“When you reach the top of the mountain, keep climbing.”

Zen koan (according to Jack Kerouac)

I am not excellent by any means; but I, like many of you, am on the path in the pursuit of excellence.

I lecture to a variety of audiences about excellence in clinical practice and in operational environments, in addition to performance under stress. Afterwards, I’m often approached by some motivated hard-chargers in the room, who are not only really driven to be better, but who are also seeking additional resources to improve themselves and their practice.

In this blog, I’ve compiled a repository of the podcasts, blogs, video lectures, and books to which I most often refer excellence-seekers, posting them here for everyone’s invigoration.

Although there are innumerable amazing sources out there in the universe, I am focusing on those which I find most inspiring, those which get my heart pumping and my brain ticking despite having read/seen/listened to them dozens of times. These are truly the brightest stars in the sky, which stand out from all the rest.

(This is a living document; if you have additions which belong on this list, please put them in the Comments or drop me a note.)

Motivation

I don’t normally care for motivational speakers or motivational speeches, but this audio came across my radar and it resonates, really sets the tone for the pursuit of personal excellence, and what it takes to get there.

I don’t normally care for motivational speakers or motivational speeches, but this came across my radar and it really resonates, really sets the tone for the pursuit of personal excellence, and what it takes to get there.

Video Lectures

Advice to a Young Resuscitationist - Cliff Reid

“Talking us through his advice to his former younger self. Reid cites mistakes, case examples, and essentially provides us with invaluable tips to nudge us along to Resus Mastery. Reid offers the following advice to his former, younger, self; Your career and speciality is a journey and you chose your destination: Don’t be defied by the expectations of one chosen path. Have an appreciation of what other specialities can add and what you can learn from them. Leave your ego at the door: Have a balance of confidence and competence. When something goes wrong you have to change something: Be it either yourself, your colleagues or the system. Follow up on your hypothesis: You won’t know if you got it right or wrong and will not gain or learn from the experience. Preserve comfort and dignity for your patients: 'No one knows how much you know, until they know how much you care' - Greg Henry. Protect ourselves: Think about the people around you and share your experience with them, chose your colleagues and where you work well! Increase team cohesion - it is protective against burnout and compassion fatigue. Be Aware: look after the tools of your trade, your body and mind. Try and maintain good physical health, and train your mind to be more effective under stress. Remember society puts their trust in you - you only fail them when you fail to learn in them. Every patient is a gift/lesson accept it with grace and gratitude. Behave in the way you want to be remembered. Keep perspective and enjoy the ride!”

How to Be a Hero - Cliff Reid

Epic and moving talk from Cliff Reid about what a real hero is, and what true heroism looks like in emergency medicine and prehospital critical care.

More Cases From the Races - John Hinds

John Hinds gives his last talk, an awe- and cringe-inspiring visual presentation on prehospital trauma and critical care at high speed motorbike races. John and his colleagues here represent true excellence in trauma care, traumatic cardiac arrest management, ego-less practice, and putting it all on the line to be the best for their patients.

I encourage you to listen to the John’s prior talk on this subject (in podcast form only, but well worth it), which provides some context to this lecture, and exemplifies the passion and excellence of John Hinds. http://ragepodcast.com/cases-races/

Making the Call: Enhancing Cognition, Critical Thinking, and Decision Making in Resuscitation - Mike Lauria

Former Air Force Pararescueman (PJ) and current Emergency Medicine resident (medical student at the time of filming) presents from his unique wheelhouse of expertise, discussing practical strategies and considerations for improving decision making capability in high stress environments. This is directly applicable to emergency medicine, prehospital / EMS, HEMS, critical care, retrieval, and more.

All In Your Mind: How Mental Models and Mental Practice Can Improve Resuscitation Performance - Mike Lauria

Former Air Force Pararescueman (PJ) turned Emergency Medicine resident (a medical student at the time of filming) again presents about maximizing performance as well as personal and team excellence during stressful environments. This time he specifically focuses on the power of mental models and mental practice for the resuscitation environment.

When that 1% Makes All the Difference - Brian Burns

Brian Burns delivers a compelling and insightful call to arms for all emergency medicine, critical care, prehospital, EMS, and other organizations, especially those that consider themselves high performance. Push yourself, push your organization constantly. You can achieve excellence through small incremental changes. To stay on top, you must keep pushing forward, as your skills and processes naturally devolve towards chaos over time.

Into the Deep: Pushing the Limits of Human Performance for Resuscitation Teams - Chris Hicks

Chris Hicks, the master of team based performance in resuscitation takes us on a great ride, walking the viewer through the fundamentals and possibilities of excellence and performance under stress and during resuscitations.

Podcasts

Tim Ferris Show – How to Succeed in High Stress Situations: Readings by Ryan Holiday from his book The Obstacle is the Way on the subject of “How to succeed in high stress situations.” High yield and eye opening Stoicism perspective and strategies for controlling yourself and performing better when it matters. Skip the introductory commentary and ads by jumping to minute 7.

The Jocko podcast – New podcasts weekly, many with applicability to performance, excellence, and leadership in medicine and prehospital care. Check the titles for what floats your boat. You’ll find some of the most insightful / intense interviews and book readings anywhere. Some of my faves are episodes 135, 114, 107, 101, 80, 75, and 69.

EMCrit Podcast 179 - An Interview with Gary Klein - A broad ranging interview with the renowned cognitive psychologist. This is the ultimate primer on human decision making from the man who did much of the relevant research, and literally wrote the books on the subject matter. A real gem if you want to understand how we can think and make decisions better when it really matters.

EMCrit Podcast 177 - Fog of War: Training the Resuscitationist Mindset - Dr. Chris Hicks’ incredible lecture on team based resuscitation, mental models, performance under stress, and much more. Check the show notes for additional resources, videos, and the slides for the talk (beautifully visual).

EMCrit Podcast 99 - Combat Aviation Paradigms for Resuscitationists - Dr. Joe Novak, a former F-15 pilot turned Emergency Physician, discusses combat aviation concepts in relation to medicine and resuscitation. Lots of fascinating overlaps, and lessons translated. You can also watch video of this lecture - link at the bottom of the show notes.

Books

The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance

Josh Waitzkin

Insightful and practical lessons in learning and performance from a seasoned expert. This book breaks down the author’s mental processes, both rigorous and intuitive, in a goldmine of performance psychology.

An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me about Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything

Col. Chris Hadfield

An inspiring tale of personal excellence, service to country and mankind. Learn from the drive, dedication, attention to detail of these astronauts.

Musashi: An Epic Novel of the Samurai Era

Eiji Yoshikawa

A lone swordsman’s journey to humility, mastery, and success. A riveting tome, with lessons about learning, training, leadership, and life in general.

No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World’s 14 Highest Peaks

Ed Viesturs

Lessons and tribulations of this top mountaineer translate well to any of our goal-seeking or pursuits of excellence. “Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory.”