Unbound
Conversations Without Limits
Stephen McDonnell
https://www.liveunbound.com/podcast
41
Explore the Stories, Secrets, and Skills of the World’s Top Performers
Discover how the highest performers push beyond limitations to get to the top of their game.
Host and high-performance consultant Stephen McDonnell, gets up close and personal with world-class performers, revealing secrets to their success. The podcast features several series across high-performing industries, including business, sports, entertainment and more. Hear stories, ground-breaking insights and practical nuggets to uncover how they achieve excellence.
These conversations are real, honest, courageous and great fun. Each episode is designed to provoke, educate, inspire and empower you to achieve the impossible. No topic is off-limits!
Stephen McDonnell is the founder of Live Unbound, a consultancy working with the world’s highest-performing leaders and teams. We are on a mission to unleash humanity's individual and collaborative potential, and together we can achieve the impossible.
Unbound Conversations launching December 2022’
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#41: Karen Eber | How to Influence & Inspire Through Storytelling
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Unlock the power of storytelling with Karen Eber and learn how great stories build leaders, inspire action, and transform communications.
Unbound Tool #10 The Mental Cost of Constant Virtual Connectivity with Sarah McKay
Discover how digital life impacts well-being – Sarah McKay explores social media addiction, lost connections, and mental health risks.
Unbound Tool #9 How to Create and Maintain Powerful Connections with Jordan Harbinger
What if you could build a network based on trust and mutual respect, without ever asking for anything in return?
#40: Robin Dunbar | The Science of Human Connection and Evolution
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Robin Dunbar, a renowned anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist, delves into human connection and the evolution of social structures.
Unbound Tool #8 123 Days Alone: Finding Joy in the Struggle
In this Unbound Tool, we explore the profound power of inner dialogue and how it shapes our mental and emotional well-being.
#39: Marc Brackett | Harnessing Emotional Intelligence in Life and Leadership
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Marc Brackett discusses the impact of negativity bias, extroversion vs. introversion, and the key role of emotional intelligence in leadership.
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Unbound Tool #7 Mastering the “Five Mountains” in 2025 with Mark Divine
Mark Divine, former Navy SEAL commander, reveals how mastering physical, mental, emotional, intuitional, and spiritual aspects.
Unbound Tool #6 Harvest your learnings from 2024 with Rupal Patel
Rupal Patel, a former CIA intelligence analyst, has developed an annual tradition called the "Capture Your Year" exercise.
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#38: Dr. Alia Bojilova | Increase your Resilience with former SAS Psychologist
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Dr. Alia Bojilova, former special forces psychologist and resilience expert, unpacks human behaviour and psychological resilience.
Unbound Tool #1 Your Toolkit for Psychological Safety
This clip comes from episode 33 with Dr David Burkus, author and renowned organisational psychologist.
Unbound Tool #5 Rebuilding from Rock Bottom with Megan Henry
Megan Henry, a lifelong athlete playing two Division 1 sports, field hockey and track, faced an unexpected health crisis that abruptly ended her competitive career.
#37: Dr. Sarah Sarkis | Curiosity as a Catalyst for Growth
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Dr. Sarah Sarkis, a clinical psychologist and high-performance coach, dives into her journey of relentless curiosity and its transformative power.
Unbound Tool #4 Overcoming Fear with Damian Browne
In facing immense challenges, Damian Brown teaches us to be aware of ourselves and get out of the victim mentality.
#36: Chris Voss | Good Things Happen When You Run To Trouble
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Chris Voss, a former FBI hostage negotiator, unpacks high-stakes hostage negotiations and effective communication strategies in life and leadership.
Unbound Tool #3 Design Conditions that Drive Team Performance with Ruth Wageman
Ruth Wageman is among the foremost scholars and practitioners studying and working with teams, especially leadership teams.
#35: Tim Fletcher | Redefining Connection, Trauma and Healing
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A pioneer in the addictions and mental health treatment profession, Tim Fletcher delves into the journey of trauma, healing and self-discovery.
Unbound Tool #2 Lessons from a CIA Agent: The Best Way to Lead with Rupal Patel
As a CIA officer, Rupal's job was to analyse intelligence and brief high-level officials, from Presidents to generals.
#34: Amy Edmondson | Creating High-Performance Cultures
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Expert leadership scholar Amy Edmondson unpacks psychological safety, the need for belonging, and overcoming imposter syndrome in teams.
#33: Dr David Burkus | How to Build a High-Performing Team
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Renowned organisational psychologist Dr David Burkus unpacks how to enhance team performance and create meaningful work environments.
#32: Nuala Walsh | How to Make World Class Decisions
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In a fast-paced, noisy, and overloaded world, Behavioral Scientist Nuala Walsh explains why we tune out what matters and how we can "tune in" and leverage the insights we need to become more decisive and impactful leaders.
#31: George Kohlrieser | Applying hostage negotiation tactics in leadership
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Hostage negotiator, clinical psychologist, and leadership expert George Kohlrieser has an unconventional approach to developing high-performing leaders - one that explores the impact of fear, loss, and personal transformation.
#30: Whitney Johnson | Disrupt Yourself
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What if achieving mastery was simply a matter of navigating the predictable stages of growth mapped by the S-curve model?
#29: Brian Pennie | Overcoming Trauma, Breaking Barriers & Living Good
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After a near-death experience, Brian Pennie a former heroin addict for 15 years made a decision that transformed his entire existence.
#28: Eímear Noone | Irish Culture, Mindset & Breaking Barriers
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Eímear Noone, an Irish composer and conductor, made history in 2020 by becoming the first woman to conduct at the Oscars.
#27: Sarah McKay | Neuroscience, Managing Tech Consumption & Digital Overload
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Neuroscientist and science communicator Sarah McKay examines the impact of digital overload on mental health.
#26: Dan “Nitro” Clark | Trauma, Focus & Trusting the Process
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When former American Gladiator Dan "Nitro" Clark suffered a heart attack, it forced him to confront his reality. It sparked a journey of self-reflection to process past traumas, re-evaluate his purpose, and discover what is truly fulfilling.
#25: Pete Paciorek | Leveraging the Four Pillars of Character for Success
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Discover a research-backed model for developing well-rounded champions through intentional character-building.
#24: Gerry Hussey | Choose your Hard
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In today's uncertain times, much feels beyond our control. Yet, how we respond is always our choice.
#23: Chris Johnson | The Neuroscience Behind Your Limitations
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Learn how elite performers think and operate, drawing on over a decade of working with US Army Special Operations and top sports teams.
#22: Andy Walshe | Exploring the Edges of Human Potential
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Step into the explorer mindset and go to the edges of human potential with Andy Walshe, a globally recognised leader in elite human performance.
#21: Gerd Leonhard | Humans, Artificial Intelligence & The Future
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Often, we think the future is far away, but leading futurist and humanist Gerd Leonhard says the future is already here, and it’s better than we think.
#20: Kieran Read | Life Lessons from the legendary former All Blacks captain
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Kieran Read, a former Crusaders and All Blacks captain, applies lessons from rugby to leadership coaching.
#19: William Trubridge | A Deep Dive Into Extreme High Performance
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William Trubridge, a 7x World Champion freediver who holds 18 world records, takes us on a journey into the world of freediving and high performance. Renowned for his groundbreaking achievements, William shares the mindset required to excel in life.
#18: Owen Eastwood | Belonging & Building the Optimal High Performance Environment
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Performance Coach Owen Eastwood draws on his own Maori ancestry and Whakapapa, a Maori concept that embodies our universal human need to belong and applies it to building high performing teams.
#17: Eric Larsen | Pushing Personal Limits
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Eric Larsen is the first and only person to go to the South Pole, North Pole and the top of Everest in one year. In this episode, you’ll hear his motivations, leadership approach, lessons learnt from his cancer diagnosis, and his ‘train hard, travel easy’ philosophy.
#16: Jef van den Hout | Maximising Team Performance Through Flow
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What does it take to keep a team in a constant state of flow? Jef van den Hout, Founder of Flow Concepts® Group, Team Flow Researcher and Positive Organizational Psychologist unravels climates for optimal collaboration and moments of team flow.
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#15: Brian Ferguson | Doing Hard Things in Life
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Brian Ferguson, the Founder and CEO of Arena Labs and Partner + Co-Founder of Liminal Collective is pioneering the field of High Performance Medicine and human performance, enabling frontline medical teams to achieve mastery in their roles while pushing the boundaries of human potential.
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#14: Krishna Thapa | Integrating Ancient Wisdom & Philosophy into Modern Life
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World-leading high-altitude mountaineer & ex-SAS Leader, Krishna Thapa reveals how he applies Buddhism and Eastern philosophy to excel in leadership and overcome dark periods of his life.
#13: Woniya Thibeault | Lessons from the edge of life
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As the first female contestant to win Alone, an extreme wilderness survival experience, Woniya Thibeault shares her story of pushing beyond perceived human limitations just below the Arctic Circle for a combined 143 days.
#12: Megan Henry | The Power of the Mind
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Former USA #1 and soldier Megan Henry details the strategies and tactics on how she overcame a life-threatening diagnosis to make it back to perform on the world's highest stage.
#11: Billy Hedderman | The ‘Never Give Up Guy’
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Former Irish and Australian Army officer delves into the elite world of special forces that demands excellence and focus while sharing his journey back from paralysis.
#10: Niall Horgan | Embracing the Unknown
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Gym+Coffee CEO opens up about leaving the world of sports, stepping out of his comfort zone and into the unknown.
#09: Patrick Sweeney | Living With No Limits
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From living in fear to hearing he may have two weeks left to live, Patrick shares his journey to building resilience, embracing courage and how you can do almost anything when you face your fears.
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#08: Dr. Brent Hogarth | Mastering Flow State for Peak Performance
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Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Executive Flow Coach Dr. Brent Hogarth is on a mission to help solve the mental health crisis through flow state.
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#07: Stephen McDonnell | How to win with a champion’s mindset
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Today’s episode is from Neville O’Donoghue’s BenchCast podcast, where I reflect on my time as a former Cork Hurling Captain and what we can learn from high stake moments.
#06: Ruth Wageman PhD | Creating, Coaching and Leading World Class Teams
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Ruth Wageman is among the foremost scholars and practitioners studying and working with leadership teams. She focuses on the conditions that influence superb team performance.
#05: Jordan Harbinger | Using Psychological Tactics to Win in Life
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Jordan Harbinger, once referred to as “The Larry King of podcasting,” is a Wall Street lawyer turned interview talk-show host, and a communications and social dynamics expert.
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#04: Dan Doty | Building Open-hearted Connections
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Dan Doty is a father, writer, wilderness guide, somatic meditation teacher, and global leader of the current men's movement. His work brings our wildness and our love out into the open.
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#03: Mark Divine | Feeding the Courage Wolf
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Mark Divine is a former Navy SEAL Commander and honour man, entrepreneur, New York Times best-selling author, philanthropist, and one of the world’s top leadership experts.
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#02: Rupal Patel | The CIA Toolkit for Life
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The intelligence analyst turned entrepreneur founder Rupal Patel joins the show today to share how she made the transition from CIA to CEO. She is the author of ‘From CIA to CEO’.
#01: Damian Browne | Listening to your Inner Compass
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For 25 years today’s guest Damian Browne has pursued his human potential, relentlessly pushing his physical, mental and emotional state to their perceived limits.
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