How to Be Like Mike: Life Lessons about Basketball's Best

by Pat Williams, Michael Weinreb, Michael Weinreb Pat Williams

Book Overview

Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. But his pre-eminence is more than just extraordinary athletic ability: the lessons of his life-such as focus, passion, hard work, perseverance and accountability-have shaped him into one of the most revered celebrities of the 20th century.
In this inspiring book Pat Williams, motivational speaker and senior vice president of the NBA's Orlando Magic, reveals Jordan's method for living...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1558749551
• ISBN13: 9781558749559
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Health Communications
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Lessons for Life

Fantastic book! Great lessons for anyone with any ambition in sport or indeed life. Mike is a role model for many people, and hearing about Mike from other people's experience of him, just make's you understand what made him so special

jodzign

This book is not only for athletes. It is GREAT for anyone who wants to be successful! I reccommend it to all!

Inspiring book for just about anybody

You don't have to be a basketball fan to love HOW TO BE LIKEMIKE: LIFE LESSONS ABOUT BASKETBALL'S BEST by Pat Williams with Michael Weinreb . . . it is an inspiring book, relevantto just about anybody . . . parents as well as their children willenjoy it; so will employers and their employees.Williams, one of the country's top motivational speakers and senior vice president of the Orlando Magic, conducted over 1,500 interviewswith those who know Michael Jordan best . . . he then boiled downwhat they said into the habits that are needed to succeed . . . theseinclude such things as focus, passion, perseverance, teamwork, and leadership.I particularly liked the many examples taken from the lives ofJordan, the author and many other unique people . . . in addition,there were thought-provoking quotes sprinkled throughout thebook.There were so many memorable passages that it is difficultto choose just a few to highlight here . . . but among themwere the following:[on how Williams is perceived]I am known to those around me as a rather enthusiastic person--a notion that most probably consider a vast understatement.Throughout the course of my career in the front office in bothminor-league baseball and the NBA, my energy has led me to somerather odd precipes. Wrestling bears, for instance. Or overseeingthe most disappointing trained pig act in the history of Philadelphia'ssports. Or donning a sweaty mascot's suit. All for the sake ofentertainment.Some might call me crazy. I call it a surplus of joy. And I just happen to believe you should have enough of a surplus to fill aWall-Mart.It's something I learned from my mentor, a one-legged baseballexecutive named Bill Veeck, who earned a measure of fame forhaving the courage and ingenuity to let a midget bat during amajor-league baseball game. Veeck was the sort of man whoslept two hours a night, whose head exploded with ideas. Hewas flush with energy. He relished interaction, and he savoredthe small pleasures of his life in baseball. And of his life outsideof baseball. When Bill died in 1986, sports columnist Thomas Boswell wrote: "Cause of death--life."[on attaining success]A magazine called NATION'S BUSINESS once surveyed its readers, attempting to extract the top ten businesspeopleAmerica had poured forth in its first two hundred years. The list included the names you'd expect: Edison, Henry Ford, AlexanderGraham Bell. But what's interesting is that while each of the tenchoices were involved in highly competitive businesses--oftencited as a cause of health problems--they lived ripely to an average age of eighty-seven.Another survey polled 241 executives on the traits that most helped workers to become a success. More than 80 percent listed "enthusiasm." Second, at 63 percent, was a "can-do attitude."[Jordan in discussion with Bobby Knight at the Olympics]The uSA led Spain by twenty-seven points at half-time, andKnight leaned over to Jordan and shouted at him, as a ployto avoid a second-half slump. "When are y

Book Review

How to be like Mike is a book about a young kid with big dreams. He has many hardships throughout his childhood life and as he gets older too. That kid is Michael Jordan. As a kid, he never wanted to stop playing basketball. He was so much better than all of the other kids. He grew up with his Mom and Dad. His Dad is the one who taught him everything he knows to this day. When he got into highschool, things got rough for him. It wasn't shcool, because he got generally good grades. But it was the highschool varsity basketball team. Something happens to him that really breaks his heart. As he gets older things started to come together for him. people started to notice him and he is liking his new fame. he was on top of the world. This book was ideal for me because I love to play basketball. It taught me not to give up and always go for the gold. Just life lessons in general, good advice and what to expect. Quotes from other famous people throughout the book. I recommend this book if you are looking for good advice and life lessons.

be the very best you can be!

Lots of insightful quotes from various NBA athletes and coaches on how MJ became one of the world's best basketball players. But you don't have to be a professional athlete to benefit from the advice. Good quotes from people like Winston Churchhill, Beethoven, etc. scattered throughout the book in easy to read captions. This is a good companion to classics like "Think and Grow Rich." A bit disorganized in places though.