It Takes What It Takes: A Smarter Way to Think Under Pressure

In this episode, we dive into the powerful mental framework outlined in It Takes What It Takes by the late Trevor Moawad—one of the most influential mental conditioning coaches in modern sports. Moawad, who worked with elite performers like Russell Wilson and Nick Saban, challenged the traditional self-help emphasis on “positive thinking” and instead proposed something far more practical: neutral thinking.

We explore the contrast between Trevor’s approach and the philosophy of his father, Bob Moawad, a longtime champion of positive thinking. While Bob believed in the power of optimism to shape outcomes, Trevor saw firsthand how forced positivity often backfired under pressure. Instead, he taught athletes to remove emotion, focus on facts, and act based on what they could control in the present mome ...