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Performance Intelligence

Andrew May

The show that unlocks potential for everyday life.
Mental Skills and Leadership Coach, Andrew May, talks to an all-star guest list of experts to unlock every edge of performance.

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  • 27 episodes
  • a few times a week
  • Avg 31 min
  • English

Episodes 27

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  • July 12 · 10 min

    Bite Size: Why Being Underestimated Might Be Your Greatest Asset | Nic White & James Slipper

    Nic White played 77 test matches for the Wallabies. For most of that career, he felt like he was one bad game away from being dropped, one coach away from being told he was not in the plans. He was told exactly that in 2015. So he left. What he did next, and why he came back, says a great deal about what actually drives elite performance over the long haul. This is a conversation about the difference between proving people wrong and knowing your own worth, and why both matter more than most leaders admit. Follow Nic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/white_nic/?hl=en Follow Slips on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesslipper/?hl=en

  • July 8 · 7 min

    Bite Size: Mental Rehearsal Is Not Mindset, It's Neuroscience | Andrew May

    Jim Carrey wrote a cheque to himself for ten million dollars when he was a broke, unknown actor. Sara Blakely visualised a billion-dollar business and an Oprah appearance before either was remotely plausible. Easy to dismiss as coincidence. Harder to dismiss once you understand what an fMRI shows when a person runs a scenario in their mind. Andrew May breaks down the neuroscience behind why mental rehearsal works, and why leaders who ignore it are leaving a genuine performance edge on the table.

  • July 5 · 11 min

    Bite Size: ADHD It's Not Laziness, It's Low Dopamine | Lindy Hadges

    Since the 1700s we have described this condition in the language of character. Lazy. Undisciplined. Careless. As recently as 2023, an Australian parliamentary inquiry heard the same words still follow people through their lives. Lindy Hadges explains why a condition that sits in the brain attracts shame that an identical shortfall in the pancreas never would, and what happens the moment someone stops believing the story they were told about themselves. View the ADHD Cake model: https://performanceintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ADHD-Cake-of-Understanding.png Find out more about the ADHD Foundation: https://adhdfoundation.org.au/about-us Connect with Lindy: https://ccaa.net.au/practitioner/200102-14/

  • July 1 · 13 min

    Bite Size: He Ran His Recovery Like a Pre-Season | Jason McCartney

    The first thing Jason McCartney asked for wasn't a doctor. It was a whiteboard. Badly injured and facing months in hospital, he didn't ask "why me?!". He set a goal, picked a deadline, and started working backwards, the same way he had for every season of his AFL career. What he learned about handling the moments that flatten everyone else is something most leaders never have to discover until it's forced on them. You can find Jason at his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-mccartney-oam-b10a39217/

  • June 28 · 7 min

    Bite Size: You've Accepted a Lie About Getting Older | Craig Harper

    There's a moment in your 50s when you start planning for decline instead of planning for growth. Craig Harper never had that moment. At 60+, he's more committed to his physical and mental performance than most 35-year-olds. This isn't about genetics or obsession. It's about asking a different question: what would I have to do differently to stay in the game? His answer might surprise you. Craig Harper is a high-performance coach, author, and speaker specialising in sustainable performance and behaviour change. You can find Craig at his website:https://craigharper.net/ At his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/craiganthonyharper/ Listen to The You Project:https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-you-project/id1342430567

  • June 24 · 1 hr 13 min

    186 How to Access Flow State & Significantly Boost Performance | Dr Sue Jackson

    Have you ever finished a presentation, race, meeting or performance and someone asked, "How did it go?" only to realise you can barely remember it? Not because you failed but because you were completely immersed. Dr Sue Jackson is one of the world's leading researchers on flow and co-authored the defining book on the subject alongside the man who first named it, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Sue takes you inside one of the most sought-after and least understood states in human performance. Why do some moments feel effortless while others feel like a grind? Why can pressure elevate performance one day and destroy it the next? And why do some of our best performances seem to happen when we stop trying so hard to force them? Using examples ranging from Olympic athletes to Wallabies captain Harry Wilson's match-winning moment against Argentina, Sue explores why some performances feel effortless, why pressure can either sharpen or derail us, and why trying harder isn't always the answer. This is about attention, confidence, pressure, preparation and the hidden conditions behind extraordinary performance. Because flow isn't something you find. It's something you allow. 00:00 Why your best performances can be the hardest to explain 02:14 The psychological state that fascinates elite performers 05:58 What athletes mean when they say "everything just clicked" 10:08 Flow vs clutch: two very different ways to perform under pressure 13:09 Harry Wilson's match-winning Wallabies moment, and what it reveals about performance 19:27 The letter that changed Sue Jackson's career 26:51 The hidden ingredients behind a flow state 28:00 The challenge-skill balance that can make or break performance 32:00 Why anxiety might be closer to flow than you think 39:03 The attention crisis nobody is talking about 42:18 Are we losing our ability to focus? 45:40 The coaching habit that can pull athletes out of the moment 48:53 Why flow feels energising instead of exhausting 50:32 Can you perform brilliantly without being in flow? 52:18 The mistake people make when they try to force flow 54:31 What extreme athletes understand about being fully present 57:19 The surprising connection between deliberate practice and effortless performance 59:00 How to experience more flow in everyday life Dr Sue Jackson Website: www.drsuejackson.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/drsuejackson Instagram: @suejackson_flow Facebook: drsuejacksonflow View the 8 channel flow model: https://performanceintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/8-Channel-Flow-Model_Jackson-scaled.jpg Books: Flow in Sports (with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, 1999): drsuejackson.com/flow-in-sports-book Experiencing Flow: Life Beyond Boredom and Anxiety (2024): drsuejackson.com/new-book-experiencing-flow

  • June 21 · 10 min

    Bite Size: Why a Psychophysiologist Thinks We're Treating Depression Wrong | Dr Paul Taylor

    Most conversations about depression treatment start and end with medication. But what if that starting point is too narrow? Paul Taylor challenges a widely accepted assumption in mental health care that antidepressants are the primary or most effective solution for depression. What he argues is not simplistic and not anti-medication. It’s more uncomfortable than that: that for many people, medication alone may not be enough to meaningfully address the deeper drivers of depression. That raises a harder question most people never get asked: if medication isn’t the full answer, what is? This is a conversation that sits in the tension between science, treatment norms, and lived experience. And it may change how you think about the way depression is actually treated in practice. You can find Dr Paul at his website: https://www.paultaylor.biz/ or at his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paultaylor1971/ Buy a copy of Dr Paul's new book: https://www.paultaylor.biz/books

Showing 21–27 of 27 episodes