The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance

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.

CONTENTS

Introduction

I

THE FOUNDATION

1. Innocent Moves

2. Losing to Win

3. Two Approaches to Learning

4. Loving the Game

5. The Soft Zone

6. The Downward Spiral

7. Changing Voice

8. Breaking Stallions

II

MY SECOND ART

9. Beginner's Mind

10. Investment in Loss

11. Making Smaller Circles

12. Using Adversity

13. Slowing Down Time

14. The Illusion of the Mystical

III

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

15. The Power of Presence

16. Searching for the Zone

17. Building Your Trigger

18. Making Sandals

19. Bringing It All Together

20. Taiwan

Afterword

Acknowledgments

About the Author