A High-Performing Mind: Strengthen Your Mind and Live Your Best Life

This book is great for those that want to better their performance whether in the workplace or their personal lives. Great advice, tips, and wisdom.

This excellent guide outlines the necessary steps to live your best life and maximize your potential. Often, we have high hopes and expectations but can fall into negative thinking and make excuses that hinder our progress toward achieving our goals. The book provides insightful strategies and tools for cultivating habits and attitudes that foster gradual yet steady improvement. The author shares compelling stories of how he and others have overcome significant challenges to pursue their heartfelt purposes and goals. The strategies encourage resilience and help shift your perspective on failure, viewing it as a learning experience. Additionally, it teaches you to see your fears as challenges you can overcome to become stronger.

The opening sequence describing the authors struggles is heartbreaking, but the ensuing story of the lessons he took from the experience and the profound change in outlook and inner strength it ultimately revealed in him is inspiring stuff indeed. Such a great read, with so many practical lessons and approaches to be applied in one's own life journey.

I like how it's more like a personal story that is easy to relate to and not just a basic self help book with a bunch of bullet points. Very easy to read and understand.

Andrew D. Thompson's *A High-Performing Mind: Strengthen Your Mind and Live Your Best Life* is more than just another self-help book; it's a transformative guide born from personal triumph over adversity. Having faced a life-altering illness, Thompson's insights are not just theoretical; they're forged in the fires of real-life experience, making this book incredibly powerful and relatable. I give it a resounding 5 out of 5 stars. Thompson's journey from professional athlete and hospitality executive to high-performance coach, culminating in his own battle with a debilitating illness, provides a unique and compelling backdrop for his 12 Attributes of a High-Performing Mind. This book isn't about platitudes; it's about practical application. Through engaging anecdotes and actionable cognitive strategies, Thompson provides readers with the tools to navigate life's inevitable challenges and achieve lasting positive change. This accessible and motivational manual delves into key themes that resonate deeply with anyone striving for personal growth. From understanding your core values and sharpening your focus to conquering procrastination and cultivating a "Warrior Mentality," Thompson offers a roadmap for achieving peak performance. He doesn't shy away from the difficult topics, addressing the fears, nerves, and obstacles that often hold us back from realizing our true potential. He provides concrete strategies for overcoming these hurdles and achieving mastery in our chosen endeavors. *A High-Performing Mind* is particularly effective in its approach to enhancing creativity, clarity, and concentration. Thompson's methods for identifying and overcoming self-limiting beliefs are invaluable. He empowers readers to transition from a place of perceived limitations to one of empowered action, enabling them to achieve better outcomes and experience greater success in all aspects of life. This book is a testament to the power of the human mind to overcome adversity and achieve greatness. It's a must-read for anyone seeking to unlock their full potential, cultivate a stronger mindset, and live a more fulfilling and joyful life. If you're ready to take control of your mind and create the life you've always dreamed of, *A High-Performing Mind* is the perfect guide to get you there.

Andrew D. Thompson turns lived adversity into sharp mental tools. His near-death experience fuels 12 mindset attributes built for clarity, focus, and emotional balance. The premise: failure teaches, fear stalls, discipline delivers. Through gritty mantras like “Fail your way to excellence,” he sketches a practical model where setbacks sharpen performance. Key takeaways for me? Mental clarity = forward momentum Discipline beats doubt Warrior mindset resists chaos Emotion can be trained, not tamed The tone is direct, grounded, no fluff — a blend of story and technique for people who want growth with edge. It's not theoretical; it's lived, tested, and built for high-stakes moments. It is well laid-out and realistic in its endeavour. The sort of powerful wee book that offers ideas you will remember for years to come.

A High-Performing Mind isn’t just another mindset book filled with quotes and theories. It’s a straight-talking, results-driven guide that helps you build the kind of mental strength high performers talk about—without needing to retreat to a cabin in the woods or wake up at 4 a.m. every day. What I appreciated most was the way Andrew Thompson breaks down the habits and mental shifts into something you can apply right now. He’s not trying to impress you with science—he’s handing you the tools and saying, “Here, go build something better with this.” And it works. The book covers everything from mental clarity and resilience to discipline, goal-setting, and focus. But it never gets overwhelming. You can read it in chunks, try something out, and see the difference almost immediately. This is the kind of book I’d hand to a business owner, a student, or anyone trying to level up without burning out. It’s smart, but not preachy. Motivating, but not fluffy. And most importantly, it’s built for people who are ready to stop spinning their wheels and start moving forward. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a mindset upgrade that sticks.

This book has a great vision and aspect. A book of would recommend for someone looking to grow and do better mentally. I like the exercises and the explanations. I always enjoy keeping it nice and simple.

His backstory gives him all the cred I needed to know about him. He has earned his position as an expert in this field by the school of hard knocks. Frankly, I would much rather take advice from someone who has gone through hell and survived it than from someone who thinks they are smart because their trust fund paid for a Phd. His advice comes in the form of taking one step at a time so that anyone can build the warrior inside themselves. We’ve heard it before, it is the momentum of daily habits. “Dirty Discipline” is a concept with an intriguing name, but when you read what it means it makes sense. At the end of the book is a sort of summary that I printed and put on my wall. The 12 Attributes of a High-Performing Mind. It is a template for success!

The author gives you space after every chapter to journal about your life with a set of questions. It's the perfect book for learning: obtaining the knowledge but also applying it to your own life in order to make changes.

I don’t expect much from most self-help books, but ended up being genuinely impressed with A High-Performing Mind. Right from the beginning, the author shares a really intense personal story about dealing with a serious health issue. Honestly, this part grabbed me right away—it’s very real and relatable, and immediately made me want to hear more about how he overcame such a difficult challenge. What I liked best is how practical and useful the advice is. He talks about concepts like "Dirty Discipline" (which basically means being disciplined but not beating yourself up if you're not perfect), understanding your desires clearly, and building what he calls a "Warrior Mentality." All these ideas feel very doable. You don’t need to be an athlete or a business executive to use these methods; they’re pretty straightforward and can easily apply to everyday life goals, like improving your health, career, or personal relationships. One thing that stood out was how he explains the importance of habits, especially starting small and building momentum slowly. It’s nice to read something realistic instead of expecting immediate, drastic changes overnight. The writing itself was easy-going and felt supportive, almost like talking with a friend who's giving you really solid advice. There were a few parts where the author spent a lot of time talking about his own experiences, which might not interest everyone equally, but personally, I found these stories motivating. Overall, I’d say this book is definitely worth your time if you’re looking for ways to get stronger mentally and emotionally, handle tough times better, or just improve your overall life. It’s practical, inspirational, and honestly enjoyable to read. Highly recommend it!

Overall, A High-Performing Mind is one of the most accessible and impactful self-improvement books I’ve read in years. If you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and start forging real mental strength, this is the guide you’ve been waiting for. Highly recommended! A minor quibble: A few sections felt a bit repetitive if you’re already familiar with peak-performance literature, but the practical worksheets and reflection prompts still added fresh value.

This book offers a clear and thoughtful approach to developing a stronger mindset. It doesn't just inspire—it gives you tools you can actually use. The author’s personal story adds depth, and the way the ideas are presented makes it easy to absorb and apply them. Whether you're aiming for big goals or just trying to be more focused and resilient day to day, there's a lot here that can help. A solid read if you're looking to grow mentally and move forward with more intention.

Alex Thompson is a truly knowledgeable about how to turn productive thoughts into habits and turn your life around around. He doesn't talk down to the reader. At the end of each chapter he gives a journal exercise to help you process and plan. I found this book very helpful.

Well researched, thought-provoking, and easy to read. I loved the personal stories to add context and inspiration to help me change and improve.

"A High-Performing Mind: Strengthen Your Mind and Live Your Best Life" by Andrew D. Thompson is a self-help book for people who want to develop their potential and achieve success in whichever pursuit they choose. The book keeps the reader's interest through inspiring and often humorous stories about the author's life, as well as stories about people who overcame both inner and outer obstacles while striving for a fulfilling purpose. One of my favourite stories was about the author's attempt to fish-sit a sick Betta fish named "Thomas and Friends," a tale which proves that no purpose is too small to strive for. Andrew D. Thompson also begins the book with a harrowing account of his own illness and how he overcame it with time, patience and an ironclad determination to regain his health. This introduction sets the reader on course for a series of lessons on how to build self-discipline and resilience, two important qualities that don't always come easily for many people. The author brings a laser-sharp focus to bear on the reader's process by offering three or four tools, which are explored throughout the chapter. At the end of the chapter, he puts the reader to work by asking questions that challenge people to be very specific about what they truly want, and what they are prepared to do to achieve their goals. He encourages honesty in answering the questions, rather than writing down what we think we should do or what others want us to do. Throughout the book, Thompson emphasizes action: we must pinpoint the specific steps to attain what we want to do and then do them, using "dirty discipline" and a "warrior's mentality" of being "all in." He emphasizes the need for a 100% effort, as well as focus on the present moment rather than becoming side-swiped by miserable emotions. The book continues to stress the need for a positive attitude, and it suggests many steps to train the mind to focus on that which is most conducive to success in achieving the goal. One of my goals was to read the book and review it within a week, as part of my larger goal of being a writer. The overall tone of this book certainly helped with this. There is no doubt that the author is a highly motivated, successful person, but he does not shrink from exploring failure. The role of mistakes are seen as invaluable on the road to ultimate success. This helps a person to learn from their negative experiences and to use them to create more positive ones. Some people might find that the focus on success and discipline needs to be balanced by the need for rest and fun, especially when teaching some of these disciplines to children. Each person who reads the book will need to come up with their own definition of success and what they feel is realistic for them. When I first started reading it, I thought it was more suited for athletes and people trying to achieve career success, but as I read further I realized that anyone can apply these principles to their chosen pursuit. Whether one is preparing for a job interview or trying to follow an exercise routine, this book can help you to get there. It is very well-organized, with a summary of the tools at the end of each chapter, as well as the questions. This book gives us the strategies needed to achieve our dreams. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to improve the process by which they attain their most heartfelt desire.

A High-Performing Mind is more than a self-help book—it’s a mental fitness manual that belongs on everyone’s shelf. Whether you're rebuilding after setbacks or leveling up your already successful life, this book will meet you where you are—and push you to where you want to go.

I picked this up when I was feeling mentally scattered and needed a reset. What I liked most was how easy it was to apply the ideas without overhauling my entire life. It helped me cut distractions, set better priorities, and actually feel in control of my day again. It’s not filled with fluff—just clear, usable advice. I’ve already noticed I’m getting more done and feeling less overwhelmed. Solid choice if you want to sharpen your mindset.

Andrew D. Thompson's A High-Performing Mind is a compelling guide that seamlessly blends actionable strategies with heartfelt personal narratives. Thompson introduces 12 attributes of high performers, each accompanied by practical exercises and real-life examples, providing readers with a clear roadmap for personal growth. His candid sharing of personal challenges adds depth and relatability, making the concepts resonate on a profound level. This combination of structured guidance and authentic storytelling makes the book not only informative but also genuinely inspiring.​

This book is not only inspiring, it gives you tools to work with. There are useful tactics to help your focus, memory, and mental acuity. Each chapter made me more motivated to preserve mental functions from atrophying. Importantly, it emphasizes that there is not a goal line to cross which may seem unattainable. Instead, every day is a part of the process. Every day you work to get a stronger and more disciplined mindset. And, very importantly, failure and fear are part of the process of growth. I highly recommend A High-Performing Mind.