Steve Magness (@stevemagness)

"My job is to be calm and collected when they’re frantic. My job is to create intensity when they’re not intense. My job is to always be opposite the moment." -Mike Elko, Texas A&M Football coach You're the counterbalance. The thermostat, not the thermometer....

If you don't feel valued, it's hard to be valuable. When everything around you signals that no one cares.. your brain gets the message. Why pour energy into something that doesn't seem to matter? Motivation follows meaning....

Kobe Bryant was once asked if he loved to win or hated to lose. His answer surprises most people: "I’m neither. I play to figure things out." He realized that playing for the win or to avoid the loss both introduce fear. They both pull you out of the moment. His aim? Stay "dead center."...

I've spent a long time studying world-class performers. Two characteristics I've noticed: 1. Consistency is emphasized more than short-term Intensity. They stack solid work month after month. Instead of trying to be heroes 2. They know how to flip the switch to compete. Instead of always being hyp...

Friends called him “a sad, gloomy man.” His cousin said he was “a very lazy man.” He described himself as “the most miserable man living.” The President of Harvard called him "a person of very inferior cast of character, wholly unequal to the crisis." Doctors said he came “within an inch of be...

Quitting isn't always about laziness or weakness. Often, it is a sophisticated form of protection. We subconsciously handicap ourselves to shield our ego. It feels safer to say, "I didn't really try," than to go all-in and discover that our best wasn't good enough. We’d rather live in the uninf...

The best coaches use nuance. The marketers deal in absolutes. It's why the best rarely say..."Never go on distance runs" or "stay away from lifting" or "Only do HIIT..." Coaches know: everything is a useful tool. You need to learn when to use each & when not to....

"If I just get that promotion, win that medal, or hit that number, then I'll be happy." We all tell ourselves this story. But it’s a lie. It’s called the Arrival Fallacy, and it is a recipe for anxiety, not fulfillment....

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....