byronmccaughey

For some tasks in our work life, urgency comes easy. You know, preparing for a pitch, sending a sales contract or hitting our boss’s deadline. Urgency tends to emerge when there are external drivers like being evaluated, accountability or immediate consequences. Let’s call this fear-driven urgency. Perhaps it’s creative work like writing a blog, starting […]

On the day of a Grand Slam night match, most tennis pros try to control every aspect of their preparation—from sleep in their hotel room to hooking themselves up to performance-enhancing machines, analysing the match ahead, and eating the perfect amount of calories. But not Roger Federer, who was often seen strolling through one of

In the early ‘90s, Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, had a problem. Well, two problems. The first was growing pains. Patagonia entered the new decade riding a wave of 30-50% annual growth, but with it came a fragmented company structure that was inefficient and lacked unity. So Yvon sought the counsel of the late

Believe it or not, performance anxiety is your friend. And it’s really common, even among world-class performers like Adele, Nadal, Emma Stone, Andrea Bocelli, Lorde, Meryl Streep, and Jay Z, who have openly discussed their pre-performance nerves. Our anxiety gets misunderstood. It actually primes us for performance by sending signals to our body that the

Stephen King was so appalled by his draft outline of Carrie that he scrunched up the pages and threw them in the trash, resolving to give up on the story of a tormented high school girl with telekinesis powers. When he returned from his day job as a schoolteacher the following day, King found the

Winnie and Nelson Mandela shared a vision of dismantling apartheid in South Africa but had rather contrasting approaches to achieving that vision. Winnie adopted a strategy focused on grassroots activism and direct action. She was heavily involved in organising protests, mobilising the masses, and supporting resistance activities. On the other hand, Nelson emphasised peaceful negotiations,

Craig Foster, from the documentary My Octopus Teacher, was on his morning ocean swim in the Great African Seaforest when suddenly he spotted a giant 17 x 14-foot stingray, the largest species in the world. Keeping his movements steady and vibrations low—essential given a sting from their spine can be fatal—Craig glided alongside this giant

Misty Copeland became the first African American female principal dancer with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre—but that wasn’t supposed to happen. Told she didn’t have the ‘right’ ballerina body—too muscular and curvy. Her background didn’t fit the mould of what a ballerina ‘should’ be, and she started ballet far too late to make it as

Nathan Florence is a hellman. That’s surf slang for someone who rides waves of serious consequence, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on a surfboard. He’s been recognised as such, this year winning the prestigious Waterman of the Year award. Nathan recently tried to paddle into a wave called “The Right” in Western Australia without

It’s early 2000s and Metallica are well established heavy metal gods. But progress on their highly anticipated new album St. Anger is plagued with issues, including creative tension between frontman James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich. Ulrich reflects during an early recording session for the album: “It’s like I’m racing against time… it’s a weird