contents
GOING PRO
one
getting hooked / 15
two
role models / 32
three
the talent myth / 41
four
adaptability / 46
five
timing and luck / 54
six
winning / 62
seven
momentum / 68
eight
ego vs. confidence / 71
STAMINA
nine
hope isn’t a strategy / 79
ten
focus and visualization / 86
eleven
coaches, teammates, competitors / 94
twelve
critics and criticism / 99
thirteen
what injuries? / 106
fourteen
fear and doubt / 111
fifteen
losing / 118
ENDGAME
sixteen
quitting / 131
seventeen
distractions / 139
eighteen
epiphanies / 145
nineteen
twenty
knowing yourself / 161
twenty-one
fulfillment / 168
twenty-two
sport education / 173
twenty-three
expiration date / 181
postscript / 187
acknowledgments / 191
appendix: athletes interviewed / 193
index of athletes by sport / 197
about the author / 199