Steve Magness

Steve Magness is an expert on performance, well-being, and sustainable success whose work connects scientific research with practical application. Magness has built a career helping individuals across diverse fields, including athletes, executives, and actors, improve their mental performance. He has worked with Olympians and individuals from every major professional sports league, focusing on strategies for mental resilience and peak performance.

Magness's academic background covers both exercise physiology and mental performance, shaping his comprehensive approach to human potential. He is the author of five books, including "Win the Inside Game," "Do Hard Things," "Peak Performance," "The Passion Paradox," and "The Science of Running." His books have sold over a million copies, achieved bestseller status nationally and internationally, and have been translated into more than 25 languages. "Do Hard Things" challenges conventional ideas about resilience and toughness, drawing on mindfulness, military case studies, sports psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy to provide a roadmap for navigating challenges and achieving high performance. "Win the Inside Game" explores the relationship between excellence and fulfillment, advocating for a balanced approach to sustainable success.

Magness's career includes serving as an assistant coach at the Nike Oregon Project, where he worked with coach Alberto Salazar. Magness became a whistleblower whose claims led to investigations by BBC Panorama and ProPublica, contributing to Salazar's eventual downfall. This experience navigating institutional pressure and personal risk informs Magness's work on courage, integrity, and performance under adversity.

In addition to his writing, Magness co-founded The Growth Equation, an online platform focused on performance and well-being. His weekly newsletter reaches more than 60,000 subscribers. Magness has served as a performance coach to professional sports teams, executives, entrepreneurs, artists, and the U.S. military, emphasizing holistic development and organizational problem-solving. His expertise has been featured in The New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Guardian, Business Insider, and ESPN The Magazine. Magness is recognized for his scientific approach, practical experience, and insights into human performance, mental toughness, and leadership.