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A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence
Free Press
May 2007
On Sale: May 8, 2007
288 pages
ISBN: 0743277457
EAN: 9780743277457
Hardcover
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Fiction
Josh Waitzkin knows what it means to be at the top of his
game. A public figure since winning his first National Chess
Championship at the age of nine, Waitzkin was catapulted
into a media whirlwind as a teenager when his father's book
Searching for Bobby Fischer was made into a major
motion picture. After dominating the scholastic chess world
for ten years, Waitzkin expanded his horizons, taking on the
martial art Tai Chi Chuan and ultimately earning the title
of World Champion. How was he able to reach the pinnacle of
two disciplines that on the surface seem so different? "I've
come to realize that what I am best at is not Tai Chi, and
it is not chess," he says. "What I am best at is the art of
learning." In his riveting new book, The Art
of Learning, Waitzkin tells his remarkable story of
personal achievement and shares the principles of learning
and performance that have propelled him to the top --
twice. With a narrative that combines
heart-stopping martial arts wars and tense chess face-offs
with life lessons that speak to all of us, The Art of
Learning takes readers through Waitzkin's unique journey
to excellence. He explains in clear detail how a
well-thought-out, principled approach to learning is what
separates success from failure. Waitzkin believes that
achievement, even at the championship level, is a function
of a lifestyle that fuels a creative, resilient growth
process. Rather than focusing on climactic wins, Waitzkin
reveals the inner workings of his everyday method, from
systematically triggering intuitive breakthroughs, to honing
techniques into states of remarkable potency, to mastering
the art of performance psychology. Through his
own example, Waitzkin explains how to embrace defeat and
make mistakes work for you. Does your opponent make you
angry? Waitzkin describes how to channel emotions into
creative fuel. As he explains it, obstacles are not
obstacles but challenges to overcome, to spur the growth
process by turning weaknesses into strengths. He illustrates
the exact routines that he has used in all of his
competitions, whether mental or physical, so that you too
can achieve your peak performance zone in any competitive or
professional circumstance. In stories ranging
from his early years taking on chess hustlers as a seven
year old in New York City's Washington Square Park, to
dealing with the pressures of having a film made about his
life, to International Chess Championships in India,
Hungary, and Brazil, to gripping battles against powerhouse
fighters in Taiwan in the Push Hands World Championships,
The Art of Learning encapsulates an extraordinary
competitor's life lessons in a page-turning narrative.
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