---What is it that pushes us to perform at our best? Which people on our teams thrive in high-stress/high-stakes environments and which are always cool, and calm under pressure? Why does this matter and how can you use it to drive peak performance? After 3 years of interviewing more than 200 people including professional athletes, military officers, poker players, and psychologists, Rafi Kohan offer insights into the psychology of gamesmanship and how mental stress can be used to drive performance and behavior. This work, which culminated into the lively and hilarious read Trash Talk, The Only Book About Destroying Your Rivals That Isn’t Total Garbage, offers anecdotes from some of the world’s top competitors and the mind games that push them to outperform their opponents.

Pat Toomey represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate from 2011 to 2023. Sought out by his colleagues for his views on economic and tax policy, financial regulation, and budgetary issues, Senator Toomey was labeled by the Philadelphia Inquirer as "a leading voice on money matters." As a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Toomey successfully led the 2017 tax reform effort culminating in the passage and enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—the most sweeping tax reform in over 30 years. Capping his twelve-year service on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Senator Toomey served as the committee’s senior-most Republican from 2021 through 2023. In that post, he helped recruit and confirm many highly qualified nominees to the nation’s most powerful regulatory bodies. When necessary, he also blocked ill-suited nominees. He focused on restoring disciplined monetary policy post-Covid; overseeing all Federal financial regulators; and he developed a blueprint for the regulation of stablecoins, among other things. Senator Toomey previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives for six years. Honoring his pledge to limit himself to three terms, he did not seek re-election to the House in 2004. In addition to his public service, the senator has also worked in the financial services industry, trading and managing a portfolio of fixed income derivatives. He served as president of the Club for Growth and owned and operated a small restaurant chain in the Lehigh Valley, PA with his brothers. Senator Toomey has been a frequent guest on CNBC, NBC, Bloomberg, FOX and FOX Business. His editorials have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer, among many other publications. He has over 190,000 Twitter followers. A 1984 graduate of Harvard University, he lives in the Lehigh Valley, PA with his wife, Kris, and their three children.

Combat tests you. Being a beat cop tests you. Life tests you. Three brothers and being the only girl...tests you. Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour has been tested her whole life. A gutsy trailblazer, her resume is an impressive collection of “firsts” including America’s first Black woman combat pilot. She served two tours of duty in Iraq as a Marine. She was also a diversity liaison officer to the Pentagon for Headquarters Marine Corps. After her military service, FlyGirl revved up her career in the private sector as an entrepreneur, consultant to business, and author of Zero to Breakthrough, The 7-Step, Battle-Tested Method for Accomplishing Goals that Matter. As a speaker, FlyGirl unleashes hard-hitting advice and amazing anecdotes from her adventures on the battlefield and in business. She helps individuals and organizations Get Gutsy and build a sustainable inner force and conviction, that results in accomplishing significant goals.

Michael A. Smerconish is the nationally-syndicated SiriusXM Radio talk show host of The Michael Smerconish Program, the host of CNN’s Smerconish on Saturday mornings, a newspaper columnist, and a New York Times best-selling author. He has often been recognized for his radio work. Talkers magazine has consistently named him one of America’s most important talk show hosts. Using the perfect blend of analysis and humor, he delivers an engaging, thought-provoking, and balanced dialogue on today's political arena and the long-term implications of the polarization in politics.

Rich Thau is the president and founder of Engagious. He has spearheaded groundbreaking research in public policy, financial communications, insurance, trial consulting and infomercials. His firm’s clients range from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable to CNN and NBC. Thau regularly advises leaders in Congress and their staffs, Presidential campaigns and corporate executives on how to improve their messaging. His recommendations have shaped the national debate over Social Security, Medicare and tax reform. His firm’s recent policy messaging projects have focused on energy, climate change, immigration, foreign policy, welfare, government spending, healthcare, labor/management issues and international trade.

Afterburner Inc is a team of elite fighter pilots who help your team pursue flawless execution and take performance to the next level. The combination of sound organizational development and combat-proven methodologies has made Afterburner Inc one of the fastest growing training and consulting organizations in the country. The Flawless Execution Model is a proven process used by elite military professionals around the world to execute missions when the stakes are high and failure is not an option. Corporate success, like success in combat, depends on execution.

Murph, the Founder and CEO of Afterburner, Inc., has a unique and powerful mix of leadership skills in both the military and business worlds. After years in the military, Murph returned to his love of business. Prior to his service in the U.S. Air Force, Murph had a successful career in imaging equipment sales, where he helped increase his company's sales by 500%.

Early on in my career, when my company was in the aftermath of a $5B acquisition, I almost quit. Fueled by frustration and stress, I found myself on the precipice of walking out of the office and never coming back. Had I done so, I would have become another statistic. Yet another African-American female departed from a STEM-driven industry. Top talent voluntarily resigning during a time of significant organizational shift. Another change victim. But I didn’t. Instead, I woke up one day and decided to view those feelings as a signal that I was sitting in a moment of opportunity. An opportunity to transform that chemistry, that feeling into something better. To choose every day to do something, say something, behave in some way that would move the needle of my work experience towards a better feeling. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was cultivating a teachable strategy to inspire anyone to become enthusiastic about change, to find their unique power of resilience during turbulent times. Today, I help organizations disrupt ‘change as usual’. Through a practical and repeatable framework, I show them how they can transform their culture from surviving change to growing through change.

Known as a dynamic, captivating speaker, Joe is a sought-after expert on workforce, leadership, and teamwork subjects. He is the author of 3 books including Employalty: How to Ignite Commitment and Keep Top Talent in the New Age of Work. Joe hosts the popular podcast Boss Better Now and his work as a leadership and workforce expert has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Newsweek, and more. Joe previously managed training at one of the largest healthcare systems in the country and has taught leadership courses at two major universities. Joe's programs combine energy, humor, stories, and rich social science research with clear, real-world takeaways on how to find and keep devoted employees, become better bosses, and create thriving workplaces.

Dr. Kim Hires is an international Keynote Speaker, Strategic Consultant, and Coach who is dedicated to leadership development and helping leaders achieve their highest potential. Her work focuses on burnout prevention and cultivating cultures of well-being which she has been doing for over a decade. Her client portfolio includes individuals and organizations across a variety of industries and sectors that generate over $1 billion in annual revenue. Dr. Kim is also the host of the Leadership Antidote Podcast and author of The Leadership Innovation Manifesto. When not working with leaders, Dr. Kim enjoys spending time with her husband and son in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.