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Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success
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"It's about time a book was written that looks across disciplines, domains, and capabilities to uncover powerful pearls of wisdom applicable across all walks of life. Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness are a strong team to uncover the principles of Peak Performance - they're immersed in the science of success, and they draw upon their own experiences working with the best."
...more
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Kindle Edition, 240 pages
Published
June 6th 2017
by Rodale
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Chris Arnason
Its not specific about age, but I believe its principles could be applied at any age.
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Start your review of Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success

PEAK PERFORMANCE: All You Need to Know
The Summary at the end of the book is more than all you need from the book. So here goes:
1. SYSTEMATICALLY GROW BY ALTERNATING BETWEEN STRESS AND REST
Stress Yourself
A) Seek out “just-manageable challenges” in areas of your life in which you want grow
•Just-manageable challenges are those that barely exceed your current abilities.
•If you feel fully in control, make the next challenge a bit harder.
•If you feel anxious or so aroused that you can’t focus, dia ...more
The Summary at the end of the book is more than all you need from the book. So here goes:
1. SYSTEMATICALLY GROW BY ALTERNATING BETWEEN STRESS AND REST
Stress Yourself
A) Seek out “just-manageable challenges” in areas of your life in which you want grow
•Just-manageable challenges are those that barely exceed your current abilities.
•If you feel fully in control, make the next challenge a bit harder.
•If you feel anxious or so aroused that you can’t focus, dia ...more

The content could have easily been condensed to a blog post.
I have three main take-aways from the audiobook:
1) Use a good mixture of work and rest
2) Tap into the power of transcendental goals (that go beyond oneself)
3) Align your actions with your own personal values
I have three main take-aways from the audiobook:
1) Use a good mixture of work and rest
2) Tap into the power of transcendental goals (that go beyond oneself)
3) Align your actions with your own personal values

My thoughts on the issue:
> First, monotonous pursuit of excellence is not as cool as it's cracked up to be.
>> Second, succeeding at one thing doesn't readily mean we are going to succeed at every weeny thing we do.
>>> Third, young kids get into consulting and go on thinking: 'the world is my frigging oyster'. Then somethings goes not according to the plan and BAM! We have a kid researching 'peak performance'. Really, drawing cool presentations is no performance. Yes, it's a treasured skill in ...more
> First, monotonous pursuit of excellence is not as cool as it's cracked up to be.
>> Second, succeeding at one thing doesn't readily mean we are going to succeed at every weeny thing we do.
>>> Third, young kids get into consulting and go on thinking: 'the world is my frigging oyster'. Then somethings goes not according to the plan and BAM! We have a kid researching 'peak performance'. Really, drawing cool presentations is no performance. Yes, it's a treasured skill in ...more

I should have known better than to think that this book would have anything new in it, but nope--it's all the same stuff, Flow, Growth mindset, sleep, deliberative practice, etc. I have read most of the source research for this book so it was just a compilation of stuff I've read a hundred times from a hundred different articles and books in this field. But really, it's my fault that I keep picking up these soft behavioral psych books that regurgitate the same studies (that may or not even be re
...more

This was a fun, practical, short, inspiring book. Just enough research and storytelling to convince you that the few well-organized pieces of advice will really help you do better at life without burning out.
An ultra-condensed version of those pieces of advice:
To grow, you should alternate periods of stress and rest. Tackle "just manageable challenges" (you should not feel fully in control) on purpose, then rest on purpose.
-Work with single-minded focus in small time blocks (50-90 minutes ideal, ...more
An ultra-condensed version of those pieces of advice:
To grow, you should alternate periods of stress and rest. Tackle "just manageable challenges" (you should not feel fully in control) on purpose, then rest on purpose.
-Work with single-minded focus in small time blocks (50-90 minutes ideal, ...more

Wound up being a disappointingly shallow survey of a bunch of topics I'd mostly read about elsewhere in more detail. Might be a useful read for someone who hasn't run across a lot of these ideas before.
...more

There's a passage on page 130 of Peak Performance that summarizes pretty much the entire book:
"During the process of writing this book, whenever we hit an impasse that we couldn't overcome with a standard break or, even worse, felt writer's block looming, we turned to reading our favorite books in genres similar to this one. In particular, The Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal, PhD, Give and Take by Adam Grant, The Sports Gene by David Epstein, Quiet by Susan Cain, Drive by Daniel Pink, and P ...more
"During the process of writing this book, whenever we hit an impasse that we couldn't overcome with a standard break or, even worse, felt writer's block looming, we turned to reading our favorite books in genres similar to this one. In particular, The Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal, PhD, Give and Take by Adam Grant, The Sports Gene by David Epstein, Quiet by Susan Cain, Drive by Daniel Pink, and P ...more

I like this book for two reasons – (1) it's short and (2) it's an amalgam of other great books on the subject.
Some of the key ideas are:
* Stress is important, as it causes growth. It will be hard to improve without applying stress to yourself.
* Rest is equally, if not more, important. It's easy to overlook and it's easier to skip. "Have the courage to rest".
* Practicing requires deep focus ("just 'practice' makes permanent; perfect practice makes perfect").
* Sleep is super important.
* Design you ...more
Some of the key ideas are:
* Stress is important, as it causes growth. It will be hard to improve without applying stress to yourself.
* Rest is equally, if not more, important. It's easy to overlook and it's easier to skip. "Have the courage to rest".
* Practicing requires deep focus ("just 'practice' makes permanent; perfect practice makes perfect").
* Sleep is super important.
* Design you ...more

The science of ego depletion was known to be very dubious in 2016, yet here a chapter presents it without any disclaimer in 2017. Another chapter has an overly optimistic summary of Dweck's mindset research. When you get dubious one social psychology theory after another, it's hard to trust anything else in the book.
On the plus side, it did remind me that random reward reinforcement is really bad for me, and it's always good to be reminded. ...more
On the plus side, it did remind me that random reward reinforcement is really bad for me, and it's always good to be reminded. ...more

Dec 07, 2019
Willian Molinari
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audio,
non-fiction
A great book. I felt like it's a compilation of some good books I read in the past years. It was not a life-changing book for me but it was great to review the important info I collected in the past years. I would totally recommend this book as the first book for someone looking for performance improvement.
Here are my notes about this book:
He was not going out to meet girls at night. He was not an average teenager. Of course, average teenagers don't run 4 minutes miles
Like many other good perfor ...more
Here are my notes about this book:
He was not going out to meet girls at night. He was not an average teenager. Of course, average teenagers don't run 4 minutes miles
Like many other good perfor ...more

Everytime I read a non fiction book or self help book I start my reviews saying that I don't usually read this genre, and that most of the times what they offer is not groundbreaking, they're not reinventing the wheel, and this time is no different. But the way the content is presented, the theories, the examples and the parallels the authors construct between all different types of performance made this book particularly more interesting, memorable and digestible to me.
I really liked this litt ...more
I really liked this litt ...more

This is one of the very best NF books I've ever read. I just kept thinking "I should have my son read this chapter." "I should have my daughter read this chapter." "This person would love this." By the end, I just decided that maybe everyone should read the entire book. It was very well researched, included all the right things, and presented perfectly.
Note to self: read yearly. ...more
Note to self: read yearly. ...more

Kind of a mixed bag. I would suggest going straight to the summary and if there are subjects you want to know more about how they formed their conclusions, go read that particular chapter.
This was mostly information I have read in other books with uninteresting filler. There were a couple of a-ha moments but only a couple.
I would recommend Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin rather than this one.
This was mostly information I have read in other books with uninteresting filler. There were a couple of a-ha moments but only a couple.
I would recommend Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin rather than this one.

Enjoyed this one, learned more than I thought I was going to and I'm already applying a good amount of it.
...more

Take all the business and scientific books (and research papers) that have been written about drive, grit, stress, sleep, time management, etc etc... Here they are condensed into one succinct book that gets to the point. A good balance of practical advice and inspiring stories from a variety of fields, from athletics to art.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

Feb 05, 2019
Haley S
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-i-would-recommend,
non-fiction
Very interesting book to help you to do exactly what the title says: "Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success." This book will truly help you find your "Peak Performance."
Would definitely recommend to everyone! ...more
Would definitely recommend to everyone! ...more

I am finding it more and more shocking that editors are not monitoring misleading statements about poor science stated as fact. The 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. For instance, by providing a platform for debunked scientists like Dr. Amy Cuddy and Dr. Angela Duckworth (among others in the book) the authors have demonstrated neither are content experts in
...more

This book describes three key principles underlying sustainable peak performance:
1. Stress + rest = growth. The scientific cycle of growth and development.
2. Develop optimal routines and design your day. Prime yourself for peak performance and daily productivity.
3. Harness the power of purpose. The power of purpose is a performance enhancer.
The power of mindset is important: how you view something fundamentally changes how your body responds to it. As in: “Pain is mandatory; suffering is optiona ...more
1. Stress + rest = growth. The scientific cycle of growth and development.
2. Develop optimal routines and design your day. Prime yourself for peak performance and daily productivity.
3. Harness the power of purpose. The power of purpose is a performance enhancer.
The power of mindset is important: how you view something fundamentally changes how your body responds to it. As in: “Pain is mandatory; suffering is optiona ...more

Excellent book. Explains why right amount of stress along with rest is necessary for personal growth.
How to prevent burnout? Some people say that its just excessive stress. One must think that why the additional work / responsibilities as negative stress (which causes burnout) instead of positive stress (which helps in growth) . The key here is motivation and sense of purpose. The sense of purpose to do those tasks were not strong enough to endure the additional stress and hence it lead to burno ...more
How to prevent burnout? Some people say that its just excessive stress. One must think that why the additional work / responsibilities as negative stress (which causes burnout) instead of positive stress (which helps in growth) . The key here is motivation and sense of purpose. The sense of purpose to do those tasks were not strong enough to endure the additional stress and hence it lead to burno ...more

I really enjoyed this book! It took Stephen Covey's 7 Habits to the next level by helping you simplify your mission statement and put it into action through suggestions and good examples. I especially liked the suggestion to make your goals and life purposes focused on serving others. There were many other pearls as well. Enjoy the read and thank you Marty Vaughn for recommending it!
...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

I wasn’t sure about this one at the start, but once I got past the introductory parts, it really took off. This is another one that I’ll want to read a few times.
Key Points:
1) Real growth requires stress and rest.
2) Prime for performance
Key Points:
1) Real growth requires stress and rest.
“Stress + rest = growth. This equation holds true regardless of what it is that you are trying to grow.”
2) Prime for performance
“the real secret of world-class performers is not the daily routines that they develop, but that they stick to them. That they show up, even when they don’t f...more

Science of performance
- How to reach peak performance while avoiding burnout?
- Currently a lot of pressure. See rise of anti-depressants in the US. And also raise of edge steroids/drugs, eg. adderall. But without proper sleep it is not sustainable.
- Typical american work week is 47 hours.
- Burnout is the reason for athletes quitting sports.
Healthy sustainable principles
- stress and rest
- seek for challanges that barely cross your boundary
- single task; always set your goals accordingly (this one ...more
- How to reach peak performance while avoiding burnout?
- Currently a lot of pressure. See rise of anti-depressants in the US. And also raise of edge steroids/drugs, eg. adderall. But without proper sleep it is not sustainable.
- Typical american work week is 47 hours.
- Burnout is the reason for athletes quitting sports.
Healthy sustainable principles
- stress and rest
- seek for challanges that barely cross your boundary
- single task; always set your goals accordingly (this one ...more

It's a book about many things.
About balance (however it's never stated this way), about essentialism, about grit, about rest, ...
Surprisingly, it doesn't mean that all of these "ingredients" are covered sloppily or via shortcuts - I've found this book quite comprehensive.
It's also a book about various kinds of performance - it doesn't necessarily focus e.g. on athletes. On one hand, it means no specific (or rather "activity-type-specific") hints, but it doesn't mean there are no useful suggestio ...more
About balance (however it's never stated this way), about essentialism, about grit, about rest, ...
Surprisingly, it doesn't mean that all of these "ingredients" are covered sloppily or via shortcuts - I've found this book quite comprehensive.
It's also a book about various kinds of performance - it doesn't necessarily focus e.g. on athletes. On one hand, it means no specific (or rather "activity-type-specific") hints, but it doesn't mean there are no useful suggestio ...more

A light half a day read that reminds you to focus on resting as much or even more than pushing you to the limit both physically and mentally. Not too much new information if you have read other books already on this topic but it was short enough to not become boring.
“Stress + rest = growth. This equation holds true regardless of what it is that you are trying to grow.”
“It isn't experience that sets top performers apart but the amount of deliberate practice they put in.”
“Even seemingly trivial ...more
“Stress + rest = growth. This equation holds true regardless of what it is that you are trying to grow.”
“It isn't experience that sets top performers apart but the amount of deliberate practice they put in.”
“Even seemingly trivial ...more

Incredibly powerful book with timeless advice. Each chapter is well paced and filled with strong references to scientific research and studies as well as humbling stories from high performance individuals. They also provide "performance practices" at the end of each section that provide useful suggestions in how you can apply the topics discussed in the book into your own life. That was one of my favourite things about the book. I also appreciated just how empirical and evidence based this book
...more

Authors of Peak Performance truly stands on the shoulders of the giants. They created a framework, tips and suggestions for peak performance based on the work of Anders Ericsson, Carol Dweck, Angela Duckworth, Cal Newport and many others. This framework is based on topics such as positive (healthy) and negative stress, relaxation, growth mindset, grit, meditation, single-tasking, sleep, giving to others and finding a self-transcending purpose.
Authors outlined their framework in a simple and comp ...more
Authors outlined their framework in a simple and comp ...more
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“simply telling yourself “I am excited” shifts your demeanor from what they call a threat mindset (stressed out and apprehensive) to an opportunity mindset (revved up and ready to go). “Compared to those who attempt to calm down,” the authors conclude, “individuals who reappraise their anxious arousal as excitement perform better.” Put differently: The sensations you feel prior to a big event are neutral—if you view them in a positive light, they are more likely to have a positive impact on your performance. These”
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“Stress + rest = growth. This equation holds true regardless of what it is that you are trying to grow.”
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