Driven from Within Summary and Reviews

Driven from Within
by Michael Jordan

Driven from Within
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Book Summary Information

Author: Michael Jordan
Editor: 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

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