I have a YouTube channel primarily for the purpose of being able to upload videos to incorporate into this blog. Little did I know, I actually had a reader subscribe to my channel and post an insightful question! Here is the question:
In your background photo, your bookcase collection is prominent. I’m also building an extensive library of books and articles along the same lines. Among yours, which books would you consider essential resources or primers upon which you’ve built your foundation?
After some careful consideration, here was my response:
Thanks for noticing my love of reading! I would say there are 6 authors that I would give the “foundational title” to. I credit W. Timothy Gallwey’s books “The Inner Game of Tennis” and “The Inner Game of Golf” as being the hook that really got me interested in sport psychology and the power of the sub-conscious. Mike Csikszentmihalyi’s (pronounced cheek-sent-me-high) book “Flow” further cemented my desire to learn more about optimal performance states. I also found Carol S. Dweck’s book “Mindset” fascinating in understanding the growth mindset. Joan N Vicker’s book “Perception, Cognition and Decision Training – the Quiet Eye in Action” helped to bring the power of proper focus into a more tangible form. I also like Lanny Bassham’s book “With Winning in Mind” as a primer on positive self-talk and aspirational thinking backed up with focused planning and practice. Finally, Russ Harris’s book ACT Made Simple provided a needed framework to consider how we can improve our functioning. Thanks for the question. I am curious to know which of these you have already read, and which additional volumes you would add to the list!
In future posts, I will elaborate more on these volumes, as well as others. In the meantime, here are the Amazon links for each of the books mentioned in case you would like to research them and possible add them into your own library. Please feel free to recommend your own titles via email. I am always looking for a good read!