Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Todd Herman, who I am honored to count as one of my mentors.
I first met Todd about five years ago, when he gave a talk at an entrepreneurship event, and right away I could tell that he was speaking my language. You see, Todd is a performance coach who specializes in the mental game. He works with ambitious entrepreneurs, athletes, and leaders who want to achieve wildly outrageous goals, like building a multimillion-dollar business, reaching an Olympic podium, or launching an international brand.
He’s run his own sports science training company for over twenty years, and his signature performance system, 90 Day Year (which I use regularly in my work and my writing) has been named the world’s top leadership and skill development program—not once, but twice!
Todd is also the author of the Wall Street Journal bestselling book The Alter Ego Effect which we’ll be discussing today.
In this episode Todd and I discuss:
- The great superpower that all humans have
- The thing all top performers do
- How seeing that you have many selves can lead to greater mental health and performance
- The trap of the “authentic self”
- How to choose and activate an alter ego
- Why this technique is so useful for writers
Plus, his #1 tip for writers.
About the Author
Todd Herman is a performance coach and mental game strategist for ambitious entrepreneurs, athletes, and leaders who want to achieve wildly outrageous goals. He’s helped clients reach the Olympic podium, build multimillion-dollar companies, and establish brands that have become internationally known.
He’s owned his sports science training company for over twenty years, and his signature performance system, 90 Day Year, has been named the world’s top leadership and skill development program—twice!
Todd is also the author of the Wall Street Journal bestselling book The Alter Ego Effect: The Power of Secret Identities to Transform Your Life. For more information on Todd and his work, check out his website, or follow him on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
He lives in New York City with his wife and three young children, and is currently the world’s worst ukulele player, but working on it.
The Alter Ego Effect
An award-winning performance expert reveals the secret behind many top athletes and executives: creating a heroic alter ego to activate when the chips are down.
There’s only one person in the way of you untapping your capabilities: You. There’s also one person who can move you out of the way so you can perform at your peak.
That person is already inside you. You just need to unlock them. This other part of you is your Heroic Self and you unlock it with an Alter Ego. After twenty-one years of working with elite athletes, performers and leaders, Todd Herman is revealing how you can use your alter ego to achieve the seemingly impossible. It all clicked for Todd when he met Bo Jackson.
When Todd met Bo Jackson, the professional athlete told him, “Bo Jackson never played a down of football in his entire life.” Bo explained that when he was young, he’d get into trouble because of chaos caused by his anger issues. Then, he saw Friday the 13th and became fascinated by the cold, calculating nature of Jason Vorhees. In that moment, he resolved to stop being Bo Jackson, and start being Jason the moment he stepped on the field.
In this transformative guide, Herman teaches you how to create and control an Alter Ego like Bo—and the thousands of other athletes, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and entertainers who have used this simple tool to change their lives. Todd also shares his own story: he knew that inside was a confident, self-assured, intelligent person who could help others get better results in their lives. When he started using Superman’s classic trick—putting on a pair of glasses—he learned to trigger the specific traits he needed to achieve his goals.
The Alter Ego Effect is not about creating a false mask—it’s about finding the hero already inside you. It’s a proven way of overcoming the self-doubt, negativity, and insecurity that hold you back, and empowering you to ultimately become your best self.
If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!
Link to Episode #267
(Right-click to download.)
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Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!
