Were you ever advised to "just relax" before making a big speech? Don't.

From Texas A&M professor and celebrity advisor, Dr. John Eliot, this insightful guide takes a sledgehammer to what most of us think we know about doing our best. Eliot explains how mainstream psychology moves us in the wrong direction when it comes to stress management and performance enhancement; techniques like visualization and goal setting, based on pseudoscience rather than empirical evidence, often get in our way rather than propel us forward.

Drawing on field-tested experiments and extensive research in...