The Unbeatable Mind Podcast With Mark Divine

Neil Pasricha is an author and speaker who is a well-known expert on creating happiness for both yourself and in your organization. He has written several books, including "The Happiness Equation," and, most recently, "How to Get Back Up: A Memoir of Failure & Resilience." He is also a speaker, giving an extremely popular TED talk. Today, he talks to Mark about the formula for happiness. Being a "big fish" can give you more freedom than being in a "big pond." Happiness is a prime goal - "How to get happy" is one of the most popular Google searches Contentment is a part of happiness, but not the only ingredient Listen to this episode to understand that happiness doesn't come from success, it's the other way around. Success comes from happiness.

A panel discussion on leadership in a Volatile, Uncertain, complex and ambiguous world. Listen to get insights on leadership from several experts, including Bob Schoultz, Christine Hassler, Brent Gleeson, and Jim Brault. Hear ideas on how to manage a multi-generational workforce Understand how and when money can fail or succeed as a motivator Learn about the need for real presence and authenticity in a leader Listen to this episode for more insights on leadership in an increasingly complicated world from this group of experts.

In this solo episode, Mark talks about the importance of courage in both the military and in business. You need to understand the place for courage as the relentless attention to detail and how you can make fear work for you. Courage involves training and preparation, rather than just diving in.  The opposite of fear is actually hubris, so fear can be a good thing. You need to understand what you can and can't control in a VUCA environment Listen to this episode to learn how to be courageous in understanding and following your mission.

James Fell is a well-known fitness and motivational expert. He has written in the LA Times, The Chicago Tribune, Men's Health, The Guardian and TIME. He also runs bodyforwife.com and is most recently the author of "The Holy Sh!t Moment: How Lasting Change Can Happen in an Instant"  He and Mark talk about epiphanies and making a radical change. He teaches how to go directly from intention to committed action Listen to this episode to find out more about life-changing moments and how to change intention to action

Chris Voss is the founder of the Black Swan Group which provides negotiation training for everyone from businesses to law enforcement. Chris has had a long career in law enforcement including the FBI. He worked in the US and internationally as a hostage negotiator. He has also taught negotiation in MBA programs at Georgetown and USC Marshall. In addition, he is the author of the book "Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It." Today, he and Mark talk about Chris' long career as a negotiator and how to negotiate for business and other situations. Learn about: Three types of negotiator personalities: Fight, flight or friendly. The successful negotiator must be all three types at different times. In Chris' opinion, "yes" is a useless word. "No" opens up the possibility for learning something. Language is very nuanced and subtle in negotiation. Listen to this episode to hear about the seemingly small changes that can make negotiation successful or not.

Jamie Wheal is an expert on the flow state, and is the Executive Director of the Flow Genome Project and a leading expert on the neuro-physiology of human performance. He has also consulted with the military, Red Bull and professional sports teams, as well as Google and other companies. With Stephen Kotler, he co-authored the book "Stealing Fire:  How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work." Today he talks with Mark about achieving peak performance and flow state. Learn how: Aikido is one of the best martial arts for both philosophy and enlightenment There is a difference between "symptomatic" - or "hacked" flow - and "causal" flow, which is a product of work Flow is a process of neurobiology and neurochemistry Hear how Jamie and the Flow Genome Project are working to make the flow state clear and accessible for all of us, so that we can all find a way to work at our peak abilities.

Brian Dickinson has always been an adventurer, and was Air Rescue Swimmer in the Navy, and is now a very accomplished mountaineer. He's written a book about his climb of Everest called "Blind Descent: Surviving Alone and Blind on Mount Everest." Today he tells Mark about how he got into mountaineering after the Navy, and his harrowing adventures climbing Everest. Hear how: He lost his Sherpa to illness with about 1000 feet left to go to the summit The day after summiting, he lost his ability to see, and had to make his way down without eyesight. An oxygen tank that had malfunctioned earlier miraculously started working just in time for him to be able to breath Understand how faith and determination allowed Brian to overcome one of the most difficult situations imaginable.

Willie Banks is a well-known Olympian, having been a member of the US Olympic track team for Triple Jump in 1984 and 1988. Since then, he's been an active member of the sport and Olympic community, serving as the President of the US Olympians Association and an organizer of the ANOC World Beach Games in San Diego in 2019. Mark and Willie talk about Willie's experiences with the Olympics and his ongoing devotion to spreading interest in sports and track in particular. Find out: How Willie was able to use his resentment about the 1980 boycott of the Olympics to motivate him. How you need to "switch on" when you come to the office. How Willie used dreaming visualization for his competitions without even realizing it. Hear how Willie has been able to turn his athletic career into spreading the word about sport and fitness.

Jimmy Choi was diagnosed with Parkinson's when he was 27.  And now, at 41, he has run 13 marathons, 88 half marathons and countless other races.  Most people know him as he competed in American Ninja Warriors and also part of Team Fox raising $250,000 for the Michael J Fox Foundation.  Mark talks to him today at the Spartan Race in Lake Tahoe about training, diet and mindset. He's an inspiration to us all by living his life with a positive mindset, dedication to helping find a cure, and passion for everything he does. Listen to this episode to understand better how we can all do better every day.

In this solo episode, Mark takes questions from the Unbeatable Mind tribe. Hear how you need to deal with and protect yourself from the negativity of a significant other and how to work on maintaining passion and focus for your end-game.  Many of us can start things well, but need help with making sure we are able to finish them.  Learn about: The need to have a burning "why" or a "hell, yes" to undertake a significant endeavor. Pride may not be the best emotion, since pride comes at someone else's expense. Courage is more positive than pride Box Breathing is not the only staple, there are other types of breath work that the Commander uses and recommends.  Listen to this episode to hear insights from Mark on some of the most asked questions from his tribe!

Dr. Lara Pence has spent the last decade working with individuals as the peel back the layers of their outer shell, cast aside the unhealthy patterns that keep them stuck and unfulfilled, and begin to build a new, more resilient and adventurous sense of self.  She works with Olympic athletes, successful entrepreneurs to help them move away from comparison and self-loathing and towards connection and self investment. Dr Pence is also the Chief Mind Doctor for Spartan and host of "Spartan Mind" Podcast.  Find out how: Both crying and laughter are essentially both just huge releases of energy, which is why they often seem to be very close together. Asking questions of her clients can often lead to learning more about her own integrity and how to stay inside it. Lara hopes that her clients won't become so "comfortable" with her, that they get themselves into another rut. Listen to this podcast to learn when to exercise your "no" muscle and when you just need to say "yes" to what's on offer.

Charlie Engle is a world renowned ultra-marathon runner who has endured some of the worlds most punishing long-distance foot races including his run across the Sahara Desert, documented in the film "Running the Sahara." He is also a speaker and the author of the memoir called "Running Man." In this wide-ranging discussion, he and the Commander talk about the personal difficulties with addiction that led to his career in running.  Find out: How addiction manifests in different ways and doesn't always have to be negative At first, Charlie's running was an attempt to "beat" the addict out of himself About how Charlie became a kind of fitness coach for prison inmates  Listen to this episode to gain insight into the running lifestyle and how to be able to go to extremes to accomplish a task.

This week Mark is at Lake Tahoe for the Spartan Race championships. He talks to Misty Diaz, who is well-known as an athlete and advocate for people with Spina Bifida. She has completed over 200 races herself, and she is both an advocate and an impressive athlete. IN spite of significant obstacles, she was eventually able to pursue her athletic ambitions.   Misty endured much hardship on her way to becoming one of the top adaptive athletes, including 28 different surgeries. She had to start taking morphine to deal with pain. She became addicted, and that was also a challenge that she had to overcome.  Though Misty has a fear of water, she is open to the idea of doing SEALFIT with some adaptations for her needs. Listen to this episode to hear how Misty was able to overcome the very significant challenges she faced to pursue her calling in athletics.

In this new solocast, Commander Divine gives answers to questions coming directly from his Unbeatable Mind tribe.  Mark gets into the importance of thinking deeply so that you can make sure that you are "practicing" at doing the right things, and developing the right habits. Other take aways: To keep age out of your thought processes. Emotional and intuitional development are harder to see. One thing you can look at is your skills in communication. Competition needs to come from a world-centric perspective. Don't focus on "win-lose," but "co-opetition." This episode is like a mini Unbeatable Mind training session, so listen to this Q & A episode to get insight into what others are wondering about.

JR Martinez is a well-known speaker, author and media personality. In 2003, while serving with the Army in Iraq, he suffered extensive burn injuries after the Humvee he was driving hit an IED. With a great deal of humor, he and Mark talk his long process he went through to overcome his injuries-and the physical, mental and emotional steps he took to recovery.  Hear how: JR is more than simply his military career. Many people start and end with his service, and while that is certainly significant, it's not the whole story. Learning how to be of service changed his outlook and approach to military service. JR's future musings on acting and voice acting specifically. Listen to this episode to find out how you can learn to move past things that are holding you back with humor and humility.

Ryan Munsey is well-known as an expert in the wellness and personal development space, and he was also one of the first participants in the SEALFIT 20X experience. He has recently written a book called "F*ck Your Feelings: Master Your Mind, Accomplish Anything and Become a More Significant Human."  He and Mark discuss how to control your emotions so that you can make better decisions. Hear how: Every feeling is biased. So while they have to be recognized, you shouldn't let them run you. Big decisions are the easy ones. But little decisions are harder and often make the difference. It is the processes you engage in that get results. Not people. Listen to this episode to get a better understanding of the mental and habitual "grooves" that we get into and how we can start to break free of them.

James Clear talks to Commander Divine today about his new book, "Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones." James is a weightlifter, writer and photographer who has spent a lifetime working to understand how to get where you're wanting to go, and the differences between goals and processes.  Learn how: Goals are where you are going. Systems are how you're going to get there. You don't rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Many habits are stymied by the fact that good habits often have long-term benefits, but short-term suffering. Bad habits are generally the exact opposite.  You need to find ways to bring benefits into the present for good habits. Little things-little frictions-can be enough to stop a habit that you're trying to form.  Listen to this episode to get insights into how even seemingly trivial changes can add when you make the commitment.

In Part two this fascinating interview, the Commander Divine talks more with Dr. Andrew Huberman, a respected neuroscientist at Stanford University. They get into the practical application of neuroscience, and the science behind breathing, visualization and more mental work that are a very important part of the SEALFIT and Unbeatable Mind programs.  Dr. Andrew Huberman discusses how neuroplasticity for adults is a trainable skill. It is a great deal more work than when we are children, but it can be done with effort and skill. They also discuss the value of nootropics and the importance of breathing practices and visualization for adults to be able to focus and learn in the same way that children are able to.  Listen to this episode to get a very in-depth look at the function of the brain and how we can work to improve our mental performance.

In Part one of this fascinating interview, Dr. Andrew Huberman, a respected neuroscientist at Stanford University discusses the practical application of neuroscience, and the science behind breathing, visualization and other mental work that Mark has employed within Unbeatable Mind, the SEALs, and others. Commander Divine and Dr. Huberman get in to how Eastern approaches often provide the practices themselves, while Western science is in the process of providing the evidence for mental practices. Insights into how your brain works and why these recommendations work, and how Dr. Huberman would like to see the language around neuroscience simplified so that the science can be used for guidance by more of the general public 

Jason Fung is a well-known expert on nutrition, and is also the author of several books including the best sellers "The Obesity Code" and "The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting." He talks with the Commander today about our misguided understandings of nutrition and gives us insights into the importance of timing and fasting in general. Learn how: There are eating "windows" where you should be eating, and times when you shouldn't be. You can either be storing fat, or burning it. Not both at the same time. Only the brain uses ketones-all the other muscles can use fat directly Dr. Fung's approach is actually very straight-forward. What to eat. When to eat.