Our Book Recommendations #5
The Soul.

Changing Beliefs About Ourselves and What We Imagine Is Possible.

Reading these books could lead you to change your mind about your relationship with your body, as well as your relationship to your chronic pain or  illness. The concepts contained in these books can change your life. Permanently. For. The. Better.

Together , these books are selling over 13,475 copies per month. The theme of these books is based on the fundamental concept that we can change the way we think about ourselves by exploring powerful alternative perspectives. We’ve chosen to present these books in order of sales performance.

Our featured Bonus Book #5: Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins, hit #2 on Amazon selling at a rate of about 4,000 books PER DAY or 62,000 books per month!

Until we have time to provide our own review on each book, below is the information from each book’s inside or back cover, along with sales ratings from Amazon.com (and corresponding links to the books on Amazon – with no current sales affiliations).

It goes without saying that our book recommendations are a small sampling from many sources of bodymind or mind-body concepts. Here are the top five books by sales, as recommended by a selection of self-healing books from TheBodyIsMind library. All sales rankings as listed were accurate as of January 2019 when this research was done.

#1

Extreme Ownership

How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win

Hardcover – November 21, 2017
by Jocko Willink (Author), Leif Babin (Author)
85% 4.8 Stars Average from 2,506 reviews
Year: 2017 | Pages 384
Rank #80 selling 11,035 books per month

From The Cover

Combat, the most intense and dynamic environment imaginable, teaches the toughest leadership lessons, with absolutely everything at stake. Jocko Willink and Leif Babin learned this reality first-hand on the most violent and dangerous battlefield in Iraq. As leaders of SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser, their mission was one many thought impossible: help U.S. forces secure Ramadi, a violent, insurgent-held city deemed “all but lost.” In gripping, firsthand accounts of heroism, tragic loss, and hard-won victories, they learned that leadership―at every level―is the most important factor in whether a team succeeds or fails.

Willink and Babin returned home from deployment and instituted SEAL leadership training to pass on their harsh lessons learned in combat to help forge the next generation of SEAL leaders. After leaving the SEAL Teams, they launched a company, Echelon Front, to teach those same leadership principles to leaders in businesses, companies, and organizations across the civilian sector. Since that time, they have trained countless leaders and worked with hundreds of companies in virtually every industry across the U.S. and internationally, teaching them how to develop their own high-performance teams and most effectively lead those teams to dominate their battlefields.

Since it’s release in October 2015, Extreme Ownership has revolutionized leadership development and set a new standard for literature on the subject. Required reading for many of the most successful organizations, it has become an integral part of the official leadership training programs for scores of business teams, military units, and first responders. Detailing the mindset and principles that enable SEAL units to accomplish the most difficult combat missions, Extreme Ownership demonstrates how to apply them to any team or organization, in any leadership environment. A compelling narrative with powerful instruction and direct application, Extreme Ownership challenges leaders everywhere to fulfill their ultimate purpose: lead and win.

#2

RELENTLESS

From Good To Great To Unstoppable

Paperback – March 11, 2014
by Tim S. Grover (Author), Shari Wenk (Contributor)
70% 4.4 Stars Average from 845 reviews
Year: 2014 | Pages 272
Rank #2287 selling 1,203 books per month

From The Cover

Direct, blunt, and brutally honest, Grover breaks down what it takes to be unstoppable: you keep going when everyone else is giving up, you thrive under pressure, you never let your emotions make you weak. In “The Relentless 13,” he details the essential traits shared by the most intense competitors and achievers in sports, business, and all walks of life. Relentless shows you how to trust your instincts and get in the Zone; how to control and adapt to any situation; how to find your opponent’s weakness and attack. Grover gives you the same advice he gives his world-class clients—“don’t think”—and shows you that anything is possible. Packed with previously untold stories and unparalleled insight into the psyches of the most successful and accomplished athletes of our time, Relentless shows you how even the best get better . . . and how you can too.

#3

THE CHAMPION’S MIND

How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

Paperback – May 12, 2015
by Jim Afremow, PhD (Author)
73% 4.5 Stars Average from 224 reviews
Year: 2015 | Pages 288
Rank #5140 selling 643 books per month

From The Cover

Even among the most elite performers, certain athletes stand out as a cut above the rest, able to outperform in clutch, game-deciding moments. These athletes prove that raw athletic ability doesn’t necessarily translate to a superior on-field experience—its the mental game that matters most.

Sports participation—from the recreational to the collegiate Division I level—is at an all-time high. While the caliber of their games may differ, athletes at every level have one thing in common: the desire to excel. In The Champion’s Mind, sports psychologist Jim Afremow, PhD, offers the same advice he uses with Olympians, Heisman Trophy winners, and professional athletes, including:

• How to get in a “zone,” thrive on a team, and stay humble
• How to progress within a sport and sustain long-term excellence
• Customizable pre-performance routines to hit full power when the gun goes off or the puck is dropped

With hundreds of useful tips, breakthrough science, and cutting-edge workouts from the world’s top trainers, The Champion’s Mind will help you shape your body to ensure a longer, healthier, happier lifetime.

#4

THINK LIKE A WARRIOR

The Five Inner Beliefs That Make You Unstoppable

Paperback – May 4, 2016
by Darrin Donnelly (Author)
79% 4.6 Stars Average from 713 reviews
Year: 2016 | Pages 242
Rank #7436 selling 478 books per month

From The Cover

Discover the five inner beliefs shared by the world’s greatest achievers.

If you want to take control of your life and achieve your biggest dreams, you must develop a “warrior mindset.” This book will show you how to stop thinking like a victim and start thinking like a warrior.

In this inspirational fable, Chris McNeely is a college football coach who is at the end of his rope after a hard-and-fast fall from the top of his profession. Now bankrupt and on the verge of losing his job, he has no idea what he’s doing wrong or how to get back on track.

Angry, worried, and desperate for help, Chris receives mysterious visits from five of history’s greatest coaches: John Wooden, Buck O’Neil, Herb Brooks, Paul “Bear” Bryant, and Vince Lombardi.

Together, these five legendary leaders teach Chris how to “think like a warrior” and take control of his life. The “warrior mindset” he develops changes his life forever—and it will change yours as well.

Discover the life-changing lessons of John Wooden, Buck O’Neil, Herb Brooks, Bear Bryant, and Vince Lombardi in this inspirational tale of what it takes to achieve your dreams—whatever those dreams may be.

This book will show you how to…
 – Build your self-confidence
– Develop mental toughness
– Attack every day with joy and enthusiasm
– Use a positive mental attitude to achieve more
– Harness the power of positive self-talk
– Be a positive leader for your family and your team
– Become the person you were born to be
– And much more…

The five inner beliefs revealed in this book will empower you to take control of your life and overcome any obstacle that stands in your way.

#5

THE MINDFUL ATHLETE

Secrets to Pure Performance

Paperback – March 15, 2016
by George Mumford (Author)
83% 4.7 Stars Average from 110 reviews
Year: 2008 | Pages 248
Rank #38,713 selling 116 books per month

From The Cover

Michael Jordan credits George Mumford with transforming his on-court leadership of the Bulls, helping Jordan lead the team to six NBA championships. Mumford also helped Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom and countless other NBA players turn around their games. A widely respected public speaker and coach, Mumford is sharing his own story and the strategies that have made these athletes into stars in The Mindful Athlete: The Secret to Pure Performance. His proven, gentle but groundbreaking mindfulness techniques can transform the performance of anyone with a goal, be they an Olympian, weekend warrior, executive, hacker, or artist.

Mumford’s deeply moving personal story is unforgettable. A basketball player at the University of Massachusetts (where he roomed with Dr. J, Julius Erving), injuries forced Mumford out of the game he loved. The meds that relieved the pain of his injuries also numbed him to the emptiness he felt without the game and eventually led him to heroin. After years as a functioning addict, Mumford enrolled in Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program, and made meditation, on and off the cushion, the center of his life. He kicked drugs, earned a master’s degree in counseling psychology and began teaching meditation to inmates and others.

When Michael Jordan left the Chicago Bulls to play baseball in 1993, the team was in crisis. Coach Phil Jackson, a long-time mindfulness practitioner, contacted Dr. Kabat-Zinn to find someone who could teach mindfulness techniques to the struggling team—someone who would have credibility and could speak the language of his players. Kabat-Zinn led Jackson to Mumford and their partnership began. Mumford has worked with Jackson and each of the eleven teams he coached to become NBA champions. His roster of champion clients has since blossomed way beyond basketball to include corporate executives, Olympians, and athletes in many different sports.

With a charismatic teaching style that combines techniques of engaged mindfulness with lessons from popular culture icons such as Yoda, Indiana Jones, and Bruce Lee, Mumford tells illuminating stories about his larger than life clients. His writing is down-to-earth and easy to understand and apply. The Mindful Athlete is an engrossing story and an invaluable resource for anyone looking to elevate their game, no matter what the pursuit, and includes a foreword by Phil Jackson.

“Self-consciousness is when you’re focused on how you’re doing instead of what you’re doing. We have to learn how to push and challenge ourselves, but not in an insensitive way. Honing your performance really comes down to being comfortable with being uncomfortable.”—George Mumford

BONUS BOOK

CAN’T HURT ME

Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds

Hardcover – December 4, 2018
by David Goggins (Author)
94% 4.9 Stars Average from 1,079 reviews
Year: 2018 | Pages 364
Rank #12 selling 29,578 books per month

This book hit #2 on Amazon immediately after publication, selling over 62,000 copies in its first month (on Amazon alone). The audio book is available on Kindle, with an interesting and refreshing interaction between the author and the narrator which adds value the book readers won’t get.

From The Cover

For David Goggins, childhood was a nightmare – poverty, prejudice, and physical abuse colored his days and haunted his nights. But through self-discipline, mental toughness, and hard work, Goggins transformed himself from a depressed, overweight young man with no future into a U.S. Armed Forces icon and one of the world’s top endurance athletes. The only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller, he went on to set records in numerous endurance events, inspiring Outside magazine to name him The Fittest (Real) Man in America.

In Can’t Hurt Me, he shares his astonishing life story and reveals that most of us tap into only 40% of our capabilities. Goggins calls this The 40% Rule, and his story illuminates a path that anyone can follow to push past pain, demolish fear, and reach their full potential.