Mental Performance Jobs Are Getting Cut. Here’s the Bigger Problem.

Join Performance BLDR → https://performancebldr.com/ Recent layoffs connected to the Ready and Resilient (R2) contract sparked this episode, but this isn't really a video about one contract or one group of practitioners. It's about a much bigger problem in the mental performance industry: value. Doing good work matters. Helping athletes, soldiers and clients matters. But when organizations make business decisions, practitioners also have to understand how their work is valued, differentiated and justified. Too many professionals in our field are still selling essentially the same things: 1-on-1 coaching, team sessions and workshops. And too many of us are using the same language—mindfulness, resilience, confidence, self-talk, grit and mental skills. So what actually makes you different? In this episode of Industry Pathology, I discuss: • What recent mental-performance layoffs reveal about the industry • Why doing meaningful work doesn't automatically create job security • The difference between doing work and demonstrating value • Why practitioners need to diversify their expertise • The limitations of trading time for money • Apps, courses, content, digital products and other opportunities • Why differentiation matters in an increasingly crowded field • What the mental-performance profession can learn from strength & conditioning • How practitioners can become harder to replace I've experienced this myself. After significant expected contract revenue disappeared, I had to figure out how to create new opportunities rather than assume the work would return. That experience helped reinforce why I created Performance BLDR. Performance BLDR is designed to help practitioners take their existing expertise and build, leverage, differentiate and redefine what they can do with it. 👉 Learn more: https://performancebldr.com/ This isn't about blaming people who lose their jobs. Some decisions are completely outside our control. It's about asking what we can control and how we can collectively increase the value of mental performance as a profession. What does our industry need to do differently? Drop your thoughts below. _____________________________________________________ Timestamps 00:00 – Recent R2 layoffs & why I'm talking about it 00:34 – The bigger industry problem 00:59 – Doing good work vs. demonstrating value 01:49 – Making mental performance tangible 02:07 – Why everyone sounds the same 02:45 – What makes you different? 03:09 – When organizations cut the budget 03:37 – I lost nearly $100K in expected business 03:57 – How I responded with Performance BLDR 04:29 – You don't always control your worth 05:05 – Diversify your skill set 05:24 – The 3 ways most practitioners make money 05:58 – The problem with trading time for money 06:35 – Apps, courses, ebooks & content 06:52 – Separating yourself in a crowded industry 07:17 – Degrees, certifications & limited jobs 07:37 – What does the actual job market say? 07:59 – I've been laid off too 08:36 – Why I've been able to win contracts 09:02 – You can't be like everybody else 09:45 – We have to raise the industry's value 10:32 – Practice what we teach our clients 11:06 – What strength & conditioning got right 11:44 – Clinical psychology vs. mental performance 12:00 – Mindfulness and resilience aren't enough 12:18 – Final takeaway _______________________________________________________ #MentalPerformance #SportPsychology #PerformancePsychology #PerformanceBLDR #IndustryPathology