Train (Your Brain) Like an Olympian: Gold Medal Techniques to Unleash Your Potential at Work

by Jean François Ménard, Marie Malchelosse (Contributor), Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (Foreword)

Learn how to unleash your full potential at work from one of the world’s top mental performance coaches. You will learn how to:

• Deal with stress

• Face difficult moments with a constructive mindset

• Remain confident even when feeling vulnerable

• Be comfortable with the uncomfortable

Elite athletes need to deal with multiple distractions, manage their stress levels, and have robust self-confidence to deliver podium-worthy performances. These days, it’s the same in the workplace. In today’s fast-paced, competitive work environments, employees and corporate leaders are asked to do more with less, take on bigger files, and work longer hours. The pressure to perform at your best and be on the mark is always present, and let’s face it, being consistently great is easier said than done. Whether your performance realm is the playing field, the office, or the classroom, mental toughness is no longer simply an asset. It’s an absolute necessity.

Thriving at work and in life doesn’t happen by accident: there are teachable skills that can help you unleash your full potential. Mental performance coach Jean François Ménard will give you exclusive access to techniques and strategies that he uses to help Cirque du Soleil artists, Olympians, and pro athletes become the best in the world.

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction, Self Help

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 26, 2021

Reviews

[Heather Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as self help books go this one was excellent. The author worked with some big names and definitely put in his time. I also respect the fact that he practised what he teaches. The methods he teaches works in all walks of life and are doable for everyone. He speaks in a language that I could understand. The first half of the book was a little slow so was a challenge to stay with it but once he actually got into the work part of the book it was very interesting. I will use his ideas and practises for my daily life.

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was received as an ARC from ECW Press in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I never read a book like this before. I workout a lot so I know the training and mental toughness that is required to get the results you want. Now, you can actually train your brain like you would train your body but instead of exercise its with brain teasers. I love to read but there is a lot I do not know and this book showed me how to recover my facts and properly go to the right sources to find the most accurate answer and feel just as accomplished as finishing a marathon. This is definitely a book that not only our patrons will enjoy but I can definitely benefit from also.

We will consider adding this title to our Self Help collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is like someone took a whole bunch of self-help/whatnot books, threw them all in a wood-chipper, then pasted together uncredited little fragments in no particular order to fill space between a bunch of personal anecdotes.

[Charlie Medcalf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a self-help book which is written about Jean Francois Menard (JF) who is a mental performance coach and it talks about all the techniques he uses when providing people with mental performance coaching. We learn about how to be the best we can be and how to get through any situation that life may throw us. Throughout the book, there are a number of case studies/stories of people that JF has helped ranging from a number of Olympic gold medalists to the CEO's of different companies. In the book, it seems as if JF specialises in mental coaching for Olympians however in this book after explaining how he would apply the techniques to different Olympians, he puts it into a workplace scenario to help those office workers who may need mental performance help.

I liked this book because it allows the reading to learn how to unlock their brains to allow them to perform in the best way possible. It enables the reader to learn exactly how to stay in control, why this is useful and what to do when in control all so the brain does not go in panic mode and make you do something you will regret later. Although this book is suitable for all, I highly recommend it to GCSE, A-Level and University students to have exams to sit as it will show you how to take control of the situation, deal with exam stress and should help you prevent having to experience anything such as a panic attack. Furthermore, I like how with every point JF makes, there is a real-life example with an Olympian allowing the reading to be 100% sure that all the advice in this book is good advice and should work is used correctly.

I do not really have anything I disliked about the book, the contents of it was all great and very enjoyable to read. I think I may have liked it more though if either the chapters were shorter and/or there were not as many sub-categories under each chapter. However, this is just one of my opinions and it in no way affected how much I enjoyed the book, just me being a bit fussy mainly.

This book is different because I am unaware of any other book that looks at mental performance coaching in the same way as this book and because it has so many real-life stories with Olympic gold medalists, this book is highly credible. Furthermore, JF is one of the leading professionals in his industry meaning we are getting only the best advice.

Anyway, in conclusion, this is a book which provides you with life-changing knowledge that will help you be the best you can be. Although this book is mainly tailored to office workers, the techniques in the book are suitable for everyone and anyone and will change your life if you use the tools in this book. Altogether, this book was hard to decide how many stars to assign it but I think after much thought and conflicting ideas I will rate this book 4 out of 5 stars because of the usefulness of the book and the valuable information present.

[LyndenTree63 · Rating 2 out of 5]

The entire premise of this book is fundamentally flawed. Look, if your office work requires Olympic-level mental performance coaching to succeed, your job SUCKS. Honestly, I wish Jean-Francois Menard and Marie Malchelosse has just stuck to sharing stories, and techniques and strategies that JF teaches. Trying to relate it back to work felt forced, a nasty capitalistic grindset.

The book has two stars for the interesting stories and examples JF shares. It doesn't get any more than that because those techniques often require a neurotypical brain or being middle class at least, and not dealing with any sort of poverty, racism, ableism, etc.. The techniques don't take any sort of external context factors into play, and thus there's this vague idea that if you're failing, it's your fault. Just the usual self-improvement for privileged people vibes.

With all that said, I do appreciate the practicality of this book. The strategies aren't airy-fairy things that sound good when you read them and you're left wondering how to do them afterwards, they're actually able to be implemented. But you'll have the most success with them if you're a white neurotypical able-bodied non-traumatized middle class person.

[Zee Monodee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
A good book about mental toughness and productivity, and how you can enhance one which then leads to enhancement of the other, until this becomes a synergistic wheel. The read did drag in some places (and a lot of the athletes' names were not known to me, so maybe this contributed to my boredom at times when I felt clueless about who he was talking about and what point he was trying to make) and he could have gotten to the point faster and with less dallying. Still, it's a very good roadmap for enhancing any aspect of your life you want to dedicate yourself to.
Only reason I'm not giving it more stars is because, in many places, I had the sneaking feeling that while everything was 'explained' on the page, it was still broad enough that someone might still feel lost and then need the service of a mental coach, like the author, to actually get to figure out their path and goal and make progress - so it's not "this coach helping you out as if he were there with you" unlike many other such productivity and coaching books.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars.The competitive athlete turned adrenaline fueled corporate worker in me deeply appreciated this book. The advice is sound and how can it not be inspirational when the case studies are about Olympians? Some techniques for performing at peak levels were known to me, generally speaking. It is not a far reach for most athletes and employees to know that meditation, perseverance, and focus amongst other routines can improve outcomes. However, the detail that Ménard goes into is helpful, tangible, and importantly can be enacted. I recommend this book for the person who wants to improve without trudging into a a preachy self help book!

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick and easy read when you're looking for ways to improve your performance (in sports, at work, in life).

As in most self-help motivational books, here are the acronyms:
KEY - keep educating yourself
WIN - what's important now
SENS - sleep, exercise, nutrition, stress (management)
CRAP - calm, reflection, adjustment, preparation
PHD (sisu) - patience, humility, discipline

Types of attention (Dr. Robert Nideffer): Internal/External/Narrow/Broad

Athletes mentioned: Mikael Kingsbury, Antoine Valois-Fortier, Scott Moir & Tessa Virtue

[Mitchell Davison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not intended as a review for others

Good points on positive thinking, taking things incrementally, celebrating the little wins, going to bed each day better than the day before. Worth a reread in a couple years. Good points on making and living through a plan, acting on ideas instead of merely deciding to do them. Remove distractions from life and work deliberately.

[Divyesh Sheth · Rating 4 out of 5]

great tips for getting better mentally

JF has laid out a great set of tools to make sure you can get better and perform your best in your chosen field. His examples of how elite athletes overcome obstacles and persevered to achieve their goals are spot on. Concept of “sisu “ - the Finnish philosophy of never giving up - in particular is something I really enjoyed learning.

[Martine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read. It's concepts that we are all familiar with, but what's nice is that instead of expanding upon them into extreme detail, they're distilled into the takeaways and illustrated with an anecdote. I breezed through it, but instead of feeling like it was too quick or superficial, I felt ready to conquer anything...so I guess that was the goal!

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether you are training for the Olympics, wanting to walk a 5k, or you sit in a cubicle in an office, there is something in this book for everyone. Especially if you think there is something you absolutely can't do. The author engages right out of the gate. I loved it. Highly recommend.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book! Lots of experiences of Canadian olympians outlined here.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book with some great tips. I love the sports psychology and the stories of how the author helped top athletes reach their goals.

[Christopher Arrigali · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

There’s some decent takeaways here but not a ton of groundbreaking material.

[John Majors · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to launch you into the new year.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some excellent techniques to boost your mental performance in all aspects of life.

[Ryan Banks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book definitely opened my eyes to the mental aspects of high level participants within the sport and business world

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first self help book I’ve actually enjoyed

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting self-help book! It was cool to hear different stories about different Olympic athletes and to use their skills of success and dedication on regular day situations!

[Nyssy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was curious about what this book had to "say".

[Eric Liu · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual with self-help books, I was looking to be inspired or motivated, or for it to fix my problems. But really it’s a book that gives you a set of mental tools and perspectives to deal with problems, or rather challenges, in your work. And the book is very clear about what it is, and what you can do with the info it gives you. I actually did learn quite a few strategies to motivate myself, through some of the very effective sports anecdotes and metaphors. Like “feeding the fire”, “asking yourself why”, “PHD (patience, humility, discipline)”, “Eustress vs distress”, finding the right words, and framing problems as challenges.

While reading some of the more pure-explanation sections of the book, my cynicism started to ask questions like “But what if you win the silver medal? Then performing like an Olympic athlete is not a recipe for happiness.” “There's talk about loving your work, but is loving your work a precondition to happiness?” But maybe these are journeys I go on myself or find in other books.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great, interesting read! I was drawn to JF Menard's book after learning how he worked with Canadian ice dancing champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. This book is for anyone who has goals and wants to accomplish them effectively. This book game me insight into sports psychology and the psychology behind performance.

[Tia Hurt · Rating 5 out of 5]

2nd time even better

This book is going to be a yearly must read for me.
Very well written
Great strategies
Mind set is key