Overachievement: The New Science of Working Less to Accomplish More [Paperback]

John Eliot (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1591841313 | ISBN-13: 978-1591841319 | Publication Date: April 25, 2006

Relax. Set goals. Focus on the outcome. Lose yourself to the Zone. All reasonable, sensible advice when you are facing a big presentation at work, a crucial point in the game, or any kind of career-launching performance. And all utterly, hopelessly, wrong.

According to John Eliot, Ph.D., “Such self-improvement balderdash will do nothing but relegate you to a career in mediocrity.”

As Dr. Eliot has discovered through his cutting-edge research and real-world coaching, techniques such as goal-setting, relaxation, visualization, stress management, and flow just don’t work for most people. Relaxing when the pressure is on is the wrong way to go. Instead, to really ratchet up your performance, you’ll need to change the way you think about pressure—and learn how to welcome it, enjoy it, and make it work to your advantage.

Mixing scientific insights with entertaining and inspiring stories, Overachievement will help you achieve spectacular success in any situation that demands you rise above and beyond what you ever thought possible. BACKCOVER: “The antithesis of every self-improvement guru.”
—Jim Pawlak, Chicago Tribune

“[Eliot’s] upfront conversational tone makes his advice not just palatable but convincing. Even if they don’t achieve superstar results right away, readers from all walks of life should find it easier to hone their concentration and work a little harder.”
—Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Most people have experienced pre-performance jitters, whether they come before a date, an exam or a business presentation. But rather than spend mental energy trying to quash this reaction, Eliot says, they should stay focused on the task at hand, remaining confident in their abilities in order to rise to what the subconscious recognizes as a momentous occasion. Unlike other performance enhancement guides that prescribe specific techniques, Eliot has one broad goal—"getting your mind ready to perform"—and freely admits everyone will need to find an approach to what he calls "the Trusting Mindset" based on their unique passions and commitments. He does present compelling examples from his own career as a performance consultant as well as other tales from the worlds of business and sport. When Eliot encourages readers to think like Yogi Berra, he isn’t talking about embracing paradox but about a tenacious focus on fulfilling your dreams despite "realistic" criticism from peers, and he drives the point home further by comparing Berra to Michael Dell and Virgin CEO Richard Branson. Though the hard-headedness of his approach is at odds with much conventional wisdom, his upfront conversational tone makes his advice not just palatable but convincing. Even if they don’t achieve superstar results right away, readers from all walks of life should find it easier to hone their concentration and work a little harder.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

"The antithesis of every self-improvement guru."
—Jim Pawlak, Chicago Tribune

"[Eliot’s] upfront conversational tone makes his advice not just palatable but convincing. Even if they don’t achieve superstar results right away, readers from all walks of life should find it easier to hone their concentration and work a little harder."
—Publishers Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Portfolio Trade (April 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591841313
• ISBN-13: 978-1591841319
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #384,518 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gives self improvement junkies like me pause for thought, April 2, 2006

By 

Kanishka Sinha "Prometheus' Odyssey" (Mumbai, India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Overachievement: The New Model for Exceptional Performance (Hardcover)

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. All progress depends on the unreasonable man.

This is the message of John Eliot. Basically he says that none of the real champions of sport, business, art, etc ever followed a prescribed success formula as listed by the Steven Covey's, Tony Robbin's, etc. Instead they were just confident people who believed in doing things their own way and were passionate about what they were doing. Pause for thought for all of us trying to incrementally improve ourselves by reading scroes of self improvement books, biographies, paying too much attention to 360 feedback or appraisals listings of our weaknesses.

His key messages are:
1. Don't use your head. Lose yourself to the moment, passion. Don't get calm, get charged. Trust yourself. Don't overanalyse. Put pressure on yourself! Devise a method to get yourself in the right frame. Use it every time.
2. Don't put limits on yourself. Don't set goals. They aren't stretching, they're limiting. Chase a dream that is downright unachievable.
3. Hard work is overrated. The key is to do the right things, not necessarily doing things right
4. Don't try and hedge your risks. Put all your eggs in one basket and WATCH THAT BASKET
5. There is no such thing as too much self assurance. Arrogant SOBs who believe in themselves are the ones who run the world. Don't believe the experts (think Dell, Buffet, Gates, Paige&Brin, Columbus, the earth is flat?, etc). And confidence is not your track record... these guys weren't confident in themselves after they had proved themselves right... no, they proved it before.
6. Being a team player involves conforming and conforming will at the end of the day bring you nothing but mundane results being achieved by all the others conforming

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good insights but reads like a College textbook, October 20, 2006

By 

Speratus "True knowledge exists in knowing th... (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Overachievement: The New Model For Exceptional Performance (Hardcover)

I bought this book due to the overwhelmingly positive reviews so I must say from the outset I was disappointed. The information is thought provoking and I will try the techniques to see if they actually work. The problem I had is with the writing. It again appears to be a case of stretching a 100 page book into 250 pages. John Eliot throws every profession together, (with major emphasis on athletes) so whether you are an athlete or a shoe salesman these techniques are supposed to work. In this regard the book is unfocused, attempting to be all things to all people. As opposed to one size fits all, Eliot should have had chapters on how specific professions could benefit from his techniques. We are instead given anecdotes on how an athlete performed on a given occasion due to a change in approach.

I really wanted to like this book but found it too clinical and yes boring. Halfway through the book I found myself counting the pages to the end. I finally finished and felt I had completed a College textbook written by a sports coach that was just NOT engaging.

I'm sorry if I sound harsh but my expectations were very high and unfortunately not met.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Packed with Knowledge!, August 26, 2005

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Overachievement: The New Model for Exceptional Performance (Hardcover)

Anyone who wants to grow and improve can benefit from reading John Eliot's book, which teaches you how to develop the power of focused thinking and, thus, to develop yourself in whatever you do. Eliot explains how to use focus to become an exceptional thinker and performer so you can achieve extraordinary things. He believes in following your passion, learning to live in the moment and incorporating some fun into your life and your job. These concepts can help anyone perform better, but they particularly call to those who want to transcend being "average" and to live with passion and purpose. Eliot explains that the human body is physiologically designed to perform exceptionally well under stress. Therefore, he says, don't focus on eliminating stress from your life. Instead, make good use of it. Although Eliot uses numerous examples from sports to illustrate his fundamental principles, readers without a great interest in athletics will still find his stories very interesting, applicable and helpful. Even if this sensible self-help book contradicts some popular self-perfecting advice, it provides a strategy for putting your passions and mental powers to work. We recommend it to those who lead stressful lives - here's how to make stress work for you.