Episodes

  • Motivating Others: How to Connect With, Inspire, and Motivate the People Around You

    Motivating Others: How to Connect With, Inspire, and Motivate the People Around You
    Jun 4 2025

    Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project

    Guest: Pablo Lopez, Professional Baseball Pitcher | Minnesota Twins Baseball Club

    If you’ve ever been a part of a team, group, organization, or family, it’s obvious that much of your progress, success, and happiness in heavily influenced by the people around you. This can be a major blessing if you are surrounded by the right kind of people. But if you aren’t, it can be a major challenge and roadblock to success. One of critical elements to ensure success of the group is having the ability to appropriately motivate those around you. This is a critical element to group success, but it isn’t easy. That’s what we are going to focus on in this session as we sit down with Major League Baseball player, Pablo Lopez. The three big questions are working through with Pablo are: 1. What does it really mean to motivate others, and why does it matter? 2. Why do most people struggle to effectively motivate their peers, and what common challenges keep us from inspiring others? 3. What practical steps can the average person take to become better at motivating those around them?

    Connect with us! Learn more about the Human Optimization Project at: https://ce.mayo.edu/optimize

    X: @MayoHumanOpProj Instagram: @MayoHumanOpProj YouTube: The Human Optimization Project - YouTube

    Email: optimize@mayo.edu

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    50 mins
  • Understanding the Basics of Sleep: What Everyone Should Know about Sleep Needs and Stages

    Understanding the Basics of Sleep: What Everyone Should Know about Sleep Needs and Stages
    May 28 2025

    Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project

    Guest: Stuart J. McCarter, M.D., Sleep and Cognitive/Behavioral Neurologist | Mayo Clinic – Rochester, MN

    In the past, we’ve discussed the circadian rhythm and how it sets your clock for the day. Both when you are awake, and when you are asleep. Today, we are going to focus in on what happens to us when we go to sleep. We all know that for sleep to be truly restorative, we need a certain amount of it, and that sleep needs to be high quality. So, it’s a problem that concerns both quality and quantity. But if you want to optimize the quality and quantity of your sleep, you need to start by understanding what sleep is and what happens to our bodies while we are snoozing. This knowledge is foundational to you becoming the best sleeper you can be. Our guest this week is Dr. Stuart McCarter, who is a Neurologist and Sleep Expert from the Mayo Clinic. The three big questions Dr. McCarter is going to answer for us this week are: 1. What is sleep and why is it so important? 2. What are the different stages of sleep and their functions? 3. How can I tell how if I am getting enough high-quality sleep?

    Connect with us! Learn more about the Human Optimization Project at: https://ce.mayo.edu/optimize

    X: @MayoHumanOpProj Instagram: @MayoHumanOpProj YouTube: The Human Optimization Project - YouTube

    Email: optimize@mayo.edu

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    53 mins
  • Unwrapping the Truth About Processed Foods: Impact on Your Health and How to Overcome the Temptation

    Unwrapping the Truth About Processed Foods: Impact on Your Health and How to Overcome the Temptation
    May 21 2025

    Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project

    Guest: Katherine A. Zeratsky, RDN, LD, Assistant Professor of Nutrition, Registered Dietitian | Mayo Clinic – Rochester, MN

    Would you describe yourself as someone who is busy, wants to save money, and likes things that taste good? That describes a lot of us, and those are some of the most common reasons many of us rely on processed foods. However, these foods can have a major impact on us in ways that are obvious, and others that are not so obvious. Not only does what we eat impact our weight, but overconsumption of processed foods impacts nearly every domain of human performance. To tell us more about this topic, our quest this week is Mayo Clinic Registered Dietician and Nutritionist, Kate Zeratsky. The three big questions she is going to walk us through include: 1. What exactly are processed foods and why do they matter so much to our overall health? 2. Why do so many of us rely on processed foods despite the known downsides? 3. What are the practical steps we should take right now to minimize processed foods in our diets?

    Connect with us! Learn more about the Human Optimization Project at: https://ce.mayo.edu/optimize

    X: @MayoHumanOpProj Instagram: @MayoHumanOpProj YouTube: The Human Optimization Project - YouTube

    Email: optimize@mayo.edu

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    52 mins
  • The Art and Science of Personal Change: Overcoming Barriers to Become Your Best Self

    The Art and Science of Personal Change: Overcoming Barriers to Become Your Best Self
    May 14 2025

    Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project

    Guest: Anni Shandera-Ochsner, Ph.D., ABPP-CN, Clinical Neuropsychologist & Medical Director of Joy at Mayo Clinic | Mayo Clinic Health System – La Crosse, WI We all have areas of our lives that we’d like to improve. In fact, many of us have been at this for years…with varying levels of success. If you’ve been able to transform your life in a positive way, that’s worth celebrating. But transformation doesn’t come easy to most of us. Why is this process of self-improvement such a challenge? How can we better position ourselves for success in our journey to become the best humans we can be? These are some of the things we will discuss on this episode with Dr. Anni Shandera-Ochsner, who is the Medical Director for Joy for the Mayo Clinic Enterprise. The three big questions we have for her in this session are: 1. What exactly is meant by self-improvement, and do we really need to try to change ourselves? 2. Why is it so challenging to recognize our own shortcomings and develop an objective plan for personal growth? 3. What practical actions can the average person adopt to create lasting behavioral changes?

    Connect with us! Learn more about the Human Optimization Project at: https://ce.mayo.edu/optimize

    X: @MayoHumanOpProj Instagram: @MayoHumanOpProj YouTube: The Human Optimization Project - YouTube

    Email: optimize@mayo.edu

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    51 mins
  • Burnout Decoded: Strategies for Individuals and Organizations to Understand it, Prevent it, and Overcome It

    Burnout Decoded: Strategies for Individuals and Organizations to Understand it, Prevent it, and Overcome It
    May 7 2025

    Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project

    Guest: Colin West, M.D, Ph.D., Medical Director of Employee Well-Being | Mayo Clinic – Rochester, MN

    This week, we are focusing on a topic that many don’t like to discuss, but we all need to understand better. You may have experienced it firsthand, and it has major implications for all of us at home and in the workplace. The topic is Burnout. Even though we all hear about it regularly, there is still a lot of confusion about what it is, how to spot it, how to prevent it, and how to overcome it. To help us sort through these issues, we have one of the world’s foremost experts on burnout joining us this week, Dr. Colin West.

    Dr. West is the Director of the Program on Physician Well-Being at Mayo Clinic, and here are the three big questions we have for him on this session:

    1. What is burnout and how is it different from stress or general exhaustion?
    2. What are the personal and organizational consequences of burnout?
    3. What are the steps we can take to prevent it and recover from it?

    Connect with us! Learn more about the Human Optimization Project at: https://ce.mayo.edu/optimize

    X: @MayoHumanOpProj Instagram: @MayoHumanOpProj YouTube: The Human Optimization Project - YouTube

    Email: optimize@mayo.edu

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    1 hr and 1 min
  • Dealing with Failure: A Discussion About Processing, Understanding, and Growing From Setbacks

    Dealing with Failure: A Discussion About Processing, Understanding, and Growing From Setbacks
    Apr 30 2025

    Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D.

    Guest: Carlos Correa, Professional Baseball Shortstop, Minnesota Twins Baseball Club

    Failure is tough, and if we are honest with ourselves, we all experience some level of failure on a near daily basis. Some of these failings are small, while others are substantial and can have real impacts on our lives. Given how commonly failure occurs, we need to figure out how to deal with it in a health way. To give us a unique perspective on how we overcome our fear of failure, work through it an effective manner, and come out stronger on the other side, our guest for this episode is Major League Baseball Player, 3 time All-Star, Gold Glove Winner, and World Series Champion…Carlos Correa. Here are the three big questions we are going to tackle with Carlos: 1- What does “failure” really mean, and why is it such a universal experience? 2- Why do so many people struggle with failure, and what mental and emotional barriers keep us stuck? 3- What practical steps can the average person take to process failure positively and use it as fuel for growth?

    The Human Optimization Project | Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development

    Connect with us!

    Learn more about the Human Optimization Project: X: @MayoHumanOpProj Instagram: @MayoHumOpProj YouTube: The Human Optimization Project - YouTube

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    42 mins
  • Cognitive Overload: Overcoming the Modern Epidemic of Mental Exhaustion

    Cognitive Overload: Overcoming the Modern Epidemic of Mental Exhaustion
    Apr 23 2025
    Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D. Guest: Justin Anderson, Psy. D., LP, CMPC Owner/Founder | CEO | High Performance Psychologist Premier Sport Psychology In our modern, hyper-connected world, our brain is subject to a non-stop barrage of noise, information, stimuli, and inputs. While much of it is necessary and meaningful, a large portion is just unnecessary distraction. With this heavy burden of constant stimuli, it’s easy for us to experience “cognitive overload” where our brain is overwhelmed by all the incoming signals. How do we sort through this noise to determine what is critical and really deserves our attention? Can we sharpen our minds so that we can continue to thrive in these times of information overload? Those are some of the issues we are going to tackle in this episode. Our guest for this session is Dr. Justin Anderson, Psy.D., LP., founder and CEO of Premier Sport Psychology. In this episode, he is going to help us answer the following three big questions: 1-What exactly is cognitive overload, and what causes it? 2-What are the consequences of cognitive overload for everyday people in their personal and professional lives? 3-What steps can we take right now to reduce cognitive overload and improve our mental performance?

    The Human Optimization Project | Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development

    Connect with us! Learn more about the Human Optimization Project: X: @MayoHumanOpProj Instagram: @MayoHumOpProj YouTube: The Human Optimization Project - YouTube
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    50 mins
  • The Power of Connection: How to Communicate Effectively with Anyone

    The Power of Connection: How to Communicate Effectively with Anyone
    Apr 16 2025

    Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D.

    Guest: Dustin Morse, Senior Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs, Minnesota Twins Baseball Club

    Connection with other people is the one of the most essential elements to a happy and fulfilling life. In order to connect with others, you MUST COMMUNICATE with others. However, in our hyper-electronic and busy world, effective communication has become a lost art for so many of us. We have to change this. To help us get started on this journey of improving our communication, our guest for this session is Dustin Morse, Senior Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs for the Minnesota Twins Baseball Club. In this episode, he is going to help us answer the following three big questions: 1-What does effective communication look like, and why is it so important? 2-Why do so many of us struggle with clear and effective communication? 3-What steps can individuals take to better communicate and connect with the people in their lives?

    The Human Optimization Project | Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development

    Connect with us! Learn more about the Human Optimization Project: X: @MayoHumanOpProj Instagram: @MayoHumOpProj YouTube: The Human Optimization Project - YouTube
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    49 mins
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