Episodes

Sean Kelly, Recording Artist and Past Member, Sixpence None the Richer Could you handle the demands of your dreams coming true? In this episode, Sean Kelly shares his path from jamming with his high school friends to being a member of the Grammy-nominated band Sixpence None the Richer. Sean discusses the grind of making it in the music industry, the excitement of touring on a tour bus for the first time, and the roller coaster ride of humbling versus rock star moments along the way. He also disc...

BONUS: Hosts Drs. Kevin Harris and Lauren S. Tashman discuss their conversation with Iris and Felicia Zimmermann, US Olympic Fencers. Highlights include their discussion about the personalized needs of an activity serving to allow one to be seen or remain unseen, the need to customize lessons from others to one’s own needs, and the unpleasant components of all goal attainment pursuits. Kevin and Lauren also discuss the various interpretations of grit, the importance of self-compassion, and build...

Iris and Felicia Zimmermann, US Olympic Fencers Is your success yours, or are you chasing someone else’s? In this episode, we speak with Iris Zimmerman and Felicia Zimmerman, sisters who grew up participating and competing in the sport of fencing including a chance to compete with each other at the Olympics. Following their transition out of the sport, they decided to take over and co-own the Rochester Fencing Club where they spent years training for excellence. They discuss their individual and...

Dr. Mark Williams, Professor, Author – The Best – How Elite Athletes are Made Do you keep moving forward every day toward your goals? In this episode, Dr. Mark Williams shares his path from international youth footballer to world-renowned expert on human performance. He discusses the tremendous growth in the use of science applied to sport, touches on many of the current debates in the world of coaching, and provides his take on the role of genetics versus environment in the development of elite...

BONUS: Hosts Drs. Kevin Harris and Lauren S. Tashman discuss their conversation with Abe Kamarck, CEO and Founder of True Made Foods. Highlights include their discussion about the role of serendipity in success, capitalizing on opportunities when they are presented, and making sure that one really wants the outcome being pursued. Kevin and Lauren also discuss the difference between routine- versus adaptive- expertise,

Abe Kamarck, CEO & Founder of True Made Foods Do you get stuck on the emotional rollercoaster, too high with successes or too low with failures? In this episode Abe Kamarck shares his path from growing up on his family’s Italian cooking, to military officer, to founder and CEO of a successful startup company. He shares what he learned in flight school about preparing for the worst-case scenario, navigating the pressure of starting and growing a business, and how success is a moving target. This ...

Lockwood Barr, Country Music Recording Artist Is pushing yourself outside your comfort zone a theme in your life? In this episode Lockwood Barr shares her path from her first writing sessions after arriving in Nashville to becoming a successful artist. She discusses consistently pushing out of her comfort zone, fighting impostor syndrome, her first CMA festival as a performer, and touring for a living. Lockwood also shares the importance of addressing mental health needs and her efforts to bring...

BONUS: Hosts Drs. Kevin Harris and Lauren S. Tashman discuss their conversation with Brandon Barnett, Songwriter and Founder of the Left of Nashville Podcast Network. Highlights include their discussion of how burnout can happen even when you love what you do, and that being extremely passionate about something possibly can lead to an even greater chance of it. Kevin and Lauren also discuss how draining the true-crime genre can be, how an idea without an investment goes nowhere, and the allitera...

Brandon Barnett, Songwriter and Founder of the Left of Nashville Podcast Network Would you walk away from a good living to take a shot at your dreams? In this episode, Kevin and Lauren speak with Brandon Barnett, whose path includes collaborating with one of Nashville’s best known songwriters to his true crime podcast that led to an arrest in a decades old missing person cold-case. Brandon shares his experience of not giving up, the joy and stress of podcasting about cold cases, and the importan...

BONUS: Hosts Drs. Kevin Harris and Lauren S. Tashman discuss their conversation with Amie Wells, Broadcasting Manager for the Tennessee Titans and cohost of Titans All Access. Highlights include their discussion of the importance of sharing your goals with others, how a lot of people are willing to help you along the way, and the reason for not being shy when touting your accomplishments. Kevin and Lauren also discuss what modern networking looks like.

Amie Wells, Broadcasting Manager for the Tennessee Titans; Cohost of Titans All Access Are you coachable? In this episode, Kevin and Lauren speak with Amie Wells about her path from political science major to one of the media faces of an NFL team. Amie shares the lessons she learned as an intern for the Baltimore Ravens sharpening pencils for the offensive line, the importance of being coachable, and what it is like working around household names on a daily basis. In addition to an insider’s loo...

Jonathan Avalos, Founder of Athletic Golf Fitness Do you show people that you are invested in them? In this episode Kevin and Lauren speak with Jonathan Avalos about his path from using his background as an athlete to become a trainer to founding his own business specializing in physical fitness training for golfers. Listen to hear Jonathan’s advice on ignoring your thoughts telling you that you can’t do something, the importance of knowing the intent behind every movement, and how easy it is to...

Dr. Lea Ann Parsley, Olympic Silver Medalist, Former Firefighter and EMT, Registered Nurse and Health Educator, Valor Performance Coach When you encounter something new, particularly something a little scary or risky, do you think “that looks awesome, I’ve got to try that?” In this episode, Dr. Lea Ann Parsley shares with us the life, sport, academic, and work experiences that led her to competing and earning a medal at the 2002 Olympic Games despite starting the sport just a few years prior in ...

Tracy Tutor, Author, Fear is Just a Four Letter Word, and Star of Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing LA Are you able to embrace fear, put it aside, and nail that big opportunity or performance? In this episode, Kevin and Lauren speak with bestselling author and television star, Tracy Tutor. Tracy shares her path of entering the L.A. luxury home real estate market at a young age, and the drive and determination that it required. She also shares what she has learned about what it takes to be successfu...

BONUS: Hosts Drs. Kevin Harris and Lauren S. Tashman discuss their conversation with Nashville entrepreneur and artist manager, Justin Causey. The highlight is a conversation about the give and take of saying “yes” versus “no,” from the risk of taking on too much to the risk of missing an opportunity. Kevin and Lauren also touch on the power of a like-minded collective and ponder the relationship between participation in high-risk sports and the willingness to take chances in the artistic space.

Justin Causey, Entrepreneur and Music Artist Manager Are you willing to take the Ls in order to get to the Ws? In this episode we speak with Justin Causey about his experiences as an entrepreneur and artist manager in Nashville’s rising hip-hop music scene. Justin discusses his path in the music business, designing a shoe for Nike, and being named one of Tennessee State University’s 40 under 40. Listen to hear him share how a serious injury solidified his entrepreneurial approach, the rarity of ...

Dr. David Eccles, Professor of Sport Psychology at Florida State University (Parts 1 & 2; Science of High Performance) Do you have the patience to temporarily slow down enough in the midst of a high stakes situation to cultivate the best next move? Across two episodes we speak with Dr. Dave Eccles about his 20+ years of research on expert performance in a variety of domains. He describes research findings on how athletes plan ahead and simulate the competitive environment, his fascinating work o...

Dr. David Eccles, Professor of Sport Psychology at Florida State University (Parts 1 & 2; Science of High Performance) Do you have the patience to temporarily slow down enough in the midst of a high stakes situation to cultivate the best next move? Across two episodes we speak with Dr. Dave Eccles about his 20+ years of research on expert performance in a variety of domains. He describes research findings on how athletes plan ahead and simulate the competitive environment, his fascinating work o...

BONUS: Hosts Drs. Kevin Harris and Lauren S. Tashman discuss their conversation with Olympic Gold Medalist, Former CEO of USA Canoe/Kayak, and Performance Coach with the mic hot. Highlights include the idea of holding competing emotions (excited and nervous), being in the right place at the right time, and a discussion about the purpose of the pre-performance routine. Keep listening to The Path Distilled Podcast to catch future discussions about the pros and cons of goal setting.

Joe Jacobi, Olympic Gold Medalist, Former CEO of USA Canoe/Kayak, and Performance Coach Do you focus on and remember more about your start lines or finish lines? In this episode, we speak with Lauren’s Valor Performance colleague, Joe Jacobi, about his sport career, as well as his experiences with leading a national governing body which led him to becoming a performance coach. Joe joins us from Catalonia, Spain, and shares his “outlier” story of getting involved in the sport, his case for a good...

BONUS: Hosts Drs. Kevin Harris and Lauren S. Tashman discuss their conversation with stand-up comedian and podcaster Brian Bates with the microphone hot. Highlights include their discussion about developing an identity as a comic, comedy as a coping and defense mechanism, and the tremendous amount of work that goes into comedy. Kevin also shares his perspective from having performed stand-up including comedic timing and the pitfall of “my friends think I’m funny.”

Brian Bates, Stand-up Comedian, and Cohost of Nateland Podcast Would you have what it takes if your dream opportunity came true? In this episode we speak with Brian Bates about his career in comedy, and more recently, podcasting. Brian shares his path from taking a comedy class as a distraction from life events to touring the country and performing in theaters with world-class comedians. We also discuss Brian’s adjustments going from the corporate world to the life of a comic, the work ethic req...

Dr. Emily Pica, Forensic Psychology Researcher and Advocate for Wrongfully Convicted Would a major life detour derail you or would you defy expectations? In this episode, Dr. Emily Pica discusses her path from having a child at 14, to all of her initial PhD applications being rejected, to becoming a well known researcher and advocate. She also discusses her battles with impostor syndrome, the value of criticism, and how much she loves mentoring students. Her story will inspire students, budding ...

Jeremy Tubbs, Director of Music Entertainment, University of Memphis – Lambuth Campus, Music Recording and Touring Artist How would your friends and family react to learning that you decided to pursue music as a career instead of continuing the 3rd year of your pre-med track? In this episode of The Path Distilled, Jeremy Tubbs shares his path, from hating his first guitar lessons to touring the world. Listen to hear him discuss the encouragement he received to make music his profession, his ulti...