Intentional Performers With Brian Levenson

On this episode I chat with Adell Harris. Adell is a strong woman who has not just survived adversity, but thrived from her adversity. Adell has been a victim of sexual abuse, was raised in a chaotic household, and has lost a number of important people in her life. But, that's just part of her story. Adell played division 1 basketball at Wake Forest University and had a 14 year coaching career that led her to become the head coach of UNC Wilmington at the age of 31. She recently resigned from her post as head coach to pursue her dream of being a public speaker where she leverages story to help people make adversity their advantage. There are a number of labels that Adell could use to describer herself, but as you will find in this conversation, using just one word would not do justice to who she is. She is authentic, passionate, inspiring, and fearless. I truly enjoyed this conversation with Adell and I know you will too. To learn more about Adell check out her website: http://rtladell.com and follow her o

Today we chat with Justin Su'a. Justin is a mental performance coach with the Cleveland Browns and Boston Red Sox. Justin also was a division 1 baseball player at Brigham Young University.  This conversation gets into the power of ambition, self-belief, and how mindset impacts performance. Justin has an incredible way with words and is a tremendous story-teller. He leverages stories to help others create clarity around how to achieve their dream. At his core, Justin is a teacher.  Justin is the type of person who you feel like you know from the moment you meet him. He's warm, caring, and extremely thoughtful. That will come across in this conversation. He is one of the most respected people in the world of Sport Psychology and he is extremely generous with giving back to the field. In this conversation, we dive into faith, culture, business, and human performance and I know you will enjoy hearing Justin's story.  Also, Justin has a great podcast called Increase Your Impact. He is also a great follow on Tw

Ron Paul is someone I have always admired and looked up to. Ron is a classy man, a terrific father, and an extremely successful businessman. Ron is a humble man but his accomplishments include being named “Community Banker of the Year” for the Eastern Region, by the Independent Community Bankers of America, Named by Washington Business Journal as a member of the Washington, DC area “Power 100”, and being inducted into the “Washington Business Hall of Fame”. Yet, while his accolades in business are many, he brims with pride when talking about his family and the philanthropic work he has done to fight kidney disease and different forms of cancer. Ron is a high character human who has faced all kinds of set-backs in his life, yet he maintains a strong sense of self and understanding of his values. If you want to learn more about his work in fighting kidney disease you can check out the Ron & Joy Paul Kidney Center here. Thanks to Ron for the time and being so open.  

This week's podcast was with a longtime friend, Martin Bahar. We went to elementary school and grew up playing sports together. Martin has always been someone who valued hard work and improvement. As a kid, every year he got better and better at basketball. Today, he is a charismatic guy who can connect with just about anyone. Martin is an assistant coach with the men's basketball team at the University of Southern California. Martin has been coaching for over a decade and his coaching journey has taken him all over the country. Because I am in the basketball community, I am constantly meeting people who know and love Martin. He's a special guy. In this conversation, we talk about building relationships, dealing with distractions, and team culture. Martin is also a great follow on Twitter: @MShoneBahar. Lastly, Martin is very involved with the Leukemia Lymphoma society where he raises money in honor of his late sister (Maddie). Thanks so much to Martin for coming on!

Today we go beyond the surface with Dave Smith. Dave was the Canisius College men's ice hockey coach for 12 seasons. At Canisius, he built the Men's Ice Hockey program to a number 25 ranking among Division I NCAA Men's Ice Hockey teams. Dave guided Canisius to a 21-11-7 record this season and was named the Atlantic Hockey Coach of the Year after winning the program's first regular-season title. He led the Golden Griffins to three straight trips to Atlantic Hockey Championship weekend for the first time in school history, including consecutive appearances in the title game and the team's first crown in 2013. The program has also received national attention with its graduates having unprecedented success at the professional level. Dave recently took the job at RPI and this episode will give you great insight into what he values, looks for, and hopes to build at RPI. Dave also had a long professional hockey career which took him all over North America. Dave and I talk about mindset, leadership, growing and deve

Today we go beyond the surface with Joanna Lohman. Joanna is a professional soccer player with the Washington Spirit. Lohman was captain of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 2002–2003 and was the first four-time First Team All-Big Ten selection in the school's history. She earned a 3.98 GPA while obtaining her business degree at Penn State, resulting in her also being a four-time Academic All-American. In 2004, she was named Pennsylvania's NCAA Woman of the Year. Joanna also helped launch an organization called GO! Athletes that aims encourage schools to create safer spaces for lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and questioning athletes. Joanna is Vice President of Tenant Consulting, LLC, a commercial real estate firm in the Washington DC area. She helped create the first "carbon neutral calculator" for office buildings, resulting in an invitation to meet former Vice President Al Gore. As you will hear, Joanna is extremely thoughtful and passionate about her professiona career. She believes in serving oth

Today we go beyond the surface with Ethan Zohn. Ethan has many chapters in his story. He played professional soccer, won $1,000,000 on the hit TV show Survivor, and is a cancer survivor, or thriver as we discuss in this episode. Ethan’s journey starts in the Northeast but has taken him all over the world. One of the places that has had a big influence on his life is Afirca, as he spent time there as a professional soccer player and a competitor on Survivor. That time inspired him to co-found Grassroots Soccer, who’s mission is to "mobilize the global soccer community to combat the AIDS epidemic in Africa.” Ethan will discuss how his experiences have greatly impacted how he sees the world and given him tremendous purpose in his life. Thanks to Ethan for being so vulnerable, especially with a stranger, and sharing your journey.  If you want to follow Ethan on Twitter feel free to do so @EthanZohn and check out all the great work Grassroots Soccer is doing https://www.grassrootsoccer.org/.

Today we go beyond the surface with Maggie Lucas. Maggie is a professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Maggie also attended Penn State University where she was 2X Big Ten Player of the year and an All-American. While Maggie has certainly had an accomplished career, in this episode she will also talk about some of the challenges she has faced along the way. Maggie has torn her ACL twice since becoming a pro and has had to develop a tremendous mindset to deal with that adversity. Maggie will also talk about how her mindset has changed through the years. Thanks so much to Maggie for coming on and if you want to learn more about her feel free to follow her on Twitter @MaggieLucas33.

Laron Profit played professional basketball for over 10 years. He played for the Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Lakers and also played for teams all over the world. Laron was fortunate to have his career journey cross paths with two of the most mentally strong athletes of all-time: Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. After finishing his career he went on to coach with the Orlando Magic for a number of years before making the decision to get out of coaching to take a job with the Jordan Brand clothing company. At Jordan Brand Laron works hand in hand with some of the greatest athletes in both basketball and football. Laron is an extremely thoughtful guy. During this episode he will talk about his journey, what he learned along the way, and how he continues to develop his mindset every day. We talk about the importance of self-talk, interpretation, and preparation. I know you will enjoy Laron’s perspective If you want to follow Laron on Twitter you can do so @Profit4eva. But, full disclosure, Laron said he ch

Jesse Itzler wears many hats. He’s a former rapper, entrepreneur, and author. As a rapper he reached #74 on the billboard top 100, he wrote the NY Knicks theme song “Go NY Go”, and has written and produced songs for a number of companies. As an entrepreneur he co-founded Marquis jets which was later acquired by NetJets, he partnered with Coconut Water company, Zico which he helped sell to Coca Cola. Jesse is also a co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks. As an author he wrote a New York Times bestselling book called Living with a Seal: 31 Days Training With the Toughest Man on the Planet. I read the book and found it to be funny, inspirational, and just terrific story-telling. I highly recommend it. Jesse is a high energy guy who is a person of action. He is obsessed with fitness and completed an Ultra Marathon competition where he completed 100 miles run in 24 hours. If you want to learn more about Jesse you can follow him on Twitter: @the100MileMan. Jesse also has a terrific Facebook group that challenges people t

Adrianne Haslet's life changed on April 15th, 2013. As Adrianne watched the Boston Marathon participants finish their grueling 26.2 miles she heard an explosion and her life was forever changed. Adrianne lost her leg that day. The leg that she had relied on to become one of the best dancers in the world. Her life was forever changed. In this conversation we unpack that faithful day, but much of our conversation is about the rest of Adrianne's life. Who she is. Who she was. And who she is constantly aspiring to be. Adrianne's willingness to make herself vulnerable leads to conversations about her battles with perfectionism, post traumatic stress, and the everyday challenges of living with a prosthetic leg. This conversation is really about a strong, independent, constantly evolving, curious, and driven woman, who aspires to be successful at whatever she does. Adrianne values challenges and inspires through her actions. She is honest and brave, and flawed like all of us. Thanks to Adrianne for coming on the p

Today we go beyond the surface with Coach Jessica Kern.  Coach Kern is the head women's basketball coach at Tennessee State University. Coach Kern has a terrific way with words, is super engaging, and has an incredible and irregular story. She will discuss her path to coaching, what it was like to growing up around basketball, and how sport psychology helped her excel as a college track athlete and in the future as a pro basketball player. Before taking the job at Tennessee State she was the head coach at Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU). Prior to taking over the program at MVSU, Kern was an assistant coach at Furman University following a four-year stretch as head coach at NCAA Division II Lincoln (Pa.) University. In 2014-15, she was named Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Coach of the Year after leading her squad to a 22-9 mark and a share of the CIAA Northern Division title.  Taking over a Lincoln program in 2011 that had won just three games the previous season, Kern coach

On today's podcast I chat with Cam Lynch.  Cam is a professional football player with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Cam starred at Syracuse University and also excelled in track and field in high school.  Cam will talk about his mindset for performance and how that has been cultivated throughout his life.  Thank you Cam for coming on the show and make sure to follow Cam on Twitter @CameronLynch50. 

Today I go Beyond the Surface with professional runner, Heather Kampf.  Heather talks about her mindset for performance and how she prepares for the day of a meet.  Heather also talks about her run in 2008 where she fell in the middle of the race, got up, and won the race. Heather is an American middle-distance runner and four-time United States National Champion in the 1 mile road race While at the University of Minnesota Kampf became the schools most decorated women's track and field athlete in history earning All-American honors eight-times, holding ten school records and becoming the only Golden Gopher to compete in every NCAA championship in cross country, indoor and outdoor track during her time at the university. As a freshman in 2006 Kampf was the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Champion in the 800 meter race. In 2008 Kampf won the University of Minnesota's Golden Goldy female athlete of the year award. You can follow Heather on Twitter @HeatherRaeKampf and check out her website: www.heatherkampf.blog