Peak : Secrets from the New Science of Expertise By Anders Ericsson

This may be the most influential book that will ever be read by any athlete, coach, and parent who aspires to "exceed the norm" and get out of the world of just good enough and on to the road of extraordinary.

Peak is a first person account written by the guy who literally wrote the book on how people excel. By studying performers in every imaginable field - from London taxi drivers to national spelling bee winners, Top Gun fighter pilots, chess masters, and even wine experts -  the author has overwhelmingly debunked the myth that most of our greatest athletes, scientists, entertainers, and world leaders have some innate ability that caused them to rise above the masses.

The book centers around the idea of "deliberate practice", the essence of which is a formula of identifying experts in your field, determining what skills they possess that makes them so good, discover the training methods they used to develop those specific skills, and implementing a training regimen to improve on your weaknesses and increase the level of your eventual performances.

It's all about engaging in individualized practice activities and spending the right amount of focused energy and time challenging yourself beyond your comfort levels.

Without that combination, most athletes and performers in every field remain in some place of being good enough, but not great. Deliberate practice can be applied to any activity on the field of athletic competition, at home, in school, and even at work.

One of the most fascinating aspects of this book is how it considers the variety of ways deliberate practice has been applied by people we all know about (Albert Einstein, Ben Franklin, Mozart, the Beatles, Bill Gates, Pablo Picasso, and Tiger Woods) to attain their statures of greatness.

I sent every high school and college athlete I work with a summary of the deliberate practice method and instructions on how to turn their off season into a career turning point. You can too, by developing your own "practice-driven mindset."

If you are a student of improvement, a serious seeker of positive change and growth in your life, this book is for you! Don't miss it!!