The Mind Master's Memo

Peak Performance with Chrononutrition

Ever feel unstoppable some days and completely off on others?

Well, chrononutrition might just be your key to consistently high performance!

Essentially, it’s syncing your meal times and types of food with your body's natural rhythms to boost both brain power and physical stamina.

My own journey in this endeavor started with a move to Austin, where I struggled with fatigue and a lack of focus until I discovered the magic of eating right for the time of day.

Swapping carb-heavy meals for protein-rich, low-carb ones made all the difference. I started to feel more energetic and was able to extend my work capacity.

Now, I make sure to fuel up smartly with nutrient-packed foods during my peak hours, keep hydrated, and listen closely to my body’s feedback. And now, I’m recommending you do the same.

Sounds simple, yet many don’t pay attention to this. Stay consistent and you will reap long-term health benefits (and eventually bypass all the people ignoring this).

It’s just like the tortoise and the hare. You will ‘win the race’ when you slow down and take care of yourself. The issue really is that it’s hard to know these days what is good, and the companies with poor quality food make their food taste delicious! What a world we live in.

Fortunately, for you and me, we have the choice for what we eat. The reality is this approach has seriously upped my game, making me feel more energetic and sharp. Whether you’re an athlete or a desk jockey, getting your meal strategy right could really turn things around for your daily performance.

Harnessing Intrinsic Motivation and Balancing Dopamine

Waking up charged. Ready to crush your goals. This is a dream state that intrinsic motivation can help achieve. This self-driven force is closely tied to dopamine, a pleasure-linked neurotransmitter…

But it’s a tricky thing to balance.

My own exploration with dopamine boosters like coffee and workout supplements initially skyrocketed my performance and enjoyment.

However, overuse led to a dip in my natural excitement for activities I loved, a condition called ‘dopamine burnout’. Scaling back and reconnecting with my natural drive was crucial.

I learned to value natural motivation over artificial boosts, in en effort to reduce stimulants altogether.

Maintaining this balance helps keep my intrinsic motivation intact, fueling my activities with genuine passion and sustainable enthusiasm.

It's all about loving the process and finding joy in every step of the journey towards self-mastery.

Story Time!

A friend of mine was a sales rep at the company I work at for a long time, while I was in HR and now in Marketing.

On paper he was an excellent choice to move up into sales management: ideal close rates, optimal dials & talk time… but I knew that he had been passed up consistently for those opportunities, despite looking ‘good on paper’.

Let’s call him John.

That’s not his name but in the case he sees this I think he’d appreciate the confidentiality.

The hard part for me, as a friend, was knowing that he actually knew why.

It wasn’t rocket science. We had given John options to speak in front of other sales agents (new and old) to provide them value 1 on 1 and in a group setting sometimes, and he would typically refuse, and refuse to help others when it came to taking him off the phones.

I let him know in private the situation and he said, “Yeah, I don’t like public speaking, it makes me nervous.” And just from my point of view all I could say was “Yeah this is the experience you need to get over that and move onto other things”. Later, I realized that this happens with everybody, to some degree. And from this experience, I learned a few things I’d love to share with you, if you haven’t gotten it already:

1. You will take the same ‘test’ repeatedly until you pass.
2. What worked initially won’t necessarily work in the future (it most likely won’t)
3. If you’re driven by fear, you won’t take actions towards growth. You’ll see opportunities as obstacles, and become frozen in fear.

John ended up leaving the company in the same role that he started in, and will likely continue to do the same if he continues at another company. Maybe he didn’t want the promotion (although I think he did, and wondered why others passed him by). The real reason is that he acted out of fear and didn’t rise up to the occasion.

Learn the lessons from this and avoid the mistakes my dear friend John had made. You need to know that the ‘magic’ you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.