High Performance: Lessons from the Best on Becoming Your Best

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This excellent book won't just teach you how to be a high performer. It will show you how to build a high performance culture that spreads beyond your actions into those of the whole team. TRACEY NEVILLE

High Performance reveals the methods the world's most remarkable athletes, coaches and entrepreneurs use to excel. There’s also a lot which seems basically verbatim from Damien’s Barcelona Way book (also really good!) about star-model/commitment etc which seemed a bit of a cop out. I found the ‘pit stop’ concept which pops up a lot a bit hammy too, though well intentioned.The issue is however, it’s largely just that - the best parts of interviews we’ve already heard. I’d anticipated this but the extent to which it was a rehash of previous interviews was a bit disappointing.

Take any success story - take any famous person - who is famous because they are successful, and they will regale you for hours with stories about their training programme, the sacrifices, the early morning starts…. But here’s the thing that hardly ever gets mentioned: Looked at from a less romantic point of view, the true lesson from any Steve Jobs or Usain Bolt story is that dozens of other people stood on the same start line after putting in just as much work and had their efforts come to nothing. Jake and I met in F1, and he has always had a perspective that looked beyond the blinkers of motor-racing. This book perfectly reflects that open-mindedness. It's full of valuable principles and approaches shared by teams and athletes across professional sports, with real-world relevance to people's everyday lives. TOTO WOLFF

Retailers:

Their competitor was working just as hard, was just as determined, just as focussed, just as ready, just as driven…. But on the day, they slipped into the obscurity of second place. Jake Humphrey has interviewed some of the most iconic individuals around. He has a wealth of wisdom to share.' VEX KING, author of Good Vibes, Good Life

Jake Humphrey is one of the UK's best-respected sports presenters. Currently the lead Premier League football presenter on BT Sport, Jake previously spent over a decade at the BBC - covering Formula 1, the FIFA World Cup, the London Olympics and BBC Sports Personality of the Year, as well as becoming the youngest ever presenter of Match of the Day. Focuses the mind on how to be your best . . . Thought-provoking signposts to a more fruitful 2022.' Observer

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I loved sports at schools. Team sports to be exact. But hated cross country running in the winter. I’m more a player than a watcher of sports. I bought this book because I worked with Jake in his CBBC days. No, I didn’t make him dress up as a lobster. I’m a huge fan. Jake is the ultimate professional. He came to set prepared and ready to have fun. I trust him and love his work ethic. I can only guess the amount of effort he put into this book. Unfortunately, there are thousands of books out there which perpetuate the myth of being “special”, being a winner, achieving your goals and battling against the odds, but there aren’t many books that encourage you to be realistic about your aims, understand and accept your limitations, recognise when the juice simply isn’t worth the squeeze, and learn to appreciate what you already have. High Performance will help you think clearly, act decisively and keep calm under pressure. If you want to stop making excuses and take responsibility for your life, I recommend you read this book. ANT MIDDLETON

This is a self-help book with a sporting and activity emphasis which is short and easy to read. It derives from the excellent The High-Performance Podcast series which has been running since March 2020. In the podcast guests from different walks of life are interviewed by Humphrey and Hughes on their ideas and experiences around defining, delivering, and sustaining high performance. The book attempts to wrap some theory around what they say What’s GoodThis amazing book will teach you the mindset and habits of champions. High Performance has already impacted some of the best players and coaches across the world, but Jake and Damian's insights are equally valuable to people from any walk of life. I urge you to open this book and open your mind to the lessons within. FRANK LAMPARD I really like the podcast and have listened since Series 1. Jake and Damien have a great way of eliciting information from some of the most interesting people and the book definitely delivers that. Tom Daley, Kelly Holmes, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Kelly Jones, Matthew McConaughey, Siya Kolosi. All brilliant.