Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6054 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-01
• Released on: 2006-03-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 100 pages

Review
In a society of immediate gratification, Thomas M. Sterner's book THE PRACTICING MIND almost parodies itself. Designed to be a primer for slowing down, becoming more aware of the present moment, and increasing self-discipline and focus, Sterner's brilliance shines through in the brevity of this complex book's pages. Less than a hundred pages long, this tiny but intense book delivers enough information to contemplate and apply for a lifetime. THE PRACTICING MIND enables those of us immersed in the Western world's constant motion and hubbub to slow down, check within, and grow. The nine chapters detail in depth the steps to mastering any skill or achieving any goal. Sterner clearly explains, through the use of colorful, vivid examples, how mastery comes from practice through repetition - whether we're talking about learning a new habit, achieving a professional goal, or improving one's golf game. Each chapter begs to be mulled over, internalized, and applied. The principles sometimes overlap, enabling the reader to make deeper connections and realizations as they progress. In a gentle and encouraging manner, Sterner not only illuminates the "how's" - the process - he also enables the reader to see that not only are growth and change possible, but "with deliberate and repeated effort, progress is inevitable." This book is already a favorite of mine, highlighted and scribbled in, and slowly, patiently, I'm witnessing the result of reading this material in my daily life. This book is a must-read for anybody who is tired of today's widely accepted non-stop frenetic pace, for anybody sick of feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and out of balance, or for anybody who wouldn't even know where to find the roses, much less bother to take the time to stop and smell them --Tammy Cook, Reviewer for Roundtable Reviews

Like many of us, Thomas M Sterner was enrolled in music lessons when he was a child. He was not an amazing prodigy and he didn't enjoy the lessons any more than the rest of us did. Fortunately Sterner's love for music was strong enough that he eventually returned to his study of piano and became a successful musician. Love of music, however, doesn't account for his success as a piano technician, responsible for providing perfect instruments for performances by world-class musicians. Nor does love of music explain his success on the golf course. The common denominator in these endeavors is practice, and the point made by Sterner in this book is that "Everything in life worth achieving requires practice .... [Practice is] a process which settles all areas in your life and promotes proper perspective on all of life's difficulties." As the author explains, everything we do is practice; why not embrace this and learn strategies and mindsets that allow us to practice effectively? It will come as no surprise that Sterner urges us to break our addiction to multitasking and instant gratification. Mindfulness, attention to detail, and being in the moment are terms we've all heard and most of us can agree that a single point of attention greatly improves the chances of mastering any task. Sterner, who deliberately set out to determine the mechanics leading to mastery, provides some insight into how we can go about breaking the habit of distraction by changing and broadening our perspective. In keeping with the idea of simplicity and focus, the author admits that there are not many ideas in this book. Happily it doesn't take many ideas to uncover a workable truth, and anecdotes from Sterner's own life seem to confirm that he has pinpointed a finely workable idea. One of the most interesting sections of the book deals with his conscious decision to work as slowly as possible on a day when he felt fractured and rushed. Preparing pianos for performances is a job that, to most of us, seems unbearably tedious. Sterner s determination to create even more tedium and delay is, he admits, counter-intuitive; yet by denying haste, he finds that he is able to accomplish his work better and in even less time than usual. Sterner's voice is sincere, his advice grounded in believable and valuable experience. In The Practicing Mind, he shows us how to incorporate mindfulness in ways we all can emulate. He suggests exercises to aid in the process of practice, and demonstrates the joy of discipline. Thomas Sterner is a man who finds lessons in real life, an ordinary master of life, the amiable guru next door from whom we can borrow butter or wisdom, as we choose. --Deborah Adams, Reviewer for Bookpleasures

About the Author
Thomas M. Sterner spent over 25 years as a concert piano technician and rebuilder. Preparing instruments for the finest world class concert pianists and symphony musicians enabled him to witness first-hand the level of art afforded to those with a disciplined mind. His career also provided a strong impetus toward inner awareness, dovetailing with his spiritual search for the truth and inner peace. The solitary and monotonous nature of his work afforded him the time and opportunity to assimilate all that he has learned over the years, to infuse this knowledge into his work and daily life, and to continue to develop his practicing mind. An accomplished musician himself, Mr. Sterner lives in Delaware, happily engaged in composing music, writing inspirational, self-help books and publishing audio books through his company, Mountain Sage Publishing.

Excerpted from The Practicing Mind: Bringing Discipline and Focus Into Your Life by Thomas M. Sterner. Copyright © 2006. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Everything in life worth achieving requires practice. In fact, life itself is nothing more than one long practice session, an endless effort of refining our motions. When the proper mechanics of practicing are understood, the task of learning something new becomes a stress-free experience of joy and calmness, a process which settles all areas in your life and promotes proper perspective on all of life's difficulties.

Customer Reviews

Answers To Years of Frustration
Start with the best intention and commitment to accomplish a worthwhile goal only to see both wane in a short period of time. What causes this to occur and how to overcome it are the messages in Mr. Sterner's book.
In my opinion he is spot on in his assessment and advice. Accomplish much more with a marked improvement in peace of mind. If these results interest you, buy his book or his CD. Highly recommended.

Zenzibar
Fantastic application of Zen meditation to everyday life. I am so much calmer after reading it.

Your Last Self Help Book?
Although I have bought and read literally hundreds of self help books in all categories through Amazon, the Practicing Mind by Thomas M. Sterner is by far the 1st book that has compelled me to write my very first Amazon review.

Their are many things that make this book stand out. It is very short, with absolutely, no-fluff or fillings, with the result that every word and every phrase really counts. Sterner's tone is also very down to earth and easy to understand without the use of any pretentious words. The book also has a few very good illustrations and stories to clarify the concepts presented in the book.

But what I think makes the book really practical is Sterner's realization and revelation that the key to success in any area of life is to acquire self-discipline through non-judgmental concentrated practice. Now, I know that this doesn't sound at all like a very profound or new revelation. But if you have been searching through hundreds of self help books - like I have been for the last few years - for the one key ( or system) that would enable me to become successful in improving my spirituality, my role as husband and father, time-management, health and exercise, writing, entrepreneurship and my other personal areas of interest that are of value to me - than the Practicing Mind will be of great value to you.

The Practicing Mind - is not a panacea to cure it all - but for me it turned out to be an amazingly simple and effective system to help me to systematically and measurably improve all the areas of interest in my life.

I highly recommend the Practicing Mind to anyone that has been searching for the key - no matter if you are just starting out or you already own hundreds or even thousands of self-help books - to order this book and put it into practice

I also highly recommend you to get to also get the audio version - as over the years I have realized that the best way to internalize the paradigms like the one presented in this book - is to listen to them over and over again preferably on a daily basis. The audio CD is read by Mr. Sterner himself and the author has a very calm and pleasant voice that helps transmits his ideas perfectly in the audio book version of this book.

Get The Practicing Mind. It might be the last personal self-help book that you ever order.....