It’s surprising how much the discussion about thoughts and thinking in basketball can apply to creativity. This episode is with BriAnna Garza, a professional basketball shooting coach. She currently coaches players in the (American) NBA, WNBA (as well as the NCAA and youth players) on both shot development and thought development.

BriAnna is also the founder/owner of Shooters Shoot— a mentorship program that focuses on the same two things. The training model was inspired by BriAnna’s passion for coaching both the science and the mindset of shooting.

I first learned of BriAnna via Instagram. You MUST follow her! True to her philosophy, her Insta is half basketball and half thought development. It’s super interesting and (as above) a lot of what she talks about can be adapted to the creative realm.

BriAnna and I discuss:

• neutral thinking
• the role of emotion
• visualisation – how to to do it and how to get the most out of it
• the importance of a ‘culture of error’
• the Pygmalion Effect
• and more…

Many listeners to the show would have heard me talk about Ben Crowe, BriAnna reminds me of Ben Crowe, except she’s young – not that he’s old — and a woman. But she has a similar way of thinking that’s about inspiring people to do and be their best and live with purpose.

I am such a big fan of her and I reckon you will be too, after hearing her speak.