Ordinary to Extraordinary - The Podcast

Keith Reesby is a personal development specialist with more than 25 years of experience in human performance and transformation. Combining contemporary psychology, ancient philosophy and lived experience, he has developed a proven 10-step process to help people discover purpose, build self-awareness, and achieve lasting behavioural change. Keith combines his lifelong passion and study of psychology with extraordinary life experiences that include: international sportsman, combat helicopter pilot, ascent of Mount Everest, driving from Cape Town in South Africa to the UK, and Iron Man endurance events. He is an author with an upcoming book about to be published, "The Hero you" and currently works a transformation life coach through his company METIS Human Potential. These experiences have given him rare insight into the human condition—and the practical tools to overcome its challenges. In this episode we talk to Keith about two key events in his life; when he was shot while flying on deployment with the Army, and what happened during his ascent of Mount Everest. We discuss ways to cope with the "startle effect", and how knowing your own values and inner-self can help unlock the Hero within you as well.Keith's website: https://keithreesby.com/Upcoming book: "The Hero You"Performance acronym: ARFAA: ActionR: ReflectionF: FeedbackA: Adjustment

Imagine walking across the planet—28,000 miles, six continents, seven years—powered only by your own two feet and accompanied by your trusted companion, an Australian Shepherd dog.Our guest today did exactly that. Along the way, he faced exhaustion, illness, wonder, connection, and discovery.His new book, The World Walk, captures not only the adventure, but the preparation, mindset, and recovery behind an extraordinary endurance journey.Today, we’ll explore how he planned for the impossible, what he learned about people and culture, what the world taught him about being human, and what he learned about himself..Website: https://www.tomturcich.com/Books:"The World Walk: 7 Years. 28,000 miles. 6 Continents. A Grand Meditation, One Step at a Time." https://a.co/d/2JlIwom"Savannah's World of Adventure: Crossing the Andes." https://a.co/d/bd4SFZp

Dr. Phillip Lee is both a general practice doctor, and also a former Member of Parliament for Bracknell. He served as Parliamentary Under‑Secretary of State for Victims, Youth and Family Justice (Ministry of Justice) under U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May from July 2016 to June 2018. For almost 20 years he served as both a doctor and politician, until in 2019 he famously crossed the floor of the House of Commons whilst PM Boris Johnson was delivering a statement, to leave the Conservative Party and join the Liberal Democrats over disagreements with the way he felt the Government was handling Brexit. He left Parliament and politics after the December 2019 General Election. Dr Lee continues to work as a doctor in the Southwest of England.In this podcast episode we discuss Dr Lee's journey into medicine and politics, and how having two careers helped him with perspective in each. During his political career as a Member of Parliament, Dr Lee encountered times when his own beliefs and analysis of a situation were in conflict with his Party. He talks us through how he came to these conclusions, and how while under pressure he was able to stay true to his own beliefs and do what he felt was right, knowing that doing so may come at a personal professional cost. We discuss his perspectives on decision making, what qualities he has observed in some world leaders, and what he feels has contributed to his own inner strength of being prepared to take the hard pathway to stay true to himself.Human Factors topics: decision making, communication, standing up for one's own beliefs, courage.

Zoran Stojkovic is a certified Mental Performance Coach and founder of Kizo Performance. He blends evidence-based mental skills with practical tools for confidence, focus and resilience. He has worked with over 2,000 clients, and has 10 years of experience as a Mental Performance Specialist helping amongst others, military aviators, professional athletes and executives.We continue our journey of discovery into this important profession and Zoran leaves us all with some tools we can use in our everyday lives to advance our crafts closer to extraordinary. KIZO Performance https://www.kizo.ca/Acronyms discussed in the podcast:Next play mindset: W.I.N. "What's Important Now"Stay focused and present: C.P.R. "Calm, Present, Ready"Assessing the stress of a mission: V.U.C.A. "Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, AmbiguityC.I.A. tool for recruitment: R.I.C.E. "Reward, Ideology, Coercion, Ego"Deriving core values for a team or a group:WHO are we?: IdentityWHAT do we what? The missionWHY do we want it? The motivation or purposeHOW are we going to get it? The process, the day-to-day"Behaviors more than values""See an error as an opportunity""Next play speed"Activation level mapping: Military pilots map their missions to understand where stress will arise and then neuroprime the brain to control the body's response.Zoran's High Performance Mindsets Guide:https://static1.squarespace.com/static/65a975e15f408063d5c05597/t/65b84a0e01f5be0c52e6e835/1706576405711/High+Performance+Mindsets+for+Athletes+%28PDF%29.pdf

Payar Pasha is both a Perfusionist at UW Health in Wisconsin where he is a vital member of the cardiovascular surgical team, and also an expert skydiver, wingsuit pilot and BASE Jumper, with over 1100 jumps.In today's episode, we explore the human factors that allow him to excel in both of these high stakes, high consequence and high stress environments. He will break down his approach to dealing with risk, stress, fears and skill development, and give us all a glimpse of the pure joy he gets from piloting the skies above us.

Hudson Brown is the author of Landing Gear Down (publ. Newman Springs 2020), a gripping thriller that follows Graham Stone, a young detective in the Memphis Police Department’s Violent Crimes Task Force.Before turning to writing, Hudson served as a police officer himself with the Memphis police department until after 7 years of service he suffered a career ending injury. His firsthand experience as a police officer lends authenticity and depth to the high-stakes investigations and emotional challenges portrayed in his work.In an industry where 99% of all submitted manuscripts are rejected for publication, Hudson secured a publisher and his book went to print in 2020. The book pits its protagonist against a ruthless terrorist in a race against time, blending action, romance, and psychological tension.Book: "Landing Gear Down", Hudson Brown. Amazon https://a.co/d/7hwm8zlWe sit down to chat to Hudson about what it takes to be a police officer on the front lines in the city of Memphis, how he was injured when in pursuit of a suspect, and how after he left Law Enforcement he swapped his badge for a pen and launched his crime fiction writing career. An episode full of good stories and human factors lessons for us all.

Jonathan Viscosi is a Canadian professional soccer player who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Valour FC in the Canadian Premier League.He began his career with Ottawa South United before playing college soccer at the University of Rio Grande and later the University at Buffalo. Since then Jon has played for numerous clubs from the UK to Sweden, Finland and the USA.Jonathan earned a Master’s degree in Emotional Psychology from Mid Sweden University as he begins his career in Sports and Performance Psychology. He is deeply involved in studying the mental aspects of elite performance. One of his key contributions is his master's thesis, the main focus of which is on self-regulating emotions and the effects of pressure, testing the tenets of MuSt Theory (MultiStates Theory). He was particularly interested in self-talk as a self-regulation tool to optimize athletes’ performance when placed under pressure.Beyond the research, Jon actively applies his sports psychology knowledge in his professional career, sharing his insights with teammates and staff at his clubs. In this conversation we explore Jono's determined journey into and through professional sport, and discuss how the skills and strategies learnt in sports & performance psychology can benefit us all, and help us on our quest for extraordinary performance.Podcast Sections:IntroductionJonathan's journey into and within professional soccer: 8:29Sports & performance psychology discussion/MuSt Theory: 1hr 24:17Wrap up: 2hr 00:41Thesis: It’s a MuSt Win: The Effects of Self-Talk to Enhance Passing Performance Under Pressure in Elite Football Players. The Sport Psychologist, Dec 10th 2024.Valour FC: https://www.canpl.ca/players/d4b7a9bbb2bb49f89ab93024813fb926/jonathan-viscosiInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jviscosi50/

Josh Sweeney enlisted in the military after high school, joining the United States Marine Corps. After earning the esteemed title of Marine Corps Scout Sniper, he was deployed with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines to Nowzad, Afghanistan, where he sustained life-altering injuries from an IED on October 28, 2009. Undeterred by this setback, Josh discovered a new passion for Paralympic sports, quickly rising to prominence as a member of the USA Sled Hockey Team. In 2014, he played a pivotal role in securing the gold medal for Team USA, scoring the game-winning goal. Since then, Josh has continued to represent his country on the international stage, competing for Team USA in Paratriathlon and currently as a member of the USA Para Nordic Ski Team.” For his sacrifice in combat Josh received a Purple Heart, and was the recipient of the Inaugural Pat Tillman Award for Service. He is an Ambassador for the Challenged Athletes Foundation.Realizing a need for custom fitting of specialized equipment for adaptive sports, to enable fellow athletes to achieve their full potential Josh has started his own business:https://www.jsadaptivesports.com/We sit down for an inspirational discussion with Josh about his life, and how he overcame horrific injuries on the battlefield, to further represent his country twice in the Paralympics and how he continues to serve others and strive to make the most of every single day.Josh Sweeney website:https://www.thejoshsweeney.com/