"The sky's the limit." "Shoot for the stars." When it comes to success, we often think in terms of being our absolute best. On today's episode of The Coach Up, Brad Stulberg explains why, if you want to get better, you should focus on your bad and average days—not the good or great ones. Listen and subscribe to FAREWELL now! iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Got a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email clay.growtheq@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at ( 646) 893-9503 &nb...
Feb 19, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s be honest: Winter ain't always fun! It’s cold, dark, icy, and often sticks around far longer than we want it to. Even if you’ve moved somewhere warm as a way to permanently escape the frosty months, well, there are winters there, too; times when you or someone you love gets sick, you go through a break-up, or you lose a job. “Everybody winters at one time or another,” writes Katherine May, in her book Wintering : The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times . May says that instead of “...
Feb 15, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Growth comes from facing weaknesses, and we learn about those weaknesses from getting feedback. But feedback has a way of raising our defenses. Which means helping others grow by giving feedback—or growing ourselves, by taking feedback—is fraught with challenges. Luckily, Steve Magness's countless years as both an athlete and a coach have earned him some insights into the practice of delivering (and receiving) criticism. On this episode of The Coach Up, he gives you a primer: how to give it, wha...
Feb 12, 2024•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast We've always been a country obsessed with happiness. It was, quite literally, built into the promise of America (right there with life and liberty). But maybe you've noticed: the market for happiness content is absolutely booming, which suggests that there's a rather large market of un happy people out there. It's almost as if our obsession with happiness is inversely correlated to our actual happiness. Why might that be? Steve, Brad, and Clay discuss, unpacking different ideas of happiness...
Feb 08, 2024•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast When it comes to thinking about how to design your days, weeks, and months, to get done everything you want to get done, we often think in terms of goals and routines. In the long-term, goals give you a North Star to aim towards; in the shorter term, routines help you knock out the tasks you need to do on a daily basis. Sometimes that works great. But sometimes it doesn't. We can feel too loosely connected to a goal that's far away—or too rigidly attached to a routine that, when it gets disrupte...
Feb 05, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Over the course of two days, Olympic decathletes participate in ten different track and field events, ranging from pole vault and shot put to long jump and a 1500-meter run. It’s a grueling competition that requires speed, strength, explosiveness and technical ability, which is why, in addition to receiving a gold medal, the winner is also crowned the “best athlete in the world.” Right now, that title belongs to Canada’s Damian Warner, who took home the gold in Tokyo in 2021. On today’s episode,...
Feb 01, 2024•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever noticed that your behavior is sometimes misaligned with your goals? You go to school to learn, or take a job to do meaningful work, or join Instagram to keep up with friends. But instead you end up chasing GPA, money, and followers. It's an increasingly prevalent complication in a society obsessed with metrics, where everything is gamified and measured. On today's episode of The Coach Up, Michael Easter, whose books The Comfort Crisis and Scarcity Brain assess the problems of our m...
Jan 29, 2024•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast What type of leadership builds a culture of winning and excellence? Is an approach that prioritizes joy, care, and love, more effective than one that's more demanding or authoritarian? Using examples from contemporary sports, and in the wake of the departure of three of the most storied football coaches of all-time—Nick Saban, Bill Belichick, and Pete Caroll—each of whom fostered a unique type of culture, Steve, Brad, and Clay discuss the merits of various coaching styles. You'll learn the impor...
Jan 25, 2024•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast A special edition of The Coach Up! In the wake of the Kansas City Chiefs' playoff victory over the Buffalo Bills, Clay revisits a 2020 conversation he had with the Chiefs' head coach, Andy Reid. Coach Reid breaks down what makes Chiefs' quarterback Patrick Mahomes great, and gives an insight into the coaching philosophy that has made him one of the best coaches of all-time. Don't miss these lessons on leadership, focus, and greatness from a future Hall of Famer. Listen and subscribe to FAREWELL ...
Jan 22, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast What if I told you our country's approach to wellness was heavily influenced by the history of American religion? Kate Bowler, a professor of religious history at Duke, traces the self-betterment movement back to America's "prosperity gospel," which promised that true believers of God would be rewarded with health, wealth, and happiness. Replace "God" with diet, workouts, supplements, self-help books, and time management systems and you've pretty much described today's billion-dollar health and ...
Jan 18, 2024•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Throughout his many years of coaching, Steve Magness has put together a unique set of tools for training mental toughness. In this week's Coach Up, he walks you through a clever way to approach the end of your workouts that will help widen your tolerance for uncomfortable feelings. Think of it as exposure therapy for discomfort, making it easier for you to approach difficulty in your everyday life. Listen and subscribe to FAREWELL now! iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Got a que...
Jan 15, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast We are living in an entertainment boom, which is both a blessing and a curse: there's more great content than ever before, but you have to sort through a lot of noise to find it. In an effort to help you comb through it all, Brad, Steve, and Clay do a good old fashioned fantasy draft in order to select the best movies, shows, and documentaries about performance, craft, and mastery. What does "best" mean? Well, as you'll see, that was up for some debate... Let us know who you think picked the bes...
Jan 11, 2024•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast For the first episode of The Coach Up, we've got three different experts—Brad, Steve, and Katy Milkman, a behavioral scientist at Wharton—offering three different perspectives on how to think through goal-setting in the new year. You'll learn the difference between an open goal and a specific goal, when to pick a small goal versus when to pick a big goal, why something called "the what the hell effect" can derail your goals, and the subtle but powerful mindset shift that will help you stay on tr...
Jan 08, 2024•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Last summer, ultrarunner Courtney Dauwalter did something that had never been done before. She ran three of the sport's most iconic 100-mile races... within 10 weeks of each other... and won all three. (She also set the women's course record on two of them.) It was an incredible achievement, even for someone who has long established herself as one of the greatest ultraunners of all-time. How does she do what she does? Through a rare mixture of joy, curiosity, and intensity that will change how y...
Jan 04, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast On January 4th, we are relaunching The Growth Equation Podcast as FAREWELL. Hosted by Clay Skipper, it's a show about performance, delivering you the insights, habits, and practices that, if done consistently, will help you perform your best on the things you care about most (and help you, more generally, fare well). You'll hear from Growth Equation founders and performance experts Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness, but also a long list of others who study or practice performance at the highest le...
Jan 02, 2024•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Steve, Brad, and Clay react to a recent story in the The New Yorker about the motivational speaker economy (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/12/11/jesse-itzlers-secrets-of-success), why mastery involves more than motivation, and the difference between performance and endurance. Plus: the guys debate whether or not they could win a 100-mile race against LeBron James. The Growth Equation Podcast is rebranding to “Farewell” in the new year, so be sure to subscribe now! You can find this epis...
Dec 27, 2023•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Clay, Brad, and Steve round out the year by answering four questions: What's a habit you started (or stopped) in 2023? What's a physical goal you have for 2024? What's an idea, book, or theme that you're carrying into 2024? What wellness fads are you buying/selling? The Growth Equation Podcast is rebranding to “Farewell” podcast in the new year, so be sure to subscribe now! Got a question for the podcast? Leave us a voice memo at 6468935903 You can find this episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts...
Dec 20, 2023•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast A deep dive on Mark Epstein’s book “Going to Pieces without Falling Apart:" Brad and Clay unpack the key insights and takeaways that will help get you out of your head, into flow, and more at ease in the world. Got a question for the podcast? Leave us a voice memo at 6468935903 You can find this episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Get Master of Change , Do Hard Things , and The Practice of Groundedness on audible (Or in hard copy: Master of Change here...
Dec 13, 2023•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Clay and Steve discuss how to approach health and exercise during the holidays and into the new year, whether you want to stick to an existing plan or start a new one. Got a question for the podcast? Leave us a voice memo at 6468935903 You can find this episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Get Master of Change , Do Hard Things , and The Practice of Groundedness on audible (Or in hard copy: Master of Change here Hard Things here and Gro...
Dec 06, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever wanted something badly, finally achieved it, and then found it didn't quite live up to the hype? Brad, Steve, and Clay discuss why this happens—and how you can protect against it. Got a question for the podcast? Leave us a voice memo at 6468935903 You can find this episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Get Master of Change , Do Hard Things , and The Practice of Groundedness on audible (Or in hard copy: Master of Change here Hard Things ...
Nov 29, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Steve Magness, Brad Stulberg, and Clay Skipper chat about practicing restraint to avoid burnout, easy days, and the Century Beer Mile. Got a question for the podcast? Leave us a voice memo at 6468935903 You can find this episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Get Master of Change , Do Hard Things , and The Practice of Groundedness on audible (Or in hard copy: Master of Change here Hard Things here and Groundedness here ). Please wr...
Nov 22, 2023•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Where do you get your news? Today, the guys chat about World Alienation, The Algorithm, Active vs. Passive experiences, and retaining your Humanity within the Attention Economy. “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” -Viktor E. Frankl / Rollo May- You can find this episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Get Master of Change , Do Hard Things , and The P...
Nov 15, 2023•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Brad, Steve, and Clay discuss their favorite milks, travel routines, Rugged Flexibity, and The Magnesss Method. You can find this episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Get Master of Change , Do Hard Things , and The Practice of Groundedness on audible (Or in hard copy: Master of Change here Hard Things here and Groundedness here ). Please write a review on Apple Podcasts and help new listeners discover the show ! Find Brad, ...
Nov 08, 2023•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast World champion runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen abuse allegations against his former coach (and father), the Las Vegas Aces become WNBA repeat champions, and Robert Sapolsky concludes there is no free will. The guys discuss all with the common thread of motivation connecting the topics. You can find this episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Get Master of Change , Do Hard Things , and The Practice of Groundedness on audible (Or in hard copy: Master of Change he...
Nov 01, 2023•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Anna Paustenbach (Executive Editor at HarperCollins Publishers) joins Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness to chat about her creative and editorial processes, living the quiet life, and much more “inside baseball”. You can find this episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Get your copy of Master of Change in all formats here. Get Do Hard Things and The Practice of Groundedness on audible (Or in hard copy: Hard Things here and Groundedness her...
Oct 25, 2023•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast While Brad Stulberg is recovering from covid, Steve Magness is enjoying the cool Texas weather. On today’s podcast, the guys talk about playing games, necessary evils, Fame vs. Recognition, and The Local Global problem. You can find this episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Get your copy of Master of Change in all formats here: https://www.amazon.com/Master-Change-Everything-Changing-Including/dp/006325316X Get Do Hard Things and The Practice of Ground...
Oct 18, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Growth Equation welcomes Clay Skipper to the team. Brad, Steve, and Clay discuss their projections for the upcoming year. You can find this episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Get your copy of Master of Change in all formats here: https://www.amazon.com/Master-Change-Everything-Changing-Including/dp/006325316X Get Do Hard Things and The Practice of Groundedness on audible (Or in hard copy: Hard Things here and Groundedness ...
Oct 11, 2023•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast This podcast is an off-the-cuff analysis of Deion Sander’s trajectory at University of Colorado Boulder. Steve Magness compares his own collegiate coaching experience and Brad Stulberg proposes “The Contribution Trophy.” You can find this episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Get your copy of Master of Change in all formats here: https://www.amazon.com/Master-Change-Everything-Changing-Including/dp/006325316X Get Do Hard Things and The Practice of Groun...
Oct 04, 2023•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Brad Stulberg explains why and how exercise should be part of your job (even if you’re not an athlete). Steve Magness gives a follow up lesson on exercise; VO2 max, muscle fibers, workout intensity, and his own “practical” recommendation. Check out episode 171 for Steve’s longer form exercise masterclass. You can find this episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Get your copy of Master of Change in all formats here: https://www.amazon.com/Master-Change-Everything-Cha...
Sep 27, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Steve Magness unpacks the initial reception of Brad Stulberg’s new book Master of Change and the guys discuss successes, failures, best seller lists, grinding a half marathon and more. You can find this episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Get your copy of Master of Change in all formats here: https://www.amazon.com/Master-Change-Everything-Changing-Including/dp/006325316X Get Do Hard Things and The Practice of Groundedness on audible (Or i...
Sep 20, 2023•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
