Training for Pressure with Greg Poss

As a professional hockey coach, I always thought if I could win a championship, that would be the ultimate. Well, in 2007, with the Mannheim Eagles, we won the championship. About 15 minutes after we raised the trophy, The fear already started setting in. It started fading so quickly, I couldn't believe it. By 1 o'clock in the morning, I was at the McDonald's drive-thru and I was like, what the hell? This was this big thing I was waiting for all my life? Sure, it was fun, but that was because I put my belief in that was going to be the thing that was going to make me super happy. And it did, but it fades.

Welcome to the Revenue Builders podcast, a weekly show featuring B2B sales leaders and executives. Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management co-founder John Kaplan, the show takes guests in the barrel, behind the scenes with the people who've been there, done that, and seen the results. Revenue Builders covers best practices for scaling and growing your business while sharing the pitfalls to avoid.

Welcome back to the Revenue Builders Podcast. Today, we're diving deep into the ultimate differentiator in elite performance, which is the mental game. In high-stake enterprise sales, just like in professional sports, talent alone is not enough. It's about resilience, managing pressure, and maintaining an elite mindset when the stakes are high and the room is tough. Joining us today is someone who has mastered this at the highest levels. Greg Pass spent decades coaching professional hockey across the United States and Europe, including leading the ECHL Everblades to the Kelly Cup Championship and the German national team to a championship. Today, he has translated that high pressure leadership experience into a career as an elite mental strength coach, helping individuals and teams unlock peak performance by mastering their mindset.

I think you'll enjoy this podcast. Welcome, Greg.

Hey, Greg, so welcome back. Last time we had you on the podcast, we focused on the mindset and what it takes to consistently perform at an elite level. For instance, we talked about this is very memorable. We talked about the higher brain and the lower brain, and we discussed how people need to tap into the higher brain. And you said, you know, there's a constant battle between the lower brain, and if I remember right, that's the amygdala, the fear center, and the higher brain, which functions on logic, flow, and creativity. So give us a little overview again, again, about the higher brain and the lower brain and why we need to tap into the higher brain.

Could you just correct him on the amygdala for me, please? Because I can't let that one go.

What did I say?

I don't know what you said.

Amygdala.

You said amygdala.

Go

ahead, Greg.

You knew what I was talking about. Yeah, he did.

All

right.

Yeah. Well, the deal is that we're programmed to have a lower brain. It's an excellent survival mechanism. It kept us living and propagating the species. in getting us to this point. But we don't need to survive anymore. We need to thrive. So you can be somewhat successful in the lower brain if you're really, really talented, and you're a little bit lucky. But you're leaving a lot