Raise Your Game: High-Performance Secrets from the Best of the Best

Product Information

Control the Controllable: There are only two things in this world that we have 100 percent control over, 100 percent of the time. That is our effort and our attitude.

As someone who's read a lot of these productivity texts, everything from Napoleon Hill to Tony Robbins, I didn't catch much here that's not been said (if anything). Even the Kevin Durant "servant leader" story is basically just the same-old "servant leader" spiel you get from every other leadership/productivity book (because KD got it from those books himself!), so we've come full-circle at peak productivity-hype point.This book tested my thinking, made them examine subjects with my family, and has given me key training focuses for my groups. All things considered, a decent read for those looking to raise their game with some great stories to recollect as specific illustrations.

Wow! Such a powerful book. I have followed Alan Stein for many years to learn ways to help my players and students improve not only in basketball, but also life. Thoughts on Vision: Vision is about carrying both the big and the small, the now and the later, the intangible concept and the tangible steps.

I also see many opportunities to weave these ideas when working with educators and administrators about how to get better. Although there are many productivity/performance books targeted at life/work improvement that draw lessons from sports, this is the first one I've read that drew from it so heavily from a single sport, Basketball to provide the life lessons (though by no means do I think this is first book of this type/structure). Unseen Hours: My good friend and colleague Drew Hanlen is an internationally renowned NBA strategic skills coach. He has coined a phrase that I absolutely love: unseen hours. It refers to all the time and effort the public doesn’t see that lays the foundation to the success they do see. It’s the work they put in when there are no TV cameras, no fans, and no cheerleaders. It’s the baskets they make that don’t count, the passes that don’t show up on instant replay, the hustling that never gets them any shout-outs. It’s what happens when the gym is empty and the hour is insanely early or insanely late. Those are the unseen hours. That’s where the heavy lifting happens, and the average spectator doesn’t even think about it.

Thoughts on Vision: Vision is about carrying both the big and the small, the now and the later, the intangible concept and the tangible steps. “The most productive people push themselves to come up with big goals,” wrote Charles Duhigg in Smarter Faster Better, “and then have a system for breaking them into manageable parts.” Draw a connection between what you ultimately want to accomplish, along with what you want your organization to be, and then break it all down into the manageable steps it will take to get there.

At first, I was skeptical because there are so many books that cover these topics, but I was blown away by this book. This book challenged my thinking, had me discussing topics with my family, and has provided me key teaching points to my youth teams.