Welcome to the book club for people who value Brawn and Brains!

I never really expected to become the book guy, but along with smashing weights, I have always had a passion for both acquiring and sharing knowledge.

Cultivating strength has always been my real passion.

I feel as though strength is more than just physical—it is physical, mental and spiritual.

So if you are thinking, hang on, I came to this site for sports performance… I would encourage you to keep reading (TO THE END IF YOU LIKE FREE STUFF!), because how you do anything is how you do everything, and well rounded developement will carry you further in sports, and life, than being a one trick pony.

Spiritually it is important to align yourself and your life with what you believe and feel is right, no matter whether that is organized religion or which one.

Physically you have to take care of your body, eat right, train, rest and recover properly.

A lot of people do that. Mindset, strategy and understanding of the task at hand is what sets the great apart from the good.

Even as an athlete, and even if your athletics are your sole focus, tapping into your potential does not stop with physical development. The best at any sport had the ability to analyze and understand it.

This requires mental and psychological developement as well. It is a fact that having more information and more perspectives gives you more tools to analyze and solve problems. Experience is one way to gain that, and reading is the other.

Long form information, like lectures, reading books, and other things that cultivate the attention span and focus that gives you an edge over the people who are not using those tools become priceless when you can think deeper and longer for better solutions.

Reading real pages impacts your brain differently than watching a video, listening to a podcast or even reading on a screen.

Kobe Bryant wasn’t physically that different than many guys in the league. Nor was Bird or Rodman. Are they outstanding athletes in great shape? Sure. Is that what set them apart? Absolutely—they are all geniuses in their own way.

General Mattis puts it even blunter in his book Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead, retired General Jim Mattis wrote: "If you haven't read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and you will be incompetent, because your personal experiences alone aren't broad enough to sustain you."

I hate to be that harsh, but it is true. I remember when I was learning to read and frustrated because my father insisted I learn it NOW, even though nobody else was yet, and he looked at me and said “you have to learn to read, reading is the KEY to the world.”

He was right! So, if reading is not a norm for you lets unlock new parts of life together! Even if you struggle to read, please feel WELCOME!

If you consider yourself an academic, please do not fear that you will be understimulated! Discussions and readings will involve books and conversational direction that aim to make participation valuable to everyone as we grow as a community!

Beginning the first week of September 2026 (Planned for 12:00 EST September 1 unless people who sign up prefer another time) and this will also provide an opportunity for anyone who cannot afford coaching, ebooks, consultations or other services that we offer to EARN CREDIT BY PARTICIPATING! That is right! You will be able to earn credit to save money (or even get stuff free) from NTBFW Training Systems by signing up for just $9.99 a month and participating! (Details for earning store credit will be provided upon request/purchase, but I plan to allow people to earn up to $50 a month in credit from the book club. How exactly I do that will depend somewhat on how many people are signed up, who those people are, their prior reading experience and what books we all decide to read together!

I have some books I have selected for when it is my turn to pick a book that include many books focused to the psychology of success mostly, but I do not want to take over and force everyone to read books I pick. I want people to ENJOY reading. So, I plan to let each person select a book upon entry to the group, and the book will be randomly selected upon completion of the prior book. I do reserve the right to act with whatever discretion is neccesary to make things fair in my interpretation with respect to the credits given out, and I reserve the same right to act with my own discretion to keep the group respectful and productive.

Thanks, and I hope to see you there! I am excited for this!

Your Meathead-Nerd Coach,

Josh