As a part of the Morning Lazziness series about Leaders Catalyzing PEAK PERFORMANCE, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nick Sinana.
With more than 20 years of experience in high-performance psychology, talent identification, mental skills training, decision-making, and teamwork under pressure, interviewed several thousand next-generation leaders on performance, published numerous scientific articles, and delivered keynotes on Humanity, Authentic Leadership, created transformational courses and Masterminds.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Thank you so much for having me inside your amazing series.
Sure, my name is Nick Sinanan aka THE Global Charity Matchmaker as well as Wall Street´s Leading Peak Performance Strategist, helping Leaders who are “Pivot – Ready” especially during Times of Uncertainty, International Keynote Speaker, Global Citizen, proud Dad of two wonderful children, as well as 65 godchildren on five continents.
I was born and raised in Aix-la-Chapelle, Germany, originating from a large FAMILY with strong French, Spanish, Indian, African and Trinidadian CONNECTIONS, united by HUMANITY, growing up with the concept of “Society is unity in diversity”, currently serving as President of the Rotary E-Club of Wall Street NYC.
From a very young age I had the privilege to TRAVEL the WORLD. As a teenager I was scouted as a highly talented ATHLETE, driven by the world-famous concept of GERMAN PERFECTION and trained by ambitious coaches, the result was a state of constantly being on the edge to BURNOUT or OVERTRAINING.
Take ONE: November 1978 at Deutsche Bank, our trusted financial advisor took off with our family investments
Take TWO: August 1996 at NYSE, my first invitation to Wall Street
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I had to learn my most important LIFE-LESSONS on Personal Development the hard way.
After the tragic LOSS of my best friend and teammate in preparation for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, I desperately reached out to Tony Robbins for professional advice. He connected me with the world’s leading experts in the field of PTSD and introduced me to some of the most influential human beings.
In short, due to severe accidents, I missed two Olympic Games as an athlete, but was able to quickly pivot to becoming a sought after Coach and Mentor to numerous well-known World- and Olympic Champions as well as countless Fortune 500’s high performing teams and individuals help “Closing the Performance Gap – The Ultimate Competitive Advantage” especially during turbulent times.
What do you specialize in and why should someone choose you over your competitors in your field?
First and foremost, I love what I do and serve with empathy.
With more than 20 years of experience in high-performance psychology, talent identification, mental skills training, decision-making and teamwork under pressure, I help saving lives and resources by organizing workshops on Burnout “PreHab” and High Performance at Top Universities around the Globe as well as organizing Retreats on Leadership Development, Change Consulting and Strategic Management.
What are the three things that mostly helped your online business succeed?
- True Power of Masterminds
- Connecting with the Super-Connectors
- Giving back on a Global Scale
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I’m grateful for being part of the global Rotarian Family and as I mentioned above, Philanthropy is part of my DNA. For decades I feel blessed to be able to support humanitarian service projects across the globe.
In September 2019 I initiated a global charity with UN, UNHCR, and UNICEF, designed to help thousands of children and adults reversing the most challenging conditions such as PTSD, using the scientifically proven holistic therapies as well as fast track the integration into their new societies. Since the first lockdowns due to the pandemic, this project is on hold.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I feel truly blessed for each and every mentor I met along my path. I want to start with my parents, especially since they both passed away just a few months ago. They opened my eyes to see how privileged we are and gave their best in teaching me to be curious to ask the right questions.
As I mentioned above, Tony Robbins was the most influential mentor. I learned so much about false or limiting beliefs, such as “money can’t buy happiness”, it truly can, if you give it to people in need.
Through the world of sport and countless global charities I had the privilege to meet some of the most amazing personalities, such as Nelson Mandela, at the International Day for Sport for Development and Peace, Laureus Sport for Good, as I witnessed his famous speech “SPORT HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD”.
I remember meeting Sir Richard Branson who organized THE SWIM, a grueling charity event supporting Cancer Research UK, as well as a keynote speaker at the Forbes Under 30 Summit.
And last but not least, let’s call it coincidence, ten years ago my dearest friend and amazing human being Deepak Chopra practiced Yoga together with our wonderful teacher, the one and only Tara Stiles.
I promise you will find the complete list of my mentors in the acknowledgment section of my upcoming book.
What were your most important challenges? & How did you overcome those challenges?
I´m glad you asked this question, because many people only see the accomplishments, such as Olympic medals, world records, titles or awards.
Thanks to Simone Biles, Michael Phelps or tennis champion Naomi Osaka’s courage to openly discuss the importance of mental health.
Or Allyson Felix as the most decorated Olympic champion, entrepreneur and proud mother shared her powerful message during her recent TED Talk, about “Unwavering Advocacy for Mothers in Sports”.
In my case as a young talented athlete for years, I was in the driver’s seat experiencing an emotional roller coaster. After each injury or setback, all the naysayers come across, sharing their limiting beliefs. As Steve Jobs stated so beautifully, “you can only connect the dots looking backward”.
I always had a strong belief in my own abilities, but of course, when life goes sideways, self-doubt will literally hit you like a sledgehammer, so I´ve learned the importance of a strong, supporting, positive peer group, at an early stage in my career.
What’s your piece of advice for readers who want to achieve wealth and success in life?
I’d love to share the essence of several thousands of next-generation leaders as well as some of the most influential entrepreneurs I’ve interviewed during the last 20-plus years. First and foremost they are all aligned with what T. Harv Eker defines.
- Take Ownership Of Your Life
- If You Want To Change The Fruits, First Change The Roots
- Be Willing To Be Uncomfortable
- What You Focus On Expands
- Your Word Must Become Law
What do you think is the key to a truly successful online business?
- Defining Your Ideal Customer / Avatar
- Solving Your Customer’s Pain / Problem
- Driving Traffic to Your Landing Page
- Providing an Easy Payment Method
- Increasing Trust using Powerful References
What’s your business model? How does your online business make money?
- Masterminds for High Performing Individuals
- Retreats on Leadership Development, Change Consulting and Strategic Management, ideally In-Person using VR.
- Workshops on Burnout “PreHab” and High Performance at Top Universities around the Globe
Where do you see yourself and your business in five years?
As I shared earlier, I do what I love and love what I do. My business will grow into a globally recognized educational, inspirational and transformational learning platform.
What’s your piece of advice for people who want to quit their 9-5 job and start a business?
- Know your WHY
- Planning Your Transition
- Savings for Investments
- Realistic business plan
- Go All In
What is the biggest sacrifice you’ve made in starting or running your business?
- The quality of your relationships. Some entrepreneurs end up sacrificing entire relationships, whether it’s with their significant other, friends or family.
- Your health. This goes for physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
- Your money and standards of living.
- Your reputation.
The future of the digital world might be ruled by blockchain and cryptocurrency. Do you think it would be challenging for all age groups to gain knowledge about the same? How can we educate them?
Metaverse in the today’s times
Let’s talk Business, due to the pandemic we’ve all experienced, what was or wasn’t technically possible. It was a blessing and challenge at the same time with a supersonic learning curve. For technophiles, the metaverse represents a nirvana: a place to immerse yourself in any digital world, and participate in any physical reality, at any time, and also to be able to see and feel anything, even if you are thousands of miles away from that real place.
What do you think could be the future of NFT? How useful can they be for everyone?
Thank you so much for this great question, as our Rotary Club of Wall Street is currently working on these NFT related ideas.
- The Democratization of Art
- Increased Diversity
- Patronage
- New Media
- Independence for Artists
I cannot share any of the results at this point in time.
Do you think NFTs, which are open to virtual reality, could adversely impact our health due to increased screen time?
For each of you with children, screen time is always a controversial issue. Since early 2020 we’ve been confronted with home office, homeschooling, and of course more time in front of our smartphones, tablets, or monitors.
I remember back at the German Sport University we´ve conducted scientific research on the effects of prolonged sitting. Current research found out that due to homeoffice adults spend an average of 11 hours a day looking at screens.
This might surely be affecting our health:
1. Vision. You’re probably familiar with the symptoms: strained, dry eyes, blurred vision, and headaches. Poor posture can also cause neck and shoulder pain.
2. Sleep. Blue light from digital devices suppresses the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin, keeping us from having restful sleep.
3. Addiction. Dopamine is part of the brain’s pleasure and reward circuits. Playing video games turns on similar brain regions as those linked to cravings for drugs and gambling, it’s like a hit of brain candy.
4. Overall health. Most of the time we’re on our screens, we’re sitting down. Sitting for hours at a time boosts the risk of obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer.
The effects on children are even worse. More screen time means less time for activities that are good for your health and well-being.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
1. Champions-Mindset is King and Queen
The quality of our relationship with our business is responsible for how profitable the business is and how much time we spend on it. Learn to generate feelings that drive productive action because that’s the way to achieve your goals.
2. Run your business like you plan to sell it.
This is a great brain hack because when you start thinking about selling your business, you’ll start acting like an investor. Once you realize this, you are filtering every business decision through the question, “Will this increase the value of my company?”
3. Don’t trade time for money.
Can you package and provide some of your company’s expertise into online courses and subscriptions? Can you create a community or membership site with training videos and templates? Always be thinking of ways to simplify and systematize in order to scale.
4. Embrace the numbers.
You may think you’re so busy managing the day-to-day that, as long as you’re profitable, that’s all you need to know. But it’s not. What gets measured gets done. You can’t fix what you don’t see. Pick 5–7 Key Performance Indicators that measure your growth, marketing, customers, and efficiency. Then share them with your team. When everyone works together to achieve goals, it’s a force multiplier for success.
5. Don’t make it about YOU.
Make sure you commit to taking the steps to turn your business into an asset that could run without you. So that never you´re dependent on any one person.
What do all five of these tips have in common?
Appreciate yourself for having the courage to build a business, and appreciate your team and customers for being on the journey with you. Love your business, and treat it as an asset, and it will work for you.
- What would you tell yourself ten to twenty years ago that you wish you knew then?
1. Embrace your uniqueness.
We are spiritual beings having a human experience.
2. Focus on learning how to learn.
Forget about what we´ve been taught and focus on training your super-brain.
3. Your health is your most valuable asset.
Focus on maintaining your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
4. Travel the World and become a cultural connector.
Make an effort to learn about other cultures and backgrounds.
5. Do what you are passionate about.
Focus on what you enjoy and learn how to make an impact with that.
6. Take time to read.
The passing of stories in the form of literature is one of the oldest methods for transferring information.
7. Learn and accept failure.
Every failure you experience is a learning moment.
8. Master your mind.
To succeed in life, you must have your mind on your side, because it is impossible to be productive if you are constantly battling yourself.
Lastly, what do you think this world needs the most?
All we need is more:
- People of Action
- Unity
- Tolerance
- Acceptance
- Understanding
- Compassion
- Forgiveness
- Kindness
- Trust
- Hope
- Community
- Wisdom
- Contentment
- Hugs
- You
Thank you for sharing your insights and predictions. We appreciate the gift of your time and wish you continued success and good health.
