We were lucky to catch up with Michael Locasto recently and have shared our conversation below.

Michael, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

Happiness does not come from our circumstances, it is generated within. So often we put limits on our happiness that we often miss the underlying happiness that is always already here. We say things like, “I will be happy when I am working my dream job or I will be happy when I find my life partner.” Our happiness now becomes codependent on external conditions, which are always changing. It is clear when one chooses the path of inner transformation that they will discover a place of timeless peace and unchanging joy. This is true liberation to realize what is already effortlessly here in the present moment.

In 2018, I was working with the Arizona Diamondbacks as a strength and conditioning coach. Ever since I was a young boy I was wildly fascinated with human potential in the form of athletics. It was then when I was 14 years old I decided I wanted to work with professional athletes as a MLB strength and conditioning coach. I had been working towards realizing this goal for over a decade. During this time, I received an undergraduate & graduate degree in Kinesiology, I worked for four prestigious universities, and two nationally recognized performance centers. It was as though fate would allow my dreams to come true.

During the spring training of 2018 I was working my rotation with the MLB team. On that day the head strength coach called me into the office. As I am nervously anticipating what he was about to ask I remember thinking, “Am I in trouble?” At that time my mind had a tendency to gravitate towards the worst-case scenario. The strength coach looked at me and asked me, “Where would you like to be in three years?” My body tensed up as he asked this question and I responded, “I want to be in the big leagues.” He looked at me and said, “I don’t want you to tell me what you think I want to hear, I want the truth.” My entire body relaxed as I softly shared with a defeated feeling, “I don’t know.”

It was the truth. I was 28 years old and I had been working the past 14 years to realize my dream job of working with professional athletes. For someone that was so close to making this dream a reality I knew deep down it was not going to be enough. The next year I was offered an opportunity to work with the MLB team during summer training. It was then where I realized that my happiness is not derived from my circumstances. This proliferated an inner journey to discover true peace, freedom, and happiness. The work I do now is coaching people to discover the timeless truth that is within.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?

I am a Human Performance Coach turned Inner Transformational Coach. For over a decade, I was training hundreds of elite level athletes as a strength & conditioning coach. Today I help people that are earnestly interested in inner transformation to break free from mental, emotional, and energetic bondage to discover timeless peace & true liberation. Said another way, I help people disentangle from the endless labyrinth of their mind to feel empowered to live life. I work with high-performing athletes, business leaders, spiritual seekers, and anyone that wants to liberate their mind from suffering.

My great passion in this life is unlocking and expanding human potential. As a college baseball player, I was incredibly dedicated to bettering myself physically and mentally. This carried over into working with athletes in the weight room eventually receiving a job with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Through my inner and outer studies, I discovered the power of transformational work. As a life-long learner I started discovering books on mindset, eastern philosophy, and breaking free from limited ego-identity. Along the way I learned how to heal myself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Now I work with individuals through 1:1 transformational coaching and breathwork.

To understand what I do with my clients here is a little background detail on how the mind works. The mechanics of the mind, though seemingly personal, are actually universal. Through thousands and thousands of years of neurology we humans have adopted brain strategies from our ancestors. We are wired towards survival. Above all else the brain is designed to keep us alive. In a state of survival, we are placed in an internal state of stress. Neurochemicals like adrenaline and norepinephrine flood into our bloodstream to signal danger. Cognitive neuroscience now shows that, generally speaking, humans are in this state of stress over 70% of the time. We can trigger the fight flight nervous system by how we think. Whether we are being chased by a grizzly bear or sifting through our emails this stress is registered within as the same. In a state of stress, we are in a state of fear.

My gift is in helping individuals dissolve habits, patterns, and deep seated self-limiting beliefs that are keeping one stuck in a limited state of fear. In society we are largely undereducated on how the mind actually works. This is why I am so passionate to help people liberate their minds to experience a more natural way of being. In a world where we have been conditioned to gather self-worth and value from what we do I guide people to the place within where they can experience their true power in their being. We are human BEINGS. If we want to generate powerful results in life we must understand where true power comes from–our own being. It bears the fruits of unshakable presence and boundless love. My work calls to those that are truly ready for transformational work and to realize their true nature.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Here is a quote I offer my clients, “My job is not to fix you it is to reveal to you that there is nothing that needs to be fixed.” In life we grow up with the idea that we must do things in order to be successful. And yet there are many people that society would call successful that are miserable. To me the truest sense of success is an inner state of freedom. A place that is beyond fear & suffering, and yet is still very much compassionate & caring for others. As babies we are born into this world as pristine innocent beings. We were free until we were not. We develop self-limiting beliefs, which create our perspective. This perspective creates the eyes for how we see the world. Many are still relating to life on the level of their childhood conditioning. I believe the game of life is to disentangle from societal programming and childhood conditioning to realize the truth of who we are. True freedom is recognizing that part of us that was present when we were 5 years old, 10 years old, and is still present today. This to me is the ultimate success for anyone in any field. Everyone speaks about wanting to be more present. Liberation is a state of unshakable presence.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

One of the most powerful books I have ever read is a book called “Vaster Than Sky Greater Than Space” by Mooji. Anyone that is interested in how to break free from mental suffering would really enjoy this read. Mooji offers practical guidance on the art of self-inquiry. This may be a new concept for many people, but I promise it is very practical and tangible. In the self-development world we are constantly being offered new books, courses, and trainings on how to improve ourself. I find inner transformational work offers a rare and auspicious opportunity to not become somebody, but rather un-become who we are not to be who we already are. Many want to develop themselves from a limited state of mind. In a sense they are attempting to become the best version of the limited idea they have of themself. This book introduces one to their true nature within.

Contact Info:

• Website: monksmind.life
• Instagram: @Michael.locasto / @monksmindofficial

Image Credits
Garrett Van Arkel