George Mumford | In the Eye of the Hurricane

This week I chat with George Mumford, renowned teacher and coach on mindfulness and performance who has worked with such athletes as Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal and many other elite athletes and executives. Mumford is the author of The Mindful Athlete: Secrets to Pure Performance.

George says he was sensitive as a child, easily picking up on other people's pain. He was forced out of basketball because of injuries and became addicted to pain killers. After college, he awakened to the need to find another way to live, and started learning about mindfulness, meditation, and the mind-body connection.

In our talk George explains why his company is called "Eye of the Hurricane." He strives to teach people about that still center in themselves, just as in the middle of a hurricane there is a quiet, still point. Mindfulness, George explains, can be the tool that gets us there. However, mindfulness must be guided by wisdom, love, faith and trust. Mindfulness can help guide us to create that pause we need between stimulus and response. Just being able to stop and become aware is immensely valuable. If you struggle with anger, a good first step is becoming aware of what triggers you. Then, he says, try to get intimate with it. Observe what happens to you, and try to learn from it. Whatever you do, George teaches, be fully engaged with the present moment.

George reads a book a week, and often re-reads books in order to learn from them at a deeper level. For the same reason George offers programs where students are encouraged to become lifelong learners, returning again and again to the material from different perspectives and in different contexts. In our talk, he quoted Kierkegaard, Socrates, and Erich Fromm, among others. George integrates all he learns to teach others how to not just survive, but thrive, and encourages us all to be authentically who we are.

Connect with George Mumford

Website
www.georgemumford.com

Facebook
www.facebook.com/mindfulathlete

Twitter
@gtmumford

LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/in/george-mumford

Instagram
@george.mumford

Youtube
youtube.com/channel/UCfAqkXr3IpLgiNw88
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Learn More from George Mumford
www.georgemumford.com/the-mindful-athlete-course


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