90% Mental with Madeline Walsh

Madeline Walsh
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A blog that explores what it means to build a strong mental game on the court, at the office, and in life. 90percentmental.substack.com

Episodes

  1. May 29

    Ignore the Noise. One Shot at a Time: Interview with Deep Value Investor John Davenport

    When you think about investing, you probably think about picking stocks, conducting diligence, and running financial analysis. What’s less obvious is the heavy mental and emotional component that investing requires. Today I’m excited to dive deeper into the psychology of investing with public markets-focused, deep value and event-driven investor John Davenport. John is the founder of Davenport Fund Management, a boutique investment partnership that invests his own money alongside a select group of limited partners. As a deep value investor, John looks for stocks that are temporarily out of favor and trading at a substantial discount relative to their intrinsic value, meaning companies whose assets or cash flow are worth substantially more than the market currently says they’re worth. That gap is what protects the downside. The upside comes from pairing that discount with an event-driven catalyst: meaning some change that will force the market to care, thereby generating an increase in the stock price. It all sounds pretty good, but as John knows executing on the strategy is anything but simple. What he would tell you is that the hardest part isn’t necessarily finding the opportunities, it’s staying in them, and holding stocks that may be out of favor for months, even years, while simultaneously resisting the urge to invest in the hot parts of the market that keep climbing. Warren Buffett’s late partner the investor Charlie Munger once put it this way: “If you can’t stomach 50% declines in your investment, you will get the mediocre returns you deserve.” So yeah, easier said than done. Over the course of our conversation, John and I spoke about: * What deep value investing actually means, and why today’s market, dominated by indexation and the AI trade, has made it both a brutal and an opportunity-rich environment * How John has learned to manage the psychological side of deep value investing * Why it’s important to get away from your desk * Learning to trust gut feel as unconscious pattern recognition and the cost of ignoring it * The mental models he’s carried from competitive golf into the markets This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 90percentmental.substack.com

    30 min

  2. Apr 25

    "I Know How the Story Ends:" Interview with Paytient Founder & CEO, Brian Whorley

    For over a decade, Brian Whorley worked at a non-profit, community-owned 400-bed hospital in Columbia, Missouri and loved every minute. In reflecting on his time there and the needs he witnessed within our healthcare system, Brian says, “I felt a great deal of pride being a very small part of a place full of really talented, mission-driven people who provided great care during life’s most uncertain moments. The challenge is to satisfy a near infinite need with finite resources — how our country figures that out is consequential.” Fortunately, lightning struck one afternoon as Brian rode his bike along the Missouri River. He returned home with the idea to help expand access and affordability at lower cost; an idea that would lead to the founding of Paytient. The company was first to market with a triple-sided product, the Paytient app, that 1) allows employers to pay less for lower cost health plans, 2) enables employees to more easily pay for care at time of service (without interest or fees), and 3) help providers to cure uncompensated care and receive payment in full at the time of service. Since founding the company in 2018, he has been walking toward a single North Star: not just helping people pay for care but to help people & health plans pay less for that care. Today, Paytient works with nearly six thousand employers, insurers, and providers, serves over 26 million members, and has raised more than a hundred million dollars in capital. What drew me to this conversation wasn’t the scale of what Brian has built — it was how he thinks about building it. We got into what it means to operate from a place of deep conviction when most of the world can’t see what you see yet, how Brian feeds his soul and his spirituality so he can show up as his best self, the tension of transitioning from founder to CEO, how he’s learning to release control, and why he believes the worry-driven voices in our heads are almost never the ones worth listening to. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 90percentmental.substack.com

    36 min
  3. Intensity is the Strategy: Interview with GreenPal CEO, Bryan Clayton

    Apr 11

    Intensity is the Strategy: Interview with GreenPal CEO, Bryan Clayton

    Bryan Clayton spent years building one of the largest landscaping companies in the state of Tennessee. He grew Peachtree from a small operation into a company with over 150 employees and 8 figures in annual revenue before selling the business in 2013. While he initially thought he'd take time off, Bryan found himself drawn back to operating. Only this time he didn't start in an industry he already knew. Instead, he became a tech entrepreneur and started GreenPal, a platform that connects homeowners with local lawn care professionals, with two of his best friends. The journey was anything but easy. He and his cofounders ended up having to rebuild the first product from scratch while simultaneously teaching themselves to code. It would take three years to expand beyond Nashville into a second market. Today, over 10 years later, GreenPal is a nationwide platform that has celebrated over 5 million transactions. Over the course of our conversation, Bryan and I spoke about what he’s learned across his 20+ year entrepreneurial journey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 90percentmental.substack.com

    41 min

  4. Mar 7

    What You Focus on is What You Feel: Interview with Former Professional Athlete, Entrepreneur, and Beam Cofounder, Matt Lombardi

    Matt Lombardi played college hockey at Boston College before going on to play professionally for two years before injuries forced him into an early retirement. As he navigated life after sport, Matt searched for something that would challenge him mentally the way competitive sports had challenged him physically. He found his answer in entrepreneurship. In 2018, Matt started Beam with another former BC athlete and former professional baseball player, Kevin Moran. Their mission was to create a brand with science-backed wellness products that enabled their customers to feel and perform at their best. Eight years later, Beam has grown to a team of over 30 and expanded that mission into product categories that include sleep, hormone balance, gut health, creatine, and pediatrician-formulated supplements for growing kids. Over the course of our conversation, Matt and I spoke about * Why one of the best things leaders can do is ask questions * The role of quirky sayings in creating Beam’s culture of debate * Why he’s focusing on learning to calm himself down rather than amp himself up * The role of process and execution in avoiding worrying too much about the competition * Why Matt believes that the philosophy behind the saying “what you focus on is what you feel” is so foundational to creating strong mental performance This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 90percentmental.substack.com

    32 min
  5. Your "Why" is Bigger Than Your Fear: Interview with Former Professional Football Player, Boxer, and Advocate for Change, Stacey Copeland

    Feb 21

    Your "Why" is Bigger Than Your Fear: Interview with Former Professional Football Player, Boxer, and Advocate for Change, Stacey Copeland

    Stacey Copeland knows a thing or two about facing your fears in pursuit of ambitious dreams. As a football player, she represented England on the U-18 team and played professionally in the Premier League for the Doncaster Belles, Manchester City, and Tranmere Rovers. That said, Stacey’s first love was boxing. It was a love that began in her granddad’s boxing gym and never died. Unfortunately, Stacey came of age at a time when women’s boxing was illegal in England, which meant she was prevented from pursuing the sport as a young woman. Fortunately, by the time injuries forced Stacey to retire from football, the laws had changed, and Stacey had never stopped her boxing training. At age 29, she dove headfirst into her lifelong dream of becoming a professional boxer. As an amateur, she would go on to represent England and Team Great Britain, win a silver medal at the European Championships, and become a three-time national ABA champion. As a professional, Stacey made history by becoming the first British woman to win the Commonwealth Championship. While injuries forced her to retire from boxing earlier than she’d hoped, Stacey hasn’t stopped inspiring others and working to pave the way for the next generation. Pave the Way also happens to be the name of the charity she started that aims to challenge gender stereotypes for girls, boys, men, and women, and spark social change. Over the course of this interview, Stacey and I spoke about * What the takeaway method is and how it can be used to overcome performance anxiety * The power of finding your why and how Stacey’s why helped her win the Commonwealth Title * Navigating the grief and loss that came with retiring from professional sports * Learning to live without achieving her greatest dream and how she found purpose in new goals * Why she has mixed views on resilience and mental toughness * The importance of finding people who can act as your positive petrol tanks * How the concept of Sisu has guided her through sport and life This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 90percentmental.substack.com

    53 min
  6. Sensing Our Way to Change: Interview with Professor Norman Farb

    Feb 7

    Sensing Our Way to Change: Interview with Professor Norman Farb

    What do you do when the mental strategies that once made you successful start making you feel stuck? That’s the focus of my conversation with today’s guest, Dr. Norman Farb. Norm is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto Mississauga, where he studies the neuroscience of human identity and emotion. I became familiar with Norm’s work when I read the book he coauthored with clinical psychologist Zindel Segal called Better in Every Sense. In the book, Farb and Segal look at how our brain’s autopilot mode, which they term the "house of habit," can contribute to feeling stuck. Through their research, they’ve uncovered a surprising insight: the key to getting unstuck and breaking our bad habits isn’t necessarily more thinking or problem-solving; it’s deliberately paying attention to our senses. During the conversation we talk about * The specific brain mechanisms behind our brain’s autopilot mode * Why more thinking and problem-solving won’t necessarily get us unstuck * What makes sensation so critical for change * Why it’s important to build a practice that allows us to embrace uncertainty and constantly update our expectations of the world This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 90percentmental.substack.com

    53 min
  7. Be Where Your Feet Are: Interview with Former NFL Wide Receiver, Super Bowl 50 Champion, & Business Leader, Bennie Fowler

    Jan 23

    Be Where Your Feet Are: Interview with Former NFL Wide Receiver, Super Bowl 50 Champion, & Business Leader, Bennie Fowler

    Bennie Fowler is a former wide receiver who played college football for Michigan State before spending 8 years in the NFL. Notably, he played for the Denver Broncos during the last season of Peyton Manning’s legendary career; the same season that the Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers to win Super Bowl 50. During that game, Bennie helped secure the victory by catching the final pass Manning ever threw as a professional quarterback. After 8 years in the league, Bennie began transitioning to life after football. He’s worked as a leadership coach and consultant and currently serves as Head of Strategic Development at Caprock, a multifamily office advising ultra-high-net-worth families, entrepreneurs, and athletes. In this conversation, we cover: * The dropped pass that led him on the path to intentionally building a strong mental game * The way he defines discipline * An in depth walk through of his visualization practice * What Peyton Manning taught him about leadership during tough moments * And finally why “be where your feet are” might be the most powerful advice for peak performance that he’s ever received Whether you’re an athlete, entrepreneur, or a high performer working to level up, there’s a lot to learn from Bennie about the dedication and intentionality that a strong mental game requires. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 90percentmental.substack.com

    33 min
  8. Life's a Garden, Dig it! Interview with Superfiliate CEO and Cofounder, Andy Cloyd

    Jan 9

    Life's a Garden, Dig it! Interview with Superfiliate CEO and Cofounder, Andy Cloyd

    Today's interview is with Superfiliate cofounder and CEO, Andy Cloyd. Over the course of the interview we chat about: * How a random encounter with Andrew Yang in a New York coffee shop put Andy on the nonlinear path that led him to where he is today * Why he intentionally invests in a culture of appreciation and the origin story behind Superfiliate’s rallying cry also known as “Rah Rah” * The shifts he’s made in blocking out the noise of competition and learning to shift out of worry mode * The impact of hiring a chief of staff and getting out of the weeds * What it means to transform from an organization of high performers into a high performing organization * Why he's learned to ride with his energy rather than force productivity * And finally why the best piece of mental advice he’s ever gotten is to be himself. As Andy says, “I know I can win at my game.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 90percentmental.substack.com

    41 min
  • 8 Episodes

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A blog that explores what it means to build a strong mental game on the court, at the office, and in life. 90percentmental.substack.com

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