Psyched Up: How the Science of Mental Preparation Can Help You Succeed

By Daniel McGinn | Reviewed by Eric Cardin, PT, MS

Psyched Up: How the Science of Mental Preparation Can Help You Succeed packs a lot of punch into its 269 pages. Author Daniel McGinn weaves anecdotes and scientific evidence in such a way that the reader is instantly engaged. It’s the kind of informative book that leaves the reader nodding and muttering “yes,” “uh-huh,” and marking certain pages to come back to. What does Jerry Seinfeld’s jacket or which songs the New England Patriots listen to have to do with your success? This is a book that can answer those questions.

As a physical therapist in private practice, you may excel most at the things that gave you the confidence to open your own clinic. Usually this is patient care. Some of you are gifted in the business side of private practice. A cornerstone of the business is the ability to market and sell yourself, your skills, and the profession. This doesn’t come easy to everyone, and some of you might find yourselves avoiding the crucial relationship building meetings necessary to build a network of referral sources. These are critical meetings and engagements, and if you avoid them or blow your chance due to anxiety or procrastination, your business (and you) will never live up to its potential.

Psyched Up, at first glance, might not be seen as a “management” book and certainly not a book specifically for physical therapists, but with each chapter the reader discovers routines and methods that can be applicable to any part of your practice that is struggling. At a minimum this book provides the reader with a path to self-reflection. As a manager or a business person, asking yourself “What am I good at? What can I improve?” is an essential exercise, and this book can help.

Eric Cardin, PT, MS, is a Private Practice Section member and executive director of South County Physical Therapy, Inc., located in Auburn, Massachusetts. He can be reached at ecardin@sc-pt.com.