Book
The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life
Author Biography
Tom Sterner has parlayed what he learned from his profession into a love of practice. He is an accomplished musician, private pilot, student of archery, and avid golfer, and practicing these activities fills his spare time.
Twitter Review
Love the book and now love the process thanks to @practicingmind !
— Teach A CEO (@TeachACEO) May 5, 2012
Powerful Gems
- “Everything in life worth achieving requires practice. In fact, life itself is nothing more than one long practice session, an endless effort of refining our motions. When the proper mechanics of practice are understood, the task of learning something new becomes a stress-free experience of joy and calmness, a process which settles all areas in your life and promotes proper perspective on all of life's difficulties.”
- “If you are not in control of your thoughts, then you are not in control of yourself. Without self-control, you have no real power, regardless of whatever else you accomplish. If you are not aware of the thoughts that you think in each moment, then you are the rider with no reigns, with no power over where you are going. You cannot control what you are not aware of. Awareness must come first.”
- “We have a very unhealthy habit of making the product–our intended result–the goal, instead of the process of reaching the goal…. This doesn't mean that you must lose touch with what you are aiming for. You continue to use the final goal as a rudder to steer your practice session, but not as an indicator of how you are doing.”
The Entrepreneur's Librarian Review
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The Practicing Mind is a good book for those that ever feel any feelings of stress or frustration. While it is not a step-by-step guide for how to relieve stress, it does help people begin to understand and love the process. Even in it's most accelerated pace, success is a part of the process and it can't be cheated. It would have been great if there were additional exercises or a workbook that was a companion to the book, but the book certainly hits home. Today, over night success is expected, but no success is really overnight and this book is a reminder of that. Take a deep breath and breath in the knowledge from Sterner's book.
