Intentional Performers With Brian Levenson

Danny Binstock joins us on this week’s episode of the podcast. Danny is somebody I have known since elementary school and he is always doing a million things at once. As Danny has gotten older, he’s really focused on his craft of acting. Danny was also a three-sport athlete that ran cross country, played ice hockey, and also played lacrosse. He is someone who has always been good at whatever he puts his mind to. Danny is a New York City-based actor from the Washington, DC area that has worked at different theaters throughout the country, and he has also appeared on television. Danny is in the middle of his journey, and he has a vision for himself of bigger things even though he has already had a successful career thus far. In this episode, we discuss his last seven years of grinding in the acting world (8:10), what desperation felt like for him (9:30), how he thinks about comparisons (16:10), how massive vulnerability is in his world (21:10), what he has shifted intentionally with regard to how he thinks abo

Daniel joins us on this week’s episode of the podcast. Daniel does some really interesting work on design thinking and designing conversation for companies and individuals. Daniel does a lot of different things, but at his core, he will talk about being a designer. He’s a design thinker and helps others design their companies, and themselves, to help them unpack what they have envisioned for themselves and where they want to go. Daniel founded and exited start-ups and now travels the world teaching design thinking to teams and organizations to help them be more intentional at work. At his core, Daniel believes design means making things better tomorrow than they are today. In this episode they discuss when and how he got interested in facilitation (6:50), why he was different than others in his family with regard to challenges (11:40), how he thinks about confrontation (13:10), how he practices active listening in tough moments (17:50), life as an infinite game (22:30), how he went from focusing on science t

Cordie joins us on this week’s episode of the podcast. During our conversation, Cordie talks about how to grow and learn as a golfer. He will talk about how golf is changing and turning into somewhat of a team sport. Cordie is curious about how to make the best golfer, what makes golfers good, and how we change or shift golf in our society. Cordie is a podcast producer, a podcast expert, and entrepreneur. He will share how he is constantly innovating and working on new things. In this episode, they discuss where golf started for him (4:20), what drew him to podcasting (7:10), who introduced him to music and golf (8:05), what drew him to golf over music (10:20), why he dislikes the word potential (11:10), what comes next for him after the software company and golf podcast (15:45), what he sees from the best golf coaches (18:45), the idea behind “Par” and golf being a problem-solving activity (24:00), his idea on the preparation vs. performance mindset (25:30), what gave him the confidence to pursue his passio

Scott Eblin is the President of the Eblin Group, a Leadership Development group committed to helping clients lead and live at their best. Scott really believes that in order for leaders to lead they have to be at their best. As a leadership expert, global speaker, and executive coach, Scott works with some of the best known companies in the world. He is also an amazing writer, and he will talk about his books in this episode. Finally, we will end our conversation talking about his journey into coaching. In this episode, they discuss how he got into coaching and what that journey was like (5:30), why he was interested in HR (8:50), what it was like growing up in West Virginia (12:40), some of the values his parents passed down to him (14:15), what life was like for him in High School (16:20), how he thought about education growing up (18:05), how he thinks about developing curiosity (22:05), the coolest thing he’s ever gotten to do (27:20), his transition from the corporate world to coaching (29:40), the bigg

Sam joins Brian Levenson on this week’s podcast. Sam works as a coach and speaker, and has a company called Zen Warrior Training where he helps people unlock what’s inside of them and get in touch with their feelings. Sam has a deep passion for inspiring and helping others. In this podcast, Sam talks about a number of life events including an accident that took place when he was 24 years old that was life changing. In this episode, they discuss his childhood and how he became who he is today (4:45), the difference in what he learned from his father and mother (11:00), the relation between his childhood and what he does today (14:20), if he sees his mom and dad as Warrior or Zen (20:00), when he got into cycling (24:10), his mindset when cycling across the country (29:10), when he started playing guitar (35:50), his time at Hampshire College (41:00), his major accident in 1999 (46:30), what he remembers from the accident and the immediate feeling he experienced after (48:20), what he feels now as he rehashes

Melissa Agnes joins Brian Levenson on this weeks podcast. Melissa is an author, strategic advisor, and keynote speaker. She is the author of Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World, and a leading authority on crisis preparedness, reputation management, and brand protection. Agnes is a coveted speaker, commentator, and advisor to some of today's leading organizations faced with the greatest risks. As a strategic advisor and keynote speaker, Agnes has worked with NATO, Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, financial firms, technology companies, healthcare organizations, cities and municipalities, law enforcement agencies, global non-profits, and many others, helping them understand risk and build invincible brands that can withstand even the most devastating of events. In 2015, she gave a TEDx talk in Los Angeles where she discussed the secret to successful crisis management in the 21st century. Agnes is the editor of the Crisis Ready Blog, a contributor to Forbes, and a go-to sour

Dr. Mark Goulston joins Brian Levenson on this week’s podcast. Dr. Goulston works as a psychiatrist, but also has been a high stakes crisis psychiatrist, FBI hostage negotiation trainer, and he coaches founders to become CEO’s. He has helped traumatized people heal and thrive in addition to surviving and coping. This conversation is deep, and it’s a conversation about suicide and how we can prevent suicide in the future. In this episode, they discuss how he came to be interested in the medical world, and his story about depression in medical school (5:45), how his life changed when he was kicked out of Medical School (11:00), what mentors mean to him (15:00), what drew him to being a suicide specialist (16:00), where his ability to connect with people comes from (19:00), about how people die from despair as opposed to depression (22:30), why he was drawn towards helping people prevent suicide (24:00), what helping people does for him (27:40), his thoughts on mindfulness (34:20), on being a first class “notic

Josh Basile joins the podcast this week. Josh is an advocate, lawyer, teacher, and mentor. Josh is amazingly grateful and he leverages gratitude in every part of his life. In this podcast, he talks through his traumatic injury at Bethany Beach and how he views life and interprets events that have happened to him. In this episode we discuss what life was like growing up (4:50), what his mindset was like as a top athlete at Bullis and at Skidmore College (7:05), his memories as soon as the injury happened and how his mom helped him through the injury (11:10), his mindset during rehabilitation (17:00), his biggest transition after the injury and the mentor program he has created (18:20), what gets him from idea to action (24:30), how he views mindset in preparation vs performance (30:30), what he does in the moments that are not glamorous and moments that are special (36:40), what he does in his life to tap into the present (41:20), when gratitude entered his life and his visualization tactics (43:20), who has