I recently went one on one with Dr. Nate Zinsser. Nate is the Director of the Performance Psychology Program at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Nate has also has been the sport-psychology mentor for numerous elite athletes, including two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning and the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers, as well as many Olympians and NCAA champions, and a consultant for the FBI Academy, U.S. Army Recruiting Command, and the Fire Department of New York. Nate is the author of the new book The Confident Mind: A Battle-Tested Guide to Unshakable Performance.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Nate: I took an unconventional path throughout my high school and undergraduate years. The standard measures of success, like wealth and comfort, never interested me. When I was 16 I did a month long survival and wilderness skills course at the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School. That experience  planted in me a love of nature and a desire to challenge myself in mountains. At the same time I pursued athletic excellence in wrestling and lacrosse and played drums in a progressive jazz-rock band. As soon as I had the opportunity, starting in college, I began a practice of Japanese karate that I have maintained for almost 50 years despite two hip replacements and six knee surgeries. The common thread in all these endeavors was the importance of a confident mindset. I was fortunate enough to find mentors at the University of Virginia who supported a scholarly study of the mindset that I had explored experientially, and I earned my PhD there. My book The Confident Mind finally puts all my learnings into one coherent volume.

 Adam: What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Nate:

• Hurricane Island Outward Bound School

• New Jersey Independent School Wrestling Championship

• First Ascent of the “Ham and Eggs route” on the Mooses’s Tooth, Alaska Range

• Karate black belt ranks awarded by Tsutomu Ohshima, the first karate master to teach in the U.S.

• Three years of mentorship by Dr Bob Rotella at the University of Virginia

• Two hip replacements and six knee surgeries

• 30 years in the trenches helping elite athletes and other performers find their mental edge

Adam: What do you hope readers take away from your new book?

Nate: That confidence isn’t some mysterious process that ebbs and flows beyond their control. Instead, it’s a quality they can cultivate and develop, much the same as any other quality.

Adam: How can anyone develop a winning mindset?

Nate: First, define for yourself what a “winning mindset” is, and then put in the required work managing your memories, controlling your self-talk, and getting your imagination on track.

 Adam: How can anyone reach peak performance?

Nate: Again, that depends on what is meant by “peak performance.” Once that’s defined you have to get after both the disciple to develop the required skills and the discipline to trust those skills.

Adam: What are the keys to building and mastering confidence?

Nate: Using your human free will to retain and benefit from the thoughts and memories which allow for greater energy, optimism, and enthusiasm.

Adam: What are the common pitfalls you have observed among those you have worked with and how can they be overcome?

Nate:

Pitfall #1: the inability (or refusal) to take responsibility for one’s own thoughts – letting your attitude be determined by past experience or other factors outside of your control.

Pitfall #2: confusion over what it means to be “nervous”

Pitfall #3: refusing to give oneself the same degree of compassion and support one automatically gives to one’s best friend.

All of these can be overcome by an honest reflection on the effectiveness of one’s attitude and some education on the reality of 1) personal responsibility, 2) the distinction between “anxiety” and “arousal”, and 3) self-compassion as a constructive process.

Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?

Nate: The formulation of a shared vision/mission with one’s subordinates, the effective communication of the mission/vision to all involved, and the honest ‘modeling’ of that mission/vision through one’s visible day-by-day actions.

Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Nate: Make sure you are open, dare I say vulnerable, to feedback and input from the people doing the actual work. The greatest lesson I’ve learned from working at West Point is that disasters occur when leaders don’t pay attention to what the soldiers and junior leaders “on the ground” are saying.

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?

Nate:

1. Pay attention to and act on what your people tell you.

2. Be a moral exemplar – model honesty and benevolence.

3. Constantly improve yourself – always be in a state of curiosity and self-reflection.

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Nate: A line from a Bob Dylan song: “He not busy being born is busy dying”

Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Nate: The journey to greater confidence is long, often difficult, but well worth it. As I write in the preface to The Confident Mind, “Are you as good at your job, your profession, your passion, as you could be? Would your life be different if you had the confidence of an Eli Manning or a Tom Brady or (insert your own choice of confident leader)? Not his throwing arm or other physical attribute, not his football IQ, just his confidence. I’m pretty sure your answer is yes.”


Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.

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