Becoming a True Champion offers a path to achieving athletic excellence, longevity, and dignity through the values and hard work that once distinguished athletes as true role models. Providing an antidote to images of misbehaving athletes, this book guides readers through the ethics and standards that will set them apart both on and off the field.

The ratio of those that do, compared to those that don't is incredibly small. You mightn't have found the right sport for you, you might have faced setbacks, barriers, bad luck or lack of facilities. You mightn't have the knowledge required to optimise your performance, look after your wellbeing or take a long-term approach to your sporting journey. This book is the answer. Olympic Champion, Amy Williams MBE guides you through your entire sporting journey, using her own experiences & those of some of Britain's greatest athletes to help you turn your talent into your triumph.

“George helped me understand the art of mindfulness. To be neither distracted or focused, rigid or flexible, passive or aggressive. I learned just to be." —Kobe Bryant Michael Jordan credits George Mumford with transforming his on-court leadership of the Bulls, helping Jordan lead the team to six NBA championships. Mumford also helped Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom and countless other NBA players turn around their games. A widely respected public speaker and coach, Mumford is sharing his own story and the strategies that have made these athletes into stars in The Mindful Athlete: The Secret to Pure Performance. His proven, gentle but groundbreaking mindfulness techniques can transform the performance of anyone with a goal, be they an Olympian, weekend warrior, executive, hacker, or artist. When Michael Jordan left the Chicago Bulls to play baseball in 1993, the team was in crisis. Coach Phil Jackson, a long-time mindfulness practitioner, contacted Dr. Kabat-Zinn to find someone who could teach mindfulness techniques to the struggling team—someone who would have credibility and could speak the language of his players. Kabat-Zinn led Jackson to Mumford and their partnership began. Mumford has worked with Jackson and each of the eleven teams he coached to become NBA champions. His roster of champion clients has since blossomed way beyond basketball to include corporate executives, Olympians, and athletes in many different sports. With a charismatic teaching style that combines techniques of engaged mindfulness with lessons from popular culture icons such as Yoda, Indiana Jones, and Bruce Lee, Mumford tells illuminating stories about his larger than life clients. His writing is down-to-earth and easy to understand and apply. The Mindful Athlete is an engrossing story and an invaluable resource for anyone looking to elevate their game, no matter what the pursuit, and includes a foreword by Phil Jackson. "Self-consciousness is when you’re focused on how you’re doing instead of what you’re doing. We have to learn how to push and challenge ourselves, but not in an insensitive way. Honing your performance really comes down to being comfortable with being uncomfortable."—George Mumford

Much too often, the mental aspect of sport performance is overlooked. While all top athletes are in outstanding physical condition and technically exceptional, mental preparation is often what separates the best from the rest. This is just as true for young athletes as it is for pros and Olympians. And even though relatively few athletes will ever reach the top of their sport, the attitudes and life lessons learned from mental training—such as motivation, confidence, focus, perseverance, and resilience—will serve them well in all aspects of their lives. In Train Your Mind for Athletic Success: Mental Preparation to Achieve Your Sports Goals, Dr. Jim Taylor uses his own elite athletic experience and decades of working with some of the world’s best athletes to provide competitors of every ability with insights, practical exercises, and tools they can use to be mentally prepared when it really counts. His Prime Sport System explores the attitudes that lay the foundation for athletic success, the mental obstacles that can hold athletes back, the preparations they must take, the mental muscles they should strengthen, and the mental tools they need to fine tune their competitive performances. Most importantly, Dr. Taylor shows athletes practical strategies they can use to become mentally strong so they can perform their best when it matters most. Train Your Mind for Athletic Success goes well beyond the typical mental skills that are discussed in other mental training books. Readers will not only learn why mental preparation is so important to athletic success, but also where they personally are in each area thanks to brief mental assessments in each section of the book. In addition, each chapter includes exercises to show athletes how to incorporate mental training directly into their overall sport training regimen. The most comprehensive and in-depth book on mental preparation for athletes available, Train Your Mind for Athletic Success is an essential read for athletes, coaches, and parents.

"As Jack Groppel so aptly explains, the rigor of corporate athletics is often even more demanding than that of professional athletes. In my world, one does not have the luxury of an off-season. . . . This book is a must read for all those striving for the gold."-Arthur M. Blank, CEO and President, The Home Depot "Wow! This is an incredible book. Every person in business should read The Corporate Athlete from cover to cover and apply it every day."-Brian Tracy, author of Maximum Achievement: Strategies and Skills That Will Unlock Your Hidden Powers to Succeed Today's corporate world is much like the world of professional sports-it is fiercely competitive and mentally and physically demanding, and it requires constant, vigilant training. More than ever, to maintain health, happiness, and career success, executives and employees must become Corporate Athletes. In this book, top business consultant, trainer, and lecturer Jack Groppel shows you how to use the training mentality of elite professional athletes. Based on the latest scientific research, The Corporate Athlete shows corporate competitors how to achieve maximum performance levels-both inside and outside the corporate world. Drawing on the parallels between sports and business, Jack Groppel reveals the integral roles that nutrition, fitness, and self-improvement-mental, physical, and emotional-play in giving Corporate Athletes their winning edge. It's an edge that's crucial if you need to come to a meeting fresh off the plane, pull out all the stops on a big presentation, cut the major deals-and still have the energy to enjoy time with family and friends. This practical and beneficial 21-day program will give you, no matter how overworked you are, the stamina and commitment to develop a world-class career. Learn to: * Have as much energy for your family at 8 p.m. as you have at the office at 8 a.m. * Be on when you need to be on * Respond to change, adversity, and crisis more constructively * Display more positivity and confidence * Eat properly on the road, in the air, and before and during business meetings * Slow down the aging process Take advantage of the same secrets that Dr. Groppel has used to help high-stress professionals-from Olympic athletes and NHL stars to fast-lane executives at major companies like Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Estée Lauder, and Bristol-Myers Squibb-get themselves in fighting shape. Here is the program that will train you to perform at the highest possible levels in both your professional and your family life-because taking optimum care of yourself, mentally and physically, is the best way to take care of business. "Outstanding . . . The Corporate Athlete is a truly comprehensive program to help you achieve both your personal and your professional goals. It will help you take control of your life and effect positive physical, mental, and spiritual change."-Darlene Hamrock, Regional Vice President, Clinique Why do so many top performers call themselves Corporate Athletes? "Today's challenging business climate requires every top executive to be perfectly fit both mentally and physically. The Corporate Athlete is must reading for everyone who wants to manage his or her business, career, or profession effectively while living a balanced life. Buy it-it's a great investment."-Leonard Lauder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. "This is the book to teach you how to perform your job at the highest level possible while maintaining maximal health and happiness."-Jim Courier, French Open champion and former world No. 1 tennis player

Being an elite athlete requires you to plan, train and perform - methods which are required to be successful in almost any arena of life. Think Like An Athlete teaches people from all ages, stages and professions to train their minds effectively to achieve their goals, whether it's sticking to a fitness regime, getting a promotion or even saving for a holiday. With inspiring quotes and stories from real-life sports successes, and stylish illustrations throughout, readers can dip in and out of Think Like An Athlete for inspiration, advice and wisdom. Covering topics such as adopting a clear vision, setting daily small goals, dealing with inner dialogue and stress, David Nicholson explores the approaches and methods of athletes and shows how we can apply the same principles to our own lives to achieve the success we desire.

The Christian Athlete is a gospel-centered guide that assists athletes who identify as Christians and are seeking to understand how to practically apply their faith to their sport. Athletes desire—and deserve—a more substantive expression of the Christian faith in the context of sport, but they don’t know what it looks like or where to turn to learn more. Author Brian Smith shares his story as an athlete and coach, and his experience working with high-level athletes in the last decade to help readers better understand how to integrate faith and sport by: Assisting those who want a wide-angled understanding of how to live the Christian faith in the context of sports Walking through the many questions Christian athletes ask about winning, losing, injuries, practice, and everything in between Moving Christian athletes from simply having clichéd spiritual sayings decorating their bodies or t-shirts to actually living out their faith through all the opportunities their sport offers them The Christian Athlete will show readers how to live out a biblical perspective on athletics and urge them to engage in the gifts they are given to glorify God whether they are the team MVP or riding the bench.

Just like life in the real world, it pays to have connections. Knowing the right people can help launch careers that may not have gotten off the ground otherwise. Those connections don't just bring opportunities but a wealth of knowledge as well. This experience can be especially helpful when you are entering the foreign world of professional sports for the first time. Having that extra knowledge from either first-hand experience or learning from a family member or friend is invaluable and can provide a significant advantage for those who possess it. And when it comes to an industry where fractions of a second can be the difference between success and failure, you can certainly use any edge you can get. In this book, I aim to help fill in the informational gap that first-time athletes and parents of athletes face when entering the sports world for the first time. For those people that do not have the personal experience or connections needed when trying to navigate through the countless challenges that come with being an aspiring professional athlete. However, this book brings to light some of the most important and unspoken issues within the sports world and is something that even the most seasoned athlete can benefit from reading. Even if it's only a few things that you can take away from the book. Those few things may save you from years of heartache and pain. Or more importantly those few things may be that fraction of an edge that you need to help you become a successful athlete. I will provide helpful tips and tricks that either myself or other professional athletes have learned through first-hand experience to help give the aspiring athlete the best chance of success. Tips that can help athletes gain the advantage in the business side of sports or avoid those oh so common pitfalls that so many trip up on during their careers. My primary focus for writing this book is to provide insight into the sports world that lies just outside of the game itself. It is impossible to provide advice that applies to every sport when it comes to in game situations, and that is not what I am trying to accomplish here. However, the life that athletes experience outside of the game is incredibly similar no matter what sport they are involved in. And even though athletes will have to face many of the same challenges, this still remains to be the one area severely lacking in resources. Knowing how to manage the situations, and people that are entirely unique to the sports world is essential for your success as an athlete, and that is why I am giving you an inside look into the sports world. I will help shed light on situations that involve contracts, agents, coaches, girls, injuries, business, and anything else that hasn't gotten the proper attention it deserves. Because if you want to be successful in your athletic journey then its time to start preparing for the life that lies just beyond the game itself. The examples and information that I have provided are from looking at the sports world with a critical eye. My professional career was without a doubt one of the best times of my life, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. However, if I would have had some simple knowledge of the world that lies just beyond the game, then I may have been able to save myself from some big headaches along the way. My intention is to share the knowledge that I have learned during my sports career so that I can help future athletes navigate through the countless challenges that come with being a professional athlete. I want to eliminate the distractions so that the athlete can put their focus back on the sport that they love to play.