Building Better with Brandon Bartneck · 2026-03-01 · 12 min
In this episode, I share a personal experience where I choked. For the first time in a long time, I failed to perform at the level I knew I was capable of, in a very public setting. It wasn’t a lack of preparation. It wasn’t a lack of ability. It was mental. I unpack what happened when I played piano at my grandmother’s funeral, how nerves took over, and what that experience taught me about pressure, performance, and mindset. From there, I zoom out. Watching the Olympics around the same time made the contrast even clearer. Some athletes tightened up under pressure. Others, like Alysa Liu in women’s figure skating, performed with visible freedom and joy on the biggest stage. The difference wasn’t talent. It was mental. This episode explores the tension between running away from what you don’t want versus running toward what you do want, and why that distinction matters not just in sports or music, but in leadership and life.
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