In this episode of Connecting with Purpose, we’re joined by Gina Tucci, founder of Beyond the Scoreboards, licensed counselor, and mental performance coach. With a lifelong passion for sports and athletic competition, Gina helps athletes, coaches, executives, and teams overcome mental roadblocks and elevate their performance.

Drawing from her background in sports psychology and mental health counseling, Gina creates customized programs that build resilience, shift mindsets, and enhance peak performance. She specializes in equipping high performers with mental fitness tools to manage pressure, navigate transitions, and gain a competitive edge.

As the former Director of MindCode at Resilience Code in Denver, Colorado, Gina developed a program to address clients’ mental health and performance challenges. She holds a certificate in sports psychology from Seton Hall University, along with Master’s and EdS degrees in counseling.

Her own journey—overcoming performance anxiety, learning to detach from expectations, and developing resilience—has profoundly shaped her work. She believes in the power of visualization, self-awareness, and a growth mindset to help individuals thrive in sports, business, and life. With years of experience working with elite athletes, coaches, and corporate leaders, Gina is the perfect guest for Season 3 of Connecting with Purpose, where we explore the intersections of sports, business, and personal growth.

Key Takeaways:

— Visualization & Mental Strength: How Gina’s early experiences with deep breathing and visualization shaped her career in sports psychology.

— Shifting from a Fixed to Growth Mindset: The importance of embracing discomfort, pushing limits, and viewing setbacks as opportunities for growth.

— Resilience & Adaptability: Why high performers must detach from expectations and stay present to overcome challenges.

— Navigating Transitions: How purpose and self-awareness can help athletes and professionals successfully pivot into new roles.

Gina’s insights offer a roadmap for developing mental toughness, embracing change, and transforming pressure into a tool for success—whether in sports, business, or life.

Connect with Gina:

—Website

— LinkedIn

🔗 Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more conversations about purpose, performance, and creating lasting impact.

#MentalPerformance #SportsPsychology #Resilience #GrowthMindset #AthleteTransition #HighPerformance #MindsetMatters #EliteAthletes #LeadershipDevelopment #PurposeDriven #MentalFitness #SelfAwareness #Coaching #PurposeFusedLeadership #PeakPerformance

In this episode of Connecting with Purpose, we’re joined by Dr. Adam Russell, Chief Vision Officer for the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute and Director of the AI Division at USC’s Information Sciences Institute. With an impressive background spanning DARPA, IARPA, and ARPA-H, Adam shares his journey through groundbreaking research in AI, human behavior, and national security.

Adam reveals how embracing failure, leaning into fear, and cultivating an explorer mindset have shaped his purpose-driven career. We also dive into his work building leaders, teams, partnerships, and systems that help create AI that is trustworthy, ethical, and good for democracy.

Key Takeaways:

— Explorer Mindset: Why learning, adapting, and embracing the unknown are essential for navigating change.

— Failure as Feedback: How Adam turned setbacks into opportunities for growth and clarity.

— Purpose in Transition: How purpose acts as a north star when moving between roles, challenges, and opportunities.

— AI for Democracy: How Adam’s work aims to enhance the trustworthiness of AI and its alignment with democratic values.

Adam’s insights illuminate how we can all create meaningful impact in a rapidly evolving world by focusing on purpose, connection, and intentional growth.

Connect with Adam: LinkedIn

🔗 Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more conversations about purpose, performance, and creating lasting impact.

#ConnectingWithPurpose #ExplorerMindset #ArtificialIntelligence #PurposeDriven #Resilience #Leadership #ImpactAdvisor

Pioneering Change and Opportunity in Women’s Sports

In this episode of Connecting with Purpose, we sit down with Digit Murphy—a trailblazer in women’s sports and leadership.

Digit’s career spans decades as a coach, executive, and advocate, dedicated to creating opportunities for women using sports as a leadership platform.

From her transformative role as the first full-time women’s hockey coach at Brown University to co-founding the Pay It Forward Sports Foundation, Digit’s mission is clear: elevate women’s voices and amplify their impact.

We explore her “Magic Moments,” including pivotal life and career decisions that shaped her purpose-driven path, her innovative "Love Wins" leadership philosophy, and her bold vision for the future of women’s sports—one where women’s voices lead the charge.

Key Takeaways:

—Purpose in Action: Digit’s journey showcases how living authentically can drive resilience and unlock opportunities.

—Trailblazing Leadership: A shift from traditional leadership models to empathetic, collaborative approaches empowers teams in sports and corporate spaces alike.

—Amplifying Women’s Voices: The need for systemic change to prioritize equity, opportunities, and leadership for women in sports and beyond.

This episode is a must-watch for anyone passionate about leadership, purpose, and driving meaningful impact.

Join us to discover how sports can be a powerful platform for life lessons and change.

Connect with Digit:

—LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/digitmurphy/

—Email: digitmurphy1@gmail.com

—Website: https://www.digitmurphy.com/

🔗 Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more inspiring conversations about purpose and performance!

#ConnectingWithPurpose #Leadership #WomensSports #EliteAthletes

Spartan Investment Group is on a mission to improve lives through real estate. As co-founder and CEO, Scott Lewis is living his purpose through Spartan. There are few people with as diverse a background as Scott, which had included teaching English in Thailand, various positions in sales, strategic and project management for the federal government culminating at the GS 15 level, and being on active duty in the US Army as an Infantry Officer, making him an Iraqi Freedom combat Vet.

What’s the common theme through all of these? Scott’s desire to educate people and build them up so they can grow and thrive. That’s his purpose and he lives it every day, in a very practical way. Part of this process is educating himself so he can model not only the behaviors and enable Spartan to be successful but also offer the wisdom to others of what they can learn and how they can grow. For context - how many other leaders to you know who read 64 books last year? Scott did.

Listen into this episode to understand how to embed values authentically, how to inspire learning in others, how to serve with meaning, to make the impact you’d be proud to make.

Additional Resources 

• Connect with Scott on  Linkedin

• Learn more about Spartan Investment Group, LLC

• Learn more about PurposeFused

• Take the WIP (Wellbeing, Impact and Performance) Check-In Assessment

• Learn more about PeopleForward Network

In this conversation, Michael Bearup shares the insights from his 38 year long career with KPMG, within which he most recently held the following titles: Former Lead Partner for Culture at KPMG US, Lead Director KPMG US, Office Managing Partner KPMG Colorado. Michael Bearup's mission is to engage in conversations that bring out the untapped potential in individuals. He has discovered the key to this process and recognizes that a significant aspect of a high-quality life stems from the strength of your team. By prioritizing people and fostering trust through psychological safety, he creates an environment where individuals are gently challenged and supported, encouraging the sharing of ideas and open communication. Through incremental experiences, conversations, and challenges, a sense of unity and support among people is built. Michael is dedicated to establishing a culture that not only tolerates failure but openly embraces it as a crucial part of working towards a shared vision and achieving personal bests. As a true relationship-builder, coach, and servant leader, this episode is rich with simple yet powerful concepts that center around putting people first, as exemplified by one of the best in the field.

Additional Resources 

• Connect with Michael on LinkedIn

• Learn more about PurposeFused

• Take the WIP (Wellbeing, Impact and Performance) Check-In Assessment

• Learn more about PeopleForward Network

Join us for an enlightening conversation with Dr. Ophelia Byers, Founder and Principal at SitchRoom, speaking from the heart about the origins of her purpose, the importance of leadership training and the impact she has achieved as a former Chief Nursing Officer and continues via her transition into founding her own leadership development consultancy - SitchRoom. With a focus on the challenge for individual contributors transitioning into leadership, what’s missing? In healthcare and corporations it’s essentially the same - the mindset shift of the new leader and believing in themselves in their new capacity, combined with specific (and tailored) support via preparation for the leadership role and how that sits within the broader culture of the organization. We dive into the importance of care, creating beautiful experiences and making the leadership journey enjoyable and meaningful. Also, considering how every interaction, connection and experience is an "energy exchange" - we give and receive. Understanding this enables us to be intentional about our our time given energy is a multiplier of our time towards impact.

Additional Resources 

• Connect with Ophelia on LinkedIn
• Learn more about StitchRoom
• Learn more about PurposeFused
• Learn more about PeopleForward Network

Do something you love and opportunities will continue to open up”. Inspired by Nelson Mandela’s Presidency in South Africa and his Nation’s historic Rugby World Cup victory which unified South Africa in 1995 (popularized beyond rugby circles via the movie: Invictus), Dallen Stanford’s energy was directed towards positive impact from that point on. From playing international rugby as a team mate, to coaching kids and college students, to broadcasting - now at the pinnacle of rugby commentary on a World stage - Dallen puts smiles and infuses positivity into people’s lives at scale. This episode is grounded in positive values, positive energy, positive intent and possibility. If you want some takeaways from someone who followed their passions to make their dream a reality- this one is for you!

Additional Resources:

• Connect with Dallen on LinkedIn
• Learn more about PurposeFused
• Learn more about PeopleForward Network