Think Like A Champion: Building Success One Victory at a Time

by Mike Shanahan, Adam Schefter

Mike Shanahan believes that the game of life is won--or lost--before you take the field. You can't win any important game without a plan for how to win it, nor live a successful life or pursue a rewarding career without a clear outcome in mind and a detailed plan for how to achieve your goals.  Coach Shanahan knows about achieving big goals. Armed with his plan, he and his world champion Denver Broncos have elevated themselves to spectacular levels of performance. In three amazing years, they transformed a "mediocre," aging" franchise--and their legendary quarterback who just "couldn't win the big game--into the most feared powerhouse in the league; with back-to-back Super Bowl rings to prove it.  Now, in Think Like a Champion , Shanahan opens his playbook to show the X's and O's of winning, a detailed game plan to help you storm the field with foolproof strategies, confidence, and the indomitable will to win. Shanahan's principles of success are as deceptively simple as they are  Everything in Mike Shanahan's life has prepared him to write this powerful book. He has worked with some of the best and some of the most difficult owners and coaches in the game, and he has coached a roster of players ranging from underachievers to All-Pros. In the ultra-competitive world of the NFL, he is a champion among champions. With his innovative mind, tenacity, and determined leadership, Shanahan has risen to the elite coaching ranks in the NFL. Armed with his vision, and these proven success principles, you can improve your chances on Game Day--or any day of the week.

Genres: Sports, Football

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[Remo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read this book when I found out Mike Shanahan was the new Redskins coach. I figured it would give me some insight into what he would bring to the team. I think it did that, though of course I'll have to see if he leads the Redskins way he led the Broncos and other teams. After his bad experience with the Raiders owner, though, I am confident he won't let Snyder (Redskins owner) walk all over him. I sure hope his coaches and players have read this book, so they know what to expect.

His presentation is good, fairly standard "success" principles, lots of football anecdotes, and some very clunky testimonials from players and coaches at the end of each chapter talking about what a great guy Shanahan is. I think this would be a great read for a young person who wants to be successful at sports or school or work.

Some of his points, lifted directly from the book:
Preparing - This is a must. Prepare for all contingencies and you'll win. Fail to prepare, and you prepare to fail
Learning - Study and learn from the mistakes and successes of the best in your business.
Detailing - Take care of the small details and the big picture will take care of itself.
Understanding - Know your strengths and weaknesses, your likes and dislikes; maximize your strengths, minimize your weaknesses; and pursue your passion.
Setting Goals - Goals give shape to your dreams and provide you with the necessary steps to achieve them.
Believe in yourselve, Understand your competion.
Communication - Communication solidifies relationships and reduces misunderstandings.
Leading - this includes delegating to subordinates the authority to lead
Teaming up - Good teamwork elevates everyone's play and helps them achieve their individual and collective goal of winning it all.
Making Breaks - Preparation plus desire plus work ethic ensures that you are going to be luckier than most.
Taking Risks - Calculated risks help define you in a culture of mediocrity.
Persevering - Without adversity, there would be no challenges; without challenges, no greatness.
Succeeding - Maintaining success is as important as achieving it.
Balancing - Balancing your personal and professional lives allows each of them to thrive. When you work, work. When you're home, stay focused on your family.

He also talks about the power of having a positive attitude. He quotes Sean Connery from The Untouchables: What are you prepared to do? Are you someone who makes things happens, watches things happen, or wonder what happened? Don't fall victim to The Wish Syndrome, wishing for something rather than planning to do it.

Good book, overall.

[Leo Frost · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re a football coach you need to read this book! In hindsight, think of the current NFL landscape and how many coaches stem from the Mike Shanahan tree. Oh, who did Mike learn from? None other than Bill Walsh and Barry Switzer.

The book articulate and to the point. Mike’s advice can help anyone in any profession, but if you’re a football nerd you’ll love it even more.

[sam marcello · Rating 5 out of 5]

I re-read this book every couple of years , it is such a great book for someone who loves to be prepared for anything in life.....!!!!

[Donnie]

Enjoyed, confirmed some things for me.

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read this book because I wanted to know how Mike Shanahan help bring the teams that he coached to super bowl winning team. I wanted to also know how he was raised and all of the experience he had to become one of the greatest coaches of all time and how he got into coaching in the first place. I also wanted to learn how he handled different situations and people through times in his career.

Mike was one of the best coaches that all of the players that he coached for said. He use different types of methods that wasn't really normal at the time and that why he was at a greater advantage then the rest of the coaches. A lot of his success during the time he was coaching was because of what he learned from his past. He is still concerned one of the best coaches of all time.