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High Performance Lifestyle

Outwork Book Club: Unlimited Power

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Posts for the Outwork Book Club will be continuous; I will post updates as I work through each book. Eventually, I will encourage readers to follow along with me and add any insight or pose questions about the central themes of the book. This is what we call a living document; mostly because it doesn’t immediately die as soon as it becomes published like everything else.  It is something that is continuously updated and changed overtime to reflect the newest information

UNLIMITED POWER BY TONY ROBBINS

There is no name more recognized than Tony Robbins in the world of personal achievement.

His story has been recounted many, many, many times on YouTube and he has been featured on every major publication for his seminars and world-famous Firewalk.

Robbins’ is a self-development expert, adopting ideas and concepts from NLP, Jim Rohn, and many, many others. He has worked with the best in the world, which has given him insight into what works for the absolute 1%. These years of experience began with the ideas outlined in Unlimted Power; a proving ground for his life and what you can do for yourself.

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Neuroplasticity & Cognitive Enhancement

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Note- Mostly we write actionable pieces that are short form. Sometimes the allure of science makes us delve deeper. 

The brain has the ability to change itself through neuronal rewiring in response to the needs and requirements of the body.

Countless studies have been done in which scientist have learned that the brain is much more plastic than previously thought. This concept contrasts the traditional thinking of the brain as an unchangeable “machine” in which its structures correspond to specific tasks. The traditional thinking behind this structural design is based on motor brain maps that are topographical, where areas in the brain functionally parallel adjacent parts of the body.

However, work from Norman Doidge in his book, The Brain That Changes Itself, proves this to be inaccurate. We can change the structures of our brain through focused thinking and effort.

Surely on of the most extraordinary discoveries of the twentieth century: Scientist showed that thinking, learning, and acting can turn our genes on or off, thus shaping our brain anatomy and behavior. – Norman Doidge

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Outwork Book Club: Talent is Overrated

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Posts for the Outwork Book Club will be continuous; I will post updates as I work through each book. Eventually I will encourage readers to follow along with me and add any insight or pose questions about the central themes of the book. This is what we call a living document; mostly because it doesn’t immediately die as soon as it becomes published like everything else.  It is something that is continuously updated and changed overtime to reflect the newest information.

Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin

Where does great performance come from?

Many would say that great performers are gifted with “talent”- a form of innate skill possessed from childhood that enables these great performers to truly excel.

The talent myth is just that- a myth. Colvin’s work truly aims to dispel the lie about talent and instead charters a more realistic path to greatness- one that involves a concept called deliberate practice and a lot of time spent working on a skill.

[Read more…]

The Mindset of a Champion

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There is no better example of a champion’s mindset than that of the legendary bodybuilder, Arnold Schwarzenegger. His first published book, Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder is one of the most motivating books I have ever read, and I have read it many times over.

My last experience was on a cruise ship sailing through the Caribbean islands. I purposely took the book with me because I wanted to read something that would keep me motivated and hungry, staying keen to my physical development and physique goals.

The thing about cruise ships is that they are fertile grounds for the mediocre and are essentially full of those lost souls that have all but ceded to a life of absolute emptiness. Many are old, at the twilight of their lives, but many are young, hellbent on endless hedonistic pursuits. Many of them are girls, and foreign, which is why I even allow myself to be caught up in such an environment.

Carrying Arnold’s book helped to keep me focused because Arnold was perhaps the most focused person that anyone could ever read about. Even at a young age, he maintained a steadfast vision for greatness.

“I knew I was going to be a bodybuilder. It wasn’t simply that either. I would be the best bodybuilder in the world, the greatest, the best-built man.” [Read more…]

Mental Fitness by Mountain Athlete

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Disclaimer: the article was originally taken from Mountain Athlete which is now the Mountain Tactical Institute.  

I read the following article many years ago, when I was training for an elite Army school. I knew that it would be important to cultivate a strong mindset prior to the training but I vaguely knew how to get there. I knew that it would take an immense amount of physical effort to peak for the training and the physical catalyst would inherently forge a tougher mental state. But that’s all that I knew.

The following article helped me to understand Mental Toughness beyond the ability to endure. That “it” also involved an ability to think clearly in times when you only want to think of surviving was critical. It involves the ability to reason, to critically maneuver when you are dead tired, in the middle of mission, in the darkest of hours, and when all hope appears to be lost. Those are the times when you must be mentally tough. Those are the times when it matters. But how do you get there?  [Read more…]

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