Direct, blunt, and brutally honest, these books will help break down what it takes to be unstoppable: you keep going when everyone else gives up, you thrive under pressure, you never let your emotions make you weak. Read and expand your mind with these four books that every athlete should read:

#1. In “The Relentless,” Tim Grover details the essential traits shared by the most intense competitors and achievers in sports, business, and all walks of life. Relentless shows you how to trust your instincts and get in the Zone; how to control and adapt to any situation; how to find your opponent’s weakness and attack. Grover, gives you the same advice he gives his world-class clients—“don’t think”—and shows you that anything is possible. Packed with previously untold stories and unparalleled insight into the psyches of the most successful and accomplished athletes of our time, Relentless shows you how even the best get better. .. and how you can too.

#2. Before the mind can work efficiently, we must develop our perception of the outcomes we expect to reach. Maxwell Maltz calls this “Psycho-Cybernetics“; when the mind has a defined target it can focus and direct and refocus and redirect until it reaches its intended goal. Maltz was the first researcher and author to explain how the self-image (a term he popularized) has complete control over an individual’s ability to achieve (or fail to achieve) any goal. And he developed techniques for improving and managing self-image—visualization, mental rehearsal, relaxation—which have informed and inspired countless motivational gurus, sports psychologists, and self-help practitioners for more than fifty years. The teachings of Psycho-Cybernetics are timeless because they are based on solid science and provide a prescription for thinking and acting that lead to quantifiable results.

#3. “The Goldmine Effect” – We all want to discover our hidden talents and make an impact with them. But how? Rasmus Ankersen, an ex-soccer athlete and performance specialist, quit his job and spent six months living with the world’s best athletes in an attempt to answer this question. Ankersen presents his surprising conclusions in seven lessons on how anyone—or any business or team—can defy the misconceptions of high performance, learning to build their own gold mine of real talent.

#4. “Before You Go Pro,”is a very candid look into author Terrence Wood’s life working within the family business; Football. From the moment his grandfather was inducted into the National Football League Hall of Fame, Terrence was on a tenacious mission to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps of playing in the NFL. But with every dream comes triumphs and challenges, successes and failures. “Before You Go Pro” is not just a story, it is a look “behind the curtain.”

Readers will gain a true insider perspective of this multi-­‐billion dollar entertainment industry that we call College and Professional football. Within the book you will find, valuable gems of advice and great teaching points for any aspiring football player. With generational football ties, Terrence puts a very unique spin on his view of his football career and the game as a whole. This book speaks directly to the athlete who may want to play Big-­‐time College or Professional Football one day, but is still naive to the business of the sport. If you play football, know someone who plays or coaches football, or just love the game. You will thoroughly enjoy this read.

– DeShawn Fontleroy
https://www.facebook.com/deshawn.fontleroy