Great read for motivation

I've read and am re-reading the book The Slight Edge, by Jeff Olson.  It talks about the compounding effective of small decisions made over time, whether that's choosing to act, or choosing not to act.

I found it very motivating for not skipping workouts.

There's also a book called Talent is Overrated which makes the point that working your ass off is far more beneficial than being naturally good at something.

Looking at where I started from, I'd better hope the author is right.

Similar to the above is Bounce by Matthew Syed - an interesting light read.

mark thanks for the recommendation, shortly after your post I bought the book and it's really great so far

Yes thank you, Mark.  I am enjoying it as well.

So far it certainly rings true with my own experience as a long time US National Team Coach.   Basically if you take care of today's business today, tomorrow's business will take care of itself.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Glad you are enjoying it.

Every time I think about skipping out on something I should be doing, this book always goes through my mind.

I've just bought it as a selfie Xmas present :-)

Hopefully it can be read guilt-free whilst sitting down....

All,

Another very good, short inspirational read is "Mastery" by George Leonard.  his background is in the martial arts. He describes the many benefits of daily practice, that he describes as 'the plateau'.  He also demonstrates the gains made by daily practice for an over 40 athlete.

Paul

I know this thread is old, but The Slight Edge is indeed a great read. I highly recommend it to everyone.

It changed my mindset of how success is truly achieved.

When you first read this book you'll be like "duh.. Obviously" but when you truly understand it, you'll be like "Hmm..I know what to do" and you'll do it. Period.

Well, yeah, this is the GST attitude.

Motivation? I'm not so motivated, I guess. But training's today, this morning, now, so it's time to do today's bit regardless of how I feel about it. After that becomes a habit, you realise a year and a half has gone by since Foundation came out, and the improvements only accelerate~~

I saw a quote somewhere that said " motivation is for amateurs, professionals just get to work". I think it's supposed to mean that the daily pursuit of excellence should become a habit and something that you do everyday without thinking about it.

Stephen M said:

I saw a quote somewhere that said " motivation is for amateurs, professionals just get to work". I think it's supposed to mean that the daily pursuit of excellence should become a habit and something that you do everyday without thinking about it.

This does indeed encapsulate my attitude as a long time US national team coach.  Personally, I have never had any patience with people who need to be coddled and tickled to get their work done.  My response to them was always, "Who cares how you feel?  Take care of your business.  You can feel sorry for yourself later."

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Coach, your response was for professional athletes or those, who was inclined to being one? for a recreational person, i think that a bit harsh, in my opinion. 

Kopavski said:

Coach, your response was for professional athletes or those, who was inclined to being one? for a recreational person, i think that a bit harsh, in my opinion. 

Actually that is reality in pretty much every aspect you can think of, not just sports.

Stephen M said:

I saw a quote somewhere that said " motivation is for amateurs, professionals just get to work". I think it's supposed to mean that the daily pursuit of excellence should become a habit and something that you do everyday without thinking about it.

Yeah, that's pretty much my philosophy aswell these days.

Before, like many people, I wanted to wake up one day and do dramatic things to get dramatic results. But success or even failure does not come over night, it comes slowly with time. So you're always succeeding or failing, every second of your life. What you do is what you get.

Now a days, I wake up and focus on what's important for me and I "take care of today's business" no matter how I feel. Because I know the truth, and the truth is that the small things you do everyday that don't matter for the moment, whether it's good habits or bad habits, will be everything in the future.

Kopavski said:

Coach, your response was for professional athletes or those, who was inclined to being one? for a recreational person, i think that a bit harsh, in my opinion. 

Not at all.  My comment is intended for anyone who is serious about maximizing their potential; regardless of their chosen field of endeavor: e.g. athletics, academics, business etc.  Those who are serious will get the job done, those who are not will make excuses and fall by the wayside.

Hard work, sweat and consistency are the most effective tools for success.  All else is simply different flavors of self-deception.  Nature is quite effective at separating the wannabes from the studs.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

I think Coach's attitude applies especially for recreational people.

Athletes work hard long hours to achieve a result in the future. They need excellent self-motivation, but on the bad days a bit of a push (eg. reminding the athlete what they are working towards) can at times do wonders.

But for recreational people... Why would you need the regular push? Why are you showing up in the first place? Don't you want to do this? If your interest is dabbling and being a spectator, that's fine - but be up-front with yourself and others about it so you respect people's time. You would be better suited to other dabblers/spectators, because no coach in any endeavor wants to spend time regularly listening to a person give the same excuses over and over again. It is soul-destroying for the coach, and they can't even do their job because sticking around only reinforces the emotional self-sabotage of the 'student'.

I thought this article to be very pertinent to the GB culture: http://141.14.165.6/users/cokely/Ericsson_Preitula_&_Cokely_2007_HBR.pdf