Rick Weinheimer, standing, speaking to an audience at Columbus North for his book launch. Photo Courtesy of Rick Weinheimer.
Describe your new book, Excellence 366, with us Coach.
"Excellence 366 is a guided journal, a book dedicated to assisting people on their journey of personal growth. The daily prompts are based on research and study areas that have been identified as most important in adapting the brain to change/re-form its thought processes so that the way we think encourages and supports the growth we want."
"For generations scientists believed that our brain processes were fully formed by when we got to adolescence. Neuroscience now understands that our brains continue to form and change physiologically to adapt to the experiences and thoughts we have. (Neuroplasticity). That's why we must reshape and refocus our thoughts-intentionally and purposefully every day-so that we are best able to become the person we want to be."
There are 365 days in a year, why 366 for your excellence?
"The number 366 works in two ways, one, as a tribute to leap year (is an Every Day person going to miss a day in leap year?!?) and two, because everyone who is committed to 366 will always be ahead of those only committed to 365. "Every day is a great day to get better!"
*Note, Rick splits every day up like this to put the focus on using every (single) day instead of everyday- meaning a little bit more commonplace. An Every Day person does not take days off- whatever the passion.
"In late summer and early fall I gave three keynote presentations on the power (and necessity) of using every single day. Those presentations were to three very different types of audiences-elementary teachers, airport workers, city employees-and all three strongly embraced that message in spite of the difference in their life's work. No matter the differences, they were all excited about and motivated by becoming "every day people."
"At the same time when I would talk about the research supporting journaling, many of them voiced concerns about the journaling process: "Where do I even begin?" "I never liked writing," "I don't have time to journal every day." So I needed a vehicle to get them through these snags and onto their personal growth."
"I couldn't find a journal that did this; so, I wrote and published one."
What do you hope this book accomplishes for the reader/use?
"I want the people who use this book to change in the areas where they most want to grow: They begin to experience more gratitude, they recognize small wins, they embrace the opportunities that challenges bring, they find increased joy in their day, and they are intentional about looking forward to tomorrow."
"As they move ahead, one page at a time and one day at a time, they see the incredible growth that accumulates from being intentional, purposeful, and consistent."
"People who use this journal at night are celebrating positive thoughts right before they go to sleep. Wouldn't that make everyone sleep a little better? And wake up a little more energized?"
How could you see coaches or teams using this book to make themselves better?
"I wish I had had this book when I was coaching (and teaching)! This is an opportunity for coaches to make a difference, not only throughout the season, but long beyond that. This first and foremost teaches students and athletes to see the value of every day achievements-no matter how small-in reaching long-range goals. This is a structured way to make everything in a student/athlete's day an opportunity for growth."
"Athletes use it now to apply to school and athletics; years from now they can use it to grow in whatever areas are most important to them in the future."
"What better gift can we give our athletes than that?"
I do not see a digital book available- is there a reason for that?
"#1 questions I get: "Is there a digital version?"
"The answer: No, because science is showing us that the physical act of writing things down makes a much more powerful impact on our brain than typing. And we are trying to change our default thinking into thinking maximized toward our personal growth. So write it down."
What else would you like us to know about the uses of the book so far? What feedback are you getting?
Currently I know of a 93 year old woman who uses the journal, and eight year old third grader, and every age in between.
The book is available on Amazon, but if a group would like to use it, the coach or teacher can contact me and I can get them copies that are personalized. Also, I'd be glad to be available to groups to help them kick-off this process.
The first steps in a new path. Photo Courtesy of Rick Weinheimer.