Win More, Live Better
Win More, Live Better is a podcast for sport coaches and high-performing leaders who care deeply about results, but refuse to compromise their well-being, joy, or relationships in the process.
This show explores what it really means to win more and live better on your terms. Through stories, conversations, and practical frameworks, each episode helps you sharpen your leadership, strengthen your inner game, and build systems that support sustainable performance for you and those you lead.
Hosted by Zach Brandon, a nationally recognized performance and leadership advisor who partners with elite sport coaches, executives, and high performers to help them thrive using practical tools, systems, and mindset frameworks.
Episodes
247 episodes
The Danger of Judging Outcomes Too Quickly
In this episode, Zach shares the famous parable of the farmer and the runaway horse to explore why leaders and performers often judge moments too early. A loss, injury, setback, or disappointment can feel defining in the moment, but most moment...
Your Culture Isn't for Everyone: A Lesson from a Paris Restaurant With No Menu
What can a Paris restaurant with almost no menu teach us about leadership and culture? In this episode, Zach shares a lesson from Le Relais de l’Entrecôte and explores why strong cultures are not built by trying to be everything to everyone. Za...
The Tape Doesn't Lie: How to Become a Better Communicator as a Coach
Most coaches use film to help players improve, but very few use it to evaluate themselves. In this episode, Zach shares why reviewing your own meetings, practices, conversations, or presentations can dramatically improve your communication and ...
After the Whistle: Why Naming Your Emotions Improves Your Life and Performance
What happens when you stop trying to suppress emotions and start learning how to work with them? In this episode, I build on my recent conversation with Amy Morin to explore the connection between emotional awareness and mental strength. We dis...
Amy Morin | Author and Keynote Speaker | "Mental strength is not about acting tough."
Amy Morin is a licensed psychotherapist, keynote speaker, award-winning host of the Mentally Stronger podcast, and an international bestselling author of six books on mental strength, including the globally acclaimed 13 Things Ment...
The Expectation Effect: How a Coach's Beliefs Shape a Player's Behavior
The expectations you hold for others are never neutral. In this episode, we break down the Pygmalion Effect (also known as the Rosenthal Effect) and the classic 1968 study with school children that revealed how important expectations can be. If...
The Bamboo Effect: Why Progress Often Feels Invisible
One of the most common forms of interference for performers is misinterpreting progress. In this episode, we discuss the bamboo tree and how it symbolizes why growth is often delayed, invisible, uneven, and misunderstood. You’ll learn a helpful...
Potemkin Village: Why Looking Good Isn’t the Same as Being Good
A lot of individuals and organizations put a lot of effort into how things look, but far less into how things actually work. In this episode, we explore the concept of a Potemkin village and how it shows up in organizations that look s...
I Thought I Was Helping: A Lesson on Unintended Consequences
Good intentions don’t always lead to good outcomes. In this episode, I share a real coaching mistake from my time in Major League Baseball and the lesson it taught me about unintended consequences. We dive into how routines and mental training ...
Runt of the Litter: The Story That Built NFL All-Pro Safety Bo Eason
What if your performance isn’t limited by your ability, but by the story you keep telling yourself? In this episode, we break down the powerful story of Bo Eason, a former NFL All-Pro safety who reframed a defining moment from his childhood int...
Who Is Your PACER?
This is a special episode. It marks the one year anniversary of this podcast and offers a reflection on what it’s taken to get here and the role others have played along the way. I discuss why having a coach or trusted voice in your corner can ...
Erin Matson | Head Field Hockey Coach, Univ. of North Carolina | “Your people need to know you’ll fight for them.”
What does it look like to immediately go from one of the most decorated athletes in college sports to leading that same program from the sidelines? In this episode, I sit down with Erin Matson, head field hockey coach at the University of North...
Spotlight vs. Lighthouse Leaders
Are you leading to be seen or to help others feel seen? In this episode, we break down the difference between “spotlight” and “lighthouse” leadership. One is focused on perception. The other is focused on service.Learn More About Zach...
The Last Time
We have a human tendency to try and rush (or get) through certain moments in life, especially when they're inconvenient or not easy. But there's a simple reframe and perspective you can adopt that can dramatically shift how you experience these...
BONUS Episode: The Coach's Playbook and the Mental Performance Summit
In this special “From the Other Side of the Mic” episode, I join Cindra Kamphoff on The High Performance Mindset podcast to discuss leadership and mindset in the realm of high performance. We also preview the upcoming Virtual Mental Performance...
Upgrade Your Thinking, Upgrade Your Results
Most New Year’s resolutions focus on what we want to do and achieve, but very few focus on how we need to think. This episode introduces the concept of a “thinking resolution” and explains why your thoughts play a critical role in your ability ...
Wilt Chamberlain and the Courage to Look and Be Different
Wilt Chamberlain once improved his biggest weakness (e.g. free throw shooting), but he abandoned it because he implemented a technique that he thought others would ridicule. This episode explores a phenomenon in human behavior known as the thre...
The Preparation Bank: How to Train for Legendary Performances
What separates elite performers in high-pressure moments? Preparation. In this episode, we break down how Captain Sully’s 2009 emergency plane landing and Ray Allen’s iconic 2013 NBA Finals shot reveal a core principle: Performance under pressu...
After the Whistle: Are You Worth the Investment?
If you were evaluated like a financial stock, would your daily habits justify someone else investing in you? Inspired by my conversation with Wake Forest head soccer coach, Bobby Muuss, this episode breaks down how consistency and daily deposit...
Bobby Muuss | Head Men's Soccer Coach, Wake Forest Univ. | "Coaching is lonely."
Bobby Muuss is the head men’s soccer coach at Wake Forest University and one of the most successful coaches in NCAA Division I soccer over the past decade. Since taking over the program in 2015, he has led Wake Forest to the most wi...
Use the Difficulty: A Simple Rule for Challenging Moments
None of us get to choose when difficulty shows up in our lives, but we do get to choose if (and how) we use it. In this episode, we break down why most people waste difficult moments and Zach shares a story from the actor Michael Caine that can...
Here Be Dragons: Why the Unknown Feels Dangerous
In the 1500s, mapmakers would sometimes stamp “Here be dragons” on the edges of their maps, which marked places no one had yet explored. In this episode, we explore how that same instinct shows up in modern life when you’re facing risk...
After the Whistle: How Great Coaches Build Their Staff
Hiring is one of the most important decisions a coach makes, but it's rarely discussed in a public setting. In this After the Whistle segment, we build on insights from Arizona State head coaches JJ Van Niel and Molly Miller, both of whom empha...
JJ Van Niel | Head Volleyball Coach, Arizona State Univ. | "Coach Like a CEO"
JJ Van Niel’s path to becoming one of the top coaches in college volleyball is anything, but conventional.After spending more than a decade in the financial world (including investment banking and hedge funds), Van Niel made the leap int...
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How to Use Nerves to Perform Your Best
Most of us have been taught that nerves are a problem we have to solve. The vast majority of advice that gets recommended to manage nerves centers on trying to calm down, but what if I told you that this advice is counterproductive? After winni...