About the Book
In this highly anticipated book, the bestselling author of Do Hard Things Steve Magness—“one of the giants of modern thinking about high performance” (Alex Hutchinson)—flips the script on the pursuit of excellence, shifting our thinking from high-stress survival mode to fulfillment-oriented thriving mode to creates sustainable success at the highest level, in what Amy Morin, author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do calls “an essential read for anyone interested in self-discovery and meaningful success.”
Striving is in our nature. We all want to perform at our best when it matters most. But in today's world, many of us feel lost, isolated, and overwhelmed. We're paralyzed by fear of failure and crippled by insecurities. We know we’re capable of more, yet no matter how hard we try, we feel stuck. We’ve been sold the wrong path to success and personal fulfillment.
Renowned performance scientist and bestselling author Steve Magness reveals a new path to sustainable success. In Win the Inside Game, Magness argues that excellence and fulfillment are not mutually exclusive; we can and should seek both. When we measure our worth by our achievements, cement our identities to our careers, and sacrifice our well-being in the pursuit of external validation, it backfires. We default to survival mode, protecting and defending ourselves instead of being free to fulfill our potential.
In this, his most personal book yet, Magness draws on his vast wealth of experience as an Olympic coach and whistleblower, highly popular consultant, and premier expert on performance, as well as scientific findings, interviews, and case studies, to provide a three-part framework to help us learn to focus on what really matters and achieve success.
Be—Clarity on Who You Are
Do—Clarity in Your Pursuits
Belong—Clarity on Where and How You Fit In
Redefining the trend carved by bestsellers such as Be Useful, Range, and Hidden Potential, Win the Inside Game seeks not only excellence but inner and personal growth. In realigning our focus from something externally motivated and fear-based to internally motivated and driven by personal conviction, Magness provides the tools for us to free ourselves up to perform and ultimately achieve a fuller sense of self and purpose.
About the Author :
STEVE MAGNESS is a world-renowned expert on performance, coauthor of Peak Performance and The Passion Paradox, and the author of The Science of Running. He is the co-host of two podcasts: The Growth Equation podcast, with Brad Stulberg, and On Coaching with Magness and Marcus, with Jon Marcus. His writing has appeared in Runner's World and Sports Illustrated, and he has been featured in The New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Men's Health, The Guardian, Business Insider, and ESPN The Magazine, NPR, and CNN International. Magness has served as a consultant and speaker for NASA, Houston Rockets, Murphy Oil, Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Sounders, New Orleans Pelicans, Athletics New Zealand, Canadian Athletics, New Zealand High Performance, and more. Visit him at SteveMagness.com.
Review :
"Win the Inside Game is a wise, entertaining book that makes the excellent case that winning is more about unshackling ourselves from our expectations and knee-jerk defensiveness than it is finding minuscule competitive edges and flavor-of-the-month performance hacks. Magness is a wonderful guide, bringing big ideas back to earth by illustrating them with his own experiences as an elite athlete, coach, and writer. Highly recommended!" — Adam Alter, New York Times-bestselling author of Anatomy of a Breakthrough
"If you feel like you're constantly chasing success without ever getting anywhere, you need this book. Packed with relatable stories and science-backed principles, Win the Inside Game is an essential guide for learning how to build a healthy and personally meaningful life. Magness gives clear, practical advice for how to stop simply surviving and start thriving." — Liz Fosslien and Mollie Duffy, co-authors of the bestsellers No Hard Feelings and Big Feelings
"Win the Inside Game is a breath of fresh air that teaches how to shift the focus from external achievements to inner fulfillment. It’s an essential read for anyone interested in self-discovery and meaningful success." — Amy Morin, author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do
"Nobody distills the hidden principles of high performance better than Steve Magness. But Win the Inside Game isn’t just about achieving success; it’s about finding happiness along the way, which is far more important." — Alex Hutchinson, author of Endure
"Magness is an accomplished athlete and coach, and Win the Inside Game has much to offer those seeking tips on improving their competitive performance. But the principles Steve outlines in the book aren’t just a foundation for winning—they’re a formula for living a more balanced, satisfying life in every realm. Learned through real experience, Steve’s advice is generous, practical, wise, and most importantly, attainable. In Win the Inside Game, he shows readers how to achieve success by focusing on the things that truly matter." — Christie Aschwanden, New York Times-bestselling author of Good To Go
"Win the Inside Game is a propulsive tour of how modern life—from credit reports to TikTok—has left us in a perpetual state of defensiveness. Magness deftly guides the reader in how to break out of the rut of feeling threatened and chase their biggest goals with vigor." — David Epstein, author of Range and The Sports Gene
