GrowthReady Podcast

Most high performers chase ceilings: bigger goals, more revenue, bigger stages. Steve argues that what actually determines whether you feel steady in the moments that matter is your floor, your daily standards, mindset, and behaviors when no one is watching. He breaks down how “growth resistance” shows up subtly (protecting identity, reputation, competence), and why the path forward isn’t hype or intensity… it’s alignment.
Key takeaways:
Goals as “ceilings” vs. standards as your “floor”
Why pressure exposes weak foundations (even when you look prepared)
Effort vs. standards: the difference between looking ready and being ready
“Growth resistant” behavior: protecting identity after failure
Growth resilience: treating failure as data and adjusting standards
Microsoft / Satya Nadella “learn-it-all vs know-it-all” as a standards shift
Alignment over intensity: raising your floor to match rising stakes
Reflection prompt: “What is my floor right now—and is it built for what I’m pursuing?”
Links & resources mentioned
Satya Nadella / Microsoft culture shift (learn-it-alls vs know-it-alls)

Send a text
Support the show
Connect with Steve Mellor
Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163
Connect with GrowthReady
Join the community and keep your growth journey going:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/
----
This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...

If you’re a high performer, leader, or founder… chances are your calendar is stacked, your brain is overloaded, and you’re trying to ‘push through’ like that’s the job.

Today’s guest, Clint Rahe, former Royal Air Force PTI turned executive coach and author of The Cognitive Athleteworks with C-suite leaders who should be in their peak years… but instead are burnt out, exhausted, and running on empty.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to sustain high performance without paying for it with your health, your focus, or your family.

We’re breaking down cognitive periodizationhow to create seasons in business how to use micro-recovery to reduce stress between meetings, how to protect deep work, and how to set boundaries that actually stick.

Key takeaways
-Knowledge workers as cognitive athletes (and why overload kills learning)
-Burnout at the top: why leaders hit their “peak years” exhausted
-Cognitive periodization: creating “seasons” in business where none exist
-Recovery that actually works (micro-breaks, active recovery, energy resets)
-The “letdown effect” (why people get sick right after pressure ends)
-Energy management vs. time management
-Saying no strategically (deep work vs shallow work)
-Practical leadership habits: 15-minute daily planning + end-of-day review
-Meeting hygiene: 25-min meetings, breaks, and better transitions
-Circadian rhythms + scheduling work that fits your energy

Links & resources mentioned
-Clint’s website: thecognitiveathlete.com.au
-Clint on LinkedIn (best place to connect)
-Clint’s weekly newsletter (Wednesdays)
Clint’s podcast (short episodes, Mondays)
-Book: The Cognitive Athlete (US availability mentioned as Feb 27 on Amazon)
-Microsoft Human Factors Lab research mentioned (EEG + breaks between meetings)
-Amazon meeting practice referenced (reading memo at start)
#GrowthReady #HighPerformance #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveCoach #BurnoutRecovery #ProductivityHacks 
Send a text
Support the show
Connect with Steve Mellor
Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163
Connect with GrowthReady
Join the community and keep your growth journey going:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/
----
This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...

About the Guest: Betsy Cerulo is a seasoned entrepreneur, federal contractor, and accessibility advocate with over 36 years of leadership experience. She is the CEO of an organization specializing in accessibility staffing and services, supporting blind, deaf, and neurodivergent communities. Betsy is also an author, mentor, and champion for heart-centered leadership grounded in truth, accountability, and compassion.
In this powerful GrowthReady conversation, Steve Mellor welcomes back Betsy Cerulo to explore what it really means to be growth ready in today’s volatile, uncertain environment.
Together, they unpack why truth, awareness, and flexibility are non-negotiable leadership skills, how to lead people through uncertainty without false reassurance, and why heart-centered leadership doesn’t mean avoiding hard conversations. Betsy also shares lessons from building a 36-year business, launching a complementary accessibility technology venture, and investing in long-term trust instead of chasing quick wins.
This episode is a masterclass in earned confidence, ethical leadership, and sustainable growth.
Key Takeaways:
What it truly means to be growth ready
Truth as a leadership practice (not a personality trait)
Heart-centered leadership vs. “kumbaya leadership”
Leading teams through uncertainty and fear
Accountability, boundaries, and compassion
Navigating unknowns without false certainty
Building trust and “reserves” over decades
Why patience beats “get rich quick” thinking
Intentional networking for introverted leaders
Accessibility, advocacy, and inclusive leadership
Send a text
Support the show
Connect with Steve Mellor
Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163
Connect with GrowthReady
Join the community and keep your growth journey going:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/
----
This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...

About the Guest: Luke DePron is a health and performance coach and the founder of The Fitment Project, where he helps high-performing men reclaim their health, energy, and confidence without extreme fitness tactics or unrealistic routines. Luke is known for his pragmatic, psychology-first approach to fitness helping clients build identity-based habits, minimum effective standards, and sustainable systems that integrate seamlessly into real life, careers, and family responsibilities.
About the Episode: In this episode, Steve Mellor sits down with Luke DePron to unpack why most driven professionals fail at health and how to finally make it stick. Luke explains why success isn’t about motivation, 30-day challenges, or doing more but about setting guaranteed minimum standards, upgrading identity, and respecting the seasons of life you’re actually in.
They dive deep into how confidence is built through competence, why unrealistic goals quietly destroy self-belief, and how leaders can integrate fitness into their lives without sacrificing family, performance, or sanity. This conversation reframes health not as another pressure but as the foundation that unlocks the next level of leadership and performance.
Takeaways:
Building confidence through competence, not motivation
The power of guaranteed minimum standards
Beginner mindset and lowering the barrier to entry
Why “doing more” often backfires for high performers
Identity-based decision making (Fit Dad, Fit Leader)
Avoiding the all-or-nothing fitness trap
Integrating health into real life, travel, and family
Seasons of life and sustainable performance
Health as the foundation of elite leadership
Long-term systems vs short-term intensity
Resources Mentioned
The Fitment Project – https://fitmentproject.com
Luke DePron on LinkedIn (mentioned as primary social platform)
Send a text
Support the show
Connect with Steve Mellor
Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163
Connect with GrowthReady
Join the community and keep your growth journey going:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/
----
This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...

About the guest: Dr. Alexa D’Agostino is a “doctor of marketing” and founder/operator who’s built and scaled multiple businesses. She’s known for blending sharp performance marketing thinking with operational reality, systems, metrics, team structure, and the mindset required to scale without breaking. She also runs an invite-only mastermind built around proximity to high-level operators and coaches.
About the episode: Most leaders say they want growth, more revenue, more clients, more recognition but Dr. Alexa D’Agostino calls out the uncomfortable truth: many businesses aren’t growth ready… they’re chaos ready. In this conversation, Steve and Alexa unpack what “growth ready” really means when pressure hits: clean systems, clear roles, scalable offers, and metrics that matter.
Key topics:
“Growth ready” vs. “chaos ready” (and why most businesses are the latter)
Why scaling exposes problems instead of fixing them
The non-negotiables: systems, lanes, people, and a scalable offer
Metrics that matter (CPA, LTV) vs. vanity metrics (likes/followers)
Delegation, automation, and building a machine that works without you
Failure: not the fear of it, but the avoidance of what you already know must change
Curiosity as interrogation: using fear as data
Mindset as an operating system and why it must be upgraded
The role of environment: outgrowing people, protecting energy, and choosing alignment
Integrity under pressure: the gap between stated values and calendar reality
Links and resources mentioned
Dr. Alexa D’Agostino: https://alexadagostino.com/
Social handle mentioned: “Dr. Alexa D’Agostino” (on most platforms)
Send a text
Support the show
Connect with Steve Mellor
Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163
Connect with GrowthReady
Join the community and keep your growth journey going:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/
----
This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...