Chop Wood Carry Water: How to Fall In Love With the Process of Becoming Great

Joshua Medcalf is an American motivational speaker and life coach. He is the author of Burn Your Goals and An Impractical Guide to Becoming a Transformational Leader. He is also the author of Hustle, a memoir of his rise to prominence. Medcalf is the founder of Train to be CLUTCH, a consulting firm that offers mentorship and leadership training. Medcalf’s books have been widely read in the athletic community, where he trains athletes to have sharp, focused mindsets that are mission rather than goal-oriented.

Medcalf is the director of mental training for the UCLA women’s basketball team, a job he earned after meeting the coach in an elevator and explaining very briefly the transformative power of positive mental thinking in athletics. In addition to this work, he helps train athletes from low-income housing outside of Los Angeles, and he has designed mobile applications for mental training for sports and athletics.

When Medcalf is not training athletes in LA, he travels to give motivational speeches about the vital importance of positive mental thinking in athletics and leadership. He spends time writing and organizing his philosophy into coherent, digestible projects that are easy to read and understand and are applicable across a range of sports, businesses, and hobbies.

Medcalf is also a devout and vocal Christian who works with the church and religious community in addition to his motivational speaking. In Chapter 6 of the extended parable featuring John and Akira in Chop Wood Carry Water, Akira professes his religious faith in God. This aligns with Medcalf’s views and makes the parallel between the author and the fictional sensei clear.