#8 - Peter Spence: High Performance, Joy and Expansive Thinking

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Peter Spence about accessing natural genius through joy, presence, and expansive ways of thinking.Pete reflects on decades of work across elite sport, coaching, arts, and leadership, drawing insights from cricket, ballet, and Cirque du Soleil. Together, they explore how inner focus, openness, and joy support sustained performance, meaningful collaboration, and more fulfilling ways of living and working.This episode explores• Joy and satisfaction as foundations for performance• How high performers access “no thought” states• Self-organisation, spontaneity, & non-linear thinking• Coaching as listening, facilitation, & restraint• Moving beyond mechanical toward quantum perspectives• Self-organisation as a core human capacityGuest links:• Peter Spence: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-spence-6021016/• Shawn Green: The Way of Baseball (stillness and “no thought”) • Dr Amy Saltzman: mindfulness in sport, medicine, and education• Graham Winter: hleadership, sport psychology, and Olympic work https://www.grahamwinterpsychology.com• Debbie Muir: coaching, leadership, and Great Traits https://medium.com/@debbiemuir/about• Meg Wheatley: Soul-grounded Leadership and systems thinking https://margaretwheatley.com/• Kalvinder Shields: economics, leadership, and meditation https://meditationaustralia.org.au/about-us/ma-council-and-patrons/• Dr Elise Bialylew – Mindful in May https://www.mindfulinmay.org/• Chris Laszlo https://www.sustainablevaluepartners.comBooks:• The Way of Baseball: Finding Stillness at 95 mph by Shawn Green & Gordon McAlpine https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Way-of-Baseball/Shawn-Green/9781439191200• A Still Quiet Place for Athletes by Dr Amy Saltzman https://stillquietplace.com/product/a-still-quiet-place-for-athletes-mindfulness-skills-for-achieving-peak-performance-and-finding-flow-in-sports-and-life/ • Quantum Leadership: New Consciousness in Business by Tsao & Laszlo https://www.sup.org/books/business/quantum-leadership• Works by Danah Zohar on quantum thinkingChapters:02:17 High performance across arts, sport, business07:15 Cricket in Australia alongside ballet and rugby11:22 Innovation in elite sport, openness, and fulfilling lives20:00 AI, directorship, mindful technology, and Graham Winter27:00 Joy as a foundation for satisfaction and achievement35:00 AIS, VIS, and Cirque du Soleil performance models48:20 Mindfulness and recognising individual talentExplore further:Book a Lab: https://naturalgenius.com.auLearn more about Sam: https://samanthabell.com.auSubscribe to hear future episodes.Credits:Hosted by Samantha (Sam) Bell in Melbourne, 16 January, 2026Produced at the Travancore and Violet Town offices, 26 January - 6 February, 2026Natural Genius Podcast https://naturalgenius.com.au