Latest / The Inspired Stories Podcast / Unlocking High Performance: A Coach's Keys to Success in Business and Sports, with Brian Bergford | Finance Series

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Unlocking High Performance: A Coach's Keys to Success in Business and Sports, with Brian Bergford | Finance Series · The Inspired Stories Podcast

0:04
Welcome to another edition of Inspired Stories, where leaders
0:07
share their experiences so we can learn from their successes
0:10
how they've overcome adversity and explore current challenges
0:13
they're facing. Welcome to another edition of
0:18
the Inspired Stories podcast, where leaders share their
0:21
experiences so we can learn from their successes how they've
0:25
overcome adversity and explore current challenges they're
0:28
facing. Today's guest is Brian Bergford,
0:31
founder of Bergford Performance Systems.
0:34
He is a mental performance coach who develops customized
0:37
performance systems for athletes, teams, coaches,
0:41
business owners and executives alike.
0:43
We're also going to hear how he overcame a fear of the water to
0:47
win national championships and swimming.
0:49
And I'm also going to ask him why his friends call him the
0:52
Piercer and we'll learn about a very specific type of breath
0:56
work that he developed. So we've got lots of fun stuff
0:58
to cover today before we get into the good stuff.
1:02
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benefitsagency.com. Now back to our guest today,
1:41
Mental Performance Coach Brian Burkeford.
1:43
Brian, I appreciate you making the time to Share your story
1:46
today. I am super stoked to do this,
1:49
man. Like, let's let's get this
1:51
going, all right. I love that enthusiasm.
1:54
Great energy from the beginning. Yeah, let's start strong, man.
1:58
So Brian, tell me, how did you first become interested in your
2:02
field of mental performance coaching?
2:07
Well, I'll try and make this not too circuitous of an answer, but
2:11
there's a little bit of background.
2:12
So I I think it was really came out of initially some
2:17
interesting pieces of my childhood and just like weird
2:20
emotional. Anyway, there were parts of it
2:25
that were not great, let's put it that way.
2:27
And that kind of drove me like from a pretty young age to start
2:30
asking questions about why do people do the things they do?
2:34
Why do they behave the way they do?
2:35
Like why do they think the way they do?
2:37
And it, you know, it just starts asking like why, why, why, why,
2:41
why. And I knew that if I understood
2:44
more about psychology and the mind, that maybe that would
2:48
provide some answers. That's what led me into like,
2:51
interest in psychology. I eventually graduated with a
2:53
degree in psychology interestingly enough.
2:57
Well, OK. So right before I graduated high
3:00
school, if we back up a little bit, I had just got my personal
3:04
training certification and I went right after I graduated
3:07
high school to like working in a gym.
3:09
But at the same time I was working at CU with the football
3:12
team as an intern with strength and conditioning program.
3:15
And that's where I figured out really early on that the
3:19
psychology of athletes and high performers and people that are
3:22
just really, really elite level top of their game.
3:25
That's what I loved working with.
3:27
I did not enjoy the general public whining like, oh, I'm so
3:31
excited on Monday and I'm like not excited on Thursday kind of
3:34
BS. And I just like, you know, I
3:36
don't, I just didn't enjoy dragging limp noodles along.
3:41
Like it's really not fun. And I just knew that wasn't my
3:46
space, but athletes absolutely loved it, their batteries
3:50
included. And that's kind of how I knew
3:52
that I was going to be working more in that type of a space.
3:55
Either that or like business leaders and people that are
3:57
really, really high performance, high functioning already.
4:00
But then getting in the psychology side, mental
4:02
performance and like the psychology that we have, our
4:06
attitudes, our beliefs about things, it affects every single
4:09
thing that we do. And people know typically a lot
4:12
about like mental there's more talk about mental health right
4:15
now and like are you a mental health advocate?
4:17
I'm like, sure, I guess, But really I'm more of a mental
4:20
fitness advocate. I'm like the front end, I'm not
4:22
the repair, I'm more the prepare and helping, just like juice
4:26
every last bit of performance for people that want to take
4:29
things to the next level, which gets surprisingly more difficult
4:33
the higher people go. It's just like if you take up a
4:37
new sport, you make a ton of progress initially, right?
4:42
Lots and lots of progress pretty quickly.
4:44
But when you get to the top levels, you know, in the
4:47
Olympics, people will go and they'll train for another four
4:51
years to maybe shave 100th of a second off of a time.
4:55
And so wow, the it's almost like diminishing returns.
4:59
But at that point there's such exceptional drive in the people
5:01
that they're willing to just go to that those lengths.
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And that's the spirit that I love, whether it's athletes,
5:08
business owners, executives. I just want people kicking butt,
5:11
taking names and want to take things to the next level, but
5:13
also really enjoy and appreciate life and have an amazing life.
5:21
Not just turn into a performance machine because you can do that,
5:24
but then people are like, but I'm dying inside and that and
5:29
that's not a great place to be. So that's the other part of it
5:32
is making sure that we balance it out, which is really
5:35
challenging because for elite level performers, by definition,
5:39
a lot of times they have to be out of balance.
5:41
So it's tricky. So I want to go back to you
5:45
don't have to, you know, dig super deep into the childhood
5:47
thing. But I'm kind of curious to
5:48
understand the bridge from childhood not being great to
5:53
like. It must have been some kind of
5:55
motivation to OK, I got to figure a way out of this lousy
5:59
situation. I've got to.
6:01
I've got to fix what? How I'm sort of approaching it
6:04
inside, you know, my own Gray matter here.
6:06
Yeah, because, yeah, I mean, I basically spent a decent portion
6:10
of my childhood like fairly suicidal.
6:13
And at some point there's there's a decision that's made
6:19
you either like cave totally to desperation to a point where
6:23
there's no return. But I knew that that was going
6:25
to be like the end of me, literally.
6:29
And then the other option was to flip a switch and have some hope
6:33
in the future in making yourself fortifying your mind and
6:37
becoming more and understanding more and making decisions and
6:41
distinctions and things that could lead you beyond the
6:45
knowledge and the wherewithal that, you know, what you grew up
6:49
with. Basically, I had to become
6:51
somebody totally different. And so that really, really drove
6:54
me because once I made the decision, like, Nope, I'm going
6:57
to use this as fuel to move forward, you know, whether it's
7:00
anger, whether it's whatever. Initially, it wasn't like pure
7:03
motives. It was just like, I'm depressed.
7:05
But then I became angry, which is a huge upgrade from being sad
7:08
and depressed and, like, suicidal.
7:10
And then that kind of led into other pieces of consciousness
7:13
where I just kept elevating, elevating, elevating.
7:16
And it that's where it kind of led me, right?
7:20
Seeing the magic that could happen by making fundamental
7:24
shifts in mindset. And sometimes that sounds like a
7:26
big deal. But it's not necessarily a big
7:27
deal, a fundamental shift in a mindset a lot of times, like one
7:31
tiny little tweak that sounds insignificant or almost
7:34
indistinguishable when you say it in a sentence.
7:37
But there's fundamentally different outcomes in life from
7:41
very, very minute changes in people's beliefs and how they
7:45
perceive things and how they choose to look at them.
7:49
That is amazing. Were you doing this sort of
7:53
flipping these switches on your own?
7:55
Did you have somebody who is helping you, some sort of a
7:58
guide or a mentor that was kind of showing you, hey, these
8:01
things are possible? I I mean, the only thing that I
8:04
could say that was a common thread throughout is, you know,
8:11
God, the universe, like whatever title name people want to put to
8:15
it. But there's just like these
8:16
little, like there can be so much darkness, but then there's
8:20
just these little specks of light along the way that can
8:23
just help lead you in, in a slight direction, just make tiny
8:27
little changes. And so there's people along the
8:29
way. I don't want to say like I know
8:31
that people didn't affect me, but the only thing that I can
8:33
say is really consistent through that is like a guiding sort of
8:37
force or guiding hand that somehow helps me navigate but
8:41
not against my own will, right. Because like that's part of it.
8:44
You have to participate in your own rescue.
8:46
And apparently I was willing to do that.
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And I guess that's the only thing if I am going to take
8:52
credit for anything, I guess at least some level of willingness.
8:56
And I only say that not for like I'm special.
8:59
It's more hopefully that might hit home with somebody right now
9:03
that's in a place where like they may not be particularly
9:06
willing and just asking themselves a question like how
9:09
willing am I really? Because I've always, I've always
9:12
said that to clients you cannot teach willingness.
9:16
You know like the person really really has to decide like that
9:19
is on them. And if you force somebody to do
9:21
something that's really not in their will like it just it kind
9:25
of falls flat and you're robbing them of the opportunity to make
9:28
the decision for themselves and to be strong and basically like
9:31
helping them continue to be a victim in something.
9:34
And at some point people just have to step the Frick up and
9:37
like move right along and some people won't do that.
9:41
You know, I was with a one of my clients that's an athlete
9:45
recently and like you got to fix stuff, man.
9:51
Like I did not have a nice way to say it.
9:54
I was just like I got a level with you.
9:56
Like I the one thing you can count on for me is I will be
9:59
honest and I will be straightforward and I will love
10:02
you and I and I care about you. Please hear where this is coming
10:05
from. But I was like dude, like these
10:08
pieces have to get lined out and you have got to make some
10:11
different decisions for yourself.
10:12
I'm not going to do it for you, like make the choice, yes or no,
10:15
because it's totally going to affect the rest of your career.
10:18
So this is pretty powerful stuff, Brian.
10:20
Yeah. For somebody else who might be
10:22
listening to this and is in one of those dark places that you've
10:26
described what can, What is one thing that you can encourage
10:31
them to do, to try to ask themselves to take a step?
10:37
What piece of advice can you give them, having been somebody
10:40
who was there and was able to make a big difference?
10:46
That's a that's a super good question and I want to preface
10:50
whatever my answer is going to be that I haven't formulated yet
10:53
because I I don't know. We'll see what comes out.
10:55
But I want to preface whatever it is by saying that I want to
10:58
be really, really clear. Like whenever I'm in a space of
11:01
giving general feedback, please keep in mind it is very general.
11:05
So like get some targeted feedback for you and your life,
11:09
where you're at right now, what specifically you're experiencing
11:12
and all that. Everybody's individual makeup is
11:14
so much different. And how they process information
11:16
and perceive things and what they're motivated to like, avoid
11:19
in their lives or what they're motivated to achieve in their
11:23
lives, right. So this constellation that
11:25
everybody has is so much different in their makeup that
11:28
it's really important that people don't get stuck in only
11:33
only because initially it's like just latch on to hope wherever
11:38
you can get it right. So if that's through a podcast,
11:41
if that's through a book, if that's through a speaker, if
11:43
that's through like a role model, like whatever it is, it
11:46
doesn't matter. Sometimes you just have to grab
11:48
onto something wherever there's a foot or a hand hold, like,
11:51
move, take encouragement, like encourage yourself.
11:54
Like listen to something, Take stock of what you're putting in
11:57
your head. Think about, like, what are the
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media sources that I have right now?
12:00
And like, if I like, I'm just going to swap one of them out.
12:03
You don't need to make big changes, right?
12:05
Everybody wants to make a big change, mostly because people
12:07
are impatient. They want things to happen all
12:09
at once and they don't. It's tiny little changes, but
12:13
just compounded, like one after the next.
12:15
Let's put one foot in front of the other instead of trying to
12:17
hit a Grand Slam home run. Just like freaking do something.
12:21
Whatever is in front of you, move toward it.
12:24
Like, trust yourself a little bit, listen to your intuition.
12:27
And at a certain point, please connect with somebody that can
12:33
contextualize the information for your situation.
12:37
Because I'm always like, in a way, hesitant to give
12:39
information because sometimes if it's really specific, people be
12:42
like, oh, that sounds great to me, like that totally makes
12:44
sense and they'll run with it. But if I talk to them
12:46
one-on-one, I'm like, no, no, no, don't do that, right.
12:49
If we get really specific about giving general information, if
12:52
that even makes sense, I think it can be really tricky because
12:56
people need to appreciate that it's worth getting in the hip
13:00
pocket of somebody who knows how to put things together and build
13:03
work with you to build a program for you based on everything you
13:08
are and want to become. That makes sense.
13:11
I I understand. I can appreciate that.
13:13
Brian, can we talk about any of your current clients on air?
13:17
I know you told me about a really big one off air recently,
13:21
but I don't know if it's OK to dimension and give voice to
13:24
because it's it's pretty cool. We will, we'll, we can, we can
13:27
leave names out and we can. Here's where we should talk in
13:30
generalities, probably. And the only reason I say that
13:32
is because I is like, I'm probably overly hesitant about
13:37
speaking about this stuff in public.
13:39
But I basically have to have somebody hand me a flashing neon
13:43
light as a client that they're like, please talk about this in
13:45
front of other people, which, you know, doesn't really happen
13:49
a whole lot in the space of the client.
13:52
So I I'm happy to talk about anything in a general sense and
13:54
we'll just leave specifics out that's.
13:56
Fair Who is your ideal client? Why would somebody hire you?
14:01
I love the two comments you made.
14:03
I But how did you put it? I don't work with noodles.
14:08
Limp Noodles and it's. Hard to I love batteries.
14:10
It's hard to push them. Yeah, and I and batteries
14:14
included, right? Like you just you get a package
14:16
at home and batteries aren't included and you want to get
14:18
things started and like great, I'm dead in the water here.
14:23
I just it's sort of like goes back to that thing when I was
14:25
training clients in a gym, right like general public versus then
14:30
I was at you know like a university level like working
14:33
with football team like that's very very, very different
14:37
audience. And so I think the primary thing
14:41
is it has to be somebody who's high performing already.
14:43
And sometimes people like I don't know if I'm high
14:45
performing enough and I'm like probably not, then you have to
14:48
have a good enough self-image to be like, yeah, I'm high
14:50
performing. You know, they might be crap in
14:52
the bed at the moment and like not feel very good about where
14:54
things are AT and kind of dejected or whatever.
14:56
But at the same time, you have to know in your heart of heart
14:58
that there's something much bigger than what you're
15:01
experiencing right now. And like having the heart of a
15:04
champion again, like that's something to you can't give that
15:07
to somebody else. They have to decide for
15:09
themselves. And so that's part of why I put
15:11
that out there. I'm like if you're a high
15:12
performing person, has batteries included, meaning you're already
15:16
like moving, you have momentum and like all we have to do is
15:20
like maybe tweak the trajectory or refine some things in terms
15:25
of your approach so that we can be more effective.
15:27
But that's very different than somebody who can't get off dead
15:30
center ever and just always seems to be like I'm just so and
15:34
you have to have made a decision for yourself because like you
15:40
got to bet on yourself before you ask other people to bet on
15:42
you and that's kind of who I'm looking for.
15:45
So like do it's it's not just athletes.
15:47
It's not just like business owners like I work with artists
15:50
I work with like I don't really care like really really terrific
15:53
like amazing great parents who's more high performing than that
15:58
somebody's staying home like taking care of kids especially
16:01
like the daily like day after day after day and then trying to
16:04
keep some semblance of order and yourself and health and
16:07
self-care, self-care. Excuse me while raising the next
16:11
generation. That's an exceptionally high
16:13
performing position, right? So it's really not.
16:18
I'm an athlete and I'm a business owner.
16:21
So like those two categories make sense for me.
16:23
But at the end of the day, we are all human beings and the
16:29
ones that kind of put themselves in that category of like, heck
16:32
yeah, heck yeah. I have ambition, heck yeah, I
16:35
have the ability to produce. They may or may not be in the
16:38
best spot at the moment. Heck, they could be like in the
16:40
bottom of the barrel. But you have the heart of a
16:43
warrior. Yeah, like, let's link arms and
16:45
let's rock'n'roll. If you don't, Sorry.
16:48
Like, find somebody else, right? I know that sounds really
16:51
horrible, but I just, I found out a long time ago that I
16:54
didn't serve people. I I serve the people best that I
16:59
serve, that I naturally serve and vibe with the best.
17:02
And that's why I say that, 'cause I don't want people, you
17:05
know, and I always tell people that when we have conversations,
17:08
if, like, I've got a phone call after we get off of this with
17:12
somebody and, like, I'm just going to kind of feel things out
17:15
and see where I can help the person.
17:16
And I may have nothing to do with that.
17:19
You know, I have some people in mind already that I may send him
17:21
to based on, like, what he wants to do that are maybe more
17:24
specialized in those areas. And I'm fine with telling people
17:27
that too, You know? No, Like, you need to go talk to
17:30
like this person or this person over here.
17:32
You're not a coddler, somebody who needs sort of a a warm
17:36
blanket wrapped around them. You're more of a kind of smack
17:41
them in the face and and give them the heart, honest truth.
17:43
Yeah. And but it's it's interesting
17:45
because in a in a very loving way because if they if they
17:48
actually pick up on my, on my spirit in the way that I
17:51
actually relate to people. I really, really really really
17:55
love people. And IA lot of times go out of my
17:58
way to try and think of like the words to express something to
18:02
somebody especially specifically that I'm sitting with in a way
18:05
that they can receive that's going to be supportive.
18:07
I really do go to great lengths for that.
18:09
But I just cannot BS you'd like I just, I just can't That that
18:17
bothers me. It's like a it's it's like a
18:20
violation of truth and that is not something that I am
18:26
interested in whatsoever. So yeah, if you're thinking of
18:29
it like, you know, if there's a like in the in the, let's say
18:37
the spiritual world or something, you have people that
18:39
are like Saints and like really just wonderful, loving ministers
18:44
and things like that. And then you have a Zen monk.
18:45
And I'm probably more like that. Like I'll like, I'll hit you
18:48
with a little stick. One meeting concentrate.
18:54
That's great. So how is your role?
18:57
Let's think specifically about your performance coaching as it
19:01
pertains to athletes. How would your role compare to
19:03
say like a sports psychologist or sports psychiatrist?
19:09
Mine is very, very focused on like performance based, hyper,
19:15
hyper practical and pragmatic from a performance standpoint,
19:20
right. So like very, very much in the
19:22
trenches on the ground, how do we, how do we take all these
19:25
higher level principles and translate them to the
19:27
environment that's in front of us right now.
19:31
You know if you have like clinical psychologists and and
19:34
sports psychologists certainly not all the time.
19:37
So this is like broadly speaking generally that's that's more of
19:42
an academic cadence and certainly like on the clinical
19:45
side, right, that's more hey something's going on.
19:47
If you think of a clinical psychologist, they tend to be
19:50
more like the equivalent of the doctor on the physical side,
19:56
right? Like you need to go to them if,
19:58
like, something's really going wrong.
20:00
Like, you got to get that stuff checked out and looked at by
20:02
somebody who has a lot of specialization, a ton of
20:05
education, like, really, really brilliant.
20:07
Same thing with a lot of sports psychologists, right?
20:09
Like they're kind of in the middle a lot of times, but a
20:10
little bit more academic. And then mental performance
20:12
coaching, at least. You know, what I'm looking at is
20:15
very much what actually works on the ground in the battle right
20:20
now. So are you.
20:23
So you're working with a golfer, Are you working with them on
20:25
their swing? Like is it like to that granular
20:28
level or is it like, yeah. Yeah well it would be, it would
20:31
be. It wouldn't be swing mechanics
20:32
but it would be the set up, right, like the pre shot, the
20:36
during shot, post shot routines and how to think about and how
20:40
to set things up. And like there's a lot of
20:43
different pieces to that sequence because when you watch
20:45
something like golf on TV and actually golf is interesting
20:49
because you can see some of their process, right?
20:51
Somebody will get up to step up to hit the ball.
20:54
They'll like waggle a little bit and they typically have a little
20:56
bit of a routine that you can see.
20:57
But what you can't see is like the mental process they're going
21:00
through is going down their checklist, sort of like a pre
21:02
flight checklist of like this. OK, great.
21:04
That's on, this is on check this, check this, check this,
21:07
awesome two of these and like ready to clear the mind, clear
21:11
the mechanism presence and like go and just take the swing.
21:14
There's a lot of moving parts underneath, something that looks
21:19
fairly straightforward if we're watching it on TV, which by the
21:23
way, I didn't really finish my analogy a moment ago.
21:26
Sometimes I rabbit trail and sidetrack, but which I'm going
21:30
to do now again just for good measure.
21:32
But you know, if you think of like a clinical psychologist is
21:34
on like the doctor side, I'm more on the athletic trainer
21:39
like strength training side, strength and conditioning,
21:42
right. So like they're both under the
21:43
guise of like in that case and that analogy like the physical
21:46
side of things. And if you take that on the
21:48
psychological right, like I'm not on the doctor side, I'm more
21:51
like the the training, the training, strength and
21:53
conditioning for the mind, getting your mind right, mind
21:55
gym, that type of stuff. As you were talking about
21:59
watching athletes on TV and how they're going through through
22:02
sort of like their pre shot prep.
22:05
You know I'm thinking about you know I watch baseball players, I
22:08
watch golfers. You know they they do this, they
22:10
they they kind of have all these things.
22:12
And in my mind I I'm thinking, well, it's some sort of a
22:15
superstition like they got used to touching this and then that.
22:18
And what what percentage of that do you think is superstition
22:22
versus this just helps them sort of get their mind and body and
22:26
check to do what they need to do next.
22:29
Apologies to all my baseball fans and players out there, but
22:32
like, there's a lot of superstition in baseball, so
22:35
it's hard to tell a lot of times.
22:36
And honestly then, you know, mental training, it's not
22:40
heralded at the same level. Then this is going to change
22:43
over the next, you know, number of years.
22:45
But it's really kind of like the last frontier in my mind,
22:50
especially in sport, because we have so much specialization and
22:52
so much support. Staff, excuse me, around
22:56
athletes in particular, but this is the one area that it's like
22:59
not really built out very well. And so a lot of the stuff that
23:02
you actually see is just things that are kind of superstitions
23:06
of like, and I always do this and I like always wear these
23:08
socks, even if they're dirty and it's on the road.
23:10
I don't care because these are my home run socks and it has
23:13
nothing whatsoever to do that has nothing to do with mental
23:16
performance other than if somebody truly, truly believes
23:19
that that works. Placebos are really powerful, so
23:22
who cares? Like, in that sense, it's
23:24
probably worth it, right? Well, like placebo effects.
23:27
Like 30% of people will get the effect of the drug just when
23:30
they 30% of the people with the placebo, they'll get it.
23:33
So more power too. I'm like, if you're lucky, socks
23:35
get it for you. But I'm getting into the really,
23:38
really specifics and nitty gritty.
23:40
Especially in like something like baseball pitchers have to
23:42
have like really, really if they're going to be great and
23:45
consistent, really, really tight mental routines.
23:50
And some of them do it naturally.
23:51
There's always people in business and sport that just do
23:54
things with such a they were just like born to do it, and
23:59
it's very subconscious for them, and it always has been because
24:02
it kind of came easily to them. So it's not that they don't have
24:04
a mental process, it's just so unconscious for them that if you
24:07
ask them what they're doing, they're like, I have no idea.
24:10
And a lot of times those are like the the greats of history,
24:13
right? They're so good that they have
24:14
no idea what it is that they're actually doing.
24:17
For the rest of humanity. We have to really like we have
24:22
to really show up and work and apply ourselves at the stuff to
24:25
actually get it done. Let's talk about how you
24:29
overcame the sphere of water to become a a national champion in
24:34
swimming. I mean that that's wild.
24:36
I I have a pretty intense fear of heights myself.
24:40
So I feel like that would be like me becoming a trapeze
24:44
artist in a circus or a a skydiving instructor.
24:47
Which just are unfathomable to me so.
24:51
Now I have some great now I have some great ideas of what we
24:54
should do next. Trapeze artists like that would
24:58
be fantastic. No?
25:00
So, like, how did that come about?
25:02
Is that what you want to know? Yeah.
25:04
First tell me about the fear. Yeah, I want to understand the
25:08
fear. And then I want to understand
25:09
how you got from here to here. Good question.
25:13
I don't. I have my suspicions about where
25:16
the fear like slash phobia actually originated from, but
25:22
I'm going to leave that aside for now.
25:24
Let's just put it this way. Definitely from as early on as I
25:27
can remember in my life, it was always there so and it was a
25:32
phobia of having my head underwater.
25:35
So like, I had had fears before. Like, you know, I had stuff
25:38
specifically that was less intense in terms of fear.
25:41
And one of those was a fear of heights.
25:42
Like, it was intense, but it was still a fear.
25:44
So it was something that I was like, OK, let's try And this is
25:51
what I did. Frankly, I was like, let's try
25:53
rock climbing. But I wasn't terrified of
25:56
heights. It was just made me really,
25:57
really, really uncomfortable. The water thing, having my head
26:01
underwater was a phobic response, meaning there is no
26:05
rational thought anymore. It's complete panic, like your
26:09
brain goes into like true, just like run and hide in survival
26:13
mode and you can't think straight and it's a total freak
26:16
out. Like there's no pumping the
26:18
brakes on it and slowing it down and like calm down, like just
26:21
breathe. It is like that doesn't that
26:23
doesn't work. So I would not necessarily
26:26
advise if people are at that place where they have a phobia,
26:29
like don't mess with that on your own.
26:31
Like you really, really, really need to work with a
26:33
professional. I kind of dodged a bullet on
26:36
that and thankfully, like I did have enough background like
26:39
psychology and that type of thing that I was able to, I
26:41
think, work through things that I would not recommend that other
26:44
people do unless they maybe have a lot of extensive experience in
26:49
that as well. Because it's tricky when you
26:50
mess with phobias. Like if you met, if you mess up
26:54
the the treatment, you can make things 1000 times worse.
26:58
It's just way more delicate than dealing with a fear because of
27:01
fear. Still, there's still a part of
27:03
the mind that can be rational and thoughtful phobias.
27:06
There's it's you're gone, right? And so if you mess up, like on
27:11
the treatment side, it can make your life more of a living hell.
27:15
So that's my, that's my disclaimer.
27:17
So that's where it kind of began.
27:20
And then I was like 30. And I decided, because I
27:24
recognize, excuse me, this is still in my life, but it was
27:28
really incompatible with how I saw myself.
27:30
Which is another thing, back to your earlier question, What's
27:32
one thing you could tell people about, you know, if they're in
27:33
that dark place? At some point you have to decide
27:36
who you are. Some point you have to decide
27:39
who you. Are so this Was you flipping
27:41
another switch? Yep, kind.
27:43
Of like getting back when you were 14.
27:45
Right. Yeah.
27:46
I was like, this is not compatible in any way, shape or
27:50
form with who I am and what I'm about.
27:51
Like, what the hell am I doing right now?
27:53
This is not walking and integrity in my life.
27:57
And so I decided, okay, I have a phobia of water.
28:01
What's the next logical step? I know I'm going to take up
28:04
swimming because it's a sport where your head is constantly
28:07
underwater. That sounds safe.
28:10
I didn't say I was the smartest human being in the world, that's
28:14
for sure. But you know, it was like, it
28:16
was, it was gutsy and I decided to take it up.
28:19
And I found a swim coach and I like, ironically, a few years
28:22
before that the seed had been planted watching Phelps at the
28:25
2008 Beijing Olympics. Like pull off what he did.
28:28
And it was just a little seed in my mind.
28:30
Like I didn't recognize it at the time.
28:31
But looking back, you know, like, which is another lesson,
28:34
like life only makes sense in reverse, but you have to live it
28:37
forward. So sometimes when people
28:39
understand truth like that, it also helps them, like, just
28:41
freaking relax. Like, you don't have to
28:43
understand everything. You're not going to.
28:44
Certain things aren't going to make sense until you're 30 years
28:47
older than you are right now. And that'll make perfect sense.
28:49
But right now, like, stop crying about things not making sense
28:53
and just take the next best step.
28:54
So there's. So there's that.
28:56
But I went and found a swim coach.
28:58
His name was Bob Bowman, which was the name of Michael Phelps's
29:02
coach. Things make sense in reverse,
29:05
right? Like, that's really, really
29:06
weird. It's not, it's not the same Bob
29:08
Bowman, but it's just like, what are the freaking odds?
29:11
And the first day I went out to the pool to, like, meet him, I I
29:14
was all just wigged out and hey, and there was a swim coach, like
29:19
coaching a group. And I walked over and I I was
29:21
like, hey, are you Bob Bowman? And he's like, no.
29:24
And I was like, you know, Bob Bowman.
29:27
And he's like, that's Michael Phelps's coach.
29:29
And he just looks at me like you're an idiot.
29:30
And I was like, dude, I know it's freaking Michael Phelps's
29:32
coach. This is a different, never mind.
29:36
So anyway, I found Bob and he just over the course of like
29:41
very short period of time, like, you know, we work together.
29:44
I really, really, I'm good at applying myself and actually do
29:46
like just doing what needs to be done and like going above and
29:49
beyond, like what a coach would give me.
29:51
And so he taught me the four competitive swim strokes.
29:54
And then a couple months later, I was that a blessing with him.
29:58
And he goes, you could join the Masters program like you're
30:00
actually at a point where you could do that.
30:02
And that terrified that out of me.
30:04
And so I decided, OK, while I'm still slightly enthusiastic
30:11
about what he said to me, even though it's terrifying, I'm
30:14
going to go sign up tomorrow. So I signed up for a Masters
30:16
swim team. Like the next day I started
30:18
rocking and rolling. Then that that leads to like a
30:21
little bit more and I'm still terrified in the water at this
30:23
point and and was working through that stuff for years,
30:25
but I remember not too long into it.
30:27
I got this thing of like what if I could compete one day.
30:31
You know because I dropped in at a high school swim meet because
30:35
of the Aquatic Center that I swim at to this day is like 3
30:38
minutes drive from my house. I dropped into this high school
30:41
swim meet and it was really inspiring because I always loved
30:43
athletes and like being in that environment.
30:45
I I just get choked up in those places.
30:47
Just watching people in the competitive excellence and the
30:50
collective energy that's in a place like that.
30:52
It's so much different than, like, I don't know, a bar,
30:57
right? Radically different energetic
31:00
components to it. And I saw them competing.
31:02
I was like, maybe I could compete someday.
31:04
And then that led to eventually I did compete.
31:06
And then one day I got the crazy idea that I didn't tell anybody
31:08
at the time. Like maybe I could qualified,
31:10
like swim at nationals one day. What if I could just somehow get
31:15
good enough to just to qualify, to go, to qualify to go to
31:18
nationals Like that would be super amazing.
31:20
Because the whole time I'm thinking like, what if it
31:22
inspires somebody, right, that's hesitant or like dealing with
31:24
their own stuff? Because I had the benefit of
31:28
seeing people that inspired me through my life and that's what
31:31
I needed to maybe take like the one more step that was a small,
31:34
seemingly insignificant step but became very significant because
31:37
of where it LED. And so this is a lot of driving
31:39
motivation the entire time. And eventually, like I qualified
31:43
for Nationals, it it was just under five years after I started
31:47
swimming. I think I was at my first
31:49
national championship and just kept going.
31:51
And then in 2021 like one won a couple of events at Nationals
31:58
and that was super exciting. And I'm, I'm still rock and
32:03
rolling, man. That's.
32:04
Incredible. What's What are your top events?
32:08
Good question. I'm still figuring that out.
32:09
So pretty much any any strokes and like not freestyle but like
32:15
backstroke breaststroke, butterfly really enjoy those
32:19
probably at this point maybe I enjoy backstroke the most but
32:25
it's it's close because I really love breaststroke and and fly is
32:28
like right beneath that and I just I enjoy the variety and
32:32
challenging myself doing being very versatile in what I do.
32:35
So typically masters practices there's a lot of freestyle
32:39
especially if it's a triathlete focused workout.
32:43
It's basically the entire thing is just freestyle right And I
32:48
don't really care for freestyle that much like I can swim in it
32:51
and it's on the back half of like my I am.
32:52
So usually I'm swimming like 204 hundred in the back stroke,
32:55
breaststroke and like the 200 individual medley and the 400 I
32:59
am right And that's those are the ones where you swim all four
33:02
competitive strokes. And that's how I practice too.
33:06
I basically am pretty even across my training for all four
33:10
of The Strokes. So I want to go back to that
33:14
first day of getting in the pool with the guy who has the same
33:19
name as Michael Phelps's coach. I hear you sort of talk a little
33:24
bit about the trajectory, like after that, like, you know, he
33:28
recommend, hey, you could get into a master's program.
33:30
And at this point you are still scared to get in the water, but
33:33
you're doing it and you're working through the fear.
33:36
But I want to, I want to talk about what happened on that
33:38
first day. You were terrified to get in the
33:41
water. How do you take that first step?
33:44
What does that look like? That I'm here now what like help
33:49
me overcome this. I mean, at that point, I had
33:56
done a little bit of work right before I started working with
34:01
him, just to make sure that I could kind of keep my wits about
34:05
me. Like in the pool, right, 'cause
34:07
I don't want to show up to a swim lesson like run, run off
34:10
the pool deck crying head and hands like I did when I was a
34:13
little kid. You know, when my parents tried
34:15
to do swim lessons and, like, that didn't work very well.
34:18
So I kind of dipped my toe in like probably like the week
34:22
leading up to it and just making sure that I can kind of get in
34:25
and be comfortable. But I also have this hatch and
34:30
it says and it's great because it's just like this embroidered
34:33
thing. And it says I won't say the
34:36
word, but it begins with F so like, F it my final thought
34:41
before making most decisions. And at some point you just have
34:45
to put yourself there, like F it, let's go, like, let's
34:48
rock'n'roll. You have to push yourself for
34:50
the edges. There's not always people there
34:51
to tell you like, it's OK And like if you need a pat on the
34:54
back all the time, there's nothing wrong with pat on the
34:56
back. I think we all love it.
34:57
But if you need a pat on the back all the time, they really,
34:59
really limits your potential. What you can do like pat
35:02
yourself on the back, Why not? Why don't you care as much about
35:04
what you think about you as what other people think about you?
35:06
Like what's up with that and like every like to this day
35:11
we'll get. I'll come back to your question.
35:12
I promise. But like on the pool because
35:14
this might be really helpful for people like on the pool deck it
35:18
is pervasive across the swimming population.
35:23
Swimmers coming up and like standing on the side of the pool
35:25
deck or like having you know their legs and just like over
35:28
the side. But they're not in the water
35:29
yet, and they always talk about how, like, this is the part I
35:32
hate the most, especially if it's a competitive pool, because
35:35
the the water is cold. Like, it's not like a rec center
35:38
pool. It's not comfortable, sort of.
35:39
When you get in, it's very uncomfortable.
35:41
And I just train myself from very, very early on, like, get
35:45
up there. Like, I don't hesitate, let's
35:47
rock'n'roll. And I actually train myself to
35:49
enjoy doing the thing that nobody else enjoys doing because
35:51
why the hell not? Other people hate this.
35:54
Like, I can love it. That's how I pick events to
35:56
swim. I pick all the things that
35:58
nobody else wants to do. I don't pick what I want to do
36:01
really. I look at where am I going to be
36:03
competitive and where do I line up and that informs my decision.
36:06
I'm like, well that's the one event I didn't want to have to
36:11
swim at nationals. But like that's what I'm
36:13
swimming and that's kind of how I pick things.
36:14
So that that first day I I think that's really what it was, is
36:18
that mindset of you have to be able to like click in the gear
36:21
at a certain point and you can't have decision Constipation.
36:24
You have to be able to like, not just, no, just make the decision
36:28
right and it's a quality and and how do you, how do you develop
36:34
that capability? One tiny freaking decision at a
36:39
time. Just make the decision.
36:41
Like do things that are uncomfortable and every time you
36:43
do it you should be rewarding yourself and caring about it.
36:45
Not no. I'll wait till something really
36:47
big happens. Listen, if you can't celebrate
36:50
little victories, like the big ones are going to be hollow and
36:52
empty and you are going to crash afterward, right?
36:55
Like little things. That's how all the best stuff is
36:58
built. Little thing.
36:59
So find something that you normally don't like doing, and
37:03
the next time you're there and you know you're about to go into
37:05
that moment of indecision or questioning yourself, I don't
37:07
know if I want to like, throw yourself into the activity, like
37:10
just see what it's like. You need a laxative.
37:14
You need a laxative for that decision Constipation that you.
37:16
Mentioned you do, man, you do. So give.
37:18
Give yourself that that they're laxative and see see how it
37:23
does. Brian, I got to know, why do
37:26
your friends call you the Piercer?
37:30
So that is that is now more people will know about it.
37:34
But I have a handful of friends like one in particular that the
37:40
person who originated this and then kind of word got out and
37:43
like now it's really out because for our best platform, which is
37:47
great, it originated from. He was a really good friend of
37:54
mine and he's a great guy, super brilliant, like business owner,
37:59
super high performing, awesome. Like I look look up to this guy
38:03
in so many ways. He inspires me, he helps me,
38:06
looks at things from a different perspective.
38:08
He just has a different energy, a different way of thinking and
38:11
approaching things. He's naturally super duper
38:14
intuitive. I tend to be more in my head,
38:18
which is great because I know how to deal with being too much
38:20
in your head, which is basically what all high performers deal
38:23
with, is the anxiety of getting stuck in your head and like just
38:26
feeling like, Oh my God, I can't even function.
38:28
And knowing how to come out of that is really valuable.
38:30
So there's a lesson in that too, right?
38:31
Like the things that you're not good at, when you become good at
38:34
them you're you become an incredible teacher because it
38:37
didn't come naturally. And so you can go back and say
38:40
like here's this step and here's this step and you just know how
38:42
to fine tune and fix things and you can really help people in a
38:45
different way because you understand the process that goes
38:48
into it. So anyway this guy is just like
38:51
naturally super intuitive and and but he would we're talking
38:56
once and he needed coaching on something like just something he
38:59
was struggling with. And so I just like started
39:05
coaching and going into things and all of a sudden he's he's
39:09
you know like his eyes kind of get wide and he was like oh wow
39:13
or something. I was like I was like what like
39:16
what just happened. He's like that's exactly what it
39:18
is. Like, I didn't even that.
39:21
Like never even occurred to me. Like, holy crap, so.
39:24
When it's like this ability to sort of like hear the veil and
39:28
like see what sort of behind the facade.
39:31
Yeah, because there's so many things clamoring for our
39:33
attention, especially when things aren't going right.
39:35
It can be really convoluted and difficult to happen upon, like
39:39
what's actually happening here and where is the leverage point
39:42
where we're going to get the most benefit if we fix this one
39:45
thing that it changes everything else about the complexion of our
39:49
business, our life or whatever. And I think that a lot of people
39:54
spin cycles because they're really like, kind of playing
39:58
whack a mole. And I'm just trying to deal
40:00
with, like, the surface level stuff.
40:02
But you're playing whack A mole always.
40:04
And it just keeps you busy. But you're constantly fixing
40:07
surface level problems and like, let's dive down beneath that
40:09
and, like, let's just figure out what the hell is going on.
40:12
And after he started calling me like, dude, like, my new
40:16
nickname for you is the Piercer, he told me that he's like, I now
40:19
have your name in my phone as Brian the Piercer Bergford.
40:23
He, like, sent me a screenshot of it.
40:24
And I was like, oh, my goodness. So that's where that started.
40:28
But it helps me really understand there's things in
40:33
coaching that I'm not particularly adept at that
40:35
there's coaches out there that are way, way, way, way, way
40:37
better. And I'm like, great.
40:38
That's why I said, like, talk to that person.
40:40
I just want you to get with somebody that's going to
40:41
actually help support you, get to where you need.
40:44
But one of the things I'm really, really good at is
40:46
getting to the heart of the matter.
40:48
Plus, I'm kind of incapable of BS on the truth level.
40:52
And so I just have to, like, I have to bring it forward if I
40:55
see it. But The thing is, it's not
40:59
saying that the truth will set you free but first still piss
41:03
you off or whatever the saying is.
41:05
And it is right? Like it it's very disarming at
41:08
first, 'cause you're like, Oh my God, oh wow.
41:12
And it's, it can be a little bit much on the front end, but then
41:15
you're like, wait, hold on, though.
41:17
I didn't love how that felt initially, but now I can see a
41:20
path out. This totally makes sense.
41:22
I hadn't considered this. And like, now that I know the
41:24
truth, you can't. Again, it goes back to just
41:27
like, biblical proverb, right? Don't build your freaking house
41:32
on sand. Like, right, The waves are going
41:34
to come up and it's going to wash it out.
41:36
To see, you have to have a firm foundation and you cannot build
41:39
on top of lies. I mean, you can and we see this
41:42
in like, you know, Congress every single day of our lives,
41:45
right? Everything built on lies in a
41:47
House of Cards. But like in our in our lives,
41:51
things we really, really care about.
41:52
If we want functional lives, we've got to build.
41:56
And if we want things to last, it's got to be on a foundation
41:58
of truth. How many relationships, long
42:01
term relationships do people really have?
42:03
They're completely built on lies.
42:06
And if they do, it's this exercise and keeping everything
42:09
together and maintaining and like facades and stuff like that
42:13
year after year after year. And it's exhausting.
42:14
At some point it's like, isn't wouldn't the truth just like be
42:17
refreshing even if you don't like hearing it?
42:22
Like, wouldn't it be refreshing and like, that's what I want
42:25
from people as well, especially coaches and mentors.
42:30
I'm like, just give it to me straight.
42:32
Like I I really, I can get sensitive and like, hurt in a
42:38
lot of ways, like pretty easy, you know?
42:40
I'm not one of those people just with like a crazy, insanely
42:43
naturally thick skin or like like nothing really bothers me.
42:48
But what I value more than avoiding the pain of hearing the
42:53
truth is the truth itself and what you can create coming out
42:56
of it. And that goes back to our
42:57
conversation beginning of like some point you have to decide
43:00
who you are and what you're really about.
43:01
And you're going to have to make some really tough decisions
43:03
about, OK, I'm willing to go to the place that I don't want to
43:07
go and do the thing that I sense that I need to do but that I
43:10
least want to do so I can actually know what the truth is
43:15
because I can't live like this anymore and I won't live like
43:19
this anymore. And the sooner you decide to
43:20
make that choice, the last misery you have to go through,
43:25
right. Don't be like, like, like me and
43:27
childhood. It took me a really, really,
43:28
really, really, really long time to get to that place where I
43:31
made the decision to just, OK, like, let's look at the truth
43:34
and like, what do I really need to do?
43:36
And like, stepping up. It took me a long time.
43:39
So it was like depths of despair for for so long, for so many
43:42
years, without any hope. And there was still a lot of
43:45
this. Not despair after that, but,
43:47
like, really, really difficult times afterward.
43:50
But at least I started to know who I was and what I was made
43:54
of. And like, if I can make it
43:56
through this, some part of me knew I could make it through
44:00
anything else that I ever faced in my life.
44:03
And little things like that get you through.
44:07
Little things get you through, you know?
44:08
And that's the other thing too, for people like please smile at
44:11
somebody. Encourage them.
44:12
Like when you're not in the mood to talk to somebody at the gym,
44:14
like take your stupid headphones out and say hi or like fist bump
44:17
somebody or do something to uplift somebody.
44:20
Because we just and it's it's it's corny and cheesy and like
44:23
the ripple effect of kindness and whatever.
44:25
But it's it's really true. Sometimes people just need a
44:28
smile. Sometimes they just need your
44:30
presence. Sometimes they just need a
44:31
glance something because they're right on the edge.
44:34
They're right on the edge, they're right on the edge.
44:36
And sometimes we just don't know how much we can tip the balance
44:39
with something that is so inconsequential and seemingly
44:42
meaningless to us, and it saves somebody else's life.
44:47
And they may never tell you. And if you need people to tell
44:51
you all the time, you're not going to make as much of an
44:54
impact as if you're like, like, no, I just want to do whatever I
44:58
can to contribute to the people around me, to be intentional.
45:02
And I'm an I'm an introvert, Like highly introverted.
45:05
So it's not in my nature to like I love people and when I get
45:07
around people like sports teams and like we're working together.
45:10
And like I was doing that yesterday pro sports team and
45:12
like getting everybody on the same page and like a room guys
45:16
like in the locker room getting everybody on the same page fired
45:19
up, totally firing on all cylinders and bring the like, I
45:23
love that stuff. But I refresh on my own right.
45:26
I I have to replenish by retreating and being away from
45:29
people. Like, that's just me.
45:30
I don't recharge my batteries by being around a bunch of people.
45:33
So anyway, as as an introvert, I don't know where I was going
45:39
with that. But the point being, oh, it's
45:40
hard for you sometimes to extend yourself.
45:42
So go out beyond just your natural inklings in your comfort
45:48
zone and the things that you're comfortable and competent at
45:51
doing, because again, if you're not uncomfortable, you're not.
45:57
There's no. Now being uncomfortable doesn't
45:59
mean you're growing, but being comfortable.
46:02
Comfortable for sure means you're not growing.
46:04
And there's somebody, I don't know.
46:05
It was a book I was reading or something recently, But she was
46:08
talking about like every night and after school, like when she
46:11
would go home, they'd sit at the dinner table and unless this was
46:17
you like, OK, now I'm. Now I'm getting freaked out.
46:20
But whoever this was, it was like the I thought it was a
46:23
daughter, but maybe it was a son.
46:24
Like, the dad would go, like, what did you fail at today?
46:27
And would ask that every single night at dinner to her?
46:31
And she, she just thought it was such a weird question because he
46:34
would do it to her and her sister.
46:36
And like, come on, like, what did you, what did you fail at
46:38
today? And that was always the question
46:40
that came up at dinner. And like, why is that important?
46:43
Is like, because if you're not failing, you're not, you're not
46:46
growing, you're not pushing yourself, you're not going
46:48
toward your potential. And that was just a really,
46:50
really powerful thing, I thought.
46:52
Yeah, that is powerful. Thanks for sharing that, Brian.
46:55
I've got one more question I want to ask you.
46:57
But before I do want to make sure people know how to get in
47:00
touch with you. Best place I'm guessing is your
47:03
website, bergfordperformance.com.
47:05
BERGFORD performance.com. Well, we'll have it in the show
47:10
notes. Is that best place for people?
47:12
Beautifully done my friend. That is it.
47:15
So last question I have for you is, I know you have an interest
47:18
in particular types of breath work and you've even developed a
47:23
very specific type of breathwork yourself.
47:26
Can you give us a brief description of it and what the
47:30
purpose or the benefit of it is? Sure.
47:33
And and so I think breathwork is great.
47:38
It's not a panacea. It doesn't solve everything
47:42
right. Like there's always when things
47:44
become in vogue, there's always this rush like Oh my gosh, like
47:48
maybe this is the answer to all my problems, right?
47:51
In society and people are just like and then like that thing
47:53
dies out and eventually like a new wave come behind and like
47:56
everybody runs to that. And I think like, you know, I
48:00
try and remind myself to temper that a little bit because like
48:04
no matter how awesome something is, it's part of the greater
48:07
whole. And like when you see it in
48:08
context of like this is 1 aspect of or a technique or a
48:13
methodology or a mode of becoming more complete or
48:17
helping yourself as a human. In terms of like self
48:19
development, fantastic. And breathwork is one of those
48:22
things. I think it gets a lot of
48:23
attention and it should. It's not the fix to everything,
48:26
but it can be really tremendously helpful in terms of
48:30
things like even simple stuff, lowering stress hormones, right,
48:36
Like getting cortisol down, like, you know, testosterone,
48:40
things like, you know, norepinephrine.
48:42
Like we might want that stuff to go down a little bit.
48:44
Like the stress hormones that are so pervasive and that we
48:48
live with because just the pacing of our lives, oftentimes
48:51
we just live in this state of just like we're just buzzing all
48:55
the time and it's really unhealthy.
48:57
So I think that you can shift the hormonal balance in your
49:00
body, your blood chemistry, you can completely shift with
49:03
breathing exercises if you know what you're doing.
49:05
So that's one of those things too.
49:06
I'm like get with somebody who understands and knows what
49:08
they're doing. I think the the specific
49:11
exercise you're referring to is a.
49:15
There's a course basically in my app, so I have an app like the
49:20
Burgford Performance Systems app, and if people go on to my
49:22
website and they hop on the e-mail list, it'll get them an
49:25
invite and they can go in and there's a bunch of free courses.
49:27
There's actually, I don't know why I put so much free courses
49:32
and material in there. I've always like, I should
49:34
probably like, charge for some of this because I do have, like,
49:37
Hidden in the Meditation One is not a free course, but there's a
49:40
bunch of stuff in there. But the Meditation One is like
49:43
really in a super inexpensive for what it is, but it walks
49:46
people through this breathing exercise and this sort of the
49:49
short meditation. The short one is like 14
49:51
minutes. There's also like a 30 minute
49:53
version, but there's one point in there where there's like some
49:57
really, really powerful breathing going on.
50:00
And after that, I kind of took elements of different styles of
50:06
meditation and like yoga and and breath work and kind of combine
50:11
them in unique patterns and ways to just give people a different
50:14
way to experience something like meditation that they typically
50:17
think is really boring and like just sit there and be calm and
50:20
was like no, baby. There's points in the meditation
50:23
that are like that, but it's also really active.
50:25
There's points where you have to get after it, and if you sort of
50:28
halfway commit, it's just it's not cool, man.
50:32
I've tried it before. It is a very active breath.
50:34
It is not like a just feel the breath coming in and out of your
50:38
nose. Sorry, go ahead.
50:40
Yeah, no, no. And that's exactly it, right.
50:41
Like you, you have to make a decision like to commit to it.
50:45
And I think that that it goes back to that thing.
50:47
It's like a great exercise to do with yourself every day.
50:50
You you go and you know, do I want to do this?
50:54
No, I don't want to do it. That's exactly why I need to do
50:56
it. Because the things that you want
50:58
to do immediately that are like, Oh yeah, I want to do that are
51:00
typically not very good for you long term.
51:02
And all the things that have a barrier to entry up front that
51:05
you like, I naturally don't want to do that, are probably really
51:07
good for you. So that's like a nice rule of
51:09
thumb, but it's a really active breath.
51:11
And there's a lot of different types of breathwork too.
51:14
But like that one has been really powerful I think for a
51:16
lot of people that have enjoyed that and like use that like over
51:19
course of months and years and you can go everything from just
51:23
like relaxing yourself to some more advanced breath work which
51:27
I don't really go into in there. But like you can have really
51:32
really powerful like psychedelic type experiences but without any
51:38
of the like you know drugs but but but that stuff can be like
51:44
really really powerful when you understand like how your body
51:47
chemistry when you understand how to shift it and how to
51:50
change it. It's just such a great life
51:52
skill. Because then when you get on the
51:53
playing field, right, and you're an athlete, like for me as a
51:56
swimmer and I get on the pool deck and you have all these
51:58
different skills and you know how to shift, like your
52:00
psychology, like last moment and, like change your change
52:03
your body in the state of mind that you're in, like at the drop
52:06
of a hat. It makes everything else and
52:08
like owning a business and, like working with and helping and
52:11
supporting employees and dealing with customers so much easier
52:15
because your benchmark, your set point, right, for like, really
52:21
getting after things like what's difficult and having to shift,
52:24
you know, from over here to word, like, I'm really, really
52:28
super frustrated. And I want to throttle somebody
52:30
to, like, I got to be spot on because I got one of the most
52:32
important meetings in my life in 10 minutes.
52:34
And I better get this sorted out right now because that is going
52:36
to have lasting consequences. It makes that stuff so much
52:40
easier. So it's disciplining your body,
52:42
disciplining your mind and putting yourself in that
52:44
position over and over. And a lot of when you lose
52:47
control of your breath, it's over you.
52:51
You don't have control anymore. So when you go back to breathing
52:53
exercises, it brings you back to the present moment.
52:55
It's taking control back. And that's really powerful. 11
53:00
last thing here there is, I don't know who, who the quote is
53:04
from. Somebody could probably help us
53:06
out with this, but it's anxiety is excitement without the
53:09
breath. Anxiety is excitement, but
53:12
without the breath. So when anxiety like you, you're
53:16
not conscious of your breath and if you are, you've lost control
53:19
of it when you're excited. So they're like they're like
53:23
this far apart excitement and anxiety.
53:25
And that's something like helping athletes and business
53:27
owners, people that are doing presentations, executives.
53:29
Like this is the kind of stuff we're up against is I've got a
53:32
really high stakes situation right now and I have to keep
53:35
control of myself. You have to be in control of
53:37
yourself before you can be in control of your performance.
53:39
That's so huge. And a big part of that is like
53:41
you have to be able to regulate and your your breathing and your
53:45
body and what it's doing and understand how to change those
53:48
things. Because otherwise it just feels
53:49
like, God, I'm at the mercy of everything around me.
53:51
And I can't seem to get ahead and like I do really well and
53:54
then I like fall apart and it's like you got to be in control of
53:57
yourself before you can control what's in front of you.
54:00
That's awesome, Brian. Thank you so much for your time
54:03
today. It's been a great conversation.
54:05
I I appreciate the invite. I I've been excited about this.
54:09
I actually wanted to do it earlier and then I just had a
54:11
crazy week. So you know, I appreciate you
54:15
hanging out, like being patient with me, like getting on here,
54:17
but I didn't feel very patient because I was just chomping up a
54:20
bit to get here. So I'm blessed to be here.
54:22
I appreciate you and like huge. Just want, like, to your
54:27
listeners, to your audience, just a heartfelt appreciation
54:31
and gratitude to you for being here, for, for listening, for
54:34
being present. And that you care enough about
54:37
yourself and the people around you to be constantly educating
54:41
yourself to maybe pick up one little tiny tidbit from, you
54:45
know, maybe this entire thing, maybe it's just like one thing
54:49
is going to shift for you a little bit and you would put in
54:53
this much time to get one little thing.
54:55
And that's how champions are made.
54:57
That's how champions are made. So thank you for being that.
54:59
I love it. That's a wrap on another episode
55:02
of the Inspired Stories podcast. Thank you for listening with us
55:06
today.