The Entrepreneurs Radio Show 003 Dr Jacques Dallaire

THE ENTREPRENEUR’S RADIO SHOW

Conversations with Self-made Millionaires and High-level Entrepreneurs that Grow Your Business

Copyright © 2012, 2013 The Entrepreneur‟s Radio Show of 20

EPISODE #3: DR JACQUES DALLAIRE, performance specialist

Introduction: You‟re listening to Diamonds in Your Own Backyard. The business owner‟s guide to

discovering success, wealth, and happiness within your own business where each week you‟ll hear

inspirational stories, strategies, and inside secrets of some of the most powerful small business owners

themselves. On the Amazing Women of Power Network powered by Raven International, and now here

is your host Travis Lane Jenkins and Sandra Champlain.

Dr. Jacques Dallaire

Travis: Hello, Travis Lane Jenkins here.

Sandra: And this is Sandra Champlain, and we would like to welcome you to our show. Today‟s guest

is Dr. Jacques Dallaire. Dr. Dallaire is an internationally recognized performance specialist who has

worked with thousands of high level athletes, race car drivers, occupational specialists, and business

professionals over the past forty years. His approach and techniques are being used by some of

today‟s most successful elite performers from many walks of life. His knowledge is now available to

everyone to Dr. Dallaire‟s newly released book “Performance Thinking”, so Welcome Dr. Jacques.

Dr. Jacque: Thank you very much.

Travis: Welcome to the show.

Dr. Jacque: Thanks

Travis: So Sandra,

Sandra: Doc, Oh I just want to thank you for being here. I work in the hospitality business with race car

teams providing food and hospitality and travelling all over the United States, and that‟s how I met

Jacque a couple years ago I think.

Travis: Oh, I believe it‟s been longer than that Sandra.

Sandra: I don‟t even remember, I just remember it.

Travis: It‟s been a while.

Sandra: It‟s been a while you‟ve been a smiling face under our tent, and I‟ve always been busy cooking

and preparing meals and you‟ve always just been more than welcoming, And a couple of months ago

you handed me an autographed copy of your book Performance Thinking, and it has made a profound

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difference in my life and it‟s just been an honour to know you and to have you in the show today. So

thanks for being here.

Dr. Jacques: I appreciate the invitation and the opportunity to chat with you both.

Travis: Well, you‟re more that welcome. I have heard a lot about you, so I‟m super excited. I have done

a little reading on you, and I was wondering if you can open things up and tells us a little about your

book, and where you got started and if you were always extremely successful.

Dr. Jacques: Well, I think like everybody else in society. I was very effective at sabotaging myself in

the early days. Because I didn‟t really understand how that process of mental self sabotage actually

occurred. Over time, over the years, working with literally thousands of high performance people from

many different walks of life, I have come to realize in talking to these individuals, highly successful

people many of them multiple world champions, champions in their sport, or at the top levels of their

profession. I‟ve come to realize that they‟ve sabotage themselves the same way I did, and over time

that awareness has allowed me to put a kind of a framework, or structure to the process of self

sabotage, and more importantly to start to look at ways on which we can change the way we think

about thinking, because ultimately that self sabotage that occurred is a function of mentally how we

think. So, I started off working in the Department of Exercise Science at a university, working with high

performance Olympic athletes as an assistant to some of my professors back in the early to mid

seventies just doing physiological testing and things of that nature. So I was kind of a technician, and I

was involved in helping to evaluate the skill sets and the physical capabilities of these high performance

people. And that‟s kind of what got me rolling along in that process. Over time I have taught at the

university for a number of years, I was in government as the manager of science and medicine

programs at Sports Canada, in Canada. We don‟t really have an equivalent to that here in the United

States, but I guess the closest person to what I was doing would be the individual at the US Olympic

committee that‟s responsible for coordinating the sports science and sports medicine programs that are

offered to national sport governing bodies. So I was involved in management if you will, and also in

funding through grants and other processes. We search grants as well as sports science support

programs.

Travis: Well how did that lead to some of the big superstars that you deal with now, I mean, how did

you transition in to this high level?

Dr. Jacques: Well it was actually, believe it or not simply a process of evolution at the time that I was

working with Sports Canada. As a hobby, if you will, because I come from Guillian University prior to

that. I had started a program with a colleague, my late colleague Dr. Dan Moricci and we started

working back in the very early eighties with high performance race car drivers, and it turns out, because

Montreal was a stop in the Formula One circuit that in fact I started my work in racing motor sports with

drivers, athletes at the formula one level which is really unusual if you understand the sport.

Sandra: Wow.




Dr. Jacques: And I kind of back into it and over time as I got to know drivers better and the demands

involved in racing their interest grew in finding out how do I optimize my performance so that I can be

better in the race car. Faster, last longer, and so on and that began the process of working with more

and more people in racing world. At this point, I think the last couple of drivers that had visit with me

were the 710th and 711th type performance drivers I worked with over the years, but I‟ve also worked

with private pilots, and surgeons, musicians, actors, business executives, people in sales, fashion

models, stick and ball sports, all kinds of individuals who have all found out about our programs and

through word of mouth.

Travis: Alright. I want to point at one thing, I think, I believe this is surprising for most. I think most

people would be surprised that superstars are people that we perceive as superstars have negative

thought processes or tend to get in their own way with their negative thought processes. So I guess it‟s

surprising to me and I think it would be surprising to most other people that these high level people

have that problem.

Dr. Jacque: I agree with you Travis completely.

Dr. Jacques: Most people would say these are the most capable individuals out there.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: Look at what they have accomplished, and we wouldn‟t dream that they wrestle with the

same issues like every one of us does. But let me share with you some information I think you‟ll find

very revealing.

Travis: Okay.

Dr. Jacque: One of the things that I, I‟ve tried to soften them up a little bit when they come and visit me

and spend two days in a very comprehensive one on one program.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacque: I basically ask them a simple question. What the heck are you doing here? What is it that

you want? If you could change one thing about yourself, that you know deep inside this is the reason

why you don‟t always manifest those superlative performances that sometimes you‟re capable of. What

stops you from delivering your A game? Every single time you go to compete, it doesn‟t matter what

profession they‟re from, what their occupation is, how old they are, whether it‟s a man or woman, what

culture they‟re from, what language they speak, the same two things come back more than 90% of the

time. The same two things.

Travis: What?

Dr. Jacques : The same two things.




Travis: I think I knew, I think I knew what it is but…

Dr. Jacques: It would be an interesting question for the listeners to ponder. What stops you as a

listener from delivering the A game performance that sometimes you‟re capable of? What gets in the

way of delivering the best you‟re capable of? When you‟re towing the line and it‟s go time? Here‟s what

they ask of me, remember these are multiple world champions, series champions, people who are at

the top of their profession.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: They say, “Show me how to keep my confidence high when things are not going well.”

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacque: It‟s easy to be confident when things are going great. It‟s a horse of very different colour if

they‟re not.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: If I start to doubt myself, my performance goes down. That‟s one of the two things. The

second thing is that “show me how to focus more effectively, and when I lose my focus how do I get it

back quickly, because if I am distracted, if am not fully connected in the moment to what I‟m doing I do

not do my best work. So the key variables are consonance and the correct focus, and when I did

seminars with corporate groups, fourteen, it does not matter.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: And I pose that question to the audience within thirty seconds, almost 100% of the time

the first two things that come up are fear of failure, self doubt, and lack of confidence, and distractions,

not being correctly focused.

Travis: Right. Something very similar come in to mind for me is negativity and I think it‟s the just a form

of what you‟re saying, is some type of negative void that comes in one night, and during those

moments and also lack of focus.

Dr. Jacques: Well one drives the other.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: If you think about it, the issue of negativity, fear of failing, self doubt, however we want to

describe it, it comes back centrally to the issue of confidence or lack thereof. And here‟s the problem

with a loss of confidence, when our confidence is shaken, we start to worry. Our focus of attention shift

from what we should focus on to what it is we‟re worried about.

Travis: A very good point.




Dr. Jacques: And ultimately, the core of the onion is the ability to focus in the moment on the task in

front of you to the exclusion of everything else that in that moment simply becomes a distraction. I‟m

convinced of that Travis that over the last 40 years of working with thousands of high performance

people that that is the holy grail of the performance equation.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: The ability to focus in the moment on the tasks in front of us with the exclusion of

everything else that becomes irrelevant in that moment. That is the core of the onion, the next layer out

is the issue of confidence. Because when we start to doubt ourselves, our focus our internal focus of

attention, that mind chatter you were talking about, shifts our thoughts away from what we should be

focused on what we‟re doing to what we are worried about, not doing it well enough, not being

successful, and all the consequences that failing might represent for us in that situation.

Travis: Right.

Sandra: For me, I never realize how automatic my thoughts were. I thought my thoughts were me. I

thought my thoughts were Sandra Champlain. I thought that little voice inside my head was me. And

maybe you can speak of it just a little bit, where these thoughts come from, why do we have the lack of

confidence, this fear. I know a lot of that comes from our past and it was new concept for me to learn

that I could actually shift my thinking that I‟m in control with some of the thoughts that are running

through my head.

Travis: That‟s a good point Sandra. I think Fear to ask this question. How many people do you think,

think about the quality of their thinking?

Travis: Not very much.

Dr. Jacques: Most people are not self aware in that way, in fact they don‟t think about the quality or the

nature of their thinking. They simply think and respond to things that happen to them. They react to

their in their environment. They don‟t stop and police their thoughts, they simply react, and their

reactions are habits. Habits define by our experiences, our value systems, our belief systems, the

things that happened to us in the past, and we automatically tend to gravitate to those habitual

responses. But what we have to do is we have to understand that we control our dominant thoughts,

and then we have to exercise that control.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: Because it‟s easy enough to understand, okay I can choose to think one way or I can

choose to think another, but if we don‟t effectively make that choice and choose, we simply react to the

environment around us.

Travis: Right.




Sandra: Can you make an example of that like on the court, like how somebody can control or focus on

their dominant thoughts?

Dr. Jacques: Well, let me use an analogy that might help people to understand how we can steer our

thoughts. If the holy grail of this performance equation is the ability to direct our focus to the right thing

at the right time, we can always imagine that our beam of concentration is like the beam of light from a

flashlight. We can choose to point that flashlight at one object, or we can choose to shift that beam of

light to another object some distance away from us. It‟s our choice right. We can shine it over here, or

we can shine it over there. We are in control of that beam of light of that beam of concentration. In the

same way, we can make the choice to exercise our beam of focus by choosing to focus on one thing, or

making an active choice to redirect it and focusing on somewhere else. We can intensify our focus, turn

the head of that flashlight and narrow the beam and intensify it or kind of the spotlight would do, or we

can open it up and soften it more like a floodlight would do.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: The truth of it is just with the same way we control a flashlight when we walk into a room.

We can walk into a room and effectively take control of our focus of attention to direct it to the right fix.

Here‟s a problem with people that I hear all time. Their response to me is this, all I have to do is focus

harder and my performance will be better, right? How many times do we hear that?

Travis: Right.

Sandra: All the time.

Dr. Jacques: All the time. Let me ask you a simple question. If the thing you‟re focussed on is the

wrong thing, how does focusing harder help?

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: It doesn‟t. Does it?

Travis: Yeah.

Sandra: Maybe.

Dr. Jacques: It makes the problem worse.

Travis: Yeah. No matter how hard your focus...

Dr. Jacques: Because the focus of attention ends up on the wrong thing and you simply focus on that

wrong thing harder.

Travis: Right.




Dr. Jacques: And invariably that is how we shoot ourselves in the foot. That‟s how we sabotage

ourselves, by focusing on the incorrect thing. So the secret is not focusing more, it‟s focusing correctly

to the situation or circumstance we‟re in.

Travis: So let me ask you this. We have successful people and now obviously they have figured

something out or they wouldn‟t be successful, right? One of the things you say is everyone has these

negative thoughts and ineffective ways of thinking. What does successful people right versus everyone

else that made them successful and I know it varies with each case but what is the common

denominator is normally?

Dr. Jacques: Well I would think their attitude of perseverance is one of them for sure, never giving up,

but it‟s a relative issue, they have exceptional skills for focusing.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: And they have tremendous confidence probably much more so than the norm. But yet

that is the very thing they are looking for even more of. So they all are very good at directing their focus

of attention and in fact generally have tremendous self confidence, but where they crumble in their

world it‟s still the function of those two things, they are just better at it than the most.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: So it‟s a relative thing, it‟s not that they are bad at it. They‟re actually very good, they‟re

better than most, but that still represents their Achilles heel, the thing that gets in the way of them

consistently delivering superlative performances. It doesn‟t matter what the action is, what the job is

that they‟re reacting to.

Travis: So what‟s the big picture? Let‟s take it down to local business owners, because that‟s who we

speak to and that‟s where our passion is. So how does a local business owner find this over arching

focus and get crystal clear on what they need to do to either take their business to the next level or to

steer around the things that have been going on in the economy? How can we take this skill sets and

apply it to the business?

Dr. Jacques: Well, I‟d like to simplify success down to a very simple equation. Find a piece of pencil

and paper, and write this word to the right side of the page. RESULTS.

Travis: Okay.

Dr. Jacques: It‟s funny. I‟ve never met anybody in forty years in dealing with many thousands of high

performance people. I‟ve never ever had someone come to me and say, “My goal is to be a loser, I

would like to fail, and I really, really hope that I come in last.” It‟s not funny. No one has ever said that.

Of course it would be ludacristic to expect anybody to say something like that. Because the reality of it

is every single person, every listener out there right now is interested in and wants to be successful.




Now, there are some people who don‟t know how to be successful, there are also many people who

don‟t believe they can be successful, but everyone wants to be successful, everybody wants good

results. Why? For the simple reason that the rising tide lifts all boats, so we don‟t have to ask the

question of each other. Do you really want to be successful? Because the answer intuitively is

absolutely I do.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: Who wouldn‟t? So the real question, the important question becomes how do we create

results? What is the formula to create the best results possible? I‟m going to give you the answer right

now. I want you to write to the left of that word “RESULTS “equal sign to the left of that I simply want

you to put the letters A times B.

Travis: A times B or A plus B?

Dr. Jacques: A times B.

Travis and Sandra: Okay.

Dr. Jacques: So the equation reads, A times B equals results.

Travis: Okay.

Dr. Jacques: Okay, so what the heck does that do? Well let‟s break it down to its simple factors. The A

in this equation represents what I bring to the party -- the knowledge, the skills, the experience that I

bring to my moment of performance whether it‟s a negotiation, a presentation, dealing with a difficult

management issue. Whether it‟s driving a race car or operating on somebody‟s brain, I don‟t care what

it is. What I bring to the party at the moment of my performance is what I‟ve got. I can‟t stand there at

the starting line and wave a magic wand and all of a sudden have more knowledge, more skill, more

experience because I got what I‟ve got. I‟ve got the hand I‟ve been dealt. The challenge is to bring it,

because it‟s not good enough just to have it. I also need to put in effort and bring the commitment to

deliver it to that moment of my performance, because I could be lazy and not bring my A game to what

I‟m doing.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: So let‟s argue for the moment that every one of us listening bring to the next big moment

of our performance, our true and honest to God A game. Are we guaranteed to get the results we

want?

Sandra: No.

Dr. Jacques: Of course we‟re not. Because if we were, the equation would read A = results.




Dr. Jacques: And it doesn‟t. Does it?

Travis and Sandra: No.

Dr. Jacques: Let‟s understand the fundamental truth of that statement even if we bring the best we‟re

capable of we are not guaranteed with the outcome that we so desperately want. Why? Because there

a second variable in this equation.

Travis: Okay.

Dr. Jacques: The B factor, and by definition the B factors are simply all the factors that we can‟t

control. Marketplace forces, legislative requirements, what other competitors do equipment that breaks

down or malfunctions, whatever it happens to be. All the various things that are generally are outside of

our control often do have an influence on the outcome, don‟t they?

Travis: Yes.

Dr. Jacques: Now it doesn‟t always mean that they‟re negative B‟s. Now, it doesn‟t always mean that

these B factors work against us, sometimes they actually work in our favor, good luck rather than bad

luck, sometimes they are a B+ rather than a B -. In life, sometimes they‟re the windshield instead of the

bug.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: However, it doesn‟t matter. There are always variables. Sometimes those B‟s are very big

and they have a substantive influence on the outcome. Another instance they‟re small Bs and even

though they might be + or - it don‟t really have much of an impact on the outcome.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: And everything in between so the truth is results are a consequence of what we bring to

the moment of our performance influenced by things we can‟t control. Would you agree to that

intellectually?

Travis: Yes.

Dr. Jacques: I think most people would if you break it down that simplistically it makes sense. Here is

the kicker. Can you trust it emotionally? Because if you do, it takes all the pressure off. Here‟s the basic

truth you can‟t control results because you can‟t control the B factors in the equation.

Travis: Alright.

Dr. Jacques: How many people do you know who worry like heck about the results? Who are focussed

on the results, who are worrying and fearing not getting the results while they‟re in the process of

delivering the performance itself?




Travis: I think practically everybody.

Dr. Jacques: You got it, and I can put a number to it. You‟re right in fact one of the question is I used in

the evaluation leading up to nice program touches on what are the dominant motivators people focused

on when they are engaged in the act of their performance. Based on 450 high performance people,

taken from different occupations, about 55% of their dominant thought process is directed towards the

actual process of execution of whatever they were doing. 30% is directed towards results and the fear

of not getting them, and 15% on average is directed towards screwing up or the fear of failure.

Sandra: Wow!

Dr. Jacques: In fact, most people when they engage their performances are doing so with almost the

equivalent of one mental hand tied behind their back because they are focused on something they

cannot control -- the outcome of the event or the activity in which they are engaged, rather than the

process that actually gets them there. So let‟s use an example in the world of sales, how effective do

you think a sales person will be if when they go into a sales call their thought process is well, I‟m going

to be rejected again. I‟ve had the door slammed in my face 10 times now already today. This is

undoubtedly going to be number 11, and what happens when if I don‟t get this sale? What happens

when I don‟t start making headway? What‟s the boss going to say? I won‟t make my quota. I won‟t get

my bonus. How am I going to pay my mortgage at the end of the month? If that‟s the thought process, if

that‟s the internal mind chatter going on while the person is engaged with that prospective customer,

how effective do you think he is going to be in really connecting with that person and describing the

value proposition? Not very much.

Travis: Well, obviously he or she is not present for what they‟re doing. Right? There not completely

present.

Dr. Jacques: But they are very focused, aren‟t they?

Travis: Yeah.

Dr. Jacques: They are focused on the wrong thing. I would say that the single biggest error that people

in the corporate market place are doing today, results are so important managers and bosses keep

pounding on the heads of their employees -- focus on results it‟s all about results, results, results. What

happens is, unfortunately, the employees start to focussing more and more on the outcome of what

they‟re doing, and by focusing more and more on the outcome, we are focusing less and less on what?

The process that leads to that outcome.

Travis: It‟s a vicious cycle.

Dr. Jacques: It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. The more we worry about what‟s coming, the less

we are focused on what‟s happening right now.




Travis: Right.

Sandra: Jacques, I don‟t know if people really get how important this is, there just a flash that went

across my screen because I‟m having a brain surgeon working on my brain who is focused on the

results not being present in working on my brain or focused on not being enough or the best person to

do the job it‟s not very good for my well being. It‟s also not good to have a race car driver that‟s afraid of

a certain corner or afraid of certain drivers, I mean that could wreak havoc on these types of

performance athletes going 200 miles per hour. And just to correlate that to any entrepreneur, any

business owner, whether it‟s a salesman or any one of us, it‟s the same life or death situation. Really,

like whatever we give our attention to is what is going to win.

Dr. Jacques: Let‟s go back to the comment I made earlier as well about confidence for example. What

do most people, just a majority of people define their confidence by. When is our confidence shaken?

Travis: Well, most people define their confidence by their accomplishments.

Dr. Jacques: That‟s right. By the results we achieve. Confidence tends to be great when things are

going well, and confidence tends to sink when they‟re not.

Sandra: Right.

Dr. Jacques: And yet a little while ago, we all agreed on the conclusion that we can‟t control outcomes.

We can‟t control results. And yet when we insist on defining our confidence around results but we can‟t

control results, then why can‟t we control confidence? And that‟s why people end up on a rollercoaster.

Their confidence is great when things are going well, but it hits the bottom when they‟re not.

Travis: So what‟s the answer to getting them off this vicious cycle?

Dr. Jacques: I think the answer is two parts. #1 let‟s be explicitly clear that results are important. In my

world, the people I deal with often results mean the difference between life and death.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: Let‟s say they state categorically right from the onset that results are really that important.

They are critical.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: Because I don‟t want managers and business owners to be saying “Oh okay, of course

now this guy is professing that results aren‟t important, we shouldn‟t focus on results. No, we need to

understand the results we‟re looking for. We need to understand what our goals are. Because the path

we take to those goals are defined by those goals. But when it comes time to deliver the performance

day by day, and in those big moments, don‟t worry about the outcome. Focus instead on the process of

what you‟re doing, and confidence should be about self belief to step into the challenge no matter how




big it is. When we can‟t control but to step into the challenge and bring the best you are absolutely

capable of to that situation. And if you are successful in doing that, the results that you accomplish will

be the best you could have gotten in that situation except for the impact of the deed. We can‟t do better

than the best we can do. So our goal our goal quite simplistically is simply to bring the best that we can

do, and to do that, it requires that we focus fully on what we‟re doing at the moment we‟re doing it.

Because anything that leads to our focus of attention being elsewhere, it draws away from our thought

process in the moment. And we violate one of the simple rules of the mental realm.

Sandra: Jacques can you give the example now that same salesman, how he can walk into that sales

presentation with his A game.

Dr. Jacques: Well, first of all, he has to understand what are the characteristics that define excellence

for him when he does his best work or she does her best work. Who is this person? Let‟s use some

words that probably would define that person. Confident, energized, a certain level of intensity, not too

laid back, but not over the top either, inspiring, communicative, a listener, enthusiastic, well prepared. If

that‟s the person who shows up, and who listens to, and communicates with prospective clients, if that‟s

what I‟m engaged in the interaction between myself and that person framing the value proposition

showing them how I can help them to be more successful. I‟m not going to be focused on all the

garbage that‟s on the other side of the wall.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: I am more likely to have the presence that the customers are going to say, “Wow. That‟s

sounds exciting. Heck, that guy really believes in what he‟s doing, maybe I should too.” Because the

flipside of that coin is also true. If the sales person comes across lacking confidence, being a bit of a

stumble bum not being well prepared, indecisive, not very convincing, if he doesn‟t believe in his

product, why in the world should I?

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: All things being equal. Who is going to do a better job, not only that, if I understand in my

own mind that I‟m not guaranteed the sales here because there may be other variables at play in this

environment that I don‟t even know about, that have impacted the decision of the person make my job

is to be to bring the best that I‟m capable of to the situation and make the best case possible for my

goods or my service or product. If I can do that then I can leave saying maybe not this time but maybe

next time I‟ll get them.

Travis: Well, what I‟m getting from it is, it allows you to hold on to the positive and let go of the

negative.

Dr. Jacques: Yes, and I‟ll go one step further than that because positive isn‟t good enough in a high

performance environment. This is not about the power of positive thinking although positive thinking is




certainly much better than negative thinking. It‟s not good enough by itself. How many people do you

know? Who are positive, happy positive people but they are scattered brain. They‟re unfocused.

Travis: Quite a few.

Dr. Jacques: So do I. And the truth is positive in the high performance world isn‟t good enough. I want

positive and task focused. Now we‟re cooking with gasoline.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: Give me someone who is able to be focused on what they‟re doing at the time they are

doing it and has a positive and productive mindset going in, and I‟ll show you the champion. I‟ll show

you the man or the woman who‟s the leader in the sales division.

Travis: Yeah, I agree with you 1000% that‟s how I found my success is being strategic about it. I get

crystal clear what I want to accomplish and then I create a plan on how to accomplish that, and then

adapt to a mindset that‟s nothing short of accomplishing what I needed to accomplish. In fact, I turned

everything that was a distraction off or tuned it out, so that I could be crystal clear on accomplishing my

goal. It sounds to me that‟s exactly what you‟re describing.

Dr. Jacques : Sure, focus in the moment on the task in front of us to the exclusion of everything else. If

we‟re capable of doing that, we will bring our A game consistently to what we do, and the more we

bring our A game to what we do the more effective we will be at dealing with ease that do occur and

generating results.

Sandra: Jacques, something came to my mind from your book and that‟s belief system. When I first

met Travis last year, I was struggling with my businesses, and a little bit of the „woe is me‟ victim mode.

And there in front of me was this man who shared his story. And Travis in several years time his

business turned $27M, and sitting here like, wow. I went directly to replace that he‟s got something that

I don‟t have. I remember reading in your book, you talked about the elephant being tethered to the little

post. You talked about a house of little fish were introduced into an aquarium; I‟m wondering if you

could share those stories and kind of relate that to our belief system because I think if we don‟t have a

belief system that we can have certain results, like we won‟t even take the time to create a mindset and

the focus.

Dr. Jacques: I think the examples you are referring to are really sort of the heart of the concept of

learned helplessness vs. learned optimism. An example of the elephant is, when the elephant trainer

bangs a stake to the ground in the middle of the elephant closure attaches a chain to that stake and

attaches the chain to the foot of the baby elephant. The baby elephant pulls and pulls and pulls and

cannot dislodge the stake and can‟t go beyond the circumference or the area of his particular

enclosure. Over time the elephant simply learns that his inability to go beyond the length of that chain is

simply a condition of his life, and he believed he is trained to become helpless beyond the extremity of

that border. To the point where as an adult elephant it could easily pull the stake out of the ground. Just




one swipe of his leg and yet it never does. It sits there in the enclosure fully confident in believing that

there is no possible way it can go beyond the enclosure that it‟s in. In fact they don‟t have to attach the

chain the stake anymore they simply lay the chain out on the ground with a loose loop around the

elephant‟s foot and they don‟t know.

Sandra: Wow!

Dr. Jacques: They have learned to become helpless because they have adopted the belief system

based on the circumstances that they have been put into. How often does that happen in business? I

can tell you this. Learned helplessness costs industries hundreds of billions of dollars every year across

the globe. We learn to become helpless and our gut response is why bother? Nobody really cares.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: So I learned to fly under the radar and just do the bare minimum to get by. What‟s the

cause of that mindset? It‟s huge. What if we were able to convince people and to show people how they

can bring their A game to what they do every single day, and even if all we are able to do is increase

their ability to increase to generate their A game by 5% everyday across all the employees in an

organization. What would be the impact of that in the bottom line?

Travis: It‟s exponential.

Sandra: Incredible.

Dr. Jacques: It would be huge. We don‟t think like thinking that way. We just react to our environment.

Travis: How about the example she was talking about with the fish in the bowl. I figured I was familiar

with the elephant story. The fish in the bowl I don‟t think I have heard of that one.

Dr. Jacques: The fish in the aquarium, it turns out there was a major city aquarium they were putting

into place a new tank, with a new ecosystem basically with very large game fish from Canada. What

they did is they would put the big fish in the big tank. A million gallon tank whatever it happens to be

and they would be small fish in their full of ecosystem and it was like ringing the dinner bell. As soon as

they put the small fish in there the big fish would eat them. So some very enterprising individuals have

heard about the learned helplessness work of Martin Talisman, Dr. Martin Talisman. In fact we should

try something so what we‟ve got is a very large glass bell jar that they filled with a small fish in the water

and they suspended that glass jar in the big tank. Of course, the big fish would take a run on the small

fish just like before signalling that dinner was served and they would smash their sensitive snout

against the walls of jar. What they did was actually track the number of fish strikes on the glass jar.

Over time and within a couple of days it went from a numerous strikes to zero. And then they left it an

extra day no fish strikes. They pulled the glass jar out of the tank. Pop from the top, poured the water

with the fish into the big tank. No problem any longer with the big fish eating the little fish. Because

what the big fish learned that there was a condition in their lives, that there was nothing they could do to




get at those little fish. If they did all they would be doing is hurting their sensitive snout, essentially it is

the elephant example again, isn‟t it?

Sandra: I think that the story is so valuable, I believe in our past of being human we‟ve had failures.

Instead of learning from it, it‟s like okay we‟ll just never do that again. So I think many of us are

swimming in oceans with unbelievable opportunities that are right in front of us. It could be a

conversation we have with someone, or a new opportunity for business or something but we won‟t even

risk it and we don‟t even know that we know this. But our belief is it couldn‟t happen. So I love those

examples because I look now at conversations with people that come into my life, or opportunities

there‟s something that‟s not be given by my past but kind of look with a new fresh set of eyes. Like,

could this be an opportunity, I love thinking about the fish, I really do.

Dr. Jacques: Rule #6 of the mental road Sandra says, “Your perception determines your emotional

response, so choose your perception carefully. “

Travis: You‟re right.

Dr. Jacques: So much of what we believe is simply defined by our perception of things and that belief

system directly impacts our perception. If we change our perception which we have 100% power to do,

we change our emotional response, we change our behaviour, we change our performance. For good

or for bad the mind doesn‟t say, “Oh, but that‟s a bad thought don‟t go there.” It doesn‟t. Our

unconscious mind simply says; “Aye, Aye captain,” whatever the conscious mind believes.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: That‟s the job of our subconscious mind to do precisely that.

Travis: I had an event happen when I was young, where I felt really silly doing something with a ton of

a group of people at my home. And it stuck with me although I‟ve had all the success in business, it

stuck with me so much that it‟s prevented me from getting on the stage of doing things that I should‟ve

done with my business. That fear, of something that happened when I was 10 years old I‟m 46 now has

owned me.

Dr. Jacques: Fear failure right?

Travis: Yes.

Dr. Jacques: What are people going to think?

Travis: Yeah, like I‟m going to go up there and make a fool of myself and I‟m going to look stupid. Even

though I‟ve had high level of success in business, I have only recently discovered how much that has

owned me and now I‟m prepared to break that.




Dr. Jacques: Unfortunately Rule #3. You cannot think about whatever is on your mind. The more you

think, the more you tell yourself not to worry about it, the more we tell about our self not to do it. What

do we end up doing? Thinking more about it.

Travis: The more we think about it.

Dr. Jacques: What we have to do is we have to control, direct our conscious thought to the positive

and productive path focussed thought that leads to our best performance and in fact lead us away from

self sabotage that we still easily create for ourselves. But until you understand how the process of self

sabotage begins, evolves, and impacts your performance -- you‟re not going to have a good as a

handle on fixing the problem.

Travis: Right. So the first step understands that you have a problem right?

Dr. Jacques: Pretty well, I think most people know they have a problem. I think understanding what the

problem exactly looks like. And once we understand exactly what the problem is, now we‟re in the

better condition to change.

Travis: Hopefully that‟s the material provides a clear understanding, the clarity of that thought process,

and a different framework to think about thinking.

Sandra: I think the perspective thing that you brought us is so valuable too. Because even looking or

given the choice whether we‟re a victim of something or if we‟re responsible, what we can do with it. We

both know that my dad died two years ago, and it was a horrible experience and painful. Break up of

relationships with my siblings, and on one hand it could be labelled as the worst thing that‟s ever

happened to me. By shifting my perspective and asking the question how could this be the best thing

that‟s ever happened to me? Actually the thing that helped me to say I‟ve learned about grief, I‟ve

learned about what happens in the brain. I want to give this to other people. It was mentally getting out

of the victim mode, making that shift purposely and declaring that I‟m an author and I‟m going to write a

book about it and I am going to make a difference in the life of others. So I think and correct me if I‟m

wrong, I carry in life the perspective or the perception however you say it, in fact because as of the

moment it doesn‟t feels so good. It sucks.

Jacques: That‟s the heart of it.

Sandra: But it‟s all opportunity if you choose to make it an opportunity. I think it‟s more fulfilling to go

through life being responsible than being a victim. It‟s not very attractive being a victim.

Travis: More empowering also.

Dr. Jacques: Well ultimately, we understand that we can‟t control outcome. We allow ourselves to

spend more time thinking about our processes and become engaged more effectively with those

processes. And the truth of it is the more we focus on process and on execution when it‟s time to




execute, by in large the better the results are. We all know this to be true; we‟ve all experienced it

thinks of the sweet spot moments people call being in the zone. When you‟re there you are not anxious,

in fact there is tranquillity in spirit there‟s almost serenity, an eternal calm or quiet that exist. There

might be a great deal of intensity but there‟s still calmness because it‟s possible to be both calm and

intense at the same time. Isn‟t it?

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: And that‟s what the sweet spot looks like, and if we can find that internal state that

optimizes the mindset to focus correctly and to deliver the best we are capable of, the results we

generate are the best that they can be in that situation. Except for the influence of the BS, we don‟t

even know what they are yet.

Travis: Right.

Dr. Jacques: Which we can‟t control.

Sandra: It takes practice right? Like there‟s going to be moments for people in the zone and all of a

sudden a negative thought will slip in there. But it‟s like okay that‟s what that is let‟s get back to the A

game.

Dr. Jacques: It‟s a skill and in fact that‟s what my clients have been developing over the years, it‟s an

understanding of and the skill of controlling how we think. Even in the most deadly and challenging

situation. And that‟s why they are at top of their game. And the funny thing is it‟s learnable. We can

learn to do that when we understand where it comes from, and what the process is to change. After that

you have to put in the sweat equity that actually to make the change, to work at it. It‟s simple but it‟s not

easy because it requires discipline.

Travis: I think the things that probably were not included were the good stuff that comes with it, a better

life, accomplishment, success, happiness. All of those things will come.

Dr. Jacques: Less stress.

Travis: Yeah.

Sandra: Better health.

Travis: We put the sweat equity in to these. This is something so critical. It played a critical role in the

quality of your life. To start practicing this and learn this skill is a vital part of an incredible life.

Dr. Jacques: Rule #2 says the mind can actively process one thought at a time. I could prove it to you

if we had more time.

Travis: No multi tasking?




Dr. Jacques: The truth of it is if we we‟re processing if were focused positively and productively. If

we‟re task focus and positive and the mind can only actively process one thought at a time what we

cannot be at the same moment focusing on all the garbage that creates anxiety and stress. So how do

you avoid stress in your life? By redirecting your central processor, those thoughts and actions that are

relevant to your performance in the moment and if you do that you‟ll get into the sweet spot of life an

often a lot of it more and the outcomes will be better. That‟s what we are all shooting for.

Travis: Right, right.

Dr. Jacques: Easy to say not so easy to do.

Travis: How can people find you? What‟s the best way to get their hands on your book?

Dr. Jacques: Well the easiest way to find me is to visit me at my website, the address is

www.performanceprime.com that‟s all one word, all together performance prime.com and people can

read what the book is about. About kinds of programs both the sport and the corporate side that I‟m

involved. Also on twitter @performprime and on Facebook. Look for the pages performanceprime.com

Travis: Yeah and you‟re going to start answering questions yourself. You‟re going to create a video,

segment or something along those lines and answer people‟s direct questions right?

Dr. Jacques: Yeah and I‟m facilitating that initiatives for this week. What I‟m going to do is invite those

people who are followers my tweets as they say, and follow me on twitter and facebook to ask

questions that are relevant to them in their world that had to do with performance and mental skills they

can do so openly on those social media platforms or they can send me an email at

[email protected] . And every week I‟m going to take one of those questions and

formulate a comprehensive response. I‟ll probably end up doing it as a video response to build an

archive of such responses over time and if I do once a week by the end of the year, I should have 52 or

so archive responses that will touch on a broad variety of issues and questions that people have about

performance and hopefully it will be an archive that people can consult to help them deal with the

issues and problems that they wrestle with. Because we‟re more the same than we are different, even

though we are very much involved in different activities.

Travis: And so some housekeeping here all of that, everything you have referenced can be accessed

at performance prime so its PERFORMANCEPRIME.COM right?

Dr. Jacques: Correct.

Travis: Okay, you are absolutely brilliant Jacques. It‟s been a pleasure meeting you. There are so

many things to talk about. I‟m wondering, would you consider coming on again, maybe several months

down the road.

http://www.performanceprime.com/




Dr. Jacques: It would be my pleasure. We haven‟t even really gotten in to what these rules are about

and I will tell you the framework of the rules provides both an understanding of how we sabotage

ourselves and the solution as to how we cannot do it.

Travis: Great.

Sandra: And Jacques I want to thank you also. I know you‟re an extraordinary human being and I have

these sneaky suspicion that what you have been up to the past 40 years and where it‟s going will really

impact the lives of so many people that weren‟t even aware that they are unaware how important their

thought and focus can be. So I want to acknowledge you ahead of time for all the lives that you‟re going

to touch and the people you will probably not going to meet that will be able to make a difference in

their lives and their businesses and as a result have better health. Have great results. Have better

relationships. And it all comes from the work that you‟ve done and are doing. So thank you for that.

Dr. Jacques: Well I appreciate those comments sincerely and like everyone else, we all try to

contribute our small piece and if my small piece provide the insight and the clarity to others in some

applications and situations, then that‟s great.

End of Interview

Travis: Okay we have come to the end of this show. Let‟s go ahead and wrap it up for now, be sure to

and join us for next week‟s broadcast. Until then, and one other thing go to SandraandTravis.com and

leave your comments about the show, ideas, suggestion, feedback or even guests that you would like

to hear from. Be sure and leave that in the comment section. Both Sandra and I will be on looking in

those areas and responding to your comments so thanks again and have a great day.




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The Entrepreneurs Radio Show 003 Dr Jacques Dallaire

Small Business & Entrepreneurship

Transcript of The Entrepreneurs Radio Show 003 Dr Jacques Dallaire