As a performance psychologist, I’ve spent my career supporting high-performers on their path toward mastery. I founded Finding Mastery, a high-performance psychology consulting agency. Our primary focus is helping leaders, teams, and organizations solve the most dynamic and complex human performance challenges.
I wrote
The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You
I have always found profound inspiration in the teachings of Carl Rogers, who I consider a philosophical mentor.
His principle of 'unconditional positive regard' resonates deeply with me, both personally and professionally. This concept emphasizes the importance of offering unwavering support and acceptance to another person, which I believe is crucial in discovering, revealing, and unlocking the beauty and potential that lies just beneath the surface of conscious awareness.
A landmark book offering a therapist's perspective on psychotherapy—a must-read for anyone interested in clinical psychology or personal growth.
Carl Rogers, founder of the humanistic psychology movement, revolutionized psychotherapy with his concept of "client-centered therapy." His influence has spanned decades, but that influence has become so much a part of mainstream psychology that the ingenious nature of his work has almost been forgotten. New discoveries in the field of psychopharmacology, especially that of the antidepressant Prozac, have spawned a quick-fix drug revolution that has obscured the psychotherapeutic relationship. As the pendulum slowly swings back toward an appreciation of the therapeutic…
Bruce Lee was radical in every sense. He understood form and structure on an intimate level and then broke it apart to create his own discipline.
This book shows how Lee's journey was not just about martial arts; it was a deeper quest for self-expression, knowledge, and personal growth. His commitment to pushing against convention inspired me. He lived and understood the complete integration of mind, body, and spirit.
Named one of TIME magazine's 100 Greatest Men of the Century, Bruce Lee's impact and influence has only grown since his untimely death in 1973. Part of the seven-volume Bruce Lee Library, this installment of the famed martial artistAes private notebooks allows his legions of fans to learn more about the man whose groundbreaking action films sparked a worldwide interest in the Asian martial arts. Bruce Lee Artist of Life explores the development of Lee's thoughts about Gung Fu (Kung Fu), philosophy, psychology, poetry, Jeet Kune Do, acting, and self-knowledge. Edited by John Little, a leading authority on Lee's life…
A wild land too mountainous to be tamed by plows. A duke of the empire, his cunning overshadowed only by his ambitions. A young priestess of the Old Religion, together with a charismatic outlaw, sparking a rebellion from deep within the forests.…
I find this book, written by Lao Tzu over 2,500 years ago, to be an endless source of inspiration. The 81 verses serve as profound guidelines pointing towards 'the way' of mastery and harmony.
In my experience, reading the text with others allows for a greater understanding of its depth, nuance, and intricacies.
The Tao Te Ching is a series of meditations on the mysterious nature of the Tao—the Way, the Light, the very Source of all existence. According to Lao Tzu (a name meaning "the old master"), the Tao is found where we would least expect it—not in the strong but in the weak; not in speech but in silence; not in doing but in "not-doing."
Compiled in China around 2,500 years ago, the Tao Te Ching is beloved by seekers all the world over. This edition is rendered in poetic language by Sam Torode, based on the…
Walter Isaacson’s biography is not just a mere recounting of the life of a Renaissance genius; it is an exploration into the mind of a man whose curiosity knew no bounds.
Isaacson details how that curiosity, combined with his ability to observe and question the world around him, led to groundbreaking insights and inventions.
This resonates deeply with my own pursuit of understanding human potential and performance.
The #1 New York Times bestseller from Walter Isaacson brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography that is "a study in creativity: how to define it, how to achieve it...Most important, it is a powerful story of an exhilarating mind and life" (The New Yorker).
Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo da Vinci's astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson "deftly reveals an intimate Leonardo" (San Francisco Chronicle) in a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo's genius was based on skills we can improve…
When Jennifer Shea married Russel Redmond, they made a decision to spend their honeymoon at sea, sailing in Mexico. The voyage tested their new relationship, not just through rocky waters and unexpected weather, but in all the ways that living on a twenty-six-foot sailboat make one reconsider what's truly important.…
Frankl’s concept of finding meaning in suffering and the idea that our primary drive in life is not pleasure but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful deeply resonates with me.
The book underscores the belief that even in the most difficult of circumstances, we have the freedom to choose our attitudes and responses, a concept that is central to high-performance psychology.
One of the outstanding classics to emerge from the Holocaust, Man's Search for Meaning is Viktor Frankl's story of his struggle for survival in Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps. Today, this remarkable tribute to hope offers us an avenue to finding greater meaning and purpose in our own lives.
Over a 25-year career as a performance psychologist working with the world’s top athletes, artists, executives, and teams, Dr. Michael Gervais identified what may be the single greatest constrictor of human potential–our fear of people’s opinions (FOPO). Gervais describes how FOPO's insidious costs permeate every corner of our lives–and reveals the mental skills and practices we need to overcome it.
Filled with fascinating stories from the worlds of sports and business, leading-edge science, and insights from the frontier of human performance, this book is a much-needed wake-up call that when we give more value to other people's opinions than we do our own, we live life on their terms, not ours.
A Sumerian tale of irrigation, floods, and the creation of man
By
Ken Goudsward,
Contrary to popular belief, the Atrahasis Epic is not merely a flood myth. In some ways it can be called a creation myth. However, it does not concern itself with the creation of the universe or even of the earth. Rather, the created work in question is one of culture…
David Fletcher needs a surgeon, stat! But when he captures a British merchantman in the Caribbean, what he gets is Charley Alcott, an apprentice physician barely old enough to shave. Needs must, and Captain Fletcher takes the prisoner back aboard his ship with orders to do his best or he’ll…
