Steve Magness (@stevemagness)

We get captured by the trivial. We freak out over the inconsequential. We live in a world designed to distract us with stuff that that feels productive and important but is actually just noise. So much of life is figuring out how to stay focused on what actually matters....

In a study on baseball players, the coach's emotional state directly predicted the players' performance. An angry coach didn't make the team "tough." It made them frustrated, error-prone, and more likely to tank. Emotions are contagious; as a leader, you are the super-spreader....

Action is often the antidote to anxiety. You feel nerves until the gun goes off because now you can do something about it. Uncertainty without an outlet causes you to spiral. Give yourself something to do that potentially moves you forward....

On social media, people speak in absolutes: No alcohol, candy, sugar, etc. Super strict crazy routines Every world class athlete I know: eats some candy, drinks an occasional beer, has routines but is flexible Why? Neuroticism gets in the way of performance....

Fake toughness is loud. It's the coach who leads by punishment, the boss who rules by fear, the parent who is all demand and no support. This is just insecurity masked as strength. Real toughness is quiet. It's not about bulldozing through; it's about navigating discomfort. It’s about creati...

"I’m not a basketball player. I am a man who plays basketball. That’s what I do, that’s not what I am." When the winningest athlete in sport history, Bill Russell, tells you to put a bit of space between who you are and what you do, maybe you should listen?...

I can't believe for years we had folks argue in major publications that sports shouldn't be separated by sex, that androgens didn't make that big of a difference, etc. Like it or not, biology plays a big role in performance. You can't deny reality, you have to deal with it. <a target="_blank" href=...

When I was 18, I asked one of the greatest coaches in history for the "key" to success in the field. He didn't give me a secret workout or a grand philosophy. Sitting in his living room, he told me: "Read as much as you can. Never stop reading." This advice is more important today than it has ...

The little voice inside your head saying, “I can’t do this,” is often a sign that you’re on the right track It’s your mind trying to pull you back to the familiar path that represents your comfort zone Just-manageable challenges are about choosing a slightly more demanding path...