Intentional Performers With Brian Levenson

Dan Simons is the Co-Owner of the innovative Farmers Restaurant Group — majority owned by American family farmers — with a mission to earn farmers a larger share of the food dollar while delivering thoughtfully-sourced, scratch-made food, and exceptional hospitality. Farmers Restaurant Group operates 7 restaurants and 1 distillery throughout the DC, MD, VA, and PA area, and most recently pivoted their business model to include a Founding Farmers Market + Grocery- selling everything from prepared dinners and hand sanitizer made in their DC distillery, Founding Spirits to homemade chocolates and bottled cocktails. Passionate about the health of the planet, Simons founded the non-profit Our Last Straw, a business-led coalition working to reduce our reliance on single-use plastics, and is on the Advisory Board of Conscious Capitalism DC. In this episode, we discuss past failures and successes (7:18), more on success (8:53), conscious capitalism (10:54), if he loved wrestling (13:40), what it was like competing i

Dr. Kensa Gunter is a licensed psychologist & a Certified Mental Performance Consultant based in Atlanta, GA. She provides services to individuals, teams, & organizations and describes her work as being at the intersection of mental health, mental performance, culture and sport. Dr. Gunter also currently serves as the President of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. In this episode, we discuss the symbolism in Dr. Gunter’s “tree of life” (6:37), how she uses that metaphor with her clients (9:26), gratitude (10:49), if she makes a distinction between spirituality and religion (12:14), if her connection to Christianity has changed over time (13:11), her favorite quote (15:53), perfectionism (18:57), if there is a dark side to striving for excellence that can bleed over to a client’s overall wellbeing (21:58), what she would tell her 12-year-old self (26:05), how to preach patience in a sports world that is so transactional (32:52), how she’s worked to be patient and present over the past year

Steve Mesler is the Co-Founder and CEO of Classroom Champions, a non-profit that brings together children and the world’s best athletes to mentor and teach kids the skills they need to succeed in and out of the classroom. After winning an Olympic Gold Medal in the 4-man bobsled at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, Steve was inspired to bring the values, lessons, and experiences he and his fellow Olympic and Paralympic athletes had gained through sport into classrooms. Since creating Classroom Champions in 2009, over 200 athletes have taught more than 1 million students about goal setting, perseverance, and teamwork to support their mental health, wellness, and academic achievement. Steve has written for or been featured in the Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, Inc, NBC’s Today Show, and dozens of other news, sports, and education outlets. Steve is a member of the Board of Directors of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), was a finalist for the International Champion for Peace award

Brant Menswar is a best-selling author, performance coach, named one of the country’s “Top 10" speakers in motivation and CEO/Founder of bookstarPR. His books and Top 200 podcast (Thoughts That Rock) expand on his ground-breaking work around values-based leadership described as “disarmingly simple and incredibly powerful.” He has helped to change what’s possible for industry-leading organizations like Netflix, Verizon, Anthem, SunTrust, Microsoft, ESPN, Hilton, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and dozens more. In this episode, we discuss when Brant first picked up a guitar (6:08), if difficulty can stunt creativity (10:30), his past job and what led to him pursuing his dream of becoming a Rockstar (11:58), when faith came into his life (14:23), baseball (16:11), what he was like academically (20:06), what he struggled with when he was younger (21:18), polarity within himself (25:39), unique contributions (30:25), why he didn’t continue to just play music (31:22), what it was like to first hear his son

WRITER. SPEAKER. HUMAN. Julie Lythcott-Haims believes in humans and is deeply interested in what gets in our way. She is the New York Times bestselling author of the anti-helicopter parenting manifesto How to Raise an Adult which gave rise to a TED Talk that has more than 5 million views. Her second book is the critically-acclaimed and award-winning prose poetry memoir Real American, which illustrates her experience as a Black and biracial person in white spaces. A third book, Your Turn: How to Be an Adult, is out now. Julie is a former corporate lawyer and Stanford dean, and she holds a BA from Stanford, a JD from Harvard, and an MFA in Writing from California College of the Arts. She serves on the board of Common Sense Media, and on the advisory board of LeanIn.Org, and she is a former board member at Foundation for a College Education, Global Citizen Year, The Writers Grotto, and Challenge Success. She volunteers with the hospital program No One Dies Alone. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with h

Jay Wright has become a mainstay in the world of College Basketball. He was recently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, he’s won 2 National Championships (one in 2016 and one in 2018), and he took a team to the Final Four in 2009, becoming one of the all-time greats when it comes to college basketball. He’s led Villanova, the team he coaches, to 6 Big East Conference Championships and 14 NCAA Tournaments. In this episode, we discuss what it has been like for Jay to coach Brandon Slater (7:31), what he looks for in leadership (11:00), dealing with, managing, and developing defiant players (15:31), his experience with PeacePlayers in Israel (19:33), attitude’s impact on Villanova’s culture (23:57), how he thinks about his own identity (27:06), Father Rob and Jim Brennan’s impact (29:18), how he makes sure his emption is helpful and not harmful (33:47), what he does pregame and how he makes sure he’s where he needs to be (37:19), the difference between players and actors (40:53), and how he thinks about

In 2003, Rebecca Powers lost her brother and, as a result, founded Impact Austin, a collective giving organization that brings women and their financial resources together to make a profound impact in Central Texas. To date, the organization has put $7.4M to work helping the underserved. Rebecca has received multiple awards recognizing her leadership and speaks nationally inspiring women to connect their capacity to give with their confidence to do it well. She also mentors women in cities across the US as they form their own collectives. In this episode, we discuss when philanthropy came to be something Rebecca wanted to leverage and focus on (6:16), if she was bitter her brother didn’t go to the doctor sooner to prevent his demise (8:21), the polarity between her anger and inspiration (9:58), the role of faith in her life (11:41), the relationship between faith and philanthropy (13:45), the communal aspect of Impact Austin (16:00), how she went about building Impact Austin (17:24), what she had created and

Becky Burleigh is the soon-to-retire head coach of the University of Florida Women’s Soccer Team. She has been at the University of Florida for 27 years, where she started the program. Before that, Becky was the head coach at Berry College in Rome, Georgia at the age of 21. She was the captain of her soccer team, playing defense and goalie, before going on to coach at the age of 21. By age 26, she was in Florida, heading and starting up the program. In four years, at the age of 30, she helped to lead the University of Florida to a National Championship. Becky is an amazing leader who thinks deeply about character and “what drives winning,” which is a question and a statement. Becky is also obsessed with the idea of how do coaches develop and get better beyond the X’s and O’s? In this episode, we discuss why Becky is interested in DJing (6:47), her go to song (9:43), why she transitioned from playing defense her first 3 years at college to playing goalie for her senior year (11:51), where her discipline and d

Muffet McGraw, previously the head coach of Notre Dame Women’s Basketball, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September 2017. She became just the 32nd women ever to do so, and the 13th female coach. Bringing women out into the spotlight and helping women progress in and beyond sports is a massive mission that Muffet has taken on. As a coach, she’s a 2x National Champion. The first came in 2001, when Notre Dame defeated Purdue. The 2nd came 17 years later in 2018. Coach McGraw was the 6th different Division I coach to win multiple NCAA titles, joining legends like Geno Auriemma, Pat Summit, Linda Sharp, Tara VanDerveer, and Kim Mulkey. She is one of 5 coaches, men’s or women’s, in NCAA Division I history with over 930 wins, 9 final fours, and multiple NCAA Championships. Three times in her career, she was the consensus National Coach of the Year. Seven times she was the Conference Coach of the Year. She’s won 11 Conference Tournament Championships and she’s made 373 appearances

Brenda Frese has become an absolute legend, as she has built a juggernaut of a program with Women’s Basketball at the University of Maryland. On the court, she is a 2x National Coach of the Year, including this past season. In 2006, Brenda led the team to the National Championship. With Brenda at the helm, Maryland has made 3 NCAA Final Fours, 6 NCAA Elite Eights, 8 Sweet 16 appearances, and has 13 conference titles. Over the last 20+ years, she has helped lead amazing programs. But really, at the University of Maryland she has left her mark and created a legacy that will live on far beyond her time there. In this episode we discuss Brenda’s upbringing and childhood with her 5 siblings, if faith played a big role in her house growing up (9:18), 6-on-6 basketball (11:39), the benefits of 6-on-6, as well as what that experience was like (13:10), when and why she decided to focus in on basketball (14:16), the values her parents passed down to her (15:30), how she thinks about retirement in her future (17:08), s

Part strategist, part storyteller, part English-to-English translator, Tamsen Webster helps experts drive action with their ideas. Tamsen honed her trademark Red Thread approach in and for major organizations like Johnson & Johnson, Harvard Medical School, and Intel, as well as with hundreds of individual founders, academics, and thought leaders. She's a former TEDx Executive Producer and current Idea Strategist. She's also author of the upcoming book, Find Your Read Thread: Make Your Big Ideas Irresistible. In this episode, we discuss Tamsen’s childhood and upbringing (9:20), why she and her sister are so obsessed with stories and storytelling (10:48), if her partnership is different than that of her parents, as well as more on her life and her sister (14:51), what it was like being her high-achieving sister’s younger sister (22:16), imposter syndrome and her working at Harvard (26:08), hustle (31:04), how she defines success (36:16), being an English-to-English translator (37:28), curiosity, range, inn

Steve Magness has written three books, which have sold more than 200,000 copies and been translated into 15 languages. Also, Steve is a performance coach. He works with athletes, entrepreneurs, and executives, as well as serving as a consultant on mental skills development for professional sports teams. Additionally, he is a running coach, working with professional runners, including Olympians, national champions, and top finishers at major marathons. He’s also the co-creator of The Growth Equation, an online platform dedicated to the understanding and practice of performance and well-being. In this episode, we discuss Steve’s running journey and how he became interested in running (5:43), his family dynamic at home and their reaction to him seriously pursuing running (9:59), if he fell in love with the cross-country community and was able to make connections with his teammates along the way (13:45), his success in cross-country (15:11), why he feels his cross-country peak was in high school despite training

Kevin Eastman is a corporate speaker and an internationally known basketball clinician who brings knowledge and experience from sports to the business world. He speaks on various topics, including championship culture, teamwork, leadership, motivation, and individual success. Kevin has over 40 years of experience in the game of basketball, and he coached basketball at all levels, including 13 years in the NBA. While he was in the NBA, he was the top assistant for Doc Rivers when they won the NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008. Most recently, Kevin served as an assistant coach and Vice President of Basketball Operations with the Los Angeles Clippers. Kevin has worked with and coached an impressive number of current and future NBA All-Stars, both as a coach and as a Nike Basketball Director of Player Development for the nation’s elite college and high-school players. He continues his work with young, elite players through USA basketball and speaking to Nike audiences. In this episode, we discuss

Josh Linkner is somebody with lots of range who wears a lot of different hats and is not afraid to step into these different parts of himself. He calls himself a “creative troublemaker.” He passionately believes that all human beings have incredible creative capacity. He’s on a mission to unlock inventive thinking and creative problem solving to help leaders, individuals, and communities soar. At his core, Josh cares deeply about helping, impacting, and influencing people in a positive way, and he does so through speaking and writing. He’s written 4 books, he’s a keynote speaker, and he’s been the founder and CEO of 5 tech companies (which have sold for a combined value of over $200 million). He’s invested in and/or mentored over 100 startups and is the founding partner of Detroit Venture Partners. Josh is passionate about his hometown and it’s influenced him in a variety of ways, including how much he’s obsessed with, and interested in, and loves jazz. Today, Josh serves as Chairman and co-founder of Platypu

Andy Friend is the Head Coach of Connacht Rugby based in Ireland. We will talk about his experience and his journey, as well as what it’s like to set the culture at that club and how he thinks about leadership. This conversation is also about Andy’s journey, which has spanned over 26 years and 21 homes, and what he’s learned along the way. He has travelled all over the world to places like England, Japan, Australia, and now Ireland. Andy is someone who thinks deeply about leadership and how he cannot just have the best leadership for himself, but also how he can develop leaders within his club and within his organization. Andy is very intentional about how he can use transformational leadership to help his club be the best that they can be. In this episode, we discuss what life was like for Andy as a kid (6:46), what the relationship was like with his brothers growing up (9:33), what he learned from moving between 3 different cultures and countries (11:34), if moving around so much helped him gain skills in

Cara Brookins built her own 3500 square foot house by using YouTube tutorials. The impetus for her decision to build that house with her four kids came after surviving domestic violence. When that occurred, she was faced with the stark challenge of providing for her children but with no means and no one to turn to but herself. In desperate need of a home, but without the means to buy one, she did something incredible: she built one from scratch. And when I say built from scratch, she built it using her hands, using her kids, they built it together. She was the electrician, she was the plumber, she was the contractor. And she in turn helped to rebuild her family and help them develop confidence and ultimately thrive. Cara’s story went viral in more than 75 countries and has been viewed more than 2 billion times. She’s appeared on many networks and done amazing interviews all over the world, but this conversation is going to be about more than just building a house. Cara is extremely vulnerable and real in tel

Gregg Berhalter is the Head Coach for the United States Men’s National Soccer Team. Before that, Gregg was the Head Coach for the Columbus Crew in the MLS. He also worked in Europe, where he was the first American to be a Head Coach of a European soccer team. Gregg also played for the US National Team from 1994-2006, also playing with the under-20 National Team in 1993. He played professionally in the MLS and all over the world, spending a lot of his time overseas. In this episode, we discuss why Gregg likes cooking (5:50), if he finds it to be an escape from constantly coaching (6:55), if his cooking style is analogous to his coaching style (8:28), what it was like to grow up with Carl Yastrzemski in the family (9:23), why he didn’t pursue baseball (10:11), if he thinks growing up around Yaz gave him an advantage over his peers in thinking about what’s possible (10:40), the values passed down to him through his family (11:21), how he would set his mind for gameday as a player (13:07), if he ever was an over

This week Brian shares his reflections on the past year. He shares his struggles, how he's experimenting, and what he's been grateful for during the pandemic.  As we move forward, in a post-pandemic world, how can we better support ourselves and each other?  If you want to connect and chat more and share your experience feel free to reach out via Twitter or Linkedin @Brianlevenson or email Brian at Brian@strongskills.co.

Suneel Gupta teaches at Harvard University and is the author of BACKABLE – exploring how to get people to believe in your ideas. The book is rooted in Suneel’s journey from first-time entrepreneur to being named “The New Face of Innovation” by the New York Stock Exchange. Suneel’s ideas have been backed by firms like Greylock and Google Ventures, and he served as an Entrepreneur in Residence inside Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. He has personally backed startups including Impossible Foods, AirBnB, 23&Me, Calm, and SpaceX. In 2019, Suneel established the Gross National Happiness Center of America in partnership with the Kingdom of Bhutan. In this episode, we discuss Suneel’s mom and his family story (5:59), what the communication was like between Suneel and his parents when he was a kid as it related to dreams (8:33), where he and his brother got their performance skills from (10:48), what his relationship was like with his brother growing up when factoring in the age gap they have (12:28), how he

Kyle Korver is one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in the history of the NBA. He’s 4th most all-time in 3-point field goals made and 3rd highest on the all-time list for 3-point field goal percentage. But Kyle is so much more than a shooter. He was an all-star in 2015 and he played in the NBA for 17 seasons. Kyle also won the sportsmanship award in 2015. In this episode, we discuss misogi and its role in Kyle’s life and career (6:34), if he’s always embraced challenge and adventure (11:13), how misogi helps him navigate COVID (16:09), how he thinks about perfectionism and adaptability in relation to his gameday mindset (18:25), how he expanded his game to be more than a shooter as he got older (22:40), what he would do mentally to prepare on game day, before practice, and in the offseason (26:28), what he would do during the game to bring himself back if he got off kilter (29:27), if he would talk to himself (30:55), his upbringing, what it was like to be around his father who was a pastor, and the rol