It Takes What It Takes

How to Think Neutrally and Gain Control of Your Life
by Trevor Moawad | HarperOne © 2020 · 272 pages

Trevor Moawad is a mental conditioning coach to elite performers. He is well known for being the mental coach to Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and has worked closely with prestigious NCAA football programs and coaches, the US Special Operations community, Major League Baseball, and the NBA. This book is, as per the sub-title, all about “How to Think Neutrally and Gain Control of Your Life.” I loved it and, if you’re also equally fired up by the mental toughness in sports and life genre, I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. Big Ideas we explore include neutral thinking (much better than positive or negative), goats and G.O.A.T.s, the law of substitution (focus!), the illusion of choice (if you’re REALLY ALL IN, there is no choice), and drawing a line in the dirt (and getting to it… again and again and again!).


No matter where I work, the same truth keeps emerging. Neutral thinking is the key to unlocking a set of behaviors that can turn also-rans into champions and champions into legends.
Trevor Moawad

“That’s why I wrote this book. You don’t need to be an elite athlete to train your mind like one. You simply need to have challenges that must be overcome. And guess what? You’re human. So you absolutely face challenges every day at work and in your personal life. Maybe you were passed over for a promotion. Maybe you’re trying to go to school to better yourself while working and aren’t sure how to squeeze everything into the twenty-four hours in a day. Maybe you have a [bad] boss and don’t know how to manage your interactions. Maybe you’ve just had a child and you’re struggling to adapt to all the extra work at home. Maybe your spouse just told you it’s over. Once you’ve finished this book, you’ll be equipped with the same tools I’d give a team seeking a title. You’ll learn that champions don’t think negatively or positively; they think neutrally. You’ll learn that champions behave as if they have no choice. You’ll learn that champions make detailed plans. You’ll learn that champions visualize what they want. You’ll learn that champions lead themselves before they lead others.

You can do this. By cracking this book open, you’ve already shown you want to grow and change. So let’s do it. It takes discipline. It takes sacrifice. It takes time. It takes what it takes.”

~ Trevor Moawad from It Takes What It Takes

I got this book after a bunch of Optimizers recommended I check it out.

(Thank you and please keep the great recs coming! I have STACKS of books I’m working on thanks to you. :)

As you know if you’ve been following along, I’m a big fan of mental toughness books—whether that’s coming from peak performers in the sports world or other leadership roles.

(See Notes on: How Champions Think, The Champion’s Mind, The Inner Game of Tennis, Win Forever, Go Long!, Chasing Excellence, Coaching the Mental Game, 10-Minute Toughness, The Hoops Whisperer, Raise Your Game, The Way of the Fight, Win or Learn, Unbeatable Mind, Can’t Hurt Me, Discipline Equals Freedom, etc., etc. etc.)

Trevor Moawad is a mental conditioning coach to elite performers. He is well known for being the mental coach to Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and has worked closely with prestigious NCAA football programs and coaches, the US Special Operations community, Major League Baseball, and the NBA.

This book is, as per the sub-title, all about “How to Think Neutrally and Gain Control of Your Life.” I loved it and, if you’re also equally fired up by the mental toughness in sports and life genre, I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. (Get the book here.)

Of course, it’s packed with Big Ideas and I’m excited to share a few of my favorites so let’s jump straight in!

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About the author

Authors

Trevor Moawad

Mental conditioning coach to elite performers