Unleash the Champion Within: An Athlete’s Guide to Mental Toughness, Peak Performance & Achieving Greatness

Simon Boulter
Jul 24, 2017 · 6 min read

Unleash the Champion Within by Simon Boulter now available on kindle and in paperback.

Almost everyone as a child dreams of achieving something incredible, whether its playing in a band in front of millions of fans, scoring the winning goal in the world cup, hitting a touchdown at the Superbowl or winning the 100m gold medal at the Olympics. For many people, these dreams simply become day dreams, or impossible fantasies and that burning fire inside of them fades away. Champions however, never lose that fire and it burns so fiercely that it drives them to do all of the work that others won’t, so that they can do what others can’t. Every great achievement begins from a humble ambition, from that ambition athletes learn to believe in themselves, work harder, dream bigger, persevere longer and grow into a champion. Champions user their dreams and passion to fuel them to consistently work hard and never allow anyone to stop them from chasing those dreams.

But, most athletes spend a lifetime working on their physical abilities such as their strength, speed, power, endurance or mobility and maybe they will get to their mental training eventually. That is a mistake, physical ability can only take you so far, and the more successful you become the more important mental training becomes. The fact is you can’t become great at anything without training your mind, you can’t become a champion without a championship mindset. Dominating physically can help you win, dominating mentally as well as physically puts you on track to becoming the greatest version of yourself. Anyone can build strength, speed and power, but not everyone has what it takes to display consistency, commitment, determination, perseverance and mental toughness when times get rough.

Competitions are often won or lost on the playing field between your ears. Mental training will help your keep your commitments and stay disciplined, remain a good student and help you to continually improve your skills. It can help you stay mentally strong in the face of adversity and respond effectively in competition. The champion’s mindset, like skills can be learned, whether or not it is in your genes or comes naturally is irrelevant, that’s what this book is about, cultivating the mindset of a champion no matter who you are and no matter what resources you have at your disposal.

At a certain point, once skills have been developed to a high level, mental training is going to make all of the difference. Champions understand that attitude and mental strength is enormously important, especially when the events going on around them are negative or stressful. Mentality is what separates the top athletes from everyone else in any sport, among the very top athletes there is not much physical difference, everyone is in great shape at the elite level, but their mental game and their ability to handle pressure is often what determines who will be the most successful. Physical ability alone will only get you so far, at a certain point the mental game becomes the determining factor. A champion’s mindset and work ethic enhances their natural abilities, just as you can build physical strength through hard training, you can also build mental strength through deliberate practice and training.

Sit back, close your eyes and begin to focus on a memory of you performing at your very best. Recall the sights, sounds, smells and textures of your best ever performance, a time where you were on mind and on top of your game. Where each skill flows effortlessly into the next, where everything goes your way and you’re flowing in the zone. Next, recall another performance where you performed at your worst, this could be in training or competition, where everything seemed to go wrong and every effort you gave was ineffective or you stumbled at every turn. We’ve all had days like this. Now, compare the two memories, what was the biggest difference between them? More than likely, the issue was mental rather than physical.

If you had to ask me what percentage of your sport is mental, I’d probably tell you that it’s 90% mental and that the other half is physical. All jokes aside, that answer demonstrates my point that it’s impossible to put a percentage on how much of a sport is mental, but it’s always a huge portion. For the sake of example, let’s just say that half of your sport is mental and half is physical, since the mental game is so important that it makes up 50% of your game, are you spending 50% of your time training your mental skills? Are you spending as much time on the mental game as you do the physical? Are you mentally focused and mindful during training? Do you practice visualisation and positive self-talk every day? How many mental training or sport psychology books have you read? How many articles and videos have you read and watched on the topic? For most athletes, the answer is simply, not enough.

Many of us believe that we have a gift, that we have something inside of us capable of achieving something incredible. For many of us, our dreams become so shrouded in the frustrations and routines of day to day life, that we settle for less than we can really achieve and that desire to create our dreams simply fades away. Many athletes lose their sense of certainty and confidence that they can win, they get stuck in a rut and lose their winner’s edge. My goal is to help you create or restore that edge, to find and unleash the champion within and the power you are capable of creating. I believe that if you truly apply the information in this book and continue to further your education as an athlete or fitness enthusiast, then you can make real measurable progress and do something you once thought to be impossible.

This is not a book about blind optimism, while optimism and self-belief is an essential trait for a champion to possess, I’m not telling you to ignore obstacles, adversities or injustices when you’re faced with them. Blind positive thinking is like going into your garden and telling yourself ‘there’s no weeds, there’s no weeds’ when the garden is completely overrun with weeds. The weeds are there, you must acknowledge them and you need to deal with them or they’re going to take your garden. The weak spots in your mental game are like weeds, you must address them and dig them out, or they’ll take control in high pressure situations.

This is also not an academic textbook, while there is a great deal I’ve taken from sport psychology, such books feel too clinical and formal for my tastes, I’ve no interest in attempting to write in such a style. There are plenty of books written on sport & exercise psychology, but I prefer to write in a more informal and accessible way. This book is essentially a remix of sport psychology, personal development, mindfulness and mental training for athletes, with some nerdy pop culture and mythology references sprinkled here and there.

This is the book I wish I had when I first began training 20 years ago.

You’ll learn simple techniques addressing the various challenges you may come up against in your athletic aspirations or career, and discover how to overcome them, awakening the hero within. The tools in this book can help you reach the pinnacle of your athletic ability in your chosen sport or fitness activity, whether you’re a high school or college student, amateur, professional or recreational athlete. I hope to help you maximize your potential and experience peak performance by developing a champion’s mindset. You will learn to act and think like a champion in order to achieve your sport or fitness goals and reach your fullest potential, become the hero of your own story and unleash the champion within.

Unleash the Champion Within by Simon Boulter now available on kindle and in paperback.

Unleash the Champion Within by Simon Boulter now available on kindle and in paperback.

Simon Boulter

Written by

Author, Fighter, Trainer, Nerd. Crazy Cat Lady.

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