Dana Way is a Biomechanist and a veteran member of Canada’s national Athletics team. He has attended four Olympic Games, one Paralympic Games, five World Championships in Athletics, and several other major games and championships. Dana’s position on these national teams was not as a coach or an athlete but as a biomechanist (biomechanics is essentially physics with the human body). His role is to work with coaches to help them identify how to make athletes better, what kinds of things are making them worse, and how they can maximize their performance.

Dana is part of the larger IST or integrated support team surrounding an athlete and coach pairing in high-performance settings. The role of the IST is to elevate the athlete’s performance.  One of the reasons Dana has impacted the national team setting and experienced the tenure he has is his ability to be patient and build trusting relationships telling us:

 “Me going in there as a 23-year-old snot-nosed kid and saying, “Well, you know, based upon the angles and the release velocity of this athlete, they're not, you're not doing this correctly.” Now, try saying that to a coach that's been coaching for 30 years, you're not going to get anywhere;  you're not even going to get in the room. So I think I learned very early on not to be a yes person and to do whatever people want, but to give people what they need, and then also to work on what I would like to accomplish with them. And sometimes that takes patience.”

Every day Dana has the opportunity to work with some of the best athletes and coaches in the world.  In addition to chatting about trust and relationships, our discussion spanned several topics: How one becomes a biomechanist; The importance of knowing your role when the stakes are high, and how to retain a sense of awe, gratitude, and excitement when extraordinary things (like seeing a world championships 100m final) are at risk of seeming mundane.  We hope you enjoy our discussion.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or your favourite podcast platform.

This week we welcome/introduce Donna Harris, the Human Assignment co-creator, to join the show. Donna has been a previous guest with Dr. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood and will now join as a co-host for most episodes.

A coach at heart, Donna, is continuously intrigued by all types of human performance and what people need to be at their best. Donna has extensive experience in high-performance sport. She is a former All-Canadian athlete in Track and Field. Donna transitioned from athlete to coach and held concurrent roles at the national level as a coach (University of Manitoba) and a sport administrator working full time for various organizations, including Athletics Canada, Athletics Manitoba, and Racquetball Canada. During this time, she started to experience challenges with work/life balance, which led to an illness from stress when her life load was out of control. These experiences, coupled with a decision to walk away from a national team coaching pathway, led Donna to graduate research that uncovered the role that passion, culture, recovery, and connection play in sustaining performance. The research, while rooted in elite sport, has application across many contexts. There were two big takeaways from Donna’s graduate study research that led her to the Human Assignment. The first is the takeaway that there is no such thing as work-life balance, but with awareness and deliberate actions, an effective work-life blend is possible. The second big takeaway was the discovery that we tend to see those around us as one-dimensional. We do not realize that there are several dimensions to the people we interact with every day. When we learn to see people multidimensionally, we can really see them, and when we really see them, we are better able to understand them and connect with them. When this happens, we cannot only better help them be at their best, but we celebrate the holistic human within them.

In this episode, we talk about Donna’s background, her research, family life, and some of our visions for the Human Assignment. We hope you enjoy the show!

The past year has been difficult for everyone, Eva encourages us to accept how we are feeling noting that emotional wellness is “being able to sit and experience our full range of human emotions, allowing space for that. Let that be exercised with an attitude of non-judgment, self-acceptance, know that there's a place for depression, know that there's a place for grief, for unbearable sadness, for frustration for this difficulty, and tolerating our uncomfortable emotions. When we can accept our humaneness and our emotional ability, I think that that really helps destigmatize feelings, and mental illness in general. And I think that it gives us a sense of empowerment, to be able to say, yeah, you know, I'm gonna sit this one out today, because it's just too much for me to handle, and that's okay. I'm still okay, as a person. And tomorrow's a new day.”

Eva Stordy is a Registered Psychologist and Senior Clinician with Arete. She holds a master’s degree in Counselling Psychology from the University of Lethbridge and years of experience counselling children, adolescents, and adults as well as couples and family systems—Eva understands people and thoroughly loves what she does telling us “I'm witnessing people change. I'm witnessing their resilience piece and their growth, and their capacities. And it's amazing what challenges people can overcome. And so that part I always find really inspiring.” Eva has an opening and engaging manner that invites dialogue and helps clients gain insight, learn about themselves, surface their inner strengths, and develop creative skill-building and coping strategies to overcome hardship and achieve their ultimate potential.

Our chat with Eva covered a wide range of mental health-related topics including the compound impact of Covid and why she has a “hate on” for the virus, the range of treatment options available, the types of fatigue we combat daily, the importance of normalizing our experiences with anxiety, simple ways we can support ourselves and the power and importance of connection. Our discussion highlighted Eva’s diverse professional experiences with a wide range of presenting problems, including depression, anxiety, communication and relationship challenges, self-esteem, grief and loss, trauma and attachment, and life transitions.

Eva admits that it can be tough and even uncomfortable to be a client in a psychologist’s office – it is tough for her when she is the client too. She reminds us that it takes a huge amount of bravery to put yourself in that seat, but once that step is taken, we can harness the opportunity to develop self-awareness and that can lead to understanding, self-compassion, and the development of effective coping mechanisms.

“I like to say that the dreams always come in the service of growth. They're always there to help us look at our own stories. They're not here to pat us on the back and say do more of the same. They're here to show us something that we need to look at.” -Cordell Jacks

Cordell Jacks describes himself as a seeker, a big ideas person and a boundary pusher. Most of his career has focused on re-imagining major social innovation initiatives in international development, ocean plastics, and cleantech start-up companies, working towards a better world in public health, environmental sustainability, and circular economies. His ideas and efforts have earned him international accolades including significant investments from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The World Bank, global awards including the INDEX: Design to Improve Life Award, Dubai International Award for Best Practices, The Lipman Family Prize at The Wharton School of Business, and speaking opportunities at Harvard Business School, The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and SXSW, amongst others.

More recently, Cordell has had a significant perspective shift in redefining 'impact' and 'scale,’ turning his focus towards the individual and 'going deep,’ launching an initiative that is literally teaching people how to Dream better. As a Dream Coach, Cordell shares his lifelong passion for studying the science, psychology, and global lineages of 'Dream Work' practices. He teaches people how to access and utilize the "2 most important hours of their day,"....those spent dreaming. In our conversation with Cordell, we follow his career from Canada to the developing world and back to Canada again. We discuss answering phone calls from the universe, the importance of sustainable water and sanitation in developing communities, international development work, the role that circular economies play in the sustainment of business and the earth. Finally, we take a deep dive into the power of dreams, learning how our dreams hold the keys to innovation, self-discovery and meaningful creation in our waking lives. This interview is packed with insight, honesty and inspiration. Please enjoy our conversation with Cordell Jacks.

You can learn more about Cordell and his work on his website, on Instagram, or on Facebook. Cordell offers courses, private coaching, and dream interpretation sessions.

“If you're trying to draw the absolute best out of people, they need to feel safe to fail, they need to feel safe to push themselves, they need to feel comfortable that, you know, that you'll be there for them.” Janine knows a thing or two about drawing the best out of people. She won an Olympic Silver Medal in 2012 as part of Canada’s women’s eights rowing team and she is now the Head Coach of Manitoba’s Rowing Program. Excellence, she tells us, is grown is environments where people feel safe, where they can work hard, take risks, set their own goals, and decide on how much they want to give.

A powerful Viktor Frankl quote highlights that in any situation, we can choose our attitude and the way we approach the circumstances we are in. A positive and supportive attitude is Janine’s superpower. When she was training, she aimed to be the person that others wanted to row with. She noted that when someone brings a negative attitude with them or harbors negative energy, that feeling is transferred to everyone and everything around them. She chose to be a positive force for herself and others. She would tune into how her teammates were feeling and she would do her best to give them what they needed so the team could win together. She also challenged herself every day to see how fast she could go and to find out how much she could improve; so much so that she picked a university team where she had to really work to make the team versus going to a school where she would have entered the program near the top of the squad. This attitude and way of being resulted in her being awarded the Sportsmanship award in her Senior Year at the University of Michigan (given to the athlete who contributes to the team as a whole throughout the entire year), and also played a big role in her being named to two Olympic rowing teams.

Now a Head Coach and a Mom of twins, Janine couples her knowledge of how to bring out the best in others with her supportive attitude to create spaces where athletes can be themselves and strive for excellence.

Please enjoy our conversation with Janine Stephens.

“I think one of the most important things we can do right now is notice ourselves in the moments when we're getting taken away by our fear and anxiety, and just pushing the pause button and slowing down, and as simple as it sounds, taking the deep breath. Really, our breath, you know, that's one of the first things that just kind of falls out of whack when we're stressed is our nervous system goes nuts and all of a sudden our breath shortens or is nonexistent.  Then all of a sudden, the entire body starts shifting into this fight or flight mode. So, one of the most important things we can do right now, even just to regulate our nervous system from all this fear is to take a deep breath.”

Keith MacPherson knows a thing or two about being mindful and taking big breaths.  The author of Making Sense of Mindfulness, he works with individuals to help them navigate what they want and helps them become the best version of themselves.  He acknowledges that the time we are living through is not easy and admits that he too has days when he does not feel great.  His advice for navigating the rough days, in addition to being present in the moment and being kind to yourself is to be aware of your thoughts.  He tells us, “There's a Kahuna in Hawaii that talks about this idea that the world is what you think it is,” therefore, it is important to be aware of what we are thinking about so we can discern the difference between thoughts that build us up and move us towards a place of love and peace versus thoughts that bring us closer to fear and separation.

Our conversation with Keith introduced us to a new community he is part of (myconsciouslife.com), touched on the state of the world, reviewed the importance of mindfulness, discussed the pressures on leaders and outlined the opportunity we have to emerge from the pandemic better than we were prior to it. 

In this episode, we talk to high-performance consultants, Dr. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood and Donna Harris from Toogood Consulting, about mindset and managing the various aspects of our lives in these uncertain times. Dr. Adrienne Leslie Toogood is a licensed psychologist that has worked with clients ranging from business leaders, individual Olympic athletes, teams and coaches, to PGA Tour winners.

Donna Harris has developed and led the implementation of various national and provincial programs while in senior leadership roles with Athletics Canada, Racquetball Canada and Athletics Manitoba.

Adrienne and Donna have extensive experience supporting people through uncertainty and the unknown in sport and life. This conversation felt very timely for me. I hope you enjoy it.

Aimee Gallo is a Certified Nutritionist specializing in functional medicine and fitness and the founder of Vibrance Nutrition. She discovered the impact food choices have on overall health at the age of 12 and never looked back. For over 25 years she's explored different dietary modalities and studied nutrition's role in human health, receiving two degrees in nutrition and numerous certifications and specialties in topics such as fat loss, sports nutrition, functional medicine, and holistic health. Aimee has worked in private practice for over 15 years, helping countless people dramatically improve their quality of life and health through sustainable lifestyle shifts uncovered in a collaborative, shame-free environment. She has been a contributor on topics of health and wellness for Athleta’s Chi Blog, Mother Earth Living Magazine, and was recognized as a leading Mom in Business in 2014 StartUP Nation.

Paul Dewland is a Mental Performance Coach and a certified trainer of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (INLPTA). Paul’s clients range from corporate executives to professional athletes. He is best known for his work with professional golfers, where his client list includes players from the PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA Tour, Ryder Cup team members, Korn Ferry Tour, Champions Tour, Symetra Tour, European Senior Tour, PGA Tour Canada, PGA Latin America, and several other professional tours.

Jaclyn Mellone (jaclynmellone.com) helps experts exponentially grow their business by becoming the Go-To Authority in their space. She is a coach, strategist, Keynote speaker, mama, guac lover, and host of the Go-To Gal podcast. She helps her clients get out of their own way, package their expertise to scale, position themselves as the go-to authority, and have their dream clients and opportunities landing on their lap!  Her signature approach combines restructuring her clients’ business models, reframing their mindset, and revamping their marketing so that they become the go-to authority from the inside out.

Andrew Parr is a former professional golfer, a high-performance coach and the founder of Wildernest Camp. As a coach, entrepreneur and life-long learner, Andrew is focused on the pursuit of life-long human development. In his coaching work, he supports everyone from top NCAA teams, professional athletes, Olympians, executives and the general public.

Therapeutic Relationship Coach™ Kyle Wright is a leading voice in the conversation around modern masculinity and transforming how we talk about and work on our relationships, sex lives, and mental health. Bridging the gap between self-help books and a therapist's couch, he’s one half of the NYC-based sex and love power couple who founded Wright Wellness Center. Kyle and his wife, Rachel Wright, MA, LMFT have worked with hundreds of couples and have taught thousands of people about healthy communication.

Patrick King is a Certified Financial Planner and founder of Transformative Financial. Over the years Patrick has helped CEOs and executives, all-star athletes, Grammy-winning artists – and dozens of other folks from all walks of life (including the world’s top bologna salesman) – grow their financial lives.

Ken Wiebe is a sports journalist, with The Athletic, where provides insight and analysis for the Winnipeg Jets. He appears regularly on Winnipeg Jets broadcasts on TSN TV, with a featured segment called “Wiebe’s World.” Ken is also a frequent contributor on 1290 TSN radio in Winnipeg. Born in Brandon and raised in Altona, Ken has spent the past 19 years covering sports, primarily hockey, for the Winnipeg Sun. After graduating from the University of Regina in 2000, Ken covered the Manitoba Moose for 10 seasons before the Winnipeg Jets returned to the NHL in 2011.

Tripp Lanier is the host of The New Man Podcast: Beyond the Macho Jerk and the New Age Wimp, which for over a decade has been downloaded millions of times. Since 2005, he has spent thousands of hours coaching people all around the world to “get out of the rat race,” become an authority in their field, and make a great living doing the work they were put on this earth to do. His clients have ranged from Navy SEALS, to best selling authors, to professional athletes, to high profile executives, to “that guy that lives up the street from us.”

Keith Macpherson has a big vision. He believes that mindfulness can and will be made accessible to everybody on the planet. As a musician, author, speaker, and leadership coach, Keith has spent over twenty years touring globally. He is a regular columnist in Balance Magazine and inspires thousands of people around the world with his daily intentions on social media.

Mike Kelly is the Co-Founder and CTO of MemberVault, a Relationship Marketing Platform that is changing how we engage and sell online. Mike, along with his wife Erin, founded MemberVault five years ago to help Erin’s boss solve a problem that she couldn’t find a solution to. At the time, Mike was working as a software developer working 9-5 at a big tech firm. What started as a project for one client, turned into a passion project that now supports thousands of people to build online communities with similar interests, and make a living monetizing their offerings.

Dr. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood has spent the last three decades competing and consulting at the highest levels of sport. Adrienne is a licensed psychologist and adjunct faculty at the University of Manitoba. She has extensive experience working with athletes in both Canada and the United States at all levels of performance. Dr. Toogood’s clients have ranged from individual Olympic athletes, teams and coaches, to PGA Tour winners and World Champions. She is the Past Chair of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association and the Director of Sport Psychology at the Canadian Sport Centre Manitoba.

Derek Ingram is the head coach of Canada’s National Amateur and Young Pro Golf Teams, he also coaches and mentors numerous professional golfers, including PGA Tour winners Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners. I caught Derek on a rare week off in Winnipeg, Canada where he lives with his wife and two sons. Derek has coached all over the world and at every level of golf. He’s been recognized with almost every coaching award you can win in Canada, and in 2016 he was selected to coach Canada’s Olympic golf team at the Rio summer games (the first time in over 100 years that golf was included as an Olympic sport).

Dave Angus is the President of Johnston Group Inc., one of Canada’s leading group benefits providers (*cough* and the company I work for:) ). Dave recently joined Johnston Group after 17 years as the president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. Under his leadership, the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce was instrumental in bringing a World Trade Centre to Winnipeg, establishing Leadership Winnipeg and Yes! Winnipeg, and most recently, the Winnipeg BOLD initiative – a grassroots public policy campaign designed to mobilize the community behind BOLD ideas for the future that are linked to increasing prosperity in the city.