Author of the NEW Book Win the Inside Game: https://t.co/zOxmZky5V2
Performance Coach: Mental & Physical Performance
Prior Books: Do Hard Things, Peak Performance
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May 14 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
If you treat every uncomfortable thought or feeling like a threat...
Your brain gets the message: “This is dangerous. Avoid at all costs.”
We reinforce the idea that discomfort is a threat.
And over time, the signal gets louder, not quieter.
This is the paradox of avoidance.
The more we push away discomfort, the more power it gains.
It’s like a muscle we keep feeding...
Until even a flicker of doubt or fear feels unbearable.
What we resist, persists. What we fear, grows.
May 6 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
Most of us have a dysfunctional relationship with social media.
We log on to “check one thing”—and emerge 40 minutes later feeling scattered, behind, and strangely hollow.
But what if the issue isn’t just time spent online…
It’s how we use that time.
Here’s a framework to help you use social media instead of it using you:
We use social media for 3 things:
👉 Consuming
👉 Producing
👉 Connecting
Each mode requires its own strategy.
And if we blur the lines, we end up tired, addicted, and misaligned with what actually matters.
May 3 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
When life feels unstable, your brain reaches for anything to make it feel safe again.
We become more desperate for control.
That’s when leaders micromanage.
Athletes spiral.
And regular people cling to conspiracy just to feel safe.
Here’s what the research really says about how to lead through chaos:
When uncertainty spikes, we see the shift.
The relaxed boss becomes a micromanager.
The athlete in a slump adds 10 new superstitions.
The average person clings to conspiracy just to make sense of something.
Uncertainty = anxiety. And our brain will do anything to escape it.
Apr 30 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
Ever wanted to quit mid-race, step in a hole, or walk off stage before a talk?
The pull to quit is not weakness.
It’s your brain trying to close the loop on uncertainty.
Here’s why understanding that can change how you handle pressure:
Stress isn’t just about what we feel—it’s about what we don’t know.
Walking to get groceries in your neighborhood = low stress.
Walking through an unfamiliar city at night? Higher stress.
Same task, different uncertainty.
The greater the unknown, the louder the mental noise.
Apr 28 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
Here are 7 of my favorite workouts for speed and endurance development.
No BS. No magic.
But 7 workouts that I've used in coaching people to get better, from novices to some of the world's best.
1. Split Threshold
Pick the total time you want to spend at just below lactate threshold. Say, 25 minutes.
Then start running at that effort. Once you feel like you're getting close to going over the edge, stop and rest for 60-90sec. Then start again.
Repeat until you get the total time spent at LT. Sometimes, it's 15/10, other times 7/5/4/4/3/2.
Why: It's a less stressful way to get in high end aerobic work, that teaches you how to listen to your body.
Apr 17 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
A shift has happened in how we respond to failure in school.
It used to be: “How can I help my child learn and grow from this?”
Now it’s too often: “Why did the teacher give them that grade? How do we fix it?”
We’ve gone from focusing on growth to protecting egos.
And our kids are suffering for it.
This isn’t about blaming parents—it’s about recognizing a cultural drift.
We’ve replaced resilience with reputation management.
Instead of teaching kids how to face hard feedback, we rush to smooth it over.
But growth doesn't happen when we protect our kids from discomfort.
It happens when we walk with them through it.
Apr 12 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
94% of people experience unwanted, intrusive thoughts, according to research.
Violent, weird, shameful, or irrational impulses that just appear—often uninvited.
The problem isn’t the thoughts.
It’s that we believe they mean something about who we are.
But here’s the truth: You are not your thoughts.
We tend to identify with our thoughts:
“I had a bad thought, therefore I must be a bad person.”
But this is a misunderstanding of how the mind works.
Thoughts are not commands, not truths, and not identities—they’re passing electrical signals in the brain.
You are not your thoughts. You are the awareness behind them.
Mar 26 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
Our brains are fried.
You try to read a book—can’t focus.
Sit with loved ones—your mind drifts to work or notifications.
Feel a buzz in your pocket—but there’s no notification.
We’re not just distracted. We’re digitally disoriented.
Here’s what’s going on—and how to push back
There’s even a name for it: Digital Dementia.
It describes the forgetfulness, lack of focus, and chronic mental fatigue caused by tech overuse.
We’re living in partial attention—task-switching constantly, never going deep.
Our phones aren’t just distracting us. They’re rewiring how we think, feel, and engage.
Mar 16 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
40% of two-year-olds now have their own tablet.
That’s a problem.
Just ask elementary school teachers. Behavior issues are through the roof. And devices are a major reason.
Why?
We’re training kids to soothe via devices.
We are detraining their ability to cope and handle their inner world.
It's what research says:
A 2024 study found that the more time a 3.5 year old spent on a device… the more expressions of anger they had at 4.5.
A 2022 study found frequent use of devices to soothe 3-5 year olds was associated with emotional dysregulation
A 2020 study found that kids using tablets experienced more tantrums when transitioning to a new activity than kids reading books.
Mar 7 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
Ever been fired up by a speech, only to fall flat when it mattered? There’s a reason for that.
Science shows that what you hear, watch, and feel before a big moment can make or break your performance.
Before one of the biggest games of their lives, an NFL defense sat in silence, watching last year’s crushing defeat. The idea? Fuel them with anger.
The reality? A psychological mistake that science warns against.
What we see, hear, and feel before competition shapes how we perform.
It’s why coaches give speeches, why athletes watch hype videos, why music is carefully chosen. These rituals aren’t just for show.
They alter our physiology, shifting our hormones, priming us to attack or retreat.
Feb 20 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
Fortnight is the new sandlot
Kids have retreated to video games because it's the one place where adults can’t interfere, control, or critique
And it's the one place where they can find autonomy & connection.
That used to be sports....But adults ruined it...
Bring back play:
Research shows that kids don’t play outside anymore.
One survey found a decrease from 80 percent of kids in my parents’ generation playing outside to just 27 percent today.
Yes, phones, an increase in traffic, and similar factors have an impact.
But research also points to another culprit: safetyism.
An increase in parents’ protectiveness due to fear and a high need for control has led to a decline in unstructured free play.
Feb 9 • 24 tweets • 5 min read
Performing when it matters most is the hardest thing to do.
With the Super Bowl today, let’s dive into how elite athletes get ready to perform.
It’s not just about routines.
It’s about feeding your brain the right information.
Let’s go deep on the science & practice:
Our brain is predictive.
That stress you feel? The fight or flight response?
It’s our brain taking it’s best guess on how to handle the moment before you.
Do you have the capability to handle the demands of the challenge?
Feb 9 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
Ever feel like you're stuck in a losing streak?
It might not be your fault.
Fascinating research reveals how winning actually changes your biology, giving you an unfair edge.
They discovered why winners keep winning.
Here's the science of the winner effect:
Back in the 1960s, scientists observed something strange in lab animals. Rats, chicks, even fish – when competing , the winners became more aggressive, while the losers became timid
This wasn't just temporary.
Winners kept winning, losers kept losing. Was it just skill? Nope.
Feb 7 • 8 tweets • 5 min read
We suck at losing.
We stew on it. We think we need to feel miserable.
We look down on athletes who joke around. We say it didn't "sting" enough.
This goes against the biology & psychology of losing.
We need to learn to lose (& win) well. Here's how:
What happens when we lose?
Cortisol increases, especially if it effects our status.
Testosterone decreases.
And if we stay in this state, it negatively impacts our next performance.
Winning and losing have lasting effects. A surge of testosterone and a rise in status can push us toward confidence and persistence. A drop in testosterone and an increase in cortisol nudges us the other way; sending a message that it's better to retreat, lick our wounds, and not engage.
According to a 2017 meta-analysis, the winner and loser effect is apparent in people across a wide range of competitions, from video games to tennis matches to stock trading. Win, and you get a bump in testosterone and a better shot at succeeding in the next game. Lose, and a drop in testosterone and a surge in cortisol is headed your way, along with more debilitating competitions.
This mix of biological and behavioral responses has been termed “the winner and loser effect.”
But...it's not always that way... We can influence the direction & magnitude of our response.
Feb 6 • 19 tweets • 5 min read
90% of coaching is helping people get out of their own way
Ego, fear of failure, status anxiety, external validation = Get in our way
For 20yrs I've helped elite performers get the most out of themselves. It's the topic of my book Win the Inside Game
Here are the key lessons:
1. Success causes us to narrow toward obsession, which helps in the short term, but backfires over the long haul. Perspective is the cure
2. Hard mindless work is easy. Hard intentional work is hard.
Feb 6 • 16 tweets • 9 min read
Youth sports in the US are a disaster driven by egos & money.
70% of kids drop out of sports by 13
Fear of failure & pressure to perform from parents & coaches is one of the biggest reasons
We need to do better
Here's my youth sports manifesto for parents. It's important:
First, what's the point of youth sports?
They get at our basic psychological needs:
-We belong
-We can make progress
-We can have an impact
It's not about achievements. It's having a space to challenge ourselves in a healthy way.
To explore what you're interested in, what you're capable of, in a place that isn't life or death competition.
It's to learn how to be a teammate, to navigate conflict.
It's establishing good physical health practices.
Feb 5 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
Endurance sport is mental training
You are alone in your head for long periods of time with ever increasing levels of discomfort. You have a goal that half your mind is screaming to abandon
You repeat this day after day & have no option but to figure it out
Some tools to help:
1. Don't fight the discomfort. Accept it.
What we resist, persists.
Discomfort is your brains "Low gas" warning light.
Acknowledge it but then realize you get to decide what to do with that information.
Feb 4 • 12 tweets • 10 min read
At 24, I got my dream job. I was coaching Olympians for Nike.
It turned into a nightmare
I spent 10 years as a whistleblower. It was crazy. The FBI visited me. My career was threatened
Here are 10 lessons I wish I knew that helped me navigate the hardest period of my life:
1. You will go against your values. What matters is how you respond.
You are going to screw up. That’s normal. We all do and will. When we’re young we walk around with this simplistic view of the world; good and evil, right and wrong. At some point along the way that gets shattered. First, with other people. You may see a ‘good person’ go against that grain. Then, with ourselves. We do or say something that goes against everything we’ve been taught, and perhaps, everything we’ve stood for.
You won’t be the first or the last. In fact, those who think they will never do anything wrong are most susceptible to doing so. Part of growing up is recognizing the complexity and messiness. Both within the world and within yourself. We all mess up. We all take the wrong turn. But what matters next is the vital point.
What are you going to do? Research tells us that most people justify, rationalize, or double down. They default towards protection. We have an inbuilt psychological immune system that’s job is to keep that story that we are a good, decent person alive. And when evidence is presented that points in the other direction, our brain goes on a mission to make sure our image of our self is protected. Just look at the lengths frauds in business or cheats in sport go to rationalize their decision making process.
Our natural inclination is to protect our ego, to keep our sense of self in tact. That may save us of some guilt or anxiety in the short term, but it prevents the most important part of all of this: learning, adapting, and growing. When we rationalize, we prevent reflection. When we double down, we close off pathways that reverse course and make it right.
Regardless of what happens, of how bad you may feel, focus on what comes next. How do you respond? That’s the defining piece that will shape your future.
Jan 29 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
Endurance sport is mental training
You are alone in your head for long periods of time with ever increasing levels of discomfort. You have a goal that half your mind is screaming to abandon
You repeat this day after day & have no option but to figure it out
Some tools to help:
Here are some ways to build that mental muscle:
1. Don't fight the discomfort. Accept it.
What we resist, persists.
Discomfort is your brains "Low gas" warning light.
Acknowledge it but then realize you get to decide what to do with that information.
Dec 12, 2024 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
How should you exercise if your goal is health and longevity?
There's a lot of BS and nonsense out there.
All sorts of acronyms that when it comes to health...don't matter.
Let's outline what actually works:
While maximizing performance in a specific sport requires complexity and nuance, when it comes to health & longevity, the best way to exercise is actually pretty simple.
This might be a surprise. But the truth is: People overcomplicate it online.
Oct 12, 2024 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
You should NOT do these workouts as written
The disconnect between what’s done in the real world and what’s spread on social media is crazy
Why?
All out or as hard as you can workouts are RARE even in elites
The intensity is too high & isn’t the right stimulus
