Why Cognitive Training Is the Missing Link to Peak Performance – Interview with Graham John Morgan
- Brainz Magazine
- Apr 16
- 6 min read
Today, we’re joined by a man who believes that everyone can perform so much better in their lives by giving some attention to their brain, no matter what their age.
Graham Morgan holds an MSc, two BEd degrees, and has been a Fellow of both the Royal Society for Public Health and the Royal Society of Arts. In April this year, he was shortlisted as a Finalist in the Lifetime Achievement Awards of Brunel University Alumni following a career spanning teaching, football coaching, business, mentoring, and wellness.
Graham is a serial innovator and a positive disruptor—someone whose ideas challenge the status quo and push us toward our untapped potential to perform better.
He’s here to talk about a concept that’s changing lives: Mentored Brain Training. Whether you're in a boardroom, a classroom, or in football trying for the marginal gains to deliver a competitive edge, Graham believes one thing is true—your brain is your greatest asset. Most of us aren’t using it to its full potential.
Through his latest concept, footballing brains, Graham has chosen to focus on football to introduce and explain the benefits of this groundbreaking new approach.
Graham, welcome. Let's dive in."
Graham John Morgan, Performance Mentor
Your work crosses education, business, mentoring, and football—what’s the common thread that ties all these areas together for you?
Performance. We all want to be good at what we do, and we live in a competitive society. We are all born with potential, but far too often we operate at a level that is far below what we are capable of. That could be in the office, the Boardroom, the classroom, or on the football pitch.
What sifts the good from the great is not just knowledge or skill but the decision-making by people, particularly when under time pressure.
When reflecting on human potential in every field I’ve worked in, I have seen that people often operate well below what they’re capable of. That’s where the brain comes in.
It does not have to be this way.
You completed your MSc just a few years ago as you approached your 70th birthday. How do you keep your brain as active and sharp as it was back in university?
I have always had an active brain that questioned existing and traditional practices. Growing up as a child in the 1950s and 1960s, there were so many areas that were outdated and needed innovative thinking, and I found myself thinking about new ways that could be more effective. Because of this, all my teachers called me a disruptive influence when I vocalised my thinking.
After meeting Dr Michael Merzenich, the global leading neuroscientist, I began to treat my brain like a muscle—it needs stimulation, challenge, and care. – All achievable through brain training.
Earning my MSc in my late 60s was part of that. I do not believe in slowing down. I believe in ramping up, within reason. I stay curious, connected, and mentally active. That’s brain fitness in action.
You say, “Most of us never reach our potential.” What holds people back—and how can brain training change that?
It is not a lack of intelligence. Everyone has intelligence in many different forms. Unfortunately, our education system has brainwashed generations to believe that Academic intelligence, shown through Academic Exam grades, is the only form that really matters. This is nonsense. Business, Sport, and the Arts are just some examples where other intelligences and abilities show themselves.
What can often hold us back is ignoring our brain, its health, and its cognitive functions.
Take football as an example. We train for fitness. We train for technical skills. We train players in tactics. But we ignore the very thing that controls it all—the brain. Mindset, decision-making at speed, mental strength, and resilience under pressure—those can all be trained and are transformational.
Let’s talk about brain fitness. What does it mean to have a brain that’s fit to perform?
A brain fit to perform is sharp, resilient, focused, and quick to recover. It handles stress better. It processes information faster. It makes better decisions, more quickly, more often. It is a massive resource that we neglect but need to use more effectively.
And just like physical fitness, brain fitness is something you can build and maintain over time. Think of the transformation, physically and mentally, that happens when someone decides to undertake the Couch to 5 K programme. The same is true when training the brain.
You’ve developed something called Mentored Brain Training. What is it, and how does it work?
Mentored Brain Training combines evidence-based brain exercises with one-on-one mentoring. It’s not just about doing cognitive drills—it’s about understanding why they matter, how they apply in your world, and building habits that stick. The mentor is a trusted expert guide, a challenger, and a mirror.
For best results, a 12-week programme of 3 sessions of about 30 minutes per week.
How can this kind of training improve someone’s performance—in business, in education, in sport, and in life?
Every decision we make and every decision we take is made by the brain. because the brain controls everything. Better decisions, clearer thinking, improved memory, faster reactions—these translate into more effective leadership, better exam results, smarter strategy on the pitch, and more confident life choices. It’s universal.
Why is having a mentor crucial when it comes to brain training?
A mentor helps you see your blind spots. They keep you accountable. Most importantly, they help you interpret your progress and your connect brain training performance to real-life outcomes. Without that, it could become just another exercise app or routine that you will probably discard in a few weeks.
You use football as a lens to explore brain performance. Traditional practice focus on fitness, technique, data and tactics—what’s missing?
What’s missing is the decision-making engine. In the heat of a match, it's the brain that processes what’s happening, anticipates, and chooses a response in milliseconds. If they are not training the brain, they are leaving a more consistent optimal performance on the table. Every player can make better decisions, more quickly, more often.
In the search for marginal gains to create a competitive edge, they are neglecting the best opportunity to improve performance.
You’ve said that the brain makes every decision on and off the pitch. Why is that fact often ignored in athletic training?
Coaches tend to stick to what they know from their own personal experience and do not interrogate or fully embrace learning about what they do not know. – possibly due to the massive demands on their time and attention.
How does cognitive performance—things like decision-making, focus, and reaction time—separate good players from truly great ones?
All elite performers have a similar level of technique. What sets the greats apart from the good is their decision-making to deploy their technique into skill under the pressure of match conditions.
Brain training improves the ability to concentrate and focus. Scanning and processing are upgraded to enable players to see more and process more quickly. This gives more time to decide an action and be more relaxed in the pass, shot, or dribble. This increases success and confidence for the individual and belief of the team in that individual.
Tom Brady:
“I am not a brain scientist, but I can tell you about my experience after using Brain HQ.
I could feel myself seeing more, seeing things more quickly and accurately, and making better decisions, faster.”
It's how fast and how well they think. It’s about anticipation, composure, and reading the game. That’s brain training territory.
You’re collaborating with Dr. Michael Merzenich of BrainHQ and John Bishop from Evolve. What’s the goal of that partnership?
Our initial aim was to see how combining mentoring with brain training could impact on our innovative work in schools supporting children growing up in challenging and disadvantaged circumstances.
The impact was very positive, and with my football background, I was keen to bring the concept into football. I have been approached by one UK Champions League team who have requested a proposal to implement footballing brains into their club.
What’s one small but powerful way someone could begin improving their brain health today?
We are using our brains and bodies a lot less today than in previous generations. Walking has been replaced by bikes, cars, escalators, trains, etc. Satnavs have taken the thinking from journeys in cars, and now AI threatens our need to think hard when writing submissions for reports, etc.
I would propose brain training,g such as Brain HQ. Alternatively, but with less impact, start with awareness. Notice your mental habits. Then build a daily practice—10 minutes of focused cognitive training, quality sleep, hydration, and meaningful conversation. These simple things have a massive impact over time.
What legacy do you hope to leave with your work in Mentored Brain Training?
In general terms, along with Dr Merzenich and John Bishop, we want to change the way people think about performing better. We want people to realize that their brain is not fixed; it is plastic. It is flexible, trainable, and can be more powerful. If more people reached their potential, the world would be a different place. That is the legacy we are aiming for.
In football terms, I want to see clubs, coaches, players, and match officials adopt mentored brain training into their training regimes. They can perform at a higher level. With everyone improving their decision-making, building their mental strength and resilience, the game will be played at a higher level.
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