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The Health and Fitness Bookstore is a
member of the Fit and Healthy Online network.
We're dedicated to providing people with
advice and resources that will encourage them to keep themselves fit and
healthy to the best of their ability.
I'm a physical educator. I wouldn't
be doing what I do if it hadn't been for
books. It's costing my wife
and I a fortune buying more
and more shelves to cater for an ever expanding library.
We troll
through the second hand bookshops of the world looking for gems and
bargains. You'll find a lot of good ideas in old books, wisdom that the
latter day experts have never heard of, wisdom that has been making
sense since time immemorial, wisdom that's been forgotten, wisdom that's
been buried by junk research and junk technology.
We buy new books,
many online, many recommended in other people's newsletters.
Over the last 50 years, the greatest threat to our health has been the
move from simple
and cheap to high tech, complicated
and expensive. You know this is right because
as more and more money has been channeled into high tech medical
research and treatment, and more and more money spent working out how to
change the nature of food by putting it through the wringer, oven and
fat bath,
people have become increasingly unhealthier. It's a paradox that's
turned into a farce.
One of the great tragedies of
our times is that the spectrum of perception about what we
need to do to keep ourselves fit and healthy is being
narrowed by the hegemony of the junk medical industry,
barking dogs of Big Pharma, egged on by the boffins in the
sheltered workshops for the academically gifted and propped
up by mug taxpayers.
The medical/pharmaceutical
oligopoly is the most protected industry in the world and
like all protected industries has become bloated,
ineffective and expensive.
What a relief then
to find a new book that helps steer our attention back in the direction
of looking after ourselves; presented in a simple, straight forward,
dignified manner, backed by good science that reinforces the wisdom of
the ages - keep yourself fit and healthy.
On this website
you'll find review of books that have been around for donkey's ages,
particularly in the success bookshelf.
You'll also find
new ones, some backed by good hard science others by thoughtful
perception, intuition, observation and anecdotal evidence. We've steered
clear of stuff that's highly technical
Inspiration
I grew up in Whyalla in South Australia and before I was old
enough to go to school I used to hang over the front fence and watch the
'big' kids from the primary school kicking the football in the paddock
across the road. From some reason, unbeknown to me I was inspired
and motivated to take a life-long interest in things physical.
In fact it was physical activity that saved me
from what was, for the most part, 20 years of crushingly boring, time
wasting, useless and irrelevant education. The things I value most I didn't
learn in school, or if did, I'd learnt them by the end of grade 4.
That's when I peaked, after that it was downhill all the way.
I
could read, write and do arithmetic. What else apart from an inquiring
mind is there that really
matters? No-one ever because more intelligent by
spending 20 hours a week doing maths, physics and chemistry.
Since
then I've managed to keep myself fit and healthy, not, of course without
some time, effort, thought and a little money. In fact I liked the gym
so much I bought it! Early in 2005 I sold it so I could concentrate on my corporate health business.
Nurture
Nurture or
nature, it doesn't matter. I was brought up by hand by two
parents who loved me enough to see that I didn't end up on
the wrong side of the tracks and who didn't interfere with
my passion for playing sport. This has
got nothing to do with books, but it's got a lot to do with me doing this
work.
Motivation
I
was motivated to make a career in physical education by my high school
PE teacher, Mike Bowden who was unstinting in the time he gave to students
particularly after school. He inspired and motivated a whole string of
kids to keep themselves exceptionally fit and healthy.
I won a book prize in high school (certainly not for academic
attainment) called Young Men in a Hurry - a story of great Australian
sports men and women. I read it over and over again. It's still a
classic. It's still on my bookshelf.
If you mix with highly motivated people and
if you read motivating books, some of it rubs off.
Admiration
I've
got a lot of admiration for the many people who put aside time to coach
and mentor me, whether in sport or life. They have given me their time
and energy, mostly as a gift. I can never thank these people enough.
You
can be inspired and motivated by reading the stories of famous coaches
and mentors.
Commitment
I
was inspired by famous athletics coach, Percy Cerutty when he gave a talk
at university one lunch hour. He's become a legend through his commitment
to keeping himself fit and healthy. You'll learn a lot from the books
written by good coaches and sports people. I've still got a letter from
him in my diary compendium and still pick up his books and read them.
Focus
Along
the way I was inspired to listen to what other people had to say. It started
off by listening to a James Rohan tape. He's inspired me to buy many more.
You'll soon be able to purchase books at the Health
and Fitness Bookstore.
Persistence
As Calvin Coolidge said, 'Nothing in the world can take the place of
persistence.' That's a quote from a book I read somewhere.
I
found an old copy of the book, How
I Raised Myself from Failure to Success, by Frank Bettcher, before
it became famous on the network marketing circuit. You'll
find Frank's classic on our list, along with Think
and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and Psycho-Cybernetics
by Maxwell Maltz. The other great classic is Viktor
Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. These were the first of the great inspirational books
along with those of Dale Carnegie and Norman Vincent Peale.
Determination
Winston Churchill said
something to the effect that if you want to get on in life, buy a good
book of quotes. He's not wrong, and there's many a good quote from
Churchill himself that will guide you along life's path.
Programmed
A couple of
years ago I found a book about Emile Coue in a second hand bookshop in Nimbin.
Coue was the man who popularized the saying, 'day by day, in every way
I'm getting better and better.') The book was first published in the
1920's. Never doubt
that because something's old it isn't good.
At the Health and Fitness Bookshop you'll find a welter of books and resources
that will help you stay focused, motivated and inspired to keep yourself
fit and healthy.
If
you come across a good book which you feel I should add to the list,
please let me know on our
fit
and healthy online contact page.
John
Miller
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