The High Performance Podcast

Episode: What Episodes Should You Play for Your Kids – And Why?

Hosts: Jake Humphrey & Damian Hughes
Release Date: September 5, 2025

Episode Overview

In this special Friday episode, hosts Jake and Damian explore a thoughtful question: Which past High Performance episodes would you want your kids, or the young people in your life, to hear – and why? With hundreds of interviews featuring high achievers across sport, business, entertainment, and beyond, Jake and Damian reflect on the conversations that offer timeless, transferable lessons. They share clips, insights, and advice—aimed at helping young people build purpose, resilience, self-worth, and agency.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Choosing Timeless Lessons for the Next Generation

• Jake: The pair always asks after a guest: “If our son or daughter worked for, or with, that person, would we be happy?” ([02:24])
• Damian: “It can be about the messenger as much as the message—seeing someone who’s scaled the mountain, who says, ‘here’s what I learned,’ can really land with young people.” ([03:10])
• They set a goal for the podcast: to share lessons parents, aunts, uncles, or grandparents could pass down.

2. The Power of the 1%: Sam Tompkins on Small Efforts

Damian’s Pick: Rugby league star Sam Tompkins

• Sam’s story: Not the most “naturally destined”; years of struggle before breakthrough.

• Key Wisdom: It's the tiny, unnoticed 1% efforts—done daily—that separate high performers.

• Sam Tompkins [04:33]:

  "It's the one percents—things that other people won't notice... These are what we call 1% efforts... And that, amongst the group, was more valued. It was the tiny little details. Sean Wayne says it all the time: 'Anything you do is everything you do.'"

• Jake connects this to life outside sport:

  “We are making tiny 1% decisions… thousands of times a week… They seem insignificant until you add them all up, and it’s only then they have incredible impact in our lives.” ([05:44])

• Not about talent: these are choices anyone can make—persistence, kindness, responsibility.

3. Finding Purpose: Hector Garcia on Ikigai

Jake’s Pick: Author Hector Garcia (on the Japanese concept of ikigai)

• Context: Young people feel pressure to be ‘best’ or to compete in a world of constant comparison.

• Ikigai = Finding your reason for being

• Hector Garcia [10:08]:

  “Do you wake up in the morning... looking forward to your day?... Now we have the tool we call the four circles of Ikigai... what you love, what you're good at, what you can make money off, what the world needs. Write them all down. Don’t limit yourself. That exercise will stay in your subconscious, and days later, you’ll have ideas—what to do more of, what to leave behind.”

• Jake’s summary ([12:45]):

  “Can you earn enough money doing something you love, are good at, and the world needs? You’ll be far happier than just chasing money or ‘winning’.”

• Damian: Hector’s four-question Ikigai process offers more practical career advice than “find your passion”—it’s about exploring what actually lights you up from all angles. ([14:18])

4. Responsibility & Agency: Robin van Persie’s Parenting Wisdom

Damian’s Pick: The viral conversation with Robin van Persie and his son Shaquille

• Robin van Persie [16:32]:

  “He was moody, complaining about others, about the coach... I said, 'You sound like a loser ... Winners take control and blame themselves and look where they can improve… Ask yourself, are you a loser or a winner?' But I love you regardless—whether you make it as a footballer or not. Take control of your life and stop complaining about others.”

• Damian on ‘psychological safety’ ([18:30]):

  “He says, ‘I love you no matter what.’ The love is not dependent on achievement. With that in place, he can push him to take personal responsibility—putting the locus of control inside yourself is the starting point of high performance.”

5. Bonus Recommendations for Young People & Their Mentors

- Mel Robbins: High Five Habit ([19:49])

• Jake: Mel advocates helping young people build self-affirmation tools—“If our kids said out loud to us the critical things they tell themselves in their heads, we’d be devastated.”
• Ask better questions after school or sport: “Did you love it? What were you proud of?”

- Vicky Patterson: Don’t Compare Your ‘Behind the Scenes’ to Others’ Highlight Reels ([21:04])

• Damian: On the dangers of the comparison culture intensified by social media, and Vicky’s personal journey through it.

- Lewis Morgan (Gymshark): Just Start ([21:57])

• Jake: On entrepreneurial mindset—stop waiting for opportunities, “just do it”; parents can challenge kids with questions like, “How would you turn £100 into more?”

- Jonathan Haidt: The Anxious Generation ([22:33])

• Damian: Vital episode to listen to with your kids. Grounded research on how smartphones impact young people’s well-being, not just emotionally but spiritually and socially.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• Jake, on the goal of the podcast [02:24]:

  “If our son or daughter worked for that person or with that person, would we be happy?”

• Sam Tompkins, on the 1% [04:33]:

  “It's the one percents… that amongst the group was more valued … Anything you do is everything you do.”

• Hector Garcia, on Ikigai [10:08]:

  “If you actually do this exercise … it will stay in your subconscious… [and] days later … you will say … maybe I should start doing more of this and start eliminating this from my life.”

• Robin van Persie, on agency and love [16:32]:

  “I will love you regardless … if you want to be a winner, take control of your life and stop complaining about others.”

• Damian, on the importance of psychological safety [18:30]:

  “He says, ‘I love you no matter what.’ … Once he’s established that climate of love, he can step in and say: ‘What can I do? How can I improve?’—that’s the starting point for high performance.”

Important Timestamps

• [02:24] Jake explains the key question they ask about their guests (Would you want your child to work for this person?)
• [04:33] Sam Tompkins on the 1% efforts
• [10:08] Hector Garcia introduces the four circles of Ikigai
• [16:32] Robin van Persie’s conversation with his son Shaquille
• [19:49] Mel Robbins on the ‘High Five Habit’
• [21:04] Vicky Patterson on social media comparison
• [21:57] Lewis Morgan of Gymshark on “just doing”
• [22:33] Jonathan Haidt’s advice for understanding the impact of smartphones

Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is enthusiastic, honest, and actionable in tone—reflecting both Jake’s and Damian’s ongoing quest to draw out universal lessons from world-class guests. Listeners, especially parents and mentors, come away with selected stories, powerful exercises, and a clear charge: Expose young people to voices and ideas that provide psychological grounding, purpose, resilience, and actionable optimism.

Jake’s Promise ([23:45]):

“See if you can get your kids to give us ten minutes of their time. I promise you it’ll be worth it... We care deeply about the next generation.”

Conclusion

This episode is a curated guide to the High Performance archive—a toolkit for anyone looking to pass on life-changing lessons to the young people they care about. From the importance of small efforts to the power of self-knowledge, responsibility, and agency, Jake and Damian offer a playlist for character, confidence, and success that truly lasts.