Performance Neurology with Josh Turknett, MD

Josh Turknett, MD
  • 5.0 (14)
  • Life Sciences
  • Weekly

Extraordinary minds are built from ordinary brains. This show is about how to build yours, and how to get out of its way when it counts. I'm Josh Turknett, a neurologist and the author of The Genius and the Impostor. I talk with people who have built remarkable skills, from a three-time Grammy-winning guitarist and a six-time USA Memory Champion to a man who stuttered for more than sixty years, then retrained his speech at seventy. We dig into how they did it, and I walk through what was happening in their brains along the way, so you can put the same science to work on whatever you're learning. The book: https://geniusandimpostor.com The Institute for Performance Neurology: https://performanceneurology.institute Newsletter: https://joshturknett.substack.com Speaking: https://joshturknett.com/speaking

  1. 2d ago

    Pressure is Trainable, with Aryna Sabalenka's Coach Jason Stacy

    When someone asked Aryna Sabalenka how much breathing work she did with her performance coach, she said, "Oh, I don't know, not really much, really." In fact, they'd been doing it since day one. That coach is Jason Stacy, who works with elite athletes, coaches, and executives, and he's just written a book called The Pressure Code. In this episode: Why you don't rise to the occasion, and what happens instead The two places that shaped Jason during the years he was living on the streets What Jason does in the hours after Aryna Sabalenka loses a big match The match a player won by showing zero emotion, and what it did to her opponent How to help your doubles partner on a big point, before you say a word Mentioned in this episode: Jason's book, The Pressure Code: https://thepressurecode.com Jason's Fighter to Warrior audit, 14 questions on how you handle pressure: https://thepressurecode.com/warrior More from Josh: What kind of performer are you under pressure? Find out your type with the free Pressure Profile (3 minutes): https://performanceneurology.institute/pressure-profile The Genius and the Impostor (book): https://geniusandimpostor.com Institute for Performance Neurology: https://performanceneurology.institute Join 45,000+ readers of my free newsletter, Brains, Banjos & Beyond: https://joshturknett.substack.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brainjojosh   Theme music by Julienne Ellen: https://julienneellenmusic.com

  2. Oct 2

    How Ron Ruiz Rewired His Brain at 70

    For more than sixty years, Ron Ruiz stuttered. It shaped his school years and kept him from flying for the airlines. Through decades of therapy, the advice he kept hearing was to accept it. Then, after he retired, Ron started learning the banjo, and that showed him firsthand that his brain could change. So at seventy, he took one more shot at his stutter. Nine months later, he says it's gone. In this conversation, Ron takes us inside the head of someone who stutters, including the moment he blocked at an airport ticket counter right after three weeks of intensive speech therapy. He walks us through the program that finally worked for him, and we talk about why that program has so much in common with what helps a musician play what they know when the pressure is on. Mentioned in this episode: Lee Lovett's Neuroscience Method to Stop Stuttering, the program Ron used: https://www.stopstutter.org/ How to Stop Stuttering and Love Speaking, by Lee Lovett (the book Ron mentions) Brainjo banjo courses, where Ron learned clawhammer: https://www.brainjo.academy/ More from Josh: The Genius and the Impostor (book): https://geniusandimpostor.com What's your Pressure Profile? Find out your type (free, 3 minutes): https://performanceneurology.institute/pressure-profile Institute for Performance Neurology: https://performanceneurology.institute Brains, Banjos and Beyond (Substack): https://joshturknett.substack.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brainjojosh   Music by Julienne Ellen.

  3. Sep 24

    Your Inner Critic Is Not Reality

    Banjo player Bennett Sullivan was sure he'd ruined a Broadway show with one flubbed intro, and the research on how audiences actually hear our mistakes explains why almost nobody noticed. Links: Order the bookThe Genius and the Impostor at GeniusAndImpostor.com The full interview with Bennett Sulivan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4lvyXS6ek8 Instagram: @brainjojosh Theme Music composed by Julienne Ellen (@julienneellencomposes)

  4. Sep 4

    He Played Broadway And The Opry But Still Felt Like a Fraud

    Bennett Sullivan has played banjo on Broadway, at the Grand Ole Opry, and on the Poker Face soundtrack. By any measure, he belongs on any stage. And for years, he couldn't convince himself of it. In this episode, Bennett is honest about the gap between what he's accomplished and how it's felt from the inside: the comparison that made him great and got in his way at the same time, the night on Broadway he was sure he'd ruined the show, and the shift that finally let him get out of his own way, which turned out to have almost nothing to do with the banjo. If you've ever been good at something and still felt like you were about to be found out, this one's for you. Links: Bennett's teaching site: https://banjolicks.com Order The Genius and the Impostor: GeniusAndImpostor.com  Bennett on Instagram: @thebennettsullivan Josh on Instagram: @brainjojosh

  5. Aug 14

    It Started With a Banjo: The story that changed my life

    More from Josh: The Genius and the Impostor is out now: https://geniusandimpostor.com Brains, Banjos and Beyond (newsletter): https://joshturknett.substack.com Keynotes and workshops: https://joshturknett.com/speaking Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brainjojosh

  6. Jul 24

    The Making Of A "Natural" (Bryan Sutton)

    Bryan Sutton is one of the best flatpickers alive, and like most great players, he'll tell you the guitar just came naturally to him. In this follow-up to my conversation with Bryan, I dig into what's really behind the making of a "natural," and what it means for you.  Links: The Genius and the Impostor is out now: https://GeniusAndImpostor.com The full interview with Bryan Sutton: https://youtu.be/mF0MSRkrriM?si=oNmQxHoMon-UaRKT Instagram: @brainjojosh More at performanceneurology.institute

  7. Jul 7

    How 3x Grammy Winner Bryan Sutton Gets Out of His Own Way

    Bryan Sutton is a three-time Grammy winner and one of the most-recorded session guitarists in Nashville, with credits from Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift to Dolly Parton and Doc Watson. Yet, he's driven home from sessions convinced he'd never work in the town again. In this conversation we get into how he built his playing growing up immersed in the mountain music of Western North Carolina, why performing under pressure is a completely separate skill from playing well, and the mental shift he uses to get out of his own way. Links: The Genius and the Impostor is out now: GeniusAndImpostor.com  Take the Pressure Profile: PerformanceNeurology.institute/pressure-profile Bryan Sutton at ArtistWorks: ArtistWorks.com/Bryan-Sutton   Bryan on Instagram: @bryansutton28 Josh on Instagram: @brainjojosh

  8. Jun 26

    The Genius Arc: How Nelson Dellis Beat the Panic Before His 6th Title

    In this Genius Arc breakdown, Dr. Josh Turknett takes the story of Nelson Dellis — 6× USA Memory Champion and author of Everyday Genius — and runs it through the Genius and Impostor framework from his book. You'll see how a man who says he "truly would have said my memory is average" built a championship-level skill from scratch, why five titles still couldn't stop his body from going into revolt before the sixth, and the reset that let him step on stage as "the most chill version of myself I've ever been." It's a clear, worked example of how capability is built, how pressure hijacks it, and how you get it back. Take the free Pressure Profile assessment (3 min): https://performanceneurology.institute/pressure-profile The Genius and the Impostor is out now: https://GeniusAndImpostor.com Read Brains, Banjos and Beyond: https://joshturknett.substack.com Nelson Dellis's book Everyday Genius: nelsondellis.com/everyday-genius Follow on Instagram: @brainjojosh Links:  The Genius and the Impostor is out now: GeniusAndImpostor.com Nelson's Instagram: @nelzor Josh's Instagram: @brainjojosh Music by Jullienne Ellen (@julienneellencomposes)

See All (48)

5
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

Extraordinary minds are built from ordinary brains. This show is about how to build yours, and how to get out of its way when it counts. I'm Josh Turknett, a neurologist and the author of The Genius and the Impostor. I talk with people who have built remarkable skills, from a three-time Grammy-winning guitarist and a six-time USA Memory Champion to a man who stuttered for more than sixty years, then retrained his speech at seventy. We dig into how they did it, and I walk through what was happening in their brains along the way, so you can put the same science to work on whatever you're learning. The book: https://geniusandimpostor.com The Institute for Performance Neurology: https://performanceneurology.institute Newsletter: https://joshturknett.substack.com Speaking: https://joshturknett.com/speaking

Information

You Might Also Like