Performance Intelligence

Andrew May
  • 4.7 (66)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Complete

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.

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

    2 days ago

    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 England, 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: drsuejacksonflowView 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 Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/ Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at support@performanceintelligence.com today with your story and contact details. Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/ Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/ Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcast If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

    1hr 14min

  2. 5 days ago

    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 Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/ Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at support@performanceintelligence.com today with your story and contact details. Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/ Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/ Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcast If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

    10 min
  3. The Science of Ozempic and What Happens After You Stop | Dr Tom Buckley

    17 June

    The Science of Ozempic and What Happens After You Stop | Dr Tom Buckley

    Inside the venom of a desert lizard, scientists found a molecule that does something the diet industry spent 50 years failing to do. It quietly switches off hunger. That molecule is now the most talked about drug on the planet, and it's sitting in the fridges of millions of people who couldn't explain how it works if you paid them. Dr Tom Buckley, 30 years in medicine and a professor at Sydney University, has looked at the evidence and called these drugs revolutionary. But what about "Ozempic face"? What if the wait comes back after you stop? Who should never touch these drugs? Dr Tom and Andrew get into the science so you finally have all the answers you need.  00:00 – A desert lizard that eats twice a year 03:32 – What a GLP-1 actually is, in plain English 07:36 – Ghrelin and leptin: hunger and fullness, explained 10:23 – The venom that cracked the hunger code 14:06 – Why your body is built to hold onto fat 15:19 – How to raise GLP-1 without a prescription 18:10 – Become the CEO of your body and brain 22:10 – You don't lose fat cells, they shrink 24:39 – "Ozempic face," and why you lose weight slowly 28:17 – The "Limitless" effect: cognitive horsepower 29:28 – 76 trials, 40,000 patients: the evidence 30:47 – Lancet 2024: heart attacks and strokes down 32:11 – Why Tom calls these drugs regenerative 34:18 – Who should never take it 35:23 – The side effects nobody mentions upfront 41:19 – On it and off it: what you have to get right 48:14 – Most regain 75% within a year of stopping 50:09 – Metabolic rebound: worse than where you started 52:51 – The hidden economy GLP-1s are reshaping 56:13 – Tom's cliff notes You can find Dr Tom at his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-buckley-06a76b98/ Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/ Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at support@performanceintelligence.com today with your story and contact details. Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/ Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/ Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcast If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

    1 hr

  4. 14 June

    Bite Size: How to Stay Hungry After Success | Dan Haesler (Mental Skills Coach Penrith Panthers)

    Most teams spend their lives trying to reach the top. Very few have to answer the question of what happens when they get there. The Penrith Panthers have won 4 consecutive NRL premierships. In an era designed for parity, they've achieved something almost unheard of in modern sport. Which raises a fascinating challenge. How do you keep people motivated when they've already achieved the goal? How do you maintain standards when success becomes normal? How do you avoid complacency when everyone around you is telling you how good you are? Dan Haesler, Mental Skills Coach for the Penrith Panthers, shares what it takes to sustain excellence after success. But this isn't really about rugby league. It's about leadership, culture, psychology, and human behaviour. Whether you're leading a team, running a business, building a career or pursuing your own goals, eventually you'll face the same challenge: how do you keep growing when you've already won? You can find Dan at his Website:https://danhaesler.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danhaesler/?hl=enLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danhaesler/?originalSubdomain=auBuy a copy of Dan's book: https://www.actofleadership.com/ Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/ Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at support@performanceintelligence.com today with your story and contact details. Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/ Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/ Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcast If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

    7 min
  5. LIVE: The Mindset that Drives an AFL Premiership and a Full Career Reinvention | Kieren Jack

    10 June

    LIVE: The Mindset that Drives an AFL Premiership and a Full Career Reinvention | Kieren Jack

    Talent gets you through the door. It does not keep you in the room, and it has almost nothing to do with what you become. Kieren Jack is proof. The last pick in the AFL rookie draft, too small and too slow on paper, he outworked every reason he should not have made it. Kieren played 256 games for the Sydney Swans, co-captained the club, won the 2012 premiership and earned a place in its Hall of Fame. Then he did the harder thing. He walked away at the top and started again, building a whole new career in business where his name meant nothing. What carries across is the useful part. How do you keep performing when you are running on empty? What actually holds a team together when pressure hits? Why do the people who get knocked down and underestimated often end up the most dangerous? Recorded live, in a room that was never meant to be a podcast. No script, no second takes. You've got a seat that wasn't on sale. Whatever you are trying to build, you'll leave this one thinking differently about how you get there. 0:00 Pick 138, a famous surname, and why talent only opens the door1:50 How the Swans built a dynasty on character, not talent5:10 Missing the draft, choosing his own sport, and finding his identity9:20 The 2012 flag, and what that team had that he's never seen again17:40 Take the baton: the motto that outlived the players who made it19:15 A season as co-captain, played on empty, in a dressing gown22:05 When a private family conflict went public before his 200th game28:10 Twins, no sleep, and what sport does and doesn't teach you about parenting33:45 Why he studied an MBA mid-career, and why leaving the game made him better37:00 A $120m deal in four months, and what footy gave him no MBA could41:05 Joining the West Coast rebuild and flipping the member thank-you44:55 Premiership to wooden spoon: what went wrong and what a rebuild takes48:25 Q&A: carrying elite habits into everyday life when structure disappears49:55 Q&A: what good culture really looks like, and who actually builds it53:20 Q&A: leading young, learning empathy, and what he'd do differently at 20 You can find Kieren at his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kieren-jack-b09b2396/Or at his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kjack_15/?hl=en Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/ Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at support@performanceintelligence.com today with your story and contact details. Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/ Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/ Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcast If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

    1 hr

  6. 7 June

    Bite Size: The Survival Skill That Keeps Reporters Calm on Air | Ali Piotrowski

    Ever lost your composure right when you needed it most? In a high-pressure moment, when everyone's watching and one wrong move costs you, most people freeze. This reporter learned to do the opposite. Seasoned news reporter, Ali Piotrowski breaks down the one skill that kept her sharp through war zones, Middle East conflict, and the chaos outside Trump's indictments: calm. Not the kind you're born with. The kind you train. She explains why composure became her edge, and why it can be yours too. If you work in a fast-moving, high-pressure environment, this one's worth a few minutes of your time. You can find Ali at her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisonpiotrowski/Or at her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alipiotrowski/ Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/ Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at support@performanceintelligence.com today with your story and contact details. Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/ Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/ Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcast If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

    12 min
  7. The Question Nobody Asks High Performers: Who Motivates the Motivator? | Craig Harper

    3 June

    The Question Nobody Asks High Performers: Who Motivates the Motivator? | Craig Harper

    The kind of person who's been helping others perform better for 40 years doesn't usually admit they're struggling. Craig Harper did. His dad is in the hospital. The drive is five hours return. The calls from clients still come. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, one of Australia's most recognised performance coaches said something he'd never said publicly before. That he's lonely. This conversation is for anyone who gives more than they get. Who holds it together at work and unravels at home. Who knows exactly what to tell others and struggles to apply it to themselves. Craig doesn't have a tidy answer here. But he does have hard-won perspective on where your energy actually goes, who you let close enough to tell the truth to, and what it takes to keep showing up when life gets genuinely heavy. Honest, uncomfortable, and worth your time. 0:00 — Who motivates the motivator? Craig Harper on why this is the question helpers never get asked. 1:30 — "I'm feeling pretty shit, to be honest, mate." How this conversation started. 2:07 — Craig says publicly for the first time: "Sometimes I feel really lonely." 5:34 — Mum and dad at 87. What's actually been going on behind the curtain. 10:28 — Energy out, not in. How Craig thinks about his performance threshold when life gets heavy. 12:10 — When doing a podcast feels like calm instead of work. Craig explains the difference. 16:45 — Who do you belong to? Craig on connection, loneliness, and what actually fills the cup. 17:09 — Vin from school. Why Craig's best mate is the one who tells him he's full of it. 18:49 — The inner circle test: if the 4–5 people around you are 80% the same in five years, you'll probably be okay. 23:35 — The friend who shouldn't have survived. Craig's story about the person who inspired him more than anyone he's coached. 28:17 — Something Craig says here is going to land differently for anyone who's always been the strong one. 30:09 — Why willpower doesn't work. What Craig uses instead when the drive back from his parents feels heavy. 33:50 — "Am I acting in love?" The one question Craig asks himself to pull himself back. 37:05 — One size fits one. Why the advice that works for everyone else might be the wrong advice for you. 40:26 — Who actually inspires Craig Harper? His answer is not who you'd expect. 43:07 — Two body signals that tell Craig he's running on empty before he consciously knows it. 47:19 — The send-off. Andrew to Craig, and why it matters. You can find Craig at his website:https://craigharper.net/Follw him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/craiganthonyharper/Listen to The You Project:https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-you-project/id1342430567 Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/ Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at support@performanceintelligence.com today with your story and contact details. Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/ Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/ Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcast If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

    49 min

  8. 31 May

    Bite Size: The 8 Health Behaviours that add 26 Years to Your Life | Dr Tom Buckley

    Could eight daily habits, locked in by 40, really add more than two decades to your life? The research says yes. And the habit at the top of the list is the one most senior leaders quietly deprioritise. If you want a clear, no fluff framework for long-term health and the small daily decisions that compound into decades, start here. You'll walk away knowing exactly where to focus, and what to stop wasting money on. Watch the longer episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaOmJ25Q-GI Contact Dr Tom: https://au.linkedin.com/in/tom-buckley-06a76b98Read the study here: https://ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S0002-9165(23)66280-X/fulltext Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/ Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at support@performanceintelligence.com today with your story and contact details. Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/ Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/ Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcast If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

    15 min
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4.7
out of 5
66 Ratings

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Andrew May
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    429
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Performance Intelligence
  • Show Website
    Performance Intelligence

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