New from Brad Cooper, PhD · 2026
THE TOUGHNESS MYTH
Unlocking the Science of Sustained Success
What if you didn’t have to choose between success and sustainability — between the grind and a deeper grounding? What if the prevailing message about mental toughness was a myth?
Hardback $28 · Signed copies & group packages available
Foreword
With a foreword by
Alex Hutchinson, PhD
New York Times bestselling author of Endure & longtime Outside columnist on the science of endurance.
Evidence-Based
moves beyond hacks and hype
Practical Framework
Thrive · Prepare · Activate
Field-Tested
grounded in research, proven in practice
Built to Last
sustainable, functional strategies
About the Book
No More Either/Or.
You’ve read the books, listened to the experts, and tried the hacks. The shiny strategies of others work — until they don’t. Eventually the influence fades, and you’re left chasing momentum that no longer feels like yours.
You do not want to burn out, but you are not wired to back down, either. The Toughness Myth is not about following the highlight-reel playbook of others or hustling from one dopamine hit to the next. It offers an evidence-based approach to forging enduring momentum, anchored in meaning.
Drawing on four decades as a clinician, executive, endurance athlete, and researcher, Dr. Cooper moves beyond the headlines that impose a binary choice — grind vs. wellbeing, ambition vs. balance, ascendence vs. contentment — and replaces it with something you can build on.
It is a provocation — and a path.
Rethink Toughness
Separate the real, functional thing from the performative version splattered across the headlines.
The fMT Model
A research- and reality-backed framework that fuses peak performance with a life worth living.
A Utility Box
The final chapters and appendices deliver tools, assessment links, and ready-to-use strategies.
Tailored to You
Whether you’re a leader, athlete, parent, or all three before breakfast.
The Framework
The fMT Model
At the heart of the book is functional mental toughness — a variable and malleable psychological catalyst, available to enhance your desired outcome beyond your recent baseline. Not a fixed trait. Not a scoreboard. A resource you can build.
The fMT Triad — Thrive, Prepare & Activate, revolving around the fMT Bank
01
Thrive
The rising water that lifts your boat to an elevated starting point before the climb even begins — the foundation most performers overlook.
Cornerstones: Move · Fuel · Rest · Connect
02
Prepare
The event-specific training that readies you for the upward-aiming climb — what distinguishes good from great, potential from polished.
03
Activate
Go time. When the curtain rises and the lights go on, the strategies you’ve honed take center stage — guiding your actions when the pressure is highest.
The power of the model is the multidirectional flow among all three — each one compounding the others through the central fMT Bank. There’s no fixed starting point, though we usually begin with Thrive.
Who It’s For
For Those Who Refuse to Trade Excellence for Exhaustion.
Executives & Entrepreneurs
Lead Without Burning Out
An actionable framework for scaling impact while staying anchored in purpose — built for coaching, leadership retreats, and organizational development.
Coaches & Consultants
Research Meets Practice
The fMT Model and its utility box of tools drop straight into client sessions, workshops, and personal development plans.
Athletes & High Performers
Drive That Lasts
For the overachievers who want more than another short-lived edge — and keep asking, “How do I elevate my performance without losing myself?”
The Author
Brad Cooper, PhD
Brad Cooper, PhD, has spent his career at the intersection of behavior change and human performance. Most authors in this space are researchers or athletes or coaches or entrepreneurs. Brad uniquely merges them all: a scientist with two US patents and four college degrees, including a PhD in performance psychology; CEO and co-founder of Catalyst Coaching 360, a national leader partnering with individuals and organizations on health, wellness, and high performance since 2007; and an elite masters athlete who has completed eleven Ironmans, including four at the Hawaii Ironman World Championship, and won the two-person Race Across America (featured in the film Godspeed).
Few people anywhere have spent their entire adult life both testing and living out how humans actually change and perform across professional, athletic, and personal arenas. That rare vantage point anchors this book’s central promise: elevated, sustainable performance isn’t reserved for the gifted few. It’s built from practical, evidence-based skills available to all of us.
He has spoken professionally in all fifty states and across Europe and has hosted The Coaching Lab health, wellness, and performance podcast since 2018. Brad and Suzanna, married 34 years, live in Fort Collins, Colorado, alongside their three kids, a growing crew of grandchildren, and their Australian Shepherd Sky. Settling? Not a chance. They’re just getting started.
PHD Performance Psychology
MBA
2× U.S. Patents
CEO Catalyst Coaching 360
50 States Spoken
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Order Signed Copies for You or Your Team
Your Copy
One Signed Copy
$28
per book
One signed hardback, shipped to your door ahead of the official release.
You + a Friend
Two Signed Copies
$54
$27 / book
Your Group (6+)
Six Signed Copies
$151
$25.20 / book
Built for the team, club or group. 10% off six signed copies – plus access to monthly live Q&A with Dr. Cooper.
Your Team (12+)
Best for Leaders
12 Signed Copies PLUS personalized session with Dr. Cooper
A dozen copies for your team — plus a private 1-hour video Q&A with Dr. Cooper.
$1,250
$295
for first 10 organizations
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More packages coming soon — bulk & corporate orders, get in touch
Going Deeper
The Legacy Matrix®
Beyond the fMT Triad, the book offers frameworks for deeper reflection — including the Legacy Matrix®, mapping Forward Orientation and Upward Aiming across four modes: Catalyst, Grinder, Dreamer, and Settler.
It’s one of the tools in the book’s utility box — designed to help you locate where you are now, and chart where you want to go.
Early Praise
What People Are Saying.
Companion Tool
Take the fMT Assessment
Coming Soon A short, science-backed self-assessment that puts the fMT Model to work on your own performance — launching alongside the book.