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Maggie Steffens: Captaining Olympic Teams
On episode thirty-five of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Maggie Steffens. Maggie is a professional water polo player and four-time Olympian on Team USA. Named to the Women’s National Team at 16, Maggie has continued to represent her country at every major international championship since. At 19, she was a member of the 2012 gold-winning squad at the London Olympics, where she played alongside her older sister, making them a truly dynamic duo! Not only did the Steffens sisters bring home gold, but Maggie tied the Olympic record with 21 goals and earned the title of team MVP.
Four years later, Maggie led Team USA to a second consecutive gold medal as the captain of the U.S. Women’s Water Polo team at the Rio Olympics. In 2019, she made history by leading the team to their first-ever three consecutive FINA World Championship titles. A year later, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she helped the team secure yet another gold medal.
Maggie won three National Championships (2014, 2015, and 2017) at Stanford University where she graduated with a degree in science, technology, and society in 2017. She also earned NCAA Tournament MVP honors, and received multiple accolades, including MPSF (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) Player of the Year.
Maggie continued her studies at Stanford, completing a master’s degree in management, science, and engineering and then went on to play professionally in Budapest and Barcelona before returning to Long Beach, CA in the summer of 2019 to train for her third Olympic games.
On Mindful Warrior Radio, Maggie tells us that the goal of leadership as a team captain is to “trust yourself enough to let go and trust your preparation.” She explains that the advantages of doing so are being able “to be yourself, not only out of the water but also in it, whether it’s taking a risk, going for the shot, or swimming a bit faster when it matters. It’s about building trust in yourself, and in turn, trusting others—your teammates, your coaches, and the shared mission of the team. Reaching that level of trust is hard, but it’s a big part of what allows your light to shine. After all, it’s hard to let that light shine if you don’t have trust in yourself, others, and a common purpose.”
About the leadership challenges of being a team captain, she says, ‘I’m constantly thinking about the team, even as I’m going to bed. Of course, I’m focused on how I can improve, but I also ask, what does the team need? What does each player need? How can I approach each situation? Being captain has really emphasized that responsibility. I’m always thinking about the team; that’s just who I am. And it can be challenging to balance fostering team development and harmony while still putting in the effort to become the person I want to be.”
To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com
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Maude Quinn: An Introduction to Family Constellations Therapy
On episode thirty-four of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Maude Quinn. Maude is a massage therapist, bodyworker, and constellations facilitator. With a background in spiritual care and chaplaincy, Maude integrates theological training from Harvard Divinity School with a range of alternative healing modalities. Her work helps clients integrate the wisdom of the body, mind, and soul to access the wellsprings of belonging in their heart, understand their wholeness, and fulfill their soulful purpose. I am honored and thrilled to tap into the insights of Maude Quinn on today’s episode of Mindful Warrior Radio.
To define systems, Maude shares the following, “One of the most basic ways that I understand a system is as a network of elements connected to one another in a constantly evolving manner. So, systems are dynamic; they're alive. They evolve!"
She introduces Family Constellations therapy as “a modality that helps us map the often unseen, invisible dynamics within a system. Every system has unconscious roles, emotional patterns, and other dynamics that we unknowingly replicate. Constellations enable us to visualize these dynamics clearly and address the issues that hinder our deepest desires, intentions, and goals in life—whether personal or professional. It helps us understand how these blocks or entanglements might trace back to older systemic patterns."
Maude describes how family systems impact our lives and relationships outside of our families. She says, "We carry learned behaviors, beliefs, and patterns from our family system into other systems we belong to—whether partnerships, work, or organizations. Unconsciously, we may recruit others to fill unmet roles or needs from our family system, or we may try to fulfill others' unmet needs, replicating learned behaviors. By becoming aware of these patterns and transforming them, we feel deeply resourced and understand authentically what we have to offer in our world."
To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com
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Jay Glazer: Relentless Healing
On episode thirty-three of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Jay Glazer, NFL Insider for FOX Sports’ FOX NFL SUNDAY and part of FOX FOOTBALL THURSDAY. Jay is renowned for breaking major NFL stories year-round, prides himself on hard work, and strives to deliver accurate reporting. He also hosts Bellator MMA fights on the Paramount Network. Jay brings a unique perspective from his background in UFC hosting and analysis. A natural on Podcasts and in front of the camera, he is fun, authentic, and outgoing. Jay’s unique personality always shines through in intimate conversations as well as on the biggest of stages.
Jay initiated the first MMA training program for professional athletes which is now used by over 1,000 athletes. Recently, he and his team trained All-Pro athletes including Von Miller, Aaron Rodgers, Odell Beckham, Bobby Wagner, Andrew Whitworth, Jadeveon Clowney, Lane Johnson, Cam Jordan, and the entire New Orleans Saints team at Unbreakable, his elite performance training center in West Hollywood. Each spring, Jay directs NFL training camps to prepare players physically and psychologically for their team camps.
With all his accomplishments, Jay is most proud of launching MVP (Merging Vets & Players) in 2015, a charitable organization that supports veterans and former athletes in transitioning to civilian life. MVP hosts workouts and counseling sessions both in person and virtually across several cities. (You can learn more about MVP at vetsandplayers.org.)
On this episode of Mindful Warrior Radio, Jay talks openly about how his healing journey taught him to love himself from the inside out.
He shares this insight from a recent healing retreat:
"This monk told me, 'I need you to sit in your pain.'”
I said, “I am with my pain every day.”
He said, “No. You experience your pain every day; I need you to sit in it.”
And I was like, “I've never heard it put like that before.'"
He also unpacks the healing power of moving through pain. "A lot of times, you don't want to do it because it's painful. But to get to anything good, you've got to go through something bad. Everything I have experienced has made me unbreakable: push your breaking point, come through the other side of that tunnel, and nothing else can break or hurt you."
And ultimately, what surprised him the most from his healing journey was “how many people have been hiding this and how many have expressed gratitude.” He says, “I've had a bunch of people tell me I saved their lives. They were contemplating suicide until they read Unbreakable or heard me on my podcast. Something resonated; they felt they were not alone, and they changed their minds. That's the coolest thing."
To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com.
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On episode thirty-two of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Georges Niang. Georges was selected by the Indiana Pacers as the No. 50 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. Since then, he has worked his way into the league being a force both on and off the court. Georges played 23 games with the Pacers during his rookie season before signing a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz in January 2018. He appeared in 59 games for the Utah Jazz during the 2018-19 season, where he scored in double figures five times and capped off the regular season with a career-high 24 points against the LA Clippers. Georges averaged 22.0 points in 15 games with the SLC Stars and was named First Team All-NBA G League for the 2017-18 season. He signed a standard contract with the Jazz before the 2018-19 season and played with the Jazz until 2021. He currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers (2023–present). With the Cavaliers, Georges scored a new career-high of 33 points, making 13 of 14 shot attempts.
Known for a joyous, uplifting spirit and a great sense of humor, Georges skillfully brings teammates together, fosters healthy and playful bonds, and is a key contributor to building high trust, high performance team cultures. His strengths and gifts extend outward and into his local communities. Through camps and clinics, Georges mentors and inspires the next generation of youth basketball players.
If you’re inspired by Georges’ energy and generosity of spirit on this episode, you can continue to connect with him on The Bench Seat, his weekly podcast, or watch him do his thing on the court with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
On this episode Georges answers questions about all things culture.
When asked how he builds culture, Georges says, “Culture is something that is not easily built, but when you're starting to build culture, you need to have a foundation, core values, and a routine that you're going to do every single day.”
Reflecting on how one person can impact the broader culture, he offers sage advice: “The best ability in sports is self-awareness: know who you are, what you bring to the table, and how you can add value.”
About his own contributions to team culture, Georges says, “I know myself and I'm more happy-go-lucky and joyous. I'm trying to instill energy constantly. And that's who I am!”
When asked how he stays committed to culture, Georges explains, “The kicker of every culture is when I sit down and commit to a decision, I have to ask myself, ‘Is this decision going to help our team win or is it not going to help our team win?’ And you always have to choose the one that's going to help your team win because if you don't, you may miss greatness by .1 second.”
To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com
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On episode thirty–one of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Dr. Lisa Firestone. Dr. Firestone is a Clinical Psychologist and the Director of Research and Education at the Glendon Association and Senior Editor at PsychAlive.org. She is the coauthor of numerous articles and book chapters and a coauthor with her father Robert Firestone on several books including The Self Under Siege, Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice, Creating a Life of Meaning and Compassion, and Sex and Love in Intimate Relationships.
Her involvement in clinical training and research in the areas of suicide and violence resulted in the following assessments: Firestone Assessment of Self-destructive Thoughts (FAST) and (FASI) and the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts (FAVT) for adults and adolescents.
A national and international trainer and presenter, Dr. Firestone speaks on topics including couple relations, parenting, and suicide and violence prevention, assessment, and treatment. She continues to serve as a clinical psychologist in private practice and a consultant on the management of high-risk clients.
Dr. Firestone joined me for an informative and insightful conversation on how the critical inner voice presents and behaves.
Here is how she describes the negative impact of the critical inner voice. “In our adult lives, the critical inner voice holds us back a lot. It encourages us to engage in behavior like self-sabotaging. It tries to talk us out of taking risks that are positive and in our own self-interest that would open our world or expand our abilities.” And she normalizes the feelings that accompany change. “There's no change without anxiety,” she tells me.
Dr. Firestone highlights the importance of identifying the critical inner voice. She says, “The biggest thing is we need to identify it. We need to understand what's our critical inner voice and what's us. And recognize when we're not on our own side because we cannot do anything to move on from it when we're still just believing it. If you're still just believing all the ways it's defining you, you're not going to make it.”
You can learn more about Dr. Lisa Firestone’s work at www.drlisafirestone.com, www.psychalive.org, and www.glendon.org.
To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com.
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On episode thirty of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Simon Timm. Simon is a mindfulness and meditation teacher and the author of the book An Introduction to the Self Salutation: How to Resolve Negative Emotions Through Mindfulness Meditation.
Simon spent most of his college years battling depression. Unwilling to spend the rest of his life on Prozac, he searched for another way of living with himself. What he found was meditation. After college, Simon moved into a Hindu ashram and spent sixteen years as monk.
When Simon left the monastic life in 2011, he recognized the need for a meditation practice to help resolve the negative feelings within him—rather than just help lift himself above them. This prompted Simon to explore different modalities of personal transformation and ultimately to develop the Self Salutation.
Simon has a master’s in religion from Yale. He currently lives with his spouse, Allyson, in the Washington, DC metro area.
Simon joined me for an authentic and deep conversation about meditation and the experience of nirvana.
When asking Simon what compelled him to stay throughout his early days at the ashram he says, “Sitting in meditation for a couple of hours at a time was intense. It would feel like sometimes I was going crazy. But at other times it worked. And I lifted myself up and I experienced nirvana. It was like a state of freedom from my mind and from my psyche. I experienced a place of joy and happiness, and I would come back down into myself, but that taste of the potential was enough to keep me going.”
When asked to share about his experience with meditation Simon shares, “The experiences I had in meditation are not so rare for people to have. It's not so difficult and it doesn't have to be a lot. I think a lot of people experience meditation and suddenly, it’s quiet and the mind becomes quiet. It might be just for a moment. But in that moment, you experience what that freedom can be like.”
To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com
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On episode twenty-nine of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Alex Krongard. Alex served in the U.S. Navy for over 30 years, primarily in joint special operations commands and the Navy SEAL Teams. He was a member of SEAL Teams 1, 2, and 7, as well as the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. Alex was the first commanding officer of SEAL Team 7, which he commanded in Iraq from the late fall of 2003 to the spring of 2004. Later he commanded Naval Special Warfare Group 1 with responsibility for the training and readiness of the four West coast SEAL Teams and associated logistics and support units.
Alex’s final military jobs were as a counterterrorism director on the National Security Council staff in Washington, D.C., deputy commander of Combined Joint Task Force—Horn of Africa in Djibouti—and Deputy Operations Officer for the U.S. Africa Command. Alex retired in September 2016, as a Rear Admiral, Lower Half.
Following retirement, Alex worked as an investment banker with DC Advisory in their San Francisco office, predominately in the cybersecurity and government security services sectors before serving as CEO to The COMMIT Foundation for two years. COMMIT assists military service members with their transitions to post-service life.
Alex grew up outside Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from Princeton University with a degree in English Literature and from the National War College with a Masters in National Security Strategy.
Alex joined me for an honest, humble, and real conversation about his time in the military. When asked about enacting change through culture, Alex shares, “The scary ones I've run into are cultures that won't change…No matter what you do, you cannot change the culture. And sometimes you're not in the right place. Or you're not in the right job to do it. Sometimes it's a type of work where the traditions are so set in stone that you cannot do anything about it. I think you must know when to say, I can't do this. For elite performers I think that's almost impossible. A lot of elite performers have not just struggled but failed and ruined their reputations because they weren't willing to say, look, I just can't do it.”
When asked how you cultivate trust within teams Alex talks about shared knowledge. “Buster Howe, a two-star Royal Marine from the UK, gave us this great talk on trust. And he said trust is adding reliability. Meaning, I can be relied on to get something done. Ability: I'm able to do it. And intimacy. Intimacy being—we can have a conversation about this and not pull any punches and divide it by the perception of self-interest. So, if someone can get nothing from something and they're going to do it for you anyway and they're reliable, capable, and they're intimate with you, that's high trust.”
To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com
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On episode twenty-eight of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Yuri Hauswald. Yuri is an icon of the gravel cycling world. As a professional endurance cyclist for Giant Bicycles and the Elite Athlete and Community Development Manager for GU Energy Labs, Yuri is also an innovator, storyteller, and mentor to many. He is probably best known for winning the world’s premier gravel bike racing event, Unbound, formerly Dirty Kanza, in 2015 at age 44. No stranger to adversity, Yuri talks about his mindset and motivation for facing challenges head on.
When asked what has sustained his healthy and extended athletic career Yuri tells us, “I’ve always enjoyed pushing my physical limits. If I had to put my finger on something—and I don't understand the chemistry of it—it’s the endorphins. The chemicals that are triggered in our bodies and in our brains when we go into those states…when you're pushing yourself physically…I've always found some sort of pleasure and joy from doing that.”
When asked how he finds the discipline to keep going Yuri says, “I trust my training around certain power zones. My coach and I figured that my diesel engine could run at a high efficiency for long periods of time. Not super-fast. I wasn’t fast but I had the ability to hold good power numbers for long periods of time. So, sticking to that and having the discipline to know that.”
For the rest of us, he says a simple practice to get through hard times is to “take a deep breath. Take that pause. Have the tantrum. Figure out the next steps. Keep moving forward and you're going to be super proud of yourself when you get through those conditions.”
About finding joy in challenging times Yuri says, “Sometimes things just suck. And you have to deal with that suck. You have to figure out a way through. Life is not always joyous, but I do think that when you get through that mud pit of suck—or whatever you want to call it—that the joy you do find on the other side is possibly more powerful and more meaningful because you did go through the suck. The most important thing in all of that is just continuing to move forward, whether it's baby steps or long strides. If you can find little ways to continue moving forward through that suck, you're eventually going to get through it.”
To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com
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On episode twenty-seven of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Dr. Lou Cozolino. Dr. Cozolino practices psychotherapy and consulting psychology in Beverly Hills, California. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from UCLA and an M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity School. Lou has been a professor at Pepperdine since 1986 and lectures around the world on psychotherapy, neuroscience, trauma, and attachment. With more than 30 years of experience as a psychotherapist and coach, Dr. Cozolino connects, attunes, and interacts with adults, adolescents, and families as they face a wide variety of life’s challenges. Working primarily from a psychodynamic model of treatment, Lou also employs strategies and techniques from other forms of therapy, including CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), family systems, and humanistic/existential therapeutic interventions. In our recent interview Dr. Cozolino unpacks his theory of and approach to executive functioning. He says, “I was doing psychotherapy, and I thought, well, you can't really talk about executive functioning as a cognitive process alone because the cognitive and emotional networks are all interwoven in the brain.” Dr. Cozolino also tells us that vulnerability is the best place to start when developing executive function. He says we all need “to equate vulnerability with strength. To move forward, you can't hold on too rigidly to the ideas and beliefs that got you to where you are. So, those things got you here, but they're not going to get you to the next step. But people tend to continue to repeat the things that have gotten them to success because it's hard to imagine that they could change and get even more successful.” He also describes the haunting feeling that can lurk inside even the most successful people. He says, “If you're a CEO, you're already successful, but you're not as successful as perhaps you feel you could be. You have this instinct that you have a kind of dark passenger: Like there's something inside of you that's keeping you from moving forward. And I've had some CEOs tell me that they've even personified it like it's a dark man that visits them at night...and that's just the projection of something inside. So, one of the greatest joys in life is finding someone who's successful but is haunted. And figuring out what else is going on inside of them so that they can free themselves from that. So, they can be done with that and move forward and not just work for a living, but really love working.” Dr. Cozolino explains what happens to executive functioning when we are in a state of fear. “I try to teach everyone that if you are afraid—or if you're highly aroused or activated—that the first executive system inhibits the other two executive systems. When you're scared, there's no real learning.” To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com
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On episode twenty-six of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Ann Betz, CPCC, PCC, MNTC, the co-founder of BEabove Leadership and an international speaker and trainer at the intersection of neuroscience, coaching, and human transformation. A certified professional coach with more than twenty years in the industry, a published author and poet, and a researcher, Ann integrates her passion for the brain and consciousness with her interest in spirituality. Clients and students alike laud her for making the complexities of the brain come to life with depth, humor, and clarity. In our recent interview Ann describes how to identify a work environment that lacks psychological safety. She says, “What is the pattern? The pattern will tell you a lot, and then your body will tell you a lot. But you’ve got to map it to the pattern.” Ann talks about the negative impact of a psychologically unsafe work environment on performance. She says, “We're not designed to think carefully when we're in a fight-or-flight and/or freeze situation. We're designed to move. We’re designed to do what is necessary to survive. So, by design, our brains get blocked a bit so that we can do what's critically necessary for survival and not higher-level thinking. You lose the ability to think abstractly, and so you get less creativity. You get less empathic. You get less of the ability to make good decisions. That's the brain impact. In the body, you're draining your adrenal glands. Cortisol is shutting down your immune function. There are all sorts of things like that that basically say you're making yourself sick. And so, in organizations that have a high level of stress and a toxic culture what you will find is 1) more absenteeism, 2) more presenteeism—because when people can't think they don't work as effectively—and 3) higher healthcare costs.” Ann describes how to identify narcissistic behaviors by using the acronym CRAVED. She says that one way to assess if someone has those characteristics is by asking yourself the following questions: “Are they typically and habitually (C)onflictual. Are they (R)igid? Are they (A)ntagonistic? Do they pick fights? Are they (V)indictive? Do they act like a victim? Are they (E)ntitled? Are they (D)ysregulated? So, can they not regulate their own emotions?”Ann closes by giving us one way to positively impact a work culture. She says, “Really celebrate the integrated leader. Celebrate the leader that understands both how to get results, but also how to care for their people and really celebrate both and really keep focusing on that.” To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com
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On episode twenty-five of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Caroline Burckle, an Olympic athlete, performance coach, and entrepreneur. After her Olympic career, Caroline went on to chase the next high. Even though she had moved on from sports to become an entrepreneur, the desire for validation and feeling she was “not enough” moved with her into her new profession. It was then that Caroline began to explore the interconnection between her bouts of depression, her physical injuries, and her mental health. She figured there must be a better way “to do this.” By this, she meant a deeper understanding of the somatic connection between mind and body. Caroline pursued her interest in the mind-body connection with zeal and went on to earn a Masters in Sport Psychology She also started a company with fellow Olympic medalist, Rebecca Soni, to help youth athletes improve their mental wellness and preparedness. Together, they hired a team of Olympians to mentor and support up-and-coming youth to achieve greater mental-emotional well-being as athletes. Today, Caroline wants everyone to know they can rewrite their script by firing on all cylinders—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Her professional work blends creativity, empathy, and movement. Caroline believes feelings are information, not a prescription. When we learn how to understand what our feelings are telling us in both our body and mind, we can work with them, not against them. Ultimately, Caroline believes that the goal isn’t just to become great, but to know who you are when you become great. In our recent interview, Caroline talks about the challenges of competing with a dysregulated nervous system. She says, “My worst races...my worst performances were when I was either in fight or flight, or in shut down. Both of those ends of the spectrum can be detrimental to any athlete.” She also describes her post-athletic career healing process. “No one is going to save you. This is up to you. And you have to figure this out and go through this process. And it was not pretty. There were months and months of feeling like I was getting worse. And then you realize you get worse before you get better.” Caroline also reminds us of the importance of identifying behavioral patterns. “If you don’t address it at some point, it will catch up to you because the same patterns you can use to compete and perform well do not necessarily serve you in everyday life.” To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com
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On episode twenty-three of Mindful Warrior Radio, Cornelia Holden, the Founder and CEO of Mindful Warrior, interviews her colleague and teammate, Kami Craig. As a performance and culture coach at Mindful Warrior, Kami brings an instinct for winning and an innate knowledge of building and leading high trust cultures and high-performance teams to her clients. She specializes in helping elite and professional athletes, coaches, and teams reach their performance goals. Clients also regularly retain her coaching services to help identify their next venture as they retire and anticipate the end of one career and the beginning of the next. Kami listens deeply, asks discerning questions, and helps her clients achieve the next phase of their dreams: to build a high trust culture and high-performance team in their new workplace. Kami brings her world class accomplishments as a thirteen-year veteran of the United States women’s national water polo team, a three-time Olympian, and a two-time gold medalist to her skillful and passionate work as a performance coach. A true advocate, challenger, and champion, Kami’s performance coaching blends Mindful Warrior’s proprietary approach to coaching and culture design with her training at the Co-Active Training Institute, the Center for Council, and the Diversity and Resiliency Institute of El Paso. Kami is also a graduate of Core Leadership for Educators in Pebble Beach, California—an intensive, invitation-only, and mindfulness-based residential leadership program for globally-minded leaders.As a result of her rich and diverse experience, Kami is able to coach leaders through complex performance challenges; facilitate workshops to build shared agreements, shared practices, and shared consciousness in order to develop more diverse, equitable, and inclusive cultures; advance women leaders; and provide skillful instruction in core values, team covenants, brave space, identity development, mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and leadership impact.One of the greatest water polo players of all time and the number one college recruit in the nation, Kami won silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and gold at the Olympics in London (2012) and Rio (2016). She has many international successes to accompany her three Olympic medals including being a three-time World Champion, a three-time Pan American Games Champion, and a two-time World Cup Champion. Kami was also the first woman to win the prestigious Pete Cutino award. During the interview, Kami recalls a moment when her willingness to be vulnerable and brave inspired her teammates to rise alongside her. “My greatest desire at that point was to win a gold medal alongside my teammates. And I believe what I was doing in that moment was giving my heart and everything I was holding to the team to say, ‘Can you actually hold this and carry it along with me rather than me holding it alone?’”Kami is definitive about what it takes to show up and win. “You need heart! You cannot be one foot in and foot out when you are trying to be the best in the world.”When asked what advice she would share with listeners who are striving to reach their potential Kami says, “My medals just sit in a box somewhere. They are what they are. It’s really the process that matters. It’s the choices you make throughout the processes. It’s the conversations you have. It’s the meals you share. It’s the challenges you face and how you find the solutions together. It’s the process.”To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com
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On episode twenty-three of Mindful Warrior Radio, I am joined by Suzi Landolphi, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with extensive experience working with veterans. Most recently, Suzi worked as a Senior PATHH Guide at Boulder Crest Retreat (BCR) in Bluemont, Virginia, a privately funded retreat for combat veterans, their families, and first responders. Suzi is one of the co-creators of BCR’s signature program: Progressive and Alternative Training for Healing Heroes (PATHH). PATHH is the nation’s first curriculum-based retreat with eighteen months of follow-up support based on the science of Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG). Suzi’s understanding of and expertise in childhood trauma and it effects on adult development is a cornerstone of the success of the PATHH program. In addition to BCR, Suzi has consulted for The Wounded Warrior Project, Save A Warrior, Veterans 360, The EOD Warrior Foundation, Operation Mend, and Team Rubicon. She is also on the Advisory Board of Merging Vets and Players (MVP), an organization dedicated to connecting and supporting elite athletes and veterans. In 2007, Suzi founded BIG Heart Ranch and Farm (BHR) in Malibu, California she works with clients of all ages to form deep connections with animals to facilitate healing from the effects of trauma. While managing BHR, Suzi also developed an equine therapy model called Horse Inspired Growth and Healing (HIGH) which includes both ground and mounted activities to nurture healing through trauma and to support holistic wellness. In addition, Suzi was the first Clinical Director of Alo House Recovery Centers, a progressive strengths-based, dual-diagnosis treatment community with facilities in Malibu and Los Angeles. Alo and Suzi continue to support veterans and first responders by creating new treatment programs housed at a working horse ranch.Before becoming a licensed therapist, Suzi received a BA in Theater from Middlebury College and worked as a theater, video, and film producer/director. She hosted her own television and radio programs in Los Angeles and is a frequent guest on national talk shows, including The Oprah Winfrey Show.Suzi and I talked about managing life transitions, the connection between self-confidence and self-value, how our childhood impacts every part of our adult lives, how to mitigate triggers and emotions, the role that animals–and horses, in particular–play in healing, the importance of trusting your spirit rather than your thoughts and feelings, and the power of sharing your spirit with others.Suzi talks about the power of self-value: “Confidence comes from value. If your value is about winning, if your value is about the uniform, if your value is about your title and the people you hang out with and then all of that is gone, then most of your value is what you do and not who you are.”Suzi reflects on the human spirit: “Spirit is the basis of our principles. It shouldn’t be our thoughts. It shouldn’t be our feelings. I may be the only therapist who says I don’t give a shit about your thoughts, and I don’t give a shit about your feelings. I care what you do! And spirit is ‘do.’ It’s what you do! It’s how you walk the surface. It’s what you say. It’s who you are with. It’s how you are with yourself and others. That is spirit.”To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com
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On Episode Twenty-Two of Mindful Warrior Radio, I am joined by Hank Wise, an elite waterman, surfer, and coach who is the reigning King of the Catalina Channel—a 32km open water crossing from Santa Catalina Island to the Southern California mainland—that took him just under eight hours to complete. A Stanford graduate, Hank is the founder and director of Swim Focus and SWIM Long Beach and the Head Coach of Rocket Fish Swim School and SWIM Long Beach Masters. Happiest when he’s sailing, diving, paddling, kayaking, rowing, body surfing, and teaching both in and about the ocean, Hank knows a thing or two about assessing risk and finding flow. While he has a commanding physical presence, it is his open heart and generous spirit that has the greatest impact. A day with Hank in and around the water is magical.
In this episode, Hank and I discuss a range of topics: how to maintain mental discipline when the end-goal is not in sight; how to interrupt and manage fear; how to commit, submit, and find excitement in challenges; how to prepare for and build into flow; the role that love, gratitude, curiosity and humility play in well-being and success; and how to embody being a warrior with an open heart.
Mindful Warrior is hosted by Kami Craig, a former elite athlete, Olympic champion, and performance and culture design coach at Mindful Warrior.
Our guest on Episode Twenty-Two of Mindful Warrior Radio—Hank Wise—is an elite waterman, the reigning King of the Catalina Channel, and the founder and director of Swim Focus and SWIM Long Beach.
Hank reflects on commitment when facing challenges: “Once you are trained and ready there’s this idea that you submit: you submit yourself fully to the task at hand. You not only submit but you lean in. You really lean in. And embrace it. So much so that you look forward to it. You give yourself so wholly to the task that you are like, ‘I am in, I am so in right now.’”
Hank describes his approach to embodying love as a warrior: “I look at love like it is an effervescent flow in my heart—like a fountain in my heart. The more love that I give, the more love that comes back. That is true giving to yourself. That is true giving to others. And that is true sharing what you have to share with communities. If you can tap into the power of love, then you have tapped into a source that is so powerful, so regenerative, and the laws of karma are in place. Love is so powerful.”
Hank talks about the power of curiosity and humility: “The goodness is out there you just have to be curious. A word that I oftentimes put together with curiosity is humility. Because if you are curious and you’re humble that is the secret sauce of going forward. The humility allows for future experimentation and education.”
If you enjoyed today’s episode, please take the opportunity to share with a friend, follow Mindful Warrior Radio, and leave a review!
To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com
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On Episode Twenty-One of Mindful Warrior Radio, I am joined by Lauren Monroe, an accomplished musician, healer, noted author, and speaker who is also a globally recognized advocate for mental health awareness, PTSD therapies, suicide prevention and crisis healing. These powerful themes are echoed in the music she and husband Rick Allen—drummer for Def Leppard—share to awaken hearts, ease suffering, and activate the souls of those who are ready to create powerful change. Through the Raven Drum Foundation, Lauren and Rick have inspired thousands of people in need with a specific focus on veterans. Lauren embodies warmth and wisdom. She welcomes listeners into her heart with her insights, healing presence, and compassion. I promise, you will want to attend her next live performance!
In this episode, Lauren and I discuss a range of topics: how to leverage the intersection of science and spirituality; how to enact the healing power of energy medicine, storytelling, and artistry; how to create and hold healing space; how to amplify heart, intuition, and authenticity; how to pause and pace yourself as a creative; how to protect yourself as a healer and empath; and how to allow yourself to experience the significance a human moment.
Mindful Warrior is hosted by Kami Craig, a former elite athlete, Olympic champion, and performance and culture design coach at Mindful Warrior.
Our guest on Episode Twenty-One of Mindful Warrior Radio, Lauren Monroe, is an accomplished musician, healer, noted author, and speaker who is also a globally recognized advocate for mental health awareness, PTSD therapies, suicide prevention and crisis healing.
Lauren reflects on the power of being with vulnerability to experience flow: “I think some of the most powerful things I’ve been able to do is to be in that state of vulnerability—being afraid on stage in front of people and just wait. Just wait… And I’ve learned that if I just stand there and wait, it’s like a magnet: everyone starts to wait. And this pregnant pause of energy starts to happen. And as soon as I start to feel that begin to integrate, I can start talking and things begin to flow.”
Lauren talks about the process of opening to her audience: “For me, being open is to immediately check in with my body because that is a doorway. So, for me, it’s the beginning place, or starting place, to achieve openness when I feel like I am not. To take a breath. I am telling myself to relax and physically open.”
To learn more ways to experience and support Lauren Monroe’s mission please visit the https://laurenmonroe.com/ and https://ravendrumfoundation.org/.
Enjoy Lauren Monroe’s new album, Messages from Aphrodite Storyteller Edition. Click the following link: https://laurenmonroe.ffm.to/mfa_storyteller.
If you enjoyed today’s episode, please take the opportunity to share with a friend, follow Mindful Warrior Radio, and leave a review!
To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com
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On Episode Twenty of Mindful Warrior Radio, I am joined by Amani Legagneur. Amani brings her experience from a decade-long career as System Manager of Spiritual Health and Education in one of the nation’s largest community hospital conglomerates. Amani is a specialized spiritual leader who has completed the gold standard program of Clinical Pastoral Education and is a performance and culture design coach at Mindful Warrior. She brings her expertise in areas such as crisis response, conflict resolution, education theory, interpersonal neuroscience, intercultural relations, spiritual care, and multi-faith theological studies to her work. Amani brings a beautiful grounding and insightful presence that has you leaning on her every word.
In this episode, she and I discuss a range of topics: what it means to be a chaplain; how she defines faith and spirituality; the role faith plays in high-stakes environments when you’re flooded with fear; how faith plays a role in performance excellence; the practice of staying connected to your Truth during challenging times; how to let go under pressure; the difference between self-care and self-compassion; the use of boundaries, rest, and recovery; and the importance of a mind, body, spirit balance.
Mindful Warrior is hosted by Kami Craig, a former elite athlete, Olympic champion, and performance and culture design coach at Mindful Warrior.
Our guest on Episode Twenty of Mindful Warrior Radio is Amani Legagneur whose decade-long career as System Manager of Spiritual Health and Education is a specialized spiritual leader. She has completed the gold standard program of Clinical Pastoral Education and is a performance and culture design coach at Mindful Warrior.
Amani shares her definition of faith: “I think faith is something that is ultimately ineffable, but if you have it, you know it and you feel it. Everyone on a human journey who is cognitively able to tries to make meaning of their existential experiences. Faith is your ‘Ultimate Concern.’ It’s the thing that matters most to you.”
Amani reflects on the power of love within faith: “I think there is a certain resilience to believing that love wins. I think there is an incredible energy and emboldening sense of well-being that happens when you believe not only that there is something beyond you, but that there is something beyond you that is loving and that there is a source that cares about the details of your life.”
To learn more about Amani Legagneur’s life story, you may enjoy reading Healing Touch written by Laurie Enyon for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
If you enjoyed today’s episode, please take the opportunity to share with a friend, follow Mindful Warrior Radio, and leave a review!
To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com
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On Episode Nineteen of Mindful Warrior Radio, I am joined by Danell Leyva a two-time Olympian and three-time Olympic medalist for the men’s USA gymnastics team. Today, Danell wears many hats. He’s an actor, writer, performer, advocate, coach, and mentor. No stranger to pressure or performance, Danell describes the roller coaster ride of being named an alternate to the 2016 US Olympic Team and then being called to compete after a member of Team USA was injured. Danell went on to medal in two events at the 2016 Games in Brazil. A charismatic athlete turned actor, Danell has an authentic and open way of sharing inspiring life lessons.
In this episode, Danell talks about the practice of letting go, the mindset needed to recover after making mistakes and failing, the role of self-compassion in living a happy life, the relationship between confidence and having a growth mindset, how to balance motivation, and why well-being positively impacts performance.
Mindful Warrior is hosted by Kami Craig, a former elite athlete, Olympic champion, and performance and culture design coach at Mindful Warrior.
Our guest on Episode Nineteen of Mindful Warrior Radio is Danell Leyva, a two-time Olympian, three-time Olympic medalist, and former member of the men’s USA gymnastics team.
Danell talks about his mindset at the 2016 Olympic games: “My biggest perspective change is it’s no longer, ‘I need to do this,’ but rather ‘I want to do this.’ As simple or as small as that seems, I feel it is very powerful. You remove so much personal pressure, and it remains a passion rather than a necessity.”
Danell reflects on the practice of creating space for failures and mistakes: “As athletes once we get to this certain point, we no longer accept failure. And, I think that is counter intuitive. It’s the only way we can learn to grow. You are going to have people say, ‘Oh, you want to be a failure?’ What I am saying is it’s the only way to move past it, experience it, so then you can grow—and keep growing—until you can become your version of what successful means.”
Danell shares his perspective on balanced motivation: “Hyper-focus is good if you use it productively, but if it starts to invade other aspects of your life because you are too focused on this thing, then that’s not productive. And, ultimately, it takes away from you performing at your highest level in that thing you are focused on and love so much.”
If you enjoyed today’s episode, please take the opportunity to share with a friend, follow Mindful Warrior Radio, and leave a review!
To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com
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On Episode Eighteen of Mindful Warrior Radio, I’m joined by Adam Krikorian, a three-time Olympic champion, the head coach of the U.S. women’s national water polo team, and former head coach of the men’s and women’s water polo teams at UCLA. In this episode, Adam focuses on bringing out the best in others—in athletes and coaches, alike—and describes the process of achieving and sustaining performance excellence at the highest level of sport.
In short, winning is what Adam knows how to do. In his 17 years as a player and coach at UCLA, Adam won 15 national titles—11 as head coach, three as assistant coach, and one as a student-athlete. Now the head coach of the U.S. women’s national team, Adam led the team to gold at the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Olympic games. Since being named head coach in 2009, Team USA has earned gold in 19 of its last 22 major international competitions (Olympic Games, FINA World Championships, FINA World Cups, and FINA World League Super Final Crowns). This is a remarkable 86% winning record!
In this episode, our listeners will gain important insights into what it takes to build and lead a high trust, high performance team. They will see the wisdom of integrating a fierce competitive drive with humility and humor, and they will be inspired by Adam’s commitment to lifelong learning.
Adam and I explore the process of building and leading teams to achieve and sustain flow. Reflecting on his past experiences, Adam describes the role love plays in helping a team achieve flow. “When we are talking about a flow state in a team setting, you are adding so many layers and so many more dynamics to it. And I think the other thing that cannot be understated is if you want to try to get there, then there is so much love that has to be created within that group—there is so much unselfishness—that it’s going to be difficult to find that flow state within the team setting if there isn’t that love, respect, and trust that you have for one another. That’s what makes team sports incredibly special.”
We also discuss the importance of designing an environment to build a successful team. Adam highlights the value of consistency and discipline to create change and build team strength. “Pressure paralyzes. And when pressure is involved, bad habits blossom and they rear their ugly head. So, the environment we create in practice—and it can’t be like this every day—but we need to find moments in our training where the team feels the pressure and has to deal with adversity because adversity always appears. It always shows up.”
Purpose, people, and perspective are three key elements that help Adam navigate challenging and tedious times. Focusing on the larger “why” allows him to maintain focus. He says, “I need to go through all these baby steps: There is a reason to what we are doing. There is a purpose to what we are doing. The people that you are doing it with. Creating relationships through the journey…how important that is. Having the perspective. Knowing we are going through all of this—this monotonous stage—and that this is going to get us to this place. And it’s not always about winning. It’s about learning and growing. And understanding if you can have that perspective through the process, it can keep you dialed in and motivated.”
If you enjoyed today’s episode, please take the opportunity to share with a friend, follow Mindful Warrior Radio, and leave a review!
To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com
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On Episode Seventeen of Mindful Warrior Radio, I was joined by elite athlete and Olympic marathon qualifier, Seana Zelazo, LICSW—a graduate of Smith College School for Social work—who is in private practice as a psychotherapist, spiritual coach, and intuitive channel. Seana is committed to helping others live unapologetically. Seana helps her clients move through internalized limitations to release patterns that no longer serve them so they can access higher levels of consciousness.
Seana embodies warmth and grounded energy. We talked about her mother normalizing and championing her intuitive gifts as a child, how to recognize and differentiate between fear and intuition, best practices to connect to and strengthen intuition, the relationship between flow and intuition, and how to get into the flow zone when you’re feeling stuck. This episode will have you leaning in and listening closely.
Mindful Warrior is hosted by Kami Craig, a former elite athlete, Olympic champion, and performance and culture design coach at Mindful Warrior.
Our guest on Episode Seventeen of Mindful Warrior Radio is psychotherapist, spiritual coach, intuitive channel, and elite athlete, Seana Zelazo, LICSW.
Seana talks about differentiating between fear and intuition: “The fear feels disempowering and constrictive, instead of expansive. The intuition that is coming through always feels expansive because it is showing us a way through even if it is saying this is probably not the best match for you. It does it in a way that is empowering, not in a way that feels terrifying.”
On her experiences of flow and intuition, Seana says, “My understanding of flow and intuition is that intuition is like a gateway or a way to jump onto the track of flow. I think they go hand-in-hand. There is one way that I experienced flow concretely, in an athletic event, that was entirely connected with intuition.”
On training and being a lifelong learner, Seana says, “Everything that shows up in your world is an opportunity for training and if you lean into it, you reap the benefits of what it can offer.”
If you enjoyed today’s episode, please take the opportunity to share with a friend, follow Mindful Warrior Radio, and leave a review!
To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com
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On Episode Sixteen of Mindful Warrior Radio, I was joined by Alex Gray, professional surfer turned coach, motivational speaker, and wellness and mental health enthusiast. Alex travels the world pursuing his passion for surfing. He’s one of the most authentic and spirited people I know. His humility and ability to connect with just about anyone allow him to be an incredible force for good in our world. Today, Alex teaches and mentors elite athletes, weekend warriors, and youth to help them identify their limiting beliefs and discover what is beneath their fears. He also organizes surf therapy groups in California for those grieving the loss of a loved one.
Alex and I talked about his transition from being a professional athlete and its impact on his ego and identity. We also explored his commitment to health and healing, his unanticipated COVID-related quarantine on Fiji, and his unique approaches to helping people build confidence and feel genuine self-worth.
Mindful Warrior is hosted by Kami Craig, a former elite athlete, Olympic champion, and performance and culture design coach at Mindful Warrior.
Our guest on Episode Sixteen of Mindful Warrior Radio Fifteen is professional surfer turned coach, motivational speaker, and wellness and mental health enthusiast, Alex Gray.
Alex spoke about the process of his professional surfing career coming to an end, “And it’s fun because at this point, I think the easy thing to do when a journey ends abruptly—unexpectedly where you feel like you have more gas in the tank, where you feel like you had more performances to do—was to not end with bitterness towards living in that moment in time where the cord is cut.”
Alex reflected on the process of his professional surfing career coming to an end. “I call it self-sabotage. What I do is hustle. And when my back is pushed against a wall I know how to perform. Life was pushing me against a wall. I was performing. And I wouldn’t allow any space to let life in. What I believe is there is a natural course for all of us, but I do not know how to operate like that. I want to be in control, and I will always find a way out of being pinned.”
When a surfing trip to Fiji unexpectedly got extended due to the pandemic, Alex reflected on his mindset. “I realized there was going to be an outcome from this moment in time and I wanted to make it a betterment of my life. I wanted to come out of it not with just scoring perfect waves, I wanted to come out of it ready to face the world again…with knowing myself more and taking the time to understand what triggers me to feel like I have to do something. What is my reason behind that? Is it identity? Is there ego involved? Is it actual purpose that is bettering my life? What am I doing with my daily habits that is going to have actual life longevity rather than reactive haste to survive that day, or thrive that day?”
If you enjoyed today’s episode, please take the opportunity to share with a friend, follow Mindful Warrior Radio, and leave a review!
To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com
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