
Bounce back from major setbacks more efficiently and effectively
It can impact whether and how you learn
How you handle negative feedback and still perform well
How you manage stress, and whether you can use stress to your advantage
How resilient you are
Whether and how you learn from mistakes

From a neuroscience perspective, we know that a mindset can impact:

The emotion attached to a memory
The neural connections
The release of neurochemicals

In the podcast, we go into detail in describing a 4-part model that can help you change your mindset. The 4 steps include:

Understand - Understand what your perspective is on this activity, situation, etc.
Change - Figure out what you want to change it to (We discuss the trigger, desired mindset, and desired emotion)
New Link - Link your new desired emotion and response to the specific action/trigger
Practice and reward - The more you practice the new mindset and linkage, the more likely you will create the change you desire.

Wouldn’t it be sweet if you could quickly put together the pieces to set yourself up to have your best day possible?

I had a coaching client once tell me that they had had enough neuroscience, behavioral science and high-performance learning from the coaching sessions, and now they wanted to know how to practically put it together and implement.

Well, that is what today’s podcast is all about.

Today I am rolling out a list of over 15 different science-backed approaches that you can use to put together your best day.

Summary of Key Points

Everyone’s version of a “best” day is going to be slightly different, and its going to change depending on context: A killer Tuesday will probably look different to me than a stellar Sunday

For today’s podcast, I am focusing on creating a day that:

Feels productive – means you make progress on the things that matter, you get some things done
Where you have energy
You have focus
Feel engaged
Feel balanced

At the end of the day you can look back and feel fulfilled

Key Parts of Creating Your Best Day

Remember, you don’t have to use all of these. You can just use one or two, or stack a few of them together. However, I find the more of these are included in my day, the better it will be.

Get good sleep and wake up on time without hitting the snooze button
Do a Morning HIIT exercise session
Take a cold shower
Eat the right kind of food, throughout the day
Set your mindset for the day
Set your tasks/activities for the day
Work for 40 to 50 minutes at a time only
Take short breaks between work sets
Focus/Get rid of distractions while you work
Complete your analytical tasks in the morning, creative in the afternoon
Meditate – at least one of your breaks should include at least 2 to 3 minutes of meditation
Lunch break – good food, no screen, incl. people, incl. movement
Shift your mind at end of the workday
Be intentional about evening
Plan for tomorrow
Stop in enough time

Click here to access a quiz that will help you figure out where you are in your improvement journey, the skills you should focus on, your next 3 steps, and some curated recommendations on tools and resources that can help you out.

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If you enjoyed this podcast you can subscribe to our site at Invictus.coach/register and get regular updates on how we are using Neuroscience and High Performance skills tools, and approaches to help people, teams and organizations reach peak performance and achieve more.

And if you sign up now, you will a free brief that outlines the#1 thing you can do today to overcome overwhelm. In the document, I give a brief overview of the neuroscience of what happens in your brain and body when you are overwhelmed. And I lay out the most important intervention you can start to take right here, right now to address your overwhelm.

This week we are getting tactical and practical.

In the last podcast, we talked about the art and neuroscience of courage: what it is, how your neural paths work when you build courage, and some high level strategies for developing courage.

This week we are getting tactical on the specific steps you can take to build courage.

In this podcast we cover:

Definition of the component parts of courage
Some simple but important principles for finding and building courage
Introducing a 3-part framework for creating courage

Summary of Key PointsCourage contains 5 elements:

Intention – You intend to do the act
the subjective feeling of apprehension
the physiological reaction to fear (e.g., increased heart rate)
Action, for good – You do the act, for good reasons (i.e. not just being reactive)
Persistence – You persist in your action(s), even in the face of fear, hardship, risk or uncertainty

We discuss 4 key principles to consider when creating courage

You can proactively control courage
Building courage is like building a muscle – the more you use it, the more you have it
Treat it like building a habit
Start small and build up

The simple “3 P” framework for building courage is as follows:

Prepare
- Determine the courage situation you want
- Determine the cause of the fear
- Recall when you had courage previously, and why/how it worked
Plan
- Visualize
- Create your action steps
- Create your courage habit
Perform
- Practice
- Perform or implement

Click here to access a quiz that will help you figure out where you are in your improvement journey, the skills you should focus on, your next 3 steps, and some curated recommendations on tools and resources that can help you out.

Sign Up to Learn More on How to Improve

If you enjoyed this podcast you can subscribe to our site at Invictus.coach/register and get regular updates on how we are using Neuroscience and High Performance skills tools, and approaches to help people, teams and organizations reach peak performance and achieve more.

And if you sign up now, you will a free brief that outlines the#1 thing you can do today to overcome overwhelm. In the document, I give a brief overview of the neuroscience of what happens in your brain and body when you are overwhelmed. And I lay out the most important intervention you can start to take right here, right now to address your overwhelm.

Today's podcast is all about courage.

We know from high performance studies that high performers use courage to plan out, chase and achieve their most important goals and dreams, and to stay focused on them when the going gets tough.

And we know from neuroscience studies how and why courage can be created and used to achieve your goals.

Some of the things that we will discover in this podcast includes:

There is a part of the brain that is used for development and use of courage
That courage is a decision
That courage can be created
That courage can be used as a habit
That you the more you build courage, the stronger it can be and easier it is to access

This podcast will cover:

The component pieces of courage (What actually constitutes courage!)
Why it is important
The source and prevalence of courage
The neuroscience of courage
5 principles or supports when practicing courage
3 science-backed ways to develop courage

Do you want to learn more about what your next steps should be to improve and achieve more? Or what skills could be the most useful?Having courage is an important part of the skillset when you want to set a goal and achieve something more in your life.

But what else do you need to know?

I have created a quiz that is super useful in helping you figure out where you are in your improvement journey, the skills you should focus on, your next 3 steps, and some curated recommendations on tools and resources that can help you out.

Click here to access the quiz, or go to https://www.tryinteract.com/share/quiz/63c201e29aac80001604e89c

Do you know why January 19th is called “quitters day”?

Research conducted by Strava using over 800 million user-logged activities in 2019 predicts the day most people are likely to give up on their New Year's Resolution is January 19.

I think most people know that New Year’s resolutions don’t typically work.

But you probably still want to lose that weight, pick up that skill, or get that raise at work!

So if you do want to improve and achieve more in whatever you are doing, then what actually works? Are there some things we can do to more effectively plan our goals? Or more likely achieve our goals?

Based on lots of neuroscience, high performance and psychology research (and oodles of experience), there are in fact some key approaches, tools and hacks you can use to actually achieve the goals you want to.

In this week’s podcast, I outline some main concepts about effective planning and achieving your goals, regardless of what they are, specifically:

Some of the brain and body science behind goal setting
5 tools, hacks, or approaches to planning your goals
6 tools, hacks or approaches to help you achieve your goals

So if you are serious about losing weight, gaining a new skill, or even creating a goal of achieving a fulfilling life, this podcast is a must!

Key Summary Points:

In terms of the neuroscience behind goal setting, we discuss some strategic level ideas including;

Four parts of the brain are responsible for goals
Regardless of the goal or its size, the same neural circuits are involved
The neural circuits involved in goals assess two things: (1) the value of the goal and whether it’s worth pursuing; (2) which actions to take towards that goal
Why this should matter to you: you can use this knowledge to your advantage, and you can create some habits.

Based on the neuroscience and high performance research, I go into 5 tools, hacks or approaches you can use to improve how you plan your goals including:

How to choose your goals
How to size your goals know how or can’t achieve them
How many goals to achieve
How specific to get
How to concretely plan your goals

I then go into 6 ways you can significantly improve your chances for success:

Making it a habit
Visualization
Focus on failing
Hold yourself accountable
Link to your values
Little rewards along the way

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If you enjoyed this podcast you can subscribe to our site at Invictus.coach/register and get regular updates on how we are using Neuroscience and High Performance skills tools, and approaches to help people, teams and organizations reach peak performance and achieve more.

If you are feeling seriously stressed, or even overwhelmed, it can feel overwhelming itself just trying to figure out what to do to address your stress. I often get asked what are some quick, short-term hacks that one can use to quickly get out of stress.

In reality, you will likely need to do several things at the same time, and it will depend on your context and whether you can control the causes of your overwhelm.

But if you were going to choose one intervention to use that can help out tremendously with the negative impacts of being overwhelmed (and might even help you address some of the causes), it should be to start doing really short, intentional, mindful breaks in your day.In this podcast, I go over:

The neuroscience behind why you are overwhelmed
What happens in your brain and body
Why this evidence-based approach works
How to implement it into your day today

Key Summary Points

When you are feeling overwhelmed, it is because you have so many inputs to your brain that it gets swamped, and your brain feels there is a risk to your safety. At this, the sympathetic nervous system triggers the "fight or flight" response.
Your sympathetic nervous system causes the release of neurochemicals in your body to enact processes to improve your eyesight, reflexes, endurance, speed and strength to deal with this risk.
If you stay stressed over time, you can feel worn out, ragged, unable to think clearly or to focus on what to do next
By using short, mindful breaks you can counteract the negative symptoms of feeling stressed
The podcast includes the reasons why, and the 4 specific steps to implement this tool.

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If you enjoyed this podcast you can subscribe to our site at Invictus.coach/register and get regular updates on how we are using Neuroscience and High Performance skills tools, and approaches to help people, teams and organizations reach peak performance and achieve more.

I am here today to tell you that you are wrong. Well sort of.

Most of us know what a stressful day is like. Many of my clients mention feeling busy, overwhelmed with inputs and ultimately stressed through many if not most of their days.

And statistics will back them up. Surveys are showing that since the pandemic, more Canadians are more stressed, more often.

Most people think of stress from this regard as deeply, and only, negative with negative health consequences.

But this kind of thinking misses the whole picture.

This podcast focuses on how we can leverage short term stress to our advantage. Yes, you can use stress in a very positive, supportive way.

Today I am going to briefly dive into stress:

What it is
What your body goes through
Show you how you can use it to your benefit
Along the way, I will dispel some myths

By the end of this podcast, you will walk away understanding stress, what happens when you are stressed, and how you can use it to combat viruses, lift heavy objects like never before, and be more productive.

Summary of Key Points:

Your brain is constantly scanning for stimuli to assess whether it is good or bad for us. If your brain senses something that is risky, the sympathetic nervous system will go into the “fight or flight mode”

When this happens, certain neurochemicals are released – acetylcholine and epinephrine in particular – to engage parts of your body to deal with the stressor, but also to turn down or turn off certain body systems, so the body can re-engage those resources for the parts that are needed for fight or flight.

When those neurochemicals are released, they attach to receptors in certain parts of your brain to help activate certain functions that result in:

The quickening of the heart rate
The changes in the optics of the eye (like our pupils dilating)
The extra energy in your system (glucose is released into your system)
The sharpening of your cognition
Your focus is intensified and narrowed

All of this happens to prime your brain and body for:

Combatting infection
Making focused decision to “move forward”
Take action

7 Principles to understand about the stress response:

Your brain and body do not differentiate on the type of stressor – you will react the same way every time
It is a natural response
It is a response you cannot, nor do you want to, shut down or stop
There can be 3 kinds of stress – short term, medium term, long term
Stress activates some systems, and de-activates others
If it is only interpretated after the fact as positive or negative – the brain doesn’t differentiate that when it happens
Related to #5 above, we know from recent experiments that you can change your mindset on things, and this can have physiological changes

Based on the above, 5 science-backed ways you can leverage short term stress to your advantage:

Immediately provide a short term boost to your immune system
Improve your focus, concentration and cognitive abilities immediately to be more productive
Induce motivation
More easily take on tough physical work
Enable you to recognize that you need to take action

How You Can Induce Short Term Stress:

Take advantage of it when it happens organically or naturally
You can use breathing to help you kick start a stress response
You can use cold water immersion to do this too.

How To Turn it off:

Physiological sigh
Long slow breathing out that is longer than the intake
Unfocused gaze out about 20 feet.

In this podcast I am focusing on 7 different ways you can improve yourself, your focus on your career/job, your overall approach to life, or really anything you are working at in life.

I am a huge fan of constantly seeking little improvements here or there. Little 1% gains consistently achieved can, over time, grow into some major gains. It is in that spirit that I record this podcast, focusing on 7 different time-tested approaches based on neuroscience, psychology, or high performance but also tested in actual life.

Summary of the Key Points:The 7 ways include:

Have a future state vision for your own engaging, fulfilling life. Figure out what it is you actually want to achieve in your life. Most people don’t do this. ,To me this is the most important first step.
Create an action plan and take action. A vision for your life without action is just a pipe dream. Taking action is almost more important than the goal itself.
Make it important to improve and achieve your goals. By making your goals important to yourself, there are processes in your brain that will allow you to more effectively focus on it, feel excited by it, and be motivated to achieve it.
Align your goals and actions with your values – There is oodles of research that supports that you are more likely to achieve your goals if they are aligned with your personal values.
Find courage – Sometimes it take finding courage to achieve your goals. Yes, you can build courage as a habit, and do so repeatedly.
Identify with who you want to be – You are more likely to achieve your goals, if you identify with that goal or outcome right now and align your values and actions with it.
Pay attention to your homeostasis – Your body works best if it its autonomic systems are working at their best. You are best if you are rested, have energy, have a good mindset, and your mind is clear and alert.

How to Action These

You don’t have to do all of these, even just one of them will help you achieve more. My suggestion is to select one or two and see how they work for you.

A 3-step process for implementing any of these approaches:

Be Clear to Yourself on Your Goal(s) - Be clear to yourself what you want to improve, so you can be clear on which of these 7 factors/approaches you are going to try, why you are trying it, and what you are looking to achieve
Try it – Once you know what you want to try, give it a really good effort. Stay at it for a few months
Track and Adjust – Record what your goal is, why you are trying, and how you are doing at it. You can adjust along the way if your initial effort isn’t getting what you want.

Let me know what you choose, if you have any challenges and you need any tips or support!

Sign Up to Learn More on How to Improve

If you enjoyed this podcast you can subscribe to our site at Invictus.coach/register and get regular updates on how we are using Neuroscience and High Performance skills tools, and approaches to help people, teams and organizations reach peak performance and achieve more.

And if you sign up now, you will a free brief that outlines the#1 thing you can do today to overcome overwhelm. In the document, I give a brief overview of the neuroscience of what happens in your brain and body when you are overwhelmed. And I lay out the most important intervention you can start to take right here, right now to address your overwhelm.

What drives you to get off that couch and out the door?

How do you stop eating those donuts, when you want to start that diet you have been meaning to? How do you start that difficult conversation with the challenging person in your office? Start exercising, when you know you should but don't want to?

So much of this kind of situation revolves around motivation. How do you get motivated to do something hard? Can you motivate yourself to do something, regardless of how hard it is? Is internal or external motivation better?

A key ingredient of achieving anything is motivating yourself. So today's podcast is on that very topic:

The neuroscience behind the physiological and psychological process
The 3 phases of being motivated
Some of the inhibitors and enablers of motivation
A simple 4-step framework to use to motivate yourself

Summary of Key Points:

Motivation is what drives and sustains a person toward a goal. Motivation is the strength of the desire to attain a particular outcome or goal, irrespective of how pleasant or unpleasant the experience of actually attaining it is.
Motivation involves the reward circuits in the brain. Dopamine neurons in the mid-brain signal a reward prediction, which lets us predict – and take actions to increase – the probability of receiving a reward in the future.
Rewards reinforce behaviour. If we perform a behaviour that is positively rewarded, the motivation to do it again increase.

Some Considerations on how our brain uses Dopamine;

Risk/reward - Because the brain is based around risk/reward, we are motivated to do things that are considered rewarding and to not do things that are considered damaging, risky or a punishment.
Tagged for importance - When a particular behavior in a given context it is rewarded, that behavior and context are paired and tagged with reward value for later repetition
Baseline - We have a baseline of dopamine at any given time (otherwise we wouldn’t be driven to do anything)
Expectation Principle - is important to know that motivation is in part due to the difference between expectation and reality. We form predictions about the reward and we use that to make decisions about what to do.
- If the reward is expected, you have less dopamine released.
- If you don’t achieve their expected goal, then your dopamine levels (and therefore motivation) crash
- If the reward Is greater than expected, you get more.
- If a reward is completely unexpected (say from something new that you weren’t planning) you get even more dopamine.

Things that Demotivate Us

Unrealistic expectations
Too many layers of Dopamine drivers
Too much detailed visualization

Factors that Can Manipulate/Improve Motivation

Positive self talk
Focusing
Taking action
Some stimulants or medications
Our thoughts
Autonomous choice
Behaviour modification, like visualization
Social affiliation

How to Action This Information

Step 1: Figure out your goal
Step 2: Figure out your best action to achieve it
Step 3: Be clear on your expectations
Step 4: Stack your motivation factors

Don’t forget that When you achieve your goal, actively link your action to your achievement!

What drives you to get off that couch and out the door?

How do you stop eating those donuts, or drinking that wine, when you want to slow down? How do you start that diet you have been meaning to?

These are the pressing issues in our mind so often. It all revolves around motivation. How do you get motivated to do something hard? Can you motivate yourself to do something, regardless of how hard it is? Is internal or external motivation better?

A key ingredient of achieving anything is motivating yourself. So today's podcast is on that very topic:

The neuroscience behind the physiological and psychological process
The 3 phases of being motivated
Some of the inhibitors and enablers of motivation
A simple 4-step framework to use to motivate yourself

Summary of Key Points:

Motivation is what drives and sustains a person toward a goal. Motivation is the strength of the desire to attain a particular outcome or goal, irrespective of how pleasant or unpleasant the experience of actually attaining it is.
Motivation involves the reward circuits in the brain. Dopamine neurons in the mid-brain signal a reward prediction, which lets us predict – and take actions to increase – the probability of receiving a reward in the future.
Rewards reinforce behaviour. If we perform a behaviour that is positively rewarded, the motivation to do it again increase.

Some Considerations on how our brain uses Dopamine;

Risk/reward - Because the brain is based around risk/reward, we are motivated to do things that are considered rewarding and to not do things that are considered damaging, risky or a punishment.
Tagged for importance - When a particular behavior in a given context it is rewarded, that behavior and context are paired and tagged with reward value for later repetition
Baseline - We have a baseline of dopamine at any given time (otherwise we wouldn’t be driven to do anything).
Expectation Principle - is important to know that motivation is in part due to the difference between expectation and reality. We form predictions about the reward and we use that to make decisions about what to do.
- If the reward is expected, you have less dopamine released.
- If you don’t achieve their expected goal, then your dopamine levels (and therefore motivation) crash
- If the reward Is greater than expected, you get more.
- If a reward is completely unexpected (say from something new that you weren’t planning) you get even more dopamine.

Things that Demotivate Us

Unrealistic expectations
Too many layers of Dopamine drivers
Too much detailed visualization

Factors that Can Manipulate/Improve Motivation

Positive self talk
Focusing
Taking action
Some stimulants or medications
Our thoughts
Autonomous choice
Behaviour modification, like visualization
Social affiliation

How to Action This Information

Step 1: Figure out your goal
Step 2: Figure out your best action to achieve it
Step 3: Be clear on your expectations
Step 4: Stack your motivation factors

Don’t forget that When you achieve your goal, actively link your action to your achievement!

Last week, in Episode #23, I dove deep into burnout – how it affects most of us, what it is, the neuroscience behind it, and when it happens. I only went a little into what to do about it.

This week I am giving you a short but robust framework on how to manage burnout or overwhelm when you are in the middle of it.

This week’s podcast is a little shorter, and straight to the point. If are indeed overwhelmed or burned out, I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much more information before you get to the good stuff!

In this episode I will give you:

4 main reasons that burnout occurs
3 principles to consider
4-step framework to help you assess whether you are or will be in burnout
4 Considerations when you are going through the framework

You can use this framework, and some of the considerations I give you, each time you feel you are in overwhelm or burnout mode, and it will help turn you around.

At night, have you ever had a feeling of dread about work the next day?

Ever feel like you can’t get engaged or motivated to do your work? Your just grumpy about doing it, and you don’t feel like talking to your colleagues about it anymore?

Maybe you feel like you are drowning in meetings and emails and don’t see a way out?

You could quite possible be sliding into burnout mode.

Burnout is now considered a specific medical condition that has been found to impact 50% to 77% of the populace. It turns out most people feel it at least some of the time, and a lot of people feel it most of the time.

Research shows it actually hits the younger generations more than the older ones. And if you are in a caregiver type of profession – a PSW, nurse, teacher – you are more likely to feel it.

In this week’s podcast, I go into:

What burnout is
Why and when it happens
The science behind
What you can do about it

At the end, I give you a 3-step action plan with 4 different activities you can consider to help you address burnout the next time it hits you.

Summary of Key Points:

Who Does it Impact?

Surveys indicate that between 30% to 77% of people have felt burned out in the last year
More and more people are feeling burned out more often
59% of millennials report feeling burned out, while 58% of Gen Z feel burned out. It declines in older generations, but people of all ages feel it.

What is the impact?

Burnout costs the global workforce an estimated $1 trillion in lost productivity each year
In the US alone, approximately 120,000 people die from excessive burnout each year
When burnout happens, it can negatively impact your sleep, motivation, focus, hunger and other body functions. In extreme, chronic cases it can lead to decay in the prefrontal cortex as well as your memory and creative thinking functions of the brain.

What is it?

There are three or four parts to officially having burnout:
- The loss of motivation
- The depletion/loss of physical energy
- A growing sense of emotional exhaustion
- Often, the above three symptoms lead to cynicism

Action Plan

You can use a 3-step action plan:
Take stock – what symptoms do you have? What is causing your burnout this time?
Can you control it – When you look at the symptoms that are leading to your burnout, which can you control, and which can you not?
Create a plan and stick to it over time – Figure out your workplan using some of the solutions below and put together your action plan to address it. Consider using a continuous improvement type approach to help you monitor and adjust over time.

Some potential solutions you can use in your action plan:

Improve your homeostatic factors (Sleep, nutrition, movement, exercise, mindfulness)
Become more positively engaged in your work
Increase the number of positive social interactions you have at work, or elsewhere in your life
Change your mindset (See our podcast Episode #16 on How to Set a Positive Mindset)

Have you ever felt stuck?

Ever felt like you weren’t getting ahead, or didn’t know what to do with your life to feel a little more engaged, a little more alive?

This week I am looking at how many people feel stuck in life and what to do about it.

If you have felt stuck at some point in your life, you are not alone! It isn’t hard to find surveys that show that people all over the world are feeling stuck with their lives.

Several reports and studies (check out this one or this global one for example) show that about 75% of people feel “stuck” personally and professionally, and are overwhelmed at work and at home. And most of them say they don’t have any idea how to get unstuck.

Given that the science-based High Performance coaching process I follow with my clients has helped many of them get “unstuck”, I thought I would share the most important concepts in hopes it can help you too if you are feeling stuck.

Key Summary of Main Points

Consistently, surveys indicate that 76% of respondents feel stuck in their personal lives, 31% are apprehensive about their futures, 27% are locked in the same routines, and 26% are lonelier than ever before.
Those same polls show that most people don’t know how to get “unstuck”
Being stuck means you:
- Feel like you are spinning in place
- Feel like you can’t really move forward in some or all aspects of your life
- Are not sure what to do, and you do not feel really excited about your options, so you just “go around in circles”
- Do think you know what to do, but can’t seem to be motivated to do them
The most common reasons for feeling stuck in life include:
- Lack of vision for what you want from life, or even better, for what is a fulfilling life for you
- Lack of direction or plan
- Lack of motivation to move forward
- Lack of knowledge of how to get unstuck
5 science-backed Steps for getting unstuck include:
- Start with Foundations
- Understand your Why
- Create your action plan
- Create a PDCA Continuous Improvement Cycle
- Lock in mini celebrations

If you like what you heard or read today, I invite you to like, share and subscribe to this podcast.

You can subscribe to our site at Invictus.coach/register and get regular updates on how we are using Neuroscience and High Performance skills tools, and approaches to help people, teams and organizations reach peak performance and achieve more.

And if you sign up now, you will receive access to two documents that help you achieve higher performance in different ways.

You can select a summary of the 4 main ways you can achieve higher performance in your team or organization right now. The document outlines the 4 places to find up to 25% (or more sometimes) savings or efficiencies. And you will learn where to look and how to find them!

Why bother thinking about high performance if you don’t want to be an overachieving, 80 hour workweek kind of person?

I got this question the other day and I will tell you all what I told that person: there are so many benefits to thinking about high performance, even if you don’t want to be a “high achiever”, or a "top performer".

And, by the way, seeking higher performance, or looking to achieve more in any aspect of your life doesn’t mean you have to burn all the hours of your day, or work your butt off (though you can if you want), or losing your balance in life.

So, today we are going to look at why thinking about high performance can benefit you, even if you don’t want to achieve higher performance.

Key Summary of Main Points

High Performance means consistently succeeding beyond standard norms across domains while maintaining life satisfaction, well being and positive relationships
There is a misconception that High Performance training is only for people who want to be elite, or be some super charged work freak, or work 80 hours a week to “Make a killing”
Taking a “high performance” view on life has many benefits for just about anyone
You can use a “high performance” view on life in just about any area of life too – hobbies, personal life, music, sports and of course your work

The benefits of just thinking about High Performance and what it takes to perform consistently at a higher level:

You make time and space to think about what you want out of life
It helps you understand what you want out life
You take time to be proactively planned and thoughtful
It helps get you into a positive mindset

You can action today’s lesson by:

Taking a moment to decide whether you want those benefits in life – do you want to take a positive, proactive approach to doing your best and possible achieving a fulfilled life?
Learning about what it takes to do better
Taking time to be proactively planned and thoughtful
Considering taking a course or coaching

If you like what you heard or read today, I invite you to like, share and subscribe to this podcast.

You can subscribe to our site at Invictus.coach/register and get regular updates on how we are using Neuroscience and High Performance skills tools, and approaches to help people, teams and organizations reach peak performance and achieve more.

And if you sign up now, you will receive access to two documents that help you achieve higher performance in different ways.

You can select a summary of the 4 main ways you can achieve higher performance in your team or organization right now. The document outlines the 4 places to find up to 25% (or more sometimes) savings or efficiencies. And you will learn where to look and how to find them!

Or you choose to download the 6 Pillars of High Success. This document outlines the 6 areas where high performers create daily habits to achieve clarity on their goals, are more productive, achieve more, and enjoy more success and more fulfillment in life.

In today’s podcast, I will show you how High Performers HPs are consistently more productive, yet also happier, less stressed, and more rewarded over the long term.

Today’s topic is useful for anyone, regardless of whether you want to transform your organization for improved performance, achieve higher performance for your team, or achieve higher performance for yourself.

High Performance research has shown that the higher performers are more productive – they get more useful stuff done more efficiently and effectively – while not feeling stressed, overwhelmed or burned out.

In fact, they consistently report feeling engaged, motivated, happy, relaxed and more rewarded compared to their peers.

In this podcast I will:

Define productivity (because understanding what it really is makes a big difference)
Talk a little about why it is so darn important in achieving your personal or team goals
Highlight the 4 concepts High Performers use to pursue and maintain being highly productive

If you like what you heard, I invite you to like, share and subscribe to this podcast.

That helps other people find this podcast, and helps me achieve my goal of helping as many people and teams as people achieve more and reach fulfilling, thriving lives.

You can subscribe to our site at Invictus.coach/register and get regular updates on how we are using Neuroscience and High Performance skills tools, and approaches to help people, teams and organizations reach peak performance and achieve more.

And if you sign up now, you will receive access to two documents that help you achieve higher performance in different ways.

You can select a summary of the 4 main ways you can achieve higher performance in your team or organization right now. The document outlines the 4 places to find up to 25% (or more sometimes) savings or efficiencies. And you will learn where to look and how to find them!

Or you choose to download the 6 Pillars of High Success. This document outlines the 6 areas where high performers create daily habits to achieve clarity on their goals, are more productive, achieve more, and enjoy more success and more fulfillment in life.

To me this week’s podcast is super important and very inspiring.

This week we explore how to achieve a thriving life.

In this podcast you will learn:

What does it mean to “thrive”
The components of a thriving life
Why anyone can attain a thriving, fulfilled life
The 4 basic components of a thriving life
The 5 main steps to plan and implement their plans to achieve a thriving life

Sign Up to Learn More

If you enjoyed this podcast you can subscribe to our site at Invictus.coach/register and get regular updates on how we are using Neuroscience and High Performance skills tools, and approaches to help people, teams and organizations reach peak performance and achieve more.

And if you sign up now, you will receive access to two documents that help you achieve higher performance in different ways.

You can select a summary of the 4 main ways you can achieve higher performance in your team or organization right now. The document outlines the 4 places to find up to 25% (or more sometimes) savings or efficiencies. And you will learn where to look and how to find them!

Have you ever felt like you had so much on your plate, you couldn't think straight?

Maybe you had too many back-to-back virtual meetings, with people knocking on your office door, or too many "to do's" with emails coming in and the phone doesn't stop ringing...

If you have ever felt overwhelmed you are not alone. Various surveys have found about 60% to %74 of Canadians, Americans or British people feeling overwhelmed, and “unable to cope” at least some of the time. And slightly less than that feel overwhelmed "a lot of the time".

Well, the silver lining here is that we know why the brain gets overwhelmed, and what you can do about it!

In today's podcast we:

Describe what overwhelm actually is;
Outline why it is both good sometimes but can be bad;
List the 4 main causes of overwhelm; and
Give you 7 ways you can stop overwhelm in its tracks and get back to a more balanced feeling

We give you some tactical, practical ways that you can use to help reduce the stress of overwhelm and get control of your own agenda again.

Sign Up to Learn More

If you enjoyed this podcast you can subscribe to our site at Invictus.coach/register and get regular updates on how we are using Neuroscience and High Performance skills tools, and approaches to help people, teams and organizations reach peak performance and achieve more.

And if you sign up now, you will receive access to two documents that help you achieve higher performance in different ways.

You can select a summary of the 4 main ways you can achieve higher performance in your team or organization right now. The document outlines the 4 places to find up to 25% (or more sometimes) savings or efficiencies. And you will learn where to look and how to find them!

Or you choose to download the 6 Pillars of High Success. This document outlines the 6 areas where high performers create daily habits to achieve clarity on their goals, are more productive, achieve more, and enjoy more success and more fulfillment in life.

This episode is all about the most important principles of when, what and how to communicate on your projects.

Today I am sharing with you the 10 principles I use when I start to work on a communication plan for any of my projects. These 10 principles work regardless of whether your project is large or small.

I want to share communication principles, because regardless of the communication template or tool you use, if you follow these concepts you will find success. A good communication plan helps you take your important stakeholders on the journey of your project, telling each stakeholder the information that they need to know for them to accept and support your solution.

This week’s podcast is pretty special. It is based on peer-review neuroscience findings and has been found to be one of the protocols or habits repeatedly used by high performers in high performance research.

With one simple protocol, you will be able to achieve higher productivity, higher performance, be happier and more fulfilled. This is a superpower that you can use at various points in your day, your week, and in all aspects of your life.

In this podcast, we will:

Define what a mindset is
Use science backed research to point out how you can set your own mindset, and how powerful it can be to do so
Outline what the main benefits are of setting your own mindset
Provide a simple, tactical protocol to setting your mindset to achieve more and be more successful at achieving your goals

What if I told you there was a really simple tool that you could use that could help you predict project success every time? And that this tool works on mega big projects as well as small projects?

And that you can complete it in 10 minutes or less? In this week's podcast, I introduce this simple tool and tell you how to use it.

How can you be consistently more productive, yet also happier, less stressed, and more rewarded over the long term?

And how do you achieve all that while maintaining your focus, your energy, and your balance in life?

Research shows that high performers are more productive: they constantly look to find new ways to improve their productivity, and are very deliberate in how they approach planning and undertaking their days, projects and tasks.

But Neuroscience research also shows that this is all ridiculously easier if you understand some basic principles about how the brain works. These principles hold true for individuals in any setting, as well as for teams.

These principles help you:

Understand how your brain approaches work
How you focus
How your brain uses energy
How you can cut down on boredom to achieve more

In this podcast, I will briefly explain the important characteristics of productivity, and 10 principles based on neuroscience. I also provide tactical ideas so that you can apply these principles to improve your productivity today.

Today’s Topic

Achieving high performance requires planning, launching and managing projects. Most projects live or die on how well the people on your team do.
But what do you do if your people fall of track on the project?
This is more important for non project managers who aren’t used to managing people, but really anyone will benefit from this
The principles and ideas in this episode works for smaller projects with 1 or 2 people reporting into you for the project, especially if they don’t report into you regularly.

Reason This is so Important:

Project success is really based on people more than process or tools

Principles:

What do they want out of it, what do you want
Plan
Make them accountable
Set process to hold feet to fire
Communicate

Action Steps

Get visible senior approval and visibility
Share the Load and Be Transparent
Use Project plan
Regular Project meetings
Keep things regular and consistent
Help your team succeed
Work together when things go wrong
Communicate often

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Just about every project goes off the rails at some point in time.

Maybe its due to technology issues, or your team isn't clicking, or you end up taking longer than expected to reach milestones.

But what do you do once you realize the project has fallen off track? Throw up your hands in despair? Grin and bear it? Dig in? I

n this episode, we will give you the 4 main principles to think about when dealing with out-of-control projects, plus 7 steps you can take to get them back on track, in gear and humming along like a well oiled machine. These tips and tricks will work for any size project in any industry!

Want Some Powerful Tools and Tips to Reduce Costs and Improve Services?

Sign up for our weekly email blast to get the latest podcasts, blogs, and surprise content that helps community and broader public sector staff to plan and manage change and do more with what you have. If you sign up now, you will receive our free resource on the 4 main ways to improve services, cut costs, and improve service effectiveness.