I hope you had a good weekend. We’re back on our normal Monday schedule with this recommended reading collection after being a bit erratic over the past few weeks.

Divergent Thinking: Inside John O’Malley – This is a lengthy interview, but definitely worth the time. While the interview is with an accomplished cross country/track coach, the lessons are applicable across many disciplines. Thanks to former CSP intern Mike Boykin for sending this my way.

Cardio or Weights First? Let’s Settle This. – Dean Somerset did an excellent job with this post on a decades-old debate.

Transformer Bar Overview – I’m a big fan of the transformer Bar from Kabuki Strength, and this video outlines my thoughts (as well as those of Stuart McGill and Kelly Starrett) on why that’s the case.

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I spoke at an event called the Syracuse Strength Seminar back in June of 2006. At the time, I was 25 years old – and the rest of the panel consisted of Dave Tate, Joe Defranco, Mike Hope, Jim Wendler, James Smith, and Buddy Morris. 👇 After the event, 47 of the attendees filled out online evaluations. The feedback on me was mostly positive, with the exception of three guys who clearly took issue with my age. Here are their delightful responses. 🤦‍♂️ When I got the feedback, I shot Dave (@underthebar) an email to ask for his suggestions on how I could be better – and he provided some invaluable insights on presentation styles. He also shared these words that stuck with me. 👏 “Right now you are in the paying your dues phase. I remember this very well. You are doing what you need to do. You need to continue reading your ass off, writing, training, training clients, networking, reading more, listening to audio tapes. It is a high stress time because you have to absorb and take in so much info. The age thing does not matter. Think of this: at age 23, Tony Robbins was speaking in front of crowds of 18,000 people. The last advice I can give is when you read and listen to tapes – think. Everyone reads but very few can apply the knowledge. Education is not power – the application of it is.” 👍 In life, you can either dwell on the haters (3/47), or recognize that the overwhelming majority of people (44/47) are openminded folks who try to find the good in situations, independent of your age or experience (or a host of other factors). It helps to have good friends and mentors who remind you to identify and leverage your strengths. Make sure you listen to the right people. Thanks, Dave. #cspfamily #tbt

A post shared by Eric Cressey (@ericcressey) on Jul 19, 2018 at 6:29pm PDT