Episodes

James Swanwick reveals how high performers can break free from alcohol without willpower or AA. He shares why even occasional drinking costs you money, clarity, and connection - and how an empowering mindset shift makes alcohol freedom feel like an unfair advantage rather than deprivation. Key Topics: Why successful people struggle to give up alcohol despite conquering other challenges Why AA's approach often fails and keeps people stuck in a small life Why alcohol freedom is the new flex th...

"The pilots who survive aren't the most skilled—they're the ones who adapt fastest." In this episode, I explain why your current identity—the expertise you've built over years—might be your biggest obstacle to adapting at AI speed. I break down the “OODA loop” and how it can determine your success in business. Key Topics: Why a sense of stability could be your downfall in the AI era Three-step protocol for building an AI-first identity The uncomfortable truth about letting go of who you've ...

"Action beats intention. Results beat ego." What if the reason you're stuck isn’t about talent, skill, or even motivation? It’s because of how your mind reacts under pressure. And whether you realize it or not, you’re likely playing out one of three patterns that sabotage high performers: The Go Harder Guy, The Mr. Nice Guy, or The Chip on the Shoulder Guy. Alex De Fina joins Itamar in this episode to break down the three performance archetypes that affect entrepreneurs' success. Key Topics: ...

"If you're just having all these expectations of things that you can't control, you can't have an agreement about or you can't set a standard about, you’ll just get frustrated all the time." Many think that having high expectations of everyone shows respect and kindness. In reality, unrealistic expectations create frustration and anger, making us treat others worse. This episode breaks down how lowering expectations in specific areas can help us become calmer and more effective leaders. Key To...

"Success isn't about your current competence. It's about your belief in what you can figure out." In this episode, Itamar Marani and Alex De Fina analyze the mindset tools behind Trump's ability to maintain momentum through resistance. No politics—just clear, actionable strategies for entrepreneurs seeking extreme clarity and peak performance. Key Topics: Unshakable Confidence: The power of eliminating self-deprecating humor Internal Narrative: Maintaining momentum through setbacks Energy M...

"The story you tell yourself about what you've been through defines your identity. It’s not the event but how you interpret and grow from it that shapes your future... We are all capable of much more than we imagine" Glenn Cohen, former chief psychologist of the Mossad and Air Force pilot, shares raw insights from working with Israeli hostages and their families. Drawing from his experience debriefing over 117 released hostages, Glenn reveals powerful lessons about human resilience and mental f...

“Remember, success isn't just about knowing where you're going - it's about being prepared for the journey ahead.” In today’s quick episode, I share the one thing people forget to do when setting goals that makes all the difference between success and failure. Key topics cover: Why most goal-setting systems fail Inspired January vs. Year long resilience How to properly cut down overly ambitious goals If you’d like to share what price you are willing to pay for your biggest goal in 2025 ple...

“The guilt. It never ends. And it's true for everybody. It's part of the human condition that there are always new levels of guilt. But guilt and shame in and of themselves, without driving positive action, are unhelpful. They don't help you, and they definitely don't help anyone else.” In today’s episode, I recap 2024. I open up and share my 3 main lessons, 3 things that excite me about 2025, 1 fitness hack, 3 questions for you to achieve more in 2025. Key topics cover: The 1 frame that puts...

“This summer I ended up getting second place for over 400K, and then another 220K score a week later. The summer was just full of scores… When you put yourself first in an unselfish manner, you’re able to give everyone else your best version. You have to give yourself permission not to feel guilty about it.” In today’s episode, we’re joined by Farid Jattin, a professional poker player who openly shares the mindset system he used to crush the last summer in Las Vegas and rise from #27 to #6 in t...

“I started using this reframe in the biz and hit my Arena goal (+20k rev per month) 10 days later. I did the hard (not really that hard even) things that I've been putting off for years.” In today’s episode, we’re joined by Brendan Tully to talk about why sometimes overcoming plateaus can be simpler than we think. Why it’s sometimes not about overcoming fear or some deep seeded self-sabotage, but about finding a reframe that can shift everything Key topics cover: The 3 steps to overcoming se...

“Your job is to command your emotions, not foolishly try to eliminate them.” In today’s episode, we’re joined by Dr. William Jaworski to talk about his book “Ask Aristotle” and break the myth of Stoicism. We cover why stoicism has become so trendy and why it’s dangerous to follow it to a T. Key topics cover: Self-discipline vs. Self-denial Why people fell in love with stoicism despite its faults How to avoid the pitfalls of stoicism and be more effective You can order your copy of “Ask Ar...

“It’s like you said, an identity can shatter a thousand beliefs” What if the next time you thought to yourself “This is hard,” you also thought to yourself, “So what? I love challenges, so LET’S GO!” In today’s episode, we’re joined by Hursh Dodhia-Shah, an Arena alumni, as he shares how he was able to tap into an identity that overpowered any self-doubt or overwhelm while he was exiting the 7-figure agency he grew. Key topics covered: How to tap into a powerful identity When to watch out f...

“It doesn't matter if you feel uncomfortable as long as you know you've made the right choice.” In this episode of the Elite Performance Podcast, I interview a 1 on 1 client, Jason Barnard on how he overcame a fear of growth, starting closing 6-figure deals and graduated from being a savvy marketer to a powerful CEO. We covered how to identify when emotions negatively impact decision making, how to overcome that… but more importantly when it’s helpful vs unhelpful to put emotions aside. Topic...

"A prisoner cannot free himself from his own prison." In this episode of the Elite Performance podcast, I'm joined by Alex as we discuss how certain parts of us actually want to limit our success and what we can do about it. We explore why people hold on to these limitations, even when they know they hurt their ability to succeed. If you feel held back by doubts or self-sabotaging behaviors and want practical tips to overcome them, this episode is for you. Key topics covered: Understanding ...

Ever find yourself doing a lot but not getting the results you want? In this episode of the Elite Performance podcast, Alex and I talk about one key question to shift your mindset into elite performance mode: “Are you problem-focused or emotion-focused?” Key topics covered: How to make sure you keep your eyes on the prize and don’t get distracted by random emotions along the way Understanding the difference between problem-focused and emotion-focused mindsets and why we often focus on the w...

In this unique episode of The Elite Performance Podcast, Itamar and Alex break down what happened during the failed Trump assassination and how many of the lessons can be translated to business. They cover: The tactical mistakes the Secret Service made A framework to understand risk Trump’s reaction and what that says about how he’s wired The possibility of conspiracies arising How to translate the lessons learned to your business * If you’re ready to get unstuck and take both yourself a...

“We’re not achieving all we can with what we have in hand” In today’s episode Jabez Reuben joins us to share his post-Arena story of 10xing his main business while growing 2 new ones by uncovering his hidden blocks. We cover why he was in a unique position where he didn’t need more frameworks or structures to achieve much bigger success and how to know if you’re in a similar spot. Topics covered: How to know if something is a “surface level distraction” or something important The 2 question...

In today's episode, I'm joined by Elliot Roe, a mindset expert and the author of the new book, "A-Game Poker: Master The Mental Game, Create A Winning Mindset, & Dominate The Modern Poker Game." This episode delves into topics that go beyond poker. It features a spirited 'sparring session' where Elliot and I exchange ideas on optimizing mental performance to help you achieve the best results possible. If you feel like you have a strategy that you know what you should be doing, but you're not a...

In this installment of the coaching series Tom and I discuss how he can transition to the new version of his business and the practical steps he needs to take to overcome what currently holds him back from doing that and drains his energy. Key topics covered: Dealing with Change and Client Reactions Overcoming Procrastination and Anxiety The importance of energy over time Utilizing Experiences as Learning Tools Tactical ways to adjust business operations to better align with personal and p...

If you find yourself setting big goals but then procrastinating or backtracking to something smaller today’s episode is for you. In today’s episode Coach Ry Hickey, joins us to share how he 2X’ed his business and went from despair to taking consistent action and going into an upward “success cycle” Topics covered: What helped him 2x the business Is having a big world-changing WHY a performance killer? What enabled him to do things regardless of how he feels (and why it’s a complete game cha...

To celebrate 50 podcast episodes we asked for questions from the audience. They ranged from performance to fitting into the current world we live in and I tried to answer them as best I could. Expect to have questions answered around masculine vs. feminine thinking and “toxic masculinity”, my main learnings as a coach so far, my coaching origin story, and thoughts on if it’s “okay to be pretty happy making good money and living a nice comfortable life or is the only valid path to live to relent...

If you feel stuck between wanting to grow your business and not wanting to sacrifice the lifestyle and freedom you’ve gotten yourself, this is for you. In today’s episode Neel Parekh, the founder of MaidThis, joins to talk about how he scaled from 3 franchises to 20 while actually having more lifestyle freedom. He broke down why he hesitated to grow the business and what mental blocks he had to clear in order to almost 7x his business in 2 years. Topics covered: What helped him add more than...

Few things can hurt your success in business more than a divorce, depression, or burning out because you’re dissatisfied with your life and don’t want to play this game anymore. For 3 years I worked for a billionaire as his head of security. I got to see the good, the bad and everything in between. In today’s episode, we cover the 3 WORST money mindset lessons I learned from him that can derail your success and the 1 key factor that can help you avoid them. * To apply to the Arena Performanc...

In today’s episode Kevin Miller joins us to share his story of going from buying businesses that were on growth trajectories and seeing them falter to 3Xing his current business and putting it into a 10x trajectory on top of that. We cover the 5 part framework that enabled him to find more business success, but also what allowed him to show up in a better way for his girlfriend, family and most importantly himself. Topics covered: His unique process to make things that used to seem really har...