The Dwayne Kerrigan Podcast

In Part 2 of this conversation, Emma Murray and Dwayne Kerrigan move from awareness into practical performance tools. Emma introduces one of the most powerful distinctions in high performance: critique versus criticism.
She explains why self-criticism is a survival response that quietly destroys confidence, slows learning, and locks people into repeated mistakes. Through examples from elite sport, sales, leadership, parenting, and everyday life, Emma breaks down how to review performance by examining the entire process — thoughts, feelings, actions, and results — rather than attacking outcomes or identity.
The conversation also dives into fear-based leadership, tunnel vision, stress responses, and why people perform worse when they feel watched, pressured, or unsafe. Emma shares actionable techniques to regain presence under pressure, including breath, body awareness, and “small focus” anchors that keep the mind out of fight-or-flight. This episode equips leaders, entrepreneurs, and performers with a repeatable framework for learning faster, leading better, and performing consistently — even when stakes are high.
Episode Highlights:
00:00 – Emma on self-kindness under pressure and stopping the internal threat response
01:00 – Dwayne intro + framing Part 2: turning attention and mindset into action
02:00 – Critique over criticism: how thoughts drive feelings, actions, and results
03:30 – Outcome focus vs process focus and why pressure hijacks performance
05:05 – How to critique the entire performance process (thinking, feeling, doing)
06:40 – Turning failure into growth by extracting the right lessons
08:00 – Why quarterly reviews fail and daily reflection matters
09:45 – Coaching teams beyond checklists and task correction
11:25 – A-game vs B-game language and building awareness in teams
13:40 – Leaders, fear, control, and psychological safety
15:30 – Running toward outcomes vs accessing creativity and big-picture thinking
17:30 – The “flashlight of attention” metaphor for leaders and parents
19:40 – Stress responses, presence, and anchoring attention (breath, feet, listening)
22:00 – Training attention as a performance muscle
25:45 – Stress cycles, recovery, and sustainable performance
29:10 – Introduction to the Closed Eye Process and presence training
32:00 – Deep dive: critiquing vs criticizing explained step-by-step
36:30 – Survival wiring, subconscious files, and performance memory
39:30 – The CHIMP brain, danger signals, and slipping into B-game
42:30 – Small controllable focus as the pathway back to A-game

Key Takeaways:
Critique examines process, not personal worth
Thoughts drive feelings, feelings drive actions, actions drive results
Growth comes from extracting learnings — not from failure alone
Fear narrows focus and creates tunnel vision
Small, controllable focus prevents fight-or-flight
Connection reduces fear and restores execution

Quotes:
“Failure does not give you growth if you are not actually eliciting the lessons from it.” - Emma Murray
“Feet on floor, bum on chair … Bring your attention to your feet, your bum, your breath … those things are gonna anchor you back into the present moment” - Emma Murray
“When all this fails, use your breath” - Emma Murray
“The human mind cannot carry two thoughts simultaneously.” - Dwayne...

Performance mindset coach Emma Murray returns to The Dwayne Kerrigan Podcast to break down why even highly capable people struggle under pressure - and how to fix it.
Emma explains that humans are not wired to perform at their best in business, sport, or life - we’re wired for survival. When pressure hits, our attention naturally drifts to fear, loss, and outcomes we can’t control, pulling us out of the present moment. Through powerful examples from golf, sales, leadership, parenting, and elite sport, Emma shows how performance collapses the moment attention leaves the task.
Together, Dwayne and Emma unpack the difference between skillset and mindset, why elite performers win through attention regulation, and how “chunking down” - narrowing focus to something small, controllable, and strength-based - restores clarity, confidence, and execution.
Episode Highlights:
00:00 – Emma opens by explaining why humans are wired for survival, not greatness.
01:00 – Dwayne introduces Emma and frames the conversation around skillset, mindset, and attention.
03:30 – Emma explains why attention patterns are universal across sport, business, and life.
06:00 – Golf example: how attention drifts under pressure and breaks execution.
08:30 – Skillset vs mindset explained using the “boxes within boxes” analogy.
11:00 – Scott McLaughlin story and consistency through mindset regulation.
13:30 – Expectations, execution, and why lowering outcomes is the wrong solution.
16:00 – Survival wiring: fear of loss vs fear of missing gain.
18:30 – Sales leadership example and why people avoid known next steps.
21:00 – Horse riding comeback story and gratitude removing danger thinking.
23:30 – Freeze response explained and attention leaving the arena.
26:00 – Why leaders can’t fix fear with cheerleading or pressure.
28:30 – Catching attention drift and recognizing A-game vs B-game signals.
31:30 – Small focus strategies for golf, sales, and presentations.
34:30 – Breath as the fastest way to regulate attention and mindset.
38:30 – Process focus vs outcome focus and competitive advantage.
41:30 – Post-execution review introduced: critique over criticism.
44:30 – Bonus segment setup: “Chunking Down” as a performance tool.
47:30 – Chunking down explained with leadership, sales, and riding examples.
Key Takeaways:
Humans are wired for survival, not peak performance
Pressure pulls attention away from the present moment
Skillset lives inside mindset — mindset determines delivery
Outcomes and comparison destabilize performance
Small, controllable focus creates safety and clarity
Breath is the fastest way to regulate attention
Elite performers anchor attention on process, not results
Performance improves when danger is removed from the mind

Quotes:
“We are not wired to be great in competition or to be great in sales or business, or even a great friend for that matter, or a great parent. We are just wired for survival.” - Emma Murray
Big stuff, big goals, big expectations, small focus.” - Emma Murray
“If you are stepping into that moment with your attention on the process, you've already got a massive competitive advantage.” - Emma Murray
“Control is an illusion” - Dwayne...

In this special bonus episode recorded ahead of their full mindset conversation, Dwayne Kerrigan and Emma Murray reflect on a deeply personal topic: relationships.
As Valentine’s Day approaches, they explore how intimate relationships often absorb the stress, pressure, and emotional buildup from the outside world. Dwayne shares candidly about his own growth — recognizing how habitual reactions, unmet needs, and old internal stories can surface at home if they’re not processed throughout the day. Emma adds insight into how unconscious patterns, primary questions, and survival wiring shape the way we show up with those we love most.
Together, they discuss raising standards inside the relationship, practicing conscious awareness, meeting your partner’s needs without expectation, and replacing self-judgment with grace. This short but powerful conversation reframes love not as grand gestures, but as attention, awareness, and intentional daily behavior.
Episode Highlights:
0:00 - Introduction: Valentine's Day as a renewal for relationships
0:27 - Viewing Valentine's Day as a time for awareness and meeting needs
1:23 - Why we release stress on loved ones instead of during the day
2:41 - Holding different standards for work vs. intimate relationships
3:43 - The importance of awareness in meeting your partner's needs
4:34 - Breaking habitual negative response patterns in relationships
5:11 - How relationship quality affects every area of life
5:38 - "Chains of habit are too light to be felt until too heavy to be broken"
6:06 - Treating your partner with conscious awareness
7:14 - Focusing on relationship growth: reading, podcasts, and learning
7:53 - Enjoying the process instead of fixating on an end state
8:30 - Getting addicted to lighting up your partner
9:10 - Managing anger and identifying emotional triggers
9:52 - Using Byron Katie's four questions to examine stories we tell ourselves
10:12 - Taking responsibility instead of projecting onto your partner
10:30 - We're all learning - giving yourself and your partner grace
11:54 - Appreciating yourself for being imperfect
Key Takeaways:
We often release built-up stress on the people we love most
Awareness creates choice inside intimate moments
Love grows when we actively meet one another’s needs
Self-reflection prevents projection
Grace and ownership dissolve conflict faster than blame
Relationships are built through process, not perfection
Conscious love is practiced — not automatic

Quotes:
“There’s nothing better in this world and nothing makes life feel greater than having an amazing relationship that is just full of love and abundance when it is going and operating at its peak level.” - Dwayne Kerrigan
“ I didn't hold myself to the same standard inside the intimate relationship as I did in my professional life.” - Dwayne Kerrigan
“If things are not good in your relationship, they’re not good anywhere you go.” - Dwayne Kerrigan
“I think our relationships are very based on just habitual...

In Part 2 of this in-depth conversation, Sarah Jeanneault and Dwayne Kerrigan tackle one of the most misunderstood topics in modern business: AI implementation without foundational process.
Drawing from Sarah’s background in education, finance, trading psychology, and her current role at ProcedureFlow, the discussion reframes AI not as a silver bullet—but as an amplifier of whatever already exists inside an organization. Together, they explore why many companies are failing to see ROI from AI investments, how skipping SOPs and governance creates chaos, and why leaders must slow down before they scale up.
Using powerful metaphors—from sourdough baking to mountain biking—Sarah explains why meaningful AI adoption requires patience, critical thinking, and uncomfortable conversations. The episode also expands into leadership, parenting, culture-building, and the human elements AI will never replace: empathy, judgment, and connection. This is a grounded, honest conversation for leaders who want to use AI responsibly—without gambling their business on hype.
Episode Highlights:
00:00 – Sarah introduces AI implementation using a sourdough recipe analogy
01:00 – Dwayne welcomes listeners and frames Part 2
02:00 – Imposter syndrome, fear, and language we use to protect ourselves
05:00 – Growth mindset and the “10 more steps” principle
08:00 – Parenting, resilience, and building long-term capability
12:00 – Leadership, culture, and why hard conversations matter
16:00 – Why AI investments often fail to produce ROI
20:00 – SOPs, governance, and backing the bus up
25:00 – Customer experience, AI chatbots, and human frustration
30:00 – Agentic AI, avatars, and future customer service models
35:00 – Why AI is already here and cannot be undone
40:00 – Doom scrolling, humanity, and preserving curiosity
46:00 – Data collection as preparation—not prediction
53:00 – Visual flows and simplifying complex knowledge
59:00 – AI timelines, human choice, and optionality
01:05:00 – Where AI helps—and where it shouldn’t replace humans
01:10:00 – Final reflections and resources
Key Takeaways:
AI amplifies broken systems, it doesn’t fix them
SOPs, processes, and governance must come before automation
ROI fails when AI is implemented for optics instead of outcomes
Process clarity enables both humans and AI to perform better
Not every industry, or company, is ready for AI at the same pace
Data collection today enables smarter AI decisions tomorrow
AI should augment human judgment, not replace it
The future still belongs to human connection, empathy, and choice

Resources Mentioned:
ProcedureFlow – Enterprise knowledge management platform - https://procedureflow.com/

Notable Quotes:

In this wide-ranging conversation, Sarah Jeanneault shares her unconventional journey from struggling with math in school to becoming a respected leader in fintech, trading education, and enterprise knowledge management. She and Dwayne Kerrigan explore the deep gaps in financial literacy, why traditional education often fails to prepare people for real-world decision-making, and how learning truly begins after formal schooling ends.
Sarah explains how she applied adult learning theory to teach herself trading, why psychology matters more than numbers in the markets, and how curiosity, pattern recognition, and humility shaped her success. The discussion expands into the future of education, AI’s role in learning, entrepreneurship, identity shifts after business exits, and the emotional reality of leadership transitions. This episode is a thoughtful examination of growth, risk, and why continuous learning is the most valuable skill anyone can develop.
Episode Highlights:
00:00 – Sarah opens by naming the gap in real-world financial literacy.
02:00 – Dwayne introduces Sarah and frames the episode around learning and reinvention.
05:00 – Sarah shares struggling with math and early assumptions about intelligence.
09:00 – Losing her best friend and questioning the direction of her life.
14:00 – Discovering trading and applying adult learning theory to self-education.
18:00 – Why financial literacy is rarely taught despite its life-long impact.
23:00 – Breaking down trading basics and removing unnecessary complexity.
28:00 – Psychology, emotion, and why ego derails good financial decisions.
33:00 – Risk, uncertainty, and learning to sit with discomfort.
38:00 – Podcasts, curiosity, and self-directed learning as modern education.
44:00 – Continuous learning as the foundation of entrepreneurship and leadership.
49:00 – Gamifying learning to build confidence and consistency over time.
54:00 – Building community through transparency and shared learning.
59:00 – Scaling education-driven businesses and teaching at scale.
64:00 – Identity shifts after acquisitions and redefining success.
69:00 – Leadership, disagreement, and creating psychologically safe teams.
74:00 – AI, critical thinking, and the future of learning.
79:00 – Personal growth, reinvention, and staying curious long-term.
84:00 – Reflections on learning, humility, and what truly creates confidence.
88:00 – Closing thoughts, gratitude, and setting up Part 2.
Key Takeaways:
Financial literacy is rarely taught, yet deeply shapes life decisions.
Learning accelerates when curiosity replaces fear of being “bad at math.”
Real education often begins after formal schooling ends.
Trading and business are driven as much by psychology as by data.
Growth comes from pattern recognition, experimentation, and reflection.
Entrepreneurship requires comfort with uncertainty and identity shifts.
AI will amplify learning — but only if critical thinking is prioritized.
Strong leaders create environments where disagreement is encouraged.
Sustainable success comes from continuous learning and reinvention.

Resources...