Driven from Within
by Michael Jordan
Our Price: $67.26
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $30.97 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Michael JordanEditor: Mark Vancil
Edition: Paperback
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2006-11-21
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 208
Publisher: Atria
Book Reviews of Driven from Within
Book Review: Demons will rattle your cage
Summary: 5 Stars
Michael Jordan, the living sports icon and now that Tiger has been disgraced, the primary upholder of the Nike brand, is also profound living testament that even with modest talent, relentless determination is the only asset that can turn modest talent into world-class perfection. He is a man who has always lived (and pushed himself from) inside his own head. He understood at an early age and at a deep intuitive level that the war of success is an inner war, an intra-personal war, a war within ones self: Fear, doubt, insecurities, and limited abilities are the demons that rattled his cage and that will always rattle the cages in our own heads.
Michael listened to his demons (as we all must) but did the required work anyway, both mentally and physically, without cutting corners, and without whining or failing to realize that the world is not always fair. Then he bided his time and waited for the work to take care of the results. His skill, work ethic, personal style, competiveness and philosophy, like that of the great track star Michael Johnson, propelled him to higher and higher success on the basketball court and then in his life more generally. Johnson had a slightly different formula for slaying the dragon: He was more cerebral than Jordan. In addition to hard work, Johnson suggested that success requires a detailed plan to go along with consistent hard work. Johnson believes that a plan, ones own inner scorecard, is as important an element as hard work is in keeping the demons at bay.
Written three years after his final retirement, this is Michael Jordan's story, told very much in a philosophical and introspective tone and aimed primarily at those young inner city denizens, the court magicians of the ghetto, who might think that there are easy routes to self-affirmed glory that will propel them into the NBA on talent alone. Mike's message to them is not unlike the same message given by Johnson: It is to stop talking and dreaming and keep your head down and begin doing the hard work; for everything worth having involves hard work. There are no easy routes to a successful or to a fulfilling life, no matter what is the area of endeavor. There are no shortcuts. Sociology is as difficult as Physics; track and boxing are as difficult as basketball. The journey is the message and also curiously is the whole of the game. The gold (and the goal) are the gravy. One must love the journey to have (or love) the success. The gold (and the goal) are in the joy of seeing oneself grow and develop, and be seen improving oneself. Said differently, the pot of gold is not just to be found at the end of the rainbow. The upshot of the book is that in all but the most rare of instances, success is simply a byproduct of blood, sweat, tears and often a lot of disappointment. People are what they do, not what they talk about, or their unfulfilled daydreams. Everyone's cage will be rattled on the route so success.
There is a lot of meat here, and plus, it is beautifully written. Five stars
Photo Essays Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Photo Essays Books
Ezekiel's Horseby Keith Carter
University of Texas Press; Published: 2000-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $28.70
Price in other shops:
Please Pass the Biscuits, Pappy: Pictures of Governor W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel (Clifton and Shirley Caldwell Texas Heritage Series)by Bill Crawford
University of Texas Press; Published: 2004-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $27.85
Price in other shops:
Jaroslav Rossler: Czech Avant-Garde PhotographerThe MIT Press; Published: 2004-03-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $86.77
Mineheadsby Bernd Becher, Hilla Becher
The MIT Press; Published: 1997-08-08; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
South Streetby Barbara Mensch
Columbia University Press; Published: 2007-03-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.00
Price in other shops:
Daring to Look: Dorothea Lange's Photographs and Reports from the Fieldby Anne Whiston Spirn
University Of Chicago Press; Published: 2009-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.06
Price in other shops:
Letters on Landscape Photographyby Henry Peach Robinson
General Books LLC; Published: 2012-01-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.86
Price in other shops:
The Muslims of India: A Documentary Record (Oxford India Collection)Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2004-12-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.46
Price in other shops:
Robert Kennedy: The Last CampaignHarcourt; Published: 1993-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $40.00
Santa Speaks: The Wit and Wisdom of Santas Across the Nationby Michael Patrick Collins
Collins Pub San Francisco; Published: 1995-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.96
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
NBA: Ultimate Jordan (20th Anniversary Three-Disc Collector's Edition)NBA; Release date: 2004-10-12; DVD
Best price: $33.00
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritanceby Barack Obama
Broadway; Published: 2004-08-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.90
Price in other shops:
Rare Air: Michael on Michaelby Michael Jordan, Mark Vancil, Walter Iooss
Harpercollins; Published: 1993-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $122.79
When Nothing Else Matters: Michael Jordan's Last Comebackby Michael Leahy
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2005-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.39
Price in other shops:
How to Be Like Mike: Life Lessons about Basketball's Bestby Pat Williams
HCI; Published: 2001-08-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.24
Price in other shops:
Driven from Withinby Michael Jordan, Mark Vancil
Atria; Published: 2005-10-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $26.23
Price in other shops:
The Jordan Rulesby Sam Smith
Pocket Books; Published: 1993-01-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.01
Price in other shops:
Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Madeby David Halberstam
Three Rivers Press; Published: 2000-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.13
Price in other shops:
For the Love of the Game : My Storyby Michael Jordan
Crown; Published: 1998-10-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $29.99
I Can't Accept Not Trying: Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellenceby Michael Jordan, Mark Vancil
Harper San Francisco; Published: 1994-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $24.98