The Unbeatable Mind Podcast With Mark Divine

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Many people will know Scott Hamilton as a champion figure skater and as a commentator for international figure skating competition with NBC. He's also an author of several books, including the most recent book "Finish First: Winning Changes Everything." He is also the founder of the Scott Hamilton Skating Academy. Hear how Scott has continued to overcome severe health issues to become a champion skater and a uniquely positive individual.  Learn how: Scott has developed in every way that he can, especially spiritually, in order to overcome the obstacles in front of him. You only learn by losing, so while winning is obviously the goal, losing needs to be valued as well.  We each have more inside us that we've ever given ourselves permission to recognize Listen to this episode to get acquainted with the struggles of a superb athlete with an extremely unique and positive outlook on life.

After years of deep work and thought, Commander Divine has developed a model for the Unbeatable Mind Operating System. His system is derived partly from the AQAL integrative system that was developed by the philosopher Ken Wilber combined with his knowledge of Eastern philosophy. He stresses the importance of needing to upgrade our "Operating System," to deal with the world as it currently challenges us.  Learn how: He focuses on the four circles of Core, Commitments, Competencies and Capacity We generally use our Mana or lower mind and our subject to material cravings because of that. We need to use our Buddhi or higher mind more effectively to focus on more important things. We can develop our internal "witness," so that we can understand ourselves and utilize the OODA loop to make decisions  With hard work and training, you can make all the circles of the "Operating System," work for you.

Doctor Shefali on Conscious Parenting Description: Doctor Shefali Tsabary, PhD is an expert on parenting, having written several books, and most recently the book "The Awakened Family: How to Raise Empowered, Resilient, and Conscious Children." She has spent her life learning from both Eastern and Western philosophy about the relationships between parents and children. A world - renowned clinical psychologist, TEDx Speaker and one of Oprah's featured guests. Today, she sits down with Commander Divine to talk about the importance of parents essentially working on themselves, rather than trying to work on their children.  Learn how: We need to start recognizing that our children are just as human as we are, and we therefore have less control of them than we think we should-which is as it should be Both Western and Eastern philosophy, spirituality and psychology are needed to deal with the modern world real learning, unfortunately, often comes from great emotional pain Listen to this episode to understand how to

Daniel Coyle, New York Times bestselling author of Talent Code and most recently the Culture Code.  He has been a consultant for various organizations, including DEVGRU and is currently a consultant with the Cleveland Indians baseball team. Today, he and Commander Divine talk about developing talent as an individual and how to develop talent in your team. Hear how:  Learning and development take place in a loop of experience and then reflecting on the experience. Great coaches and leaders are "Talent whisperers," able to use their emotional skills to build ability in others Coaching is actually emotional connection-it's not just what they tell you but how they tell you.  Learn how talent isn't just something you're born with, but something that you can actually build in yourself and your team.

Benjamin Spall is the co-author of the book "My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired." and also is the co-founder of the mymorningroutine.com website, with accounts of various morning routines followed by a huge variety of people. He and the Commander talk about the importance of morning routine to start the day, from the casual routine to the more intense versions. Learn how: Even when people miss their routine, they often make it up later in the day Sleeping enough is just as important as getting into a routine. So it's better to have a shorter routine than to be getting up at 5 to fit it all in. Morning rituals can be short and need to be tailored for yourself and your own schedule Listen to this episode to hear how different but necessary the morning rituals are to get you ready to make the most of your day.

This is the second podcast in this series, where Commander Divine reads from his new book "Launch," which was originally conceived as being for young adults. He realized that it was actually useful for anyone, young or old, at the point of launching a new career, a new project or heading off in a new direction of any kind. In the first episode, he read chapters 1 and 2, and today he reads from chapter 3. In today's episode: Learn how to shape your passions into a defining purpose Hear more about Mark's personal journey to find his own purpose Recognize that you need to complete projects that have already been started so that you can put all the pieces together for your new adventure. Listen to this episode so that you can prepare to "Launch" into a new life

Damien Mander had a military career with the Australian Royal Navy as a Clearance Diver and Special Operations sniper. In 2009, he completely cashed in and became the founder of the International Anti-Poaching Foundation in Africa. He was in DC recently to raise funds for his organization, and was able to give Commander Divine some time to talk about his work in Africa and how he is developing leaders amongst Rangers in several African countries. Learn how Damien recruits largely from the female population for his rangers lately for stronger connections to the communities affected by poaching How his anti-poaching efforts came from going to Africa first, and gaining understanding later It's important to include the communities in his efforts, rather than just "declaring war" on both poaching and the communities Listen to this episode for a fascinating conversation about courage, leadership and the importance of preserving the eco-system.