Finding Mastery
The Psychology of the Seattle Seahawks I Coach Mike MacDonald
updated
On today’s episode, we sit down with Giorgos Tsetis — engineer, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Nutrafol. As a young model, Giorgos faced the fear of hair thinning head-on and made a radical choice: to engineer a healthier, science-backed path. That choice would eventually serve millions and build a billion-dollar wellness brand.
This is more than a story about hair. It’s about identity, confidence, stress, and what it takes to transform pain into purpose. Giorgos shares openly about the anxiety of losing something that defined him, the science behind whole-body health, and the leadership lessons that fueled his journey from struggle to impact.
In this conversation, you’ll discover:
- Why hair health is a mirror of overall wellness
- How stress and lifestyle choices trigger genetic predispositions
- The importance of integrity and clinical rigor in building trust
- The leadership philosophy that carried Nutrafol to a billion-dollar valuation
- Leadership lessons rooted in kindness and psychological safety
CHAPTERS
0:00 Giorgos Tsetis Introduction
2:00 Giorgos’ origin story & early struggles with hair loss
4:30 Finasteride, side effects & health anxiety
7:30 Discovering a multifactorial approach to hair health
10:40 The emotional and identity impact of hair thinning
13:45 Building Nutrafol: science, efficacy & credibility
19:40 From startup struggles to billion-dollar acquisition
29:00 Leadership, kindness & lessons on living a great life
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#Leadership #HealthAndWellness #FindingMastery #Confidence #Stress #Entrepreneurship #Identity #Nutrafol #Resilience #Mindset #hairthinning #nutrafol #hair #haircare #thickerhair #leadership
On today’s episode, we sit down with Olympic silver medalists Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes, their legendary coach Marcio Sicoli, and moderator David Belasco to go behind the curtain of Team Canada’s incredible 2024 beach volleyball run.
Together, they unpack the key moments that shaped their journey—radical honesty, shared values, emotional resilience, and the courage to break routines in pursuit of freedom and flow. This is a rare, inside look at the human experience of performing at the highest level.
In this conversation, you’ll learn:
- How radical honesty built trust that carried them through pressure
- Why shared values created unshakable team alignment
- The emotional reality of Olympic highs and lows
- How breaking routines unlocked their best performance
- Lessons in leadership, resilience, and culture from the Olympic stage
CHAPTERS
0:00 Brandie Wilkerson & Melissa Humana-Paredes Introduction
3:06 How the Team Came Together
6:39 The Essence of Partnership
9:47 A Safe Space & Radical Honesty
12:30 Owning Mistakes
15:26 Big Emotions at the Olympics
27:30 Brandie's Mindset Shift
33:33 “Wake Up Your Senses"
37:33 Facing the Americans (Round of 16)
40:29 From Doubt to Trust
46:12 Falling to Training vs. Rising to the Occasion
49:04 Different Philosophies
53:29 Questioning Philosophy at the Olympics
59:33 The Gold Medal Match
1:06:21 Carrying the Weight
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Dr. Travis Bradberry is a best-selling author and one of the world’s leading experts on EQ (Emotional Intelligence). With more than 5 million books sold, including his groundbreaking new release The New Emotional Intelligence, Dr. Bradberry has redefined how we think about human performance, relationships, and well-being.
On today’s episode, we dig into what emotional intelligence looks like in real life: how it shows up in leadership and relationships. You’ll hear why EQ is the foundation for almost everything that matters — and how you can start building it intentionally today.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why EQ matters more than IQ in most areas of life
- How to spot emotional blind spots that hold you back
- What high-EQ leaders do differently under pressure
- Simple ways to strengthen your emotional intelligence every day
- Why EQ is a core ingredient of a great life
CHAPTERS
0:00 Travis Bradberry Intro
2:14 What's important to know about Travis
5:30 What is Travis trying to solve and prove?
8:19 How are you navigating your emotions right now?
11:05 Emotions influence thoughts or the other way around?
15:25 Mack Weldon ad
16:55 How does someone increase their emotional intelligence?
22:01 Relationship between feelings and emotions
26:53 Experiencing two emotions at the same time
31:30 A story highlighting self-awareness training
33:09 Momentous ad
34:20 Why do people change?
37:58 How to experience emotions?
41:22 Gender differences in emotion management
46:20 Commitment or motivation
47:08 Trusting your intuition
51:15 Relationship management
54:32 Workplace differences between Baby Boomers and Gen X
55:25 EQ link to performance and income
57:28 How can EQ be improved?
59:55 Most people are not good at working with stress
1:01:20 To become a better performer you must do this
1:05:23 How can parents help their kids be more emotionally intelligent?
1:06:50 Main concern about EQ
1:08:37 Next on Finding Mastery
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On today’s episode, we sit down with Simon Sinek, bestselling author, globally renowned thinker, and longtime friend of Finding Mastery. Back for his second conversation with Dr. Michael Gervais, Simon challenges the way we measure our lives — from sleep scores to step counts — and makes a compelling case for why friendship is not a luxury, but essential for survival and fulfillment.
In this wide-ranging discussion, Simon explores the hidden dangers of over-optimization, the deep value of belonging, and why AI may serve less as a threat and more as a mirror for what it really means to be human. His wisdom and storytelling leave us with practical insights that are both inspiring and deeply grounding.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
- Why friendship is essential for happiness and survival
- The hidden dangers of chasing metrics and measurement
- How to see AI as a mirror for humanity, not just a threat
- The practices Simon uses to foster connection and belonging
- How to realign your life toward meaning instead of optimization
CHAPTERS
0:00 Simon Sinek Introduction
2:11 Where does Simon's interest in friendship come from?
4:46 Most people are bad friends, here's why...
7:02 Momentous ad
8:13 Immense gratitude for having good friends
10:35 The problem with giving metrics
24:03 Mack Weldon ad
26:38 Don't outsource the work
37:01 The development of storytelling ability
45:45 How does Simon prepare himself for the next wave of change?
50:00 On relationships and how society views them
56:55 Everyone knows that friends matter, but we don't do the work
1:05:25 What are Simon's practices?
1:14:15 What do you want people to know about Simon?
1:21:02 Optimism and Empathy
1:24:25 Next on Finding Mastery
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#SimonSinek #FindingMastery #Friendship #AI #Leadership #Meaning #Connection #MichaelGervais #Podcast #SelfMastery #StartWithWhy #InfiniteGame #PersonalGrowth #MindsetShift #HighPerformanceMindset
Tim explains how language can transform experience, why play is central to connection and creativity, and how his new card game Coyote is designed not around winning, but around syncing up, sparking joy, and unlocking group flow.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
- How reframing a single word can shift your nervous system
- Tim’s practices for cultivating calm, focus, and presence
- Why play is a performance multiplier, not a luxury
- How to design for states instead of chasing outcomes
- The deeper intention behind Coyote; connection, laughter, and flow
CHAPTERS
0:00 Tim Ferris Introduction
2:46 What does Tim's preparation look like?
5:34 How does Tim think about being interviewed and bringing value?
9:30 Teaching "play" to someone in high-performance environments
13:13 Momentous ad
17:04 Reframing from "I have to do..." to "I get to do..."
25:44 Felix Gray ad
26:58 Creating his new game "Coyote"
36:02 Escape the I, I, I, me, me, me disease
39:53 The science of awe
46:05 Who were the people who shaped Tim's life?
54:01 Tim's desire to escape his reality
58:25 Escaping having an identity as a high performer
1:08:08 What are you doing to be more present?
1:18:52 Love life and how Tim thinks about in relationships
1:26:35 Mike gives Tim his flowers
1:27:45 What is Tim interested in these days?
1:31:26 Last message from Tim
1:32:45 Next on Finding Mastery
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Extra Resources:
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988, or visit the website: 988lifeline.org
Full List of Crisis Hotlines and Resources — apa.org/topics/crisis-hotlines
#TimFerriss #FindingMastery #MichaelGervais #Play #Presence #Focus #GroupFlow #HumanPotential #CoyoteGame #Mindset #productivity #motivation #play #socialmedia
This is Oksana Masters, multi-sport Paralympic gold medalist and one of the most decorated Paralympic athletes in U.S. history (with 19 medals). Born with birth defects linked to Chernobyl, abandoned as a child, and later adopted in the U.S, Oksana’s journey is as much about survival as it is about sport. Her life is proof that resilience isn’t built in the absence of challenge, but through it.
In this From The Vault conversation with Dr. Michael Gervais, Oksana opens up about trauma, healing, and the relentless pursuit of agency. She shares how joy became a tool for survival, how she turned pain into power, and what it means to thrive when life seems intent on breaking you.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
- Oksana’s journey from the shadow of Chernobyl to Paralympic gold
- The role of resilience, joy, and agency in overcoming adversity
- How she reframed her story from abandonment to empowerment
- Lessons on healing, grit, and thriving in the face of trauma
- Insights into what true mastery looks like under extreme challenge
CHAPTERS
0:00 Oksana Masters introduction
2:22 The amazing and inspiring Oksana Masters
4:02 What do I need to know about you to understand you?
6:23 How do you deal with being hypervigilant?
12:26 Momentous ad
14:16 The story of the sugar cubes
17:17 Friend Laney, protection, and survivor’s guilt
25:55 Using trauma as fuel & turning hard parts into power
28:32 Reclaiming agency: rewriting the story on the start line
31:06 Society’s labels & challenging invisibility as a disabled athlete
36:39 Choosing to embrace visibility with prosthetics & sports
41:38 Anger, sports as therapy, and fear of injury taking that away
43:06 Gratitude mindset: nothing can be worse than the past
47:25 Psychology, resilience, and insights from observation as a child
49:55 Adoption story: mother’s fight and sheer luck
56:58 Survival mindset, comfort in self-doubt, and rewiring
1:02:10 Short insights on numerous topics
1:08:20 On next: Tim Ferriss
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#OksanaMasters #FindingMastery #Paralympics #paralympian #Resilience #Mindset #OvercomingAdversity #SportsPsychology #FindingJoy #HumanPerformance #Chernobylsurvivor #trauma #chernobyl


