And Thrive with the New Science of Success - Elevate Your Game

If you have already read a few self-improvement books, this book does not offer anything new. It is gleaned from well-known concepts and best sellers. I am disappointed at buying this book simply because of the 4-star rating by others.

I loved the book. So much great information in such a nicely presented package. I feel like you did a great job of highlighting so many important aspects of performance and was to the point and easy to read. I am going to carry many of the lessons learned from this book with me into my future endeavours.

Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success

How to be the best you can be? That is the friendly version. Intrinsically driven. The pursuit of excellence.

The other one is the pressure from work and society. Making an increasing number of people in the world miserable, hopeless, suffering, and becoming dangerously unhappy. Nuts is the new normal. Down to some experts expecting workplaces to issue productivity drugs.

There is a dark side to “Coherence”, "Stealing fire” and “Search inside yourself”. Combine that with IoT, quantified self, and you have a corporate big brother on your hand, checking your heart the eat, sleep patterns, food intake, mood and whatever else to make sure you stay productive.

Overwhelmed employee

A 2014 survey of over 2,500 companies in 90 countries worldwide found that a pressing challenge for most modern employers is “the overwhelmed employee.” One study found that more than half of white-collar workers believe they’ve reached a breaking point. 53 percent of American workers report feeling burnt out.

We need to manage ourselves

It seems we have a single reservoir of brain- and willpower. We have a limited reservoir of energy. We have a limited reservoir of decision-making capacity. Once you realise that, it is not that difficult and very simple.

The basic rule

The basic rule is stress + rest = growth.

The lessons

Dose your stress. Dose your rest.
Either pursuing an activity with ferocious intensity or engaging in complete restoration and recovery.
You learn better from “productive” failure
Create “just-manageable” challenges.
Experience does not count. Deliberate practice and deep concentration do. Serious work, with 100% engagement
Single-task. Don’t multitask. Ever. For 99 percent of us, effective multitasking is nothing more than delusional thinking. Just imagine if a runner doing intervals on the track came to a complete stop to check her phone after every notification. The constant start-and-stop would certainly impair her performance
Detox from your smart phone. Read the “End of absence”. 89 percent of college students suffer from “phantom vibration syndrome.” The most common defence against smartphone distraction is straightforward: turn your phone to silent mode and then place it face down on the table, or perhaps even put it in your pocket.
Work in alternating between blocks of 50 to 90 minutes of intense work and recovery breaks of 7 to 20 minutes to enables you to sustain the physical, cognitive, and emotional energy required for peak performance.
Get your mind straight. The lens through which we view the world affects everything from learning to health to longevity. The way we think about the world has a profound effect on what we do in it.
“I am excited” shifts your demeanour from what they call a threat mindset (stressed out and apprehensive) to an opportunity mindset (revved up and ready to go).
Meditate. Our most profound ideas often come from the small spaces in between otherwise deliberate thinking: when our brains are at rest.
Go for a walk. Those who took as brief as a 6-minute walk outdoors increased creativity by more than 60 percent versus those who had remained seated at their desks.
Meet your friends and family. The basic biology of feeling connected to others has profound effects on stress physiology,
Get enough sleep. Read "Move, eat, sleep".
Nap, a 25-minute nap improves judgment by 35 percent and vigilance by 16 percent.
Take the weekend off. Studies show that vigour and performance increase following a rest day and the more someone rests on the weekend, the more effort they expend during the week.
Think happy thoughts (read “Solve for happy”)
Eliminate distractions
Limit the number of decisions you have to make in a day (it is called decision fatigue)
Devote yourself only to things that really matter
Know your ebb and flow of energy over a 24-hour cycle (it is called chronotype).
Pick your friends wisely. You are similar to the weakest motivational link in your circle of friends. Motivation, mode and attitude are contagious. The makeup of your social circle has profound implications for your own behaviour.
Graft. The single greatest skill in any endeavour is doing the work. Not doing the work that is easy for you. Not doing the work that makes you look good. Not doing the work when you feel inspired. Just doing the graft.
We are much more capable

And last, but not least. There are stories unbelievable exhibitions of strength are so common that the scientific community recognises these acts of “superhuman” and “hysterical” strength as being very real. Our brain switches off our body way before its limits. Fear, fatigue, and pain act as protective mechanisms. But we are capable of overriding these defences. Hence, for example, Navy Seal training.

The power of purpose

And what is the main factor there? The power of purpose. Throughout history, when people focus on a self-transcending purpose, or a purpose greater than themselves, they become capable of more than they ever thought was possible.  Ego minimisation. In a paradoxical twist, the less we think about ourselves, the better we become. As described in “The great work of your life”. 

Be nice to others

In a meta-analysis of over 200,000 workers (nonathletes) across numerous industries, researchers found the belief that one’s job had a positive impact on others was associated with better performance. Linking one’s work to a greater purpose enhances everyday performance, even on mundane tasks. The more motivated we are, the greater the perception of effort we are willing to tolerate.

Purpose fosters motivation; motivation lets us endure a greater perception of effort, and enduring a greater perception of effort often results in better performance.

When burnout strikes

And here is an interesting one. When burnout strikes, you should focus on helping others. Works wonders.

Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness have crafted what is clearly a labor of love-- this book is as thoroughly researched as it is well written. Personal experiences with burnout in their respective fields served as the seed this book grew out of: a desire to understand burnout, how and why it happens, and how top performers in a variety of different fields (from drumming for Taylor Swift to academics to athletics) reach their peaks, and how they maintain a high level of performance on a consistent basis without burning out.
More importantly, all of the lessons gleaned through extensive interviews and the latest research on the topic of performance and burnout translate into practical steps we all can use in our lives in order to maximize our own ability to reach the highest level personally possible in whatever it is we do. All of these tips and lessons are clearly defined, backed up with the an array of supporting studies from the academic literature, and appear in little boxes of "Performance Practices" that break down each idea into steps that are easy to apply to your life. There is no miracle cure offered here, no new pop-fad that promises to vastly improve your life while asking suspiciously little of you. Instead, the authors make very clear that this journey towards improvement requires a lot of the individual undertaking it. While no step is particularly hard to execute, real gains will only be seen with consistent and diligent dedication to the process.

This was a great, quick read. Brad and Steve did an excellent job at giving researched principles and touching on the underlying research for the principles without being repetitive or spending too much times on the minutiae of each experiment. This is a book that someone like myself that is very science minded and used to multitasking and juggling work, training, and family life can read and walk away with new rules. But I can also hand it to my wife that wouldn't want to spend time reading technical details, and she can enjoy the book, too.

This is an outstanding book on improving human performance. I have read many similar books about improving performance in sports, business and other areas of life and this is the BEST one I have come across. The concepts are simple, yet powerful. The book is extremely well researched, it has engaging stories to bring the concepts to life, and it provides direct life applications.
Some of the changes I have already made after reading the book include the following:
1. Getting 60-90 minutes extra sleep a night which transforms my performance the following day.
2. Embracing and celebrating stressful workouts and work situations, realizing them as an opportunity to grow
3. Not working on weekends (at least one full day)
4. Practicing short mindful meditations
5. Taking short walks throughout the day and coming back to my desk with incredibly creative new ideas
Plus many more.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

The current crop of neuroscience books get lost in meaningless details that mean nothing to the reader. This book avoid this trap by giving the reader the essential concepts and takeaways behind great research AND fantastic and inspiring stories to really see how they play out. While nothing in this book is earth-shattering or new, the way the authors make the concepts of peak performance so accessible, easy to understand and well, inspiring is what makes it a fantastic read. It kind of reminds me of the book Essentialism except this is focused on peak performance. I listened to it in audiobook and the narrator is compelling and clear.

I've enjoyed Magness and Stulberg's writing for many years, primarily in the context of sports and fitness. It's really interesting to see them zoom out for a broader perspective on high performance. Don't look here for a "quick fix," but rather for ideas on how to make smart decisions and form smart habits that will carry forward over the long term.

Peak Performance is a must have for any professional looking to break through. The insights provided by both Stulberg and Magness are extremely applicable to all fields. The duo has provided real life experiences from top performers in various fields to find out what it takes to achieve excellence! For anyone looking to up their game, breakthrough, and continue to have consistent success, Peak Performance is a must read!!

Comes down to stress+rest=growth. The authors present great examples in academics, fitness, and the arts. They offer a lot of simple take aways the reader can use right away. What really hit me was the priority put on "rest." I've been an athlete for years and know first hand that most athletes put more emphasis on training hard, not resting hard. The key is to push your mind and body hard but to find quality time to rest so you can grow stronger. This is but a taste of what's in the book but is central to the authors message. Nice work guys, I really enjoyed it.

The book is written and put together quite well. Very easy read. Only reason for four stars is because I had already read some of the other works cited by the authors in the book and other similar research. For those who haven't and would like to gain an understanding and benefits of stress+ rest, purpose, improving performance in all areas of their life, will find it useful.

Whether you’re an athlete, artist, business person, or someone who is just feeling fried in your current situation, I can’t recommend this book enough. There are no life hacks or quick fixes that will make you an instant winner within your domain—there are, however, real-life examples, legitimate research and actionable practices that will help you become more effective at whatever it is you do.

Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness have done a remarkable job of synthesizing together the latest research in human performance. The book is a quick read, yet very well-written. From re-thinking how we rest to avoiding multi-tasking, the authors provide a myriad of ideas and sustainable strategies to improve your life.

When I purchased this book, I thought it was primarily geared for athletes. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has been written in a manner that can assist learners at all levels - including students in school, athletes, working professionals, as well as leaders of organizations.

Altogether, I found this book to be very insightful and would highly recommend it for any individuals interested in understanding the science of human excellence.

Absolutely phenomenal book. This book is for those that have a strong desire to improve in all aspects of life. Whether it be as an athlete, a business professional, a doctor, or even just as a person, this book is for you. Absolute must read

A very useful collection of ideas and concepts for coaches at all levels of performance. Organized in a fashion to serve as a debrief format or conversation starter for team and group meetings. Much of the material was a reminder of past research efforts but there were some innovative sections and discussions. Great practical examples and stories that today's athletes can readily relate to and that serve to bring down the defensive positions so many hold when topics like these are brought to the forefront. It was obvious to me that these guys have skin in the game when it comes to experiences with elite achievers. Anxious to see the next effort by these guys.

The authors draw on their own life experiences and those of others you will recognize to develop a guide to healthy, purposeful and fulfilling living. I liked the emphasis on healthy mind and body habits, including maximum hours of sleep. The summary brings it all together. Time well-spent reading this book.

This is about 7 chapters with one idea: practice makes perfect, especially from an early age. The author claims he has studied top performers for years, so now he can tell us what we already know.

Seriously!!

From the content of this book, I'd say this author wasted his time studying the obvious, and wasted 5 days at a writing seminar.

Listen to your mom: Practice makes perfect, and you will know everything that is in every poorly-written chapter of this repetitive book.

How did this content generate ANY positive reviews?

I have read countless self help and development books. This is the most practical, well rounded, solid, REALISTIC approach to maximizing your overall performance in any arena. It's very impressive how universal this book is. If you want to improve at ANYTHING, this is the right book for you. I expect this to be a classic years from now. It will be grouped with the Dale Carnegies, Stephen Coveys, and Jim Collins' of our time. I'm planning to purchase additional copies literally to give away to my friends who are seeking success.

I am finding it more and more shocking that editors are not monitoring these misleading statements about false facts and poor science. These scientists who are referenced in the book have received much appropriate criticism due to poor scientific rigor-Anders Ericsson, Amy Cuddy, Carol Dweck, and Angela Duckworth. Additionally, it is clear that neither author of this book has obtained expertise within many of the content areas they wrote about. Knowing a little bit about something does not mean expertise is obtained, expertise is more than a game of factoids. More false facts real scientists have to clear up after people have read this book.

Peak Performance is a must for any coach. The flushing out of so many ideas from Brad and Steve on performance are accompanied by great pieces for application of those ideas. Taking such a simple equation (stress + rest = growth) but providing a much deeper understanding of that concept.

A very timely work that reinterprets contemporary values in a refreshing way. A must for all burgeoning performers and those who wish to see the realities of human potential and what it takes to fulfill it.

Can I give it six stars? This books nails practical guidelines to success in life, career and sport without being preachy. It's a book you can read today, apply to your life, and re-read in a few years with new appreciation.

The 1st 2 chapters were excellent, really enjoyed it. However, the book really fell flat and had a difficult time staying engaged towards the end. Felt as if they were reaching in many of the final chapters. Overall, It was a good book but not something i would recommend.

Some sloppy research mars a book that's otherwise helpful. In Chapter 2, the authors attack Common Core as "standardized national curriculum." No, they're just standards developed by states. Teachers can develop or use curricula of their choice. Now maybe the Oakland County district you cite is being very inflexible, but that's not Common Core's fault. Brad and Steve, you wouldnt attack standards in any other endeavor would you? Standards for building safety? Or standards for health? So why do it in education? This is very lazy on your part and you're so much smarter than that.