The Art and Science of Thriving

Episode #101: How to Take Breaks and Recovery for Performance and Wellbeing

Do you come back from vacation more tired than when you left?  You're not alone — and it's not a discipline problem. In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, I break down what the actual research says about breaks, recovery, and vacations, because a lot of what gets repeated in the wellness world is either wrong or way overstated. Most high-achievers treat breaks as a reward you earn after the work is done — or worse, a sign you're not tough enough to push through. I want to flip that completely, using real research instead of the productivity-hack version of it. In this episode, I dive into: * Four popular "rules" about breaks that the science doesn't actually support — including the 90-minute focus cycle, the willpower "tank" that supposedly drains, and whether the Pomodoro Technique's 25/5 split is really optimal. * What actually works at every timescale — daily micro-breaks, weekly detachment, a monthly lighter week, and a genuinely surprising finding about vacations: several short trips beat one long one, every time. * The single question you can ask about any break, at any timescale, to know whether it's actually working — or just relocating the thing that's straining you. * A complete, periodized recovery protocol you can start building into your life this week, based on the same principles elite athletic programs use to turn hard effort into real, sustainable gains. Plus, I've created a free one-page recovery protocol you can download from Invictus.coach/resources [https://invictus.coach/resources] — daily, weekly, monthly, and annual recovery, laid out so you can start using it right away. Instantly Unlock Performance Now The "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being. You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals. You can find out more or sign up clicking here! [https://www.invictus.coach/thrivemembership]

Episode 100: Short and Sweet - 3 Ways to Get Back into High Performance When You Are Overwhelmed

What do you do when life gets overwhelming? Research from neuroscience, sport psychology, resilience science, and Special Forces performance points to a surprisingly simple answer: regulate, refocus, and re-engage. In this short, practical episode, Michael Schiel shares three evidence-based strategies to help you maintain your performance—or get back on track quickly—when stress, setbacks, and overwhelm show up. You'll learn how to: • Regulate your nervous system under pressure • Refocus on what you can control • Re-engage quickly when you've been knocked off track Because peak performers aren't people who never lose their balance. They're people who know how to regain it quickly. Breathe. Focus. Act. Instantly Unlock Performance Now The "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being. You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals. You can find out more or sign up clicking here! [https://www.invictus.coach/thrivemembership]

Episode 99 How to Achieve Peak Performance in Anything

Why do so many ambitious, capable people eventually end up overwhelmed, emotionally exhausted, disengaged, or burned out — even when they are working hard and trying to succeed? In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, I unpack what modern neuroscience, psychology, sport psychology, behavioral science, and performance research actually say about sustainable peak performance. High performance is not simply about grinding harder, pushing endlessly, or relying on motivation. The evidence increasingly shows that sustainable peak performance is built through: * Clarity * Recovery * Emotional regulation * Adaptive stress * Meaningful goals * Strong systems and habits * The ability to recover and adapt under pressure over time. In this episode, I walk you through the five major components that consistently show up across elite performers in sport, leadership, business, learning, and life: 1. Clarity — including clarity of goals, meaning, purpose, and identity 2.  Homeostasis and Wellbeing — sleep, recovery, stress regulation, movement, nutrition, and relationships 3.  Learning and Adaptation — deliberate practice, feedback loops, progressive challenge, and recovery cycles 4.  Mental and Emotional Capacities — emotional regulation, attentional control, resilience, and psychological flexibility 5.  Habits and Behaviors — routines, environmental design, prioritization, consistency, boundaries, and recovery-protective systems I also explore one of the biggest shifts in modern performance science:  The highest performers are often not the people who can tolerate the most stress. They are the people who can: *  Regulate themselves most effectively *  Recover most effectively *  Adapt most effectively *  Sustain performance over long periods without breaking down physically, mentally, or emotionally. Later in the episode, I also briefly discuss how sustainable performance systems may need to look different for: * Adults with ADHD and neurodiversity *  Post-menopausal women The science in this episode applies to anything in your life - sports, business, leadership, school, hobbies - you name it.  And if you want a good summary, check out invictus.coach/resources, where I will have an executive summary of the main concepts! Instantly Unlock Performance Now The "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being. You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals. You can find out more or sign up clicking here! [https://www.invictus.coach/thrivemembership]

Episode #98: Why Tenacity Matters More Than Talent with Steven Puri

What actually separates the people who continue growing, succeeding, and reinventing themselves from those who stop after setbacks, rejection, or failure? In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, I sit down with Steven Puri for a fascinating conversation about resilience, reinvention, high performance, failure, identity, and what it really takes to keep moving forward when life does not go according to plan. Steven is one of the few people in the world who has been both a senior executive at major Hollywood film studios and also raised more than $20 million in venture capital. He produced the digital effects for Independence Day, which won the Academy Award for Visual Effects, worked on films including Braveheart, founded multiple technology companies with both successful exits and failures, and later served as a VP at 20th Century Fox and an EVP at DreamWorks Pictures. But what makes this conversation so powerful is not just Steven’s success. It is his perspective on rejection, persistence, failure, reinvention, and learning. Throughout this episode, we explore: * Why tenacity often matters more than talent * How high performers learn from failure instead of being defined by it * The psychology of rejection and why most setbacks are not as personal as we think * How to know when to keep pushing forward versus when to pivot or reinvent yourself * The role of timing, luck, and preparation in success * Why being around elite performers accelerates growth and learning * How identity, mindset, and emotional regulation shape long-term performance We also discuss the neuroscience and psychology behind failure, learning, resilience, and sustainable high performance — including why the brain is naturally wired for adaptation and growth if we approach setbacks the right way. This episode is packed with practical insights for leaders, entrepreneurs, professionals, creators, and anyone navigating uncertainty, pressure, transition, or growth in their own life. If you have ever struggled with failure, questioned whether to keep going, or wondered how high performers continue moving forward through setbacks and reinvention, this is an episode you will not want to miss. Instantly Unlock Performance Now The "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being. You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals. You can find out more or sign up clicking here! [https://www.invictus.coach/thrivemembership]

Episode #97: The Real Reason You’re Not Achieving Your Goals (It’s Not Discipline)

If you’ve ever set goals that truly mattered to you—only to lose momentum, get pulled in different directions, and eventually stop following through—you’re not alone. In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, I break down one of the most common and frustrating challenges high-performing people face: “I know what to do… so why am I not doing it?” The answer is not what most people think. Most people assume they’re not achieving their goals because they lack discipline, motivation, or consistency. But when you look at the science of behavior change, neuroscience, and performance, a very different picture emerges. This isn’t a goal problem—it’s a system problem. In this episode, I walk you through: *  The real reason behavior change fails, and why effort and discipline are often the wrong solution  *  The four core breakdown points that stop people from following through—especially under pressure  *  The five-stage pathway of behavior change, and where most people get stuck  *  A clear, evidence-based protocol you can use to change any behavior in your life  You’ll learn how your behavior is actually driven by identity, habits, environment, and your nervous system—and why your goals will not sustain unless those systems are aligned. Free Worksheet to Help You Apply This to Your Own Life I have created a self-audit you can use to apply the most important parts to your own life. You can find it at invictus.coach/resources Instantly Unlock Performance Now The "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being. You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals. You can find out more or sign up clicking here! [https://www.invictus.coach/thrivemembership]