Today it’s great to have Michael Gervais on the podcast. Dr. Gervais is a world renowned high performance psychologist and industry visionary. Over the course of 20 years, working with world leading performers, Dr. Gervais has developed a psychological framework that allows people to thrive in pressure packed environments. His clientele consists of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, countless olympic medalists, MVPs from every major sport, world record holders, internationally acclaimed music artists, and corporate leaders. Dr. Gervais is the host of the popular Finding Mastery podcast that explores the psychology of some of the world’s most extraordinary thinkers and doers. Dr. Gervais and NFL coach Pete Carroll  founded Compete To Create, an online and live master class for the mind. They have worked with more than 3000 employees at Microsoft alone on the mental skills and strategies to unleash one’s potential. Dr. Gervais and Pete Carroll have co-authored the recently released audible original called Compete to Create. Also, Gervais is a published peer review author and recognized speaker on optimized human performance. He’s been featured by NBC, ABC, Fox, CNN, ESPN, EFL Network, Wallstreet Journal, New York Times, Outside Magazine, Wired, ESPN Magazine, The Harvard Business Review, and others.

Time Stamps

[2:34] Dr. Gervais’ audible original: Compete to Create

[04:07] How Dr. Gervais and Pete Carroll met

[05:05] What competition really means

[06:40] Where the title Compete to Create came from

[8:05] What creativity really means

[10:20] Dr. Gervais’ concept of form to break form

[13:26] The role of the non-conscious in creativity and competition

[16:30] Defining and achieving personal optimization

[22:05] Understanding your “true self” and the ways you can improve your true self

[26:07] Awareness of yourself in relationship to others

[28:57] The problem with shortcuts to self-improvement

[30:50] How every person is motivated by self optimization

[33:17] Integrating the art of “being” in professional competition

[44:15] Dr. Gervais’ concept the Fear of People’s Opinions (FOPO)

[46:26] How we learn from failure

[48:37] The power of personal philosophy

[54:03] Tackling challenges for the average person

[59:10] The “craft” as our mechanism for expression

[1:00:52] How to trust your being by trusting yourself

Call to Action

What do you think about the relationship between accepting yourself and seeking self-improvement? Do you agree with Dr. Gervais’ ideas about the integration of being into high pressure environments? How do you relate to Dr. Gervais’ concept of FOPO? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section down below and make sure to subscribe for more content.