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The Brain Always Wins: Developing Successful Mind Mangagement
From an NFL sports psychologist comes a guide to achieving success and managing stress without sacrificing your health or happiness
Written by leading US performance psychologist John Sullivan, this groundbreaking book, based on the most up-to-date and rigorous scientific research, teaches you how to train your brain for success while maintaining your wellbeing. It’s an essential read for everyone who needs to maximize their performance, manage pressure and achieve very specific outcomes while managing their wellbeing, including: business leaders, athletes, educators, students, healthcare professionals, military personnel, and others in high-pressure, high-performance environments. Wellbeing and performance optimization—winning, however it is defined or measured—go hand-in-hand. They are ultimately influenced and determined by brain function. In the final analysis the brain determines the quality of performance and, by extension, the likelihood of success. The bottom line is: the brain always wins. We now have significant scientific evidence that it is possible to train the brain, measure it, and identify outcomes; that this secondary processing creates the most positive results.
Written by leading US performance psychologist John Sullivan, this groundbreaking book, based on the most up-to-date and rigorous scientific research, teaches you how to train your brain for success while maintaining your wellbeing. It’s an essential read for everyone who needs to maximize their performance, manage pressure and achieve very specific outcomes while managing their wellbeing, including: business leaders, athletes, educators, students, healthcare professionals, military personnel, and others in high-pressure, high-performance environments. Wellbeing and performance optimization—winning, however it is defined or measured—go hand-in-hand. They are ultimately influenced and determined by brain function. In the final analysis the brain determines the quality of performance and, by extension, the likelihood of success. The bottom line is: the brain always wins. We now have significant scientific evidence that it is possible to train the brain, measure it, and identify outcomes; that this secondary processing creates the most positive results.
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First published August 1, 2015
57 people are currently reading
204 people want to read
About the author
John P. Sullivan
1 bookLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Dr. John Sullivan is a Sport Scientist and Clinical Sport Psychologist with over twenty years of clinical and scholarly experience. He has held appointments within the National Football League (NFL), English Premier League (EPL), the NCAA, and the elite military and law enforcement in North America.
Dr. Sullivan is also a visiting scholar and sport scientist at the Queensland Academy of Sport and Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia.
He is a frequent contributor writing on sport science and sports medicine and his latest efforts have focused on a series of books which distills the latest performance psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience, related to optimal brain performance and health entitled The Brain Always Wins.
Dr. John Sullivan is a Sport Scientist and Clinical Sport Psychologist with over twenty years of clinical and scholarly experience. He has held appointments within the National Football League (NFL), English Premier League (EPL), the NCAA, and the elite military and law enforcement in North America.
Dr. Sullivan is also a visiting scholar and sport scientist at the Queensland Academy of Sport and Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia.
He is a frequent contributor writing on sport science and sports medicine and his latest efforts have focused on a series of books which distills the latest performance psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience, related to optimal brain performance and health entitled The Brain Always Wins.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 5, 2017
John Sullivan and Chris Parker provide a clear and concise view into the best supercomputer the world has ever known: the human brain. The Brain Always Wins is broken down into 8 chapters:
1) The Governor (basic introduction to the brain)
2) Physical Activity
3) Rest and Recovery
4) Optimum Nutrition
5) Cognitive Function
6) Emotional Management
7) Socialization and Communication
8) Synergy (wrap up of the book)
Chapters two through seven each take a look at a major component(s) that the brain controls. These chapters provide a summary of main points at the start, followed by an in-depth explanation of how it works, and then a practical how-to guide for implementation to improve your brain.
The book is a very quick read, and can be read in any order a reader sees fit (although I still recommend reading it in order, as some chapters build on previous chapters).
Ultimately, this book has a lot of ideas for how you can improve your brain health, prolong your life, and enrich your experiences. The science never gets too difficult to understand for a layman, and you walk away from the book with plenty of tips to improve your life right away.
Overall, The Brain Always Wins is a nice introduction to brain health.
Why did I only give it three stars?
A) Both authors introduce themselves at the start of the book, and it's clear that each wrote different sections, but they fail to tell you who wrote which section, and it becomes odd when they write in the first-person and the reader isn't told which author is writing.
B) The book is stocked with great information, but is insulated in fluff. I bet 50% of the book could be hacked off and the book would be just as effective.
C) Many of the points and tips in the book were no-brainers, the kind of information that anyone should already know.
1) The Governor (basic introduction to the brain)
2) Physical Activity
3) Rest and Recovery
4) Optimum Nutrition
5) Cognitive Function
6) Emotional Management
7) Socialization and Communication
8) Synergy (wrap up of the book)
Chapters two through seven each take a look at a major component(s) that the brain controls. These chapters provide a summary of main points at the start, followed by an in-depth explanation of how it works, and then a practical how-to guide for implementation to improve your brain.
The book is a very quick read, and can be read in any order a reader sees fit (although I still recommend reading it in order, as some chapters build on previous chapters).
Ultimately, this book has a lot of ideas for how you can improve your brain health, prolong your life, and enrich your experiences. The science never gets too difficult to understand for a layman, and you walk away from the book with plenty of tips to improve your life right away.
Overall, The Brain Always Wins is a nice introduction to brain health.
Why did I only give it three stars?
A) Both authors introduce themselves at the start of the book, and it's clear that each wrote different sections, but they fail to tell you who wrote which section, and it becomes odd when they write in the first-person and the reader isn't told which author is writing.
B) The book is stocked with great information, but is insulated in fluff. I bet 50% of the book could be hacked off and the book would be just as effective.
C) Many of the points and tips in the book were no-brainers, the kind of information that anyone should already know.
February 28, 2023
I liked it, the author provides some simple to absorb insights. And what’s important is that I hadn’t heard some of the information shared in the book. It definitely is more than your usual mashup of health guru tips and tricks.
March 20, 2018
Good overview of existing literature on the importance of managing your physical health through diet and exercise, as well as your cognitive and emotional health through focus, novelty, and positive relations. A bit repetitive here and there, and sometimes there was superfluous technical details, but worth a skim.
April 29, 2020
Science and Practical Insights
I loved this book because it provides easy-to-follow guidelines. It is well-researched as well so you see the value behind implementation of those guidelines. To crown it all, it helps to make your brain health top priority.
I loved this book because it provides easy-to-follow guidelines. It is well-researched as well so you see the value behind implementation of those guidelines. To crown it all, it helps to make your brain health top priority.
August 6, 2023
If you have any interest on how the brain works, this is a great foundational book. For those who already have a decent grasp, may be a bit too layman but I bet you will still discover something you didn't know. All in all, a well-worth read.
August 15, 2024
Why I can't read
January 29, 2019
Repetitive and kind of dogmatic.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews