Do You Have What It Takes?
What are the attributes that lead to performance? And what kind of performance are we really looking for?
QUOTE:
“In the SEALs, the Fire in the Gut award is given to the person who showed the most perseverance and grit. Really just gutted it out and showed the most heart. Oftentimes, that person is the person with the lowest scores, and that's decided upon by the instructors, by a vote from the students. You can't win that; you have to earn it.” — Rich Diviney
GUEST BIO:
Rich Diviney is a retired Navy SEAL officer once in charge of training for a specialized command and whittling exception candidates down to the most elite optimal performers. Rich is now the author of The Attributes, a book about the 25 hidden drivers of optimal performance and what it takes to unlock them. He’s all about discovering why some people thrive, especially when things get hard.
Learn more about Rich:
OPENING MONOLOGUE:
In today’s episode of Playmakers: Impact Unleashed, we’re welcoming Rich Diviney, retired Navy SEAL officer, thought leader, and author of The Attributes. Our conversation will span across the origin story of how and why he became a SEAL. What does it truly take? Then we’ll deep-dive on how we should tackle the fork in the road of performance. Is it peak performance that we’re after, or optimal performance? Rich’s perspective may surprise you.
CORE TOPICS + DETAILS:
[14:19]
Measuring Grit and Perseverance
How do you make intangibles more tangible?
Rich outlines two ways of measuring grit and perseverance—experience and environment. Look at the environments and experiences where someone has thrived or failed to thrive, and you’ll discover a great deal about what they’re capable of achieving and persevering through.
[17:29]
Peak Performance vs. Optimal Performance
When is operating at our best not the best?
In the SEALs, Rich discovered the difference between peak performance and optimal performance. Peak performance is the absolute best that you’re capable of in perfect conditions, while optimal performance is the best level of performance for a specific situation in the real world. So, when we talk about peak performance, we’re often really talking about optimal performance—what’s the best we can do right now with the resources we have available.
[26:15]
Could and How: The Difference Between Skills and Attributes
Knowing how to do something doesn’t necessarily mean you could do it
Sometimes we don’t just need to discover whether we know how to do something, but whether we could do it when the going gets tough. That’s the difference between skills and attributes. Someone might have the physical skills to be a SEAL, but do they have the attributes to persevere after the 20th long run in the mud carrying a 300-pound telephone pole?
[34:59]
Adapting Outside our Box
Adapting to changing circumstances is about more than skills
Athletes have the advantage of developing their skills within a very defined range of what’s possible— the rules and boundaries of their sport. But in the real world, we need to be adaptable to an infinite number of possibilities. That adaptability is fed by our attributes, not only our skills.
[44:06]
Discovering Your Attributes: What Comes Next
Are you confined by the attributes you possess?
Does finding out you have some attributes and not others mean you only have one path forward? Not at all. It’s possible to develop weak attributes, but by knowing your strengths you can more effectively reach your optimal performance in the meantime.
[48:17]
The ‘Dream’ Team
What happens when great individual elements don’t work well together?
Many teams are brought together based on skill and skill alone. But anyone who’s worked in a professional setting, or followed pro sports, knows that skill isn’t the only thing that makes a team great. The attributes of all those team members must be accounted for to ensure harmony and optimal performance.
RESOURCES:
MAKE A PLAY:
In Rich’s book and in his conversation with Paul on the podcast, he talks about five core areas of attributes: grit, mental acuity, drive, team ability, and leadership.
Today’s opportunity to Make a Play involves going to Rich’s website and taking his Assessment, which will help you discover how you handle stress, challenges, uncertainty, and more. From there, develop a plan for how you’re going to develop and level-up your attributes— and maybe even consider completing some of the workbooks on the website. You’ll be surprised by what you discover about yourself.
Follow Rich Diviney:
Follow Paul Epstein:
SHOW SPONSOR:
Audible: Interested in leveling up and lifelong learning? Then what’s better than a free audio book and 30-day free trial when you visit audible.playmakerspod.com? With over 200,000 titles to choose from, there’s no limit to what you can explore and learn on Audible.
TRY AUDIBLE TODAY
ABOUT PLAYMAKERS: IMPACT UNLEASHED:
Playmakers: Impact Unleashed is an all-access pass to the game-changers of today and the history makers of tomorrow. The show looks past the trophy cabinet and features a no-BS, inside look into the world of comeback, transformation, and impact unearthing practical tools and mindsets that we can all leverage to make a play in our own lives and careers.
Take a seat at the table with leadership expert, sports industry veteran, personal transformation coach, purpose igniter, and your host Paul Epstein in this inspiring, yet immediately actionable podcast. From stories of total defeat to the thrills of unimaginable achievement to the practices of mastering the inside game, each show will share a high-energy, prescriptive blueprint to unleash impact and drive success, significance, and purpose no matter your starting point.
Meet Paul at the 50 and make a play together!
Learn more at: PlaymakersPod.com
ABOUT MOTOWN PODCAST STUDIOS:
In Detroit, history was made when Barry Gordy opened Motown Records back in 1960. More than just discovering great talent, Gordy built a systematic approach to launching superstars. His rigorous processes, technology, and development methods were the secret sauce behind legendary acts such as The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.
As a nod to the past, Motown Podcast Studios leverages modern versions of Motown’s processes to launch today’s most compelling podcasts. What Motown was to musical artists, Motown Podcast Studios is to podcast artists today. With over 75 combined years of experience in content development, audio production, music scoring, storytelling, and digital marketing, Motown Podcast
Studios provides full-service development, training, and production capabilities to take podcasts from messy ideas to finely tuned hits. Here’s to making (podcast) history together.
Learn more at: MotownPodcastStudios.com
ABOUT THE HOST:
Paul Epstein may not be a hard charging running back on the actual football field, but his list of high-profile wins in the world of sports will have you thinking that he could be.
Paul has spent nearly 15 years as a pro sports executive for multiple NFL and NBA teams, a global sports agency, and the NFL league office. He’s transformed numerous NBA teams from the absolute bottom in league revenue to top-two in financial performance. He’s broken every premium revenue metric in Super Bowl history as the NFL’s sales leader. He’s opened a billion-dollar stadium, helped save the New Orleans NBA franchise, and founded the San Francisco 49ers Talent Academy.
He's since installed his leadership and high-performance playbook with Fortune 500 leaders, Founders and CEOs, MBAs, and professional athletes.
Now, as Founder of Purpose Labs, keynote speaker and host of the Playmakers: Impact Unleashed podcast, Paul explores how living and working with a focus on leadership, culture, and purpose can transform organizations and individuals anywhere to unleash their full potential.
CREDITS:
- Paul Epstein: Host | paul@paulepsteinspeaks.com
- Connor Trombley: Executive Producer | connor@motownpodcaststudios.com
