Empower: Conquering the Disease of Fear

From finding common ground with warlords, introducing the Taliban to change, and working with NFL greats such as Marshawn Lynch, this uplifting and inspirational memoir from coach and personal development expert, Tareq Azim, will help you build a relationship with fear and embrace your own power.

A descendant of Afghan nobles, Tareq Azim’s family was forced to flee their homeland in 1979. He assimilated in the United States through his love of sports, excelling in wrestling, boxing, and football. In 2004, Azim decided to visit his home country, and upon arriving, he discovered countless children living on the streets, waiting for the inevitable recruitment into terrorist networks and anti-peace militias. Azim’s close encounter with the ravages of a war-torn society taught him how pain can generate the most intense forms of fear, anxiety, and depression. He had found his salvation through sports and physical activity, and he knew these children could, too.

He put his method to the test and created the Afghan Women’s Boxing Federation, the official governing body for women’s sports for the National Olympic Committee and the first ever in the history of any Islamic republic, proving that Afghanistan was ready for social change by addressing the harms of accumulated trauma.

Now, his remarkable full story is revealed in this book that is both a memoir and a roadmap. Through his own experiences, he effortlessly explains how fear is an invitation to seek a deeper feeling within—a feeling that is achieved when we engage in righteous and sincere struggle. Only then will our choices be guided by values that help us avoid the pitfalls of moral and personal failure. Featuring actionable advice and varied clear-eyed case studies, including MMA star Jake Shields, former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York—Empower is the ultimate guide to living a life understanding that fear is there to help you.

For over twenty years, Tareq Azim has directed the creative and strategic development of leading institutions in professional sports, human performance, entertainment, government, law enforcement, and finance. A former collegiate athlete and seven-time world championship coach, Azim built the Empower Performance Institute—one of the most sought-after performance facilities in the United States, hosting top-tier athletes in the NFL, UFC, and others. Tareq is also CEO and founder of an experiential creative agency, The We Group, and his current passion and venture, the Elesel Lodge, is set to change the global landscape of hospitality by using the power of culture, heritage, and social responsibility to create new solutions to our current mental and emotional health epidemic.

Seth Davis is a studio analyst for college basketball at CBS Sports and senior writer at The Athletic. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Wooden: A Coach’s Life and When March Went Mad: The Game Transformed Basketball.

ISBN: 9781982150648
Format: Hardback
Pages: 272
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: January 11, 2022

“For those visionaries and thought leaders who want to challenge the norm, this book is a masterclass on the art of resilience.”
—Jim Lanzone, CEO of Yahoo!“Tareq Azim is a true savant of human performance. His approach [has changed an enormous range of] lives, from NFL stars and World Champion fighters to Military Special Forces and so on. More importantly, though, are the thousands of non-athletes he’s touched. Empower is a remarkable tool for anyone interested in getting better.”
—Dr. Andy Galpin, Director of Center for Sport Performance, CSU-Fullerton“A rare opportunity to get inside the mind of one of the best performance coaches in the industry. Tareq’s ability to connect high-performance individuals to their goals and get them to excel beyond their perceived limits is what makes this book so unique.”
—David Alexander, Founder of DBC Fit“[Empower holds] the key to success when the physical tools fail or are not suited for the task at hand. The message in Empower is more valuable than any tool you can buy, any body you can build, and can be used from the battlefield to the boardroom.”
—Andy Stumpf, US Navy Seal, Host of the Cleared Hot Podcast“The ultimate book that breaks down the art of resilience, optimization, and mental toughness. Tareq gives you a step-by-step guide on how to make fear your weapon of choice; his memoir serves as a lesson to all of us that the mantra of ‘succeed or die trying’ lives in at least one human—someone we can all learn from.”
—Paraag Marathe, Chairman of Leeds United Football Club“This book is the best educational resource for the next generation of young students and professionals to overcome fear and advance their success and development.”
—Dan Rosensweig, founder of Chegg“Tareq’s life story is a study of resilience…he uses a very light touch to open a door to thinking about how faith (any faith) supplements physical and psychological strength to help fight the disease of fear. That is different, and quite frankly very refreshing. The beauty of the path Tareq has chosen is how he takes his life experiences and uses them to help others make their lives better.”
—General Paul Selva, retired United States Air Force and 10th Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff“Empower is very well written, holds the attention of the reader and above all, by example, Tareq opens the path of developing a universalist vision, by becoming compassionate, affectionate, considerate, and utilizing the subconscious nidus of power of our Maker to serve our human family with humility.”
—Dr. Bashir Zikria, Professor Emeritus & Special Lecturer at Columbia University Medical Center“In the last century, we have moved from ignoring trauma to blaming the victim to treating it. However, it’s only in the last few years that we have begun to acknowledge just how pervasive it is. And that’s why Tareq Azim’s Empower could not be more timely”
—Hunter Maats, author of The Straight A Conspiracy“Tareq Azim is a true peaceful warrior. His story is unlike anything I’ve ever heard, and he inspires me every time I’m in his presence. Words don’t do him justice. We all need a Tareq in our life.”
—Simon Rex, award-winning actor