W.I.N. Newsletter Special - Book Recommendations

Published: Sun, 02/12/12

Here are three book recommendations from a friend and newsletter subscriber. I have read two of the three and just ordered the third.

The first book is "Mind Gym: An Athlete's Inner Guide to Excellence" by Gary Mack. Sports psychology consultant Mack's philosophy is to train the mind in conjunction with your physical skills to build your "mental muscle" or "head edge". Chapters include lessons on the power of language and positive thoughts (avoid DON'T in your vocabulary), getting over yourself and your fear, the power of dreams and how to set S.M.A.R.T. goals to reach your objectives through the A.C.T. (create a future and then live into it) principle. For example, A ccept your present state, C reate your desired state and T ake action steps to get there through goal setting. Your goals should be Specific, M easurable, A chievable, R ealistic and T ime Bound. Other chapters include failure as feedback, lessons on breathing and relaxation (tactical breathing) and the role of both the conscious and unconscious mind. It ties together nicely several of the messages you have taught for years. It is full of anecdotes and powerful quotes from world class athletes including one that hit me right between the eyes: "You can't outperform your self-image" by Dennis Connor.

The second book is Pete Carroll's "Win Forever: Live, Work and Play Like a Champion". Carroll coached the USC Trojans to 7 straight Pac-10 Titles and is currently the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. In it, he describes his philosophy on football specifically and later describes how it can be used to positively impact all area of your life. His philosophy is self-described as a combination of John Wooden's 'Pyramid of Success' and psychologist Abraham Maslow's 'Hierarchy of Needs'. His central theme is: "Competition. Always compete. You're either competing or you're not in a relentless pursuit of a competitive edge." This is not used in a cutthroat way but as a barometer measuring your own internal pursuit of excellence in an effort to help the greater good: the team. Toward this end, he views his role as a coach as helping his people realize their full potential and offers great suggestions like "learn your learner" to achieve this. His philosophy is: "Do things better than they have ever been done before". It sounds similar to Chuck Knoll's: "Champions are champions not because they do anything extraordinary but because they do the ordinary things better than anyone else." This powerful belief is used in the pursuit of excellence on the football field, in organizational change, in relationships and all areas of your life where settling for your current situation is never an option. A great book from a wonderful coach with a powerful message that applies to all areas of our lives.

The final book is "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success" by Columbia's Dr. Carol Dweck. In it, she describes two predominant types of mindsets: fixed and growth orientated. Essentially, the fixed mindset is "one that views a trait like intelligence as static (genetic) which leads to a desire to look smart and a tendency to then avoid challenges, get defensive or give up easily on challenges, view effort as fruitless, ignore feedback and feel threatened by the success of other". Conversely, the growth mindset is "one that views intelligence as a trait that can be developed which leads to a tendency to learn and therefore embrace challenges, persist in the face of obstacles, see effort as the path to mastery, learn from criticism and find lessons and inspiration in the success of others". She then goes on to describe how each of these mindsets affects learning, the meaning of failure, meaning of effort, in leadership and in spousal relationships. Moreover, Dweck illustrates how the growth and fixed mindsets can be unintentionally delivered by parents, coaches and teachers. It was a great read with profound implications for how we talk with people and the potential messages behind our words. I agree with several of the book's reviewers who said "it should be required reading for parents, teachers and coaches".

Take care.

Brian Willis