Timothy Gallwey

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W. Timothy Gallwey (born 1938 in San Francisco) is an author who
has written a series of books in which he has set forth a new
methodology for coaching and for the development of personal and
professional excellence in a variety of fields, that he calls "The Inner
Game." Since he began writing in the 1970s, his books include The
Inner Game of Tennis, The Inner Game of Golf, The Inner game of
Music (with Barry Green), Inner Skiing and The Inner Game of Work.
Gallwey's seminal work is The Inner Game of Tennis, with more than
one million copies in print.[1] Besides sports, his training methods have
been applied to the fields of business, health, and education.[1]
In 1960, Gallwey was captain of the Harvard University Tennis Team.
In the 1970s he learned the meditation techniques of the Divine Light
Mission's Guru Maharaj Ji, which Gallwey said enhanced his powers
of concentration in a manner that improved his game. [2] In a 1973
New York Times article he described his discovery of Maharaj Ji and
his decision to live in an ashram and practice celibacy.[3] In 1997,
Gallwey dedicated his book, The Inner Game of Tennis, to him.[4]
The "inner game" is based upon certain principles in which an
individual uses non-judgmental observations of critical variables, with
the purpose of being accurate about these observations. If the
observations are accurate, the person's body will adjust and correct
automatically to achieve best performance.[5] Gallwey was one of the
first to demonstrate a comprehensive method of coaching that could
be applied to many situations, and found himself lecturing more often
to business leaders in the U.S. than to sports people. [6]
Tim Gallwey's work went on to found the current movement in
business coaching, life coaching and executive coaching. One of the

most well known exponents of business coaching is Sir John

Whitmore, who popularised Graham Alexander's and Alan Fine's
GROW model of the coaching process.[6]
In every human endeavor there are two arenas of engagement: the
outer and the inner. The outer game is played on an external arena to
overcome external obstacles to reach an external goal. The inner
game takes place within the mind of the player and is played against
such obstacles as fear, self-doubt, lapses in focus, and limiting
concepts or assumptions. The inner game is played to overcome the
self-imposed obstacles that prevent an individual or team from
accessing their full potential. [2]