Beyond Motivation: How Professional Athletes & Business Leaders Achieve Elite Performance | Gary Chupik

Discover the mental edge that sets elite performers apart with Gary Chupik, Founder & CEO of Elite Mindset Nation.

In this powerful episode, Gary shares his unexpected journey from ordained minister to high-performance mental coach after experiencing severe burnout in 2017. He reveals how his pastoral background became his superpower, helping him guide professional athletes and top business leaders toward lasting success.

Gary challenges the common belief that motivation fuels high performance. Instead, he explains why self-leadership — the ability to guide yourself even when you feel unmotivated — is the true foundation of greatness. You’ll learn how building systematic rhythms and consistent habits empowers you to perform at your best regardless of emotional ups and downs.

Gary dives deep into the psychology of belief and confidence. Rather than relying on hype or vague encouragement, he offers a practical framework: real belief requires optimism grounded in evidence. By stacking small wins and creating momentum, you can build genuine self-confidence and shatter performance plateaus.

You’ll also hear exclusive insights from Gary’s work with pro athletes, emphasizing that elite success isn’t about extraordinary talent alone. It’s about "perfecting the simple" — mastering key routines and focusing on income-producing activities instead of getting lost in busy work.

Plus, discover Gary’s powerful CAPE system to navigate high-pressure situations:

• Control yourself (take a breath)
• Assess the situation
• Plan your response
• Execute with trust in your preparation and instincts

Whether you're a business owner, athlete, or parent, this episode offers actionable strategies to build unshakable confidence, develop self-leadership, and unlock your potential.

Gary Chupik: Founder & CEO of Elite Mindset Nation

Website: https://www.elitemindsetnation.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garychupik/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elitemindset/

#GaryChupik #PersonalDevelopment #EliteMindsetNation #BusinessMindset #ElitePerformance #SelfLeadership #HighPerformance #BusinessSuccess #GetUnstuck #GrowYourBusiness #EntrepreneurMindset #BossBusinessGrowth #MichaelDMorrison #BreakTheBarriers #ScaleYourBusiness #ConfidenceBuilding #OvercomeChallenges #EliteMindset #PerformanceCoaching

Chapters

• 0:00 Meeting Gary Chupik
• 8:22 From Pastor to Mental Performance Coach
• 16:46 Business Pivots and Creative Solutions
• 19:40 The Holy Grail of Mental Performance
• 26:30 Building Belief Through Optimism
• 29:42 Inside the Athlete's Mindset
• 32:49 Working With a Mental Coach
• 37:54 The CAPE System for High Performance

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

All right, welcome to another Small Business, pivots, and, as you know, we have very special guests from around the world, and today we have another special guest. But, as I say, week to week, only the business owner can say their name and their business like they want it said. So I let them introduce themselves. Go ahead, you have the floor. Tell us what you do as well as well.

Speaker 2: 0:25

Yeah, well, thank you for having me. My name is Gary Chupik, from Seattle Washington. I'm a mental performance coach. I work typically with professional athletes and teams and lately have been working with more and more businesses, so that's a real exciting new opportunity for me, and it's one that's really intriguing just because of the interest that the business world has in the mindset world and learning from professional and elite athletes. So I'm here today to explore this conversation with you, and so thanks for having me.

Speaker 1: 0:48

Fantastic and our audience. I must say I, selfishly, am looking forward to this episode because I have been deep diving into growth and fixed mindset, so this will be a mastermind for me as well. So I'm on your side of the fence, as well as learning as well. So let's introduce the show. We'll be right back. Welcome to Small Business Pivots, a podcast produced for small business owners. I'm your host, michael Morrison, founder and CEO of BOSS, where we make business ownership simplified for success. Our business is helping yours grow. Boss offers business loans with business coaching support. Apply in minutes and get approved and funded in as little as 24 to 48 hours at businessownershipsimplifiedcom. All right, welcome back to Small Business Pivots. My friend, most of us had trials, tribulations, growing up in life. Can we get caught up on yours Doesn't have to be trials and tribulations, but just kind of the journey of what got you where you are today.

Speaker 2: 1:57

Well, it's a very strange journey to doing what I'm doing today. I was an ordained minister for 30 years In fact, I'm still ordained, but I'm not pastoring presently and I had an actual burnout in 2017. I just ran out of gas. I was doing local things with my church and regional things and national things and even some international things, and I think I just mismanaged myself, and so I think about burnout as a self mismanagement, and I know that in business and actually being a business owner myself many years ago, you know, I know what it's like to burn out. I know what it's like to run out of gas.

Speaker 2: 2:37

I know what it's like to, you know, overcommit and say yes to too many things, but you're desperate for getting a paycheck sometimes and so you do things you wouldn't normally do, but in the process, you sort of lose your direction and aim. So, yeah, a lot of my background is leadership and coming from leadership positions, and in 2017, I had an opportunity to meet Trevor Moad, which was Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks at the time his mental performance coach, and so we ended up forging a relationship and he mentored me for a year and actually his company hired me, so I had put in about a thousand hours of mental performance and sports, psych education, and so that's a lot of hours to accumulate. But I got the opportunity and got the shot with Russell Wilson's company and Limitless Minds and it was. You know, it was just a lot of fun and I decided to go out on my own in 2020 or so and I've been doing the mental performance stuff in sports and in business ever since then.

Speaker 1: 3:40

How challenging was that going into a new career in the COVID era.

Speaker 2: 3:46

Well, apparently my timing is not very good.

Speaker 1: 3:49

That's a pivot right there. That's what the show is about.

Speaker 2: 3:51

Yeah, yeah, exactly. But I think the biggest thing was identity shift, because we tend to see ourselves the way everyone else sees us and I'm not sure I've shed the pastor identity completely. But you know it's difficult because around the country people will still call me Pastor Gary and so it still is that there's a part of my persona. That is that. But I think that was one of the biggest obstacles because you know, I'm a businessman now and having to shift my identity from nonprofit to business was a significant shift and I still feel some tension with that quite a bit. But that's okay. I've kind of come to the conclusion that that's a superpower for me, and relating to people and encouraging people is one of my superpowers, so I think it fits quite well.

Speaker 1: 4:40

Well, what are some pivots that you've learned or done in your business? Going from a pastor to a business, it's a little bit different because you're not pastoring people, you're helping people. But what are some of the pivots, challenges, insights that you can share with our audience before we deep dive into mindset?

Speaker 2: 5:07

we deep dive into mindset. Well, one of the biggest ones I've experienced in the last couple of years was just the idea of I can have a really great business idea and it really truly is a great idea and even there can be a demand for it. However, I just realized there's more factors involved than that. Like, for example, I put together a mental performance and leadership playbook for colleges and universities. Well, so many of the colleges and universities that I've talked to are just simply drooling over this workbook or playbook that I created, because it's sort of a playbook, a mental performance and leadership playbook for all the athletes in the university. In fact, I was in conversation with the University of Washington and there are over 800 athletes and they wanted to take their entire athletic department through my mental performance and leadership playbook. So there's a lot of interest in a lot of different places.

Speaker 2: 6:00

But then when I talk about you know how much it costs and what it takes to install the playbook or install the mental performance playbook in the program you know. Then there's you know they're less reticent to want to participate. But it's strange because they'll say that leadership and mental performance is, like you know, priority A1. And in some, you know, maybe it's not priority A1, a1. Maybe recruiting is A1. Maybe it's maybe second or third down the list. But I just had to realize that there was the multiple layers that I had to go through to make that sale as a business leader, and how many layers I had to go through and how many conversations I needed to have. It was just exhausting. So I thought you know what? It's a great idea, there's even a demand for it, but it's just not making enough business sense in terms of my time for it to be profitable.

Speaker 1: 6:56

So objections? You got objections All about price.

Speaker 2: 7:01

It was price objections and I think if it was the only thing that I was doing, I think it would be easier to sort of like deep dive into some of the challenges. But I'm a little bit too spread out just to sort of do that one thing, because the sales are too few and far between, I think, and the installation process takes a little bit of time and most colleges and universities are I'd have to travel right Like this is not in my backyard. I do work with an athletic department at a local college but yeah, if you add the time it takes to fly somewhere and the multiple trips that it takes, it just is it's a pretty hard sell. So great idea, you know, possibly even in demand, but the price point just wasn't fitting.

Speaker 1: 7:49

So did you pivot away from that and do something else, or do you still offer that?

Speaker 2: 7:54

Yeah, you know it's funny. I don't formally offer it anymore, but from time to time I get a phone call. Someone hears about it and says, hey, I heard you have this and you know, so I'm happy to engage in it. But again, you know, you know if I'm going to charge 15 or 20 or thirty thousand dollars for it, you know, it's just, it's just seems like, for whatever reason for a, my pivot has been and that's actually a really good question to ask, because you know like even during COVID, you think, well, I'm a primarily a business to business, a business right, a B2B, but most of the businesses are closed down. But there were a lot of individuals in their homes that I could pivot to and go more B2C, business to consumer. So I've done that a pretty hard shift towards that. I do have a couple programs that work with larger businesses still, but I've sort of switched my focus from business to business to business to consumer.

Speaker 1: 9:00

That's interesting and fascinating information because, being a business coach, we work with business owners owners a lot of times and I've been guilty as well Sometimes we won't table or we won't pivot from something because we put so much work into that product or that service and we're like but it's so good and so lesson number one business owners it's okay to say this isn't working, move on. Is that what you're saying?

Speaker 2: 9:28

Absolutely. And you know what. It actually spawned some creativity in the process, like, for example, I put together a mental performance assessment so people can assess their mindset, and so that was one of the pivots that I made that I could sell online or sell to companies or sell to individuals, and so that's been really profitable, that's been a helpful thing and it's a great lead generator for me. So, instead of going up to a coach or a business and saying, hey, I could work with you and I could actually have a face-to-face with all of your employees, but what if we could just get everybody assessed all at once, like within a couple days? Like we could just like get everybody assessed all at once, like within a couple days, like we could just do everybody in a company, and I think there's been a lot of interest in that.

Speaker 2: 10:12

So you know, you pivot and you try something else and you do it and if it works, great you know. But the thing is, is that this part of like this product or service that I'm offering in the mindset assessment, it could really be its own thing, like it could actually be like a major more than just a lead generator? It could. It could actually be the product or service. But my I don't. I don't know if I want to be an assessment company and and just solely do that.

Speaker 1: 10:39

Well, I think that's a great segue where we're going, because I know for a growth mindset, you look at these as either challenges or a learning experience rather than just a failure, and so let's get into the mindset for our listeners. I'm being very selfish today because I love this stuff. I love neuroscience. I'm just not a licensed neuroscience. Where would you like to start, because you've done this longer than I have? What do you feel like some of the things people need to know, the difference between fixed and growth. We've talked about that earlier before the show. Where do you want to start?

Speaker 2: 11:19

Well, it's a really interesting conversation to have, especially concerning rhythms and habits. Like, for a lot of people, when I mentioned the word habit, they just instantly sort of cringe. Or if I talk about the word discipline, but thinking in terms of rhythms is can actually be a really fun way to look at it. Like, what are the rhythms in my life that support my own self-leadership, that allow me to succeed or do really well at a high level? And so I don't believe that motivation is a very good, let's say, core product for mental performance, because your motivation wanes and if you ask just about any professional athlete, they would probably tell you that motivation is not a big deal. In fact, I went to a mental performance conference about three years ago in Las Vegas over three days, and not one time did people really talk about motivation. It's really interesting. But I came up with a concept called self-leadership that I think that's the holy grail of all mental performance. Leadership that I think that's the holy grail of all mental performance. So your ability to lead yourself even when you're not motivated is typically the differentiator between good and average and best. So I think a person's ability to lead themselves even when they're not motivated, it's really the holy grail of all mental performance. So what's interesting about that is then if that's true, then what rhythms or habits can I place in my life, whether I'm motivated or not? What? What rhythms or habits can I place in my life that put me in the best position to succeed?

Speaker 2: 12:59

And so one of my favorite comments, or, um, you know, sort of concepts that I teach my clients is you can never control an outcome. In fact, very rarely can you control outcomes. Now, we can sort of plan and strategize for those things, especially, you know, in the world of business, but you really can't control whether you make a sale. Oftentimes it's up to another person. However, you can put yourself in the best position to succeed. You can get the training, you can get the coaching, you can get the systems, you can get the processes. You really do need to focus on putting yourself in the best position to succeed.

Speaker 2: 13:36

But what's interesting to me about that and it sort of takes a tangent here for a moment but what if you could affect or influence your hormones by simply doing the act?

Speaker 2: 13:52

So, for example, if you go for a walk, and let's say you go for this walk and you're smiling most of the time, which is a strange thing to do, potentially, but if you're on this walk and you're smiling, you're getting exercise right. You're, you're moving your body. There might be some adrenaline involved, and if you're smiling, your body is releasing oxytocin and possibly serotonin, and you're meeting other people and you're smiling at other people, and all of a sudden, you've had a physiological change by a decision that you made when you weren't motivated to do it, but you still affected your physiology and your hormonal reaction to what's going on. And therefore, when you have those happy hormones flowing through your body, well, we tend to do better when we have those happy hormones flowing through our body, and so so can we manipulate in some ways or influences maybe a better way to say it our, our productivity by simply doing things that put us in the best position to succeed and leveraging the hormones that we have to accomplish those things.

Speaker 1: 15:01

Could you give an example in business how that would be applicable? Is there anything you can think of that you could practice or act like you're doing?

Speaker 2: 15:26

decent size call, you know, pay out for me potentially. And I just decided that I was going to smile the entire time. You know I'm tired. I only had three hours sleep last night. I only had three hours sleep the previous night. So I'm kind of working on six hours sleep in the last two days just due to some health issues and whatever nothing serious, but but so I'm only operating off six hours sleep. So I'm tired and I'm going into this meeting, this big meeting, thinking I don't know like I'm tired. I'm not sure I want to be here right now. I'd rather be in bed, not feeling great.

Speaker 2: 15:55

And I just decided that I'm going to smile the entire time and the energy that was transferred from me doing the sale to the customer, potential customer I thought was really outstanding. And so just by the fact that I'm smiling and I'm transferring energy, in other words, we're all kind of like, we're all kind of chemists in some way. You know, we're sort of influencing each other's chemistry when we smile. Or sometimes you can almost tell over the phone whether someone's smiling or not, just by the energy that they're projecting. So that would be a good example of in business, when we can manipulate our own or influence our own hormones, so that it puts us in the best position to succeed and make a sale.

Speaker 1: 16:44

Is there a difference between fixed mindset and growth mindset, and what does that look like? Why do some seem to just have that growth mindset and why do others have to work at growth mindset?

Speaker 2: 16:56

Yeah, the growth mindset book by Carol Dweck is certainly a bestseller. But I find it super interesting because a growth mindset is someone who's always looking to get better and improve and see how they can either improve themselves or a circumstance or an environment, Whereas someone with a fixed mindset it tends to sort of see the negative side of things. So the glass is half empty instead of half full. And it was interesting.

Speaker 2: 17:22

I was working with a CrossFit Olympic finalist and he definitely had a fixed mindset, which is a little odd to me because typically we think it's the be in his own little world, and he was a little hard on himself and he could be a little bit negative. But I found it rather challenging to coach him because when I would say something there would be resistance and so I had to actually learn how to coach people with a fixed mindset. So it's not that people with a fixed mindset can't succeed, it just means that they're not always open to the kind of coaching that I might typically give someone with a growth mindset. So it's just a matter of asking different questions and me having to adapt, because people with a fixed mindset, they have a fixed mindset for a reason and they probably had it for decades, so the idea that I'm going to be able to change that in 12 weeks is probably pretty slim. However, I think there are some important questions that we can ask people with a fixed mindset that don't seem to threaten them because they always feel threatened by other people telling them what to do or that they should think a certain way or that they should do things a certain way with a certain attitude. But I think just accepting them so that they're heard is really, really important, and and sort of being very present with them through whatever it is that they're going through sometimes is all that they need.

Speaker 2: 19:03

And uh, and we can offer, you know, different ways to think, but and but also to give them the out or another option of saying okay, this is how you think, here's another way to think, but I wonder if there's a hybrid way to think about this, like what parts of this could be helpful to you that you can put in your suitcase and take with you so that it can be helpful to you. So, whereas with a client this morning, I was working with a professional football player. I'm just, he's a growth mindset. I'm just saying here's how you do it, Don't veer from it. This is just how you do it, but with a fixed mindset. It's just giving them more options so that they feel respected.

Speaker 1: 19:41

So, using the words pessimist and realist, there are some people Apply in minutes and get approved and funded in as little as 24 to 48 hours at businessownershipsimplifiedcom. If you're enjoying this podcast, don't forget to hit the subscribe button and share it as well. Now let's get back to our special guest. So, using the words pessimist and realist, there are some people that are kind of stuck I would say similar to a fixed mindset, because they do things over and the same result, even though they might change some things, they try different things. I work with business owners and sometimes they're just like I can't get ahead because every time, no matter what I do, this is what happens. You got any insights to help us with that?

Speaker 2: 20:46

Yeah, I mean, in order to get a different result, you have to do things differently. And so the challenge is what would you like to do differently that might put you in the best position to succeed? And so I just think introducing the idea of creating a pattern interrupt for them because they are stuck in that loop, and so helping them, like creating the pattern interrupt and then offering solutions, I think is really important. They may not, they might actually even know some of the options that they have or solutions they have, but there's just some resistance, and the people generally don't have a problem with procrastination as a as an end. It's usually a symptom of something. And so what is the procrastination or avoidance a symptom of? And so typically there is some resistance, and typically resistance is the right word.

Speaker 1: 21:44

So, using the realist and the pessimist, is there a point where there's a defining line that someone can say I'm just being a like reality is this, I'm not being a pessimist. But then there's also that optimism, right? So, kind of, how do you differentiate between all those to where? Because I know business owners, they just try and try and try and I'm like that's just not in your wheelhouse. I don't think, buddy, you know.

Speaker 2: 22:11

So how does?

Speaker 1: 22:12

one differentiate those in their head, Because that's where it starts right Between the years.

Speaker 2: 22:18

Yeah, I mean, it most certainly is valuable to have an outside voice, you know, speaking into it, like even I don't care how long you've coached and how long I've coached like how good we are, everybody's myopic. It's like we're all look, we're on the all the inside of the pickle jar, right, and we're trying to read the label, but we're on the inside and so we don't always see those things. So to have somebody on the outside of the pickle jar and say, oh, you're spicy, that's really really helpful and sort of reflect back to us. I also think that one of the things I found with people with a fixed mindset is they have a belief problem. If you're a business owner, you're the chief belief officer of your company. You're the CBO. What do you believe is possible in terms of your company? It's you're the CBO, and so what do you believe is possible in terms of your vision?

Speaker 2: 23:09

I just think that's really a crucial thing because in my work with the Seattle Mariners and Andy McKay was the one who taught me this the very first thing they teach their baseball players is the belief issue.

Speaker 2: 23:21

That's the first issue they address.

Speaker 2: 23:23

Do you believe that if you put in the work and you do the training that you can accomplish the goal that you want to achieve, whether that's become an all-star, get your second contract because usually that's the big one, the first big one you know or be a hall of famer, or whatever the case is.

Speaker 2: 23:40

So you have to actually believe that, that you can accomplish that, and I don't think a lot of business owners actually believe that they can do it, because belief is contagious, first of all, but if they don't truly believe in themselves that they are capable of leading the organization, listen, there are times where I struggle with my own belief about my own company, like everybody goes through that thing. That. There are times where I struggle with my own belief about my own company, like everybody goes through that thing. However, I can invite people to the table to help me, um like um, develop a track record enough for me to be able to say you know what I think? There's enough reasons for me to believe that I can accomplish this, and so I think the belief issue is a real big one.

Speaker 1: 24:24

Do you think. Uh, we've had some people on the podcast before that says you'll, let's see. I don't want to butcher this, but they say your business will never be bigger than you think it will. So it's kind of going along with the belief. And to follow up with that, I believe the last statistics I saw were less than 7% of small businesses ever hit a million dollars. So in other words, they're struggling. So how does one get past that? So, thinking of an athlete, how do you get these people to? Yes, I can do this, I can do this, because once you believe it, then all of a sudden you're contrary to that statement that I just said.

Speaker 2: 25:07

Well, belief has to have a source, and that source is optimism. So I'm not a big believer in positivity, because it can be in the moment, it can be fleeting, you can be dishonest with yourself and you can just think positive about something, and that only lasts so long, right? Only lasts so long, that's right and so. But optimism is very different. So optimism always requires a reason for you to be optimistic. In other words, if you were going to jump out of a plane and I would say, michael, what reasons have you given yourself to be optimistic that you can do this? If you can't give yourself reasons or somebody else reasons, then you probably shouldn't jump out of the plane. Yeah, so. So optimism is is the uh tactic of building confidence, and if you put optimism and confidence together, you have belief. So the idea behind it is is what is that business owner doing to give him reasons to believe that he can be optimistic about accomplishing something? So if you're not giving yourself any reasons to be optimistic that you can accomplish something, you probably won't. You're not going to be able to convince yourself. But if you keep sort of stockpiling small wins along the way, and now you're giving yourself a reason to be optimistic that you can accomplish something, then you're building yourself a track record. So when you put your head on your pillow at night you can kind of say, well, I did this once, I can do it again, and you know what You're right, you can do it again. And you can do it again and again, and again. So I think it's really about building confidence and making sure that you are giving yourself reasons to be optimistic that you can accomplish something.

Speaker 2: 26:49

Listen, confidence can only be built two ways and everybody's got an opinion about how to build confidence. I think a lot of it is just sort of pop psychology, or I call it faux psychology. But I think there's only two ways period end of story. Number one is preparation. So if you're prepared right, which is kind of like you know, practicing right, that's what preparation is. So are you prepared to accomplish something? Are you preparing?

Speaker 2: 27:19

And number two is prove it. Prepare and prove it. So you have to be able to prove things to yourself to win yourself over. So I think prepare and prove it builds that track record, starts to build that confidence. And if you sort of stack wins on a daily basis, then you start to get optimistic. Why? Because you can look back and see that you've won a few times and if you start putting together multiple days, you have a winning streak and you have momentum. And so when it's so much easier in business and in life when you feel like you have momentum, everything is easier when you have momentum. So the trick is is how do I build momentum in my life? And you do that through being optimistic and preparing and proving things to yourself.

Speaker 1: 28:03

Do you think you mentioned goals earlier. Do you think some of that has to do with goals, tiny goals or big goals, cause they always say make the goal bigger than you think, you will just stretch it a little. But then there's also that sense of kind of what you're saying If you're never proving anything, then you're never going to believe anything, can you? That's kind of a roundabout way, but can you explain that part? Sure.

Speaker 2: 28:24

So think of you have your hand and you have another hand, your other hand on top of it, and let's say you had a rubber band attached to each of your fingers and think of that as like a goal or a vision. And if your goals and visions are too stretchy, well, it's kind of too hard to hold those rubber bands up with that distance right, the bottom hand being reality, the top hand being your goal or your vision. So if it's too stretchy, then you're going to give up really soon. But if it's just sort of the right tension your goals are about right and your vision is about right then you can start to build that track record.

Speaker 1: 29:02

Great, great advice. Well, I know that our audience, I promise, they're wondering if I'm ever going to ask what it's like to work with a professional athlete, cause we hear they invest just as much in mindset coaching as they do training, health, diets, all that stuff. So what is it like working with an athlete? I mean, because they've already got that driven, you know, or they wouldn't be where they are. So what do you do to help them advance that?

Speaker 2: 29:36

Yeah, it's an interesting question. You know, some of the athletes that I work with kind of feel like they are performing at a subpar level, and so a team or a player will contact me. And then there are other times where the player is doing fantastic and, like Pete Carroll always told me, he was like Gary, the best, always want to get better, and so they're always looking to stay sharp and taking care of their mind or their bodies. It's it's just a full-time job. So I think in some ways we we revere them. Uh, I think we revere them maybe too much sometimes, because if you really think about it, their life is full of rhythms and it's the rhythms that make them really good at what they do.

Speaker 2: 30:22

Practice facility eight o'clock, you know, have a snack at 8.30. And then they have, you know, a team meeting at nine, and then they're out on the field at 9.30 or 10. And then they practice for two hours, have lunch same time, and then after lunch they have, you know, positional meetings at one till then three o'clock is another team practice, and then five o'clock they're done and then they go home, and they're home by six or six thirty and they, you know, spend a little bit of time with their family. And then, guess what? Tuesday is same same thing. It doesn't change. And so I have this idea called perfect the simple. So, um, you really want to make sure that you're perfecting your rhythms, because it's what makes you really good at what you do.

Speaker 2: 31:16

Now, a lot of people have a lot of variations to their schedule or in their job, but let me reiterate that, for a professional athlete, what has made them exceptionally good is that they do this rhythm over and over and over and over again. And so I think for us as business leaders, you know there are things that drive profits. You know there are things that, like, we have to put out fires, and those things are always really important because we don't want to barn burner, but we have to put out those fires, but we have to do the things that are providing the income, or income producing sort of rhythms and habits that provide the resources that we're looking for and the success we're looking for. So it's like, yeah, like just we need to be careful that we're we're not sort of doing a bunch of busy work and we're we're really about doing the things that are driving our profits. And that is rhythm, habit repetition.

Speaker 1: 32:12

I'm looking at your website and you've got some free things to offer people free mindset text message, which I just submitted my information. I'm eager to get that and I encourage our listeners to do that as well. You've also got an assessment test, but at the top of it it says it's time to get a mental coach to unlock what's inside of you. So what is it like to actually work with someone like you?

Speaker 2: 32:40

Well, I think it's. I mean, I don't see myself as intimidating. I feel like I'm a pretty you know easygoing guy, I'm easy to work with, but my job is to unlock you and unlock hidden reservoirs of performance inside of you. And there's a lot of different ways to do that. Like, for example, there are some of my athletes or some of my business leaders. They're good at so many aspects of, let's say, their job or their work, but let's say there's something going on in their home life, that is, we call it a domain, so there's about nine different domains and we know that the domains affect the business and so, for example, your home domain if that's not healthy, it's affecting your business. A good example is Tiger Woods, who's going through a lot of issues at home, and how is it, how does that reflect on his golf game? You know it impacts it dramatically. And it's the same thing with many athletes is they have the different domains and so and it's the same thing with many athletes is they have the different domains and so sometimes it's a matter of domain management. Sometimes it is a matter of they're missing a mental skill, like a tool that they can use that use it right away in the, in the you know, snap of a finger that that they they can use right away and it's really helpful for them. So it just kind of, you know, it kind of depends.

Speaker 2: 33:56

So what it looks like for me is like doing an assessment, and then I have a couple of different products. One of them is called the game plan for life, and so it's for high achievers who want to live sort of like you know. You talk about that athlete being driven and optimized. Well, what if we could be that in our entire life, in every area, in all the different domains of our life? So I call it whole life excellence. What if we could be excellent at everything in our life?

Speaker 2: 34:20

And I think done are the days of the athletes who are just like good at basketball or good at football or good at hockey, or what a good at whatever, but then all the different domains of their life are train wrecks, and so what we're trying to do is say what, what if we took that athlete mentality into and let it overflow into your life and all the different domains where you can be good at everything, and so, um, so that's an option for people, and then the mental performance stuff is 12 sessions and, um, you know, that's just, it's literally follow the plan and it doesn't mean that we can't veer from it. But it really is a recipe for success, for mental success.

Speaker 1: 34:59

It truly is amazing when you think about all the athletes from my point of view. You work with them. But from my point of view, when something major happens in their life, like a Tiger Woods, that whole incident that caught everybody off guard, that started it. He's never been the same. I don't know if that's why, but I'm not going to be the judge of that. But you look at other athletes a death in the family, your best friend, a brother, bankruptcy, a bad business deal they're just not quite the same. That is so powerful. I appreciate that Well. I know you've just wet the ears of so many people. What's the best way to follow you? To get more advice? Again, I encourage everybody to get the text message. I'm looking forward to that. But are there other places they can follow you? Where are you at on social media and all that good stuff?

Speaker 2: 35:47

Well, I appreciate the comment. So Instagram is where a lot of my clients hang out, so that's typically where I am. Elite Mindset is the handle on Instagram. I'm the guy with the little blue dot with Elite Mindset. And then on LinkedIn just type in either Gary Chupik or Elite Mindset and people can find me there.

Speaker 1: 36:06

And your website EliteMindsetNationcom.

Speaker 2: 36:09

Elite Mindset Nation, because what I really want to do with my life and purpose and mission that I have is to create a nation of high performers who are courageous and are servant leaders, who want to give their life away, who want to be at their very best all the time and for the sake of others. So yeah, I'm about creating that nation.

Speaker 1: 36:33

Do you incorporate the pastoring in with the coaching, because I know for me that would be a big thing, but I don't know if you do or not.

Speaker 2: 36:43

Well, it's funny you mentioned that I believe in the quadratic view of humanity, which is we have four components One of them is body, one of it's soul, one of it's mind. And one of them is body, one of us is one of its soul, one of its mind and one of its spirit. And I think we often forget about the spirit piece and people will say, well, I'm not very spiritual, so I don't know if that would help me. But I would say that everybody asks themselves the existential question at some point in their life why am I here? And so if we can answer that question, that actually can be fuel for performance. And so I pretty much gauge my involvement in somebody's life.

Speaker 2: 37:17

If somebody does want that spiritual aspect, I'm happy to, you know, accommodate and bring it in and have that be a part of the coaching. And if they're not inclined that way, I'm happy to just not touch that. But but we do really talk about you know, why are we here? What do you want to do with your life? Like, like, this is fuel for you and it's available fuel, why not use it if it's available to us?

Speaker 1: 37:39

Absolutely Well. I know from time to time I've been on a podcast and I might wish I would have said something or added to or has. Is there anything we haven't addressed? That you're like I'd really like to help our listeners with this that we haven't talked about yet.

Speaker 2: 37:54

That you're like I'd really like to help our listeners with this that we haven't talked about yet. Well, I'd love to drop a nugget, one of my very favorite mental performance tactics. So this is just like really nitty gritty and I'll drop it. And so here it is, for free. So I created a system called CAPE, c-a-p-e, and I'd love to leave your listeners with this.

Speaker 2: 38:14

So C stands for control yourself, so you're in a high pressure situation. Now think about this. Think about a pitcher in baseball or think about a police officer going, you know, making a traffic stop. I mean, you can use it in so many different situations. In fact, I even taught it to the FBI. So C stands for control yourself, which is maybe take a deep side. It's the universal sort of signal to just calm down. So take a deep side.

Speaker 2: 38:39

A is assess, so assess the situation. Your brain is an amazing computer and the amount of information. If you just like, glance behind you, you could probably tell me 50 things about what's behind you. You don't think you can, but you can. So assess the situation. P is make a plan, so C-A-P make a plan. And E is execute, which is trust your plan, trust your training and trust your instincts. So a professional athlete can cape between plays Someone who's a police officer or FBI in law enforcement, they can cape. If you're a dad or a mom, you can cape If you're going into a meeting in your business. Let's say you're going to talk to one of your employees that you're frustrated with. Control yourself, assess the situation, make a plan and trust your training. Trust your instincts and trust your plan.

Speaker 1: 39:32

Fantastic, fantastic. Well, gary, you've been a blessing to many and a wealth of information. I appreciate you sharing your time and insights with us today and I wish you continued success. Yeah, Thank you very much for having me my pleasure. Thank you for listening to Small Business Pivots. This podcast is created and produced by my company, boss. Our business is growing yours. Boss offers flexible business loans with business coaching support. Apply in minutes and get approved and funded in as little as 24 to 48 hours at businessownershipsimplifiedcom. If you're enjoying this podcast, don't forget to hit the subscribe button and share it as well. If you need help growing your business, email me at Michael at Michael D Morrison dot com. We'll see you next time on Small Business Pivots.